Great question by Fox News’ Neal Cavuto to Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels: “I am wondering if you just got punked?” Daniels responded that he did not understand the question, and then proceeded to answer his own question. (transcript)
Yes, the governor and Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma were punked by Big Labor Democrats in several ways:
- The Governor tossed aside a law providing every Hoosier the right to choose whether or not to belong to a union, better known as the Right To Work. With f Democrats rattling sabers, Daniels chose to discard Right To Work and got nothing in return.
- For months prior to the Democrats’ fleeing the legislature and the job for which they were elected, Daniels and Speaker Bosma went from meeting to meeting predicting that introducing Right To Work would cause Democrats to throw a legislative tantrum. They telegraphed that they were not going to fight for this employee emancipation issue. Democrats knew that Daniels would quickly give them what they wanted most: dropping Right To Work, and Daniels delivered.
- Because Daniels and Bosma said that they intended to blame the Democrats’ childish behavior on the Right To Work bill, the Governor handed Democrats an excuse to justify their actions. Worse, Daniels continues to repeat his “blame Right To Work game” every chance he gets. Daniels’ actions provide cover for the scurrying Democrats. But, as Cavuto pointed out, the Governor’s team quickly caved on Right To Work, and yet, the Democrats did not return.
- Sadly, the Governor weakened his own bargaining hand. Because Right To Work was quickly tossed, Democrats have every reason to believe the Governor and Bosma will cave on everything else. And, having already caved, it will be harder for Governor to justify standing his ground. This is why Democrats aren’t back in Indiana yet!
Yep, Daniels was “punked,” if Cavuto means losing the battle before it began. Indiana gave public teachers the Right to Work in 1995, but Gov. Daniels refused to even fight for freedom for private sector employees.
Daniels can continue to talk about what he did in 2005 when he rescinded an executive order relating to union monopoly bargaining privileges over state government employees, but Daniels’ rescission can be easily overturned by the next governor. As Daniels seems to be learning, legislative battles, like the one in Wisconsin, take more fortitude.
Thanks to the Daniels’ strategy, Big Labor has already won. The item that they fear most, free choice for workers, was taken off the table before the Democrats left town; anything they get from here is “gravy.”
Hoosiers need jobs. Killing Right To Work killed Indiana jobs. Gov. Daniels has repeated on several occasions, that without Right To Work, at least 1/3 of the employers looking to bring jobs to Indiana cross the state off their list.
Balancing government budget is very important, but it will not create as many jobs for Indiana as a Right To Work law will. Companies are fleeing states bordering Indiana and many others are planning their possible relocations now, and even Daniels admits Indiana is off the list already for many.
By kicking the Right To Work bill down the road, the governor by his own admission removed Indiana from the relocation choices of a third of the potential new and expanding would-be Indiana employers; while simultaneously saddling hard-pressed Hoosiers with the continued burden of forced union payments.
Actually, it sounds like the citizens of Indiana are the ones who have been punked.
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