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发帖数: 29846 | 1 By DICK MORRIS & EILEEN MCGANN
Published on DickMorris.com
on March 11, 2011
Governor Scott Walker and the courageous Senate Republicans have struck a
massive blow for education reform and quality schools by their passage of
the restrictions on collective bargaining. Now it will be possible, in
Wisconsin, to limit teacher tenure -- discharging bad ones and promoting
good ones. Merit pay, rewarding great teachers with big salaries, will
follow. And, should layoffs be needed, we will be able to keep our best
teachers regardless of seniority.
Nationally, Walker’s courage impairs the power of the teachers union and
undermines the stranglehold it has on our politics. His initiatives, we
hope, will spread throughout the nation.
But all will hinge on the coming recall elections. It now appears likely
that the Democratic Senators will never return to the State Capitol in
Madison. They will probably not return to allow passage of the rest of
Walker’s program but will focus instead on their efforts to recall the
Republican Senators and Governor Walker himself.
In turn, the Republicans will file recall petitions against the absent
Democratic State Senators who have been AWOL throughout. Sometime between
July and October, the recall elections will be held and we will see who wins.
Thus, in effect, Wisconsin is going to put the issue to a statewide
referendum through the device of recall elections.
The balance of Walker’s program – still held in abeyance – seeks to make
state workers pay more for health insurance and pensions, force the union to
collect its dues rather than see them deducted automatically, and cap
collective bargaining agreements at the rate of inflation.
The course of the recall elections will determine the fate of his proposals
and the future of such movements across America.
The stakes could not be higher.
We plan an all-out effort to win these recall elections decisively and to
drive from office the absentee Democratic legislators. We will work hard to
help the Republicans and reward them for their courage in standing up for
our children in the face of the teachers unions.
If we win in Wisconsin, we will break the back of the teachers union and the
entire municipal employee labor structure which has dominated state and
local government for decades. The financial base of the left wing of the
Democratic Party will be in tatters.
But if we lose, other governors will shy away from the confrontation and the
union domination of our schools and local governments will continue,
sapping educational quality.
At stake is our ability to hold bad teachers accountable, promote good ones,
layoff based on merit not seniority, and to let parents choose the school
they want.
We will be back in touch to suggest ways to donate to help. We’ll also be
urging people to travel to Wisconsin to volunteer in person to save our
schools from the grip of rapacious union bosses. |
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