A couple things before I get into the Wisconsin/Walker/recall stuff: I am not a Wisconsin resident. I was born in Janesville back in ’83 and I have a LOT of family living there now. With the exception of my dad and sister, they all work in the public sector too. I’m currently in the UP of Michigan, about a stones throw from the Wisconsin border.
What I’m going to discuss here is anecdotal. I don’t have numbers or statistics but what I *do* have are conversations with hunters and fellow ‘gun nuts’ from across that border. So here’s a few items (mostly paraphrased):
Guy number 1: this guy is very pro-gun and a BIG hunter. I discussed the deer hunting BS Walker is trying to pull, described in another diary here, and he went from being a staunch Walker advocate to hemming and hawing about who he was going to vote for and even IF he was going to vote today. This firearm enthusiast agreed with Doyle on most major issues EXCEPT on firearms (Doyle vetoed turning Wisconsin into the 49th state that allows some form of civilian concealed carry) and this was the major reason why he voted Walker in the last gubernatorial election. This was one of the MAJOR reasons why he supported Walker over Barrett (Barrett has a poor record with regards to gun rights).
*Verdict*: Not sure who he’s going to vote for. I’m hoping to talk with him today at lunch but I don’t know if he’ll want to discuss it.
Guy number 2: staunch, hardcore right wing extremist. Very pro-gun and a big enough hunter that he takes a full week off to go out to camp. (Maybe he’s not a good shot; most people I know get their deer in the first day or two.) Pro-Walker before and after I discussed with him the deer hunting situation that Walker started, he paused for all of about two seconds before saying that he’d still vote for Walker, even if the deer stuff came to pass like in Texas. He has property (camp) so I’m assuming that he doesn’t care since he hunts on his own land anyway.
*Verdict*: Walker. Because **** the other guy.
The only woman I was able to find who would discuss this with me: this is the wife of guy number 3, who I haven’t discussed yet. She is very much the centrist (think pre-Reagan Republican; yes they still exist) and voted for Green two gubernatorial elections ago because Doyle was anti-civilian concealed carry (the veto thing I mentioned above). After seeing what Walker’s done to the state (she’s a pro-union kind of gal, which I find difficult to reconcile with her “I’m a Republican” statement), she will STILL vote Walker because he passed a shall issue concealed carry.
*Verdict*: Walker. Based SOLELY on the concealed carry issue.
Guy number 3: husband to the woman mentioned in the previous paragraph. He is *not* the centrist that his wife is. He is a single issue voter who supported Feingold (who supports RKBA) but voted for Green and Walker based strictly on the concealed carry issue. Now that Wisconsin has shall issue concealed carry, he’s going to vote for Barrett because…well, see verdict.
*Verdict*: Barrett. Because he doesn’t think Barrett can undo the firearm related legislation and he agrees with Barrett on the other major issues.
A couple comments:
I think that married couple (who are in their 60s) are going to have a very interesting conversation tonight.
Yes, I know this data is anecdotal. I also think that this is a good representation of the more rural areas up here in northern Wisconsin. Just to give you a sense of how rural: when the biggest town in this area (Wisconsin side) is a touch over 2,000 people…well, it’s not really a town is it?
I, for one, am hoping that Walker gets recalled. I would vote against him if I was in Wisconsin *even though* he supports shall issue concealed carry. I cannot say what the results will be this evening/tomorrow. (Obviously, this was written yesterday. Walker was not recalled.)
I do know this: if Barrett had a more pro-firearm stance, he would have substantially more votes in rural areas like Florence county. If Doyle had signed the concealed carry bill way back when (ya know, a few years ago) then the firearm issue would’ve been less important.
Conversation here.