Republicans Hate Unions: Are They Right, Or Just Right-Wing? What the Budget Facts Show

An analysis of the relationship between State Budgets that have unions, and those which do not (the pertinent part is about 3 - 3.5 minutes in) from Chris Hayes, guest host, the Rachel Maddow Show 2/22/'11:

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So, is it ONLY public sector unions - the majority of union membership - that is the problem for Republicans (and Tea Partiers)? No, because in Indiana, the Right-wing is going after PRIVATE sector unions!  Keep watching - about 6 minutes in.  Watch the whole video to understand the full nature of the relationships going on.

I tracked down that graph in the video here:

Just saw this story on Maddow, and decided to post. Basically, the data renders false the argument being made by Republican Governors that public union largess is somehow a significant factor in their budgetary shortfall. These representatives are not basing any of this on fact but pure ideological nonsense. From the graph, a couple examples were noted: NC and AZ do not have collective bargaining, but are among the highest deficits (as a % or budget). Conversely, states like ID, SD and even NY which have comparable or higher % of public union employees are actually running lower deficit factors. Also providing the list of states with their collective bargaining policies for your further analysis and edification.

http://www.themonkeycage.org/assets_c/2011/02/unionsanddeficits2-327.html

http://www.naen.org/CB%20Systems/ECS%20State%20CB%20Policies.pdf

Rachel Maddow summed it up:

"Republicans understand that the business interests that support them have always wanted to get rid of unions -- as it has always been and as it will always be. But more directly, Republicans understand sources of Democratic political power, and they understand sources of Democratic political power well enough to be focused across the country on how they can destroy those institutions."

Don't underestimate just how MUCH the political right wants to get rid of unions - by fair means or foul.  Mother Jones reports that the Tea Partiers planned to infiltrate 'Union Goons', pretending to be union members who behave badly, carry offensive signage and wear t-shirts intended to discredit the REAL union members:

Tea Party Leader Plans to Infiltrate Union "Goons"
— By Adam Weinstein

Sun Feb. 20, 2011 5:23 PM PST.Last year, Mark Williams was tossed out of the Tea Party Express for his racially insensitive NAACP parody. (Three weeks later, he took the helm of an upstart tea party group.) Now, he wants to sow mayhem among "the union goons in Wisconsin" and elsewhere. According to a post on his blog today, Williams is seeking volunteers to pose with him as members of the Service Employees International Union at a Sacramento, California, rally, to act like angry fools and get the union workers bad publicity from "lazy reporters":

"we are going to target the many TV cameras and reporters looking for comments from the members there (5) we will approach the cameras to make good pictures… signs under our shirts that say things like “screw the taxpayer!” and “you OWE me!” to be pulled out for the camera (timing is important because the signs will be taken away from us) (6) we will echo those slogans in angry sounding tones to the cameras and the reporters."

Williams later updated the post to report that tea partiers in multiple states, including Iowa, Colorado, and Massachusetts, were calling in to plan "their own creative ruses" for embarrasing the union demonstrators. "Several have also reminded me that we have a distinct advantage in that the SEIU primarily represents non-English speaking illegal aliens so we will be the ones whose comments will make air!!!!" he wrote:

"Our goal is to make the gathering look as greedy and goonish as we know that it is, ding their credibility with the media and exploit the lazy reporters who just want dramatic shots and outrageous quotes for headlines. Even if it becomes known that we are plants the quotes and pictures will linger as defacto truth."

Thus far, demonstrations and counterdemonstrations in Madison, Wisconsin, have been peaceful, according to reporting by MJ's own Andy Kroll. Anti-union protesters, led by media mogul Andrew Breitbart, GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain, and "Joe the Plumber," largely fizzled after a rally on Saturday. And the image of union workers that Williams seeks to portray seems to run uphill against the images of the employees' leaders seen thus far. But as labor disputes spread to other states, it remains to be seen whether tactics like those proposed by Williams will be effective in embarrassing the public employees...or embarrasing the tea party "plants" themselves.

No wonder the right wing is so fond of believing others are actively engaged in conspiracies!

Because when the political Right wingers want something, either for their base extremists or for their corporate contributors, if the truth doesn't work for them, sadly far too many are perfectly willing to lie.
That goes for Andrew Breitbart, that goes for the Murdoch media empire, that goes for the Tea Partiers, that goes for the too many of the current Republicans in power.