Last night, voters in Wisconsin sent a message: Labor Unions cannot keep up with Republican money.
The only real conclusion to draw from Wisconsin is that Walker’s ability to outspend Democrat Tom Barrett by a 7-to-1 margin made the difference. A quirky rule allowed Walker to raise money in bunches in a way off limit to the Democratic challenger.
In many ways this was predictable as polls consistently showed Scott Walker as the favorite.
Walker brought this upon himself because he created the budget crisis.
Read the rest here.
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Good analysis as usual Dr. King. I agree that this will only encourage other Republican Governors to try some of the same stunts in their own States.
This recall defeat also showed the limits of dwindling union power. Unions are not as strong & effective as they used to be when it comes to elections.
Money was also a big factor. This was a classic grassroots inspired effort. But despite all that... it wasn't enough to counter the influence of all of that money - Walker along with outside groups supporting him (according to ABC) spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $50 million.
The Democrats failed strategically (no surprise to me). #1). They allowed too much to ride on this one event IMHO. They put all their eggs into one wheel-barrel..... but failed to guide it. They put so much on the recall... but didn't go all in when it came to supporting it. If you are going to let so much ride on it.... support it all the way. Don't half ass it. I could see why Obama would want to keep some distance... however, the DNC & WH could have done more. Send more surrogates, do more fundraising, encourage Progressives to support the effort, etc.
Democrats also failed to get a sense of what the electorate thought about the recall itself. While many were angry with Walker... most didn't support the recall as a remedy. (Probably part of the reason why Obama & Co. kept their distance.... they saw that the numbers just weren't there. Plus... Walker had the most consistent lead in polls).
But in the end it comes down to PR/Strategy in this equally divided nation of ours...and Republicans do a much better job of it than Democrats do...although Democrats have a better product/platform to offer. Democrats don't effectively communicate with/inform the public. If you can't do that...then you can't sell your ideas.... even if (collectively) you have better ideas...and ideas that, taken one by one, the public actually supports. This is the current sad state of affairs for the Democratic Party... and it is perplexing and frustrating to me.
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