Wisconsin governor rejects negotiations on controversial budget bill

[Omaha Steve]

Source: CNN

By the CNN Wire Staff

MADISON, Wisconsin (CNN) -- Wisconsin's growing demonstration over a budget bill continues Monday with guitarist Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine fame planning to play for the protesters a day after Republican Gov. Scott Walker signaled no retreat on the measure. Supporters call the bill vital, but opponents label it union-busting.

The growing crowds gathering daily in Madison, the state capital, over the issue exceeded 50,000 on Saturday, according to an official estimate, and shows no sign of abating.

"History is happening in the streets of Madison, Wisconsin and I'm going to be there," said a statement by Morello, who will perform in his solo identity as The Nightwatchman.

Calling the proposed budget law "unjust," Morello said he will join "teachers, students, firefighters, policemen, Green Bay Packers, nurses, steel workers, construction workers and religious groups that are filling the streets to protest."

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/02/21/wisconsin.budget/index.html?hpt=T2

---

FULL story & video at link.

[xchrom]

1. recommend

[opihimoimoi]

2. KnR :o)

[bemildred]

16. Priceless. nt

[Dennis Donovan]

3. Tom Morello is a good dude!!

A day of Rage Against the Koch Machine!!!!!:thumbsup::headbang:

[liberal N proud]

4. What an ASS!

[Fearless]

14. The governor is indeed! +1

[Indydem]

5. What?

The protests on Saturday were 70,000.
The protest on Sunday were 50,000 and they are growing?

The douchebag governor won the elction by 128,000 votes. You can pretty much assume that none of the people protesting voted for him.

So unless they manage to rally up about 200k people in Madison, they can kiss this entire effort goodbye. I have family and friends who are apolitical (and democrats) in the Madison area and a couple in the far north, and they are getting seriously pissed off that their kids aren't going to school, and thus THEY have to find someone to take care of them or miss work. When you piss off the rest of the populaton with your actions, you aren't making traction, you are making enemies.

[closeupready]

8. Educators are not babysitters.

:mad:

[Indydem]

11. No, they aren't.

But parents have a reasonable expectation that their children will go to school when the schedule says there is school.

It's all part of a system of cooperation, and teachers deciding not to do their job is not winning them any friends amongst the other residents of Wisconsin, especially among the apolitical people who just don't vote. Inconvenience those people enough, and they will suddently decide that voting against the people who cost them a couple weeks worth of pay is in their best interests.

[coalition_unwilling]

17. You are kidding, right? People who 'just don't vote' are suddenly

going to have an epiphany that they're angry because teachers' actions inconvenienced them and so, in the next election (at least a year away), they will go out to vote against the teachers? And these aquaintances of yours are Democrats? WTF? What kind of Democrats are they?

[closeupready]

18. People must take responsibility for their electoral decisions.

Wisconsin voted for a governor who is trying to break a union. What did Walker's supporters believe the union was going to do - say, 'okay, we will disband because you say so'?

What an incredibly asinine and naive thing to claim or imply. :eyes:

[sybylla]

21. They'd get paid more if they were.

Just saw an e-mail going around that if teachers were paid $3/hour/kid, they'd be rolling in the dough.

[closeupready]

26. Actually, yes, if they were paid what they were worth/income realized by non-primary breadwinner,

yes, lots more.

[Indydem]

28. Sure, we could do that.

If they didn't spend anything on books, supplies, overhead, buildings, administration, or anything else.

We could totally pay them $3 an hour if they taught them with slates and chalk* in an open meadow.

Get a grip.

* slates and chalk provided by parents and not the school district.

[sybylla]

20. Wrong. Some of them did vote for Walker.

Everyone thinks that union members vote in lock step. The sad news is that too many of them voted for the puke idiots now running this state - a fact many of them rue at this moment judging by the reports I'm getting from friends in education and public service. And some of them are heading to Madison to tell those pukes that they should vote against this bill or they'll never vote puke again.


So let's hope that the pukes in the Madison Capitol all think like you do and take for granted that no teachers, no public servants supported them in the first place. They will be recalled so quickly their head will spin, as they say.

[blackspade]

22. Standing up for everyone's rights is not always convenient.

If this spreads to KY I'll be at home with my kids and glad of it.

[murielm99]

29. Today is Presidents Day.

The teachers in Madison have sent out a communication that they will be in school tomorrow. They acknowledge that parents have faced hardship over the days off from school.

I know that most teachers would rather be in the classroom teaching. They will be tomorrow.

And Sunday was a very bad weather day, with freezing rain. How sure are you of those numbers? Who is providing them?

This is not going away, even if the people of Madison keep a skeleton crew in the capitol on some days.

[NeoConsSuck]

6. Of course he would refuse

His agenda is to kill the unions, it was never about budget deficits. The unions already said they would give in on the economic issues. But that's not good enough for the Koch brothers and Walker. Their goal is to create a Mexican society, where you have two classes, the very rich and the very poor. And you can't accomplish that if there are labor unions.

Paul Krugman nailed it:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/21/opinion/21krugman.html?_r=1&hp

[TaylorWatts]

7. Not likely but maybe we can prevent even the economic issues then if we maintain solidarity

[NeoConsSuck]

9. One of the Interesting comments on the Krugman article:

Does the media ever report on this:

Only five states do not allow collective bargaining for educators. Those states and their ranking on ACT/SAT scores: South Carolina, 50th; North Carolina, 49th; Georgia, 48th; Texas, 47th; Virginia, 44th. Wisconsin, with its collective bargaining for teachers, is 2nd.

[TaylorWatts]

10. I emailed Walker asking what he thought of that! :)

He won't respond, but better than nothing.

[Indydem]

13. Perhaps you should dig a little deeper into that.

That is all a factor of participation:

Participation rates (2010 ranking by SAT):
Wisconsin (3): 4%
South Carolina (49): 66%
North Carolina (38): 63%
Georgia (48): 74%
Texas (45): 53%
Virginia (34): 67%
Disctrict of Columbia (50): 76%
Maine (51): 92%

If only the elite, college-bound students take the test, of course the scores will be higher. Will you actually make the argument that Maine or DC aren't doing their part on collective bargaining?

[GillesDeleuze]

19. In the MIDWEST we take the ACT

and wisconsin ACT scores: 18th in the nation, behind the usual east coast suspects

[TaylorWatts]

25. Take average SAT and ACT, WI is #2

http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/states/USCHARTsat.html

[Indydem]

27. Little out of date wouldn't you say?

*Based on 1999 statistics from the Congressional Quarterly, World Information Almanac, and other trusted sources of information

18th nationally on the ACT in 2010.

Still only testing 69% of the students.

http://www.act.org/news/data/10/states.html?utm_campaign=cccr10&utm_source=data&utm_medium=web

[cate94]

12. K & R

[Turbineguy]

15. If Walker doesn't beat the Unions on this

the Koch brothers won't give him the White House.

The stakes are high.

[BumRushDaShow]

23. Setup a boycott of the state to force him to negotiate. n/t

[creon]

24. he will not negotiate

He will not negotiate until he is forced to negotiate.

That will take time.