Now that the rhetoric has died down regarding Walker's union-busting here in Wisconsin, here's how it has affected me--a teacher--my students, and my school.
The moment Walker's Act 10 took effect, my school board froze salaries, changed the upcoming school calendar (which had been agreed upon with the union a couple months earlier), canceled already scheduled, out-of-school-day continuing education for its staff, created a grievance procedure that is, in effect, settled by the district superintendent or a district-selected third party, instituted health care changes without real input from the insured, and, as of yet, six weeks into the school year, has not provided a handbook with conditions of employment to its teachers.
Despite Walker's declarations that districts will save money (despite state funding cuts), our district has eliminated some aide positions, sacrificed some curriculum updating, and reduced staff development opportunities.
As a result of district changes, my teaching time has increased, my prep time has decreased, and there are new policies to provide more and daily information on student progress and lessons (the added "transparency" will take me an estimated 30+ minutes per day, with no apparent link to improving student learning). There are less services for students requiring additional reading help, and no specific plans or staff for students demonstrating severe behavioral problems.
My salary, including new health care deductibles as well as pension and health care payments, is down about 10%, while new state mandates require more actual work in the classroom including more identification, specific work with, and documentation for students who are below level.
Some parents, now that our state government has led the way in calling teachers (or their representatives) greedy, slobs, and thugs, voice similar opinions. I documented in an earlier post parents cursing and hurling insults at teachers as we walked down the street in our town in a show of non-confrontational solidarity. When the local parent-teacher group's budget revealed a thank you gift for teachers at Christmastime, one parent rolled her eyes and said, "You've got to be kidding me."
And upcoming changes (should we ever be provided a handbook), will very possibly include a "pool of money" for teacher salaries, from which the subjectively determined "better" teachers will score more than their subjectively-judged "lesser" peers. For all the district initiatives and admonitions to promote collaboration, pitting colleague against colleague for their wages certainly doesn't seem like a very collaborative or efficient or wise thing to do.
Lastly, I have been advised by a third party consultant that continuing a blog reporting my district's policies or providing criticism of state government policies so ardently backed by the locals--and identifying myself with my real name, background, or photo--could actually come back to haunt me in terms of disciplinary action (now that I may no longer have a union).
And all these individual concerns don't even include the low-income families here that are affected by cuts to programs they may utilize, or those that may not be able/willing to vote because of new voter ID laws, or a government that changes laws to suit personal agendas or kowtow to businesses at the expense of those in need, or changes in environmental policies that affect everyone's quality of life, or the deep and abiding breach of trust between a people and its elected government.
I'm unsure whether I will continue this blog. If so, it will be under an assumed name (as advised by the previously mentioned consultant). There are many wonderful blogs out there fighting this good fight, and I have yet to determine, with the added responsibilities and scrutiny of my job, if I have the ability to do this justice. Until then, my state senator Grothman is still (as I have termed him before) a major d-bag, and my governor is still a liar.
Thanks for visiting over the last year.
And recall Walker.
Showing posts with label recall. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recall. Show all posts
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
WI GOP moves: Change of heart, calculated, or scared?
Are state GOP "breaks" with parts of Walker's agenda the result of a change of heart and ideology (a break from the wealthy rule of plutocracy), or are they a calculated move (ask for a whole lot more, so merely a lot more doesn't seem so bad), or are such moves a response because Republicans are scared from the real threat of losing recall elections?
An unexpected $636 million windfall from tax revenue has helped shed more light on the true motives of the GOP.
We can rule out the first, it's no change of heart--the entire Republican legislature sided with Walker with no reservations for virtually the last few months. Given the chance to use the $636 million to reduce the cuts, Walker and his legislators immediately said (and I'm paraphrasing here), "Not gonna happen."
How about the second option? Remember not too long ago when oil companies jacked gas prices way past $3, so all of the sudden, $2.50 didn't seem so bad? Maybe Walker asked for these cuts (such as SeniorCare, BadgerCare, education, recycling, farmland preservation, local governments, mass transit, for example), so when he'd have his loyal legislative minions request some restorations, they assumed people would say, "Thank goodness they restored that...Maybe they're not so bad, after all, those Republicans, hey?"
But it's obviously disingenuous.
The Walker regime can pass--and has shown it will pass--whatever law it wants, no matter what the public says (witness 100,000 people protesting at the capitol against "budget repair," and the illegal--or at least unethical--way it was pushed through the Assembly). Walker and his pals have shown time and again they don't give a crap about anything except appeasing big business and dismantling the Democrat base (witness Voter ID and union-busting).
So, that leaves us with door number three. Successful recall elections are a very real possibility--ones that could turn the Senate and eventually turn out the Governor. So, now, out of nowhere, Republicans say the $636 million should be used to reduce some cuts, even in--you've gotta be kidding me--education, the institution they've virtually accused of sucking the state taxpayers dry (witness Fond du Lac's recall-bound Senator Randy Hopper now pleading for restoring education funds). Somewhere, one of the Republican think tank (a very shallow tank, to be sure) said, "Um, you know what? If we all get voted out of office, those dirty scheming Democrats are going to cheat by trying to change the rules we set up. Maybe we should throw them a bone to get them off our tails."
An unexpected $636 million windfall from tax revenue has helped shed more light on the true motives of the GOP.
We can rule out the first, it's no change of heart--the entire Republican legislature sided with Walker with no reservations for virtually the last few months. Given the chance to use the $636 million to reduce the cuts, Walker and his legislators immediately said (and I'm paraphrasing here), "Not gonna happen."
How about the second option? Remember not too long ago when oil companies jacked gas prices way past $3, so all of the sudden, $2.50 didn't seem so bad? Maybe Walker asked for these cuts (such as SeniorCare, BadgerCare, education, recycling, farmland preservation, local governments, mass transit, for example), so when he'd have his loyal legislative minions request some restorations, they assumed people would say, "Thank goodness they restored that...Maybe they're not so bad, after all, those Republicans, hey?"
But it's obviously disingenuous.
The Walker regime can pass--and has shown it will pass--whatever law it wants, no matter what the public says (witness 100,000 people protesting at the capitol against "budget repair," and the illegal--or at least unethical--way it was pushed through the Assembly). Walker and his pals have shown time and again they don't give a crap about anything except appeasing big business and dismantling the Democrat base (witness Voter ID and union-busting).
And that bone right now is in the form of SeniorCare and recycling, among others. Although I am very happy these cuts look as though they will be reduced, I, for one, (and now one of a not-so-silent majority) am going to do whatever I can to make sure we stay on their tails until democracy, and not plutocracy, once again governs our state.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Newt's Wednesday Wisconsin visit could be fun
Bigtime Walker-backer Newt Gingrich, one week removed from officially announcing his Presidential candidacy, is coming to newly hostile territory in Holmen this Wednesday at 6:30 PM. The La Crosse Tribune reports the former House Speaker will be visiting Drugan's Castle Mound Country Club in Holmen, about 20 minutes north of La Crosse, near the hometown of Gingrich's third and current wife, Callista. And I can't imagine the visit will go unnoticed--by the media, or by anti-Walkerites near Holmen.
Gingrich called for Americans to "help" Walker in February, describing the Madison protests as "a campaign of intimidation and cowardice, (in which) the government employee union bosses and the Democratic Party that is beholden to them, are trying to thwart the will of the people."
We'll see what the "will of the people" really is.
La Crosse is ground zero for the recall effort. Current district Republican Senator Dan Kapanke is very vulnerable (he won his 2008 by a scant 2%). The area's 94th District Assembly seat was recently won by Democrat Steve Doyle, an upset considering it had been held by Walker crony Mike Huebsch from 1995 until earlier this year when Walker appointed him to be his Secretary of Administration, the right-hand-man post in which Huebsch was the chief author of the anti-collective bargaining bill.
Clearly, the will of the people has changed, Newt. I can only imagine that if people stood outside Walker's Wauwatosa home in February, greeted Paul Ryan with jeers at town meetings, and even came out to join Walker when he went fishing, for goodness sakes, it's likely you're going to get a front-row seat to that change come Wednesday evening.
Have a nice visit.
Gingrich called for Americans to "help" Walker in February, describing the Madison protests as "a campaign of intimidation and cowardice, (in which) the government employee union bosses and the Democratic Party that is beholden to them, are trying to thwart the will of the people."
We'll see what the "will of the people" really is.
La Crosse is ground zero for the recall effort. Current district Republican Senator Dan Kapanke is very vulnerable (he won his 2008 by a scant 2%). The area's 94th District Assembly seat was recently won by Democrat Steve Doyle, an upset considering it had been held by Walker crony Mike Huebsch from 1995 until earlier this year when Walker appointed him to be his Secretary of Administration, the right-hand-man post in which Huebsch was the chief author of the anti-collective bargaining bill.
Clearly, the will of the people has changed, Newt. I can only imagine that if people stood outside Walker's Wauwatosa home in February, greeted Paul Ryan with jeers at town meetings, and even came out to join Walker when he went fishing, for goodness sakes, it's likely you're going to get a front-row seat to that change come Wednesday evening.
Have a nice visit.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
One recall in the Hopper
It's official. The recall signatures are valid. Senator Randy Hopper (R-Fond du Lac) better start updating his resume. Although several GOP State Senators are vulnerable in upcoming recall elections (i.e., Alberta Darling of River Hills, who won by only two percentage points in 2008, and Dan Kapanke of La Crosse, where part of his district recently toppled the longtime tradition of Republicans in the Assembly), none seems nearly as ripe for the picking as does Hopper.
Hopper won his 2008 seat in a virtual dead heat with Democrat Jessica King of Oshkosh (a 180 vote difference out of more than 80,000 cast), who will face him in the recall election. Recall petitions gathered more than 150% of the signatures needed to bring the election (more than 23,000), tentatively slated for July 12.
And Hopper's personal problems likely won't help him either. Last year, Hopper's wife issued a public statement to Milwaukee's WTMJ that declared her husband of 25 years had moved out and was having an affair with a Republican aide. What makes it even more interesting is that the aide, Valerie Cass, was given a job in the Walker administration, a hiring the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Daniel Bice reports may have been less than transparent. For good measure, there were even unsubstantiated reports that Hopper's wife had signed one of the recall petitions.
And so it begins.
Hopper won his 2008 seat in a virtual dead heat with Democrat Jessica King of Oshkosh (a 180 vote difference out of more than 80,000 cast), who will face him in the recall election. Recall petitions gathered more than 150% of the signatures needed to bring the election (more than 23,000), tentatively slated for July 12.
And Hopper's personal problems likely won't help him either. Last year, Hopper's wife issued a public statement to Milwaukee's WTMJ that declared her husband of 25 years had moved out and was having an affair with a Republican aide. What makes it even more interesting is that the aide, Valerie Cass, was given a job in the Walker administration, a hiring the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Daniel Bice reports may have been less than transparent. For good measure, there were even unsubstantiated reports that Hopper's wife had signed one of the recall petitions.
And so it begins.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Lies and more lies: Recall Petitions against Dems fraudulently obtained?
Democrats have challenged recall petitions filed against three Democratic State Senators due to widespread allegations of fraud. Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller (D-Monona), in a press release today (and reported by Tim Tolan in JS Online), said that the collection of signatures to recall Sens. Dave Hansen of Green Bay, Robert Wirch of Pleasant Prairie and Jim Holperin of Conover, "shows a pervasive pattern of election fraud committed by the shady out-of-state organization hired by Republicans to collect recall petitions."
CLICK HERE TO WATCH SEN. MILLER'S PRESS CONFERENCE
Republicans farmed out signature collection to Kennedy Enterprises of Colorado, some of whose employees reportedly used measures to collect signatures that included hiding the true purpose of the petition, and even spouted outright lies (according to the Daily Kos, lies such as circulating petitions among Indian peoples claiming they were for "tribal rights"). Some signers that had been named outright denied ever even signing such a petition (Wisconsin State Journal).
And this isn't just a couple of signatures, or the deceased father of a Democratic Representative (as was found to be the case on a Wirch recall petition earlier this week), reportedly thousands of signatures appear to have been obtained in this manner. The Daily Kos has specifics of many of the charges, which, to be honest, are numerous and, in some cases, astounding.
Get ready for the desperate spin from the right that Democrats signed the petitions fraudulently to discredit the recall efforts. But what makes more sense--that a mercenary company whose employees reportedly got paid per signature did whatever it could to obtain as many signatures as possible (with no real concern or connection to the voters or issues in this state) or that the Democrats flew way below the radar, filing incredible numbers of false signatures without allowing enough true signatures to be collected alongside them?
Let's just say, based on their recent track record regarding lies and deception within our state, I'm not betting on the Republicans to come out on top.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH SEN. MILLER'S PRESS CONFERENCE
Republicans farmed out signature collection to Kennedy Enterprises of Colorado, some of whose employees reportedly used measures to collect signatures that included hiding the true purpose of the petition, and even spouted outright lies (according to the Daily Kos, lies such as circulating petitions among Indian peoples claiming they were for "tribal rights"). Some signers that had been named outright denied ever even signing such a petition (Wisconsin State Journal).
And this isn't just a couple of signatures, or the deceased father of a Democratic Representative (as was found to be the case on a Wirch recall petition earlier this week), reportedly thousands of signatures appear to have been obtained in this manner. The Daily Kos has specifics of many of the charges, which, to be honest, are numerous and, in some cases, astounding.
Get ready for the desperate spin from the right that Democrats signed the petitions fraudulently to discredit the recall efforts. But what makes more sense--that a mercenary company whose employees reportedly got paid per signature did whatever it could to obtain as many signatures as possible (with no real concern or connection to the voters or issues in this state) or that the Democrats flew way below the radar, filing incredible numbers of false signatures without allowing enough true signatures to be collected alongside them?
Let's just say, based on their recent track record regarding lies and deception within our state, I'm not betting on the Republicans to come out on top.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Recalls and a house divided...
At a rally here to recall my State Senator Glenn Grothman, people told me of changes in their lives since Scott Walker arrived. I heard about friends who no longer spoke to one another, and sleepless nights for public workers wondering how to make up a shortfall of hundreds of dollars per month. Twenty-something Austin was there--as he was in Madison--to "fight a good fight," showing support for his mom, a public school teacher. There were stories about educators with family members that openly express derision towards teachers and public education, sentiments that weren't even in the conversation three months ago. And I thought of the distrust and the acrimony of the Supreme Court election, and the misinformation that spews daily on the Internet.
Republican Abraham Lincoln once said, "A house divded against itself cannot stand." Republican Governor Walker recently said, "Sometimes, bipartisanship is not good." To those ends, Walker has continued to divide, not unite. As a result, we'll have maybe nine recall elections this summer. I can't imagine that will initially bring anyone together.
I spoke with a Walker backer protesting the Grothman recall rally, a very nice guy named Mike. He's been laid off a painfully long time, hoping for the promised creation of jobs, and tax rates that won't take any more out of his already-too-empty pockets. His parting comment was,"They talk about jobs and unemployment--both sides--and to them, I'm just a figure, and I'm not. I'm a real person."
And I couldn't help but hope that no matter which side ends up running the show, they remember Lincoln's words and not Walker's, that instead of dividing, they work to unite all of us, public workers like me and nice guys like Mike.
If you have any stories you'd like to share, to commiserate, to inform, please click here to visit the Talk About It page and post a comment.
Republican Abraham Lincoln once said, "A house divded against itself cannot stand." Republican Governor Walker recently said, "Sometimes, bipartisanship is not good." To those ends, Walker has continued to divide, not unite. As a result, we'll have maybe nine recall elections this summer. I can't imagine that will initially bring anyone together.
I spoke with a Walker backer protesting the Grothman recall rally, a very nice guy named Mike. He's been laid off a painfully long time, hoping for the promised creation of jobs, and tax rates that won't take any more out of his already-too-empty pockets. His parting comment was,"They talk about jobs and unemployment--both sides--and to them, I'm just a figure, and I'm not. I'm a real person."
And I couldn't help but hope that no matter which side ends up running the show, they remember Lincoln's words and not Walker's, that instead of dividing, they work to unite all of us, public workers like me and nice guys like Mike.
If you have any stories you'd like to share, to commiserate, to inform, please click here to visit the Talk About It page and post a comment.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Dem14 Sen. Jon Erpenbach talks with MisLeading Wisconsin
Senator Jon Erpenbach spoke with me tonight (Fri.) before a Recall Glenn Grothman rally in West Bend. Sen. Erpenbach (D-Middleton) is known to Wisconsin workers as one of the courageous Wisconsin Dem14 Senators who went to Illinois to deny a quorum and stop a too-hasty passage of Walker's budget repair bill on Feb. 17. The italics are the questions I asked him in our short interview.
Do you have any regrets about leaving for Illinois? "Not at all. It was the only way to slow things down. It was the only way to give people a chance to see what was in (the budget repair bill)." The Senator added that it was expected the Republicans would consolidate power, "but not in only one guy's hands."
"They went way too far."
Do you think the time in Illinois had any affect on some changes in Republican stances on current budget issues? Erpenbach nodded. "Take Senior Care. 91,000 people depend on Senior Care and it's a wonderful program, a program that runs a surplus."
And is there any hope for teachers? "Yes, there is. More than not, people want friends and neighbors teaching their kids, not corporations."
Erpenbach expounded on several points during his speech, including his time in Illinois. "They said to come home and we can have the debate--by the way, which is not negotiable. We were offering proposals, they were taking away our paychecks, our parking spaces...they sent the State Patrol to our homes."
Regarding the non-re-passage of the budget repair bill: "We haven't been called back because they either don't want to put Glenn through that vote again, or they don't have the votes."
"This whole issue, it's not a right/left thing or a liberal/conservative thing, it's a right and a wrong thing. "
A crowd of 200-300 filled the pavilion in Regner Park, with a handful of Grothman supporters ringing the perimeter. Supporters cheered "Thank you, thank you" to Sen. Erpenbach as well as another speaker, local television personality Gus Gnorski, whose employer Fox 6 News, said he could either speak at such union rallies or keep doing reports for the station. Gnorski said goodbye to television and chose to speak at union rallies instead. His hit-the-mark points included the hypocrisy of Grothman's mantra "I share your values," and the realization that jobs in the state need to be added jobs, not just those moved from place to place.
Also sharing the dais, were Tanya Lohr, the local high school teacher heading up the Grothman recall campaign in Washington County, Rick Aaron, Democratic candidate for the 60th State Assembly District--now, suddenly with a chance to make a race of it in his Republican-heavy district-- and local columnist Waring Fincke.
Grothman petitions will be collected by 9 PM Sunday night. The committee is still shy of the 20,061 signatures needed to trigger the recall. If you haven't signed, check out the website here.
Do you have any regrets about leaving for Illinois? "Not at all. It was the only way to slow things down. It was the only way to give people a chance to see what was in (the budget repair bill)." The Senator added that it was expected the Republicans would consolidate power, "but not in only one guy's hands."
"They went way too far."
Do you think the time in Illinois had any affect on some changes in Republican stances on current budget issues? Erpenbach nodded. "Take Senior Care. 91,000 people depend on Senior Care and it's a wonderful program, a program that runs a surplus."
And is there any hope for teachers? "Yes, there is. More than not, people want friends and neighbors teaching their kids, not corporations."
Erpenbach expounded on several points during his speech, including his time in Illinois. "They said to come home and we can have the debate--by the way, which is not negotiable. We were offering proposals, they were taking away our paychecks, our parking spaces...they sent the State Patrol to our homes."
Regarding the non-re-passage of the budget repair bill: "We haven't been called back because they either don't want to put Glenn through that vote again, or they don't have the votes."
"This whole issue, it's not a right/left thing or a liberal/conservative thing, it's a right and a wrong thing. "
A crowd of 200-300 filled the pavilion in Regner Park, with a handful of Grothman supporters ringing the perimeter. Supporters cheered "Thank you, thank you" to Sen. Erpenbach as well as another speaker, local television personality Gus Gnorski, whose employer Fox 6 News, said he could either speak at such union rallies or keep doing reports for the station. Gnorski said goodbye to television and chose to speak at union rallies instead. His hit-the-mark points included the hypocrisy of Grothman's mantra "I share your values," and the realization that jobs in the state need to be added jobs, not just those moved from place to place.
Also sharing the dais, were Tanya Lohr, the local high school teacher heading up the Grothman recall campaign in Washington County, Rick Aaron, Democratic candidate for the 60th State Assembly District--now, suddenly with a chance to make a race of it in his Republican-heavy district-- and local columnist Waring Fincke.
Grothman petitions will be collected by 9 PM Sunday night. The committee is still shy of the 20,061 signatures needed to trigger the recall. If you haven't signed, check out the website here.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
WISGOP says Do You Like Me Now?
Like a big brother that beats you up and then bribes you so he won't get in trouble, Wisconsin's fine Republican legislators are offering crumbs, really, now that their recall butts are on the line. After the merciless pounding the Walker-run legislature gave worker rights in this state (rights, Walker finally admitted under oath , had no direct fiscal bearing on the budget, but rather were union-busting), Republican legislators are saying--all of the sudden now that recall papers have been served up-- "Hey, you know what? Um, maybe this part of the budget could be changed, after all."
If the Democrats had not delayed the quorum for the budget-repair bill, and got people thinking about and actually reading things, for goodness sakes, the Republicans would have passed the 2011-2013 budget, no questions asked (Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester gushed about it), as they would have budget-repair.
So now GOP legislators, even those that are--surprise--up for recall, are "breaking" with Walker and making nice with Wisconsinites through lip-service against budget items including Walker's removing income limits for school voucher families, splitting UW from the UW system, removing recycling, and using general funds for transportation.
But really it's just b.s. window-dressing. The non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau says there are still "more than 40 non-fiscal policy items in the governor's budget...proposals that aren’t absolutely essential to balancing the books," something that Walker campaigned against doing (Superior Telegram, 4/27). And there are still numerous, equally-vile budget items remaining (drastic cuts to education and communities, for instance). Oh, yeah, and Republicans may insert the court-stalled, anti-collective bargaining bill into the budget, as well.
Make sure your friends and neighbors don't fall for these little bribes to win back public favor.
The damages the Republican legislature has inflicted, and will inflict, on this state are far too serious to let them buy us off.
If the Democrats had not delayed the quorum for the budget-repair bill, and got people thinking about and actually reading things, for goodness sakes, the Republicans would have passed the 2011-2013 budget, no questions asked (Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester gushed about it), as they would have budget-repair.
So now GOP legislators, even those that are--surprise--up for recall, are "breaking" with Walker and making nice with Wisconsinites through lip-service against budget items including Walker's removing income limits for school voucher families, splitting UW from the UW system, removing recycling, and using general funds for transportation.
But really it's just b.s. window-dressing. The non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau says there are still "more than 40 non-fiscal policy items in the governor's budget...proposals that aren’t absolutely essential to balancing the books," something that Walker campaigned against doing (Superior Telegram, 4/27). And there are still numerous, equally-vile budget items remaining (drastic cuts to education and communities, for instance). Oh, yeah, and Republicans may insert the court-stalled, anti-collective bargaining bill into the budget, as well.
Make sure your friends and neighbors don't fall for these little bribes to win back public favor.
The damages the Republican legislature has inflicted, and will inflict, on this state are far too serious to let them buy us off.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Grothman's gotta go
If there's anyone who thinks State Senator Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) speaks for Wisconsin, we should be very afraid for Wisconsin. During the politics of the last few months, Grothman has shown disdain for Wisconsinites that have dissented with him by calling them names such as "smelly" and "slobs" , and labeling an obviously cognitively-challenged man as "a socially-inappropriate lefty."
Even his political moves for his own district are questionable, at best, as is shown in how the Walker budget cuts Grothman's been championing will be more severe for his home district.
But it's Grothman's ideas, the way he thinks, the vision he has for our America--a country built on freedom and equality--that should make the stoutest American truly shudder. In a little video at an August Tea Party Rally he espouses how our country's "committing suicide" through "gals" having kids out of wedlock (because it's financially advantageous to not marry), through immigrants walking around on with a "chip on their shoulder" waiting for government handouts, and how big companies are routinely promoting women over more qualified men (what Grothman calls the "war on men").
This sounds like a parody of Wisconsin's infamous 1950's,communist-hunting, Senator Joseph McCarthy, or a skit from SNL, but it's not. It's my State Senator in 2011.
It would be nice to think he'd be justly recalled, but in this very conservative district, it must be he's preaching to the choir (in 2008, he pulled in over 80% of the vote). However, there are recall petition events set up and great sites such as the Glenn Grothman Watch (aka, What did GG get wrong this week?) to stay on top of this guy.
Hopefully, it will do some good.
Even his political moves for his own district are questionable, at best, as is shown in how the Walker budget cuts Grothman's been championing will be more severe for his home district.
But it's Grothman's ideas, the way he thinks, the vision he has for our America--a country built on freedom and equality--that should make the stoutest American truly shudder. In a little video at an August Tea Party Rally he espouses how our country's "committing suicide" through "gals" having kids out of wedlock (because it's financially advantageous to not marry), through immigrants walking around on with a "chip on their shoulder" waiting for government handouts, and how big companies are routinely promoting women over more qualified men (what Grothman calls the "war on men").
This sounds like a parody of Wisconsin's infamous 1950's,communist-hunting, Senator Joseph McCarthy, or a skit from SNL, but it's not. It's my State Senator in 2011.
It would be nice to think he'd be justly recalled, but in this very conservative district, it must be he's preaching to the choir (in 2008, he pulled in over 80% of the vote). However, there are recall petition events set up and great sites such as the Glenn Grothman Watch (aka, What did GG get wrong this week?) to stay on top of this guy.
Hopefully, it will do some good.
Friday, April 22, 2011
WHO are the thugs?
Supporters of Republican recall-bound Senator Luther Olsen "forced" their way into a private Democratic function--a Thursday night rally for Baraboo Democratic Rep. Fred Clark, who will be taking on Olsen in the recall election. The GOP backers who burst uninvited into the room, held signs and reportedly shouted at Clark, who was addressing his supporters during a non-public meeting in a room rented by the Sauk County Democratic Party.
The GOP'ers said the disturbance was the Democrats' fault, not the fault of those who crashed the event. "This gang is very good at instigating events and then pointing fingers the other way," said Sauk County Republican Party Chair Tim McCumber, speaking of the Democrats. McCumber, believe it or not, was actually one of the event crashers. More info here and here.
As party chair, McCumber says on the party website that his group believes in "the right to American liberties as established by the US Constitution." He may want to look up the First Amendment part about the right of the people peaceably to assemble.
Could this have been foreseen? The slogan for McCumber's unsuccessful bid for the 47th Assembly District in 2010 appears to have been, "Already fighting for the 47th."
Now it appears he's fighting for the entire Republican Party.
The GOP'ers said the disturbance was the Democrats' fault, not the fault of those who crashed the event. "This gang is very good at instigating events and then pointing fingers the other way," said Sauk County Republican Party Chair Tim McCumber, speaking of the Democrats. McCumber, believe it or not, was actually one of the event crashers. More info here and here.
As party chair, McCumber says on the party website that his group believes in "the right to American liberties as established by the US Constitution." He may want to look up the First Amendment part about the right of the people peaceably to assemble.
Could this have been foreseen? The slogan for McCumber's unsuccessful bid for the 47th Assembly District in 2010 appears to have been, "Already fighting for the 47th."
Now it appears he's fighting for the entire Republican Party.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)