National Bully of 2011: The Republican Governors Five

Republican Governors Five

It must be nice to sign legislation that was rammed through a state legislature that does the following:

• ·         Revoke the collective bargaining rights of public employees, especially targeting teachers
• ·         Requiring those receiving state unemployment or welfare assistance to submit to mandatory drug testing at the recipients expense
• ·         Cutting hundreds of millions of dollars in corporate taxes while cutting hundreds of millions from the state’s Medicaid program
• ·         Cutting state unemployment benefits while doling out billions in corporate welfare
• ·         Empowering the governor to take over lesser governments and allowing the special administrator to null and void contracts
• ·         Restricts a woman’s ability to have an abortion

These are just a few of the things that Governors Jan Brewer (AZ), Scott Walker (WI), John Kasich (OH), Rick Scott (FL) and Rick Snyder (MI) have done in the name of “smaller” government and balancing budgets.  They have systematically attacked the social safety net and worker protections of their various states and in turn have rightfully earned the wrath of voters.  Governors Brewer and Walker are facing recall efforts.  Governor Kasich saw his attempts to disenfranchise public workers go down in flames at the polls.

Though each of the named governors could easily be nominated as National Bully of 2011 in their own right, I am collectively nominating the Republican Governors Five as the National Bully of 2011!