Who won Tuesday's recall elections? As if there was any doubt, let's review some of the comments posted on TheDailyPage's Forum.
I have news, folks: in this day and age, you gotta play dirtier than your opponent to win. ... You wanna shove things up the asses of the Blaskas of the world ... -- "indycoyote"
A lot of us are out here, ready for the next round, and the next, and the next, and the next. We're sharpening our knives on the steps of the Capitol and will not rest until we cut the heads off this Hydra and parade with them on pikes around the Square. -- "Walter"
Count the Socialist Workers Party as among those who think the Democrats erred by not banging on the collective bargaining issue during the recalls.
But Ann of Althouse, riffing on a Washington Post column, says, "The unmistakable lesson is that every time labor makes it about labor, they lose... It's a messenger problem."
'These recalls were a futile effort'
Two must reads. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's summation of the recall elections:
When taken together, the results in the six elections were close overall and hardly amounted to a repudiation of Gov. Scott Walker's agenda. Given the opportunity to return the state Senate to Democratic hands, voters demurred. ... these elections, coupled with the victory in the spring of conservative Supreme Court Justice David Prosser, may be a momentum buster for efforts to recall Walker next year. Democrats and their allies have spent millions of dollars on these races and now, essentially, have lost twice.
These recalls were a futile effort - a waste of time and of more than $35 million.
And Thursday's Wall Street Journal's lead editorial, Reform wins in Wisconsin.
Part of the Democratic problem is that their predictions of calamity haven't come true. The Walker reforms have given local school districts the ability to renegotiate union contracts and save money, preventing teacher layoffs. In such communities as Ashland, Kimberly, Baraboo and Appleton, officials were able to dump union-affiliated health insurance plans in favor of cost-saving private competitors.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, hardly a conservative redoubt, put it this way in an editorial [8-8-2011]: "So it turns out that the sky isn't going to fall on all local governments in Wisconsin. The numbers now starting to come in show that Gov. Scott Walker's 'tools' for local governments apparently will help at least some of them deal with cuts in state aid imposed by the state budget."
Voters aren't as dumb as you might think if you watch MSNBC.
Add to that the dysfunction in neighboring Minnesota and in Washington D.C., the cratering stock market, intractable national unemployment -- Wisconsin looks pretty good.
Sen. Schultz ain't going nowhere
From: Sen.Grothman
Subject: Why Don't People Check With the Subject of a Rumor Before Starting a Rumor?
Date: Wednesday, August 10, 2011, 6:41 PM
... Dale Schultz is not going to become an Independent or a Democrat and people who are spreading this rumor have not personally spoken with Dale Schultz.
If you know somebody who is telling people that Dale Schultz will become an Independent or a Democrat, you can tell them they are wrong and this will not happen....
The Wisconsin Reporter quotes Sen. Schultz himself:
"I've been an unrepentant Republican for 45 years and I don't plan to change that."
Like I been saying
British prime minister David Cameron on the street riots in London and elsewhere.
"This is not about poverty, it's about culture," he said. "A culture that glorifies violence, shows disrespect to authority, and says everything about rights but nothing about responsibilities." He added: "We will not allow a culture of fear to exist on our streets."
The Conservative Party leader said there was no one way to stymie such problems, but that areas such as discipline in schools, the benefits system and action to deal with disruptive families should be looked at. -- Wall Street Journal 8-11-2011.