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Solidarity wins!

Heather

Recalling the last 60 days...reflections from Ryan Wherley

 

Recalling Walker...

the Proudest 59 Days of My Life

by Ryan Wherley

Ryan posted this reflection as a facebook note. Republished here with his permission.

I just returned from the Dane County West Recall Office in Madison after submitting the last of my signatures. Although my door-to-door canvassing yielded no additional tallies this evening, I tried my hand at phonebanking and collected my final two signatures by contacting a friendly couple  and driving with petitions in hand to meet them at their house. After weeks of nice weather, the icy roads and plunging temperatures were a shock to my system.  Nevertheless, meeting and speaking with so many politically engaged indivduals made my final night a satisfying one.  Although I collected far fewer signatures than what I had initially hoped to gather, my final total submitted was 138 signatures to RECALL WALKER AND KLEEFISCH!!

This has been an exhilarating experience from start to finish, full of memories that will stay with me forever.  Taking off the Recall Walker Volunteer lanyard for the final time turned out to be suprisingly bittersweet for me, after expending so much time and energy devoted to the cause.  Thank you to all of my friends and family from around the country (and some in foreign lands) who have expressed their love, encouragement and support for what I've been doing over the past 59 days.  That positive response has kept me going, whether I've known you my entire life, only met you through Facebook groups or merely received a Democra-beep as you drove on by.  A big shout out to Erin Warner for helping me collect 20 sigs outside of the Willy St. Co-op on a cold November night, and to Rose Sime and the Middleton Action Team for providing me with locations to canvass during the final push, after my avenues had been exhausted and my signature tally had ground to a screeching halt.

 I am freakin' pumped for next Tuesday, when the Committee to Recall Walker turns in their vast quantity of petitions to the Government Accountability Board, officially triggering the RECALL OF SCOTT WALKER!! My guess is that we have over 750,000 signatures, but regardless, I am extraordinarily proud of my fellow Badgers...let's hope for a huge number on that historic day!  Finally, I can sit back and wait for all of the inevitable legal challenges to run their course.  But no matter how many attempts the Republicans make to slow this freight train down (and we all know how much Scotty LOVES trains) the movement is not going away...we're only gaining momentum.

An election campaign is imminent (only question is who will rise up to defeat our tyrant?) and Walker's days as Governor of Wisconsin are winding down.  I look forward to the next phase of this battle, and all of the challenges and excitement it will provide.  For the moment, I need to rest...after all, there's a big ass celebration to attend at the Monona Terrace on Tuesday evening!  Solidarity Wisconsin...FORWARD!!!

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"I'm 96 years old, and I'm not a Republican anymore. Thank you."

A Wisconsin grandmother speaks out 
against Scott Walker and the Wisconsin GOP 

and thanks the protesters for fighting for her rights.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluerobot/5491328318/sizes/z/in/photostream/

The following letter was shared with me by my friend, Melissa Luther, who has been active in the Wisconsin protests since Governor Scott Walker first announced his intentions to "balance" our budget on the backs of the poor, the elderly and our children, while taking away workers' rights and granting exorbitant tax cuts to corporations. It is a powerful reminder that we are not alone, and our work is not in vain.  It is a thank you to all who have stood up to challenge these attacks on Wisconsin families. And it is a plea to those who think our struggle is all about partisan politics:  listen to what Katherine has to say.  Listen to her daughter. And ask yourself, "Who is on my side? Who is standing up for me and my family?" 

Melissa received this email from a woman named Shelly on Friday, July 23, 2011. Shelly had sent the letter to one of the phone bank organizers and asked that it be forwarded to every volunteer for the recall campaigns, and we're sharing it here so that everyone can hear this touching story of unexpected solidarity and thanks  to every person who is fighting against the blindly partisan power-grab of the GOP whether it be through volunteering, sharing information, protesting, organizing to support the  recall elections, helping the elderly procure voter id cards now that the poll tax has been enacted, etc.  Thanks to Melissa for sharing this with me, and especially to Shelly and Katherine for sharing their stories. Might want to grab a Kleenex.

Hello,

My name is Shelly. My mother, Katherine, asked me to send this e-mail to you. She is 96 years old and unable to use a computer. I want to be clear that these are HER words, I am only her scribe.

Hello, my name is Katherine. I was born in West Virginia however I have lived in Wisconsin since 1973. That's when my husband Edward retired from serving in the Air Force. Edward passed away 6 years ago and let me tell you! It's not been easy surviving without him but I keep going everyday because I have a family that still needs me. We have 3 beautiful daughters and many grandkids. Edward and I have been Republicans all our lives but I knew him well enough to know that he'd roll over in his grave if he knew what Republicans are these days. 

I must say, I'm quite disappointed. I have been listening to the news and have been reading in the paper all the things that they are trying to do and I just don't understand it. They are trying to take away my insurance. They want to take my daughters rights away too. She's a teacher and a damn good one. It all just makes me angry. Really angry. Edward proudly served this country and risked his life and this is how they repay us? This is how they repay our family? Why are they doing this? Is it for money? Is it for power? I've seen a lot of things but I always thought we were safe here because of our government. Not that we'd need protection from them. Not in America. 

But now I'm hearing about all of the people who are out there working against them and all I know is that they're doing what's right. That's the reason for this letter. I am 96 and I can barely walk anymore. I have lost vision and hearing over the years as well. I would like to help, but I just can't. So what I want is to say thank you. To the people protesting. To the people calling my house. To the young man who knocked on my door to remind me about the election that I voted in last week. You are fighting for me because I can't fight for myself and everyday I pray that God blesses you and keeps you safe and healthy. Keep up the good work and don't stop until they can't do anything more to our state that will hurt us good citizens. 

I'm not a Republican anymore and won't be again until they get their act together. I hope that someday, in my lifetime, I see our government work in peace again.

God bless you,
Katherine

And from me. My name is Shelly and I also want to thank each and every one of you. I teach 4th grade and am quite repulsed by the attack on my profession. I am also disgusted with our government on a federal level. The Republican Party has lost sight of true American values. Thank you for rising up against their attack. Thank you for volunteering your time and money into these recall efforts. Thank you for looking into the eyes of the ones who will be hurt by their despicable policies and defending them and reminding them that there is hope. You are all heroes and I'm proud to fight with you.

In solidarity,
Shelly

Forward!

Wisconsin Children's Union Local 2011 (free poster!)

Click here to download the part-color version.
 Now available on cafepress - buttons, stickers and more! http://www.cafepress.com/WIChildrensUnion

Dear supporters of children's rights and protectors of Wisconsin's future,

Of all the rally signs I've made, my favorite is the "Wisconsin Children's Union" one. I chanced across this picture  (at right) of my daughter and me at a snowy February rally in Madison on WEAC's facebook page. Since I keep getting requests to share it, I'm providing it here it is for easy copy/pasting and borrowing of any kind (see below for other versions). If you've got better skills and want the original version for editing, be my guest. Just email me and I'll send the file.

This sign is my favorite because it's a constant reminder that this fight is not about the money, and it's not about the budget. It's about our rights, and it's about our future. 

The struggle in Wisconsin is about labor, for sure. It's about protecting workers' rights and ensuring that current and future generations will have a say in their own lives. But it is also about draconian cuts to education and basic health care services that affect our children directly. 

In the early days of this uprising and continually since, Wisconsin teachers have stood together and given our children the best lesson in civics we could have asked for: teaching them that democracy means standing up for what's right when it's time to stand. As a parent, I continue to teach that lesson every time my children join me at the Capitol, every time they see me sending a letter to our elected officials, every time we talk to each other, and to friends, neighbors and others in our community, about how important it is for us to stand up for our rights.  I am proud to have my children join me in this struggle, and I can only hope that these moments of solidarity are among their earliest - and fondest - memories.  Our children aren't just witnesses to this struggle; these children ARE the struggle. And they need to be here even more than the rest of us. It is our moral obligation as parents to let our children know that being a productive member of society means standing up, speaking out, and coming together. This is what democracy looks like, and it's cute as a button.

The children, united, will never be defeated!

Solidarity!

Heather

Listening. Learning.

Download the black & white version here.

Download the full color version here.

Thank you, educators, for the excellent lesson in civics!