Well, this is one, to be articulately accurate, sucky day.
Governor Walker won by a big margin. The Democratic party came in late, with too little.
Big Right wing money sources drowned the state in money, only for Crossroads, the massive, Rove run money PAC to mock Democrats for blaming Citizens United. Would you expect honesty and integrity from a Rove Right Wing venture? No. They know how to go for the big lie. (If you're going to lie, lie big. It's harder to disbelieve.)
Obama avoided the state, but that was probably the right call. If he'd shown up the results would have probably been more in Walker's favor-- a concept that, probably, thousands of other Democrats are seriously considering. Are there ANY politicians who will want Obama's help?
Now, let's talk about Wisconisn.
Here are the results of the recall:
and take a look at the results of Obama Vs. McCain, in 2008, in Wisconsin.
Here's the scary observation. Walker won by pulling just over 70,000 more votes than McCain-- probably the people who would have voted for him if he didn't pick a total idiot, Sara Palin, as his VP.
On the other hand, over a half a million democrats and independents didn't show or changed sides. Let's call this the "disgusted with Obama and the Republicans effect."
I know. The polls show that Obama still holds a slight lead over Romney. I don't buy it. Obama won because he inspired people to come out and vote in record numbers. This recall election should have inspired people the same way. It didn't. Obama won't. The polls may show Obama with a 7% lead over Romney, but that doesn't help if Democrats and former Obama supporters do like they did with the Walker election and don't show up.
But don't just blame Obama. Blame the Democrats. They controlled by houses of congress and the Whitehouse and did close to nothing, except pass a health bill that was a boon to health insurers. And they've done little but whine and complain about the bad republicans.
Now, I used crazy in the title because it looks like, by a very tiny margin, the Democrats have taken a majority in the Wisconsin senate-- not something even MSNBC has been talking about. That'll put a slight check on Walker, but only slight. It'll be interesting to see if billionaires like the Koch brothers can buy a conversion and get one Democrat to shift parties.
Another effect of this disgusting outcome-- the Walker victory-- is that it will encourage more billionaires and uber-wealthy right wing a**holes douchebags to pony up for Rove's Crossroads operation. The Walker victory proved it worked. Don't even think about buying the right wing talking points, enabled by the MSM, that the people spoke. This was such a tainted election, with Walker spending SEVEN TIMES what the democrats spent, there's no way to honestly interpret this as a vote of the people.
My observation about turnout includes the consideration that all that money helped to suppress turnout, but Obama and the Democrats helped.
if you feel disgusted today, well, good. You can get depressed, turn off the TV for a few months, eat a couple pounds of chocolate, or get angry and get active.
-Send a message to both parties and register as an independent.
-support a third party candidate.
-get involved with local occupy/OWS people. They're doing good work, and a lot of it, even if they're off the radar.
-write about your concerns.
-talk to your friends and family. Tell them how they are boiling frogs.
- don't settle for the lesser of two evils anymore.
-Tell MSNBC, the democratic channel, to stop sucking up to the Democrats and start telling the WHOLE story-- Chris Hayes and Dylan Ratigan are doing a decent job.
-Elect progressive locals to hyperlocal offices, like committeperson.
-move your money out of big banks.
-Vote!!. Don't buy the message that the way to fight the system is to not vote. That's exactly what the Two parties and the MSM want-- for people to stay home. Just vote for anybody but the two main parties. We need more Bernie Sanders.
-Support alternative media that shine light on the truth.
-resolve to do something, every day, and to do get out and physically do something every week.
Updates and additions:
1-word is there was vote count manipulation
2- also, don't forget that Photo voter ID did a significant job of repressing the vote. (my friend Allen McQuarrie pointed this out)
3- This just in from CNN:
The Dow and S&P posted their best day of 2012 as investors grew hopeful that more stimulus for the global economy is around the corner. The Dow gained 284 points.I'm guessing that this may not be because of some BS hopeful about the stimulus for the global economy. It's because the writing is on the wall. Citizen United money, Crossroads ads, voter ID repression of voting and worse than ever cooperation of the MSM are all going to set the big corporations that represent the DOW industrial average free of regulations, taxes and worker/union troubles.
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