Enough of the LIE about the DNC not helping in WI.

[RBInMaine]

To anyone knocking the DNC with this LIE that the DNC is not helping in the WI recall, you need to get your facts straight and stop playing into the hands of the RePIGS who want this silly infighting. The DNC has been in there for months already helping with organization. Wasserman-Schulz herself is coming to WI next weekend for a fundraiser. So far the DNC has invested nearly two million dollars in people and organization. Also, Obama for America is helping. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committeee is helping. The Democratic Governors Association is in there with ads and fundraising. Other groups like MoveOn, Bold Progressives, and Rebuild the Dream are helping. The unions are helping. United Wisconsin is helping. And of course you have the Barrett campaign and the Wisconsin Dems. So enough of the foolishness. There are multiple state and national elements in there working hard. The DNC has to think about the entire country, and they are doing a lot. Ultimately, this comes down to turnout operation and what the good people of Wisconsin decide.

(As to how much the DNC is doing and HAS ALREADY DONE in WI, Google the issue and read the Huffington Post article on it. Also, Mike Tate who heads the Wisconsin Dems says that the DNC is helping, that he is grateful for it, and he is not in any way bashing the DNC. So ENOUGH ALREADY !)

[bluestate10]

1. I swear. There are republican hitmen and women posting among us.

Some of the shit that is written by some posters is beyond the pale. And their posts criticize democrats 98-100% of the time. I have yet to see a no holds barred, fuck you assholes post by any of them attacking republicans, even as there are PLENTY of republican officeholders that seem hellbent on taking the country back to the 15th century.

[SidDithers]

11. +1...nt

Sid

[treestar]

26. +2

[bluestate10]

2. BTW, I contributed a good sum to Barrett's effort and suggest that others send money NOW!

ActBlue is running a donation site. ActBlue is a strong fundraiser for democrats and put 100% of their efforts to fundraising for progressive and moderate democrats. I am cheered up by the Christmas card they send me each year with all of their signatures on it, along with wishes of well being. One classy organization.

[Are_grits_groceries]

3. Please see this OP about lies:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002704352

And what do you expect to see a state functionary of the national party to say if he wants to remain in good graces!

BTW attacking the Republicans is easy. That's standard.
Holding your own party's feet to the fire is another matter. You get called a hitman for the Republicans.

If the people I expect to uphold Dems don't step up with the same fervor, then I am going to say it. Will they ever match what I and others want? Probably not. But they can damn sure get a lot closer than they are now.

The national Republicans have been operating for months.

[JNelson6563]

4. lolz Well that childish screed certainly rebuts this!1!

So not enough Dem presence in your state means they just ain't doin' shit in WI?

Wow.

[Are_grits_groceries]

5. Oh lawd!

I added that as an aside. If they were here with eleventy billion dollars and brazillions of people, that would not make their actions in Wisconsin right.

And please see reply #7 I also posted in that thread for more understanding.

[JNelson6563]

7. I understand completely.

When I was chair of my Cong. district I saw a lot of that. I had fourteen counties in my district, some were very old school (serious union towns~~or at least were at one point). These folks wanted it to be like the olden days where they really didn't have to do much and the unions would just show up with what they needed.

Those days are long past. I worked hard to convince them that no one is going to show up and give them all the funding/stuff they need anymore and it falls to us to do what needs doing. Some folks there wanted to work hard, build the party & make stuff happen. Not these guys.

I taught a workshop early on in that endeavor. Our little rural county here in the red zone of MI had raised 60,000 in 2004. I showed the other counties what we had done. One of the old "do it for me!1!" guys informs me he'd sent all memberships to the state party and they sent his county a check for 6,000.00! When I told him we sent nothing to the state and raised 60,000.00, well damn Skippy if he didn't suddenly find what I had to say interesting!

Yes, I am very familiar with the do-it-for-us-daddy mindset of certain pockets of Dems. Clarifying that you are of that mindset convinces me of nothing good.

Julie

[Are_grits_groceries]

47. You have no idea about my mindset.

That is apparent from what you have gleaned so carefully.

'Lend us a hand Daddy' is a whole lot different than do it for us.

There was a Wisconsin state senator on Chris Hayes who said it was time for all hands on deck. She was asking for help not for the DNC to do it for them. When you have the amount of money that is coming in on the Republican side, they do need funding help.

A lot of people in WI have shown they are willing to put everything on the line. They haven't relied on daddy. I don't think it is asking for too much for more help to be given to them from every quarter.

I don't think any group in that state has been or is waiting on anybody. They are all moving as fast as they can.

As far as my state, we keep pushing whether you know it or not. It would be nice for more help in some form from the national Dems. That is just hoping. We have long given up on counting on anything. Whatever is happening here is beside the point at this moment. Wisconsin is where the push should be.

For whatever reason, you keep reading that asking for help is equated with do it all. That is a false meme.

[JNelson6563]

49. Maybe you should read that linked post with an objective view.

Because what you say here is different (and much more rational) than what you linked to.

I will add this to the mix though: When I was working with the various counties a few didn't want to be bothered. I offered to produce $ send a fundraising/membership mailing, pay for it all and even get the list to send it to without their help (thanks to the VAN). They actually did not want me to do this for them because then they would raise enough money that year to have to file the extra paperwork. Yeah, I went ahead and did the mailing but the return envelopes had the Congressional district's address on them.

I made that offer in various forms to just about every county. The more a county party was able to do in regard to the project, the bigger their return. If they had actually put in the effort to put together a strong mailing list of local Dems, had active volunteers who could get together and do the hands-on work (instead of having a printer do it) & if they had any kind of presence/reputation in their community, they yielded much more. So the return to the various county parties on this project resulted in anything from $7000+ to $0 and all points in between. All results closely coincided with the local effort that went into it.

The more viable each and every county party is the better. Here in the red north of Michigan we are quite used to being ignored. We started from that premise and continue on and have grown, earned a lot of respect around the state and helped lead the way for others. (Our small town merited a visit from the Kerry campaign and two visits from the Bush campaign in 2004~~70,000 in our whole county).

I always have a hard time understanding why everyone doesn't do this autonomy thing. It's pretty damn empowering.

Julie

[Cary]

20. If you wanted to find a positive way to influence the direction of your political party, ...

... while not spreading discord and discontent, you could do it.

Don't you think you could?

[Enrique]

6. your browbeating has made me see the light

[JNelson6563]

9. your cross-dragging has helped ME see the light

"browbeating" lolz Hyperbole much?

[Enrique]

12. correct, the OP isn't literally striking anyone in the forehead

so it is hyperbole.

[HereSince1628]

13. Nah, subject lines like "How in all hell could the WI RePugs be "more motivated" than the Dems?"

It's motivational, doncha know? We're told we have a HUGH!11 responsibility.

We carry the morale of the entire Democratic Party on our shoulders...we're told a win here is a guarantee to an Obama re-election and retaking the House.

We gotta win.

And to this nationally critical cause the DNC has managed to cough up 2 million calculated not in money but through in-kind use of people to make phone calls from area code 202.

It's just really too too bloody bad that those mean cheddarland media won't let us pay for advertising time with in-kind contributions.

Because, WOW!! When you think about it, What the DNC has done demonstrates a truly impressive commitment!
It's sure to almost make a dent in the 20 to 1 spending disadvantage.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

42. Thanks for making the observation. n/t

[DFW]

8. I heard exactly the same thing

And that was from a friend who is DNC Treasurer. He insisted they were very involved in WI

[JNelson6563]

10. I always find it so interesting

how those who have access to actual facts always have the complete opposite to say from those who know nothing and assume everything.

Thanks for weighing in DFW and good too see you as always!

Julie

PS Tell Governor Dean I said "Hi!", will you?

[DFW]

18. Be glad to, but not this week.

I'm in the States for the week, but Howard is off to California and then the Balkans!

[Grantuspeace]

41. I am not seeing or hearing it.

Billboards, radio, TV. All pro-Walker. It is sickening. DNC, "show me the money"!

[bigtree]

14. ALL of the recent talk about WI in the news is a set-up

. . . coupled with the nonsense about 'liberals' worried about republican contributions and the nonsense reports which have our parties at some sort of draw in donations. There is outside help, but I'm not sure republicans got their money's worth off of this latest outside group who shot themselves in the foot over their leaked plan to run a smear campaign. That should taint the other outside groups as well.

You can smell the bull coming off of the WI reports. Anyone with a keen nose for it, I should say, can smell the set-up and can see the companion pieces and blogs working the lie. WI has always been a challenge, but it's a challenge we can meet.

[ananda]

15. hmm

I really hope Walker loses.

When that becomes a fait accompli, I will breathe a bit easier.

Until then, I will worry about the huge money pouring in, the polling, media, and ad campaign being waged for Walker. That worries me.

That doesn't mean I wouldn't fight for Walker if he were in my state. I'd be donating and making those phone calls, etc That's what I did for Bill White in Texas, not that it did much good against Rick Perry in Texas. That's why I want to have hope for WI. We need a win there, at least I do, both for morale and momentum.

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. Better tell Thom Hartman

He talked about this yesterday. I guess he should have called you first.

[whathehell]

22. LOL...Better yet, tell it to the the head of Wisdems.org. He's the one who first complained. n/t

[proud2BlibKansan]

46. Well he should have checked DU first

LOL

[whathehell]

50. That's true, LOL. n/t

[SidDithers]

17. I'd like to hear what PeaceNikki has to say...

she's always been a great source of info on the happenings in WI.

But she hasn't posted since Apr 3. Hope everything is OK.

Sid

[bluestate10]

19. Nikki is likely too busy fighting the real battle there.

Based upon her recent past, she is likely out canvassing for votes. The same is likely for several Wisconsin posters on this site, I don't see tham posting of late.

The rest of us can either send money to assist their effort, hop our asses on a plane, train or bus to go to Wisconsin to help, or STFU. I suggest that anyone that is posting on the DNC efforts and hasn't done one of the first two options already take the third, because that is all that is earned.

[Bluenorthwest]

25. This is election season down South! This past Tuesday, we in Oregon had our final day...

We get our ballots for about two weeks, and have a return by deadline which was Tuesday. So I for one voted for Obama for my third time this week. We also nominated Ellen Rosenblum for AG over the more conservative and mainstream candidate Dwight Holton whose lack of support for our Medical Marijuana laws was a large factor in his defeat. We got the word out strongly against a fake Democrat foisting a scam campaign against our House Member in the 4th, Peter DeFazio. My city elected our wonderful mayor Kitty Peircey to another term.
In addition, for me, the two weeks prior to the President's announcing his support for marriage equality were chock full of personal politics and contacts. It all looks different from the gridiron than it does from the stands, that's just life.
Wisconsin Democrats have even more than that to deal with. I kind of assume they are, therefore, busy with Democratic politics. For us it is not a theoretical practice, it is a thing that needs doing.

[ecstatic]

21. Sometimes a state turns right wing

Regardless of the advertising dollars spent in WI, every citizen in the state should know what Walker has done by now. If they still don't see the importance of getting him out, then there's only so much outside organizations can do.

When my family moved to GA around 1993, I'm pretty sure it was a blue or at least purple state (I don't really remember for sure). The governor was democratic, and so was at least one senator (before he turned crazy). Not sure if the shift from blue/purple to red is a result of e-voting machines, fraud, or what, but it's solidly red now (with a few exceptions around the ATL metro area).

[Fumesucker]

27. Zell Miller was governor of GA from 1991 to 1999

A Democrat in name only, he delivered a speech at the 2004 RNC..

[groundloop]

34. Good ol' Zig Zag Zell

Yes, we've had Democratic governors up until our rednecks felt betrayed by Roy Barnes in the flag flap. As soon as Roy was defeated all the blue dog Democrats in the state quickly switched to the repub side to save their careers.

[Bluenorthwest]

30. Since the Civil Rights Act era, GA has gone Democratic in Presidential races just 3 times

Clinton and Carter, as Southern Democrats, took the State, Carter twice, Clinton once, I think. That's it. GA went for George Wallace in 68, an 'independent' of a special sort.

[coalition_unwilling]

35. Wisconsin, after all, elected Joseph McCarthy over and over again. And,

lest people forget, before Feingold there was this noxious piece of work named Bob Kasten (a true knuckle-dragging Yahoo, more befitting a Mississippi or Alabama than Wisconsin).

[bonniebgood]

23. If DNC is helping so much

I am sure Ed would love to have them on to say how much they are helping. If your helping
why keep quiet about it? have they heard of twitter? Billboards?

[NorthCarolina]

24. Here's what I have seen

From the DNC perspective, they have made investments well in excess of the $500,000 that was requested and have made other contributions — man hours and the use of various Obama for America voters lists — that make clear how big a priority recalling Walker is for them.

DNC allies note that with such a tiny portion of the electorate genuinely undecided, the work they are doing to identify and turnout pro-Barrett (or anti-Walker) votes is invaluable to increasing the party’s chances of winning on June 5.

The view from Wisconsin is that while the amount of money being spent by the DNC looks impressive, it is dedicated almost entirely to helping President Obama win the Badger State in the fall, not to helping beat Walker in a few weeks time.

And with Walker — and the various Republican campaign entities — spending heavily on television, there is some level of panic about the inability of the Barrett campaign to come anywhere close to matching those GOP interests.

Of the funds given since November, $250,000 has been directed to the state Democratic Party. Not sure how much Walkers team has in it's coffers, but the DNC has apparently invested roughly $250k towards his defeat.

The DNC has directed $1.4 million to Wisconsin so far in the 2012 cycle with $800,000 of that coming since November, according to figures provided to the Fix. Nearly a quarter million of those dollars have been directed to the state party.

Not sure where your "nearly 2 million" figure comes from, unless it is from rounding 1.4 mil to 2 mil. It is your statement that the two million spent to date (I'll give you the benefit of the rounding) is committed to defeating Walker? Or, is it that 250k of that total amount has been given to the Walker recall effort, with the rest going towards Obama reelection efforts in WI that is closer to reality?

Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/dnc-pushes-back-on-wisconsin-recall-criticism/2012/05/17/gIQABcstWU_blog.html

[AnotherMcIntosh]

43. The truth, for some, is greatly overrated.

[tabatha]

28. Ed Schultz talked about this with Barrett on his show.

Barrett said they have the ground game to win.

[ibegurpard]

29. this story has struck me as fishy

I'm not buying into it

[MineralMan]

31. I've been getting emails from several National Democratic organizations

about the WI recall and campaigns. I'm in Minnesota. The DCCC has been sending me email daily. Sadly, my current income level doesn't allow me to donate, but it's clear that the national Democratic Party organization is involved in this.

[Bluenorthwest]

32. MoveOn, Bold Progressives,Rebuild the Dream and unions are NOT the DNC....

So mentioning those groups does not say anything about the DNC doing or not doing the right thing. It is extraneous information to the point you are attempting to make, and that weakens your argument. It just does. The two millions figure I can not find anywhere, and a cite for that would be more helpful than trying to claim that Move ON and the Unions are the same as the DNC.
In politics, that which you do not make known goes unknown. If they are doing all of this, and not making it known, then what we need to look at is the communications arm of the DNC, and we need to stop paying people who can not do their job. Get people who can make it known.
The DNC is made up of us, the Democrats. If we don't make sure the job gets done, who is going to? The Republicans. If we are not clear on what the DNC is doing there, with emails daily from DNC and all, then they are not doing a good job of communications.

[NorthCarolina]

37. I could not verify the two million figure either,

so I suspect it is a result of rounding 1.4 mil to 2 mil. Of that 1.4 mil (or 2 mil if you choose), apparently 250k has been earmarked for defeating Walker.

[Grantuspeace]

40. The woman in the famous "Walker, divide and conquer" video, gave him $510,000.

That is just one contributor. No matter who's numbers you use, it doesn't look good for Barrett.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

44. x 2

[groundloop]

33. Ask not what your party can do for you, but rather what you can do for your party

Look, I don't know what all the facts are. Ed has certainly made some noise on the subject, I don't know if he has all the facts or not.

But hell, what have YOU (you being everyone) done to help. My wife always used to bitch about the government but never used to take the time to vote - I plugged my ears and refused to listen to her until she made it a habit to vote. I feel the same about this argument, at a minimum EVERYONE needs to at least donate a few dollars at ACTBLUE, especially if you're going to be on here griping about what the DNC has or hasn't done in Wisconsin.

[flamingdem]

36. K&R

[bvar22]

38. I have been unable to verify the "facts" you posted in your OP.

Please provide the necessary links to back up your claims.

"The Democratic Governors Association is in there with ads and fundraising. Other groups like MoveOn, Bold Progressives, and Rebuild the Dream are helping. The unions are helping. United Wisconsin is helping. And of course you have the Barrett campaign and the Wisconsin Dems."

None of those are the DNC.

[Grantuspeace]

39. It isn't enough.

Walker is out spending Barrett 10 to one. The latest poll numbers have shown Walker increasing his lead. Unless something happens damn soon Barrett doesn't stand a chance.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

45. Who, if anyone, has claimed that the "DNC is not helping in the WI recall"?

Is the DNC helping enough?

Maybe there are some who think so. And if you do, and if Walker is recalled, then you should have no problem.

But an assertion that the DNC is not helping enough is not equivalent to saying that the DNC is not helping in the WI recall.

Nor is an assertion that the DNC is not helping enough negated by the efforts made by others who are not part of the DNC.

Some believe that the fact that "Wasserman-Schulz herself is coming to WI next weekend for a fundraiser" may be too little, too late.

Time will tell. If this election is lost, some of us are going to have the right to remind you that the DNC could have done more.

[mvd]

48. My thoughts exactly

[WillyT]

51. + 1,000,000,000... What You Said !!!

EXACTLY !!!

[Scurrilous]

52. K & R