If you have a chance, you all should click over to Wisconsin Soapbox and read his excellent piece about how to bring about the revival of the Democratic Party in Wisconsin. Here’s a snippet.
Wisconsin Democrats for so long were not a viable party. Sans wave years in 1932 and again back in the early 1890’s (thanks Bennett Law), they had not held the Governorship and were woefully underrepresented in the legislature. In fact, they clung to traditional political conservativeness and general aloofness into the 1930’s, where many state Democrats weren’t even operating on the same general platform or set of ideas as President Roosevelt. (That was when the Progressive Party of Wisconsin was strongest.) By the 1940’s, and with the Progressives really being a party of the La Follette’s, Socialists and Progressives began realizing that the national infrastructure of the Democrats and lack of strong leadership in Wisconsin was ripe to be utilized.
Beginning in 1948 the party began revitalizing their ground-game and had a group of organizers who helped realize success with William Proxmire a decade later. (Names like Doyle Sr, Lucey, Hoan, to name a few…) The turn-around of the DPW was a decade long process, but it was one with long-range vision. Democrats still lost in 1950, 52, 54, and 56, but they kept building, and building, and building. They even had an ill-fated recall election of Sen. McCarthy.
I’m just saying, HISTORY MATTERS!!!
When the Democrats finally did put up equal challenges to the Republicans in the late 1950’s and 60’s, it was mostly in state and national races. Historically, Wisconsin may be a purple-state for President, but we have been a Republican state in the legislature. It’s just that simple. This brings us to the next point…
In order to revitalize the DPW, we need to develop a long-range plan like those visionaries in the late 1940’s, but we also need to use the data, computer analytics, and statistics of the 21st Century to develop those long-range plans. In an age of Citizens United money, we can’t just throw money at our problems, which means we have to be strategic with how we budget for candidates. It also sadly means we may have to admit as a party that it takes money to win elections. That is a bitter pill to swallow.
Nice read, thanks Zach and WI Soapbox (I don’t fit any of the comment categories there, where I’m asked to select my profile), there is no arguing money is a challenge to changing political control. My money went directly to three WI state senatorial candidates hoping that none of it went to pay entrenched consultants having no accountability to the party constitution or to small, “d” democratic principles.
With no apology, I’ll avoid any party support until I see a party practicing at least some of the ideals I think are necessary for a equitable, healthy and sustainable society. Burke didn’t get a dime nor a minute of effort, neither did Tate.
I, like many others are simply through with lessor of two evil, capitalist/owner class controlled, voting.
Wow I agree with everything you just said. Hell must be freezing over…
OMG! Now I’m seriously going to have to re-think my whole political philosophy, outlook and stance, OR, consider that maybe you don’t really understand a thing I said.
I agree that money is a major factor. But an even grater factor to re-vitalizing the Democratic party and gaining control of state government is what Walker and his Republicans are doing to the majority of us. Walker has abandoned Wisconsin and he has left his Republicans with a budget that cuts nearly every program and service that benefits our well being . He has now borrowed $5 billion and we will still have a $2 billion deficit. In spite of the media outlets, especially the Journal Sentinel putting forth Walker’s propaganda that all is well in Wisconsin, the majority of people are looking around and not finding any prosperity. Decent paying jobs are not evolving and workers , seniors and the poor are taking it in the shorts while Walker and the Republican’s are giving the state away to special interests. THESE TRUTHS ARE BEGINNING TO BE FELT THROUGHOUT THE STATE and the more we inundate our local papers with letters to the editor spelling out the truth about the status of things at the local level the greater will be the ground swell to throw those out of office who brought this about. Gerrymandering aside and money aside Walker and his Republicans by continuing to legislate against the interests of the people and for only their political donors will be a major asset to be used to change government beginning with the 2016 elections!
One major omission in the article: What he said about the legislature was only true until the 70s. While the Democrats could only win the Assembly in wave years (1958, 1964) prior to then and never won the Senate, they captured the Assembly in 1970 and held it for 24 years. The GOP slowly picked away for several years before winning it back in 1994. Scott Jensen was their mastermind, we should study how he did it. The Senate breakthrough was in 1974, I don’t think we ever topped 13 Senators in the 60s, I don’t think we’ve fallen below 14 in the past 40 years.
GREAT POINT!!!
Quite honestly, I banged the thing out in all of 45 minutes and didn’t really think about the Assembly and Senate breakdown for all those years of the 70’s and 80’s. However, one important point is that while we may have controlled one house, we lacked the Governorship during many, many of those years and did not have total control of the legislature.
So, while you are very much correct with the Democratic control, the love-affair we Democrats have with 2009-11 and “total” control is very, very much an anomaly. However, you are correct in pointing out that Jensen devising the Republican take-over was a long-range plan and something that we should study.
https://zimm1117.wordpress.com/2015/03/10/instead-of-envying-minnesota-wisconsin-democrats-need-to-use-minnesotas-dfl-playbook/