This is a brilliant piece of work.  I urge you to watch, listen, and share widely.  http://www.onetermmore.com/video.html

Finding a Way Forward

I see Walker's victory as reflective of the conservative trend this country has been on since Barry Goldwater first said, "Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice."  With a few zigs to the left along the way, we have been making a steady right turn thanks to grassroots activists who have elected their candidates to the school board, village board, town council, etc.  That is where the ground game really matters, and it has taken them 40 years to accomplish.  The Tea Party is only the latest and most affluent manifestation.

Since 2006, we have focused on supporting middle-of-the-road candidates for our McFarland Village Board.  Our criteria have been a genuine willingness to serve, a spirit of openness, and an absence of personal or political agenda.  I created a website to disseminate information about local candidates, remaining as objective as humanly possible, and building a network of subscribers that now numbers in the hundreds.  Not all of them are political progressives, but the Village Board is non-partisan, and there are many issues where common ground is not hard to find. 

We had been very, very successful until 2010 and 2011.  But, two of the three candidates who won seats in those elections were just censured by our Ethics Board for acting without regard to an apparent conflict of interest.  It's never happened here before, but it was a slap upside the head that was timely and well-deserved.  Whether they are capable of change remains to be seen.

My purpose in telling you this is to encourage you and your allies to focus on local issues, build coalitions across ideological lines wherever you can, and elect local officials who are open-minded and willing to listen.  Lay that groundwork carefully and respectfully, and you will begin the process that's essential if we are to reclaim our Wisconsin. 

In the interim, prepare yourself and your family for the inevitable onslaught of ALEC-inspired legislation and the race to the bottom that will follow for the middle class.  I believe that those who voted for Walker because they didn't like the recall will soon discover that their priorities were misplaced.  They will suffer like the rest of us, but it may be the only way they can learn what we already know. 

In all my 74 years, I have never given up hope.  I am a perpetual optimist.  I wish that my beloved Wisconsin didn't have to endure what's been and what's yet to be, but, as is the case with all kinds of addictions, it's often necessary to hit bottom before you grasp the enormity of your problem. 

We are addicted to sound bites, to gloss, to simple answers, and to the zero sum game.  Our attention spans have shrunk to 7 seconds, and many of us believe only the last, cleverest, snarkiest thing we've heard.  We believe it until the next one comes along.

Many have been hurt by the shift to the right, and many more will be.  But, in the end, I must believe that the pain will be instructive and that progressive ideals will emerge to heal our wounds as they did during the Great Depression and again during the 60's revolutions.  Political thought moves cyclically. Those of us who have lived long have seen these cycles come and go, and we know that our turn will come again.

I have always believed in improving my little corner of the world in whatever way I can.  Keep it tidy, keep it functional, keep it true.  My website is devoted to that idea.  Take a look at it; perhaps you'll be moved to open a "branch office".  www.forwardmcfarland.info/

Democracy Thrives in Wisconsin

To warm your hearts and ease your pain, I offer this Election

Day story: As we stood the legal distance from the 


McFarland Municipal Center, holding our Grassroots TV signs, 


a young, smartly dressed woman approached. She stopped in 


the grass, looked at us, and said, "My father is 62 years old. 


He fought in Viet Nam." She began to cry, struggling with 


deep emotions. "He's never voted in his life, and today he's 


voting for Tom Barrett." I could say nothing, do nothing but 


hug her. She waited in line an hour, voted, and returned 


smiling. This is what democracy looks - and feels like.

A Very Important Endorsement

This letter to the editor of the Wisconsin State Journal is from 


Barbara Lorman, a former Republican state legislator. She 


supports Barrett and Lori Compas. Please share as widely as 


possible.




 http://goo.gl/ME4EK

We held these signs this morning, Sat. June 2, at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Madison.  We were warmly welcomed by organizers, participants, and law enforcement.  It was a magnificent day to celebrate women, community, and democracy!

New Rush Hour Brigade Video

Greetings from Hwy. 51 in McFarland.  Lots of thumbs up, honking, and smiles today.  And, more than 650 voters have already cast their ballots here with more to come!  Let's keep it up - only 6 days left.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DixopXGv5Zk&feature=youtu.be

One More Lie

Here's a link to Walker's quote regarding voter fraud and the response from the Tomah newspaper's editorial board.  I pay attention, and I missed this quote entirely.  Share it, please.  This is one more lie meant to divide and conquer, and we can't let it pass unnoticed.  http://goo.gl/aaIvG   

Rush Hour Brigade

In 1:45, Our 2 block long, 8 member Hwy. 51 Rush Hour Brigade reached 2516 drivers this afternoon.  Today, our message was: Why Recall?, Jobs Where?; Education Slashed; Corporate Tax Breaks; Criminal Defense Fund; Got It?; Vote Barrett-Mitchell; Come Join Us.  The thumbs-up were 4 to 1 over thumbs down.  We'll be out again tomorrow, 4 to 6.

New Signs

New Signs on Hwy 151/18

More Sign Brigades

Facebook is rife with volunteering opportunities for Sign Brigades.  Search for Grassroots TV WI to find them.  Or, organize your own.  Two or three of you with signs standing on public property at rush hour is all that it takes.  Signs can say simply, "Vote June 5th" or they can have pro-Barrett-Mitchell messages.  Large print, 4" to 6" and not too many words is ideal.  Space yourselves widely enough to give drivers a chance to read each sign.  You'll enjoy it, I promise!

Divide & Conquer

Below is my take on Divide & Conquer.  Please feel free to share it.

“Divide and Conquer” in action

Scott Walker told his billionaire supporter, “…you use divide and conquer.” 

What does that mean?  It means that you demonize public workers so that private workers resent them.  It means that you demonize teachers so that their community no longer trusts them.  It means that you demonize environmentalists so that job seekers revile them.  It means that you label some citizens “thugs” so that their fellow citizens fear them. 

It means that you tell the passengers the ship is sinking and watch smugly while they fight for a seat in the lifeboat.  Why do you do this?  You do it because it works. 

Scott Walker has made it work in Wisconsin.  We no longer trust one another.  We have become enemies.  We are sure that our neighbor has more than we do. We believe that in order for us to succeed, someone else must fail.  Resources are shrinking.  We are on our own.  Everyone’s motives are suspect.  We believe that our very survival is at stake.  That’s how it is in a lifeboat.

This is the meaning of “divide”.  At the very moment when we need each other the most, we are obsessed by our struggles against one another. 

My friends, we still have oars.  The ship is still within reach.  On June 5, we can reclaim our place on it. 

If we fail, we will watch the dividers sail away without us on a ship that wasn’t sinking after all. 

And that is the meaning of “conquer”.

GrassRoots TV Rush Hour Brigade strikes again. 

2544 cars on Hwy 51 in 1:50! 

Someone calculated that, of those who responded in 

some way, about 80% were positive! Today, our 

message was on 6 signs: 

Walker's Plan

$$Money For The Wealthy$$

For The Middle Class?

Suffer & Pay More

Vote Your Wallet

Vote Barrett-Mitchell

The weather is perfect; take a sign with you, and go 


enjoy it.

Rush Hour Brigade report: Our message reached 1875 drivers in about an hour and 20 minutes this afternoon.  Find yourself a stretch of busy road, and make it happen!

LARGE SIGNS newly placed on and/or stolen from  Hwy. 151/18.  Well done!

Here's a short video of McFarland's Rush Hour Brigade 

Saturday morning.

Click Here

Thanks to BlueCheddar, Grassroots TV WI now has a Facebook group.  Log in to your Facebook account and search Grassroots TV WI.  Join us!

The Northwoods Project vibrates with creativity!  Take a look at their newest: the "Trash Walker" Brigade.  This is what I call recycling.  Wonderful!  C'mon, People.  Let's get going on this.  There are only 17 days left.

Active McFarland has been busy! 50+ GrassRoots TV WI yard signs are out.  And, today marks the debut of Active McFarland's Rush Hour Brigade.  Thanks to Jenna Pope for these great photos of our coming out party!

We have created as well as received a multitude of Recall Walker sign ideas over the past several weeks.  They are now combined into one list.  We hope that you'll be able to use this list to generate your own GrassRoots TV signs.  This idea is spreading across the state.  If we all make at least one sign or help someone else to make theirs, we will provide an antidote to Walker's $25 million TV ad budget.  Click here for the complete list of sign ideas to date.

Some photos from Facebook for those of you not on it.  I added the captions to the last three.  The caption on the Barrett pic was added by a member of Active McFarland.

This is for those of you who may not have had the opportunity to hear Tom Barrett's victory speech.  His remarks begin at 40 seconds into the video.