Changing America one election at a time.

We lost a hard one win Wisconsin last Tuesday: amazingly close, actually, given the money differential in the race. Walker should have won easily, given how much money he had and how much money was poured into the state on his behalf. By contrast, Barrett’s campaign had less cash, less major party support, less PAC money … and a ton of boots on the ground. Did Labor make a difference? Yes it did: it shouldn’t have been close at all, given the distaste of many Wisconsinites for the concept of the recall at all (thanks to a major advertising campaign questioning the legitimacy of the recall entirely), and the huge Citizens United expenditures on Walker’s behalf.

Can we win against money, the corporate media, and the lies that are told on behalf of quite extreme and radical politicians? To some degree, it doesn’t matter: we just have to keep fighting against evil, even when we’re handed defeat after defeat. To quote an old Labor saying, “Don’t Mourn, Organize.” We can push back against conventional wisdom; with our friends in the Occupy movement, we can change the conversation away from Republican themes and into the issues that matter to the 99%; we can make them spend more and more money trying to buy elections until they’re broke from the expense. Maybe then they’ll understand we can’t all be bought, and we will keep fighting. And there was one bright spot in the Wisconsin races: John Lehmann won his bid to the Wisconsin state senate, meaning that control of the senate switches to Democratic control. This was the senate district that NDFA went up to canvass in last Saturday, so we’re pleased to have played a small part in his win.

We’ll have some time to talk about our experiences in Wisconsin next Tuesday, and about our experiences with the NATO summit here in Chicago. The main focus of the meeting will be hearing from two aldermen, Alderman Scott Waguespack and Alderman Bob Fioretti, about what is going on in City Council these days. We’ll also vote on endorsing Leslie Coolidge (Democratic candidate for Congress in the 6th Congressional District, running against Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Severely Conservative). We meet on Tuesday, June 12, at 7 pm (6 pm for dinner/social hour) at the Lincoln Restaurant, 4008 N. Lincoln Ave. (about 2 blocks from the Irving Park Brown Line stop, parking in rear off of Irving Park).

We’ve had some recent inquiries from Green Party candidates about speaking at NDFA: as you know, our mission is to elect socially progressive, fiscally responsible, and ethically committed Democrats to all level of government, so hearing from Green Party candidates is not a natural fit for us. In Illinois, it seems like they are even less competitive at winning elections than progressive Democrats have been the last cycle or two. Steering Committee member Carl Nyberg has written a blog post about the Green Party and NDFA on our blog at Northside DFA: http://www.northsidedfa.com/ndfa/node/179 - please feel free to read it and leave your thoughts and comments.

For those looking for voting member events as we gear up to start voting on who to support in the general election, endorsed candidate Debra Shore (MWRD) is having a fundraiser on Thursday, June 21, 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. tix $75 and up, at the Erie Cafe, 536 W. Erie in Chicago, (where Erie St. meets the Chicago River): free valet parking. Please RSVP to scott@debrashore.org, 773.746.7225, www.debrashore.org/rsvp . This is the season of parades: look for notices to join our candidates in the Pride Parade, and in many Fourth of July parades – there is always a need for more people willing to join in a parade. For those who did campaign work for the Wisconsin races, don’t forget to email your activity to NorthsideDFA@gmail.com – those who road-tripped with us on Saturday have already been reported.

Thanks to all those who went with us to Wisconsin a week ago Saturday, to all those who phone banked or went up on their own, and for all those who were with us in spirit. Special thanks to Nate Lefebvre, who put in a fair amount of work to ensure that our trip up north happened.