End Game In Wisconsin

One can only hope that we will be Watching Scotty Go in the near future but the the struggle here is reaching a point of existential survival for progressives of all stripes in the state. This has seen a demonstration of what a unitary corporate state looks like where the executive, legislative, and judicial branches march in lock step to corporate interests over and above the populace. This really opens the question of what recourse is available when the whole game is rigged from voter suppression, unenforced open meeting laws, to a crooked corporate judiciary. Our local representatives of the oligarchic kleptocracy are now looking into how to derail recalls in the future as per TPM:

"Wisconsin is now undergoing a novel summer election season for the state legislature, with six Republican and three Democratic state senators facing recall elections as a result of the political battle over Republican Gov. Scott Walker's anti-public employee union legislation. Indeed, the Republican-controlled state Senate could potentially see a Democratic takeover, depending on how the elections turn out -- and after that, the Dems have vowed to wage a recall drive against Walker himself next year.

So in response, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R) says he would like to introduce legislation later this year, making it harder to recall state officials.

To be clear, this could have no effect on the recalls that have already been certified to go. And what's more, the state GOP leaders would be unable to simply pass a bill to get rid of recalls in Wisconsin. The right of recall and the procedures involved are very clearly spelled out in the state constitution, and can only be changed via a long and slow amendment process -- which would require that the legislatures chosen in two consecutive election cycles both pass an amendment by simple majorities in both houses, and then submit the amendment to a statewide referendum."

The time may be coming where the electoral and judicial processes may have to be abandoned and strikes (legal or not), boycotts, and civil disobedience will be the only effective means of expression for the majority of the populace in the face of overwhelming corporate money and influence.