May 23, 2005
The Luxemburg leg
By Mike McCabe
This past Saturday, the fourth regional People’s Legislature was held in northeastern Wisconsin . . . in a dance hall and bowling alley out in the country near the small town of Luxemburg to be exact.
What we found there was what we have found everywhere the People’s Legislature goes – a hunger for change. The issues people identify vary from place to place – and the Green Bay area was no exception – but there is a common thread that runs through all the concerns. People have lost faith in their elected officials. They do not believe their representatives are representing them. They feel politically homeless.
Just because they share common frustrations and a common appetite for change does not mean they see eye-to-eye on everything. When you have featured local speakers like Roy Leyendecker of the Northeast Wisconsin Libertarian Party and Jill Bussiere of the Greens, there will be differences of opinion. And there were.
But what was special about Saturday is that this diverse collection of citizens talked for the better part of seven hours about issues they know the Lobbyists’ Legislature won’t touch – issues like health care reform, the impact of globalization on the local economy, the right of working people to unionize, government corruption, energy policy, environmental protection, access to higher education and so much more. Even when they disagreed they understood that their voices were heard without having to make a big campaign donation first, something they all agree is not happening at the state Capitol anymore. Then they came up with a five-point plan to organize and take action locally to build the People’s Legislature movement.
We’re on to something here.
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