2854
(0 votes, average 0 out of 5)
May 5, 2011
If there was any question about whether Democrats or Republicans have the advantage in efforts to recall state senators, it’s been answered.
Democrats have submitted six petitions for recall elections, all of them involving senators who are considered at least somewhat vulnerable. Republicans, meanwhile, have submitted petitions against only three of eight eligible Democratic senators.
Barring any legal challenges, all eight elections would be held on July 12.
The Republican senators are being targeted for supporting a bill stripping public employees of their collective bargaining rights. The Democrats are being targeted for opposing the bill. Clearly the enthusiasm is on the side of the bill’s opponents – i.e., union supporters.
The lopsided support for Democrats shows not only in the number of petitions filed but also in the amount of cash that’s been raised. As of April 28, Democrats had raised $735,932 to recall Republicans, while the GOP had attracted a meager $47,101 in donations. Nearly all of the Democratic money has come from small donors contributing through ActBlue.com.
But Democrats’ temporary cash advantage will reverse once the election heats up. The big-money interests that were behind busting the unions will pony up as much as it takes to defend GOP senators, just as they did for embattled Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser. It’s all part of their all-out assault on the middle- and working-class, which already has resulted in an unparalleled redistribution of wealth to the top .01 percent of citizens.
In Prosser’s case, a massive blitz of outside-funded television commercials on the final day of his campaign sealed the fate of unions in Wisconsin. It’s now a foregone conclusion that Prosser and his right-wing cronies who control our highest court will approve Gov. Scott Walker’s union-busting measure. Prosser promised as much during the campaign.
Big Money won that race for the nation’s super-rich elite and it will cost the average citizen of Wisconsin dearly.
We hope that Prosser’s victory has taught a lesson. How much injustice are Wisconsinites willing to accept? Middle-class citizens must wake up and put forth all the time, money and energy they can muster to counter Big Money. This is an historic – and perhaps a final – opportunity to salvage our future.
