A Union That Scott Walker Supports!

by Stuart Shapiro

First a bit of background for non-football fans.  The referees in professional football have been locked out by the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.  Last night, on Monday Night Football, in front of a national audience, the Green Bay Packers were robbed of a victory by a bad call by one of the replacement referees.  And in Wisconsin, nothing matters more than the Green Bay Packers!  Enter Governor Walker (h/t Steve Benen):

Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who made a national name for himself by going after public employee unions last year, posted a message on Twitter calling for the return of the NFL’s locked-out unionized officials after a disputed call led to a Seattle Seahawks 14-12 victory over the Packers on Monday night.

“After catching a few hours of sleep, the (hash)Packers game is still just as painful. (hash)Returntherealrefs,” Walker tweeted early Tuesday.

Whichever presidential candidate can get the NFL referees back to work will probably carry Wisconsin (and maybe even get the endorsement of the suddenly flexible Scott Walker).

By: Stuart Shapiro

Stuart is a professor and the Director of the Public Policy
program at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers
University. He teaches economics and cost-benefit analysis and studies
regulation in the United States at both the federal and state levels.
Prior to coming to Rutgers, Stuart worked for five years at the Office
of Management and Budget in Washington under Presidents Clinton and
George W. Bush.