Democracy is probably the most costly form of government in terms of the human effort, learning, and communication it takes to make it work. And for those reasons it has never worked in my lifetime. (I am 76) As I watch events unfold for the Wisconsin front today I am more encouraged than I have been in a long time. I have always believed that there are limits to which you can push people, even those as well off as in this country of ours. Yes we have lots who hurt and lots who suffer. I am out there trying to help them so I see it right up close. Yet among the peoples in the world we are pretty well off on the whole. That's why we don't fight enough. Until now. Wisconsin is a milestone. People are expressing the fact fact that they won't take it any longer and that goes far beyond who wins or loses. The big losers are the oligarchs and plutocrats. The man behind the curtain is visible and the people do not like what they see. Read on below and I will play "devils advocate" as I usually do for this can only be a beginning.
A while back George Lakoff warned us that we are still not aware of what we are up against. If anything, his warning was understated. The warning said more than this but it said that even if Obama wins in November we will have lost ground in localities all around the country and that Wisconsin was just a taste. That puts the fight in Wisconsin in perspective for me. Look at the immense effort being required to stave off a right wing attack on the people! If you have any illusion that you can go on living your life as you have you need to wake up. This is a struggle for survival. They (the plutocrats and oligarchs) want it all. They know the world is changing and can't sustain the very expensive American middle class. They will deftly turn us into serfs if we are not already in that status and they will use government to do it as long as they can. (Just in case you have not yet noticed). Realize that on the outside chance we can take back the government they will not give up. They will then crush us with force.
So life is changing for all of us. The people of Wisconsin have seen the beast face to face and they are fight for their freedom. Many of us have supported them in one way or another. It does not end there. We need to be proactive from now on for it was terribly hard to gain back lost ground in Wisconsin. I won't preach about what might have been done to prevent this, but you all have great imaginations and I leave that for an exercise for you readers. Next time, if you solve that exercise, it won't be as rough. If you sit and wait for it to happen to you....what can I say?
7:00 PM PT: So Walker wins by a landslide. Money talks.