These men will not be coddled or patronized.

In the video, the firefighter from Florida makes it a point to say that he is pro-life and pro-gun, but it's clear that he feels completely stabbed in the back by his governor. I think the implication in his statement was that he was just about the most Republican a Republican can be, yet here he is talking calmly and assertively that he was misled and dumped on by his own party. This was not a moderate Republican. He was the real deal, and he's angry. Here's my favorite part, after Steele had just given the obligatory "thank you for your service" comment to the two men:

SCHULTZ: OK. Garrett and Michael—you first, Garrett—does the chairman, Chairman Steele, former Chairman Steele, his response to what we were just talking—does it ease your mind at all? LAMP: No, it doesn‘t. And part of the reason why is because that‘s the first thing you hear is somebody will come on and they‘ll tell you, thank you very much for your service. We really appreciate what you do, but. And then here it comes. And get ready. And right here in Florida right now, they‘re trying to take our rights to have our union dues deducted from our paychecks. Only 12 percent of the workforce is union any longer and they are only trying to come after the union dues in my paycheck. The insurance that comes out of my paycheck, all other deductions that comes out of my paycheck, they‘re OK with that. They‘re not messing with that. Only the union dues, because they say that it funds political activity....But I guarantee you—I guarantee you that every other deduction, every insurance company, they‘re making political contributions. And that‘s just one way they‘re coming after us again.



Spoken as well as any defense of unions I've heard this year. I should say that I was also impressed with Mr. Steele. It takes some guts for him to be a guest on the Ed Show, where he had to be a punching bag while applying lipstick to a pig. Not easy. He made no real point, but at least he was not a jerk.

As I watched, I kept expecting one of the union workers to back down and maybe get a little nostalgic about their Grand Ole Party, but neither did. These guys are focused, and they want answers. It sounds like they're done with Republicans for a long time.

One thing we've learned recently in Wisconsin, where I live, is that the current struggle is an eye-opener for everyone on all sides. One of the reasons I chose to avoid Sarah Palin's visit last week was because I did not want to argue with anyone about talking points and wedge issues. I don't have a problem with her getting booed, but that's not what I'm fighting for.

This is the common ground that we have been seeking, courtesy of the Koch brothers and their over-reaching corporate puppet governors. I'm sure I have some differences of opinion with both of these men, but I'm glad they are on our side in this fight. They are the human face of the conservative middle class, and they will not be abused or taken for granted. I have enormous respect for that.