Drinking Liberally Waukesha: A stunning success

BY LISA MUX

Waukesha is the hub of Conservative politics in Wisconsin, and Waukesha County Conservatives are not used to being challenged. For years, they’ve enjoyed their majority status, as Liberals stood silently by. Well, not anymore. We’re coming out of the woodwork in droves, thanks to Governor Scott Walker and his anti-middle class agenda. The Walker administration’s dastardly deeds, combined with the power of social media, have united Waukesha Progressives. Phil Scarr and I recently formed the first-ever Drinking Liberally Waukesha, and the result was nothing short of astonishing.

We expected five to ten people to show up to the inaugural meeting of Drinking Liberally Waukesha at Sprizzo Gallery Café on November 7th. Even though we snagged Sly, a rock star radio host, as our first speaker, and despite having received a fair write-up in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the week prior, we didn’t have much hope for a high turnout. We were shocked when the room we had reserved filled up so quickly that we had to move the event downstairs in order to not violate fire code. Our group occupied the entire first floor of the restaurant!

Sly gave a rousing speech and stressed that if we band together in solidarity, we Waukesha Progressives can take our state back from right-wing extremists. Following Sly’s speech and a group photo, we mingled. Everyone was incredibly excited to meet and discuss the current political climate. It felt like long-lost family reuniting for the first time in years. People kept exclaiming, “I’m so happy I’m not the only Waukesha Progressive!”

The following Saturday, November 12th, we held a “Special Session” of Drinking Liberally Waukesha. We really wanted Scott Wittkopf to speak to our group, as he had just published an expose on Waukesha GOP infrastructure, and how it drives the politics of the entire state. We figured, if Scott Walker could hold a “Special Session”, so could we.

Phil and I prepared ourselves, and the room, for a sizeable crowd, even though it was a last-minute event. The room filled just to capacity, and every chair was taken. The crowd was a mix of people who attended the first event as well as some new faces. Two hours flew by as Scott Wittkopf discussed his ‘Blame Waukesha’ piece in detail while entertaining questions from the group. Many people approached us afterward to say they had a great time, and to thank us for starting the Waukesha chapter of Drinking Liberally.

Word is spreading quickly throughout Waukesha County about Drinking Liberally Waukesha, and our email subscriber list is growing at a rapid clip. Our next meeting is on December 5th at Sprizzo, with Mike McCabe of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign as our speaker.

A few days ago in downtown Waukesha, I ran into a woman who had attended the first two Drinking Liberally meetings. She proudly wore her Drinking Liberally button on her jacket, and giddily informed me that her tiny button had been spotted by someone who had also attended the events. She was clearly happy to have found a little blue in a sea of red. “You got any more of these?”, she asked, referring to the buttons. Looks like we’re going to need them.