WASHINGTON -- The Wisconsin Democratic Party has launched a fundraising campaign to recall state Senate Republicans who have supported the budget bill by Gov. Scott Walker (R) that would strip collective bargaining rights from the state's public employee unions.
The email the party sent out on Wednesday afternoon is excerpted below:
In 60 days you can take Wisconsin back. It's that simple.
This morning citizens from around the state took the first steps by filing recall papers against key Republican Senators who have stood with Scott Walker and pushed his partisan power grab that will strip thousands of middle class teachers, nurses, librarians and other workers of their right to collective bargaining. And we learned just last night that their disastrous budget that will cut millions from our schools and universities.
In 60 days you can take Wisconsin back by recalling the Republican Senators who have decided to push Scott Walker's divisive attack on the rights of workers and his assault on schools, universities and local communities. Can you contribute $60 today to support the Democratic Party's recall efforts?
Make no mistake, these Republican Senators are vulnerable to recall for their radical partisan overreach. Senator Randy Hopper won his last election by just 184 votes. And Alberta Darling won her last race by only 1,007. By recalling just three of the eight Senators we are targeting, we can regain control of the Senate.
But we need your help today. The clock is ticking and we have just 60 days to collect the signatures we need to force a recall. Every day and every dollar counts.
[snip]
If we can recall at least three Senators and regain control of the Senate, we can end the ugly games Republicans in the legislature have played in the last few days -- unplugging phone lines, bolting windows inside the Capitol shut, and withholding the paychecks of Democratic legislators.
The state party's formal involvement in a recall effort, an idea previously bandied about only by labor officials and activists, represents a new stage in the high-stakes battle between Walker and the state's public unions.
Gerald McEntee, who heads the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, told The Huffington Post several weeks ago that his union would be launching a recall effort against Walker himself. But even beginning that attempt would take many months, as lawmakers cannot be booted from office until they have served for at least a year.
Though recall efforts are rarely successful, the threat of a recall can be a powerful incentive -- Walker himself assumed the post of county executive after his predecessor stepped down over a recall threat. And while Wisconsin Democrats are likely to raise good money from the drive, Democratic lawmakers in the state also have been warned that if they return from their quorum break without the governor's bill shelved, they too might face recall threats.