Monday, August 8, 2011

Tomorrow We Make History.

Victory tomorrow is not a given and here's why:  voter turn out will be crucial and it won't be easy.  Though few elections are held in August, those that are, point to low turn out.  It is not that people don't care about their elected public servants, it's that despite all the mailers and TV ads, in August many are thinking about vacation and about getting children back to school, instead of being engaged in politics.  Tracking Defend Wisconsin News Round Up own readership numbers, when calendar turned to August, a third of our readers walked away from their computers and are no longer engaged to the same level as before.  Hopefully they voted absentee.  But the summer is still summer and school - even after 8 months of Walker - is still starting in a few weeks.  Time to do the summer things is running out.

It is hardly a surprise then, that this is the very time we find ourselves recalling the Walker Six.  After all, Republican Party has shown over and over that it will attempt to do anything it can to decrease voter turn out.  I mean, we're all clear on that, right?  Unfortunately, there was little choice in timing because recalls clearly had to proceed as soon as possible, and the fake Dems in the primaries showed just how important Republicans feel it is to move the election, not just to a later date, but to the end of the school vacation season.  This is somewhat ironic, considering GOP masterminds opinion of public schools, teachers and people in general.  But hey, you got to take whatever advantage you can, right?

Is this a cause for concern?  Yes.  Is there a reason to panic?  Not at all.  Going back to Defend Wisconsin News Round Up numbers on our Facebook page, it is obvious that the interest in Wisconsin Protests is growing, including support and interest from outside the state.   People nationwide care about and want Wisconsin Protests to succeed.  This is not a surprise since between Ed Schultz/Rachel Maddow and the rest of the MSNBC team (not to mention Keith Olbermann) and Facebook/social media, Wisconsin Protests have been in the headlines since February.  Yet it is important to remember, recall elections are not just for Wisconsin, they are for the United States of America and our future.  

Tomorrow, people who are interested in the future of Wisconsin, are going to make sure that everyone who can vote, does so.  It means that there will be lines, disputed ballots and recounts, in other words, it will be a battle.  This is the world we live in and that is all right.  We knew that this would not be made easy on us.  We know that our state's future is in our hands.  We know that GOP is nervous and anticipates losing the State Senate.  But we also know that those who stand behind Walker are spending big money to win because they know: losing in Wisconsin would be big.

And so Wisconsin: the nation is watching.  Tomorrow, we make history.     

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