We’re stuck with her
The recall Mayor Satya effort had until today, September 6, to accumulate 36,000 signatures. Did not do it. This statement from Jon Rygiewicz, the progenitor of Recall Satya 2020:
It fell short, which was expected. It was a great effort. We fought hard. The cards were severely stacked against us. She is not out of hot water yet. But the city council in the spring elections need our attention first. We started something great. We can walk away from this with our heads held high. We will live to fight another day. This movement perfected the lost art of accountability of local officials.
Thanks for all your help with everything. The fox of a Mayor won the battle but not the war. We are taking our city back, one step at a time.
Blaska’s Bottom Line: Is Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes Conway chastened or emboldened. Depends on the numbers, which we don’t have yet.
The citizens of Madison made a statement, and that is HUGE.
Jon should be commended for his efforts, and he’s correct when he says we (HE!) started something great. THAT’s the most important thing. This is but one battle. You don’t give up after one battle.
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Clarification: The citizens of Madison made a statement by starting this recall, signing their names, and putting out yard signs.
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The odds were indeed stacked against us. A large chunk of people with good sense have left Madison. I’m also wondering how many hesitated to sign it for fear of retribution from the unhinged from the left.
What Jon did took A LOT OF COURAGE! It’s easy to be a progressive or resistance member in Madison. Doesn’t take much courage or creativity to sing the same song as everyone else. But to stand nearly alone and dissent? Now that, my friends, is something special.
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“I’m also wondering how many hesitated to sign it for fear of retribution from the unhinged from the left.”
GREAT point!
A prominent local attorney pal-o-mine declined, or more accurately postponed, to sign The Gotch’s recall sheet for that very reason.
His son owns several downtown businesses, He has an expansion percolating, contingent on The City’s labyrinthine approval process.
Like The City needs another reason to flip off any entrepreneurial endeavor (by an entity that isn’t…um…preferred) and/or isn’t a Hempen Homespun Haberdashery, Tofu Exchange, or BIKIE Accoutrements Emporium
Anywho, this lawyer (one tough, savvy, Harvard Law SumB!tch grad!) harbored the very real concern that (as you so eloquently depict) the unhinged Left would sift through the signers and target those with any with political, professional, or economic vulnerability.
Sheesh! Even their freakin’ families
The everLUVIN’ kicker? Think about it; what would Lefty’s reaction be to similarly heavy-handed approaches to one of their privileged class/protected groups?
Effin’ hypocrites!!
The Gotch
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Interesting rant, but it looks like several other posters have a different take on the recall failure.
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When I ran We Support the MPD, there was sizable ANONYMOUS outcry against the way our cops were being treated. Yet very few people would make their voices heard when and where it counted – at Council meetings, op-eds, form letters I created, and such.
Some of this was fear-based, and I get it. I mean, we see how the Resistance plays. I personally have been witness to some of their behavior, and it’s not pleasant.
The problem with continuing to surrender however, is not only that the can keeps getting kicked down the street, but the Resistance is emboldened in the process.
People will continue to run away from the issue -either by relocating, denial, etc.- but the problem will only get worse. Just my observations.
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I agree with half your post about the self-righteousness of the Madison left. I was considered a liberal in Green Bay. Fought against the conservatives in cutting Planned Parenthood and giving the contract to right wing anti-sex doctors who would give out samples to fulfill the minimum of the law. I thought you conservatives liked individual choice and less welfare babies (and cancer and other diseases) Yet the liberals cocoon down here has disdain for anyone with a different opinion. So much for diversity. I was the only person to testify against the wheel tax last fall. There’s nothing progressive about a flat tax when a lot of working poor are driving $1000 runners to get to work. Also criticized the “forestry tax” which is on the water bill, so people don’t see it. Same for my modest ranch as a mc mansion on the fashionable west side. Mark Clear, Robbie Weber and Denise DeMars were laughing about pulling that one over on the taxpayers. Left the meeting and four empty buses passed me at 5:30 p.m. The wheel tax is Satya’s idea to fund Bus Rapid Transit so empty buses can get there faster and snarl traffic. But, Mr. Gotch, you’re a little self-righteous on your own. Do you remember on Scott D. Wanker, Goobernator of Wisconsin? A right-winger created a searchable database of the 1 million signatures and Wanker’s people used it for hiring purposes. On the list, need not apply. And they revoked a student appointment to the board of regents because the kid signed the recall. I wish there was a middle way. The only council members who have questioned anything no matter who the mayor was was the conservative accountant from the west side, can’t remember his name, and even Lisa Subeck who surprisingly asked for accountability (yes some of us liberals do) and now that David Ahrens is gone, there’s no one. And he’s no conservative either.
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“But, Mr. Gotch, you’re a little self-righteous on your own.”
Please, call me Gotch; hearing “Mr. Gotch” makes me start looking around for my Dear late Father.
And “self-righteous”…moi? Heh! Reminds me of Vincent LaGuardia Gambini (Joe Pesci in My Cousin Vinnie): I could use a good @$$ kickin’. I’ll be very honest with you.
Yet you sawed off’n the branch upon which you were perched by assuming (READ: failing to determine) what The Gotch thought about our thrice-elected Governor Walker establishing the data base.
Nah, The Gotch thinks he’ll just go with the $200…
The Gotch
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I doubt any recall effort can get enough petitioners seeing how all names on the Walker recall petitions show up in internet searches.
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Clarification: Maybe not in general internet searches but the names and addresses are searchable at iverifytherecall dot com.
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Ted,
You failed to get the point of your comment across to others.
What is your point?
How does your point relate to the comment your replied to or the overall topic?
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Music to the ears of criminals, anarchists, and anyone looking to open up a U-HAUL dealership !
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Democracy wins again, how many brave Americans gave their lives for this?
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I disagree. While he had the balls to start this, he had NO team, no direction. He went into this ALONE and actually turned down help way back at the beginning. It was unorganized, no signing events, had no sponsors at first. He was interested in “Likes” on the FB page compared to the witch’s “Likes” on her page. I’m not the only one who feels this way. EVERYBODY I have talked to the past 2 months feels this way. After I donated money and started watching the campaign, I knew I had pissed away my money.
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It was a learning curve, and hopefully some important lessons were learned.
It takes a lot of courage to put your name and face out there, especially in this climate.
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I am hesitant in saying this, because I sincerely applaud Jon’s efforts, but I agree and have the same feedback, and have shared it with Jon. There were plenty of Westsiders who volunteered, but no Westside office or location nwas shared. I went to people’s homes to collect signatures, sat alone in a park collecting signatures, and no one came because the location wasn’t publicized, although I understand that the FB site was down for a bit. We needed signatures, not FB likes, drive up sites, exact times and locations to sign rather than “soon” and clear instructions on how to sign and where to mail.
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At least you tried to help and be productive instead of just complaining for the sake of complaining. Props to you!
I would have loved your help when I ran We Support MPD. There were a few who would publicly nitpick my OCCASIONAL use of a swear word in my blogs, yet they never once offered to help or recognize the good we WERE doing.
Here Rome was burning, the cops were getting, and are still getting, the crap (oops!) kicked out of them and their biggest concern was my infrequent use of a swear word. SMH.
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Wow…profanity???!!! WTH? Do they listen to themselves? There are F-bombs all over Madison. Do they get their damn knickers in a twist over that? CARRRRRIPES! You are brave to even try, as were the folks behind the recall movement. I am so sorry it didn’t result in her removal. But as somebody already said…it is just a battle, not the war YET! Organization and cooperation with each other is key to success on this…not just there, but all over our country. God bless!
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These were actually people who claimed to SUPPORT the police. Most people were incredibly supportive of We Support the MPD (including the cops!), but there were a few who would constantly find things to nitpick about. It becomes an energy suck after awhile.
Never said I was perfect (nobody is) and in hindsight I would have done some things differently. But to intently focus on the most innocuous of gaffes and conflate them, instead of looking at the bigger picture, is not helpful. Especially when the only contribution they make is to complain.
It didn’t matter to these people how much we accomplished, how hard we worked, or how dire the issue is we were trying to fight. They were focused on my shortcomings.
That’s why I refrain from criticizing other people’s good-faith efforts. Because I know how hard it is to do your very best and put your name out there for public consumption. And I know that there’s a lot more work that goes on behind the scenes that the public is aware of.
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“that the public is aware of” should read “THAN the public is aware of.”
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A fair number of people didn’t sign it because either they were unaware or because of legitimate concerns about retribution and cancel culture. These leftist radicals have proven again and again their willingness to swarm anyone who disagrees and destroy anyone who publicly dissents from their insane ideology.
Thanks to all for the effort nonetheless. In this passive, leftist city to get 36000 people to publicly oppose a wacko mayor amidst BLM/antifa criminal violence, looting and riots, and threats of extortion would take a massive amount of funding and organization to pull off.
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Madison is one of those supposedly progressive cities where the mayor can be really really bad at her job to the point of criminality and shamelessly strut down the street head held high with an air of smug condescension completely unaware of what she has wrought or is it with Satya the ends justify the means?
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Comon, this is mindless confrontational bullsh*t kids.
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Not sure who you’re addressing your comment to, but for me, these are examples of confrontation:
-Getting in someone’s face and refusing to walk away when asked to
-Surrounding a car and banging on the car of an innocent bystander
-Yelling, screaming, cussing in public forms when someone is at a podium giving a speech
-Getting right up in cops’ faces during demonstrations
-Cancel culture
-Riots and acts of terror
Starting, promoting, and signing a recall against a mayor who you feel is not focusing on the greater public’s best interest is a healthy expression of free speech, as is sharing thoughts on a public forum.
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One opinion states that socialists can not win a present day civil war, because there are too many weapons in the opposition. Another opinion holds that the Confederacy should have won the Civil War, because southern fighters were much better shots. Farm boys who used rifles as everyday tools to feed families versus conscripts given boom tubes for the first time.
Resources are good but organization is also valuable. My understanding is that Democrats have roughly a 7 to 3 advantage in Dane County votes. The socialist movement is well organized and well funded, both locally and internationally.
In Dane County, resistance to the idea of command and control government is apparently neither. 30 % is a significant factor, but without organization, its mosquitoes vs. bats.
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Perhaps a statue of the Mayor would be appropriate. Apparently they are easier to remove.
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For all the parents worried about their kids’ safety in schools with no resource officers; the shop owners devastated by the damage during the looting; the rational citizens concerned about the escalating car thefts and random shootings; the conscientous police officers trying hard to do their jobs in an increasingly hostile climate; and the people who are quietly wondering if they should move out of Madison and are afraid to speak up for fear of retribution; there should have been lawn signs:
SATYA
HAS FORGOT YA
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The Tea Party started like this.
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It’s a real bummer that more people in Madison wouldn’t support this recall effort.
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I’m so sad for this city and the recall efforts. No matter what, the effort was there, people worked and tried to get rid of this mega monster. I don’t know what the others who didn’t think she should be recalled are seeing. Just a few photos and videos of downtown Madison especially around the Capital speaks to the terrible destruction she has wrought. Off with her damn head! (even if only in effigy)
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There is another more insidious way to punish the big boss for allowing Madison to burn thereby creating the conditions for the current *summer of love.*
Figure out a way to make Little Debbies (her fav) completely unavailable to her. My sources tell me that doing that one thing alone would be like forcing a heroin addict to go cold turkey, and it is non-violent.
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One would think that responsibility for the destruction is on the looters and rioters.
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You mean let the EVIL Oppressive White Supremacist Y-Chromosomal Patriarchy off’n the hook?
Not on The Gotch’s watch!
Even though they had nothing to do with it, they MUST suffer someway…somehow…even if it needs to be manufactured; after all, the preferred origin of most of Lefty’s outrage, am I right?
Anywho, LE stood down; acting Chief Wahl’s call?
Perhaps, but The Gotch ain’t buyin’ it; the Mayor could have overridden that, and if not her, our ‘nadless Governor.
The fact remains, neither of them did.
It gets worse.
Our pathetically-in-over-her-head Mayor clearly demonstrated her priorities by asking that the preliminary appearance before a judge for a POS criminal thug (16 priors, currently charged with disorderly conduct while armed [baseball bat], resisting arrest, attempted escape, sundry-n-many parole violations, and felony extortion) be expedited so, and I quote:
“he can be released on bail. I recognize that we need better options to de-escalate situations and offer restorative justice in our community.”
The 77 Square Miles Surrounded By A Sea Of Reality is being shaven by a drunken barber; voters are watching!!
The Gotch
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I wasn’t saying that law enforcement and the courts don’t have a role to play in safeguarding society. It’s just that a previous post (not yours) seemed to totally blame the mayor for the mayhem. But this is nationwide unrest. And worldwide. Satya is in over her head. I voted for Soglin last time. Was disappointed he lost the election.
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While I applaud the effort made, it was bush-league from the get-go. When more posts relative to BBQ gatherings vs. sign-up locations started happening, I gave up hope. I directed several folks to sign but they gave up in disgust, no one there. I suggested that he post DAILY, and re-post HOURLY to keep the sign-up locales at the top of the page -never happened. Too bad, he had the interest but not the follow-thru.
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It’s one thing to get something going, entirely another to keep it going!
The Gotch
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