*paraphrased from a badly translated, 1980s Japanese computer game
Talking to his shrinking base of supporters over WTMJ-AM Right Wing Newsradio via the Charlie Sykes show, Gov. Scott Walker today belitted the gigantic recall petition filing against him as "baseless," adding: "It's a lot easier to sign a recall petition than it is to vote."
Well, a few points of clarification are in order:
1. The "baseless" Walker recall signature total of nearly 1.12 million is close to the number of votes the boy wonder received to win the governorship in 2010 -- then Walker's own "base," and one he judged as such a huge mandate he immediately set about to transform the state's social, economic and political culture in quite radical ways. That's right: "Baseless" better describes Walker's own reaction.
2. Apparently, in the rightwing-o-verse, petition signers (whose numbers approach half the entire state electorate) were somehow tricked by well-heeled "union bosses" into believing lies about Walker's policies. Tsk! Tsk! All those gullible simpletons simply refuse to accept how wonderful things now are in Wisconsin. Somehow, the millions of dollars that Walker has already dumped into incessant TV ads defending himself have failed to convince a huge number of state residents. Boy, big labor sure must be powerful! Are the union bosses secretly pouring hallucinogens into the citizenry's beer or something? Because the anti-Walker forces have come nowhere close to matching Walker's media blitz. Maybe it's the fluoride!
3. Perhaps, as Walker says, it is easier to sign a petition than to vote, but if so that's only thanks to the suppressing effects of the onerous Voter ID bill that Walker and Republican legislators blasted into law. Then again, what about all those Wisconsin citizens who tried to sign petitions but were thwarted by right-wingers stealing and tearing up petition papers, crossing out names and otherwise attempting to sow confusion and chaos? Not to mention the Walker lawyers and GOP legislators who'd like to get rid of recalls altogether. The people simply cannot be trusted!
Sorry, Scotty. You may still imagine that you'll cruise through the recall election itself, but this monster-mode petition filing is a real game changer. Your brand of uncompassionate conservatism is now seriously compromised.
Paraphrasing another line from popular culture, this time the '84 "Ghostbusters" movie: "All right! This gov is toast!"