Tag Archives: Wisconsin

Chicago teachers, commitment and numbers

Posted on September 15, 2012 by David S. Meyer

Thousands, maybe tens of thousands, of people rallied to support the Chicago Teachers Union, as its representatives moved closer to a negotiated agreement with the city that would bring them back to work–and send 350,000 students back to school. Mayor … Continue reading →

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After Wisconsin and the electoral trap

Posted on June 7, 2012 by David S. Meyer

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s victory in Tuesday’s recall election isn’t a happy outcome for the activists who have spent nearly a year and a half going after him.  It’s particularly troubling for labor organizers, who will face subsequent challenges with … Continue reading →

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Petitions, virtual and otherwise

Posted on May 18, 2012 by David S. Meyer

The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees “the people” the right to assembly and “to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. ”  Do petitions matter?  How? Signing a piece of paper is one of … Continue reading →

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Drawing a line from ALEC to Trayvon

Posted on April 2, 2012 by David S. Meyer

George Zimmerman fired the shot that killed Trayvon Martin, but ALEC wrote the Stand Your Ground law at the core of his legal defense.  Taken just a slight step further, ALEC also pressed for the budget cuts that have led … Continue reading →

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How the courts disappoint

Posted on June 16, 2011 by David S. Meyer

American politics has provided some updates on our concerns about the courts and social movements (see: “You can’t count on the courts”).  Be sure that activists will be disappointed–and that they are extremely unlikely to give up. In Wisconsin, the … Continue reading →

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You Can’t Count on the Courts to ________ Social Change

Posted on May 27, 2011 by David S. Meyer

“Scarcely any political question arises in the United States that is not resolved, sooner or later, into a judicial question.” This is a tag from Alexis de Tocqueville’s monumental Democracy in America, published well over 150 years ago. This is … Continue reading →

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Anger, Organization, and the Myth of Spontaneity

Posted on April 22, 2011 by David S. Meyer

When protest explodes/emerges/erupts/ after a politician does–or threatens–something unappealing, we talk about the unrest as a response. So, we saw disruptions at town meetings across the country in 2009 about President Obama’s health care reforms, and we saw large demonstrations … Continue reading →

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On Wisconsin: After Defeat, Activists Pick New Arenas

Posted on March 12, 2011 by David S. Meyer

When a door closes, start trying the windows.  A defeat in Wisconsin has spurred a new wave of activism, and advocates have turned their attention beyond the state senate. In the United States, when activists lose a battle in one … Continue reading →

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It’s not just protest (Madison)

Posted on March 8, 2011 by David S. Meyer

Although those dramatic demonstrations, like the ones we saw in Madison, capture the imagination, by themselves, they won’t change a policy or a government.  Protest signals, supports, and coerces.  Changes in politics and policy depend upon how a broad range … Continue reading →

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Beyond Madison: Who’s Watching? Who’s Talking? Who’s Doing?

Posted on February 27, 2011 by David S. Meyer

Watch the crowd in a fight. That’s an old insight in the social sciences, stated pretty clearly by E. E. Schattschneider in The Semi-Sovereign People fifty years ago. The point: The losers in any political struggle have an interest in … Continue reading →

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