It is very early days in the race for the GOP presidential nomination, but at this point I believe my favorite is Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin. His accomplishment in pulling the fangs of the WI public employee unions is simply huge.
As a lifelong government employee I worked at various times for a county, three states (CA, OR, TX), a territory (Guam), the federal government, and a community college district. I believed then, as I do now, that civil servants should not be allowed to unionize.
When the university faculty of which I was a long-time member unionized, I refused to join and paid the mandated-by-law "in lieu" fees instead. Political contributions of public employee unions effectively "purchase" the allegiance of the legislature which then raises their pay and benefits.
This behavior is a massive conflict of interest that should be banned, a view with which Gov. Walker agrees. Curbing the power of public employee unions may not be the sexiest issue facing a new president but it is certainly one of the most important for the future of our nation.
See what Byron York writes about Gov. Walker for the Washington Examiner. Scroll down to No. 6 for that comment. Hat tip to RealClearPolitics for the link.
