Hmmm....I'd say this is a decided consensus:
Wisconsin Democrats are telling reporters that they have gathered more than one million signatures to recall Governor Scott Walker — a remarkable number that could have real ramifications for this year’s presidential race. [..]
Dems need around 540,000 of those signatures to be certified as official in order for the recall of Walker to proceed. The one-million total makes that cushion pretty comfortable.
Beside doubling the number of signatures needed, it almost mirrors the number of votes that Walker got in 2010 that put him in the statehouse. In addition to Walker, they got signatures to recall the following state reps:
- Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch - 845,000
- Sen. Terry Moulton of Chippewa Falls - 21,000+
- Sen. Pam Galloway of Wausau -21,000+
- Sen. Van Wanggaard of Racine - 24,000
- Sen. Scott Fitzgerald - 20,600
According to activists in Wisconsin, they captured more than 20% of all eligible voters, including 123% of the required signatures against Speaker Scott Fitzgerald, who was thought one of the more challenging recalls to pull off.
In this battle, the 99 percent have won an important volley. But there are more battles to come. Walker has some pretty significant deep pockets supporting him and was, at the time the petitions were delivered, in NYC at a $2,500/head fundraiser. As yet, there is no Democrat slated to run for governor, although that will come soon. It will take months to verify those signatures, so a recall election won't occur until perhaps June or later.
Under Scott Walker's governorship, the people in Wisconsin have seen the highest cuts to public education (with many schools forced to close), 65,000 Wisconsinites losing access to health care (including 29,000 kids), and public workers losing their collective bargaining rights so that $2.3 billion in tax breaks could be given to Walker's cronies. And despite those tax breaks, Wisconsin ended up losing almost 35,000 jobs last year.
The battle isn't over, but today, let's celebrate the power of true grassroots democracy and how an organized and united group of 99 percenters *can* hold politicians accountable for failing us.
