Articles by Roger Bybee

Source: In These Times

Less fanatical reactionaries than Gov. Scott Walker and his crew in the Wisconsin legislature would have given up by now.

Protests against Walker and his budget proposals are again rapidly gathering pace, with protesters erecting a “Walkerville” to remind public of the “Hoovervilles” that sprung up among the poor during the Great Depression. Budget hearings have been continually disrupted by nonviolent civil disobedience.

But the Republicans remain undeterred, having found another instrument to institutionalize their pro-corporate agenda. Still hanging on to majorities in both houses and with the state budget intended for passage within the next week or so, GOP politicians are still working to include a few particularly retrograde provisions. read more

Source: The Progressive

When REPUBLICAN LEADERS chose Representative Paul Ryan to give the response to President Obama’s State of the Union speech, they bestowed their blessing on this fast-rising star from Wisconsin’s First District.

His is the boyishly handsome face and cheery demeanor of free market fundamentalism—a philosophy that has devastated his own district with particularly acute suffering. And now, as the new chair of the House Budget Committee, Ryan promises more devastation for the rest of the nation. read more

Source: Common Dreams

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker proposed last week to suddenly erase 50 years of collective-bargaining rights for Wisconsin’s public workers within a week, to be backed up by calling up the National Guard (Walker spokesmen later clarified that the Guard’s role would be limited to replacing prison guards).

Walker’s plan drew a crowd of 30,000 to 50,000 public workers and their supporters Wednesday at the State Capitol in Madison, united in their opposition to Republican plans to almost entirely take away their rights to union representation. read more