The Lessons Learned From Wisconsin
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After the 2010 election, I was scared that the tea party movement and the conservative resurgence had "jumped the shark," peaking too soon to attain its goal of sending Barack Obama and his policies back to Chicago. The Wisconsin vote this past week put that fear to an end.
The midterm elections had recaptured the U.S. House of Representatives for the Republicans. It upset in both congressional houses what had been a filibuster-proof majority, theoretically allowing a unified Democratic Party to pass any legislation it desired. That election also brought forth the first truly Republican North Carolina legislature in more than a century. Before Wisconsin, many Republicans, including me, were concerned that the post-Obama conservative tide had ebbed.
The Badger State became a test for modern tea party conservatism. Scott Walker was a bold governor who dared to challenge the most stalwart supporter of the Democratic Party, organized government labor. He did this in an effort to govern under the Republican principle that budgets needed to be balanced without excessive new taxes. And the best way to do that was to curb the power of government unions.
He did all this in a state that had not sent a Republican electoral vote to Washington since Ronald Regan. Such conduct was so dangerous to the left-wing power machine that it decided to make Walker an example to the nation that conservatives ought not bring their philosophy into the House of Labor. They then decided to gather enough signatures to demand the governor's recall, along with certain legislators on whom the governor depended for support.
The result was supposed to be a stern lesson for any politician who treaded upon the sacred ground of organized government labor. It didn't turn out that way.
The conservatives accepted labor's challenge. It was almost like a second Battle of Gettysburg. Conservative forces found themselves in a place unfamiliar with their cause and on ground they might not have chosen. But the enemy presented itself there. This time, the tea party, galloping across open ground, led a charge that could not be repelled. They made it past labor's stone wall and are now headed for Washington with the defenses of the left wing in tatters.
Some might say that the conservatives outspent the left. Perhaps that is true. But this was clearly a battleground chosen by labor and the left. They cannot now complain that their army was not ready for the conflict.
Moreover, each side spent enough money to educate all voters about the issues before them. When the airwaves are saturated with mutually destructive propaganda, voters tend to tune out the noise, voting their convictions. And those convictions were sympathetic to the 2010 conservative movement.
Now, President Obama was heavily criticized for not standing with his labor allies and campaigning in Wisconsin. He was similarly criticized for not joining in the effort to defeat the North Carolina marriage amendment, instead opting to oppose it the day after it was passed. Perhaps the Obama pollsters knew that the conservative resurgence that turned around Congress in 2010 is not only alive, but is continuing to expand its influence over the electorate.
Interestingly, the lesson of Wisconsin is important, too, for Republicans. Mitt Romney, the nominee apparent, is not a tea party candidate by any measure. His advisers often seem uncomfortable with some conservative ideas. Yet Wisconsin proved that shaking the "Etch A Sketch" to erase Romney's conservative primary positions may not be either necessary or advisable.
Wisconsin proved that dissatisfaction with the liberal agenda runs deeper than Obama's economic failures. Independent and swing voters have embraced conservative principles of governance like limited taxes and placing curbs on the pension and salary excesses of government labor.
Wisconsin was a state colored blue for many years past. Today it is state where the only things that remain solidly "blue" are the color of its crumbled cheese and its crumbling government unions.
The lesson of the Battle for Wisconsin is that, to paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of the death of the 2010 conservative resurgence were greatly exaggerated. Reports on the influence of conservatives in the 2012 electorate have been substantially underestimated. It is lesson for both parties found in local tea party song: "We Ain't Goin' Away."
Robert M. Levy is chairman of the Moore County Republican Party. Contact him at Law52@prodigy.net.
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Comments
madstork 11 months, 1 week ago
The Coward in Chief can’t be happy with this result. Basically, a rejection his platforms 5 months prior to the election….in a state that pioneered the municipal union movement. POTUS has lost his juice.
The_AnonymusProfit 11 months, 1 week ago
Nice Article.
Bentpan 11 months, 1 week ago
Good column Mr. Levy, The TEA party is definitely not going away, the more the left villifies or conversely dismisses us as irrelevent, the more people's curiousity is aroused. Those that check out the TEA party find intelligent hardworking citizens honestly concerned about our country's future, with the main trust of the movement being "FISCAL" responsibility and that government largess enslaves citizens and destroys the individual self reliance that made us the greatest country on the planet. But even more basic than that is the simple truth is that we cannot continue to support a federal government at its present size, much less the ever expanding behemoth that is being added to daily. If we allowed everything to remain the same and did not allow our federal lawmakers to add one more penny of spending, the fed will by 2032 spend 2X our GDP annually. We all know about Greeces bankruptcy woes, but did you know we per-capita owe more. The bottom line is that this must stop and that is what the Republicans should focus on, social issues while important should not cloud the issue of getting our financial house in order first.
jgc 11 months, 1 week ago
Be careful reading into these results. Walker won the recall but mainly because the voting public in Wisconsin is not comfortable with recall elections and to his credit, they ran a smart campaign. However, exit polls found that voters preferred Obama to Romney 51% to 44%. This was not a referendum on the president, rather an overall uncomfortable feeling of the recall itself that tipped the scales.
fugitiveguy 11 months, 1 week ago
"Walker won the recall but mainly because the voting public in Wisconsin is not comfortable with recall elections"
Maybe its a collective case of "dAmMiT", didn't you hear me the first time. I do agree though that conservatives would be foolish to read too much into Wisconsin. We would be better off to raise funds and work as hard as if Wisconsin had been lost.
clarabelle 11 months, 1 week ago
geezus - how predictable - the far right salivating at this perceived victory and of course blaming obama along the way. Some things will never ever change!
truthmatterstome2 11 months, 1 week ago
A great victory for Republicians and a wake-up call for Democrats. No one should assume Wisconsin is a good predicter for November. No matter your political affiliation, the fact is that who ever does the best job of getting out their voters will win. If the economy remains poor Republicans will have an upper hand because most peoples vote is based on their pocketbook. Of course, that goes both ways. Those who enjoy being supported by the government will vote Democrat, no matter who is in office.
fugitiveguy 11 months, 1 week ago
"the far right"
who are the "near" right or just the "right" or are all conservatives conveniently lumped into the "far" category. What is the determinant. I am for lower taxes, less government, balanced budgets and more personal freedom, just wondering which category I fit into.
The_AnonymusProfit 11 months, 1 week ago
You all need to get off talking points and start thinking for yourselves. That goes for lefties AND righties. All of the above posts can be read verbatim off of the major talking point sites. Have some original thought here people.
bufordsplay 11 months, 1 week ago
The people are waking up to the fact that unions are destroying our country and Public Sector Unions should be outlawed!
skylinefirepest 11 months, 1 week ago
Clarybell...is anything out there that you really bother to actually read or does every comment elicit a snarky insulting drama from you???? Are you an expert on ANYTHING?? Such as "global warming" for instance?? The military, the country's finances, healthcare, foreign affairs, or say even such a simple question as "is Obama a liar"??
nothingspecial 11 months, 1 week ago
Good Lord, there are some really goofy liberal rationalizations up there about Wisconsin. It is a huge worldwide victory for fiscally responsible measures and how we can smartly cut costs without causing the dire myths being proposed.
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/302142/walker-s-victory-what-tea-party-all-about-mona-charen
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/302155/what-wisconsin-means-charles-krauthammer
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/302178/recall-rationalization-rich-lowry
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/302117/government-unions-lose-deroy-murdock
Wisconsin, San Diego and San Jose California decisions were all very telling about how citizens are becoming very knowledgeable about the sources of fiscal troubles related to entitlement programs and public union excesses that they are paying for. R's and D's both voted some significant cost saving ideas in.
DaveBurton 11 months, 1 week ago
Great article, Bob!
The Democrats did pick up one WI Senate seat, barely, which apparently gives them 17-to-16 majority control of the WI Senate for the rest of the year, but they're out of session for the rest of the year, anyhow, so it doesn't really matter much. There's an election in November with 16 seats up for grabs (1/2 of the WI Senate), which will determine which party controls the WI Senate next year. Walker & Kleefisch & about 4 other Republican State Senators all won, and the WI State Assembly remains Republican (by a safe 59-39 margin), so the good guys did pretty well.
JimHeim 11 months, 1 week ago
With the Wisconsin senate now under Democratic control, Walker's reign of error will be much slower.
We'll see how long Scott Walker lasts after the indictments that are probably in the works.
Those thinking this bodes ill for the president in Wisconsin, exit polling showed Mr. Obama with a significant lead among those voting. Wisconsin will not be voting for Romney.
The_AnonymusProfit 11 months, 1 week ago
Jim you really are a putz.
skylinefirepest 11 months, 1 week ago
Jimmy, as usual, doesn't have a clue! The people are sick and tired of the spending, Jimmy. They want fiscal responsibility and the Obama administration doesn't know how to provide that. Don't hold your breath waiting for the big "O" to win this next one, Jimmy. The Liar in Chief has had his day and now he will be consigned to the Jimmy Carter Library for the ex-Presidential Failures.
Bentpan 11 months, 1 week ago
Face it Mr. Heim, these last couple of weeks have signed sealed and delivered the end of the Obama administration and insures the transfer of power in the US Senate, Just as liberal democrats couldn't deliver for homosexual marriage in NC, they, even with the help of powerfull unions couldn't pony up votes against Gov Walker ( hell he doubled the lead he had in his original election) Mr heim your party's power has been seriously compromised by the noisy but irrelevent liberal loon branch, of which you head the loco.. I mean.. local chapter. See ya in the funny papers.
MikeNC 11 months, 1 week ago
Jim, It didn't end with Wisconsin, EVEN Liberal San Diego said it was time to freeze Union employee pay and San Jose said, Union employees have got to start paying money towards their benefits. So it ain't just the Tea Party, it's People, in general,waking up to what is happening how their hard earned tax dollars are being spent. Diane
skylinefirepest 11 months, 1 week ago
Jimmy, like Oliar, doesn't understand that the private sector is what provides tax money for the public sector. He's the perpetual first grader, that having been given a quarter by his mom doesn't understand that "somebody" had to earn that quarter in order to have it to give it to him. I continue to be amazed that the Moore County Demo's picked this guy to be their mouthpiece...sorta like Biden speaking for Oliar!!
geoffcutler 11 months, 1 week ago
On vacation this week, and in serious liberal territory. D.C. family libs, to be precise, second only to Mass and California libs. Three years ago, all we heard about was Obama. Now...? Dead silence!
Bentpan 11 months, 1 week ago
So it's a nice quiet vacation free from strife, added benefits, Mr Cutler, Enjoy it, Next year with a republican president and both houses under conservative control, they'll be screaming bloody murder while nit-picking everything to death even as things get obviously better.
The_AnonymusProfit 11 months, 1 week ago
Well from an earlier post we no longer have to listen to anything Jim says as he has never researched anything his opinions are worthless...from his own mouth. I plan on telling him that every time he posts anything till I am dead or no longer post here.
geoffcutler 11 months, 1 week ago
Must say, my conservative friends on here have been doing some good work...on all threads. Got Mr. Heim trussed up like a Thanksgiving day turkey. Keep up the good work, and we'll anxiously await November and the beginning of reclamation.
LSM 11 months, 1 week ago
"Now...? Dead silence!"
With anything the lack of abilitity eventually shows itself. As the old saying goes "You can not make a purse out of a sow's ear".
Courseaire 11 months, 1 week ago
It's "silk purse": You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear
skylinefirepest 11 months, 1 week ago
What? A silk purse? Empty, of course since Oliar's still in office!!
JimHeim 11 months, 1 week ago
Must be a government silk purse since Obama is cutting government growth so drastically.
I so enjoy the personal attacks; proof that you have no idea what's going on.
Newton 11 months, 1 week ago
Great column!
A drop of conservative thought in an ocean of Pilot liberalism.
The_AnonymusProfit 11 months, 1 week ago
@jimheim, your opinion is worthless by your own standard.
geoffcutler 11 months, 1 week ago
Newton...nice touch!
skylinefirepest 11 months, 1 week ago
Jimmy, do you equate government spending with the growth in the size of government...either way it's a wash. But to refresh your memory your man Oliar has spent almost five TRILLION "extra" dollars in under four years. This is lowering the size of government in your eyes????? Wow, if he lowers it any more we'll be bankrupt!!! Amazing how that happens. I really don't see anything about Oliar that would make me vote for him...or for that matter even invite him to my home as I can't stand LIARS as a rule. I guess his transparency and openness have just been such a bright light that we can't see the real Oliar!
Newton 11 months, 1 week ago
Why can't the liberals put a stake in the blather that's Keynsian economics? The answer is that it would not serve their purposes of expanding government.
Give me the Chicago School any day of the week (Friedman, Becker, Fama and Hayek). If there is anything that is "voodoo economics" it would be Keynsian thought. Spare me the schtick about government spending to increase aggregate demand. All crap IMO.