Opinion | Democrats Can Only Blame Themselves

Despite extensive efforts by the Democratic Party to propel its gubernatorial candidate, Mary Burke, into the Wisconsin governor’s seat this past Tuesday, failure was almost inevitable. Over the past four years, Republican Governor Scott Walker has become nothing short of a Jesus figure to conservatives.

Walker’s many disciples flocked to the polls in droves on Tuesday. They came in so much force that even visits from influential figures like former president Bill Clinton and President Obama couldn’t push his opponent over the edge. In fact, Burke took a loss by about six percentage points. In the end, it meant four more years for incumbent Governor Scott Walker.

There are plenty of people that this is great news for – religious communities, businesses, and the upper middle class.

On the other hand, there are plenty of demographics that will suffer due to the results of this election – the poor, the elderly, and women. What can they complain about, though? If they had shown up to the polls with as much force as President Obama and Bill Clinton had urged, Burke may have made it into the governor’s chair, despite her regrettably minuscule resume, which touts not much more than a position on the Madison school board and some business experience at her family’s bicycle company, Trek.

According the Government Accountability Board (GAB), voter turnout in Wisconsin actually increased impressively this election. In fact, 54 percent of eligible voters came out. That beats the last gubernatorial election record of 52 percent made back in 1962. However, the PEW Research Center cited just a day after the race that the demographics – young voters, for example – that would have likely voted democratically didn’t make it to the polls with the same strength in numbers that likely conservative demographics did. That research appears to reflect an increased number of conservative voters hitting the polls rather than liberals, especially considering the not-so-close result of the race.

So, for another four years, the poor will be forced to jump through flaming hoops of discrimination and humiliation. If Walker is able to pass legislation to drug test those receiving welfare services, a vast number of tax dollars will be used to test the poor before they are promised money that could feed their families. Though this could be a viable way to prevent welfare fraud, it’s also a colossal, bigoted assumption that reveals Walker’s ignorant impression of the poor in his state.

There’s more. For another four years, the elderly and those with health issues will face difficulty in finding affordable health care in our state. While Walker continues his pursuance of a presidential campaign, he will act only in ways that favor him in the eyes of Republicans. Any glimpse of moderation or bipartisan decision-making is a distant memory, as was clear in his 2013 decision to reject federal Medicaid funding and drop tens of thousands of disadvantaged people from public health insurance. Though it made little sense for the people of our state to reject money that would essentially keep Wisconsin citizens healthy, it augmented his chances of being nominated for a presidential campaign by making him appear, from the outside, fiscally responsible.

For another four years, women will be disadvantaged, economically and reproductively. It became clear when Walker’s repeal of an equal pay law surfaced, just before election day, that our governor was less than interested in making sure women are paid as much as their male counterparts. In addition, he is pushing for legislation that would force women who are considering abortions to receive an invasive, early ultrasound. The aim of the ultrasound is well principled: to reduce the number of abortions that occur in Wisconsin. However, it is a method of using emotion rather than logic and sound decision-making to influence a woman’s choice, which, in the end, is her own.

Another four years of all of these: compassionless legislation, favoritism to the rich, highly partisan and, frankly, overly dramatic politics. What can liberals say, though? Democrats made every effort to mobilize their voters. If we cannot do so much as make it to the polls, every problem we face from now until 2018 is on us.