When Scott Walker was elected as Governor my Facebook status was “I weep for Wisconsin. How can the people of this state be so stupid.” I took a lot of flak from Republican friends over that post – but, I stood my ground. Before that Rat Bastard His Royal Imperial Grand Poobah of Fitzwalkerstan was even sworn in he showed his goddamned arrogance divine wisdom. He killed the train a train that would have connected Milwaukee to Madison and eventually Madison to Minneapolis (What a treat it would be to take a train to Netroots Nation).
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The Jack-ass Glorious Leader even demanded that the state legislature not pass a new collective bargaining agreement before he was sworn in as it would tie his hands in fixing the budget. The agreement did not pass…it failed by one vote, one Democrat voted ‘No’…his reward, a job in the Walker administration.
January was somewhat quiet, with the exception of crappy wonderful law that cut taxes for the rich and raised them for the poor…Then came February. The Republicans came out with the “Emergency Budget Repair Bill” came out...how disgusted I was with the Republicans, how proud I was of the Democratic 14 – How proud I was of the hundreds of thousands of people who jammed the streets to protest the injustice that this bill represented.
Then in the dark of night, without notice, the Republicans passed one of the more vile parts of the bill to bust unions…I had faith. The Wisconsin I grew up in has always been known for clean government. The law would be struck down, it had to be, it was a clear violation of the open meetings law. The circuit court agreed…and struck down the vile law. All was good in the land of cheese for a few months…oh sure, the snakes Republicans kept passing vile legislation…but nothing as earth shattering as breaking up the state employee unions.
There was some excitement with the Supreme Court Justice race…Prosser the Conservative vs. Kloppenberg the Liberal. At first it appeared that the Liberal had overcome all odds and won. Sadly, after some funny business in Waukesha County Kloppenberg had lost by 7000 votes that mysteriously appeared a few days after the election.
Following the election, the Circuit Court ruling was being appealed to the Supreme Court…there was no way the Supreme Court could over turn such a well-written and solid legal opinion. The Supreme Court had to stand on the side of open government, a government of, by and for the people.
Today any beliefs I had about the fairness of the legal system in my Wisconsin have been dashed. All four justices that were bought and paid for by Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce sided with the Republicans…sided with all that is wrong about governance. The Wisconsin Legislature is now above the law. The open meetings law is now just a guideline for them, it holds no weight with the courts, this ruling is now precedence. This ruling killed open government in Wisconsin.
This is not the Wisconsin I grew up in. The Wisconsin I grew up believed in fairness and openness in government. My Wisconsin is dead...Fitzwalkerstan has risen in its place.
If you are looking for me at Netroots Nation...I will be the really pissed off looking guy...who no longer has a home state. Oh, and those Republican friends that gave me flak for my posts after the election...are no longer my friends.
6:12 PM PT: Many of you in them comments are saying we should not use the language of the defeated, or that we should not despair...look, this is my diary. I am a writer and I write from the heart. This is how I feel right now...death is a metaphor. The Wisconsin I knew is gone...it may return someday...but right now, it is gone. I honestly do not know if we can ever repair the damage Walker, the Fitzgeralds, WMC and ALEC have wrought on my beloved Wisconsin. WMC has bought the Supreme Court, today's ruling was evidence of that...the legislature is not accountable...it is above the law. So please stop saying you don't like my title or you don't like the language I am using. This is my voice, this is how I feel.