The Incredible Ecosystem of the Wisconsin State Capitol
"MADISON, WI (FDL) – There are two stories going on here. One is a political story, and it’s a battle of wills, in many ways. Will Senate Democrats crack by returning to Madison and allowing the budget repair bill to pass, or will Republicans call off the assault on worker’s rights and move on with the bill? That’s what it boils down to, and in my next post I’ll explain why I think the Republicans, (mis)led by Scott Walker, are losing their grip and may have to concede at some point.
But there’s another story as well. And that’s the story of the state Capitol building, under a virtual occupation for the 10th straight day. What started as a protest has taken on the quality of a virtual city on the square. It’s very hard to explain unless you see it for yourself, but I’ll try. The Capitol has become a site for dissent, an information center, an organizing hub, a pizzeria, a display of wit and the site of a new progressive movement. That’s really not overstating the case.
As you walk into the Capitol, the walls are basically covered, and not just with protest slogans and witticisms, though they are there as well (“Hey Stewart/Colbert, we came to your rally, now come to ours”; “The Curdish rebels of Wisconsin”; “Thank God for CNN or I’d never know what’s on Twitter”). Scott Walker is getting a lot of mockery as well; my favorite banner read “Hey Scott Walker, this is David Koch, will you talk to me?” Madison is the birthplace of The Onion, after all. But the walls are also festooned with a surprising amount of graphs and charts, depicting inequality in America, or the percentage cuts to BadgerCare in the budget repair bill, or how much of the federal budget is spent on war and the military. There are even historical treatises about how Abraham Lincoln once jumped out of a window to avoid a quorum call in the Illinois Senate. This is a wonk rebellion too, furthered by the Internet and the easy accessibility of data.
And then there’s the organizing. While protesters rally and wave signs and give public testimony on the legislation (a process that has been going on for days), others are harnessing the frustration and passion. Phone banks have been set up. Other flyers announce self-organized protests, including one today in front of the new lobbying offices for Koch Industries, which popped up just a couple weeks after Scott Walker’s election. There’s a sign-up sheet that reads “I would strike to kill the bill,” with a pretty long list of names. (The idea of a general strike has been discussed, and even endorsed by a local labor council. Private unions wouldn’t be able to go out because of Taft-Hartley, but by mid-March most public unions would not be operating under a contract with the state, so you could absolutely see something like this happen, depending on what legislation goes forward.) At another station on the ground floor is the pizza distribution; Ian’s Pizza on State has basically become the official supplier of the protests, paid for by donations coming in from around the country and the world. There’s coffee as well, and periodically calls for supplies go out, and get fulfilled. There are websites up devoted to the protest, like Defend Wisconsin. Other fliers announce Twitter feeds to follow for information, or sites collecting YouTube videos of the event..."
http://news.firedoglake.com/2011/02/24/the-incredible-ecosystem-of-the-wisconsin-state-capitol/So proud of my hometown and my home state.
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