My Concern over Wisconsin

[maxrandb]

And I'm sure others here share it as well, is that it is great to see average Americans of the Non-teabagger kind standing up and fighting, and it's great that the Dems have prevented a quorum, BUT...let's not forget what happened in Texas, and let's not forget what happened to the Air Traffic Controllers.

Bottom line reality is that the Repukes in WI hold a 19-14 majority in the Senate, and eventually, the Democrats will be forced to, or will return.

This bill is going to pass, and there is a risk that the tens of thousands marching in the street today, will be out of job within a month.

If we allow this to fade into distant memory, then the message that is sent is that WORKERS HAVE NO POWER AND THEY BETTER TOE THE LINE!

There needs to be contingency plans in place now to ensure this doesn't fade into distant memory. There needs to be action taken NOW to ensure these Americans are "rewarded" and not "punished" for standing up for their rights.

I don't know how to do that, but we need to ensure this moment is seized and the battle is joined.

Like Sean Connery's character Jimmy Malone in The Untouchables...we need to ask..."What are you prepared to do"?

[WI_DEM]

1. We are making our voice heard no matter what

remember many of those senate repubs will be up for re-election in 2012--and all dems need is 3 seats to take over control of the senate and if outrage continues over what this governor and legislature is doing then we will.

[jdlh8894]

7. How are they(Senators)

making their voice heard when they are not even there?
Kinda hard to support your position when you're avoiding a situation.JMO

[EC]

9. They aren't avoiding,

they are trying to stop it. That is true representation, they are willing to leave (an extreme measure) to refuse a quarum - therefore no vote. That is about all they CAN do to do as the people are asking.


There are plenty of Repub people in that crowd also and their votes won't be for Republicans next time.

First they break Acorn, then they go after the Unions...see a common thread there? How about the GOTV for Democrats and who it is that does the job.

[jwirr]

10. They and the people know what they are standing for. Silence can

speak volumes. Many a fight has been won that way. Ask any husband and wife.

[ClassWarrior]

16. By not being there?

Duh?

:shrug:

NGU.

[roguevalley]

17. I think this happened here once. They are keeping the quorum

off. It really blackens the other guy's eyes when they have to do this. The pugs are probably already sorry.

[WilliamPitt]

18. (facepalm)

[HereSince1628]

2. The people protesting KNOW the risks!

I was with them on Tuesday. This isn't a lark, everyone knows what is at stake. And EVERYONE I spoke with was ready to take risks to stop this.

Walker put 50 years of labor relations with the state on the chopping block, not the state workers. The pain is coming. It's up to us in Wisconsin to make this pain be worth something.

[midnight]

3. K&R.... but I hope this goes better for Wisconsin...

[KILL THE WISE ONE]

4. has the working class finally joined the on going class war?

Go Badgers !

[maxrandb]

8. I so hope what you say is true

The right bitches about "class warfare", but the reality is that there is class warfare going on...and for the past 30 years, the wealthiest in this country have been kicking the shit out of working Middle Class Americans.

Would be great if there weren't so many Americans standing shoulder to shoulder with the one's that already have all the bullets.

We will see how this pans out, but, the point of my post was to indicate that this is just the start of what may be a long and ugly fight.

[Skip_In_Boulder]

5. When the founders signed the Declaration of Independence

They put their lives on the line. Sometimes that's the cost of freedom.

[Cleita]

6. Republicans trying to strangle democracy in WI

is dead. The State Police won't back them up so unless the feds send in the National Guard, power is only as good as the militia that backs that power. This is why Mubarak fell. The army wouldn't back him up anymore.

[Rick Myers]

11. The governor controls the National Guard

No 'Fed' permission needed...

[Cleita]

13. Then maybe they won't back Governor Hosni W. either. n/t

[FBaggins]

12. It's a bit premature for that.

You still have to get the republicans to relent. They don't HAVE to... the crowd has to make them WANT to.

What most don't realize is that this quorum bust is NOT really like the one in TX for a number of reasons. One of the biggest is that we don't really control enough votes to deny them a quorum.

WI law actually has a lower quorum requirement for almost all legislative acts. Where we got lucky was that this particular bill is financial in nature... and those require a quorum of 3/5 of the legislative body in order to hold a final vote.

I don't know what keeps them from creating a new bill that only deals with the "no collective bargaining" part of the current bill. Then it's no longer a fiscal measure and requires only a smaller quorum (which they easily have). Game over.

In the end, the rules are not on our side. The people have to be.

[cali]

14. yes, I'm worried about that too.

[ClassWarrior]

15. Yes, let's not forget what happened in Texas.

NGU.

[Tatiana]

19. The dynamics of WI and TX are pretty different.

Though there are definite "red" patches in WI, the state isn't nearly as conservative as Texas. There's a good chance that Dems can gain control of the Senate in the next election cycle. Moreover, I believe the majority of Cheeseheads are more independent-minded and less a product of indoctrination or "it's always been done this way." I say this as someone born in Texas. Someone like Russ Feingold could never have been elected in Texas.

I think this right-wing turn in WI will be cyclical in nature. There are a good number of teabaggers right now experiencing Republican buyers' remorse.