The public sector union protesters and their fellow travelers that mobbed the capitol in their attempt to stamp out representative government in Wisconsin have run up a pretty hefty bill for security, cleaning and repairs.  The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:

It cost at least $2.23 million to bring Wisconsin State Patrol officers to the state Capitol to provide security during weeks of protest, bringing the total security bill to nearly $5.5 million.

 

The costs from the Wisconsin State Patrol include actual costs between Feb. 11 and March 5, as well as estimated costs from March 6 through March 10.

The $2.23 million paid to the State Patrol comes on top of an estimated $3.2 million in expenses owed to local, county and other law enforcement agencies who dispatched officers to Madison during the recent crisis.  The $5.5 million in security costs is expected to increase as additional claims for compensation are submitted. 

When combined with an estimated $7.5 million to repair damage done to the marble by the union mob as they attached banners, signs and posters to the historic capitol building, the figure reaches an astounding $13 million. 

For a state which is already running a deep deficit due to the reckless spending of the Doyle Administration, the additional costs created by the public sector union protesters during their fight to retain their favored place at the public trough is adding insult to injury. 

Maybe if Mr. Obama had been serious about the new era of civil discourse in politics, instead of encouraging his union supporters by choosing sides against the taxpayers and dispatching his Organizing for America operatives to whip up the mob, the people of Wisconsin may have been spared most (if not all) of this expense. 

March 30, 2011

paboehmke@yahoo.com