Wisconsin Governor Pranked by Pretend Koch Brother Confirming Union Busting Motive
113 replies, posted
[release]
MADISON, Wis. – On a prank call that quickly spread across the Internet, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker was duped into discussing his strategy to cripple public employee unions, promising never to give in and joking that he would use a baseball bat in his office to go after political opponents.
Walker believed the caller was a [B]conservative billionaire named David Koch[/B], but it was actually a liberal blogger. The two talked for at least 20 minutes — a conversation in which the governor described several potential ways to pressure Democrats to return to the Statehouse and revealed that [B]his supporters had considered secretly planting people in pro-union protest crowds to stir up trouble.[/B]
[B]The call also revealed Walker's cozy relationship with two billionaire brothers who have poured millions of dollars into conservative political causes, including Walker's campaign last year.[/B]
Walker compared his stand to that taken by President Ronald Reagan when he fired the nation's air-traffic controllers during a labor dispute in 1981.
[B]
"That was the first crack in the Berlin Wall and led to the fall of the Soviets,"[/B] Walker said on the recording.
The audio was posted on the Buffalo Beast, a left-leaning website in New York, and quickly went viral.
Editor Ian Murphy told The Associated Press he carried out the prank to show how candidly Koch would speak with Walker even though, according to Democrats, he refuses to return their calls.
Murphy said he arranged the call Tuesday after speaking with two Walker aides, including his chief of staff. He made the call using Skype and recorded it.
Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie [B]confirmed that it Walker's voice on the call.
[/B]
The governor said he was ratcheting up the pressure on Senate Democrats to return to the Capitol a week after they fled to block the legislation. He said he supported a move to require them to come to the Capitol to pick up their paychecks rather than have them deposited directly.
[Related: [URL="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_re_us/storytext/us_wisconsin_budget_unions/40350203/SIG=10n9p1hg2/*http://yhoo.it/ffZKym"]History of stalling tactics in politics[/URL]]
He also floated an idea to [B]lure Democratic senators back to the Capitol for negotiations[/B] and then have the Senate [B]quickly pass the bill while they are in talks.[/B]
[B]Walker said aides were reviewing whether the GOP could hold a vote if Democrats were not physically in the Senate chamber but elsewhere in the building.[/B]
Democrats seized on Walker's recorded comments as evidence that the governor plans to go beyond budget cuts to crushing unions.
"This isn't about balancing the budget. This is about a political war," Rep. Jon Richards of Milwaukee yelled Wednesday on the floor of the state Assembly.
[Related: [URL="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_re_us/storytext/us_wisconsin_budget_unions/40350203/SIG=10n65mnbd/*http://yhoo.it/eZRzZf"]First person: Wis. budget bill threatens my family[/URL]]
The governor's plan would [B]strip most public employees of their collective bargaining rights[/B] and force them to pay more for their health care and retirement benefits. [B]Unions could not collect mandatory dues and would face a vote of its members every year to stay in existence[/B].
The proposal has set off more than a week of protests at the Capitol.
The GOP-controlled state Assembly began debating the bill Tuesday and was still hearing dozens of Democratic amendments nearly 24 hours later before taking a break. Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald said he expected to take a vote on the bill by the end of the day.
On the call, Walker said he [B]expected the anti-union movement to spread across the country and he had spoken with the governors of Ohio and Nevada[/B]. The man pretending to be Koch seemed to agree, telling Walker, "You're the first domino."
"Yep, this is our moment," Walker responded.
The remarks showed Walker's private relationship with David Koch. [B]He and his brother, Charles, own Koch Industries Inc., which is the largest privately-owned company in America and has significant operations in Wisconsin. [/B]
Its political action committee gave [B]$43,000 to Walker's campaig[/B]n, and David Koch gave [B]$1 million to the Republican Governors' Association[/B], which funded ads attacking Walker's opponent in last year's election.
[Related: [URL="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_re_us/storytext/us_wisconsin_budget_unions/40350203/SIG=10nudni4i/*http://yhoo.it/hqZdW6"]Comparison of state anti-union bills[/URL]]
The Kochs also [B]give millions to support Americans For Prosperity[/B], a conservative business group that launched a [B]$320,000 television ad campaign in favor of Walker's legislation[/B] Wednesday.
On the recording, after Walker said he would be willing to meet with Democratic leaders, the caller said he should bring a baseball bat to negotiations.
Walker laughed and responded that he had "a slugger with my name on it."
The caller suggested he was thinking about [B]"planting some troublemakers" among the protesters, and Walker said his administration had thought about doing that, too, but decided against it. [/B]Walker said the protests eventually would die because the media would stop covering them.
At the end of the call, the prankster says:[B] "I'll tell you what Scott, once you crush these bastards, I'll fly you out to Cali and really show you a good time." [/B]
[B] "All right, that would be outstanding," [/B]Walker replies, adding that the standoff is[B] "all about getting our freedoms back" [/B]
The caller: "Absolutely. And you know, we have a little bit of vested interest as well" and laughs.
Werwie, the governor's spokesman, said the phone call "shows that the governor says the same thing in private as he does in public and the lengths that others will go to disrupt the civil debate Wisconsin is having."
Walker's budget bill also allows his administration to [B]sell power plants that heat and cool state buildings to private companies without any bids. [/B]
Critics have seized on this provision, saying they are convinced the [B]Koch brothers' business interests would be able to buy power plants on the cheap, and then profit by running them and driving up the price of energy.[/B]
Koch Industries has denied any interest in buying the plants, and Walker's administration argues the private sector, not state government, should run the facilities.
Republicans tried to privatize Wisconsin's power plants in 2005, but the plan was vetoed by Gov. Jim Doyle.
Immediately after taking office, Walker also pushed for legislation that would[B] limit damage awards in lawsuits against many businesses[/B].
[B]Koch Industries lobbied for the bill[/B], and Walker signed it into law last month. Walker is also pushing for another [B]Koch Industries-backed bill to weaken state regulations by giving him the power to approve all rules proposed by agencies[/B], a proposal that is moving quickly through the Legislature.
Koch Industries recently opened a lobbying office in downtown Madison a block from the Capitol. Seven lobbyists have registered in Wisconsin to lobby for various Koch Industries companies.
Even before recordings of the call surfaced, the [B]government watchdog group Common Cause in Wisconsin released a statement saying Walker's agenda matched with that of Koch Industries.
[/B]
"Koch Industries and other corporate citizens have legitimate interests in Wisconsin, but their demonstrated willingness to push large amounts of money into state politics has given them a dangerously outsized voice," said Bob Edgar, the group's national president. That voice, he said, is "now demanding a return on its investments."[/release]
[URL]http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110223/ap_on_re_us/us_wisconsin_budget_unions_153[/URL]
(Left some of the related articles in there. Pretty informative)
Wow no one saw this coming :rolleyes:. So Glaber it's pretty clear this corrupt bastard isn't trying to balance the budget but returning the favor for millions of dollars of "contributions" (read:bribes) so let's see what you have to say.
What Glaber might say (from comments):
[quote=Mighty Mouse][B]I don't care what the governor said or even have a desire to listen to it.[/B] The one thing it does show is that the socialist democrats will do anything by any means necessary to ruin someones life if possible. Unions are the same as the socialist democrats. Whats mine is mine and whats yours is mine. They could care less if the rest of the country sinks as long as they get what they want. Its ruining the nation for everyone.[/quote]
[quote=Steve]I say dont show up for work and we start a recall.
You didnt see republicans running when they forced onigracare on us did you? No they stayed and worked.
Democraps show just how power hungry they are if they dont get there way they run. And there way is always the same, take from real workers and give to the lazy people who dont want to work for themselves, illegal immegrents, and of course themselves which is pretty much the same as the lazy people.
Government is to big and we need another civil war to start freedom anew.[/quote]
Informative comments:
[quote=Mala]For all those saying that recording a phone call is against the law - some clarification - Wisconsin is a One Party state on recording. That means so long as 1 party of a conversation knows it is being recorded it is legal.[/quote]
[quote=Big Dog]USA TODAY...law that cuts collective bargaining rights of public unions... 61% oppose cutting...33% favor cutting. Majority rules in representative democracy. I guess this must be the "silent majority" as opposed to the "whiny minority".[/quote]
Edit:
The recordings
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBnSv3a6Nh4[/media]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3a2pYGr7-k[/media]
[URL="http://youtube.com/watch?v=Z3a2pYGr7-k"][/URL]
Well I know that lobbying is covered by the right to petition and everything, but that's no excuse to be a scumbag, Walker. :colbert:
onigracare?
:crossarms:
Haha wow, this guy isn't even good at prank calling and Walker fell for it so bad.
[quote="Big Dog"]I guess this must be the "silent majority" as opposed to the "whiny minority".[/quote]
But the original protests were against the cuts, so how are they silent?
Glad to see his intentions have been confessed.
Hope the son of a bitch gets locked up for years. Surely something he's done is illegal.
Well isn't he a shady fellow.
this is journalism :911:
[editline]23rd February 2011[/editline]
also i think it's a good idea for people to read up on [URL="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/30/100830fa_fact_mayer"]The Koch Brothers[/URL] because they are the single most culpable entity in the current insanty of the american right wing. like if this were deus ex and the tea parties were MJ12, the koch brothers would be Walton Simons
this is interesting, to say the least
where's glaber been for the last day or two? he hasn't defended his dumb shit for a bit now.
[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;28250394]where's glaber been for the last day or two? he hasn't defended his dumb shit for a bit now.[/QUOTE]
Is this defendable?
I think it's time for a good ol' fashioned impeachment
[QUOTE=ToXiCsoldier;28251113]Is this defendable?[/QUOTE]You'd be surprised at what he tries to defend.
Glaaaaaaaaaaaaaaberrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr come out to plaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyiayyyy
[QUOTE=Zeke129;28251139]I think it's time for a good ol' fashioned impeachment[/QUOTE]
Ha! like that will work.
An impeachment would never pass the 2/3rds majority in the Wisconsin Senate, let alone the 50% majority in the House.
*yawns* Oh, excuse me.
*looks at possible Glaber responses*
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3y3QoFnqZc[/media]
I have seen, and heard, the call on Fox news over at Grandpa's house and personally I thought he realized it was a prank sometime into the call and decided to have some fun with it as well as sticking to his guns. But from the sounds of the interview I found while typing this reply ([url]http://video.foxnews.com/v/4554135/wis-governor-no-wrongdoing-during-prank-call[/url]) he didn't know who this caller was, nor did he even meet with the Koch (heard pounced Coke) brothers. Either way, walker is not going to give up on his bill, even if it means the Democrats never return, or the Democrats wind up running out of money out of fear of passage of the bill. (The Wis. Democrats have to pick up their pay checks in person now. No more direct deposit.)
[url]http://video.foxnews.com/v/4553535/wisconsin-democrats-still-in-hiding[/url]
[url]http://video.foxnews.com/v/4552740/are-awol-wisconsin-democrats-being-paid[/url]
[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;28250394]where's glaber been for the last day or two? he hasn't defended his dumb shit for a bit now.[/QUOTE]
At Grandpa's helping him when needed. I drove there my self too. (Show me a 12 year old who can legally drive). Also I left my Laptop at home as Grandpa's condition has gotten worse to the point where he needs help moving around, and my laptop would be to much of a distraction.
[QUOTE=Glaber;28260307] I thought he realized it was a prank sometime into the call and decided to have some fun with it as well as sticking to his guns. [/QUOTE]
this isn't really reasonable. If he knew it was a prank call (for which there is no evidence) he would certainly not said anything as incriminating as he did.
[QUOTE=Glaber;28260307]*yawns* Oh, excuse me.
*looks at possible Glaber responses*
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3y3QoFnqZc[/media]
I have seen, and heard, the call on Fox news over at Grandpa's house and personally I thought he realized it was a prank sometime into the call and decided to have some fun with it as well as sticking to his guns. But from the sounds of the interview I found while typing this reply ([url]http://video.foxnews.com/v/4554135/wis-governor-no-wrongdoing-during-prank-call[/url]) he didn't know who this caller was, nor did he even meet with the Koch (heard pounced Coke) brothers. Either way, walker is not going to give up on his bill, even if it means the Democrats never return, or the Democrats wind up running out of money out of fear of passage of the bill. (The Wis. Democrats have to pick up their pay checks in person now. No more direct deposit.)
[url]http://video.foxnews.com/v/4553535/wisconsin-democrats-still-in-hiding[/url]
[url]http://video.foxnews.com/v/4552740/are-awol-wisconsin-democrats-being-paid[/url]
At Grandpa's helping him when needed. I drove there my self too. (Show me a 12 year old who can legally drive). Also I left my Laptop at home as Grandpa's condition has gotten worse to the point where he needs help moving around, and my laptop would be to much of a distraction.[/QUOTE]
Glaber, I'll give you a heart for the grandpa thing, I know how that situation is, and you have my honest sympathy.
As for the rest of it, man, [b]He's union busting![/b] There's nothing good about union busters or getting rid of unions. Unions are pretty damn essential to the commerce of the nation at a working mans level. Getting rid of unions/removing their power makes the workers vulnerable and weak.
As well as what SigmaLambda has said here.
Oh no, novistador dumbd me, whatever shall i do when our resident dumbass dumbs me?!
If I recall correctly, the workers who were protesting even tried to say that they would take the cuts as long as they kept their bargaining rights, so that when the economy turned around, they had the ability to get the money back. Walker still refused.
Glaber look, no, look, stop beating that homeless person and look for a second:
You can't defend this.
It makes you look like a fucking tool.
...
More so than your normal posts.
[media]http://i.imgur.com/RrTM5.jpg[/media]
Glaber it's okay for you to admit you were wrong.
[QUOTE=Habsburg;28263138]Glaber it's okay for you to admit you were wrong.[/QUOTE]
That'd mean his entire viewpoint is wrong, thus most of his posts are wrong.
I'll accept him admitting he was wrong in this particular case.
Miskav, who writes your logic? This doesn't work unless what I admit to being wrong to is being a conservative, being anti union, believing Fox is a New station and that even where you get your news from also isn't perfect.
Now the facts are the Wis. Democrats have ran away, The Ind. Democrats have ran away, more governors are now taking on the unions, and right now Unions are in the fight of their life and the non-union people are siding against them.
Now I know I was wrong in thinking Walker realized it was a prank during the call. I didn't figure that out until I found the interview during when I was putting together my post. If you look at the post again, you will see the word "thought". Not think, the present tense of the word. Thought, the Past tense of the word. This means I don't think that any more.
In regards to Union busting, If that's the motivation then fine. I support that. Reason: I want the Right to Work and not be forced into a Union that WILL support Democrats with MY Dues money. The Unions served their purpose, and now they're just overstaying their welcome.
If the motivation is the Budget, I support that too. Either way I support what Walker is doing in Wisconsin because Unions have gone unchallenged for far too long.
Yeah, unions getting rights for workers is certainly overstaying their welcome glaber.
I hope you do get a non union job. Then, after 5 years, you realize, you've been fucked.
And Fox news isn't legally considered a news station, they have the authority to lie on air. I know you don't understand what the means yet, but maybe one day you will.
I bet if conservatives/fox told you that it was time to become a theocracy, or something close, you'd be okay with that.
I use to have one. I only left because it was considered Financial aid and was tied to continued enrollment in college and I stopped taking classes to go find a new job. (I use to be a maintenance and housekeeping work study)
[QUOTE=Glaber;28264470]Miskav, who writes your logic? This doesn't work unless what I admit to being wrong to is being a conservative, being anti union, believing Fox is a New station and that even where you get your news from also isn't perfect.
Now the facts are the Wis. Democrats have ran away, The Ind. Democrats have ran away, more governors are now taking on the unions, and right now Unions are in the fight of their life and the non-union people are siding against them.
Now I know I was wrong in thinking Walker realized it was a prank during the call. I didn't figure that out until I found the interview during when I was putting together my post. If you look at the post again, you will see the word "thought". Not think, the present tense of the word. Thought, the Past tense of the word. This means I don't think that any more.
In regards to Union busting, If that's the motivation then fine. I support that. Reason: I want the Right to Work and not be forced into a Union that WILL support Democrats with MY Dues money. The Unions served their purpose, and now they're just overstaying their welcome.
If the motivation is the Budget, I support that too. Either way I support what Walker is doing in Wisconsin because Unions have gone unchallenged for far too long.[/QUOTE]
:hurr:
When Blagojevich tried to sell Obama's senate seat back in 08 you probably railed against him with the rest of us for being corrupt as all get out. Now that Walker has tried to sell out the teachers, public workers, and power plants as kickback to the companies who paid for his campaign, you vouch for him, and pledge your support to his decisions. I hope you realize that your integrity is exactly equivalent to the integrity of those you stand behind.
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