U S Class War, 3 - Fighting Back

Hey Barry:

I think we're awake now......

Cops do it.

Firefighters do it.

Even teachers in the spring do it.

We all get it.

We get that the RICH are taking even what we have left.

They took our jobs to China, our houses to foreclosure, our roads and bridges to ruin, our schools to disaster and now they want our pensions, our medical care and our collective bargaining rights.

But, Barry, we are going to fight them.

We are going to fight them hard.

This is our country, Barry.

It does NOT belong to the RICH.

We will recall them, sue them, impeach them and vote them out.

So, Barry, if you are with us, then you need to start governing from the left.

You tried the middle and all we, and you, got was screwed.

Time to turn left, Barry.

Listen to the voters and decide where we are going. The link and transcript below may help you.

First, here's a link to a column by Paul Farrell titled: Tax The Super Rich Now or Face A Revolution:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tax-the-super-rich-now-or-face-a-revolution-2011-03-29?pagenumber=1

And, below is a long exerpt from the Cenk Uygur show on MSNBC of April 1 which details some of today's citizen's actions:

Your pal,

MSNBC LIVE WITH CENK UYGUR for April 1, 2011
Cenk Uygur


WISCONSIN

All right. One down, seven to go. Wisconsin Democrats say they have officially begun to recall the first republican senator after Governor Scott Walker`s union-busting bill passed. They`re not messing around. We`ll show you why that state senator is actually in a world of trouble and tell you if there are more recalls on the way. The battle has been joined. And some hypocrisy you won`t believe. Or maybe you will after we tell you it involves Florida Governor Rick Scott. And this one has a particularly cruel twist.

UYGUR: Republicans be aware. Today, the backlash inspired by the conservative crackdowns on unions enters a whole new chapter. See those eight people? They`re the eight republican state senators in Wisconsin whom Democrats have bowed to recall because of their anti-union votes. Well, not that recall effort has officially begun. Democrats say, they`ve collected the signatures required to recall the first of those state senators, Dan Kapanke. And they`re filing the petition today. The filing begins a 31-day review period of the signatures. An election could be held this summer. Votes have consequences. Those consequences are on the way for Mr. Kapanke.

By the way, the situation for him is seriously dire. A political scientist at the University of Wisconsin Madison says, Kapanke is the quote, "only one of those Republicans who looks like they`re situated in a democratic-leaning district." In a pole last month showed that 57 percent of those in Kapanke`s own district would vote for a generic someone else. By the way, you should know the move on commissioned that poll but it was done by a professional polling organization. But given all this, hanky panke Kapanke looks like he`s in a lot of trouble. Yes, I know, I just gave him that nickname. It`s a vice I share with George Bush. It doesn`t speak well of me.

OHIO

All right. Meanwhile, it`s new ball game in Ohio as well. Governor John Kasich signed an anti-union bill into law yesterday, that`s even harsher than the one in Wisconsin stripping collective bargaining rights from roughly 350,000 public workers. But if Democrats can collect just over 250,000 signatures in the next 90 days, that bill does not go into effect. Instead it goes to a referendum. And Ohio voters get to vote on it. And guess what? Polls show that Ohio voters definitely do not like the measure. Fifty four percent in favor, 35 percent against. That`s according to a recent Quinnipiac poll. But the really bad news for Republicans is that the backlash isn`t just in Wisconsin and Ohio. It`s everywhere. We`ve told you about plummeting poll numbers for republican governors who backed anti-union measures including Walker, Kasich and Chris Christie. They`re all dropping.

UNIONS AND POLLS

Now, a new Gallup poll shows that 48 percent of the Americans side with state employee labor unions in these disputes and only 39 percent agree with the governors. And check this out. As Politico pointed out in November, a Hart Research poll showed 47 percent of the building trade union members describing themselves as Democrats. Twenty five percent as Republicans. In January, 63 percent called themselves Democrats and only 18 percent went to Republicans. Now, that`s a significant shift. And that was even before the Wisconsin and Ohio bills passed. But the news just keeps getting worse and worse for Republicans.

COPS AND FIREFIGHTERS FIGHT BACK

It now appears that even police and firefighter unions are jumping from the republican ship. Cops and firefighters, remember, those are the two unions, they were actually exempted from the Wisconsin bill. The president of the Ohio Association of professional firefighters says, some republican members have actually apologized for supporting John Kasich. Quote, "they are never voting that way again." And today, the backlash is spreading the Pennsylvania, a state where anti-union measures are even on the table yet. Almost, 3,000 of union coal mine workers from several states staged a rally today in Pennsylvania, an early warning signal to any and all conservatives bent on taking the fight elsewhere. Look, they get it. This republican attack is against them, the workers in this country, the middle class. And they have decided they`re going to fight back.

All right. Joining me now is Tim Burga, he`s president of the Ohio AFL-CIO, and Chuck Canterbury, national president of the Fraternal Order of Police. Chuck, let me start with you. The cops were exempted in the Wisconsin bill, why are you joining this fight and why are you so animated by it?

CHUCK CANTERBURY, FRATERNAL ORDER POLICE:

We`re joining the fight because Wisconsin was just the first. Ohio`s bill SP5 that`s passed this week, it`s a terrible official legislation that rolls back, the police labor movement 30 years in Ohio. And we`re not going to stand for it. We`re going to stand up and let the American public know that we`re not the evil doers, we`re the police officers, the firefighters and the teachers that live in their communities. So, we`re going to continue to stand up, get the numbers up from the people as you`ve said earlier in your intro, the American public supports us. We`ve just got to get our message out.

UYGUR: You know, of course, a lot of people supported the Republicans before, Chuck, I want to stay with you for a second, what made you change your mind here? What woke you up, if you will?

CANTERBURY: Well, this isn`t about bipartisan issue or a republican or democrat issue. This is an issue of the police officers in this country standing up for those that stand up for us. Right now, the republican governors around the country have decided to point an X on us as a target. And we`re going to have to use our voices on our votes to answer back. That`s going to cause us to lean towards people that support our causes.

UYGUR: All right. Tim, talk to me about how much these republican governors might have ironically helped the AFL-CIO by showing people, how against the workers they really are.

TIM BURGA, PRESIDENT, AFL-CIO: All right.

Good evening, Cenk. And President Canterbury is right. There is a tremendous outpouring of opposition against Senate bill 5, because it`s being seen as a politically motivated attempt to scapegoat police officers, nurses, firefighters and teachers for the economic challenges of the day. And what Senate bill 5 will do, and Ohioans are seeing this, is going to punish all working families, and to take away worker rights. And not only is a galvanized union men and women, but it also has all working families, and the general public up and arms, and we`re very confident that we`re going to get this issue on a ballot, and there will be a citizens veto of Senate bill 5 in November.

UYGUR: But I want to ask you about that. First, I just kind of say, well, it really drives me crazy. And I think I`m hearing it from both of you guys, that they seem to be blaming you guys for the budget problems. You didn`t cause the budget problems. And then they could turn around and say, oh, no, no, it`s not the taxes, it`s not anything else, it`s not our give-aways, you guys and we`ve got to cut your pay. But Tim, I want to focus on what you guys are you`re going to do about it in Ohio. What is the plan of action and how it will work?

BURGA: Well, the process is Ohioans from every corner and all walks of life, will be circulating petitions to get the necessary signatures, to get the citizens veto on the ballot in November. So, the end of April, all of May and all of June, we`ll be gathering signatures and that will be campaigning the issue in November. And I can tell you that there`s been an outpouring of opposition against Senate bill 5 because it`s being seen as a stream, politically motivated overreach and an attack on workers` rights. And Ohioans are up in arms and they want to do something about it. And fortunate for us here in Ohio, we have the ability to go to the ballot for a citizens veto and I believe we`ll be successful.

UYGUR: You know, Chuck, you know, in Wisconsin, at some point, Governor Walker gave an order to clear out the protesters from the state house and the cops there said, we`re not going to do it. We`re going to do the right thing. And some of the cops even shouted out, we`re going to join you guys, right? It was an amazing moment, a really interesting moment. But, you know, a lot of politicians after 9/11 has said, oh, we`re with the cops, we`re with the cops. I mean, there`s a lot of empty talk. When it came to action, what are you seeing on the ground lately? In all these states, I mean, it seems like, particularly in the Midwest, but it seems like they`re coming after you. Do you feel particularly betrayed by that?

CANTERBURY: We feel extremely betrayed because these are the people that have brought our country into this economic problem. They`re the ones that underfunded pensions. They`re the ones that negotiated contracts, they don`t want to keep, it wasn`t the police officers, the firefighters, the teachers, it was them. And now, we`ve become their scapegoat, so we`re extremely annoyed by it. And the over one million police officers in this country are going to stand up.

UYGUR: You know, last thing for the viewers at home, look, the banks, whenever they run into trouble they say oh, the bankers contract, we can`t violate those. No, no, no, those are contracts. But when it comes to Chuck`s contractors, guys have the four as well, those contracts well, they`re not quite good enough. We can cut your pay. When it comes to working guys that Tim is representing, well, we can cut that pay, we didn`t mean that contract, we meant rich people`s contracts. I think that what drives people crazy. But look, Tim Burger and Chuck Canterbury, we really appreciate you guys coming out here and talking about it tonight. Thank you both so much.

BURGA: Thank you.

CANTERBURY: Thanks for having us.

FLORIDA - RICK SCOTT

UYGUR: Tonight, Florida Governor Rick Scott goes under the spotlight and this one isn`t pretty. Florida`s agency for persons with disabilities is facing a $170 million budget gap. So, Governor Scott has used emergency powers to order the agency to cut payments to group homes and social workers by 15 percent. The agency provides services about 35,000 people in Florida with Down`s syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, and other disabilities. Amy Van Bergen who directs the Down`s Syndrome Association of Central Florida says, quote, "potentially this cuts have life and death implications of these people." Now, of course, Scott didn`t have enough room of the budget for the disabled people, but he did have enough room to propose $1.5 billion corporate tax cut over the next two years. So, this story is already pretty bad, but it`s about to get worse. After Scott ordered those cuts yesterday, he then participated in a run for the Special Olympics and he had this to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RICK SCOTT (R), FLORIDA: Special Olympics is extremely important. We`ve got to make sure we take care of those who have struggled, having disadvantaged. So, this is a great event.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UGYUR: Right. So, Governor Scott carries deeply about the developmentally disabled when there`s an opportunity for a good photo op. But when it comes to actual services, the 35,000 people need, well, that`s a little inconvenient. His corporate buddies need a tax break. What`s a standup guy to do? We`ll be back.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
April 1, 2011