Remember the inspiring display of democracy that occurred in Madison last winter and made international news? Remember the protests that attracted hundreds of thousands of people to the Capitol and continued for weeks? Remember what it was all about?

At the time, the primary purpose was to “kill the bill,” a budget repair bill Governor Scott Walker had recently proposed. Among other things, the bill would strip the collective bargaining rights of unions. It was clear from the beginning that the protests at the Capitol aimed not only to stop Republicans from pushing the bill through the state Legislature, but also to accomplish another underlying, ultimate goal: to recall the governor himself.

As of Nov. 15, we will officially be able to start gathering signatures to begin the recall process. Many have presumed it will be difficult to gain the same enthusiasm we saw from the protests to gather adequate signatures for a recall. They talk of how difficult it will be to get enough votes for the actual recall election. They say the people of Wisconsin are “burned out.” But we cannot allow ourselves to fall short on the goal we set several months earlier. We began a movement that united the people of Wisconsin in solidarity while broadcasting our passion for the nation and the world to see.

There are those who claim since the bill passed, Walker’s primary failure has been said and done. But nonetheless, Walker continues to give us plenty of reasons to kick him out of office. His earliest decisions in office lost thousands of jobs statewide, and his campaign pledge to create 250,000 more jobs has remained an empty promise. Walker’s new budget slashes all funding for Planned Parenthood and allows insurance companies to deny women coverage for legally prescribed birth control. Walker’s budget also cuts $250 million from the UW system and $1.6 billion from the entire public education system.

In the past nine months Walker and the rubber-stamp Republicans in the Legislature have gone even further, pushing a radical, ideological agenda masked as a “special session on jobs,” but creating no jobs whatsoever. It’s an agenda that has given more power to private corporations and big business at the expense of Wisconsin citizens while continuing to drive us deeper into recession. The people of Wisconsin did not ask for these policies, and they certainly did not ask for legislation that has done nothing but hurt college students, women and working families.

Walker has given us all the more reason to continue to fight for his recall. Still, we cannot forget the horrid legislation that he pushed through last spring, slashing state employee’s salaries and crippling unions statewide. We must not allow the awe-inspiring passion that went into the protests last spring to fall short of its ultimate goal. We cannot stand aside and let one of Wisconsin’s most historic moments become fruitless. We cannot allow the thousands of protesters’ voices to go unheard.

Starting Nov. 15, the College Democrats of Madison will stand in solidarity with Wisconsinites to Recall Walker. We will unite in the mission to finish what we started. Will you join us?

For more information on joining the recall movement visit www.uwmadisoncollegedems.org.

Erin Goulding ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in political science. She is the Communication Chair of the UW-Madison College Democrats.