The Democratic Party in Wisconsin

[undeterred]

So what went wrong this year? Is it the party's fault? Is it the chairman's fault?

I haven't filled out the survey that they emailed to me yet but I've been thinking about it. I let my membership lapse a couple of years ago and rejoined in October. I have to say that I was pretty pleased with what I saw from the coordinated campaign during the last couple of months. Well run. Lots of volunteers and people doing their jobs. I did get a sense here in Madison that most of the volunteers were there out of heartfelt support for Senator Feingold even though we were working for the whole Democratic ticket.

But the DPW lost my heart at Barbara Lawton. For years she was my Governor in waiting. Smart, independent, progressive, female, and a Democrat. There is no reason she shouldn't have been given an opportunity to run in the primary for a chance to be our candidate for Governor. If our own party wouldn't allow her to do that, what does that say to women? We lost the seat anyway. And we also lost any claim we have to being the party that cares more about the equality of women. (Nobody cares about that anymore, right?)

Of course Barbara didn't say that, she said she withdrew for "very personal reasons". But that just shows how women at the highest levels still have to cover.

The Obama For America campaign was worse. I worked for them briefly in 2008, under conditions no union would ever tolerate, like 14 hours a day, 7 days a week, for miserable pay. They treated their staff like crap in the name of winning an election. Democrats in favor of working people?

If the Democratic party can't practice what it preaches in running campaigns, which is where people are most likely to get involved, why should anyone want to be part of it?

[Dinger]

1. K & R Because You Are Right

Sad to say.

[undeterred]

2. Its like she paid her dues for 8 years

and the good ol boys said "Sorry lady, your money's no good here".

:-(

[Dinger]

3. Yup, No Real Primary = No Real Choice (nt)

[LiberalFighter]

4. Try and find out for sure why she bowed out.

If you have connections that would know ask that way. Otherwise, attend your state convention and either ask her directly if possible or find a women connected group and check with them.

I would like to know too. We had a situation here in Indiana where the Party and other power players wanted someone who had never held elected office to be the nominee mainly it seemed because he had the financial resources and connections. But Jill Long was interested in the position and it was felt that she was more qualified than he was. She won the primary but they pretty much froze her out with the resources needed. Personally, I believe that Senator Bayh did not want her to be Governor. And the State Party is pretty much run by him.

[undeterred]

5. I really doubt that she's ever going to come out with a reason.

She was in her second term as lt gov, had already announced her candidacy and was fundraising. No other Democratic candidate had announced their intentions to run yet. Quite suddenly she withdrew for "very personal reasons". There was speculation that she had marital or financial or health or family problems and all of these proved groundless. The governor had announced he wouldn't seek a third term and could never find a kind word for her.

She is a very gracious lady and is never going to publicly say anything negative about the Democratic party or the people who screwed her over.

The candidate who ran was the mayor of Milwaukee and had run for Governor before- and he was a good candidate, if perhaps a reluctant one. Obama even annointed him.

But somewhere along the line it was "decided" that the Democrats were not going to have a primary. Geez, at least the Republicans had a choice.

[LiberalFighter]

8. It is just a matter of piecing everything together.

Maybe she won't say but there is bound to be others close enough that will unintentionally reveal it. I would get cozy with any women in politics and their groups and ease your way into it.

[dembotoz]

6. lets not throw mike tate under the bus

he as been a better chair and any in recent history.
by far

[undeterred]

7. I don't mean to implicate him in any way.

I don't think he had the kind of power it would take to make someone of her stature step down from being a candidate at the time that she did. And maybe he didn't have the will to, either. I truly do not know.

But there are others (plural) who did, and they used their power to throw a whole gender under the bus.

[hayrow]

9. The sad truth is that Wisconsin is alot more like Missouri and Indiana than most would like to admit

The fact that someone as good as Russ Feingold was elected and Doyle was re-elected is partially the result of tight organizations, but mainly it was luck. In '98 Neumann was on his way to beating Feingold before he showed his true self by making a citizen questioner cry at a town meeting by accusing her of being a Feingold plant. Doyle won re-election in '06 because the media found a link between Mark Green and convicted goon Jack Abermoff. The state of Wisconsin always has at least 45% ignorant as hell republican vote and maybe 35% Democratic vote.

[ewagner]

10. The party organization wasn't at fault

At least I don't think so....

There was such disillusionment with the Democrats in general because there was no visible sign of improvement in the economy. Further, Obama came off as weak and ineffective and the Repubs were more than happy to paint pictures of all Democratic candidates as weak also.

Even worse, Citizens united allowed the massive influx of unaccountable money into the system. Look what they did to Julie Lassa. For weeks, I received between three and four mailings a day from "527" groups blaming Julie for "betraying Senior Citizens"; costing Wisconsin "100,000's of Jobs". Blaming her Economic Development Committee for LOSING 161,000 jobs in Wisconsin. All this while MTV darling Sean Duffy nipped at her heels. She could not financially or organizationally compete with the orchestrated onslaught from National Repub, TeaParty idiots, and 527's that targeted that seat.

We have seen a glimpse of the future of political campaigns and it isn't pretty. The DPW and all of us who belong, now have to decide and DECIDE QUICKLY if we want to stand on the sidelines with our morals in tact or to crawl down into the Citizens United gutter with the Repubs...because make no mistake the money is here to stay.

[CatholicEdHead]

11. Citizens United was the worst

I was over in WI for part of election season and you had pretty tame campaigns compared to MN races. So much "anonymous" money came into the race this year which did have a huge affect on the outcome. You are right, it will be much worse in 2012.