Madison gone mad: The Wisconsin followup

Looking at this from a PR perspective, Governor Walker and the state senate's Republicans probably took the best option left to them - just do the deed and get it over with. The short-term shitstorm will be (and is) fierce, to be sure. But once it's done, there will be nothing left to protest. The protesters will go home, the Democrats will return, the TV cameras will leave Madison and everyone will turn their attention to other things.

The longer the stalemate went on, the longer the TV cameras would stay and the more this issue would get shoved into the electorate's faces every night on the 11 o'clock news. By ending the stalemate, the story eventually dies and, unless the Democrats and unions are prepared to spend many millions of dollars on TV ads over the next 10-20 months (which they historically haven't been), the voters move on.

This is why, for all the Democrats' cries, I'd be shocked if Governor Walker more than a couple of state senators are recalled over this. Voters simply aren't going to care that much about this by the time Walker becomes eligible to be recalled next January.

 

My scoffing about the healthcare protests (I can only speak for myself) were that the very people protesting had for 40 years said protesting was anti-American. They said shutting down the halls of our government and marching on Washington was anarchy. Goldwater and Reagan and Nixon told us real Americans do things through the system we have set up. Only pot-smoking pinko anarchists dared throw a wrench in our well-oiled machine.

Then the political winds turned around after a couple decades of power and "SCREW THAT! WE'RE TAKIN' IT TO THE STREETS!"

 

Nuts. Fredo won by a disputed eyelash in '00, and acted as if he had a mandate, and talked endlessly about spending his political capital.

We all saw how that worked out. Comical, if it weren't so tragic.

Walker set this off with talk of unilateralism and the desired broad restrictions on bargaining power. He was in over his head . . . he is, now . . . and it's not going to end well, because the broad public -- and the national broad middle -- has turned against his Koch-branded ass.

 

Incorrect.

 

Won't even get to a recall vote. They'll change the law to make sure that doesn't happen.

 

The over reaction to this by the left will help Walker rather than hurt him.

The opposition to ObamaCare was just as strong and just as principled as the opposition to this.

But, I don't remember anyone taking over the U.S. Capital and making it look and smell worse than the Superdome post Katrina.

I don't remember anyone camping out inside the Capital for days.

I don't recall anyone having to get a court order to deal with unruly protesters or have to bring in police in riot gear.

Democrats love Democracy except when they don't. When they don't get there way, they freak out and look to the courts or extra-Constitutional measures to try and overcome the will of the people.

I hope they keep it up. It will only turn more people against them.

 

wiseye.com is supposed to have live streaming of Assembly meeting, although it appears to be fried at the moment.

 

They still haven't passed the budget bill, though, and they can't until the Dems come back. Meanwhile Walker keeps pushing back his "final deadline" for approving the debt restructuring and avoiding the threatened layoffs. He has given so many final deadlines and pushed them back so many times that very few people believe he actually wants to or will go through with layoffs. The latest deadline is early April. I think the Dems may wait him out until that.

 

Nobody had to do those things here either. Somebody just loves him some national spotlight, is all.

 

Donna Martin Graduates!

 

And the reason why it has come to this is what you said in the third paragraph. It's about the "Little Guy".

The "Little Guy", who has been screwed over for most of the country's history by the wealthy elite.

 

OK, that made me laugh...