Al Franken writes, "Eighteen Republican state senators broke faith with the people who elected them. They broke their word. They may have even broken the law. They wanted to bust public-sector unions - the last line of defense for the rights of teachers, police officers, firefighters, nurses, and other public servants - so badly that they were willing to cheat the system. Let's be clear: They did this in the hopes that, with the bill passed, the crowds would dissipate and we'd let this go. But they were wrong."



Portrait, Senator Al Franken, 06/01/09. (photo: Jeffrey Thompson/Getty Images)

This Isn't Over

By Sen. Al Franken, Reader Supported News

e were all shocked by what happened in Wisconsin Wednesday night.

Eighteen Republican state senators broke faith with the people who elected them. They broke their word. They may have even broken the law.

They wanted to bust public-sector unions - the last line of defense for the rights of teachers, police officers, firefighters, nurses, and other public servants - so badly that they were willing to cheat the system.

Let's be clear: They did this in the hopes that, with the bill passed, the crowds would dissipate and we'd let this go.

But they were wrong. We're not going to let this go. We're going to help the people of Wisconsin fight this bill - and the illegal power grab it took to pass it - every step of the way. We're going to help them hold accountable the elected officials who sold out workers and subverted democracy.

And, most of all, we're going to make sure that this is the end - not the beginning - of the right wing's attempt to destroy the middle class. It took a power-hungry, corporate-backed governor and 18 senators with no respect for the law or the struggle of working families to bring this issue to national attention. But the fight to stand up for the middle class against corporations and the politicians they own has always been a national fight.

It's up to us to make sure we win that fight for the working families whose voices - whose livelihoods - are at stake.

Thank you. And please stay tuned.