An awkward moment

Last night President Obama disappointed progressives with his near-total surrender on the budget. So far President Obama has managed to avoid angering many progressives in Wisconsin, by his choice to avoid giving them meaningful support in their struggles against Governor Walker and his allies. Why? Because folks in Wisconsin appreciate that their resistance is rightly recognized as a grassroots affair, that they are not having their strings pulled by outside interests. Now a new situation has emerged which could change this dynamic. The possible election fraud, perpetrated in the recent Supreme Court election, requires more than a feeble local response that can be dominated by the Fitzwalkerstan regime. U.S. Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin has asked for federal assistance:

MILWAUKEE — Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin is asking for a federal investigation into the surprise discovery of 14,000 votes in Waukesha County for the Wisconsin Supreme Court race.

The Wisconsin Democrat sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Friday night asking him to assign the Justice Department Public Integrity Section. It oversees the federal prosecution of election crimes.

Justice Department spokesman Wyn Hornbuckle said Saturday in an email that the department would review the letter. He declined further comment.

Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus said “human error” resulted in the miscount there. The change gave incumbent Justice David Prosser a 7,500-vote edge over challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg.

In the letter, Baldwin says the mishap raises serious doubts as to the integrity of the state’s electoral process.

Now the Obama administration faces a difficult choice: permanently alienate Democrats all over the U.S. outraged by the Wisconsin shenanigans, or continue to pander to the right-wing politicians and media hacks who seem to be calling the tune in Washington, D.C. If the latter option is chosen, the President will be forced to run as the "Republican lite" candidate in 2012. This might be a winning strategy against Sarah Palin, or Newt Gingrich, but I'm not sure it will succeed if the Rethugs field a candidate who can play a moderate on T.V.