The Left's Win in Wisconsin is a BFD - Washington Post

[Scuba]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/why-the-lefts-showing-in-wisconsin-supreme-court-race-is-a-big-deal/2011/03/03/AF9GUvpC_blog.html


<snip>
First, the current results reflect a massive and astonishingly fast swing of support away from Prosser and in Kloppenburg’s favor. In a primary election in February (Wisconsin judicial elections are nonpartisan, and the top two primary victors face off in the general), Prosser beat Koppenburg by 30 points, 55-25. The current results show she doubled her vote share in just over six weeks, while Prosser has lost ground. This huge shift happened for one reason: Scott Walker.

Second, it’s extremely rare in Wisconsin to oust sitting Supreme Court justices. In 2008, Louis Butler was unseated, but as University of Wisconsin professor Charles Franklin points out to me, he had originally been appointed and not elected. The last time this happened before that was 44 years ago, and it only happened three times before that since the court was created in 1852.

Third, for all the talk about labor muscle in this race, labor and Dems were actually outspent on the air by a sizable amount. According to an analysis of outside spending by the Brennan Center, the pro-Kloppenburg forces spent $1.3 million, while the pro-Prosser forces spent a total of almost $2.2 million, nearly $1 million more. You can argue that TV spending doesn’t matter that much in this race, because a lot of this was driven by on-the-ground organizing, but if anything, the race’s closeness would make it even clearer that labor’s ground forces outperformed expections.
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[ReggieVeggie]

1. did WaPo actually publish "expections"?

Well, let's see if this will actually translate into a power shift and statewide recalls.

[hollowdweller]

2. Diminishes it to call it "The Left I think

I think it's more mainstream than "The Left". Working people are tired of losing out.

US has demonized communisim and socialisim so I don't think that we'll see that like the previous time the bankers wrecked the economy.

But I do think we are going to see an activated labor movement or middle class movement in reaction to the rich controlling everything again.

[Arkana]

3. It's not a win for "the left".

It's a win for the people.

It's a win for thousands of teachers, public employees, cops, and firefighters.

It's a win for an independent, non-partisan judiciary.

The PEOPLE won tonight, not a political party.

[Liberal_in_LA]

4. great comment following article

This election marks the peak of the Teaparty Tsunami. Yes, it leaves behind mounds of debris, but we have the energy and the dedication to clean it all up and throw it away.

[JoeyT]

5. Cue a bunch of people insisting that this has nothing to do with the left.

Even if it means having to define labor rights as not being part of the left. Plenty of right wingers and compulsive centrists are on board with labor rights. I'm sure I'll think of a few if I'm given long enough.

Take away the social justice stuff and labor rights are pretty much all there is to the left.

Edited to add: Communists and socialists aren't the only thing on the left.