I wish the recallers all the best of luck with their efforts against Governor Walker

[bluestateguy]

But I'll believe it when I see it. I have seen many people in many states over the years blow a lot of smoke about recalling an unpopular governor, only to see the whole project vanish into thin air.

In those states that even allow a recall of the governor, hundreds of thousands of signatures are usually required, or a very large percentage of people who voted in the last election. And then the signatures have to be verified by the secretary of state's office, meaning you had better collect more than the minimum because many of the signatures will be tossed out as ineligible. With the single exception of the 2003 California recall (more on that in a minute), these signature drives always peter out in a gubernatorial recall effort.

And it takes money to mount one of these recall efforts and see it through to the end. You need to traverse the whole state with volunteers and/or paid signature gatherers. In 2003, you had not only an unpopular governor in Gray Davis, but a "grass roots" recall effort bankrolled by Howard Kaloogian, Ted Costa and Darrell Issa. It certified, and of course, there was a celebrity replacement candidate waiting in the wings. But that was the exception, not the rule. Other California governors have experienced periods of unpopularity too: Ronald Reagan, Pete Wilson and Schwarzenegger himself, and each time there was a recall effort, and each time it petered out for lack of signatures, lack of interest, lack of volunteers or lack of memory. On that last point, popularity in American politics is fleeting, and stuff can just happen or time can heal wounds (even if the wounds are still hurting to a minority of people) and a governor's 30% approval rating can turn into a 50% rating, and next thing you know, there is no more interest in a recall. Momentum in politics can fizzle out very quickly, even if it takes the diehards awhile to get the message.

Other efforts to recall governors in Nevada (Kenny Guinn) and Michigan (Jennifer Granholm) and Wisconsin (Jim Doyle) also went nowhere.

[Kip Humphrey]

1. the recall effort is to recall 8 republican state senators, not the governor.

just saying. :eyes:

[FreakinDJ]

2. Over 10,000 folks committed to signing petition so far and ...

the petition drive can not even start for 10 months

I think this will be the exception to your rule

[mzteris]

3. over 100,000 thousand have pledged to sign

on one website alone - and there is more than one...

unitedwisconsin.com seems to be the biggest