Recall in Wisconsin (revisited)

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Last week it was three. Now it's six. Even with an expected victory, things are looking pretty bleak for Republicans in Wisconsin:

Conservatives and some political observers are making a big deal out of the fact that the Dem candidate in the closely watched state Supreme Court race in Wisconsin finally conceded defeat today, as had long been expected.

But surely it’s also a big deal that we now know for certain that six Wisconsin Republican state senators will officially face recall elections, while a grand total of zero Democrats may face the same?

Today the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board announced that they have now approved the signatures required for recall elections against the following six GOP senators: Rob Cowles, Alberta Darling, Sheila Harsdorf, Randy Hopper, Dan Kapanke, and Luther Olsen. That means these six elections are definitely moving forward.

Meanwhile, the board has also announced that they are not prepared to approve the signatures gathered by Republicans for the recall of their three Democratic targets. Dems have alleged that the signature gathering by Republicans is fraudulent, and now the board has explicitly claimed that their reason for not approving the recall elections against Dems is that the signatures "have raised numerous factual and legal issues which need to be investigated and analyzed."

Translation: The fraud allegations just may have something to them.

Republican fraud? No, really? 

The Democrats might just take back the State Senate out of all this. And all because Republicans, pursuing their extremist right-wing anti-union (and anti-labor) agenda, decided to commit political suicide.

Recall

      Libertarians, first or second-cousins to Republicans in Alabama, seem to be the most passionate advocates of Recall and Referendum.   

      The first would allow voters to "un-elect" someone who has proved a disappointment in office, without having to wait for the end of the election cycle.

      The second allows citizens to collect signatures to put a bill before legislators for a vote.

     In my 35 years in Alabama, I have interviewed or talked with many people who wanted voters to have those powers.

     But the legislature itself that would have to make it happen.

     In Wisconsin, there may be an indication why the new GOP Majority Alabama Legislature (and The Democratic Majority who preceded them) hasn't rushed to embrace them. Legislators there are about to face recall elections, and are now rushing to pass their favorite laws before they are tossed out of office.

     It's easy to push through your agenda (except, apparently, to revoke a 61% pay raise) when you have super-majorities in both houses. But Alabama is a poor state, and not just a poor black state. And when you chop away at programs that help Gramma or Cuz or the poor old neighbor lady, and refuse to fund public education at a sufficient level for the kids to learn without spending time selling cookies to pay for their pencils, recall is always lurking around the corner to bite you back.

     Unless you've never allowed voters to have that power in the first place.