WTF? Democratic Party of Wisconsin Cancels post-primary Unity Rally

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Monday May 07, 2012 · 8:33 AM PDT

2012/05/07 · 08:33

Tomorrow, Tuesday, May 8th, Wisconsin voters will vote in a special recall election primary. On the Democratic ballot for governor are four legitimate contenders. The winner of the Democratic primary will face Republican Governor Scott Walker on June 5th.

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin (DPW) had scheduled a “Unity Rally” for the evening of Wednesday, May 9th, on the steps of the state capitol. The rally was supposed to feature all the Democratic candidates and others uniting to defeat Walker and expressing support for the winner of the Democratic primary.

The DPW has canceled the Unity Rally. Here is their nonsensical explanation from their facebook page:

After serious discussion, we believe we can't afford to lose a single day of voter contact. It is imperative that we do everything we can to contact and turn out the voters we need to achieve what we have all worked so hard for over the past fifteen months - recalling Scott Walker.
The time for celebrating is when we beat Scott Walker on June 5th. So instead of uniting in celebration at the Capitol now, we need to unite in action all across the state. Please help us defeat Scott Walker by clicking the link below and signing up for a volunteer shift.

WTF? I've read plenty of ass-covering propaganda in my time, but who exactly does Mike Tate, the chairman of the DPW, think he's talking to? Hasn't he noticed that this new alliance of Wisconsin freedom fighters has spent the past 15 months fine-tuning their bullshit detectors? Tell the truth, Mike Tate.

Despite the cancellation, a union-sponsored group that has openly backed Kathleen Falk has decided to continue their scheduled Unity March from the campus of the University of Wisconsin to the Capitol. The march sponsored by We Are Wisconsin was scheduled to coincide with the rally. We Are Wisconsin has changed the name of their event on facebook from "Unity March and Unity Rally" to "Unity March and Day of Action."

I don’t know why the rally was canceled, but there has been widespread, unsubstantiated speculation that the front runner in the primary, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, decided at the last minute not to attend. The rumor being spread is that Tom Barrett does not want to be seen in the company of union leaders and union members for fear of having images of his participation in the rally being used against him by the Walker campaign.

Others are speculating that the whole thing is a last-minute dirty trick perpetrated by supporters of Kathleen Falk. Barrett has a wide lead over Falk in the most recent polls. Is it really Barrett who backed out, or did somebody design a set of conditions for the rally that they knew would force Barrett to back out so they could smear him?

We deserve better than this bullshit from the establishment running the party. Tom Barrett, Kathleen Falk, and the Democratic Party of Wisconsin need to come clean... Right FUCKING NOW!

Know this, ye old-timey Democrats and Republicans. No matter who occupies the governor's office after June 5th, we are not going away. We will get our government back in the hands of the people no matter how long it takes and no matter who gets in the way.

UPDATE: Mike Tate, the chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, has posted a diary here on Daily Kos. He repeats what he said earlier about the importance of GOTV efforts on Wednesday. The Capital Times is reporting the demise of the unity rally, but mentions a unity breakfast scheduled for Wednesday morning:

Phil Walzak, a spokesman with Barrett’s campaign, says a unity breakfast also is planned for Wednesday in Milwaukee but he did not provide details.

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WTF? Democratic Party of Wisconsin Cancels post-primary Unity Rally

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