In an era of irresponsible government, what is being done in Wisconsin by Republican Gov. Scott Walker is supremely responsible. By asking that public-sector union members come in line with the private sector with regard to their benefits package, Walker is doing what is right.
State and city employees across this country can no longer expect taxpayers to keep contributing their hard-earned dollars so union members can have job security and benefits for life, especially during a time of economic difficulty.
Wisconsin is truly "ground zero" in a fight that will play out across the country, and as Wisconsin goes, so goes the rest of the country. If Walker is successful, and his budget bill is passed, it will embolden governors and legislators in other states to do the same.
However, it's also true that if the public-sector unions win in Wisconsin, it increases the odds of them being successful in other states. So this is not simply a debate in some Midwestern state: This is a national debate about the future of the country.
It bears remembering that Wisconsin is the place where the most liberal, progressive and anti-capitalistic "reforms" were put into place a century ago: Robert LaFollete's Wisconsin Plan was the blueprint for the Progressive movement.
A century of human greed and anti-capitalistic behavior bordering on socialism has resulted in record deficits and budget busting in almost every state where unions have a strong presence or place at the table.
This current clash between ordinary Americans and organized labor is the inevitable result of decades of overreach by the unions. It ends now. The 100-year-old Progressive experiment can be stopped and buried in the very place where it was born.
As the debate continues and increases in its intensity, the Tea Party movement, reviled and demeaned by the mainstream media, is rising yet again to stand for freedom and limited government.
This past Saturday, American Majority and local Tea Parties, in roughly 48 hours' time, held a 10,000-person rally to support Walker and his budget bill.
What took place on the state Capitol steps in Madison was historic because it was the first public manifestation since last November's elections of a struggle that has finally come to a head: the Tea Party movement versus the public-sector unions.
On one side are those who love freedom, limited government and free enterprise, who are also the taxpayers who fund our government. On the other side are those who favor statism, and think they serve union bosses, not the American public.
That is the fight -- freedom versus statism, and it is a fight for the heart and soul of this country. At the end of this struggle, America will either continue down a path of destructive statism, or return to the ideals of free enterprise and limited government, and by so doing, rise to even greater heights of freedom and prosperity.
On Saturday, the contrast between freedom and statism could not have been more evident. The public-sector unions agitating against Walker's bill were on one side of the Capitol, and on the exact opposite side of the Capitol, Tea Partiers voiced their approval of Walker and his courageous stand for fiscal sanity and limited government.
The outlook is optimistic for Walker and his bill. Almost two of every three Wisconsin voters pulled the lever for Walker just four months ago. They realize that their state is in trouble. They want this change.
But not only do the people of Wisconsin want a new day free of endless labor demands, the American people do as well. The battleground is Wisconsin, but the fight is for the future of this great nation. Here's hoping freedom wins.
Ned Ryun is president of American Majority, a national nonprofit, nonpartisan political training institute based in Purcellville, Va.
Ned Ryun is president of American Majority, a national nonprofit, nonpartisan political training institute based in Purcellville, Va.
