Rival rallies for and against the budget repair bill were held over the weekend, bringing in big names from both sides of the debate to Madison.
Thousands of unions' rights supporters gathered at the King Street entrance to Capitol Saturday to listen to director Michael Moore speak, who accused corporate interests of manipulating the public.
""[The Republicans] have expertly convinced many Americans to buy their version of the American dream,"" Moore said. ""They have created a poison pill [of] mutually assured destruction.""
Moore also critiqued Republicans on their efforts to change bargaining rights and what he said is an unwillingness to negotiate.
Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and other local political figures spoke at the rally to usher in the fourth week of protests.
As the protesters filled the Capitol Square through the weekend, Tea Party supporters had their own rally Sunday at the Alliant Energy Center. Several hundred Walker supporters attended while many anti-Walker critics demonstrated outside.
The rally, which was one of many organized by Americans for Prosperity, a Tea Party group largely funded by the Koch brothers, hosted Joe the Plumber and other popular conservative figures.
Jeffrey Horn, who has been active in the effort to recall Sen. Mark Miller, D-Monona, said there is a large, silent voice of Wisconsin residents who have been supporting his recall effort.
Horn said the Alliant Energy Center was an ""easier venue"" than the Capitol for the Tea Party rally because of the ""craziness"" of the Capitol.
The Madison rally was the last stop for the Americans for Prosperity bus tour that had traveled across the state, stopping in cities like Milwaukee, Green Bay and Wausau.
As the battle over the bill rages on, Gov. Scott Walker is receiving increasingly more criticism.
A new poll released by the right-leaning Wisconsin Policy Research Institute showed 65 percent of those who responded think Gov. Scott Walker should compromise on the bill. The poll also showed the new governor, who won the state with 52 percent of the vote, now has a 43 percent approval rating.
