Media fog in the recall

On Tuesday night Fox News first called the recall election in favor of Scott Walker, while NBC continued to blast on its ticker that it was to close for calling. In checking the Internet on The New York Times and other websites it was noticeable that there was a significant lag between their calling the election for Walker and Fox News’s doing so.

It is quite intriguing in retrospect how the media shifted the significance of the recall from the original issue of reducing public employees’ bargaining rights to the issue of jobs. While jobs are the critical issue to the American economy today, out-of-control government compensation of its employees must be reined in. We are certain that the mainstream media will downplay the significance of Walker's victory in terms of its effect on the public service unions, the power of the Democratic Party and the pending November presidential election. The original issue of public unions’ collective bargaining rights appears to have been downgraded when it became apparent that Walker would win by a landslide. 

There has been virtually no coverage of the nationwide rejection of public unions across the country in elections held in key U.S. territories. Lost in the fray of the Wisconsin recall was the results of several California ballot initiatives where voters approved pension cuts to city workers. It is not just the Wisconsin voters who believe that public employees are overcompensated, but voters across America, including the bluest state of all, California.

It is obvious that there is an inherent conflict of interest between politicians who are supposed to manage public employees and public service unions that negotiate on behalf of these employees. Without resolving this conflict it would be virtually impossible for elected politicians to control the spiraling wages and benefits of public employees. This out-of-control employee cost, along with entitlement costs, is creating huge deficits in government budgets. Gov. Walker's success in the recall put up a firewall against out-of-control employee compensation. Now we need the politicians to deal as courageously with entitlement reform.

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