Sherrod Brown Backs Dems In Wisconsin -- And Encourages Hardball In Ohio [View All]

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Sherrod Brown Backs Dems In Wisconsin -- And Encourages Hardball In Ohio

Brian Beutler

Ohio's senior senator praised state Democrats in Wisconsin on Friday for taking a firm stand against legislation to roll back public worker rights. And he said he expects to see similar opposition from Dems in his own state to legislation making its way through the Ohio legislature that mirrors the controversial Wisconsin bill.

"I think they're going to fight back, and I think they're figuring right now what to do," Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) told me during an interview in his Capitol Hill office.

Brown, a progressive, and committed supporter of organized labor, said that the only way for Democrats to beat back Republican plans to end collective bargaining for public sector workers is by maximizing their leverage.

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"Conservative politicians have always blamed the victim," Brown said. "It's minorities' problems for civil rights issues. It's environmentalists' problems on the environment. It's really always somebody else's fault. It's never the people responsible. It's never the bankers. It's never the way the legislation's done. It's always the workers."

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