By Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium blogger

About 100,000 people gathered in Madison, Wisconsin to protest Gov. Scott Walker’s new anti-collective bargaining law. The state Senate hurriedly past the bill without a quorum last Wednesday. Roger Bybee of Working In These Times reports:

The rally featured 50 farmers on tractors roaring around the Capitol to show their support for public workers and union representatives from across the nation, stressing the importance of the Wisconsin struggle. Protesters were addressed by a lineup of fiery speakers including fillmaker Michael Moore, the Texas populist radio broadcaster Jim Hightower, TV host Laura Flanders, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, and The Progressive editor Matt Rothschild, among others.

The bill is law, but the fight is far from over. The Wisconsin Democratic Party says it already has 45% of the signatures it needs to recall 8 Republican state senators. So far, canvassers have collected 56,000 signatures, up from 14,000 last weekend. The surge in signature gathering is another sign that the Walker government’s abrupt push to pass the bill has energized the opposition.

Polling bolsters the impression that Walker overreached by forcing the bill through with a dubious procedural trick. Simeon Talley of Campus Progress notes that, according to a recent New York Times/CBS News poll, Americans oppose efforts to limit the collective bargaining rights of public employees.

Jamelle Bouie of TAPPED notes that the enthusiasm gap that helped elect Scott Walker last year has disappeared. In June 2o10, 58% of Democrats said they were certain to vote compared to 67% of Republicans. In March 2011, 86% of Democrats and 85% of Republicans surveyed said they would certainly vote.

Firefighters shut down bank

Wisconsin firefighters found a way to get back at one of Scott Walker’s most generous donors, Madison’s M&I Bank, Julianne Escobedo Shepherd reports in AlterNet. Firefighters Local 311 President Joe Conway put a call out to his members who banked with M&I to “Move Your Money.” Firefighters withdrew hundreds of thousands of dollars of savings in cashiers checks. The beleaguered bank closed its doors at 3pm on March 10.

John Nichols of the Nation reports that other unions got in on the act. He quotes a pamphlet distributed by Sheet Metal Workers International Association Local 565:

“M&I execs gave more money than even the Koch Brothers to Governor Walker and the Wisconsin GOP,” the message goes. “M&I got a $1.7 billion bailout while its CEO gets an $18 million golden parachute. Tell M&I Bank: Back Politicians Who Take Away Our Rights (and) We Take Away Your Business.”

Nichols explains that the next big step in the fight to overturn the bill will be the Wisconsin Supreme Court election, set for April 5. Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg is challenging conservative state Supreme Court Justice David Prosser. Legal analysts have raised serious questions about the bill and the process by which it was passed. A court challenge to Walker’s law might stand a better chance if a liberal justice replaces the conservative pro-corporate Prosser.

Guess what? We’re not broke

Steve Benen of the Washington Monthly takes on a GOP talking point, the myth that the United States is broke. It’s a convenient claim for those who wish to make massive cuts to popular programs without having to justify taking them away. If we don’t have the money, we don’t have the money. If it’s a choice between cuts and bankruptcy, cuts suddenly seem not only acceptable, but inevitable.

But the United States has a $15 trillion economy, immense natural resources, a highly educated workforce, and countless other economic advantages. The problem isn’t a lack of resources, it’s extreme inequality of distribution. Over the last 20 years, 56% of income growth has been funneled to the top 1% of the population, with fully one third of that money going to the richest one-tenth of one percent.

Benen notes that the Republicans didn’t think we were broke when they were advocating for a $538 billion tax-cut package, which wasn’t offset by a dime of cuts.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger is in the midst of a budget battle in Sacramento, which, interestingly, isn't nearly as inside baseball as it sounds. People have really felt hit by the inability of Sacramento to pass a budget this year, whether it be conspicuous cuts at their kids' schools or, as Arnold proposed in his draconian "solution" to the budget crisis, the threat of reduced pay (to $6.55 an hour) or lost jobs altogether for some state employees. And as a result, Arnold's approval ratings have plummeted to 40 approve/46 disapprove, a net loss of 35% approval since December 2007.

Arnold's inability to preside over a functioning state capitol should come as no shock, of course, as his claims that his so-called "post-partisanship" would be a recipe for progress rather than paralysis have always been transparent BS, not to mention that, you know, the only jobs he had held prior to being governor were actor and bodybuilder, so there's that. But how serious is the discontent toward Schwarzenegger? Are the natives as restless as they were in 2003 when they recalled Gray Davis and thrust Schwarzenegger into office? Next year, we may get a chance to find out.

California's prison guard union said on Monday it will seek the recall of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger after he ordered a pay cut for its members amid the state's protracted budget deadlock. [...]

Corcoran said a recall measure would likely end up on a special-election ballot next year rather than on the upcoming November ballot. The California Correctional Peace Officers Association must collect the signatures of more than 1 million registered voters to qualify the measure, according to the California Secretary of State's office.

Certainly there are millions of Democrats throughout the state that would welcome the opportunity to give Arnold a taste of his own medicine but Robert at calitics keeps a cool head.

Personally I am going to wait and see before taking sides. And I want to see answers to specific questions..."will this help us fix the budget in 2009 and 2010?" and "is this the best way for Democrats to approach winning the governor's office, including ensuring that it's a progressive Dem that we put in that office?"

The moment we see paid signature gatherers roaming the streets and strip malls of the state, we will need to begin seriously discussing how we will answer those questions.

Indeed, for this recall to materialize, many things must fall into place. The petitioner must be motivated and organized, they've got to raise a ton of money and they've got to have a truly pissed off electorate. While the election wouldn't be until next year, we should have some sense of the level of interest people have in pursuing this recall over the next few weeks. Fr whatever it's worth, it's interesting to note that Gray Davis's approval rating the July prior to his own recall in the fall of 2003 was 41/49, almost identical to Arnold's July 08 numbers.

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We may have gotten beaten in the two congressional special elections that were held yesterday, but there was one little election here in California where the good guys won...and won big.

Private mercenary firm Blackwater USA is best known for the private armies it has deployed in Iraq and the lack of accountability and oversight that have come with that. But less is known about their activities here in the US, for instance, where this private army is trained.

Right now, Blackwater has two training facilities, one in Moyock, North Carolina -- the home of their headquarters, as well as 100 miles west of Chicago, a facility referred to creepily as Blackwater North. Well guess what, Blackwater is expanding...or at least they'd like to.

Starting around the middle of last year, Blackwater began to lay the groundwork for building a third training camp in the tiny rural town of Potrero in San Diego County, California. The proposed facility would be housed on 824 acres in the pristine Round Potrero Valley and is in danger of turning this peaceful wilderness into a private army training zone.

Well, their plans may have just gotten a little more difficult.

Late last year, after Blackwater had spent months stealthily lobbying local officials, the local planning group (an advisory body) approved the Blackwater West proposal. Once local residents and activists got wind of Blackwater's infiltration into their tiny peaceful town, they launched a grassroots effort to block Blackwater. First they circulated a petition to the fewer than 500 registered voters in Potrero to keep Blackwater out and even launched recall of the members of the planning board who voted in favor of Blackwater. Last night the returns came in and the results were overwhelming.

Julia at calitics has the details:

The recall was an overwhelming success.  All five members of the Planning Group who voted to approve Blackwater's plans were recalled by unbelievable margins.  The election will be certified within two days and the Save Potero slate will take office, hopefully in time for their Thursday meeting.

Keep in mind that Bush won by 25.8% in 2008.  Everybody was recalled by over 60% of the vote.  Gordon Hammers, who has been the most vocal Blackwater supporter and served as chair of the group, was recalled by nearly 70% of the vote.

Just an incredible victory.  They did a phenomenal job on GOTV, getting 160 or so out of the 190 who signed the original petition against Blackwater to turn in their ballots.

My friends at the Courage Campaign (for whom I do part time work) headed up the GOTV effort and have been instrumental in getting the word out and building support for this local effort. From this little people-powered revolution has come the first electoral referendum on Blackwater, and the vote is clear: Blackwater, get the hell out!

Yesterday's recall was only the first step. Another vote on Blackwater West will be held, but as it is only advisory, a resounding NO! from the local board will not be able in itself to block the facility; that lies in the hands of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. From what I've heard, as of right now, the board would approve the facility, but the vote won't be until some time next year as Blackwater jumps through more re-zoning and environmental impact report hoops. In the meantime, Courage Campaign has set its sights on the Board of Supes and you can be sure they're taking note of the fact that every pro-Blackwater planning group member was recalled yesterday.

To find out more about this effort and to join the fight to keep Blackwater out of California's pristine wilderness, head on over to BlockBlackwater.com where you can also watch a great video featuring accidental activist and, as of yesterday, new member of the Potrero Planning Group, Carl Meyer.

Congratulations to the local grassroots and the California netroots who helped secure this victory. Now on to the San Diego supervisors!

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I am really getting sick and tired of this fool of a senator and Republican "ass kisser".  Again I see on the TV he will not rule out switching to the GOP, he is one already.  Does his home state have any process for the recall of an elected official like they did in California?  I really can't believe the majority of good citizens in Connecticut really want this pro war, pro death Senator representing them!

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