What follows here is an excerpted from an e-mail from Chris Blythe, a Wisconsin state worker and (undoubtedly long-suffering) spouse of a Wisconsin teacher. Chris's enthusiasm and passion speak for themselves. Enjoy!
NYC Educator

Unbelievable rally yesterday!! Temperature was about 18 degrees and it snowed the whole time. Still, close to 100,000 people showed up!! (...) The square was packed shoulder to shoulder - couldn't even hardly move in the streets. There were so many people marching in the street before the rally that it took us about 30 minutes to go 2 blocks!! It was amazing to just see a sea of people in every direction. I have never seen/felt so much energy and togetherness, not even from the presidential candidate rallies I've been to here. Just imagine what will happen when we actually get a NICE day!!

Started out with Peter Yarrow (Peter, Paul & Mary) singing a bunch of union songs. Then a bunch of speakers - some union, an actor (Bradley Whitford of "The West Wing") who is from Madison, plus "Skilley" (Jeff Skille, the co-pilot hero who helped land the plane on the Hudson River 2 years ago). He's from just outside of Madison and he RIPPED the governor and the right-wing crazies, while laying lavish praise on the teachers who are educating his kids. He is a huge hero around here, so it was great to have him point out that when they landed the plane and saved everyone aboard all the people involved - pilots, flight attendants, EMR workers, rescue boat operators, cops, firemen, etc. - were all UNION members, working together for the common good. Then more union members, including a not-too-articulate but incredibly passionate snow plow driver who has become somewhat of a folk hero for his speeches, trademarked by his concluding (and clearly unscripted) statement "AND BY CHRIST, I AIN'T GOIN' ANYWHERE!!!"

This is not going away. On Tuesday our gov will introduce his budget bill that will drastically slash aids to schools, health care for the poor, and municipalities. Then people are REALLY going to be pissed. And the passion here is already running very deep. I've run into so many people I know at the marches, many of whom I would never dream of seeing at a political rally and they are all fired up. One such woman yesterday told me "I don't care if they fire me - I'm not going away!" And they will get the same response from me if they (my bosses) ever ask me to defend any of the governor's proposals in court. Diane & I will both be taking a cut (and keep in mind that we've taken cuts each of the past several years) of somewhere in the range of 8-15%...

I have never seen such an egotistical, arrogant ideologue as Scott Walker in all my years in politics. If you've listened to his phone call with "David Koch" you know what I'm talking about. The guy thinks he is Ronald Reagan and that he's going to be the new leader of the right-wing conservative movement. I don't know what's more pathetic - his shameless ass-kissing of the guy he thinks is a billionaire contributor, or the fact that he considered bringing in trouble makers to stir up the rallies, and thereby risk the safety of everyone.

It's really great to see all the rallies in all the states (all 50, according to news reports) in support of worker rights and what we're standing up for here in Wisconsin. They mentioned that at the rally yesterday and it got one of the biggest cheers of the day. Carol & Rick - thanks for the picture and the poster with our names on it! And we noticed the Wisconsin sweatshirt, too! It's also amazing how much support we're getting from all the private labor unions, plus the firefighters, who would be exempt under Walker's bill. They don't have to be here but they are every day, and as soon as they start up with their bagpipes, it brings tears to your eyes.

As you know, Cathy is an aide to Peter Barca, the Assembly minority leader, who has become one of the stars of our side of the fight. It's nice to get a lot of the inside scoop on what's going on behind the lines in the Capitol. She's pretty much been living down there the past couple of weeks. As we mentioned, if you want to help out financially, send contributions to "Act Blue for the Assembly."

A few items to note, if you're ever talking to people or writing letters, etc.:

-Not once during his campaign, did Walker ever mention his plan to eliminate collective bargaining.

-Walker has NEVER returned a single phone call to any union representative since the election.

-The unions have publicly stated that they will agree to pay and benefit cuts, but not the elimination of collective bargaining rights, yet Walker continues to state that he will not negotiate on anything.

-When the Republicans rammed this bill through the Assembly, they only left the vote open for 17 SECONDS until they got their 51 votes, then abruptly closed the vote, clearly for the purposes of: a) not letting most Dems vote (they were all in line at the microphone to speak on the bill); and b) letting a bunch of Repubs off the hook by not having to cast an unpopular vote. So after 61 hours of debate, during which the Republicans rejected EVERY SINGLE AMENDMENT offered by the Dems, they called for the vote without warning, then shut it off in less than 17 seconds. Democracy? I think not.

-The so-called "budget repair bill" not only eliminates collective bargaining rights for nearly all state workers, it also: a) drastically cuts Badger Care, and health care program for poor people (mostly kids) that was initiated by a Republican Governor (Tommy Thompson); b) adds 35 political appointees for the governor throughout state agencies; c) gives the governor almost unbridled unilateral power to implement "emergency" rules for any state agency; and d) allows the state to sell public power plants through a no-bid process (are you paying attention, Koch brothers?).

-In addition, since he has been governor, Walker has:
1) rejected federal funds in the amount of $800 million for a high-speed rail line between Madison and Milwaukee
2) rejected $23 million in federal funds for high-speed internet access in rural parts of Wisconsin
3) enacted "tort reform" making it much harder to ever sue a negligent business (this includes a provision that bans a patient who has been abused by a nursing home from using state investigative reports of that home when suing the institution)
4) made it nearly impossible to add any additional wind power through draconian regulations regarding the construction of windmills (in a state that imports 96% of its energy)

-the legislature is on the verge of passing a "voter ID" bill that would require all voters to show a government-issued photo ID at the polls in order to vote - clearly aimed at suppressing the votes of minorities and students

The one good aspect of all of this is that Walker has succeeded in doing what many of us could not - he has re-energized and awakened the union/democratic movement in Wisconsin in a way that I thought could never happen. And I do not think this is a temporary movement that will fade away in a few days or weeks.

Thanks for your continued support & interest - come to Wisconsin and bring your friends and join us on the streets!

P.S. One of the better lines of the day yesterday - "Governor Walker, thanks for ruining our Super Bowl Party!"

Did Wisconsin governor overreach in union battle?
LINK

Washington (CNN) -- Some political experts have said that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, in a battle with public employee unions over the right to collective bargaining, has overreached in his attempts to shore up the state's budget shortfall.

"I think it'd be fair to categorize the proposal (to cut union bargaining) as an overreach," said University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor David Canon. "Maybe the biggest reason for that claim is the fact that he didn't campaign on this."

Protesters who have filled the state's capitol are upset with Walker's call to curb collective bargaining rights as part of his effort to balance the state's budget. Union leaders have agreed to pay more for health and pension benefits but have objected to curbing collective bargaining. Walker has refused to budge.

Walker, a former state legislator and Milwaukee County executive before he was elected governor last year, said he looks to Ronald Reagan for guidance in the current battle in which he's engaged. But one critic said Walker's public face conjures up images of a more recent president.

"Walker has been combative and steadfast, reminiscent more of George W. Bush's mystifying and utterly unjustified self-confidence (remember "I'm the decider?") than anything Ronald Reagan ever said or did," wrote Paul Fanlund of Wisconsin's progressive Capital Times.

Opponents have questioned Walker's motives as seeking prominence among like-minded conservatives or pursuing a vendetta against a traditional Republican foe. But another Wisconsin political scientist said while Walker "may, at some level, see himself as a vanguard of this new Republican effort," the governor is motivated by convictions.

"I don't see this as delusions of grandeur or him doing this in any way to propel himself on the national stage," said Thomas Holbrook, a professor of government at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. "The type of person he is, these are the things he believes needs to be done and he's got the majorities so he's going to do it."

Holbrook said Walker showed similar convictions when he was Milwaukee County executive from 2002 to 2010.

"He tended to stick to his guns there and say 'This is what I want, this is what I'm pushing for' and maybe he didn't get it in the end," Holbrook said. "But he didn't have a majority by any means."

Canon agreed, saying Walker's style of negotiating and a tough approach to unions is consistent with his time as county executive.

Former U.S. Comptroller Gen. David Walker wrote in the Washington Post that the Wisconsin governor has legitimate concerns about the collective bargaining process.

"However, he seems to have overreached in connection with some of his proposed solutions," David Walker wrote. "While there are many reasons that government workers should not be able to bargain over pension and health benefit levels, it is reasonable for them to be able to bargain over current pay, employee benefit contributions and normal work rules."

Wisconsin, which has elected liberal Democrats such as former Sen. Russ Feingold and U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, shifted from blue to red in the 2010 midterm elections. The Republican wave not only hit congressional elections, but also statewide ones.

The GOP has a strong majority in Wisconsin's legislature, with Democrats having little power to affect the agenda. In the State Assembly, Republicans hold 60 seats and Democrats hold 38. In the State Senate, Republicans hold 19 seats and Democrats hold 14.

"He has an opportunity with these huge majorities in the legislature to get his agenda through and that's what he's doing," Holbrook said. "As for his political future, I'm not sure this is going to benefit him in the long run. I see it as more of coming from conviction and opportunity."

Channeling Reagan?

Walker got as much attention as his stand against unions when he was punked by a blogger who pretended to be a top GOP donor. On the call, Walker indicated that he looks to former President Reagan in the standoff. Reagan took on air traffic controllers and stood strong against communism, Walker noted on the call.

Canon noted a difference between Walker and Reagan, though -- Reagan compromised with Democrats during his two terms in office, negotiating on sticky issues such as Social Security and national security. Walker has shown no signs of backing down.

"He did have to compromise a fair amount when he was president," he said. "Scott Walker has unified Republican control of Wisconsin government, so he doesn't have to negotiate."

When Walker was campaigning, he said he wanted unions to start contributing more.

"But nobody saw this collective bargaining part of the proposal coming," Canon said. "That's why I think this could be seen as overreach. There's a pretty good chance he would not have been elected had this been part of the campaign in November."

In a USA Today-Gallup poll last week, 61% of those surveyed said they opposed eliminating collective bargaining rights if a similar bill was proposed in their state.

Among Republicans, 54% said they would favor such a move; 62% of independents said they would oppose it and 78% of Democrats were opposed to it.

GOP defection?

Republican governors are taking note at what's happening in Wisconsin and other states. Some prominent GOP governors are even coming out in support of collective bargaining rights.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott said in a recent interview with Tallahassee's WFLA radio that his belief is "as long as people know what they're doing, collective bargaining is fine."

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who faces his own battles with teachers unions, recently told The New York Times that if collective bargaining is fair, "I have no problem with it."

Holbrook said that for Republican governors who are distancing themselves from the collective bargaining issue, it "gives them room to do other things that they'd not normally get away with -- simply because they can say, 'No I'm not going after collective bargaining.' "

The CNN Wire contributed to this report.