LOL...Democrats, losing ground in Wisconsin, play down recall election

[BurfordTJustice]

WASHINGTON - Recent polls have pointed toward a victory for Republican Gov.
Scott Walker in Wisconsin's June 5 recall election. But here's the clearest
evidence to date that national Democratic party officials believe their side
is losing: Democratic officials are playing down the potential impact.

Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz
(D-Fla.) insisted in a television interview that a loss for the Democratic
candidate in the recall, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, wouldn't have any
implications for other races, such as the presidential election.

"I think, honestly, there aren't going to be any repercussions," Wasserman
Schultz said on C-SPAN's "Newsmakers" program. "It's an election that's
based in Wisconsin."

Public employee unions and liberal activist groups have spearheaded the
effort to recall Walker, who became a hero to conservatives last year when
he pushed a bill through the state Legislature that ended most collective
bargaining rights for state workers. Although Walker's opponents gathered
more than 900,000 signatures on recall petitions earlier this year - in a
state where Walker was elected governor with just over 1.2 million votes -
polls have indicated that the effort to end his tenure early will probably
fall short.

Some Republican strategists believe a successful defense of Walker will put
them in good position to contest the state in November. President Obama
carried Wisconsin by a wide margin in 2008, but the state was among the
closest in the nation four years earlier.

Wasserman Schultz also pushed back against complaints by some Democrats in
Wisconsin that the national party has been too stingy in supporting Barrett.

"We put more than $250,000 into the race already," she said, noting that she
was heading for Wisconsin on Tuesday for a Barrett fundraiser. "We sent out
an email this week to our more than 2 million-plus donor base from the
Democratic Party, telling them that the first important national election is
the June 5 election to recall Scott Walker and elect Mayor Tom Barrett, and
asking our considerable donor base to contribute."

The interview was taped Friday for broadcast Sunday.