Friday, June 03, 2011
10:31 PM
Obey says Ryan trying to repeal the 20th Century
Former U.S. Rep. Dave Obey accused Ryan and Walker of leading an assault on the working class by attempting to turn back a nearly a century of social and economic justice reforms.
“Ryan is leading the effort to repeal the 20th Century,” Obey said. “At the state level we see Walker doing the same thing.”
Obey said Ryan’s plan reduces opportunities for families to get an education by reducing Pell Grants, repeals health care reforms, and “shreds” Medicare and Medicaid.
Obey said Wisconsin is seeing a “thuggish parallel performance by Scott Walker.”
He said Walker’s moves to curtail bargaining rights for public workers and to institute voter ID, is an assault on workers and democracy.
He said the voter ID law is “spectacularly more fraudulent” then the conduct it intends to stop, and is rooted in partisan gain.
“It’s a thuggish, disgraceful and shameful act that we are witnessing,” Obey said.
He said the nation is now in a moral struggle over social and economic justice.
“We are engaged in a moral struggle the outcome of which will have profound consequences for real living people,” Obey said. “This is a time of choosing.”
Obey likened the current power balance in the state to 1956, when Republicans ran the state. But two years later, Wisconsin elected William Proxmire to the U.S. Senate and Gaylord Nelson as governor.
“With hard work and tenacity we can turn things around just as Democrats did in 1958,” Obey said.
“We can send a message to Gov. Walker that we are mad as hell and we are not going to swallow it anymore.”
Listen to the speech.
-- By David Wise
Labels: 2011_state_convention