Madison — In the early morning, they used their fists and banged on the wooden doors of the shuttered Capitol.

In the afternoon, they screamed "shame, shame" from the galleries of the Assembly as Republicans walked off the floor in quiet triumph after passing the most contentious portion of Gov. Scott Walker's budget-repair bill.

Amid high political stakes and high drama Thursday, protesters made their voices heard inside and outside the Capitol while legislators voted to curtail collective bargaining rights for most public-sector employees.

It was a day unlike any other in Wisconsin's political history.

Riveting and raucous, the scenes unspooled on the streets and inside the ornate building, where protesters chanted in the hallways while legislators conducted business inside the soaring Assembly chamber.

There was anger - protesters banging drums and offering chants. Students, teachers, nurses, off-duty police and firefighters, sheet metal workers, Teamsters and retirees linked in common cause against the bill. Many raged at Walker.

"I came here to protest all of Walker's policies," said June Roohr, a retired teacher from Madison, as she stood in the rotunda. "He has been an unethical lying man who doesn't deserve to sit in the governor's chair."

There were death threats disclosed, as Republican legislators, including the leaders of the both houses, detailed how they had received such threats via e-mail.

Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald (R-Horicon) read from one such threat on the Assembly floor and said, "I love this job. I love debating. But I'm not going to risk anyone's life."

There were delays as the building, due to open at 8 a.m., was shut until 11:30 a.m. Police removed demonstrators who had spent the night on the floor in front of Fitzgerald's office.

The demonstrators wanted to block a vote; police dragged a few away and escorted others from the antechamber.

At one point, a small group of State Patrol officers - fewer than 10 - was equipped in riot gear near a stairwell by the Assembly. But the officers were never called into action, according to Tim Donovan, a spokesman for the Department of Administration.

Troopers have been outfitted in the gear a couple of other times during protests over the past three weeks, but they have never been called into action, Donovan said.

Passionate arguments

On the Assembly floor, they debated, at times bitterly and emotionally, the Democrats wearing orange union shirts, the Republicans sitting impassively, mostly listening.

Fitzgerald easily survived a Democratic bid to remove him as speaker.

"Let me tell you, let me tell you what is going to happen here today," Fitzgerald said, looking across the aisle at the Assembly Democrats. "We're going to vote on this bill in the light of day. It's going to pass. I know you feel passionate that this is going to ruin Wisconsin . . . and Wisconsin as we know it will not exist. That is simply not true."

Assembly Democrats attacked the bill, lamented the process, spoke of the large number of demonstrators opposed to the measure.

"I do not recognize what is happening to this great state," said Rep. Cory Mason (D-Racine).

"This is disgraceful, this is disgraceful and you all know it, know it in your heart," said Rep. Tamara Grigsby (D-Milwaukee).

Nearly three hours of debate ended with a bang, a lightning-quick vote that aroused the Democrats and the gallery of spectators who leapt to their feet and chanted, "Shame, shame."

The Republicans left the chambers, escorted by a large group of state troopers and agents of the Division of Criminal Investigation. Protesters yelled at the politicians, some shouting "recall."

Back in the Assembly, minority leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) addressed the crowd there and the media with a bullhorn he had pulled from his desk.

"We think this vote will not stand," Barca said.

Protesters vowed to fight on.

Barbara Muse of New Lisbon held a sign that read, "I'm Not Going Away."

"I'm trying to be a voice for Wisconsin's working families," she said. "This is class warfare and I take affront to that."

Later, labor leaders held a rally outside the Capitol and criticized passage of the bill.

"It's all about a power grab and silencing the rights and voices of workers," said Phil Neuenfeldt, head of the AFL-CIO. He added, "It's us vs. the Big Bucks."

"We all knew all along this was not about the money," said Mahlon Mitchell, head of the Professional Fire Fighters Association of Wisconsin. "This is about union-busting."

Saturday, labor and others opposed to Walker's measure will be in Madison in what is being billed as the biggest protest to date. There will be rallies around the state, culminating with a 3 p.m. rally at the Capitol.