By @BGinKC

The votes were still being counted last night, but Missouri republicans were wasting no time in issuing statements praising Scott Walker and stating boldly that we need to replicate what was done in Wisconsin right here in Missouri.

Lt. Governor “Pantsless Pete” Kinder issued a statement and gloated a little bit as soon as the race was called.

“Tonight, with a huge voter turnout, Wisconsin voters have made history. Fighting a courageous battle, Gov. Scott Walker has become the first governor in American history to survive an attempted recall.

“Gov. Walker’s smashing victory is proof that successful, mainstream fiscal reforms will triumph over union bosses and their selfish, special-interest agenda. Congratulations to Gov. Walker, Lt. Gov. Kleefisch and the people of Wisconsin.”

He was far less magnanimous when he went to his natural medium, Twitter. You remember Twitter. That’s the medium that has, frankly, cost him his political career by putting his buffoonish antics out there in public. He learned too late, if he learned at all, that not all publicity is good publicity.

On Twitter he chose to taunt the Wisconsin Democratic state senators who left the state for three weeks to deny a quorum and slow down the right wing onslaught their state was under. As we have established previously, Kinder is an intellectual fourth grader, so his comment was a sneering :”how’d that work out for ya?”

Of course, Peter the Tweeter has a history of tweeting first and being embarrassed by it later. It’s one of those “if the day ends in “y”” kind of things, if you know what I mean. This was one of those times. Wisconsin republicans lost the Senate last night when one of the four being recalled lost. Now the Democrats have control of the deliberative body so Walker’s agenda stops in it’s tracks.

Some of you have met me, either here or in person, and know that I don’t have any qualms about speaking my piece and I’m not bashful about it. Maybe that’s because I spent a couple of decades working traumas. I’ve held millionaires down stripped them naked and performed invasive proceedures whether they liked it or not just like I have street people, junkies, gang-bangers and whores. I know in graphic details that we’re all just meat, and that includes the most powerful people on earth.

For whatever reason, I didn’t let his comment pass unchallenged.

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Of course he didn’t answer.

But let’s revisit the statement he issued for a minute. Yes, a six point win is significant in a race like that. But so is the spending.

Wisconsin Spending

What this chart shows is that five billionaires, mostly from outside Wisconsin, spent 88% of the money to secure 53% of the vote.

But I want to know what Peter Kinder thinks was done in Wisconsin that needs to be done here? Does he think out-of-state billionaires should be able to decide what goes on here, rather than Missourians?

Probably not. Maybe, but probably not.

No, what he wants is to bust unions and make Missouri a “right to work (for less)” state. But that’s the last thing we need. Look at the chart. Missouri is better off than a lot of states. Our unemployment numbers are lower than the national average and declining steadily.

Missouri unemployment v national rate

Strong unions in Kansas City and St. Louis serve to stabilize wages and the cost of living in the two big urban centers, and that ripples out across the state. The middle class wages that unions provide in the cities support the schools and the roads and the economic development in the rural areas. They assure the wages that provide disposable income for weekends at the lake and trips to Amish Country to go antiquing.

Giving over to resentment of those who earn union wages will surely come back to bite you in the ass. You don’t make yourself taller by cutting off the legs of those around you. Instead of taking away what someone else has — that does trickle down to benefit you, unlike tax cuts for the rich — organize and make your employer treat you and your co-workers with the dignity and respect that an honest days’ work deserves.