I wish all elections had this turnout. This should be the norm, not the exception.Madison, Wi. resident Tom Bartelt • Offering a bipartisan message that everyone can probably agree with. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes that the city’s 53rd ward had significantly high numbers of newly registered voters on Tuesday — 500 in total, out of 1,500 total voters. (click for more)
“On Saturday, as tens of thousands of Wisconsinites marched in remembrance of the uprising against Walker’s agenda, there was much talk about the upcoming recall election — and that was important.
But it was equally important that the issue focus remained on renewing the state’s collective bargaining law. There was a recognition that the Wisconsin fight has never been, and can never be, about partisan politics alone. Not when basic rights are at stake.
Collective bargaining is a part of Wisconsin history, an example of this state’s ‘forward’ progressive values.
‘I was around in 1959 when Wisconsin became the first state in the United States, the first state in the Union, to adopt a law to permit public employees to collectively bargain,’ explains the senior member of the state Legislature, Senator Fred Risser, D-Madison. ’Back then, Wisconsin was known as a progressive, innovative state.’
Risser’s serious about renewing Wisconsin’s reputation as a progressive, innovative state, And he has joined with a much younger legislator, state Representative Mark Pocan, D-Madison, to propose legislation that would fully restore collective bargaining rights in Wisconsin.“ - John Nichols
Tens of Thousands Rally in Wisconsin for Labor Rights and Democracy
[Photos: Gary Porter/ Journal Sentinel]
Good to see this issue is still as vital on Wisconsinites’ minds as it was a year ago.
Demonstrators yell at a bus carrying lawmakers away from the capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin. [WLUK]
vruz:
this is the scene inside right now - we’ve taken OUR house back!
—via lefan-o-rama:
very little police presence. looks like state troopers only. no mapd.
likely 2000 inside.
lots of drums.
cars circling the capitol over and over honking horns. first time i’ve seen this reaction.
The scene from inside the capitol in Madison.
(Source: l3fan-o-rama)
WISCONSIN (by @pawlmadethis)
The people of Wisconsin are showing us what democracy looks like.
An excellent video interviewing loads of Wisconsin protestors. This one is worth spreading around.
This is the Wisconsin we know and love.
This is a multi-front assault aimed at putting Republicans in a commanding position, and it will come as close as you can come to turning Wisconsin into a Republican state. And this is not a red state or a blue state; it’s a purple state.Wisconsin Democracy Campaign executive director Mike McCabe • Suggesting that Wisconsin’s GOP is attempting to use its position to reorganize the state’s political structure to make it a red state. (In case you’re wondering, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign is a nonpartisan group not affiliated with another party.) And beyond the collective bargaining thing, Walker’s law is designed to cut union funding from the source – blocking unions from grabbing the money directly from paychecks, and then forcing people to vote on the union’s very existence each year. (People would also not be required to join a union, which is probably a good part of the bill.) Oh, and it gets worse – the GOP is in a position to redraw Congressional district lines as they see fit, and to force people to show IDs at the voting booth – both techniques used to hurt Democrats. Look, the union mess is one thing, but do you guys see what voters dragged into Wisconsin? That tinge you feel? Regret. source (via • follow)
» Oh, and Josh Lyman was there: Bradley Whitford, a graduate of Madison East High School best known for his time on “The West Wing,” had some pretty endearing words for the protesters as he spoke to the crowd. ”You wouldn’t believe the impact this is having across the country. … Wisconsin is a stubborn constituency. We fish through ice!”
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