Wisconsin - the Aftermath

First, we should start with this analysis by a 20-something Wisconsinite whose world was crashing down around him:


I wonder where he got his education?

He wasn't the only one having a rough time. Public sector unions really took a beating, not only in Wisconsin but in other states where governors will be empowered to go after union reforms (from Jim Geraghty):

How do you think the leadership of the Wisconsin chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees fell to 28,745 in February from 62,818 in March 2011? How do you think they greeted the sudden realization that two-thirds of the members, given the option of leaving and cease paying union dues, headed for the exits?

The leadership of the unions have done a terrible job -- and have spent years convinced that the membership loved them, and that the public thought well of them as well. That may have been true at some point, but it is no longer the case, and no amount of spin can change that. Better for these organizations to confront the hard truth, and work to earn back that trust of members and the public at large, then to insist that all is well and ignore the problems.

Tonight Scott Walker and his GOP allies did a favor for the Obama campaign, too. They assured them that their classification of Wisconsin as a swing state was accurate, and that in the "dry run that we need of our massive, significant, dynamic grassroots presidential campaign" that DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz promised, the Wisconsin Democrats failed miserably. At this hour, Walker is winning by roughly a 200,000 vote margin.

Looks like the GOP GOTV effort was in pretty good shape and hopefully that same effort will be applied in November in other swing states. Republicans always have to win by an amount that exceeds the margin of fraud, and since Dane County (a heavily Dem area) was reporting voter turn out of over 100% of registered voters, we know there had to be some fraud involved. Wisconsin has same-day registration, and the requirements for that are amazingly lax. We have to be able to overcome the votes that are manufactured by abusing the system.

All in all, things are looking pretty good for November.