(after introductions)
Senator Russ Feingold: "Okay! Why are we still here?"
(Cheering)
Voice in the crowd: "Because we care!"
Senator Russ Feingold: "Why am I here today?"
(More cheering)
Voice in the crowd: "Because you care!"
Senator Russ Feingold: "Why are we here today? Why are we in a place called Walkerville today? I will tell you why we're here. We are here because we will not stop until we win, until this is over. We are here because the big corporate interests in this country decided, about 20 years ago, 'I think the first thing we'll do is pass a bunch of trade agreements and ship overseas all the jobs of the people in the private sector', that's the first thing they decided to do. They got the job done on that, ruthlessly, tricking both parties into it, and then they said 'Okay, now we go after the public employees. Let's go after, those, let's start saying that teachers aren't the people they are, let's start demonizing public employees, and maybe we can get the people that lost their jobs on the private side to turn on the people on the public side!'. It's divide and conquer by the big money interests in this country, that's always been their strategy. Frankly, I don't think all of us saw it coming. I certainly didn't see the ruthlessness and how far they would go with this.
Then they found something out. We are here today, in part, because in the last few years we have found that the power of the internet is on our side. We were able to raise support and small contributions from thousands and hundreds of thousands of people to elect President Obama and others, and the corporations, they saw the face of Democracy and they were terrified, they were terrified. So what did they do? They pulled out all the stocks. They even got the United States Supreme Court to thumb it's nose at the law of the land and overturn a hundred year old ban on corporate contributions. That's what they did. We are here to protest that decision, and we are here to protest what they've done since.
Yes, they chose this great state, this great capital, this great founding place of workers' rights as their first target. They went right for the jugular, and they used Scott Walker as their tool to get it done. They passed a law here that was wrong and unfair and against every Wisconsin tradition on the merits, and they did it in a way that was wrong and I think illegal and I hope to God that the Supreme Court sees that, the way they passed that thing, it was wrong and illegal and it should be struck down.
But of course, there, uh, they have an alternative plan, and that's another reason why we are here. We are here because they intend to abuse the budget process, that old phony line of taking away people's collective bargaining rights has to do with the budget, which has been exploited in conversations and admissions, over and over again, and they going to try to do it again with this budget, and I have fought monkey business in state budgets here for 10 years as a State Senator myself, there is no way we would have allowed something like this, Republicans OR Democrats, to ever go into a state budget. I'm here today, you're here today, to say 'Don't abuse our budget process in the next few weeks, we will protest it, and we will continue to protest it.'"
(Applause)
"We here because we have to change the people that are running our state government. They're not, they're not going to stick us with this awful collective bargaining move, they're destroying people's right to vote in a meaningful way by questioning they're ability to just come in and vote as they've always been able to do in our state, with reasonable residency. They are opening up every tax loophole they can think of for corporations.
So we are here to begin the counter offensive. We got to do three things. We gotta win back the state senate. We gotta do it right away. We're gonna elect real people to the state senate. "
(laughter)
"We only need 17 of em. So that we are able to keep Walker stopped. But that doesn't mean we can't do anything more. That's not enough. Then we gotta take back the state assembly in the 2012 elections. And then we all agree, we want the trifecta, and that we have to defeat Scott Walker and get a new Governor. And then we need a repeal passed by the Democratic state senate, passed by the Democratic state assembly and then signed by the new Democratic governor, that is what we need.
I am here to stand with you to continue that fight. If it takes a year, great, if it takes five years, it's worth it. This is not a short term deal. I used to say when I maybe occasionally played a little to aggressively with my sister, 'The game is not over until I win!', well, this game is not over until WE WIN!"
(Loud applause)
After a brief tribute to the Madison Firefighters, who were marching to support and mourn firefighters who died in the line of duty, the video closes . . .