Thursday, August 11, 2011

"Win One For the Gipper."

In a nail-biting finish that saw Democrats fail to recapture the state senate in Wisconsin, winning only two of the six Republican seats that were up for recall, I'm reminded more of a basketball game, a baseball game, or even a football game between bitter rivals, than an actual political contest.

Democrats failed late Tuesday in their effort to gain control of the Wisconsin state senate as Republican incumbents won four of six recall elections.

The outcome was a big setback for Democrats, organized labor, and progressive groups who'd sought retribution against six GOP allies of Gov. Scott Walker, who earlier this year enacted a labor law overhaul that ended collective bargaining rights for many public sector workers.

The recall elections attracted millions of dollars of investment from both liberals and conservatives across the nation.

Most at risk as voting started Tuesday appeared to be three Republicans, Alberta Darling, Randy Hopper and Dan Kapanke, all of whom had barely won their races in 2008.

Kapanke and Hopper lost, but Darling won with 54 percent with most of the precincts counted, partly due to her outperforming her 2008 majority in heavily Republican Waukesha County.

In 2008, Darling had won her district by a mere 1,007 out of more than 99,000 votes cast. Her district went narrowly for Barack Obama in 2008.

Three other Republican lawmakers also survived the Democratic recall effort: Sen. Robert Cowles, Sen. Sheila Harsdorf and Sen. Luther Olsen.

With the split in Wisconsin’s Senate at 19 Republicans and 14 Democrats as the day began, a turnover of three would have changed party control.


Ronald Reagan, himself no friend of unions,[0] immortalized the saying, "Win one for the Gipper," a line he delivered in the movie, Knute Rockney, All American. [1]

Rather than take inventory of the direction in which coach Walker was taking the state at the behest of the front office (the Koch Brothers), it appears that Republicans, by the legion, turned out to support the Home Team, incumbent Republican candidates. Clearly, not all Republicans resorted to boosterism, but a sufficient number did to assure that the Wisconsin State senate would continue to fly the colors of the Home Team--Red instead of Blue.

In one hotly contested district, some believe that the win for the Republican incumbent was staged. That district's results, which should have been one of the first, was the last. To raise suspicions further, and a few eyebrows, the delay in tallying votes in that district came from one Kathy Nickolaus.

Kathy Nickolaus, the county clerk in question, has a "history of secretive and erratic handling" of results, says John Nichols at The Nation. She was responsible for skewed results in a 2006 Assembly race, and tallies votes on her home computer. What's more, she "apparently knew of this 'mistake' for 29 hours before reporting it." Who needs a conspiracy theory? "The facts raise the questions."[2]

Both Teams, Right and Left, will, from their trunk of expediency, unpack their smiley faces, and attach them to the Wisconsin results. For all the hurrahs of victory, the real losers, as usual, are the American people--those mired deeply in a morass of ideological quicksand, more vested in winning, regardless of the personal cost, and those with no ideological ax to grind, and with no demons to destroy, whose only goal is to pursue what's best for the American people, despite the canons of party politics.

Republicans--in Wisconsin and elsewhere--don't seem to understand: They're working against their self-interest, even as they struggle to reconcile the self-inflicted blows to their self-interest with a conservative philosophy that asks for nothing less than total commitment, even if that commitment kills them, and the nation in which they live.

The Wisconsin elections were seen as an early indicator (weather vane) of the direction political winds favored in the upcoming 2012 national elections. In that case, I say the Democratic Party will need its own "Gipper" to inspire and galvanize its base.

Despite the drive, to begin in November of this year, to collect more than half a million signatures of Wisconsin registered voters to recall Scott Walker, it will be pretty near impossible for Democrats to unseat Walker in a recall election, given the almost unanimous support for Republicans, and Republican ideological solutions (which have failed time and again), rather than what works, evidenced by the recent elections there, in a state known for it historical support of union ideals and collective bargaining.

Nevertheless, I'll do my part, and hope for the best, because I believe that the Scott Walkers of this nation (and we have several in our state and federal governments), would do whatever is in their power to crush the democratic process, and govern more from fiat, and threats, than consensus.

Primed to believe that the economy's descent into an economic Hades was caused by satanic union demands, onerous, and evil government regulations, and diabolically liberal, but misguided legislation to extend unemployment insurance for indolent, work-evasive, unemployed workers, Republicans, themselves, have crossed over to the "dark side" along with those they believe are possessed by the demons of liberalism.

This country is sliding into an economic Hell of its own making. Our wounds have been self-inflicted (consider the eleventh-hour raising of the debt ceiling to avoid defaulting, the resulting S&P AA+ downgraded rating, and the Dow's reaction to it, as well as to world-wide economic upheavals that we had a hand in creating). These wounds were inflicted so that one team (the Republican party) would be crowned the winner in a game where everyone loses, if the Home Team wins.

The nation's demon isn't liberalism, but a Republican ideology which is fiercely
fought for and defended by Right-leaning Fans, and the Home Team, one which has enshrined a dogma of small government, free trade, and laissez faire economics, although it's clear that these failed principles serve the special interests of major corporations more than people, some of which have shown by their actions, that they don't give a damn about anything but their profit margins, and the size of their executive bonuses.

When the chips were down, and their back was against the wall, and the momentum was felt to be on the side of their opponents, Wisconsin Republicans were told to go out and "Win one for the Gipper!"

Which they did. The score was 4 out of 6.

And the outcome: Those Fans who cheered and boosted the Home Team, actually lost the game. They lost by winning.

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9 comments:

Greg L said...

>>>>The nation's demon isn't liberalism, but a Republican ideology which is fiercely fought for and defended by Right-leaning Fans, and the Home Team, one which has enshrined a dogma of small government, free trade, and laissez faire economics, although it's clear that these failed principles serve the special interests of major corporations more than people, some of which have shown by their actions, that they don't give a damn about anything but their profit margins, and the size of their executive bonuses.

When the chips were down, and their back was against the wall, and the momentum was felt to be on the side of their opponents, Wisconsin Republicans were told to go out and "Win one for the Gipper!"

Which they did. The score was 4 out of 6.

And the outcome: Those Fans who cheered and boosted the Home Team, actually lost the game. They lost by winning.<<<<<<<<

Exactly. Very well said.

I was hoping that the recall elections would stem the tide in Wisconsin, but that was not to be.

In a way, I think right now that we're fighting over a dead corpse. Things are so messed up right now due to right wing philosophy, that there's no turning back. So even if victory had been achieved, the march towards the economic abyss is relentless and at the end of the day, promises will be broken. That wouldn't be so bad if those responsible were held to account, but that won't be the case--instead we're re-electing them to continue doing the same thing.

In a way, it's going to get down to working in small groups to control what one can of their immediate environs. I feel the system is lost for all, even the republicans and ultimately this failure is really not going to matter.

Black Diaspora said...

Greg L: "In a way, I think right now that we're fighting over a dead corpse. Things are so messed up right now due to right wing philosophy, that there's no turning back...the march towards the economic abyss is relentless."

In the vernacular of the street, let me say, "I feel you."

It is "relentless," and it's hard to make sense of, and God knows, I've tried.

It's as though a malevolent force has overtaken the mind and the will of a large number of us. These possessed folk have, in a thoughtless, and casual manner, placed a knife to their collective throat, and are cheering wildly as the knife begins it sharp, incisive path from one ear to the other.

It's a suicidal impulse.

It suggests the derangement of a spurned lover, who says, "If I can't have her, no one can."

All of this coincides with Obama, our first black president, reaching the pinnacle of American aspirations.

Racist remarks form on the lips with an alacrity that's reminiscent of our oppressive past, and with an assertiveness that's impressive for its boldness.

Hatred for the government, not only from the outside, but from within the august Halls of Congress, is not seen as un-American, but quintessentially American, invoking the Founding Father's words, and deeds, even if those words were never spoken, and the deeds were never done, except within the overwrought imagination of the invoker.

And the Tea Party strikes again!

Michelle Bachmann has won the Iowa straw poll. I know: This poll is rarely a predictor of who will eventually lift the trophy, but it reveals a Republican, Tea Party mindset that's both scary for its recklessness, and destructive for its senseless choices.

This nation can't survive another Republican president. We can barely survive a Republican House of Representatives, with its 70 or more Tea Party fanatics.

"I feel the system is lost for all, even the republicans and ultimately this failure is really not going to matter."

I feel you again. But it's hard to commiserate with those who drink poison hemlock to satisfy their curiosity as to its taste.

Such was the case with TeaPublicans as they resorted to foot-dragging on raising the debt ceiling, neglecting our nationwide need for new jobs, and kicking the crutches from under an ailing economy that is almost too weak to stand on its own--all this so that the Republican party may position itself to "take back" the presidency, and potentially the Congress.

Failure is not an option, but it's one TeaPublicans are choosing with greater regularity, as though the nation, by failing, will, in that defining moment, find what has eluded it: success.

Is it possible for a whole nation to lose its mind, as with an individual?

I feel that our national rationality and sanity has succumb to a mindlessness and lunacy that's sweeping over most of the people in our nation, including some of our elected Representatives in Congress.

Such words as "dysfunction," and "Color derangement syndrome," and "Obama derangement syndrome ("Who is the president of the United States ?" "That n*gg*r.")," and "obstructionism" have been used to characterize our national behavior.

I'd call that behavior crazy!

Greg L said...

I think in times like we're in now of economic disruption, there are at least two paths to take; one goes down the road of reform, but that requires full acknowledgement of how we got here and the other lurches towards fascism and repression. The latter path is chosen to prevent the sort of self examination and reforms necessary to fix the problem. Of course, fixing the problem mean that those who wish to retain power are displaced. Unfortunately, it looks like we're taking the latter path.

The other day, an appeals court ruled that the mandate for everyone to have health insurance was unconstitutional. That provision and the fine was the most favorable portion of the law as most people would have elected to just pay the fine, but that would have cut into insurance company profits and that couldn't be allowed. And as you indicate, folks are celebrating the gash that just opened on their necks.

Even if the T-Party/republican party were to prevail and win majorities in both houses and the presidency, they would still be looking for boogeymen. The fact of the matter is that these sorts of people need to create enemies and threats as a diversion because they're using sleight of hand to hide the real intentions of those who back them. Most of politics today is only a marketing ploy that has absolutely nothing to do with actual policies that will be implemented. The latter is not discussed but really occurs in secret and undisclosed by a compliant press. And yes, it goes without saying that anything will be used to pursue these ends including race.

The thing that's bothersome for me is that there's really been no opposition and no real fight on the national level. It's like Obama and the dems are merely a moderate extension of the republican party. Because of that, in many ways we've arrived at a one party state.

Black Diaspora said...

@Greg L: "The latter path is chosen to prevent the sort of self examination and reforms necessary to fix the problem."

You'd think that "self-examination" would be the easier of the two, reform not so much, given the media blitz to shape opinion, and direct outcomes.

My sister and her husband, both Fox News devotees, have willingly surrendered their critical faculties to a pre-chewed and predigested version of the news, satisfied that they have "all the news that's fit to print," or fit to hear.

Many Republicans have resorted to rhetorical bashing, as though our economic problems would fix themselves, if only the Right people were empowered with the Right stuff.

This naiveté doesn't take into account the dept and breadth of the problem, or identify who's benefiting from our broken system.

As long as the Right prescription is employed--reducing the size of a supposed bloated government, jettisoning boat-sinking regulations for rapacious corporations--then all will be Right on earth and in Heaven a glorious celebration.

"It's like Obama and the dems are merely a moderate extension of the republican party."

In some regard, that's true, but most attempts by Democrats to right the ship of state have been met with Republican opposition, if not outright obstructionism.

The Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, although not perfect, and falling short of what's really needed to address "too big to fail" is, nevertheless, a step in the right direction, but it needs further work, and general Congressional support, which Republicans are resisting with every fiber of their sold-out souls.

Greg L said...

>>This naiveté doesn't take into account the dept and breadth of the problem, or identify who's benefiting from our broken system.<<

A few days ago, I was having a discussion with someone who was lamenting about the state of education in our nation when he hit upon the idea that the lack of investment in this area was by design. In other words, the powers that be want a dumbed down non thinking public. That's largely the state one has to be in to not appreciate that our problems are much deeper than the surface rendering we get from the political class. The republican party, in particular, encourages this sort of thoughtless analysis of the problem.

I'm hoping that the people are smarter than both political parties allow. The low overall rating of each in the polls may be indicative of this.

Black Diaspora said...

@Greg L: "In other words, the powers that be want a dumbed down non thinking public."

Even those that "think" can be yanked around by their bigotries and biases.

This is a major theme of mine: Thinking people are as likely to respond to their reptilian-brain promptings, as are non-thinkers, or the unthinking--behavior they've learned either during their formative years at their parent's knee, or have absorbed from their immediate environment.

Consider that Rick Perry, in just a few days of entering the presidential race, has taken the lead from Michele Bachmann, who has for weeks been slogging around in the GOP swamp of hostile interviews and a contentious debate, while Perry has limited himself to conducting prayer meetings.

The reason is obvious: Perry is better at tapping into the biases and bigotries of those he's hoping to appeal to.

"The republican party, in particular, encourages this sort of thoughtless analysis of the problem."

All that's necessary is to wrap political policies and agendas in religion, gun ownership, reverence for the Constitution, and love of state rights, and small government, and hatred for Washington, unions, and federal regulations to get people to go along with the most absurd of ideas.

"I'm hoping that the people are smarter than both political parties allow."

As do I.

I'm hoping that the "smart" people outnumber the not-so-smart ones, but I can't say I'm encouraged by recent events, and recent political outcomes--consider Wisconsin.

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

"I'm hoping that the "smart" people outnumber the not-so-smart ones, but I can't say I'm encouraged by recent events, and recent political outcomes--consider Wisconsin."

You and me both, but I'm mighty afraid that the right, Koch brothers, and crabs in the barrel have done a good job of turning a lot of people against the President. Lately, I haven't even really wanted to comment on what I see because it is depressing.

All I can say is if they let the GOP get back in power it is not going to be anything nice, especially for minorities. They plan to turn back the hands of time so far back, until I do not even want to think or talk about it.

The President is facing so much opposition. Racism is one of the strongest forms of hate and it destroys the soul within and spreads like leprosy.

Black Diaspora said...

@Granny: "The President is facing so much opposition. Racism is one of the strongest forms of hate and it destroys the soul within and spreads like leprosy."

Well put, Granny!

I'm sounding the alarm, but, as expected, I'm ignored or laughed at.

They laughed at Noah, too.

The latest study on the Tea Party reveals what we already knew: In part, they hate blacks, and immigrants.

No study was required to reach that conclusion. All they had to do was read our blogs: We both reached that conclusion months ago!

"All I can say is if they let the GOP get back in power it is not going to be anything nice, especially for minorities."

If a Republican is chosen over Barack Obama, let's say, Rick Perry, then the people of this country will have purchased the poison with which to commit suicide, because suicide is what it will be.

The last tough-talking cowboy from Texas, made president, not only shot up our economy so bad with his shenanigans, the local sheriff (Eric Holder) was too afraid to arrest him when the bullets stopped flying.

Now that Texas Gov. Rick Perry has taken the lead in the Republican presidential field, with what some say is his "straight talk," I hope, if elected, that he can't talk his way out of jail when he finishes what Bush started--the destruction of this country.

What a country in which we live, when the likes of a Rick Perry can become a presidential hopeful and poll higher than the competition.

And, too, what does that say about the competition?

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

Diaspora:

"What a country in which we live, when the likes of a Rick Perry can become a presidential hopeful and poll higher than the competition."

It says a lot about the people in this country and let's us know that we're living amongst a lot of people who are filled with hatred in their hearts and crazy to boot.

Some of the comments I've been reading lately that the Republicans are saying make me feel like I'm living in the days of Jim Crow all over again and that the laws that come along with it are just not being enforced yet. Smh!