Tag: Indiana

The failure of proposal 2 in November's election drove home the fact that Michigan is ready to become the 24th Right To work state.  The millions in big labor money spent to even further violate the civil rights of Michigan workers was not successful, and brought the issue out into a broader theater of debate.  The Freedom to Work organization (disclosure: I am a member) was joined by political heavyweights Dick Devos and Ron Weiser who are now calling for action on this important piece of Michigan's future.

"MIRS News reports former Michigan Republican Party chairman Ron Weiser and 2006 GOP gubernatorial nominee Dick DeVos are putting the pressure on in the Senate, where Majority Leader Randy Richardville doesn't want to take it up."

And labor leadership is freaking out. Kyle Olson, writes:

"Now the union is wringing its hands over a rumored Right to Work proposal that may be introduced and debated in the state legislature during the lame duck session.

On Tuesday, the union pressed the panic button and issued a screed to its members via email:

"With just a few weeks left in the Legislative session, right-wing politicians in Lansing are looking to exact political revenge against union members by ramming through dangerous bills that will harm school employees, middle-class families and children throughout Michigan.

"Their reckless agenda includes: ...

 ... "These extremist legislators must be stopped immediately. The Working Michigan coalition is holding events across our state tonight and tomorrow night to help mobilize union members and supporters in the effort to fight back."

It's hard to feel sorry for this group of tin-horned gangsters. They were in a good position and they got too greedy.

But we best not consider this a done deal until the guv's pen is to paper.

Your legislator needs your strength. Call them. praise them for their support of this basic civil right. Write them. Encourage them to act quickly and decisively. Call your friends and encourage them to do the same.  Watch the video below the fold to get a better understanding of why.

Update [2012-11-30 10:51:19 by JGillman]: As a bonus, here are a couple who REALLY want you to call them and offer support of Freedom to work. (H/T Jack Hoogendyk)

The not so gracious Lugar had a few things to say after getting the kick in the jewels reminder that nothing is permanent last night to a Roll Call reporter.  In the short blog piece answering his statement, "Well there's your problem, Dick", her analysis nails down the essence of the RINO mentality:

"Rejectionist orthodoxy
If Lugar was talking about rejecting the founders, or rejecting the constitution, that phrase could be used against the Democrats, but he was talking about rejection of Democrat party policy. He said that Mourdock, a Republican, intends to reject Democrat party policy.

Rigid opposition
As if there is such a thing as soft opposition. Lugar didn't see the Democrat party as his opposition.

Partisan outlook
Tell me, what is the purpose of belonging to a party if you are non-partisan or bi-partisan? Either you believe in the party platform, or you don't, and if you don't, don't join the party.

The three phrases Lugar used shows how very out of touch he is, and here's to the great people of Indiana who chose wisely to primary him."

I don't doubt the ability of the tea movement to shoulder once again, a myriad collection of RINOs, power hungry moderates, and mislabeled Republicans this election.  I expect them to once again carry across the finish line, the standard bearers of establishment elitism and compromise. But there is something else that we will see.

They will have replaced a few of those along the way.

And it starts with the victory of Richard Mourdock over Richard Lugar in the Indiana Republican US Senate primary.  Tea party grass roots ultimately helped by favorites such as Palin, and Club for growth, to overcome the entrenched RNC financed defense of "Obama's favorite Republican" made the Bob Bennett loss of a couple years ago more real.  It took it from fluke status to a legitimate answer for politicians who pander too far over to the left for their own good.

Fair play,and a good game.  Play to win, and when we don't, we plod forward to the next election.

Go ahead suckers.

The huff and puffery of Democrat and Union leadership is simply meant to shake the foundation of the fence sitters in the legislature.  Perhaps even to scare our governor Rick Snyder, who has commented on the divisiveness that our own Right To Work efforts might bring.

They TRIED to keep it out of Indiana.

Senator Carlin Yoder in this video from the Michigan CPAC discusses the right to work effort and the final passage making Indiana the 23rd right to work state in the country.

It should be noted, Governor Mitch Daniels was not on the side of RTW until recently.  He began to see the benefits of RTW for Indiana, and then, what many acknowledge as his competitive spirit, kicked in. Now Indiana is seeing immediate activity and interest as a result of its passing the Right to Work legislation.

By golly, standing up for something like Right-To-Work when there is an opportunity like no other is a pretty clear message with whom he might side.  Contrast that to the moderate occupying the executive branch in our state, and we find that Michigan is indeed dark to the light in a state southern to us.  Contrast it to the pandering to the left of some congressmen who represent Michigan, to others who understand the limitations placed on government, as their The edges are defined, and it appears there is no question if conservatives have a friend in Lansing, or Washington, or not.

Add to this, Mr Daniels was selected as the standard for rebuttal of the President's SOTU speech the other night, and even with a dry presentation it cut some clear lines of delineation between those of us on the right, and the left so often emulated by moderates. When Daniels answered Obama:"

"In word and deed, the President and his allies tell us that we just cannot handle ourselves in this complex, perilous world without their benevolent protection. Left to ourselves, we might pick the wrong health insurance, the wrong mortgage, the wrong school for our kids; why, unless they stop us, we might pick the wrong light bulb!

A second view, which I admit some Republicans also seem to hold, is that we Americans are no longer up to the job of self-government. We can't do the simple math that proves the unaffordability of today's safety net programs, or all the government we now have. We will fall for the con job that says we can just plow ahead and someone else will pick up the tab. We will allow ourselves to be pitted one against the other, blaming our neighbor for troubles worldwide trends or our own government has caused."

In fact, looking at the health care exchange, and light bulbs, we can see that the second view has been alive and well in Michigan and those charged to represent us.

I hope the Republican establishment view that capitulating to the left's desires brings us together somehow, can be replaced by the solid philosophical grounding that conservatism brings.  Sometimes one has to be strong.  Rather than emulate even the most modest of progressive ideals which are nearly always counter productive, perhaps our Republican leaders in Michigan can learn a little from this perceived establishment governor, from a state with people so much like our own.  Conservative messages well delivered will win. Solutions are at hand. We just need to use them.

In Indiana, the passage of Right-To-Work is a message sent.  In Michigan, its passage would show it to be a message well received.

To anyone with whom I've been in regular contact for the past eight months or so, what I'm about to say won't come as a big surprise:  My wife, Christie, is about 33 weeks pregnant.

I mention that to say this:  I was with my wife in the doctor's office a couple of weeks ago, and the USA Today headline caught my eye.  Evidently, there are some republican controlled state legislatures that are taking steps to crack down on the most dangerous form of fraud in any free society.  Pay attention to the map available from the National Conference of State Legislatures, we'll be referring to it after the break.

Right to Work states lead the nation in creating new jobs (1999-2009)

1. Texas              +866,000
   
2. Florida             +291,600
   
3. Arizona            +194,800    
   
4. Virginia            +138,400
   
5. Nevada            +124,500

46. California        -170,400
    
47. Indiana           -225,300
    
48. Illinois            -332,700    
    
49. Ohio              -508,200
    

The Michigan Supreme Court COULD have gone to the lefties.  It COULD have gone to those who think the constitution is a "living, breathing, document." It could have even lost some of its federalist nature AFTER the election when Maura Corrigan took on a new career as the head of DHS.  Certainly we were lucky that the election turned out as it did, and that even the replacement of Corrigan was a constitutionalist.

Because at any given point in the last year we could have found ourselves with a laughing stock and dangerous ally of the enemies of liberty.  

It could have become populated by those too much like the Indiana Supreme court.  Particularly when they spout such nonsense as:

"We believe however that a right to resist an unlawful police entry into a home is against public policy and is incompatible with modern Fourth Amendment jurisprudence. Nowadays, an aggrieved arrestee has means unavailable at common law for redress against unlawful police action."