Whitman Takes on the Unions

The Republican candidate for governor of California, Meg Whitman, is taking on the unions in her mostly self-funded campaign. The billionaire has announced that once elected, she will go head-to- head with the leading cause of California’s nearly $20B deficit: the unions. Fox News Contributor Monica Crowley joined Varney and Co. today to discuss Whitman’s actions.

“It is unusual for a candidate for governor to say that they will take on the union before the vote,” said Crowley. “Not just any candidate for governor, a candidate in one of the most highly unionized states, California.”

Whitman has promised that if she is elected, she will cut at least 40,000 state jobs and reexamine pension and benefit plans that are bankrupting the state. Her approach is similar to Governor Chris Christie’s of New Jersey, who has gone through multiple battles with the unions, and won. “The governor of New Jersey has taken on all of the unions across the board, including the most powerful union in the state, which is the teachers union,” said Crowley. “Chris Christie won that battle and he has now balanced [the budget], at least for this year, and has brought the $11B budget deficit in New Jersey into line by cutting spending.”

“We are in a completely unique political moment and it’s not just in California but across the country,” explained Crowley. “Voters are now saying stop the spending. We don’t want these entitlements. You’ve got to get our fiscal house in order and we’re willing to sustain pain.”

According to Crowley, the next California governor needs to follow in Gov. Christie’s steps; they simply don’t have a choice. Crowley said, “The only way you can bring these states back into fiscal shape is by cutting spending, going after the unions across the board, not just picking and choosing one union or singling them out but sharing the sacrifice.”