Anybody wishing, hoping for, or expecting a GOP plan of action in Wisconsin that is not grounded in hyperpartisan divide-and-conquer and vanquishing the enemy at any cost is living in a fantasy world. We Cheeseheads have had over a decade to figure this out -- from the ham-handed Act 10 anti-public sector legislation through hyperpartisa…
Anybody wishing, hoping for, or expecting a GOP plan of action in Wisconsin that is not grounded in hyperpartisan divide-and-conquer and vanquishing the enemy at any cost is living in a fantasy world. We Cheeseheads have had over a decade to figure this out -- from the ham-handed Act 10 anti-public sector legislation through hyperpartisan redistricting to sham investigations, at taxpayer expense, seeking to overturn free and fair election results, and so much more. Scott Walker. Robin Vos. Ron Johnson, at the federal level. Connect the dots. Upshot: asking the GOP here to play nice, share the road, and engage in give-and-take democracy is akin to asking the sun to rise in the west and set in the east. Ultimate, unlimited power is the hill that they have chosen to die on, or kill for, and our job is to meet that challenge here and provide the rest of you with a road map for how to do it elsewhere too.
Wish us luck. We will need it. It already has been a very long and painful battle, one that we did not seek and do not wish to engage in. We saw this result coming so long ago and tried to sound the alarm, too often in vain. So we continue to fight back, as long as the stakes remain as high as they are for everyone who values democracy and the will of the people over that of legislators seeking to maximize their own self-interests. On Wisconsin. Forward.
Climate change will deliver the next generation of voters to the Democrats. The kids know they won’t get anywhere with the Republicans. That and Dobbs.
As a former resident of WI who still occasionally visits dear friends there who actively oppose the WI GOP, I wish you all luck. You also have my prayers.
Such is one of the intended consequences of the GOP hyperpartisan redistricting maps. And why they are so unwilling to let go of them. Lord forbid they would have to face accountability for their choices and actions like their constituents must do every day.
I'm not excusing these naked power grabs, but aren't these legislators also ensuring rural rule over metropolitan areas, which is what their constituents seek? WI Dems need to get serious about attracting voters not resident in Milwaukee, Fox River Valley, or PDR Madison.
Yea agree. A lot of people in WI think redistricting is the solve all and it's really not. It might help some but a lot of it comes down to geography which is a lot harder to solve.
The Dems know that and have been trying, but the GOP hold on the rural areas, particularly in the northern part of the state, has been many years in evolving. It likely will take no less time, a lot of money, and some very different messaging to change that, all in the face of the stiff headwinds that tribal politics have created that make a very hard job that much more difficult. In retrospect the Democrats should have instituted fair electoral maps when they had the chance, pre-2011, and done some other things very differently. But that ship has sailed. We now deal with the consequences of those missed opportunities.
I live in WI too. Please help me out. What is "The People's Maps Commission"? Is that just BS? Their mission/purpose statement: "Legislative redistricting maps prepared though a nonpartisan process by Commissioners selected from each of Wisconsin’s eight congressional districts, emphasizing: transparency, robust public participation, independence, outstanding expert assistance, and attention to all applicable legal criteria."
I would just call Vos up if I were Evers. And tell him, 'Listen, she can resign and I can reinstate her or someone else very easily. We can do this day after day. But it will be a lot harder for you to get the House in every day of the year. Sometimes 4 times a day. Is that what you want? You'll look like a horse's ass. But go for it, bro.'
Your point is well made from a common sense point of view. But one thing we've learned here is that Robin Vos, full of himself as he is by nature and drunk with power, does not listen to anyone whom he does not want to hear. He and Evers have been at loggerheads since the day Evers took office, largely because Vos refuses to accept his political legitimacy. That will not change. Neither scare tactics nor reason move him. He is leading the charge up Mt. Antidemocracy as if on a mission from God. In the eyes of more reasonable, open-minded people Vos is the worst example of the worst type of politician. And we are stuck with him as long as his safe conservative district agrees with him that owning the libs is more important than good governance.
I live in Arizona and don't know any of the folks involved in this drama. But my guess is that you are right. Vos couldn't care less about how rational people perceive his antics. If he did, he wouldn't have even thought about pulling this kind of stunt, let alone actually floated the idea for fear of public ridicule or just a sense of shame for even thinking of such an antidemocratic idea as this. But in the modern GOP martyrdom for standing up to the "evil" Dems is carried as a badge of honor even if the issue at hand is stupid and childish and profoundly wrong. The fight is the point. The bottom line is this: someone with even a small, atrophied sense of shame would never even start down the road that Vos has. Since he has, however, it seems clear to me that any attempt to shame him into acting like an adult is doomed to failure.
"Petty and pointless" is standard operating procedure for the repukes. It runs the gamut from national, state to local. Imagine somebody asking you to quit your job you just hired into, because they anticipate you might make a decision they disagree with.
The Mission from God bit is understated for so many of these sorts of shenanigans. It needs much more attention. Their god says the ends justify the means, and so it goes.
Anybody wishing, hoping for, or expecting a GOP plan of action in Wisconsin that is not grounded in hyperpartisan divide-and-conquer and vanquishing the enemy at any cost is living in a fantasy world. We Cheeseheads have had over a decade to figure this out -- from the ham-handed Act 10 anti-public sector legislation through hyperpartisan redistricting to sham investigations, at taxpayer expense, seeking to overturn free and fair election results, and so much more. Scott Walker. Robin Vos. Ron Johnson, at the federal level. Connect the dots. Upshot: asking the GOP here to play nice, share the road, and engage in give-and-take democracy is akin to asking the sun to rise in the west and set in the east. Ultimate, unlimited power is the hill that they have chosen to die on, or kill for, and our job is to meet that challenge here and provide the rest of you with a road map for how to do it elsewhere too.
Wish us luck. We will need it. It already has been a very long and painful battle, one that we did not seek and do not wish to engage in. We saw this result coming so long ago and tried to sound the alarm, too often in vain. So we continue to fight back, as long as the stakes remain as high as they are for everyone who values democracy and the will of the people over that of legislators seeking to maximize their own self-interests. On Wisconsin. Forward.
Wasn't a man named Charles Sykes a huge proponent of all that ham-handed early stuff? Asking for a friend ....
Perhaps the plus side of Global Warming is that it will thaw some GOP brains?
Climate change will deliver the next generation of voters to the Democrats. The kids know they won’t get anywhere with the Republicans. That and Dobbs.
As a former resident of WI who still occasionally visits dear friends there who actively oppose the WI GOP, I wish you all luck. You also have my prayers.
I would love the idea that voters in Wisconsin would punish the GOP for such illiberal actions, but history has crushed any hope out of me.
Such is one of the intended consequences of the GOP hyperpartisan redistricting maps. And why they are so unwilling to let go of them. Lord forbid they would have to face accountability for their choices and actions like their constituents must do every day.
I'm not excusing these naked power grabs, but aren't these legislators also ensuring rural rule over metropolitan areas, which is what their constituents seek? WI Dems need to get serious about attracting voters not resident in Milwaukee, Fox River Valley, or PDR Madison.
Yea agree. A lot of people in WI think redistricting is the solve all and it's really not. It might help some but a lot of it comes down to geography which is a lot harder to solve.
In fact, the geographical worm turning is why Dems won the legislatures in MN and MI and split PA's, despite them all still being gerrymandered.
There are mathematical models for doing this without consideration for relationships built on commerce, or skin color.
The Dems know that and have been trying, but the GOP hold on the rural areas, particularly in the northern part of the state, has been many years in evolving. It likely will take no less time, a lot of money, and some very different messaging to change that, all in the face of the stiff headwinds that tribal politics have created that make a very hard job that much more difficult. In retrospect the Democrats should have instituted fair electoral maps when they had the chance, pre-2011, and done some other things very differently. But that ship has sailed. We now deal with the consequences of those missed opportunities.
I live in WI too. Please help me out. What is "The People's Maps Commission"? Is that just BS? Their mission/purpose statement: "Legislative redistricting maps prepared though a nonpartisan process by Commissioners selected from each of Wisconsin’s eight congressional districts, emphasizing: transparency, robust public participation, independence, outstanding expert assistance, and attention to all applicable legal criteria."
It is Department of Administration, i.e. from the Governor's office. Consider it a wish list. In Wisconsin, the Legislature draws the maps.
I thought the point of democracy was to simply get more votes than the other candidate.
Exactly why Republicans will not submit to it and are working to destroy it completely.
You want another ,racist,incompetent party! Nice.
I would just call Vos up if I were Evers. And tell him, 'Listen, she can resign and I can reinstate her or someone else very easily. We can do this day after day. But it will be a lot harder for you to get the House in every day of the year. Sometimes 4 times a day. Is that what you want? You'll look like a horse's ass. But go for it, bro.'
Your point is well made from a common sense point of view. But one thing we've learned here is that Robin Vos, full of himself as he is by nature and drunk with power, does not listen to anyone whom he does not want to hear. He and Evers have been at loggerheads since the day Evers took office, largely because Vos refuses to accept his political legitimacy. That will not change. Neither scare tactics nor reason move him. He is leading the charge up Mt. Antidemocracy as if on a mission from God. In the eyes of more reasonable, open-minded people Vos is the worst example of the worst type of politician. And we are stuck with him as long as his safe conservative district agrees with him that owning the libs is more important than good governance.
I live in Arizona and don't know any of the folks involved in this drama. But my guess is that you are right. Vos couldn't care less about how rational people perceive his antics. If he did, he wouldn't have even thought about pulling this kind of stunt, let alone actually floated the idea for fear of public ridicule or just a sense of shame for even thinking of such an antidemocratic idea as this. But in the modern GOP martyrdom for standing up to the "evil" Dems is carried as a badge of honor even if the issue at hand is stupid and childish and profoundly wrong. The fight is the point. The bottom line is this: someone with even a small, atrophied sense of shame would never even start down the road that Vos has. Since he has, however, it seems clear to me that any attempt to shame him into acting like an adult is doomed to failure.
"Petty and pointless" is standard operating procedure for the repukes. It runs the gamut from national, state to local. Imagine somebody asking you to quit your job you just hired into, because they anticipate you might make a decision they disagree with.
The Mission from God bit is understated for so many of these sorts of shenanigans. It needs much more attention. Their god says the ends justify the means, and so it goes.
Jake and Elwood Blues: "Me and the Lord; we got an understanding. We're on a mission from God."