Michigan Mess: Governor Snyder Guts the Unions

Oh, here we go again, just as in Wisconsin, the Republicans are going after the Unions. What bothers me the most is the lack of transparency and sunshine in the way this Michigan law was struck, with almost no public discussion, and therefore the citizens have been railroaded again. Suddenly springing a new law on a state as large as this, especially with the long history of unions connected to the auto industry is shocking. without public input the process is anti-democracy - not that the GOP cares about that anymore.

This whole thing smells of the Koch Brothers and other out-of-state groups. They must think if they can't win a national election, they will buy a few state governors and wreak havoc.





Huffington Post

Gov. Rick Snyder (R) officially made Michigan a "right-to-work" state on Tuesday, signing into law two bills that significantly diminish the power of unions.

"I have signed these bills into law. ... We are moving forward on the topic of workplace fairness and equality," he said at a press conference on Tuesday evening, just hours after the state House passed the bills.

Right-to-work laws forbid contracts between companies and unions that require all workers to pay the union for bargaining on their behalf. Although business groups and conservatives cast the issue in terms of workplace freedom, unions note that the laws allow workers to opt out of supporting the union although they reap the benefits of the collective bargaining. Since the laws tend to weaken unions generally, unions, as well as President Barack Obama, call the legislation "right to work for less."

. . . Throughout the day, at least 12,500 protesters showed up at the Capitol in Lansing. The gathering occasionally turned ugly, with punches thrown and pepper spray dispersed.

The GOP-controlled state legislature had fast-tracked the two bills, which authorize right-to-work measures for public and private unions in the state, bypassing the normal committee process and public input period.

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A Cornucopia of Debunking for GOP Theory that Obama Cooked Employment Data

pic by Brian McFadden
The jobless rate today went down to the lowest level since 2009 when Obama was sworn into office. And he gets full credit because the Republicans wouldn't lift a finger in Congress to help American get back to work.

U.S. Jobless Rate Falls to 7.8 percent

The rate declined from 8.1 percent because the number of people who said they were employed soared by 873,000 — an encouraging sign for an economy that’s been struggling to create enough jobs.
The number of unemployed Americans is now 12.1 million, the fewest since January 2009.

. . . The revisions show employers added 146,000 jobs per month from July through September, up from 67,000 in the previous three months.

The 7.8 percent unemployment rate for September matches the rate in January 2009, when Obama took office. In the months after Obama’s inauguration, the rate rose sharply and had topped 8 percent for 43 straight months.
. . . The September employment report may be the last that might sway undecided voters. The October jobs report will be released only four days before Election Day.

This is bad news for Mitt Romney, who wants everyone to believe the economy is in shambles and in need of a business guy like himself to take charge. Mitt would rather compare the U.S. to train wreck economies like Greece and Spain, and insist on cutting programs because we need "austerity." But he can't make that case if more people are going back to work.

So the conservative reaction has been predictable. As with the Poll numbers, they are attacking the messenger and attacking the humbers. The GOP is crying "Conspiracy" again because that's all they have.

From Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric:

Unbelievable jobs numbers..these Chicago guys will do anything..can't debate so change numbers
— Jack Welch (@jack_welch) October 5, 2012

Psychological projection much? Jack Welch was once accused of cooking the books for GE and at the time was described as a "modern day robber baron" much like Mitt Romney.

In fact, today all I can think about is Mitt's accountant - now there is a guy who knows how to cook the books.

Conn Carroll of the conservative Washington Examiner tweeted:

I don't think BLS cooked numbers. I think a bunch of Dems lied about getting jobs. That would have same effect.
— Conn Carroll (@conncarroll) October 5, 2012

Here are some others via BuzzFeed

This just proves what a criminal Obama is. He has lied & forced his labor dept to report 7.8% Unemployment with only 114,000 jobs created.
— Fritz Harrod (@bignels2) October 5, 2012

How do 800,000 people leave the work force; 114,000 jobs created and this is touted as good news...? Unemp rate is rigged!
— Barbara Foss (@b_bfoss) October 5, 2012

Another name for the Labor Dept's bogus "7.8 percent" unemployment number -- "Obama's October Surprise." Thanks, Hilda.
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) October 5, 2012

Yeah, sure ~ on the royal orders of Caesar Obama, the lockstep Bureau of Labor Statistics conspired to only call Democratic households to find out if anyone had gotten a job recently, and whoever answered the random phones in those households lied, every single one of them, because they knew Obama needed some good economic news two days after the first debate, which Romney was sure to win. *eyeroll*

Funny, ain't it, that we never heard a claim of statistics fraud when the numbers were bad for the last four years. And now suddenly they are all wrong, and everyone is shooting wildly at the humbers.

Matt Yglesias used logic to debunk attacks on the Bureau of Labor Statisticson Slate:

. . . Trustworthy economic data is a very valuable public good that serves as a useful production input for tons of private businesses. It also helps smaller-scale government agencies and nonprofits make smarter decisions. And last but by no means least, precisely because the BLS is credible presidents know that they'd take an enormous political hit if they were seen as manipulating it.

Keith Hall, former head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Wall Street Journal that cooking the books is impossible, even the "Chicago Way" as Jack Welch insinuated:

“There’s nothing wrong with the numbers,” said Mr. Hall. “The only issue is the interpretation of the numbers. The numbers are what they are.”

. . . The unemployment rate estimate is derived from a survey of households, which came up with an estimate that 863,000 jobs were added for the month.

But the separate establishment survey from which the official payrolls number is derived reported a more modest seasonally adjusted gain of 114,000 jobs in September. That was below the consensus forecast of 118,000, though the previous two months were revised higher.

. . . “The household survey is much smaller. When you look at something like labor force and employment levels, the uncertainty of those numbers is much larger,” said Mr. Hall. “Within two months, the household survey could show the unemployment rate eking back up.”

Unfortunately, the debunking is coming too late for Republicans who saw "Morning Joe" on MSNBC this morning, when Scarborough spent several minutes muttering "These numbers just don't add up. It doesn't make sense."

Video via Media Matters


He seems to have missed the part about these being "revised numbers." Doh!

Mark Halperin tried to talk him down, also via Media Matters

If you go just based on Twitter right now, and the people I follow who are conservative - they're about to make a huge mistake. They're gonna say BLS numbers are horrible, some people are already saying the numbers are made up to help the president politically. They have to find a way to talk about the economy and why Governor Romney would be better, not to try to - it's exactly what they did with the polls the last two months, to attack the methodology. These numbers are good. They're not only good symbolically, they represent the economy moving in a better direction.

I'm sure we will hear more of this, the last desperate gasp of a dying party.

Voter Turnout Heavy in Wisconsin

I've been collecting Tweets all day on Snark Amendment and will be updating this until the polls close.
Badgers Vote and the World is Watching

This election is a huge deal and symbolic of the entire political system. I hope Wisconsin feels the weight of history and votes to throw Walker out. That is the only message that will be loud and clear. If he wins again, the Republicans will take it as a mandate even if he immediately gets indicted. He needs to be out, period. But at least this recall and his legal woes will keep him from being Romney's running mate. He's pretty much tainted himself forever. I don't know why Republicans would ever want this bozo for a governor except that they basically hate themselves.

The Solidarity Sing-Along on the Capitol Square in Madison this morning:


Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal: Who Benefits from High Turnout?

Who benefits from higher turnout? There’s no pat answer to that question. There were 2,171,331 votes cast in the 2010 election. If turnout is, say, 200,000 votes higher than that, that could reflect a Republican turnout surge, a Democratic turnout surge, or both. Turnout is extremely unlikely Tuesday to match the 2008 presidential race, when almost 3 million votes were cast in Wisconsin.
But if turnout is in the very bullish range predicted by state election officials – 2.6 to 2.8 million – that could be good news for Democrats. That’s because the Democratic coalition includes voting groups – minorities, lower-income voters, young voters – that typically turn out at lower rates. If turnout really does top 2.5 million, that probably indicates a robust turnout by more casual Democratic voters.

Wisconsin State Journal: Turnout Heavy

Voters and public officials reported long lines at many Wisconsin polling places Tuesday — with Dane County Clerk Karen Peters calling the local turnout "just wild."
"It ranges from 28 to 42 percent already; it is a huge turnout. We could hit 80 to 88 percent," Peters said midday of Dane County's turnout. She collected status reports from local clerks....

..."Everything leading up to this election, it completely felt like a presidential (election)," said Maribeth Witzel-Behl, the city clerk in Madison, where turnout was strong. She was speaking of the workload, number of officials needed for the polls and the number of absentee ballots her office received prior to the election.
There were lines outside of many polling places this morning — full of voters who anticipated longer waits as the day progressed.

Barrett took that as a good sign for him. "Obviously the lines are very, very long, which we take as a very encouraging sign. People are engaged in this," he said. "We've noted over the last 96 hours is around the state the energy has just been building and building and building."

Walker, who cast his ballot Tuesday at an elementary school in Wauwatosa, said Election Day almost came as a relief.
"I think most people are just happy to have the election over," he said. "I think most voters of the state want to have all the attack ads off. They want to have their TVs back. They want to have their lives back."

Think Progress: Robocalls Telling People Not to Vote

Tom Barrett, the mayor of Milwaukee and the Democratic nominee to unseat Governor Scott Walker, told MSNBC host Ed Schultz last night that his campaign began receiving complaints yesterday that voters had been contacted with the misinformation. This morning, Salon reported on the robocalls too, and included comments from Carol Gibbons, a Wisconsin resident who got the call herself. And a local CBS affiliate is even reporting that the caller sounds eerily similar to Tom Barrett, suggesting the group behind the call may have hired a Barrett impersonator.

Occupy Wall Street on May Day 2012

May Day, May Day . . . Occupy is Back! Thousands marched across the country today on what is also International Workers Day.



Guitarmy!

PIC: Uncountable thousands are marching through the streets of New York, spanning a dozen streets. twitter.com/jameswest2010/…

— James West (@jameswest2010) May 1, 2012