Mike Tate
Earlier today I was on a media conference call with Mike Tate, chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. Tate's statement on the import and nature of the Wisconsin recall elections against Republican state Senators, which take place one week from today, was remarkable enough that it deserves posting in its entirety (sent to me via email):
Last year at this time, the mainstream media was in thrall of the notion that there was a massive enthusiasm gap between Democrats and Republicans. Thanks to Scott Walker’s massive overreach and bungling, that gap is gone.
What we see now in Wisconsin, is evidence that the so-called enthusiasm gap has been closed and surpassed by a grassroots army that is as enthused and committed as any we have seen in our state, with implications that will extend nationally and into next year’s epic campaign.
Republicans know this and are, even as we speak, throwing everything AND the kitchen sink out there in efforts to preserve their grasp on power. Evidence of this is their efforts to pull out all the stops in defense of Alberta Darling.
Alberta Darling is the crown jewel of our recall efforts. The powerbroker author of the Walker budget has gotten the most help from the very special interests for whom she wrote this favorable giveaway legislation.
Alberta Darling is a shining example of everything that is wrong with the Republican Party today, here and nationally. Elected as a moderate pro-choice Republican, she has chameleon-like changed her stripes, becoming a radical extremist as a way of currying favor with the corporate interests propping up Scott Walker. And that’s why they are coming in with barrels of cash to support her.
We believe that we can beat Alberta Darling and the other five Republicans because of a grassroots army that is unsurpassed.
With a million voter contacts and 10,000 volunteers - and with a volunteer army that will contact three quarters of a million voters this weekend - we're a week away from history, having already made history ourselves.
You are on this call in the middle of summer in a supposed off year because something special has happened in Wisconsin and as we are engaged right now in one of the most biggest and important get-out-the-vote operations in this party's history.
But it's not just about this Party. Now, we are closing in on being part of a movement, the first movement in this country's history by our estimation, to have triggered recall elections that have flipped control of a chamber of a Legislature.
This is a people's movement and, as the Party of the People, we are here because of the people that have stood up to the Scott Walker agenda that wanted to turn our state into a proving ground for right-wing ideas that put the super-rich and corporations first and pay for it by the full-scale dismantling of the middle class.
Everyone from the state's largest newspaper to Scott Walker himself to the Republican leadership to their reliable water bearers in the right-wing radio markets dismissed this movement as a passing phase, a "snit," something that they could wait out as they passed more extreme legislation, ripped $1.6 billion from our schools, gave break after break to corporations.
But a week from now we will hold elections in six Republican districts currently occupied by hard-bitten Republicans who are being aided and abetted by the same corporate special interests that brought Scott Walker to power and which right now are in our state using every trick imaginable so their cat's paws might be protected.
We are going to be outspent by these shady special interests, but we are going to withstand the last-minute flood of corporate cash because of an unparalleled ground game which has not seen an equivalent in Wisconsin history.
I'm going to give you some numbers now so I'll try to speak more slowly
- The process began with grassroots groups that collected some 170,000 signatures in record time across the state-and in places that don't even come close to our heart of support.
- Since the introduction of what Scott Walker falsely called a "budget repair bill," we have made contact, as of yesterday, with 1,400,332 voters using 10,417 volunteers.
- In July alone, we made 157,205 phone calls and knocked on 128,703 doors, according to our data.
- Additionally, the Democratic campaigns have sent nearly 2 million pieces of mail.
- Going into the stretch run this weekend, nearly 7,000 - or 6,961 - volunteers are scheduled to contact 731, 010 voters to get-out-the-vote.
We take nothing for granted, but the success of our grassroots movement, the strength that we have achieved through unity and organization, should send shivers down the backs of these six Republicans who had a chance to serve the people-and who bargained with their political life by becoming servants of Scott Walker instead.
Keep in mind that this is the chair of the Wisconsin Democrats. It's unusual to see a Democratic leader be so brash. Tate isn't looking for bipartisan compromise, he is looking to build a people-powered, grassroots movement to thwart a right-wing agenda that is destroying the social safety net at the behest of corporate interests.
Greg Sargent, who was also on the call,
adds:
On a conference call with reporters just now, Wisconsin Democratic Party chairman Mike Tate made a very bold claim: He said party polling shows that Dems are leading or in a dead heat in all six of the races to recall Wisconsin state senators.
Tate further clarified that their polls have Democrats Jennifer Shilling, Jessica King and Fred Clark ahead, with the other three Democrats in statistical ties. This matches up with Daily Kos polling on the Wisconsin recalls, and would be enough for Democrats to take control of the Wisconsin state Senate.
We aren't going to start winning national fights against those who are dismantling the social safety net until we start putting together some victories in the states. Over the next seven days we have that chance in Wisconsin. Please, contribute $1 to all of the Democratic recall candidates in Wisconsin.