The weekend began with the boisterous sounds of celebration from the pro-union mob in Madison.  On Friday Dane County Circuit Court Judge Maryann Sumi issued a temporary restraining order to halt implementation of the collective bargaining reforms which were passed the previous week.  The unwashed minions of the public sector and their fellow travelers were dancing in the streets to the tune of judicial activism.

I wasn’t sure what to expect as I traveled to the “Recall Wirch” petition “drive-through” location (a vacant gas station) in Paddock Lake.  Would Sumi’s decision embolden the union agitators?  Would the ordinary citizens and volunteers who support our effort lose their enthusiasm for the movement? 

Shortly after my arrival at the “drive-through” site I was joined by Dan Hunt, the director of the “Recall Wirch” petition drive and head of the growing Kenosha Tea Party.  We spoke about the Sumi decision as we set up the signs and prepared to open the location.  Dan reported no drop-off in enthusiasm among our supporters, but also no change among the well-organized union agitators.  Early into the shift, Dan received a call from one of the other sites and was off to provide support for his two volunteers in the face of a sizeable union protest. 

For the next hour-and-a-half I manned the location by myself with little difficulty.  I spoke with a number of good folks who came to sign the recall petition and found that without exception spirits remained high despite Sumi’s ruling.  It was heartening to speak with so many well-informed people, who viewed the previous day’s decision as nothing more than a delaying tactic by the unions and their favorite judicial advocate.  There were of course a number of cat-calls and attempts to communicate by sign language from passers-by on the highway which I met with a friendly wave and my usual retort of “thanks for your comments, have a nice day!” 

A pick-up truck pulled into the location with two burly men inside, as I approached and said “How ya doin’ today guys” I could see that the driver was wearing an I.B.E.W. cap.  To my surprise the driver (Frank) asked if they could sign the petition and then said “We’re union electricians, but we don’t stand with these lazy bums that work for the government.”  His passenger (Stan) added “I’ve got a neighbor who works for the highway department, before all this stuff happened he used to brag about what a big scam they had going and how he almost never had to do any work.” 

The next vehicle to pull in provided a bit of comic relief for the afternoon.  The young woman in the car was named Kimberly, she wanted to sign the petition so I handed her the clip board and a pen.  As she filled out the petition she was rambling on about Governor Walker’s attack on the unions, the damn Republicans and how as a home health care worker (SEIU) she knew how the proposed budget cuts were going to wind up killing people.  She handed back the clipboard and I asked her if she had any idea what our recall petition was for.  “Isn’t it to kick out Walker?” she asked.  I pointed to the four large and prominently displayed “Recall Wirch” signs and said “No, this is to recall Senator Wirch.  Would you like me to cross out your signature?”  I was stunned as she said “No, he should be fired too.”  I could only laugh as she drove away.

By 1:45 I was joined by another volunteer named Nathan who had spent the morning going door-to-door collecting signatures.  Shortly after Nathan’s arrival a delightful young lady named Angie pulled into the location.  Angie had been with a group of volunteers collecting petitions that morning in the neighboring town of Bristol.  The “drive-through” location in Bristol was a gas station at the intersection Hwy C and Hwy 45 and was beset by 20 union agitators.

The union thugs were following the agitator’s handbook by the letter.  They were blocking the recall signs, attempting to keep people away from the property, yelling insults and intimidating those brave souls who breached their lines to sign the petition.  Angie told me that a number of the union thugs were talking pictures of vehicles and their drivers who came in to sign the petition and were yelling that they would post them on their web-site so everybody would know who they were.  Among the agitators were two young girls around 6 or 7 years-old who were yelling “you are bad people, you are mean.”  Angie was disturbed that such young children were being taught the politics of hate by their parents, a sad commentary on the tactics of the public sector unions.

Eventually the gas station manager was compelled to call the police due to the increasing levels of intimidation from the union mob.  The threats to the business and its customers had become too great and the fear of union reprisals for their participation in the free exercise of the democratic process forced an early closure of the petition event.  On the positive side, many good people made a point to thank the station manager and pledge to patronize the business on a regular basis.

The remainder of our shift ran smoothly with a good number of supporters joining us to sign the recall petition and thank us for our effort.  Our friend Angie come back a little while later to check on us, just in case the union mob showed up and we needed her help!  

While driving home, I couldn’t help but feel energized by the day’s events.  Once again I was honored to have met and worked with so many Patriotic Americans like Dan, Nathan, Frank, Stan, Angie and all of those who shared their good will and support for the cause. 

March 21, 2011

paboehmke@yahoo.com