March 10, 2012

At the Wisconsin protests today — one year after protesters stormed the Capitol.

As the Wisconsin State Journal puts it: "Union members rallied outside the Wisconsin Capitol on Saturday to mark the anniversary of the Republican-led Legislature's passage of a hotly-disputed measure that stripped most public union workers of collective bargaining rights."



How do they know who's a union member? There was a huge crowd, including lots of children (and dogs!) on this sunny warm Saturday:



They couldn't have all been union members. But I saw lots of generic printed signs and flags, and there were massive trucks painted with "Teamsters" and "Boilermakers" imagery.

Speaking of imagery, here's a woman holding a sign depicting Governor Scott Walker's head emerging from a hairy asshole. The sign reads "Buttholes for Billionaire$:



Another sign depicts Scott Walker peeing on the words "Public Employees." Walker has a Hitler mustache and the words read "Gov. Dick Tater":



(Is this sexist, an insult to all men, to call one man a "dick"?)

The socialists were there:



They want to tax the rich.

There were puppeteers... who had trouble wrangling the papier maché Scott Walker in the March wind:



There was this young woman aligning Governor Walker with murderers Ed Gein and Jeffrey Dahmer:



"Wisconsin regrets Ed Gein, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Scott Walker." Oh, there's always so much to regret. Grisly mass murders... balancing the state budget...

... spending a beautiful Saturday photographing the deeply aggrieved.

43 comments:

mesquito said...

You'd think NBC's Ed Schultz would have showed up, given how much he's being paid by Big Labor.

Rusty said...

Finally!
Giant paper mache' heads.
Now THAT"S a rally.
Or.
judging by the signs,
a confederacy of dunces.

More Free Stuff!

mesquito said...

Union Thug looks like the kind of guy who'd have a heart attack if he ever attempted to do any labor.

I've attempted to introduce guys who looked like that to the joys of residential construction. They usually disappear at lunch on the first day.

Ron said...

Scott Walker went all Ed Gein on the budget....and most citizens thought it was delicious....

Chip S. said...

My god, union members are practically starving under Walker's austerity budget!

edutcher said...

Gee, look at those signs.

Sexual pejoratives all over the place.

Good thing there aren't any Conservatives there.

(except maybe for the Conservatives' Lovable Liberal)

Sorun said...

The "Union Lardass" shirts must have been sold out.

Meade said...

I asked the guy in the top photo if he knew garage mahal and he said, "Huh?"

purplepenquin said...

When I saw that "Dick Tater" sign today I thought to myself that it'd show up on this blog for sure. :D

I had an short convo with the guy holding the "Stand with Walker, not with Union Thugs" sign. I asked why he thinks we're thugs and he said his sign didn't say that all union members were thugs. We talked a bit more, but he seemed upset after I mentioned the legal fund our Governor has just set up so I strolled away.

MadisonMan said...

It was a beautiful day today. First of a sequence. Laundry dried quickly on the line today, I cleaned out (started to) the garden, cleaned house. Spring has sprung.

garage mahal said...

I've attempted to introduce guys who looked like that to the joys of residential construction. They usually disappear at lunch on the first day

I seen some Ironworkers today that looked like they could lift houses. Beautiful day, always great to stop in have a burger and beer. Had some friends down from Rhinelander that got their first taste of a rally. *pop*

traditionalguy said...

After a year with Walker as Governor, it appears that the Wisconsin people have lost touch with good fashion sense, personal diet discipline, and witty sign slogans.

The government has failed them. Walker will have to do a better job.

Ann Althouse said...

"he seemed upset after I mentioned the legal fund our Governor has just set up"

Maybe he's upset about the way the Governor is being hounded every way the people who lost the last election can conceive of.

Why don't people who profess to believe in democracy accept the results of an election and concentrate on beating him in the next election?

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

All those sexual pejoratives as you eloquently put it.. are a tribute to the weakness of their advocated positions.

That was the problem I had with Rush.. which he also came to promptly recognise when in his apology he said he had stooped to their level.

Meade said...

Blaska has a good post on the rift in union solidarity now that the public employee unions have demagogued away the mining bill at the expense of industry union jobs .

Chip S. said...

Why don't people who profess to believe in democracy accept the results of an election...?

Didn't Russ Feingold answer this question a while ago?

Beta Rube said...

When I saw the Walker as a dick/Hitler sign, I though of my 5 year old grandson, and hoped he would never be called a Hitler dick just because he wins an election fair and square and ends fiscal suicide.

Danno said...

A big thanks for pictures of today's installment of the Madison freakshow. As always, we can be close-up without being there with all those unhinged characters.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Didn't Russ Feingold answer this question a while ago?

Why yes..

Its not over until we win!
said the former senator.

shiloh said...

"Maybe he's upset about the way the Governor is being hounded ..."

Wah ~ Wah ~ Wah ...

As the Althouse whining continues unabated!

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

When I saw the Walker as a dick/Hitler sign, I though of my 5 year old grandson..

Hey.. you thought that Obama reference was going going under the radar.. Nice touch.

garage mahal said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
garage mahal said...

Blaska has a good post on the rift in union solidarity now that the public employee unions have demagogued away the mining bill at the expense of industry union jobs .

Now public unions killed the mine? Hah. Blaska full of horseshit, as usual. Republicans couldn't even get their own caucus on board. In fact, a vote was never even taken of the Jausch/Schultz bill, which could have passed. One thing I'll miss the least from this crew is the nonstop lies.

Beta Rube said...

Thanks for noticing Lem. I'm trying to up my smarmy cynic game, but really it's hard to compete with the best.

Petunia said...

Ann, the simple answer to your (I know it was rhetorical) question is that the protestors and public union members who support them DON'T believe in democracy, or the free expression of any opinions that don't agree with theirs.

What a surprise to see that the protestors haven't gained any class or intelligence over the past year.

Meade said...

Blaska is brilliant, garage, but you are such a dishonest hypocritical foul-mouthed thug. Shame, shame, shame - ever heard of it?

Carnifex said...

Why do people insist on the ad hominem attack? At that point you are basically a child going "neener neener neener". When people do it to me I start laughing and inform them that I've been called a lot worse, by a lot better people.

As far as being called a "Dick" butthead, asshole etc... if you can't take it, get out of public life.

You can only be offended if you let yourself be offended. And if you child is offended, inform them that the offending party lacks the wit, subtlety, and intelligence enough to make up a good put down.

As an example, Anthony Davis, NPOY candidate from UK has a unibrow. The crowds from opposing schools chant "unibrow" at him.(like he never noticed before). Instead of getting mad, AD has made it a signature of his style. They go so far as to place a unibrow on the wildcat mascot, and sell tee-shirts with "uni-blocker" on them.

That's how you handle name calling.

Michael said...

Shiloh. The whining seems to be by those who lost to Walker. It appears to be unabated after more than a year. Surely you have pegged the wrong people as whining but then you havent much else to say.

edutcher said...

Michael, remember, in his code,

whining = telling the truth

TosaGuy said...

Happy Taxpayer Freedom Day!

jeff said...

"shiloh said...
"Maybe he's upset about the way the Governor is being hounded ..."
Wah ~ Wah ~ Wah ...
As the Althouse whining continues unabated!"

According to shiloh, whining = responding to a comment.

I assume next will come the comment about me obsessed with shilo.
In shilo world, you have free speech, but she would really prefer you not use it. Unless she agrees with it. Very democratic.

rhhardin said...

Progressive government economic policies pic from today's bike commute.

purplepenquin said...

Why don't people who profess to believe in democracy accept the results of an election and concentrate on beating him in the next election?

You seem to be saying that regularly scheduled elections is the only proper way for a democracy to function and that having a process that allows for the citizens to call for an earlier vote subverts democracy. Would you mind clarifying that? 'cause I don't understand how having elected leaders more accountable to the citizens means we end up with less democracy.

shiloh said...

"According to shiloh, whining = responding to a comment."

Althouse quote: Maybe he's upset about the way the Governor is being hounded ie she is whining about Walker being hounded.

Oh the humanity, a politician being hounded. Thank god Reps never hound Obama lol.

If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen! ~ Truman

Again, not to worry as Scotty can hide behind the koch boys :-P who work Walker like a puppet on a string.

Apologies to puppets.

garage mahal said...

Blaska is brilliant, garage, but you are such a dishonest hypocritical foul-mouthed thug. Shame, shame, shame - ever heard of it?

Eh, what was dishonest or hypocritical about my post? Foul mouthed I admit to.

David said...

The puppet looks more like Chris Christie.

DADvocate said...

It's really disheartening to see how many stupid people live in Wisconsin, or so many obese union members. Obviously doesn't work very hard.

Alex said...

Glad to see garage admits to being a foul-mouthed thug.

edutcher said...

Afraid to even quote me correctly.

Whose pet?

Synova said...

That "butt hole" poster is the sort of thing that, if it were at a Tea Party event, there would be someone standing next to it with a sign with an arrow that said "not with us!"

Rusty said...

I seen some Ironworkers today that looked like they could lift houses. Beautiful day, always great to stop in have a burger and beer. Had some friends down from Rhinelander that got their first taste of a rally. *po



Yep. The big dumb ones. The guys you need to shift the iron around while you weld it. They don't last long unless they learn other skills. If you're still doing it after thirty, you're on steroids and pain killers.

Cornroaster said...

purplepenquin said, "You seem to be saying that regularly scheduled elections is the only proper way for a democracy to function and that having a process that allows for the citizens to call for an earlier vote subverts democracy. Would you mind clarifying that? 'cause I don't understand how having elected leaders more accountable to the citizens means we end up with less democracy."

In the cases of those who were recalled last year, a smaller number of people voted for those elected in the recall than for the person originally elected. Thus, a smaller number overturns the will of a larger number, or as you refer to it, we end up with less democracy.

leslyn said...

1. Recall is a Constitutional right. To ignore this is underhanded, IMO. Further, over 1M signatures were collected--nearly as much as the 1.1M votes Walker got in the general election. That is hardly the subversion of democracy.
2. The John Doe investigation which Walker appears to be acknowledging has now reached up to his level, does not mean he is "being hounded in every way by the people who lost the last election can conceive of." It began as the result of a press investigation and has widened to include federal investigators. To state that this investigation is politically-based is disingenuous.
3. It was a lovely day. The Wisconsin humorists, satirists and families were enjoying themselves. There were no riots, or storming the castle. Althouse didn't get attacked. I love this state!
4. There seem to be more than the usual number of bullies and snarky comments in this post. Perhaps if it were not anonymous a more civil discourse would ensue.