pictures from monday

I bet some of you are sick of my blogging about opposition to Wis. Gov. Scott Walker's budget repair bill, aren't you? Well, too bad because here I go again. I feel an obligation to write about this and post as often as possible, for some reason. I'm not a state worker and heaven knows this little blog isn't the place anyone comes for up-to-date news and so forth. But since I can't be downtown in person every minute of the day and night, I'm doing my part, however small, by posting about it here as frequently as I can.

On Monday, I took Daniel and Anya to the demonstrations at the Capitol Square. We brought along a friend:



Some of my readers know this fellow! (Yes, he is a doctor, and no, he didn't write sick notes for teachers last week; he was actually out of town with his family those days.) I was grateful to have S there, frankly, because he held Daniel's hand while I alternately carried Anya and urged her to keep up with us. It's not easy to wrangle two kids at a rally in the freezing rain, is all I'm sayin'. When we got too cold walking around outside the Capitol, we joined the throngs inside the Rotunda to check out the scene there (and warm up!):



As you can see, protests are still going strong. Maybe not 70,000 strong like last Saturday because many people, including teachers, did eventually have to go back to work, but make no mistake: the workers are not backing down.

Comments

Claire said…
I wonder what's going to happen with the prank call to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? I'm sort of holding my breath, waiting for the repubs to do something in retaliations.
Strangeite said…
The point I was trying to make the other day (rather poorly) was that this battle is going to be won or lost in the court of public opinion.

The call worries me. To j.q. public, the governor comes across as reasonable, principled and sincere. The polls I have seen show the same thing he stated in that call. As soon as schools were canceled, public support for the protests began to drop.

According to Nate Silver, right now the public supports collective bargaining rights for public unions by a 2:1 margin. But only supports public employee unions by about 44%. Basically, they don't like them, but they agree with their right to exist.

The pendulum could swing quickly. The longer this goes, the more worried I become. Especially with $4 to $5 gas on the horizon.
Suze said…
Roy, the numbers on public opinion vary widely depending on who you ask. Over here where this is actually happening, having schools closed for 4 days brought people out by the thousands.
Strangeite said…
I agree that polls number vary widely, but I have learned to trust Nate's judgment in all things polling. The NYTimes swept him up for a reason.

You are correct that you are on the ground and I am not. I don't pretend to be an expert on Wisconsin politics or demographics.

From my position of armchair quarterback, the Dems and labor movement are playing the best cards they have at their disposal.

It is a given that the people of Madison are going to oppose the bill. What is your take on the state of Wisconsin as a whole? The reason why I ask is, if you just looked at Lexington and Louisville, you would assume that Kentucky is the most anti-coal state in the country.
Suze said…
Obviously opposition to the bill is strongest in Madison, but people have showed up from all over the state to participate in protests, and there have been protests all over the state for people who can't travel all the way here. In addition, 200 local leaders (mayors, superintendents) from various cities, counties and towns all around the state signed a statement urging Gov. Walker to reconsider the collective bargaining proposal in the bill.
Anonymous said…
This morning's paper (Thur.) had a picture of the protest. Somewhat blurry, but the protest sign read:

My teaching condition is your child's learning condition.

We loved it.

-Chanterelle

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