First, in what many in the press called a “stunning defeat”, the first of four Big Union bills, Prevailing Wage, went down in flames. Despite the Big Lug twisting arms over the weekend, Big Union members sitting in the gallery and glowering down on Representatives during the debate, and the Speaker’s self-professed Big Irish Temper causing the vote to remain open for three days, the votes just weren’t there.
The loss on prevailing wage puts in serious doubt the other three Big Union Bills. While Speaker Murphy talked a tough line yesterday, and was supported by the Big Lug, one might have to say that the engine in the old Soviet Moskvitch is sputtering a little.
And yesterday, they were dealt another blow, this time in the United States Supreme Court. In a 6-3 opinion, the Court upheld an Idaho state law banning local governments from using payroll deductions to fund union political activities. Five unions and the AFL-CIO argued the law infringed on their First Amendment rights, but the Court disagreed. Reversing the Ninth Circuit, the Court held that the prohibition merely allows the state to avoid subsidizing political activities and does not restrict them (or the First Amendment) in any way.
It is a decision that could strike at Big Labor's ability to raise funds for their political activities. Commonly known as “paycheck protection” laws, in some of the state where they have been enacted there has been a drop in union PAC contributions by up to 50%.
As I wrote about last week, the Big Union agenda is pretty simple: it’s about being subsidized, about taking money from 89.4% of us to benefit the 10.6% of union members in the State. Once you shine a light on their activities, they lose public support. Once you allow people to think and act freely, i.e., paycheck protection laws, their money dries up.
Really, the Unions ought to be a little ashamed of themselves. They just can’t convince workers that union membership adds value anymore. They just resort to scare tactics, coercion and bullying.
Electoral College Bill
Alright you guys win, I’ll mention it briefly. This has to be the stupidest thing that I have seen since Speaker Murphy spent 90 hours keeping the voting machine open, when he could have had a one yes vote change to a no, accept a motion to reconsider. Wait…
Anyway, why on earth a small state like Iowa would support a bill giving our 7 electoral votes to the winner of the popular votes is beyond me. If that would have been in effect last fall that means no big Obama rally for Becky Greenwald to get her ugly on at…
Let me get this straight. Last week the people of Iowa were clear in their opposition to the Prevailing wage legislation. They emailed and called their legislators, who then voted against it. Yet, the Democrat leaders in the House don’t want to listen to the people and those they sent to represent them. So they keep the voting machine open all weekend in hopes that they can force someone to switch their vote. Interesting.
The founders of our nation did a great job; I’m going to side with them on this one.
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How do you not mention the embarassing display by party apologist Bobby "Americans Can Do Anything" Jindal? He sounded like a social studies essay I wrote in 5th grade.
ReplyDeleteKRUSTY: ANOTHER GREAT COLUMN!!
ReplyDeleteHey, this is Joe Biden. I need stimulus info....Anybody know what the website number is?
ReplyDeleteWhy don't the Iowa D's understand that the Chicago/NewYork/SanFrancisco D's want Iowa to pass this bill so that Iowa Democrats are irrelevent.
ReplyDeleteDo they not understand what this bill means to them too?
Do they not understand that the BIG DEMOCRAT states are using Iowa Democrats just like the Communists in Russia used Jimmy Carter and Ted Kennedy as USEFUL IDIOTS?
Why do Iowa Democrats think this is in the best interests of Iowa democrats, let alone Iowa in general.
Who do they represent? Whom do they serve?
This isn't d or r - this is Iowa.
The only explanation is that Iowa D's suffer from very poor self-esteem, likely caused by extensive suffering at the hands of union bullies.
ReplyDeleteThey are so desparate to be liked by the union bullies that they will not only give up their sandwich today, but all of their meals everyday, hoping upon hope that the bully will ever finally get satisfied.
Alas, the bully is never satiated and the poor democrat continues to give and give and give up more and more of their souls.
Such a tragic symbiotic parasitical co-dependency relationship dance.
I thought their reasons for the BIG UNION bill was to provide jobs and economic development for the middle class and all of Iowa.
Yet, they are willing to throw away, for no apparant reason, their own personal economic engine and a substantial economic engine for all of Iowa.
How many of those legislators and their staffs earn nice fat consulting fees because of First in the Nation?
How about our restaurants and tourism industry? You know those restuarants might have service workers who might have potential to be unionized that now won't because the Iowa democrats made politics in Iowa irrelevant.
How many Iowa democrats went to Washington because of First in the Nation?
ReplyDeleteTons of them, that wouldn't have gone if we weren't first in the nation.
Vilsack would not be Ag Sec. Norris wouldn't be working for Michelle or whomever it is she's working for.
Bunches of them would be just clerks at Wal-mart. Err, I mean Target, not Wal-Mart.
So stupid. So self-defeating. So short term stupid.
I've only lived in Iowa for seven years.I have always enjoyed the fact that iowa has always been a battleground state or at the least a competative state.Thus meaning the press spends money here,the candidates spend money here,and they bus in many supporters who spend money here.those dollars spent represent a boost to many community's and buisnesses as well as provide many tax dollars.How do they intend to make up those lost tax dollars and revenues when the press,candidates and their supporters stop coming to iowa.freaking amazeing!!!!!at a time when we need all the revenue we can get the dems come up with another genius plan to reduce what comes in every four years,all because they still can't get over the fact that Bush won in 2000.I can't see the unions letting this go much further though as the unions would lose bigtime too as there would be no need to print signs,stickers or ads here anymore.
ReplyDeleteKrusty,
ReplyDeleteDid Bobby Jindal just kill his presidential aspirations in one night?
So, getting back to the gas tax. This is not the time to increase any tax anywhere on anyone for any reason. Our congressmen agree on both sides of the aisle.
ReplyDeleteDo Iowa legislators pay any attention to national/global news?
Remember: Hoover raised taxes at the wrong moment and it was called the Great Depression. Didn't any of our pro-gas tax folks learn that in history?
"Raising taxes on any Americans in the midst of this recession will only deepen the economic crisis." Tom Latham 2/24/09
"Bigger government, more wasteful Washington (IOWA)spending, new bailouts for bad decisions and tax increases will not create good-paying jobs or stimulate the economy. Now is the time for innovative solutions that stimulate long-term growth without forcing our grandchildren into more debt.
“Eliminating the income tax, removing taxes on production and enacting the FairTax - a national sales tax - would grow the private sector and create new, good-paying jobs." Steve King 2/24/09
"Our nation is facing tough challenges right now. Every day seems to bring more bad news about the economy. Unemployment is rising, home values are dropping, and jobs are harder to find." Bruce Braily 2/24/09
Is the reason we need to repair the roads because the roads represent production? Are the roads necessary to bring goods to market?
ReplyDeleteIf so, why do we tax the economic engine called roads and transportation. Do we do this because we want to reduce miles driven? Why do we want to reduce the miles driven? Doesn't that hurt our rural economy?
Taxing something reduces consumption - as in what has happened to cigarettes.
Because of high gas prices, Iowans reduced the miles driven on Iowa roads reducing the payments to the state.
Their solution? Increase taxes to increase the price of gas to make up for the shortfall caused by the retraction in purchases of gas by consumers.
The result of this taxing tactic is to further reduce miles driven - hurting the rural economy which is dependent on roads and transportaiton to move goods and services to market.
This doesn't make any sense.
Let's take this crisis, as Obama calls it, and rethink the way we do government in Iowa. He's changing us from a free-market capitalist free country to an anti-freedom socialist, dependency economic country because of this "crisis".
Let's also rethink and reinvent government for a modern century. Let's rethink the premise of funding roads through a regressive tax that serves only to defeat the industries most dependent on good roads.
Just because we fund roads with a gas tax today, doesn't require us to continue that ineffective method.
Obama said it's ok.
Do not tax production. It's fundamental good business.
Bobby Jindal sucked last night. WTF. He didn't live up to his hype. The GOP is in serious trouble. We need someone to articulate a message. Too bad the only guy tha can (Mike Huckabee) is the guy that Rush doesn't like.
ReplyDeleteI don't like Huckabee either.
ReplyDeleteHUCKABEE?!
ReplyDelete"Oh God..."
Looks like some of our taxes go for this increase in spending.
ReplyDeletehttp://politicalwire.com/archives/2009/02/25/congressional_budget_increased_for_gop_staffers.html
Mmmm, seems like Republicans have taken to eating their own now;
ReplyDeletehttp://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090224/NEWS01/90224017
All this spending sounds like one big orgy!!
ReplyDeleteNot to change the subject here... but how about this f'ing stupid is Electoral f'ing College thing?
ReplyDeleteAnyone remodeling their home? Need a few walls knocked out? Seriously, everytime I hear someone talking about that bill I want to break something. Have baseball bat and love, will travel.
GY, yer mother teach you that's the way to deal with life?
ReplyDelete