While part of the current unrest in Wisconsin is driven by local issues, new information has been uncovered indicating an orchestrated attempt to stir up 'worker protests' not only in Wisconsin but in at least a dozen states. The coordinated effort is part of a 'revolution' spearheaded in part by a group called 'Heartland Revolution,' a Kentucky-based political action organization. The group was first envisioned by a Kentucky Democrat, John Waltz, who announced his candidacy in 2009 to oppose 2-term Republican Geoff Davis for the 4th Congressional District. Waltz was defeated in the November 2010 midterm elections but embarked on an effort to create 'revolution' throughout America, stemming from his anger toward what he terms 'the hijacking of political discourse by right-wing propagandists.' His group is invovled in the continuing Wisconsin protests of teachers unions upset over Governor Scott Walker's plan to have them pay for part of their healthcare and pension benefits, to which they currently contribute very little of the total costs.
Waltz frames his revolution in terms of a 'political war,' which he claims is being waged against the middle class by Republicans and corporate interests. His aim is to 'shut down right-wing political cash machines' using whatever means possible.
For example, in Wisconsin members of his organization were instructed to boycott a Subway Sandwhich Shop in downtown Madison during the protests. The reason? The owner of the deli is a large contributor to Governor Scott Walker.
The following Twitter alert from the Walsh organization was sent to Heartland protesters in Madison this morning:
02.19.11ALERT: If you are @ the protests in WI boycott the Subway in the square. The owners are the 2nd largest contributors to Gov. Walker
Waltz makes no attempt to hide the fact that he is a 'progressive.' The term is indicative of a mindset that wishes not only to hide the true intent of those who proudly own the description but promote an agenda that is based on a collectivist view of government and society where decisions concerning the personal lives of citizens can best be made by those in a centralized government complex. The goal is to increase the scope of government so that workers, unions, and others can benefit from a confiscatory tax structure aimed at draining 'the rich' to pad the pockets of others.
But perhaps the most troubling aspect of 'Heartland Revolution' is its coordinated efforts to create unrest across America, beginning in Wisconsin, but extending to Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Florida, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, New York, Maine, New Hampshire, and New Jersey.
The map displayed here on the group's blog page will reveal their upcoming plans and targeted areas, along with their Twitter messages to members.
Curiously, the group refers to its protesters as 'boots on the ground,' and war terminology abounds. A cursory scan of Heartland Revolution's website will reveal that members view their efforts as a war, a revolution, with boots on the ground that are determined to intimidate conservatives, overthrow politicans who represent the voices of taxpayers, and target the businesses of those who support them.
Far from being for the 'working poor,' as the group claims, Waltz and his minions are dedicated to preverving and expanding union power and protecting the high salaries and benefit structures enjoyed by many who work for various government entities. For example, in Wisconsin the average city school teacher earns over $100,000 per year including pay and benefits, and pays next to nothing toward their retirement or healthcare. The benefits are paid overwhelmingly by taxpayers. Waltz and his group, however, believe that asking these teachers to contribute more to their plans like most Americans do is tantamount to 'waging war against workers.'
It will be interesting to see in the coming weeks if the average American agrees with him.
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Comments
Isn't this typical?
Yes sir, it is. Leftist revolutionaries are known for this very thing. I would not be surprised if violence breaks out. It is the way of Che, Castro, Mao, Stalin, and Hitler.
Know your leftists.
Anthony, this is a lie, it is the establishment fomenting this, my brother in law is in the labor union, this is the unions defending themselves from attacks meant to destroy them and any avenue of bargaining. The has been no mention whatsoever of your claims, and my brother is not a leftist.
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Im starting to gather a picture of you, and it is not good, you are spouting political rhetoric which is not factual in the least, I can see and hear with my own senses and you are not even close.
This is a concerted attack against ALL unions, not just the teachers.
It is also not the unions fault we are in this mess, when the government loots us to take care of their banker buddies and have illegal wars longer than WW2, there is the problem.
This is not left/right BS, this is the government on full assault of our choices and way of life. You and the dems can blame eachother all day long, because all day long it was BOTH parties that have turned on the people.
This article couldn't be further from the truth. It implies that the teachers and public workers of Wisconsin are refusing to give on monetary issues. That is false and purposefully omitting the facts for propaganda sake is what is wrong with this country. The public workers of Wisconsin have a greed with the Gov. demands that they pay more of their benefits package. They, however, refuse to give up their collective bargaining power. The governor refused their offer to accept the monetary responsibility of their benefits because they refused to give up their collective bargaining power.
His name is spelled Waltz and he is a Navy veteran.
his name is john waltz he is a navy veteran and thanks for the plug .....I am afarid mr. newspeak that John is not responsible for the stupidity of wisconsin Gov ....but again thanks for the plug you got caused us to have a great influx of money...........
All the good Gov is trying to do is save jobs.
If everyone would take a little cut, everyone would keep their jobs, no furloughs. But unions teach greed above all else, and by not being part of the solution, they will continue to be part of the problem ... and jobs will be lost. So these people can roll the dice on all or nothing, but the bill will pass.
And now you too have fallen for the redirection of what is really happening, we arent broke because of the unions, we are broke from wall street looting us, and having to continually pay for illegal wars and foreign aid.
The government wants to cull the masses of any choice or self determination, destroying any type of unity among the people so they cannot stop what is happening, reduction to slaves to the system. It has nothing to do with the unions themselves.
I am a skilled worker and a white collar worker, I also like to be paid what I am worth, I have never been in a union, but I have worked with them while in management. Of course with any organization, not excluding government, you will get greedy people, but I say the government and the two parties are far more corrupt than any unions.
This is the author's BIO on this page...
"As an original foot-soldier in 'the Reagan Revolution' that led to the election of Ronald Reagan, Anthony G. Martin is no stranger to politics, particularly in the state of his birth, South Carolina."
his name is john waltz he is a navy veteran and thanks for the plug .....I am afarid mr. newspeak that John is not responsible for the stupidity of wisconsin Gov ....but again thanks for the plug you got caused us to have a great influx of money...........
If they are leftist revolutionaries I guess that makes you fascists, right?
Contrary to the imbecilic notion that leftists are opposite of fascists, they are both part of the same movement--collectivism. You are an idiot.
Thanks to the typo alert on Watz's name. Glad to make corrections when needed.
With regard to my resume, everyone knows the 'Reagan Revolution' involved no protests in the streets, no name-calling, no violence, no intimidation.
THIS group, however, wants REAL revolution, proved by their taking to the streets to cause civil unrest.
Plus, the fact that Mr. Wattz may have been in the military is a non-issue. In fact, a Marxist revolutionary with military experience is more dangerous than those without military experience.
Because liberals are the one's pulling triggers and trying to tote guns near election polls!!!! Like it or not our nation is founded upon "Liberalism" and revolution. Guns secure ground and neutralize threats. Words and ideas change the world and are exponentially more powerful. From the right you have ZERO claim to the "poor me" spin on references to violence. I'm pretty sure I heard and saw Teabaggers screaming for "revolution" and "2nd amendment solutions to political problems". Man, if it were just that easy I'd line up every silver spooned, faked tanned, viagra popping phony ass and corrupt conservative in the nation and just whip ass all day. But thankfully I completely exclude violence from politics...I prefer my leaders to inspire with fact, vision, and good intent- not false patriotism while cashing checks from the most corrupt class of American citizens.
And now the REAL wackos appear.
I could care less about either side of this mud slinging contest, but if we're going to complain let's get our facts in order! WHAT TEACHER DO YOU KNOW MAKES $100,000 per year? You've got to be out of your mind, or just a bold-ass liar. The average salary is more around $46,500 per ear. Why don't you try living on that for a while and see how much you'd like to have taken out monthly for your health care costs. Thank GOD our elected officials have health care at the tax payer expense! But let's stick it to teachers of considerably less wealth! FOOLISH!
The school district in Milwaukee reported that the average teacher salary in that district is $100,000 per year...documented in board minutes...
One district? Please name it and provide a link to the minutes. And then label the statement to clearly explain that the $100,000 figure is limited to ONE, I SAY AGAIN, ONE school district!!!! Because as presented one COULD POSSIBLY be led to believe that ALL WISCONSIN CITY SCHOOL TEACHERS MAKE $100,000 per year. And since you're all about a TRUTHALERT lets post the state average since the teach issue involves all teachers within the state and not a select district. Post that average RIGHT NEXT to your column and I'll buy that you are a serious person. Oh and please mention in the text of your article that the $100,000 figure is an estimate that accounts for "fringe" benefits and that the actual pre-tax salary is just over $56,000 in that district!!!! OTHERWISE, you're no better than any other group of political activists hell bent on scamming the public with half truths and partial facts presented as the entire story. Do these things if you have ANY respect for the actual process. Thanks, I'll be checking for updates.
B.S. Alert--clarification duly noted. The $100,000 figure is salary plus benefits. And although they pay a little toward retirement and insurance premiums, it isn't much, and all the Governor wishes to do is require them to pay more, although not that much, in order to prevent economic bankruptcy.
Let's see, if the average salary is $46,500 per ear...that's $93,000 per person.....pretty close to $100,000.
Before the recession, lunatics like "Tony" Martin were described as far right wing nut jobs. No thanks to democrats, the lunatic far right is now openly attempting to dismantle the federal government's involvement with infrastructure and education, while babbling gradeschool nonsense about "collectivism" and equally stupid propaganda. It is shocking that so many in Wisconsin are too dense to see through this tea party garbage!
Conservatives have been expert at psychological propaganda for decades, but the intelligent part of the electorate needs to wake up to the damage that crackpot libertarianism could do to the greatest nation in the world in the 21st century!
These people are drooling idiots, ready to take down our education system, our extremely productive government-private partnerships between Universities and the science based part of the economy, and send us even further down the list in education, the real hope for providing our country with good jobs in this century.
Conservatives apparently are able to grasp that the deficit is "bad" for the country in years to come. Alas, they are too stupid to see that we have already fallen badly behind in science and technology education, which will have even worse consequences in future years.
Another delusional libturd who is clueless.
Whoa,
This article is full of half truths and outright lies. My goodness where does this guy get his numbers from?
The major reason for this protest is not about money, it is about using the money argument to cover for an attempt to destroy unions in Wisconsin.
This article is pure propaganda. An example is this statement.
teachers unions upset over Governor Scott Walker's plan to have them pay for part of their healthcare and pension benefits, to which they currently contribute nothing whatsoever.
This it a completely false generalization. It is simply not true.
Most if not all teachers do pay a considerable amount towards their health care premiums.
Mr. Martin, you said you were ok with making corrections. Correct that statement.
They do not pay 'a considerable amount' toward their premiums but only a minuscule amount.
How much have YOU made in your lifetime?
Maybe we should make everyone from McDonalds to wall street work for minimum wage, would that satisfy you?
I dont see you bitching about how much wall street makes with multi-million dollar bonuses from OUR money!!!!
I dont see you complaining about how much moneyCEOs and management makes as well as the faux news station makes, where do you think all this money comes from? They get it from all the overpriced lawyers, products and service WE the people pay for. I dont see you screaming about how much the govorner makes.
You want to stick it to the 'liberals' so bad because they are on the 'other' team, that you dont care about the collateral damage your stupidity is causing to everyday americans.
Liars abound in comment section. Link in article proves the claim about teachers making $100,000 in the large cities in WI.
Clarification--the average compensation in Milwaukee is over 100,000--salary plus benefits--and teachers contribute next to nothing toward their retirement and insurance premiums.
You can't change the mistakes in your own post to reflect that the salary is $57K as the link you gave us clearly states? You did it replying to yourself? When you consider your salary is close to $57k of course what they pay back is smaller in comparison. Or are you a student of Professor Dubya Bush's fuzzy math class that said the Iraq war wouldn't cost us a dime?
Reagan was the President of the Union SAG I guess that means he's a leftist thug too huh?
Hey I know maybe you can get those government employees under the rank of non-com E-8 over in Iraq fighting a war to pay for their pensions and insurance premium too.
uh, if you had half a brain, the article states $100,000 in total compensation--from the Milwaukee school board in question. That is what it costs taxpayers per year per teaching. u r a liar.
Reagan refuted his union membership when he woke up to the truth. nice try but no cigar, idiot.
and we are in a crisis--teachers could at least pay a larger part of their benefits package to save the state from bankruptcy
I love it when the writer of the article is using another name to refute people.
Dumbass thinks quite a few of us aren't computer nerds.
The state can get rid of all non-constitutional services and be in the positive. The governor can take a pay cut too then.
It can start printing its own currency and dump the illegal federal reserve.
This is to force we the people to make due with less so the bankers can have more. The government needs to live within its means just like they say to us. Will that happen? NO, they will continue to do what they are doing because most if not all of the government is for the corporations and banks.
more than 1 are computer nerds
who also know who you are, anon
New here but already see that Anthony Martin has struck a nerve with libs. They post as trolls and really try to preach condescendingly to anyone who thinks libs and progressives are just plain wrong. Keep posting the truth even though it will be difficult at times.
Forgive my name being a rather low brow play on your name ron, bt i felt it an appropriate response to a low brow comment
You attempt to criticize "liberals" for posting as "condescending trolls", yet you post a condescending comment completely devoid of point, let alone fact.
I've seen nothing but requests for fat head anthony martin to post a link supporting his claims, yet he provides none.
The best "support" he can get is from other bitter, fat a$$ rednecks like you. Who by the way, also can post nothing better than an opinion tinged with nothing but bitter stupidity.
This of course is your god given right to be an idiot, ron. Just dont go throwing stones when you are living in that huge glass house
The link supporting Anthony's claims is right there in the article.
But then, you knew that, didn't you...
Yes, you did, you little lying snoookums. Smmooooooch!
Maybe you should stop smooching that gigantic battalion of cocks before they go in your fat dimply a$$ mindy.
Let's forget about fat head anthony martin's gross twisting and narrow presentation of facts for a second.
The bottom line is that teacher have become a popular scapegoat for a bunch of self serving conservatives.
Perhaps we should eliminate salary and benefits for cops and firefighters too? After all, cops and firefighter get benefits that exceed pretty much anyone's. Believe me, I know. I get them.
I know as a conservative, education and thought are against everything you believe in, so attacking teachers is a great idea for you.
But bottom line mindy.. teachers, firefighters, cops, medics, road crews, sanitation workers, and every other "government employee" are the ones who keep this country moving. Without cops and firemen to protect you, sanitation workers to clean up your crap, road crews to fix your streets.. you wouldnt just look like a pig, you'd be living like one too
Anthony, you provide a wonderful service to ignorant conservatives. We are able to read and consider the viewpoint of the rabid left thanks to the thoughtful comments you elicit from the selected sampling of their foaming at the mouth brethren. I look forward to reading the comments - more as a gauge as to how they react when the truth is written. Poor liberals. They're losing and they know it. Now, if they would just politely discuss their viewpoint they might persuade some to consider their viewpoint. Nah. All they know is to disrupt, disparage, terrorize and demonize.
Make a point then meatball... Any point.. support it with a fact. I challenge you. At the very least, you knuckle dragging, poop flinging, missing link.. do shut up.
Or at the very least, show your "fair and balanced" nature and spew equal venom at your mud slinging brothers on the right.
Brilliant commentary Mark.. Maybe for an encore, you can find a really big rock to throw next time you grunt like an ape in anger
Mmmmm...Anthony dear, do you notice that the masters of disguise, alias, anonymity, and deception have the gall to accuse you of it?
There are soooooo many trolls here who use various fictitious names to post numerous comments, as if they come from lots of people.
To me, it's a scream...what losers.
Good point pork chop! I doubt more than 6 people care what the fat head has to say. Of course, given your status as an unregistered poster as well mindy, it's probably a safe bet you are doing that which you accuse others of.
It's also possible that you are the dress wearing alter ego of Anthony. Like most right wingers, we know it's just a matter of time before he gets busted in a public bathroom, ball gagged, getting hammered up the rear by a pre op tr@nny
That, sir, is entirely inappropriate and entirely indicative of you Leftwing nutcases who are the most dangerous, hate-filled, and violent excuses for human beings in the country today.
Inappropriate it is.. so you should stop doing it. By the way, with all of your bluster, there was no denial in there, was there fat head?
"...teachers unions upset over Governor Scott Walker's plan to have them pay for part of their healthcare and pension benefits,..."
Except event the Governor acknowledges that the unions have offered to pick up a larger share of the benefits.
He blew them off, because this isn't about money - it's about destroying the collective bargaining rights of most public employees.
Interesting that those NOT affected by this law would be the hired guns of the state: local and state police.
As for the $100k claim, even if it does not depend on creative accounting (which I suspect it does) --- would any of YOU be willing to teach in a inner city Milwaukee school... for ANY price? Especially in one of the two states that still does not allow concealed carry??
Regardless, that is a Milwaukee School District issue, not a state issue. Teachers in other cities and towns make nowheres near that.
John's a good soul and a passionate guy. He goes from liberal to conservative back to liberal depending upon the mood of the nation. He's attracted to change movements and he is just looking for a place to belong. I don't trust his commitment to progressive value liberalism, whatever. He was once a member of the Constitution Party and advocated an outdated view of the Constitution and foreign policy.
http://contributor.yahoo.com/user/106987/johnny_waltz.html
As you can see the last post on there was from 1/2009 if it even was him.
This was John's page, e-mail him and ask him.
I wasn't trying to play gotcha, he's a guy who changes his tune quite a bit though.
It doesn't matter whether the last post was in 2009, he was a Paulist who now thinks he can get help from the left.
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