Mike Tate On Recall Tuesday's Elections

Directly for the WISDEMS press release, DPW Chair Mike Tate on Tuesday's historic elections:

Tomorrow, playing on Republican turf, the movement against Scott Walker's extreme agenda will make history in unprecedented recall elections that have never been seen in this nation’s history.

In size and scope and consequence, the recall movement will represent a historic correction to Republican overreach, and makes Wisconsin “Where 2012 is Now.”

The movement began earlier this year when 180,000 citizens-Republicans, independents and Democrats-braved harsh winter weather in primarily strong GOP districts to recall six Republican senators who slavishly followed Scott Walker. These Republican senators stopped listening to the people as they pursued a radical plan that was revealed only AFTER last November’s election.

The original spark for the movement was Walker’s move to without warning and without need take away the rights of working men and women. Wisconsin came to understand just what Scott Walker meant when he dropped what he called “the bomb” on the head of the state’s middle class.

But that was just the first egregious example of the radical, fringe agenda that fueled the recall against the six entrenched Republicans on their turf. These Republicans cut education by $1.6 billion; raised taxes on seniors and working families; cut health care for women, seniors, children and families.

These entrenched GOP incumbents are also being recalled because they contributed to Scott Walker’s culture of division, where they advanced power-grabbing measures such as the unprecedented redistricting plan, instead of focusing on jobs.

And they did all of this while giving about $2 billion in massive tax giveaways to big corporations that ship Wisconsin jobs overseas, and to the superrich.

The out-of-state special interests that supported Scott Walker in November have returned to protect their investment with a massive spending spree, illegally coordinated and ethically rotten, much as the Republican effort to recall Democratic senators was marked by thousands of instances of acknowledged fraud.

The bad acts in the closing days are a measure of the desperation of Republicans, but which we will counter with a strong slate of candidates – including five strong Democratic women – as well as a get-out-the-vote operation the likes of which Wisconsin never has seen.

This past weekend alone, an overflow army of some 8,234 volunteers made 784,374 contacts with Wisconsin voters. This brings the number of contacts with Wisconsin voters to about 2.21 million.

While the odds have always been stacked long against us and the recall movement is fighting on Scott Walker’s turf, here's why Democrats win back the state Senate on Tuesday and make history:

• The deep opposition to the Scott Walker agenda and his assault on core Wisconsin values;
• A massive mobilization of grassroots resources that in the dead of summer resembles a presidential election year in late fall;
• The strength of our candidates, a diverse group of people dedicated to their communities. A teacher, a nurse, a small business owner, a forester, a proven executive, and a longtime advocate for her community are going up against mindless rubberstamps for Walker's extreme agenda. The Democratic field also features five women out of six races.
• The power of our message that emphasizes Wisconsin’s best values, and is clearly resonating with the Wisconsin electorate offended and surprised by the radical Walker agenda.
• Polling. In at least four of the recall elections, Democrats either lead or trail just slightly-by margins that our massive and unparalleled field program will close on Election Day.

And unlike the Republicans, who have been forced to write off entirely at least one recall election, Democrats are playing in all six contests -- all of which are GOP districts.

On, Wisconsin.