Now that the smoke has cleared, the tears have ended, and the inane complaints of "Woe is me, we LOST!" have finally subsided, reality is beginning to set in. And you know what? It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day.
from the Wisconsin State Journal today:
The GOP still controls the state Senate, but that doesn’t mean a power shift isn’t taking place at the Capitol.
Democrats on Tuesday fell one win short of taking the three seats needed to seize control of the Senate. But any relief felt by Gov. Scott Walker and Republican leadership was tempered Wednesday as the mathematics of passing new legislation settled in.
If Democrats win their two recall elections next week, Republicans will have a narrow 17-to-16 Senate majority. That means the assembly line of legislation that has marked Walker’s short tenure as governor is probably over.
Read more:
http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_75ec6f12-c3a8-11e0-bf03-001cc4c002e0.html#ixzz1Uix0cA5KHow can anyone in their right mind complain about this result? Seriously, we went up against a bunch of millionaires, Tea Baggers, christian conservatives, and guess what happened! WE WON! WE've handcuffed the Walker administration for the next two years, and we still have a very strong shot at recalling that bastard.
Guess what else happened. We (I don't live there, but I've donated money, made calls, sent pizzas to protesters and more) learned a whole bunch of things. People of all stripes are waking up to the reality being imposed by Koch and company. Those bastards are truly evil. Their goal is to destroy the social contract that the New Deal and its progeny created. They hate the "General Welfare" intent of our constitution, and simply want a regulation free atmosphere to make as much money as possible, and if they step on millions of middle and lower class people on the way, too bad.
We learned that we can successfully beat the Kochs. We learned how to organize and empower the people. We tasted success, and we are NOT GOING AWAY.
Thom Hartmann, bless his soul, really blew it yesterday. He claimed that this was a defeat that was a knife in the back of our movement, "The Citizens United election experiment is over, and the oligarchs won. Long live the oligarchy."
I call bullshit on your words and analysis, Thom. You really blew it with this one. Instead of erroneously thinking of this as a loss, look at the new reality. We mobilized millions. We organized. We took away two seats from conservative assholes, and we put Walker and his cronies on notice that they cannot play their neocon and Tea Bagger games anymore. Police and firemen joined the liberals, something we haven't seen in ages. Teachers are standing up, after years of attacks (Leave no childs behind), lack of funding, and pathetic legislative support. And Joe Six Pack is realizing just how destructive and anti-people the Tea Bagger policies are.
Success, people, that is what happened in Wisconsin. Get used to it, Koch brothers. It is the start of a pattern that will only get stronger, better, and even more successful.