June 6, 2012
See you at Fighting Bob Fest!
It was a hard pill to swallow. It seemed like progressives and Democrats worked hard, remained united, raised lots of money, collected one million recall petitions, put coalitions together, ran good campaigns, and got the vote out. Check, check, check and check. But it didn't work.
Something is wrong and we should take some time to figure it out. Thanks to John Lehman's apparent victory in Racine there is some time for introspection.
One thing is clear. The problems started long before the uprising, the recall, and last night's electoral defeat. Finger pointing is a dangerous game. When you point a finger the other four digits point at you.
Remember that the elections in 2010 saw Wisconsin Democrats with the worst record in the U.S. Wisconsin Democrats lost a Senate seat; lost a House seat; lost control of the Assembly and the Senate, lost the governor's chair. "Pathetic" would have summed it up. We started this round behind the 8-ball and it was not easy.
After the hollering at the GOP party and the sarcastic screech from Lt. Gov Kleefich, "This is what democracy looks like!" Walker has some things to think about. He will have to do some work. There are still the 250,000 jobs to create; there is a question about the quality of the created jobs; there is campaign reform. Now that the recall is over, the John Doe investigation should speed up. Is it possible Walker will be indicted? Who knows, but he is taking it seriously with $160,000 put in a legal defense fund. That ain't hay, as they say.
Assuming that the Democrats are in control of the Senate and remain steadfast, Walker's right-wing agenda will slow to a walk. And those big givers will get tired of questions about the favors they expect from Walker & Co. While the Journal Sentinel mulls the prospect of a Walker vice presidency, Paul Ryan won't be in the cheering section.
First thought. We need to open Fighting Bob Fest XI to get your perspective. Fewer speakers and longer breakout sessions are called for. We have roughly 30,000 visitors per week on Fighting Bob.com--we need 60,000. Fighting Bob Blog Talk Radio must expand exponentially. We look forward to 10 thousand at Fighting Bob Fest.
All this to say, roll up your sleeves and get ready for a wide-open heated Fighting Bob Fest. I can hardly wait. September 15 is the date--see you there!
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I just discovered your blog site as I was looking for news about wisconsin vote. I just wrote a comment on another site echoing what you said about staying focused on the process. It will take time and some pain for people to find each other and support each other in taking that leap into something better than "voting for the lesser of two evils" and other self comforting beliefs that keep us trapped by the 1%. I am glad I discovered you, I will stay in touch.
-arlene hickory | lake bluff Ill. | June 6, 2012
https://www.facebook.com/events/298974943529108/ Here is a link to the Fighting Bob Fest 2012 Facebook event page. Please share!
-Sam Wegleitner | Madison, WI | June 6, 2012
Blah! We're stuck with moronic Walker for two more years. Meanwhile, foreclosures are spiking, home prices down, jobs pay less and with fewer benefits and Walker's budget is the largest in Wisconsin history.
However, corporations and billionaires are happy. They will pay no taxes and have no liability for injuring people. Polluters can harm people with impunity and our mass transit system keeps poor people away from the rich. We have become the new Alabama. I wouldn't be surprised to see a Confederate flag flying over the governor's mansion. We have become everything we used to despise about "backwards" southern states. Now Wisconsin leads the way. Two more years of this and a decent opponent and we can get rid of walker and his ilk, unless the John Doe investigation does it for us.
We did win one thing. Our new public enemy No. 1 is Scott Walker and we'll watch him like a hawk. He wants law and order, we'll make sure he toes the line and his billionaire buddies who pay no taxes will be right in line after him.
-Rich | Richland Center, WI | June 6, 2012
Yep, we lost this battle, but nothing has really changed. We will not stop no matter how times our nation elects idiots (twice when they can). People will have to wake up, but as a earlier guest post said (paraphrasing) "the need for change is an evolutionary necessity." That is what I believe. My wife wrote something today and here is a brief excerpt:
"ok, but here we are ~
Fight! Occupy in 'yourself', Your mind ~ Your Heart. Resist in Every Way The status quo. We are No Longer a democracy! Our representatives represent the Few (the billionaire boys club)~ our government is bought and paid for. They Do Not Deserve 'civility', they deserve 'Reality'!
Give No Quarter! Strike, Boycott. Flip them the finger as they go piously with God to destroy this Earth and All Her Children. All Her Life; (the waters, the very air we breathe, the land, Our Children).
Sustain your own Local Community. Work with Each Other."
Back to me again; the battle for democracy from tyranny will never end and has characterized our nations history since its inception. Our Revolution that the founders started was not won quickly, and many times our revolt against the Crown was near defeat, but...we prevailed and won our independence in the end. Since then this same battle has been waged repeatedly and if "our side" had won last night it would not be over either. So onwards we go. Hope for the best, expect the worst. Fight tyranny and injustice always!
-John E. Davey | Kendall, WI | June 6, 2012
I have been reading your articles,and enjoy them greatly. It's disapointing about the recall, but we must drive on. Thank you for all the fine articles.
-mark | waterloo,wisconsin | June 6, 2012
Nonsense,
"Change" has come and gone. The days of true Progressive Democrats are over, and this loss is just another example of that.
You see, the acceptable societal norms have changed. Since 911 we are in a period of mindless, zombie-like patriotism, and Americans do not question. They follow. The old days of Progressive thought (along with love of the common man) are over and done with - and all that's left are two parties that serve the same corporate Masters.
Since 911 Americans no longer "truly" question where there money goes, what their government does, or even what our foreign policy is like. Instead, people blindly accept that corporations run the government, that our government bails out the corporations, and that government-led corporate-backed armies should invade foreign countries at will.
Nowadays, acceptance of the "status quo" is not unlike the weather or taxes. Everyone KNOWS and GRIPES about the problem, but nobody does anything to change it. And at the top of that list is our "Fearless Leader".
For example, even though the vast majority of this country opposes the war in Afghanistan, we're still there. And what ever happened to the massive revolt to the president's drone program? Or Gitmo? Come now, you all know the list. And it goes on and on. . . .
Because in the New Order, Americans mindlessly accept that all these things are necessary. Or even worse, people ignore these perils because they think it doesn't affect them personally.
The Mindless Days of the present will be followed by days of Government Tyranny and Corporate Overlords.
-John D. | Madison | June 6, 2012
It didn't take Walker long to take aim at the environmental regulations as the bad guy in the lack of jobs issue. So now we can look forward to more relaxation of the environmental rules, per his comments this morning. It will take a lot of vigilance on the part of the public to make sure that we don't lose the best natural resources part of this state so that he can keep his promise for 250,000 new jobs.
-Linda | Wautoma, WI | June 6, 2012
We need to work outside the system. The political and economic systems in this country have been rigged to benefit the rich people who own the politicians. Political parties cannot be trusted, they will always sell out to their wall st masters. People who crave change need to learn to work outside the framework of corporate government and media. As long as we rely on elections where sheep are brainwashed by corporate ad campaigns we will not achieve meaningful change. The corporatists must be banished from the political system.
Of course I am sure that emperor Obama would have helped us if he was not so busy ordering murders and attending high dollar fundraisers.
-Ron | SoCal | June 7, 2012
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