The Reverend Jesse Jackson was firing up a crowd of Wisconsin union protesters last Saturday. "If we can find the money to bail out wealthy businessmen, we can bail out Madison, Wisconsin!"
Jackson's battle cry for transferring billions of taxpayer dollars into union coffers is the next big fear for fiscally responsible legislators and voters alike. And many believe that if the unions prevail in Wisconsin, massive bailouts for state public employees unions won't be far behind.
The notion of such bailouts is strongly opposed by voters nationwide, according to a recent Zogby International poll of 10,000 likely voters. The poll, which was commissioned by The O'Leary Report and ATI-News, set out to determine what voters in each of three categories of states think on a wide range of issues -- Red states, Blue states, and battleground "Green" states. The following Green states all saw significant changes brought about by statewide and congressional GOP victories as well as GOP wins in state legislatures as a result of the 2010 midterm elections: FL, IN, IA, MI, MO, NH, NM, NC, OH, PA, VA, and WI.
The poll asked voters in all three state categories: "Do you agree or disagree that Congress should bail out states such as California, Illinois and New York in order to stop them from going bankrupt?"
Overall, 68 percent of voters nationwide oppose a bailout for cash-strapped states. In Red states, voters oppose state bailouts by a 74% to 18% margin. Voters in Green states like Wisconsin feel the same way, as 72% oppose state bailouts and just 19% are in favor of them. Even 61% of Blue state voters are in opposition. Somewhat ironically, the poll found that 61% of union voters are opposed as well.
Should Congress decide to bail out fiscally irresponsible states against voters' wishes, 84% of voters nationwide think Congress should also impose spending restrictions as a condition for the bailout. That includes 86% of Red state voters, 84% of Green state voters, and 82% of Blue state voters.
The union riots in Wisconsin and Indiana might be good business for the likes of Jesse Jackson, but should the unions prevail, it would almost certainly spell trouble for Democrats in the next election cycle. American voters across the board are unsympathetic to any entity, be it a state or a union, that seeks yet another handout from the weary and overburdened taxpayer.
