The art of politics vs. the tea-party movement

Much of the electorate complains about political candidates who seemingly won't take a stand, telling people what they think they want to hear and talking about of both sides of their mouth.

The recent shenanigans by Republican politicians, most recently and notably Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, should provide a clue as to why that's the case.

You may recall that he singlehandedly caused a crisis in that state by trying to push a bill that, in essence, would render public-sector unions toothless by allowing them collective bargaining only on economic issues. Democratic members of the state's Senate left the state to avoid a vote (which they knew they'd lose). Walker has demanded that the eloping senators return; they said they would do so when, and only when, he was prepared to negotiate.

That's the key word here -- "negotiate."

What Walker and his supporters don't seem to realize is that politics, at least in a republican democracy such as ours, is the "art of the possible," the willingness to make deals -- to give a little here and take a little there -- to get things done. The conservative movement in general and the "tea-party" movement, of which Walker is a supporter, in particular by contrast brook no dissent and always attempt to dictate the outcome.

It may be learning now that, when you take a strong, uncompromising stand, you give people incentive to vote against you. Already there's talk about recalling numerous Republican state senators in Wisconsin as a result of this fiasco, and polls have shown that the majority of voters now oppose Walker's bill.

Let me give two examples from the fairly recent past. Back in 1995 President Clinton and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich did battle over the Federal budget; the trouble was that the new Gingrich Congress -- including 75 freshman Republicans elected on the Contract with America -- was in no mood to negotiate. Recognizing this, Clinton allowed the government to shut down twice and the public blamed Gingrich, who in the end nevertheless got what he wanted. Clinton, of course, waltzed to a second term.

Remember that President Obama signed that health-care insurance bill into law about a year ago. Thing is, the opponents, out of spite rather than negotiating in good faith, kept trying to throw up roadblocks to and later complained that he actually made some deals to get the bill passed. Well, duh -- that's how the game works. And now they have the audacity to think that they can get it repealed (despite figures that say that it would cost the country down the road).

The modern conservative movement, which in a 2009 op-ed in the Los Angeles Times Neal Gabler, who is writing a biography of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, referred to as "religion," has to understand that not only do a lot of people not agree with it but that it is now giving active opposition. The trouble is that, as a purist ideology, conservatism looks down upon anything that doesn't follow its tenets to the letter.

Right now, with huge, daily demonstrations in Madison, conservatives in private have likely referred to the protesters as "barbarians storming the gates." They need to understand that the progressives who have decided to fight back aren't going away and they should talk and listen to them if they want to stay in office.

Mayhem in Mad City

We probably should have seen this coming.

You are probably aware of the mass demonstrations taking place in Madison, Wis. in protest of a bill proposed by Gov. Scott Walker which protesters say would cripple public-sector labor unions. Democratic legislators who opposed the bill fled the capital, reportedly for Illinois, denying a quorum because they knew they didn't have the votes to defeat it outright.

Now, Wisconsin has a long history of progressive politics, so such action in that state may not surprise. I would suggest, however, that if this action is successful you'll see more of it around the country.

I say that because of the strong showing by Joe Sestak against eventual winner Pat Toomey in the race for U.S. Senate last year here in Pennsylvania, strong considering that at one point Sestak, as progressive a political candidate as there was here, was nearly 20 points behind in polls before his campaign began focusing on right-wing financial shenanigans. And as bad as the economy is and was for most folks, the idea that a privileged few were making out like bandits just didn't go over well, especially in a state with a strong tradition of organized labor -- which the political right, and thus the Republican Party that it all but owns, has overtly tried to destroy for the last 30 years.

Anyway, Wisconsin has provisions to recall legislators, and I understand that eight Republican members are eligible immediately for recall. If just three are taken down the legislature will become majority Democratic, enough to put the kibosh on that bill and any other legislation considered "anti-worker."

I don't yet know enough about either the specifics of Walker's bill to make a judgment on that or the issues that prompted the protest. I will say this, however: The days of the political right trying to roll over its opponents for political and financial gain may very well be coming to an end. If these demonstrations spark more protests around the country, a strong possibility given what's happening in the Middle East because of improved communication, we may -- may -- see a new chapter in the history of the union movement.