Coercion is the engine of liberalism

By Tom Quiner

It takes raw force to make people do what they don’t want to do.

Liberal coercion is at the heart of our political battles during the Obama years.

Take last week’s recall vote in Wisconsin. The unions (liberals) wanted to oust Governor Scott Walker for one reason: he ended coerced government collection of union dues.

Once Governor Walker freed workers from this burden, something amazing happened: they fled the union in droves.

Membership in the second largest public union in Wisconsin, AFSCME, plummeted by more than half.

Indiana did something similar seven years ago with the same result: government worker unions lost 9 out of 10 members.

Unions are an extension of the Democratic Party (or vice versa). They aggressively support causes, such as abortion “rights,” that violate the conscience of many of their members.

The only way for unions to get away with it is through coercion. Governor Walker in Wisconsin and Governor Mitch Daniels in Indiana removed union coercion from the equation. When workers were free to choose, they chose not to join a union.

Liberal coercion is the engine of Obamacare. The entire 2700 page boondoggle is driven by a mandate that coerces people to purchase health insurance or be fined. The Supreme Court will shortly reveal whether this latest innovation in coercion is legal.

Liberal coercion is at the heart of another mandate, the HHS mandate. Again, liberals, by government fiat, imposed requirements on faith-based organizations that would force them to violate their conscience.

These liberal elites would tolerate no compromise, religious liberty be damned.

An ideology once viewed as being an ally of the little guy has transformed itself into a thuggish bully that stomps on our liberties.

Without coercion, modern liberalism is dead.