It was no accident that union thugs tore down the tent that protected seniors and women in Lansing, Michigan on Tuesday. The tent held those citizens who were part of Americans for Prosperity, a group backed financially by the Koch brothers, the powerhouse duo who are fighting for right-to-work laws and also support the American Legislative Council (ALEC).
The Koch brothers and Americans for Prosperity have been targets of Barack Obama and his minions for some time; in 2010 Obama vilified the organization as part of “a corporate takeover of our democracy.” Obama’s rhetoric was echoed by the Detroit Free Press, which has accused Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and Randy Richardville, majority leader of the state Senate, of caving in to pressure from Americans for Prosperity and ALEC by adopting right-to-work legislation that made Michigan the 24th state to do so. The Free Press said it was the two Koch Brothers who ultimately influenced the decision.
Ironically, Detroit has 18.9% unemployment, while the Koch Brothers have 50,000 U.S. employees.
The boss of the AFL-CIO, Richard Trumka, blasted Snyder:
Gov. Snyder showed his true colors today. He’s a puppet of extreme donors, and he is willing to ignore and lie to his constituents. His action will undoubtedly please the Koch brothers and corporate CEOs, but it will diminish the voice of every working man and woman in Michigan.
Trumka is used to bullying and he is also used to twisting the truth. The truth is that Snyder and Richardville are aware the citizens of Michigan are against union control; they voted 58% to 42% against a United Auto Workers proposal to interpolate collective bargaining rights into the state constitution.
The thugs of the unions may have violence on their side and feel comfortable attacking seniors and women, but there is a growing number of Americans who are recognizing which group, as Obama would say, intends “a takeover of our democracy.”