What to do now?
Yesterday's recall election in Wisconsin, which returns Republican Gov. Scott Walker to power, will embolden the right-wing across the nation. The Democratic Party candidate, Mayor Tom Barrett of Milwaukee, ran a
weak campaign in what was a rematch of their 2010 race for the governor seat. The outcome this time was nearly identical to the 2010 election as Walker again won with about a 7% margin.
Walker outspent Barrett 7-1 as big corporate money flowed into the state - more than $63 million was spent on the campaign. The Republicans recognized that they had to defend their attacks on unions, voting rights, and social programs at all costs. Republican leaders are already spinning the Wisconsin victory as evidence that voters nationally support these attacks.
In some respects it is true that large numbers of citizens do support these attacks on social progress. My take on it is heavily influenced by the June 3 post below by philosopher Slavoj Zizek about Greece. In the post he talks about how a small neo-fascist movement has been beating up immigrants who are being blamed for Greek economic woes. Zizek fears that this blaming mood will spread throughout Europe.
The Wisconsin victory for Walker largely came from the suburbs and the rural parts of the state - mostly white people. In many of Walker's TV commercials he kept reminding voters that his opponent Barrett was the mayor of "Milwaukee". There was a hidden message there. 'Milwaukee means unions, blacks, and Hispanics. They are the reason the economy is a mess. Union wages and social programs. If we just get rid of all that things will return to normal here in Wisconsin.'
The right-wing is good at divide and conquer. They know they have to keep public focus off the corporate domination by the 1%. So their strategy is to blame the poor and people of color. Just like immigrants are being blamed across Europe for the ills of capitalism.
The U.S. has the highest income inequality of all the advanced
industrial countries in the world. Thirty-eight percent of
African-American children and 35% of Hispanic children live in poverty
today.
The Republicans knew their victory in Wisconsin would be ensured by suppressing the vote of these marginalized people. So they took steps to try to restrict the rules for voting as well as taking steps to discourage voters. Right-wing Robo calls went out across the state prior to the election telling voters that if they had signed the recall petition then they did not have to go vote. As people in the cities were still in line after the polls had "officially" closed, conservative TV stations asked some voters why they were still on line to vote when NBC News had already called the election in favor of Walker.
The attacks on the 99% will continue but sadly some people within the working class still harbor hopes they will "win the lottery" and make it to the top. I read this morning that 36% of union families voted for Walker which meant voting against their own interests. The corporate colonization of the minds of many within the working class continues to be strong.
The organizing strategy now has to be to concentrate on our local communities - our neighborhoods - to help people break free of this corporate mind colonization. This will only happen when we help people find a way to clearly see the writing on the wall. We have to drive a stake through the heart of the "success mythology" which says that if you keep your nose to the grindstone and don't rock the boat you too can strike it rich.
The right-wing victory in Wisconsin largely resulted because legions of people still believe that the Republicans offer the best vision for the future. Capitalism will offer you a chance to be a success. What vision does the left offer?
It's evident that the Democrats keep entering the electoral ring with one arm tied behind their backs. In many respects the Democrats are captives of the corporate system that their constituency is trying to challenge. Democrats won't take on the issue of endless war and its implications on our economy. They won't call for the conversion of the military industrial complex which would create millions of new jobs in home weatherization, building solar, building a national rail system, in education and health care and more. That is an alternative jobs vision that would attract support and would directly challenge the agenda of the right-wing.
Some might argue that military spending and economic conversion are not state and local issues. But I would make the opposite case. Most acknowledge that our national fiscal crisis has been caused by endless war spending and tax cuts for the rich. Thus many programs have been dumped on the state and local governments who can't handle these responsibilities due to their own budget problems. So cutting Pentagon spending and creating local jobs doing good things will in fact help each state economy. Therefore local and state elected officials must be be talking about these issues as key elements in a sane economic plan.
The electoral arena will offer very limited results as long as the weak-kneed corporate linked Democrats remain our flag carriers.
Our survival will come by connecting the dots and recreating the picture on the wall so that our neighbors can find new vision and new hope to rally around.
