"[M]any veterans of the [Wisconsin] protests are discouraged that so much promising grassroots energy sloppily dissipated at the hands of Democrats."

"The movement got co-opted by the Democratic Party." Those are the words of an anonymous Wisconsinite, quoted by Sally Kohn in a Daily Beast article that analyzes what has happened in Wisconsin over the past year and a half. Kohn opines:

But frankly, if the Democrats had succeeded in co-opting such a massive and magnetic grassroots groundswell, the recall campaign in Wisconsin would look dramatically different.

Face it. There's a big difference between left-wing activism and the Democratic Party. Why would left-wing activists care about getting a lackluster Democrat like Tom Barrett to be Governor? It works much better to have the big enemy Scott Walker as Governor. It was so energizing in March 2011. This recall is pathetic by comparison. Lefties should take a cue from the UW Teaching Assistants' Association: Repudiate the recall.