December 10, 2010
Not to worry!
Wisconsin turned from deep blue to deep red on November 2. The Dems lost more in Wisconsin than in any other state. Wisconsin Dems lost the majority in the Senate and the Assembly; lost the two Congressional seats held by Democrats Obey and Kagan; lost the Feingold seat to a novice; lost the governor's chair in a landslide. Some "summer soldiers" would quit given the worst performance by a political party in the entire country, but not Mike Tate and his team! No siree! Tate, who never tells us his salary, annonced on December 8--missing an opportunity to remind us of Pearl Harbor--that he is running again as State Chair of the Democratic Party!
His annouoncement said, "While we sustained significant losses in November, our party is emerging strong and ready---to build for victory in 2012." Thank goodness he is no sunshine patriot!
And, all the members of his team--Schroeder, Jef Hall, Meg Andrietsch--are running for re-election. Huzzah!
Obama: Say what you will about House Democrats, but they certainly made history in the caucus when they chanted, in unison, "F the president!" Wow. Could it get worse? You bet: just wait for the debt-ceiling debate. Think this Obamination was bad, just wait.
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Quick quiz. Tell me, in 25 words or less, what the Wisconsin Dems stood for in the last election. You can't, can you. That is exactly the problem. Screw 'em. We need a real progressive third party that will run for legislative seats at the state and federal level. The heck with the top of the ticket nonsense. Box 'em in at the legislative level. After all, that is what the (formerly) minority GOP did and it works.
As for the Dems telling Uncle Tomobama to shove off it is a day late and billion dollars short. They are like the slow kid in the third row in fourth grade who only got the clue AFTER flunking the test. What a pathetic bunch our current Dems really are!
-Ziggy Zickenschlager | Sturgeon Bay, WI. | December 10, 2010
Yes, the Wisconsin Democrats sustained huge losses in the recent election, but we were hardly alone. Just in case you missed it, Ed, significant losses were tallied pretty much everywhere. The electorate is in a truly foul mood, no question.
[One might wish they had kept themselves better informed on the issues - have you read "What's the Matter with Kansas?"].
But I suspect that any Republicans who really believe that they've been given a mandate are in for some rude shocks. The voters are mad at all politicians, not just ours!
And blaming Mike Tate and the state party leadership for our losses is counterproductive. In my opinion, the coordinated campaign worked better than it has in my memory. It truly was a coordinated campaign, with a large group of dedicated folks working hard for each and every candidate. I wrote to everyone after the election saying that it was sad we lost, but it was most definitely not for lack of effort...
I'm hereby endorsing Mike and Melissa and Jef and the rest of our leadership to stay put and keep up the good work!
-John Smart | Park Falls WI | December 10, 2010
If Democrats wish to be victorious in 2012, they will have to do more than simply depend on the Republican'ts screwing up. Democrats will have to demonstrate to the people that they have solid solutions. Talk is cheap. We need a checklist in writing.
Teachers write lesson plans with specific goals and how to achieve them.
Democrats need to also write lesson plans that specify goals and then, in no uncertain terms, tell us how the goals will be met.
Unless Democrats take the bull by the horns, you can bet the next election will be no more than bull.
-Franz Fripplfrappl | Out | December 10, 2010
Oh brother! More dumb comments from Mr. Smart. The guy who thinks it is wonderful that the Dems are disorganized.
Well, we see where that gets us don't we. Yes, Dems all over the country took a beating and that is because Dems all over the country are a damned herd of cats. Disorganized with no clear message and no message discipline. EXACTLY why we need to dump them and form a progressive/liberal third party and run for legislative seats, as Ziggy noted.
Forget the Dems. They are yesterday and we are so over you! Bye Bye.
-Flanders McGoogle | Rio Creek, WI. | December 10, 2010
Oh no - Flanders McGoogle is leaving the Democratic Party! However will we survive?
-John Smart | Park Falls WI | December 11, 2010
I like and respect John Smart, but I am not particularly comforted by his logic.
He says the coordinated campaign worked better than any in recent memory, that our Dem party leadership should stay put and keep up the good work, and that our losses were not for lack of effort on our part, rather it was simply that the electorate was in a foul mood. Hmmmm.
If we don't engage in some critical evaluation of what we did wrong over the last couple of years our prospects going forward are not good.
-Steve Carlson | Trego WI | December 12, 2010
I did not say or suggest that we shouldn't "engage in some critical evaluation" - of course we should. What I am saying is that we should not label our leadership as failures and chuck them out.
Would we do this all across the nation? The only state Democratic Party that demonstrated real wins was California's. Maybe we should ask them to take us all over?
The point is that we are the Democratic Party, and we took a nation-wide "shellacking." Tossing blame around will not solve our problem.
The electorate was furious and bewildered! And, as I said, if the Republicans really believe they received a mandate, it will be much easier to shellac them in two years!
-John Smart | Park Falls WI | December 13, 2010
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