News

Live Reporting from the Wisconsin Protests

by Jennifer Page — June 7, 2011 - 10:00am
  • Topics: Left Wing, Activism, Right Wing, Banking, Corporations, Democracy, Economy, Labor, Politics, Wisconsin Protests
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    It had to start somewhere.Since Monday, February 14, CMD reporters have been on the streets providing live coverage of the historic protests in Madison, Wisconsin and related legal and political battles. We focus on the corporations and spinmeisters pulling the strings. CMD is supported by small contributions from people like you. Consider making a contribution today. If you have scheduling information or tips for our reporters please contact us at (608) 260-9713 or editor@prwatch.org.

    GOODBYE FOR NOW

    On July 13, 2011 CMD ended this on-going report into the Wisconsin protests which we have maintained since February 14, 2011. It has been an honor to report on the historic events from Wisconsin from our office 4 blocks from the Capitol and have this reporting picked up on so many sites across the country. Today we launch a new chapter in our reporting on the shadowy front groups and corporations behind the recent assault on workers rights and democracy. Visit our new website ALECexposed.org to learn more about the corporate agenda in Wisconsin and continue to visit PRWatch.org for reporting on Wisconsin.
    -- The CMD team.

    MONDAY, JULY 11TH NEWS ROUNDUP

    Wisconsin State Journal: Democrats cry foul over Republican redistricting maps

    Democratic leaders expressed shock and anger Friday after Republicans unveiled their proposal for redrawing the state’s congressional and legislative districts, saying the new lines favor the majority party and target Democrats involved in upcoming recall elections. But according to Republicans, 22 legislators will be affected, either by being drawn out of their district or by being paired with another legislator in their district. Of that group 12 are Republican, GOP leaders say. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.

    Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Was senator threatened on budget vote?

    Aprominent business leader from state Sen. Rob Cowles' district was stunned when the veteran lawmaker explained why he voted in favor of Gov. Scott Walker's controversial budget-repair plan. Cowles had contacted the business leader earlier this year to ask for the person's support in his upcoming recall election. "He said, 'I didn't like this (bill) either. I didn't like being put in this position. I didn't like anything about the way it was done,' " the business leader quoted Cowles as saying. " 'But the governor's office told us if we didn't give them our support, they would run a tea party candidate against us.' " READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.

    Wisconsin State Journal: State gears up for recall season opener

    On Tuesday, Wisconsin begins the largest recall season in its history. By the time the final vote is tallied on Aug. 16, there will have been nine recall elections; six for Republican senators and three for Democratic senators. If Democrats can hold onto their seats and take three more, they return to power in the state Senate and have a formidable weapon to use against Walker. Passage of Republican-authored legislation, which has seen virtually no opposition in the GOP-controlled Legislature, will slam to a halt. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.

    La Crosse Tribune: Primary to be soft test for new voter ID law

    Voters in Tuesday's primary election and next month's state Senate recall won't have to show a picture ID. But they will be asked. "It's a soft implementation to give everybody a chance to get used to it," said Reid Magney, spokesman for Wisconsin's Government Accountability Board, which oversees elections. "The idea was because this was such a big change we don't want to disenfranchise anyone by springing this on voters. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.

    Bloomberg: Senator Johnson Says U.S. Can Avoid Default If Debt Ceiling Not Raised

    The U.S. won’t have to default on its obligations to bondholders even if Congress fails to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling by an August deadline, Republican Senator Ron Johnson said. “If we don’t increase the debt ceiling, we’ll have to live within our means,” the freshman from Wisconsin said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt” airing this weekend. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.

    View PR Watch's photo montage of the protests in Wisconsin

    LIVE REPORT ARCHIVES

    Comments

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    Probably educated by a non-union teacher

    Submitted by T H (not verified) on March 11, 2011 - 11:31pm.

    Considering the grammatical errors, I must assume that FunnyLady was educated by non-union teachers...

    Wrong, wrong, wrong

    Submitted by KWinters (not verified) on March 6, 2011 - 2:50pm.

    FL,
    Clearly you don't read newspapers or watch tv. The union members have AGREED to the cuts. What we are trying to protect are people's rights! You want to take away people's rights to sit down and talk to their employers? That is UNAMERICAN!

    You are the whiner who needs to read a paper and get a clue as to what we are fighting to protect: RIGHTS!

    I am a 28 year veteran

    Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on February 27, 2011 - 12:41pm.

    I am a 28 year veteran teacher in CA. I DO pay health care and retirement benefits. I pay $448 a month for my healthcare plan and $600 a mth for STRS (retirement) and have always paid for these benefits. I am fortunate in that I work for a district with supportive parents and a supportive community. As a result, our students do well academically. Although I have been a republican all my life, I do not agree with their "teacher bashing". It is too bad that all the information is not accurate. We do pay into insurance plans as well as our STRS plans and always ave done so. In addition, we are not overpaid or lazy, we love what we do, and we love "our kids". I am so tired of the politics. Please remember, many times teachers do sped their money to take classes ($3,000 last year for me) and supplies for their kids. We do care and love our students.

    false statements are getting silly now.....

    Submitted by kaysblueracine (not verified) on February 26, 2011 - 4:29pm.

    I live in Wisconsin, have been to Madison, am an officer in my county Dem party, and I'm on the OFA email list......OFA is spreading INFORMATION about the rallies in Wisconsin, not organizing them. If you choose to sign up they send you updates, that's all.
    The Dem party hasn't even been that active because it was such an immediate groundswell of grassroots action no one could keep up, including the unions who are more "responding" to the people instead of the other way around!
    I've been around a long time and believe me this is not fake civic action going on. I went there with a friend who called and said he just wanted to go show support. On our own. Some catch a free bus to avoid parking problems but not because they are part of the groups paying for the buses.
    The organized groups show up marching together .all the rest of the people are individuals acting as individuals for the same cause.

    Dear FunnyLady

    Submitted by Lisa Graves on February 17, 2011 - 6:20pm.

    You have clearly been brainwashed by FOX news and the other right-wing propaganda machines you plainly listen to routinely.

    The right of Americans to organize is inherent in the First Amendment's protection of the right to assemble and to petition the government for redress. The suggestion that working people organizing is "communist" is nothing less than an absurd charge straight from the darkest days of the McCarthy witchhunts.

    You were told lies in the 1950s, FunnyLady. And, just to pre-empt your likely ad hominen attack on me, you should know I give no ground to the totalitarian regimes you and your buddy Glenn Beck like to smear people with--my family fled not one, but two, communist revolutions for freedom in this country. And, that freedom dating back to our nation's founding includes the right of people to organize.

    Even the radical new governor, Scott Walker, conceded the following about Wisconsin's public servants, at least publicly: "Wisconsin’s state employees are second to none in our nation. Our citizens expect great service, and you have delivered. I know you will continue to deliver top‐notch programs for Wisconsin’s taxpayers."

    But, you are so closed-minded you cannot even admit this fact.

    A recent ranking of all the states in the U.S. ranked Wisconsin as one of the top ten "smartest states," an empirical analysis which is far more reputable than your gross generalizations that teachers do a "piss-poor job with the 3 Rs." But, the fact is that education in Wisconsin does suffer by having funding tied in part to property taxes, which is unfair to both students and property owners--whereas prison funding comes out of the general treasury without direct votes by citizens for expanded warehousing of people in penitentiaries.

    The idea that Wisconsin teachers, nurses, firefighters, EMTs, police, prison guards, and other civil servants are not taking responsibility for thier lives is both offensive and absurd.

    Similarly, the suggestion that they are getting a great deal by getting pensions for taking lower wages than many would get in the private sector and risking their lives on a daily basis to help their fellow citizens really shows how completely out of touch with reality you and your generic, uncreative, and thoughtless rhetoric are.

    And, I am sick of whiners too--people who have bought into the false divide and conquer politics of the right-wing that blinds one to the fact that people who work for a living should be united on common ground in calling for (and negotiating for) basic protections for the health of our children, parents, and spouses. But, I suppose you are one of those so-called "compassionate conservatives" who thinks as people get old and sick they should just be left to die on the streets so your taxes don't go up a dime and if their employer turns them out without cause at age 60, c'est la vie. Or, maybe you are one of those geniuses put up to protest by Koch-funded groups to say inane things like keep government out of your Medicare.

    Quite frankly, I don't know how you can sleep at night. But, I would imagine you sleep pretty well. Because, as they say, ignorance is bliss.

    --Lisa Graves

    Grow up! Collective

    Submitted by katwoman (not verified) on March 17, 2011 - 11:37am.

    Grow up! Collective bargaining is not a right it's a priviledge! I'm tired of paying for your benefits while paying a fortune for my own! Try working for a living!!!

    If collective bargaining is a privilege and not a right...

    Submitted by Mutternich on March 18, 2011 - 7:43am.

    ...Then who decides who is or is not awarded that privilege, and by what right do they decide it? By right of being super-rich?

    Here's what's a privilege and not a right: the privilege of having other human beings perform the labor that builds your mansions and provides all the luxuries beyond the reach of working people that you take for granted; the labor that made you rich and left them still poor -- until they fought for and won the right of collective bargaining.

    Oh wait...sorry, you're not rich either, are you?

    really

    Submitted by Lisa Graves on March 17, 2011 - 6:59pm.

    Dear Katwoman:
    Unfortunately, your note reflects a completely incorrect understanding on every front. The state employees you are talking about, firefighters, police, teachers, nurses, sanitation workers work plenty hard for a living. I challenge you to walk in any of their shoes for a day and then have the audacity to assert that they are not working for a living. It's a pity you are so badly misinformed. As for the "privilege" of collective bargaining, it was a legally recognized "right" in this state for over half a century and the contracts also create legally enforceable rights.

    The founder of the Republican party, Abraham Lincoln, said many things I think were incredibly wise but one seems particularly appropriate in this case: "It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt."

    Next time why don't you give an opinion based on actual facts.

    Lisa

    Go girl!

    Submitted by Barb99 (not verified) on March 5, 2011 - 4:22pm.

    Lisa, glad you're here! Couldn't have said it better myself! Funnylady, try MSNBC for some real facts.

    Well Said!

    Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on February 18, 2011 - 4:37pm.

    "The idea that Wisconsin teachers, nurses, firefighters, EMTs, police, prison guards, and other civil servants are not taking responsibility for thier lives is both offensive and absurd."

    Well said...not only do they take responsibility for their own lives, but on a daily basis they take responsibility for the lives of others. They choose to work in the public sector for the good of others, not for their own gain in the private sector.

    Thank you Ms. Graves!