Forward, Wisconsin

Doing the right thing is hard.

Doing the right thing after years of practicing the wrong things is even harder.

When your senate separated the fiscal responsibility provisions affecting union collective bargaining powers from a bill that previously included tax and spend provisions, you took a big step toward fiscal recovery.

For years, public sector unions have dictated states’ taxing spending policies through brute force. These unions were not elected by the people, but the people were forced to pay—or borrow—what the unions demanded.

Economically, public sector unions are not workers, but part of the of government. They are management. They imposed their demands directly on the people who pay the bill and who created their functions in the first place.

Unlike politicians, though, unions have refused to yield to the electoral process.

Your governor, Scott Walker, and your 18 Republican Senators displayed courage and decency throughout this ordeal, brought on by Democrats who shirked their duties by fleeing the state. You, the people of Wisconsin, show tremendous patience and courage, too, but standing behind your elected officials who are trying to govern.

When Ronald Reagan fired the illegally striking PATCO workers, leftist pundits predicted mayhem. They were wrong. The skies remained as safe after as they’d been before. Federal workers learned a new respect for the American taxpayer. And the US economy, eventually, healed into a nearly 20-year expansion.

You, Wisconsin, have set an example for us all. So I lift my glass and toast you with your governor’s brother, Johnny.

Forward.