Ridiculous. So much for law “enforcement” in the Capitol
So instead of the protestors getting ejected from the state capitol tonight in Madison, Capitol Police Chief Charles Tubbs has decided to let 600 of them stay. If you’re following the drama on Twitter, the only drama has been what toppings to order on the pizzas for the protestors.
The chaos inside the Capitol should never have been tolerated. I support the right to protest, but the protests have been disruptive of work getting done in the Capitol and the orderly working of Democracy. Banging drums, chanting, yelling, covering the walls with posters, and blocking stairwells is not acceptable behavior.
The police who are responsible for enforcing good behavior in the Capitol have not been doing their jobs.
The Capitol is not Animal House. It is not a flop house. It is our house – all of ours, including the majority that voted for Scott Walker for Governor last November. It is time for the protestors to go. It is time for the mob to continue their protests outside while the state continues it’s work inside.
If Police Chief Charles Tubbs is incapable of understanding his responsibilities, then he should be fired.
No drama, other than pizza toppings? What about the announcement that Sen. Schultz has returned to sanity and agreed to vote ‘no’ on the Budget Repair Bill?
2 couRageous senators to go.
Your desperation is starting to show.
James Wigderson Reply:
February 27th, 2011 at 9:53 pm
If anyone is surprised by the “news” that Schultz might vote against the bill, I suggest they put the crack pipe down.
I support Chief Tubbs! I support all of the police who are supporting all of the protesters!! How often do you hear protesters thanking the police, or police being among the protesters. Wisconsin woke up, baby, big time.
James Wigderson Reply:
February 27th, 2011 at 9:57 pm
When does Crockett come for a visit?
Julie Reply:
February 27th, 2011 at 10:54 pm
Really, that’s your idea of a clever comment? No wonder I’ve never heard of this site before.
James Wigderson Reply:
February 27th, 2011 at 11:37 pm
Okay, in answer to your question, when Ollie North came to Waukesha to campaign for Steve King for US Senate. The Sheriffs thanked our group of protestors for being polite, and we thanked them for bouncing the head of a particularly disorderly protestor from the other side on the bumper of the paddy wagon. Probably not what you wanted to hear.
Hilarious post Jimmy Wigderson. “It is the house…of the majority that voted Scott Walker…” Just because your party wins an election for governor doesn’t make the state yours. That state house is for everyone and Tubbs knows his law. You apparently do not know the law…go back to school. BTW, the teaparty was initially a great idea that has evolved into something very ugly. Your party has pitted the middle class (what is left of it) against each other. Quit the hatred and start looking at the system, not the people. Campaign finance reform and term limits is a good start!
You just negated your opinion with this statement “The police who are responsible for enforcing good behavior in the Capitol have not been doing their jobs.” As law enforcment has said time and time again; “Tubbs also commended the behavior and cooperation of protesters, saying that there had been no arrests made today. At the last time he checked, on Friday, Tubbs said there had only been about a dozen minor arrests in total over the past two weeks.” So they are doing there jobs. But there are no laws being broken. If you are against the First amendment just say that.
James Wigderson Reply:
February 27th, 2011 at 9:56 pm
The best part is that you don’t know the difference between “there” and “their.”
The best part is that you mis-spelled “Enforcement.”
James Wigderson Reply:
February 27th, 2011 at 9:55 pm
Where?
A Olson Reply:
February 27th, 2011 at 10:28 pm
You didn’t spell it wrong, but Laura did in her comment.
I support the protests. It is democracy in action. I am not pro-union, but I support what they are doing.
I hardly call Gov Walker’s win a “majority” of the votes. He won w/ 52% of the votes cast & that coupled w/ a 50% turnout of voters = only 26% of the registered voters in WI wanting him as Gov. I can well imagine that, at this point, the 50% that didn’t vote REALLY wish they had. I also find it odd that the only Union jobs not threatened are those who backed the Gov. Leave the protesters alone. They have a right to be heard – and we’re hearing them all over the country. Gov Walker’s actions have only fueled the labor movement & our voices. This WILL be remembered in 2 yrs & again in 4 yrs. I doubt WI will have this problem again – you’ll see higher voter turnouts & elections that speak for all of the people, not those who feel they’re privileged.
A Olson Reply:
February 27th, 2011 at 10:42 pm
If you don’t think that 52% is a majority, then you need to go back to school and take a math class. You are correct, though, when you say that those of us who bothered to vote in the last election feel privileged. We feel privileged to have the right to vote and allow our voices to be heard on election day. Shame on those Wisconsin residents who didn’t vote, especially if they’re complaining now about the results of those elections. I wonder how many of the protesters in Madison bothered to go vote?
Jason Reply:
February 27th, 2011 at 11:28 pm
Funny you should mention this. The bill currently being fought has a provision that unions must hold an annual vote to re-certify and a successful vote is measured by a *majority of the membership*, NOT a *majority of votes cast*. See the difference? Think we should still accept that, then? If Scott Walker gets to declare victory with a majority of votes instead of a majority of voters, why can’t unions?
Oh poor Widge. It’s making your head explode that the police, sheriff’s deputies, etc. are firmly on our side, doesn’t it!
2 weeks. Hundreds of thousands of protesters. 1 Walker failed silencing / forced evacuation. 0 arrests. Hundreds of bored cops smiling, joking, thanking, being thanked the entire time.
Adding…you ask where’s the law enforcement? What laws have been broken? None. Capitol hours are policy, not law. Whereas right to peaceably assemble is enshrined in the constitution. Not to mention, we the taxpayers/protesters own that building…literally.
So you want them to enforce…what law exactly? The law of your feelings being hurt? The law of people disagreeing with your policy positions? Sounds like a rather thuggish position for you to take.
I’ve been down there almost every day for two weeks — there isn’t any chaos there, just families and students and teachers standing up for what they believe in. If that shouldn’t happen in our state Capitol Building of all places, where SHOULD it happen?? I stand with the teachers and the janitors and the firefighters. Solidarity, Wisconsin!
You say,”If Police Chief Charles Tubbs is incapable of understanding his responsibilities, then he should be fired.”
How about, “If Gov. Walker is incapable of understanding that his bill is divisive and reeks of cronyism. then he should be fired.”?
Seriously though, do you think the Madison police chief is nothing but a dim witted storm trooper for the governor to order about? Fascism, of the ilk you suggest, is an ugly product of a small mind.
dad29 Reply:
February 28th, 2011 at 4:50 pm
Hey, you LOST. Walker is Governor for at least 1 term. And don’t forget you also LOST both Assembly and Senate.
Time to run along home, if they’ll have you back.
Article 1, Section 4 of the Wisconsin Constitution:
“The right of the people peaceably to assemble, to consult for the common good, and to petition the government, or any department thereof, shall never be abridged.”
These cops need to be fired, unless of course the Governor has not given firm orders.
At any rate, I want to see some head-splitting going on. These flakes need their butts kicked. Don’t the police have tasers and clubs? They should use them.
I once paid for these union a-holes for a short time, but my sense of fairness prevented me from continuing to waste property tax dollars. Now, I pay nearly nothing.
Wouldn’t it be great if the regular tax payers protested and refused to pay their property taxes and other taxes and quit spending their money on anything but essentials?
I mean, it’s ok to do that, it’s democracy in action. They just decide that they aren’t going to, and don’t. I am sure that when Wisconsinites decide to to suspend payment the unions will stand with them, right?
Starring Widgerson as Niedermeyer.
Careful, IMDB says: The movie concludes by describing each character’s fate. Niedermeyer was “killed in Vietnam by his own troops.” In director John Landis’ segment of Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), some soldiers are overheard discussing “fragging Niedermeyer.”
Worth noting that Capitol Police is a division of DOA. Absent evidence to the contrary, I would be slow to jump to the conclusion that Tubbs is somehow acting without the approval or involvement of Secretary Huebsch.
I appreciate your point and am sympathetic to it – the Capitol isn’t the Holiday Inn – but at the same time, the visuals of police hauling protesters out would not have been a good one for Walker.
John Foust Reply:
February 28th, 2011 at 11:56 am
Yeah, but they’re all out-of-state protesters, right?
TerryN Reply:
February 28th, 2011 at 9:13 pm
Not on weekdays.
James Wigderson Reply:
February 28th, 2011 at 8:17 pm
I am catching up to the latest developments in the Capitol and I am pleased with the reduction in the protestors’ presence in the building. (In other words, I may have to eat some of my words.) However, the same could have been accomplished Saturday night and Sunday night by lowering the temperature in the building, stopping the food deliveries, enforcing the rules on noise, forcing protest organizers to do their logistics from outside the building, etc. Instead, the Capitol Police ended up restricting access for the general public today, something that I consider a terrible precedent in a string of terrible precedents.
John Foust Reply:
March 1st, 2011 at 9:42 am
Wow. It’s the fault of the Capitol Police? At what point do we get to blame Walker?
I believe I once commented here, my only one, that I agreed with you concerning J.B.Van Hollen, i.e.: he’s a dick. Well, it seems that Scott Walker, he of the Koch problem joins J.B. & you, sir, claiming to house a library in your place of, what, basement? The good thing about Koch Head Walker is that he will cut so much money from people’s lives that your library will no longer be funded. Sorry about that.
James Wigderson Reply:
February 28th, 2011 at 8:21 pm
My library & pub is a private concern. However, Mr. Koch is certainly welcome here. I understand he’s a big tipper. So’s Oprah.
“If anyone is surprised by the “news” that Schultz might vote against the bill, I suggest they put the crack pipe down.”
Mr. Widgerson, the above quote from you sets the tone for the rest of the posts being derisive without much focus on the real issues connected to the events surrounding the budget repair bill. I would think that someone who purports to be a serious journalist would be above such snarky comments.
James Wigderson Reply:
February 28th, 2011 at 8:10 pm
The crack pipe remark WAS serious. (W-i-g-d-e-r-s-o-n)
Jeff Christensen Reply:
February 28th, 2011 at 10:15 pm
I will point out that the Library & Pub is easier to find via Google by spelling your last name with the d before the g. Maybe you should consider changing it to meet the market forces?
James Wigderson Reply:
March 1st, 2011 at 12:47 am
I’ve spent too many years saying, “It’s just like Anderson, only it’s Wig-derson.”
That line will only get funnier when you start to wear a wig.