WTF Wisconsin? (Formerly Walker convo thread)
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Wow... that is just straight fucked up.
Maybe they can use this kind of thing as evidence the outside interest groups are corrupting the process with unlimited spending. With what happened above and with those stupid mailers from the Democratic Party's side which tried to get people to guilt their neighbors into voting, both were 'interest groups'.
No matter what happens today, Barrett ran the best campaign he could considering he was outspent 15 to 1. Either way, Wisconsin gets what it deserves I think.
No matter what happens today, Barrett ran the best campaign he could considering he was outspent 15 to 1. Either way, Wisconsin gets what it deserves I think.
"Well, yeah, but now that they got rid of that damn union, at least we won't have to worry about these damn socialist $90k a year teachers shutting down our schools every fall with their stupid strikes, asking for even more money and even less work to do."
/The only pro-Walker argument I've seen regarding the unions, which I've seen approximately 90 times in the last few weeks.
Every person who says that should be required to take their kids out of school and teach them themselves for a month.
I can't see how that happened.
What concerns me is the fact that, at least according to the current tally, it's not even really close. I wouldn't necessarily say that Walker is blowing Barrett out of the water, but it's a 15% margin in a race that was predicted to be under 1/10th of 1 percent margin. On the other hand, I got off the phone with my mom a little bit ago, and she got one of those calls telling her that she didn't need to vote because she'd signed the petition (she didn't believe it, of course), and she also told me that one of the polling clerks was turning people away if they didn't have ID - which wasn't a requirement, so the people had to go get lawyers to be allowed to vote and there's no telling how many people just believed it and didn't try to vote again; and there have also been reports of mailers going out telling people that if they didn't vote in the 2010 election, they weren't allowed to vote in this election either.
At the end of the day, if the people honestly elect a representative, then whether I agree with that rep's policies or not, I don't have any real complaints. But when there are multiple reports of voter suppression, then I have a problem.
At the end of the day, if the people honestly elect a representative, then whether I agree with that rep's policies or not, I don't have any real complaints. But when there are multiple reports of voter suppression, then I have a problem.
Very simple - Barrett couldn't win overwhelmingly where his base was, and didn't get enough to overcome where he didn't have a chance of beating Walker.
There may be a recount in the Wanggaard recall, but I'm suspecting the Senate will go back to the Dems - at least for the rest of the term. That might be short-lived, since my state Senator is retiring (Holperin, who was recalled twice in his long career and defeated the opponent each time).
While the election was disappointing, here's where we stand on the John Doe investigation.
What does this all mean? How can we know if Walker is the target of the investigation? Lets go over some of the points we've learned so far.
1. David Schuster of Current TV (full disclosure, the Al Gore network) claims he has sources within the U.S. Justice Department's Public Integrity Section who have told him there is a parallel federal investigation into the actions which took place while Walker was County Executive of Milwaukee and running for Governor.
2. Also reports the Walker lawyers have been trying to get him publicly cleared for weeks now and prosecutors have refused that request.
3. Walker has hired criminal defense lawyers to add to his campaign lawyers.
4. Campaign money can only be used for the defense funds in Wisconsin if the money is being used to defend the candidate or surrogate who acted in his stead if they are investigated, charged, or convicted of a felony. Walker has said he isn't using the funds to help the surrogates.
5. 6 people have already been charged with 15 felonies, ranging from embezzlement to child enticement.
6. After Darlene Wink was caught using work time to campaign while working and was fired for it, Walker sent an email to his Deputy Chief of Staff Tim Russell saying "we cannot afford another story like this one. No one can give them any reason to do another story. That means no laptops, no websites, no time away during the work day, etc."
7. Investigators are also looking into bid-rigging charges, which involved moving the Department of the Aging from a public facility to a private facility using a bidding process.
8. 13 people have been granted immunity according to court records in exchange for testimony.
Ok, so after all that, we can assume that Walker is the target of the investigation. If he wasn't, he would have illegally used campaign funds for a legal defense fund.
I look forward to seeing this come to fruition. I've heard people here say they think it won't amount to anything, but I don't think you have 2 years of investigation and 13 people granted immunity to simply let it fizzle. My guess is they are waiting for the 2 month mark to avoid the appearance of partisanship (which is standard operating procedure in cases like this).
What does this all mean? How can we know if Walker is the target of the investigation? Lets go over some of the points we've learned so far.
1. David Schuster of Current TV (full disclosure, the Al Gore network) claims he has sources within the U.S. Justice Department's Public Integrity Section who have told him there is a parallel federal investigation into the actions which took place while Walker was County Executive of Milwaukee and running for Governor.
2. Also reports the Walker lawyers have been trying to get him publicly cleared for weeks now and prosecutors have refused that request.
3. Walker has hired criminal defense lawyers to add to his campaign lawyers.
4. Campaign money can only be used for the defense funds in Wisconsin if the money is being used to defend the candidate or surrogate who acted in his stead if they are investigated, charged, or convicted of a felony. Walker has said he isn't using the funds to help the surrogates.
5. 6 people have already been charged with 15 felonies, ranging from embezzlement to child enticement.
6. After Darlene Wink was caught using work time to campaign while working and was fired for it, Walker sent an email to his Deputy Chief of Staff Tim Russell saying "we cannot afford another story like this one. No one can give them any reason to do another story. That means no laptops, no websites, no time away during the work day, etc."
7. Investigators are also looking into bid-rigging charges, which involved moving the Department of the Aging from a public facility to a private facility using a bidding process.
8. 13 people have been granted immunity according to court records in exchange for testimony.
Ok, so after all that, we can assume that Walker is the target of the investigation. If he wasn't, he would have illegally used campaign funds for a legal defense fund.
I look forward to seeing this come to fruition. I've heard people here say they think it won't amount to anything, but I don't think you have 2 years of investigation and 13 people granted immunity to simply let it fizzle. My guess is they are waiting for the 2 month mark to avoid the appearance of partisanship (which is standard operating procedure in cases like this).
Hey, Wisconsin! What makes you think I want your governor in MY neighborhood?!
Wisconsin governor will visit Modesto for Romney fund-raiser
Wisconsin governor will visit Modesto for Romney fund-raiser
Well, I don't want him around.
Lots of news happening in our state on the Walker level.
First, Walker wants to institute not just the photo ID law (which was recently struck down by a Dade County judge), but also wants to end same day voter registration. Apparently, he's worried about those poor volunteers.
BAM. Kelly Rindfleish, the former aid under Scott Walker while he was Milwaukee County Executive, has indicated Walker and his aids were part of a team which routinely commingled official county business with political business. She was sentenced to 6 months in jail and 3 years probation for her part.
First, Walker wants to institute not just the photo ID law (which was recently struck down by a Dade County judge), but also wants to end same day voter registration. Apparently, he's worried about those poor volunteers.
BAM. Kelly Rindfleish, the former aid under Scott Walker while he was Milwaukee County Executive, has indicated Walker and his aids were part of a team which routinely commingled official county business with political business. She was sentenced to 6 months in jail and 3 years probation for her part.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is the state of Wisconsin.
Jesus fucking christ, this one makes me angry.
Fitzgerald says the one piece of government which is non-partisan, the Government Accountability Board, needs to go because it isn't partisan enough.
Fitzgerald says the one piece of government which is non-partisan, the Government Accountability Board, needs to go because it isn't partisan enough.
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