As many of you know, last Wednesday, Wisconsinites turned in enough petitions to trigger a recall election of our Governor.

Whew.

Yeah, yeah pending a review by the Government Accountability Board and challenges of legitimate signatures by the Walker camp . . . yadda, yadda, yadda.

Seriously though–we got this thing.

Where was I . . . Oh yeah.

Whew.

For us, this was a big deal.  If you see us bumping fists, please understand that it is not the recall we are celebrating.  Collectively, we are not happy about this.  Most of us wish we had some other–less dramatic–recourse.

We don’t.

Please understand that it is the energy, courage and sacrifice we gave to this effort that we are now honoring.  It is the solidarity, and commitment, and discipline, and stamina that it has taken as we have learned–one by one, baby step by baby step—to stand up for ourselves . . . that we are celebrating.

Not the recall itself.

To do nothing (and just bitch about it) would have been a hell of a lot easier.   Committing to the recall?  That’s crazy.  Insane even.  In the history of our nation–there have only been 2 other governors that faced a recall election.  THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY!!

We’re throwing senators and a lieutenant governor in along with him.

This is unprecedented.

What if we lost?  People would just make fun of us!  We’d be labeled: wackos, liberals, union thugs, greedy teachers, socialists, bullies, public workers, special interests.

If you’re on the outside looking in–it’s hard to appreciate just how much courage this took.

For us, this started almost a year ago.  And make no mistake–it has been a long year.  Those in power thought that we would go away after a few days, then a few weeks, then after the initial round of recalls in the summer.  But, to our collective credit, we saw this through.

We are seeing this through.

But beyond courage and an iron will, what did it take to get here?

First, we had to wait until this governor had been in office one full year.  Then, within 60 days of our start date, we needed to collect 540,000 signatures (25% of the total vote in the last election for governor).  Keep in mind, these are not online petitions or signatures.  These are real, physical pen written signatures.  One per person.  540,000 of them.  And it’s winter.  It’s cold.  It’s snowy.  It’s icy.  It’s windy.  And it’s a personally busy time of year–it’s the holidays.

So let’s take a moment to reflect on (or celebrate–your choice) what we just did:

• We collected over a million signatures to recall Scott Walker (actually we also collected more than enough to trigger recall elections for four additional Walker supporting state senators, as well as the lieutenant governor–for a total of over 1.9 million signatures) . . . but back to Walker.

• The number collected is 185% of the signatures required to force a recall election.

• That is 460,000 signatures above the threshold.

• 1 of every 3 signatures would need to be invalid to disqualify enough signatures to stop the recall.

• More than 46% of the electorate signed. By contrast, in the only other two successful gubernatorial recalls in American history: almost 32% of the electorate signed in North Dakota in 1921, and 23% of the California electorate signed in 2003.

• Earlier this year, 32% of the electorate in Ohio signed the petition to overturn the Republicans’ union-busting SB5.

• The weight of all of the signatures collected is 3000 pounds.

• Stacked on top of one another, the petitions go 125 feet high, which is taller than the wings of the Madison Capitol Building (those are 84 feet high), but not as tall as the dome (that’s 285 feet).

All very impressive, right?  And, perhaps . . . meaningless.  All any of this really means is that, sometime this summer, we will have another election for Governor (and another 4 state senators). Nothing has changed.

Except maybe our awareness.

Now . . . we are watching.  We are present–and we will be for as long as it takes.

And that’s it.  You can’t put a label on awareness.

We are not radicals.  We are not crazy.  We are not liberals.  We are not Democrats.  We are not union members.  We are Wisconsin and all we want is our state back.  Most of us are not willing activists.  This is not fun for us.  Most of us–God’s honest truth–want our lives back.

True these lives will never be the same.  Oliver Wendell Holmes said it best, “The mind, once expanded to the dimensions of larger ideas, never returns to its original size.”  We are awake now.

So if you see us celebrating–it is only because we are pausing briefly to acknowledge and honor the work, because as we have learned, restoring the democratic process is hard.  It’s a lesson we won’t forget. We don’t want to do this again.

But I think we’ve also learned that if we have to, we will.  In a heartbeat.  We’ve learned what it takes, but we’ve also learned that we have it–and then some.

And we also understand, I think, that we may not win this one.  It is clear though, based on the numbers, that collectively we are more aware.

Now that another round of recall elections is immanent, those in power are saying they expected it all along.  So what.  The recall process itself is no big deal.  In fact, they go even further in saying that we should be ashamed of ourselves.  That what we’ve done is groundless and wasteful.

Bullshit.

If it had an ounce of groundless, we would have failed.  If the investment was not worth it–we never would have begun.  Don’t talk to us–who have been out on the front lines–about the cost of the recalls.  We–better than any–understand the cost.

We paid for it every time we picked up a clipboard and left our families for a day to stand in the cold and the snow.  Every time we mustered our courage against those that swore and threatened and mocked us in our own towns.

We would not have attempted this if we did not know–in our bones–that the power in the capitol today has corrupted the hearts and minds of those we have entrusted with it.

Trust, transparency, cooperation, compromise has all been replaced . . . with an infection.

We do this to clear.  We do this to restore. We do this to strengthen.

For those left confused and frustrated by it all.  Please understand–we know this hurts.  We know it’s painful.  Removing slivers and cleaning wounds often is.  But we have to do this now.  The sooner we do, the sooner we will heal.

(A special thank you to Cassandra Green for inspiring this post, some of these words were actually hers)

“If I could give three words of advice, they would be ‘tell the truth.’ If I got three more words, I’d add: ‘All the time.’ –Randy Pausch, in, The Last Lecture

Here’s the thing we have to remember: Politicians use language.  They search for phrases that will resonate hypnotically within us.  Good political phrases are like gold to politicians, because with them, they can frame the issues and easily influence us.

Take the phrase, “Tax Relief”, for example.  President Bush’s team came up with that one and he made magic every time he used it.  Why?  It totally frames the issue of taxes.  In order for there to be “relief” there has to be an affliction.  It’s a perfect frame.  That one little phrase influenced the way millions of Americans thought about taxes.  Instantly “Taxes” became an “affliction” for which we all needed “relief.”  We haven’t been able to have an intelligent discussion about taxes since

Over the past few months, we’ve heard Harsdorf and Walker refer to the “Special Interests” involved in the recalls, hoping that voters wouldn’t think about who that really is.

It’s a strategy that allows Harsdorf to appear to be protecting tax-payers (who need relief) from something scary — kind of like the boogeyman.  It’s a fear Harsdorf wants you to have.  She needs there to be a “special interests” boogeyman so she can protect you from it.

But remember when you were young, and you thought the boogeyman was in your closet? Remember how foolish you felt when your mom turned on the light and it was just a lump of dirty clothes?

Unlike our moms, Harsdorf wants to keep us in the dark—and very much afraid. That boogeyman she’s calling “special interests”?  Yeah, those “special interests” are the teachers at your school, organizing food drive competitions between classes two weeks before Thanksgiving.  It’s the non-profit broadband provider, WiscNet, bringing affordable internet access to your libraries, public schools and universities.  They’re the police, firefighters, snowplow and ambulance drivers keeping us safe.  It’s the dad across the street, ashamed because his kids’ clothes are too small.  You know these people.

While collecting signatures to recall Harsdorf in my hometown earlier this spring, I was often confronted by angry Harsdorf supporters.  Repeatedly, I was asked where I came from and how much I was getting paid.  They didn’t believe me when I said I was from St. Croix Falls, and was paid nothing. When I told them I was a teacher, many called me a freeloader—or worse.

It shocked me.

Upon reflection, however, it makes perfect sense.  These angry Harsdorf supporters believe and trust her.  They were afraid.  And I was the boogeyman.  My hope is that enough people will turn on the light and begin to wonder—if Harsdorf isn’t telling the truth about special interests, what else is she lying about?

I love to end the year with my students by studying Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey. It’s a unit about personal growth, and change, and challenges, and transformation, and death and rebirth . . . and maturing.

In the early stages of the Journey we typically see “the hero” as naive. We define that as often not even being aware of what one doesn’t know.

Or, in other words: You don’t even know what you don’t know.

Which, as it turns out, describes most of us quite well I guess.

(just click to play)

. . .You won’t like her when she’s angry.

May 23, 2011

Customer Service Center
Ford Credit
P.O. Box 542000
Omaha, NE 68154-8000

Dear Customer Service Center:

I am so disappointed in your service! My husband and I bought a Ford Escape in 2001.
It was financed through your credit department. We paid off the loan in January of
2006. I do not have, in my files, a record of your response to our paying off the loan, so
when I sold the car on May 7th, I requested that your department send to me a copy of
the “No Interest Letter.”

I never received that letter. For some reason, I did not get the fax, which I was told
was successful. For some reason, I did not get the letter via the mail either. I called
multiple times and was told not to bother calling again until 10 days had passed since I
placed my request. So, I waited. On May 21st, I placed another call to Ford Credit and
was assured by a specialist by the name of Don, that he would place an urgent request
to fax and mail another copy of this letter to me. I was unable to stay home today to
make sure that the fax was received properly….so, for some reason ( and this may be
my fax malfunctioning), I did not get the fax…..again. So, now, I must wait for 2 days
for the letter to be mailed. And, I should not call again until the 10th day if I don’t
receive it in the mail! In the mean time, the gentleman who purchased the car from me
CANNOT drive it! This does not sit well with him. (Believe it or not, this does affect
your reputation as a car manufacturer!)

My question to you is…is this an efficient way of doing business in 2011? We have
access to immediate information at our fingertips with the internet. Cell phones can surf
the web…there is texting…emails….but Ford Credit requires 2 DAYS to put something
into the mail? ARE YOU KIDDDING ME? I like your vehicles, but your customer
service department sorely needs an update!

A very frustrated customer,

Lisa Wondra

Once, there was a farmer. He might have lived in Wisconsin, or he might have lived in China. I don’t think it matters much. The important thing is, the dude didn’t have much money. I mean he had to plow his fields with an old horse.

One afternoon, while working in the field, the horse dropped dead. Everyone in the village said, “Total Bummer! What are you going to do?.”

The farmer said simply, “We’ll see.” He was so cool about it, that everyone in the village got together and, admiring his attitude, gave him a new horse.

Everyone’s reaction now was, “What a lucky man.”

The farmer said, “We’ll see.”

A couple days later, the new horse jumped a fence and ran off. The villagers shook their heads and said, “Dude! That’s bad luck! You must be pissed.”

The farmer smiled, saying only, “We’ll see.”

Eventually, the horse found his way home. This time everyone was like, “Whew! You must be relieved, huh?”

The farmer said, “We’ll see.”

Later in the year, the farmer’s son went out riding on the horse, fell off, and broke his leg. Everyone in the village said, “Poor fella. He’s such a good ball player. And the season just starting too!”

The farmer said, “We’ll see.”

Two days later, the army came into the village to draft new recruits. When they saw that the farmer’s son had a broken leg, they decided not to recruit him.

Everyone said, “Man, that kid really lucked out! We totally did NOT see that coming!”

The farmer smiled again – and said “We’ll see.”

- Chinese Parable, as told by Eckhart Tolle (and then tweaked a bit by Chris Wondra)

Hang in there everyone! Try to remember, it’s not the losses or wins that you experience (or perceive that you experience) that matter–it’s how you respond to them.

Be patient. Have faith. Love each other.

Chris

You know?  I think I’m starting to come around.

I recently received another semi-personal-mass mailing . . . okay–it was a form letter.  I’ll admit it.  Still, it was a letter, right?  I mean, sure.  Maybe it was a little vague, and it didn’t really address some of the real deep concerns many of us have/had.  And sure, it was filled with some talking points and stuff.  But still.  I’m corresponding with a living breathing human being!  Who is actually listening to me!!

Talk about warm fuzzies.  Boy howdy!!  I’m telling you.

So, like I said, I got another letter today from the honorable Erik Severson–my Assemblyman, from the 28th district.  And this time (get this), he called me his . . . “neighbor”.

I think that means he likes me!

Anyway, I know in the past, we’ve had our differences.  But after reading his latest explanations (which I have also shared below), I think I’m finally beginning to understand!  It’s hard.  I’m not the brightest bulb on the bush, but I really think I’m starting to get it.  We really do all need to sacrifice if we are going to make this a better world.  And this revelation was so exciting to me that I just had to write him back right away.

So here you go.  I know he won’t mind if I share this with you.  Erik Severson and I, you know  . . . we’re pretty tight now.  Overcoming differences, talking, and coming to a mutual understanding will do that.

Dear Neighbor Severson,

Thank you for your kind letter and excellent explanations about why you support this bill.  I applaud you for standing up for the people of Wisconsin and finally making those tough choices that we have been avoiding for so long.

I also would like to thank you for all your hard work.  As a doctor, you work hard and care about the people that see you in your practice.  You are a man of character, and it shows.  And as a representative, working on behalf of all of us, you also work hard.  I can tell because you have been so gracious to call and write so many people back.  It really shows that you care.

By the way, I know you called me a couple of times because you left (or an assistant of yours left) messages on my answering machine.  I’m sorry to have missed you, but I’m actually normally working (at my work) around 11:00-ish in the morning.  It’s alright.  I know I mentioned that I was a teacher in my letter.  Most people don’t really understand how much teachers work and stuff.  So that’s alright.

But back to the point of my letter:  It really is amazing how many people just don’t understand that times are tough and that everybody has to make sacrifices.

One thing that I think might help people to understand this better would be if you explained to them that it’s not just the teachers and other public workers that are sacrificing.  I think it would help them to understand how much you, yourself, and other hard working people in the private sector, are also sacrificing.  I know a lot of so-called rich people are also pitching in.

As a doctor you work hard for your salary.  I’m not sure how much that is exactly, but you earn and deserve every penny.  As a legislator, (I looked it up) you make about the same as  the average teacher–maybe just a tad more.

I think that, to show people how everybody has to sacrifice in these tough times, you should explain to your constituents just how much you, yourself are sacrificing.  I think that would put a real human face to this.  As you know, with these cuts, many public workers will lose anywhere between 7-10% of their take home pay.  I think it would be a great idea if you explained to them that it’s not only they who are sacrificing and will be affected by this budget bill.

It would be great to show them how hard working, honest people like yourself–people who are also making even a bit more than they–are also sacrificing.  We all have to roll up our sleeves.   Many of these public workers just don’t understand.  I think your message of shared sacrifice would go a long way in helping them to understand that we aren’t picking on them.  But that we are, in fact, all in this together.

Sincerely,

Chris Wondra
Resident (and good neighbor of everyone in) St. Croix Falls

And, as I said, to be fair, this is my good neighbor’s letter to me:

Dear Neighbor,

I would like to thank you for contacting me regarding the budget repair bill. I apologize for the delay in responding to you, but the volume of phone calls, emails and letters made it impossible to respond in a timely fashion. I hope you can forgive me for the delay; it is always my intent to respond as soon as possible to any constituent who contacts me.

I will get right to the subject of my letter and tell you that I did vote in favor of the budget repair bill and I would like to outline my reasoning, hopefully, answering your questions along the way. The most important reason I voted for this bill is that, without passage in a timely fashion, the state may be forced to lay off as many as 1,500 employees immediately and thousands in the next biennium. The state unemployment rate is high enough, especially in Polk and Burnett counties. Lay-offs would only be making the situation worse.

Additionally, failure to act now would put our state hundreds of millions of dollars in debt within just a few months. This, combined with the fact that we are already staring a $3.6 billion deficit square in the face for the next budget, made passing this bill that much more urgent. We need to give local municipalities and school districts the flexibility to manage their budgets within the confines of Governor Walker’s upcoming proposal.

While there were a wide variety of concerns about the budget repair bill, I will address the most common. Many people have expressed concern that an angry boss or parent on the school board would be able to fire employees without recourse. Not only would this not be tolerated by the community, but it is also against the law. The civil service laws prevent people from being fired without due process.

Others have asked what collective bargaining has to do with a budget bill. My answer is that the changes in contributions to retirement and health care would not remain in effect for long if unions could collectively bargain over these issues. I would also add that union members can still collectively bargain for their wages.

Another frequently asked question is whether or not this impacts legislators, their staff, or the Governor and the answer is yes, legislators, their staff, and the Governor will be making the same contributions as every other state employee.

There has also been some concern that pension benefits for retirees would be impacted by this bill. That is simply not that case; this does not reduce pension or healthcare benefits. It simply requires employees to contribute to these two things, with no impact on retired public employees.

I would like to thank everybody who contacted me for your willingness to discuss the issue with civility. I met with several groups of teachers from the district and we had a great discussion about the bill. Though we ultimately we had to agree to disagree, I did appreciate the opportunity to discuss the issue and hear people’s personal stories.

I will finish by saying this was not an easy decision, nor one I took lightly. I have worked with several teachers from Osceola as a football coach at the high school, and I have seen firsthand how they truly care about the lives of their students in and out of the classroom. Thank you to all the teachers and public employees who work tirelessly to serve others in the community and do so with what I believe is the best work ethic in the country.

As always, if you have a question I did not directly address and you would like to talk to me further, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Rep. Erik Severson

28^th Assembly District