Wisconsin and the Rights of Government Employees
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In Wisconsin, the dispute continues between a new Republican Governor and public workers. Will it spread to other states? Is it part of a national campaign to prevent government employees from forming unions? Also, Libya's government opens fire on civilians. On Reporter's Notebook, two dictators have already been ousted, and others are on the verge of being deposed. Do they have any place to go?
Banner image: An estimated 65,000 protestors descended on Wisconsin's legislature on February 19, 2011 in the fifth day of mass demonstrations against a Republican plan to bust public workers unions. Photo: Mira Oberman/AFP/Getty Images
Making News
Libya Government Bombs, Opens Fire on Civilians ()
A bloody crackdown that's killed at least 200 people may have backfired against Libyan strongman Col. Moammar Gadhafi. Today, the justice minister and members of Libya's UN delegation resigned. Yesterday, on state TV, his son Saif al-Islam Gadhafi ominously threatened that there would be no restraint against protestors but that "rivers of blood" would flow. Juan Cole is Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History at the University of Michigan, a blogger at Informed Comment and the author of Engaging the Muslim World.
Guests:
- Juan Cole: Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History, University of Michigan
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Main Topic
Standoff Continues in Wisconsin ()
In Madison, protesters packed the Capitol again today as Wisconsin's Governor refused to negotiate his controversial budget bill. Republican Scott Walker's plan is aimed at a $137 million shortfall. The state's public employee unions say they've agreed to Walker's proposed pay cuts and pension contributions, but are into the second week of protests over his demand that collective bargaining rights be limited. The minority Senate Democrats have left the state to prevent Republicans from enacting the Governor's proposal. President Obama's accused Walker of an "assault against unions," and minority Senate Democrats have left the state to prevent Republicans from changing the law. We get the latest's on a bitter dispute focused on government workers and the economy.
Guests:
- Patrick Marley: State Capitol Reporter, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
- Dean Baker: Co-Director, Center for Economic and Policy Research, @DeanBaker13
- Phil Kerpen: Vice President for Policy, Americans for Prosperity
- Andy Kroll: Reporter, Mother Jones
- Josh Kraushaar: Executive Editor, The Hotline, @HotlineJosh
Reporter's Notebook
Where Do Ousted Dictators Go? ()
Now that he's out of office, where will Hosni Mubarak go next? If Libya's Moammar Gadhafi is ousted, what's next for him? Time was that an ousted dictator had plenty of options -- a quiet life, for example, in on of Europe's posh watering holes. Not any more, according to Scott Horton, professor at Columbia Law School and contributing editor to Foreign Policy magazine.
Guests:
- Scott Horton: Professor, Columbia Law School
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