I’m reporting again. On March 9, 2011 the Wisconsin State Senate voted on the budget repair bill without democratic senators present. What has been proposed for two weeks as the only way to balance our state budget, and described as an economic plan, omitted every part of the bill that mentioned fiscal issues, thereby making the democratic representatives’ presence unnecessary. The result, an unchecked and unbalanced vote to end labor unions and collective bargaining rights. Senate members met illegally without due notice and voted on a bill that was not even present at this meeting, and never available to the public. The following is the footage from the actual voting process and a spoken word I wrote in reaction to this shameful event.
The Recall
I grew in a state where houses
were sprinkled from a watering can
amidst farmland,
where budding cities sprouted like beanstalks
and the families, its leaves,
called out Forward!
Fifty years of paving progress
only to be wiped out
in one shady chamber room.
Shame! To you Governor Walker.
Shame! To you politicians
who don’t speak for your constituents
and ignore their educated,
informed,
respected, and collected VOICE!
Do you not see the eyes of 50,000 faces
staring into your windows,
which should be THEIR windows
waiting for an invitation into their own home?
Can you not hear them knocking?
They come to you as equals
and still you won’t look at them without lies.
Holy, holy, holy
HOLY PUBLIC,
who marched on the capital stairs
with their families and their signs,
sleeping on the sidewalks,
spilling out into the streets
they beg to have a word,
but still you haven’t heard!
What times are these
when human rights
are fallen on deaf ears?
For weeks
you’ve left our communities
in tears,
fearing but not quite believing
our democracy could end.
But with crafty hands
you penned a legislation
not even present at the voting table,
and yet so evil
it was voted in “aye!”
God bless you,
Representative Barca,
for standing up against
the murderers of the middle class!
We are a grieving public.
But our anger and our fear
will be mended
one signature at a time,
oh yes, we will sign!
For the voices in that room
did not represent our state
and therefore
we will change the faces
that sit in that shady chamber room
that took away our voices,
yours and mine,
we will meet again
when we send you
that sweet forgotten postcard,
our love note to our capital,
that check in a ballot box,
we’ll sign it,
“wish you weren’t here!”
For you are not Wisconsin’s governor!
I am still in a bit of shock over this whole affair. I can’t begin to understand how they can possibly get away with this. I worry for this country sometimes, I really do.
Well, the legality of the vote is being looked at. Keep praying for our state, and for our country, as this battle continues on.
I’m flabbergasted. I wonder what it all will mean for the country. May God bless our land again.
Thanks Carol. I hope so too.
Keep fighting the good fight! Democracy will win in the end…I’m sure of it.
We will win in the ballot box!
This is shocking. I haven’t been keeping abreast of the news, but this really disturbs me. Thank you for posting this, and I think your spoken word piece is very powerful.
Thank you for the compliment. It is extremely shocking and downright dirty if you ask me. I encourage you to continue to watch the news as this issue is popping up all over the country.
Jess,
Have you thought about going into politics yourself? You certainly have the passion, and you seem well-informed on a variety of issues. Your communication skills alone would be a refreshing change.
Well, I thank you for the lovely idea, but I’m not about to get gray hair and squinty eyes before my time, which inevitably happens to politicians when they’re passionate. I will do what I can to encourage people to stay informed and to vote Vote VOTE!!!
As an outsider, I find this unbelievable. Even if these guys think they’re being clever to force this through, don’t they understand ANYTHING about public relations? When the rep stands and questions the legality of the vote, they should at least address his issue, but by running roughshod over him it makes them look like they’re on a schedule. When politicians are working hard, it’s not usually for the people, so I wouldn’t be surprised to find there’s something a big corporation needs that wouldn’t work without this legislation.
This HAS to backfire on them, or the system is well and truly broken….
Here, here!
God, it’s so much more shameful to see them stand up and leave as a dissident voice tries to prove that they are walking the wrong path. It proves to me that this was more about flexing their political muscle than voting for any kind of improvement for Wisconsin.