Protests continue in Wisconsin, support for anti-worker’s rights bill might be fading
ThinkProgress has been following both Gov. Scott Walker’s (R-WI) recent “budget repair bill,” which would effectively eliminate state workers’ right to collectively bargain, and his coinciding threat to deploy the National Guard to stop a walkout. Yesterday, the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers criticized Walker, saying that collective bargaining is “fundamental” to the middle class.
Approximately 13,000 peaceful protesters flooded the state Capitol yesterday, including nearly 800 Madison East High School students who left school to protest Walker’s bill. Democratic lawmakers listened to testimonies from citizens for more than 20 hours, stretching into the early morning. Many people who hadn’t yet gotten to speak pulled out sleeping bags…
Walker also dismissed the huge numbers of protesters, saying that the number of participants (reportedly 13,000) was not significant because there are “about 5.5 million people in the state.”
The Wisconsin state Senate President said Tuesday that there are enough votes to pass Walker’s bill, and State Rep. Joel Kleefisch (R) said “there’s no doubt in my mind the Assembly will pass this.” But, in light of the massive opposition to Walker’s proposal, there are indicators that Republican support is beginning to crack.
So basically in Walker’s world turned upside, it’d take all 5.5 million residents of Wisconsin protesting this vile law for him to believe it’s a bad idea? Uh ok.
There are indications that support among Republican legislators for Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to remove collective bargaining rights for public workers might be starting to crack.
State Sen. Dan Kapanke of La Crosse told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he didn’t know where Republicans stood on the proposal that drew more than 13,000 protesters to the state Capitol on Tuesday.
When asked about the position of Republicans, Kapanke said he didn’t know the answer.
His comments come after Republican leaders in both the Senate and Assembly said on Tuesday that there were enough votes to pass the bill.
A public hearing on the measure Tuesday lasted 17 hours, with hundreds of people spending the night in the Capitol.
Thousands more are expected to converge on the Capitol Wednesday.
One can only hope that the lawmakers have some common sense left.
