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And the hits just keep on coming. Hits against public education, against workers, against unions, against open government, against the environment and our natural resources. Negative, distressing hits that understandably send some people into numbed shock and even apathy.

But Wisconsin is not alone. These kinds of assaults against sensible government that serves all are happening in state after state. And the way to combat Walkerism in Wisconsin, Raunerism in Illinois, or legislative Republican hegemony in West Virginia is to compare notes and see these parallel developments for what they are: Coordinated, national assaults by vested, big-money interests. Those interests game the electoral, judicial and electoral systems, along with our educational and media institutions, installing right-wing ideologues into all levels of policymaking, instituting a cookie-cutter agenda favoring elites over most Americans.

To take one example, read the following article from the online West Virginia MetroNews to see just how much that state's recent political upheavals parallel those here in the Badger state. In Charleston:

Union leaders, workers vow to take back statehouse at large rally

http://wvmetronews.com/2015/03/07/union-leaders-workers-vow-to-take-bac…

And note especially this passage deep in the article:

“What I propose starting this moment, in this place, right here in West Virginia–all of these attacks across this nation on everybody that works for a living –- I say, let’s start it right now, right here, let’s have, starting today, the biggest unarmed insurrection in this nation’s history,” Roberts said.

Several speakers focused on national labor issues and took time to criticize Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a likely presidential candidate, and the vote in his state’s General Assembly Friday to become a right-to-work state.

We are not alone, and our struggles are being monitored by our colleagues in other states that are encountering the same political troubles. We likewise would do well to pay attention to what's going on outside our borders, comparing notes to see where the opposition has held its ground or even rolled back the dark curtain of authoritarian oligarchy dropping over much of the nation.