Breaking News: Scott Walker accidentally says something true

22 June 2011

Dear Scott Walker,

I was absolutely shocked this week to read, in an article whose very title ("Walker says most voters aren't interested in recall elections and want to 'move on'") makes clear that there's going to be some serious lying going on, that you actually, if accidentally, said something true.

http://www.loleconomy.com/images/inconvenient_truth.jpg

Before we get to your accidental truths, though, I just have to say first that I find unconscionable your audacity in making claims about what voters are "interested in," considering your absolute refusal to engage in any sort of dialogue or discussion with, respond to, or even make eye contact with as far as I can tell, any citizens of Wisconsin who do not blindly support you.  I, for instance, have been telling you for months exactly what I'm interested in, and it's generally a tie between your recall and your resignation, and you keep telling me how you're going to keep those specific comments in mind. Your phony, tired claims about the "majority" become increasingly ingratiating the longer you refuse to connect with your constituents. The very idea of  of you having any idea what people are "interested" in is an absurdity of the highest order. You claim, in this  interview, that you're not really a divisive or "polarizing" force, that the unions are the ones dividing the people of Wisconsin. But the fact that you continue to refuse to acknowledge or communicate with us, coupled with your audacity in claiming to speak for us, proves otherwise. You are the most divisive governor in the United States. And I cannot wait to see you recalled.

That aside, though, I think it's a rare enough occasion for you to say something true that we should take a minute to discuss it.  To rule out any confusion, I should probably make clear that I am not talking about the most glaring lie in this article, in which you pretend (as usual) that unions - and not you, personally, are responsible for the outrage over your attempt to both revoke teachers' rights AND cut education so drastically that districts have no choice but to balance their budgets in cuts to staff and wage freezes. You said: “The union is purposely ginning up this mindset that (teachers) are under attack, they’re under siege --  I think unfortunately creating great fear and division among teachers and other public employees, with the whole idea (to) use this as an issue to try to leverage a change in the political leadership.”  Unbelievable. You could not have gotten this more wrong. Nothing true here.

The truth, ironically, comes in the bit where you babble on about how people "aren't interested" in the upcoming and inevitable recall elections, including your own. Here's what you said, in case you forgot:

“People are ready to move on,” Walker said in an interview after an appearance in Washington, D.C. “And I don’t just mean one party or another. I think just in general. The average citizen in Wisconsin I talk to, it’s like they’ve had it … They want us to be talking about jobs. They want us to be focused on that … And so having another political campaign -- it’s going to happen, it’s not like they can avoid it. But it’s not something they’re particularly interested in.”
Walker said that “when I talk to people, if that issue comes up, they’re like, ‘Can’t that just be over?'”

Crazy, I know, right? Where to start with this?  Well, why don't we start by addressing the lies, since they are the elephants in the room:

• You don't talk to "average citizens." You only talk to those you count among the faithful. The rest of us you ignore and/or insult.
• People don't want to hear you talking about jobs. They want you to create jobs instead of destroying the ones we already have, which you are not doing.
• People aren't just "interested" in the recalls. They are invested in them. They are passionate about them. And not just because we want to see "our own party" in office, as you imply. But because we have been shocked back to life by the egregious abuses of power that we have seen in your administration and we could not possibly be more interested in seeing you out of office.  It's the #1 thing we're interested in, actually. 
• The majority of people in Wisconsin want you out of office. Period.  You would lose in an election held today and you know it. You are deliberately and intentionally lying to promote the impression that the "silent majority" supports you despite the fact that you know full well this is untrue. You should be ashamed of yourself for never once giving serious, respectful attention to the outrage, fears and concerns of over half of the people in Wisconsin. Shame.

But in spite of the usual, shameful lies, not much is news here; we've heard all this before. There's a great analysis of your lies here, in a very nice article titled "Disingenuous Walker Lies Disingenuously" (the only way you know how).  We're used to your lies. But the surprise was in the truth.  Here's what you said that is true:

• People are ready to move on.  

That is so true! We are ready to move on (dot org!). We are ready to move on to the recalls. We are ready to move on to undoing the damage that has been done to our economy, our schools and our government (which, thanks to you and your cohort the people now have shockingly little faith in). We are ready to move on to getting real work done that brings people together to move Wisconsin forward. We are ready to tighten our belts and do our share, but we are ready to stop the tax cuts to the wealthy and corporate power-launderers who have purchased control of our government. We are ready. We are energized (thanks to you!). And we will move on. Without you.

I am ready to move on. Are you?  

Resign.

And soon,
Heather DuBois Bourenane
Taxpayer, future recall election voter, and average Wisconsin citizen who is extremely interested in seeing you out of office

PS: Remember how YOU were elected County Executive in Milwaukee in a recall election yourself and you praised people for "standing up and taking their government back?"  Turns out you accidentally said something true then, too:  "Too much is at stake not to get involved in the game." As true today as when you said it then. You might want to keep that in mind as your henchman Fitzgerald the Elder fights to take away this right to ensure a government of, for and by the people.