Earlier today Giles Goat Boy published an excellent diary on the Wisconsin Government Accountability Boards hearings that are being held today over the validity of the recall petitions against three Democratic Senators.
In the diary comments someone brought up the idea of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin running "fake" Republican candidates...
Jump with me below the fold.
Several people mentioned that the Democrats should run fake Republican candidates to balance the fake Democratic candidates out. Some of the comments were quite serious. Others were obviously joking. The jokes did not bother me. What bothered me were the serious comments. I responded to the main serious comment and stated quite simply, "No, we do not need to sink down to their level."
The response was, "...if this is what it takes to put a halt to it..."
Really?!? How can anyone justify sinking down to level of the Republican Party of Wisconsin? What the Republican Party of today has shown us is that they are morally bankrupt and ethically challenged. They are unable to honestly address the problems that the State of Wisconsin faces today. They obey their corporate masters with nary the blink of an eye. They create unnecessary laws that disenfranchise those that are most likely to vote for their opposition. They claim to be fiscally responsible, yet are fine with spending our money by forcing a primary election with fake candidates.
Fitzgerald also said holding the recall elections were costly for taxpayers. By forcing primaries with fake candidates, those costs will only climb.
Republicans are obsessed with power and staying in power. That is their only goal. To stay in power so that they can obey their corporate masters, which keeps the corporate campaign money rolling in. They do not care about you, me, the State of Wisconsin or the United States of America...they only care about power.
As an Atheist I do not believe in a higher power, or an afterlife. So I say this metaphorically. I will not, under any condition sell my soul to unseat the Republicans. I am a Democrat. I am a member of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. I am a veteran of the United States Army. I believe in living my life with honor and integrity. Ethics is not just a word to me it is a way of living. If the only way to beat them is to sink to their level, count me out.
As Democrats, progressives, liberals, whatever label you want to go by on the left, we hold the moral high ground. As Democrats we stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. We fight for the rights of those whose rights have been trampled. We see a problem, we look for a solution, not for someone to blame. We fight for the downtrodden. What we do is not always popular, but doing the right thing, and tackling the tough issues is rarely is popular these days thanks to the decades of lies that have been pumped out by the Republican noise machine.
If we sink to the Republicans level then we are no better than they are. We no longer hold the moral high ground. We lose credibility. We teach our children that it is OK to cheat to win.
Maybe I am like Don Quixote charging windmills here - but, I will not now, nor will I ever abide by the idea that stooping to the level of the Republican Party is the only way to beat the Republican Party. I would rather be in the minority and be able to hold my head high, than to be in the majority and not be able to sleep at night.
I look at my 11 year old son and I know why I am taking this stand...I could not look him in the eye and teach him live an honorable life if I stooped to level of the Republicans in this state.