Wisconsin: Neither Burke nor Vinehout can dream of matching the funds that will pour in to Walker
http://monologuesofdissent.blogspot.com/2013/11/hey-hey-ho-hounsolicited-political.html
Social media is all abuzz over these early endorsements, much like we saw in the recall primary when WEAC's premature endorsement of Kathleen Falk set off a firestorm of fury. Russ Feingold's anti-big-money-in-politics organization, Progressives United, polled its mailing list and reported that over 75% of the 3000+ people who voted wanted them to endorse Mary Burke, so they did. But the real tension seems to surround the matter of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin's support of Burke, which is seen as heavy-handed, premature, and in violation of their own bylaws (the Party's not supposed to endorse a candidate before the primary, and contrary to popular belief, Vinehout's not Burke's only opposition: as of Oct. 25, there are already 3 Dems registered to get on the ballot for the Aug. 12, 2014 primary election, and a Republican named Steve Evans plans to force a primary against Walker). I guess what I want to say about the Dem endorsement (which they annoyingly refuse to admit is an endorsement) is this: what do you expect? I'm one of those "I'm not a card-carrying Dem, I just vote for those guys" voters and I have a long list of issues with the party, its insularity, and its messaging. But really. What do you expect them to do? There's only one serious candidate in the race right now and that is Mary Burke. Of course they're going to support her. If we're going to have a serious primary, let's get serious about it.
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Neither Burke nor Vinehout can dream of matching the funds that will pour in to Walker from the gabillionaires already reaping returns on their record-breaking, John-Doe-instigating first-term investments. We can't beat that money, no matter how many scandals emerge or how many Walker cronies are found guilty of doing his bidding. Messaging is what will win. Everyday Wisconsinites need to be able to see past the propaganda and have access to the hard facts about how cuts to education, health care, and worker rights are ruining regular people's lives all over the state. Facts. We need to get past the spin and to the heart of the values that connect us.
This is the message I want to see: Wisconsinites are good people, who deserve to be treated well by their elected officials. They deserve to be represented by these people, who should put their needs before the needs and desires of people and groups who gave them campaign contributions. Wisconsin workers are not thugs or users or losers or fools. They are decent, hard-working people, who deserve to restore their trust in the social contract. They work hard and deserve living-wage jobs and they shouldn't fear that the tax money they gladly pay to support our excellent schools will be stolen out from under them.
Sending the message "our candidate/s stink and can't win" (unhappy lefties) or "you guys are idiots and should just trust us on this" / "we have the candidate who is going to win the game"* (Dems) is not really a winning strategy in my opinion. We have two smart women whose names and ideas need to be shared with the rest of the state. Let's spend our time getting to know the candidates and connecting to our communities. And let's win in 2014.
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