Yes Walker is still in there. But there were other victories, and there will be more if pressure continues. You do NOT win the war in one strike, unless you are simply extremely lucky. Always be prepared for the long slog, and grasp every win as precious and non-negotiable

and the morale is: never give up, even if it takes your life.
there will always be others coming along to fight for what's right,
walking in your footsteps & following your example.

And then build on it. I doubt any battle as big as this one was going to be was ever won outright on the first try.

But to say, as people are doing, that the recalls did not work, is simply not true. We won back control of the State Senate and imo, that's a pretty impressive start.

And they deserve every last bit of congratulations, but you've got the right attitude, and that's the attitude we all need!

Keep doing what your doing my friend and I'll work on it here in Washington State.



-p

I have a few friends in Washington state who are also working for the same goals! Nice to meet another one!

to keep him there and he's still being chased by prosecutors. Chances are very good he'll be indicted before his term is up and if he's not, he won't get a second term.

Personally, I think a war of attrition against billionaires might be an OK idea, make them pay thousands of dollars for every single vote their candidates get.

election and thought the got their money's worth, but then they had to spend more, to try to stop the recalls. Now they had to spend more.

Hey, we could make a habit of recalling their puppets and call it a 'Stimulus Package' instead of 'Recalls' for those who don't like recalls!

Make them pay! Lol!

ad companies, media stations, etc.

Making them pay, indeed.

And if they need even more, maybe the Federal government (meaning us without our consent) can bail them out.

i saw some reportage about how the Rs "swept the field," i thought the Ds had lost every race.

good to know.

interesting there isn't much coverage as well.

which the media said little about from what I saw. And that was an important win. It's also probably why Walker is not as arrogant as he was when they controlled the Senate. He's calling for 'bi-partisan' meetings, I guess to show how reasonable he is.

Or, more likely, because he has no choice!

of dough down the crapper to lose the Senate!


Walker's plea for bipartisanship is precisely, and only, because he has no other option.

I'd like to see his ass indicted, myself!

money and most likely will cost them more. They want recalls eliminated now. Which means that not only did Dems take back the Senate, they cost them a fortune while doing so.

Re indictment, I have a feeling the guy they are trying to flip, one of Walker's closest associates who apparently misused funds for a children's charity and is facing possible prison time unless he talks, may be hearing from the Koch Bros.

After spending all this money on him, I can't see them letting him end up in jail, at least without a fight. I would not want to be in the shoes of the potential witnesses right now.

I was extremely disappointed, to the point of depression... BUT I'M FEELING MUCH BETTER NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Someone said that walker was a koch puppet. NOT!! I think he's much more than that... His nose keeps growing... and he has to continually wipe the brown off.

A few reasons that we Dem's didn't win: The person that the unions backed didn't win the nomination and they didn't back Barrett (I never heard of him til this election). The reps ploy, listed below, worked. I read where someone said they were so angry, they weren't going to vote... but they did... for walker. A non-vote was a vote for walker. Over 900,000 people signed the 'recall walker' petition. Too bad those same people didn't get off their lazy part, and vote.

I wrote a short piece and tried to post it on CNN, but I couldn't figure out how to send it. Here it is:

ANOTHER REPUBLICAN VICIOUS CUTTHROAT SLEAZY DIRTY TRICK!
(This one was even better than 'Tricky Dicks'.

I haven't heard anyone mention the fact that 'beam me up scotty'
walker trucked in a few hundred people from out of state, into
Wisconsin to man phone banks.

This was another one of carl roves vicious, cutthroat, sleazy
dealings. (Maybe that's all he's good for). They telephoned everyone
that signed the 'recall walker' petition and told them that if they had
signed the petition, their job was done. They didn't have to vote
in Tuesdays election. The article I read said that they (the writer)
didn't know if that was legal or not.

The Democratic Party had to re-call the entire petition list and tell
them that the phone call they had received, was just another
republican dirty trick.

One of my friends received one of those calls, but she just hung up
on them. I received a call, but it was just to remind me to vote.

I could go on... but for your sake, I'll get off the soap box. TJ Daniels (poet)

Great first post. I can imagine how disappointed you all were, we were all rooting for you and like you, I was also disappointed, I thought at first they had won the Senate also so I expected Walker to push through every rotten policy they could think of.

But then, I read about the Senate and I was so relieved, he isn't going to be able to bully everyone after all.

I'm glad you mentioned the choice of candidate, do you know who was responsible for that? Also, why did it take so long to choose a candidate? Seems like he only had about two weeks, while Walker was busy campaigning for months.

Why do you think people stayed home? Did you all not have enough people on the ground or manning the phones?

It's such a shame, so much work into this and it seemed at the end everything was so rushed, not very well thought out.

Anyhow, at least you got the Senate, I doubt the Kochs are happy about that.

I hope you'll like it here, and welcome again.

The price of a truly democratic, equal society, is eternal vigilance .

Something that I'm good at unfortunately but now finding to be an asset.

Unfortunately we're fighting to regain that, but am entirely confident we can with attitudes like yours!

A hearty Welcome to DU tjdanielstj.

may you feel at home.



-p

Funny that was a bit different by the time I woke up this morning.

it?

curious.

10% of the vote had been reported in this race. There were maybe a few more by the time I went to bed at 1:00. They changed it by morning.

Republicans? Maybe they jumped the gun, I mean got the memo but something went wrong, for the Kochs? Never heard of them calling an election with so little of the vote in, maybe they got the memo, but something went wrong for the Kochs?

a DUer there said they are trying to track the media reports on election night. I could not remember if I actually heard that the Repubs had won the State Senate, but I know I thought they had, until I received the email posted in the OP. That was a pleasant surprise as no one seemed to be talking about it.

But, do you remember which news network you were watching that night when they claimed the Repubs had won the Senate? I would like to give the info to the DUer who is trying to research the reporting. Thanks in advance

up off the floor. We were stunned. It was NOT Fox, but I can ask the lady who turned it on and see what she says. PM me for a reminder or I'll forget.

Come November, the Wisconsin senate will likely revert to GOP control, thanks to the redistricting enacted during the previous year's shenanigans.

It's a long way to November and hopefully those who stayed home for this election will regret it.

successful recalls.

The district where the recall succeeded on Tuesday will be made more Republican and will be much more difficult to hold. I think the same was true in at least some of the districts in last year's recall. The GOP has gerrymandered it so it will be very difficult for Democrats next time around

And of course they will be pouring money into these races again and the people simply cannot compete.

Greg Palast's book should be re-published as bad as it was when he wrote 'The Best Democracy Money Can Buy', even he could not have predicted how much worse it would get.

brothers to be more bold. They are going to be cocky and arrogant. Keep in mind Koch brothers are giving at least 2 million to Romney Super PACs.


I really fear how citizens United and campaign money will effect November.

The Republicans lost control of the State Senate, they were successfully defeated were they not?

Without that control, Walker and his puppet masters, the Koch Brothers, cannot push through their anti-worker agenda.

At least until November. And let's hope he gets indicted before then.

No one is taking this lightly. But a win is a win and slowing them down is a big defeat for them and it cost them tens of millions.

Maybe we can use up some more of their ill-gotten money.

them own us. A big fight for our democracy is at stake. It's going to take a lot of people power to win in November. Let's get geared up!


Republican super PACs and other outside groups shaped by a loose network of prominent conservatives – including Karl Rove, the Koch brothers and Tom Donohue of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – plan to spend roughly $1 billion on November’s elections for the White House and control of Congress, according to officials familiar with the groups’ internal operations.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0512/76849.html#ixzz1x5oSqY9X



Vince Lombardi, the man who taught Cheeseheads to think with clarity about the severe consequences of victory and defeat, once offered this gem about life: “Show me a good loser, and I’ll show you a loser.”

Okay, but the point is we did not lose. We THOUGHT we did on the night of the election.

Wisconsinites succeeded in recalling three Republicans and restoring balance in Wisconsin's Government.

No one is taking this fight lightly, and on election night the disappointment was so great, some of those interviewed were so emotional and dispirited thinking they had lost it all. If that was the goal, to 'teach them a lesson' for the future, to shut them up, it didn't happen. Yes, people took some time to mourn what looked at first like a total wipe-out. But as it turned out, it wasn't.

In fact, if all they had done was to after the state Legislature to stop Walker, and left him alone, it would be viewed right now as a major victory. Everything is relative.

In order to win, it's necessary not to rest on your laurels, sure, but it's also necessary not to ignore your successes. This success was buried by the press and who knows how many people might have given up if they thought their efforts were all in vain.

I remember when I read about American Revolution during a period when the troops were so dispirited, up against such a superior force, they were ready to go home. They needed a pep talk, a reminder of what they were fighting for, and what they had accomplished so far. Washington visited them in person to lift their spirits. Good Generals know when to do this. People are human, too much focus on what we lost can make is 'bad losers'.

But this was a genuine victory and the people who worked so hard to get it deserve to be recognized, then back to the fight re-energized by the knowledge that they, virtual ants against the Corporate monsters, actually can win, even if it is in stages. Just my opinion

added that quote, because they were so tenacious in this recall election.. and won by regaining and replacing Senate seats with progressive Democrats. This to me, was almost more important than recalling Walker. Hopefully, he will be taken down by the John Doe investigation.

Looking at the pictures of thousands people in the streets, protesting, was a victory in itself. The Corporate elite hate and fear large gatherings of people. The Koch brothers initiative has been exposed, so now we can also do some boycotting.

The people of the badger state are some of the toughest people I know, and they inspired people not only in the United States, but around the world.

the importance of getting control of the Senate. But I see I was wrong. I absolutely agree that this was even more important than removing him. His hands are tied now.

I really admire those people, and they did inspire people all over the world. I remember they were getting pizzas from Europe and Egypt and elsewhere, it was awesome to see how the world was behind them.

And I can see how tough they are. Didn't want them to feel too disappointed with the media focus only on Walker, so I posted this for them, to let people know that they did not lose at all.

Do you remember when Jim Jeffords of Vermont switched from Republican to Democrat in May 2001, giving the Democrats control of the US Senate? There was a lot of celebration here on DU because we thought it would end the bu$h juggernaut. But as it was, it hardly even slowed it down.

any Dem who went along with anything Walker proposed, wouldn't be reelected for one thing, and I'm sure they know it. They were elected for the purpose of blocking Walker's agenda. Their opponents were recalled because of that agenda. So, it is different, imo. Those Wisc Dems seem pretty tough.

Not saying that it couldn't have been under different circumstances, but in this recall election it was the fault of a quirk in Wisconsin law.

According to the law, the subject of a recall can raise UNLIMITED funds as soon as the first papers of recall are submitted, and continue until a general election candidate is named. In fact it was pretty well known the exact date in which the Democrats were going to file paper work to start gathering signatures. Instead of waiting for that day, a "fake" candidate filed paperwork a full week earlier, specifically so Governor Walker could start his fund raising. I think this was in November.

That lead the unbelievable $$$$$ that he had at his disposal. On the other hand, Mayor Barrett was not even a candidate until April, so he had a four month lag, besides the fact that because he was not the candidate subject to the recall, he did not have the unlimited money law. That is for recall subjects only. So IF there is any change to the recall law, this is the one that MUST be changed ASAP.

I think the biggest problem (and fault) goes to the unions that were somewhat spearheading the campaign. They should have pulled in every resource they could, and matched Walkers ads, and propaganda from November on, they should not have waited until the election was scheduled.

I think there is a glass half full vs. half empty aspect to what happened.

The WI Senate win is an important win. But overall the whole thing ought to be a wake up call. Restrict big money influence on elections, or kiss the unions good bye.

Last edited Sat Jun 9, 2012, 02:53 AM - Edit history (2)

Everything is for sale in America. The Wisconsin Governor is a bought and paid for, soon-to-be Federally Indicted KKKoch Sucker Brother whore. Wow, I feel so much better now having said that!

And don't fool yourself for a minute into believing that ANY of this is lost on KKKarl Rove et al when it comes to the upcoming Presidential Election.
.

'Everything's for sale in America'. Yes, but has anyone ever before paid over $45 million for a dumb Governor who never finished college and may be about to be indicted for corruption?

The price of the Presidency has gone up I know, but who would have thought that the cost of a Governor would be this high? What do they expect to gain from him I wonder, and what if he is indicted? All that money down the drain.

All of which should make it clear that the money must be taken out of politics if we are to save this democracy.

Thanks for your post.

[IMG][/IMG]well

You know, you can use your own words to comment on threads. Odd habit you seem to have.

This whole "ain't we neat?" party seems to gloss over the fact that WI Dems couldn't get the job done. I know a lot of them tried. I know some of them poured their very hearts and souls into this. But collectively, the whole endeavor fizzled like a leaky balloon.

... flipping the Senate to Democratically-controlled.

That means no special session for Walker to ram through more of his crap.

But I also haven't forgotten how Herr Decider forced a Democratic Senate and House to do his bidding no matter how much they protested. And you probably heard Walker say he only just began his war against organized labor.

Dems took control of the State Senate. That raises a question. We are supposed to believe that Democrats, a significant number of them, voted for Walker, yet the same number obviously, did not vote for the Senate Republican.

Why would a Dem vote for Walker in the first place? 'They were angry' someone said, but not angry enough NOT to vote for the Senate Dem?

I would agree the endeavor would have fizzled IF they had won the Senate, which the media reported as a fact on the night of the election. But it did not fizzle so long as Dems won a significant victory by ousting three Republicans in recalls blocking Walker's agenda. Sorry, can't agree with that.

Bravo Wisconsinites!!

Damn straight!

Yet we're supposed to believe that anywhere from 10-18% of Obama supporters voted for Walker on Tuesday.

when it got to the Senate race, they were happy again??

Not to mention, according to what I just learned in this thread, the Media with just 10% of the Senate voted, called it for Republicans, and didn't change that until the following morning.

I hope we get some breakdown of the numbers to see who these Dems were who voted for Walker (very strange thing for them to do in the first place) but voted for the Dem in the Senate race.

Could happen, but so unlikely considering the stakes in this election.

Thank you! Solidarity!

Thanks for the thread, sabrina.

But as you know the legislature is not in session and will not be in session until after the next set of elections in November. If Walker was going to push stuff through he would have done it before the recall elections not after.

he probably would have done had they kept control of the Senate, to push through whatever his puppet-masters ask him to do. Miller warned him not to try it now.

It's in a holding pattern now, but imagine if there had been no recalls? The damage they could do, I can only imagine. So I think this is very good news, frankly I thought on Tuesday we were doomed as I believe the media did say they had won that Senate race.

...then to run from the fight and surrender my Democratic Values because
we might not have enough votes.

There is no dignity or honor in surrendering without a fight,
or "compromising" on Core Values because it might "look bad" if we lost.



You will know them by their WORKS,
not by their excuses for "compromise" before the fight..
[font size=5 color=green]Solidarity99![/font][font size=2 color=green]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/center]

Surrendering CORE Democratic Values BEFORE the fight guarantees WHAT?
If we never FIGHT, we will ALWAYS lose.

QED: The Last 3 years



[font color=firebrick size=3][center]"If we don't fight hard enough for the things we stand for,
at some point we have to recognize that we don't really stand for them."
--- Paul Wellstone[/font][/center]
[center][/font]
[font size=1]photo by bvar22
Shortly before Sen Wellstone was killed[/center][/font]

[font size=5 color=firebrick]Solidarity![/font]

He was a great advocate for progressive change

Was Paul Wellstone Murdered?
For our government to maintain its credibility, we need an open and accountable independent investigation into the death of Paul Wellstone.

http://www.alternet.org/story/14399

when it comes to fighting for what is right. As you can the very idea seems to scare some of them. But it's way past time to begin and to not quit, as the people of Wisconsin did, until we begin to win, as they did on Tuesday.

Thanks for verifying to the world that we are losers, who will always be happy about losing. Our enemies take a great deal of comfort in thoughts like yours.

which means Walker's 'victory' is now meaningless. He cannot do anything, his hands are tied.

Try to focus for a minute. Had they not fought the way they did, the State Senate would still be in Republican Control and Walker would be able to do whatever the Koch Brothers told him to do. He did enough damage before the people decided to stop him.

THEY STOPPED HIM! He is a lame duck now, and the people forced the Kochs and their out of state wealthy buddies to waste tens of millions of dollars and they still couldn't pull it off.

No wonder Fox is not mentioning this victory. But the Kochs know what they lost and their surrogates are whining about the cost of 'these re-calls'.

So glad Wisconsin Unions forced them to put some money out into the economy. I think we should do this on a regular basis.

to change laws to harm the people, as he did in the past, because Democrats, now in the majority, will stop him.

And if you think this is what the Koch brothers want, you are wrong. The Corporations are furious, they are complaining about recalls and trying to get them made illegal!! Why? Because the people have become a threat to them, and recalls were the weapons they used.

They are also complaining about all the money they spent, now over $125,000,000 to try to take over the entire state. And they FAILED.

I am cheering for a victory, and for forcing them to waste their money. At least it was one way to get some of their money into the economy.

I find it extremely destructive to deny that Republicans were stopped, with not very much money comparatively speaking.

They recalled three Republican State Legislators. And by doing that they returned a balance of power to the state after the disaster of 2008 when Republicans had total power.

Stop trying to confirm Republicans' state of denial. They don't want anyone to know about this defeat if they can help it.

I'll take the word of the Democrats in Wisconsin as to whether or not this is a victory, THEY know what it means, over your opinion any day.

I have nothing but deep admiration for my progressive brothers and sisters across the lake there in Wisconsin. Their efforts made a difference, as this OP so clearly explains.

Bravo Wisconsin Dems! So very many of us are extremely proud of you! Thank you for working your guts out to make a difference. We have WI Senate thanks to you!!

Julie

Koch machine. It took so much strength and courage to do what they did, and they succeeded in neutralizing Walker completely. He cannot do anything now.

You are displaying the latter.

This thread is among the dumbest shit I've ever read.

the wealthy who poured money into this moron are whining about all they spent, and now they are left with a lame duck, possibly future indicted criminal on their hands.

Recalls, 'good for the economy and good for democracy'.

But now they want to ban them! I guess they don't think I am delusional and it is their money after all

Welcome to DU btw

Some people who fought for Walker might feel that way, but most think "they" won.

Your optimism is founded in the logical fallacy of hasty generalization.

Very few Walker supporters are lamenting their decision to support him. Most are quite content.

We do not stand a chance. Democracy is a thing of the past.

and indoctrinated to know how they are being manipulated. Of course they are not lamenting, not YET.

Democracy is not a thing of the past so long as there are people willing to fight for it, and between OWS and the people of Wisconsin, that fight began a little over a year ago. You can either join it, or maybe just move out of the way.

No one thought they could recall three Republicans when this began and take control of the Senate, but they did.

It will take time, but each victory is a step in the right direction, and a big step was taken in Wisconsin.

But we will lose.

I won't get out of the way. I'll go down with the ship, out of pure allegiance, stupidly.

Our "control" of the Wisconsin senate won't amount to shit.

This "big step" will be taken into a giant pit.

Sorry. I can't share your point of view. I consider it naive. I wish that wasn't the case.

the Koch Brothers ship. There's nothing naive about reporting on an actual victory. I know this is temporary and that the battle for the November elections will be hard. But nothing good ever came easy so that is not a deterrent.

But the facts are that last year, Walker had a Republican controlled State Senate and would have had it until next November had the people of Wisconsin not recalled, successfully, three of his buddies and replaced them with Democrats. That was not easy either, but they did it. Now on to the next.

post!! Here's to hoping that WI spirit and attitude goes national!!

Then by the European protesters fighting the same greed and anti-worker Corporate influences on their governments, the Greeks and all the other people of the world who were fighting for the working class also, joined the Wisconsin people in solidarity. It was beautiful.

Those were some of the most moving moments in the Wisconsin protests.

And yes, it has gone national. Occupy Wall Street is national, inspired by the Spanish Indignados and the Wisconsin people.

I'm not. I know evil will win.

I lack your faith in humanity.

humanity. There are more good people than evil people in this world. There are way more of us than of them. Which is why they fight so hard against the protesters, they are afraid.

You seem like an awesome person. I appreciate what you're doing.

get the credit they deserve, at least as far as I can. I'm sure you are a great person also, and I hope you don't give up. That's what they want people to do. Anyhow, thank you for the conversation, and for being so nice to someone who disagreed with you. That is awesome

Nice post!

Thank you for posting it. This is the untold story of the recall.

There really is nothing to stop until next year and the make-up of the Senate there will likely change again during the November elections anyway. It's nice to win something though.

of the Senate, and most likely would have, to push through as much legislation as he could. But now, if he tries that, which he may, he's now talking about bi-partisanship and the Koch Brothers didn't spend all that money for nothing, he will be blocked by the Democrats in the Senate. So it is a significant victory in that sense. As you said, he can't do much now thankfully.

Walker will fall.