The Teaparty and the Dent in the Bucket

"The only way to fix a dent in the bucket is from the inside," according to my father-in-law the retired farmer. If you want to make change, work within the system. As I've watched the state and national political scenes lately, I've been wondering about whether that's even possible. I've thought that maybe we need to throw out the whole bucket and start over again.

But then I got thinking today about Walker's Budget Repair Bill and the potential it has to shift things in major ways in Wisconsin.

Look at the Teaparty, ALEC, and the Koch conglomerate. They've been studying us (and by this, I mean liberals) for a long time. They know what our message is (and that we don't really have one). They've developed goals, a process, and even a toolkit for legislators. They've provided money to Republican candidates. Now that those candidates have been elected, they are putting into action the desired policies and changes.

I don't like those changes, but I have to acknowledge that if these proposals are put into place, we would see major changes. The loss of collective bargaining for public employees alone would lead to significant changes across the state in how school districts function and how teachers live and work. And that is only one of the changes.

So I have to give credit to the Teaparty/ALEC/Koch-ers. They knew exactly what they wanted to change, and they found a way to work within the system to effect that change. Although I personally think they are not fixing a dent as much as completely reshaping the bucket and putting some  holes into it, I acknowledge the planning and the effort involved and admire that they found a way to work within the system.

Now, if only the folks I agree with could pull themselves together as well, I'd be a pretty happy camper.

Edited to add: Read this article and it becomes very clear how they have used the system to effect change.