Police: Wisconsin protest Saturday 'one of largest'

MADISON, Wis. — Madison Police Department spokesman Joel DeSpain said police figure the crowd of protesters Saturday in downtown Madison, Wis., exceeded last week's Saturday protest, which was estimated at 70,000 people and included a small counter-demonstration by supporters of Gov. Scott Walker.

"We don't have a specific number," DeSpain said. "It's a moving target and very fluid, but definitely one of the largest and most sustained demonstrations we've ever seen."

The crowd could have numbered as high as 100,000, but counting it was difficult because it was spread over parts of State Street as well as the Capitol Square and in the Capitol itself. DeSpain said there were no arrests and called the demonstrators "a very civil group."

Part of the civility can be attributed to efforts by demonstrators to self-police themselves.

Between 500 and 600 volunteer marshals have helped maintain peace throughout the two weeks of protests against Gov. Scott Walker's budget repair bill by instructing people where to go and assisting authorities with crowd control.

More than 200 volunteer marshals were out Saturday in their brightly colored vests patrolling the 18 different regions organizers have broken the area into, said Scot Ross, executive director of One Wisconsin Now.

The effort has been mostly organic, said Karen Tuerk, one of the volunteers.

"There's really no one in charge, but somehow it all comes together," said Tuerk, a University of Wisconsin-Madison employee. "It's literally people thinking, 'This would be a good idea,' and then it happens."

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Marshals are briefed each morning on their assignments around 9 a.m. before they are sent out. Ross said organizers coordinate their plans with police, and officers have appreciated the additional help.

"The marshals are great," said Madison police Officer Daryl Doberstein. "I can't get enough about how they've been protesting peacefully. It's been emotional and energetic, but peaceful."

Tuerk expects the marshals will have a difficult time when police begin clearing thousands of protesters from the Capitol.

"We'll help those who want to leave exit the building, but we're not going to get in the way of those that want to demonstrate civil disobedience in a peaceful manner," she said.

A different perspective

Mike Foht, 43, a general contractor from Monroe, Wis., was a lonely figure Saturday as he walked on the Capitol Square, holding aloft a sign that read "Walker for President," in the opposite direction of the tens of thousands who crowded Madison to protest Walker's budget repair bill.

"I thought I'd show support for the governor. I think he's doing a good job," Foht said.

Foht said he first went to the state high school wrestling tournament at the nearby Kohl Center.

"My hand hurts from all the high-fives I got," he said.

In contrast, Foht said his one-man counterdemonstration was greeted by "the usual profanity and some guy kept blowing a horn in my ear even though I wasn't saying anything."

Asked what he thought of the opposition to Walker, he said, "I think it's been disgusting, especially the Senate Democrats who've been hiding out because democracy didn't work out the way they want anymore."

Chris Van Ess, 60, of Luxemburg, Wis., was one wrestling fan staying at the Inn on the Park hotel on the Capitol Square who said she supports the demonstrators.

"I think they should be there," she said."I paid into my pension all my life, but I don't think they should lose their bargaining rights."

Van Ess was there to root for her son, Michael, the assistant wrestling coach of Luxemburg-Casco High School, competing in the state tournament.

Many downtown hotels hosted the unusual mix of wrestling fans and protesters.

"We knew there would be a lot of excitement," Van Ess said, referring to the demonstrations.

Real-life lessons

"Recall Walker" signs are common at the Madison rallies, and some even sported Sponge Bob stickers.

Thousands of children are among the protesters in the state's capital, many accompanied by mom and dad.

For parents, the protests are an opportunity for a real-life civics lesson.

"I'm trying to teach my kids to stand up for your rights," said Kieran Connor, a teacher in the Sun Prairie school district who attended Saturday's event with his wife, Cindy, and young sons, Sullivan and Finnegan.

Finnegan, 4, was carrying a homemade sign that read, "My daddy is a school teacher. Stop making him sad."

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Adults were split whether the kids understood the magnitude of the protests and why people had taken to the streets.

Michele Brogunier said her two daughters wanted to come to the rallies because they were concerned about their teachers. One even asked to stay the night in the Capitol, "so she could tell her grandkids about it."

"Think back to when you were 11 and what lens you saw the world through and what connects," Brogunier said. "This is hitting some of these kids hard."

But Jim McKiernan said his two grandnephews — one of whom carried the "Recall Walker" sign — were most likely just in awe of the spectacle.

Still, he didn't want them to miss it.

"This is history, man," said McKiernan, an instructor at Madison Area Technical College. "Hopefully we don't see this every generation but it does seem like every one has these types of moments."

Preserving sit-in memories

Because police are controlling access, the crowd in the Capitol remained steady Saturday. Hundreds packled the rotunda, but it was easy to move about the side halls. Also steady: the noise. One chant thumping endlessly in the Capitol: "Union busting is disgusting."

Many people are aware that the small village that has formed here is disbanding. While they still can, many are taking pictures of signs that paper the building's walls and pillars.

"Teachers don't sleep at school; they sleep at the Capitol," read one.

That was true for Jackie Mauer, a Milwaukee teacher who instructs immigrant and refugee children. On Friday, she spent the night on the Capitol's marble floor.

"I'm very worried about the students of our state ending up in classes that are too big really for our teachers to effectively teach," she said.

Mauer said Friday night was her first in the building. She said she was welcomed by the crowd and before the night was over she had received hugs from strangers.

"It was a very community–oriented, kind group of people," said.

Delivering their message

Bonnie Jonet, a protester who grew up in Green Bay, Wis., and lived there until the early 1980s, is now a Milwaukee public school teacher. She was standing on the side of the Capitol Square on Saturday holding a sign that spelled "WALKER" vertically and horizontally and the phrase, "When All Logical Knowledge Escapes Reality"

"This is incredible. Hopefully someone will listen to us," Jonet said. ""It's memorable. It makes you so proud. I'm afraid that it's not going to make a difference. But this has given people the chance to hear exactly what's in this bill."

The Koch brothers, billionaire businessmen from Kansas who have donated significantly to conservatives, including Walker, were the theme du jour for many sign-makers.

Melanie Burns, a state worker from Milwaukee, held a sign that said "Walker, this is your brain on Koch."

"It just came to me in the shower this morning," Burns said. "Everyone is so creative. It's fun to come just for the signs."

Claudia Moreno, a private school teacher, held a sign picturing "The Office" character Dwight Schrute that read, "FACT: Scott Walker's love of cheese has been consumed by his Koch habit."

"I think if you're going to demean teachers like Walker has and you see all this creativity here today, it's just a telling sign of how well-educated people are," Moreno said. "And it's proof we can protest intelligently in Madison."

Steve Contorno writes for the Green Bay (Wis.) Press-Gazette. Dan Benson writes for the Sheboygan (Wis.) Press. Ben Jones is the Madison (Wis.) bureau chief for The Post-Crescent of Appleton.