To Scott Walker, with love

[TheBigotBasher]

Both sides will soon begin gearing up for the November 2012 elections. Political statistician Nate Silver's analysis of the 9 August recall races should encourage the Democrats, and serve as a warning to the Republicans, for the next election cycle. Silver examined recall results in the six Republican districts and showed that, compared to the results of the 2010 governor's race, Democrats gained about 4.2% of the vote, while Republicans lost 2.9%. Republicans can do the math. They will do everything they can to support their assembly incumbents and the 11 Republican senators who were not eligible for recall, but they may still be vulnerable.

Democrats will need to build on the enthusiasm of their base and continue to foster what former Democratic Governor Patrick Lucey described as the "mission feeling". Too often, Democrats succumb to the complacency of triumph, thinking the fight is over after an election is won. They have now built a strong organisation and need to continue to use it over the next 13 months, if they are not to lose this momentum.

Perhaps an insufficient victory will prove a blessing in disguise. Democrats can begin to organise beyond electoral campaigns and political crises. They can begin to share a vision of a Wisconsin that works for its middle class and those who aspire to join it. Rebirth is not impossible; Wisconsin Democrats have pulled themselves out of the void before and endowed our state with enduring institutions of economic fairness. They can do it again, before that mission feeling goes.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/aug/17/wisconsin-recall-elections