Walk into the Capitol on any weekday between noon and one and it is inescapable. The building floods with the sound of music, all visible rotunda floors fill with people smiling, singing, dancing, and having a good time. The event of course is the Solidarity Sing Along. A thorn in the side to all Republican legislators and a point of energy for many on the ground in the Capitol as well as the Democratic legislators and staff. After the sing along it is not atypical to see a smaller group stick around to petition their government at a meeting or event going on that day. The sing alongs and protests that follow are pure expressions of free speech.
Unfortunately, as has been seen in most (if not all) historical fascist governments, Scott Walker attempted to squash the rights and abilities of the people to petition their government. Under his direction, the Department of Administration came up with “Capitol Access Policies“. These new policies were put in place in response to the Solidarity Sing Along and the protesters. They include policies such as relinquishing rights to sue upon entering, paying up to $50 an officer for security, needing a permit for a group of four or more protesting, and charges for clean up.
Of course, seeing that these policies clearly violate the Constitution, people got upset. The DOA held three information sessions which amounted to nothing more than “that’s a legal question and we don’t have our legal team here” and “I am not going to answer hypothetical situations”. At each one of these sessions, showing support for the policies were Capitol Police Chief Charles Tubbs, DOA Deputy Secretary Chris Schoenherr, and former Karl Rove aid Jocelyn Webster. That’s right, very conveniently, just weeks before these policies were introduced, the DOA decided to hire Jocelyn Webster as a spokeswoman. While her name is not very well-known, the DOA made a horrible miscalculation. They expected that we would not investigate Webster. However they failed to realize just how extensive our network is here. Thanks to the wonderful journalism of reporter Joe Vittie, we found out that Webster, in fact, was an assistant and a very close one at that to Karl Rove. We also found out that she, under his direct direction, violated Federal law. But Scott Walker has no qualms hiring a political operative with a criminal past. And at just twenty-eight years old, I wonder if Webster even realizes WI will not allow her dirty tricks and her future will be thrown out once these policies backfire.
The “educational period” for these policies initially ended last Friday. Many people showed up for the sing along and stood, once more, in the cold Wisconsin weather, taking a stand for their rights. The scene later turned into a dance party in the rotunda complete with open mic. Police were watching and present, but didn’t challenge anyone (outside of Miles Kristan, eventually making him put away the PA system). We had won the battle for that day. Most people assumed the police would do nothing on Friday, however a strange event was seeming to unfold. Capitol Police Chief Charles Tubbs was going on vacation for two weeks starting this past Monday. When Monday hit, it was uncertain whether there would be arrests or not. Jocelyn Webster and the DOA made a statement on Friday claiming families are allowed in groups of four or more without a permit as are lobbyists and that no arrests were going to be made. However the DOA has a history of making false promises, so we were prepared for possible arrests.
I got to the Rotunda a little after noon. All three visible floors were flooded with people. Rachel Maddow posted extremely inaccurate numbers at 250. Actual numbers were, to anyone who was there or knew what they were talking about, 500-750 on the low-end and 1000+ on the high-end. We held signs, sang, danced, talked, and reunited. For many this was their first time back in months. People assembled in groups of four or more and even a sign on a stick was allowed unchallenged. The police sat back and just watched as the people stood up to show that they were not going to take their rights being infringed on. Keep in mind most of the Capitol Police are great people, and I think it would be hard to get even them to enforce something so clearly and heavily unconstitutional.
After the sing along a group of people flooded and filled the hallway of the Governor’s Office while a conference was in session. From there we peaceably petitioned our government. By two, nearly everyone had left. Scott Walker showed his face in the doorway and just stood there. People started screaming recall and I moved in closer yelling “Fascist Bastard” and “RECALL”. He ran away after a minute or so, not even looking out the door or acknowledging anyone. At the end of the day there were no arrests. Scott Walker once again backed down. And then came today, the first Tuesday after the re-education period. The group was about 100-150 today I would guess. We continued our tradition and again, we won.
Once again, Wisconsin has shown that we will not allow our rights to be squashed. It is likely only a matter of time until they decide to enforce these illegal policies, but when they do we will be ready. We will not allow them to win even one battle. Our rights are not privileges. I would even go as far as to say they are not even rights but duties. We have the duty to do whatever we can to make sure the Constitution is upheld. Our founding fathers gave us the ability to change our government because they knew we would need it. The Constitution was created to protect people against their Government. We must use it for this purpose. Because once we stop fighting for our rights we lose them. But fight we shall. One day longer! One day stronger!
Jeremy Ryan
Executive Director
Defending Wisconsin PAC
jryan@defendingwisconsin.org
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Note: Segway Jeremy Ryan has become a full-time member of the protests at the Wisconsin State Capitol. Formerly a businessman, he gave up his business to join the fight for the middle class in the State of Wisconsin. Through videos and writings he has informed hundreds of thousands of people about what was going on at the Wisconsin State Capitol once the mainstream media had mostly abandoned the protests. His full-time activism is completely funded by the people. If you would like to help out please click here.
