A quick note on polling and voting: as more and more polls come out showing that the public does not, in fact, hate public workers and their unions, there’s been a stock answer — namely, that the real poll took place in November, so who cares what a thousand or so people say now.
Aside from the fact that this reveals a complete failure to understand the statistics of polling, what it really gets wrong is what the election represented. Voters were not, in fact, asked to vote on what Republican governors like Scott Walker are now trying to do; in a real sense what we’re seeing is a case of bait and switch.
And here again, I find myself flashing back to the Bush years. In 2004 Bush won a national election by posing as America’s defender against gay married terrorists; as soon as the election was done, he declared that this gave him a mandate to … privatize Social Security. Not so much, it turned out.
The one thing I've got to say is that as much as I stand with my Union Brothers and Sisters in Wisconsin, I'm also mighty pissed at the voters of Wisconsin.
Why? They let this freak, Scott Walker, get into office in the first place because they were "trying to send a message" to President Obama that they were pissed about the Economy.
(Oh, and for record, Milwaukee (especially you, Sherry)...you're excused from this. You knew what this freak was like. You did your best to never let him see the inside of the Governor's office except with a tour guide.)
Politicians always view their mandates in the affirmative. The next time a Politician admits: "Yeah, I know I won by four points, but the voters were really turned off my opponent and voted for me as a protest" will be the first time.
Everything, even decisions won by a handful of votes is automatically become a "mandate" and a green light to do what they want.
Perhaps you might recall something I wrote back in September:
...voting in Congressional Democrats, as lame as they are, are not Barack Obama's reward for doing a good job. They are not points accumulating in some political video game you're playing in your head. You are not, as you deluded jack-offs seem to think, sending any kind of a message this way. Either you want a Liberal or Progressive Agenda to succeed or you don't. If you do, you first vote for the best candidate in the primaries. You can fall in love all you want during the primaries. You can vote for the most progressive, green, uber-Liberal man or woman you want.
But when the General Election happens, you fall in @#$%ing line.
Hopefully, your dream Candidate has made it to the General Election as the Democratic Nominee, but if he or she hasn't, then guess what?: the people have spoken however lame that may be. And you better get on board, because you the opposition is never going to give your ideas the time of day. Better a Blanche Lincoln, as worthless a Senate Candidate as she may be than whatever neo-Teabagger wingnut that's running against her.
But Liberals never figure that out until its waaaay too late.
Well, it's March now, and watching what's going on in Wisconsin, it's waaaay too late...again.
Betcha wish you voted, but nooooo. You just had to send a protest vote. You managed to lose one of the more genuinely committed Liberals in the nation, one Russ Feingold. You decided to stay home.
So how's this all working out for you?
Fingers crossed, I still think we're gonna win this thing in Wisconsin...but I wanted to be on the record: it didn't have to be this way.
