This has been a long day for everyone in Wisconsin, so I'm not going to belabor things at the moment. It's now almost 1 AM, I've just shut down the joint live blog that we've been running all day, and I find I have mixed feelings. A lot of people put a lot of effort into the recall campaigns around the state. You folks know who you are, and I want to say thank you for your commitment, your caring, and your concern for the future of Wisconsin.
I left Shelly Moore headquarters a little over an hour ago. Shelly was remarkably upbeat considering she'd just lost, but that's basically who she is. The crowd in River Falls was starting to break up, but a lot of people were still waiting to hear from Milwaukee when I left.
Though the votes are still being counted, it looks almost certain that Alberta Darling has defeated Sandy Pasch, which is, I think, a shame for Darling's constituents, and more seriously perhaps, a shame for the state. The GOP will continue to be in control of the entire state government, Depending on the outcome of next week's recall election, they may only continue to control the Senate by one seat, which may make a big difference. That remains to be seen.
The evening didn't turn out to be the game-changer that many of us hoped for, but there are now two fewer Republicans in the state Senate, and that's no small accomplishment. Tomorrow we'll start to hear again from the Republicans how they have a mandate, and that the state has spoken and endorses every crazed idea they may come up with. And trust me, they'll come up with some lulus. But the fight goes on, and all of us need to continue to try to make our state closer to the image of how we think it should be. Join me in standing tall, in standing firm, and in standing for the less fortunate in the state, who still need our help.
We'll talk again after we all get some sleep.