General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe risks that WisDems took and which played out with the recall and where to go now.
Everyone knew the recall was risky. They knew Walker would have BIG money and would fight it tooth and nail with his big money allies. And they knew many would not like the idea of the recall on principle. But they truly believed it was worth it and that they could win. But as BARNEY FRANK himself said, it was a mistake.
First, they had to have a primary fight, and the moderate won who was less of a friend to the unions. The same guy who lost before. This caused some rift in the party and with the unions and added to the RePub narrative that this was just a sour grapes do-over. (Though Barrett was probably their best shot among those who chose to run. Falk would have faired worse.)
Next, Barrett had only a month to campaign. Tall order.
Next, and VERY IMPORTANTLY, this recall effort sucked wing and energy out of the MOVEMENT to BUILD A LASTING NARRATIVE that Walker and his cronies are divisive, rotten, corrupt, extreme TeaBaggers and that they needed to be beaten hard in November and to BUILD A NARRATIVE and CAMPAIGN that unionism is good for workers.
NO, not everyone was "brainwashed by the big money ads." Many Wisconsinites did not agree with the recall, Walker got 16% of registered Dems and a majority of the Indies, many of whom will vote for OBAMA in Nov. The big money helped energize the Pub base no doubt, but it did not brainwash the rest of them who gave Walker the win. Many of them don't even care much for Walker. They just didn't agree with the recall, and all the polling overwhelmingly proves this. Talk to Wisconsites. They'll say the same thing.
I myself am opposed to recalls in general. I believe if a person is an asshole you vote them out at the NEXT REGULAR ELECTION. Recalls are very rarely warranted. (Nonetheless, I did donate to this cause in small amounts several times because they were doing it so I wanted to help, especially to help them get another state senate win.)
Now, dust off, re-hone the message, and get busy organizing for November. That is all that can be done. And hopefully Walker will have more problems with the John Doe matter. The good that did come out of this was Walker was confronted with his rottenness, so maybe, just maybe, he feels like he dodged the bullet this time but better re-tune how he operates going forward.
So now, ON TO NOVEMBER. That is what grown ups do. Be real. See the WHOLE picture which includes not just blaming any one factor like the money, take solace in what was done well and the effort, and then move on to the next goal.
Moral of the story here though: The recall was VERY RISKY with a lot of VERY foreseeable pitfalls, and it just didn't work. Learn from it, as an adult does, and move on. (MANY KUDOS THOUGH TO THE DEMS WHO FOUGHT HARD.)
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
MannyGoldstein
(34,589 posts)And only pick winnable fights.
The Third Way took over our party in 1993, and promptly lost both houses of Congress. And they stayed lost until Dr. Dean took over and backed unwinnable candidates, when we won back both houses in both of the next two elections. Then the Third Way took over again in 2009 and... here we are.
mazzarro
(3,450 posts)If the left picks only winnable fights, then unlike Dr. Dean's strategy, the left will not compete in some of the fights. I believe that part of the problem with the democratic party is that some of its leaders are compromised and have divided allegiance. They find ways to do back deals while pretending to be with the rank-and-file of the party which mostly leftist. The right has controlled talk-radio for years now, yet there are no strong liberal commercial radio network to counter the right. Murdock and Fox has been running wild cable arena in the while we take dregs from MSNBC. So what's up all that?
Scuba
(53,475 posts)RBInMaine
(13,570 posts)about Dean's 50 state strategy. He was for running hard in Regular elections everywhere, but this was NOT A REGULAR ELECTION, it was an INITIATED SPECIAL ELECTION and an OPTIONAL effort, and he may well not have supported that. Anyone who knows ANYTHING about electoral politics knows that you don't INITIATE a recall or referendum unless you know you have a VERY good chance to win. Maybe they honestly thought they could do it, but MANY also did not think it was a good idea and warned against it. They should have focused on NOVEMBER instead and worked to re-claim the legislature then. And they should have used that time to continue to build the narrative that unionism is good and Walker and the TeaPubs are not. Finally, you don't win with just your die-hard base. You need to win Indies too. It was actually crossover Dems and Indies that brought it home for Walker. He could not have won without their votes, and most of them were voting AGAINST the recall and not FOR Walker.
Scuba
(53,475 posts)... only the politicians that pass that law.
The press here refused to connect the dots to Ohio and point out this fact. Instead, they jumped on the "only for malfeasance" bandwagon, effectively saying "shut up and take it".
RBInMaine
(13,570 posts)law that the TeaBags passed last summer. We CRUSHED it in November, just as Ohio CRUSHED their anti-union law.
Do you think you could have built the narrative like they did in Ohio and beaten the anti-union law in WI if you had the referendum option? Can't believe you have recall but not People's Veto there. Here in Maine it is just the opposite. We can only recall certain offices at the local level if local charters allow that. No state office recalls.
Scuba
(53,475 posts)Yeah, I think we might have had a better chance of recalling the law, for what that's worth (nada).
RBInMaine
(13,570 posts)recall their sitting governor, even if a good number don't like him much? I can tell youthat in Maine most Mainers think this TeaBag of ours is a DirtBag, but he would probably survive a recall because a majority would not want to do it. They would feel that he won, so he should be able to finish the term. I can understand that. I would have a hard time over such an effort myself. People are thoughtful about starting certain precedents.
Scuba
(53,475 posts)... but I gotta admit, I think we probably overplayed our hand. A November recall may have been a better idea.
RBInMaine
(13,570 posts)knew the risks but decided to go ahead anyway. They knew the TeaCorporatists would pour in millions. Polls are also now saying by 60/40 that Wisconsinites generally disapproved of the idea of the recall. I think it would have been an uphill battle even if each side had equal money. The money did help Walker get his narrative out, helped energize the RePub base, and did help pay for their GOTV, but it still would have been tough to win the recall, so it seems.
I tend to agree that the WisDems overplayed their hand with this. It was VERY RISKY and the risks were VERY FORESEEABLE. I've been involved in local/state politics for a long time, and I think they should have focused on building support for workers and unions,
building a general anti TeaPub/anti-Walker narrative for the fall, and focused on winning more seats in the legislature in the fall.
They knew this big money would come in, they knew it would be very risky, and they opened the door for all that money.
However, now go have a good convention, dust off, and get re-focused and re-energized for the fall campaign and WIN THIS ONE.
