Eat the Rich!
This week’s election, with historic turnout, provided a resounding message to elites. We cannot be bought. Your money cannot stop us. In each of the races this cycle covered by Milwaukee Beagle, Wisconsin Supreme Court, Wisconsin State Superintendent, and Milwaukee Common Council District 3 we highlighted the disparity in resources between the candidates running. And in every single one of these races, despite facing an uphill battle, the candidate with less money behind them won. And they won overwhelmingly. In the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, Susan Crawford won with 55% of the vote despite Elon Musk pouring millions of dollars into her opponent’s campaign and even illegally bribing folks to vote. Jill Underly will continue as Wisconsin’s State Superintendent with 53% of the vote, delivering a blow to the extremely well funded charter school movement. Granted, it serves to mention that both Underly and Crawford were backed by their own class of elites and billionaires, but nowhere near to the extent of their opponents. And,obviously, neither Underly or Crawford are aligned with fascists. Their elections at least open the door to real change.
The Aldermanic race for District 3 in Milwaukee is another story. Here we did not just defeat Republican elites, but we also profoundly rebuked Democratic elites. Even at Milwaukee Beagle we overestimated how much money and elite backing could swing the District 3 race. In this case, it feels good to be wrong. We congratulate Alex Brower on his historic win with 54% of the vote by current counts. Once again Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson rallied his administration and Milwaukee elites against a socialist and once again, they were resoundingly defeated. Johnson’s anointed candidate was also defeated in the District 7 School Board race. Mayor Johnson seems to be exceptionally good at backing losing candidates. Milwaukeeans are tired of Johnson’s fake progressivism. We are hungry for something new. We sincerely wish Brower all the best as he joins the Common Council and truly hope he can be a leftist voice for change. The District 3 results provide a reassuring signal that voters are not just “Voting Blue No Matter Who” in order to resist Trump. Not all Democrats are the same. They should not count on our votes just because they are not Republicans. Voters are waking up from the daydream that Democrats are the ones who will save our democracy. Democrat elites cannot be trusted to protect us from Trump and we must look to people, movements, and candidates from outside the political establishment. The Democratic Party is due for a political reckoning and now must be the time.
All three of these elections send a clear message that money is not the only thing that matters in an election and we need to keep this momentum up. We must remember that there is no war but class war and revive the rallying cry of “Eat the Rich!” And we have quite the menu here in Wisconsin, as more Wisconsinites are joining the upper echelons of the billionaire class. Let us take back our democracy from the wealthy elites, Democrats and Republicans alike, and return it to the people. What does this look like in Milwaukee? It means pushing Mayor Johnson to offer real housing solutions for our housing crisis, not just giving dump trucks of money to unaccountable developers under his Grow MKE plan. Milwaukee desperately needs more affordable housing and ensuring the city’s public housing actually provides dignified living conditions for their tenants is one way to achieve this. We must stand together and defend our immigrant and trans communities in our city no matter what happens in Washington D.C. or Madison. And outside of Milwaukee, we must push Governor Evers to use the leverage he has and refuse to pass any budget that abandons public education and healthcare. This will be an uphill battle. We must remain vigilant. We must remain organized. But as long as we stay together, not even millions of dollars can stand against a united people’s movement.
