Can the Wisconsin Debbie Downers please go away?

[WildEyedLiberal]

A few points:

a) Kloppenburg probably won. I won't proclaim anything just yet with the vote total so close, but it looks so far like she pulled out a Franken-style barn-burner. Really, some of you couldn't contain your hand-wringing until the final vote tally came in? Some of you couldn't wait to proclaim this a RW victory and bemoan how stupid people are?

b) Kloppenburg, in any other election, would not have even COME CLOSE. She is apparently an unknown rookie who has never been a judge, running against an incumbent in an election incumbents almost never lose (I think I saw earlier than only FIVE incumbent SC judges have ever been defeated in Wisconsin. FIVE. Think about that for a while. FIVE in the history of the Wisconsin Supreme Court). You cannot discount these factors and pretend that this was only a referendum on Walker. Considering that this was an extremely uphill battle, just the fact that she was this close speaks VOLUMES - and the fact the she probably actually won speaks volumes more.

c) Yes, there are still going to be people who vote for Rs, in every state. Some of them are teabaggers. Some of them are lifelong Rs who just vote R because they always have, and don't pay attention otherwise. Some might not see this as a referendum on Walker/the union bill, despite the fact that we do. I repeat: THE FACT THAT A SHOO-IN VICTORY FOR A REPUBLICAN JUDICIAL INCUMBENT BECAME A HOTLY CONTESTED RACE THAT A DEMOCRATIC CHALLENGER PROBABLY WON IS A HUGE VICTORY.

Most of DU has been awesome in its coverage of this election. I stayed up way too late last night obsessively refreshing this site for new election news - DU's still the best place to follow live election results. I am in love with all you Wisconsin DUers who've been on the front lines of this fight, and who have updated the rest of us for the past couple of months. I love all the rest of you who've stood in solidarity with Wisconsin and workers all across America.

But those select small few of you who whined about how "those people" (as I saw one ugly reference to the people of Wisconsin) "deserve what they get" for re-electing Prosser, even BEFORE the votes had been counted, and those of you proclaiming this a "huge loss" because "only" 50% of voters voted for the D, please shut up now? And in the future, can you at least wait until we actually lose before you decide it's a great time to engage in your hand-wringing defeatism, and can you please consider ALL the factors of an election before deciding that anything other than a D blowout represents the end of democracy as we know it? I don't appreciate the careless pissing all over all the hard work Wisconsinites have done over the past several months.

[Brickbat]

1. After all the hoo-haw about the lobbyist's DUI son who got the peachy job, I guess I wouldn't be too

proud of the fact that Kloppenberg has never been a judge before. Because yikes, I didn't know that. In fact, there's a lot I don't know about her. I'm glad she appears to be winning, but I'm more glad that Prosser appears to be losing, and that's not how to run a political system, really.

Having said that, your points certainly stand.

[WildEyedLiberal]

3. Well, neither had Kagan

And she's on the SCOTUS. You don't have to have been a judge to know the law. I honestly don't know anything about Kloppenburg, but I have no reason to assume she isn't a perfectly competent lawyer who will make a perfectly competent judge.

[Brickbat]

8. True, true.

It was more the wording than the fact that struck me, but it made me think of the lobbyist's feckless son.

[WildEyedLiberal]

12. Odd you'd compare a qualified lawyer to an unqualified beneficiary of nepotism

:shrug:

[PeaceNikki]

13. Right, not having specific judicial experience does not make one totally ignorant of the law.

She is an atty, ffs, not a plumber.

:shrug:

[Brickbat]

15. .

.

[PeaceNikki]

4. Yes, no SC judge has EVER served w/o having judicial experience.

Oh wait........... http://blog.timesunion.com/nypotomac/no-judicial-experience-heres-a-list-of-the-40-previous-supreme-court-justices-without-any/2839/

[Brickbat]

6. Which...is not what I was saying at all.

[dragonlady]

19. Kloppenburg has practiced in Wisconsin's appellate courts

for over 20 years, including several cases in the Supreme Court (and she has an impressive history of wins there). By the way, Prosser had never been a judge either when he joined the court.

[Brickbat]

22. Thanks for the info!

[L. Coyote]

Expectation was a double-digit win for the incumbent!

This was an awesome victory and a clear anti-Walker siren call.

[WildEyedLiberal]

20. I've really appreciated your election posts, L. Coyote

:patriot:

[PeaceNikki]

2. Thanks, agreed

Tthis race would have been an unnoticed blip on the radar that Prosser wouldn't have had a second thought about and now we're counting every vote. That is amazing and should not be discounted. We have changed the entire dynamic of this race in 7 short weeks.

1.5 million people went and voted in a non-partisan spring election with ONE statewide race. It's almost unprecedented that a sitting SC judge loses.

This is a success, not a failure. Celebrate it.

[suffragette]

25. "We have changed the entire dynamic of this race in 7 short weeks."

And I applaud you for it.

:applause:

I understand how tough that can be, being from a purple state as well.

[riverwalker]

5. Amen to that

this is an amazing upset. Stunning, in fact. Stop pissing on a victory we should all savor.
Wisconsin, you have taught all of us how it is done. Thank you. The beers are on me. :toast: :toast:

[fascisthunter]

7. I Feel Good about This

and I am very cynical... after what I have read so far, I think this is a done deal.

[StevieM]

9. And don't forget, we ran up a huge margin of victory in the Milwaukee County executive race (eom)

[MoDupey]

10. Thank you!

There are many more battles to come, but for now I will enjoy this! :party:

[safeinOhio]

11. Bush lost by a half million

and still thought he had a mandate.

[Critters2]

14. Hmmm...my dad tells me he's a DUer, but won't tell me his username

He was saying EXACTLY the same things last night.

DAD?! IS THAT YOU?!! :hug:

[suffragette]

21. lol

Now that's funny!

[WildEyedLiberal]

26. Well damn, you caught me

:rofl:

[Critters2]

28. !

:rofl:

[supernova]

16. Agreed

THE FACT THAT A SHOO-IN VICTORY FOR A REPUBLICAN JUDICIAL INCUMBENT BECAME A HOTLY CONTESTED RACE THAT A DEMOCRATIC CHALLENGER PROBABLY WON IS A HUGE VICTORY.

It doesn't matter that it might by by the hair of our chinny chin chins. They fact that she's winning is the important thing. And that substantially at least, it will be a pro union vote on the court.

[DefenseLawyer]

17. Good grief.

We can dislike republicans, but not good honest Wisconsin republicans, because insulting them is somehow a slight against you and your state? News flash, your nuts are just as bad as the nuts everywhere.

[WildEyedLiberal]

18. Wow - for a lawyer, you have dreadful reading comprehension skills

I honestly have no idea what argument of mine you're pretending to respond to, because I said nothing even resembling anything you're ranting about.

Also, I'm not from Wisconsin, which a quick click on my profile would have informed you. Questionable reading comprehension skills and a tendency to jump to immediately incorrect assumptions really doesn't speak well of your professional talents...

[Dappleganger]

23. Well said!!

[Rex]

24. NO! DON'T GO AWAY READ THIS

WE WON!!! SO FIND SOMETHING ELSE TO BE DOWN ABOUT. THANKS.

[Johnny2X2X]

27. Agree

All I know is that it's not a hot topic in FREEPERVILLE today. they seem to have forgotten all of their saber rattling leading up to this. It's good to know that they'll eat a little crow for a day or 2 until they start whining about votes.