One of Karl Roves' techniques is to generate a "bandwagon effect" where people just accept that his side is winning. Right now, people in Wisconsin seem to be feeling this effect.
But he also let on, “I think Gov. Walker is well positioned to win, and the question is by how much. The bigger the victory, the bigger the impact."
This means that win or lose, every vote counts. At this point, no one knows how it's going to come out. Maybe it's just as well to let the pro-Walker Republicans think they've got it covered, while just working along slow and steady on the ground without worrying about the outcome. (Well, not slow...)
And when there's a choice and all other things are equal, concentrate on those State Senate districts.
Recently, Michelle Obama has been saying,
Here's the thing about my husband: even in the toughest moments, when it seems like all is lost, Barack Obama never loses sight of the end goal. He never lets himself get distracted by the chatter and the noise, even if it comes from some of his best supporters. He just keeps moving forward.
And in those moments when we're all sweating it, when we're worried that the bill won't pass or the negotiation will fall through, Barack always reminds me that we're playing a long game here. He reminds me that change is slow—it doesn't happen overnight.
If we keep showing up, if we keep fighting the good fight and doing what we know is right, then eventually we will get there.
We always have.
When the polls first came out last week showing Walker up 4 to 6 points over Tom Barrett after the primaries (when we had hoped for an anti-Walker bounce once the primary was done), there was a diary about "Maintaining Your Sanity during the 2012 Election Cycle".
The best I could come up with was "Just remember there's still a long slog ahead whichever way this one election goes." But as an answer to arrogant Walker supporters, maybe Leonard Cohen's line will do:
Yeah I've seen your flag on the marble arch,
But listen, love is not some kind of victory march...