Kandour, the magnificent police horse.

This video was recorded on June 12th, during the Walkerville protest on the Capitol Square here in Madison. The reason for posting it today is revealed in this edited version, and you can read more here.

SPOILER ALERT: Watch the video before reading any comments.

"Tent cities are springing up all over Wisconsin."

"A social protest movement is gathering momentum. At some point in the near future, it may endanger the right-wing government."

Actually, I changed a word in that quote. It's not Wisconsin. It's Israel.

Whatever happened to Walkerville?

We observed this weekend that the tents were gone. And:

The street permits that had allowed the protesters to set up camp were revoked at the request of the demonstrators on Friday evening.

But there's this Facebook "Events" page: "Walkerville #WIunion Vigil Only Under The Stars NO TENTS":

Time  —Today at 7:00pm - September 2 at 9:00am
Location  — Wisconsin State Capitol...

Camp free-style under the stars, no tents allowed.
ATTENTION: organizer David Boetcher's group, _We Are Wisconsin_, has canceled its permit with the city as of 5 pm Friday June 17. If you still want to VIGIL near the Capitol it must be WITHOUT a tent, AND self-sufficient!

Yesterday a little after 5 p.m., we walked and drove around the square. There was little sign of any protest activity:



(Enlarge to read: "Refusing to Eat — Day 04 Hunger Strike.")

I don't see how the city can accept free-form sleeping on the street, with no group taking responsibility. Homeless and transient people are not allowed to sleep on the street, so I don't see how special immunity from the laws can be given to other sleepers based on their political opinions.

"The Assembly passed the measure 60-38 at 3 a.m. Thursday, and 19 hours later the Senate approved it 19-14."

"Because senators made no changes to it, it will go straight to the Republican governor without having to return to the Assembly. Walker is expected to sign the bill soon, and he will have the ability to reshape it with his vast partial-veto powers."

Meade and I were in the Senate gallery just now when the final vote was cast. We saw 2 protesters stand up and yell and get carried out.

I'll have some video soon of the protests before and after the vote. It was noisy, especially before the vote. The police were completely in control. Afterwards, the scene outside in the "Walkerville" tent city was completely calm.

Russ Feingold speaks and then "600 firefighters marching down State Street, past Walkerville, and around the Capitol..."

"... They ultimately held a ceremony on the rooftop of the Monona Convention Center for fallen firefighters."

I guess that answers my question why firefighters in uniform are allowed to participate in a political protest march. It was really a procession toward a ceremony for their dead comrades. That it occurred immediately after the much-promoted Feingold rally was merely a coincidence.

Right? That must be right. Please tell me I'm right. They wouldn't use a ceremony for dead firefighters as a cover for political activity in uniform.

UPDATE: From the same blogger, tweeting 47 minutes ago:

Today's rally starts 11AM #Walkerville 3:30pm time of firefighters bagpipe march. 5:30pm evening speakers #wiunion

There can never be enough ceremonies for the fallen comrades. And coincidences.

UPDATE 2: I've got video from Sunday's rally, which I'm edited to show you how the 2 events were sequenced and interwoven. My video, which will be up fairly soon, shows that as Feingold's speech ended, the crowd was told:

One of our greatest allies has been the firefighters — the firefighters' union. [CHEERS.] They are having a special commemoration for their fallen members, and they've asked us to cheer them on as they march from the Concourse, they're going to take a left around the Capitol. Just the firefighters. But they ask if we wait here 'til they come, they should be here in about 5 to 10 minutes. We want to cheer them on. We want to remember people who've fallen. We want to stand with the firefighters and we're ready for this week.

During the wait, there were chants of "Recall Walker" and "What's disgusting? Union busting!" When the firefighters arrive, the crowd cheers "thank you, thank you" — which could mean thank you for your public service, but it is also the cheer that was used throughout the protests to express approval for participating in the protest. We see more of the march as it goes around to the right and over to the Monona Terrace (where the ceremony will take place). You'll see the firefighters — with Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin in formation — followed by civilians, many of whom are carrying protest signs.

So, the ceremony could have been long planned, with no connection to the protests, but: 1. There seems to be another firefighters' march today, 2. The firefighters seem to have coordinated with the announcer at the Feingold rally to some extent, and 3. The crowd (including me and Meade) perceived it as a single, multi-part, anti-Walker event.

AND: Here's the edited video (described in Update 2, above):

Russ Feingold: "This game's not over until we win."

He was trying to stir up the crowd in Walkerville today.



He had a really gruff, angry edge to his voice.

But afterwards, people looked really lackluster.







ADDED: Here's the entire Feingold speech:

"Woo Hoo! Feingold at Walkerville tonight, maybe my other honey Jon Erpenbach will be there too!"

"I do love rubbing up against those two!"

In light of Weiner's Twitter troubles, it's fascinating to read a tweet like that.

ADDED: "A 5pm visit by former WI Sen/rockstar Russ Feingold will result in streets overflowing w/adulation."

So it's at 5. I'll try to get some pics of the idolators... and the rubbers-up-against.

IN THE COMMENTS: Shouting Thomas said:

Haven't read it, but this brings to mind the theme of Ann Coulter's new book, Demonic.

Having heard Coulter discuss this book on the radio the other day, I'd had the same thought as I was writing this post. So I bought the book — you can buy it here — to extract some relevant material.

Manifestly, liberals fanatically worship their leaders. FDR, JFK, Clinton, Obama, even Hillary, Liz Holtzman, and John Lindsay—they’re all “rock stars” to Democrats. They’re the Beatles, Elvis, or Jesus, depending on which cliché liberals are searching for. As Le Bon says, the “primitive” black-and-white emotions of a crowd slip easily into “infatuation for an individual.”

Le Bon is Gustave Le Bon, who wrote a book "The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind" (1895), which Coulter relies on heavily. Back to Coulter:

The most Reagan-besotted conservative would never seriously refer to his presidency with something as hokey as “Camelot.” But in the bizarro-world of the Democrats’ Camelot cult, all we ever hear about is the youth, the vigor, the glamour, the “Kennedy mystique,” and the rest of the cant.... Bill Clinton was called a rock star often, the expression “rock star” [is] the most irritating cliché of the century....

Eleanor Clift described the doughy Clinton-Gore team as “the all-beefcake ticket,” gasping that she was “struck by the expanse of their chests”... The Washington Post’s Sally Quinn said women identified with Clinton because of “the softness, the sensitivity, the vulnerability, that kind of thing.”... An infatuated Jonathan Alter babbled in Newsweek about the Clinton hug: “Bill Clinton hugs other men. It’s not a bear hug, usually—more like a Full Shoulder Squeeze. Women get it, too, but the gesture is more striking in its generational freshness when applied to the same sex....”

When Obama came along, guess who liberals started having sex dreams about?... The New York Times’s Judith Warner reported, “Many women—not too surprisingly—were dreaming about sex with the president.”... The Obamas, Warner wrote, were “a beacon of hope, inspiration and ‘demigodlikeness.’ ”...

NBC’s Matt Lauer noted that “people” have called Obama “ ‘The Savior,’ ‘The Messiah,’ ‘The Messenger of Change.’ ” Try to imagine conservatives coming up with such honorifics for Dwight Eisenhower. Being rational individuals, conservatives don’t turn their political leaders into religious icons. Liberals, by contrast, having all the primitive behaviors of a mob, idolize politicians. 

Things on the Walkerville Medics Supply Wish List.

homeopathic arnica
arnica salve
yarrow tincture
comfry leaf salve
collengia salve
men’s socks

"[I]n case you were wondering where the domestic-surveillance component of Wisconsin's continued slouch toward East Berlin was, there you are."

Anti-Walkerites are disturbed that Wisconsin law enforcement is monitoring social media to learn of plans to for direct action like storming the state Capitol. But I think it would be incompetent not to pay attention to these things.

Hey, people, Twitter and Facebook are public speech — quite visible and searchable. The notion that you have an expectation of privacy there is sheer lunacy.

Ask Anthony Weiner.

Wisconsin protesters disrupt a Special Olympics ceremony!

In front of the Capitol today, protesters dressed as zombies stood between Governor Scott Walker and the group of Special Olympics participants he was honoring.

Quite aside from the unbelievable rudeness, how can the protesters be so blind about their own public relations?

ADDED: Here's a comment at the Walkerville Facebook page:

I don't know about anyone else but Im alright with this. Walker's actions affect many of these people more than me. They have every right to know what is going on in the state; most of them probably already do. Honestly I find the fact tht he was addressing this group offensive. It's like when he goes and visits a school. What a hypocritical liar.

"Walkerville Summer Camp is officially in session, and there were minimal problems to report..."

"... in spite of David Blaska’s doom and gloom about some sort of Leftist Apocalypse happening as a result of the event’s city approval. Police presence was high, including mounted units for some reason. They were met with what mostly turned out to be an eclectically assembled, awkwardly located family camping trip in downtown Madison. There’s still lots of camping left to do, so let’s hope the eggs being tossed from high-rise condos on the square continue to miss the friendly protest."

Says The A.V. Club.

Walkerville at midday.

Here's how the tent city protest looked at about 1 p.m. today. (Meade shot the video. I edited.)

We were up at the Capitol Square riding bikes, as many Madison streets were closed for the "Ride the Drive" event.

(I'm not too enthusiastic about "Ride the Drive," by the way. Clearing out all the car traffic makes an occasion, which attracts attention and gets a big crowd of people biking at the same time. But it sends the message that the cars are a big nuisance, so I don't think it really encourages people to bike on other days, and it may even discourage them. It did work to get children out biking on the streets, but I don't think it's especially safe or enjoyable to bike with children. Unlike cars, children tend not to proceed in a straight line.)

What is Glenn Reynolds saying about the Wisconsin protesters?

In this Washington Examiner op-ed:

Although there have been some violent incidents and death threats, overall, despite the talk from many right-leaning pundits about "union goons," the actual danger posed by the union members appears to have been very small by labor-historical standards. 

The protests have been huge, and organizers have tried very hard to keep them nonviolent, but now are they to be criticized for not threatening violence? Reynolds says in the old days, union protests involved "miners, steelworkers and the like," who, working together, developed a mindset like combat troops. The unstated implication is that these were macho men.

But miners and steelworkers are one thing. When the public employees of, say, Wisconsin hit the streets, it looked more like a bunch of disgruntled DMV clerks and graduate teaching assistants, because, well, that's what it was.

He doesn't come right out and say, now we're talking about females and less manly men, but isn't that the implication? I'm sure Glenn would acknowledge (and encourage) women to take on mining, steelworking, and combat, but it seems clear that he is valuing the traditional male stereotype over the traditional female stereotype.

America's DMV clerks aren't known for toughness and dedication on the job, and it would be asking a lot to expect them to display such characteristics for the first time when they're off the job.

I think the protesters who chanted and slept on the Capitol floor for weeks on end and marched in the Wisconsin winter over and over again, deserve credit for dedication and for keeping things nonviolent. They are back now with their tent city — Walkerville — and it seems pretty positive and well-organized. They haven't abandoned the demonstrations and protests, even as they have also applied themselves to court battles and elections. Reynolds characterizes them as having moved on first to an election and then to the courts:

When the street protests didn't work out, the public employee unions decided to make a "nonpartisan" judicial election a referendum over Wisconsin's anti-union legislation.

The Service Employees International Union and other labor groups went all in on the election, but still lost....

So they lost that election, but they've got 6 recall elections coming up next month. The demonstrations continue and election maneuvers continue.

[T]he public employee unions have been better in the legal system than on the streets, getting Wisconsin's Democrat-friendly judicial system to rule in favor of the unions despite rather shaky grounds for doing so.

But mastery of rules and discretion in employing them is exactly what you'd expect from an army of DMV clerks, as opposed to steelworkers, isn't it? 

Why isn't that a good thing? Working through the courts, respecting the rule of law? I know, you might not like the rulings they extract from the judges — judges that you may think are partisan. But what are you saying? They should scare us with street violence? You say you want a revolution? Why taunt them as "an army of DMV clerks" when they work within the system? Isn't that a good thing? I understand that you want their side to lose, but this is an op-ed about tactics.

"Walkerville" tents — required to be taken down — by 7 a.m. were still up at 7:02 a.m....

... as Meade and I drove around the square this morning. Video coming soon.

AND: Count the tents on East and West Mifflin Street and North and South Carroll Street, which are the 2 legs of the Capitol Square that meet at the westernmost corner of the Square with State Street. [See the update below to understand which tents are within the permit and which are not.]



ADDED: I don't know whether the tents were still up because the protesters were sleeping in and delaying until they are rousted, or if the protesters really do intend to flout the restrictions in the permit. Obviously, the protest is most valuable if it is seen, and the idea of a tent city is to create the impression that people are really living here out of dedication if not economic necessity. If a tent city is supposed to express dire poverty, this one fails amusingly, because these folks have awfully nice tents. Are these brand-new tents bought for this protest?

We didn't see the police this morning, but there were plenty of police last night. The question is: Will the police enforce the restrictions in the permit? This is a test, I believe, of the City of Madison Police, not the Capitol Police that we saw in action during the protests in the rotunda in February and March.

ALSO: Some details about the permit:

[Madison's Street Use Staff Commission] required that most sleeping tents be broken down and removed from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Friday and from 4:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday. However, sleeping tents at three sites — in front of Grace Episcopal Church on Carroll Street, in front of the former Anchor Bank on West Mifflin and in front of the Manchester office building on East Mifflin — will be allowed to stay up during the day....

So, some of the tents in the video above are in the range that is permitted during the day.

The committee gave the city's police and fire departments authority to close down the village at any time if they see fit.

The proposed camping area, across the street from the state Capitol, includes: North Carroll Street from State Street to West Washington Avenue; South Carroll between West Washington and Main Street; West Mifflin Street from State Street to Wisconsin Avenue; and East Mifflin Street from Wisconsin Avenue to North Pinckney Street. It also includes the "30 on the Square" cul-de-sac at 30 W. Mifflin St. and the Philosophers' Stones area between the Wisconsin Historical Museum and Myles Teddywedgers Cornish, 101 State St.

UPDATE: So, reading that report about the permit, I can see that some of the tents in the video are allowed to stay up after 7 a.m. and some are not. I think that the first tents you see, beginning at 0:15, are permitted. The next set of tents, beginning at 0:37, are on West Mifflin, in front of a luxury condo building. I honestly don't know if that counts as the former Anchor Bank (but there are different colors of chalk marks on the street distinguishing the different areas, so the campers themselves know).  Just after that, beginning at 0:53, is a tent-free area, in front of the Veterans Museum. At 1:19, we see a single tent in front of Atticus and J. Taylor's, which, based on the linked story, is not permitted. (In fact, the linked story quotes email from the shopkeeper John Taylor, who opposed the permit.) We see 2 more late tents before we get to Grace Church, which is tent-free. At 1:15, you see a group of 5 tents in a place where, according to the linked article, tents are not permitted after 7 a.m.

Saturday night in Walkerville.

The Wisconsin protesters are moving in, making a tent city on the square. I shot this video at about 9 p.m.:

The "Walkerville" tent-city protest was supposed to start at 7 a.m., but that's not what Meade found on the Capitol Square this morning.

"All the assholes are over on the other side," says a man on the street, beginning my edit of what Meade caught on camera as he biked around the square a couple hours ago.



I think the anti-asshole man is anticipating the Walkervillians — Walkervillains? — but the closest thing to anybody camping out is that one guy at the very end, but he might not be protesting Scott Walker. But you know, nobody's ever taught you how to live on the street, and now you find out you’re gonna have to get used to it.

UPDATE, 2 p.m.: Absolutely no sign of Walkerville. Lots of action around the Capitol today, though, with the Farmers' Market (which is there every Saturday) and the annual Cows on the Concourse event, both of which are seen in the video. There was also "Cars on State," which is an exhibit of classic cars on State Street. That's not in this video, but I'll have some photos of it soon.

UPDATE, 10:25 p.m.: We went over to the square around 8:30 and saw plenty of tents set up for the night, including directly in front of the hotel on the square and right next to a restaurant's sidewalk café. The protesters were completely mellow. There was a group of people standing in a circle at the foot of the Forward! statue and they were singing "We Shall Overcome" and other civil rights/labor movement songs. I shot some video and photographs, which I'll put up in a new post soon.

Why should Madison allow a tent city — "Walkerville" near the Capitol Square? Because it's unique and because it's going to happen anyway.

That's the gist of the argument presented to the Street Use Staff Commission hearing this morning by the "We Are Wisconsin" group. They got their permit, and Walkerville will begin tomorrow, June 4th, and continue until June 20th. Meade was there, and I edited his video. The first speaker in this clip, representing We Are Wisconsin, is David Boetcher. After him comes Jeremy B. McMullen, who represents the Madison Fire Department on the Commission, and then Peter Rickman, who, according to this recent student newspaper editorial byline, is a University of Wisconsin "Law & Graduate Student," chair of the TAA Political Education Committee, and chair of the Democratic Party of the 2nd Congressional District.



0:00 — Boetcher likens the historical concept of Hooverville to the current protests over the Wisconsin budget, which is supposed to explain why camping on the street says something that people carrying signs does not say. (Click on that Hooverville link to see that the real "Hoovervilles" were makeshift places of residence for people who were actually homeless during the Great Depression. The thousands of people who want to come to Madison to protest are not homeless. They are protesting on behalf of employed people who are losing some of their benefits and collective bargaining rights.)

0:21 — McMullen clearly states the crucial legal principle: The nature of the message to be conveyed is irrelevant to the commission, which is mainly worried about setting a precedent that might require granting other permits in the future for other protesters.

0:30 — Rickman says this event is "unprecedented," and if anyone in the future tries to rely on it as a precedent "distinctions — differentiations — will be able to be drawn." He says he's sure there are "plenty of capable city, uh, city, uh, staff who are law trained, who can go ahead and help you all make that distinction and difference." Yeah, don't worry about the precedent. Let it go and when the time comes you all can go ahead and distinguish the precedent. Rickman adds that he's "not a real lawyer yet" and has only had "a few years of law school." (Law school is only 3 years. If you've done "a few years," aren't you done? Maybe there's some distinction that I should have my staff go ahead and figure out for me. I don't have time for that now.)

1:36 — Boetcher takes over with less legalistic idealism and more hardcore reality. These thousands of people are going to come to town anyway, permit or no. But if We Are Wisconsin doesn't have a permit, they can't provide port-o-potties. Even though he's leading the group that is promoting the rally, he's acting as if he's just passively expecting the crowds and trying to help out the city out with crowd control. If you don't give them the permit, you'll still have people camping out... but — what? — pissing in the street?

2:05 — Boetcher says that if you put restrictions in the permit, then you're forced to decide what to do if it's violated, "and what is that going to do to the whole rest of the trust" with respect to everything else that you might want to try to get people to do. Once people are in violation of one thing, they'll lose interest in avoiding violating other matters. (I would  note that as a general principle, this is a good reason to regulate sparingly: It preserves respect for the law and increases compliance. If the rules are too picky and constraining, people scoff at rules and become rule-breakers, and maybe they lose track of the value of a system of rules. But does that general principle really apply to this tent city?)

2:42 — "It would be a bit of a sham to create a permit that basically automatically goes against what's going to happen and then expect people to follow any of the rules that are in the permit." Think about what that means. There's a huge crowd about to descend on the city, to do something they will do whether or not there is a permit — Boetcher keeps referring to the "mindset" of this descending crowd — so the city ought to grant a permit that accepts those things that are going to happen, in order to preserve respect for the rule of law. As a law professor, I find this notion fascinating. Make the law embrace the things people are going to do regardless of the law, or people won't follow even the rules that they would follow if you didn't undermine their desire to comply with the law.

At the Street Use Staff Committee meeting about setting up "Walkerville" campsite near the Wisconsin Capitol.

(Background on the Walkerville proposal here.) WKOW reporter Colby Robertson tweets:

Resident just spoke. Says, "We've patiently endured horn blowing, drumming. It seems incomprehensable to allow ppl to camp outside my home"

Speaker in favor of permit. Says its a great opportunity for Madison to help us express voices since they can't be in Capitol.

Another in support says the protests are going to happen with or without permit, but tents give more structure.

Alderwoman Lisa Subick speaking in support of permit. Asks committee to show Walker Administration you stand behind ppl of Madison.

So Alderwoman Lisa Subick wants the government to exercise its discretion for the purpose of agreeing with this particular group of protesters?! If Robertson's tweet is accurate, Subick is advocating the violation of core free speech principles. Government discretion over permits should be viewpoint neutral, not a way for the government to express itself.

Member from board asks why is a tent with a sign more powerful than people holding signs? Organizers want constant present of ppl at Capitol

UPDATE: Robertson tweets:

Commission approves motion. Tents will be allowed between 9 pm-7 am Sat-Thurs. 9 pm-4:30 am Friday overnights...

Mayor Soglin isn't here but spokesperson just came in and said he was under the impression SOME tents would be allowed to stay up during day....

So three designated areas (not determined yet) will allow tents up 24 hours. Areas will not interfere with businesses or buses

Oh, okay. Wouldn't want to interfere with businesses or buses!

Stay tuned! I have exclusive video from the meeting. 

UPDATE 2: Here's the edited video with commentary.

Wisconsin protesters want to set up a "Walkerville" campsite around one corner of the Capitol Square.

The Wisconsin State Journal reports:

The city’s Street Use Staff Commission will have a special meeting Friday to consider the permit application for a state budget rally that would begin Saturday and continue through June 20....

[Gov. Scott] Walker’s proposed budget is being debated by the Legislature’s powerful budget committee this week and is expected to be sent to the full Legislature by the weekend....

The city, which granted a permit for a smaller camp on the terrace of Pinckney Street across from the Capitol in March, is working to balance the rights of free speech with the needs of local businesses, said Ald. Mike Verveer, 4th District, who represents most of the Downtown area.

Kelly Lamberty, community events coordinator for the city’s Parks Division, said concerns also include the impact on other permitted events, including the Dane County Farmers’ Market, and licensed vendors assigned to the area.

Go ahead, Madison politicians. Grant that permit. Let the whole state know how hostile Democrats are to business interests. That campsite is right next to a hotel.

And if you actually care about free speech, you'd better be ready to hand out camping permits in a viewpoint neutral way in the future. It can't be that the budget protesters get special privileges.

ADDED: Here's the agenda for the special meeting (PDF). 8:30 a.m. on Friday, June 3. Parks Conference Room 210 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Room 108 (City-County Building). "Tent city rally with art, music, teach-ins and food. Discuss set-up, schedule and activities."

UPDATE: Tweets from the meeting.

"On Tuesday, several dozen protesters slept outside the Capitol in a camp they've dubbed 'Walkerville.'"

Ha. As if Walker has caused homelessness. (The coinage presumably alludes to "Hooverville.")

This protest is NOT about poor people. It's about people with good jobs, wanting to preserve the high quality of what they've been able to acquire for themselves. Now, I do think those who are sleeping on the floor of the Capitol rotunda and outside on the frozen ground are young people who don't themselves have good jobs. It's interesting what these kids are putting themselves through for others, who are, presumably, better off than they are. I took this picture, yesterday, of the outdoor sleeping setup:



It had gone down to 11° the night before. Note the underlayer of Ian's Pizza boxes. There is a lot of free food. Ian's, by the way, is doing some kickass branding (without losing any money):

On Monday afternoon, [store manager Staci] Fritz guesstimated that Ian's had delivered upwards of 35,000 slices of pizzas in the last week, all paid for by donations...

Fritz says that while Ian's is still making deliveries and taking donations, it has been very careful to cut off the amount of money it takes in one day. "What if somebody gives a load of money and then suddenly this whole thing is over and we can't deliver anymore? We can't let anyone pay for what we can't promise to deliver."

Keeping it honest... which is good for branding too, of course. They're not just raking in donations without accounting for it all with free pizza delivered to protesters.

Madison has a long tradition of its bars and restaurants being sucked into the fervent political activity of the times, such as the Nitty Gritty restaurant and bar's role as the meeting place for the activists who bombed the university's Sterling Hall in 1970.

Well, hell... why bring that up? Things have been really peaceful, by and large — to an amazing degree, considering the difficulty of keeping a large, diverse crowd energized enough to look like a good demonstration without tipping any individual over the edge into something ugly, even as the days wear on and on.