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June 20, 2012
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Page 9
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CARPET CLEANING
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more $30.00 Each Area
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A Microcosm of Today’s Divided America
Area/Oriental Rugs.
$25.00 Minimum
Area/Oriental Rugs ( Wool):
$40.00Minimum
A wakeup call in Wisconsin
Heavily Soiled Area:
J ohn S tauber
W e 'r e
n ic e
people out here in
D airyland. Just ask
a n y o n e — th a t's
our reputation. But
the purple state o f
W isconsin is a p o
litical m icrocosm o f
today's divided A m erica.
T he bitter battle over w hether to
recall our governor divided this state
like the C ivil W ar. In the end, union
crushing G ov. Scott W alker w on,
despite the efforts o f the M adison-
and M ilw aukee-based uprising that
at times put more than 100,000people
into the streets. They protested m any
o f W alker's actions, but above all
they objected to w hat the tea party
g o v ern o r h im self described as a
secret "bom b" — his bid upon ta k
ing office in early 2011 to destroy
public em ployees' right to co llec
tively bargain.
I'm alm ost 60 and have lived in
W isconsin since birth. T he m obili
zation to force W alker's recall e le c
tion was greater and m ore energetic
than anything I e v er w itnessed in
the B adger State. B igger than the
protests at the height o f the C ivil
R ig h ts stru g g le o r th e p ro te s ts
against the V ietnam W ar, in w hich I
by
p articip ated . B ut this u p risin g
stum bled on June 5 w hen neither
the governor nor three o f his four
ta rg e te d le g islativ e su p p o rte rs
w ere recalled. O ne R epublican
state senator did get recalled, but
the 2012 legislative session has
already ended.
W alker's victory sent a state
m ent from W isconsin that a m ajo r
ity o f the state's voters eith er sup
port his radical agenda o r didn't feel
that the recall election w as n eces
sary. D em ocrats pointed to polls
sh o w in g th a t P re sid e n t B arac k
O bam a still leads M itt R om ney for
the N ovem ber election here. But
that's ju s t grasping at straw s.
W hat's the lesson here? W alker
outspent his D em ocratic opponent
T om B arrett by $30.5 m illion to $4
m illion. T hat com es to $23 for every
vote W alker won, com pared to $3.47
fo r each o f B arrett's votes. But it's
too sim ple to say that m oney bought
this election.
In the w ake o f the S u p rem e
C ourt's C itizens U nited decision, an
outpouring from rich people and
corporate interests — m any based
outside W isconsin — bankrolled
W alker's bid to cling to pow er. Sure,
lib e ra l g ro u p s an d u n io n s a lso
poured tens o f m illions into the
D em ocratic side o f the battle, but
they w ere severely outspent.
H ere's my take on it. W orking
c la s s p e o p le in W isc o n s in are
scared. They're hurting. They're very
w illing to turn their backs on unions
and the D em ocratic Party.
W alker is in the crosshairs o f an
investigation that could kill his politi
cal career. M any top aides from his
previous governm ent jo b are under
criminal indictment. He could be next.
Y et voters put that aside to send
a m essage against D em ocrats, liber
als, and the urban com m unities in
M adison and M ilw aukee. People in
W isconsin are econom ically d e s
p e ra te . T h e y 're n o t see in g th a t
unions, liberals, o r D em ocrats are
helping. M any o f them are w illing to
give the tea party a chance.
M ore importantly, the Dem ocratic
Party, P resident B arack O bam a, the
progressive m edia, and organized
labor failed to connect with average
c h e e se h e a d s.
B ig m o n e y d e fe a te d p e o p le
pow er, but progressives share the
b lam e for this defeat.
John Stauber founded the Cen
ter fo r Media & Democracy. He
lives in Madison, Wise.
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