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You are here: Home / Past Elections / Election 2012 / WI Results Open Thread

WI Results Open Thread

by John Cole|  June 5, 20129:29 pm| 147 Comments

This post is in: Election 2012

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Here’s a solid link to follow the carnage.

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Previous Post: « Another Welfare Queen
Next Post: Well, That’s Over »

Reader Interactions

147Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    June 5, 2012 at 9:31 pm

    I don’t know how I’m going to survive election day in November. I’m on pins and needles with this one.

    ETA: Regardless of the outcome, kudos to Barrett and the WI Dems for making this close after being vastly outspent and down in the polls.

  2. 2.

    Heliopause

    June 5, 2012 at 9:32 pm

    Reminding everyone that even if Walker survives the recall there are state senate seats that could be flipped.

  3. 3.

    TooManyJens

    June 5, 2012 at 9:33 pm

    follow the carnage

    Wow, and I thought I was keeping expectations low.

  4. 4.

    Turgidson

    June 5, 2012 at 9:33 pm

    So, how many votes will Waukesha County need to “find” to deliver this to the Kochsucker?

    I’m worried it’ll be none, but the anecdotes from the ground about huge Madison and labor turnout at least provide a little bit of hope.

  5. 5.

    Valdivia

    June 5, 2012 at 9:33 pm

    readership capture for the win!
    thanks John.

  6. 6.

    Spaghetti Lee

    June 5, 2012 at 9:35 pm

    I’m feeling optimistic-it seems like Barrett’s made a real push forward in the last few days. Was that a deliberate strategy? If it is, and he wins, it was a brilliant one.

  7. 7.

    Yutsano

    June 5, 2012 at 9:35 pm

    A whole lotta red so far but right now I think they’re counting the small precincts first. And Waukesha County is lagging back in their count. Colour me shocked.

  8. 8.

    Anoniminous

    June 5, 2012 at 9:35 pm

    Good news for Barrett from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

    Walker also appears to have lost ground among women. He lost women by three points, 48% to 51%, in 2010. But this time he is losing them by 12 points, 56% to 44%.

    IF this holds true Walker will be recalled.

    Right now, however, it’s Walker 58.6%, Tom Barrett 40.8%

  9. 9.

    Steve

    June 5, 2012 at 9:35 pm

    This could be a late night. I’m not sure I dare to hope.

  10. 10.

    lamh35

    June 5, 2012 at 9:37 pm

    EXITS: Voters who made their mind up in the last month went for Barrett by 30 points http://thkpr.gs/L1HMWS

    I want to stay up to date with updates on WI, but don’t want to obsess about it, so I’m watching Tron: Legacy. I’m not big on electronica, but the soundtrack by Daf Punk is pretty damn slick. I’m telling ya if ya want a good wordk out playlist, this soundtrack might be it.

    Also, it pretty cool the way they used old footage of Jeff Bridges to create his “younger self” as Clu. I’ve read that they used CG to create the “head” of Jeff Bridges 30 years ago, and used footage from back then to create Clu’s personal expressions and movement in his face when he spoke. They then had a real “body” that they used and placed the Clu head on the actor’s body and viola…Jeff Bridges in the flesh only 30 years younger

  11. 11.

    Evolving Deep Southerner

    June 5, 2012 at 9:38 pm

    What about Walker’s abandoned love child?

    Oh, wait …

  12. 12.

    Spaghetti Lee

    June 5, 2012 at 9:38 pm

    I’d also like to point out, in the hope of keeping everyone optimistic, that Black Abe Lincoln is currently beating Romney by 10 points in TPM’s poll average. So if Walker wins and the chattering dipsticks talk about how this means Obama’s in TRUBBUL in Wisconsin this year, feel free to tune it all out .

    EDIT: Encouraging numbers from Anonimious and Lamh35 as well.

  13. 13.

    Yutsano

    June 5, 2012 at 9:38 pm

    Oops. Three counties just flipped from red to blue. Damn this is gonna be a nail biter.

  14. 14.

    Raven

    June 5, 2012 at 9:39 pm

    This is the anniversary of the Bobby Kennedy assassination and of my first acid trip. June 5, 1968. (It was actually just after midnight on the 5th).

  15. 15.

    rikyrah

    June 5, 2012 at 9:39 pm

    I would like to thank the people of Wisconsin that stood up and fought GOP Tyranny. However this turns out…thank you

  16. 16.

    Baud

    June 5, 2012 at 9:39 pm

    @Spaghetti Lee:

    feel free to tune it all out

    That’s been my motto since Inauguration Day 20082009.

  17. 17.

    TooManyJens

    June 5, 2012 at 9:40 pm

    @lamh35: Granted that “Voters who made their mind up in the last month” is probably about 100 people, but DAMN.

  18. 18.

    Jewish Steel

    June 5, 2012 at 9:41 pm

    My poor little phone can’t handle the above link. If anyone wants to post totals as we go along it would be appreciated by me and other mobile bound users this evening.

  19. 19.

    4tehlulz

    June 5, 2012 at 9:42 pm

    Inb4 recount

  20. 20.

    stinkbait

    June 5, 2012 at 9:43 pm

    So how soon after CNN declares Walker a winner will you post your “It’s all Obama’s and Wassermans fault because…bully pulpit…and she horded money…and drones!”

  21. 21.

    JGabriel

    June 5, 2012 at 9:43 pm

    CNN Exit Polls show a 50/50 race.

    I don’t think anyone knows for sure what’s going to happen tonight. There was high turnout, which helps us.

    But a close race means it’s close enough for Walker and the GOP to steal it. And I have no faith in the integrity of Walker.

    Edit To Add: Also, late, after-work, turnout helps us too, and probably isn’t included in the exit polls yet. So that may be a plus.

    .

  22. 22.

    arguingwithsignposts

    June 5, 2012 at 9:43 pm

    VICTORY!

  23. 23.

    Valdivia

    June 5, 2012 at 9:44 pm

    @Anoniminous:

    wow. based on the PPP poll yesterday and extrapolating this really could mean he will be recalled.

  24. 24.

    Yutsano

    June 5, 2012 at 9:44 pm

    @Jewish Steel: 14% of precincts reporting and Walker is way ahead. But they’re counting the smaller numbers first here.

  25. 25.

    Spaghetti Lee

    June 5, 2012 at 9:44 pm

    @stinkbait:

    Oh fuck, do we have to start in with this already?

  26. 26.

    Only the Facts

    June 5, 2012 at 9:45 pm

    Walker UTTERLY CRUSHING Barrett so far…looks like the exit polls are wrong, just like in 2004. ;) Another win for the Koch Brothers.

  27. 27.

    arguingwithsignposts

    June 5, 2012 at 9:45 pm

    UNLIMITED CORPORATE CASH!

  28. 28.

    AliceBlue

    June 5, 2012 at 9:46 pm

    I just took a chocolate chess pie out of the oven, but I’m so nervous (and hopeful) I don’t know if I’ll be able to eat any.

  29. 29.

    eemom

    June 5, 2012 at 9:48 pm

    @Raven:

    This is the anniversary of the Bobby Kennedy assassination and of my first acid trip.

    Don’t really have anything to add, but it needed to be quoted.
    : )

  30. 30.

    Gravenstone

    June 5, 2012 at 9:48 pm

    @Only the Facts: Oh look, I do believe we have yet another Taco pseudonym. What happened child, John ban your last iteration (again)?

  31. 31.

    Raven

    June 5, 2012 at 9:48 pm

    @Spaghetti Lee: Not if you ignore the scumbag.

  32. 32.

    Valdivia

    June 5, 2012 at 9:49 pm

    I mentioned this in a previous thread but I just want us to think once again about all the $$$$$$$$ these a-holes dropped on WI. I love the smell of wasted corporate cash.

  33. 33.

    Anoniminous

    June 5, 2012 at 9:49 pm

    STOP THE BLOG!

    Waukesha county is reporting votes! A mere 45 minutes after the polls closed.

    Holy Cow and little Baby Jeebus in a Manager. (It’s a set. Collect ’em all.) Could this be the Apoc-collapse?

  34. 34.

    tomvox1

    June 5, 2012 at 9:49 pm

    Not looking too good w/19% reporting and some big Dem districts already counted: 60-40, Walker. Other GOPers are up big, too.

  35. 35.

    geg6

    June 5, 2012 at 9:50 pm

    “On Wisconsin” was the tune for my high school fight song. I’ve been humming it all day. Unintentionally, mostly. I hope that bodes well. Either way, kudos to WI Dems and the Barrett people for keeping it close with Mr. Unlimited Corporate Cash. Inspiring.

  36. 36.

    Maude

    June 5, 2012 at 9:50 pm

    @arguingwithsignposts:
    Obama didn’t campaign for Barrett.
    He’s worse than Bush, he sold us out.

  37. 37.

    Only the Facts

    June 5, 2012 at 9:50 pm

    Exit polls have just been adjusted. Walker 52, Barrett 48. Looks like 2004 all over again for you losers. MONEY is what really matters in elections.

  38. 38.

    Quarks

    June 5, 2012 at 9:50 pm

    Apparently latest round of exit polls adjusted in Walker’s favor. Le Sigh.

    To make the troll happy, let me add, CORPORATE CASH! There.

  39. 39.

    Raven

    June 5, 2012 at 9:50 pm

    NBC calls it for Walker.

  40. 40.

    teec

    June 5, 2012 at 9:51 pm

    NBC calls it for Walker. Damn!

  41. 41.

    burnspbesq

    June 5, 2012 at 9:51 pm

    @Only the Facts:

    We know it’s you. Your lunacy is transparent.

    It’s awfully early for that shit. Do you prefer red wine or white with crow.

  42. 42.

    arguingwithsignposts

    June 5, 2012 at 9:51 pm

    are we WINNING yet?

  43. 43.

    lol chikinburd

    June 5, 2012 at 9:51 pm

    I don’t even see this being called tonight. Possibly not this week.

    But look at it this way: if Walker does squeak through by a thumb’s weight on the scale — as looks likely from the dead-even exits and Kathy Nickolaus’s continued presence in the Waukesha clerk’s office, contrary to promises — this election won’t have strengthened him as we’d feared it might, and any honeymoon will be fleeting.

  44. 44.

    Spaghetti Lee

    June 5, 2012 at 9:51 pm

    @tomvox1:

    Which ‘big dem districts?’ The map I’m looking at says that Milwaukee and Dane counties both have fewer than 1% of their precincts in. The Milwaukee suburbs have reported relatively early-I think that’s part of why Walker’s ahead right now.

  45. 45.

    Evolving Deep Southerner

    June 5, 2012 at 9:52 pm

    @Only the Facts: Gotta hand it to you, Taco. No matter what fucking dumb-ass ‘nym you post with here, there’s never any doubt as to whether it’s you. You are perhaps the most un-selfconsciously pathetic motherfucker I’ve ever seen write words meant for public consumption, but you’re consistent, I’ll give you that much.

  46. 46.

    John Cole

    June 5, 2012 at 9:52 pm

    This election is over. Walker won. Barrett only won Dane county by 12%.

  47. 47.

    lol chikinburd

    June 5, 2012 at 9:53 pm

    And so NBC projects a Walker win. That is a shock.

    ETA: Dane’s presently 60-40 with nearly all of Madison uncounted.

  48. 48.

    Yutsano

    June 5, 2012 at 9:53 pm

    @tomvox1: Only 21% of precincts have reported so far. Way too soon to go all Eeyore.

  49. 49.

    burnspbesq

    June 5, 2012 at 9:53 pm

    All it takes is one Senate win, out of four, and Walker’s legislative agenda is dead meat.

  50. 50.

    stinkbait

    June 5, 2012 at 9:53 pm

    @Spaghetti Lee: It’s up to Cole to prove me wrong. He won’t. He can’t help himself because you can’t fix stupid. Maybe have to wait till tomorrow after Greenwald tells him what to think.

  51. 51.

    Marc

    June 5, 2012 at 9:54 pm

    @John Cole:

    Yup, called by NBC. Not a single poll indicated a different outcome, so that’s not surprising.

  52. 52.

    Spaghetti Lee

    June 5, 2012 at 9:55 pm

    @John Cole:

    John, 82% of Dane county isn’t even in yet.

  53. 53.

    Only the Facts

    June 5, 2012 at 9:55 pm

    WE WON. VICTORY you fucking losers. The Koch Brothers and Walker win! At this rate Wisconsin will be right to work within three years! All your work, all your donations, all your protesting, FUCKING SMASHED by piles and piles of corporate cash, and there’s nothing you can do about it. This is just a preview for November, “progressive” losers.

  54. 54.

    Anoniminous

    June 5, 2012 at 9:56 pm

    2.99 million votes cast in 2008. 2.17 million in 2010.

    There has been ~333,000 counted.

    Chill while waiting for Dane and Milwaukee counties to come in.

  55. 55.

    stinkbait

    June 5, 2012 at 9:57 pm

    Game over. MSNBC declares Walker the winner. How soon before someone on Dkos blames Obama? I give it about 15 minutes. They will beat Cole by about a day.

  56. 56.

    Raven

    June 5, 2012 at 9:58 pm

    @Only the Facts: Wait till that phoney lying motherfucker Romney wins and crushed your fucking fascist dreams.

  57. 57.

    Belafon (formerly anonevent)

    June 5, 2012 at 9:58 pm

    What is the point of the Independent in the race? I’m pretty sure the votes would have probably split between Walker and Barrett, but what did the Independent even hope to get out of this one? Undecideds?

  58. 58.

    Only the Facts

    June 5, 2012 at 9:58 pm

    LOL go to bed you fucking losers. It’s over. The race is called. You LOST.

  59. 59.

    Ben Franklin

    June 5, 2012 at 9:59 pm

    With 17% in, Walker leads by nearly 100,000

    Walker spent what, 7 times the amount spent by Barrett? 70% came from outside Wisconsin.

    I’ve heard there was much complaining about the lack of support from the DNC.

    Have they conceded Wisconsin in November?

    Meh

  60. 60.

    Stuck in the Funhouse

    June 5, 2012 at 9:59 pm

    @Marc:

    Yup, called by NBC. Not a single poll indicated a different outcome, so that’s not surprising.

    Yes, except the exit polls that have it in a dead heat. I have no idea about the electorate in WI, except like most states, dems have strongholds in larger cities. that about always lag in reporting their vote totalls. Think I’ll wait a while longer, before closing the book on this one.

  61. 61.

    piratedan

    June 5, 2012 at 10:00 pm

    funny… Waukesha went from 20% reporting to 10% reporting… maybe I just need to drink more

  62. 62.

    Only the Facts

    June 5, 2012 at 10:01 pm

    Game…over. The exit polls in 2004 said Kerry would win, remember, “progressives”? You got fucking killed tonight. Suck…on…THAT.

  63. 63.

    CaseyL

    June 5, 2012 at 10:01 pm

    Looks like it wasn’t even close. How depressing.

    You can blame the money, but money only wins when people are too stupid or disinterested to get clean information. Money wins when the citizenry has already given up being anything but serfs.

    Can’t fix stupid, and can’t fix people who like serfdom.

  64. 64.

    Hunter Gathers

    June 5, 2012 at 10:01 pm

    @Only the Facts: I’m not worried about November. Pussies don’t win shit, no matter how much cash they have. And Mitt Romney is the biggest pussy who ever lived. My 19 month old would beat the shit out that pansy ass motherfucker.

  65. 65.

    Spaghetti Lee

    June 5, 2012 at 10:01 pm

    @Anoniminous:

    Will everyone please listen to this guy? Milwaukee and Madison have barely come in yet. At least wait til that happens before you start moping.

  66. 66.

    JGabriel

    June 5, 2012 at 10:01 pm

    __
    __
    Only the Facts:

    LOL go to bed you fucking losers. It’s over.

    Win or lose, Walker is still getting indicted. Why do you hate America and love criminals?

    .

  67. 67.

    handy

    June 5, 2012 at 10:01 pm

    @Ben Franklin:

    Have they conceded Wisconsin in November?

    Why would they? Local elections and national ones have different dynamics at play. Ignore the chatter that will inevitably happen tonight about these results, whatever they are.

  68. 68.

    Spaghetti Lee

    June 5, 2012 at 10:03 pm

    @Ben Franklin:

    Obama’s up by 10 in Wisconsin right now, so I kinda doubt it.

  69. 69.

    Yutsano

    June 5, 2012 at 10:03 pm

    Barrett just had a major vote surge. Things getting interesting now.

  70. 70.

    Stuck in the Funhouse

    June 5, 2012 at 10:04 pm

    @Ben Franklin:

    Have they conceded Wisconsin in November?

    Nope, they didn’t get involved for the reason of giving the wingers a talking about to try and nationalize the WI recall election if Walker won. Looks like a fairly wise decision at this point. Obama is ahead in WI polling, and the goopers will try to make it some kind of referendum on their policies in WI, and nationally. But it won’t work, cause each state is different, and the economy in swing states is markedly better than the country at large.

  71. 71.

    Valdivia

    June 5, 2012 at 10:04 pm

    I can’t believe they called so early. Very weird.

  72. 72.

    Only the Facts

    June 5, 2012 at 10:04 pm

    BUH BUH MILWAUKEE AND MADISON! Fox News and MSNBC agree on very few things but they’ve both called this race. L O S E R S

  73. 73.

    trollhattan

    June 5, 2012 at 10:05 pm

    Where’s Taco when we need him/her/it? Taco?

  74. 74.

    Belafon (formerly anonevent)

    June 5, 2012 at 10:05 pm

    @John Cole: According to the map, now, with 30% reporting in the state, Barrett is now up by 20% in Dane, which is showing 25% of the precincts reported.

  75. 75.

    stinkbait

    June 5, 2012 at 10:06 pm

    @Ben Franklin: lol…you are almost there. You stopped just short of blaming Wasserman or Obama to win the prize. Go for it. Someone will. May as well be you!

    href=”#comment-3318924″>Only the Facts: Worst trolling I’ve seen in quite some time. But then again everything about this site is substandard so you fit right in.

  76. 76.

    tkogrumpy

    June 5, 2012 at 10:06 pm

    Fuck that shit.

  77. 77.

    tomvox1

    June 5, 2012 at 10:07 pm

    @Yutsano: @Spaghetti Lee:

    Hey, wishful thinking is not political reality. It could come down to a slow count with a rush of Dem catch up votes at the end…but Barret is losing in most of the counties Obama won in 2010. The math don’t lie. This looks like it isn’t very close.

    If it’s any consolation to you sensitive souls, Barrett was outspent a kabillion to one and that’s money not spent attacking Obama…if there is a finite limit to that kind of money.

    On the shitty end of the stick, we have to hear it from the MSM what this portends for the general in November, i.e. DOOM FOR OBAMA–WALKER FOR VP! And from the more hysterical lefty blogs about how if only Obama had done more for Barrett, they could’ve overcome a 20 point deficit on recall election day. Kill me now.

  78. 78.

    Valdivia

    June 5, 2012 at 10:07 pm

    @piratedan:

    I think we all need to drink more. I am sure they just lost the Dem votes.

  79. 79.

    Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason

    June 5, 2012 at 10:07 pm

    @Raven: OT, sorry ’bout that. Some of the 20 and 30-somethings at work were talking about the bath salts zombies and one of the guys said it’s like LSD that makes you feel so hot you strip naked wherever you are. And I said “You heard acid does that?” and he said yeah, to which I said, forcefully, and I guess with the conviction that comes from experience, “That’s just bullshit.”

    You should have seen the look on everyone’s face. Priceless.

  80. 80.

    Judas Escargot, Your Postmodern Neighbor

    June 5, 2012 at 10:07 pm

    @Only the Facts:

    and there’s nothing you can do about it.

    And there’s nothing that you can do about it, either.

    Mitt Romney is worth “only” $250 million or so. At these prices, he’s as much a pawn as anyone. And so are you.

    So what is it that you are celebrating, exactly?

  81. 81.

    Yutsano

    June 5, 2012 at 10:08 pm

    @Belafon (formerly anonevent): And Walker is winning Milwaukee but barely and only like 18% reporting.

  82. 82.

    Another Halocene Human

    June 5, 2012 at 10:09 pm

    @JGabriel: But weren’t a lot of those people turned away at the polls?

    People with jobs who don’t plan ahead to absentee vote area always getting screwed by these poll closing deadlines. Rather than letting everyone in line vote.

    Remember Ohio in 2004?

  83. 83.

    Omnes Omnibus

    June 5, 2012 at 10:09 pm

    @John Cole: All of Dane County’s results aren’t in yet. As of right now it is 60-40 Barrett in Dane with 25% counted. If everyone could get a fucking grip, that would be helpful. Jesus fuck!

  84. 84.

    Belafon (formerly anonevent)

    June 5, 2012 at 10:09 pm

    Here’s another interesting chart, relating how each candidate is doing in counties as compared to 2010.

  85. 85.

    Quarks

    June 5, 2012 at 10:09 pm

    I admit I’m kinda hoping that the final numbers are at least a little closer.

  86. 86.

    nodakfarmboy

    June 5, 2012 at 10:10 pm

    @Only the Facts: So, wait… it’s a good thing that corporations can buy and sell elections? And you think this is a good thing for the future of this nation?

    “The Constitution guarantees protection to property, and we must make that promise good. But it does not give the right of suffrage to any corporation…. There can be no effective control of corporations while their political activity remains. To put an end to it will be neither a short nor an easy task, but it can be done…Corporate expenditures for political purposes, and especially such expenditures by public-service corporations, have supplied one of the principal sources of corruption in our political affairs.”

    Teddy Roosevelt, sane Republican. I’m always amused when modern GOPers name drop him for their own purposes. One wonders if they know what he’d think of their current boot licking of corporate power?

    Yes, we all know the answer to that one is too obvious to require elaboration.

  87. 87.

    TooManyJens

    June 5, 2012 at 10:10 pm

    There are still people waiting in line to vote and they’re calling this. Jesus fucking Christ. I realize it’s paranoid to think the fix is in but what the actual fuck. This thing was 50-50, “too close to call” an hour ago.

  88. 88.

    handy

    June 5, 2012 at 10:10 pm

    @Judas Escargot, Your Postmodern Neighbor:

    So what is it that you are celebrating, exactly?

    A pretty darned successful troll, I’d say.

  89. 89.

    Valdivia

    June 5, 2012 at 10:10 pm

    and it begins. Democrats in disarray!

  90. 90.

    Baud

    June 5, 2012 at 10:11 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    If everyone could get a fucking grip

    Have you never visited a blog before?

  91. 91.

    Ben Franklin

    June 5, 2012 at 10:11 pm

    @stinkbait:

    Stinlbait…perfect.

    Now, go fish.

  92. 92.

    Evolving Deep Southerner

    June 5, 2012 at 10:11 pm

    @tkogrumpy: Excuse me, just curious. Which shit, specifically, are you wishing fuckitude on with that comment? Just so much shit out there, you know, gotta be a little more specific.

  93. 93.

    Linnaeus

    June 5, 2012 at 10:11 pm

    I’m willing to wait and see for a bit longer.

  94. 94.

    trollhattan

    June 5, 2012 at 10:13 pm

    @nodakfarmboy:

    Teddy Roosevelt, the last sane Republican.

    Enhanced, for mo bettah accuracy.

  95. 95.

    Hunter Gathers

    June 5, 2012 at 10:13 pm

    Wisconsin voters want their state to be Alabama with snow. More power to them, I guess.

  96. 96.

    Citizen_X

    June 5, 2012 at 10:14 pm

    @Judas Escargot, Your Postmodern Neighbor:

    So what is it that you are celebrating, exactly?

    I’M A WHORE FOR CORPORATE POWER! VICTORY FOR MY MASTERS, VICTORY!

  97. 97.

    Maude

    June 5, 2012 at 10:14 pm

    @TooManyJens:
    BBC online 45 min ago, too close to call.
    NBC and Fox have called for Walker.
    I thought it was too early to say who won.

  98. 98.

    Only the Facts

    June 5, 2012 at 10:14 pm

    Exit polls lol…it is 2004 aaallll over again isn’t it? Are you reliving it yet?

  99. 99.

    Valdivia

    June 5, 2012 at 10:14 pm

    how are they calling it if people are still voting? WTF?

  100. 100.

    Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn

    June 5, 2012 at 10:15 pm

    @Ben Franklin: Obama currently has something of a comfy lead against Romney in WI.

    If the race is close, I think the DNC’s call should certainly be questioned. If not – their call makes sense.

  101. 101.

    Spaghetti Lee

    June 5, 2012 at 10:15 pm

    Walker has never won a 60-40 election in his political career. He’s winning in Milwaukee county right now-does anyone think that will actually be the case by the end of the night?

    My problem is I don’t want to be the guy who talks about conspiracies and vote suppression every time my guy loses-you just can’t do that every time. But Walker winning an election by 8 points more than he did last time, by a bigger margin than he ever has, in a state that doesn’t have such lopsided voting margins in almost anything? All the major networks calling it with less than 30% of the vote in? He’s really going to win 60-40 when the exit polls were 52-48 at best? I mean, if Walker was winning 53-46 in all the usual places I’d take my lumps, but this just does not seem right. Any thoughts?

  102. 102.

    Omnes Omnibus

    June 5, 2012 at 10:15 pm

    @Baud: Fucking shit pisses me off.

  103. 103.

    Ben Franklin

    June 5, 2012 at 10:16 pm

    @Stuck in the Funhouse:

    With what result? This is a linchpin issue in a crucial Blue State. Ever hear of dominoes?

    Walker will sign the ‘Right to Work’ and this will fuel the Tea Baggers in other states to rally
    their troops.

  104. 104.

    trollhattan

    June 5, 2012 at 10:16 pm

    Pierce is live-blogging, so there’s at least amusement to be had.

    https://twitter.com/#!/esqpolitics

  105. 105.

    nodakfarmboy

    June 5, 2012 at 10:17 pm

    @trollhattan: I’d still give a nod to Dwight Eisenhower. He was usually on the right side of the sane line, and his parting shot on the danger of corporate influence and unchecked militarism to the future of American democracy was a clarion call to reason.

    Alas, he might as well have been named Casandra, for all the good the call did with the already unleashed right wing forces beginning to mold the Republican party into it’s current, twisted form.

  106. 106.

    TooManyJens

    June 5, 2012 at 10:17 pm

    @Spaghetti Lee:

    Any thoughts?

    That this feels like Florida 2000?

  107. 107.

    Linnaeus

    June 5, 2012 at 10:17 pm

    Any word on the Wisconsin senate recalls?

  108. 108.

    Hunter Gathers

    June 5, 2012 at 10:17 pm

    @Only the Facts: What, the whole re-electing a moron thing? There are lot of dead Iraqis who must think your comments are hilarious.

  109. 109.

    Quarks

    June 5, 2012 at 10:18 pm

    @TooManyJens: YES.

    I’ve seen this happen in Florida — local news showing people still in line to vote WHILE they are calling various races — some fairly close, too. And of course in 2000 a couple networks called Florida while polls were still open in the Panhandle.

  110. 110.

    Spaghetti Lee

    June 5, 2012 at 10:18 pm

    This might not be the case anymore, but at one point the Senate was tied 16-16 because one Republican retired. I don’t know if that seat is up for grabs tonight, but I don’t think any incumbent Dem senators are losing, so what does that mean for Walker?

  111. 111.

    Donald G

    June 5, 2012 at 10:18 pm

    It’s ridiculous to call this race this early, and it’s even more ridiculous for certain blogs (like TPM) to jump on the bandwagon to be one of the cool kids.

    Now the calls may be correct and Walker may end up winning this thing, but haven’t our media overlords learned our lesson after having declared Romney the winner of certain Republican primaries, that we later learned, after the votes were actually counted, that Santorum won.

    When the polling is as close as it was and with the increased voter turnout, caution in making these vote projections should be the watchword.

  112. 112.

    TooManyJens

    June 5, 2012 at 10:19 pm

    @Linnaeus: Pierce says those look bad, too.

    Fuck me. How did we let the country get to this point?

  113. 113.

    tam1MI

    June 5, 2012 at 10:19 pm

    This had better be a huge wake-up call to the national Democratic party that they need to get their ass in gear when it comes to November. I have a feeling that Dems in Wisconsin will remember how Obama left them to twist in the wind when voting time next rolls around.

  114. 114.

    Only the Facts

    June 5, 2012 at 10:20 pm

    Democrats reliving Florida 2000 in their heads on my God this is more than I could have asked for out of this nights This is soooooo SWEET!

  115. 115.

    Keith G

    June 5, 2012 at 10:20 pm

    Hopefully the Obama team has been wise enough to have gamed out a way to influence the news cycle and disrupt the WI story line.

    In this election year, we know the good guys are going to be out spent, so we better not be out thought and out fought. If we are, 10 point leads in swing state polls in June will mean little in October.

  116. 116.

    Spaghetti Lee

    June 5, 2012 at 10:21 pm

    Question: Does anyone remember a race where the guy who was projected to lose after the networks called it come back to win? I’m just wondering if there’s precedent for that.

    Milwaukee and Dane are still not in at all, at least by TPM’s map. What’s going on there?

  117. 117.

    JGabriel

    June 5, 2012 at 10:23 pm

    __
    __
    tomvox1:

    The math don’t lie.

    No, but early returns frequently do. And so do Republican vote counters.

    .

  118. 118.

    Hill Dweller

    June 5, 2012 at 10:24 pm

    @tam1MI: OFA has been in Wisconsin for weeks helping Barrett GOTV. Obama didn’t go there personally because they probably knew it was a fool’s errand.

    Judging from the exit polls, which show Obama crushing Willard, a lot of Obama voters just didn’t like the recall, and used said vote to protest, not necessarily support Walker.

  119. 119.

    TooManyJens

    June 5, 2012 at 10:25 pm

    @Spaghetti Lee:

    Question: Does anyone remember a race where the guy who was projected to lose after the networks called it come back to win? I’m just wondering if there’s precedent for that.

    Not offhand, unless of course you count Al Gore. And if he did, the shrieks of “ELECTION FRAUD!” would be heard from space.

  120. 120.

    piratedan

    June 5, 2012 at 10:25 pm

    @TooManyJens: see Citizens United…. unlimited cash, unlimited influence, media is no longer upholding anything resembling what you would consider a journalistic standard….

  121. 121.

    Chris

    June 5, 2012 at 10:26 pm

    @trollhattan:

    Eh, Eisenhower wasn’t all bad. Better in some respects.

    @Spaghetti Lee:

    My problem is I don’t want to be the guy who talks about conspiracies and vote suppression every time my guy loses-you just can’t do that every time.

    Given the slew of states passing harsh laws specifically targeting Democratic demographics, not to mention guys like that asshole in Florida outright trying to purge voters, I’d say they realize that they’re going to have to rely on vote suppression with increasing regularity if they want to stay in power.

  122. 122.

    Stuck in the Funhouse

    June 5, 2012 at 10:27 pm

    @Ben Franklin:

    With what result? This is a linchpin issue in a crucial Blue State. Ever hear of dominoes?

    Did you see the folks who told you Obama is up by 10 in WI? And the lynchpin issue, that has as much to do with policy, is whether people approve of recall elections and overturning regular election outcomes, for reasons of policy differences, no matter how odious they are.

    But you and others on the left can clutch the pearls and repeat for verification, right wing talking points trying to nationalize a complicated individual state’s internal politics. That will help.

  123. 123.

    Another Halocene Human

    June 5, 2012 at 10:27 pm

    @tam1MI:

    I have a feeling that Dems in Wisconsin will remember how Obama left them to twist in the wind when voting time next rolls around.

    Really? Or was it Barrett who should have taken a page from Obama’s community organizing ways and not run against labor in the primary, ensuring that labor would be a house divided in the general recall election? What a numb-nuts.

  124. 124.

    trollhattan

    June 5, 2012 at 10:30 pm

    @nodakfarmboy:

    I’ll certainly grant Eisenhower was not cut from the cloth of the current crop, and would certainly not have had anything to do with them (and vice versa). I’d sure have liked the military-industrial complex speech to have been made a lot sooner than his departure from office.

  125. 125.

    tam1MI

    June 5, 2012 at 10:32 pm

    @Hill Dweller:

    OFA has been in Wisconsin for weeks helping Barrett GOTV

    As has been widely reported, OFA in Wisconsin did this in defiance of what the national office was telling them.

    Wisconsin Dems – yet one more group thrown under Obama’s big bus.

  126. 126.

    Omnes Omnibus

    June 5, 2012 at 10:33 pm

    @tam1MI: Please explain how Obama left Wisconsin Dems twisting in the wind.

  127. 127.

    Ben Franklin

    June 5, 2012 at 10:33 pm

    @Stuck in the Funhouse:

    Did you see the folks who told you Obama is up by 10 in WI?

    I am fucking tired of this pragmatism

    I keep waiting for the bell to ring and watch the boxing match.

    Shadow boxing is bullshit.

  128. 128.

    Matt McIrvin

    June 5, 2012 at 10:33 pm

    @Spaghetti Lee:

    that Black Abe Lincoln is currently beating Romney by 10 points in TPM’s poll average.

    :Last I checked, he’s leading Romney by about two and a half. Is this with some of the polls filtered out?

  129. 129.

    chopper

    June 5, 2012 at 10:35 pm

    just goes to show if you outspend the other guy 10-to-1 you’re gonna win by a few points.

    i guess shitty mitty is gonna have to drop a few billion by november, isn’t he?

  130. 130.

    Another Halocene Human

    June 5, 2012 at 10:36 pm

    @Only the Facts: Well, if that’s the only way you can get it up…

    Must be rough for you in those months/years in between.

  131. 131.

    ChrisNYC

    June 5, 2012 at 10:38 pm

    With 57% reporting it’s 57/42 with record turnout. Bullshit if the DNC or Pres Obama could have made up the difference.

  132. 132.

    middlewest

    June 5, 2012 at 10:41 pm

    I came here just to see how Obama was responsible for all this, wasn’t disappointed.

  133. 133.

    ruemara

    June 5, 2012 at 10:42 pm

    @tam1MI: How is the DNC responsible for the idiocy of voters who turn out to vote FOR the same policies that are ruining their lives? Give it a rest.

  134. 134.

    Stuck in the Funhouse

    June 5, 2012 at 10:43 pm

    @middlewest:

    You can set your clock by it

  135. 135.

    Belafon (formerly anonevent)

    June 5, 2012 at 10:44 pm

    @Spaghetti Lee: I obviously have to point out Truman. But, looking at the map, I don’t see Barrette making up the difference. Did CNN really need a horse race with its 50-50 exit poll?

  136. 136.

    lacp

    June 5, 2012 at 10:45 pm

    @Donald G: @TooManyJens: Thomas Dewey actually won in 1948, according to the newspapers. Not sure what the radio and teevee said about it.

  137. 137.

    David Koch

    June 5, 2012 at 10:46 pm

    “All politics are local”, once said a famous pol.

  138. 138.

    TooManyJens

    June 5, 2012 at 10:49 pm

    @lacp: That was pre-exit polling and networks calling races and all that crap, so it didn’t occur to me. But yes.

  139. 139.

    Joey Giraud

    June 5, 2012 at 10:51 pm

    I wonder what it will feel like on the day when the phrase “conspiracy nut” loses it’s soporific power, as Americans quietly realize that their elections have been fixed for decades, that those funny machines and the strange polls and the curious last minute events weren’t all just coincidences.

    Not that anyone will admit to not knowing it all along….

  140. 140.

    lacp

    June 5, 2012 at 10:53 pm

    Christ, I hope Walker loses, if for no other reason than that would stifle the endless lecturing and finger-wagging on “lessons learned.” The only “lesson” if Walker wins, whether by a nose or a landslide, is that you’ve got a pretty good shot of beating an opponent if you outspend him/her by a gazillion dollars. So, to that extent, the troll is right. Why he/she/it thinks that is a good thing is a puzzle, though.

  141. 141.

    Another Halocene Human

    June 5, 2012 at 10:53 pm

    @ChrisNYC: I don’t get how the polling is so off, unless the method is just flawed, or there are multiple Waukesha’s out there, or some under-the-radar group did GOTV, kind of how NC’s hate amendment passed because of heavy church efforts.

    Are provisional and absentee ballots being counted?

  142. 142.

    David Koch

    June 5, 2012 at 10:55 pm

    ya know, PPP’s polling had Walker with a 51-47 approval rating. That’s not great, but it’s not crummy, either. History and data show you’re just not gonna unseat an incumbent of either party who has 50-50 ratings. They need to be underwater and by a significant amount before voters move to kick an incumbent out. You can’t fight history.

  143. 143.

    Another Halocene Human

    June 5, 2012 at 10:57 pm

    @Joey Giraud: When they phased out the old machines with the giant crank they admitted that those machines were absolutely prone to errors… metal parts would stick recording hundreds of garbage votes (I think they printed your vote on an internal roll). Oops, didn’t want you to lose confidence in your elections and all that.

    I like the scantrons because you have a real paper ballot that can be inspected later in a recall situation. However, some places will only allow recall by machine. Teh fuhhh?

    Diebold is some shit. Never could understand that one when their ATMs were infamous in geekland for BSODing.

  144. 144.

    Another Halocene Human

    June 5, 2012 at 10:58 pm

    @David Koch: Voting for incumbents explains the Walker-Obama voter to me. 6% of the population sounds about right.

  145. 145.

    ChrisNYC

    June 5, 2012 at 11:07 pm

    @Another Halocene Human: I don’t think absentees get counted until Friday, think I read that today. But the number I saw for absentees was 200K. 2008 turnout in WI was 3 million votes, that’s the highwater mark. So even if turnout was that high AND Barrett got all the absentees (impossible), he’d still be 100K behind Walker at the current numbers.

    I don’t know what happened. Polling was off. Bad candidate. WI voters sick of the drama. A guv they know. Etc etc.

  146. 146.

    Mister Papercut

    June 5, 2012 at 11:26 pm

    @Another Halocene Human:

    I don’t get how the polling is so off, unless the method is just flawed, or there are multiple Waukesha’s out there, or some under-the-radar group did GOTV

    Anyone remember the Doctor Who two-parter with the seemingly innocuous ghosts that appeared and would walk harmlessly among the human population, but then they’re given a signal and it turns out they’re actually Cybermen?

    Don’t know why I just thought of that.

  147. 147.

    Joey Giraud

    June 5, 2012 at 11:31 pm

    @Another Halocene Human:

    Confidence is ephemeral. I just see such evidence and anomalies as are reported and forgotten. You know, vote tampering is as old as democracy, and America isn’t all that exceptional.

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