I am a bit shell-shocked. After 18 months of insanity, we had some brief moments of reprieve and hope. Kathleen Vinehout's committee's public hearing on elections was an indicator of what we could do. Even though the Assembly wouldn't have passed any reformative measures, and we KNEW that Walker wouldn't have signed any, at least the citizens of the state had a seat at the table. We knew we would be heard.
That is dead now. The authoritarians are back in complete control, and they're not going to waste any time. And no, we don't have a break until January - I understand they're caucusing next week. That's where the decisions get made, where the arm-twisting is done. When they walk out from behind those closed doors, they walk out in lockstep. The Republicans will be a unified body, and they will be ramming through the most destructive measures we've ever seen. I don't ever tell people to give up. But I'm afraid that our ability to impact what is going to happen in the legislature over at least the next two years is nonexistent.
You're right to look at strengthening the Party, and building a stronger network. We need people with balls to take over the Wisconsin Democratic Party. Repeatedly, we met with party officials to express our concerns for the integrity of our elections, and they stuck their fingers in their ears and whistled merry tunes of denial. They didn't want to be the ones accused of wearing the tin-foil hats. We blew it during the recalls, and in the lead up to this election.
I realize that this has turned into a rant, which is completely contrary to the purpose of this thread. Sorry about that, Scuba. I just really needed to unload a bit. And despite my declarations of doom and gloom, I'm not going to curl up into a ball and go away. I'm involved with the Wisconsin Grassroots Network, and am on the Board of the Wisconsin Citizens Media Cooperative. We will continue to build, to help to inform the politically-napping people of the state, and when I've crawled out from underneath my bed, I'll share information about how to get involved with those efforts.
Thank you for the supportive environment in which I know I am safe to vent. 
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