Welcome to our new blog. Our name is adapted from the cold-war organization, Radio Free Europe. This entity was established to transmit information from the free world to the heavily-repressed Eastern European satellites of the old Soviet Union.
W.O.W. is an abbreviation for Washington, Ozaukee, and Waukesha Counties, the ring of predominantly Republican counties surrounding Milwaukee. Just as Radio Free Europe brought news of the outside world to oppressed Europeans, Radio Free W.O.W. hopes to bring news of the outside, progressive world into the tightly-controlled media bubble that is the W.O.W. Ring-of-Fire.
The W.O.W. Counties are a politically important part of Wisconsin. With a total population of 616,000, the three counties are home to a hefty 10.7% of Wisconsinites. There are more people in these three counties than in Madison-centered Dane (516,000).
W.O.W. residents are very politically engaged. We vote. In the 2012 presidential race, our votes constituted a full 12.3% of state-wide turn-out. And in the 2014 gubernatorial election, our voters were an even greater percentage of the Wisconsin total (13.1%). Our political impact strongly outweighs our population.
Progressive friends from other parts of the state believe that W.O.W. voters are a zombie-like monolithic bloc, mindlessly voting straight-ticket for GOP candidates in every election. Nothing could be further from the truth. For example, in 2012, President Obama received 32.3% of major-party W.O.W. vote. In 2008, he garnered 36.9%. A flip of just 14% of voters would have given the three-county area to Obama.
In 2008, more than 131,000 W.O.W. voters cast ballots for the Democratic presidential candidate. Over a hundred thousand of our suburban neighbors believe that medical care is a basic human right, and that we should have strong public schools.Thousands feel that Medicare and Social Security should be preserved and that women should control their own bodies. Thousands think that saving the auto industry was a good thing and that the government should stay out of our bedrooms.
Progressives are not alone in Washington, Ozaukee, and Waukesha Counties. If you look past the "I stand with Walker" bumper stickers, and the snake flags, and the Ron Johnson yard signs, you can find a lot of us. We must reach-out to other progressives and let them know it is OK. In this populous and politically-crucial area of the state, we must gather as much support as possible for progressive causes and candidates. In a small way, we hope that this blog can help that effort.
We would like to use this blog as an outlet for other Wisconsin progressives. If you have something to contribute to this effort, please send us a note at gtownpaul@gmail.com and we will publish it here.
W.O.W. is an abbreviation for Washington, Ozaukee, and Waukesha Counties, the ring of predominantly Republican counties surrounding Milwaukee. Just as Radio Free Europe brought news of the outside world to oppressed Europeans, Radio Free W.O.W. hopes to bring news of the outside, progressive world into the tightly-controlled media bubble that is the W.O.W. Ring-of-Fire.
The W.O.W. Counties are a politically important part of Wisconsin. With a total population of 616,000, the three counties are home to a hefty 10.7% of Wisconsinites. There are more people in these three counties than in Madison-centered Dane (516,000).
W.O.W. residents are very politically engaged. We vote. In the 2012 presidential race, our votes constituted a full 12.3% of state-wide turn-out. And in the 2014 gubernatorial election, our voters were an even greater percentage of the Wisconsin total (13.1%). Our political impact strongly outweighs our population.
Progressive friends from other parts of the state believe that W.O.W. voters are a zombie-like monolithic bloc, mindlessly voting straight-ticket for GOP candidates in every election. Nothing could be further from the truth. For example, in 2012, President Obama received 32.3% of major-party W.O.W. vote. In 2008, he garnered 36.9%. A flip of just 14% of voters would have given the three-county area to Obama.
In 2008, more than 131,000 W.O.W. voters cast ballots for the Democratic presidential candidate. Over a hundred thousand of our suburban neighbors believe that medical care is a basic human right, and that we should have strong public schools.Thousands feel that Medicare and Social Security should be preserved and that women should control their own bodies. Thousands think that saving the auto industry was a good thing and that the government should stay out of our bedrooms.
Progressives are not alone in Washington, Ozaukee, and Waukesha Counties. If you look past the "I stand with Walker" bumper stickers, and the snake flags, and the Ron Johnson yard signs, you can find a lot of us. We must reach-out to other progressives and let them know it is OK. In this populous and politically-crucial area of the state, we must gather as much support as possible for progressive causes and candidates. In a small way, we hope that this blog can help that effort.
We would like to use this blog as an outlet for other Wisconsin progressives. If you have something to contribute to this effort, please send us a note at gtownpaul@gmail.com and we will publish it here.
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