Thank you Governor Walker

There's probably nothing I can add to what dozens of other conservatives have written about the situation in Wisconsin over the past few weeks.  The behavior of the Democratic senators was despicable, although nothing compared to the behavior of many of the union thugs and other protesters who have threatened Republicans with violence, including several very credible death threats.  And it now seems that some of the unions are trying to hurt businesses that supported Governor Walker in his election campaign by boycotting them.  A bank in Wisconsin had union members withdraw nearly $200,000 from one of its branches because it donated $46,000 to Walker's campaign last year (although, like many business, it hedged its bets by donating $12,000 to his Democratic opponent.)  The bank became so concerned that the protest outside was growing and might become violent that it ended up closing early. (Hat tip to National Review's "The Corner" blog and Katrina Trinko)  Now, boycotts are a legitimate form of political expression, but attempting to shut down a business by making people too scared to walk through the doors is not, and unfortunately this is a tactic that has been used by union thugs for generations.

But, now that I have digressed somewhat, back to the original point of this post.  To Governor Walker and the Republican legislators who stood up to the Democrats and union thugs, from a non-union teacher in a right-to-work state, a very sincere thank you.  Thank you for standing up for your state's taxpayers and for those teachers and other public employees who really don't want anything to do with their unions and their arcane rules (such as laying off a teacher who has just won an award for being a good teacher because she's doesn't have seniority) and who might have lost their jobs because their unions would rather have layoffs than give an inch on pay and other benefits, or heaven forbid actually contribute to their own pensions and health care (the idea that someone should have their pension provided by the taxpayers with no personal contribution at all is beyond my comprehension.)  Thank you for passing a bill that will give the teachers and other public employees the option of no longer financially supporting those unions, instead of being forced to do so as they are now.  And thank you for taking a stand that may be somewhat unpopular at the moment, knowing that the stand you took was more important than being popular and that in the long run, once people really know the truth, will come to be viewed by most as the right thing to do.