A View Of The Wisconsin Recall, From The Other Side Of The Pond... [View all]

[WillyT]

There's class war in Wisconsin, yet the Democrats sing Kumbaya
A vote to recall the state's Republican governor has huge implications for US politics, but the liberals have missed their cue
Gary Younge - guardian.co.uk
Sunday 3 June 2012

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There is a degree of hyperbole one comes to expect from American activists around election time. Given the level of polarisation, this is hardly surprising. Every vote, you're told, is about liberty, justice, the American dream, the constitution or the world one wants to leave your children or grandchildren. Then, often, half the eligible voters stay at home and, regardless of who wins, not an awful lot changes.

So when activists on both sides of the effort to recall Wisconsin's governor insist "everything" is at stake, they should not be taken too literally. Nonetheless, this time they have a point.

The recall campaign was sparked last year when Republican governor Scott Walker pledged to remove collective bargaining rights from public sector unions and cut local government workers' health benefits and pension entitlements, claiming this was necessary to balance the state's budget. Walker, a Tea Party supporter, was elected in 2010 against Democrat Tom Barrett, with 52% of the vote. By February 2011, tens of thousands of protesters descended on the state capitol in Madison. In all 50 states, rallies were held to support Wisconsin unions. Before tents ever went up on Wall Street, this midwestern state was occupied. Unable to prevent passage of his anti-union bill and other measures, labour activists and progressives collected more than 900,000 signatures to recall him.

That makes Tuesday's vote a rare chance for a clear referendum on who should pay for this economic crisis – those who created it or those who have suffered most because of it. So in a state with a larger population than Ireland's and a GDP greater than Portugal's, people here will vote on the causes and consequences of austerity.

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More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jun/03/class-war-wisconsin-democrats-kumbaya