Short Memories in Wisconsin

The union thugs and their friends in D.C. trying to hijack the democratic process in Wisconsin seem to have forgotten something: There was an election in November, and the new representatives in the Wisconsin State House represent the will of the people.

The same folks who shoved Obamacare down our throats with a simple majority are now claiming that a new majority in the Wisconsin state house can't trim their own budget and clip the wings of public sector unions. This is undemocratic, and it's shocking to see President Obama taking sides in the fight.

His contention that Gov. Scott Walker is somehow assaulting union rights is ridiculous. Under Walker's plan, unions still could represent workers. But they couldn't force employees to pay dues, and they'd have to hold annual votes to stay organized. They also couldn't seek pay increases above those pegged to the Consumer Price Index, unless approved by a public referendum. For that, Gov. Walker is getting slammed by the President.

And the Democratic National Committee is even going further, helping organize teachers engaging in illegal walkouts. Last week on Scoreboard, Mary Bell, the head of Wisconsin teacher's union, refused to tell us whether she would encourage more strikes.

Bell didn't want to acknowledge the strikes because they are illegal under Wisconsin law. And in siding with the strikers, President Obama and the DNC are encouraging law breaking, a direct violation of the president's oath of office. The President is also in the company of a more thuggish brand of mob rule in the form of AFL-CIO boss Richard Trumka.

When he was head of the Mine Workers' Union, Trumka told his members how to deal with non-union workers: "Kick the (expletive) out of every last one of 'em." This was the same year that Eddie York, a 39-year-old non-union worker, was shot dead as he left his job in West Virginia. Trumka and the Mine Workers Union were sued by York's widow and eventually settled the wrongful death suit out of court.

This is the side President Obama has taken. It's bad enough that he's taking any side in a state battle like this. But to side with the lawbreakers and the thugs is not a particularly dignified position for the President of the United States.

We expect things will get tougher in Wisconsin and in other states going through the same thing. When they do, we hope the president does a better job at defending democracy and the law, instead of siding with those who defy both.