The Writing on the Wall I

Trey Smith

Today, all eyes will be watching to see whether Wisconsin voters will keep labor-bashing right-winger Scott Walker (R) in the governor’s mansion. But win or lose, the real story is the 15 months of people power leading up to this day. The real lesson lies in more than a year of progressive organizing, petitioning, canvassing and campaigning for the cause. The real result is a progressive movement that is deeper and broader than before.
~ from Win or Lose, Wisconsin Gives Progressives Something to Build On by Katrina vanden Heuvel ~

I found this essay by the editor of The Nation to be quite remarkable. The importance for me wasn't so much what it said, but WHEN it was stated. Her rally piece was printed in the Washington Post ON the day of the big recall vote. It was written BEFORE the votes were tallied. And it told me that progressives knew they had no chance of prevailing!

In all honesty, the essay read like a concession speech. It expressed the kind of sentiment the loser of a race makes after he/she knows that all their efforts were for naught. It is what you say as a way of thank you to your fervent supporters: don't give up the fight.

Up until vanden Heuvel's missive, the supporters of the recall effort would have us believe that they expected to win. Even when the various polls and surveys showed that Walker was leading, progressive pundits from all over the country told us not to believe them, that Walker would be defeated come Election Day. It now appears they were merely blowing smoke! It now appears to be nothing more than run-of-the-mill political rhetoric.

Any way you slice it, this represents a resounding defeat. The only theoretical glimmer of hope is it appears that one Democrat defeated a Republican in one of the 4 state senate seats up for recall. The victory, if that's what it is, is merely symbolic as the state senate is no longer in session and won't meet again until after the regular November election (when its configuration might be altogether different).

Of course, the progressives in Wisconsin are bemoaning the fact that they were outspent by a margin of 7.5 to 1. It's true that the amount of money thrown around lately in the state played a crucial role in the outcome. Across the nation, the candidate who raises and expends the most campaign dollars wins 90 or more percent of the time. That amount of moolah almost always goes to the "establishment" candidate -- the candidate more associated with corporate interests.

So, where does this leave us? Wisconsin and national progressives worked for 16 months to overthrow and turn back one state's attempt at employing the shock doctrine and, for all their devotion, time and effort, they lost. They energized a lot of people, but at the end of the day, there is little, if any, political change.

What this election tells me is that the Occupy Movement is a far better vehicle than the ballot box. Politics is now controlled -- far more than it used to be -- by the money of the well-to-do. No matter how well the grassroots organizes and mobilizes, at the end of the day, money still wins the votes.

Consequently, progressives would do well to learn a valuable lesson: Screw the ballot box and take to the streets.