Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Wisconsin Democrats Fail to Retake State Senate

In what will likely serve to energize the nastiest elements of the GOP, unofficial results indicate that Wisconsin Democrats failed to take back control of the Wisconsin Senate from Republicans. Two things are striking: (1) the amount of out of state money that was pumped into Wisconsin by the far right and (2) the willingness of individuals in these largely rural districts to vote against the long term interests of their communities out of short term greed to pay lower taxes. The bill will ultimately come due in the form of reduced public services and in some case largely gutted school budgets. Time and time again senior citizens in particular are unwilling to invest in the younger generations. Yet they wonder why America is failing behind other nations in terms of educational outcomes. The Washington Post looks at the recall election outcomes in Wisconsin:

Democrats fell one seat short of a chance at taking back the Wisconsin state senate Tuesday, a result that will disappoint organized labor nationally. According to the Associated Press, State Sens. Dan Kapanke and Randy Hopper were recalled, while Sens. Robert Cowles, Alberta Darling, Sheila Harsdorf and Luther Olsen held onto their seats.

Democrats have questioned the results given that Waukesha County was one of the last to finish reporting. In April’s Supreme Court election — also seen as a referendum on collective bargaining — challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg appeared to have beaten Judge David Prosser, before thousands of lost ballots were found in Waukesha.

In a statement, Wisconsin Democratic Party chairman Mike Tate accused Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus of “once again tampering with the results of a consequential election” and said that a “dark cloud hangs over these important results.” State party spokesman Graeme Zielinski added, “We believe there’s dirty tricks afoot.” The party’s legal team is investigating. If these results stand, its an undeniable defeat for labor and for progressive activists.

Outside groups on both sides poured more than $25 million into this fight, in addition to the more than $5 million raised by the candidates themselves. According to the non-partisan Wisconsin Democracy Campaign’s Mike McCabe, Republicans had a slight edge in the money race, but it was “remarkably close.” Unions were the main source of funds for Democrats; limited-government groups such as the Club for Growth and Americans for Prosperity invested heavily on the GOP side.

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