just got to see the #wi14 pass by. So. Much. Spine. Y'all rock. Proud. Choking upThe Fab 14 came home on Saturday to a crowd that Fox News estimated at 100,000 (so double that number). They marched around the Capitol and then gave speeches to the cheering protesters who chanted, "Thank you, thank you," "Welcome home," and "We're with you."
Beforehand, the senators held a news conference. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel quoted Sen. Dave Hansen of Green Bay (who still considers himself a Teamster) saying
"it's great to be back in Wisconsin," as he appeared at a news conference with the 14 Democratic Senators who returned to the state Saturday.Later, the enormous crowd roared as Sen. Mark Miller vowed to fight on.
Hansen choked up as he recalled missing birthdays of his daughter and a granddaughter.
"So people think this is a picnic for us, they're wrong," he said. "We did it for the right reasons, we stood up for our working men and women in the state. "
You have shown the world what democracy looks like.Associated Press reports:
The Democrats say they'll now shift their energy toward recall efforts already under way against some GOP colleagues. Senator Spencer Coggs of Milwaukee says Walker has forced Republicans into "walking the plank" by passing the law...labor leaders have said they plan to use the setback to fire up their members nationwide and mount a major counterattack against Republicans at the ballot box in 2012.
Saturday's protest got a boost from a parade of more than 30 tractors driven by farmers supporting the union workers. Thousands of people lining the sidewalks cheered as tractors rolled by ...Tod Pulvermacher, 33, of Bear Valley, drove a tractor towing a manure spreader carrying a sign that read, "Walker's bill belongs here" -- a reference to Republican Gov. Scott Walker.
