Make no mistake, this was a crushing blow to Wisconsin. My heart goes out to all the wonderful people working on the front lines in this battle. I also salute Tom Barrett, Mahlon Mitchell and the other recall candidates who gave their all to reclaim Wisconsin. God bless every one of you.
Even though reports show the peoples grassroots were outspent by a minimum of 8 to 1, I'm not going to throw blame around. This was between the people of Wisconsin and an entrenched governor who flauntingly pimped the state to out-of-state special interests. Nothing has changed in that regard. We came up short. Simply put, more voters showed up for the other side. But that doesn't mean we lay down now or anytime. In fact, we have to keep marching forward with even more fortitude on our own principles and values. Theirs are untenable.
The other side will have much to prove. They'll have to prove "no negotiation" and "no compromise" really works. They'll have to show there is no middle ground space to reach across the aisle and they'll have to stand with their divide and conquer drumbeat. In fact, it'll be our duty to remind of that mandate. That is their forward - not ours.
The local scene is even more important. We must recognize now more than ever that there are several insidious local forces constantly working behind our backs.
The revelations of "divide and conquer" and turning Wisconsin into a 'red state' and right-to-work as a strategy for economic development coming from the powerful few right here in Rock County clearly shows a troubling duplicity. Forward Janesville and the Rock County 5.0 have been exposed as little more than double-dealing agencies for local GOP political operatives. Throw in the constant right-wing engineering campaign from Bliss communications and all of their affiliates and we have a situation of serious broken trust within the establishment community. The little people have to watch their backs more than ever. Yet, despite all of those powerful institutions at play to defeat the will of the people, the vote totals in the rematch between Barrett and Walker showed a strong rejection for the Tea Party Express candidate. Barrett won Rock County in 2010 and he picked up twice as many new votes than Walker in the recall.
We're getting our message across and people are fighting back.
This is definitely a substantial improvement and something we can work on to instill the change we require. Remember, all politics is local. The bottom line is Rock County is becoming a solid bastion for freedom and goodwill and we must never rest when freedom is under assault.
There is still much work to be done.
.
4 comments:
I acknowledge that I supported Scott Walker. That doesn't change the fact that I come from a union family and have friends on both sides. To a person they are good people who behave in a civil fashion regardless of views. I can't understate the negative impact of the clenched fist logo on many many people. Last week I took an elderly friend golfing at Blackhawk Golf Course in Janesville. He is a Korean war veteran, union retiree, and voted for Obama. He is a great patriot. The 7th tee on Blackhawk is next to a fence with a nicely maintained home and yard just a few feet from the tee. Two feet from the fence and facing the tee was a recall sign with the big blue clenched fist. It was aimed directly at golfers. The sign really really offended my friend. He told about his wartime service against communists who used that type of symbol to intimidate people. He also talked about stories of company thugs against the union. At that moment his vote flipped to Walker. Your movement will never succeed when it comes to symbolize bullish threatening behavior.
The clenched fist is a sign of freedom, solidarity and victory and not a sign of physical force. It's important to recognize the differences between the different "fists." For instance, the fist you are talking about belongs to the conservative right-wing authoritarians who generally have their arm extended horizontal with the knuckles facing forward such as in this photo of Anders Breivik.
http://dawncompk.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/anders-breivik-trial-ap-670.jpg?w=670&h=350
That is the fist of oppressive brutality. The more commonly accepted fist of bullish threatening behavior is the fist that is turned around with knuckles fully exposed with a waving or girating motion such as in this photo.
http://goldenleopard.info/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/bully-small-226x300.jpg
My view is the fist of the people (my fist as an example) WAS a palm facing forward hand in total trust and unity only be struck by the baton of rightwing authoritarism and forced to recoil in the clenched fist. It is supported by a straight-up vertical arm and never turned around with knuckles facing forward. It is a symbol of the oppressed, not the oppressor, and is also used as a sign of victory in sports and in team efforts. It primarily represents resilency, struggle and solidarity. Like many symbols it has unfortunately become an abused symbol by those who either don't understand or willfully disparage the symbol for political or personal gain like they did here in Wisconsin.
It is a shame there are so many misinformed and uneducated people who gravitate towards the negative and accept this form of stereotyping for their own purposes.
Perhaps you should have had that explanation in the fine print for my friend. I am sorry you consider ordinary people so stupid.
Anonymous, I gave you a clean explanation of my views on the subject of the symbol. I can't hold your hand so what more do you want from me?
Post a Comment