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We are the 99 percent

Learning from Wisconsin

Posted 11 years ago on June 16, 2012, 5:23 a.m. EST by OccupyWallSt

Thousands rallying outside the Wisconsin State Capitol
Feb. 26, 2011: 100,000 people rally outside the Wisconsin capitol on the 12th day of the occupation

Article via the Portland Occupier. Written by Mark Vorpahl

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker not only defeated the recall, he did so easily, taking 54 percent of the vote. This is a big defeat for the union leadership who threw as many resources as they could afford behind this effort. How is it possible that this could have happened after all that had gone on before?

The massive uprising last winter in Madison, Wisconsin, that was spurred by Walker’s plans to balance the state deficit by slashing public workers’ benefits and wages, as well as stripping them of their collective bargaining rights, was a flood no one saw coming. Walker expected opposition, but nothing of the nature and magnitude that developed. The unions and community members who initiated the state capital occupation were likewise surprised. The powerful current of solidarity and desire to fight austerity policies that benefit the wealthy few at the expense of working people ran wide and deep, though previously it had not risen to the surface. Madison, Wisconsin, charged workers’ political consciousness in a way that prepared for the Occupy Wall Street Movement, as well as greater social movements on the horizon.

This struggle was measurably affecting public opinion. While the many polls taken during this period were not consistent, there was an overall pattern of growing sympathy for the public workers and their supporters as well as increasing anger towards Walker. During the protests a New York Times/CBS Poll found that 60 percent of Americans opposed restricting collective bargaining while 33 percent were for it, 56 percent of Americans opposed reducing pay for public employees and only 37 percent were for it. In a Wisconsin Public Radio poll released on April 22, 49 percent said they disapproved of Republican efforts compared to 39 percent who approved.

How could such momentum be lost? Perhaps even more telling to Labor’s failure to build from these developments is the fact that in exit polls 36 percent of union members voted against the recall. If the task of the day is to reverse the one-sided class war Wall Street has been waging on the 99 percent, it is necessary to draw the correct lessons from Wisconsin.

What Happened

Last year’s protests, by themselves, were not able to defeat Walker’s plans. Some concluded, after losing both the June 14 decision of the state supreme court on the collective bargaining law and the state legislature’s vote on Walker’s budget, that they had little to show for all their exhausting sacrifices. Other tactics were necessary.

As the numbers of protesters declined from hundreds of thousands to a mere 1,000 by June 16, many felt compelled to take an electoral campaign approach and attempt to recall Walker. There were three great difficulties with this, however. One was that Walker could not be recalled until he had been in office for a year. This prevented those advocating for a recall of Walker from striking while the iron was hot.

The second difficulty was that electoral campaigns are outrageously expensive, favoring the interests of a few with deep pockets, especially after the Supreme Court ruling of Citizens United. Walker had raised over $30 million from such gentlemen to combat the recall, leaving his opponents very far behind. Consequently, his backers were able to flood the TV and radio airwaves with so many misleading ads that it is likely that many voted for him just to make the noise stop.

Nevertheless, this lopsided relationship of financial resources, while playing a role, is not the main reason why the recall was defeated. This massive inequality of resources and its control over our political system existed at the time of the capital occupation in Madison. Nevertheless, the mass actions were educating and swaying public opinion towards progressive pro-working class views in contrast to what happened in the recall election where the pendulum swung in the other direction.

The main reason behind the recall’s defeat is political. It wasn’t enough to recall Walker. Someone from the Democratic Party had to be elected to replace him.

The Madison uprising had started as a movement that put forward its own demands, rather than whittle away at them in order to make them more palatable for the Democratic politicians. While some union officials talked about concessions in the spirit of “shared sacrifice,” this attitude was not reflected in the great numbers filling and surrounding Madison’s Capitol. Therefore, the shift from mass collective action to an electoral campaign accelerated the movement’s degeneration from an inspiring expression of independent working class fight-back to an example of corporate co-optation by the Democratic Party.

The Democrats and Barrett

The Wall Street funded Democratic and Republican parties do not fundamentally differ in their aim to fix the deficit by making workers pay for it rather than the 1%, whose bailouts, federal loans, and tax breaks have increased as the deficit has grown. The Democrats are no more capable of countering austerity than the Republicans, because that would require that they bite the hand that feeds them – the corporations, banks, and economic elite.

In fact, they are aggressively pursuing policies that will greatly exacerbate the historic divide between the rich and working people. For instance, the bi-partisan supported and Obama designed Simpson/Bowles measure, that will likely go into effect shortly after the presidential election, will slash hundreds of billions from Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, while providing the rich with even more tax breaks.

In addition, the recall election in Wisconsin demonstrated an even further distancing between the Democrats and the interests of Labor and working people in general. The Democratic National Committee was largely missing in action for most of the campaign. Not only did Obama fail to do anything to support the recall other than write a supportive tweet, he bypassed a trip to Wisconsin in order to speak at an event on June 3rd with Honeywell CEO Dave Cote in Minneapolis. (1) Honeywell is currently attempting to bust unions in three different labor disputes. Obama and the Democratic Party could not have made their priorities more clear with this slight. They value standing shoulder to shoulder with an anti-Labor CEO than with the unions.

The Democratic candidate that ran against Walker, Tom Barrett, is a typical corporate party man. That is, he is no legitimate friend of the unions and workers. As mayor in Milwaukee he attempted to take over the city’s public school district, angering the city’s African-American community. (2) He is also a supporter of charter schools and has said this is an area where he can work together with Walker. (3)

During the uprising, he proposed an alternative budget to Walker’s that extended its cuts to benefits and pensions to police and fire fighters as well, in opposition to the aspirations of those protesting at the Capitol. (4)

While dealing with Milwaukee’s government workers, represented by the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Barrett refused to extend their contract after it expired. He used “Walkers’ tools” to enforce health cuts and went even farther in eliminating provisions that had been bargained for years, such as limits on overtime, mileage reimbursement, make-up pay for days lost to inclement weather, etc. In the end, rather than going after the 1%, his attack on AFSCME’s membership cost them almost $1 million. (5)

In regards to taxing the rich, he stated on radio, “It is certainly my hope that by the end of my first term, at the end of my second term, and at the end of my third term that Wisconsin will take in less tax revenues from its citizens and businesses each year.” (6) Wisconsin’s corporate tax rates are below the national average. While working people should not have their taxes increased, it is impossible to close the state’s deficit as well as provide the jobs and services workers need without increasing taxes on the rich and corporations. Otherwise, there are no alternatives to cuts aimed at workers who have already been decimated by the economic crisis. This is the inevitable result of the mantra of “shared sacrifice,” which is another way of saying that workers should pay for the economic crisis the economic elite has created.

In the recall campaign, the issues that drove hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites to brave the winter and take a stand in the streets, faded into the background. Given that there were no fundamental differences between Walker and Barrett on the issues of austerity, last Tuesday’s voters decided to stick with the devil they knew rather than the devil they didn’t.

Other tactics besides the state capital occupation were necessary to kill Walker’s bill in 2011. Attempting to transform it into another contest between a Republican and Democratic candidate, however, was suicide for the movement.

Missed Opportunities

What else could have been done? On February 21, the Madison-based South Central Federation of Labor passed an unprecedented resolution calling on the unions to begin to educate their membership on what would be necessary to pull off a general strike. Though this normally conservative Labor body had no authority to call for such an action, the unanimous passing of the resolution clearly indicated what was on the membership’s minds. The opportunity to build greater unity and use Labor’s most powerful weapon on a large scale for the first time in decades was a tangible possibility. What was lacking was the organization of those who supported such measures to pressure the union leadership into making the call.

Normally, most union leaders are hesitant to take such bold action, even in times of great crisis. These types of tactics upset relations with those Democratic politicians that have been mistakenly identified as allies and, truth be told, there is no shortage of Labor laws that would have had to have been broken to pull off a general strike. However, the unions were not built by playing by the rules of a game rigged in favor of the employers. If a law is unjust, if it cripples workers’ collective ability to resist the injustices thrown at them by a system controlled by the 1%, then that law must be intelligently, creatively, and massively defied. In order to do this, it is necessary that the rank and file be sufficiently educated and organized to push the more conservative labor leadership into opening up the resources to conduct a general strike, or step out of the way for others that will.

Mass action opens up the possibility of grass roots democracy, whereas electoral campaigns in support of corporate politicians such as Barrett are largely designed and controlled by a small team of “experts.” This is because, in order to be successful, mass action campaigns rely on the active involvement of the maximum number of participants. Without their input from the trenches and control over all major decisions and the leadership, long-term mass actions cannot be effectively maintained. It is with this approach that real democracy is experienced by the participants. That is, not the right to elect the lesser of two evils and passively take what the victor dishes out, but the liberating experience of having a voice to determine and execute all major decisions on a constant basis.

This possibility is not automatic. It must be struggled for and built. Nevertheless, a sustained mass campaign runs best when it is run democratically, whereas campaigns such as the recall in Wisconsin, are opposed to this because they are all about maintaining the rule of the economic elite over the 99%.

While Walker’s supporters are gloating in the belief that the recall results confirm they have turned the tide against such developments as the Wisconsin uprising, they are celebrating too soon. The defeat of the recall was a rejection of relying on the Democratic Party. It was not a rejection of grass roots struggles against austerity, which are inevitable as the conditions of the Great Recession grind on for workers. We can only rely on our own collective power through mass action to resist this and further bi-partisan attacks lurking just around the corner. If Labor is to take the lead, the union leadership must start building the necessary unity to flood the streets for good jobs and social services – not cuts.

Footnotes

(1) “Microphone Grabbed Out of Hands of Reporter Questioning Honeywell CEO” by Milk Elk -http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/13297/censored_by_honeywell_ceo_a_reporters_courageous_confrontation/

(2) “The Barrett Election and Milwaukee Schools” by Terrence Falk – http://www.milwaukeemag.com/article/5122012-ABarrettElectionandMilwaukeeSchools

(3) “Barrett Weighs in on Vacant MPS Buildings” by Bobby Tanzilo - http://www.onmilwaukee.com/buzz/articles/mpsvacantsbarrett.html

(4) “Barret Offers Alternative to Budget-Repair Bill” by Larry Sandler – http://www.jsonline.com/newswatch/116873358.html

(5) “AFSCME says Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett demanded union concessions beyond those in Gov. Scott Walker’s collective bargaining law” Politifact -http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2012/apr/18/afscme/afscme-says-milwaukee-mayor-tom-barrett-demanded-u/

(6) “Why the Democrats are behind in Wisconsin – http://socialistworker.org/2012/06/05/democrats-behind-in-wisconsin

31 Comments

31 Comments


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[-] 5 points by JoeTheFarmer (2654) 11 years ago

First, many of the people occupying Madison last year were bused in from out of state free of charge by the unions. These people cannot vote in Wisconsin.

Second, as shadzhairart said, "People voted for what they wanted. That's all."

Most people are paying high taxes to cover for public sector raises and benefits while their own pay was frozen and are paying 28% or more for their own benefits. Walker asked public sector workers to pay less than half of that figure. High pay and nearly free benefit coverage sounds great if you are not the one paying for it. It appears 36% of union workers know this and voted their conscious. Some of the others either don't know this or don't care.

Last year, we saw on TV an impression that many feel entitled to "not feel the pain" of the recession because they were told life would be a tenured guaranteed job with ever increasing salary, benefits, and pension regardless. "To bad for the tax payers" that the economy went bust "we want what we were promised we could have".

You want to blame it on the 1% but it is really the 54% that are paying taxes and in turn casting their votes for less government spending. Actually spending is going up, many just want the rate of increase to slow down.

In dollar terms, the average Wisconsin state worker after Act 10 "the Walker changes" receives total compensation including benefits equal to $81,637, versus $67,068 for a similarly skilled private worker.

Wisconsin isn't the only place where public-sector unions ran smack up against the new reality last Tuesday. Voters in San Jose and San Diego, California each approved ballot initiatives by wide margins that would require or encourage shifting municipal worker retirement plans from a defined-benefit (i.e., traditional pension) to a defined-contribution system, such as a 401(k) plan. The intent was to take taxpayers off the hook in the event of default, given the recent explosive growth in pension liabilities.

In San Jose, where nearly 70 percent of the vote was in favor, Mayor Chuck Reed, a Democrat, explains the result this way: "Liberals and conservatives all understand the same thing: We have had to cut services to pay for pensions." And in San Diego, where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans, two-thirds of the vote was in favor. "Anytime you get 66 percent, it means people were pretty fed up with something,"

As for organizing a "general strike". I believe it will just piss voters off more.

[-] 2 points by legalassistant (164) from New York, NY 11 years ago

Budget shortfalls are not caused inflation-indexed wages and benefits. They are caused by lack of revenue. Cutting public employees benefits just because others get paid less is just a recipe for having no one to drive the consumer economy.

But this nuanced message cannot compete with the simpler and 700% better-funded message you synthesized above.

In California, the business interests were on the challenger's side, and the result was equally predictable. In addition to the typical union boogey man, Arnold won over countless voters by demanding that native american casinos "pay their fair share" of taxes they are exempt from by treaties long-forgotten, or never known to the voting population.

[-] 1 points by JoeTheFarmer (2654) 11 years ago

Public sector workers are paid by the 99% not the 1%.

That is why the vote went the way it did.

[-] -3 points by slizzo (-96) 11 years ago

Excuses, excuses. Face the economic reality. We cannot afford ever-expanding pay and benefits to people who have almost no incentive to earn them.

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[-] -3 points by fiftyfourforty (1077) from New York, NY 11 years ago

"Divide and rule" has won for now. Instead of fighting for an improvement in their own situations, a number of workers were convinced that the way to go was to help the one percent cut other workers down.

[-] 0 points by JoeTheFarmer (2654) 11 years ago

Public sector workers are paid by the 99% not the 1%.

That is why the vote went the way it did.

[-] 3 points by fiftyfourforty (1077) from New York, NY 11 years ago

That's because the one percenters have shifted the tax burden from themselves to you all. Still they got you cutting your own throat.

[-] -2 points by JoeTheFarmer (2654) 11 years ago

That is true to some degree however public sector workers at the state and local level were always paid by the 99%. They are funded primarily by property tax and state taxes.

[-] 3 points by fiftyfourforty (1077) from New York, NY 11 years ago

When wages and benefits go down for a significant segment of workers, this adds to downward pressure for all workers.

[-] 2 points by francismjenkins (3713) 11 years ago

A better strategy is obviously needed to deal with the attack on collective bargaining rights. Walker outspent his opponent 7 to 1, an avalanche of money that's pretty hard to overcome for even the best candidate. You think about all the experts you can mobilize with that sort of money (to tailor an ad campaign to discredit unions, manipulate public opinion, and so on).

Electoral politics isn't even a war of attrition, it's a temporal process, with a designated end (easy to manipulate with enough money). What's needed is something beyond the electoral process, so opposition to these policies can be sustained. Who gave Scott Walker all that $?

Sheldon Adelson (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation), Jere Fabick (CEO of Fabco Equipment), Diane Hendricks (CEO of Hendricks Holding Company, and ABC Supply, the nations largest supplier of roofing, siding, windows, and other building products), Bob Perry (Perry Homes, also a long time conservative hack and donor, think “Swift Boat Veterans” … that was Bob), and numerous others (here’s a list):

http://pinterest.com/onewisconsinnow/who-s-buying-gov-scott-walker/

The people have a right to know who their buying decisions enrich, and what some of their hard earned money may wind up supporting. There should be no rest for these billionaires. Everything they do should be scrutinized, there's always a crack, somewhere they went over the line (and broke a law), the companies they run should know that the people know who they are.

[-] 1 points by i8jomomma (80) 11 years ago

learn from the other countries cause they ain't afraid to remove the problem by any means.................................................. if that's what it takes.....

[-] 1 points by parkplacenot (2) 11 years ago

Marks assessment that a mass work stoppage by public unions would have had a good result in the recall is absolute wingbat thinking. Going down 60/40 would have been the result. OWS needs to understand that there is a difference in perception to a Public union and Private. Had Walker tried to take CB rights from Harley Davidson workers it would have been perceived much differently. If OWS thinks that the they can somehow rationalize this perception away its going to be a very long and disappointing endevor. I do agree that the 1 year haitus in the recall was important to this effort. Right or Wrong many voters felt that things were better in Wi. Local governments felt some relief and tax hikes were shelved. What Public unions need to evaluate is why the very large exit of membership prior to the vote; some reports of close to 30%. Those staying are not paying their dues at an acceptable level.

[-] -2 points by slizzo (-96) 11 years ago

Conflating public and private sector unions is a huge lie the left has been telling since this BS in WI started.

FDR knew public sector labor unions were a horrible idea. I guess he was an evil, greedy right-winger, too.

[-] 1 points by MattLHolck (16833) from San Diego, CA 11 years ago

conflating present participle of con·flate

Verb:
Combine (two or more texts, ideas, etc.) into one: "the urban crisis conflates a number of different economic and social issues".

how abstract

[-] 1 points by bettydonnelly (115) 11 years ago

Cut the Military. It's over a Trillion a year if you add the Black Operations which are off the books ( Super Secret). Obama and Panneta are just Shills for Wall St. And the MIC. Aka Bomb Makers.

[-] 1 points by fiftyfourforty (1077) from New York, NY 11 years ago

Sometimes it's necessary to play the electoral game but that is not the winning way for labor. I agree with the author "What else could have been done? On February 21, the Madison-based South Central Federation of Labor passed an unprecedented resolution calling on the unions to begin to educate their membership on what would be necessary to pull off a general strike. .. "We can only rely on our own collective power through mass action to resist this and further bi-partisan attacks lurking just around the corner. If Labor is to take the lead, the union leadership must start building the necessary unity to flood the streets for good jobs and social services – not cuts."

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[-] 1 points by nicky2 (46) 11 years ago

We are not in a recession. What we have is the worldwide maggot "elite" sucking the money out of society. The Koch Bros, Texas and others paid $$$ to win that election. In addition, over the past 30 years, their well planned manipulation was to first suck the life out of employees working for the private sector so when the it came time to rape the public sector, envy would set it in. Financing and financed Newspeak drove the point home. It was blatant in my home newspaper where they're still trying to accomplish this rape - though many STILL do not get it.. . .hard to believe but true. .

[-] -2 points by slizzo (-96) 11 years ago

Your denial of reality, while amusing, could be a sign of a serious mental issue with perception and critical thinking. I urge you to get checked by a professional.

[-] 1 points by factsrfun (8310) from Phoenix, AZ 11 years ago

If Barrett was so flawed what did OWS do to get the nomination for Falk?

This piece looks to blame those who tried while accepting none of the failure themselves; if this is how we plan to get things changed it’s going to be tough going for sure.

“To some, the ’06 outcome is proof that Falk, who served for 14 years as the executive of Dane County, a bastion of liberalism and the home of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is too easily associated with the left edge of her party. “She has that Dane County moniker that screams, ‘I’m a liberal!’” Scholz said. “Madison is not thought of fondly outside of Dane County, and it’s what she’d got emblazoned across her forehead.””

http://www.salon.com/2012/04/29/whos_better_to_beat_scott_walker/singleton/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_Falk

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[-] 0 points by arthron (0) 11 years ago

I'm against the ping-pong politics the mainstream media promotes, so I don't want to participate in that game, but I am not against voting as a general concept either. I will vote for independent / third-party candidates not affiliated with corporations, while I continue to take direct actions, organize, and protest. Don't see why not.

[-] 0 points by ronniepaul2012 (214) 11 years ago

If you are anti Walker and pro public sector employees, does this mean you would not support reining in Congressional pay, perks, and bennies?

[-] 1 points by fiftyfourforty (1077) from New York, NY 11 years ago

Speaking for myself I want Congress and City Councilors and so forth to be fairly well paid. I want them to be able to function without taking corporate bribes.

[-] -1 points by slizzo (-96) 11 years ago

"slashing"

lmao!

hardly. the only thing slashed was WEA Trust's stranglehold on overcharging local municipalities. once they had to negotiate, BAM!, rates drop, the cash cow is gored, and the state budget is balanced.

like everything ows complains about, this was all about back-room big money deals by the union elites. they had no problem exploiting teachers and bussing in rent-a-rioters to make this appear to be a popular uprising. it wasn't, and that, along with the fiscal reality the left refuses to acknowledge, is why this absurd charade failed.

[-] 0 points by MattLHolck (16833) from San Diego, CA 11 years ago

the fiscal reality is a concentration of the distribution of numbers

[-] -2 points by shadzhairart (-357) 11 years ago

People voted for what they wanted. That's all. There are many right wingers in US.

If we make excuses for each of our loses, then the opposition can also make excuses each time we win. Sometimes you have to learn to accept defeat.

[-] 3 points by socialmedic (178) 11 years ago

Hitler had 85% support for taking the presidency. People have not been careful of what they want since they voted for Ronald Reagan. The Right wing has had a deleterious effect on this nation. It couldn't be MORE obvious than it is now. And yet the idiots keep voting for the right. Like the evil soldier in Shindlers' list, they will be crying Heil Hitler to the gallows.

[-] 1 points by Builder (4202) 11 years ago

Hitler won Time magazine's Man of the Year before losing it to megalomania.

[-] -3 points by shadzhairart (-357) 11 years ago

Americans aren't the sharpest knives in the kitchen, that's for sure.

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[-] 0 points by MattLHolck (16833) from San Diego, CA 11 years ago

lol

anyone in the world can post here

[+] -4 points by rico12story (-2) 11 years ago

. - - ii think that wii have to step back fore ' a moment and take a breath , , and saye ; ; ' what is really going on here ? ? ? - - mye first impression is , , eye ' m sorry that mark got the opportunity to take up so much occupy space fore ' the promotion of a ' people ' s failing agenda ' , , which in and of itself , , is unfair and unjust , , [ although it is very much ' in vogue ' from a media perspective these days ] , , as a demonstration of how journalism and those who wield positions of journalist power , , can use that position to abuse their privilege of supposed reporting in a balanced and unbiased perspective and interest . . . -- and what a platform and floor position from which to do so , , look at mark ' s level and authority of commentary compared to mine , , hii is writing the article , , where eye only get to comment . . . - - wii need to consider statistical analysis , , in order to look at the data , , in a more true and unbiased light , , and in addition , , and not be so quick to assign fault to union actions , , and barak ' s motions , , both of which are made in a positive direction , , IN THE MIDST OF EXTREME CORPORATE AND ELITIST ECONOMIC - POLITICAL AND SOCIAL PRESSURE . . .

. . . - - using standard analysis of people ' s values and beliefs with respect to the erosion of personal economic and social freedoms , , these values and beliefs DON ' T CHANGE THAT MUCH IN THIS KIND OF ENVIRONMENT , , ESPECIALLY WHEN THE UNFAVOURABLE CONDITIONS THAT SUPPORT THEM , , DIDN ' T CHANGE THAT MUCH . . . - - wii need to look at the ' election process ' , , and the ' polling process ' , , that leads up to it , , and realize that the ' progress polls ' are not monitored AT ALL fore ' integrity , , and are ALWAYS SURVEYS WHICH MAYE BE SLANTED SO AS TO YIELD CERTAIN SPECIAL INTEREST GOALS AND DESIRES . . . - - this possibly and STATISTICALLY INDICATED ' DESIGNED ' POLLING RESULT ' ; now forms the ' lead up belief track ' to an election where going into vote , , and all along that waye, , people have independently in the real true sense of discussion and value sharing , , CONCLUSIVELY AGREED in A STATISTICAL COUNTABLE SENSE , , that a certain out come would be desirous fore ' their best interests , , and this is the dominant theme fore ' the majority of persons , , who are involved fore ' the negotiating of that same concept / issue in question . . .

. . . - - it is always ' funny ' , , [ and one always gets this funny feeling when it happens ] , , to see the now publicized ' results of ' recent polls ' that strangely show AN OPPOSITE ' POPULAR EFFECT ' OR ' BELIEF ' , , WHICH RUNS CONTRARY TO THE GENERAL ACCEPTED AND TRULY UNDERSTOOD FACTUAL TREND . . . - - this happens all of the time , , and as the ' election approaches , , the popular media , now picks up the chant , , and says ; ; ' polls say that the out come is TOO CLOSE TO CALL ' . . . - - and it ' s funny how in the over whelming , , [ statistically speaking ] , , number of results fore ' these kinds of election processes , , end in a special interest or big money , , or elitist victory , , as supposed election results . . . - - WHICH IS IN AND OF ITSELF A STATISTICAL IMPOSSIBILITY . . .

. . . - - TO THIS EFFECT , , ALL OF THE ASSERTIONS WHICH EYE HAVE MADE , , ARE THEMSELVES THE RESULT OF ACCURATE TRUE META - STATISTICAL DATA COLLECTION AND INFERENCE , , AND AS SUCH ARE NOT SUBJECTIVE OPINION , , BUT ARE ABSOLUTE OBJECTIVE FACTUAL TRUTH . . . - - in the same way , , wii can look at mark ' s commentary here , , and realize that hii is using an occupy platform , , to try and promote the idea , , that there was ' failure ' on the part of the people to remove scott walker , , when that is not the case , , that the unions ' failed ' to be effective in this case , , and that is not true either ; ; and that sum how , , [ and ii can ' t see how this got in there , , but ii do see that honey well is a defence contractor who had a part in manufacturing the anti personal weapons which were dropped on innocent civilian territory during the viet nam war ] , , barak engineering a massive cut in medicare benefits [ which is an out right lie ] , , got conveniently and politically injected into the discussion . . .

. . . - - eye ' d like to know a little bit mor about yore political leanings mark , , and how about a full disclosure on possible special interest involvement on yore behalf , , huh . . .

. . . - - forever always now ; ; rico story

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