A Few Thoughts On John Lehman's State Senate Win

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

Wherein Racine County voters reminded us into the wee hours of the morning after the election that character and personal histories count:

Pundits and conservative talk radio hosts are puzzling over the defeat in Racine of incumbent Republican State Sen. Van Wanggaard by - - horrors - - a Democrat, John Lehman.

A few thoughts.

Lehman had held the seat, but lost it to Wanggaard in 2010 when conservatives and Tea Partiers won big nationally, and in Wisconsin.

But in addition to his city and state elected service, Lehman had been a respected school teacher, and despite their demonization by the Right, teachers are liked by most parents, many of whom had favorite teachers when they were kids, too.

Lehman is known as a smart and committed guy with a reservoir of good will that gave the lie to the Republicans' 'teachers-are-the-problem' talking point.

And don't forget this April episode during the campaign in which Wanggard came off looking pretty bad: I can't imagine Lehman having done the same thing.
The mystery of the 'missing' Monday debate invitation that Citizen Action of Wisconsin sent to Racine debate no-show State Sen. Van Wanggaard, (R), has been solved.

No, a homework eating pooch was not involved.

Good dog.

At first, Wanggaard's staffer said forcefully and definitively to the Racine Journal Times that no such invitation had been received:

Wanggaard’s Chief of Staff Scott Kelly, contacted on Monday, denied the lawmaker ever received an invitation.

“I heard that they said Van was invited — that is a lie,” Kelly wrote in a text message. “You can quote me on that. We were not invited.”
But after the group produced a postal service receipt for the invitation's delivery, Kelly and Wanggaard remembered something different, but still had a fresh insult for the group.
Looking for the letter on Tuesday, Kelly said the senator eventually found it among some papers that were in his car. Kelly said that upon finding the letter, Wanggaard told him that he did remember getting something from Citizen Action of Wisconsin.

“He remembers having received a letter from a liberal interest group, and having dealt with it accordingly,” Kelly said.

When asked what “dealt with it accordingly” meant, Kelly repeated his quote. Asked if the senator ever opened the letter he said, “He didn’t tell me whether he opened it.”
All of which adds meaning to the headline the paper ran over a Wanggaard op-ed the previous weekend:

Next session, Wanggaard’s focus will remain the same

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250,000 Reasons Why Walker 2.0 Wants Dems Help On Jobs

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

Even the officially unverified jobs' number Walker released and spun a few days before the election shows he'll need all the help he can muster to get remotely close to the 250,000 new private sector jobs he pledged as the centerpiece of his 2010 campaign.

That helps explain this Journal Sentinel story and headline about bipartisanship on jobs today: Walker tells staff to focus on jobs, bipartisanship
Madison - A day after becoming the country's first governor to win a recall election, a triumphant Scott Walker told his cabinet Wednesday to put their energy into creating jobs and said he was taking steps to improve bipartisanship.

"We're going to spend the remainder of this term focused like a laser beam on creating jobs," he said to the cabinet.
But haven't I seen that thought and promise in story and headline form before - - like after last year's Senate recall elections?

There it is, on August 10, 2011:  Walker says he'll focus on bipartisanship, jobs

Madison - Gov. Scott Walker called for mending the jagged edges of a deeply divided state Wednesday, pledging a renewed focus on bipartisanship and jobs in the wake of Senate recall elections as he dismissed Democrats' talk of recalling him in 2012.

Walker said the results of the Senate recalls, in which his party held that house but lost two senators, vindicated his focus on jobs and the state budget but also showed that voters want their leaders to work more cooperatively.


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Dom Noth At The Labor Press Offers A Fine Election Analysis

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

Nicely-done by Dom Noth:
But here’s what came through clearly. A statewide recall -- never popular on either side – was the reluctance hardest to overcome for Barrett, who didn’t even enter the contest (he had a mayoral race to win first) until the voters had decided they would oppose the recall he was leading. The exit polls suggest they had decided before he could possibly have mounted evidence about Walker’s policies, job numbers and other much publicized claims. The main thing the money game accomplished was to prevent any contrary messaging to charge through, knock decided heads together and change minds.
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After All That, Just A 57% WI Turnout

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

It amazes me that only 57% of the statewide electorate turned out for the Walker - - Barrett face off last night.

It's still a big number for gubernatorial races, the Journal Sentinel reports, but means indisputably that huge numbers of eligible voters just do not vote, even in an election this highly-publicized and easy to figure out - - no tricky, 300-word referendum question where "no" actually means "yes," for example.

Just two half-inch lines penciled on a ballot.

Maybe people didn't like their choices - - but there the choices were.

Or maybe non-voters sent a message of disgust about or disassociation from the entire matter - - but that's over-thinking it and giving credit where it is not due.

We live in a representative democracy and not much more than half the electorate cares who represents them, spends their money and structures a great deal of the world around them.

No one is required to vote - - I understand that.

But what a statement of disregard for the state of the state we all live in and pass along. I'm less perplexed this morning about why my candidate lost than I am about why so many people sat it out.


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John Lehman WI Senate Win Reins In Righty Excess

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

If John Lehman's unofficial numbers in Racine hold up, and Democrats recapture the State Senate, the brakes can be applied to some of the excesses that Walker and the Fitzgeralds pushed through in the last 15 months.
Former state Sen. John Lehman, D-Racine led state incumbent Republican Sen. Van Wanggaard, with 36,255 votes to Wanggaard's 35,476 votes, according to unofficial results with all precincts reporting.

Three Republicans won state Senate races Tuesday in Wisconsin, but with Lehman winning Racine County, the Democrats will take control of the Senate and gain the 17-16 majority.
Lehman declared victory shortly before 1 a.m.
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With His Limitless Moolah, Did Walker Run Away With it? Nope.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

Journal Sentinel data show significant percentage similarities in the Walker-Barrett 2010 and 2012 gubernatorial races.

But Walker got to spend and benefit from $35-$50 million, and an advantage over Barrett by something like 7:1 this time, so where's Walker's growth? Yes, he won, but not in a landslide.

You'd think all that money would have bought him more love.

From the newspaper's election night' graphics:

2010 November Governor - General
Wisconsin - 3607 of 3609 Precincts Reporting - 99%

NamePartyVotesVote %
Walker , Scott GOP 1,128,159 52%

Barrett , Tom Dem 1,005,008 47%

Governor - Special General
June 05, 2012 - 11:56PM CT
Wisconsin - 3340 of 3424 Precincts Reporting - 98%

NamePartyVotesVote %
Walker , Scott (i) GOP 1,271,011 53%

Barrett , Tom Dem 1,101,236 46%





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It's 12:20 AM And Racine County's Vote Lags even Waukesha's

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

Good grief, Racine. Get it together. A 52% count at this late hour (see map) - - even Waukesha County has all but reported - - is ridiculous. Inquiring minds want to know what your State Senate results are. The Journal Sentinel is reporting separately that it is too close to call.
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Dems Fall Short - - But Props To The Grassroots Movement And Tom Barrett

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012


I do not think the last chapter in the Scott Walker saga has been written, so while he is the winner tonight, I am grateful that our Milwaukee Mayor stood up for the City.

And stood up for a fair Wisconsin, for working people, to run the campaign he did, with the resources he had, on a short timeline against a Citizens United-level funding advantage.

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Voter Suppression Efforts Denied By GOP

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

'Don't vote' robocalls and bogus letters aimed to help Walker, so do you buy his campaign's explanation?
The Walker campaign on Tuesday denied accusations that it was behind any misleading robocalls, although it did not dispute their existence.
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Kathy Nickolaus: The GOP's Not-So-Secret Weapon

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

Attention all official election monitors: The Waukesha County Courthouse is where you need to be.

Despite assurances, Kathy Nickolaus appears to be running Waukesha County election

While Waukesha County Executive Dan Vrakas and his chief of staff insisted Tuesday that County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus was not the one in charge of election duties this recall election, she appeared to be at the helm.

Nickolaus refused to respond to questions in her office, turning her back and closing her office door while a reporter waited at a service counter. Her deputy, Kelly Yaeger, didn't respond, either.
Information cross-posted at Purple Wisconsin.
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Go, Milwaukee - - You Hold The Election Key

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

One more hour, Milwaukee, to vote in our Mayor and oust the man who ran against the city.
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Republicans Talk Themselves Into Voter Fraud

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

I was a volunteer Democratic observer for the November, 2008 election at the City of Milwaukee Central Library polling place and was paired with a very nice Republican poll-watcher who'd been sent in, as I recall, from Eagle, WI in Waukesha County to help us city folk run a clean election.

We chatted and watched all day long at the experienced poll workers there ran a flawless, open and honest process.

At the end of the day, the GOP fella agreed that the poll operation had been perfect, and off he went.

Nice guy - - but he had nothing negative to report about the city and the election procedures there.

I heard a similar story from another observer who worked in Riverwest, again where things went off without a hitch, and the out-of-county GOP observer went home without seeing the fraud they're propagandized to expect.
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This Is A Disturbing Election News Story From Waukesha

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

Kathy Nickolaus has her hand in this election?

Who's running the election in Waukesha County?

While Waukesha County Executive Dan Vrakas and his chief of staff insisted both Monday and Tuesday that County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus is not the one in charge of election duties this recall election, her actions say otherwise.
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Jeff Wagner On WTMJ Now Into 5th Straight Hour Of Walker PR

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

WTMJ becomes WGOP.


P.M. update - - I heard Wagner sign off at 3 p.m., still talking up Walker, so it appears the station gave Walker 6.5 hours of free talk time today, minus time for commercials and traditional news breaks.
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Righty Talker Jeff Wagner Repeats Michigander-Fraud-Voting-In-Kenosha Rumor

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

Afternoon right-wing WTMJ talker Jeff Wagner, taking the 11:58 a.m. hand off after Charlie Sykes' full morning show in favor of Scott Walker, repeats Sykes' unverified report that union members are coming to Kenosha by bus to vote in the recall election.

Earlier report, here.
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Talk Radio Fuels The Myth Of Voting Fraud

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

AM 620 WTMJ talker Charlie Sykes this morning has said another radio station - - I couldn't understand the call letters he mentioned  - - was contacted by someone on a bus full of union people from Michigan on his way to Wisconsin to vote.

Sykes has also said bad things happen during Milwaukee elections between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., and that what happens during those same hours in Kenosha are not the sort of things you'd find in a civics book.

This is part of an intense righty talk radio effort to frighten and gin up its conservative base on election day: Sykes is now into his third straight hour of Walker get-out-the-vote PR.

More at Purple Wisconsin.

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Vote Out Gay-Bashing Rebecca ("Marry this table...this...clock?") Kleefisch Today, Too

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

Do we really need a Lt. Gov. who said about gay marriage, and equal, legal benefits?
"This is a slippery slope in addition to that -- at what point are we going to OK marrying inanimate objects? Can I marry this table, or this, you know, clock? Can we marry dogs? This is ridiculous."
Vote for Mahlon Mitchell today.


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Big Milwaukee Vote Can Tip Election To Barrett

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

Milwaukee is the Wisconsin municipality with the most Democrats, but where turnout sometimes disappoints.

If the turnout merely approaches...approaches, not even equaling, but just approaches the 2008 Presidential election total for Barack Obama, Walker will be defeated Tuesday night.

Turnout is crucial in every village, town and city statewide, of course, and Madison's will go a long way in blunting heavy GOP voting in ultra-red Waukesha/Ozaukee/Washington Counties - - but Milwaukee is the big opportunity Democrats must seize today to win back the Governor's office.

Walker's 7:1 fund-raising advantage has not translated into much movement in the polls. He won with 52% in 2010, but Democrats can overcome that margin and negate Walker's money advantage if they can get their Milwaukee supporters to the polls today.

Tom Barrett has done his job in a short campaign with fewer resources than his opponent.

Now it's up to Democratic activists and voters to finish the job, and give Walker some payback for running down Milwaukee in a divide-and-conquer play for out-state votes.

On, Wisconsin...and Go Milwaukee.


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Privatization Of State-Run Medical Programs Under Walker Wastes Money, Cuts Coverage

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

Call it the cost of ideological governance:

An audit of state-run medical-care programming has found waste, oversight absence and no-bid contracting that forced people off the rolls after Walker privatized the programs' administration.

An analysis of the audit (link to its pdf is included) finds:
An audit of the state Medical Assistance Program(full report linked) conducted by the non-partisan Legislative Audit Bureau was completed in December 2011. The 100-page report was highly critical of the Department of Health Services’ unauthorized expansion of no-bid contracts, and lack of transparency in accounting practices.

On March 30, 2012 DHS Secretary Dennis Smith sent a letter to Joint Finance Committee Chairs Alberta Darling and Robin Vos summarizing cost savings necessary to fill a $204.3 million deficit in the “All Funds” budget.

In the letter, Smith outlines cost saving measures the department will have to take – including Federal waivers to make cuts to Badger Care Plus, Childless Adult Special Terms and Conditions, Medicaid, and “the Departments’ Family Care sustainability plan.” All of these measures will result in dropping people off these programs during their greatest time of need – in a stagnant state economy with a long-term unemployment problem.

The audit is a clear demonstration that the Walker Administration’s push to privatize DHS services is leading to cost overruns, unauthorized no-bid contract expansion, and lack of legislative oversight. All of these spending issues more than make up for the funds necessary to bring the Medical Assistance (MA) program into the black – without cutting services.
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Walker 'Past is Prologue' Post Now At Purple Wisconsin Platform

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

A reader asked me to put this blog item from today - - "What Was True In 2/2011 Marks Walker Now And Later"  - - over at the Journal Sentinel's blog platform, so here it is.


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Walker's Faux 'No-Tax-Increase' Budget Allows For Whopping Tuition Increase

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

Call it a student and parent tax of 5.5% for each of two years, putting tuition at record level.
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What Was True In 2/2011 Marks Walker Now And Later

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

As John Doe probe defendant Tim Russell heads to a court hearing today, and Walker's  falsehood-laden PolitiFact ratings are on broad display (Dave Zweifel nails it), I thought I'd re-post an item I wrote in February, 2011 as a reminder that Walker's ethical deficits drove the state into the recall process, are at the root of his need for a legal defense fund, and are a signature trait dating to his murky political emergence at Marquette.

Saturday, February 26, 2011


Among Scott Walker's Deficits: Moral Authority

Scott Walker's poll numbers are dropping as he accelerates his anti-union worker offensive - - starting with his out-of-the-blue abolition of a half-century of collective bargaining, to declining to accept the very economic concessions he'd also demanded, to threatening layoffs into the thousands if he doesn't get that final, suicidal agreement to permanently end nearly all public worker bargaining.

Public employees already conceded - - "Walker Wins! Walker Wins!" could already have been his headline suitable for framing and fund-raising -  to substantially reduced pay.

In effect, they swallowed hard and conceded against their will, but as realists, to be used as political cannon-fodder exactly the way Walker laid it out to the fake David Koch in that famously taped, prank call - - but still Walker wants everything - - without negotiations, without discussions or even adequate notice - - and here is the rub: after less than two months into his first term as Governor, having arrived there with 52% of the votes cast.

So why the peaceful but powerful uprising that followed Walker's pronouncements in Madison, across the state and throughout the country in solidarity with Wisconsin's public employees?

Why the still-growing crowd at the Capitol?

I think people feel Walker lacks the moral authority to so swiftly, so stealthily, and so profoundly change so many people's lives, careers and family stability.

If he were in his second or third term as Governor, if he had a reputation as a Wise Old Man, if he had a track record of crisis management or big thinking and successful problem-solving, if he had or could display sincerely a shred of compassion - - maybe he could justify what he is proposing and the way he went about it.

And only maybe.

But he does not have that background, and cannot conjure up its impression.

If Walker could communicate moral authority, the protest crowds would have been smaller and the counter-protesters who briefly showed up would have been present, in large numbers, because they had rushed to follow their leader into the struggle.

Walker sways no one.

He doesn't have the experience, language, influence and intuition required.

Yes, he has an all-consuming interest in political strategy and personal advancement, but those traits fail in solving this mess of his own creation because they enabled him to blunder his way in.

And they illuminated the path to the dark side he traveled in his talk with the fake David Koch (transcript here), where he displayed no real leadership while chit-chatting about planting provocateurs in the peaceful crowds and using the situation to push a far-right political and personal agenda.

I think when Walker is on TV, and certainly as he reveals himself on the prank call tape, he comes across as an arrogant whipper-snapper, intoxicated with his newly-gained position and power, but with no ability to consider a different course or display real empathy.

I think people when they see or hear Walker are saying some variation of "Who is this guy?"

The younger, harder-edged conservatives now running the GOP nationally and in Wisconsin have chased off the moderates, so there is no calm and deeper presence around Walker to fill in his internal deficits and pull him back from the brink.

There has been ample talk about de-coupling the economic concessions that Walker demanded and won from the bargaining rights' issue - - the politically-driven "bomb" that Walker said he dropped (again, see the tape transcript), and which now threatens to push everyone off the cliff.

Walker knows how to defuse the situation, but his ambition to be Reagan 2.0 by firing today's equivalent of the air traffic controllers, and to be Rush Limbaugh's new best friend, are probably too great a lure to such a one-dimensional, small-picture guy.

A leader with a stronger core would never have made this crazy proposal in the first place, then undercut himself so deeply in that narcissistic phone call, and stood by it so inflexibility as his powers of moral persuasion were exposed as nil.

That leader would have found a way out that was principally in the public interest, along with his own, too - - but first you'd have to have the willingness and awareness to have a pressing and genuine conversation with yourself before you could possibly hope to communicate effectively with people whom you have injured.
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RNC Chairman Proves GOP = Tea Party

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

Don't believe the national media meme about the Tea Party pushing those helpless establishment Republicans and their leaders around, and irretrievably to the fight fringe, where no mainstream conservative dares tread.

The GOP needs and uses the Tea Party when convenient, and there's nothing like a hot political campaign to get that mutual self-interest on full display

Here we have Republican National  Committee chairman Reince Priebus addressing tea party supporters in Wisconsin over the weekend, calling opponents of recall-embattled Scott Walker "union beasts," and seamlessly segueing into an anti-Obama rap.
We're in a battle for freedom in this country," Priebus said...

He said Walker had the courage stand up to public employee unions, likening them to "union beasts ... who will eat us out of house and home."

"After we elect, again, Scott Walker, and kickoff this recall election and boot it to the curb, we're going to take the next step," he said, adding that turning Wisconsin "red in November" will be "lights out" on Obama.
 I guess this what you'd call unintended transparency.
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Dr. Limbaugh's 'Global Warming Is A Hoax' Mantra - - Is The Hoax

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

Looks like the blue ribbon science panel at Professor Doctor Rush Limbaugh's EIB Center For Talk Radio Misinformation got the climate change/global warming story all wrong: from it's being a hoax, as the good doctor/professor often says, climate change is so real that forests are 'popping up' in the Arctic:
In this part of the Arctic, which could be a bellwether for changes to come elsewhere with greenhouse-driven warming, what might be called pop-up forests are forming. Low tundra shrubs, many of which are willow and alder species, have rapidly grown into small trees over the last 50 years, according to the study, led by scientists from Oxford University and the Arctic Center of the University of Lapland.

The researchers foresee a substantial additional local warming influence from this change in landscapes, with the darker foliage absorbing sunlight that would otherwise be reflected back to space. But the fast-motion shift to forests will likely absorb carbon dioxide, as well.
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Walker's PolitiFact Ratings Still About 2:1 On The False Side

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

This is the PolitiFact filter through which you always need to run Scott Walker statements:

The odds are about two-to-one that when Walker says one thing, something else is truthier

Walker's statements by ruling

Click on the ruling to see all of Walker's statements for that ruling.

Here are just the 19 statements rated fully "false:"

Says new figures he released showing Wisconsin job gains for 2011 are "the final job numbers."

"We gave every public employee in the state the freedom to choose whether or not they want to be in a union."

Says recall organizers "started their website last November" and began work on their effort before he even took office.

The St. Norbert College/Wisconsin Public Radio poll has "been wrong in almost every election."

"The overwhelming number" of school districts reported their staff stayed the same or grew after the 2011-’13 state budget  

"The largest category of people coming into the technical schools in Wisconsin are people with four-year degrees."

"Under our (2011-’13) budget, the average (Wisconsin) property taxpayer will save $700."

Says many public-employee unions falsely told their Wisconsin members his budget-repair bill sought 12 percent to 13 percent of their incomes for health insurance premiums.

Two years ago we had "the largest structural deficit ever in Wisconsin."

"The things I said (during the prank call by a blogger posing as GOP contributor David Koch) are the things I’ve said publicly all along" about the Wisconsin budget debate.

When it comes to protesters in Madison, "almost all" are now from outside of Wisconsin.

"I campaigned on (the proposals in the budget repair bill for Wisconsin) all throughout the election. Anybody who says they are shocked on this has been asleep for the past two years."

"The alternative" to higher state worker pension and health care payments "is to look at 1,500 layoffs of state employees or close to 200,000 children who would be bumped off Medicaid-related programs."

Wisconsin employers have repeatedly said in surveys that our anti-business litigation climate is one of the most important factors affecting their expansion decisions.

In Wisconsin, 98 percent of all small businesses will qualify for income-tax relief under my plan, freeing them to expand and create jobs.

"Scientists have shown us (that) the greater possibilities, the real science movement, has been with adult stem cell research. It has not been with embryonic."

Says Mark Neumann = Nancy Pelosi

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Barrett Slams Walker Over 'Dead Baby' Ad

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

Here are two minutes of excellent video from Thursday's debate that define the candidates
fundamental differences.

With Walker, it's 100% strategy, without a moral center.
More aboutBarrett Slams Walker Over 'Dead Baby' Ad

Historian John Gurda's Perfect Recall Frame In Journal Sentinel "Crossroads" Sunday

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

John Gurda hits a home run.
I sometimes think of Walker as a black-and-white TV in a world filled with color. He gets only one channel, and it's tuned to a program called "Scott Knows Best." If nearly half of us don't want to watch, he can safely dismiss us as moral relativists who dwell in the outer darkness.

Walker obviously has no patience with the traditional view of politics as a balancing of interests, a messy but necessary massaging of differences. For him and his tea party comrades, it's total war until we reach a state of, well, totalitarianism. There is something deeply undemocratic and downright dangerous about Walker's approach to government.

By pursuing a scorched-earth policy, by inspiring shock and awe rather than open debate, he and his allies have undermined the very institutions they were sworn to uphold. Shock and awe may be appropriate when you're trying to topple Saddam Hussein, but they are hardly the suggested strategy for dealing with your fellow citizens in a representative democracy.

Some readers, I know, believe that historians shouldn't have opinions, even when they're expressed in the opinion section of a daily newspaper. Well, this historian has definite opinions. I view Walker as an ahistoric figure who represents a sharp and painful break with Wisconsin's past.

He is an ideological outlier whom history will judge as the extremist he is, a divisive figure who has unleashed a toxic cloud of partisanship over the entire state. We can only hope that the aberration is temporary.

How do we extricate ourselves from this morass? Surely there is a balance point that will allow us to live in harmony with our neighbors again. Surely there is a way to govern that the great majority of us can endorse - a middle ground between the nanny state and the nano-state, between spending like drunken sailors and cutting like drunken surgeons. It is emphatically not a middle ground we will ever reach under Walker.

For the sake of Wisconsin's future, he richly deserves to be recalled.
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Having "Lived" Transparency, I Assume Walker Backs This Bill

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

You may remember that Scott Walker made a statement to The Lakeland Times during the 2010 gubernatorial campaign about his dedication to transparency in government and liked the interview so much he put it on his campaign website:
Transparency

When he says he believes in government transparency, it's not just a campaign slogan, Walker said.

"I don't just say that, I've lived it," he said. 
Moving forward, as Walker likes to say, I'm sure he's urged GOP legislators to get behind this bill rolled out May 21 by two Democrats:
MADISON (WKOW) -- Two state lawmakers want stricter requirements for legal defense funds.

Rep. Jon Richards, D-Milwaukee, and Rep. Gary Hebl, D-Sun Prairie, announced Monday that they're drafting the Legal Defense Fund Transparency Act.


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Restricting Recall Is The Right's Next Overreach

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

A few words about this subject over at Purple Wisconsin:
[The Journal Sentinel], Scott Walker and various legislators - - most of them Republicans - - have said they want the Wisconsin State Constitution amended to make it more difficult to recall an elected official.

That's a big, short-sighted mistake.

Granted the wave of recall elections has been expensive, but democracy has costs and these are well worth the price. Where in a cost-benefit analysis or a balance sheet do you assign a value to your inherited rights?
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At This Blog Last Week, The Tomah Journal Took Top Billing

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

The small central Wisconsin newspaper began calling out Walker over alleged voter fraud (though later in the week, PolitiFact let him off the hook), but here are the five most-read posts last week:





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Wolf Hunt Law May Conflict With Cruelty To Animals Statute

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

Remember the guys who tortured and killed deer, and ran afoul of Wisconsin law, even though they were not domesticated animals?

I'd blogged about those true thugs, here.

Well - - the standard set in those cases may force the legislature to rethink or redo the particularly cruel wolf hunt law just passed, according to attorney Jodi Habush Sinykin:
In the winter of 2009, Rory and Robby Kuenzi and Nicholas Hermes ran down deer with snowmobiles in Waupaca County.

They also tied deer to trees and tortured them.

Sinykin told NRB members that a state appellate ruling in the Kuenzi case states that animal cruelty laws extend to wild animals.

She said the Kuenzi brothers and Hermes argued that they were not guilty of animal cruelty charges because that state law applies only to domestic animals, not wild animals.

“The court disagreed. The court clearly reconciled that tension,” said Sinvkin.

The Kuenzis appealed that decision to the Wisconsin State Supreme Court, but the high court declined to hear the case.



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PolitiFact Slaps Priebus For Voter Fraud Claim, But Walker Said It First

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

PolitiFact rates as "false" on Friday an assertion by Republican National Chairman Reince Priebus that voter fraud is so rampant in Wisconsin by Democrats that statewide GOP candidates have to roll up an extra votes to win.
Priebus said that because of voter fraud, Republican candidates "need to do a point or two better" to win statewide elections in Wisconsin.

Past reports have highlighted flaws in the city of Milwaukee, including cases of fraudulent votes. But Priebus made a specific numerical claim -- that a Republican candidate, to compensate for fraudulent votes, would need to get 1 to 2 percentage points worth of additional votes in order to win a statewide election.

Priebus did not provide information that supports the claim. We rate his statement False.
The PolitiFact posting notes that Walker made the same point two days earlier, and offers a link to the publication in which Walker made his obnoxious claim, but assesses the "false" rating to Priebus, letting Walker off the hook.

I had posted the Walker links and context Wednesday - - noting that The Tomah Journal had begin calling Walker out about the voting fraud allegation on Monday when that newspaper saw a Walker statement about it in The Weekly Standard, a conservative publication.

Said The Tomah Journal:
Gov. Scott Walker has made a spectacular assertion [in The Weekly Standard] in advance of next week’s gubernatorial recall election.

“I’ve always thought in this state, close elections, presidential elections, it means you probably have to win with at least 53 percent of the vote to account for fraud. One or two points, potentially ... I mean there’s no question why they went to court and fought (to undo) voter ID.”

This is a monumental claim. Consider this: There were 2.2 million votes cast in the 2010 election for governor, and it’s reasonable to assume that turnout on June 5 will be close to 2.2 million again. Each percentage point represents 22,000 votes. Since Walker believes he needs 53 percent, he is alleging 66,000 fraudulent votes will be cast next week.

Alright, governor, where’s your proof?...
What's even more outrageous about Walker's role in this lie-to-win strategy is that after making the claim in a May 14th interview that was contained in the The Weekly Standard piece on Wednesday - - “I’ve always thought in this state, close elections, presidential elections, it means you probably have to win with at least 53 percent of the vote to account for fraud. One or two points, potentially.” - - Walker also got away with saying to the Journal Sentinel on Wednesday, after Priebus made his remark:
At a Manitowoc campaign stop later Wednesday, Gov. Scott Walker said..."I don't know what percentage to predict on that."
Yes he did. And had.

53%.

The "false" rating - - maybe a first-ever ' doubly-false' label - - should have gone on Walker's record, which, as I have noted often on this blog, is heavily laden with "false" findings. His current scorecard:

Walker's statements by ruling






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Ideological Purity Over Water Purity Getting Some In Wisconsin Sick

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

Regulation of drinking water quality, Wisconsin? With some old-timey "continuous disinfection" procedure? Who needs it?

In February, 2011 I wrote:
Continuous disinfection of drinking water?

Are there limits to the state's new radical agenda?

Ah - - who needs that Nanny state crap, say ultra-pro-business-come-what-may GOP legislators who are gearing up to stop the state from enforcing rules to keep viruses and other contaminants out of Wisconsin municipal water systems.

Yeah, that'll recruit new industry to Wisconsin. I can see the new Welcome To Wisconsin signs now:

Open For Business: Bring Your Own Medicine Bag. 
So is there any wonder that some communities deciding to live without disinfecting their drinking water - - a deregulation perk offered by the GOP legislature last year - - are seeing the appearance of water-borne viruses in their supplies?  Kids as young as five with norovirus?

Thanks, mom and dad. Your ideological purity trumped the purity of our tapwater.

A new study of 14 Wisconsin communities that do not disinfect their water revealed the presence of human viruses in drinking water in nearly one-quarter of all samples taken.

The results suggest that people in municipalities that don't treat their water systems may be exposed to waterborne viruses and potential health risks, the study concluded.

The authors calculated that water that isn't disinfected was responsible for 6% to 22% of gastrointestinal illnesses reported during the study period.

At one time during the study, when norovirus was commonly found in tap water, the researchers attributed up to 63% of the cause of illness to dirty drinking water in children younger than 5.

The likely virus source was leaking wastewater sewers, the study concluded. The viruses from human waste traveled through the soil and flowed into groundwater, which is the source of drinking water for the communities. In some cases viruses in the soil could have flowed into cracked water pipes of homes.

The work was conducted by researchers at the Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation and the University of California, Davis. It was published Friday in Environmental Health Perspectives, a peer-reviewed journal of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and is one of the first to tie viruses in public water supplies to effects on human health.

The results of the study come in the wake of action a year ago in the state Legislature when lawmakers rejected regulations by the Department of Natural Resources that would have required all Wisconsin communities to disinfect their drinking systems.

The DNR, under the administration of former Gov. Jim Doyle, used the work of the study's lead author Mark A. Borchardt to advance the regulations. Borchardt is a microbiologist who works for the U.S. Agricultural Research Service in Marshfield.

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Right-Wing Talk Show Host Agrees With Callers Attacking Mike Gousha

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

Here's some breaking 'news' - - righty talker Jeff Wagner agrees with the conservative callers he stirred up alleging WISN-TV debate host Mike Gousha was biased last night against Scott Walker.

Bias?

Is there anything more painfully ironic than a right-wing talk show host, on a radio station dedicated to right-wing talk programming teeing up his conservative callers to complain about bias and one-sided media?

Also quite revealing - - Wagner chose not to correct a caller a few minutes before 1 p.m. who said it was unfair that Gousha referenced a Thursday evening Journal Sentinel "opinion piece" about Walker and the John Doe, when Wagner knew very well that it what Gousha mentioned was a news story.

Wagner knows the difference. Didn't educate the woman who called and the others listening in.

So there's your talk radio bias.
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Another Movie Shot In City That Scott Walker Despises

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

That would be a Clint Eastwood production featuring Milwaukee - - the city Scott Walker warned the entire state to fear.
People do not want to see Wisconsin "become another Milwaukee," Walker said.
I guess we don't need the goodwill and good-paying work and spending a movie brings to town.
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Politicians Know That News Stories Have More Weight Than Editorials

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

In light of yesterday's Dan Bice scoop about Walker's County office having stonewalled the DA's early misconduct probe, I posted a few words over at Purple Wisconsin about the relative importance of news reporting vs. editorializing.

With a reminder that Scott Walker appreciated the distinction in 2010 before the John Doe and other events led to his long, expanding false narrative.
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Again, The Importance Of The Barrett - - Walker Dabate Is...

Wednesday, June 6, 2012Tuesday, June 5, 2012Monday, June 4, 2012Sunday, June 3, 2012Saturday, June 2, 2012Friday, June 1, 2012

Making Walker own the John Doe probe that is principally covered in the Milwaukee and Madison media markets, and having facts about it laid on the table by the moderator and Barrett that expose Walker's false narratives.
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