Kevin at Lakeshore Laments notes:
Angry crowds shouting at then representative Steve Kagen over the health care bill and cap and trade in the Brown county library in 2009 were branded mobs and "astroturf" by those who supported such measures. Now the shoes are on the other foot, thousands of them, and the same folks that downplayed popular sentiment when it came to the priorities of the Democratic party now herald the demonstrations as indicating genuine democracy.
As a conservative, I'm skeptical of mass movements. Sometimes such movements are supported by the force of natural law and are legitimate, like the American Revolution or the Civil Rights Movement. Does the current fight share more with those examples, or does it seem more like the continuation of the issues surrounding the last election? The assertions of Jesse Jackson aside, the current situation seems to resemble the latter more than the former.
To hear those opposing Governor Walker's budget repair bill, what they are engaged in is "democracy." To which I would say that one man's democracy is another man's mob. This has been true at least since the debate over health care, if not always.From Ann Althouse, about a protest sign in Madison:Keep wondering to myself how much of the actions in Madison are an attempt to overturn November.
The sign says: "Russ teaches at Marquette/Scotty dropped out/It takes an education to value an education." Let's rewrite that: Russ was voted out of office/Scotty was voted in/It takes losing an electoral loss to devalue election results.
Angry crowds shouting at then representative Steve Kagen over the health care bill and cap and trade in the Brown county library in 2009 were branded mobs and "astroturf" by those who supported such measures. Now the shoes are on the other foot, thousands of them, and the same folks that downplayed popular sentiment when it came to the priorities of the Democratic party now herald the demonstrations as indicating genuine democracy.
As a conservative, I'm skeptical of mass movements. Sometimes such movements are supported by the force of natural law and are legitimate, like the American Revolution or the Civil Rights Movement. Does the current fight share more with those examples, or does it seem more like the continuation of the issues surrounding the last election? The assertions of Jesse Jackson aside, the current situation seems to resemble the latter more than the former.
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