A growing sense of determination to change the balance of power in Wisconsin can be weighed in the profusion of organizations ? many new, some existing ? that lined up to counter the Walker agenda: Wisconsin Wave, We Are Wisconsin, United Wisconsin, Defend Wisconsin, Defending Wisconsin, Recall the Republican 8 and more. They joined labor unions in mounting a sometimes dizzying spin of actions that were noisy, messy and exuberant.
None of the organizations is dominant now, but the absence of tight organizational structure is not necessarily a barrier to success, says Pamela Oliver, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of sociology who researches protest dynamics.