Althouse: Infiltrating the crowds at the Wisconsin protest, Meade sometimes wore a lapel button.

March 15, 2011

Infiltrating the crowds at the Wisconsin protest, Meade sometimes wore a lapel button.

We didn't buy any new buttons, just used buttons we had in the house. In this video, I show 6 possible buttons. Which button or buttons did Meade use?

103 comments:

Joaquin said...: The Smiley................; 3/15/11, 9:29 AM
Peter V. Bella said...: Buttons? They show you are down with the cause.; 3/15/11, 9:33 AM
TosaGuy said...: I only have one political button.

"Reagan: Lets make America Great Again"

WV: Uncom.....Reagan was very much an uncommunist; 3/15/11, 9:36 AM
Anonymous said...: Without the button to disarm your interviewee, you won't get the truth or the secret handshake.; 3/15/11, 9:39 AM
SteveR said...: I'm going with the Fyodor quote with Jackson 88 second.; 3/15/11, 9:41 AM
Anonymous said...: Infiltration sounds so devious!

Jesse Jackson '88?

Militant Homo?

Fucking right wing blog!; 3/15/11, 9:41 AM
Automatic_Wing said...: HE'S A KOCH PLANT!!!!!!11!!!; 3/15/11, 9:44 AM
Wince said...: I guessing Jackie Supersonic First Lady of the USA.; 3/15/11, 9:46 AM
Bill said...: I think Meade should develop some sort of custom hybrid shrub and name it the 'Koch Plant!!!1!!'.; 3/15/11, 9:49 AM
Ron said...: I'm betting the 'Militant Homosexual' button with the Supersonic Jackie button for extra SuperFantastic!

Plus, Meade looks Bear enough for true stealth...

Careful Ann, Sullivan (...or Kaus!) may try to steal him over to The Daily Caller....; 3/15/11, 9:51 AM
Gary Kirk said...: Jesse Jackson '88, because how better to join instigators as an infiltrator than with Jesse?; 3/15/11, 9:51 AM
Bill said...: By the way, I'm guessing smiley or JJ88.; 3/15/11, 9:52 AM
Ah Pooh said...: Jackie Kennedy Button. A conversation stopper and telegraphs that you are part of the Democratic fraternity.; 3/15/11, 9:52 AM
Peter Hoh said...: Jackson '88; 3/15/11, 9:53 AM
lemondog said...: Doesn't look like a 'button' kind of guy, but if I have to pick I take the Dostoevsky and '21'

They are ambiguous and might create interest.; 3/15/11, 9:55 AM
Known Unknown said...: I'd go smiley.

That Jackie button is pretty awesome.

As an aside, Professor, were you that dumb in 1988?; 3/15/11, 9:58 AM
Hagar said...: He does not have a Dan Gurney button?; 3/15/11, 10:00 AM
virgil xenophon said...: Lets see...the smiley to project insipid non-threatening status. nix on the "militant homo"--possibly too threatening to some. Too bad no "Save the Whales": an all purpose one (who could object?) Being that it's an academic crowd the Fyodor quote seems logical--but print too small--couldn't be seen before they began clubbing you.. Thus I'm forced to go w. the "21" button--enigmatic and might indicate a health-food lefty to a lefty crowd.; 3/15/11, 10:03 AM
Emil Blatz said...: I Like Ike!; 3/15/11, 10:07 AM
Mark O said...: I Like Ike; 3/15/11, 10:07 AM
MadisonMan said...: No Virginia Slade for Congress button?; 3/15/11, 10:12 AM
galdosiana said...: Jesse Jackson '88, because you also linked to a photo earlier on with a man wearing that t-shirt, and you specifically pointed it out.; 3/15/11, 10:15 AM
Pogo the Merciless said...: He must wear button with my image, Pogo the Merciless.
That is my command!

Thus have I spoken.
None shall deny me!; 3/15/11, 10:15 AM
Anne said...: Jesse Jackson '88 seems too obvious. I'm going to go with the smiley face.; 3/15/11, 10:16 AM
mike said...: Has to be the Jesse "Hymietown" Jackson '88 button. With a button like that, no one in that crowd of clueless libs would question your "progressive" bonafides.; 3/15/11, 10:16 AM
Unknown said...: He needs a tag line to go with his disguise.

Bond. James Bond.

Maybe a good-looking blonde in a low cut evening gown with a slit skirt hanging on his arm.

(Met a guy named James Bonde once. Said the name was nothing but trouble - nobody beleived him); 3/15/11, 10:17 AM
Pogo the Merciless said...: That or a Fuck Art, Let's Dance button from the 1982 ska era.

That'd be okay, too.; 3/15/11, 10:17 AM
TosaGuy said...: I see often a BMW running around with the bumper sticker "Socialism = solutions". Perhaps that can be put in button form.

Hopefully, the solution is that I get his BMW :); 3/15/11, 10:18 AM
Anonymous said...: The one that can't be read without a magnifying glass. Fits in better with most of the signs.; 3/15/11, 10:18 AM
Pogo the Merciless said...: WIN?

WTF?; 3/15/11, 10:22 AM
MaggotAtBroad&Wall said...: Logically, JJ88 makes the most sense to me becaue JJ was there pandering. However, Meade was there so often, I'm going with all of the above.; 3/15/11, 10:23 AM
Almost Ali said...: Wear them all, askew, suggesting a state of perpetual confusion.; 3/15/11, 10:24 AM
bagoh20 said...: I think the small print one. It will require the stinky hippies to get in close where Meade can check them for creamy centers.; 3/15/11, 10:24 AM
Henry said...: All of them.

That's my first answer. I'll have my second answer ready shortly.; 3/15/11, 10:26 AM
Anonymous said...: Oh, so Meade is a button man for the Althouse mob, eh?; 3/15/11, 10:27 AM
Pastafarian said...: If I'd had to wade into that crowd, I would have had a t-shirt with Che on the front and Rage Against the Machine on the back; mock dreds poking from beneath my rainbow beret; and a .38 snubby tucked inside my wasteband.

Meade is bad-ass. Meade is the honey-badger.

Seriously. That reportage was honey-badger brave, buttons or no.; 3/15/11, 10:29 AM
Patrick said...: Based on Meade's conversation with a dude that had a Jackson '88 t-shirt on, I'd say the Jackson button.

I would have probably said that anyway.

Prof Althouse, did you vote JJ in '88? Just curious about the political evolution of the blog host.; 3/15/11, 10:35 AM
granmary said...: Jesse Jackson button. I sure am glad to see that even law professors from liberal enclaves can evolve into rational human beings.You and Meade did a super job letting us see what was happening.; 3/15/11, 10:38 AM
Unknown said...: Obviously, the Rev.

PS Nobody makes buttons anymore. Ann must be a little bit of a pack rat.

PPS just can't see Meade with the Militant Homosexual one.; 3/15/11, 10:41 AM
MamaM said...: If Meade honors the fallen by removing what doesn't belong, I can't imagine him adorning himself with a Jesse button. Especially when Jesse is superfluous to the issue at hand.
But the Jesse button works for some

I'm guessing he used the smiley to disarm.; 3/15/11, 10:42 AM
Anonymous said...: Honey badger?; 3/15/11, 10:43 AM
Richard Dolan said...: The Sushi button. It's an invitation to the vortex.

Anything political would never work (that rules out JJ '88 and Jackie O); Smiley is just ridiculous for anyone over 10; the FD quote would barely fit in at a high school reunion; and the militant homo is a bit too wacky for adults. Plus, Meade was never trying to pass or hide, and he undoubtedly likes sushi.; 3/15/11, 10:44 AM
Anonymous said...: Smiley; 3/15/11, 10:46 AM
Henry said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/15/11, 10:46 AM
Henry said...: Here's my second answer. I was going to PhotoShop it, but it's Chip's image. He should do it.; 3/15/11, 10:47 AM
DADvocate said...: I would have worn the Militant Homosexual button myself, just for laughs and to see how people would react. Otherwise, I would have worn the Jackie Kennedy button.; 3/15/11, 10:48 AM
Stoutcat said...: Sorry, but supersonic Jackie looks like she's standing waist-deep in a swamp, surrounded by giant asparagus stalks.

I'm going with the JJ88. It speaks of nearly a quarter century's worth of street cred.; 3/15/11, 10:49 AM
JAL said...: I'm torn between the Jackson button and the Dostoyevsky button.

True confession - I had the sound turned off, so I have no idea what the Prof said, so any verbal clues were lost on me.

One is a lefty vanilla flavor (Jackson). (I think I inadvertently made a racist joke there, or not, but I am not sure. Seems like any time one mentions any color in speech these days someone whines ...)

At those demonstrations no one would ask a question or raise an eyebrow or even engage one who was wearing a Jesse Jackson button. The wearer was clearly a TB (true believer). In addition, the wearer was old enough to have voted that way.

But the Fyodor Dostoyevsky button is more intellectually honest for Meade, who I think is that. And no one in the protesting teachers was going to take the time to read the fine print anyway.

If they saw a Russian type name they loved it.

wv alobi
What the protesting teachers were looking for to explain their "personal time" absences.; 3/15/11, 10:49 AM
KCFleming said...: Meade, I need to talk about your flair. 15 buttons is minimum, ok?

Now, it's up to you whether or not you want to just do the bare minimum.

Well, like Althouse, for example, has 37 pieces of flair. And a terrific smile.

People can get an education anywhere, ok? They come to Madison for the atmosphere and the attitude. That's what the flair's about.

It's about fun.; 3/15/11, 10:50 AM
Henry said...: Or, None of the above.; 3/15/11, 10:53 AM
JAL said...: But that smiley face one ... well that's middle of the road, right?

Me? I would have worn my Wilkie button. Which I do have somewhere in an old jewelry box.

And no, I did not vote for him, but somewhere in my ancesteral lineage, which apparently ran to the right of FDR in 1940 ....

And they saved the button, too.; 3/15/11, 10:53 AM
KCFleming said...: I have a button that says Your Name Here.

And a ball cap to go with it.; 3/15/11, 10:55 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: The smiley.. I haven't read the comments but I bet the liberals are crying foul.; 3/15/11, 10:59 AM
al said...: My button would have started more conversations.; 3/15/11, 11:01 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "PPS just can't see Meade with the Militant Homosexual one."

It takes a real man to wear a "Militant Homosexual" button.

There are 2 kinds of men, the ones who'd find it more difficult to wear a "Militant Homosexual" button than a "Supersonic First Lady of the U.S.A." button, and the ones who'd find it more difficult to wear the "Supersonic First Lady of the U.S.A." And there are 2 kinds of people, the ones who, seeing 2 men, each wearing one of those 2 buttons, think the man with the "Supersonic First Lady of the U.S.A." button is more manly and the ones who think the man with the "Militant Homosexual" button is more manly.; 3/15/11, 11:02 AM
Almost Ali said...: In my view, there's nothing manly about wearing a button. Any button.; 3/15/11, 11:06 AM
Pastafarian said...: Lamar63 said: "Honey badger?"

Do try to keep up with your internet memes, Lamar.

Behold, Meade's quadruped equivalent:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r7wHMg5Yjg&hd=1; 3/15/11, 11:09 AM
Anonymous said...: There are 2 kinds of men,

There are 2 kinds of people in this world:

1. The kind of people who think there are 2 kinds of people in this world, and

2. Those who don't.; 3/15/11, 11:10 AM
The Commercial Traveller said...: It would have been far too dangerous for Meade to wear the "Militant Homosexual" button. He's a very handsome man--he would have had hoards of gay men coming on to him.; 3/15/11, 11:12 AM
Pastafarian said...: There are two kinds of people in the world, my friend. Those who have a rope around their neck and those who have the job of doing the cutting.; 3/15/11, 11:15 AM
Chris B said...: Jesse Jackson '88 all the way.; 3/15/11, 11:16 AM
Toad Trend said...: I will guess that the smiley face was the oft-used button for the crowd infiltration.; 3/15/11, 11:17 AM
Toad Trend said...: @Pastafarian

"There are two kinds of people in the world, my friend. Those who have a rope around their neck and those who have the job of doing the cutting."

Blondie: You may have the rope around your neck, but I do the cutting...

Great movie!!!; 3/15/11, 11:19 AM
Pastafarian said...: Something tells me ChrisB recognizes the source of my last comment.; 3/15/11, 11:19 AM
Pastafarian said...: Don't Tread 2012, you want to know who you are? Huh? Huh? You don't, I do, everyone does... you're the son of a thousand fathers, all bastards like you.; 3/15/11, 11:20 AM
Toad Trend said...: @Pasta

"Don't Tread 2012, you want to know who you are? Huh? Huh? You don't, I do, everyone does... you're the son of a thousand fathers, all bastards like you."

LOL!

Tuco Benedicto Pacifico Juan Maria Ramirez: Blondie????? BLONDIE!!!!!

And the charges that are read during the hangings and the facial expressions are priceless.; 3/15/11, 11:24 AM
JohnG said...: I'll go with JJ88 - Wearing it says:
1. You support lost/ridiculous causes.
2. You don't know what century you're in.

Should get the lefties shouting "Tovarisch!" in a heartbeat.; 3/15/11, 11:24 AM
Anonymous said...: Just watching your body language, I'm going to say the smiley pin. You spent less time on it.; 3/15/11, 11:26 AM
Peter Hoh said...: I think a "Bachman 2012" button would get you in with both crowds.; 3/15/11, 11:32 AM
Carol_Herman said...: When I was a kid ... and there's a rule that you can't do anything "political" within a 100 feet or yards of a polling station ... We'd be given buttons to hand out! (Harry Truman buttons comes to mind.)

Even in the 80's, people hung buttons off their baseball caps.

And, I thought all the buttons are gone, now. Along with bumper stickers. Because why advertise, where a crazy would come over and spit at ya?

I guess the left still does buttons, huh? Must be those unions swim in money.

By the way, when was the last time you were given a free sample of soap? Do you know these samples used to come with the start of ad campaigns? REALLY! Small, free boxes of soap!

Today? To get through to a lot of people, you need the Internet. (Today, people who want coupons can download them. And, what they download, they're gonna use.)

Do you remember when the Sunday newspapers weighed in at 10 pounds or more? And, the Sunday paper was stuffed with coupons?

Yeah. Your "Smiley Face" button is the one that did it for me.; 3/15/11, 11:32 AM
Anonymous said...: Pogo said...

"Meade, I need to talk about your flair. 15 buttons is minimum, ok?...."

heh-

I thought of the same scene instantly.

classic movie.; 3/15/11, 11:46 AM
Florida Gator said...: “Months and years!” he would exclaim. “Why reckon the days? One day is enough for a man to know all happiness. My dear ones, why do we quarrel, try to outshine each other and keep grudges against each other? Let’s go straight into the garden, walk and play there, love, appreciate, and kiss each other, and glorify life.” The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoevsky

There are two neutral buttons, the Smiley and the Dostoevsky, and maybe the Kennedy and the 21 buttons too. I’ll go with the Smiley as it would not be much of a loss if it were ripped off by a Union thug. The Brothers Karamazov button comes in second.

Since we are on the subject of Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment come to mind. Was there a resolution on the handcuff issue?

I just learned that the school kids are going to have to serve extra time each day in school the rest of the year to atone for the sins of the teachers.; 3/15/11, 11:51 AM
Anonymous said...: I vote Smiley-

Generic, as to insulate Meade from being accused of being disingenuous-

Smiley can be interpreted as being political by those who choose to see everything as political.

Perfect.; 3/15/11, 11:52 AM
Peter said...: @ Ann

"There are 2 kinds of men...."

This paragraph was priceless and deserves a post of its own. In fact, I'm going to swipe it and use in my class next week.

(Then again, I always like it when you twist your commenters' assumptions back on themselves. Present company excepted, of course.); 3/15/11, 12:04 PM
DADvocate said...: There are 10 kinds or people. Those who know binomial numbers and those who don't.; 3/15/11, 12:06 PM
PaulV said...: I have a Nixon button and a Goldwater Can with all the soda leaked out.
WV> flout Don't flout your buttons

Smiley; 3/15/11, 12:17 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "and a Goldwater Can with all the soda leaked out"

I had one of those back in 1964. It was given to me as a gag gift to tweak me for arguing pro-Goldwater when I was an 8th grader. I tipped my 8th grade class to vote for Goldwater, giving him 1 electoral vote in our school's election (in which every home room had 1 electoral vote).; 3/15/11, 12:30 PM
Ann Althouse said...: The school was Anthony Wayne Jr. High School in Wayne, NJ.; 3/15/11, 12:31 PM
Chennaul said...: The best visually is:

MILITANT HOMOSEXUAL

the second best is-

Jesse Jackson 88

I'm going to guess Meade used the Jesse Jackson button nothing like stroking a politician's ego...; 3/15/11, 12:36 PM
Chennaul said...: An old Republican Cali campaign worker I know has a saying:

For Liberals, bumper stickers are like potato chips-they never can have just one.

(I'm pretty sure it's the same for buttons- Meade should have worn more than one.); 3/15/11, 12:40 PM
Anonymous said...: @pastafarian

Thanks. That was awesome.

Honey badger don't give a shit about buttons!

I think I know which button the narrator would wear.; 3/15/11, 12:48 PM
Haiku Guy said...: The correct button
(Any hippy can attest)
All Of The Above; 3/15/11, 1:05 PM
Chennaul said...: Goldwater....

He us to come to the Academy a lot. One of my most embarrassing moments is when Goldwater put on the smoking lamp and a guy at the table I was waiting on decided in front of a room of 500 to toast -"the help who hadn't served us dinner yet."

When the smoking lamp is on the protocol is to stand at the end of about the 80 person table until the toasts are done. I turned bright red and burst into tears which is unusual...(-16 hour shift it was June week w/ graduation and weddings super busy.)

Goldwater sent over Col. "D" or Col. "D" told Goldwater what he was going to do and Col. "D" leapt over some chairs to get to the guy and kicked him and his party out-one of his party who had slapped my hand who Col. "D" was trying to extract an apology from was *shocked* they were being asked to leave.

Long story short the count had come up wrong and the chefs were busy trying to defrost their lobster in the microwaves. (-yeah I know.)

The ballroom was overstuffed and since I weighed about 105 at the time I served four other waitresses' tables because they couldn't do it-physically.

Ugh. Anyways Col. "D" was an Italian and had a bit of a love for the vino and I made the worst(-i.e. strongest coffee at the club-Col. "D" loved me and they had no idea they was messin' with the wrong teenager.!)

I got assigned to Goldwater one other time and after the luncheon he spent a lot of time talking to the cadets and one of the cadets that Goldwater sponsored from AZ that I knew came over ( -I was cleaning the room) because they were trying to stump Goldwater in a way. Goldwater has a gazillion flying hours in different aircraft and they couldn't think of something he hadn't flown-so the cadet I knew-knew that my dad had a hell of a lot of flying hours in all kinds of stuff and I told him to try to stump Goldwater with -helos!

Gaaaaa-Goldwater had that under his belt. Goldwater loved flying and he loved the cadets and the Academy. In retrospect I looked at what a big wig he was -I didn't know at the time-and it's amazing the time he took to talk to them and how he just shot the breeze with them like they were his kids or something.

Oh and even at that age Goldwater was stunning tall and could walk through a room -I don't know why everyone looked but they did. There was a certain grace to his walk.; 3/15/11, 1:05 PM
Chennaul said...: Haiku Guy

LOL- i think that's it. Ha!; 3/15/11, 1:07 PM
William said...: The Smiley button is banal, unless it is worn ironically, and even then, it would be banally ironic. Death to Smiley Buttons.....The Jackie button is more a fashion accessory than a button. I would wear it only to add a splash of color to my earth toned Prada outfits. Only a wuss would wear a Militant Homosexual button. Real men wear pink tutus with thong underwear and go to biker bars to pound on homophobes. The Jackson button would be an overt lie. The sushi button is in poor taste. I'm going with the Dostoevsky quote. It is noncommital in a such a way as to let the reader think that you're a deep thinker and, therefore, in agreement with the deep thinkers in Democratic Party.; 3/15/11, 1:07 PM
virgil xenophon said...: You like buttons, POGO? I got ya buttons! How 'bout a round button with naught but the letters TUIT on it? As in: "I'll get around to it." HAW! HAW! har! har!--A "round" TUIT. Get it? wink wink, Got it? nudge, nudge.. Good...

(Ain't I crafty?...And funny, too!); 3/15/11, 1:11 PM
virgil xenophon said...: Naw, William, the fatal flaw (literally--depending)in your reasoning is, as I said, above, that Meade is trying to blend in with a bunch of militant straight activists. The lettering is so small on that Dostoevsky button they'll get well within the clubbing kill radius before they can even read it. They'll only discover that they were actually quite muy simpatico with Meade during the post-morten.; 3/15/11, 1:23 PM
Chennaul said...: virgil

LOL-ya the whole the letters are too small hypothesis. Gawd too funny.

*****

Hillary and Althouse= Goldwater Girls

Man how'd you two get so lost? May be one of 'em is back.

( the Edwards vote of all the votes that one....gawd!); 3/15/11, 1:36 PM
Chennaul said...: Sigh. I tried to find a photo that illustrates Barry Goldwater and what he had.

And I just can't find it-funny how film can't capture some people.

But, Barry Goldwater had "it" I guess you just had to see it.; 3/15/11, 1:42 PM
BJM said...: The fav of our collection is "Shame Fraser, Shame"

You think WI politics are polarized? You should have been here...eeirly similar issues and fight over the results of an election that pitted conservatives against unions.

36 years hence, it is still a divisive, hot button issue.

So be careful for what you wish.; 3/15/11, 2:10 PM
vbspurs said...: Maybe Ann can wear the Jackie Kennedy button, then the sushi one, finally the Militant Homosexual. The Capitol crowd would then infer she's a classy activist dyke who likes the smell of fish.; 3/15/11, 2:18 PM
Chennaul said...: BJM

That's what you've been talking about-I thought you were talking about a town in Cali.

I guess I don't have to recommend Tim Blair to you.; 3/15/11, 2:20 PM
Chennaul said...: OMG!

vbspurs is back! LOL!

Yikes that actually gave me a headache!; 3/15/11, 2:22 PM
vbspurs said...: Heya Madawaskan! I r back yes!; 3/15/11, 2:41 PM
Chennaul said...: With a vengeance-thanks for the laugh!

Somehow Aerosmith's Back in the Saddle Again! is it.; 3/15/11, 2:53 PM
Known Unknown said...: I have a Nixon button, a Ford/Dole button and a Goldwater BOBBLEHEAD.

All came from my 91-year-old grandmother.

She's quite white. And uptight.; 3/15/11, 2:57 PM
JAL said...: 101!

Maybe.; 3/15/11, 4:50 PM
JAL said...: Oh Victoria -- someone above mentioned that they had been scooped by Victoria .. and lo and behold -- she is you!

So nice to see you here again.

Hope you can stay for a while :-); 3/15/11, 4:52 PM
Reagan said...: Goldwater could not be nominated in the Republican theocracy today.; 3/15/11, 4:57 PM
BJM said...: @Mad

Actually both, my CA hometown and Oz.

Tim Blair rocks.; 3/15/11, 7:08 PM
vbspurs said...: Heya, JAL! Great to see you! I can stay for a while, yes. :)

Cheers,
Victoria; 3/15/11, 11:20 PM
Dennis Lohr said...: the 21 sushi roll, because misunderstood + obtuse is de rigueur in and around state street.

and don't ask me why i know. it was madison. it was a long time ago. and i was much younger. i'll leave it at that.; 3/15/11, 11:30 PM
Nora said...: I vote for sushi button. It's most fun and promotes curiosity without animosity; 3/16/11, 2:39 AM