Wisconsin GOP holds off Democrats in recall elections

[ant1999e]

http://news.yahoo.com/wis-gop-holds-off-democrats-recall-elections-052219906.html

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republicans held onto control of the Wisconsin Senate on Tuesday, beating back four Democratic challengers in a recall election despite an intense political backlash against GOP support for Gov. Scott Walker's effort to curb public employees' union rights.
Fueled by millions of dollars from national labor groups, the attempt to remove GOP incumbents served as both a referendum on Walker's conservative revolution and could provide a new gauge of the public mood less than a year after Republicans made sweeping gains in this state and many others.
Two Democratic incumbents face recalls next week, but even if Democrats win those they will still be in the minority.
Turnout was strong in the morning and steady in the afternoon in communities such as Whitefish Bay, Menomonee Falls and Shorewood, where Sen. Alberta Darling was one of the four Republicans to hold onto her seat.
Tony Spencer, a 36-year-old laid-off carpenter from Shorewood, voted for Darling's challenger, Democratic state Rep. Sandy Pasch.
"I'm in a private union, so they haven't necessarily come after me," Spencer said. "But everybody should have the right to be in a union. I came out to stop all the union-bashing stuff."
John Gill, 45, of Menomonee Falls, voted for Darling and questioned the opposition's anti-GOP rhetoric, which went far beyond collective bargaining.
"This was all supposed to be about the workers' rights, so to speak. But that has not been brought up one time. It's all been misleading, the attack ads, things like that," Gill said. "The one reason they started this recall, they didn't bring up once."
Until this year, there had been only 20 attempts since 1913 to recall any of the nation's state lawmakers from office. Just 13 of the efforts were successful.
Also winning on Tuesday was Democratic state Rep. Jennifer Shilling of La Crosse, defeating incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Kapanke, who had been in the Senate since 2004. The other Republican ousted was first-term incumbent Sen. Randy Hopper of Fond du Lac, defeated by Democrat Jessica King, the former deputy mayor of Oshkosh.
Republican Sens. Sheila Harsdorf of River Falls, Rob Cowles of Allouez and Luther Olsen of Ripon all held onto their seats.
The stakes in Wisconsin were clearly much larger than control of the Senate. Democrats cast the recall results, in which they picked up two seats, as a rebuff of the Republican revolution started by Walker but it clearly wasn't all that they wanted. Both parties also were testing messages ahead of the 2012 presidential race, in which Wisconsin was expected to be an important swing state.
Republican and Democratic strategists were leery of reading too much into the results heading into next year's campaign.
The recall effort helped stir passions in the Democratic base "in ways we might never have been able to achieve on our own," said Roy Temple, a Democratic political consultant with extensive experience in the Midwest. But, he said, that doesn't mean the recall can offer much more than hints about broader trends.
"Wisconsin was a swing state before, and it will be after," Temple said. "Maybe (the recall) is a sign of strong intensity, and that's not meaningless, but it's not predictive."
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said the party was "all in" to win the races. A coalition of national unions spent millions on attack ads and other campaign activity to wrest seats from the Republicans. Conservative groups also spent millions.
It all amounted to a summer unlike any other in Wisconsin. More than $31 million was estimated to have been spent on the nine recall efforts, rivaling the $37 million spent on last year's governor's race.
"I feel that a lot of people didn't get their way, threw a crybaby fit and decided to have a recall. The majority of Wisconsin already voted," said 43-year-old Ross Birkigt of Menomonee Falls. "It's a shame that all of sudden this happens and that a lot of special-interest money gets poured into it. I'm kind getting sick of seeing this stuff on TV every single minute.
Republicans won control of both houses of the Legislature and the governor's office in the 2010 election just nine months ago.
The Legislature that had been approving Republican-backed bills in rapid succession would likely have ground to a halt if Democrats had won back the Senate. They would then have been able to block anything from passage without a bipartisan agreement.
Any newly elected senator will take office within 15 days, a brief window in which Republican Senate leaders could call a lame-duck session if they are about to lose control.
The races next Tuesday target Sens. Bob Wirch of Pleasant Prairie and Jim Holperin of Conover.

[epicSocialism4tw]

Wow.

The tide in this country is finally turning for the better.

People are seeing through these "democratic" gigantic big money special interest groups now...and they don't want it.

[ant1999e]

The people of Wisconsin have spoken. Unfortunately it won't stop the unions from trying to rob the taxpayers.

[cutthemdown]

Wow unions spent millions upon millions on this recall. I bet those pensions wish that money just went to them instead of political operatives paid to get signatures, to call people, advertising, lobbying, oh man what a mess. This is a huge huge loss and not a good sign for Obama winning Wisconsin.

[Boomhauer]

This "I want a do-over" crap is pathetic and a mockery of Democracy.
Recall elections are for serious offenses or dereliction of duty, not a loophole for cry-babies (Demos) and special interests (Unions) to abuse. While the recall of some Demos for dereliction (hiding in another state instead of doing their job) is a bit closer to what recalls are for, it's still a pathetic tit-for-tat and bet-hedging by Repubs in this case.

[Hogan11]

I wouldn't hold any victory parades for the Koch Brothers just yet. The GOP still lost two seats and could still lose a third if Darling is convicted of the crimes she's accused of.

2 out of 6 is very good for a recall and by far the most successful to date and insures that the recall effort will continue against Walker.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

^

Yep.

But it's amusing to watch make-it-up-as-you-go-along types like EpicBozo and his buddies hail this latest development as evidence of some sort of change in public sentiment re: the republi-cons at the national level when polls say just the opposite.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

EpicPinhead vs. Reality...


https://s-external.ak.fbcdn.net/safe_image.php?d=AQBSlWHDsUgCWpu7&w=90&h=90&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.addictinginfo.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F08%2Funclesam_gop_volun teer.jpg (http://www.addictinginfo.org/2011/08/09/america-really-really-hates-the-republican-congress/)America Really, Really Hates The Republican Congress (http://www.addictinginfo.org/2011/08/09/america-really-really-hates-the-republican-congress/)

(http://www.addictinginfo.org/) According to a new survey, a majority of Americans view Republicans unfavorably over Democrats, and most Americans don't believe their own member of congress deserves re-election. The survey also found that 51% of Americans have a negative view of the tea party.

[ant1999e]

EpicPinhead vs. Reality...


https://s-external.ak.fbcdn.net/safe_image.php?d=AQBSlWHDsUgCWpu7&w=90&h=90&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.addictinginfo.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F08%2Funclesam_gop_volun teer.jpg (http://www.addictinginfo.org/2011/08/09/america-really-really-hates-the-republican-congress/)America Really, Really Hates The Republican Congress (http://www.addictinginfo.org/2011/08/09/america-really-really-hates-the-republican-congress/)

(http://www.addictinginfo.org/) According to a new survey, a majority of Americans view Republicans unfavorably over Democrats, and most Americans don't believe their own member of congress deserves re-election. The survey also found that 51% of Americans have a negative view of the tea party.

Why don't you go ahead and post this left wing garabage in every thread.

[Garcia Bronco]

LOL..I believe the DEmocrats get their recall elections next week.

[cutthemdown]

LABF only telling one side of it. America pissed at anyone in office, from Obama, to the Dems, to the Repubs. What that means is a lot of all of them are going to lose. Some will be replaced by a new member from the same party. Some area will battleground out and switch sides. Not sure who will come out on top but none of this good news for Obama.

Obama is also hated right now and if Perry wins he could give him a run. Sure all of these guys have contradicitions and flop flops on the record. But Obama does also so he doesn't really win there. The main thing is though they aren't incumbents like Obama is.

[cutthemdown]

Also Bush SR had a 70% approval rating at this point and an economy in far better shape then Obama has. He lost on the economy! to Bill Clinton. So any dem thinking this is an easy election for Obama is kidding themselves. What would be funny is for repubs to win white house, lose Congress, and totally flip flop the stalemate.

Now that would be classic American politics right there.

[broncocalijohn]

I wouldn't hold any victory parades for the Koch Brothers just yet. The GOP still lost two seats and could still lose a third if Darling is convicted of the crimes she's accused of.

2 out of 6 is very good for a recall and by far the most successful to date and insures that the recall effort will continue against Walker.

The victory was when they got elected and held the majority vote. Losing 2 out of 6 still has them at the majority. I also heard something about how the teachers health care cost or money allocated to it is now at a major surplus because they can bid out for coverage....which was covered by the union company in the past. Seems the loopholes were shut there and looky here, they saved hundreds of thousands of dollars.

[Hogan11]

The victory was when they got elected and held the majority vote. Losing 2 out of 6 still has them at the majority.

By one seat and if the bribary allegations against Darling hold and sink her, then the Dems still could achieve thier initial aims (if they hold the two seats upcoming..and they should). In any event, the results were close enough to warrant proceeding against Walker in Nov. If they'd gained no seats and were beaten by double digits across the board, then the recall effort would've been abandoned.

I also heard something about how the teachers health care cost or money allocated to it is now at a major surplus because they can bid out for coverage....which was covered by the union company in the past. Seems the loopholes were shut there and looky here, they saved hundreds of thousands of dollars.

I'd love to see a link for this. Especially since, if true, it would go a long way towards torpedoing the notion that public employees have union provided low cost benefits that far exceed those in the private sector. One that so many base their whole Union hate/job envy thing upon.

[Rigs11]

LABF only telling one side of it. America pissed at anyone in office, from Obama, to the Dems, to the Repubs. What that means is a lot of all of them are going to lose. Some will be replaced by a new member from the same party. Some area will battleground out and switch sides. Not sure who will come out on top but none of this good news for Obama.

Obama is also hated right now and if Perry wins he could give him a run. Sure all of these guys have contradicitions and flop flops on the record. But Obama does also so he doesn't really win there. The main thing is though they aren't incumbents like Obama is.

polls have perry losing to obama by double digits. good luck though on the american public voting for another incompetent texan,who also warned of seceding.

[Smiling Assassin27]

Wow.

The tide in this country is finally turning for the better.

People are seeing through these "democratic" gigantic big money special interest groups now...and they don't want it.


Indeed, union flash mobs are not being allowed to do what they've always done--rig elections, strongarm citizens, and impose self interest on America. The bully's getting less and less scary across America. Sadly, the Dem flash mobs aren't done--they'll turn to violence as they always do.


Good on you, Wisconsin.

[broncocalijohn]

I'd love to see a link for this. Especially since, if true, it would go a long way towards torpedoing the notion that public employees have union provided low cost benefits that far exceed those in the private sector. One that so many base their whole Union hate/job envy thing upon.

Well, well, well, I got a link after googling it. Here is part of it that is very important.


"Changing to a different insurance company would save Hartland-Lakeside hundreds of thousands of dollars that could be spent on key educational priorities -- especially important since the cash-strapped state government was cutting back on education funding. But teachers union officials wouldn't allow it; the WEA Trust requirement was in the contract, and union leaders refused to let Hartland-Lakeside off the hook."


That's where Wisconsin's new budget law came in. The law, bitterly opposed by organized labor in the state and across the nation, limits the collective bargaining powers of some public employees. And it just happens that the Hartland-Lakeside teachers' collective bargaining agreement expired on June 30. So now, freed from the expensive WEA Trust deal, the school district has changed insurers. "It's going to save us about $690,000 in 2011-2012," says Schilling.

and other school districts?

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports the Pewaukee School District, not far from Hartland-Lakeside, will save $378,000 by next year by leaving WEA Trust. The Menomonee Falls School District, farther north, will reportedly save $1.3 million. Facing state cutbacks, the districts can't afford to overpay for union-affiliated coverage.

I suggest to read the whole thing at the link below. Another strong arm tactic by the unions shows that they are hurting the districts. Not sure if other unions have this in their bargaining agreements but you ask this school district how they like their options now. Small district saving almost $700k a year!


Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/politics/2011/07/wisconsin-schools-buck-union-cut-health-costs#ixzz1Uk9Ms7Ac

[alkemical]

Making a bad decision on the agreement doesn't make the Unions bad, it shows the ineffectiveness at the leadership positions for government.

Not that unions are blameless, but seriously - who wouldn't want to be able to make as much as they can while they can?

[broncocalijohn]

Making a bad decision on the agreement doesn't make the Unions bad, it shows the ineffectiveness at the leadership positions for government.

Not that unions are blameless, but seriously - who wouldn't want to be able to make as much as they can while they can?

In my post, it is taking from the school districts and lining up the non profit side business set up by the unions. You don't see a problem with that? No way of finding the best and least expensive insurance? Companies do it all the time but in WI, the collective bargaining agreement didnt allow the school districts to look for cheaper health insurance for their union workers.

[alkemical]

In my post, it is taking from the school districts and lining up the non profit side business set up by the unions. You don't see a problem with that? No way of finding the best and least expensive insurance? Companies do it all the time but in WI, the collective bargaining agreement didnt allow the school districts to look for cheaper health insurance for their union workers.

Again, bad decisions.

It's not all the Unions fault in many of these matters, it shows a lack of foresight, and often times "one hand washes the other". Without knowing all the details of many of these issues, I'm not in the position to say one side or the other is to blame. It really illustrates the ineffectiveness at all levels of the problem.

We are short term thinkers for the most part, also self serving - which leads to some problems where compromise becomes difficult.

What were the changes in the policies, has there been a history of one side or the other on reneging on a deal - what is the tension like between each organization, etc etc.

There's a bit of information that we aren't often privy too, that really illustrate where the bottlenecks or pain points are.

Again, i'm not pro-union as they are more or less now. I do support though the principles for which unions are supposed to do/stand for.

[ant1999e]

Making a bad decision on the agreement doesn't make the Unions bad, it shows the ineffectiveness at the leadership positions for government.

Not that unions are blameless, but seriously - who wouldn't want to be able to make as much as they can while they can?

Some employment sections shouldn't be all about what I can get. If you're out to get rich, public worker industry should not be the place for that. Let me explain: I've been in the military for 16 years. I didn't join to get rich, I joined to serve my country.
It should be about the honor of public service and a little bit of selflessness. The problem with many public services IMO, it use to be about pride and sense of responsibility to the community. Now, it's just a job and a responsibility to the union. I don't have a problem with private sector union but IMO public workers should not be barganing with elected officials who accept campain donations.

[alkemical]

Some employment sections shouldn't be all about what I can get. If you're out to get rich, public worker industry should not be the place for that. Let me explain: I've been in the military for 16 years. I didn't join to get rich, I joined to serve my country.
It should be about the honor of public service and a little bit of selflessness. The problem with many public services IMO, it use to be about pride and sense of responsibility to the community. Now, it's just a job and a responsibility to the union. I don't have a problem with private sector union but IMO public workers should not be barganing with elected officials who accept campain donations.

Those same elected officials receive campaign 'contributions' from corporations that also impact labor law/situations.

You are at a catch22:

If you don't offer competitive salaries/wages/benefits - you make the argument that you are attracting the least desirable to the job. (You have to pay for talent.) OR, you end up with some of the situations we are now. No easy solution - and disbanding unions won't really "save" anything. You'll just be trying to fill jobs @ $8/hr and wonder why the ineptitude falls even faster.

Agreeing to bad CBA's/Contracts though, is just bad business & decision making.

When it comes to school teachers, I don't have much "love" for teachers unions & school boards. School Boards here, set property value - so they can raise taxes. (Which inflates property value, again - a whole other conundrum.)

Also, in my state - The legislators (whom vote pay raises for themselves) - don't take pay cuts, their benefits are way better than anyone else, they have free* money to spend on cars, etc.

(It's also been rumored that AFSCME let Ed Rendell get his concessions with the State's Labor agreement - for better or worse - that works both ways it seems. The Union organization as a whole doesn't care, due to their self interest in dues - and the Gov't doesn't care due to helping to maintain tax rates are high - "recurring revenue.)

For the longest time Corporate was way above Government (State Work here anyway) in terms of pay/benefits, etc. After the .Com burst, that really started changing.

I know many quite a few stateworkers and many of them have not had pay raises for over 4 years, and have had severe cuts to their pay. Many of 'em aren't making a "ton" of $ either. So i'm not always sure how the small examples, distort the picture of the whole. (Well, I do - but that's another thread.)


Until action at the "top" coincides with the actual meaning of "cutting costs", I really don't take them seriously.

[epicSocialism4tw]

Indeed, union flash mobs are not being allowed to do what they've always done--rig elections, strongarm citizens, and impose self interest on America. The bully's getting less and less scary across America. Sadly, the Dem flash mobs aren't done--they'll turn to violence as they always do.


Good on you, Wisconsin.

You have to know that leading up to the election, these crazy extremist liberal groups like these union communist types are going to be out there wreaking havoc. I wouldn't be surprised at all if the Van Jones and Richard Trumka types out there are planning to riot. What our people do not understand about these demagogue leaders on the far left is that they do not have the same political philosophies or values that the majority of Americans do. They do not believe in individual liberties or human rights. They are more than willing to commit violence to promote their cause. These subversives are not good for our country at all.

The good people of our country need to lead the way with peaceful responses and show the country the right way to handle these situations.

[broncocalijohn]

Oh Epic, you are going to get nailed for that last post.

[TheDave]

It cost around $40 million to run an election for 6 senate seats and people are cheering?

When it cost nearly $7 million to run for a state senate seat "We the people" are absolutely screwed.

I don't see where the good news is.

[alkemical]

It cost $40 million to run election for 6 senate seats and people are cheering?

When it cost nearly $7 million to run for a state senate seat "We the people" are absolutely screwed.

I don't see where the good news is.

It's all the communists fault TheDave. All of it.

[El Minion]

You have to know that leading up to the election, these crazy extremist liberal groups like these union communist types are going to be out there wreaking havoc. I wouldn't be surprised at all if the Van Jones and Richard Trumka types out there are planning to riot. What our people do not understand about these demagogue leaders on the far left is that they do not have the same political philosophies or values that the majority of Americans do. They do not believe in individual liberties or human rights. They are more than willing to commit violence to promote their cause. These subversives are not good for our country at all.

The good people of our country need to lead the way with peaceful responses and show the country the right way to handle these situations.

LOL, no wait..... Hilarious!

Anders Behring Breivik disgrees
http://solariasun.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/anders-behring-breivik-plastic-surgery.jpg

Scott Roeder concurs with Anders Behring Breivik
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_k07pirzBU34/SjZ6KgnsnZI/AAAAAAAABa4/Q2sUcXW0P7k/s400/256-0614_scott_roeder_06-14-2009_T71A1AUD.embedded.prod_affiliate.81

[TheDave]

It's all the communists fault TheDave. All of it.

Commie scares are so 1950's... ;D

[El Minion]

polls have perry losing to obama by double digits. good luck though on the american public voting for another incompetent texan,who also warned of seceding.

I think it be dangerous to underestimate southern christians evangelicals, especially with a moooslem in the WH. Perry is the only southern christian and they stick to their own (http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/18/paging-rick-perry-how-a-southerner-could-sweep-to-the-g-o-p-nomination/) regardless of self interest. The secession talk helps the southern state retard base because they don't see the irony in voting for secessionist Texas Governor Perry for the president of the United States of America. They just see white male southern christian evangelical.


[...]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2208/5735070906_0fe32dca79.jpg

If a candidate dominates the South — and it’s much easier for a Southern candidate to do that — he’ll have made a lot of headway into winning the votes and delegates that he’ll need to secure his party’s nomination. Certainly there have been regional and factional candidates — think George Wallace, for example — who did well in the South but poorly elsewhere. But a candidate like Mr. Perry, who would have advantages like fundraising and establishment support that would extend to all corners of the country, might be more like Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, doing very well in the South and still well enough outside of it to win his party’s nomination.

For a Republican candidate, in fact, this advantage may be especially powerful because of a demographic quirk related to Iowa, the first and most important state in the nominating process. Some 60 percent of Iowa Republican voters are born-again Christians (http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/epolls/#IAREP) — about the same fraction as in many Southern states (http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/epolls/#IAREP). That’s why Southern Republicans have done so well in the state.

Now we can imagine an even more advantageous path for a candidate like Mr. Perry. He’d stand a good chance at doing well in Iowa, and if he did, he’d probably follow it up with a win in South Carolina, and possibly also Florida. And then he’d pick up plenty of delegates in the Southern states that voted on Super Tuesday and beyond — including of course Texas, which itself accounts for 140 delegates.

So don’t sell the Southern Republicans short yet — the advantages the primary system offers to candidates like Mr. Perry could be more than enough to make up for a late start.

[epicSocialism4tw]

Oh Epic, you are going to get nailed for that last post.

I'm not concerned that the rank and file devotees to the god of far left extremism may be offended by shining the light on their affiliates.

The far left's crazy dependents have been rioting in Europe for awhile now.

Now the far left is rioting in Israel and in England.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/content/dailybeast/articles/2011/08/08/london-riots-spread-photos-videos-and-tweets/_jcr_content/body/inlineimage.img.jpg/1312916244218.jpg

We're next.

[El Minion]

LOL The far left now includes young people, retired couples, working middle classes, farmers and families protesting for a more responsive and representative government to their needs. How dare they demand a change in the system that has them sliding down the economic ladder, those ungrateful Israelis. Hilarious! Right! protests=riots Hilarious! next you're going to start calling them terrorists and then soon Godwin's law comes into effect and the protesters are Nazi's, Israeli Nazi's! Hilarious!



Protests Grow in Israel, With 250,000 Marching (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/07/world/middleeast/07jerusalem.html?_r=2&ref=israel)
By ISABEL KERSHNER
Published: August 6, 2011

JERUSALEM — At least 250,000 Israelis took to the streets on Saturday night to demonstrate against the high cost of living and lack of affordable housing, the largest in three weeks of protests aimed at forcing social and economic issues onto the government’s agenda.

The popular protest movement, which crosses the traditional Israeli political lines of left and right, began with a Facebook call to pitch tents along a stylish Tel Aviv boulevard. A tent city sprang up, and smaller ones have mushroomed in parks all over Israel.

The young organizers, who struck a chord in a society that has long been quiescent on domestic issues, have expressed surprise at the number of Israelis who have joined their struggle.

An estimated 200,000 turned out on Saturday night in Tel Aviv, and 30,000 in Jerusalem, according to the police. Several thousand held smaller demonstrations in other cities, adding up to one of the largest protests in recent Israeli history. Israeli television put the total at more than 300,000. Popular singers performed at the rallies in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as the crowds raised chants paraphrasing demonstrators around the Arab world, saying, “The people demand social justice.”

“We know that we cannot achieve everything,” Itzik Shmuly, the chairman of the National Union of Students, acknowledged from the podium in Tel Aviv. “But living here has become impossible, and we will not accept it.”

The wave of protests has been largely driven by Israel’s working middle classes, who are afflicted by rising costs of basics like housing, food and gasoline, and by high taxation. At the same time, the country’s social services have been shrinking and there is a growing gap between the rich and poor.

In Tel Aviv and Jerusalem young people, retired couples and families marched.

Ayelet Kol, a 37-year-old graphic designer in Tel Aviv, said she has been fighting a losing battle to get by financially even though she downsized into a one-room studio apartment, canceled her gym membership and cable subscription and has entirely cut out meeting friends at restaurants.

“Until now most people thought it was their fault that they could not get by,” she said, “but now they are realizing it’s hard for everyone and that they are not alone.”

The social awakening has come in the middle of what had so far been a quiet domestic term for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. While his coalition government appears to be stable for now, the sweeping protests have undermined his popularity.

Under pressure, Mr. Netanyahu announced a series of measures late last month meant to alleviate the housing shortage. The organizers dismissed them as insufficient. Mr. Netanyahu said he would set up a committee of senior officials and experts to dialog with the protest leaders.

The organizers have been careful to avoid party politics in order to preserve the broad appeal of the movement.

“We are not asking to change the prime minister,” Stav Shafir, one of the founders of the Tel Aviv tent city, said on Israeli television on Saturday. “We are asking to change the system.”

Dina Kraft contributed reporting from Tel Aviv.

[El Minion]

Sounds familiar. Wealthy elite dominating and controlling the economy and government.

Swelling list of demands fuels Israel protests (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6b9d9c08-c299-11e0-9ede-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=rss#axzz1UlUIur54)

By Tobias Buck in Jerusalem


Israel’s social protest movement (http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/531520ce-be94-11e0-ab21-00144feabdc0.html) started with a tent on Tel Aviv’s Rothschild Boulevard and a few voices demanding affordable housing. In less than a month it has grown into a national phenomenon – and perhaps the most serious challenge yet to the government of Benjamin Netanyahu (http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/a5eddf72-c103-11e0-b8c2-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1UPjCEwH5).

Last Saturday, more than 250,000 Israelis took to the street to call for social reform. Tent cities have sprung up across the country, drawing in an ever-expanding cast of protesters – from students to pensioners, and Holocaust survivors to taxi drivers.

In a striking procession of strollers, young parents marched through Tel Aviv to demand better childcare. Dairy farmers, meanwhile, decided to flood a busy intersection with milk in an effort to highlight their low income.

The demands, too have grown. What started out as a protest against housing costs has morphed into calls for a sweeping overhaul of Israel’s economy and society: the protesters want a new taxation system (lower indirect taxes, higher direct taxes), free education and childcare, an end to the privatisation of state-owned companies and more investment in social housing and public transport. There is talk of imposing price controls on basic goods and a broader desire to see an end to “neo-liberal” government policies.

In some ways, the sudden eruption of social discontent is surprising: Israel’s economy is set to grow by an impressive 3.7 per cent this year. Unemployment hovers at just over 7 per cent and is even lower in the greater Tel Aviv area, the centre of the protests.

What the economic indicators fail to convey, however, is the profound sense of frustration felt by members of Israel’s struggling middle class. Many have good degrees and decent jobs but still find they are unable to make ends meet.

Property prices have soared in recent years and the cost of many goods and services remains stubbornly high. Indeed, widespread anger over the high price of cottage cheese – an Israeli breakfast staple – led to a popular campaign against the dairy industry just weeks before the first tent was set up in Tel Aviv.

The reasons for this state of affairs are many and not all fit neatly into the protesters’ narrative. More than 90 per cent of land in Israeli is still in the public domain – a key reason, some analysts say, for the dearth of cheap housing. The lack of competition is another important factor: in sectors such as banking and retail, the Israeli market is simply too small and isolated to attract foreign companies. Competition is further undermined by the oligopolistic structure of the Israeli economy, which is dominated by a handful of sprawling family-controlled conglomerates.

Economic pain aside, the protests also draw on a very particular form of Israeli nostalgia. To most outsiders, the recent transformation of the Israeli economy from a high-inflation basket-case into a high-tech powerhouse is an unmitigated success story. Yet many Israelis, regardless of their wealth and social status, say they still long for a return to the years when the country was less materialistic and more egalitarian. Even in cosmopolitan Tel Aviv, the ideals of the kibbutz live on.

A final cause for the surge in Israeli discontent is a diffuse but widespread sense that the state is falling under the sway of small but powerful interest groups: Israel’s clique of business tycoons is one such group. The fast-growing ultra-Orthodox community and Israel’s West Bank settlers are other examples.

The ultra-Orthodox have long drawn the ire of Israel’s more secular middle class. Not only do they depend on generous state handouts to support their large families, but most also refuse to serve in the Israeli army. The settlers, meanwhile, enjoy cheap, subsidised housing and benefit from public services that are far superior to those available to Israelis living inside the Green Line.

Until now, the protesters have shied away from targeting the privileges awarded to settlers and the ultra-Orthodox. They fear that any overt political statement against specific groups will fracture the movement and break its momentum.

Mr Netanyahu, for one, will be hoping that this reluctance continues. His coalition government is deeply dependent on the support of lawmakers from pro-settler and ultra-Orthodox parties. Discord on the streets is bad enough for the prime minister. Conflict and strife inside Mr Netanyahu’s unwieldy coalition may be even worse.

[Popcorn Sutton]

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[Play2win]

Commie scares are so 1950's... ;D

Actually EpicMcCarthyism4tw has a nice ring to it...