Capitol Square overflows in largest Wisconsin labor solidarity rally yet

[kpete]

Source: The Daily Page

Capitol Square overflows in largest Wisconsin labor solidarity rally yet
Alison Bauter on Saturday 03/12/2011 6:17 pm , (1) Like

The day after Scott Walker's ceremonial signing of a bill stripping collective bargaining rights from Wisconsin's public employees, tens of thousands of protestors once again filled the Capitol Square Saturday. "Kill the bill" was no longer heard, but a new chant rose to take its place: "What's the word? Kloppenburg!"

Although they lost a battle in the legislature, pro-union protestors have pledged to win the middle class war. Their newest slogans centered around this goal, urging protesters to recall the eight eligible Senate Republicans, and to vote JoAnne Kloppenburg to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

To that end, clipboard-wielding activists commandeered a Carroll Street bus shelter, urging protestors parading past to sign (if they hadn't already) their senator's recall petition. "Vote for Kloppenburg" signs suddenly became a ubiquitous fixture of the protest landscape.

Overall, the rally looked to be the biggest yet, with Madison police estimating a crowd size of 85,000-100,000.

Read more: http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=32745&sid=38a21e670ae01df923a1b3abea2f76a8

[Doctor_J]

1. Um,...the ship already sailed

what's the point?

[TBF]

3. Recall of the governor and several senators.

We have just started to fight so you'd better get ready and figure out which side you're on.

[L. Coyote]

22. Violation of Human Rights is a crime. Univ. Declaration of Human Rights: "Everyone has the right to

Scott Walker, "Oooophs, we just forgot about human rights (for Democrats)."

Universal Declaration of Human Rights: "Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x621314

Legal effect ... Declaration was explicitly adopted ... binding on all member states .....

[Zoeisright]

27. Wow. GREAT information. I did not know that.

Of course, I'm sure pigs like Wanker (sic) know that and don't give a flying fuck, simply because they're pigs.

And apologies to pigs.

[L. Coyote]

35. If Walker had graduated from college, or studied instead of cheating, he might know this stuff

Not to mention, if there was a real attorney in the Tea Party :rofl:

[Corruption Winz]

114. Well, if this were England, they certainly might dress the part. n/t

[fittosurvive]

98. Are you suggesting that this legislation calls for the decertification of Wisconsin unions?

[readmoreoften]

33. +1

[momdogz]

5. what?

you give up so easily? Lots of work to be done still. More than one ship has already sailed, not just the HMS Walker.

[undeterred]

7. Walker's train is about to be derailed.

WE are more powerful than he. That is the point.

[RainDog]

8. you can get a lot of signatures to recall at a rally

it's faster and easier than going door-to-door.

people also make contacts and get on mailing lists and facebook groups for actions to hit back at the pols who did this.

what has happened in WI is a great thing - they are the frontline of the class war and people have not yet begun to fight.

the teabaggers will be sorry they started this when all is said and done.

[Kolesar]

69. I used to take petitions for "Saving Wetlands" to the 2003 antiwar rallies

Made a lot of friends on those days!

[rzemanfl]

9. I was going to be the first one to jump on you for that, but I

decided to wait a bit. The ship may have sailed but it will never make port.

[fascisthunter]

12. not till we say it has

[roguevalley]

14. you know, laws can be stricken down and changed. Just because

it passed and asshat signed it doesn't mean its permanent. I hope they passed recall petitions. they could get their totals right there. :)

[Omaha Steve]

15. The bill hasn't been stamped yet (hint hint)

And to show others what they face. Walker never expected any of this. They thought we would die without a whimper!

[dz09rn]

18. here is the point

We lost the Battle of Bunker Hill, but won the Revolutionary war. We lost the Battle of Fredericksburg, but won the American Civil war. We lost battles in both world wars, but still succeeded in both. No war is without sacrifice and while we may have lost this battle, the war has just begun and we will NOT be defeated.

[stevedeshazer]

20. +1

You are right.

[Doctor_J]

31. No, the battle has not just begun

Man, we need help with our reality check. Limpballs took over the country 20 years ago. OKC was bombed - it just got worse. Newt became speaker of the house - it got worse. Clinton was impeached - worse. Bush v. Gore - worse. OH 2004 - worse.

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. The WI capitol was picketed for two weeks, with the result that the fascists outlawed CB anyway. How the hell is more marching going to change anything?

[CLANG]

37. Apparently it is you that needs a reality check.

And thanks for your support! :puke:

[demwing]

39. Ok, put out your better plan. I'll love it.

let us know anytime...

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

58. Trying to persuade his mom to give him more lunch money to give to the bully

so maybe the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the rate of increase of the severity of the beatings will decrease a little.

But it won't, of course.

[tblue37]

42. They are NOT just marching. They are working to recall Repubs and

to keep the people fired up so that they will sign petitions, vote in the recall, and also vote in a Democratic justice. The size of the protest will aid in all of those things.

And just as the people of Wisconsin were inspired by the Egyptians, and the Egyptians were inspired by the Tunisians, so too are the people in other states being inspired by the Wisconsin protests.

Furthermore, the way the MSM is avoiding news about the protests, no matter how large they get, is evidence to those who don't normally pay that much attention that the MSM follows a corporate agenda and is not on the workers' side.

Our national Dem Party leaders are lousy message framers, and they are weak rollovers much of the time. But the fury of these protests might just give some of them some spine, while also putting a bit of fear into the most DINO like Dems and the Republcians.

Already many who voted for Walker and many workers who regularly vote Repub have had their eyes opened and are determined to drive the Republican backstabbers from power.

A lot has been accomplished and a lot can still be accomplished as a result of these protests, so I hope they keep the fires burning as long and as hot as possible.

[gkhouston]

53. I saw a tweet which alleges there have already been enough signatures collected

to recall two of the Senators. Don't know which two.

[tblue37]

56. Cool! nt

[Lastactiongyro]

79. For Up-To-Date News about WI go to the Middle-Eastern Al-Jazeera

News Network!

More WI coverage in a day that American Media give in a month!

http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/

Down With Tyrants!

[mokawanis]

62. Yes, it has just begun

At this stage it it would be foolish to assume recalls won't work. If we get the supreme court seat and take the majority in the state senate we can make things very tough for Walker. We protested for 4 weeks, not 2, and today there were over 100,000 at the capitol - AFTER the bill was passed. This fight is still very much alive. The repercussions of Walker's assault will be felt all across the state, and the growing sense of alarm and dispproval doesn't bode well for the repugs.

[Chef Eric]

66. Thanks for the definition of insanity. I've got a definition for you too.

Major depressive disorder (also known as clinical depression, major depression, unipolar depression, or unipolar disorder) is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by loss of interest in constructive activities.

[hwmnbn]

97. OH SNAP!!

excellent input!

[myrna minx]

68. Eeyore Underground. Never try to change anything and just give up.

I'm glad you weren't involved to de-motivate the civil rights movement. :eyes:

[Enthusiast]

71. Dude.....

We haven't fought back in the scale of Wisconsin. People are waking up. I've heard of many Republicans and Teabaggers coming to the realization that they have been backing the wrong side. It is called awareness and it is growing in spite of the corporate media.

[bitchkitty]

78. So why are you here then?

What's the use in coming to a political discussion board if you're so ready to accept the status quo? We don't need lessons in bending over; we have our politicians for that. So why are you here?

[Aleric]

94. +1000+

I was sure DoctorJ was a troll until I saw that his posts are at 1000+...

Who is he? Some DLC/Corporate shill? What's the point?

[Pacifist Patriot]

113. Good question

[drm604]

83. Oh I see. We didn't realize any of that.

Thanks to your sage advice we'll all just roll over and die. :sarcasm:

By the way, that is NOT the definition of insanity. I know that people like to say that it is, but it isn't.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insanity

What exactly are you trying to achieve here? Why would you be here on DU trying to dissuade people from taking action?

Do you have a better plan?

[Critters2]

34. Best initial post ever! A hearty welcome to DU!

:hi:

[valerief]

48. I agree! nt

[tpsbmam]

38. Excellent analogy! Welcome to DU! nt

[calimary]

41. Indeed! Good point, well worth remembering!

And welcome to DU!

[The Wizard]

43. Make no mistake

This is class war, and when the wealthy elites and their Republican lackeys make it sound like a bad thing, embrace class war and let them no which side you are on.
When you make a teabagger cry Zeus smiles.

[Enthusiast]

70. PLUS ONE! nt

[sellitman]

72. GREAT 1st post on DU!!!

Welcome.

Come often and post more.

:toast:

[FailureToCommunicate]

74. OUR ship is still taking passengers. Welcome aboard!

[cui bono]

105. +1 - Great first post!

[L. Coyote]

23. There's a ship leaving Africa for America, it's 1800, and you're on it,

and you were taken hostage. It's called slavery. But hey, WTF, the ship already sailed. You might as well enjoy it, right?

[socialist_n_TN]

25. Ah, the new meme from the usual suspects......

As others have said, we haven't even brought out the big guns yet. We CAN and WILL retake this ground. By any means necessary.

[PeaceNikki]

26. lolz

[RoccoR5955]

30. No surrender, no retreat, never give up.

THAT'S THE POINT!
Just because a battle is lost does not mean that the war is lost!

[CLANG]

36. What - you never heard of torpedoes?

:eyes:

[pacalo]

44. Wisconsinites & the Fabulous 14 are doing exactly what made this country so great.

The grit & perserverence they've exhibited in the past three weeks is what we've been longing to see from our U.S. Democratic leaders.

And the Wisconsinites aren't backing down anytime soon!

[tsuki]

67. Love the pic. nt

[Zambero]

55. That ship is the Titanic II. Iceberg alert!

Walker and his pals may have a sinking feeling in store!

[rasputin1952]

65. For one thing, there may be a reversal under the law...

For others, recall the 8 that are eligible for recall; get D's in those seats, rescind the law; keep pressure on Walker; build a solid foundation to recall Walker in January; keep the situation going so the other states facing this see solidarity.

One does not lose a skirmish and abandon the battlefield.

[Le Taz Hot]

75. You give up so easily.

Glad we didn't have you in the 60's/70's or we would still be in 'Nam. :eyes:

[Doctor_J]

80. Easily? I've been at this for 30 years

So please try some other generic slur. You might get that one right.

[bitchkitty]

81. You've been at what for 30 years?

Preaching submission? Celebrating defeat? What?

[Doctor_J]

103. You could call it that I guess

if by "preaching submission" you mean, "telling people to stop doing the same useless things that have not worked for 20 years". You might have a different definition of submission than I do. This might be news to you, but all the protests in Madison didn't prevent the teabaggers from outlawing unions, and thus cutting off a major funding source for Dems/leftists in that state for years to come. Continued presence on the capitol isn't going to change that. So who's being submissive?

Edit: BTW, the wingers and teabaggers and mainstream Repukes in WI are laughing at these recall petitions.

[mokawanis]

108. I have to call bullshit on that

The repugs are worried about recalls, and for good reason. Some of the repug senators won by narrow margins and they know they're facing real trouble with recalls. We're going to defeat some of them.

[Zambero]

111. Laughing you say? Fine, but they should be whistling about now...

Past the graveyard where their elected politicians' futures will soon be interred.

[Le Taz Hot]

87. You've been encouraging

people to give up and accept the status quo for 30 years? Must suck to be you, dude.

[guitar man]

91. Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

Nothing is over until we say it's over! :bounce:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGIPCGyihxw&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[Zorra]

93. Over 1000 posts, and you don't know?

That's interesting.

The first post on this thread is an obvious and lame attempt at dimming the enthusiasm of a liberal movement toward solidarity that is growing leaps and bounds by the day.

What could possibly be your motivation for doing that?

[lenegal]

96. Surely you are joking. The next goal is to recall, recall recall

nt

[russspeakeasy]

99. That ship that already sailed? It has to dock someplace, sometime.

[cui bono]

104. That's what some Egyptians said. n/t

[bobthedrummer]

107. We are the citizens of Wisconsin that these corporate fascist backed Republicans wouldn't listen to

and I as an independent voter support the action of the Fab14-there is a lot more in the bills than just taking away the RIGHT to organize, Doctor_J from Michigan-why do you suggest the Republican/corporate fascist talking point that this is all over???

:eyes:

[Pacifist Patriot]

112. I am not believing you said that.

[Lefta Dissenter]

2. Thanks for posting that!

It was a GREAT day, and wonderful to see all the Kloppenburg signs out.

The next few months will be agonizing and fascinating.

[elocs]

4. A K&R for a thread with the most moronic 1st response ever. n/t

[Iwillnevergiveup]

6. I'd have to agree with you.

K&R

:kick:

[iwishiwas]

29. agree.

[Kingofalldems]

10. Beautiful sight!

K and R
And the ship has not sailed.

[rrneck]

11. Once. Just once

I'd like for us to take to the streets to get a fair shake without having to get a bunch of skulls cracked.

It would be nice.

[fascisthunter]

13. Awesome! Now THAT is We the People Power(nt)

[Doctor_J]

32. You're half right - it's people

power? Uh, no.

[reggie the dog]

84. Do you think we win every strike here in Fracne?

no, unfortunately we don't, but that doesn't stop us from going on strike and standing up for our rights. You win some, you lose some, sometimes a law is passed and after public outcry is taken back, other times the party that voted the law gets their asses handed to them at the next election. a wise man from Indiana once said "you gotta stand right up for something or you gonna fall, for anything"

[reggie the dog]

86. people from the protests are becoming new members here

and telling friends about this site... that is a good thing too.

[Greybnk48]

16. There were signup tables for every senator being recalled

and they were busy for 8-9 hours straight. It also was a fantastic day to remind everone to get their butts to the polls April 5th and vote Kloppenburg so our Supreme Court doesn't go "bagger."

Funny sign I saw today "Tea Party is a nice name for racists and homophobes" LOL! My other favorite moment was hearing 100,000 people chanting "Fox Lies!" Awesome!

[reggie the dog]

85. 100,000 according to the police

over 200,000 according to people there... just sayin'

[Sabriel]

92. Definitely not 100,000

We've been there four times, and this was BY FAR the largest. The speaker area at State was packed and spilled three blocks down. Not to mention it was sometimes hard to march around the Square because of the sheer numbers. That's never happened before yesterday.

Had to have been 125,000-150,000, at least.

[russspeakeasy]

100. Beautiful !! Any pix?

Walk away Walker....! Maybe we can get him to pull a Palin..

[FJeff]

17. show me what democracy looks like.

this is what democracy looks like.

[MadisonMike]

19. beautiful

It was a beautiful day, and as mentioned above, we lost the battle but not the war :)
My favorite sign was one that said "Even an Atheist knows Walker is the Antichrist"

[pacalo]

46. Welcome to DU, Madison Mike!

:hi:

[MadisonMike]

64. Thank you! :)

:toast:

[pacalo]

47. What a CROWD! I'm SO PROUD of Wisconsinites!

And welcome to DU, FJeff! :hi:

[plumbob]

106. That IS beautiful!

People together trying to help each other!

Yes, and to MadisonMike, even THIS atheist does know Walker's the antichrist!

[Peace Patriot]

21. Wow! Totally awesome! Kudos and laurel wreaths to the heroes of Wisconsin!

:applause: :bounce: :applause: :grouphug: :applause: :bounce: :applause:

Peace :patriot:

[IamK]

24. better late than never.... ok, never mind....

[kevinbgoode]

28. Look. . .as a gay person who has watched the Right

do everything from orchestrate defeat of state supreme court justices in Iowa to forcing public referendums on MY rights, we know these things can be done. The GOP seems to have unlimited money to spend on outrageous advertising, and as long as we all stay on the defensive, we aren't going to win. RECALL, RECALL, RECALL! And if that fails, RECALL again.

And it wouldn't hurt to draft a slew of referendums that would specifically limit the governor from exercising his new powers. While that might take time, it also bleeds the Right financially to fight multiple battles in every location. They are used to launching the attacks, not having to defend themselves.

[forty6]

73. Excellent point! n/t

[drm604]

88. Very good point.

Make them fight multiple battles. Divide their attention and resources.

[defendandprotect]

40. kr

[The Wizard]

45. The fascist wave

must be stopped in its tracks. This is a good beginning.
Whenever you see a teabagging enabler point at them and laugh.

[burrowowl]

49. K&R

[lovuian]

50. Oh Wow freakin Awesome!!!

love it

[SleeplessinSoCal]

51. The anti-union ads running on CNN in between coverage of Japan are horrific too.

[grahamhgreen]

52. Big K&R. Godspeed WI!

[pansypoo53219]

54. it looks like obama

WAS there!

[suffragette]

57. K&R

[JanDutchy]

59. A Song to support:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk69e1Vcmvg

[Hardrada]

60. We got there in time to hear the speakers and donate some money

to the cause. We bring our full size State of Iowa flag to show our support and the Wisconsin people appreciate that we have come over to help. We are only about 95 miles away and it is not that difficult. We will keep driving up as long as this goes on. This was our third time there.
The roar of the crowd could be heard blocks away

[gtar100]

61. Hey, I bet CNN is out in full force covering such a demonstration.

But I wouldn't know. I don't like to watch a bunch of corporate whores dancing for their self-serving corporate masters.

This demonstration makes the teabagger rallies look even more of joke than they already are.

[Charleston Chew]

63. Sam Seder Live from Madison

__________
http://www.justin.tv/majorityreport
__________
__________
http://majority.fm/2011/03/11/live-from-madison /
_________

[HereSince1628]

76. Shipped sailed, right into the most determined political movement in the US

In the last 2 decades the typical thing for dems to do after a legislative loss would have been to sit in front of the TV and shrug their shoulders.

What was witnessed yesterday in Madion was very different. These are people whose cause got knocked down and they jumped right back up again stronger than ever.

These people don't consider clicking polls political activism. There are court cases moving forward on the legislation, the Recalls are succeeding, clearly have majority support in at least 2 WI senatorial districts. They are people who as Assemblyman Barca said in welcoming back the Fab 14, will not surrender their Civil and Human Rights easily.

Wisconsinites are showing the way to act when you lose on a piece of dreadful legislation. Rather than crying over wet powder, this movement has expectations for democratic politicians that our perambulating princes of silly season politics must take heed of in 2012.

When they come for the rest of their budgetary attack on Wisconsin citizens, when they actually reach out to end BadgerCare, to privatize our Schools, and attempting to sell off the Commonwealth for pennies on the dollar while promising to poison use by unfunding Wisconsin's environmental protections they will find the type of citizen at the 'losers' rally be standing in their way. Again.

Republican legislatures were scared shitless after their 'big win.' They had to create a Palace Guard to enter and leave the Capitol. I'm not sure if the cowards have the courage to face really determined people.

[russspeakeasy]

101. Well put Heresince..

[Le Taz Hot]

77. Show us how it's done, Wisconsin!

Great photos!!! K & R

[Swampguana]

82. Don't give up!

[Myrina]

89. Susan Sarandon At Ian's Pizza ...

From Ian's Facebook page ... she apparently called last week and donated pizzas for the protestors, and this weekend paid a visit in person.

HOW COOL !!! :patriot: :patriot:

[underpants]

109. Too cool

:patriot:

[kpete]

90. nice pic from Keith

[russspeakeasy]

102. By God, maybe we can accomplish something !

[Zorra]

95. This is so encouraging. The rally is awesome. Y'all are awesome.

Now let's get 'em.

[defendandprotect]

110. k and r -- kick