As noted by the eminently quotable Charles Pierce, the DNC seems to be repeating one of its worst mistakes of past 20+ years in WI's Recall.
In 1990, Newt had a near-death political experience. Eastern Airlines was dying after a bitter strike, and there were many of their workers in his CD, which encompassed Hartsfield Airport at the time. As per Pierce:
In 1990, the DNC declined to help fully a congressional candidate named David Worley in Georgia. The Worley people were begging for money, for organizers, for a lifeline of any kind. Very little was forthcoming. Worley lost to Newt Gingrich by 978 votes. How would the subsequent 10 years have been different if Gingrich's political career had ended ignominiously in 1990?
We all know what happened to Newt a mere 4 years after the DNC consciously chose not to stick a stake in his (political) heart. As Pierce further notes, should Walker survive this near-death experience, he may be a candidate for even bigger and better things 4 years hence:
Right now, if nothing else changes, it looks very much like Scott Walker, the goggle-eyed homunculus hired by Koch Industries to manage their midwest subsidiary formerly known as the state of Wisconsin, is going to keep his job. If that's the case, and assuming he doesn't go down in the ongoing John Doe investigation in Milwaukee, I predict that he will have an "exploratory committee" set up in Iowa within the month, and he will suddenly discover a deeply held desire to spend a lot of time in places like Nashua and Manchester. Make no mistake: If he hangs on, he will be the biggest star in the Republican party. Chris Christie yells at all the right people, but has he ever faced down the existential threat that schoolteachers and snowplow drivers brought to bear on Walker? Marco Rubio? Has he withstood the wrath of organized janitors and professors of the humanities? If Walker wins in June, it wouldn't take very much effort at all for Fox News and for the vast universe of conservative sugar-daddies and their organization to decide that Walker should be the odds-on choice for 2016.
Not only would Walker's survival greatly enhance his poltical future, but it would also be a galvanizing event for the GOP and a depressing event for the Dems. The latter scenario is esp disconcerting. A true grassroots movement arose last year in defense of labor rights, the 1st Amendment, and basic notions of fair play. If the party abandons that movement at crunch time, does anyone think that the movement won't take notice? There's already a visible enthusiasm gap between 2008 and 2012. That gap will only widen if the DNC continues to sit on its hands.
Labor has been the backbone of the Dems during the entire lifetime of most everyone who will vote this fall. It's not a coincidence that labor's fortunes and Dems' fortunes rose together from roughly the mid-30's to the mid-70's, nor is it a coincidence that the party's fortunes have suffered w/ labor's since then. Regardless of how many big contributions are raised from FIRE, labor is essential to GOTV efforts.
IN recently became the first rust belt state to adopt a right to work (for less) law. The recently released "divide and conquer" video shows his intentions on the issue in WI. Does anyone doubt for a moment that other GOP governors (cough, cough Kasich) in other Midwestern states have similar intentions?
The DNC and Obama's re-election campaign raised $43.6mm in April, NOT COUNTING the estimated $15mm raised in George Clooney's backyard. The $500k that WI Dems are desperately begging for is pocket change in that context.
The DNC has a potential win/win/win scenario here--help kill off a dangerous Gooper, rally the base, and support a key constituency. Thus far, it is choosing a lose/lose/lose scenario. I wonder if any of these political geniuses recall the blown chance to finish off Newt 22 years ago.