Wisconsin Recall Is Important For A Lot of Reasons

Unless you're one of those people who watches ESPN and Lifetime as oppose to MSNBC or you
read Sports Illustrated and In Style Weekly over The New York Times and The Washington Post you
know that the state of Wisconsin is set for a recall election that is set to take place on June 5th. The
incumbent Republican Scott Walker, who was elected to the job almost two years ago, will face off with Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, the man who Walker beat in that gubernatorial election in 2010.

At the risk of putting my liberal credentials on the line I generally am not a fan of recalls. As one of my favorite political pundits MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry often says elections do matter, plus I still have the terrible taste in my mouth from the California recall election of Governor Gray Davis in 2003. Uber-billionaire and all around scumbag Congressman Darrell Issa basically funded the recall from his vast personal fortune. It was also the recall election that made Arnold Schwarzenegger think he had a legitimate future in American Politics, because defeating the likes of the late Gary Coleman and porn star Mary Carey will make you think balancing budgets and getting us out of Afghanistan is easy.

Now at the risk of being called a hypocrite by the folks on the other side of the isle (as if I care) There is something different about this recall. Scott Walker the candidate and Scott Walker the Governor might as well be two different people. Candidate Walker campaigned on the notion that he would sit down at the table in good faith and negotiate with public employees concerning their collective bargaining rights as a move to tackle the state's budget problems, Once Governor Walker was unleashed however he in effect “took away the table” according to Wisconsin State Senator Lena Taylor.

Walker has become the poster boy for the Republican agenda to break every union in every state in the country. The GOP fascination with public unions stems from union support leaning largely Democratic, without that support Left-Wing candidates would not stand a chance of getting elected in places like Ohio, Pennsylvania, and yes Wisconsin. With other tea party darlings occupying Governorships like Nikki Haley in South Carolina and Bobby Jindal in Louisiana, The rights attacks on public unions are as commonplace as they ever were.

The bigger question I have going forward is no matter the outcome what is this going to mean not only for Wisconsin, but for the country. If Barrett pulls off the upset does he become what he never really has been, a guy who is beloved by public unions. The other thing is can Barrett as Governor repeal the state law signed into effect by Walker which cripples the collective bargaining rights of the public employees in the state. People may not be aware that four Republican State Senators are also up for recall on Tuesday. If Democrats are successful in turning one of those seats from red to blue they become the majority party and have more leverage to fight Walker's future measures assuming that he hangs on to his job.

The Wisconsin recall election could have ramifications nationally as well. A lot has been made about President Obama's absence from the state even though former President Bill Clinton has been to Wisconsin and stumped for Barrett. Would a Barrett win strengthen the President's standing in a state he won 4 years ago, or would it pour gasoline on a Republican fire that will stop at nothing (legally or illegally, Florida Governor Rick Scott) to evict him.

If you throw in The John Doe Investigation where allegations about Walker's time as a Milwaukee County executive are being called into question, The Wisconsin Soap Opera gets weirder by the day. The whispers about Walker included everything from embezzlement to doing campaign work with taxpayer money, think John Edwards without the mistress, unprotected sex and small child. Walker has been adament in saying that he is not a target of the investigation, but as the Barrett campaign has stated on numerous occasions, When you're Governor is the only one in the country with a criminal defense fund, it's not exactly the best image for the state to project. For those in Wisconsin who are worn out by all of the political talk It will all be over soon, at least until the next recall.