The primary in Wisconsin on Tuesday was a huge disappointment. I am not disappointed that Bernie won or Hillary lost. I am not sad that Cruz won over Trump. The voter turnout was the highest it has been for a primary since 1972, so no worries there. I’m disappointed that so many people had difficulty voting because they didn’t have proper ID, and that the GOP has openly admitted that the whole change was implemented to suppress Democratic votes. That should not be happening in America, but even THAT is not my biggest concern.
What then, was most disappointing? The fact that 11.5% of voters for Sanders and 4% of those that chose Clinton, did not even cast a ballot for the most critical vote of all in this Wisconsin election, that for Supreme Court of Wisconsin. About 20% of Democratic voters who did cast a ballot in the race, voted for Bradley, a Republican and lower court appointee of Governor Walker who is unqualified for the position. In a Q & A prior to the election, it was reported that Bradley, a business attorney, could barely answer questions regarding basic Constitutional Law, and her performance was described as embarrassing. Yet she won handily over Kloppenburg, by a margin fairly close to the numbers I have indicated above.
The Super Pacs, primarily those established by the Koch brothers, spent a whopping 1.5 million dollars on attack ads for a non-partisan election. This was widely reported and should have been a wake-up call for Democrats, but apparently was not. The only reasons I can think of as to why a Democrat would not have voted for Kloppenburg, is: A) They had no idea this was going to be on the ballot, and didn’t know anything about either candidate. B) They were actually Republicans trying to skew the Democratic Primary one way or the other thinking it would help their cause, or just didn’t like their choices. C) They had no clue how crucial this election was to the state, and how the outcome could likely impact us negatively for years to come.
Whatever the reason, this is a failure on the part of the DNC. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that the GOP has set their sights on state elections. They failed to put a Republican in the White House the last two elections, but were successful in taking the Senate. The gridlock in Washington and the lack of any cooperation or progress lies squarely on the shoulders of Democrats who did not bother to vote in the midterm elections, allowing this to happen. For some reason, a large portion of the electorate does not seem to grasp how our government works. This is why they come out in full force for a presidential election, but don’t care so much about the congressional races. This is why there is such disappointment that the President cannot get everything done that they had hoped for, because they do not understand the role that Congress plays in this drama. When they don’t get a raise in their Social Security payments, they still blame the president and have no clue as to what part a hostile Congress may have played in that. What’s worse, is they don’t really care. The Koch brothers have capitalized on that ignorance and are slowly taking over our country, one piece at a time. The latest nail in that coffin is the State of Wisconsin.
There are a number of reasons why this is so alarming, not just to Wisconsin but to the nation. First off, people need to be aware that the next big money-making commodity, infinitely more profitable than coal, oil or natural gas, is going to be water. The GOP wants to take a necessity, clean water, something that should be a basic right of citizenship, and privatize it for corporate profit. Wisconsin is a water-rich state, bordered by two Great Lakes. Imagine Coca Cola or Pepsi or some other out-of-state corporation being in charge of your water supply, where the entire focus is on profit. Let’s say we end up with a situation like that of Flint, MI. Do you think you will be able to sue? Take it to the Supreme Court of Wisconsin to argue about your kids being poisoned? Not any more.
In recent weeks a lot of bills have been passed by our Governor. One in particular is alarming to me and barely got any notice. The gist of it is that any corporate concern with a large industrial well (think corporate farms, food processing plants etc. ) may now replace their wells without any state inspection or over site regarding the well’s effect on the ground water. They can replace their current well with one that will suck up all the ground water in a given area, for example, and no one will know until they turn on their faucets and no water comes out. Another bill that is on the table is one that would allow a 26,000-head hog farm to move from Iowa to Bayfield County, Wisconsin, right on the shores of Lake Superior, the state’s headwaters. No one in their right mind would think this is a good idea, but we are not talking about people who even care. Want to fight this CAFO all the way to the Supreme Court of Wisconsin? Well, good luck with that.
It is time for the DNC to wake up. While everyone is focused on the presidential election, the Kochs and their ilk are taking over the country, state by state, and impacting everything from the environment, to taxes, to voting rights, to accountability and transparency. They are funneling millions to the campaign of do-nothing Senator Ron Johnson and it is working. The man is an idiot, apparent every time he opens his mouth, yet has narrowed the lead of his opponent Russ Feingold, from a high of 15 points to just 4. If the GOP can’t win an election outright, they will do so by hook or by crook, and only the electorate can control the outcome. Unfortunately it is getting more difficult to get the word out, which is also by GOP design.
Life as we know it will be over if we don’t stop this affront to our democracy, but that will not happen without an effort by the DNC to educate its voters. In the same manner that the GOP has made a concerted effort to dumb down its voters via cuts to education, buying up news sources, funneling money into talk radio and appealing to voters’ basic fears, the DNC must do the exact opposite. Unless voters understand the effect that their apathy could have on their way of life, they will continue to do the things that cost us this critical election on Tuesday, that of the Supreme Court. We need to reach out to young voters right now, the ones who threaten to stay home if their candidate doesn’t get the nod. There are other vitally important issues on that ballot in November and we need every vote. No Democrat can afford to stay home and the ones that vote, need to know who to vote for any why. If we do not turn this ship around right now, it may be too late. Contrary to what voters might think, whoever is elected President will not be able to save us.