SHORT MEMORIES

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker

       Too many American voters have short memories.
       Take the Wisconsin electorate as an example. In April, 2012, more than a million Wisconsinites signed a petition to recall Governor Scott Walker. They were infuriated by the Governor’s attacks on the public service unions, by his administration’s misleading preelection tactics, by his enactment of a restrictive voter ID law and a law requiring women to have an ultrasound before having an abortion, and by his continual misrepresentation of the facts.
       Thanks partly to an inordinate amount of special interest money from out of State, Walker survived the recall election. Perhaps an even more important reason for the failure of the recall was the reluctance of many Wisconsinites to go that route. According to the exit polls the majority of voters were concerned about the divisiveness of the election. Two fair-minded friends of mine whose opinions on the matter I had sought, responded along those lines. Their feeling was that the better solution was to vote the Governor out of office in the next election.
        Well, here we are, less than three weeks away from the next election, and lo and behold, Scott Walker has a good chance of being re-elected. Not only that, there is speculation that he has presidential aspirations! How could so many Wisconsin voters have forgotten their reasons for wanting Scott Walker out of office?
        And how can so many Americans have forgotten who the real culprits are for the failure of Congress to deal with so many of the pressing issues confronting our nation? Who got us into the Iraq war in the first place, and that under false pretenses? Which party wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which is now providing health care insurance for millions of Americans who had never before had coverage? Which party is responsible for the repressive voting legislation in so many States?
        How could any independent thinker, one who is concerned about women’s rights, voters’ rights, immigration reform, America’s crumbling infrastructure, campaign finance reform, global warming, gun safety regulations, and so many other neglected issues, possibly want the Republicans to take over the Senate? How soon they forget!
        Back to Wisconsin: what will happen in the forthcoming midterm elections? It will be interesting to see if those who wanted to wait till then to vote the Governor out of office, follow through on their intentions. It is still the same Scott Walker!
        Would that the civic-minded people of Wisconsin would set an example for the whole nation and send a message to the GOP that it is high time they started putting the good of the country above their partisan politics and their irrational hatred of President Obama.
         A Scott Walker defeat will send a clear message to that effect, while proving that Wisconsinites have longer memories than many of their fellow Americans.