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You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Open Thread: Wisconsin Chedda

Open Thread: Wisconsin Chedda

by Anne Laurie|  March 4, 20112:16 pm| 54 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Open Threads, Republican Venality

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Dave Weigel at Slate on Walker’s latest burst of grandious entitlement:

The two week sleep-in at the Wisconsin state capitol is over; protesters will no longer crash in the building. The decision comes after a court battle (a polite, short one) over whether it was legal for the state to limit access to the building, and the state’s case was that protesters were doing damage.
__
[S]tate officials said that damage from the demonstration to the marble inside and outside the Capitol would cost an estimated $7.5 million: $6 million for damage inside, $1 million for damage outside and $500,000 for additional expenses.…
__
I’ve got my own call in on this. There’s no precedent for the occupation of the Capitol, nothing to compare this number to, but protesters were very conscious to limit damage to the building…
__
The only times I looked at the Capitol and said “wow, this is going to need cleaning” were when I saw carpet in the rooms being used for strategy and protest-staging, like the third floor room occupied by teaching assistants. There wasn’t filth; there was just some of the liquid spatter and food crumbs you’d expect after two weeks of people living in these rooms. But will it cost $6 million to scrub the building’s carpets and floors? It’s worth checking back in a few months to see if this $7.5 million estimate actually panned out; also worth checking how much it usually costs to clean the building.

Maybe the Koch brothers had Blackwater Xe put in a no-bid contract for hand-scrubbing the floors with Fiji water…

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Reader Interactions

54Comments

  1. 1.

    Steve

    March 4, 2011 at 2:17 pm

    I hope they use union labor for that clean-up!

  2. 2.

    ThatLeftTurnInABQ

    March 4, 2011 at 2:22 pm

    Hey no fair skipping ahead, I haven’t made it up to this chapter in Nixonland yet.

    Oh, wait…

  3. 3.

    David Koch

    March 4, 2011 at 2:24 pm

    $7 million is too much. Maria will be happy to clean up for a fraction of the cost.

  4. 4.

    Madeline

    March 4, 2011 at 2:25 pm

    That number is totally ridiculous. About 10 years ago, they did a complete restoration of the exterior – tuckpointing, cleaning all the granite – was a really big deal. I think that cost around $6M.

    Here are some comparison numbers for the reno

  5. 5.

    Mary G

    March 4, 2011 at 2:25 pm

    He is just digging himself deeper in a hole. Teachers from Wisconsin are about the least likeliest group to damage a building that I can imagine. His approval rating in the last poll, by Rasmussen no less, is down to 43%, with only 34% strongly approving.

    I am uneasy, though, about the Democratic senators up and leaving. It’s flouting the political process. Like it or not, the Republicans were elected and I think the Democrats could “tea party” the heck out of this for the next election. Then they could change the law back.

  6. 6.

    Keith

    March 4, 2011 at 2:29 pm

    How low would Walker sink if he said he was paying for the cleaning repairs with more layoffs?

  7. 7.

    jayjaybear

    March 4, 2011 at 2:30 pm

    That’s union rates, obviously…

  8. 8.

    DanF

    March 4, 2011 at 2:30 pm

    Yes … Of course the hippies trashed the place… Just like that the time when the Clinton’s removed the “W” from the White House keyboards and trashed the executive offices before Bush the Dumber came into office…

    Can’t Republicans come up with anything original?

  9. 9.

    fitzwili

    March 4, 2011 at 2:33 pm

    Already at TPM they have an article up saying that WI official backs down from millions of damage claim. There was no estimate by a contractor, he just made the number up. Coincidentally this official is a anti union democrat that lost his seat and was rewarded for his union busting inclinations with a cushy job in the Walker admin.

  10. 10.

    JCT

    March 4, 2011 at 2:35 pm

    And this will be the lead story on Fox in 5-4-3-2-1 …

    Losers. Maybe at some point they should try this “truth” thing, just a little.

  11. 11.

    gbear

    March 4, 2011 at 2:35 pm

    It’ll cost $50,000 for the cleanup, but $550,000 for the security detail following them from room to room.

  12. 12.

    David Koch

    March 4, 2011 at 2:36 pm

    We’re thinking about planting some troublemakers to trash the marble and carpets.

  13. 13.

    JGabriel

    March 4, 2011 at 2:36 pm

    TPM: Arizona Senate Passes Bill To Let State Nullify Federal Laws

    I know there’s no mechanism in the Constitution by which states can secede, and I’m fine with that. But, sometimes I really wish the founding fathers had included a clause that allowed us to KICK OUT some states, on the basis of We Don’t Want You And You Obviously Don’t Like It Here Either.

    Seriously, what’s the point of even belonging to a country if all you want to do is nullify its laws?

    .

  14. 14.

    cat48

    March 4, 2011 at 2:38 pm

    He doesn’t have a good record with truth telling, per Politifact. He’s accurate about half the time:

    * True(4)
    * Mostly True(2)
    * Half True(2)
    * Barely True(6)
    * False(10)
    * Pants on Fire(1)

  15. 15.

    gbear

    March 4, 2011 at 2:39 pm

    @Mary G: Trying to jam the bill through congress in one week was flouting the political process too. Nobody got a chance to see all the crap that’s in that bill until after the democratic senators had fled.

  16. 16.

    ThatLeftTurnInABQ

    March 4, 2011 at 2:40 pm

    @JGabriel:

    The When States act like Angry Teenagers and they just need to go out on their own and get a Fucking Job amendment?

  17. 17.

    Fucen Pneumatic Fuck Wrench Tarmal

    March 4, 2011 at 2:41 pm

    that is a lot of toothbrushes.

    ok, here is where President Obama steps in.

    state workers will donate their time to clean the building, in exchange for walker realizing he is incompetent at screwing over the little people and backing down.

  18. 18.

    Poopyman

    March 4, 2011 at 2:41 pm

    It’s bullshit. Steve M. has some comps….

    This should be debunked ASAP by MSM. Not holding my breath, of course.

  19. 19.

    RP

    March 4, 2011 at 2:41 pm

    To DanF’s question: Can’t Republicans come up with anything original?

    Something original? Why would they want to do that?

    You dance with the bamboozlement that brung ya…

  20. 20.

    Jude

    March 4, 2011 at 2:42 pm

    Except, uh, now they’re saying that it really won’t cost that much.

    http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/117409458.html

    Basically, they went to court and lied. I thought that wasn’t, you know, legal.

  21. 21.

    Southern Beale

    March 4, 2011 at 2:44 pm

    The Atlantic’s McBargleGarble and her colleague Daniel Inwhateverthehellhisnameis REALLY PISSED ME OFF when they attacked the Nissan Leaf in two error-filled columns. They might not want to do that again.

  22. 22.

    geg6

    March 4, 2011 at 2:46 pm

    @Jude:

    IOKIYAR strikes again.

  23. 23.

    soonergrunt

    March 4, 2011 at 2:48 pm

    @mary g, #5:
    Those Democrats who left were elected, too. They can answer to their constituents, as can the governor and the republicans. This idea that the majority should get their way just because they are the majority is undemocratic.

  24. 24.

    j low

    March 4, 2011 at 2:50 pm

    I’ll do it for 1 million!

  25. 25.

    trollhattan

    March 4, 2011 at 2:53 pm

    It will cost $25k alone to put the teachers’ chairs on their desks, as they refused to do so themselves.

  26. 26.

    Southern Beale

    March 4, 2011 at 2:55 pm

    Over at First Draft, which has done some excellent on-site reporting on Wisconsin, they linked to a donation page to pay for things like cleaning up the capital. And there have been lots of pictures of people on their knees scrubbing floors. So I’d say “it will cost us $7 million to clean” thing is utter bullshit.

  27. 27.

    gbear

    March 4, 2011 at 2:55 pm

    @gbear: Ugh. not thinking this morning. My calculator had heartburn. Should be $5,950,000 for security.

  28. 28.

    Comrade Javamanphil

    March 4, 2011 at 2:55 pm

    Limpballs is running with it so it is only days away from being just another zombie lie.

  29. 29.

    trollhattan

    March 4, 2011 at 2:57 pm

    Also, too, how long before some winger makes a comparison to the Superdome after Katrina?

  30. 30.

    Tonal Crow

    March 4, 2011 at 2:57 pm

    Republicans find it difficult to say anything without lying, and this is just another sad example.

  31. 31.

    Rpx

    March 4, 2011 at 2:59 pm

    So now we can’t have protests on public property because…they cost too much to clean up? Mubarak is smacking himself right now for not thinking up this excuse for cracking down on protestors.

  32. 32.

    trollhattan

    March 4, 2011 at 3:04 pm

    @Southern Beale:

    Ahem [clears throat] With gas sprinting past $4/gal reeeeally soon, the Leaf and Volt become double-failures.

    I kan haz Atlantic job nao?

  33. 33.

    asiangrrlMN

    March 4, 2011 at 3:04 pm

    In one article (can’t remember which, sorry), one of the reasons the protesters were allowed to stay in the building was SPECIFICALLY because they were cleaning up after themselves and moving out of the way for the cleaning crew. In other words, pure bullshit (I originally typed billshit. Ha). Again.

  34. 34.

    Poopyman

    March 4, 2011 at 3:17 pm

    @geg6: Took that acronym right out of my -mouth-fingertips.

  35. 35.

    Lancelot Link

    March 4, 2011 at 3:22 pm

    Most of that money will go to replace the windows that Walker had welded shut.

  36. 36.

    MikeJ

    March 4, 2011 at 3:24 pm

    @cat48: He who?

  37. 37.

    Mike Kay (True Grit)

    March 4, 2011 at 3:24 pm

    More hippie punching from Obama.

    http://tinyurl.com/4ubtgh9

    I wish he wouldn’t do this, they already hate him. Just let sleeping hippies lie.

  38. 38.

    Mike Kay (True Grit)

    March 4, 2011 at 3:26 pm

    More hippy punching from Obama.

    http://blackwaterdog.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/art18.jpg

    I wish he wouldn’t do this, they already hate him. Just let sleeping hippys lie.

  39. 39.

    Bokonon

    March 4, 2011 at 3:33 pm

    “Oh NO, those fithy, dirty protesters have SOILED the spotless marble of the state capitol building!”

    Classic. Once again, Walker and his satraps are just making stuff up. But they are dishing out a continuous and consistent narrative for the media that the protesters are illegitimate, disgusting, violent, greedy, self-indulgent …

    And, apparently, filthy. And expensive. They are a burden on the taxpayers. And because they are vandalizing public property and costing the state millions in hardworking people’s tax money, those SOBs must be dealt with firmly – maybe forcefully. Maybe violently.

    See?

    Walker’s people know the TV news, and their own partisans, and they are throwing this up against the wall to see if it sticks. And it will probably register with Walker’s supporters, and crowd out some other stories on the evening news, and maybe win a media cycle or two for the governor. We’ll see if it sticks with anyone else.

  40. 40.

    Another Bob

    March 4, 2011 at 3:37 pm

    The $7 million is undoubtedly just a randomly large number designed to sound outrageous when it’s pronounced on the Evening News, or 50 times a day on Fox. Having been latched onto by the Noise Machine, the fact that it’s too high by a factor of 100 will never be addressed.

  41. 41.

    Poopyman

    March 4, 2011 at 3:41 pm

    Time to cancel my Sirius XM subscription.

  42. 42.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    March 4, 2011 at 3:58 pm

    @David Koch: Ah, David Kochovich(TM) I was hoping you’d lend Maria to help out there in Madison.

  43. 43.

    Southern Beale

    March 4, 2011 at 4:00 pm

    @Poopyman:

    Time to cancel my Sirius XM subscription.

    Jesus Effin Christ. They’ve got 5 thousand gazillion right wing conservative Fundie Christian talk channels, ONE progressive talk channel, and they add THIS?

    Assholes.

  44. 44.

    Southern Beale

    March 4, 2011 at 4:01 pm

    @trollhattan:

    You can be Atlantic EDITOR!

  45. 45.

    cat48

    March 4, 2011 at 4:02 pm

    @MikeJ:

    Sorry, that’s Gov Walker’s scorecard! He lies a lot.

  46. 46.

    The Republic of Stupidity

    March 4, 2011 at 4:10 pm

    $6MMM in damages to the MARBLE?

    I know marble ain’t as hard as granite…

    But somebody must think the rest of s are as STOOOOOPID as they are…

  47. 47.

    Triassic Sands

    March 4, 2011 at 4:13 pm

    But will it cost $6 million to scrub the building’s carpets and floors?

    Of course it will. It’s common knowledge that janitors (public employees) get paid $375/hour. You don’t even want to hear their pensions. And the annual multi-million dollar bonuses…

    It all adds up.

  48. 48.

    David Koch

    March 4, 2011 at 4:24 pm

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): Hands off – Maria is mind. Smuggling her across the boarder in my trunk was hard work.

  49. 49.

    trollhattan

    March 4, 2011 at 4:33 pm

    @Southern Beale:

    Yay! I will bring with me the editorial skilz of K-Lo, the wit of Insty and the wine box wielding prowess of Malthaus. (I also haz several semesters of very dated econ to use with my “special project.”)

    Also, too, finally, somebody who might speak to Wisconsin Republicans in a language they understand:

    http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/03/herbie-hancock-jane-goodall-wo.html

  50. 50.

    ThatLeftTurnInABQ

    March 4, 2011 at 4:34 pm

    @David Koch:

    Smuggling her across the boarder in my trunk was hard work.

    Next time your wife comes home unexpectedly and you have to smuggle Maria out of the master bedroom in a big hurry, try using the fire escape rather than going via the guest bedroom.

  51. 51.

    different church-lady

    March 4, 2011 at 4:56 pm

    Hey, how much did it cost the White House to replace all those keyboards Clinton didn’t vandalize? Like, $4000 bucks a computer, right? And hell, this is MARBLE we’re talking about! Do you know how much damage a human head can do to marble when it meets it softly?

  52. 52.

    Southern Beale

    March 4, 2011 at 6:00 pm

    @trollhattan:

    The UN Messenger of Peace, who also visited with Gov. Jerry Brown, praised the state for its “leading role in actually having climate change legislation.“

    Emphasis mine but somehow I imagine Goodall saying it like that ….

  53. 53.

    Comrade Mary

    March 5, 2011 at 12:15 am

    Now you’ve reminded me of Chedda Bob.

  54. 54.

    RossInDetroit

    March 5, 2011 at 12:53 am

    Cleaning public buildings is something that I know a lot about planning and carrying out. My staff cleans a building with 1500 high school students and around 250 staff with about 600 hours a week in custodial time. The building is also open for public events 7 days a week and is in use 16 hours/day or more.
    Their cost estimates are at least an order of magnitude out of line. Probably more.

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