Another day of protests is on in Wisconsin and more than a dozen school districts have canceled classes after a legislative committee made only minor changes to Scott Walker's reprehensible budget plan. In fact, the amendment alters the bill so little that:
At last night’s Joint Finance Committee meeting, Democrat Representative Schilling declared the amendment “Lipstick on a pig.” She quickly corrected herself, saying, “I wouldn’t even call this lipstick on a pig. It’s chapstick on a pig.”
Here's a view of the crowd in action yesterday, via Blue Cheddar:
This really is a protest like we've rarely seen in this country in recent decades, a sustained uprising of working people flatly saying no to yet another attempt to make them -- make
us -- the villains of a lousy economy. What's it like on the ground?
Damon Butler at Bargaining for Benefits wrote yesterday that:
Yesterday the police were present and amiable, but mostly seemed concerned with doing their duty of maintaining public safety. Today they joined with the firemen–who you may recall are also spared the draconian measures in store for nearly all other public employees under Scott Walker’s budget repair bill–and actively protested against the measure.
But what I found even more impressive is that the officers in uniform–the ones on active duty–were also chanting and waving their fists right along with the rest of us! Upon witnessing that, I felt like we had turned a corner. The bill may yet pass (with an outside chance that it will not), but if all the unions that Scott Walker threw bones to were turning against him, too…. Well, I can’t help believing that whatever it is that Walker and his ilk hope to gain from passage of this bill cannot last for long.
Linda Falkenstein at The Daily Page:
There is an undeniable feeling of uplift during the protest today that was missing yesterday.
I wouldn't have said that yesterday. Yesterday, I thought yesterday's rally was pretty stirring. The roars when the firefighters came through, the swelling cheers when the big teamster semi came and parked on Mifflin Street, the chanting -- What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now! Kill the bill!
Baby, that was nothing.
Also check out Lil Bird's report on the single hearing held on the bill and the really excellent photo galleries at Dane 101.