So, young ones, the votes were counted. Wisconsin broke all kinds of records for voter turnout. My own city, Appleburg, reached an unheard-of 84%. Madison even had over 100% turnout. All of the registered voters turned out, and new ones registered. The election was over, but the issues hadn’t died. Oh, we still had issues. 

And in the aftermath, more issues surfaced. I had issues with the mainstream media for announcing election results long before all the votes had been counted. In fact, there were still people waiting in line to vote because their polls had run out of ballots. Polls officially closed at 8:00, but anyone in line by 8 was allowed to vote. No one is really sure whether Tom Barrett knew that people were still voting when he prepared to concede around 10. Some felt that the people were done voting by then, the votes just had not been counted.But even then, important precincts (like Milwaukee!) were not included in the early totals.

So I had issues with the mainstream media on election night. I also had issues with our local paper. Their headline said that Governor Walker had won “easily.” Easily? I think not. Estimates of his campaign spending hovered between forty and eighty million dollars. Millions! I believe the lower end of that range is more accurate. Even so, Walker and his rich buddies outspent their opponents by at least a 10 to 1 margin. That speaks of challenges, not winning “easily.” 

Easily? The man should have won by a huge margin if he won easily. As the late votes were counted and the absentee ballots came in, the gap between winner and loser got progressively narrower. Walker still won, but he didn’t win easily, children.

There’s a lesson here; make your own value judgments. Don’t let the media decisions become yours. You do your own research, my dears; read, listen, talk to people close to the candidate. If a major bigwig on national television tells you it’s over, stick around. It’s not over until all have voted and all the vote totals are in. Predicting a winner too early can discourage voters and even affect a close race. Did I ever tell you about the presidential election of 2000? Oh, that’s a great story. I was teaching fifth grade that year, and we were learning about American history. I told my students to pay attention to the world around them because they were living in historic times. But back to the story — 

The Wisconsin Recall Election of 2012 made waves worldwide. The BBC ran stories about it. Canadian media covered the events. Nationwide, people were watching us. We were, indeed, making and living history. Many of us felt that Election Night wasn’t the end; it was just the beginning. 

Kiddos, would you like to hear about the presidential election of 2000? Well, not now. I’m bushed. Tomorrow morning over coffee, that’s when we’ll talk. 

As seen at a rally around the Solidarity Singers —

Some wear their hearts on their sleeves. Some paint their message on their chests. Some hold signs. Still others, well, watch their backs and you’ll see.

AFT = American Federation of Teachers

another shirt representing unions

Green Bay Packers Classic - was there an NFL Players' Union then?

She's right; Wisconsin can't wait.

Vote: Wisconsin’s future is on the line.

Let's show Walker his pink slip.

My dear grandchildren, we’d done all we could. We’d called, we’d walked and talked, we’d held up our signs and we’d sung our songs. Now it was time to GOTV: Get Out The Vote. We worked on informing voters so they knew how Scottie and his policies would hurt them.  We helped register voters and find out where their neighborhood polls were located. We handed out signs, and we asked every recipient to promise to vote. 

Can't Stand With him, Can't Stand him, period

We played our tunes, we plied the phones and we still worked our full time jobs and took care of our families – those of us lucky enough to be employed, that is. We donated drinks and snacks to the many who could canvass neighborhoods and make phone calls.  

Roll out the Recall

We stood on windy highway overpasses holding lighted signs reminding voters of the best candidate and the election date. Our money was weigh outclassed, I mean way outweighed by the opposition with a margin of 25 to 1. We had our light brigade and our singers. We worked on the ground level. It was exhausting, but we held strong.

Tom Barrett's Name in LIghts

Still, we worried. We heard from women who felt they “had to” vote the way their husbands insisted. What?! We were appalled and frightened that such intimidation would happen in the twenty-first century. We worried that the people in power had so much money that they felt they were above the law. We worried that those who made the laws and enforced the laws did not hear us. 

Honk!

We worried that they wouldn’t hear us, so we brought out the vuvuzelas. What’s a vuvuzela? Oh, honey, the vuvuzela was – well, that’s another story. Prepare your trombone embouchure, my dear, and I’ll bring mine out of the basement. Maybe. Later.