Saint Paul looked like Madison this afternoon

When I learned there was going to be a solidarity rally in support of Wisconsin workers at the Minnesota State Capitol I was not expecting much, I was driving back from Madison and I knew there was no way an event in Minnesota could even come close to the experience I just had. What I did not expect however was just how close our state would come to emulating the experience in the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison for at least a one hour period.

I was just a little bit late in hitting the road for the rally but I thought I would be there just a few short minutes after the starting time. Then I saw the number of cars. I ended up having to park four blocks away, causing me to miss the first half of the rally. When I entered the building the crowd was so large that I was not even able to get in the rotunda, the balconies were nearly completely packed and I could not find a single place in the entire building in which I could actually see the speaker. I have been to many rallies at the Capitol before, but I have never run into the problem of there being so many people packed together so tightly that it is impossible to find a place to stand where you can see what is going on.

I must say this is a problem I want to have more often. I am absolutely amazed to see so many people coming out for a cause like this, the people are finally standing up for their rights and I have never been more proud to be an American. I am proud of Wisconsin, I am proud of Minnesota, I am proud of Indiana, Ohio, and all the people across the nation who are fighting back.

Today Scott Walker announced that he may layoff 1,500 workers if he doesn't get his union-busting bill passed within the next week. This is a man who is blatantly threatening people's jobs if he does not get everything he wants in his bill. No matter how far Walker crosses the line he seems determined to take a step further, if it starts here I hate to see where it ends.

Fortunately there are the people all across America standing up for Wisconsin in an extraordinary way. Scott Walker's political career can not and will not survive the opposition that has built around it, Walker may get some temporary victories but this is not going to end well for him. Not only won't it end well for him, but it won't end well for the Republican Party. The Tea Party is already cowered, they may be able to get several hundred people to show up for a couple hours on Saturday, but the size of our crowds is completely overwhelming them. They can't compete against us in the realm of public opinion when they are rallying in favor of layoffs and they know it, while many of them may be too stupid to realize it Scott Walker has delivered a serious if not fatal blow to their entire movement. There are hundreds of thousands of people all across America standing up for Wisconsin and revitalizing the labor movement, and while Walker may not show it publicly he is now terrified of the people of this nation.

Make no mistake about it, we are winning this battle. The Republicans thought they were going to be able to shove this through, but they are being delayed at every turn and the longer the delay goes the more damage is done to them. Now they have resorted to threatening mass layoffs if they don't get their way, how do you think that is going over in a country that is starving for more jobs? The Republican Party has become so arrogant that they think they can get by with anything, but now they are being challenged in a way in which they have not been challenged in years. The Republicans were just starting to recover from the Bush years, and now they are facing a level of opposition that they are not used to. They will fight, they will scream, but they will lose because they are on the wrong side of history. Even if they do manage to get the union busting and mass layoffs they want temporarily, the backlash is going to be so severe they may never recover from it. That is how big this is, the opposition to Walker's plan has grown so intense that it will have a profound effect on America for years to come.

To all Americans who have stood up for Wisconsin in their own way, thank you. I could not be more proud of my country right now, I have not felt this optimistic in years and there are so many people that deserve credit for it, the unions who organized this in such a short period of time did an absolutely amazing job. All the people who showed up at the protests, all the people who ordered pizza for the demonstrators, all the people who called in sick to work to support the protesters, all the people who took a stand for what they believed in, there are just so many amazing people who deserve credit for this. Thank you all, it is because of you that we are going to take this country back from the corporate interests.

That many more people now know haw badly they're being lied to.

People are figuring things out though, people are starting to stand up for what is right and no matter how much the media hates it they have been pushed to give it a great deal of coverage. That in itself is a victory, people are talking about why unions are important and getting involved in standing up for worker's rights. The media hates covering this, but they have no choice because the people demanded they cover it.

because it's something they rarely see. Let's hope there's MUCH MORE Backbone to come.

:kick:

I feel pretty energized and hopeful too - in a way that I haven't since election night when I heard on the radio that Obama won.

to keep a record of first hand reports... my friend you are what we call a PRIMARY SOURCE

I am proud to be one primary source, but I am even more proud that there are so many thousands of other primary sources.

on the New American Revolution. You're recording and preserving earth-shaking history here.

We can't permit the destructive recidivism by which the Cons & Neocons rewrote the "Golden Age" & the Depression. The information you're gathering is the best insurance against this ever happening again.

with his 2 kids!

:loveya: :grouphug: :fistbump: :headbang: :yourock: :applause: