Today marks the first anniversary of the Wisconsin uprising that erupted after Republican Gov. Scott Walker announced plans to eliminate almost all collective bargaining rights for most public workers, as well as slash their pay and benefits. Now, one year later, Walker is in the midst of a recall effort and faces an investigation for campaign corruption. “People have begun to recognize that they shouldn’t just wait for elections,” says John Nichols, who covered the protests for The Nation magazine. “They should go to the street and challenge political power at the point where that power is taking away their rights or threatening them in some fundamental way.” Nichols is the author of the new book, “Uprising: How Wisconsin Renewed the Politics of Protest, from Madison to Wall Street.”
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