We marched, we chanted, we put up signs. They got taken down. That is the Cliff's Notes on our efforts to take back the City-County Building today.
No arrests. No overnights. No bongo playing or plastic bucket beating. No death threats, no "nice little bullets," lying TV ads, or boycotts. That's what democracy looks like when conservatives play the game.
About a dozen of us gathered in front of M&I Bank shortly before noon today. All were contacted via social media just the day before, except for a couple who heard yours truly expound on Mitch Henck's show this morning and drove down.
In front of the bank, two friendly security guards told us that when the bank was besieged a couple of weeks ago by the Unionistas the police told them they could not guarantee their security. I'm beginning to have issues with our unionized gendarmes.
The brave dozen then marched down M.L. King Jr. Blvd. (on the anniversary of his death in that tumultuous year of 1968) to the City-County Building chanting "This is what Democracy looks like." We alternated with "This is what Republicans look like" for the benefit of the many Madison denizens who had never knowingly laid eyes on our species. In that way, we broadened some horizons, perhaps made a few friends.
We came in peace
At the entrance plaza to the CCB I announced, "We have come in peace."
Once at our objective, we plastered the entrance with Prosser, Bruskewitz, and Walker signs. An officious lady, whom I did not recognize, beseeched us to remove those signs as the CCB was a (have you no shame) polling place. Monday, however, was not election day and besides, we argued, anti-Walker signs and pro-Kloppenburg signs had been posted either there or across the way, at the Municipal Building facing the CCB, for a good month now, without interference. I relate that lamentable state of affairs here.
If their signs were legal, ours were, too.
She was succeeded by an equally officious young fellow in white shirt and tie who harangued us some more. We were like a rock, standing in the water. We shall not have been moved. We also engaged in sidewalk colloquies with various green AFSCME T-shirt wearers taking up space on the sidewalk, presumably on a union work break.
I instructed one of them to quit her whining, as I had grown weary of it.
But we're law-abiding people, we conservatives, and we took down our political signs -- they were up maybe 15 minutes. We replaced them with smaller, home-made signs that advocated no one's election or defeat. One thanked Gov. Walker for saving jobs rather than cutting jobs like Doyle. Another read:
EVERYONE PAYING THEIR FAIR SHARE IS BETTER
THAN SOME BEING WITH OUT A JOB!
TV followed as we posted signs in the Mayor's office and The Kathleen's quarters on the fourth floor. Including this one:
IT'S A CONFLICT OF INTEREST FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS TO RECEIVE
ENDORSEMENT AND CAMPAIGN HELP FROM UNIONS
WHEN THEY APPROVE THEIR CONTACTS
Earlier that morning, city attorney Michael May e-mailed a memo advising supervisors that the city had received complaints and that employees should consider taking down their signs. It was not an order but by the time we left shortly after 12 noon most of the window signs were down.
Here is his memo:
From: May, Michael ?
Sent: Monday, April 04, 2011 9:03 AM?
To: Dept Division Heads
?Cc: Cieslewicz, Dave; Strauch-Nelson, Rachel; Piraino, Janet?
Subject: Campaign Signs?
Importance: High
We have received some complaints about signs being placed in windows of City buildings.
Under sec. 3.35(8), MGO, the City's Ethics Code, employees are forbidden from displaying signs related to an election or referendum. This includes campaign buttons or bumper stickers displayed by employees while on City time or on City property. If you have employees in violation of this provision, please ask them to stop.
Our office will be meeting today with the Police Chief and Director of HR regarding other, non-campaign signs in order to have a consistent policy across all city facilities.
Parisi campaign apologizes
From the Sun Prairie Star: 4/3/2011:
On April 1, Sun Prairie VFW Post 9362 Commander Phil Gerg reacted strongly to the piece of campaign literature mailed to Sun Prairie area homes in February that contained a photo of State Assembly District 46 Rep. Gary Hebl [endorsing] Dane County Executive Candidate Joe Parisi in front of the post.
"Personally, I don't like either one of them."
Neither Hebl nor Parisi is a veteran. What were they thinking? (Too bad they weren't wearing their orange union T-shirts. Good stuff in Sun Prairie.)
Meanwhile, teenagers volunteering to drop literature for David Prosser in Ward 84 between Midvale Blvd. and Whitney Way were harassed and shouted at by by Kloppenburg supporters to the point where a couple of the kids quit in fear and disgust. High fives, Madison liberals!
Hear me out
Hey kids, help make sense of election night by following The Squire and the leftwing journalist Bill Lueders on Stu "The Man" Levitan's show at CitiCable 21 live and streaming and screaming here from 9:30 to 10:30 p.m. Tuesday night.
I promised my can't-miss election predictions today. Look for them here before midnight tonight while we put out the fire in the vintage Univac.
