By Rep. Gwen Moore
Congresswoman Gwen Moore
Last week Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker took to the airways to try to quell the rising tide against him. During recent interviews he called the recall process currently underway to unseat him “unusual.” The only thing “unusual” about the recall movement is Scott Walker’s inability to listen to the will of the people of Wisconsin. Scott Walker was elected by the people of Wisconsin, but as soon as he was elected he forgot who he was there to represent – the people of Wisconsin, not the Koch brothers, the Tea Party or any other special interest.
He ignored the people of Wisconsin, refusing to even sit down and negotiate with union leaders and proceeded to push through a law virtually eliminating public employees’ collective bargaining rights. These actions sparked mass protests in Madison and across the state of Wisconsin and ultimately led to the State’s first ever recall campaign against a governor.
Now we are witnessing Scott Walker’s chickens coming home to roost. The same people that he ignored are now letting their voices be heard. So far the people of Wisconsin have gathered more than half a million signatures on petitions to recall Scott Walker and the number is still climbing. In Wisconsin, the momentum is palpable. And despite some mounting hostility from the opposition – with disappearing yard signs and recall volunteers experiencing heckling – never before have I seen so many mobilized and focused on the common goal of recalling Scott Walker.
Scott Walker is fighting for his political life. Not only did he ram through unpopular legislation, his plan to bring 250,000 net new jobs to Wisconsin by 2015 has only managed to create a paltry 16,000 new jobs. This is why he has chosen to go on the offensive claiming fraud within the recall effort. In recent interviews he cites the possibility of duplicate signatures or the use of false names such as “Adolf Hitler” or “Mickey Mouse”. According to PolitiFact, signatures such as these would have to pass through several layers of review to actually be counted including petition circulators, election officials and Walker’s own supporters. It is highly unlikely that “Mickey” would make it through the review. Additionally, duplicate signatures would be stricken from the petitions.
But I’m sure Scott Walker will continue to cry fraud, thinking that if he says it enough that people might actually start to believe him. It is peculiar that Gov. Walker has become so concerned about voter fraud when it comes to his possible recall but did not hesitate to sign into law a new Wisconsin photo identification bill that unconstitutionally burdens the rights of senior citizens, minorities and other voters. But I digress.
It is time for Scott Walker to realize that the people of Wisconsin are sick and tired of a Governor that ignores the will of the people. They want true democracy, not the kind that caters to special interests. That is what this recall effort is all about – and no amount of clucking from Scott Walker will drive these chickens away.