GROUND REPORT: Madison, Wisconsin rally to support Governor Scott Walker with photos from Tea Party protest
- Rally in Madison, Wisconsin at Capitol
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Dear HillBuzz,
Well, at the last minute, I decided to see if I could hop on a bus from WI State Fair Park, supplied free by Americans For Prosperity. It turns out there was only one bus, and enough people to fill two, so I just shouted out, “Hey, I’m willing to drive if someone wants to come along in my car.” And some older ladies took me up on my offer. So, it was me and two ladies that are active in the WI Republican Party here, driving 70 miles to Madison. I was concerned about parking, because it’s very hard to come by near the Capitol, but lo and behold, I was able to snag what I think was the last parking spot left, on the rooftop of this structure. It was only a block away from the Capitol square – (not really a square, more like the center of a bike spoke, with streets fanning out from the Capitol building).
Well…the Lefties still outnumbered us law abiding, tea partying, better looking ones (snark), but there were quite a few very clever signs there. I managed to capture six here, but one that I couldn’t capture had a baby crying, and a caption that said something like “WAAAAH. I have to pay some towards my own health insurance and pension!” And there was another one with a picture of Scott Walker with the word “COURAGE” on the one side, and a picture of fleeing Democrats in a school bus, on the other, with the word, “COWARDICE”. Sorry if the pictures are a bit poor quality, but I took them from my phone.
The speakers were Vicki McKenna, a local radio host, Herman Cain, ANDREW BREITBART (who must have flown from California!), Joe “The Plumber”, and a few more that I can’t remember. The Lefties had their drums and bullhorns, and were shouting “Kill the Bill”, and we were shouting “Pass the Bill”. The rally was put together in just a couple of days, so the speaker system was kinda bad, but it was nice talking to like-minded conservatives all there to support our Governor.
The ladies and I left a bit early, to beat the crowd, and we had to walk through and amongst the Lefties that were marching in a circle around the Capitol hub – and around us tea partiers. They didn’t seem to be violent (thank God), and none of us were carrying signs, so we didn’t get assaulted or anything. One union-printed sign said “Wisconsin taxpayers should care about teachers, like we care about your children.” Laughable. Calling in “sick” for three days in a row, to protest in Madison, INSTEAD of teaching Wisconsin’s children, is not caring about anyone but yourselves.
It was a wonderful learning experience, and a lesson in civic responsibility. I’m glad I was able to go.
Rightmindedmom in Wisconsin
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UPDATE: There’s more great coverage of the Madison, Wisconsin rally over at LittleMissAtilla
© 2011, Kevin DuJan. All rights reserved.
Also Recommended:
- Rally in Madison, Wisconsin to support Governor Walker’s stand against the greedy and corrupt unions…tomorrow at noon
- Ground Report from Wisconsin: Governor Scott Walker and the “Budget Fix” bill
- Support Scott Walker
- Wisconsin Ground Report: What’s going on with public employee protest rallies? How are Democrats using the usual suspects to protect the union-to-Democrat-campaign contribution gravy train?
- Wisconsin Ground Report: Media not reporting that Democrats fled the state without doing their jobs and teachers’ unions are harming children with their work stoppage
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Yeah, figured we’d still be outnumbered. Good showing though for us being the “in power” ones. When the Tea Party rallies were held in Madison the last couple of years the opposition was teeeeeny tiny, if existent at all. Wish I could have made it.
You guys rock! I just sent those photos and email seperately, about a half hour ago, and you ALREADY edited it and put it up! Thanks for the outlet, to get the word out. The majority of Wisconsinites are with Walker and the Republicans on this issue, even though we have been outnumbered all week on the streets of Madison.
Mom in Wisconsin
Great job! The pics came out great. I noticed you were apologizing for the way they looked…dont. You did just fine. (Have you seen Panda’s Pics? Dont get me wrong…I love them and would love a pandapic feature, but they do tend to um, vibrate a bit)
Fantastic job Rightminded! Thank you! I wish I could’ve made it there. I figured you’d be outnumbered. Partly because some of us are still working even Saturday, some (like me) are caring for an invalid relative, and.. probably the main reason… we weren’t busing people in from out of state like the leftists did. Those there were for real. Many of the union demonstrators were there either because the union told them to go, or because they were bused in by the DNC or unions. Just like before: the “real deal” people on the right versus the fakes on the left. Anyway, thanks for being there for us and keeping us clued in.
During the Scott Brown election, union workers turned out in matching shirts with glossy, printed matching signs all over the place at the drop of a hat. One of the best impromptu videos that went viral was a group of union guys holding Coakley signs while telling the camera that they were planning to vote for Scott Brown, but just came for the $50 they got paid to show up.
Hard to compete with that level of funding and organization for a rally organized on short notice.
What’s your email? I’ll send you a picture of the crying baby sign.
Email to HillBuzz@gmail.com
The speaker system was poor because a union thug pulled the wires out of some of them. He was detained by police but later released. Daily Caller has the video.
Look at this guy, it’s scary to think he’s probably a teacher:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ0dJM3h-tE
If vampires turn into bats, then leftists turn into parrots.
we hope his school district demands a drug and alcohol test from that teacher when he returns to work – if not he needs a court-ordered psych evaluation and should not be allowed near any children evah!
The reporter handled it beautifully. “That’s the only two words he apparently knows” LOL
Are there any solid numbers yet on how many people came to support the Governor??
As a teacher, I am willing to take a pay freeze or pay more for my benefits in order to “do my part” (maybe politicians could do this also), but part of what these protesters are trying to do is to keep bargaining rights in order to protect themselves, the students and the state of education.
Also, why aren’t all the unions in WI (and other states) expected to do the same as the teachers? The police and firefighters are exempt from this law….why? Oh, because they usually vote republican. If people want to do away with teacher unions, they should do away with ALL unions.
Dont worry, we will take them down too. Next year. One pig through the python at a time.
There is no money. Public employee unions should never have been allowed. Up until the 60′s they were illegal. Well….we have learned from that error and are working to correct it.
Not only should collective bargaining be removed, i also think all the teachers striking should be immediately fired.
There is no money. The promises made will never be met, and the stranglehold of the unions need to be smashed so that no more promises are made. Tenure needs to go too.
Oh, sorry one more point I wanted to make. Public employee unions. Those are the ones that need to jerked up or eliminated. Private unions? If they demand too much they kill the business…heloooo, Detroit? GM? and there is a limitation built in to rein in excessive greed and stupidity. Taxpayer paid employees? Not so much.
Unions are so 20th century. We don’t need them anymore. See: Detroit.
I heard Walker explain his rationale, and it made sense to me. First off, teachers can still bargain for salaries, but they would not be able to force school districts to negotiate on benefits, health care, and pensions.
I saw this play out in our town. The state made cuts that included education, and the town ended up getting less than anticipated. With the budget in a crunch for all town services, there was literally no extra money to make up the difference. The town tried to go for a debt exclusion, but the voters did not go for it. The school is required by law to fund mandates like special ed and to uphold teacher contracts. After that, there weren’t enough places to make cuts.
So they asked the unions to agree for teachers to take 2 furlough days. They refused. The alternative was 16 teacher positions cut (meaning higher class sizes), as well as aides and a number of extracurriculars dropped. It was shocking to me that they would rather lay people off–put them out of jobs and raise class sizes–than agree to 2 furlough days. Other towns in the same straits assessed fees for the school bus, cut sports programs, dropped art & music, held off on buying needed textbooks or school supplies, put off facilities maintenance, etc. These are not decisions in the best interests of the KIDS.
This was headed for a standoff with the unions refusing to budge, and the uncertainty of how many classrooms there would be dragging on into August. I know many of the teachers were fine with the furloughs personally, but the union leaders were not. Finally, Obama came through with that additional round of one-time stimulus funds. So, that patched our hole for a year, but it’s back again. It just kicked the can down the road another year.
As I understood Walker, he wants to give local school districts the authority to make some changes outside of bargaining in order to prevent something like 8,800 layoffs, or tie the school systems up in lengthy labor disputes if the unions won’t agree to concessions. He said the average length of labor disputes is 15 months to resolution, during which time the local school districts and the kids would be in limbo trying to figure out how many services and classrooms the schools could afford.
Also, WI has a balanced budget statute on the books, so the government is prohibited by law from running in the red. They have to pay for things, and the only way to make it all square is to cut spending or raise taxes. As part of a strategy to encourage more businesses to return or open shop in WI, he wanted to cut the corporate rate to bring in companies and their jobs, so he’s not going to agree to raise taxes and feels he has a mandate from the voters to make cuts. Public employee healthcare and pensions are one of the biggest chunks of expense, so that’s where he turned.
Now, why not cops & firemen, too? Can’t answer that one. Seems reasonable to me. Maybe they’re up next. That’s pretty much how it went down in NJ.
Governor Walker said in a radio interview that police and fire protect the public safety and we can’t afford an interruption in services.
If fire and police walk off the job it can cost lives. We’ve already seen how dedicated to the children the teachers are. Why wouldn’t the police and fire walk off the job if their union told them to come down with blue flu? I’m sure there are dedicated men and women who would not sick out, but it’s to big of a risk.
The teachers’ union is just the loudest. I can’t even think of another public sector union off the top of my head, but they rest are affected also. Except police, fire, and state troopers.
Yes the teachers who showed up at the protest with their classes should be reprimanded. What if they had been injured–who would have been to blame? The teachers, or the rioters?
Have a case of activitis?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7phru2KkDY&feature=player_embedded
UNIONS RIP, 2011
The American unions died today in Wisconsin, the home of the American progressive movement.
Causes of death: bloating, greed, self delusion, old age, and obsolescence.
The union was surrounded by its equally moribund relatives including communism, socialism, progressivism, and liberalism.
The union is survived by conservatism, traditional values, and the Tea Party.
Funeral services will be held in all 50 states.
LOL … hope your witty description becomes true.
Back when I lived in SoCal, my job demanded that I became a member of the IATSE. I was young, and it was my first experience with a union. I thought it was too cool that my union logo was up on the screen on every movie shown. After the overly tremendous dues I had to constantly pay, it dawned on me that I really wasn’t getting a thing out of this union bit. Loved my job, but couldn’t work it without being in the union. My dues kept rising, and I kept asking ‘WHAT am I getting for this money???” the answer was always the same, the sound of crickets chirping. My father worked for the same medical company almost his entire life. The owner of the company would let union organizers come and give their rallies and such, but a union never formed at this large medical instruments company. The owner would always give the workers better benefits than the unions promised and the employees didn’t have to pony up huge union dues. My father retired from that company in CA when he was 72, and he never regretted a day of working for a company that was not union. I understand how unions were helpful in the early 20th century, but I think they are hopelessly out of date and nothing but corrupt now,
Did the owner offer them better benefits *after* the unions started talking to the employers, or did they just have better benefits to begin with? Because if it was the former, that’s technically illegal.
In the private sector (the real world) I don’t get to decide where my desk is, how many people I oversee and what days off I get and how many in service days I want.
Teachers want to continue that right.
Why don’t teachers work with the school board (in my area it is union controlled anyway) to get that rights. Hey I have an even better idea. Work with the parents. Not sure how many parents will want to work with the teachers after the past week scramble.
In my world the employer sets the rules and I work. If I don’t like I am free to find a new job. I know many in WI that see paying towards a set pension for retirement while the private sector funds retirement for themselves all on their own, paying towards healthcare that the private sector pay 25 % of cost on average from employers if not more and not being able to control work environment by a union as reasonable as the state is broke.
Last year the Milwaukee Teachers proved how reasonable they could be. When faced with layoffs or paying for benefits they refused to pay for benefits. It was a national joke that free Viagra was more important then keeping fellow workers employed. Not all WI teachers are Milwaukee but when do public unions pay just like the taxpayers pay?
Also, Teachers that use the classroom as a bully pulpit are unprofessional.Teachers that took kids out of class to a protest should be fired for endangering the welfare of students.How many parents gave permission for kids to be pulled from the classroon and dragged to the capitol?
Good to see Breibart made it to Madison
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t49OQxIri4&w=640&h=390]
Briebart was sure he got a Dr.’s note too
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQRcNBWTOr8&w=640&h=390]
This short video is of a new Ford plant in … Brazil. Pay particular attention to the last couple of sentences to understand why an assembly plant is unlikely to be built in the USA ever again, and why assembly plants will continue to go offshore. Union wage, health & welfare demands, urged on by union management greed, strike at the heart of America again.
http://apps.detnews.com/apps/multimedia/player/index.php?id=1189
I hope that Gov. Walker will start a trend, no, a true revolution that reverses all of this.
Thank you Wisconsin!! Hang tough as you lead the revolution!
Governor Walker Rocks!!!
The teacher’s unions have destroyed the teaching profession. By protecting substandard teachers, they’ve lost the support of most parents, and have zero respect from their students. If I have to hear one more whiny teacher complain about their compensation because “it’s all about the kids” my head is going to explode. It’s not about the kids, if it was you would be doing your job and the kids would know how to read. Now you’re more concerned about your “prep time,” how slowly you can get back to your classroom after lunch, and how quickly you can get out at the end of the day. I know this because I pick up my son from school and the teachers are pulling out of the parking lot before I am.
There are only a handful of teachers that aren’t out of the school by 3:10 each day, and those are the good ones. They stay to help the kids out, one teaching team even offers a homework club for the kids, which any child on campus can attend. I would gladly pay these teachers twice the average, they’re worth it. The ones who leave skid marks on their way out of the parking lot are not.
This is so true. I remember when I was in high school (late 90s) it was the teachers who were out the door as soon as possible who were the ones constantly whining about how abused, neglected and mistreated they were while the truly amazing teachers my school had either never spoke about it or opined that they had a pretty good deal. One teacher, possibly the most amazing and hard working one I ever had, even went so far as to say that he was well paid.
I had the most amazing writing teacher in high school. The union had a one day sickout and she and 3 other teachers walked through the picket lines to teach us. I will never forget her standing in front of about 200 kids in the school cafeteria talking about the beauty of Shakespeare. She was phenomenal! Since she was the honors teacher most of the kids had never been in her class. One of my friends said she was the first teacher to make English interesting.
Oh, and she also hosted a potluck every year for her graduating seniors at her own home. She was tough, but we all loved her.
I am sure the parking lot is not the only thing these mouth breathers leave skid marks.
Would hate to do their laundry.
My husband and I drove from Illinois to show our support for Gov. Walker and the right minded, working class people of our neighbor, Wisconsin. We are hoping that someday soon, Walker’s bill will head across the border to Illinois, just like the 14 MIA Dem Senators have. We witnessed several incidences of disturbing behavior on part of the so-called “teachers”. Many have stooped to a new low. They were not good boys and girls, that’s for sure! No CLASS!
One more thing…one guy carried a sign that said:
WISCONSIN SENATORS
PHONE HOME
LOL
I’m with Governor Walker all the way. It’s way past time to get rid of Unions..and with them the so-called’ teachers that shouldn’t be teaching in the first place. Every single state needs a Governor willing to KEEP THEIR PROMISE TO CUT SPENDING!
Other photo collections of signs (pro-teacher’s union websites)are so angry and often quite off-color(sexually explicit).
Glad to see common sense used in these signs.
One of the above examples (pro-teacher’s union)touted Governor Walker’s cheating to maintain a 2.3 GPA in college. I’d like to ask that sign-carrier if Walker was a product of public schooling?
Zing! Bang!
Here’s a good sampling of those signs – I am embarrassed for the State of Wisconsin and would go as far as to highly recommend parents take their children out of the public school system. Yuck!
http://michellemalkin.com/2011/02/19/photo-gallery-what-big-labor-protesters-are-teaching-kids-language-warning/