(Good 1st person account from a different perspective. – promoted by JulieWaters)
I was one of 300+ Vermonter’s who braved late February temperatures to rally at the Statehouse in solidarity with the brave working people of Wisconsin. The turn-out was solid, the people were a diverse-by-Vermont-standards mix (meaning ‘diverse by socio-economic standards or sexual identity’, not so much racially) who genuinely seemed focused singularly on the issues of labor rights and economic justice and equality. And most pungent in the air was a sense amongst some that “our moment has come”, and that we were there because of something bigger than ourselves.
I remember up to a year into the Iraq-Afghanistan wars, regular rallies at the statehouse pulled a minimum of a couple hundred and on occasion drew a few thousand people, but the Vermont anti-war movement (and Vermont progressives) (not at all that the groups are one in the same- they’re just 2 groups that I tend to gravitate towards) have really done little in terms of public rallies for several years (as far as I know, anyway). It was exciting to see some old friends and faces, and it was exciting to finally be rallying around causative issues (economics) rather than reactionary rallies against symptoms (war). Maybe I’m just projecting my own feelings here, but this was a sense I genuinely felt around many of the two, maybe three dozen folks I spoke with as well.
There was something even more universal amongst the two or three dozen folks I spoke with: boooo on the politician speakers. It was gross, and anti-theoretical to the rally, as far as I’m concerned. We gathered to stand in solidarity with the people in Wisconsin who are turning up in the tens of thousands every single day to say “no” to attacks against the rights of workers, and we gathered to tell Governor Shumlin, Speaker Smith, and President Campell that the fiscal crisis in Vermont will not be balanced on the backs of working people and those most vulnerable amongst us who must look to the state for the basic means to survive. I mean, Gov Shumlin? Isn’t he asking the state employees to sacrifice more? Isn’t he refusing to even consider asking more from the few among us who have millions of dollars in order to provide support like heat in the winter, and food in times of want? Refusing to look to those (of which he is one) who have more than they need to provide the resources so that our disabled neighbors may have adequate services for their care?
While stand-in representatives read notes written by our Washington politicians (“we stand with you that workers should have the right to collective bargaining”- gee, how bold a position) my sense, and the murmurs I heard around me, was that no one really gave two shits what Peter, or Pat, or Bernie had to say. There was no more than 50% of the crowd who cheered enthusiastically for the Governor, and many of the, er , less polite, people I know showed up after Peter’s speech.
An exception for me, personally, was Anthony Pollina, who I think gave an absolutely, to the point, no-fucking-around speech. One person standing near me said sarcastically “I think he’s going off script” when the Washington County Senator bluntly called for taxing the rich to solve the budget problems that America, and increasingly our leaders in Vermont, are asking the working people to pony up for.
Indeed, the energy in the crowd was palpable. I could hardly contain myself from shouting “no more politicians” as yet another one was introduced; or better yet, “it’s warm inside! It’s warm inside!!!” Yet I didn’t because I had 1:00 responsibilities (FYI, my daughter apparently has a deep-seated fear of stethoscopes, as her check-up was a bit rough).
But maybe I’m being too cynical; maybe there’s not much for Vermont’s working families to be too concerned about. Maybe, as their presence and their speeches on the Statehouse steps suggested, the Governor and Speaker and our Senators and Congresspeople and numerous other elected officials all stand together with labor. If so, the budget short-fall caused by the greedy inclinations of the wealthiest among us won’t be carried on the backs of working Vermonters (either through lost salary, benefits, or services); school districts won’t be forced to consolidate based on the absurd notion that “Vermont doesn’t deserve to have one of the best school systems in the country”; early educators will be allowed the opportunity to decide whether or not they want to unionize (don’t forget, the Early Educators Bill that’s up for consideration isn’t about letting them be a union, but just giving early educators the option of forming a union) (kinda like “allowing” collective bargaining); and for certain, a system of universal access, regardless of one’s means, to quality health care can be designed, passed, and paid for without delay in an atmosphere of such universal solidarity with the plight of working people.
I guess if this is what the 2011 Legislature is going to give us, we have little need to be back at the statehouse, except for maybe the occasional rally of solidarity with those that are struggling elsewhere. If, on the other hand, all the political speeches we were force-fed on the steps of the statehouse were mere politicking- pandering- well, I’d like to think we’ll be back. And if we do have to return, the Governor and the Legislature should be on notice that we will not be standing around idle as the VNEA organizes a round-robin of talking heads- we will be passed listening to politicians, and we will be heading inside, where it’s warm.
One person standing near me said sarcastically “I think he’s going off script” when the Washington County Senator bluntly called for taxing the rich
Yup. And Shummy, who said he didn’t mind being taxed as a rich guy, still can’t seem to bring himself to generate new revenue by raising the top marginal rate ala Snelling.
Pollina as you say gave
I applauded as hard as gloves allow .
It was a gathering to stand in solidarity with the people in Wisconsin and Pollina brought it all back to Vermont.
Somebody yelled that a couple of times during the rally. And in response to other comments from the crowd that I didn’t quite catch, the union-based woman who was emcee-ing said repressively: “We’re here today to stand in solidarity with the people in Wisconsin fighting for their collective bargaining rights. If you have issues with your legislators, I hope you will seek them out inside after this.”
There were also a couple of “How’s the War Economy Working for You?” signs.
NanuqFC
As a result of the war, corporations have been enthroned, and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working on the prejudices of the people until all the wealth is aggregated in a few hands, and the republic is destroyed. ~ attributed to A. Lincoln (Snopes disagrees)
though he didnt run on a “tax the rich” platform, as a candidate he was clear about how to do “shared pain”: 1/3 tap the rainy day fund, 1/3 tax increases, 1/3 cuts.
Tax day is coming. Now, wouldn’t it be cool, if the momentum continues, to have thousands in the streets 2 weeks before April 15 calling for a ‘tax boycott’ until the rich and corporations start paying up? I mean, why the F should low-income, and low-middle income folks pay the taxes that the rich aren’t paying to give the rich more power to bust unions, screw the elderly, disabled, the poor, the working class, teachers, children, etc. (long list), and then ask Obama next year for a bail-out (cause another crash is being predicted)?
Yes, this is THE ISSUE–an unrestrained, un-regulated CAPITALISM that is programed to plunder–first, the most ‘vulnerable’ and then, on up the ladder. Like a computer virus.
A thing that Tea Party folks and folks making, say, around a hundred or more grand a year, is that once the rich squeeze dry the poor, they’ll shift the tax burden to the middle and upper-middle incomes–somebody has to pay for the rich.
It brings to mind Martin Niemoller’s famous admonition:
“First they came for the socialists (communists), and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a socialist. The they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me.” (Bear that in mind TeaBaggers)
Well, we need to reverse the program here. We’re all in it together, and there’s a Hell of a lot more of Us then Them.
Good one, Wes.
(Hey–here’s a thought: Have free beer at Three Penny on Tax Resistance Day. “If you make it free, they will come.” Including Colby.
As an organizer of that rally I was:
1. Surprised and thrilled with the large number of people who came out on short notice.
2. Disgusted with the lineup of speakers being dominated by politicians – most of whom have, and will, go along with cutting essential services to the most vulnerable, laying off (and not replacing) state employees, demanding worker concessions in wages, healthcare, and pensions; and refusing to go where the money is – to tax the wealthy who’s taxes have been cut again and again over the last 30+ years.
The national AFL-CIO had rightly suggested that we prioritize speakers who are workers and those who are being hurt by the budget cuts. This was not done.
3. The stakes in Walker’s war on labor are clear to both sides. If he wins, he’ll set an example for Republican governors and legislatures out to break public-sector unions in Ohio and Iowa. He’ll also make it easier for Democratic governors, like Peter Shumlin and Andrew Cuomo of New York, to appear more reasonable as they press their demands that public sector workers suffer cuts in wages, pensions and jobs.
The difference is that Democrats will leave public-sector unions mostly intact-not because they’re pro-worker, but because they want labor’s fundraising and get-out-the-vote operations at election time.