Votes for Wisconsin

At the Capitol with my dear friend Catherine and U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin (I vote for her every chance I get!)

For the last several weeks, visitors to downtown Madison haven't been able to walk a block without seeing a sign encouraging Wisconsinites to "RECALL WALKER."

Don't get me wrong - these protests have been home to some great signs. My recent favorite was the man walking his dog and carrying a poster that said "Animals for the ethical treatment of people." I also loved "Scottie: Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious spring by sweet humiliation of your sorry ass" (what can I say, it appealed to the former theatre major in me). And there's the ever-popular "Screw us and we multiply." Clever signs abound.

But every time I see yet another "RECALL WALKER" sign, I fight the urge to stop in my tracks and let out a dramatically anguished howl. That sign makes me angry.

In recent paragraphs, I believe I've established myself as pro-sign. And like the vast majority of my friends, colleagues, and neighbors, I am appalled by Governor Walker and everything he stands for. But the thing is - we voted for him. My state elected Scott Walker with 1,128,887 votes to Democrat Tom Barrett's 1,004,257. 52 % of my ever-so-slightly liberal-leaning, union-loving state voted for a man with an outspoken love affair for all things GOP and a record of using every loophole at his disposal to shirk collective bargaining regulations during his tenure as Milwaukee County Executive. As The Weekly Standard's Stephen Hayes asks, "Why so surprised about Walker?" The only thing that's astonishing about his actions since taking office as Governor is the speed with which he's accomplished more or less what he promised he would.

Basically, we brought him on ourselves. From my soapbox, a recall just doesn't seem...well...called for. Know what does?

Voting.

Lots and lots of voting.

So rather than think about the 40 or so protesters I've spoken to who have confessed to sitting out the 2010 gubernatorial election, I'm working on a handful of pieces about one of my favorite subjects:

Voting.

Lots and lots of voting.

This first piece is taken from an interview I recorded earlier this year with a group of members of the Dane County League of Women Voters. I didn't have my awesome new recording equipment when I spoke with the LWV, so the audio quality isn't fabulous, but the women are. Plus, March is Women's History Month. Kind of perfect, right?

HOST: Last October, amidst the now controversial 2010 Wisconsin gubernatorial race, the Dane County League of Women Voters offered this pep talk to young electors.