New Mexicans Stand in Solidarity With Wisconsin Workers (With Photos, Videos)

Today at Roundhouse. Click for larger version or photo album.

Rallies in solidarity with the workers in Wisconsin are taking place all over America this week, and today, at noon outside the Roundhouse in Santa Fe, it was our turn. A large and raucous crowd gathered to support our union brothers and sisters everywhere, and to make the case for protecting and strengthening our working families and middle class -- in fact, all Americans who are under attack from the Koch brothers and the right-wing politicians, the think tanks and the echo chamber they own.

Tell it! Sen. Cisco McSorley, a co-sponsors of original collective bargaining bill in NM, roars at the injustices being perpetrated. "They said when they got their tax cuts, we wouldn't have high unemployment - well look at us now! This is your building, this is your capitol, take it back!"

Bottom line: If the right wingers get away with it in Wisconsin, they'll be bringing their destructive road show to every state -- trying to scapegoat union workers, minorities, immigrants, whoever they can latch onto to cover up their real agenda. They want to divide, and conquer Americans so they can pull down everything we've built together to get to this point. It's that serious. And that targeted. And that vicious.

Santa Fe Mayor David Coss: Solidarity forever! An attack on one is an attack on all. Freedom is breaking out all over the world. This is about humans rights, not about a budget issue!

Picking up on the energies being unleashed by the brave stand of the Wisconsin 14, as well as the growing citizen outbursts all over the Middle East, people are ready to step up and speak out. We've had enough of lip service and falling wages, of excuses and joblessness, of cuts to everything human beings and communities need to thrive and a stubborn refusal by the political class generally to confront the rich elite investor class and mega-corporations and call a spade a spade.

Sen. Eric Griego: We're at most unequal point we've been since Great Depression and at lowest union registration rate. Think that's a coincidence? End corporate greed!

This is class warfare, and it's being waged by a global right-wing cabal that's organized, incredibly well funded and highly strategic. They mean business -- and their business is bringing American workers -- in fact all workers -- to the powerless, exploited state we were in at the early part of the 20th century. 

This land is our land ...

As Robert Reich wrote today on Facebook, the Republicans' federal shutdown and state showdowns this year are carefully choreographed beginnings to the Republican narrative for 2012 election. Democrats must wise up. As long as Dems fail to push higher tax rates and more brackets for the super-rich, it's an increasingly bitter zero-sum game for everyone else. As long as Dems refuse to talk about the shift of income, wealth, and power to the super-rich, Republicans will convince the public that the problem is government and unions.

And you can rest assured that our right-wing Republican governor, Susana Martinez, will be right there with the worst of the other Republicans, plotting to take down everything we've worked for and built since the turn of the last century. They must be stopped everywhere, including right here in New Mexico.

Many of our Democratic candidates, officeholders and party leaders talk a good game about helping and protecting the working class, the middle class, the seniors, the sick, the disabled, those living in poverty -- but that's not enough anymore. We have a governor who would rather cut off her nose to spite her face than rescind the tax cuts for the rich here, or close the corporate loopholes that permit big-box stores to pay no state taxes. She is in cahoots with other right-wing governors like Walker in Wisconsin, Brewer in Arizona, Christie in New Jersey, Daniels in Indiana and Kasich of Ohio. They are all of a piece, and they are all dedicated to the same extremist, right wing ideology.

Many of our Dem lawmakers SAY they want to confront Susana, stop the cuts to education and services and tax the rich and out-of-state corporations -- but are they willing to really do it? How many of our lawmakers would walk out like the Wisconsin 14 have done to stop this governor in her tracks? It's something to ponder. And a topic we need to raise with all of them.

Also see video clips of the other speeches at today's rally:

• Sen. Brian Egolf, Sen. Tim Keller, Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino
• PRC Commissioner Jason Marks
• State AuditorHector Balderas
• AFT President Christine Trujillo
• Rep. Sheryl Stapleton Williams
• Allen Sanchez of the NM Conference of Catholic Bishops.