Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Wisconsin Can't Wait

The Democrats have come out with their first volley in the upcoming recall of Scott Walker.

The call their ad "Wisconsin Can't Wait":



All in all, it's pretty well done. I think they do a very good job at hammering home the fact that Walker is not what he said he was and that all his promises are nothing more than smoke and mirrors.

That said, I can't say that I agree with the "can't" part.

It would be more appropriate to say Wisconsin won't wait.

Like Jay Bullock, I question the timing. I don't think the heart of the holiday season is the best time to do this. The weather shouldn't be that much of a factor since there doesn't need to be a balance in where the signatures come from. The recallers only need focus in Milwaukee, Madison and Wausau to get the bulk of the 540,000 signatures needed. Add Stevens Point, La Crosse, Oshkosh, Green Bay and Eau Claire and you've got it. And really, do they need to do more than hang outside the government buildings in any of these cities to get a great bulk of the signatures they need?

Unlike Jay, I don't think that they should wait the better part of the year to do this either. If they getting going in February or March, they'll have lots of opportunity to get signatures without interruption (except for St Paddy's day - everyone needs a break now and then). By the time the signatures are counted, the Republican elections and spring elections will be over and the Republicans will have gone back to their tea cozies, listening to squawk radio so they know what to think.

I am also more than bit worried about the fact that I haven't even heard of a viable candidates name being bantered about. Barrett's not going to run again. Kathleen Falk won't win the state. David Obey, while feisty as ever, won't cut it either. And Herb Kohl doesn't need the stress.

It's bad enough that, tongue in cheek, I've been threatening friends with establishing an exploratory committee for a run of my own.

But then again, I know their reasons for doing it now. I might not agree with them, but I can say I understand them.

And yes, I think that the recall will happen and that Walker's going to be a political casualty of the inadvisable stunts that he's pulled, both before and after the election. I also think a rancid potato could beat him even if the signatures had to be collected in a 60-day long blizzard and that voters had to show two types of ID and do a solo performance of the HMS Pinafore.

The winds of November might not be coming early, but by God, they are coming.

Or to put it another way: Scott Walker - You have sown the wind. Now prepare to reap the whirlwind!

10 comments:

  1. Agree, a really quality piece.

    Interesting they didn't include anything directly about the Koch brothers and political jobs to the son's of big contributors, but there's only so much you can get done in one piece.

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  2. "I also think a rancid potato could beat him even if the signatures had to be collected in a 60-day long blizzard and that voters had to show two types of ID and do a solo performance of the HMS Pinafore."

    HMS Pinafore? What is that?
    The rest of this sentence made me laugh. A rancid potato!

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  3. From Gilbert and Sullivan's HMS Pinafore, the Captain sings:

    "CAPT:...I am never known to quail
    At the fury of a gale,
    And I'm never, never sick at sea!
    ALL. What, never?
    CAPT. No, never!
    ALL. What, never?
    CAPT. Well, Hardly ever!
    ALL. He's hardly ever sick at sea!"

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  4. While I wholeheartedly agree that Scott Walker needs to go, I think it is futile unless there is a clear-cut Democrat candidate with the clout to win. We can wish all we want about Walker losing in a recall. We can try, but be prepared for the MAJOR fall-out if Walker stays in office. Is that worth the risk? I say no...for now.

    Zorro

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  5. Can't wait huh? Can't wait for Wisconsin to be even more polarized than it already is? Can't wait for millions upon millions to be spent even when people start to gag when the next "rancid" political ad runs from third party group after third party group? Can't wait for Walker to narrowly win just like Justice Prosser and then watch the real "fun" begin? Can't wait to moan and whine about the narrow loss in your blog? Well, I can wait until November of 2014. If you don't mind I'd like to skip all the "fun" we're all in for because you and the Democrats "Can't wait!"

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  6. Perhaps if Walker wasn't so corrupt, there'd be nothing to complain about.

    Don't blame the cleaners for the mess they're about to clean up.

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  7. No Democratic candidate will be stepping forward to run against Walker until the Recall election is called by the GAB.
    Why?
    Just look at what the Club for Growth did to Tommy Thompson when he announced that he was running for Kohl's seat next year. Club for Growth's unlimited money unleashed unlimited hit ads on good ol' Tommy and sheesh, the election is over a year away.

    The recall papers can't get filed until next month and the deadline to submit the completed petitions is 3 months away. How many attack ads can the GOP and the conservative PACs air on TV and radio stations across the state in a 3 month period.

    Why would a Democratic candidate announce they are running in the recall election at this point? Why would they open themselves up to be attacked so early? How would those early attack ads affect the candidate's ability to do their current job?

    I'm not worried about having a great Democratic candidate. We are blessed with a number of Progressive and experienced candidates. One of them will be our Democratic candidate in the recall election.

    My eyes are set on the first goal which is triggering the recall election. I'm attending training this week. I've got my double sided clip board ready & waiting for the Walker and Kleefisch petitions. Will buy an extra pair of fingerless gloves and a box of hand warmers this weekend. I'll be more than ready by the time Nov 15th comes along.

    "Watch Out Scottie, We're Coming for You!"

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  8. First and foremost, I want to choose my next governor, not have him or her chosen for me. The only way to properly vet candidates is to have the time to see who they are and what they stand for. Personally, I don't always trust, OK, rarely trust, the decision-making skills of the powers that be.

    And if the Koch Boyz want to run their ads now, all the better. Any smears will fade by Election Day, the name recognition won't. Secondly, it will force them to spend their money now and not save it up for a blitzkrieg of attack ads on the Dem candidate.

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  9. Any smears will NOT fade by Election Day. They are a perpetual stain on representative democracy, and the fever pitch will be so high come that time that some voters may decide to stay home. And name recognition means EVERYTHING to the independents who voted for Walker the first time. Furthermore, the money for Walker and his henchmen will be flowing continuously. The attack ads will be in waves, so this idea of the well running dry is a pipe dream.

    Just being a realist.

    Zorro

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  10. You should call yourselves "cognitively disabled"

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