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Largest crowd yet descends on Wis. Capitol
AP
Photo
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, near right center of photo, takes the stage amidst tens of thousands of protesters gathered at the State Capitol in Madison, Wis., Friday, Feb. 18, 2011.
Associated Press
MADISON, Wis.
A state Capitol thrown into political chaos swelled for a fifth day with nearly 70,000 protesters, as supporters of Republican efforts to scrap the union rights of state workers challenged pro-labor protesters face-to-face for the first time, and GOP leaders insisted again Saturday there was no room for compromise.
A few dozen police officers stood between supporters of Republican Gov. Scott Walker on the muddy east lawn of the Capitol and the much larger group of pro- labor demonstrators who surrounded them. The protest was peaceful as both sides exchanged chants of “Pass the bill! Pass the bill!” and “Kill the bill! Kill the bill!”
“Go home!” union supporters yelled at Scott Lemke, a 46-year-old machine- parts salesman from Cedarburg who wore a hard hat and carried a sign that read “If you don’t like it, quit” on one side, and “If you don’t like that, try you’re fired” on the other.
The Wisconsin governor, elected in November’s GOP wave that also gave control of the state Assembly and Senate to Republicans, set off the protests earlier this week by pushing ahead with a measure that would require government workers to contribute more to their health-care and pension costs and largely eliminate their collective bargaining rights.
He says the concessions are needed to deal with the state’s projected $3.6 billion budget shortfall and to avoid layoffs.
“We did have an election, and Scott Walker won,” said Deborah Arndt, 53, of Sheboygan Falls. “I think our governor will stand strong. I have faith in him.”
At a rally organized by Tea Party Patriots, the movement’s largest umbrella group, and Americans for Prosperity, supporters of Walker carried signs with a fresh set of messages: “Your Gravy Train Is Over . . . Welcome to the Recession” and “Sorry, we’re late Scott. We work for a living.”
“We pay the bills!” tea- party favorite Herman Cain yelled to cheers from the pro-Walker crowd. “This is why you elected Scott Walker. and he’s doing his job. ... Wisconsin is broke. My question for the other side is, ‘What part of broke don’t you understand?’”
Nearby, nearly two dozen cabs blocked a major intersection near the Capitol. The driver of the lead cab leaned out of the window and played a trumpet, while others attempted to honk their car horns in sync with a chant from pro-labor protesters: “This is what democracy looks like.”
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald reaffirmed Saturday that Republicans have not been swayed by the pro-labor protesters who since Tuesday have filled the Capitol with chanting, drumbeats and anti-Walker slogans.
“The bill is not negotiable,” Fitzgerald said inside a heavily guarded Senate parlor at the Capitol. “The bill will pass as is.”
MISSING DEMOCRATS
Fitzgerald said Republicans have the votes needed to pass the so-called “budget repair” bill just as soon as 14 Senate Democrats who fled the state Thursday and remain in hiding return to the Statehouse. Without them, there isn’t the required quorum to vote on legislation.
The missing Democrats have threatened to stay away for weeks and remain more resolved than ever to stay away “as long as it takes” until Walker agrees to negotiate, Democratic Sen. Jon Erpenbach said Saturday.
“I don’t think he’s really thought it through, to be honest,” Erpenbach said.
Democrats offered again Saturday to agree to the parts of Walker’s proposal that would double workers’ health-insurance contributions and require them to contribute 5.8 percent of their salary to their pensions, so long as workers retained their rights to negotiate with the state as a union.
Fitzgerald said he was unimpressed given that the offer was something the GOP has rejected for months.