The End of Free Speech in Wisconsin
That was eight months before “Bloody Sunday,” when state troopers and sheriff's deputies did violence not just to the law, but also to human beings, by using tear gas, billy clubs and horses to beat and trample 500 civil rights protesters, including children, attempting to cross Edmund Pettus Bridge.
I bring up that illegal injunction in the “Race and Public Policy” class I teach at UW-Milwaukee as an example of what can happen when legal power falls into the hands of those who have no qualms about breaking the law or violating the Constitution.
This isn't something that only happened in the racist South in the bad, old days nearly half a century ago. It happened last week in Madison, Wis.
Republican Gov. Scott Walker announced a new policy requiring all groups of four or more people to apply for a permit 72 hours in advance before engaging in any activity expressing their opinions in the state Capitol.
Outside the Capitol, groups of 100 or more would have to apply for such permits 72 hours in advance. That should certainly nip in the bud all those enormous demonstrations by tens of thousands of people protesting Walker's destructive policies—especially since Walker says he's also going to start charging citizens who want to publicly criticize his administration.
Walker's new policy will require demonstrators to pay $50 an hour for each Capitol police officer assigned to protect the governor from the hurtful words of those crowds.
Wow. Figuring a 40-hour week and 52 weeks in a year, that comes to $104,000 a year. Who says Walker wants to slash public employees' pay?
In addition to requiring people who don't like him to pay for their own policing, Walker also intends to charge enormous amounts of money for imaginary cleanup costs.
“Enormous” and “imaginary” aren't exaggerations. We all remember earlier this year when protesters filled the Capitol day after day to protest Republicans scrapping 50 years of collective bargaining rights for public employees and gutting public education. The Walker administration came up with truly unbelievable damages of $7.5 million as a result of protest signs being taped to the walls with easily removable painters' tape. Only deafening peals of laughter from voters throughout the state forced Walker's people to lower that absurd estimate.
Imagine: charging protesters $7.5 million for damage plus another $8 million (the administration's estimate of policing costs for those previous demonstrations).
If Walker can charge citizens more than $15 million if they want to complain about his policies, only millionaires will be able to organize public demonstrations against the governor.
The beauty of that, of course, is that millionaires may be the only people in Wisconsin who are perfectly happy with everything Walker has done. Walker's passed out hundreds of millions of dollars to corporate millionaires while cutting funding for everybody else in the state.
Even though Walker has identified elementary-school teachers as today's new filthy rich robber barons, they're going to have to drain all their Scrooge McDuck swimming pools full of money to publicly complain about this governor.
Tea Party in Awkward Spot
It's too bad all of those bothersome public demonstrators are trying to exercise their First Amendment right of freedom of speech and assembly to petition their government. If they wanted to exercise their Second Amendment right to carry a gun into the Capitol to blow everybody away, it would only cost them $50 for a permit.
Speaking of the Tea Party, their hero Scott Walker has put them in a really awkward position.
Before tens of thousands of schoolteachers, parents of disabled children and poor people who can't afford health care started showing up at the Capitol, the whole place was overrun with Tea Party demonstrators waving racist posters of President Barack Obama dressed up as an African witchdoctor and other ugly political sentiments.
Now the governor's new policy against free speech and assembly is forcing many of his strongest supporters to demonstrate how blatantly dishonest and hypocritical they really are.
The Tea Party loves to wrap its hate speech and extreme political views in respectable language about constitutional rights and opposition to infringements upon individual freedom by Big Government.
But it would be difficult to imagine a more brazen violation of freedom in America than allowing an elected politician to restrict gatherings of four or more people at the Capitol and to charge citizens for protesting government policies they oppose.
Unless they are complete frauds, members of the Tea Party should stand alongside every decent citizen in opposing Walker's unconstitutional restrictions on free speech and assembly in Wisconsin.
I can see why you want to remain anonymous--I too would be afraid to use my name if I thought like you did! How about supporting the ENTIRE Constitution, not just the parts that support your position? The right to protest is there for the very reason that we need it now--abuse of power. If elections were the end why are there recalls, impeachments...? So someone who is deceptive in campaigning and/or does not make decisions for the greater good can be held in check. If fighting for what's right is whining then what is complaining about those who have the guts to do so? And if you really don't know that free speech is one of the cornerstones of democracy perhaps you need a review of grade school social studies? Check your facts, I earn a living, have healthcare--such as it is and as much as it costs--and I actually care about people other than myself. If you think there is actual equal opportunity in this country, wake up! You are for deadly force? You think the protests are riots? Keep hiding in shame--I can see why!
Ha, I love these two successive sentences: "We need to crack down hard on anyone who speaks against the governor. Thats why we are a democracy with elections." Classic. Funny how the people who speak so loudly against education are the ones who need it the most.
Its ok to protest but do it on your own property. Put up a sign or camp out in a tent, but do it on your own property.
Walker was not deceptive. He told us at a fund raiser he would fight against the collective bargaining abuses. You must have selective hearing to the only thing you know is what you hear or tv or read in the papers. He's not going to cause controvery by saying it on tv. The point is to get elected by any means posible. He owes to his supporters to get elected, not be overly transparent. That only gives ammunition to the other side.
The protesters are not fighting for what is right. They are mad that their excessive welfare paychecks for their make-work jobs were slightly reduced. The right thing to do would be to fire them all and hire self employed independent contractors. The true test of self worth is what someone can earn as a self employed person.
These childish riots are an embarrassment and a threat to state security. You can hold a recall election without a riot. What is the point of the protests? The governor isn't going to change his mind. Most people a good hardworking decent law abiding folk that are not dependent on welfare. They don't like seeing government workers pulling down excecutive level salaries, Cadillac benefits, triple dipping, and pensions - then having a good laugh at taxpayer expenese.
As a lawful, tax playing citizen of the United States and Wisconsin, government buildings ARE my property. As well as they are yours, and everyone else who pays for them. The right to assemble is given to demonstrate the power of the people (you know, We the people, for the people?) over the government; to right wrongs.
Now, ignoring all of that, if I were to protest on my property, a total of maybe 100 people would see me, and even then they'd be blazing by at 55 mph seeing that I live rurally. Does that make sense to you?
Try and read a book you dolt.
Oh, and just so you know, politicians only goal is not to get in office, it's to make positive change for the vast majority--their true supporters--not the few, super rich who can buy them out (Koch).
These childish, ignorant, grammatically horrid posts from neaderthals such as yourself are what is truly embarassing.
Just so you know, saying that state workers are freeloaders and then supporting Walker is a joke. He cut state employee salaries then gave the position of Governor a six-figure raise. You are right about one thing: there certainly are people laughing at tax payer expense, and it's the people you support.
Try marching into the White House or the US Capitol and demonstrating. You'd never make it past the gate. Your property, right?
So its all about you and who sees you. "Oh look at me, I'm a big protester, look at me, look at me,!!!"
Childish response, but what's to be expected from someone who has to hide behind their computer screen.
A protest doesn't do much good if no one sees it, if no one knows about it. Since you don't seem to give a flying f*** about civil liberties millions of Americans have died for over the past 236 years to give you, you can go move to a third world country where you can learn to appreciate them instead of bickering like a four year old with anyone who disagrees with you.
Good night.
These protests are all about "me". Its give me a big salary, give me a pension, give me health insurance, give me job security. Look at ME, I'm a big protester on TV. Protestors are concerned about one thing -- them and their money. They don't care about the taxpayers who pay their salaries. They don't care about providing service to the state, they are only concerned about themselves. They show no mercy on the taxpayer, they make no attempt to make peace or a truce with the governor, they refuse to be humble. Like spoiled children who were given everything they ask for and then cannot fend for themselves when daddy cannot provide anymore. So they panic and protest. Well a lot of people are tired of these childish outburst. Grow the F up and move on. If you don't like your job and the benefits, go work someplace else. But no those spoiled brat public workers are going to stomp their feet and throw a fit. They see others getting all the toys and they want that too. But those others went out and earned the money without collective bargaining and did it on their own.
Yo dude, if it was only the teachers that were pissed off there would be no chance of a recall. The fact that more than half the signatures needed have already been collected shows you there's more than a few lazy spoiled people whinning. I've got a good job, and an awesome health insurance package. I work in the private sector but I've been out with the teachers and everyone else protesting. Not because I want higher pay for myself, because I stand with the masses that are being wrongfully blamed for the problems of this country. I'm not there for "ME" I'm there for us because busting unions will affect us all. Maybe you're like one of those dull, porrly developed characters in Atlas Shrugged who only values working 24/7/365, but I like my weekends thank you very much.
Hey anonymous - how much is Walker and his masters, the Koch Brithers, paying you?
I'm pretty sure the increase in the governor salary was instituted by Doyle in 2008.