By sheer coincidence I am about to board a flight to Madison, WI. Going to a conference. I am making sure to wear my "We are the 99%" and my "Heartland Revolution" and my "Liberal American" T-shirts while I am there. Also plan on buying a couple of slices at Ian's pizza, the pizza place that went out of their way to feed the protesters last year.
But it would sure be nicer heading out there if Walker and been booted out by the voters. But you know what? I never had high hopes. Fighting the good fight isn't about winning everything. It is about drawing the line, defending that line, and making gains when and where you can.
We did that. We initiated several recalls in Wisconsin in response to the right wing extremist, anti-working and anti-middle class agenda and fought district by district until we flipped the state senate.
So you know what? In my book we accomplished what we set out to do and all the money and blogging I did in 2011 and 2012 aimed at Wisconsin paid off.
We didn't win everything, but we gained ground. Fights aren't often won by single massive blow out victories. They are won by patient defense and patient gaining of ground wherever you can.
So what is next for Wisconsin?
First and foremost we have to remember the fights we DID win and hold on to that ground. There are four state senators I particularly wanted to highlight. All are incumbents BECAUSE we either defended them against right wing attacks or we won recall elections against right wing incumbents. All four of these candidates are endorsed by Progressive Majority and are really kick ass Democrats. First and foremost we have to have these folks' backs. From Progressive Majority:
Robert Wirch
Wisconsin
State Senate - District 22
2012
Incumbent
http://bobwirch.com/
State Senator Robert Wirch has served four terms in the Senate, representing District 22, which includes Kenosha and the surrounding communities. Earlier in his career, he served two terms as a state Representative. Prior to his election Bob was a factory worker and union steelworker and served on the Kenosha County Board of Supervisors. Bob has been a top advocate for working families during his time in the legislature. He authored legislation to prevent companies that receive state contracts from sending Wisconsin jobs overseas and defended workers in Wisconsin from Scott Walker's attacks. He defeated a Repbulican led recall in 2011 and it is vital that we reelect Senator Wirch in November
Dave Hansen
Wisconsin
State Senate - District 30
2012
Incumbent
http://hansenforsenate.com/
State Senator Dave Hansen has served three terms in the legislature, representing District 30, which includes Green Bay and surrounding communities. Prior to his election, Dave worked for Green Bay's Department of Public Works as a truck driver and was a Teamsters union steward. He also served on the Brown County Board from 1996-2002. Dave authored the pay equity legislation that requires businesses to pay women the same as men for the same work and led the fight to protect our natural resources by voting to reduce mercury pollution, preserve our wetlands, and prevent the diversion of water from the Great Lakes to other states. After defeating a Republican led recall in 2011, Senator Hansen is facing a conservative challenger that must be defeated to protect working families in Wisconsin.
Jessica King
Wisconsin
State Senate - District 18
2012
Incumbent
http://www.jessicakingforsenate.com/...
Jessica King was born and raised in Fond du Lac County. She put herself through college with hard work and scholarships, earning academic and leadership honors. Jessica opened her own small business and in 2006 she was elected to the Oshkosh City Council. In 2011, she defeated Randy Hopper in a recall election. Now she is up for reelection and we need to make sure she is reelected in November.
Jennifer Shilling
Wisconsin
State Senate - District 32
2012
Incumbent
http://www.jennifershilling.com/
Senator Jennifer Shilling has deep ties to her community. She was elected as a La Crosse County Supervisor in 1990 and to the State Assembly in 2000. Jennifer defeated incumbent Repblican Senator Dan Kapanke in a recall election and has continued to fight for Wisconsin's working families in the Senate. We need a majority in the State Senate to prevent Scott Walker and conservatives from passing anymore harmful laws. We need to support Senator Shilling in 2012.
These are great folks and we fought hard for each and every one of them last year and believe me the right wing Koch backed extremists will be aiming for them.
But I also believe in building infrastructure for winning. We need to remember elections are won often by local folks working their butts off in their local districts. I have an ActBlue site that I have used both to push for specific candidates, but also to help out some local county Dem organizations in key districts. This can be swing districts (always good to target) but also some redder districts that are still worth trying to get out the Dem vote because cutting the margin of loss in those counties will help win swing districts overall...and make it more likely we defeat Walker the next time. I believe in fighting in EVERY district. Please help build the infrastructure Dems need in Wisconsin to stop and reverse the right wing extremist agenda that is killing America.
Finally we can't forget that the right wing attacks on unions is much wider than Wisconsin. In particular I feel we need to fight back hard in four states: Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. I have another act blue page dedicated to defending unions across four states. Join me in fighting the Koch brothers in those four states.
And don't tell me we can't win because the ONLY way you are guaranteed to lose is if you don't fight. I grew up being told America would never be ready for a black President. Well, I never did believe everything I was told.