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The Wisconsin Recall, also known as the "second most important election in 2012" by some, went down last night, and Governor Scott Walker won. But what does that mean exactly? You've probably heard the hype surrounding the Wisconsin Recall, but might not be clear on what it means in the grand scheme. Allow us to break it down for you with another installment of #WYNTKA: (What You Need To Know About) The Wisconsin Recall.
This political saga started last year over a move by Governor Scott Walker to recoup budget shortages by requiring public workers to scale back on their benefits, and escalated into a group of senators running away from home while 100,000 people turned out to protest the measures. Yesterday, the citizens of Wisconsin voted on whether or not to sack their governor. Pretty intense right? The bottom line is, even if you don't live in Wisconsin, last night's election has some larger implications for the state of politics, protests, and voting in our country. In other words, you don't have to be a Cheesehead for it to matter.
First things first. Before we get into all the dramz, what exactly is a recall? A recall is:
A special election conducted to remove an elected official before his/her term expires. This is authorized in some states by which voters may recall an elected individual from office during his/her term. There is no provision for a recall at the national level.
The last one you might remember is the California Recall, which gave us the Governator.
Here are the deets:
+How did we get here?
Last February Gov. Scott Walker proposed a plan to balance the state's budget that required many public workers to shell out more cash for their health insurance and pension benefits, and to give up nearly all their collective bargaining rights (meaning their right to gather and protest and whatnot). Even after some negotiations (and agreeing to some aspects of the budget cuts) many felt that the law restricting collective bargaining rights was unconstitutional and well, flipped out. Schools were even shut down because teachers were flocking to protests in Madison. Despite the controversy Walker signed the bill into law March 11 without making many compromises. While some viewed it as an assault on their constitutional rights and an attack on unions, others felt like Wisconsin was in a tough spot financially, and Walker needed to step up to the plate and make financially responsible decisions.
+What's the big picture?
You're probably wondering why an election that only involves the state of Wisconsin is getting so much attention. There are a few reasons for this. One is that this is only the third gubernatorial recall in U.S. history. Another is since the Presidential election is going on, both Dems and Republicans have their eyes on this state to see whether or not it could flip blue to red on November 6th. Since Walker pulled through, GOP candidate Mitt Romney feels like the results from this recall election are a good indication of where the country's heads are at with issues like union rights, entitlement programs, etc. In addition to all of this, there has been a lot of shady campaign finance issues (66% of Scott Walker's campaign donations were from out of state donors), robo-call schemes (phone calls lying to citizens and saying that if they signed the recall petition, they did not need to vote in the election) and sketchy peer pressuring from groups mailing out lists of people who voted and did not vote in Nov '08 and '10. Clearly this recall was high stakes for everyone- Wisconsiners took it really seriously, even waiting in line at polling places to make their voice heard.
+What can I do about it?
A lot of issues addressed in this campaign are hot-button issues: especially collective bargaining rights, budget cuts, and campaign finance. The best way to ensure that your interests are being represented is by registering to vote. That way, you have the power to make the call on whether to keep your legislators in office, or not. The takeaway from this recall is that it's important to pay attention to the state happenings, not just presidential ones since these issues can literally hit close to home. Luckily there are a few useful organizations to help you stay in the know about who politicians are getting their campaign money from and where they stand on issues (such as collective bargaining rights). Just like members of Congress, you can contact your state Senators and Representatives, as well as your Governor to put them on notice if you're unhappy about something.
