Gail Collins makes a good point as well:

The Senate majority leader, Scott Fitzgerald — who happens to be the brother of the Assembly speaker, Jeff Fitzgerald — believes the governor is absolutely right about the need for draconian measures to cut spending in this crisis. So he's been sending state troopers out to look for the missing Democrats.

The troopers are under the direction of the new chief of the state patrol, Stephen Fitzgerald. He is the 68-year-old father of Jeff and Scott and was appointed to the $105,678 post this month by Governor Walker.

Perhaps the speaker's/majority leader's father was a super choice, and the fact that he was suddenly at liberty after having recently lost an election for county sheriff was simply a coincidence that allowed the governor to recruit the best possible person for the job. You'd still think that if things are so dire in Wisconsin, the Fitzgerald clan would want to set a better austerity example.

In summary, I have no problem with what Gov. Christie is doing in NJ, aggressively going after the unions, both in terms of costs and unreasonable contract clauses, and calling them the bullies that they are – but he's not trying to strip their right to negotiate on behalf of their members…

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February 18, 2011

Sacred Cows, Angry Birds

By GAIL COLLINS

www.nytimes.com/2011/02/19/opinion/19collins.html