(Sponsor's Name Here)

Just know what you're talking about

Posted by Michael James on Feb. 22, 2011

You knew that there was no way I could avoid talking about the protests in Madison, but I was kinda waiting until it reached a resolution so that I could crow about my side's victory and stomp on the losers.

But a week later, snow is the only thing reducing the amount of the protests.  The Democratic senators are holding up democracy in Illinois (and, no surprise here, so are Indiana's state Democrats), Governor Walker is holding firm, and President Obama's goon squad is in the state threatening recalls.

So I've got to say something.  But too much time has passed (and so many things have been said) that much of what I could say has already been said (including a Twitter conversation about assassinating Governor Walker).  However, I came up with something...

Know what the hell you are talking about.

I'm not saying don't argue, don't protest, don't defend your position, etc.  I've had spirited discussions and Facebook postings with friends who agree with me, including (Sponsor's Name Here)'s Official Brother Who Doesn't Currently Hate Me, Mr. Uncie, and my buddy (I'll call him Weasel).  I've also read the ramblings of another buddy (who I want to call Lefty Moonbat, but that's not a nice thing to call a friend, so I'll instead call him 34).  To my pleasant surprise, even my daughter, Gooey, at age 12, debated this issue with me.

And what all of them have in common is that - regardless of my opinion of their opinions - they knew the issues and spoke about why he or she felt right or wrong.  Me, Weasel and Mr. Uncie side with Governor Walker, 34 and Gooey side with the hiding senators.  But they knew what they were talking about.  Which brings me to...

My-Sugar-Na was bowling last night in Waukesha, and the ladies on the team on the lanes next to her were discussing Governor Walker's bill, and not one of them had any idea about what is at the heart of the debate. One lady was adamant that it was about the state workers not wanting to pay into the health care (she thought they were OK paying into their pensions).  Another lady wasn't sure, but - swear to God - thought this whole thing was to run Walker out of office, like they did to Hosni Mubarak in Egypt (Side note; Speaking of Africa, there are major problems in Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt, Tunisia and now Libya.  It could just be grassroots need for change.  But does anyone but me think that some of these uprisings are being funded by nefarious means?  African governments never seem to last more than a decade or so, but there are quite a few - all in northern Africa - all at once).

Getting back to the ladies at bowling last night, I was besides myself.  All four of them were against Walker, but none had any idea why.  And in a big way, that scares me.  An uninformed electorate, basically, will be driven almost exclusively by marketing.  Wisconsin is currently having the largest ideological divide in recent memory.  And in the next two years when electing the state assembly, state senators, US President, etc., the uninformed will likely be the swing votes based on which candidates can trash the others the worst.

We have a ways to go, don't we?