MacIver News Service | January 3, 2011
[Madison, Wisc…] So much for the concept of a political honeymoon.A consortium of liberal activist groups held a protest outside the State Capitol this morning where speakers threatened to recall newly-elected Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.
“We have the vote and we can recall,” shouted one speaker to a crowd of approximately 300 outside the Capitol’s West Wing Monday morning.
According to Ballotpedia, The citizens of Wisconsin are granted the authority to perform a recall election by the Wisconsin Constitution, Article VIII, Section 12 to all elective officers after the first year of the term for which the incumbent was elected.
Fliers, distributed to passers by, proclaimed: “We’re Here to Tell Gov. Walker: We Need Good Jobs Now!”
The Wauwatosa Republican made job creation the cornerstone of his campaign, pledging to help bring 250,000 new jobs to the state by the end of his current four year term.
The protesters included representatives of MICHA, Voces de la Frontera and the Milwaukee Area Labor Council, AFL-CIO. Chief among their concerns were Walker’s successful derailment of the proposed Madison-Milwaukee train line, which they contend cost 13,000 jobs.
“Gov. Walker is now the Gov. for all the people in the state,” the flier read. “He has promised to create 250,000 jobs but so far he’s killed thousands of good, family supporting jobs when he drove the high-speed rail project our of Milwaukee and out of state. Enough is enough!”
The rally participants marched around the Capitol to the East Wing and were stationed there as Walker’s swearing in ceremony began at noon.
Government employee union leaders are especially upset that outgoing Democrats were unable to ratify pending labor agreements in a lame-duck session last Month. Walker had asked lawmakers to hold off on approving the contracts so that he could negotiate more concessions as the state faces a growing operational deficit.
“In light of the State of Wisconsin’s current fiscal year $150 million budget shortfall and impending $3.3 billion structural deficit, returning
and newly elected officials are going to need maximum flexibility to craft and work through our current and next state budget,” Walker wrote to legislative leaders last month.
The contracts failed to be ratified when former Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker (D-Weston), and former State Senator Jeff Plale (D-South Milwaukee) sided with Senate Republicans last month in rejecting the agreements.
RAW VIDEO: Interviews with protesters.