Yesterday I wrote a diary about the successful gotv efforts of Wisconsin Jobs Now, a union supported grassroots organization that has been focused on the low income communities of Milwaukee. These communities are in State Senator Alberta Darling's district. She never sets foot in them, and up until now has assumed that they are not a factor in electoral politics. But that is changing. These neighborhoods are coming alive. Their votes will be significant, and beyond that, they will no longer be invisible.
The rigthtwing in the state seems in disarray right now. Their comment boards trolled by wingnuts are aflame with allegations of fraud, collusion and bribery (not to mention their favorite meme, "union thuggery"). Desperation has a particularly strident tone these days, does it not? But alas, they are grasping at straws. They have broadcast a few claims about the fact that Wisconsin Jobs Now had some block parties, where people ate (shudder) free hotdogs which then induced them, bribed them no less, to, like zombies off a Romero set, climb aboard vans to go to City Hall and cast their early ill-gotten vote. ("vooote...v-oo-te... must have V-O-T-E!!!") Enfranchisement is, after all, a real problem for the oligarchy.
Rightwing gabberjab radiomen like Charlie Sykes and the ROTFL media "hey-we-have-a-magnifying-glass!" watchdog group Media Trackers have tried to conflate Wisconsin Jobs Now and Citizen Action of Wisconsin. They attempt this in order to forge a somewhat byzantine connection with the Sandy Pasch campaign. Ms. Pasch is running against Darling, and doing remarkably well. Again, they are grasping at straws. There simply is no problematic connection. None.
Brisco (far left), Coggs (middle), Lauer (right): "We need Jobs!"
In a press conference today Executive Director of WJN, Mike Lauer said "We are 100% confident that we acted within the bounds of the law. Nothing was coupled together. You could come to a party. You could have your face painted. You could have a hotdog. You could listen to music. You could get in a van and go cast your vote. None of these events were dependent upon the other. You didn't have to go vote." Of course, they carefully vetted all of this with their legal counsel before the parties were even planned.
State Senator Spenser Coggs said “What we are seeing here is an attempt by the very supporters of voter suppression to raise the alarm just because low-income and minority people are voting in large numbers.”
He went on to explain that we must not be deterred. "When you early vote it is a vote in the bank. There are some people who don't want people in these districts to vote. No matter what happens at the polls, you gotta vote!"
Reverend Willie Brisco, an important community leader of Milwaukee, said "We want to restore hope. I remember a middle class community and proud neighborhoods, where there were jobs and services. We need jobs! We need politicians who understand our needs! This is an attempt to suppress the vote in our neighborhoods. Tell your neighbors to vote. Tell your neighbor's neighbors to vote!
It is all about clean voting, correct? The Voter ID bill just recently made its rather quick intestinal journey, ending up a nice turd of a bill. Aggressive GOTV is our only recourse. As one woman said to me at the presser today, "Why is it that whenever we stand up for our rights, they accuse us of doing something illegal?"
Yeah, why is that? The political right, desperate for traction against The People's Movement of Wisconsin, is digging in to their bag of nasties. I think it will backfire. These African American wards are buzzing with political energy. The more ludicrous the gabberjab's accusations, the more the hive buzzes. The more the hive buzzes, the more people will turn out next Tuesday.
See you at the polls!
"When people do come together, there are others with false voice who impede."