Governor Scott Walker, the match that lit the progressive fire nationwide, will finally be eligible for a recall on November 15. His Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and 3 GOP Senators will also be subjected to simultaneous recall attempts. As I was watching footage from the Occupy movements all over the country last night, I couldn’t help wondering how Walker feels about his pivotal role.
Walker must know that all of this began with his symbolic “Budget Repair Bill”, which succinctly articulates the Tea Party agenda. His bill, introduced in February 2011, was the spark which elicited hundreds of thousands of protestors to descend on the Capitol in Madison. Those protestors and the 9 recall elections which followed, were watched and discussed all over the world. We brought our energy to our own communities and spent months circulating petitions and running elections. By the end of the summer, 5 of the 9 recall elections in WI went in favor of Democrats, or Progressives. You see in Wisconsin - Progressives, protestors, and Democrats are one in the same. (Wake up national Democratic Party.)
At first glance, 5 for 9 may seem underwhelming.
But consider this recent example.
Immediately after recall paperwork was filed against Gov. Walker, a new bill was introduced into the state legislature forcing each recall petition to be by notarized. The bill would also make the new Republican-friendly legislative boundaries, drawn by the Walker admin, effective immediately. These new districts would greatly benefit Walker. But, because of the dissent of one Republican Senator (Dale Schultz) and the results of the first wave of recalls which effectively shrank the GOP majority from 19-14 to 17-16, this bill was dead on arrival.
That, my friends, is what democracy looks like. It is not the knock out punch that our fast-food society often demands. It is slow, tedious, who-wants-it-more democracy.
And we want it more. And you do too. I can feel it. Early in the year, many of you have sent encouragement and money to Wisconsin. Now you are going to Occupy movements and you are getting your chance to stand up. And you should know that you are inspiring us in Wisconsin to keeping on going.
Watching all of your energy, is giving us the energy to fight again. Thank-you so much for not letting us down, as so many said you would. Instead, American protestors fulfilled our greatest hopes in WI and grabbed that baton. You turned our little campfire into a roaring timber fire that threatens the entire forest!
And fellow American protestors - in case you aren’t aware of your impact on us in Wisconsin, let me give you this example.
There was a huge internal debate within the WI Democratic Party about the Walker recall. Some believed that Wisconsinites were too burnt out or it would cost the party too much to run another recall cycle so soon. Others said that “we’d never get Walker” and should focus energy elsewhere. Still others said that we should be strategic and wait for the right time to recall him.
But the people spoke. The people said - recall Walker as soon as legally possible. Period. Why? Because we see you. We hear you.
And you threw some gasoline on that fire…
TIP:
Enter the amount, and click "Tip" to submit!
Daniel Geery
Desnee Flakes
Chauncey DeVega
Kate O'hehir
inthisdeepcalm
Robert Greenwald
Salon.com
Comments
Walker may have awakened the Sleeping Giant of Progressive activism, but Wisconsin progressives made the coffee and got that giant dressed and ready for action!
rated!
Dumb son of a bitch says he wants to be like Reagan? No sale. He's more like the communist dictators in Poland who Reagan criticized by saying that the right to collectively bargain is an elemental human right.
r./
Shiral – I’ve gotta hear about what is happening in your neck of the woods!
Tony Wang – My husband used that quote on his sign in Madison
Nerd cred – “The Fighting Bob Fest” was really big this year, and spread to more WI Cities…so great to hear from you.
Owl – wow I’ve missed reading you. I’ll remedy that now.
D. Horne – it is a fun time to be alive, thanks for your kind words
onislandtime - kudos!
You are the prime example of the ultimate citizen...going above and beyond by offering practical advice and counsel. It is so refreshing in life to meet people who walk their talk. You offered to help any OSer with professional small business advice, and I haven't left you alone since! Please know that you've made an impact on me ~
Then I started surfing around on OS and realize that there is a lot of criticism against the Occupy movement for it's lack of cohesiveness, from Liberal minded people. That's fine if those people are lending a hand too - but they had better not be sitting on the sidelines watching us ALL lose...their only contribution being snide apathy.
"SAVE WISCONSIN: ABORT WALKER!"
Does the writer mean "...the new boundaries, DRAWN by the Walker administration"? It's a shame when writers write with such poor grammar and I have to guess what they mean.
Also, the past tense of "shrink" is "shrank."
Rocco – long gone are the days that leaders prioritize bringing people together...thanks for stopping by ~
Kevin – love the Oakland post – can’t wait for more...thanks for ALL that you are doing, it inspires
Ron – I added a video clip to the beginning of this, check it out…gave me goose bumps; so glad to hear from you - please PM when you write so I don't miss any more ~
Jl – Thanks for the heads up - changes made! Yeah, grammar and spelling have never been strong points. I notice that this is your first and only contribution on OS. I am humbled that you went through all of the trouble of signing up in order to help me. You should be so proud of your citizenry.
nota bene: it's the voting that counts, not the protests. recall, referendum, initiative are the tools of citizenship. without them you are not a citizen, anymore than a carpenter with no tools is a carpenter. if you haven't got the tools, get them. then look around for walls to knock down and ideas to raise.
What happened in your state, thanks to the hard work of you and others, proves this. And it can work. Deomocracy in action. But you've got to want it. Beautiful.
Al – I know what you mean…that’s why we need $ out of our election process
Margaret - it is nice that so many are on board now so the burden isn’t overwhelming to anyone, loved your last post
Tom – touché , thanks for the comment
Here's hoping the winds that fanned the fire of change which started in your state make their way down here. Keep up the excellent reporting, Heidi, and best wishes to my fellow teachers in Wisconsin.
This is just great. This bunch wants their right to speak but doesn't believe that the people they disagree with have the same right.
Unbelievable.
catnlion - I understand your point here. I was watching this between my hands, somewhat embarrassed. But here's the cruxt of it. If you lived where I did and had your media completely ignore you, and hundreds of thousands of your fellow citizens, you might resort to such extreme tactics too. Thanks for stopping by ~
I see your point and I'll agree with you that there are a bunch of people in WI that feel rejected and think they need to do something. For this discussion let's agree that you are correct.
We are both married (me a few times) and anyone who is has, at some point, gotten frustrated with their spouse. At the point where baby is crying, dog is barking and spouse is being stupid you say something you wish you could have back as soon as it comes out of your mouth.
If this had been you and a couple of your friends talking, getting upset, and you went over to his office and did something like this, I wouldn't agree with it, but I could see it happening.
This was a lot of people who planned this. This wasn't a split second decision. There were leaders who put this together. Where are the people who should know better and why didn't someone in the group speak up and say maybe this isn't such a good idea, this is going to make the whole movement look bad, maybe we need to do something different. If there is nobody in the group who can, whatever you are trying to do will fail. It will turn enough middle of the road, I could go both ways, people off and they will be the ones who bite the movement in the butt at the ballot box.
after he is recalled, the voters need to have a bill introduced to change the amount of time you have to wait to recall a governor. look at the damage walker wrought in 9 months. it should be about 3 months after an election. just a thought.
Unionjack – great idea. Listen to the latest development. A Walker supporter just filed the recall papers 11 days before the Dems were ready, even though this person will not raise $ or circulate petitions. This was done for the sole purpose of allowing an extra time to raise unlimited funds until the Dems file. Walker will be going to FL, CA, KS and other places to raise $ in the meantime.
C berg – You are so right. Gov. Walker is the best community organizer ever. That is not an exaggeration in the least. For so many of us, we’ve discovered our patriotism for the first time.
rated with RRR
Nanatehay - there is another rally scheduled in Madison, on Nov 19, to kick off the Walker Recall. Here's hoping it is well attended!
GO, WISCONSIN! And thank you for waking up the rest of us!