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I got emails from DFA (Jim Dean) and from Daily Kos (copied below) asking me to donate money to the Democratic Party of Wisconsin to help recall Scott Walker. It's a worthy goal, but I confess to being hesitant to donate my money to the Democratic Party, for fear that it might use the money to fund the election of Blue Dogs or other moderates.I'm sure that many Dems do what's right, and it's a shame that things have come to the point where people can't trust the Dems to do the correct thing. But unless and until the Dems kick out the war-mongers, the Wall Street Democrats, and the Blue Dogs, people will not trust the party.
Perhaps DFA and Daily Kos should ask people to donate to an independent organization targeted to the defeat of Walker.
Donald, do you want to prove it's possible for an enormous grassroots movement, backed up by fearless Democrats, to part a sea of unlimited corporate dollars and win elections with the message that we should stop taking stuff from working people and giving it to the rich?
We have a chance to prove that right now. Please, click here to contribute $5 to the Democratic Party of Wisconsin for the recall of Governor Scott Walker.
One year ago this week, tens of thousands of people were physically occupying the Wisconsin state capitol building. They were protesting an immoral Republican budget bill that stripped collective bargaining rights for public employees, slashed funding for health careand education, and handed out huge tax breaks to corporations and the ultra-rich.
With this budget just hours from passage, all 14 Democratic senators left the state, denying Republicans the quorum they needed to pass the bill. If even one Democrat had stayed behind or been captured by the police which Republicans sent out to arrest them, then the bill would have passed that day. Instead, the Democrats held out and the protesters kept the capitol building occupied for weeks.
Republicans eventually passed the budget bill by illegally circumventing Wisconsin's open meetings law, but the protesters and the Democrats were undeterred. Backed by the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, the protesters organized recalls of Republican state senators. Over the summer, they successfully removed two Republicans from office in districts Democrats did not even win in the landslide of 2008.
Even after that, the protesters and the Democrats kept going. They continued to hold daily protests at the capitol building and dogged Scott Walker at all of his public appearances. Through snow and winter weather, more than 30,000 volunteers collected over one million signatures to recall Walker from office, and also forced recall elections against the Republican lieutenant governor and at least three more Republican state senators.
The decisive Wisconsin recall elections are coming soon. If Scott Walker is recalled, then the whole country will know Democrats and the middle class can defeat the forces of greed with fearless populism and tenacious grassroots activism. We must prove that is possible.
Please click here give $5 to the Democratic Party of Wisconsin to recall Scott Walker.
Keep fighting,
Chris Bowers
Campaign Director, Daily Kos
