GOP savors tasty Wisconsin victory
Among Republicans, last night’s seven-point victory by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker will be savored for weeks as an appetite-whetting little bon-bon for the much greater victory that they anticipate enjoying in November.
Among Democrats, it is a defeat that will sting in the short term and cause them worries in the long term as they too look ahead to November. The immense fervor generated in the Democratic base by Walker’s actions was enough to force the recall, but they were unable to translate it into a majority of votes for his ouster. (They apparently did manage to retake control of the Wisconsin state Senate, which will force a moderation of Walker’s ambitions for the remainder of his term).
It’s hard to assess what impact the outcome will have in November. Exit polls of those who turned out to vote in Wisconsin put Barack Obama up seven points over Mitt Romney, which might seem encouraging for the president’s campaign. On the other hand, Obama carried the state by 14 points in 2008, which suggests that his margin has shrunk.
The race also offered insight into what the post-Citizens United landscape might look like, with conservative groups able to generate millions of dollars in contributions and outside expenditures and vastly outspend the Democrats.
“Democrats had the best turnout and field operation in Wisconsin that we could ever hope for, but that can’t win elections when Republicans are massacring us on the airwaves,” an anonymous Democratic strategist told National Journal. “This should be a wakeup call to Democratic groups and donors who think we can ignore mass communications and focus only on field and turnout.”
– Jay Bookman
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530 comments Add your comment
Jack in Cumming
June 6th, 2012
12:03 pm
Bro see my earlier post
Jack in Cumming
June 6th, 2012
12:03 pm
Tom if you actually believe GE is a repub back company then I cannot help
Jack in Cumming
June 6th, 2012
12:04 pm
Unions bargain for better pay or unrealistic pay
Brosephus™ - NTEU member and proud of it
June 6th, 2012
12:05 pm
Jack
Which one?
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
June 6th, 2012
12:06 pm
Tom if you actually believe GE is a repub back company then I cannot help
There’s your sign.
Tom Middleton
June 6th, 2012
12:12 pm
I didn’t think you could help, Jack; the facts don’t fit your model. Remember when Jack Welch polluted the Hudson because the government didn’t say he couldn’t. Guess which party hates regulation? Nevermind, you know.
Tom Middleton
June 6th, 2012
12:14 pm
KAAAAAM! what’s up, man?
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
June 6th, 2012
12:20 pm
Hiya, Tom.
Back in the ATL for a couple of days, then back to tending my gardens.
Mick
June 6th, 2012
12:22 pm
kamchak
Hey my key lime tree is going gangbusters! Outside of the that, the weeds seem to be winning…why are they so strong willed???
Tom Middleton
June 6th, 2012
12:28 pm
Jack: Oh yeah Tom… Well I had a Lib in my family who would rather have bin laden in charge the it be fair. See how easy that was?
Probably your wife, Jack. Oh and guess who killed bin Laden? Wasn’t anybody in your party!
Jack in Cumming
June 6th, 2012
12:28 pm
Jack welch??? Nice one Tom! Bwahahahaha!
Anyways unions parasites took a huge hit last night and will continue to decline. Long live capitalism! Go Scott walker!
Jack in Cumming
June 6th, 2012
12:31 pm
Seals killed bin laden using intel from gitmo, but Obama said “kill him” so i guess he is
Awesome.
Speaking of Obama I have a joke…
What’s the difference between Obama and Sidney’s simba?
One is an African lion and the other a lying africn
Mick
June 6th, 2012
12:32 pm
**unions parasites**
Yes, that says all anyone needs to know about your prejudice and ignorance…
Tom Middleton
June 6th, 2012
12:32 pm
You’re the one with the life we should all be envious of, Kam. Put a little Bryan Bowers in the headphones, and you’re there!
Tom Middleton
June 6th, 2012
12:42 pm
Old joke, Jack, and it was dumb when it was new. So why don’t you pull your head out and get some fresh air… or at least take that white hood off. It doesn’t work anymore!
228 more days
June 6th, 2012
12:42 pm
If Citizens United is such a bad ruling from the SC, isn’t there a form of legislation to repeal it?
FYI, I also am againest the ruling.
Jack
June 6th, 2012
12:49 pm
Okay. I’m one of those trained monkey yahoos who’s been conned and duped. But I had enough sense to vote against Obama in 2008 and will do it again come November. Explaining why would likely go over the heads of the name-callers.
Tom Middleton
June 6th, 2012
12:54 pm
Get some fresh air, Jack, and then we’ll talk. Maybe then you can explain why you’re proud you voted for Bush
Mr Right
June 6th, 2012
1:10 pm
Maybe then you can explain why you’re proud you voted for Bush
What was the other choice? Al Gore or Kerry, come on
Tom Middleton
June 6th, 2012
1:16 pm
I bet even you could have done a better job than Bush, Mr. In case you don’t remember, he destroyed our economy and had no net job increase in all eight years. Oh, I forgot: Those are good thing when a Republican does them. Nevermind,,,lol!
Truth
June 6th, 2012
1:28 pm
I love the smell of disenchanted liberals in the morning.
Tom Middleton
June 6th, 2012
1:32 pm
Sorry, truth, but that’s the smell of crap surviving the recall. LOL
Get Real
June 6th, 2012
2:02 pm
Tom, I suggest smoking something out of Kammie’s garden, lot’s of hate and frustration today…get over it..libbies lost and for good reason…
Billy
June 6th, 2012
2:19 pm
This spells the end for Mr. Obama. He is just like my brother, Jimmy, a one term President.
td
June 6th, 2012
2:31 pm
I just saw what all you libs were doing last night.
http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2012/06/05/Bleeding-Heart-Liberal-Tells-CNN-This-is-the-End-of-Democracy
DBCOOPER
June 6th, 2012
2:48 pm
Has Obama blamed Bush for this yet?
davetv
June 6th, 2012
4:27 pm
From the stats of graduation rates and our ranking in the world in education, perhaps our teachers are actually overpaid and over appreciated.
Oblama
June 7th, 2012
8:53 am
The losing side should have to reimburse the state for the unnecessary expense imposed on the state of Wisconsin. What a waste. Jay appears to be a little bitter today ’cause his man Obama didn’t benefit from this attempted coup by the left. Labor Union bosses have a long history of being thugs.
Oblama
June 7th, 2012
8:56 am
And the mother of a 24 year old rapist said she knew her son needed help but “hoped” he wouldn’t hurt anyone. My dear he will get his help from Bubba when he gets to the “Big House”.
Oblama
June 7th, 2012
9:00 am
When a political group (not the people of Wisconsin) tries to over throw a sitting Governor that was voted in by the citizens, not because he was violating the law but because he was trying to do the job he was elected to do, then that is a coup – that is obvious. It was all about politics.