Madison, WI-- Police estimated up to 100,000 people turned out at the Wisconsin state capital yesterday to protest Republican Gov. Scott Walker's assault on unions, making it bigger than any protests the city has witnessed, even those during the Vietnam War.
At the rally, members of the Wisconsin Senate who left the state have returned home and some of them told a huge crowd of farmers, workers, community and religious activists at the state capitol that the struggle for the middle class is not over-- not by a long shot.
The Madison rally is part of a much larger Main Street Movement of average Americans demanding fairness in labor laws, social spending, and taxation that has emerged in Ohio, New Jersey, Florida, Michigan, and elsewhere.
Yesterday's rally in Madison is noteworthy because at 85,000-100,000, it was bigger than the biggest tea party protest, the September 12, 2009 rally in Washington, D.C., which turned out only an estimated 60,000-70,000.
For two years, tea party activists and their allies in the GOP have claimed that the hard-right movement represents the true beliefs of the American people. But the crowd in Madison and numerous polls tell a different story.
It's a clearly a movement
Inspired by the events in Wisconsin a few weeks ago, thousands of Americans all over the country are taking action to battle legislation that would attack their labor rights, defund their schools, threaten their health and safety, and decimate the American middle class. Here are just some of the places across the nation that are taking part in this new “Main Street Movement” to defend and rebuild the American middle class:
GEORGIA: Hundreds of workers demonstrated outside the Georgia capitol February 25, declaring their solidarity with striking Wisconsin workers. Some demonstrators wore “cheesehead” hats, a clear reference to a cultural tradition in Wisconsin.
IDAHO: Hundreds of teachers marched against legislation that would layoff 770 teachers and leave schools severely understaffed.
INDIANA: In Indiana, House Democrats fled the state, preventing a vote on legislation that would enact “right-to-work” laws that would’ve crippled the right to organize. After the House Democrats took off, hundreds of workers and students marched into the capitol building and staged a massive sit-in, pledging not to leave until the radical legislation was withdrawn. Back on February 25, Indiana’s Main Street Movement scored its first victory as Republican lawmakers withdrew the anti-union bill. Indiana Democrats are refusing to come back until right-wing legislators withdraw legislation to undermine the state’s public education system.
MONTANA: More than a thousand “conservationists, sportsmen, firefighters, teachers, correctional officers and others” descended on the Montana capitol to protest against “unprecedented GOP attacks on public services and education and laws that protect land, air, water and wildlife.” Students carried signs that read “Keep Us In School,” protesting crippling cuts to the state’s education system.
OHIO: In Ohio, thousands of ordinary Americans who rely on the right to organize to earn good, middle class incomes are facing off with Wisconsin-style legislation backed by ex-FOX contributor and now Republican Gov. John Kasich. Nearly 10,000 protesters demonstrated in Columbus, Ohio, gaining the support of former Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland and Rep. Dennis Kucinich. So many demonstrators showed up that the Ohio Highway Patrol was ordered to lock the doors of the state capitol to stop more demonstrators from getting into the building.
TENNESSEE: Hundreds of Tennesseans gathered to protest a bill that would completely strip Tennessee teachers of collective bargaining rights. “What you have right now is 300 or so of us, standing and asking the state legislature to focus on what the priorities are right now, instead of attacking working people,” said Mary Mancini, executive director of Tennessee Citizen Action. “If they listen to us, well then that’s great. … If not, I can see this thing growing.”
WASHINGTON: 2,000 demonstrators in Olympia, Washington, marched against the state’s proposed budget cuts that would harm students and middle class Washingtonians and in solidarity with workers in Wisconsin. “If Scott Walker succeeds in ending worker rights in Wisconsin, the birthplace of public servants’ liberty, it could happen here,” said Federation of State Employees President Carol Dotlich.
Protests are sweeping the nation
Even larger demonstrations took place all over America the first two weeks of March, as thousands more Main Street Americans hit the streets to protest the ongoing assault against the middle class.
The AFL-CIO sponsored WE ARE ONE events and Moveon.org organized protests at every single state capitol in the country, aiming to “Save the American Dream.” To see a photo gallery of the We Are One Rochester rally on March 2, you can go here.
Meanwhile, US Uncut, an activist group inspired by United Kingdom’s UK Uncut, plans to protest against American tax dodgers, asking why the rich in the country have been able to get off easy on their taxes while low- and middle-income Americans continue to be asked to sacrifice.
Elected Democrats need to know that this is their base-- this is exactly who they should be fighting for. It was Bob Dylan who once said, "You don't have to be a weatherman to know which way the wind blows." The winds of change are blowing, and middle-class Americans are finally waking up and fighting back against the insidious attacks on public employees and our working families. Elected Democrats need to publicly join the fight.
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| Protestors rally in Madison, Wisconsin on March 12. Organizers say the attendance at this event was one of the largest ever for Wisconsinites. (photo: ThinkProgress.com) |
Madison, WI-- Police estimated up to 100,000 people turned out at the Wisconsin state capital yesterday to protest Republican Gov. Scott Walker's assault on unions, making it bigger than any protests the city has witnessed, even those during the Vietnam War.
At the rally, members of the Wisconsin Senate who left the state have returned home and some of them told a huge crowd of farmers, workers, community and religious activists at the state capitol that the struggle for the middle class is not over-- not by a long shot.
The Madison rally is part of a much larger Main Street Movement of average Americans demanding fairness in labor laws, social spending, and taxation that has emerged in Ohio, New Jersey, Florida, Michigan, and elsewhere.
Yesterday's rally in Madison is noteworthy because at 85,000-100,000, it was bigger than the biggest tea party protest, the September 12, 2009 rally in Washington, D.C., which turned out only an estimated 60,000-70,000.
For two years, tea party activists and their allies in the GOP have claimed that the hard-right movement represents the true beliefs of the American people. But the crowd in Madison and numerous polls tell a different story.
It's a clearly a movement
Inspired by the events in Wisconsin a few weeks ago, thousands of Americans all over the country are taking action to battle legislation that would attack their labor rights, defund their schools, threaten their health and safety, and decimate the American middle class. Here are just some of the places across the nation that are taking part in this new “Main Street Movement” to defend and rebuild the American middle class:
GEORGIA: Hundreds of workers demonstrated outside the Georgia capitol February 25, declaring their solidarity with striking Wisconsin workers. Some demonstrators wore “cheesehead” hats, a clear reference to a cultural tradition in Wisconsin.
IDAHO: Hundreds of teachers marched against legislation that would layoff 770 teachers and leave schools severely understaffed.
INDIANA: In Indiana, House Democrats fled the state, preventing a vote on legislation that would enact “right-to-work” laws that would’ve crippled the right to organize. After the House Democrats took off, hundreds of workers and students marched into the capitol building and staged a massive sit-in, pledging not to leave until the radical legislation was withdrawn. Back on February 25, Indiana’s Main Street Movement scored its first victory as Republican lawmakers withdrew the anti-union bill. Indiana Democrats are refusing to come back until right-wing legislators withdraw legislation to undermine the state’s public education system.
MONTANA: More than a thousand “conservationists, sportsmen, firefighters, teachers, correctional officers and others” descended on the Montana capitol to protest against “unprecedented GOP attacks on public services and education and laws that protect land, air, water and wildlife.” Students carried signs that read “Keep Us In School,” protesting crippling cuts to the state’s education system.
OHIO: In Ohio, thousands of ordinary Americans who rely on the right to organize to earn good, middle class incomes are facing off with Wisconsin-style legislation backed by ex-FOX contributor and now Republican Gov. John Kasich. Nearly 10,000 protesters demonstrated in Columbus, Ohio, gaining the support of former Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland and Rep. Dennis Kucinich. So many demonstrators showed up that the Ohio Highway Patrol was ordered to lock the doors of the state capitol to stop more demonstrators from getting into the building.
TENNESSEE: Hundreds of Tennesseans gathered to protest a bill that would completely strip Tennessee teachers of collective bargaining rights. “What you have right now is 300 or so of us, standing and asking the state legislature to focus on what the priorities are right now, instead of attacking working people,” said Mary Mancini, executive director of Tennessee Citizen Action. “If they listen to us, well then that’s great. … If not, I can see this thing growing.”
WASHINGTON: 2,000 demonstrators in Olympia, Washington, marched against the state’s proposed budget cuts that would harm students and middle class Washingtonians and in solidarity with workers in Wisconsin. “If Scott Walker succeeds in ending worker rights in Wisconsin, the birthplace of public servants’ liberty, it could happen here,” said Federation of State Employees President Carol Dotlich.
Protests are sweeping the nation
 |
| Protestors begin to congregate at the We Are One Rally at City Hall in Rochester, N.Y. More than 450 people attended the event in one degree temps. (photo: Ove Overmyer) |
The AFL-CIO sponsored WE ARE ONE events and Moveon.org organized protests at every single state capitol in the country, aiming to “Save the American Dream.” To see a photo gallery of the We Are One Rochester rally on March 2, you can go here.
Meanwhile, US Uncut, an activist group inspired by United Kingdom’s UK Uncut, plans to protest against American tax dodgers, asking why the rich in the country have been able to get off easy on their taxes while low- and middle-income Americans continue to be asked to sacrifice.
Elected Democrats need to know that this is their base-- this is exactly who they should be fighting for. It was Bob Dylan who once said, "You don't have to be a weatherman to know which way the wind blows." The winds of change are blowing, and middle-class Americans are finally waking up and fighting back against the insidious attacks on public employees and our working families. Elected Democrats need to publicly join the fight.
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