Wisconsin – this is pissing me off
Submitted by Derek K on Wed, 06/06/2012 - 8:30pm.
In a lot of ways I don’t know how to start this, so let me just begin with this, I don’t know anyone who thought Barrett was going to win yesterday. The polling never showed him with an advantage. Most people I know thought the recall was a bad idea to begin with. Days before the election most people I know just wanted to ignore it.
What I don’t understand is why the Left/Democratic “leadership” wasn’t more prepared for this. Why have they, like they always do, let the “journalists” piss on us afterwards. I am so sick of reading story after story that we got “pummeled,” and that we’re “demoralized.” The only reason why I’m anywhere near “demoralized” is because I have to be associated with a party that has such crappy “leadership” that they will let this go on. Let me throw out this revelation – we didn’t lose yesterday.
Yesterday Democrats won control of the Wisconsin Senate. From what I understand, if I’ve been told correctly, this pretty much stops Walker’s agenda. This is what we were looking for last summer. If the Left/Democrats had just concentrated on doing Senate recalls, I’m pretty sure we’d all be celebrating today.
But no, I have read article after article about how what happened yesterday will “embolden” the Right. I have to read article after article about how these are truly dark days for the Left and Unions. I not only have to read this from “journalists,” but I also have to read this from people on the Left. I have to read Laura Clawson’s ridiculous article on DailyKos about how the “Wisconsin recall was an obvious blow.”
No it wasn’t.
Stand up leadership on the Left. Fight back, give us some hope, did the SB5 repeal crater the Right?
Another thing I don’t get from our “leadership” are the e-mails I’ve been getting complaining that we got vastly outspent. Of course we got vastly outspent, what did you expect the Conservatives to do? Are you kidding me? Was this a surprise? If they didn’t expect it, if they didn’t plan for it, then really, why did they do the recall? They should have gone into it expecting to get clobbered in fund raising, but having some concrete idea of how they win could anyway. Again, it’s just dismal “leadership.”
There was a lesson to be learned
There was a lesson to be learned from the recall effort. I doubt our “leadership” will get it, but the lesson is, canvassing and phone banking are not the sole keys to victory for the Left/Democrats. If this is all Democrats do to combat “all that money,” they are going to lose. The idea that Democrats must simply “push, pull, drag people to the polls” will not work. There simply is not enough there to win elections and it does not energize people as much as the Right gets energized. If there was one thing that people should have taken note of in the lead up to the Walker recall it was the intensity level of the Right to vote. According to polling days before the election the intensity level was off the charts. Democrats need to figure out how to chip into that. If they don’t figure it out, they will lose every time.
I agree with you about the spin
but the media is besotted with "desperate days for Democrats" spin. They use it no matter what. In their eyes, everything bodes ill for Democrats and well for Republicans. I wish we could get organized to strike back, to slam the media nonstop the way the right does with their phony "liberal media" accusations. The media is conservative — across the board. And we need to let them know that isn't alright, although I'm not sure how.
I am also not sure what we do about the money. In the case of this race, the enthusiasm was off the charts on both sides, so one can't say that Democrats voters and activists were unmotivated. But we just don't HAVE the kinds of donors that they have. With the secrecy under which rich donors can now contribute, we'll never know how much of the$50 million or so spent on Walker's behalf came solely from his pales Charles and David Koch. But I'm willing to bet a significant amount. We don't have those kinds of donors who are looking to purchase specific pieces of our government and our country. And it's really really hard to motivate someone who is struggling to pay for food to make a $10 donation by telling them about the tsunami of a billion dollars that richie-riches intend to spend on Romney's behalf. That's dispiriting. I don't have an answer except that somehow that money flood must be stopped and the people behind it brought into the light.
However, on the upside, the Koch Brothers took a significant loss yesterday, basically flushing their money. It's my understanding that Walker planned to call a special session of the legislature to ram through a bill handing the state over to mining interests to be ravaged. That session would be a waste of time now — Walker no longer has the votes with the Democrats taking control of the state senate. That's a blow to the Kochs, whose grubby fingers are in that pie.
There's another factor creeping out that makes this less hopeless than it might sound: people apparently are resistant to the idea of recalls, thinking they are unfair and vindictive. But exit polls in Wisconsin yesterday showed Obama will a healthy lead among people who voted yesterday. Let Romney squander money in this state. He probably won't win it. If Walker is indicted in the next few months, as appears likely, so much the better. (Yeah, I know that's kinda jaw-dropping — it would be as f Cuyahoga County had elected Jimmy Dimora county executive after the FBI raids and while he was under heavy suspicion).
Thanks but...
Thanks but come on...
Your statement on the media, "I wish we could get organized to strike back."
Yeah, that was part of the point of my post. I thought I was trying to make the case that if our leadership had it together, was coorindated and paying attention they could strike back. They could call these "journalists" and correct the record. They could also engage us, give us the names and numbers of people to call to help out. It's not that hard, one just has to think it through and be prepared, which our leadership never does.
Our leadership should also understand how detrimental not doing anything is. When this stays out there, the base believes it and gets more dis-heartened.
About the money...
Again, this goes back to a lack of leadership and a plan. Look corporations aren't these wonderful entities of good. They are flawed in many many ways. There are a vast amount of them with people who work for them, but hate them. There's a huge number of people who hate their job, can't wait for the weekend, their only hope for happiness is retirement, because they are treated like shit by these corporations. If Democrats took on these people's fights, if they illuminated the corporate ills, if they knocked corporations off their pedistals. By highlighting unsafe working conditions, the ridculous corporate policies people must live with, Democrats could tap into a voter base that they don't really currently have and begin to turn the tied on them. You know, people working at Koch Industries have died on the job. They have some of the worst working conditions all thanks to the free market slavery policies they push for. Do you ever hear a Democrat talk about this?
You're wrong about enthusiasm being high on both sides. There was a gap on the Democrats side. There's polling to back this up. The intensity has been high on the Republican side for the last year and a half, it's the whole point of govern hard right.
Take leadership
Derek,
It is somewhat useful to complain about what the Democratic leadership is not doing. Perhaps that will stimulate them to do a better job next time.
But it would also be very useful for you to take leadership and do what you think needs doing. You have this forum that you can use -- use it. You "...could call these "journalists" and correct the record. [You] could also engage [your readers], give [them] the names and numbers of people to call to help out. It's not that hard, one just has to think it through and be prepared..." I know you do not have access to the Democrat lists like the Democratic leaders do, but you do have OhioDaily blog -- use it to do what you are calling for. If your message is compelling enough, then others may pass it along (make it go viral). That is the power you have -- use it.
Thanks for your comment
Thanks for your comment. I understand what you are saying.
When you write "But it would also be very useful for you to take leadership and do what you think needs doing."
What's to say I have already tried? What's to say I haven't already done it?
Look, the Democratic Party is currenlty infested with some of the poorest leadership I've ever seen. I understand when someone complains it's easy to turn the tables and say "why don't you do it?" But established leadership is important. It's the way people and our society is wired - to pay more attention to what the identified leaders are doing and saying and then to take cues from them. All these people sought out these positions, they wanted these titles, but currently they are highly ineffective. Well part of my leadership is to call them out on it. It's going to be about demanding better. It's not going to be about being complacent. It's my right and it's what I'm going to do. And the reason why I'm going to do it, is because when they get better (if they ever do), we'll get better.