In response to the Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill that sought to end collective bargaining, thousands of people throughout Wisconsin protested Governor Scott Walker and what they saw as a violation of their rights. At its peak, 100,000 people had congregated at the State Capitol in opposition. Though the bill eventually passed the state legislature, seemingly overnight, a movement was born. And it didn’t end in Wisconsin – the critical mass that began in the Midwest quickly spread to nearly every state in the country, taking the form of the Occupy Wall Street movement. John Nichols is a Madison-based journalist and author of the new book, “UPRISING: How Wisconsin Renewed the Politics of Protest from Madison to Wall Street.”
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