Aug 10 2011
Democrats/Unions Lose Big In Wisconsin
This was to be the post I was finishing up this morning when our database went insane. The original – now lost in the cosmic bit bucket – was totally lost. Hopefully this version will be as good as that one was. Also, you should note a lot of improvements here since LJStrata did performed a brain transplant on the site. Let us know if there are any remaining issues with the site.
Yesterday in Wisconsin the liberal left, Democrats and Unions experienced a stinging defeat that cannot be understated. In the big picture of things political, the losses in Wisconsin were one more glaring ‘dot’ in a string of ‘dots’ that, when connected, map out a political blood bath coming in 2012. But before we fill in the historical picture, let me explain why yesterday was more than just a near miss for the Dems.
This recall election was fought completely on the turf and issues selected by the left. The theme of the elections was retribution against the GOP. The focus point was on GOP Governor Scott Walker for breaking the union strangle hold on the taxpayers money and for requiring government employees to chip in for their benefits (like every other worker in America does). Not only that, but national left wing organizations were able to focus all their energy, resources and GOTV capabilities on these 6 small districts in Wisconsin – unlike normal elections across a state or across the nation. This off year, off cycle special election should have been a cake walk for the well organized left. The only opposition was the ad hoc grass roots movement of the Tea Party and like minded conservatives, independents and libertarians. There was no equal GOTV machine, even though comparable deep pocket national groups did pump in their fair share of money.
Moreover – all 6 districts were swing districts. They were more bell-weather than ideologically pure. If there was going to be a backlash led by the left, these should have been easy pickings under these conditions
But they weren’t – not even close. If you take a look at the popular vote across all 6 swing districts the Dems had their heads handed them. Not only did they lose 4 out 6 races, but they lost the popular vote 53-47% (see chart below – click to enlarge).
All toll the GOP garnered 184,328 votes while the Dems only pulled in 165,130 (source here). So yesterday we had a special election, on the Democrats terms, in swing districts with the full focus of the national left wing organizations – and they lost the popular vote by 6%.
That is a major defeat. Anyone not looking at the details surrounding this defeat is in deep denial. A place the left wing media and pols have been for going on 2 years now. Because, as I said in the beginning, this is just the latest signal in a long line of warnings the electorate has sent the left.
The string of dots began in the fall of 2009. In November 2009 the tide turned against the left in a big way, signalling a need to reverse course from the failed stimulus bill (just beginning to fall way short of any economic impact) and Obamacare (something no one mandated in the 2008 elections). That year the VA Governor’s race and the NJ Governor’s race were won in spectacular fashion, reversing Obama’s 2008 win percentages by nearly 20 points in the case of VA.
But that was just the beginning. As Obamacare began getting crammed down the throats of Americans, another signal was sent to DC. This time it came in January 2010 with the Special Election win by Scott Brown in MA, winning Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat away from the anointed successor. A huge political shift in a deep blue state.
But the liberals and Democrats ignored that warning sign too. So in November 2010 the American voters came out en mass and dumped the Democrats out of House of Representatives in record numbers. Not only that, the 2010 blood bath went deep into the state and local level. Setting up the Wisconsin fights we just experienced.
And still the Democrats ignored the warning signs. In Wisconsin the left swore to unseat a GOP State Supreme Court judge, and failed. And now they failed in the perfectly teed up special election yesterday. If you are looking for a sign folks, they are all over the place!
Scott Walker has proven to be right in busting the union strangle hold on the state. Not only did he force the unions to collect their own damn dues (meaning anywhere from a third to a half the employees will probably keep their money for their families and cripple the union machine), he also broke the union monopoly on employee benefits. Once the GOP legislation took one school in Wisconsin went from a $400K deficit to a $1.5M surplus. It seems the unions were raking the taxpayers over for health care and the such, and when the union provided plan had to compete it couldn’t.
I really could care less if the Democrat nincompoops in DC face up to reality now or not. They can pretend that the voters will take out their vengeance on the GOP more than them in 2012. It won’t happen that way, just like it did not happen that way in 2010. Obama cannot survive politically by chastising the GOP – he is now just as guilty as the rest of dysfunctional DC. But more importantly, the message from Main Street is clear – cut back government to a reasonable size, stop massing mountains of debt and stop poking the government’s nose into every nook and corner of our lives. That means the party of Big Government (Democrats and Liberals) will ALWAYS take the brunt of voter anger right now.
As Ron Weasely famously said – how thick can you get?
And they still want to recall Walker! Such idiots but then go ahead as that will empty your wallets before you would start to help Obama. By then you have no money.
The drive to recall Walker is actually quite understandable – they have nothing else. They have no plans, they have no solutions, they have no ideas; they have only their hatred, and as Walker won’t give them the “Respect” that they believe is their absolute right, they have focused their hatred on him. Logic, rationality, and reasonable chances of success have nothing to do with it – this is Ahab gone after the Whale.
“From Hell’s Heart I stab at thee; for Hate’s Sake I spit my last breath at thee!!!”
Without their hatred, they are nothing. When they cease to hate, they will cease to exist, and in some perverse way, even they know this.
For this same reason, their ultimate destruction is guaranteed. No movement can be founded on hate alone and survive.
Look at what the unions are up against if they try to recall Walker.
First of all they have partisans who have just lost two major tests and stand to lose a third one next week when two Democrat senators are up for recall.
How many of the more moderate Democrats are actually going to show up at the polls for a Walker recall? At this point they must be weary of the whole thing. It is going to be hard to keep the energized. The Republicans, on the other hand, are on a roll. It doesn’t take as much to keep winners motivated. Getting Republicans to the polls to hand the Democrats another defeat is much easier.
Where will the Wisconsin unions get the money? They have already blown a good deal of cash already. We are getting into a regular campaign cycle and then need money to feed to candidates for the 2012 elections. Any money spent on a Walker recall is money taken away from the regular elections.
National money is facing the same problem at this point. Unions in other states are also starting to allocate cash for 2012 campaigns. Are they going to send money to a losing effort in Wisconsin at the expense of their local candidates?
The national unions face a similar problem with national candidates. The Obama campaign is going to pressure them for a repeat of the huge donations made in 2010. There are Congressional elections and there are a lot of Democrats up for election to the Senate. Are the nationals going to send money to Wisconsin at the expense of federal offices?
Granted that the Republicans face many of the same challenges but the bottom like is going to be voter fatigue for the Democrats. How many times will the average person get excited over supporting a loser? With every passing week Walker looks more successful and people are going to have a harder time voting him out of office.
What this is ultimately about is demonstrating that unions can deliver Democrats to office. The unions have spent years telling Democrats they could do that. It is becoming obvious that in Wisconsin, they can’t. If the unions are seen as being unable to deliver and protect Democrat politicians, will the unions begin to lose their clout with the Democrat politicians in Wisconsin? Very possibly, and with the unions declining in membership and in influence already, this is a fight for political survival from the union standpoint.
The short version of the above is yeah, the unions will attempt to recall Walker but only because they have nothing to lose. If they don’t attempt it, then they are admitting defeat and they die. If they do attempt and lose, they die. But they have at least some chance if they attempt the recall, they have no chance if they don’t.
They will do the recall, they will lose, and that will be the last we hear from unions for a while in Wisconsin.
Excellent analysis AJ.
November 2012 can’t get here fast enough!
I believe the unions have to obtain 500,000 signatures in order to call a recall election against Walker. That’s a very high hurdle, and after this failed election it is doubtful that they can even do that. Also, just getting those signatures is going to be a significant expense.
So even if they want a recall election, they may not be strong enough to get one anymore. It will be interesting to see.
Next week’s recalls – Republicans look likely to win the northern race, but not the southern one. The Kenosha district is in the far south of the state, near Chicago, and it’s a heavy democrat area.
These same Unions whose pension funds are going broke nationwide and were bailed out at Chrysler and GM at the expense of SECURED Creditors are pounding nails into their own coffins.
They should save these funds to fund their lavish and under funded pensions.
Any RESPONSIBLE Governor and the taxpayers who pay the bills will reject the bailouts when these same Unions come hat in hand looking for pension fund assurances.
I think it was Roosevelt who said no way should pubic sector employees be Unionized. They negotiate not with the bill payers but with Politicians some of whom are all too happy to Bail them out so as to maintain their votes and their money laundering scheme back to the same politicians.
The Republicans in WI should go on record now and pass a law forbidding ANY taxpayer funds to go to bailout any union hacks.
The Lyin kING President set the precedent for the states by giving Secured Creditors funds to the Auto Unions. The taxpayers of each state deserve to know their money will not be similarly stolen and used to buy votes.
Biting the hands that feed them, oh the deliciousness of this, the geniuses are guaranteeing their own demise. All thats left for them is more property damage and assualts on individuals ala Europe. Good that Walker has passed a Concealed Carry law. Responsible citizens nationwide should avail themselves of this second amendment right because I am more and more convinced each day this Community Organizing Liar is going to light this country ablaze ala Europe with his class warfare.
As was said above IT IS ALL HE HAS! No plan, No workable solution, no idea, NO CLUE only class warfare.
Be sure you are better prepared than the locusts he will sic on us.
Another point to add here – you’ll notice that the unions want to do the recalls as fast as possible. This is because they know that when people see that the world won’t come to an end, and as AJ pointed out, schools will actually benefit from the changes Scott Walker has made, then their case is lost.
It will be interesting to ask as the new school year gets underway: How many teachers lost their jobs? How many teachers are worse off because they don’t have collective bargaining?
By the way – two of the flee-bagger Dems are up for recall elections NEXT WEEK. Stay tuned…
Maybe people collecting unemployment should not be counted in the unemployment rate–they have a “job equivalent”!
It just struck me why this is so catastrophic for the Unions; a great deal of any group’s political power comes from the fear of what they *Might* do if they are provoked. Since imagination always builds threats up, this is usually always greater than what any group can *actually* do – but no one knows where the line is until a group has to demonstrate it’s power. This usually gives all organized groups a great deal of leeway.
An exception was the Tea Party in the 2010 elections – they were discounted by many, even in the GOP, as being all smoke and no fire. They had to show that they could knock out sitting politicians, even from their own side, before they could be taken seriously. That’s why the O’Donnel/Castle race in Delaware was a tactical loss but a strategic win. After that, the GOP leadership *Knew* that they had to take the Tea Party upstarts seriously. You’ve got to collect some scalps, even on your own side, before you’re accorded any respect.
So what happened to the unions? They went out to get some scalps and Failed. They put on a huge show of force, and revealed that they are pathetically weak. Will any of those targeted Wisc. politicians ever be afraid of them again? Of course not! The unions have done their worst, and the worst that much.
And next up comes payback. Never launch an attack unless you can stand up to the counterattack. Unions are about to learn that lesson the hard way.
The lefties spent $30 million on six Wisconsin legislative recall elections, double what the opposition did, yet the GOP incumbents got a total of:
53% of the popular vote.
They’ll never get message. You don’t send a message to your sworn enemy.
You just beat them.