Ohio Governor John Kasich made a bolder move than Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.
He implemented legislation to bar collective bargaining rights for all public employees, including police and fire.
The unions stepped out in full force, painting the Governor and his colleagues as heartless bureaucrats who wanted to gut privileges for public safety officials.
The move worked. Ohio voted three to one to repeal the anti-collective law.
Governor Walker assessed the political risks of reform. He understood well enough that reform has to be done gradually in order to maintain the favor of the electorate.
I do not believe that Governor Kasich should give up on curbing the power of public unions. Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey reached out to the unions, he offered plans that would respect their needs, and when the public unions refused to negotiate, Christie could develop the accurate narrative that the public unions simply refused to play along.
By making the first move without reaching out the unions and their communities, Kasich put himself in the role of the bad guy.
Let us hope for the sake of his state and the country that he will embark on more politically savvy maneuvers in the future.
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