I never had illusions that S.B.5 would avoid a referendum. After all, when it comes to union activity, they have a history of pushing and shoving until they get what they want, so a referendum that is well financed by the union is a certainty one way or the other.
If I’m wrong, which is about as rare as an eclipse, I’ll be happy to buy Cunningham a hot fudge sundae from UDF. But my bet is that these new elements that exist in the political landscape will tip the balance of power in a new direction not to the liking of the public sector unions.
To display this argument I submit exhibit “A.” Witness David Letterman talking to Rand Paul and you can see how the world of yesterday “thought” and how the world of tomorrow will “think.”
In Ohio only 655,000 people belong to a union both public and private. That’s 13.7 percent of the 4,787,000 people employed in the state. Yet this minority has dictated an extraordinary expense upon the tax payers through taxes improperly collected and distributed.
The Republicans that are of that selfish ilk, they care about issues so long as their world is convenient. Those are the conservatives that have made the conservative philosophy look bad for years. They are Republicans because it makes them money. They are the first Judas’s to report to a Roman guard what goes on in the garden in order to save their own necks, and this again is a pathetic by-product of the unions which have subsequently weakened our society. Lawyers, and police heads that are Republicans, but benefit off of legal antics driven by union activity, they have difficulty thinking clearly. These people are the type of Republicans that say ending collective bargaining is a bad political move because the unions have the power to put the issue on a referendum to overturn such a law as S.B.5 proposes to do. Those Republicans are afraid that they will lose office holders in the next election if such bold legislation is created.
Do something bold, get rid of collective bargaining. Get rid of the money and influence built around the Democratic Party. And don’t play politics like it’s a football game where there are this many Republicans and this many Democrats and whoever has the majority wins. Take the chips off the table and the majority concerns with it. Take away the special interest of union influence and lets see what Ohioans really think politically, and we’ll have a better representation of what the state really wants from its elected officials.
If you are a frequent visitor to this site you know that Jeff isn’t an isolated politician when it comes to understanding reason. There are hundreds of hours of such conversations documented here just like the one you just heard. I admit there are hundreds of thousands of words written here and many hundreds of articles, videos and sound bites, so it can be overwhelming. That information is here like a library to help discuss topics that aren’t covered by the popular press. You can search for that information by checking the calendar off to the side of this article.
You can also pull them up by Googling “Overmanwarrior” along with whatever topic you want info for.
Some Senators have given the unions hope because of comments these Senators have made, and they are the targets of these protests. The protests are designed to break these senators’s resolve to reason out of fear from reprisal or the possibility of not being re-elected.
The reality is 15K, 20K or even 70K is not very many people. The real mass is out there in the plains and hills of Ohio, and they are busy working and watching. And if politicians waver from their task, those politicians will be removed and new ones put in place until reform does happen. It’s as simple as that.
Congratulations Jeff Berding for reaching across the aisle and showing the kind of boldness these times require. It may hurt politically in the short-term, but it will give you a proud story to tell your grandchildren someday when they are looking for a hero and you can offer them one with your grand story. Because doing what’s hard is what we take pride in when life darkens around us.
And Senator Sietze, I was inspired by your speech last year calling on Governor Strickland to “lead.” Well, now you have a Governor willing to “lead.”
I get the high and low negotiation process. I’ve done it myself many times. But when it comes to the kind of activity that goes on in collective bargaining, use the strong cards you have when you have them, and play the game to win in the long run. Not just to appease the current masses. It’s best to avoid a referendum process, but consider how many of those people in unions vote purely as Democrats because of their pay check. So long as there are public unions involved in politics we will never know what is the true nature of our Republic, because the numbers will always be skewed. Unions tell people how to vote and that’s a problem.
For the latest on what’s happening regarding School Choice up at the capital, here is some testimony from Representative Matt Huffman from Lima, Ohio given on February 16th, 2011. There are plans to expand the voucher program which is an encouraging sign for those of us that are pushing for 100% eligibility in the state.
As seen in Wisconsin, doctors have been on hand to pass out “false” doctors excuses so those teachers protesting can still retain their jobs. As groups like SEIU and the Huffington Post have put their resources to work in an attempt to apply “mass” bringing in people from out of the state to make the movement appear larger than it is, the reality is that hotel rooms and local economies are seeing business that they otherwise wouldn’t have experienced, and that is good for the cities of these protests. The protesters do not have the financial resources to maintain crowds of 70K or more for long. They will run out of sick days and vacation time in the not too distant future. The shock factor and media blitz will wear off and the reality of the situation will become obvious quickly. The true majority will finally have its voice heard over these loud chants from the minorities that pack these state houses. For the way to beat the protestors is to take away their quick emotional victory and spend them into their own destruction, which is what, will happen.
Let’s begin with Reed Larson from 1997, over a decade ago. American society knew we had a problem then, and nothing changed. We have the same issues now, as we did then. So listen to Mr. Larson.
Now, do you think Reed is speaking out of turn? Well, listen Bob Chanin from 2009. After 41 years as the nation’s top education lawyer, Chanin closes his last Representative Assembly as general counsel with a stirring address to more than 8,000 delegates. Who wants to pay for this kind of “power?” I don’t.
The problem is, these people tend to be radical and on the left side of our political spectrum. If there was more of a balance of all political types, it would have more merit, and justification. But what happens is many of the union members adopt left winged policies in trade for the financial security the unions provide.
And this is how unions bring people under their ranks and ensure that everyone toes the line.
Here is a non-union truck driver trying to deliver his load to a union construction site. It’s a little long, but worth watching because it shows why businesses would rather do business with Right to Work States. Look how unproductive this activity is.
And when it’s thought that this is all a right winged conspiracy, it’s not. If a guy like Jeff Smith was running in my district, I’d vote for him even though he’s a democrat. I admire Jeff, not because of this speech, but because he’s a very hard worker and wants to be in politics for all the right reasons.
Left leaning citizens are always quick to protest the destruction of whales, or deforestation. They’ll protest drilling for oil in Alaska, or the rights of the gay population. But who’s protesting the thuggish influence workers unions have on state and national economies? Who!
That’s not the exciting part. Actually, it’s deplorable that the system is exploring a levy in this economic climate. But we all know now, and this is one of the benefits of Senate Bill 5 introduced by Senator Shannon Jones, is that it seeks to eliminate step increases as a state law, which will give school boards much more control over their local finances, because as things stand today expanding school budgets are more or less out of our control. Thank the teachers union for that.
When S.B.5 is passed, it will help enormously with the type of budget problems that give districts an excuse to put levies on a ballot. So until a bill like S.B.5 is passed, we have to stop the growth of this entitlement culture by turning off the money supply through tax revenue. So Lebanon is a levy that must be defeated in May.
So to defeat a school levy, a good web site is very important and that’s why I am very proud to announce the creation of Lebanon Schools Facts.com http://lebanonschoolfacts.com/ that was created to bring the Lebanon Levy down in flaming defeat!
Their site is very impressive. It looks like they took what they liked from other web sites like the Mason site and the Lakota site and dramatically improved them for their own use. It’s packed with information and appears to be only the tip of the ice berg for what will prove to be an entertaining and informative election season. I have some preliminary information that has been sent to me, and once the information can be confirmed, that web site will be the place to break the info, and it will be very beneficial to helping the voters of Warren County decide if they want to support all this activity with a larger imposition on their property taxes.
When launched earlier in the week, the website had over 400 hits in its first 24 hours. Oddly within hours of the launch Joe Roberts resigned from his athletic director position. And before the election in May, there will be a lot more drama as the layers of hidden information gets peeled back to reveal what’s really at the core of this issue.
And be it known that I am fully behind the Anti-Levy effort of Lebanon. My goal at this point is reform at the state level and I believe throwing more money at public education in its current form is no different than paying off mob bosses in a Las Vegas Casino.
So trust me Lebanon Warriors, I dedicate this song to your cause and the lyrics of that song will be yours. It’s a song I listen to almost every day and I think it’s appropriate for you Lebanon Warriors. Listen to the words and enjoy the battle cry!
While these union protestors drive around listening to FM radio and following the current pop culture music trends, and watching popular TV shows like Two and a Half Men and laughing like fools at the adolescent humor of that show, they are ignoring the vast wealth of evidence that has emerged about the unsustainable path that America is on, and which they are participating in by practicing open extortion.
Many of my friends, some of them are seen in these pictures taken at the Rally at the State House on February 17, 2011, read a lot too. That’s why we’re friends because we enjoy learning things and we spend our spare time talking about the things we learn. My friends in the Tea Party are informed, speak for themselves, and are generally grounded people. The reason the Tea Party does not have a leader, is because that is not what the Tea Party is. America does not have leaders! The Tea Party does not have a leader!
The Tea Party Movement has been born because the people that don’t think with a “hive” mentality have been getting “stung” for years by the working bee union types that just keep scooping up the nectar of tax money and “coughing” it up for the queen, or whoever is their union leader. That money has then been used to buy political power that works against those original tax payers, so many of us have caught on to the scam.
American society was never intended to be a “hive” of any kind. It was supposed to be as the Tea Party is taking things, which is a society of individuals free of any queens or kings or leaders that are drunk on power.
So the Tea Party isn’t going away folks. If you are one of those “hive” workers, I’d advise you to use this site to your advantage. Listen to the radio broadcasts, read the material, watch the videos. I put them here to help you learn how to be self-reliant. I’m offering to help you break away from a “hive” mentality to save you from yourself. You’d be advised to use the material to your advantage.
But if you want to continue to be in the “hive” because you think there’s safety in numbers, you are betting on the wrong horse.
The Overmanwarrior 