The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, which coordinates campaigns for state legislatures, has a new ad up in Wisconsin — attacking one of the Republican state Senators who the state Dems have targeted with a recall petition drive, in the wake of Gov. Scott Walker’s new law curtailing public employee union rights.
“Last month, Sen. Olsen said eliminating collective bargaining is, quote, ‘pretty radical,’” the announcer says. “But last week, Olsen voted for Gov. Walker’s back-room deal to destroy collective bargaining. Now, Walker is pushing a budget that will devastate public schools and health care — and Sen. Olsen refuses to stand up to him.”
As Greg Sargent reports, the ad does not specifically advocate recalling Olsen, as the DLCC faces certain restrictions — thus the spot is framed as an issue ad about collective bargaining and the state budget.
But take this as a clear sign that national Democrats consider Wisconsin as a major political battlefield this spring. As DLCC spokesperson Carolyn Fiddler told Greg: “We expect to direct significant resources to the elections that may emerge in Wisconsin.”
Just think: In the next few months, the country could potentially witness big-money, nationally watched races for state Senate in the Midwest.
Eric Kleefeld
Eric Kleefeld joined TPM as an intern for the final months of the 2006 midterm elections, and then kept showing up for work. His other interests include guitars, old comic books and the politics of various English-speaking countries.
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