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mentaires.info Wisconsin’s Gov. Strikes New Tone of Civility for Protesters: “We’re going f***ing broke, assholes!”
(From WIRES)
Tuesday, March 1st, 2011
MADISON, WI —Embattled Republican Governor Scott Walker struck a new tone of civility Tuesday, in an attempt to increase support for his budget reforms that have left Wisconsin’s public unions ablaze with fury.
In an unusually brief press conference, Walker reached out to pro-Union and Democrat protesters, stating calmly, “Let me be as clear and respectful as I can: we’re going fucking broke, assholes!”
“Keeping with the heavy emphasis on civility in our country now,” said a composed Walker, “and in keeping with the restraint and grace shown by the protesters occupying the capitol, blocking streets, hurling insults and assaulting opponents, let me just state with the same amount of decorum: ‘We’re going broke, comma, assholes.’”
Added Walker, “I say again: ‘We’re going fucking broke, assholes!’ …That is all for now. Thank you.”
Walker’s comments have refocused attention on what the first-term governor claims is the overriding issue behind his proposals to strictly stem Wisconsin’s public unions’ collective bargaining practices –skyrocketing state spending and consequent debt.
The 43-year-old governor spent the majority of his campaign last year hounding away at Wisconsin’s fiscal issues, claiming bloated benefits, wages, and pensions on the part of state employees were helping drag the state into financial ruin; adding to this year’s projected $137 million deficit and a 3.6 billion-dollar debt by 2013. 
Opponents of Gov. Walker and the new GOP-controlled state legislature charge the governor and fellow Republicans are simply anti-union, and aiming to cripple one of the Democrats’ most fierce and historical allies and campaign contributors.
Wisconsin state teachers’ union leader, Mary Bell, has been encamped in the state capitol building for nearly two weeks, and said Walker’s warnings of severe overspending by the state are nothing more than fear-mongering.
“Sure, the average (Wisconsin) teacher gets paid 56-thousand-dollars a year, and after vacation time and benefits, total compensation in many cases can top 100-thousand a year,” said Bell Tuesday “and with this supposed threat of bankruptcy threatening the state, it’s never been more crucial to protect our right to demand even more money and benefits!”
Fellow protesters were quick to agree, claiming they are perplexed by Gov. Walker’s new mincing of words. Middle school art teacher and protester Donald Dempsey of Oshkosh, said he couldn’t make heads or tails out of Walker’s statements Tuesday, and didn’t need to either. Said Dempsey, 54, “We’ve been listening to all the crap Walker’s been saying for weeks and can’t figure out a word yet. What’s this ‘broke’ and ‘fucking’ thing he’s talking about? Seriously, now is not the time for the governor to be discussing his personal problems.”
Fellow protester and kindergarten teacher, Bridgett Lavezzi, 42, had only arrived to Wisconsin’s capitol Friday from her home in Nevada. She said it’s been a long time since she felt such solidarity.
Pausing for a moment from her chokehold on 19-year-old Fox News intern Angela Luis, Lavezzi said, “This (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) governor, Walker, can (expletive) (expletive) and (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) (expletive) his (expletive) and the rest of the (expletive) Republicans, too! …And why is my cursing being deleted when you all have already written the f—word three times in this article?”
Standing precariously across the capitol grounds, supporters of Gov. Walker and Republicans in the state Assembly also remain gathered. Larraine Dickson of Appleton said she would remain with the smaller group of self-described “pro-fiscal responsibility” supporters, despite bleeding from her head after being hit with the charge of being a Nazi.
“There are a few bad seeds in the crowd, no doubt about it,” said the 50-year-old accountant. “But the other anti-Walker people can be surprisingly cordial. Just a while ago some of the younger folks from their side came over and gave us some homemade brownies –a gesture of goodwill. And, I have to say, I don’t even know why I’m here anymore. I think I’ll just go home, watch some cartoons, bake about twelve bags of popcorn. I know I’d enjoy these protests more if they’d play some Pink Floyd, though.”
Both sides have vowed to remain at the capitol until either the passage or defeat of the Republicans’ union-clamping bill, now only waiting for a vote in the state Senate.
“Make no mistake about it,” said union leader Mary Bell, “we’re not going anywhere, not so long as our right to exploit everything a workers’ union once stood for is threatened.”
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