Robert Reich calls it correctly — Governor Walker's coup d'état. After spelling out the obvious, he offers this advice (my emphasis):
That’s no surprise to most people who have watched this conflict from the start, but like any coup its ultimate outcome will depend on the public. If most citizens of Wisconsin are now convinced that Walker and his cohorts are extremists willing to go to any lengths for their big-business patrons (including the billionaire Koch brothers), those citizens will recall enough Republican senators to right this wrong.Exactly right: "Be measured. Stay cool." But play to win. Force a recall no matter what they do. (Studs Terkel used to sign off, Take it easy, but take it. Yes.) Our ActBlue contrib link is below.
But it’s critically important at this stage that Walker’s opponents maintain the self-discipline they have shown until this critical point. Walker would like nothing better than disorder to break out in Madison. Like the leader of any coup d’etat, he wants to show the public his strong-arm methods are made necessary by adversaries whose behavior can be characterized on the media as even more extreme.
Be measured. Stay cool.
It really is up to the public to reject a coup; after all, if the Supreme Court Coup of 2000 hadn't been meekly accepted, we wouldn't be this far down this road. Let's not look back in 10 years not knowing what we could have done.
GP
