WI Gubernatorial Recall Election

[bbsam]

Walker outspent Barrett 7-1, that's a huge edge. It may not have been the only factor but if you think elections haven't become almost entirely about the money in this country you haven't been paying attention. If you outspend your opponent by the amount that Walker outspent Barrett it's pretty much a guaranteed win. There's a reason that the upcoming presidential election is shaping up to be the most expensive in history. Money talks.

LOL. "Money talks." I'm sure the "Citizens United" case had a much more in depth decision attached to it, but "Money talks" sums it up brilliantly. I wonder if the SCOTUS realizes how blatantly sad that is.

[preload1]

Great victory yesterday. Today it was morning in America again.

[moreluck]

LOL. "Money talks." I'm sure the "Citizens United" case had a much more in depth decision attached to it, but "Money talks" sums it up brilliantly. I wonder if the SCOTUS realizes how blatantly sad that is.

It could just be the people want their state's budget to be more balanced and don't want to be bankrupted by the public unions and their demands on the state's coffers. Money or no money,that was the 'idea' they voted for.

[brett636]

Walker outspent Barrett 7-1, that's a huge edge. It may not have been the only factor but if you think elections haven't become almost entirely about the money in this country you haven't been paying attention. If you outspend your opponent by the amount that Walker outspent Barrett it's pretty much a guaranteed win. There's a reason that the upcoming presidential election is shaping up to be the most expensive in history. Money talks.

You are right, it can't simply be what the people wanted. No way could it be the people actually voting how they felt. Its all the money's fault!

[Brownslave688]

Gotta love it. I should run for public office, and my only platform will be "I HATE UNIONS!!!" Will probably get me elected. Especially in the wonderful now "Right to Work" state that is Indiana.

It's a funny thing, the whole union hate. Seems 99% of it comes from butthurts who just hate the fact we get paid well.

wow really? How about the fact that taxpayers dollars pay for all those public union benifits? I love my union but private and public unions are like comparing apples and oranges.

[upsman2940]

I agree!

[Hoaxster]

Walker outspent Barrett 7-1, that's a huge edge.

But did the money really make a difference?

Requiem For A Recall: Money Likely Not Key To Walker Win - Forbes
When you see exit polls indicating that Wisconsin’s voters favor President Obama over his GOP challenger by 12 points and yet hand a 7 point victory to Governor Walker—the poster boy for today’s GOP philosophy—there is no question but that something quite unusual was going on.

Not to take anything away from Governor Walker, who certainly has his legions of supporters in the state as was proven last night, it is a very real possibility that the true margin of victory might belong to those who voted their anger with the process rather than their commitment to the Governor or objection to his challenger. And while I may not personally favor the outcome, I have to say that I kind of like that so many Wisconsinites stood up for what they believed was a principle of fairness and made their decision accordingly.

[barnyard]

60% of voters said that recalls should be used only in the case of misconduct. 10% say recalls are never appropriate.

Walker is a douche, but he did not do anything that could be construed as misconduct (as governor, we'll have to see how the other investigation goes....) It would appear that many are saying, "He won the election, let him govern, unless there is misconduct, no recall."

I can see that.

It should also be noted that according to exit polls, 37% of union households voted for him. That is pretty sad.

[barnyard]

This editorial sums things up very nicely, I think.

[Hoaxster]

This editorial sums things up very nicely, I think.

The one observation of this article that I would totally discount is the Pro-Obama
... last night’s electorate favored the president over Mitt Romney by a significant margin, 52 percent to 43 percent. It’s a smaller margin than 2008, where he won the state by 14 points, but it’s a solid performance, and a sign that — in reality — Wisconsin is less vulnerable than it looks. Indeed, as of last night, President Obama’s Wisconsin effort is in great shape, and conservatives should temper their view of their chances in the state ...
Walker was being ousted yesterday by the same exit polls yet he retained office handily.
Wisconsin may be in Obama's corner but not by 14 points.

Another thing, I think people are trying to make this a "hate Unions" vote but that is wrong on 2 counts:
1) Walker only curtailed the powers of Government Employee Union powers. Even FDR did not like Government Employee Unions.
2) As barnyard said in an earlier post, "60% of voters said that recalls should be used only in the case of misconduct. 10% say recalls are never appropriate.

Trying to discern anything other than the fact that Walker retained his job, is really a shot in the dark.

I like the idea that the voters seemed to be feeding the pollsters a line of crap.