Raw Story:

An inspiring speech made by a member of the Wisconsin police union, explaining why they’ve chosen to resist the governor’s anti-union agenda. “Mr. Walker, if you’re listening: We know pretty well know who you work for. Now let me tell you who we work for,” he said, eliciting a round of cheers from the crowd. This video was published to YouTube on Feb. 26, 2011.

Right now, I’m wondering one question: whose decision was it not to clear the capitol of protesters? A piece in the New York Times leaves that question pretty much unanswered. It mentions that the decision came from “the state agency that oversees the Capitol police” and that this agency is headed by a Walker appointee, but gives zero insight into who actually made the decision or what the reasoning was behind it. The closest it comes is to say that a police spokeswoman “did not know whether Mr. Walker had been involved in the decision.”

But the following bit was interesting, especially in light of the above video (which I hadn’t seen before – thanks to redditor Orangutan for pointing it out). The head of the police union suggests it was their decision:

Union officials, who had denounced the plan to close the Capitol overnight as an effort to silence critics, called the reversal a capitulation by Mr. Walker’s administration. “Cooler heads prevailed,” said Jim Palmer, the executive director of the 11,000-member Wisconsin Professional Police Association. “They had said they were going to clear the place out, and then they thought the better of it. Now it’s clear that law enforcement professionals are running the show.”

Emphasis mine.

Question: is Governor Walker losing control of the state as workers refuse to carry out his edicts?

At this point, it’s only a question and maybe even a silly one. But Governor Walker needs to have a good explanation for why he backed down here or it’s a question that’s going to occur to more people than just myself.