We had a discussion on this blog the other day about beating Pinata Nikki Haley with stick. Some union in South Carolina did it. that did seem rather harsh until I heard Nikki Haley speak about it.
It sounds to me like the good governor is sort of asking for it. “Union Thugs?” “Beating up on the unions?” When you talk like that, it does nothing to bring people together towards a common goal, which SHOULD be improving our economy, especially in South Carolina which has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country.
I don’t understand why a governor would direct this much hostility. Does she think she is a tough girl? Last I heard, unions and the state had to negotiate. There is no way peaceful agreement is going to be reached with Nikki blasting about thugs and trumpeting about beating up the unions and being a union buster. Her behavior is just stupid. I expect better out of women.
Let’s see who can be the bigger person here.
This is why I think we can agree to dispense with the fake “civility” the left is always asking for. Let’s be honest that we’d all be happier if the other side wasn’t around and have at it! Let’s agree….you can burn Bush in effigy and beat a Haley piñata, and we can plaster targets all over politically vulnerable Democrats. Wasn’t that easy? Neither side has to apologize.
Since when did the labor movement become the enemy. Am I a Union fan, not really, but I also understand the evolution of WHY we need workers protections. Too bad the Chinese can’t organize!
As a moderate, I would like to have both sides around as long as they don’t go to extremes. It’s the extremists I have a problem with.
I have never burned any president in effigy or wanted to. I have never beaten an effigy pinata. You apparently see yourself very far to the right so you have no need for any progressive thinking. You apparently see things as black or white. Moderates see shades of gray.
Please allow us our indulgences of not doing the binary thinking thing.
@Elena
And the truth of it is, if you get rid of unions and the money they pour in to elections, then you get rid of democrats and all that is left are Republicans. That’s what its all about.
Corporations own the Republicans money wise and Unions own the Democrats, money wise.
That wasn’t supposed to be funny, was it?
no, it wasn’t. As I said, you are very far to the right.
@Moon-howler
I beg to differ. The link below shows the top contributors to Obama’s 2008 campaign:
http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cid=N00009638
I see no unions in this list. Number two is Goldman Sachs. I see JP Morgan Chase (Jamie Dimon will be expecting a get of jail free card for his recent shennanigans), Citigroup, UBS, Morgan Stanley, GE (major finance division).
No wonder Dodd-Frank was passed with no teeth, and that too big to fail is now even much more too big to fail.
…according to “the moderate” Too funny!
I think this video is a teaching moment. Further, I think and propose that we take this video and show it to every school aged child in South Carolina.
I want them to know what their teachers think of elected officials. I want them to see the steps they’d take. They hate they preach. The anger of each swing.
I want every female student to understand that this is the world they live in. If they succeed they can have something like this to look forward to.
As a moderate, I can certainly see how this is all Nikki Haley’s fault. I mean calling a union leader that beats you in effigy a thug is totally inappropriate. Donna Dewitt, Chair of the South Carolina AFL-CIO, Co-chair of the SC Progressive Network and a member of the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism, is just expressing her right to free speech at her retirement party. It was all in fun.
Nobody is trying ot get rid of the unions – that is crazy talk. Getting them to act responsibly and to be accountable for the impact of their demands is a different argument. That has been working in the private sector, where unions have learned that market forces and investment do impact their jobs, membership and pensions. The problem is with the public unions that have no such contraints.
Basically, calling anyone a union thug when you are governor of a state really doesn’t do much for leadership. Why keep bad feelings going. Here’s a hint, she wasn’t really beaten. Would you have someone arrested for animal abuse for a smack down of the traditional donkey pinata? Of course not.
The whining over a pinata is pathetic. Seriously now…can you see George Bush being a cry baby over a pinata? I sure can’t.
Actually, yes, people like Scott Walker would like nothing better than to get rid of unions. No more unions, no more democrats to contend with. Republican rule forever.
http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/news/local/green_bay/union-responds-to-walker's-plans
Why are you ll acting so surprised? Remember—I am not a union person.
@Need to Know
This is the spending. Not donations.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20120222/D9T2A3T84.html
Spells out the battle nicely from the union point of view
By SAM HANANEL
WASHINGTON (AP) – Unions say they are gearing up to spend more than $400 million to help re-elect President Barack Obama and lift Democrats this election year in a fight for labor’s survival.
@Cargosquid
So if Obama wins reelection, our country will be controlled by “too big to fail” banks and big unions. Remember also the President speaking to Medvedev thinking he was not being recorded and saying that he just has to get past one more election and then he can do what really wants to do.
What a country that’s going to be!
It beats the tea party taliban. Count me in for the GM and too big to fail bunch.
@Need to Know
So I guess there is no union money poured in.
So you tell me, why does Nikki Haley hate unions? How about Scott Walker?
In general, that is pretty much the plan, according to many political thinkers.
@Need to Know
Frank Dodd lacks teeth because of Republican beat downs. Much of what Dodd wanted was compromised away.
@Need to Know
The money came from pacs OR from individuals who worked for these organizations. they money did not come from the organizations. Now…what is your point?
I don’t recall saying anything about Obama. It was a very general comment, not directed at any specific candidate.
@marinm
Be my guest–if you want to look like a dumb ass. It has nothing to do with their teachers. The pinata hitter was an AFL-CIO person. Why do you think it is a teachable moment?
Why should I expect accuracy? Teach away.
Meanwhile, I don’t see why Nikki Haley talks smack and then whines when the unions hate her. It seems to me there are better ways …and that she should be striving to end the divisiveness if she wanted to prove she was a leader. You don’t call people names and “union thugs” unless you are planning a smack down. It just shows poor governance. I seriously doubt that McDonnell would do that. He is smarter than that. He also hasn’t picked a fight with Virginia unions.
@Moon-howler
I don’t think Haley and Walker hate unions at all. Their positions, as I understand them and I admit to not being very well informed about what’s going on in Wisconsin and South Carolina, are that they unions have too much power. Neither of the two governors want to abolish unions.
Both parties are guilty in the weakness of Dodd-Frank, but I think President Obama carries an extra share of guilt. He campaigned in 2008 about reducing the power and influence of big finance, but instead financed his campaign largely from those sources. The institutions that were too big to fail then are even more so now after nearly four years of Obama.
It doesn’t matter to me if Obama got one big check signed by the CFO of Goldman Sachs, or multiple checks from several people associated with GS. Influence buying is influence buying either way.
@NTK, put things in time sesquence.
If you listen to what Obama says, there is nothing there to support the too big to fail notion. The Democrats are at fault for caving into the bank and k street lobbyist crowd who continued to whittle down fiancial regulations.
Elect Elizabeth Warren.
@Blue
You are aware that any public unions in SC have no bargaining power such as collective bargaining? That sort of negates everything you said if you are talking about SC. Wisconsin, not so much but definitely SC.
@Moon-howler
“It has nothing to do with their teachers. The pinata hitter was an AFL-CIO person. Why do you think it is a teachable moment?”
It’s a teachable momemt in how unions (such as a teachers union) treats elected officials that side with taxpayers and not the unions. It’s a lesson on how greed at the union level can seep into their education as every dollar spent to accomodate a union contract is a dollar taken from that students education. It’s a teachable moment to show how much hate and anger people have against elected officials. It’s a teachable moment to show that the public really doesn’t care that an image of an elected female is beat with a bat. It’s a teachable moment to show young women that this is what they can expect – and that society condones – if they are ever to be successful and in the public light.
“Why should I expect accuracy? Teach away.”
Accuracy from teachers? I don’t expect it either. I agree with you.
“You don’t call people names and “union thugs” unless you are planning a smack down.”
I can see how calling a person a union thug and then literally having an image of a person BEING smacked down are the same…………………..
The teacher associations in SC aren’t unions. SC is a right to work state, therefore, no collective bargaining. There is no union contract unless SC runs things much differently than the rest of its southern sister-states. It there is one, I would be interested in seeing it.
So it looks like that teachable moment needs to apply outside of SC.
Let’s talk about Virginia. Teachers have an individual contract with their employer…whatever school board they work for. What possibly could you have against that?
Could it be that you didn’t know what you were talking about? I prefer students to have instructors who know their content.
As for the pinata beating…probably not a nice thing to do. Calling people union thugs isn’t nice either. Both should stop. It is more important for Haley to set a good example since she is an elected official. As for protection because she is a woman…you know, pardon me for being a female chauvanist pig, but I don’t think men deserve to get beaten with bats any more than women do. If you don’t want political enemies, don’t run for office.
NOOOOOOOO, of course not!!
You mean “Sitting Bull” Warren?
Sitting Bull is one of my favorite heroes. Watch it, pale skin!
Speaking of Elizabeth “.00000000125% Nez Perce” Warren, apparently she had a run-in with a reporter over her ancestor’s stand at Little Big Horn. I think she needs to calm down a bit and smoke the peace pipe with Scott Brown.
Why do you care what her heritage is? BTW, since when were the Nez Perce at Little Big Horn enflicting damage?
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…………..scott brown……………mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm [Greek Chorus]
What a hottie. I would still vote for Elizabeth Warren just because she is so right on, but….if she weren’t in the picture I would have to vote for Scott.
Slow, let us bury the hatchet on that story.
Too soon?
FWIW, I’m not against all unions. Only the public sector ones. I could care less about private sector ones.
Get it right pokie. She claimed kinship with Sitting Bull and was awarded the Indian name Lying Cow.
Since never…..I’m just having a little joke!