Althouse: In the Tea Party segment of the Wisconsin protests today.

February 19, 2011

In the Tea Party segment of the Wisconsin protests today.

15 comments:

Unknown said...: That second shot doesn't look like it came from the Tea Partiers.

Sure you have your posts synced up?; 2/19/11, 4:35 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Yes. There was some mixing of the crowds around the edges, which is what you see here.; 2/19/11, 4:39 PM
garage mahal said...: I thought they were bussing in tea partiers. Was it just one bus? Maybe I was missing the contingent, but it looked like a real weak show of support for Walker. As it should be.; 2/19/11, 4:42 PM
SteelyDan said...: Long time reader, first time commenter. I really hate political rallies but nonetheless took a walk around the capitol today. Several thousand Pro-bill supporters in one corner of the square surrounded by many more thousand union supporters walking, chanting, shouting, and drumming around the square. The police did a good job of limiting access points to the Pro-bill group. I was toward the back of the Pro-bill group trying to listen to the speakers but every few minutes a bunch of dumb asses would come in, raise their signs, and start screaming at us. Then the Pro-bill people would scream back at them until they left. Then it would repeat. I finally left when a woman with a “Teabagger” sign raised her sign and started screaming about how stupid we all were. Wading thru the union folks on my way back to the car saw signs and shirts for all the usual suspects – SEIU, WEAC, MTI plus a Pro-Immigration group and even a “Lesbians for Labor” group. IMHO, the good professor’s comment that she saw “absolutely no anger, nastiness or rudeness” had to do with the fact that until today this was a big union love fest with everyone in agreement. Kind of like the Smith Brothers debating the merits of cough drops. Personally, I saw a lot of anger and nastiness of which I will submit into evidence the guy holding the sign which read “I’ll tighten my belt when it is around Scott Walker’s neck”. So much for the new civility.; 2/19/11, 4:42 PM
chickelit said...: What did your sign read today Garage?

I know you're a flaming SEIU supporter, but still curious.; 2/19/11, 4:44 PM
Mel Plontz said...: Ann - I'm a bit older vintage in Madison than you are, and I recall two events that strike me as similar.

In 1979 we had a number of marches on the square in support of overthrowing the Shah of Iran. I was working part-time in a store on the square and we happened to have the door opened and I heard the repeated chant of "Hey-hey, hey-ho, the Shah has got to go!" In sports they say that after an epic contest (say the Ice Bowl) that you can find 32x the actual attendance who claim to have been there. I wonder if you could find anyone in Madison today who would admit to marching for the overthrow of the Shah.

The other event you may have actually witnessed - the appearance by Geraldine Ferraro the day after the Democratic National Convention concluded in San Francisco in 1984. She spoke on the East Washington Avenue side of the capital and the estimates were that 75,000 people attended (I found that believable.) Much like Bruce Springsteen's big crowd for Kerry in 2004 (on West Washington Avenue) - this proves that large turnouts don't necessarily mean much.

I'm viewing this from Palm Beach, FL, and having a good laugh.

Keep up the great reportage!; 2/19/11, 4:52 PM
Synova said...: OMG Jonny Bravo!; 2/19/11, 4:59 PM
garage mahal said...: @chickelit
I was waving my sisters homemade SEIU sign last night. She's a SEIU thug nurse.; 2/19/11, 5:07 PM
knox said...: There are gonna be some lefties in these photos who are going to be pretty upset, thinking you mislabeled them as "teabaggers."; 2/19/11, 5:07 PM
knox said...: garage, I'm sure your sister is an awesome nurse. I'm sure she doesn't need the SEIU to succeed in her field.; 2/19/11, 5:08 PM
Palladian said...: "I'm sure she doesn't need the SEIU to succeed in her field."

The relationship between unions and their members is often like an abusive romantic relationship: "You can't survive without me! You'll die without me! Try to cross me and see what happens to you!"; 2/19/11, 5:25 PM
Anonymous said...: How does the "inner Hippy chic" come to terms with her "conservative crust" today?

Talk about inner toil.....; 2/19/11, 5:36 PM
DADvocate said...: The obligatory sign bashing corporations. After all the bailing out Obama did of GM, Chrysler, financial institutions, his cozy relationship with GE, etc, you'd think the lefties would wake up. Of course, if they were capable of seeing the truth, they wouldn't be lefties.; 2/19/11, 5:56 PM
kimsch said...: I'm in the bottom picture, bottom right corner in the purple coat. The tan sleeve with shadow on it right behind me is Hubby's. So close...; 2/19/11, 6:46 PM
russedav said...: Those claiming Walker only deserves weak support forget that his supporters actually have to work for a living without mooching off the public like the blind tools of the white house fascist obamanation traitor (www.obamanation.com) opposing him do.; 2/21/11, 9:33 AM