Madison's meltdown revisited

I posted a lament Saturday over what's happening in Wisconsin's capitol here. Just a few more thoughts if I might.

1.  Self-destruction. Perhaps the single saddest part of this whole nightmare is the inability of the selfish to see that they are burning the house down around them. It's from such folks we get the term "cutting off your nose to spite your face." In this case, they seem bent on cutting off their entire head.  

2. Friends. An old proverb suggests that you can tell the quality of a man by noting the quality of his friends. If you knew nothing about what's happening in Madison, you could pick your side just by knowing that Jesse Jackson and Nancy Pelosi yoked up on behalf of the strikers. An aside: I'm always amazed and disgusted at the things that bring Jesse Jackson out from under his rock.

3. Cowardice. Nobody likes the boy who takes his ball and goes home because he does not get his way. "Weenie" comes to mind. Back in 2003, Texas' democrats left the state rather than vote on redistricting. "If we cannot get our way, we'll take the vote away. Damn the constitutional process!" Wisconsin democrats borrowed from that same playbook. In hopes to thwart Governor Scott Walker's plan to balance his state's budget, they beat feet. (The Texans had to go to Oklahoma. Let's hope the Cheeseheads had the good sense to go to Minnesota over Illinois.)

Much like the teachers leaving their post, I would consider my congressman AWOL. While I don't advocate their being shot as would happen in the old school military, there must be some recompense for deserting your duty. You might not like the outcome, but that's your job as an elected REPRESENTATIVE! You vote. You work within your constitutional boundaries. You don't like it? Resign!

By the way, if you're giggling about what's happening under Madison's rotunda, you obviously haven't been peeking in on your government lately.