Wisconsin State Government FLIPPED from all (D) to all (R)

[WRellim]

Wisconsin "flipped the pancake" to see if the other side will do any better...

See: Wisconsin only state where Democrats lost governor, Senate seat, [and entire State] Legislature (http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/106589258.html)

Not only did Russ Feingold get ousted (by purported "Tea Party(R)" Ron Johnson -- wait and see on that one... hopefully I'm wrong, but he "smells" funny to me).

But, the Governorship is now (R) -- a decent (and fairly young) Republican Scott Walker.

And both the State Senate and State Assembly are back in (R) hands as well.

Whether this will do any good remains to be seen...

I know several of the "newbies" who just got elected, and the vast majority of them are merely (R)'s who have been waiting in the wings for their turn... they jumped on board the "Tea Party" as relative political unknowns and rode it into the station -- but truth is that most of them would have gotten on just about ANY train to achieve that. (These are the kind that "paid their dues" by campaigning for Bush, Romney, and then Insane-McCain -- principles be damned, they were working solely to learn the system, establish network contacts, meet the donors, and collect political capital.)

IOW, what is driving most of them is plain and simple personal ambition for power {and the money that flows to it} not any agenda of liberty or freedom, or even fiscal conservatism, much less small government.

We have a few that have some "partial clues" but as newbies, they stand to be co-opted by the system and the power-players within it.

I will be shocked if this side of the pancake is really all THAT different than the other... but there's always the chance.

Cheers!

[moostraks]

Hey just wanted to say I was glad you popped back in here. Ohio flipped the pancake too. Call me cynical but I fully expect more of the same...

Good luck in your neck of the woods!

[Pericles]

The OP describes a major problem we had in Perot 1992. Loads of people who had gotten nowhere in the R or D looked on that movement as an opportunity for them. When Perot "quit" those ticks and fleas couldn't jump off that dog fast enough to go back to where they came from.

At least Boehner seemed to get it. This was not about liking the R, it was about rejecting the concept of big government, and people expect action to make it happen, or the guys who just got elected will be gone.

[mello]

Unfortunately, Gwen Moore won in Milwaukee. Why can't Ryan be in my district?

[WRellim]

Unfortunately, Gwen Moore won in Milwaukee. Why can't Ryan be in my district?

Both of those districts are completely gerrymandered -- Moore's as a permanent (D) seat, and Ryan's as a (R).

You have to understand that the way the political parties rework the districts is to achieve this ON PURPOSE. By making Moore's district a "permanent Democrat" one, they isolate (corral?) the vast majority of the (D) voters into that district, which then means the adjacent districts are much less likely to be causes for concern.

And the same thing happens on the opposite side.

-----

Oh, and Ryan isn't all that great anyway. Young, popular and charismatic, yes -- but pretty much straight brainless GOP.

For example he is all FOR the government setting up a standardized "electronic health records" as a way of saving money, but he has never thought through the implications of that {one of which is that you will NEVER get an honest "second-opinion" ever again -- because Doctor B will have instant and full access to the views of Doctor A, and that access will be entirely outside of your control;} when I brought up that point during one of his listening sessions, he had a proverbial "deer in the headlights" look on his face... but apparently none of it "clicked" because he is still ALL FOR the same concept.

And while he claims to be a "Randian", he seems fairly clueless in regard to the fact that majority of the corporations today are of the "Wesley Mooch[er]" variety that feed off of government, and not the true entrepreneurial "Hank Reardon" type. And once you look at it, you realize his whole "Economic Plan" thingee is a big steaming pile of standard GOP crony-capitalist crap.

[WRellim]

The OP describes a major problem we had in Perot 1992. Loads of people who had gotten nowhere in the R or D looked on that movement as an opportunity for them. When Perot "quit" those ticks and fleas couldn't jump off that dog fast enough to go back to where they came from.

At least Boehner seemed to get it. This was not about liking the R, it was about rejecting the concept of big government, and people expect action to make it happen, or the guys who just got elected will be gone.

I wouldn't be to sure about Boehner, so I wouldn't go getting a "woody" about him if I were you... I think he's just another hack who is just riding the current bandwagon.

The WSJ piece by Jim DeMint (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704141104575588612828579920.html) warning his new associates about the fact that the establishment will be trying to co-opt (and subtly blackmail) them -- gives me a little bit of hope --- a minuscule, tiny, cynically watchful smidgen of it anyway -- at least on the federal level. But generally, I can foresee that the establishment will do everything it can to isolate and "corral" Rand and all the other; Washington always has, and always will runs on a "seniority" basis that by definition keeps the creepy-crawly crony career politicians in charge.

But on the state level, I know that the majority of the new candidates are just the same old "God, Guns, Gays" type GOP power&position-seeking apparatchik bullshitters (they really don't give a crap about God or Gays, or anything else for that matter -- those are all just "levers" they used to manipulate the voters).

[AdamT]

There is a very good new WI state Rep, Scott Krug, who won last night and took out Marlin Schneider. Schneider was a 40 year incumbent, and the longest serving member in the history of the WI legislator. Krug was helped by myself and CFL people, and won by a very hefty margin. So I know for sure we have at least one of us in there now.

[Aratus]

the biggest bi-election sweep for the GOP in 72 years? possibly the biggest sweep in wisconsin since the civil war as BLUE fLIPs to RED? two years ago, in 2008... barack obama got the most Democrats elected in WISCONSIN since 1964 and now all has been reversed and then some?