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More about the triumph of pro-life Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker

Jun 6, 2012

By Dave Andrusko

Pro-Life Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker

Moments after the polls closed in Wisconsin, I got a text from one of my adult children and an email from a friend who covers politics for a living, asking me nervously (in one case) curiously (in the other) if pro-life Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker might actually lose his recall election. They had heard what everyone who followed the election 30 seconds after the polls closed heard: that the election was “too close to call,” according to the networks.

As you all know, Walker defeated pro-abortion Democrat Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett by a bigger margin than he did in 2010—almost exactly 7 points. I won’t spend much time talking about exit polls except to make a quick point.

They are useful perhaps for figuring out who actually voted. But for many, many reasons, it’s really dicey to extrapolate from that who is going to win. Democrats who took consolation in the exit poll numbers that showed pro-abortion President Obama easily defeating pro-life Mitt Romney ought to see that if the exit polls were off that much for Walker/Barrett, they are likely off by a roughly comparable amount for Obama/Romney. Wisconsin will likely be “in play” come November.

So what can we say about last night, besides hooray!?

For starters, the races for Governor and Lt. Governor were classic pro-life/pro-abortion face offs. Pro-lifers won them both handily. Had the pro-abortionists prevailed, suddenly we would have been told that the election[s] were a harbinger of things to come–aka, pro-lifers had been crushed.

What else? Beginning in 2009 when pro-lifers won in the governors races in Virginia and New Jersey, pro-abortion Democrats have lost and lost and lost and lost some more.

The “coattails” effect refers to the impact a President has in carrying other candidates to victory because of his popularity. But Obama is O for Everything.

Everything he touches turns to zinc. That he would be congratulated by his friends in the media for staying out of the Wisconsin recall tells you a lot about the power of self-deception or a grim realization that adding to a lengthy list of losses couldn’t help Obama in the fall, or both.

Last night, as always, I flipped channels. A CNN correspondent was at the Democratic headquarters about the time it became clear Barrett was toast. The people behind him were unapologetically hostile and rude and made so much noise you couldn’t hear him speak. CNN’s John King smiled angelically and said something very close to “that’s Democracy in action.”

Can you imagine what would been King’s response had it been the Republicans who lost and who angrily drowned out the CNN correspondent? Something along the lines of the “ugly, surly mob.”

Finally, as I read the opening paragraphs in the lead story in the Washington Post this morning, I was amazed, although not surprised. “The results appeared to be closer than expected…” In fact, the consensus of legitimate polls going into the election was that Walker was ahead by 5 points. He won by seven.

Moreover, in the update story that appears online, while acknowledging that “Voters came out in huge numbers Tuesday, forming long lines at polling places from urban Milwaukee to rural areas in the northern part of the state,” David A. Fahrenthold and Rachel Weiner added, “estimated voter turnout was 2.4 million — more than in 2010, but lower than the nearly 3 million in 2008.”

Excuse me? 2008 was a PRESIDENTIAL election year—when turnout is always much larger– and 2010 was a year in which Congress (and the governor of Wisconsin) were elected. The turnout last night was gigantic.

It was a very good night for pro-life Gov. Scott Walker and pro-life Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and a very bad night not only for pro-abortion Tom Barrett but President Obama.

Categories: Politics