Keep calm, carry on.

We lost.

This morning Governor Walker signed into law his “budget repair bill” that has ripped the state apart and has tragic effects for so many of us here in Wisconsin and across the country. Despite days and weeks of protesting often outside of a locked Capitol as Walker refused to hear our pleas, despite standing in snow and temperatures in the teens with tens of thousands of other protestors, despite the letters to our legislators, to our governor, to the media, to anyone OUT THERE who could help, we lost.

We lost the battle. We did not lose the war.

After yesterday’s vote in the Assembly, I stood with a group of protestors that shouted “Shame, shame, shame!” as Republican legislators filed out of the Assembly room, flanked by police escorts. They pointedly avoided eye contact, refusing to acknowledge the thousands of us who had crowded into the Capitol who came to have our voices heard.

I did not shout shame. Instead, I stood, speechless. It was utterly surreal. After nearly four weeks of protestors talking, asking, hoping, waiting for a compromise to this destructive bill, nothing, not a single bit of the bill, was changed.

I stood speechless, and I cried.

It was so hard to believe that after so long, after investing so much time and energy into fighting this bill, we could lose without so much as a single concession from Walker or his fellow Republicans. It was unimaginable that my voice and the voice of the hundreds of thousands of us over the course of this last month could not move him, not even an inch from his dogma. It felt like something had died within me.

And then it was reborn, like the Phoenix rising from the ashes. Because after my tears dried, a calm resolve filled the place of sadness. It was time to move on. Time to make sure that these rights are restored, that democracy does not get trampled again, that legislators and this Governor are recalled, that the courts step in to mitigate if not repeal, this legislation. It is time to move on. To keep calm and carry on.

Governor Walker, rest assured. This will not stand.

Crackerjack reporting

Crackerjack reporting from the ground here in Madison, WI. Tomorrow we’ll be at the Capitol protesting again, in what we hope to be the biggest rally against Walker yet. Our legislature continues to be in a stalemate as our 14 brave state Senators stay out of state to deny the Senate the quorum it needs to pass Governor Walker’s “Budget Repair Bill.”

What our democratic Senators have done is heroic. By preventing a quorum, they have slowed down this bill, giving us all time to read and review it. We would not have otherwise been able to know what was in this bill that Walker and his legislative counterparts (two brothers, republican Jeff Fitzgerald who heads up the state Assembly and republican Scott Fitzgerald who heads up the state Senate- you can’t make this stuff up) tried to ram down our throats in three days.

We hope they stay out as long as it takes for Walker to agree to changes in this horrific bill. If even ONE state Senator steps into the Capitol, the state Senate is poised to breathlessly call a session and pass the bill. Despite what Fox news is reporting (that our Senators are derelict in their duties and should come back and “debate the bill like grown-ups”) there will be no debate. We all know that. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald has made that clear. They will not compromise on this bill. Once granted a quorum (through force if necessary), the Senate intends to pass this bill and get it to Walker’s desk for a signature, which will have deleterious effects on Wisconsin’s middle class for decades to come.

While we try our best to prevent that from happening by writing to our legislators, protesting at the Capitol and writing to Governor Walker, here’s what has been going on in Mad-town this week:

Democratic Assembly reps were forced to move their offices outside this week in order to meet with their constituents, because Capitol security, ordered by Walker’s administration, barred entry into the Capitol. To do this, they had to move furniture through their office windows.

Once outside, administration officials ordered them to move their furniture back inside because it “might be scratched” if it is outside:

After being forced to move outside to meet with constituents because constituents were not allowed into the building, legislators were prevented from coming back inside. Democratic Assemblyman Nick Milroy of South Range in northwestern Wisconsin was trying to retrieve some clothes from his office in the Capitol Thursday night when he was TACKLED by law enforcement:

See the video here: http://www.wisn.com/video/27074185/detail.html

You really can’t make this stuff up.

Governor Walker threatened to lay off 1500 state employees if his bill was not signed by last Friday. Then by Tuesday. Now by April 1. Next I expect to hear him shout from the rotunda of the Capitol, "I’ll start firing errybody up IN here if ya’ll don’t do what I say!" He is really rattling his saber to get the Senate Democrats back to the Capitol by any means.

To date, he and his cronies have:

Stopped allowing democratic state Senators to get paid through direct deposit, instead requiring them to pick up their paychecks at the Capitol building, where, oh by the way, the Senate will quickly go into session and pass the bill before any knows what is going on, once they have a quorum.

Revoked parking permits, copy and print codes for democratic Senators and their staff.

Threatened to reassign democratic Senators’ staff members to republican Senators, as long as Senate democrats are out of town. Which prompted this reply from a Senate Democrat Chris Larson, “I would be very interested in letting Sen. Fitzgerald know about a new technology called the cellular telephone," Larson replied. "I thought he was aware of it. What it does, is it gives a Senator the ability to keep in touch with his staff when he is not in that building. "

Authorized the legislature to fine Senate Democrats $100 for every day they are absent from the Senate.

Authorized law enforcement (the Wisconsin State Highway Patrol is headed by none other than Stephen Fitzgerald, Scott and Jeff Fitzgerald’s dad. Truly, you cannot make this stuff up) to arrest and detain Senate democrats, any time day or night and forcibly bring them to the Capitol for a vote.

Desperate much, Governor Walker? Your desperation at passing your Budget Repair Bill by any means necessary reveals a lot about your nature, your flagging power and base of support, your poor leadership skills, and your utter lack of sensibility and respect for the democratic process.

Take a step back, Governor, and listen to your constituents.

We don’t want this bill, we don’t want your tools, we don’t want your style of leadership.

Despite what you say now, you did NOT campaign on this and independent research of your campaign materials proves it. The state did not know what it was in for when you were elected by a 52 % to 47 % victory. Your election was not a mandate, and if the election were held today, you would lose:

“A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Wisconsin Voters finds that
just 34% Strongly Approve of the job he is doing, while 48% Strongly Disapprove.
Overall, including those who somewhat approve or disapprove, the new Republican
governor earns positive reviews from 43% and negative reviews from 57% of voters
statewide.”

While support for or against you falls predictably along party lines, you should know that 56% of voters not affiliated with either of the major parties disapprove of the job you are doing. Those, sir, are what we call the independents. The swing voters. The folks that put you in the Governor's mansion.

And the folks that will take you out.

You are cutting medical care for low income families, ending birth control access for thousands of women, cutting funding for schools and libraries, cutting access to medicine for low income senior citizens, firing the people who teach, serve and protect your citizens, and curbing our rights to stand up and speak out against these and other injustices.

Keep it up, Walker. You are alienating more of us everyday.

The Budget

Governor Scott Walker unveiled his budget today, with sweeping cuts to education, environmental protection, Medicaid, and aid to local governments. He told us again and again that while he was cutting aid to local governments and schools, he was equipping us with the "tools" for dealing with the cuts. His tools? A prohibition of municipal governments from working with unions. By mandating that local governments may not engage in collective bargaining with their workers, Walker argues that local governments now have the ability to make cuts that will offset their budget imbalances.

There. He fixed it.

His budget includes:
Elimination of municipal recycling programs. $900 billion in cuts to education, along with rules PROHIBITING school districts from raising property taxes to compensate for the revenue loss. Limits to water quality regulation. Cuts to farmland preservation programs. Prohibitions on municipal governments working with unions.

Thanks, Walker. Because I was just thinking that I had had enough of good education systems, clean drinking water, environmental protections, medical access for low income folks and a high quality of life. But hey. I-94 will look really snazzy, and our prisons are about to be upgraded, to make more room for criminals. That’s where Walker has put his money: highways and prisons.

Nice. Welcome to Wisconsin, we’re open for business. Just not at the Capitol building (if you are a protestor. Or a Democrat. Or someone who just disagrees with Walker.)

An Open Letter to Governor Scott Walker

Dear Governor Walker,

Shame on you. Shame on you for preventing the democratic process to proceed, by your efforts to block public access to the Capitol, limit food and relief supplies to protesters inside the Capitol, revoke access to office and technology equipment by Democratic Senators, prevent their salaries from being paid through direct deposit so as to require them to return to the Capitol to collect their paychecks, your callous disregard for the safety of the citizens of Wisconsin (by considering planting “troublemakers” in a crowd of PEACEFUL protesters- which my four year old son and two year old daughter were a part of), and most importantly, your blatant disregard for the people of Wisconsin and our input into the legislative process.

Since you won’t listen to us speak and have closed the doors of the Capitol building to protesters (both figuratively and literally), I am writing this letter to tell you how disappointed I am in your two months in office and the Budget Repair Bill you introduced two and a half weeks ago. I have sent this letter to your office as well, but since your administration has, to date, only acknowledged the letters of support you receive, I want to be very clear and very public about my strong dissent.

I oppose the entirety of SB 11/ AB 11, not just the collective bargaining aspects that have garnered so much opposition in recent weeks. The reoccurring theme that I have found throughout the bill is the categorical elimination of public oversight in the rules making process and the abdication of legislative authority to the Walker administration, from state owned power plant sales to the civil service to Medicaid to the power of labor unions. The four most egregious provisions are those that relate to the sale of state-owned power plants, converting civil service positions to political appointee positions, limits to collective bargaining and changes to how decisions are made regarding the state’s administration of Medicaid. The following are my objections to this bill:

Sale of State Owned Power Plants
This bill allows the Department of Administration (headed by your appointees) to sell any state owned heating, cooling, and power plant, or contract with a private entity for the operation of any such plant, with or without the solicitation of bids, for any amount that the department determines to be in the best interest of the state. The bill exempts such sales and contracts from having to be approved by the Public Service Commission (PSC) which is currently the case now.

I oppose the ability to sell state owned power plants in no bid sales contracts. Competition in this process is healthy for guaranteeing the state receives the best offer. There is no reason to limit these sales by allowing them to be sold off in no bid contracts. Under this provision, your administration could feasibly hand these over for a song to any party you choose, without any public oversight or input. As a taxpayer, this troubles me. As someone who can do math, this concerns me. How does a no bid process benefit the taxpayers of Wisconsin?

Converting Current Civil Servant Positions into Political Appointee Positions
Under this bill, legal advisors, communications directors and legislative advisors would be moved from classified service to unclassified service, making them at will employees and appointed by the heads of state agencies, which are governor appointees.

Under current law, these positions, as classified positions, are part of the civil service. The civil service is set up to maintain constancy throughout administrations. This bill would provide the executive branch greater reach and power into administrative agencies by allowing you to appoint and dismiss legal advisors, communications directors and legislative advisors of state agencies, now part of the civil service. This bill would make these positions political appointees, meaning that you and future administrations would have purview over legal analysis, communications and legislative interaction with agencies. I ask this: Would we be guaranteed honest communications from a Walker appointed communications liaison from the Department of Natural Resources? From an administration that has shown us that lying to the public is not inherently problematic?

In addition to my concern regarding the level of honesty we could attain from Walker appointed communication, legal and legislative advisors, turnover of these positions would be increased and institutional memory would be diminished each time a new executive takes over the governor’s mansion. This was the whole point of a civil service- to protect employees and the general public against the ups and downs of elections. How does increased turnover in these positions save the state any money?

I am not sure how this provision would help repair the budget, but it certainly would provide you and your administration with increased latitude and power to control the message that reaches the public regarding your policies. This language is unacceptable and must be removed.

Limits on Collective Bargaining
Your Budget Repair Bill would make sweeping changes to collective bargaining, a mainstay in the progressive movement, which was founded in the state of Wisconsin. I have several objections to the provisions in this bill that relate to collective bargaining.
· This bill limits collective bargaining to wages only. Under this provision, employees would not be allowed to collectively bargain for improvements to workplace conditions, benefits, or workplace safety. We need collective bargaining to be able to unify and respond collectively against a myriad of injustices from improper workplace treatment to terrible working conditions. I object to language in this bill that removes the ability of employees to collectively bargain.
· Under this bill, wages can only be bargained up to the percentage change in the consumer price index. Public sector employees have already been subjected to furloughs and wage freezes over the last two years. This provision will encourage current employees to find employment elsewhere and discourage future potential public sector employees from a career in the sector, since public sector wages are already below private sector wages. In short, I believe this provision will put us at a disadvantage for recruiting and maintaining a strong and vibrant public sector workforce.
· This bill requires an annual certification election of unions. At least 51 percent the actual employees in the collective bargaining unit must vote in favor of representation (not simply 51 percent of voters, but a full 51 percent of union members, an important nuance to note.) If the union fails to collect this percentage of yes votes, the members of the collective bargaining unit become non-represented and may not be represented for one year, in effect killing the union.
· This bill requires that unions hold an initial certification election for all represented state and municipal general employees in April 2011. Considering the timing of this bill, I have serious reservations that an election could be held in time to meet this requirement. I bet you knew that.
· I object to the elimination of collective bargaining for child care providers contracting with the Department of Children and Families as this bill does. Collective bargaining should not be eliminated wholesale for any segment of the workforce.
· This bill prohibits municipal employers from collectively bargaining with municipal general employees. While I believe all language regarding collective bargaining should be eliminated, at the very least, decisions whether or not to negotiate with unions should be left up to individual municipalities to decide.
· I vehemently object to the prohibitions this bill makes on salary deductions for labor organization dues. This provision above all else should be removed, as it has no relevance to Wisconsin’s economic recovery and only exists to weaken the power of unions. I see this as a direct attack on unions and the power and money they hold.
· This bill allows a general employee to refrain from paying dues and remain a member of a collective bargaining unit. Again, taking money from unions equates to taking power from unions. By stopping the flow of money into unions from dues, you are knowingly crippling unions’ ability to support candidates in electoral campaigns. Since unions tend to support Democratic candidates, you are effectively reducing campaign support for any future political opponents. I find the changes you are proposing to union dues structures to be the most blatant and abhorrent of power plays and beyond the pale.

Changes to Benefits for LTEs
This bill revokes the ability of Limited Term Employees of the state to receive health insurance or participate in the state retirement system. Since Wisconsin has increased LTEs positions over full time permanent employees as a result of the recent economic downturn, many people in this state would be affected by this provision. I strongly disagree with this bill’s provision that targets LTEs for benefits elimination.

Authority to Fire Public Employees for Participating in Work Stoppages
This bill authorizes your administration to fire any state employee who participates in a strike, work stoppage, sit−down, stay−in, slowdown, or other concerted activities to interrupt the operations or services of state government, including specifically purported mass resignations or sick calls.

While I understand that the public sector must continue to function, this provision grants authority to fire employees who protest against the very provisions in this bill or provisions in future bills that cut even deeper. How is this acceptable?

Changes to the Medical Assistance Program
This provision allows your administration, under the authority of the Department of Health Services (DHS), to make changes to Medicaid by deeming them necessary under an emergency rule. Under this provision, DHS does not have to provide evidence of an actual emergency; they simply must deem it so.

This provision gives unprecedented power to your administration to make changes to Medicaid without legislative oversight, so long as the Department of Health deems these changes necessary under an emergency rule. Under emergency rules, no public input would be attained before making these changes, which include making certain requirements, modifying benefits, revising provider reimbursement models, developing standards and methodologies for eligibility, and determining eligibility. I oppose this provision because it circumvents the separation of powers that was created in the constitution.

Public oversight in matters such as these, that concern a large segment of the population, must be allowed. As a taxpayer, I object to the idea of moving the authority to make changes from the state legislature to an unelected bureaucracy because it removes my ability to provide input on any of the changes which will affect my family and fellow Wisconsin residents.

This bill does little to repair the state’s budget but does a lot to increase the power of your administration. Were it not for the Democratic senators’ decision to prevent a quorum, we would not have known about all of the little discussed provisions included in this bill that bear no relation to our fiscal situation, since you have done little to inform us on all of these intricacies. I am deeply disappointed, Governor.

What you are doing in the name of the economy is a slap in the face of democracy. As of this afternoon, the public is being denied entry into the state Capitol where we have gathered for two weeks to show our opposition to this bill. This is our house, Governor. We pay for the lights, the building repairs, the employees who clean the floors, and your salary, to name a few. We deserve access and input in this process, not a closed door and a deaf ear.

And you? You deserve nothing less than a recall.

Thanks for your time.

A letter to Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,

I thought about simply responding to your comment in the comments section, but decided to call a little more attention to this.

Thanks for your comment by the way. I am pleased to able to explain more fully why there are 70,000 people at the Capitol right now. I'll start by saying that I don't think you've looked very carefully at the 144 page document Scott Walker has introduced as a "budget repair" bill. First of all, let's acknowledge the fact that the unions have given Walker the concessions he has demanded. But let's be honest. His bill busts unions because unions are the only source of competition against conservative groups' electoral campaign support.

Busting up the unions by making it illegal to require dues, as this bill does, would mean that unions would be unable to contribute to political campaigns. This is not about the state's inability to pay for "Cadillac" plans. This is about power. More specifically, it is about taking power from others and giving it to Walker and his cronies. Killing the unions would mean that little to no monetary competition stands in the way of the GOP for future electoral campaigns.

The other items in this bill clarify that quite nicely. The "budget repair" bill, or AB 11/SB 11 includes numerous provisions that have nothing to do with the budget. For instance, turning legislative, legal and communications liaisons for every state agency into political appointments (therefore giving Walker the ability to fire anyone who said anything derogatory about him or his policies), yanking the authority of the state legislature to approve changes to Medicaid and instead giving it to the Department of Health (which is headed up by Walker's appointee, giving him great latitude in squashing the program), and selling off state run power plants in NO BID contracts… which might just benefit the Koch brothers who contributed $46,000 to Walker’s campaign in 2010 and who are looking to purchase power plants to complement the gas lines they already own in Wisconsin.
Finally coming back to the public employee union issue, government workers have FOR YEARS sacrificed pay in order to ensure decent benefits. They are underpaid compared to the for profit sector.

Reform? Don't bullshit me. This is a power play of the worst kind, and we won't stand by silently.

Protesting

What is happening in Wisconsin is an abomination to democracy and we won't be silent about it. This is day three of the Gavin family representing at the state capitol. Jay came up with his own sign today. Despite what many "news" outlets are reporting, these are protests, not riots. Folks are peaceful, kind and friendly. Even on Saturday when we met with the tea partiers during the counter-protest, there was no violence. People from thirty states and five countries have called into Ian's Pizza on State Street (and others) to buy pizza for the protesters. We've been given apple cider from local farmers, doughnuts from kind strangers, pizza, and even an umbrella in yesterday's cold wet weather from a guy that went to a thrift store and bought an armful of them to hand out to protesters. I am so proud to stand with my fellow Wisconsinites for democracy and our future.

Also, Governer Walker. Thanks for the teachable moment. You've made an activist out of my son and inspired countless others to get off the couch and let their voices be heard. Even if we don't win on killing this terrible bill, we'll have succeeded in coming together for our future. Nice work on that.

Wisconsin "Budget Repair Bill" Protest Pt 2 from Matt Wisniewski on Vimeo.

And everyone else. Let's keep keeping on until this is over and we have successfully pushed back on the power play that is being made not just in Wisconsin, but across the country, because the Koch brothers are coming to a "budget repair" bill near you.