Sarah Palin and the Tea Party confront labor supporters in Madison

It had to happen: Sarah Palin onstage in Madison rallying her Tea Party constituents in opposition to labor supporters gathered at the state capitol building.

The AP reports:

MADISON, Wis. — Sarah Palin defended Wisconsin's governor at a tea party tax day rally Saturday, telling hundreds of supporters that his polarizing union rights law is designed to save public jobs.

Braving snow showers and a frigid wind outside the state Capitol building, the former Alaska governor and GOP vice presidential candidate told tea partyers she's glad to stand with Gov. Scott Walker. Hundreds of labor supporters surrounded the rally, trying to drown Palin out with chants of "Hey-hey, ho-ho, Scott Walker has got to go!" and "Recall Walker!"

"Hey, folks! He's trying to save your jobs and your pensions!" Palin yelled into the microphone. "Your governor did the right thing and you won! Your beautiful state won! And people still have their jobs!"

Walker, a Republican, signed a bill into law last month that calls for almost all public workers to contribute more to their pensions and health care coverage, changes that amount to an average 8 percent pay cut. The plan also strips them of their right to collectively bargain on anything except wages.

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Go Wisconsin Dems - recall those GOP senators!

Wisc. Gov. Scott Walker (R)

The Huffpost’s Sam Stein reports:

WASHINGTON -- The Wisconsin Democratic Party has launched a fundraising campaign to recall state Senate Republicans who have supported the budget bill by Gov. Scott Walker (R) that would strip collective bargaining rights from the state's public employee unions.

Stein’s report includes excerpts from the email the Dems sent out Wednesday afternoon.

In 60 days you can take Wisconsin back. It's that simple.
 
 

This morning citizens from around the state took the first steps by filing recall papers against key Republican Senators who have stood with Scott Walker and pushed his partisan power grab that will strip thousands of middle class teachers, nurses, librarians and other workers of their right to collective bargaining. And we learned just last night that their disastrous budget that will cut millions from our schools and universities.

In 60 days you can take Wisconsin back by recalling the Republican Senators who have decided to push Scott Walker's divisive attack on the rights of workers and his assault on schools, universities and local communities. Can you contribute $60 today to support the Democratic Party's recall efforts?

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It’s a great fight song: “On Wisconsin, On Wisconsin…”

Feb. 26, Madison rally of 70-100,000 demonstrators, tennisforum.com

I’m not from the Badger State, but when I played the snare drum in my high school band back in Ohio years ago, “On Wisconsin” was one of our favorite marching tunes. I just looked up the lyrics and was reminded that it’s a great fight song.

And those Wisconsin folks are not giving up the fight these days against their over-reaching amateur governor, Scott Walker; just today, they held their biggest rally yet with a turn out of more than 70,000.

The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank nailed Walker today in his op-ed titled Scott Walker’s Unprincipled Rigidity.

Milbank writes: 

"He's not one of us."

That phrase, uttered in the fourth minute of what Scott Walker believed to be a private phone conversation, tells you everything you need to know about the rookie governor of Wisconsin.

Walker thought he was talking to a patron, conservative billionaire David Koch, but thanks to the amateurish management that seems to be a hallmark of his governorship, he was instead being punked by an impostor from a liberal Web site.

In the recorded call, Walker praised a centrist state senator, Tim Cullen, as "about the only reasonable one" among the 14 Democratic legislators who fled the state to deny Walker the quorum he needs to destroy Wisconsin's public-sector unions. But when the fake Koch offered to call Cullen, Walker discouraged him: "He's pretty reasonable, but he's not one of us. . . . He's not there for political reasons. He's just trying to get something done. . . . He's not a conservative. He's just a pragmatist."

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