Ed Schultz: "Wisconsin defeat could help launch counterattack on GOP"

The Ed Schultz Show:

Labor union leaders plan to use the legislative defeat in Wisconsin to fire up their members nationwide.

They plan to mount a major counterattack against Republicans at the ballot box in 2012.

Wisconsin's measure stripped public employees of most bargaining rights.

Richard Trumka Comments
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said, "Gov. Walker's overreaching has brought us to this moment to be able to talk about jobs, to be able to talk about the right to collective bargaining."

Trumka said, "This is the debate we've wanted to have for 25 years. Well, guess what? Suddenly the debate came to us."

Fire Fighters Comments
Harold Schaitberger, President of the International Association of Fire Fighters, said, "This is a fight for workers, this is a fight for the middle class, this is a fight to try to stave off the shift in power and wealth that is starting to become gross."

Democratic Fundraising Up
Democrats said their counterattack efforts were already beginning to bear fruit in the form of fundraising.

The Wisconsin Democratic Party said it raised $300,000 overnight and collected $800,000 from 32,000 donors in just five days.

Party chairman Mike Tate said Senate Democrats have raised $750,000 over the past month alone.

Read the AP story

Read: Unions frame bargaining as civil rights issue