“Kill the bill” in Wisconsin

I WRITE to you from the Wisconsin capitol building, where I have been living since February 14, helping coordinate the mass actions that have thus far prevented calamity.

No doubt you have heard of the so-called "budget repair bill" pending in Wisconsin that would eliminate public unions and the health care safety net in Wisconsin.

I will refrain from a lengthy enumeration of the bill's outrageous provisions; you can read the newspaper for that.

There are some items that have been insufficiently covered in the national and international media. Notably, the bill would give the secretary of health services unlimited power to cut Medicaid benefits. This new secretary is on record saying there should be no Medicaid. Also, the bill would not simply limit collective bargaining rights: it would eliminate public unions entirely by making the conditions of their authorization impossible to achieve.

All told, the bill would send Wisconsin back to an earlier stage of social development; one in which free speech and freedom of assembly cannot be exercised at the same time; one in which legislative review of executive power does not exist; one in which modern medicine is not widely available; and one in which workers are utterly powerless in the face of abusive and exploitive employers.

State Sen. Jauch said: "This is dictatorship, and this is our Cairo moment." State Sen. Taylor was clear on the long-term ramifications for non-public employees: "Whether it's now or whether it's later, somebody's gonna come for you." She also quoted the following as a parallel to this moment:

First, they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the communists, and I didn't speak out because I was not a communist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me.

I heard these quotes during the Joint Finance Committee meeting with my own ears, though I have not seen it reported in any media outlet.

We have successfully disrupted the governor's timetable and jeopardized his program. We will continue to disrupt. The Republican caucus is wavering, and there will be at least some Republican "no" votes. We will continue to fight until we kill this bill. If we fail, similar policies will come soon to a state near you. A different fight will then begin.

Solidarity forever.
Matt Kearney, Madison, Wis.