OK, that's strong, but not by much. The Journal Sentinel inquisitors don't name names when they talk about "religious leaders," but it's clear they're referring to Listecki...and Walker has to know they're referring to Listecki.
Q:There are church leaders who are saying these budget-repair bill provisions are unfair and harmful to needy and poor people. On moral grounds how would you justify that?
A: I would say just the opposite. On moral grounds, the fact is if you don't make these sorts of reasonable adjustments, the potential impact is you have to cut programs at both the state and local level for needy families who need a safety net. I don't want to get into a match on this, but if some of the same people who are making comments on that don't have unions in their faith-based organizations, so it's kind of hard to hear people say that. That makes to me, it's not so much a point of criticism as much to make a compelling argument that you don't have to have a union to treat your employees well.
Now, Listecki's letter suggests that unions, when confronted with crises, should be a part of a solution that's for the greater good. And the bulk of WI public employee unions likely would be down with that. But they shouldn't be marginalized and dumped upon, which is exactly what Walker is doing.
Another option, that Walker won't consider but the Abp would, is to raise taxes on the rich who could afford a modest reduction in take home pay than teachers or social workers.
And, by the way, Walker's attitude toward the church is exactly the tack that Republicans took toward Catholic bishops who raised issues of social justice in the 1980s, back before abortion became the sole issue of concern in these matters.
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