Largest Wisconsin protests ever: 85,000+ people in Madison's streets

If WI governor Scott Walker hoped that sneakily passing his union-busting bill would diffuse the energy of the protests that have rocked Madison, he was sadly mistaken. This weekend saw the biggest protests to date, with 85K-100K people in the streets, accompanied by donkeys, manure spreaders and tractors as the state's farmers joined the crowds.

"This is so not the end," said protester Judy Gump, a 45-year-old English teacher at Madison Memorial High School. "This is what makes people more determined and makes them dig in…"

All 14 Democrats later marched around the Capitol, trading chants of "thank you" with protesters who ringed the sidewalks. When the senators made their way to a stage, they promised to shift their energies toward recall drives already under way against eight of their GOP colleagues.

"Now … we trade in our rally signs for clipboards and we take to the streets to recall the Republicans," Sen. Chris Larson of Milwaukee told the cheering crowd, "and in one year we recall the governor that refuses to listen."

Wisconsin Protesters Refuse To Quit

(via Reddit)

(Image: IMG_6250, a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike (2.0) image from keegstra's photostream)