Wisconsin labor video roundup: Tony Schultz and Stephen King
Tuesday, March 15, 2011 at 1:21 pm
- 11 Comments
The hundred-thousand-plus crowd that filled downtown Madison, Wisconsin, this weekend is being touted as an answer to the Tea Party rallies that cropped up around the country last year. The pro-labor Madison crowds were larger than any of the Tea Party rallies last year, including the one hosted by Fox personality Glenn Beck in Washington in 2009.
ThinkProgress reported that the protests in response to “Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) assault on unions” were the largest in state history.
“[Y]esterday’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.”
Video of a speech given this weekend in Madison by farmer Tony Schultz is gaining internet traction for the impassioned case Schultz makes for small-business owners and labor unions, tying together the fate of agricultural, industrial and professional workers.
Earlier, at the other end of the country, blockbuster horror fiction author Stephen King at a small union protest in Florida mocked the Wisconsin Governor and the “trickle down” arguments he and other Republicans have made in support of tax breaks for the rich.
“As a rich person, I pay 28 percent tax… Why am I not paying 50 [percent]? … The Republicans will tell you that we can’t do that because if you tax guys like me there won’t be any jobs. It’s bull. It’s total bull,” King said.
A notable feature of the Wisconsin protests has been the way Fox News has struggled to report on them. “Fox News lies” has been the refrain repeated by the Madison crowds in the background as Fox reporters attempt to file live dispatches from the city. Fox reporter Mike Tobin didn’t help his network any with claims that he suffered physical assault at the hands of protesters, a claim his newsroom colleagues were eager to seize upon but that turned out to be pathetically exaggerated. Video tape taken by members of the crowd revealed the “assault” as a tap on the shoulder.
The Washington Post reports Monday that the Wisconsin Democratic Party effort to recall the Republican lawmakers backing Gov. Walker’s union-busting leadership is moving along ahead of schedule.
Dems have now collected over 45 percent of the signatures necessary to hold recall elections for eight GOP state senators…
[They have] collected over 56,000 signatures supporting the recall drives, according to party spokesman Graeme Zielinski, after another surge in organizing activity over the weekend. That’s up from roughly 14,000 after last weekend. This means Dems are well ahead of schedule: In each targeted district, Dems need to amass the required signatures — 25 percent of the number who voted in the last gubernatorial election — by a deadline of 60 days after first filing for recalls, which happened nearly two weeks ago.
In other words, Dems are reporting they are nearly halfway to the finish line, with roughly three-fourths of the allotted time remaining.
11 Comments
Comment posted March 15, 2011 @ 5:08 pm
New quiz game – Name that commie – “Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Their number is negligible and they are stupid.” Step right up and name that commie. Answer tomorrow.
Comment posted March 15, 2011 @ 8:29 pm
I believe it was stated by that famous leftist–President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956.
Comment posted March 15, 2011 @ 9:16 pm
“Now it is true that I believe this country is following a dangerous trend when it permits too great a degree of centralization of governmental functions. I oppose this–in some instances the fight is a rather desperate one. But to attain any success it is quite clear that the Federal government cannot avoid or escape responsibilities which the mass of the people firmly believe should be undertaken by it. The political processes of our country are such that if a rule of reason is not applied in this effort, we will lose everything–even to a possible and drastic change in the Constitution. This is what I mean by my constant insistence upon “moderation” in government. Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are H. L. Hunt (you possibly know his background), a few other Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or business man from other areas.5 Their number is negligible and they are stupid.”
Eisenhower 1954
Comment posted March 15, 2011 @ 10:34 pm
Another quiz.
Which political party instituted policies that helped cement the corporate takeover of the media, helped major corporations with international trade deals and accepts most of it’s cash from Bakers and other wealthy corporate interests. Oh and run corporate sponsored campaigns that can only be called Madison Ave at it’s finest.
Answer tomorrow. If it is allowed and/or if entire threads do not disappear.
Courage is being afraid and doing what is right anyway.
Cowardice is knowing what is right and being so filled with fear that you do not do it or even having that fear drive you to do what you know is wrong.
Comment posted March 16, 2011 @ 9:38 am
We have a winner. Susan got it in one. DDE must have been a RINO? Next up Michael, who are the Bakers? We talking Jim and Tammy Faye? The Tastee Co.? James?
Comment posted March 16, 2011 @ 12:26 pm
Charles and All
Sorry folks, we do not have any winners.
The corrects answer is… the Democratic Party. With Bill Clinton and Al Gore’s support of and signing of the 1996 Telecommunications Act and their support of NAFTA, CAFTA, GATT. Along with a host of other horrific, regeressive pieces of legislation.
Barack Obama and his Madison Ave campaign won an award in 2008
for best advertising. Advertising is, as any progressive knows is where corporate interests gets unsuspecting innocents to buy something they do not need and is usually bad for them and the planet.
Goldmann Sachs and other Banking interests of course owned both campaigns.
Oh and the first question I thought was going to be Ronald Ray-gun. Dwight D was quite a man. When I ran for Congress 2008, I used one of his quotes about the Mil-Indust Complex at the top of our campaign lit.
Comment posted March 16, 2011 @ 12:35 pm
As an aside. Happy St Paddy’s Day folks.
If you are interested, I created a radio show on KFAI called Ireland-800 Years Of Resistance In Songs. It will be archived for two weeks. To listen go to KFAI archive, click on March 13th, scroll down to Wave Project, click listen now, click on agree not to record, scroll down again to the Wave Project, click again and then listen.
I will have to admit that I am very proud of this show.
Go Raibh Maith Agat
Tiochfaidh Ar La
Thank You
Our Day Will Come
Failte Minnesota
Tir Na Gaelige Roite
Welcome To Minnesota
Land Of The Frozen Irish
Comment posted March 16, 2011 @ 1:21 pm
Gene
Relevance?
Which post? The one about the LONG LIST of betrayals of the Democratic Party? Which was a response to the post by Charles Thompson. Who you do NOT accuse of “spamming.”
Or is it my simple post about St Pat’s Day and letting folks know about a radio show that I produced about it?
Are Democrats really that afraid of ideas and facts that they will attack and smear the messenger?
Oh hell, who am I kidding?
Comment posted March 16, 2011 @ 1:30 pm
Heh. Guessing he means you promoting your radio show on a thread about the Wisconsin labor protests. It is in violation of our comment policy for being off topic, as you surely know, but I wasn’t going to say anything because you weren’t attacking anyone.
Comment posted March 16, 2011 @ 2:21 pm
Bopper got it as well. I edited the HL Hunt line. Michael has his own quiz going, but it doesnt connect to Gov Walker.
RSS feed for comments on this post.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
