More participants at "Walkerville" today, ~ 300

Wisconsin Supreme Court Upholds Collective Bargaining Law
or
“My ears are still ringing!”

Yesterday, prior to the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s approval of Governor Walker’s collective bargaining law, the unions did muster up a bit more activity in fizzled-out “Walkerville,” attracting about 300 demonstrators, primarily members of various unions.

I visited the Capitol at noon to document events, and was subjected by a liberal enthusiast to an air-horn blowing repeatedly 12 inches from my ear, presumably to punish me for interviewing some Walker supporters, which is what I was doing at the time.

Air Horn

A slide show follows below,  images from  Capitol Square yesterday afternoon.  About 300 demonstrators were there, numerous unions were represented, and there were lots of noisemakers – vuvuzelas, plastic buckets, air horns, and chanting – as soon as members of the press appeared.

My air-horn toting friend retreats

My air-horn toting friend was surprised by my reaction to his air horn; rather than being unpleasant, grabbing his air-horn, or cursing him, this grey old lady picked up my camera and started clicking away at him.  First, he turned his face away from the camera, but continued honking in my ear.  As I continued clicking away with the camera, he eventually backed away and went somewhere else to torture another victim.

His lack of civility was typical of liberal behavior in Madison in recent months.

The Governor Walker supporters pointed out to me that yesterday was Flag Day .  Their sign read “Raise your flag for Gov. Walker,” and they were waving little 12-inch American flags.  The group included a public school teacher who was opposing her union’s actions, a retired nurse, and a retired U.S. Marine.  They had driven in from an outlying town to show some support for Governor Walker.  Theirs were the only flags visible on Flag Day.

Governor Walker supporters- teacher, nurse, Marine

One Walker supporter my age told me that she was approached by a man sputtering at her, informing her that he comes to these events to punch the teeth out of the bodies of fat people like her.  She didn’t even look fat, but looked very pleasant, ladylike and motherly, sitting quietly on the edge of a concrete wall and waving her American flag.  She had come to support Governor Walker, stating that we must first stop the fiscal bleed going on in our State; later there would be time for civil discourse regarding the details of union contracts.

MC: young man in pink

Announcers were on the Capitol steps behind us, calling for people to approach the Capitol doors to demand entrance inside.  I did not see anyone responding.  The announcer was a young man dressed in a filmy pink dress, signifying I have no idea what – Planned Parenthood again? Just looking for attention?  Not sure whether he made a good spokesman for his cause.

.

Slide Show of Capitol Square on Flag Day, June 14, 2011:

The Supreme Court upheld limitation of collective bargaining law on the same day.

More on Flag Day (June 14, 2011) at Madison’s Capitol Square:

• Vicki McKenna, Madison newstalk 1130 radio host, describes mob reaction to Supreme Court announcement Tuesday and interviews Senator Grothman, who also had an air horn blown in his ear yesterday.

• Governor Walker’s reaction and statement on the Supreme Court decision.

• You Tube: one of protest leaders was arrested, wanted for an outstanding warrant in Waukesha, WI.

.

“Walkerville” or Ghost town?

How many participants and tents in “Walkerville?”

"Walkerville" Day 3, noon rally at the Capitol; where is everyone?

The “tent city” established in downtown Madison (by public unions in protest of the limitation of collective bargaining) is not a City at all, but a group which has shrunken to twelve overnight campers and some 20 empty tents. Many families are bigger than that.

This is not news. Even if Madison’s City Council permitted family reunions on Madison’s Capitol Square, all of Madison and Wisconsin would not want to read about it over morning coffee. Yet Madison’s media continues their sympathetic coverage of “Walkerville,” publishing close-up shots of individual (empty) tents and describing what the last family left camping at the Capitol had for dinner last night.

I live 3 miles from Capitol Square, and my parish Church is 3 blocks away. Irritated by completely nonobjective reporting on public union issues, I’ve tracked events myself and I’ve taken some photo tours around the Capitol (photos and links below).

.

"Walkerville" Day 3: row of empty tents

.

Is Walkerville really similar to Hooverville?

On a typical day, there are about 20 R.E.I.-type tents with electric fans and cases of Dasani outside, 30 attendees at a noontime rally dominated by hot pink Planned Parenthood T-shirts (WHAT does Planned Parenthood and abortion have to do with teachers unions?

Hot Pink Planned Parenthood T-shirts dominate "Walkerville" rally on Day 3 (30 attendees)

.

Do teachers unions officially support the abortion of their future students?).  There are typically 6 people carrying protest signs, a lone vuvuzela trumpeter, a lone plastic bucket beater, some posters showing vulgar comments, and very little else visible in downtown Madison. What IS visible resembles Yuppie Ghost Town more than it resembles Hooverville, after which unions named Walkerville.

.

Hooverville, 1932, Washington DC

.

.

.

.

It is somewhat shocking to compare teachers who have upper middle class lifestyles and benefits which dwarf those of the rest of America—shocking to compare these privileged individuals to the starving and jobless people of Hooverville during the Great Depression .

Hooverville 1932

Opposition to public unions growing

It is not surprising that support for public unions in Madison seems to have fizzled out.

"Walkerville" Day 3 noon rally :attendance fizzling

.

Some are even dubbing Madison “Entitletown,” and accusing unions of clinging to benefits while the rest of the nation is forced to sacrifice.

.

A noise complaint against “Walkerville” was even filed with police by the wife of Democrat

Senator Risser

minority leader Senator Fred Risser.  Apparently the Senator and his wife live a block away from the Capitol Building, and the poor lady could not take the loud drumming noise any longer.  Risser was one of the fourteen democratic senators who fled the state for Illinois in February to stall Walker’s proposed reduction of collective bargaining rights for most public employees. Risser also led the effort to impose sex education programs authored by Planned Parenthood (America’s largest abortion provider) on public school children in Wisconsin.

.

Vuvuzela: lone protester using volume to get attention

.

.

Debbie Brown, a retired state employee and Democrat writes (letter to the editor, Wisconsin State Journal) :  Walkerville a tantrum, not a helpful event: “To the demonstrators (current state employees, graduate students who may not even be from Wisconsin, and educators), you are behaving like children, throwing tantrums because you’re not getting your way.”

.

.

Was this the drumming Mrs. Risser could not take when she called the police? Unbelievable volume this fellow achieved!

.

Where have all the protesters gone?

Why has support for public unions fizzled out since the massive demonstrations in downtown Madison in February?

Some speculations:

• People may be tired of demonstrating.  The novelty may have worn off. Reality is setting in.  Walker is the face of reason and responsibility.
• Unions may have run out of funds to bus thousands of protesters into Madison and to cover their expenses over extended periods of time.
• Some teachers, particularly the younger ones, may have realized that their jobs are being sacrificed to the economy so that senior union members could retain their privileges (which they call “rights”).  Union leadership has NOT been considering the welfare of ALL teachers, only that of senior teachers.
• School is out – so teachers can no longer be paid to participate in union activities such as demonstrations.  Now they would be giving up their vacation time or their summer job incomes (Yes, many teachers DO have summer jobs, despite the median teacher salary of $71,000 per year!).
• UW Madison is out— the semester is over, and 40,000 undergraduates are gone from Madison dormitories just a few blocks away.
• The weather has not been kind to Walkerville – ranging from 95 degree temperatures to severe thunderstorms, flooding and soaking Walkerville and whipping away tents  during the past week.

More to come?

More demonstrations to come? Or fizzled out? Madison's Capitol looks back to normal after $8million security and restoration following February's demonstrations.

Today, with the GOP state lawmakers preparing to make another run at passing Gov. Scott Walker’s reduction of collective bargaining for public employees, it will be interesting to watch what activity the unions will be able to muster downtown.  Stay tuned, more camera tours will be posted on this website.

“Rights” or entitlement philosophy?

Few people want cutbacks or belt-tightening, including my family, which has already suffered 15% cuts here in Madison, Wisconsin.  We don’t enjoy it.

However, when the choice is 15% cuts for everyone, versus senior workers (like me and my husband) hogging tenure and privileges while the young are fired, then we welcome the cuts. The American spirit of sharing burdens and walking together through hard times must prevail.

As people start to realize that protests are organized by senior public union officials who are not poor by any definition of the word, who are clinging to their luxurious bubble lifestyle of the past, while young teachers are losing their jobs and the rest of America carries an unfair share of the burden—as people realize these things, the support for public unions shrinks, and the support for Governor Walker grows.

Vacant tents, vacant Capitol Square -- 15 min before scheduled Russ Feingold rally 6-12-11 at 5 PM.

.

.

I have great compassion for those who don’t want to give up the privileges they previously enjoyed, and for those who don’t want to give up their dreams of a cushy retirement. I belong to that group. However, the public union officials don’t seem to realize that at this point in the economy, if they cling to their very generous slice of pie, they are depriving others of having any pie (or bread, for that matter) at all.

.

For those who are unaware of the “cushiness” senior union members have carved out for themselves, or of the effects of this comfort on the rights of children, see The Impact of Collective Bargaining on Teacher’s Rights and Children’s Rights– What is Fair?

Where's everybody? Apparently, a few blocks away, at the UW Memorial Student Union Terrace.

Ducks are at Memorial Union Terrace, too.

More links and photos:

“Walkerville:”

Pre-Walkerville:  Thursday, June 2nd, Protesters disrupt budget committee meeting, several carried out.

Day 1: Saturday night, June 4th :Camp set up(You Tube), ~80 tents, 100 people

Day 2: Sunday morning: ghost town —You Tube -biker rides around the Capitol filming, finds 30 tents, few straggling demonstrators. 4 people shouting “Recall Walker”.  You Tube interviewing several participants — attendance sparse.   Badger Herald posts photos.

Day 3: Monday: Public Service Day March: 300 supporters attend, plus 2 tractors, one fire engine, megaphones, bagpipes, vuvuzela. Eggs tossed at Walkerville camp.  Isthmus slide show of March.

Day 4: Tuesday:Lunch rally attracts 30; ~20 tents, 6 demonstrators

Day 5: Wednesday: Union demonstrators dressed as zombies interrupt the Special Olympics ceremony scheduled at Capitol Square.  Severe thunderstorms threaten “Walkerville” campers.  Isthmus sets up live blogging on Walkerville. Down to 12 overnight campers.

Day 6: Wisconsin State Journal covers the campers, reporting that they “show spirit.”  CNN reports, misleadingly showing large crowds from February demonstrating.  In actual fact,  “Walkerville” houses at most two dozen people.   Public News Service discusses “tent city” without mentioning that the population is a couple dozen.

Day 9: AFL-CIO live blog with photos and schedules.

Day 10: Sunday 5PM, Russ Feingold scheduled to appear:  no crowds yet at 4:45 PM; about 20 demonstrators with one vuvuzela and one plastic bucket.

Vuvuzela

.

The Isthmus cover of  May 13, 2011 (paper issue) very appropriately illustrates the lead story, The New Activists, with the image of a man blowing a vuvuzela, the Wisconsin State Capitol in the background.  The vuvuzela is a long plastic African horn that has become famous for disrupting the Soccer World Cup games in South Africa and for driving players and fans mad. The behavior of Madison’s new activists WAS loud and obnoxious in recent months, and many DID bring vuvuzelas to disrupt and to inspire fear with their noise:

Vuvuzelas at World Cup

.

.

“Fans and competitors from outside South Africa often complain that today’s vuvuzela doesn’t inspire fear or amazement, just irritation, and that its sound is a loud, unwelcome and unpleasant distraction.” –ABC news

.

Less appropriately, the article INSIDE the Isthmus fails to mention the noise, disruption and unruliness of the new activists participating in the demonstrations against Governor Walker at the Madison Capitol in recent months.  Neither vuvuzelas, drums, whistles, megaphones, nor angry chants and rude posters, all of which were ubiquitous during the downtown demonstrations, are mentioned in the Isthmus article.   The Isthmus article focuses instead on describing four interesting individuals, their use of music, T-shirts, social media (twitter), and business groups, in implementing their protests.

Well, maybe four people did do that.  🙂

Angry Liberals at Wisconsin Capitol

.

The new, much more aggressive and uncivilized behavior of the “new activists,” not discussed by  Isthmus, IS discussed at Clashes between Liberals and Conservatives – Washington, United Nations, Madison — Common denominator?

These tactics are called Alinsky tactics, previously known as “dirty fighting.”  Drowning out and ridiculing the opposition are common, as well as demonizing opponents, backtracking on promises, outright lying, death threats, and property damage.

Wisconsin Capitol Protesters

Now that conservatives have been voted into office in Wisconsin, liberals seem more willing to use any means whatsoever to further their agenda against the wishes of the majority, to stymie the progress of democratic rule.  This is where the REAL story is found, and Isthmus should write about THAT.

With the “new activists,” ridicule is the primary weapon, and conservative values are the primary target.

.

More You Tube examples of liberals using Alinsky tactics in Madison:

Man screaming repeatedly at Sarah Palin

Liberal crowd doing their best to drown out 14 year old speaker

Leftists booing Star spangled Banner

Man cursing at 14 year old speaker

Alinsky tactics used by President Obama:

Even our President is adopting these techniques – watch President Obama  ridiculing the Mexican border security issue, where numerous people on both sides have lost their lives:

Message for Isthmus

Hey, Isthmus — some news for you — the “new activists,” at every level, from citizen on the street to President, are using a great deal more than just music, T-shirts, twitter, and business groups to promote their agenda– they are violating all previous rules of civilized behavior and decency and are using Alinsky tactics which include ridicule, lying, and death threats.  This is not activism, this is terrorism.

.

.

▶

.

.

Videos of Liberal protesters during Sarah Palin’s appearance:

Man screaming repeatedly at Sarah Palin

Liberal crowd doing their best to drown out 14 year old speaker

Leftists booing Star Spangled Banner

Man cursing at 14 year old speaker

.

Transcript of Sarah Palin’s Message to Madison:

.

Hello, Madison, Wisconsin!

You look good.

I feel like I’m at home.

This is beautiful.

Madison, I am so proud to get to be with you today.

Madison, these are the front lines in the battle for the future of our country.

This is where the line has been drawn in the sand, and I am proud to stand with you today in solidarity.

I am here today as a patriot, as a tax payer, as a former union member, and as the wife of a union member.  What I have to say today, I say to our good patriotic brothers and sisters who are in unions.

I say this too, proudly, standing here as the daughter of a family full of school teachers–my parents, my grandparents, aunt, cousins, brother, sister, so many good folks, who are living on teacher’s pensions, having worked or working in education.

A pension is a promise that must be kept.  Now your Governor Scott Walker understands this.  He understands that states must be solvent in order to keep their promises.  And that’s what he’s trying to do.  He’s not trying to hurt union members.  Hey, folks, he’s trying to save your jobs and your pensions.

You know, but unfortunately some of your union bosses don’t understand this, and they don’t care if union members have to be laid off.  No, they want to protect their own power, and if that means forcing a Governor to lay off union workers, then so be it, they’ve proven that, it’s fine with them.

But that’s not real solidarity.  Real solidarity means coming together for the common good—this Tea Party is real solidarity.

Well, I’m in Madison today because this is where real integrity and real courage can be found.

Courage is your Governor and your legislators standing strong in the face of death threats and thug tactics.

Courage is you all standing there with them.

You saw the forces aligned against fiscal reform.

You saw the obstruction and the destruction.

You saw these violent rent-a-mobs trash your Capitol and vandalize business.

Madison, you held your ground.  Your Governor did the right thing.

And YOU WON!  Your beautiful State won!

And you know what?  People still have their jobs because of it.

That’s courage, and that’s integrity.

And you know, that’s something that’s sorely missing in the Beltway today.

Because let me tell you what ISN’T courageous.  Its politicians promising the American voters that, as we drown in 14 trillion dollars of debt, that they’re going to cut 100 billion dollars out of this year’s budget.  But, then, they cave on that and they reduce it down to 61 billion dollars after they get elected.  Then they get in there and they strike a deal and decide they’ll reduce that down to 38 billion dollars.  And then after some politics as usual, and accounting gimmicks, we find out that it’s not 38 billion dollars in cuts – you know that 38 billion dollars?  We don’t even HAVE it, we’re borrowing it.  We borrow from foreign countries to give to foreign countries, and that’s insanity.  We find out it’s not even 38 billion dollars, it’s less than 1 billion dollars in real cuts.  Folks, that 352 real dollars, the 352 million dollars in real cuts, that’s more than the Federal government’s going to spend in the time that it takes us to hold this rally today.

That is not courage, that’s capitulation.

Now there is a lesson here.  In the Beltway politico, something that they need to understand, the lesson comes from here in Madison.  So, our lesson is to the GOP establishment, first.  And, yeah, I’ll take on the GOP establishment.  What more can they say about us, you know?   So, to the GOP establishment, if you stand on the platform, if stand by your pledges, we will stand with you.  We will fight with you, GOP, we have your back.   Together we will win, because America will win.   We didn’t elect you just to rearrange the deck chairs on a sinking Titanic, we didn’t elect you just to stand back and watch Obama redistribute those deck chairs.  What we need, is for you to stand up, GOP, and fight.  Maybe I should ask some of the Badger women’s hockey team, those champions, maybe I should ask them if we should be suggesting to GOP leaders they need to learn to fight like a girl!

And speaking of President Obama, I think we ought to pay tribute to him today on this Tax Day Tea Party, because, really, he’s the inspiration for why it is that we’re here today.  That’s right, the Tea Party movement wouldn’t exist without Barack Obama.

You see, candidate Obama didn’t have a record; well, he was in office.  But President Obama certainly has a record, and that’s why we’re here.  And hey, media– it’s NOT inciting violence, and it’s not hateful rhetoric to call someone out on their record, so that’s what we’re gonna do!

We’re gonna do it to be clear.

That’s right, we’re here, we’re clear, get used to it.

Candidate Obama promised that he would be fiscally responsible.  He promised to cut the deficit in half, but PRESIDENT Obama tripled it.

Candidate Obama promised that fiscal responsibility, but President Obama flushed a trillion dollars down the drain on a useless stimulus package, and then he bragged about the jobs he created in congressional districts that don’t even exist.  That’s right – on this, White House, you lied.

The only thing that trillion dollar travesty stimulated was a debt crisis and a Tea Party.

Now the left’s irresponsible and radical policies awakened a sleeping America, that –we understood finally what it was that we were about to lose – we were about to lose the blessings of liberty, and prosperity.  They caused the working men and women of this country to get up off their sofas, to come down for the deer stand, get out of the duck blind, and hit the streets, come to the town halls, and finally, the ballot box.

And Tea Party Americans won an electoral victory of historic proportions last November.  We the people, we rose up, and we decisively rejected the left’s big government agenda.

We don’t want it, we can’t afford it, we are unwilling to pay for it.

But what was President’s, what was his reaction to this mandate for fiscal sanity?

Less than 90 days after the election, in his State of the Union address, President Obama told us– naw, the era of big government is here to stay, and we’re gonna pay for it whether we want to or not.

Instead of reducing spending, they’re going to “win the future” by investing more of YOUR hard earned money in some cockamamie hair-brained ideas like more solar shingles, more really fast trains, some things that venture capitalists will tell you are non-starters.  We’re flat broke, but he thinks these solar shingles and really fast trains will magically save us!  So now, he’s shouting “All aboard!” his bullet train to bankruptcy.

Win The Future?  WTF is about right.

And when Wisconsin’s own Paul Ryan presented a plan for fiscal reform, presented that plan, what was Obama’s response?  He demonized the voices of responsibility with “class warfare” and with “fear mongering,”  and I say personally, to our President, “Hey, parent to parent, Barack Obama; for shame,  for you to suggest that the heart of the common sense conservative movement–  which wouldn’t do anything to harm our esteemed elders, to harm our children with Down’s Syndrome, to harm those who are most in need—no, see, in our book,  you prioritize appropriately, and those who need the help will get the help.  The only way we do that is to be wise and prudent and to budget according to the right priorities.  No, our President isn’t leading.  He’s punting on this debt crisis.

The only future that Barck Obama is trying to win is his own reelection.  He’s willing to mortgage your children’s future to ensure his own.  And that is NOT the audacity of hope, that’s cynicism.  Piling more debt onto our children and grandchildren?  That’s not courage; no, that’s cowardice.

But did you notice?  When he gave that polarizing speech last week, there was a little gem in the speech—maybe you missed it. But he spoke about the social contract and the social compact.  Well, Mr. President, the most basic tenet in that social compact is adhering to the consent of the governed.  That would be WE, the people.

President Obama, you do not have our consent.  You didn’t have it in November, and you certainly don’t have it now.  You willfully ignored the will of the American people.

• You ignored it when you ran through ObamaCare.
• You ignored it when  you drove up the debt, to 14 and a half trillion dollars.
• You ignored it when you misrepresented your deficit spending.
• You ignored it when you proposed massive tax increases on the middle class and on our job creators.  You ignored it when you went to bat for government-funded abortions, and yet you threw our brave women and men in uniform under the bus, Mr. Commander-in-Chief.
• You ignored it when you got us into a third war for fuzzy and inconsistent reasons—a third war that we cannot afford.
• You ignore it when you apologize for America, while you bow and kow-tow to our enemies and you snub our allies, like Israel.
• And you ignore it when you manipulate the U.S. oil supply, you cut off oil development here, and then you hypocritically praise foreign countries for THEIR drilling.  And when hard-working families are hit with $4 and $5 a gallon gas, and your skyrocketing energy and food prices, as you set out to fundamentally transform America, you ignore our concerns and you tell us we just better get used to it.

Well, Mr. President, we’re not going to get used to it.  Not now, not never.

You ignored us in 2010, but you  cannot ignore us in 2012!

Mr. Obama, Mr. President, you and your cohorts threw all the hatred and all the violence that you could at these good folks here in Madison, Wisconsin, but you lost here.  And Madison, you defended the 2010 electoral mandate.  You are heroes.  You are patriots.  And when the history of this Tea Party movement is written, what you have accomplished here will not be forgotten.  Your historic stand brought down the curtain on the last election, and the 2012 election begins HERE.

We will take the courage and the integrity that you showed ALL of America—we will take it and we will win back our country.  God has shed His grace on thee, America—we will not squander what we have.  We will fight for America.  And it starts here, in Madison, Wisconsin.  It starts here, it starts now.  What better place than the state that houses the Super Bowl champs, to call out the liberal left, and let ‘em know – Mr. President, Game On!

God bless you, Wisconsin, and God bless America!

Clashes between Liberals and Conservatives – Washington, United Nations, Madison — Common denominator?

Dirty tactics in Washington

A group of Washington liberals apparently decided that the recent government stalemate on spending was entirely Republican Speaker Boehner’s fault, despite the fact that President Obama and his Democratic House and Senate failed to schedule and pass the budget in a timely manner last year before the November 2010 election. Not one or two, but over 8,700 of these liberals recently committed to a Facebook campaign to dump their trash outside Speaker John Boehner’s residence today, because a government shutdown (from failure to pass the budget) would have halted trash collection in Washington. When a compromise was reached late last night on Federal budget issues, preventing the looming government shutdown, the Facebook group claimed victory, cancelled the trash-dumping while ridiculing Speaker Boehner:

Liberal facebook campaign

“Moments ago, a very orange Speaker of the House just announced that he caved into some of our demands. This is Victory Accomplished.”

Trash dumping is illegal. Ridicule of elected officials is unprofessional. Speaker Boehner represents the majority of Americans who voted in an election.  The use of such bullying tactics in a democracy is unacceptable and uncivilized.

Dirty tactics at the United Nations

The United States State Department, headed by Secretary of State Hillary

Cllinton addresses Human Rights Coucil Feb 28, 2011

Clinton, has recently been misrepresenting the Catholic Church’s position on a sexual orientation declaration, in a effort to win votes for this resolution:

The officials (of the U.S. State Department) purposely misled Latin American delegations into believing the Holy See (Catholic Church) had changed its position on a sexual orientation declaration that called for “sexual orientation and gender identity” to be new categories of non-discrimination in international law… The Holy See, in fact, opposed the declaration…

– National Catholic Register

The US Department of State (headed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton) is telling Latin American delegations to the United Nations that the Vatican has changed its position on a sexual orientation declaration that was just released at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

-Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute

The practice of such duplicity by United State officials at the United Nations is more than shocking.

Due to silence on these issues by the liberal media, few people know of United States efforts (headed by Hillary Clinton) toward the global spread of abortion rights and redefinition of marriage.

The fact that the U.S. State Department has been so emboldened now as to LIE about the Catholic Church’s position on these moral issues (in order to garner votes for this global liberal agenda), is very disturbing.

Latest dirty tactics in Madison

The latest development in Madison’s struggle between taxpayers and unions has involved the use of slander by liberals to influence Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice elections – an attempt to radicalize the composition of the Supreme Court, which will soon be making decisions on Governor Walker’s budget and collective bargaining law.

Toward this end, there was an outpouring of national union funds for defeating (and slandering ) Wisconsin’s conservative incumbent Supreme Court Justice Prosser.

Slanderous ad attempting to smear Jutsice Prosser

.

Democrat ads falsely accused  Prosser of injustice in the handling of a 35 year old Catholic Church sex scandal case – a double punch to conservatives and to the Catholic Church( If You’re Looking for Child Abuse, the Catholic Church is the Last Place to Look).

.

JoAnne Kloppenburg

Despite protests by the sex scandal victim and his demands that JoAnne Kloppenburg (the liberal candidate challenging Justice Prosser) pull the slanderous advertisements,  the untrue and malicious ads were not pulled. JoAnne Kloppenburg claimed that the ads were not run by her, but by a third party, and that she did not wish to deprive them of their “freedom of speech.”

Justice Prosser

.

.

Clearly a display of unethical behavior and a poor choice by a candidate who might have served on the Wisconsin Supreme Court for the next 10 years!  Fortunately, as of this writing it appears that she is no longer a contender .

.

I have survived a nuclear firestorm of criticism and attack and smear” –Justice Prosser

.

History of dirty tactics in Madison

Being driven to political activism has been a real eye-opening experience for me—occurring, as it has, in Madison, WI, where I have been living for 22 years.

Reeling in disbelief at the recent below-the-belt political tactics exercised by the left, and mystified by the escalating frequency of illegal and quite frankly uncivilized behavior of previously respected elected officials and “teacher” demonstrators, I embarked on some research into liberal tactics.  The name of Saul Alinksy began to surface—the author of a new disgusting form of “activism” which is in direct conflict with Judeo-Christian values and which specializes in undermining democratic rule, for use by radicals who want to force change against the will of a majority.

It was easy for me, as well as for many Americans, to steer clear of political involvement previously, under the pressures of career, child-rearing and (for me) home-schooling, particularly while practicing the forbearance we were taught as a good Christians —assuming the best possible about others; treating them as you would be treated; assuming they are doing the same to you.

.

Bad assumptions, as it turns out, in Madison, Wisconsin, USA in 2011.

SO bad, that I marvel at and have started blogging about the discontinuity between media reports and actual reality in the recently publicized budget struggles between Governor Walker and union leadership in Madison Wisconsin (A Word from the Silent Majority; What’s Really Happening in Wisconsin; What is REALLY going on in Wisconsin).  My blogging is the product of my frustration and indignation in watching the discontinuity between reality and left-leaning “progressive” media reports.

.

Fred Risser, the senior Democrat member of the Wisconsin Legislature

While unions (which historically have done much good work), and the Democrats who represent them, now break laws, slander, malign, misrepresent, and conspire to stall the democratic process, and while the Madison police who support them fail to enforce the law, while the Mayor of the City of Madison assists liberals in stalling the progress of the State Legislature’s work, and while liberal judges overlook State law (also helping unions to stall impending budget legislation), the media, and much of liberal Madison, continue to applaud and idolize all these agents who are actually impeding the fair implementation of democracy (A Word from the Silent Majority; What’s Really Happening in Wisconsin; What is REALLY going on in Wisconsin).

Dirty tactics appear systematic, not isolated

The tactics being used in Madison today (unreported by most media) are shocking even to someone like me, hardly an “innocent,” who grew up in New York City, commuting to high school daily on New York City subways, and attending the State University of New York at Stony Brook in the 1960’s and 70’s, at the height of student unrest in the Vietnam protest era.

Research on these tactics led me to findings that would surprise most Americans who value Judeo-Christian ideals (that would be over 80% of us).

The apparent abandonment of political ethics and morality which we have been observing evidently is not a random, unplanned general degeneration of public standards that one might initially suspect.  There are actually methods and calculated political action being implemented (primarily by liberal radicals, although occasionally conservatives have been known to lash back with similar tactics).  These efforts are well organized, and have achieved much success in implementing radical agendas against the wishes of the majority in the United States.

Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals

As it turns out, these “new” radical methods stem from the radical philosophy of Saul Alinsky (author of Rules for Radicals ), and have been embraced and used quietly and surreptitiously by powerful individuals and organizations including Hillary Clinton, Barak Obama, the National Education Association (NEA), and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO).

Saul Alinsky

Saul Alinsky (1909-1972) was an American “community organizer” and writer .  Born in Chicago to an orthodox Jewish family, his plans to become an archaeologist were disrupted by the depression.  Instead, he embarked on a career of political activism, organizing first for the labor movement, then in ghettos across the United States.

.

Barack Obama, “community organizer”

Saul Alinksy’s radical methods for community reorganization (does this term sound familiar? Barak Obaman’s campaign credentials included being a “community organizer” in Chicago) were practiced by Alinsky since the Great Depression, were published in 1971, and have slowly been permeating the modus operandi of the unions, and of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) which represents them, since then.   Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals, outlining his beliefs and methods, can be distilled down to an “anything goes” or “ends justify ANY means” philosophy—a philosophy unhampered by truth, fairness or lawful behavior. A philosophy that scorns communication, compromise and the democratic process, while extolling the intentional generation of conflict toward the purpose of manipulation through fear:

Alinsky was a bluff iconoclast who concluded that electoral politics offered few solutions to the have-nots marooned in working-class slums. His approach to social justice relied on generating conflict to mobilize the dispossessed. Power flowed up, he said, and neighborhood leaders who could generate outside pressure on the system were more likely to produce effective change than the lofty lever-pullers operating on the inside.—Peter Slevin, Washington Post

In his book Rules for Radicals, Alinsky himself writes:

“What follows is for those who want to change the world from what it is to what they believe it should be. The Prince was written by Machiavelli for the Haves on how to hold power. Rules for Radicals is written for the Have-Nots on how to take it away.”

.

Alinsky’s influence

Alinsky’s “community reorganization” methods have been a common ideological touchstone for Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama.  Hillary Clinton wrote her senior honors thesis at Wellesley College on Saul Alinksky, and was offered a job by Alinsky in 1968.  Following Alinsky’s death, Barak Obama was hired by Alinsky’s followers to organize black residents on the South Side of Chicago, while learning and applying Alinsky’s philosophy of street-level democracy.

Teacher’s groups like the National Education Association (NEA) used Saul Alinsky as a consultant to train their own staff, and unions like the AFL-CIO acknowledge their roots in Saul

Alinsky–inspired community organization , and list Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals” on their web page under training for shop stewards .

Radical liberals who embrace Alinsky’s philosophy and tactics are well aware of the unpopularity of such tactics with 80% of (Christian) Americans, and they are not in a big rush to acknowledge, name or publicize their techniques.

What ARE Alinksy’s rules?

Alinsky’s book, Rules for Radicals, is prefaced by an acknowledgement to Lucifer, the “very first” radical:

.

Lucifer

Lest we forget at least an over-the-shoulder acknowledgement to the very first radical: from all our legends, mythology, and history ( and who is to know where mythology leaves off and history begins—or which is which), the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom – Lucifer.

– Saul Alinsky

.

Alinsky’s rulesinclude:

• “Wherever possible go outside the experience of the enemy. Here you want to cause confusion, fear and retreat.”
• “Make the enemy live up to his/her own book of rules. You can kill them with this. They can no more obey their own rules than the Christian church can live up to Christianity.”
• “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon. It is almost impossible to counterattack ridicule. Also, it infuriates the opposition, who then react to your advantage.”
• “The threat is generally more terrifying than the thing itself.”
• “In a fight almost anything goes. It almost reaches the point where you stop to apologize if a chance blow lands above the belt.”
• “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it and polarize it.” (Use name-calling to damage your conservative opponents.  Demonize them.)
• “One of the criteria for picking the target is the target’s vulnerability … the other important point in the choosing of a target is that it must be a personification, not something general and abstract.” (For example, choose a conservative to demonize aggressively for political incorrectness, while applying much more lax and forgiving standards to your own radical colleagues.)
• “The enemy properly goaded and guided in his reaction will be your major strength.” For instance, Democrats imply conservatives are racists or that Republicans want to kill senior citizens by limiting the growth of the Medicare system, they imply Republicans want to deny kids lunch money without offering real proof. These red-herring tactics work.

The contrast between Radical rules and traditional Judeo-Christian rules

The Ten Commandments

.. . .. These Alinsky rules can be contrasted with the Judeo-Christian 10 Commandments, which are based on Exodus 20:2-17, and which form the springboard of the U.S. Constitution and of most conservative thinking:

A new set of rules has been introduced by radicals

It is beginning to look like a new philosophy is becoming prevalent in the political arena – the strictly utilitarian Alinsky philosophy, which defies Judeo-Christian morality and despises the exercise of egalitarian democracy.  It reflects a culture of selfish entitlement, by whatever means necessary to advance oneself and one’s friends.  It strives to preserve the illusion that there is a community participating in the decision-making process, while in actual fact the citizens and their opinions are being squeezed out.  This Alinsky philosophy has been adopted widely by numerous liberal groups, including teachers unions,  the DNC, and President Obama’s community organizing friends, including ACORN.

Much evidence is accumulating that Planned Parenthood operates using these tactics too. For example, it has successfully propagandized gullible Americans into believing that killing an unborn human is a “choice” that improves a woman’s “health,” when in actual fact abortion is associated with an increased chance of death in comparison with childbirth.  Even President Barack Obama uses this “progressive” jargon in reference to abortion, contrary to the beliefs of the majority in America.

.

Saul Alinsky

Practioners of the Alinsky method welcome conflict, and use conflict to their own advantage, to circumvent the will of the majority.  Their method often goes unidentified, or lurks under many titles, but is rarely identified as the Alinsky method.  The method often adopts or transforms other techniques such as the “Delphi Technique,” creating spin-offs under different names.

ridicule

Until we responsible conservatives recognize this new breed of liberal, and develop our own plan of action for identifying and countering these opponents who despise and violate common sense rules of morality and the foundations of a healthy democracy, much ground will be lost.  While we spin our wheels, bewildered and incredulous, the Alinskiites are continuing to acquire power and to erode our freedoms.

What next?

Knowing the enemy is the principal step towards victory.

Ridicule is the radical liberal’s biggest tool.  Religion (Judeo-Christian values) is their biggest target.

This is a war of values, and we must guard ourselves carefully against the new barrage of lies with which responsible conservatives are being attacked.

Once we learn not to take their attacks personally, and once we realize that our opponents have no interest in honest negotiation, we can move forward with determination and with strength, which, incidentally, leaders like John Boehner and Scott Walker are doing for us.

We must support our conservative leaders with our votes, with our confidence, with our emails, with our words, and with our pocketbooks.

Related Article, 7/27/13:

.Continued from “What’s (REALLY) Happening in Wisconsin?”…

.

Since Wisconsin Republicans voted on Ash Wednesday, March 9, 2011 to limit union collective bargaining by passing the Budget Repair Bill , information blackout continues, and even people like me, living only 3 miles from the Wisconsin Capitol, are struggling to get all the facts.

.

I continue to be amazed at the lack of news or analysis provided by mainstream media concerning all of these events, as well as the radically liberal spin seen in articles which do appear.

Persevering in collecting facts during recent weeks, I am astounded at the lack of ethics permeating the actions of the left—of the union leaders and of the Democrats who represent them.  Some of these are documented further below, in the Background section.

Newest developments:

Republicans flee Madison for safety from angry mobs and death threats

Threat slipped under a Republican Senator's door

Fifteen minutes after their rushed March 9^th vote to limit union collective bargaining, Republican legislators had to leave the Capitol building under police protection because they were being threatened by an angry mob.  They were told to get out of Madison as quickly as possible, since Republicans were unsafe in Madison that night.  The legislators filed out of the Capitol building past Democrat legislators in orange T-shirts, who reviled them, repeating phrases such as “Are you proud of yourself?” while Jesse Jackson (!) looked on.   Outside, the Republican senators were harassed by an angry mob .  Many Republicans received death threats , and some of their cars and homes were vandalized .  Little, if any of this barbaric behavior by demonstrators, was reported by mainstream media other than FOX.

.

Democrats stall, backtrack on promises and misrepresent to the media

The “14 Dems” who had fled Wisconsin in order to obstruct (in violation of Senate rules) the controversial vote for which they did not have a majority, have been idolized by liberal Madison, and by the liberal media which clearly favors the Democrats.  Media, Democrats and demonstrators routinely misrepresented the Governor and the Republicans.  Their portrayal of  Republicans as rigid and uncompromising tyrants was deceitful, because in actual fact numerous secret meetings were held near the Wisconsin-Illinois border between Democrats and Republicans from Feb 28 through March 9.  During these meetings Democrats made numerous promises to compromise and to return to Madison, but reneged repeatedly, and ultimately it became apparent that Democrat leaders were stalling, were backtracking on offers, were being disingenuous, and were not negotiating in good faith.

The final blow to Republicans was a letter sent by minority leader Mark Miller (D) to Governor Walker, accusing the Governor of wanting to “keep lines of communications closed,” which was released first to the media before being delivered to the Governor’s Office.  In light of the secret negotiations going on for 10 days, during which Republicans traveled regularly to the Illinos border for meetings, this letter represented an outright betrayal and lie.  This was what compelled the Republicans to move forward on the vote in the absence of Democrats on the evening of March 9^th.

The Budget Repair Bill is Passed

The vote was conducted in the Senate in the evening of March 9^th, the Assembly approved the bill on March 10^th, and Governor Walker signed it on March 11^th.  It could have been published by the Secretary of State Doug La Follette as early as by March 15th , the last step before implementation of the bill .

Democrats Desperately Try to Stall Publication of the Budget Repair Bill

However, Democrats (representing union leaders) have launched a number of stalling tactics of dubious validity during the past week (March 10-18), attempting to delay the publication and implementation of the Budget Repair Bill.  There is little doubt that the vote was legal and that the law will stand, but by stalling implementation of the law, Democrats are buying time for  unions to rush through contract extensions and pay raises.

Incidentally, the rushing through of union contracts does NOT benefit all union members— instead, it benefits only the union bosses and senior union members, at the expense of junior members.  When union contracts with generous benefits are negotiated in lean fiscal times, the budget is used up to pay the senior member’s generous contracts, and junior members are then laid off as the money runs out.  By negotiating generous benefits, the union leaders are feathering their own nests at the expense of the jobs of their own young union members.

The stalling commenced immediately on March 10^th, with the Democrat Secretary of State stating that he plans to wait the maximum 10 days allowed before publishing the Budget Repair Bill, delaying publication until March 25 (in place of March 15).  Next, several Dane County and City of Madison officials, including  Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz  and Dane county Executive Kathleen Falk, filed complaints with the Dane County District Attorney alleging that Wisconsin’s Open Meeting laws were violated when the Budget Repair Bill was passed.

These actions were taken despite the fact that the the Open Meetings law was not violated at all.  Governor Walker ensured, prior to the vote, that the procedures adopted satisfied all relevant rules and statutes.  Legal opinions from three nonpartisan legal agencies were obtained endorsing the procedures used, and even respected Democrat Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett had indicated that a separate vote without Democrats would be valid.  Democrats were filing invalid accusations simply to buy time.

On March 10, the day after the Budget Repair Bill was passed, James Troupis, an attorney for Fitzgerald (the Senate Majority Leader) explained to Vicki McKenna on WIBA radio that the Open Meetings law was not violated and even does not to apply to Senate proceedings, “since the Wisconsin constituti­on is quite explicit in providing the Legislatur­e with independen­t authority.”   Jim Troupis indicated that the vote had satisfied all pertinent rules—the Wisconsin Constitution, the Open Meeting law (which itself states in section 19.87 sub 2 that no provision which conflicts [with Senate rules] shall apply), and the Senate rule 93.

.

Nevertheless, one week later, on March 18^th, liberal Dane County Judge Maryann Sumi issued a temporary restraining order, barring the publication of the Budget Repair Bill , claiming the violation of the state’s open meetings law.  The judge has not ruled on the claim, and is now on vacation!

.

The Senate Majority Leader and Assembly Speaker released a joint statement condemning the judge’s decision:

“Dane County always seems to play by its own rules, but this morning, we saw a Dane County judge try to re-write the constitutional separation of powers… We fully expect an appeals court will find that the Legislature followed the law perfectly and likely find that today’s ruling was a significant overreach. “

One more motivation has been suggested (WIBA, March 21) for the desperate and dubious stalling tactics being exercised by Democrats on the Budget Repair Bill during the last 10 days –  Democrats are attempting to stall the Bill for a sufficiently  long time to effect the recall of the Republican Senators who voted for the bill — the newest bizarre strategy for instituting  minority rule and defeating the democratic process with stalling and bluffing.

Background

Election 2010

At the outset it is important to point out that in November of 2010 the citizens of Wisconsin elected Republicans into power— not only to the Governor’s mansion, but also into both houses of the State Legislature  .  Wisconsin, previously a Democrat stronghold, suddenly went “red” in the last election.  Voters appeared to be motivated by a desire to cut spending, to cut deficits, and to avoid passing on crippling financial burdens to future generations of Wisconsinites– the “Tea Party” philosophy.  Conservative is the new Liberal .

Madison, the Capitol City of Wisconsin, historically very liberal, locally referred to as “Moscow on the Mendota (a local lake),” was now a radically liberal island surrounded by a much more conservative sea of Wisconsin Republicans.  Madison is the home of 40,000 liberal college students on a campus adjacent to the Capitol building, home of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and Madison is so entrenched in liberalism that only Democrats can be found as candidates on Madison Mayoral ballots.

Wisconsin pulls in their belts

Now that the newly elected Republican Governor and Republican houses of legislature have embarked on fulfilling their campaign promises to reign in the reckless and out-of-control spending of the previous Democrat administration, numerous state employees have suffered cuts in salary and benefits—including my husband, an engineering professor at the State University, UW Madison .  Despite my husband’s status as a Wisconsin Distinguished Professor and a global reputation in automotive research on engine efficiency and emission controls, he has not even received a cost of living increase in about 7 years.  Last year, he had the equivalent of a 5% salary reduction in the form of a mandatory furlough, and just recently we received notification that his take-home salary would be reduced by an additional 10%, in the form of reduced benefits (previously paid by the employer, the state of WI, and now paid for by us).  Unquestionably, this will affect our entire future.

We have not complained, because we saw the reason behind the pay cuts.  If the salary and benefits of senior members of the University community like us were not cut, then junior members (those without tenure) would be the first to lose jobs, to allow us to continue to enjoy our comforts.  Our duty to pull in our belts when financial times are tight, rather than watching the young people around us become unemployed.

Unions not out for the common good

Teachers? or Union Power?

This is the crux of the matter—willingness of senior members of organizations to take cuts so that junior members would not have to be laid off.  The willingness to put the common good before the personal good.  This is what the union leaders of Wisconsin (and of America) seem unwilling to do.

The unions of Wisconsin enjoy many benefits and have been extremely privileged.  There are dozens of states without Wisconsin’s collective bargaining for public employees, and in fact most federal workers do not have collective bargaining rights.  We value our teachers in Wisconsin, and they deserve the great treatment they had while the economy was good.  However, now that financial hardship is upon us, teacher union leaders do not have the same philosophy that most Wisconsinites have of sharing the sacrifice across the board.  They have been rushing through contract extensions before the new budget cuts are made, and have even been attempting to force through pay raises as well.  Meanwhile, typical non-union Wisconsin workers earn about 30% less than union workers in the same jobs, and are not complaining about the necessary belt-tightening.

This is not a uniquely Wisconsin phenomenon.  Unions across America have been hustling to make similar changes in advance of the budget cuts which Tea Party activists demanded in the last election, and union leaders have seen this battle coming.

Union bosses mobilized their resources to fight in Wisconsin – Madison is one of the first places these legislative fiscal reversals have come up, Madison is a liberal union-supportive environment, and Madison is filled with graying radicals and leftist college students.  Madison could be relied upon to provide numerous protesters downtown, adjacent to the campus. With the organizational help of the Democratic National Committee, the rallies in Madison were huge these past several weeks, and also included protesters bused in from across the entire nation.

What most demonstrators did not and still do not realize, is that even now, as Democrats continue political maneuvers to stall the implementation of the new restrictions on union benefits, union leaders are continuing to rush through more contract extensions which will ensure the senior union members continued comfort and benefits at the expense of laying off junior union members — who unknowingly have been out at the Wisconsin Capitol demonstrating for the union bosses.

The informational black-out; facts unreported by media

Wisconsin Capitol grounds damage

Demonstrations in Madison anything BUT peaceful

The demonstrators at the Wisconsin Capitol during the past month were loud, aggressive, unruly, and they violated many Madison ordinances.  They damaged the Capitol building, littered the downtown, destroyed the grass and Capitol grounds, brought ammunition onto Capitol grounds, harassed Republican senators, and paraded vulgar signs in and around the Capitol in front of young children. This past weekend I personally witnessed Democrats with bullhorns yelling vulgar language at Majority Leader Fitzgerald outside the Capitol building, while children in strollers were wheeled by.

.

.

City agencies assist unions and help thwart the Governor and Legislature

The Madison City government, Madison police, Madison firefighters, and Madison media all collaborated to facilitate the union protesters and to misrepresent the belligerent and threatening tone of the demonstrations to the outside world.

The Mayor sided with the demonstrators, instructed Madison Police not to remove the demonstrators violating Capitol visiting hours, and allowed false statements to be published on the City of Madison website which proclaimed that all demonstrations were peaceful and respectful.  They were not.

The Madison Police, whose unions are exempt from the proposed legislation, still sided with the unions and stopped ticketing cars downtown for parking violations, did not arrest demonstrators for violating Capitol hours, for destruction of property, for harassment of Republican Senators , for defacement of property, for littering, and for numerous other legal infringements.

One Republican Senator was pursued and harassed by a crowd of 200, and not one policeman was in sight to protect him.  Eventually, firefighters arrived to escort him away from the barbaric crowd.  FOX was the only news channel to report on this incident.

Media misrepresents events in Madison

The media misrepresented the belligerent and threatening behavior of the protestors, and misrepresented the issues at the heart of the dispute, casting union protesters in a favorable light while vilifying the government which was trying to carry out the work it was elected to do.

The media glorified the 14 Democrats who fled Wisconsin to prevent the presence of the quorum needed to pass the legislation, while failing to report on the duplicity and outright dishonesty of the Democratic negotiation tactics – which included numerous secret meetings with Republicans near the state border, numerous promises to compromise and to return to Wisconsin, followed by numerous reversals and failures to live up to promises.

Unions are out-maneuvered by the Governor

When Governor Walker finally realized the duplicitous nature of  Democrat “negotiations” which were only being used for stalling, he outmaneuvered the Democrats by rewriting the budget repair bill. Appropriation of funds was removed so that the bill would not require a quorum to pass, and could be passed without the presence of the 14 missing Democrats.  On Wednesday, March 9^th, senate Republicans passed the new budget repair bill.  On Thursday, the Assembly approved it.  Prior to Wednesday vote, the Governor had the procedure endorsed by three nonpartisan legal agencies.  The Mayor of Milwaukee, Tom Barrett, a prominent State Democrat, had also expressed agreement that the vote could be taken without the 14 missing Democrat senators.

The rest of the news from the last 10 days has already been reported above.

Where to from here?

The only remaining question is whether the citizens of Wisconsin, as well as citizens across America where similar tactics are being used by union bosses, will withstand the lies and misrepresentations and sustain their resolution to repair the economy both in Wisconsin and nationwide.

Hateful and threatening images remain

(vulgar images have been omitted):

The chalk outline is customarily used to indicate where the murder victim once was.

Teachers? or Socialists?

Message scrawled on Republican Senator's window at the Wisconsin Capitol

Peaceful and Respectful Protest?

Freedom to trash the Wisconsin Capitol? Or freedom to subvert democracy?

Graffiti and chalk body outlines all over the Wisconsin Capitol grounds

.

It is with hesitation that I embark on discussing the behavior of liberals, particularly in reference to recent labor disputes at the Wisconsin State Capitol, which is located 3 miles from my home and 3 blocks from my parish Church.   Most often I try to avoid criticizing the behavior of others, keeping in mind the Biblical counsel:

How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,’ when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.   – Luke 6:42

But events at the Wisconsin State Capitol in recent weeks have culminated in a situation that commands some discussion.  The pursuit and cornering of conservative Senator Grothman by 200 aggressive liberals, ultimately requiring his rescue by firefighters, was broadcast on FOX news, but was glossed over by most liberal media last week:

.

This shocking event, which included shouting, intimidation, chanting “shame,” bleeped vulgar

No violence? Hmmm...

expletives, drum beating and blowing of whistles, reflected the general uncivilized aggressive attitudes displayed by demonstrators at the Wisconsin State Capitol during the past 3 weeks.  It is a situation that could easily have caused injury and/or heart attack to the elderly Senator, and is at very least shameful in the lack of respect with which an elected representative of the people of the United States was treated by an angry liberal mob.

This shocking treatment of Senator Grotham by liberals illustrates quite a double standard, particularly when compared with the criticism conservatives suffered recently from liberal media regarding the use of crosshair imagery during the last election, particularly after the shooting of Representative Giffords, and at least while liberal media still thought that the shooter could be tied to conservatives.

The ultimate question with which I struggled for 3 weeks before writing this post, and with which all conservatives in America must struggle, is how does a reserved conservative like me, who tries to live by the golden rule (do unto others as you would have them do unto you) and by the rule of forbearance (assume the best imaginable explanation for another’s behavior), how do we deal with vocal and liberal opponents who do not feel constrained by the same behavioral guidelines that we respect and revere?

How do you win a battle against opponents who use aggressive tactics which you consider immoral and which you yourself refuse to use?  Should we remain the silent majority?

So far this past month, liberal supporters of Wisconsin unions have broken a number of rules and regulations which are generally essential for the orderly operation of society, and which have never been observed in conservative demonstrations such as those involving the Tea Party or Pro-Life:

• 14 legislators have left the State of Wisconsin so that police could not force them to attend State legislature voting sessions that they are legally obliged to attend.  These senators are sabotaging democracy and showing no respect for the people’s choices during the November 2010 election.  They are advocating rule not by the majority, but by the loudest and the most aggressive.
• Thousands of Madison teachers have not only gone on strike, depriving children of education, and have lied fraudulently about their motives, claiming to be sick.  They are teaching our children to lie.
• UW Madison doctors have appeared downtown handing out sick notes to demonstrators, a clear violation of medical ethics and a willful deception and cheating of the taxpayers by medical doctors.  They are also teaching our children to lie.
• Thousands of demonstrators have refused to leave the State Capitol at closing time, sleeping inside the Capitol and making it impossible for maintenance staff to do their work.  Maintenance staff have indicated their fear of the crowds, not feeling safe in doing their work.
• Police unions, whose jobs were unaffected by the proposed budget cuts, sympathized with the teachers unions, and stopped ticketing vehicles which were illegally parked downtown, as well as refusing to protect legislators like Senator Grothman from aggressive crowds.  Liberal media gleefully claimed “peaceful demonstrators” and “no arrests” each day, when in actual fact Madison’s police appeared to be on strike were not performing all their duties.
• Over the course of the 3 week demonstration, some claim that the demonstrators caused $7.5 million damage to the stately Madison Capitol building
  

  Wisconsin State Capitol Building

  which was constructed of 43 types of stone from six countries and eight states around 1910.  The $7.5 million damage is larger than the original cost of the erecting the Capitol in 1910 ($7.25 million).

• The Capitol building, probably for the first time in its 100-year history, began to stink.
• Demonstrators have been imported into Madison by unions all over the U.S., from as far away as California.  President Obama has also sent supporters and has voiced support for the unions, despite the fact that the President’s own federal workers do not enjoy the luxurious privileges the Wisconsin unions are trying to maintain for themselves. Wisconsin taxpayers are now the victims of the entire nation’s belligerent union hierarchy.
• Homeless people have abandoned local Church shelters in favor of  living in the Capitol building, where free pizza is provided by out-of-state union bosses.
• Union demonstrators have abandoned all rules of professionalism and civility.  Posters and
  

  Sign with crosshairs over Governer Walker's face

  chants reflect violence, hate and vulgarity, totally eclipsing the “crosshairs” controversy following the shooting of Representative Giffords this January.  Signs have routinely compared Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker to Hitler, Benito Mussolini and Hosni Mubarak and showed the Wisconsin governor with a cross-hairs rifle sight over his face .  Fourteen of the “100 best posters at the Wisconsin Capitol” are too vulgar to show on this website  . One sign reads “Hey, Walker, WI Ranger, who’s gonna wipe yer ___ when U have a stroke???”

• Live ammunition was found stashed outside the Wisconsin State Capitol by police.
• Residents and groups surrounding the Madison Capitol building have suffered poor treatment from demonstrators.  Our Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, part of Madison’s downtown Catholic Cathedral Parish, has struggled to keep parking open for Church members.  When approached by Church staff with requests not to use our parking lot, demonstrators use vulgarity and tell Church staff to “get a life.”   Police do not help either, they have stopped ticketing downtown.
• Demonstrators have not been acting like teachers, but more like angry mobsters.
• Demonstrators, as well as the liberal media,  have misrepresented the issues, exaggerating and misquoting the Governor’s terms and failing to explain the rationale behind both points of view—pro-union and pro-balanced budget.  Truth seems to have no role in this debate, and liberal media does not seem interested in discussion. Some representative photos from Vicki McKenna.
• While 60,000 liberals skipped work, demonstrated and trashed the Wisconsin Capitol, 126,000 conservatives signed an online “Stand with Walker” petition, went to work, took care of their children who were abandoned by teachers, and prepared to pay for the damage the demonstrating minority was causing.   Incidentally, there are only about 100,000 union members in Wisconsin, in contrast to the 5,000,000 taxpayers who do not have union benefits and are paying their bills.

It is an established fact that some demographic differences exist between liberals and conservatives.    The differences are primarily philosophical, NOT racial or ethnic, as liberal media would imply:

– Wikipedia

The increased Church attendance and respect for marriage indicated above in conservatives reflects their willingness to conform to the Judeo-Christian values

Ten Commandments

encompassed by the Ten Commandments, on which our systems of law have historically been based.   It is easy to see the projection of this voluntary self-restraint onto acceptable codes of public behavior, which translate into the peaceful and dignified political gatherings and respect for public property characteristic of Tea Party and Pro-Life gatherings nationwide – particularly in the January 2011 March for Life in Washington DC (just 2 weeks prior to the union demonstrations at the Wisconsin State Capitol), where 400,000 people gathered peacefully to show their support for Life, but which Madison’s liberal media did not mention at all.

This past month, the converse, a distinct LACK of voluntary self-restraint, lack of peaceful and dignified protests and lack of respect for public property, has been observed in downtown Madison during the union protests.

These recent events in Madison are by no means unique.  In my 20+ years living as a conservative in liberal Madison, I have personally witnessed numerous times a dramatic difference in the demeanor of liberals and of conservatives in the public square.

Vigil for Life, Fewb 2010

One year ago at a Pro-Life rally in February of 2010, I observed over 1,000 reserved, well-dressed and well-behaved pro-lifers at Madison’s Library Mall standing in the winter cold,  listening quietly to pro-life speakers (which included Senator Grotham), while 20 -30 liberal student radicals, rallying to the campus-wide spam invitation issued by student socialists, yelled, chanted, attempted to disrupt speeches, performed lascivious strip-tease in a nearby raised platform in front of children, and were finally restrained and led off by police. Madison’s liberal media did an abysmal job of reporting this event, failing to report the difference in numbers at this event (1,000 versus 25), and failing to report the difference in demeanor of the two groups.  To read the brief Madison newspaper report, it would seem that opposing groups of similar size confronted each other briefly downtown.

This 40:1 ratio of civilized well-behaved citizens to loud disruptors at the Pro-Life rally above is similar to the 50:1 ratio of Wisconsin citizens who work and pay the bills to protesting union workers at the Wisconsin State Capitol last month (5 million to 100,000).  Yet again, the minority is attempting to control the majority by intimidation.

Another recent contrast in the demeanor of liberals and conservatives is illustrated by my blog post on the Madison pro-marriage rally of  Aug 1, 2010 .   During the pro-marriage rally, Catholic Bishop of Madison led conservative attendees in praying the “Our Father,” while hundreds of liberals surrounded them yelling and chanting, disrupting the prayer and attempting to approach the podium where the Bishop was standing, again restrained by police.

I refrain from using the political labels Democrat or Republican intentionally.  I include myself among numerous conservative independents who have never belonged to one political party, and whose beliefs are not in line with one party platform.  However, I must say that in recent years I am finding myself (steered by my Pro-Life views) most often in sympathy with the Republican Party.

.

In addition, the uncivilized and inconsiderate behavior of liberal Democrats in recent years, observed in numerous situations similar to those described here, has struck me as threatening democracy and attempting to replace democracy with mob rule.  No society can function like this.   Any rational person must ask—why did the Republicans NOT walk out of Congress and the Senate when ObamaCare was on the table, but the Democrats DID walk out when they did not like the legislation being discussed in Wisconsin?  How can democracy function when minority legislators hijack the democratic process by refusing to follow the rules?

.

The seeming readiness of liberals to break ALL rules – State Capitol visiting hour rules, legislative rules, teachers sick leave rules, medical ethics rules, rules of cleanliness, rules of polite and respectful discourse, rules of civilized language and behavior in front of children, rules regarding use of live ammunition, and common sense rules about public behavior – the breaking of all these rules makes discussion impossible.  The demonstrators do not appear at all interested in discussion of the common good.  They only seem interested in keeping their comfortable privileges by any means necessary, be that bullying, trashing Wisconsin’s State Capitol, or mob rule.

This is not the America we love and that our military risks their lives to protect.

It is time for the silent majority to become even MORE active than they were in November 2010.