Newt Gingrich Supports Wisconsin Gov. in Fight with Unions, Protesters

Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who has his eye on running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, went to bat for Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin in his struggle with public-sector employees over benefit reforms.

It is vital that every one of us help Governor Scott Walker today, Gingrich wrote to supporters on Wednesday. In Madison, Wis., we are witnessing a profound struggle between the right of the people to govern themselves and the power of entrenched, selfish interests to stop reforms and defy the will of the people.

In 2010, Wisconsin Republicans ran on a clear agenda of reforming government to gain control of spending. This agenda included many reforms to state government employee pay, added Gingrich. These reforms were desperately opposed by the Democrats and union bosses during the campaign, and a full and vigorous debate on the merits of these reforms took place in the months before the election. Then came the moment for the people of Wisconsin to make their choice Election Day. And thanks in part to this bold agenda, the people of Wisconsin chose to switch control of the governorship, assembly and senate to Republicans.

The people of Wisconsin sent a clear message. They elected leaders that promised to change the way government operated in Madison. The will of the people was expressed through the ballot box, exactly how it is supposed to work in a representative democracy, continued Gingrich. However, through a campaign of intimidation and cowardice, the government employee union bosses and the Democratic Party that is beholden to them, are trying to thwart the will of the people.

Gingrich condemned Wisconsin Democrats for fleeing the state to ensure there was no quorum in the Legislature and certain voters -- and said that protesters with the backing of the Democratic Party -- including the White House political operation Organizing for America -- have further paralyzed Wisconsin. The showdown in Madison is precisely the crisis between elected self-government and organized self-interest seeking to impose their will through intimidation, added Gingrich, invoking iconic British Prime Minister Margaret Thatchers handling of a coal miners strike in 1984 and 1985.

We are witnessing one of the most important struggles in modern America, added Gingrich. At stake is a fundamental question of elected government: Whos in charge? Governor Scott Walker and Wisconsin Republicans, after receiving a clear mandate from the people of their state, have placed the very legitimacy of representative self-government on the line by demanding profound reform of government unions.