We all know about progressive efforts to recall the eight Republican state senators currently eligible for recall. We've been a bit obsessed over those efforts here at Daily Kos. But did you know that Republicans are attempting to recall at least five of the eight Democratic state senators also eligible for recall?
You wouldn't be faulted if you missed it. It's not like anyone is talking about it. Certainly not the Wisconsin GOP. Look at the home pages of the two parties:
Wisconsin Republicans are clearly in a defensive crouch, not playing offense like Wisconsin Democrats.
What about media buzz?
Other than brief notices that paperwork had been filed against five of the Senate Democrats, I've seen little. The best I came up with was this lame quote in the National Review last Friday:
Republicans have mounted recall efforts of their own against the eight Democratic senators eligible for recall. [Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Mark] Jefferson says there’s “a lot of enthusiasm on the ground right now” for the recalls of Democrats, but he has not yet released any numbers on how many signatures have been gathered.
While Democrats provide regular updates on the progress of their recall petition gatherings, Republicans refuse to give the slightest indication of their progress. So is it a stealth Koch-Brother-funded effort, or are things so quiet on the their front because they have nothing to report?
The five Democrats supposedly being targetted are Minority Leader Mark Miller, Spencer Coggs, Dave Hansen, Jim Holperin and Robert Wirch. David Nir collated presidential results by district (that's the district number in parenthesis):
Obama McCain Margin
Coggs (6) 89 11 O+78
Holperin (12) 53 46 O+7
Miller (16) 66 32 O+34
Wirch (22) 57 41 O+16
Hansen (30) 56 42 O+14
Not a lot of territory there for Republicans to mine. Holperin holds the most competitive district, and that was still +7 Obama. The rest are dominantly Democratic. Compare to the targeted GOPers:
Obama McCain Margin
Cowles (2) 53 45 O+8
Darling (8) 51 47 O+4
Harsdorf (10) 50 48 O+2
Olsen (14) 52 47 O+5
Hopper (18) 51 47 O+4
Grothman (20) 36 63 M+27
Lazich (28) 39 60 M+21
Kapanke (32) 61 38 O+23
See the problem for Wisconsin Republicans? The reason that five of their guys are in trouble in the recall is because they represent Democratic districts. Not only is that important for the recall election itself, but offers petition gatherers a wealth of Democrats to sign those petitions. There are fewer Republicans in those Democratic districts to sign petitions, much less collect those signatures.
There's certainly no excitement in the GOP ranks. Koch and Co. had to bus in their hundreds of "protesters" that one day to try and counterbalance the tens of thousands of progressives who took over the capitol for over three weeks. The effort was so pathetic that Republicans made little effort to try and replicate and improve on it.
Nah, the energy is all coming from a single direction. Ours. We're gathering signatures and raising money (nearly $2 million just online, here and here). They are, er, "standing" with their guys, waiting for Koch to call the next shot, and wondering why their governor is stupid enough to get punk'd on the phone. That sure is motivational.
If you ask me, Republicans won't collect the necessary signatures. They won't even come close. But let me admit something—I hope they do. I hope they get those Democrats on the ballot for a recall effort later this summer. Let this be an honest-to-goodness debate around real issues—not whether Obama wants to kill grandma or whether Nancy Pelosi wants to make you gay. Rather, force these elected officials to talk about things like "middle class jobs" and "collective bargaining" and a vision of how Wisconsin sees itself. I'm pretty sure it ain't the teabagger utopia.
Yes, we'll face Koch's millions, Rove's ads, and Fox News' propaganda. But those guys are already fighting hard to prop up Scott Walker's standing with the voters, and it just ain't working. So let them put our guys on the ballot, and let the voters speak. A Democratic sweep of their own seats would only amplify the voter's voice that much more clearly.
Alas, Republicans will likely fall short in their own recall efforts. But let me admit something else—I'm okay with that too. Whether Republicans fail at the petition level or at the ballot box, the bottom line is the same—the GOP's failure.
Update: Great point by Inland in the comments:
Recall effort by Rs tactical error: they
would be better off asserting that democracy allows for recalls only in the most extreme situations. The party in the majority in the legislature with a pissed off populace probably shouldn't encourage recalls, period.
