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.

Walker takes big hit in Assembly race outcome

Democrats won only one seat in the WI State Assembly, but look whose seat it was. And, boy, is it a big deal.

Democrat Steve Doyle defeated Republican John Lautz in the 94th State Assembly District (Monroe and LaCrosse Counties) by a 54%-46% margin for the seat vacated by Republican Mike Huebsch, who was tabbed by Walker to become his Secretary of Administration.

So why is this such a big deal?

Huebsch is Walker's guy--responsible for the budget and for writing the proposal that eliminated collective bargaining for state employees.   Huebsch's hometown paper, the LaCrosse Tribune calls Huebsch the "man in charge" and occupying "what is widely regarded as the most powerful political seat in Wisconsin after the Governor."  As a matter of fact, the last time we saw an Assembly race in the 94th District, Huebsch was re-elected with almost 60% of the vote.

If the people were really with him and his policies, wouldn't you figure his replacement would be a shoo-in?  Instead, a Democrat got the nod in a larger margin (8%) than Walker's self-implied "mandate" when he beat Barrett in the 2010 Gubernatorial election  (about 5%).  It's not unlike what happened to Walker's replacement for his Milwaukee County Executive post, although that was even more pronounced--Walker's pal Jeff Stone got positively stomped by newcomer Chris Abele 61%-39%.

That means the Republican-connected replacements of the state's two most influential politicians most responsible for recent policies of current Wisconsin government were absolutely spanked.

That is a big deal.

The other Assembly races in Republican-laden districts, the 60th (Washington &Ozaukee Counties) and the 83rd (Waukesha, Walworth & Racine Counties) weren't close, but Dem Rick Aaron in 60 garnered 24% in a district that didn't even bother to run a Democrat in 2010, and James Brownlow gained about 5%  from his Democratic predecessor in the 2010 election. (2010 results here; 2011 results here).

So it looks as though the non-Walker base is out there.  It's alive and breathing, and soon will be coming for some unscrupulous Senators.

And, then, Governor, it's coming for you.

Chink in the Armor?

I was going to wait until the results were in, but I'm going to say ahead of time that, yes, the special elections for three Wisconsin State Assembly seats is an important statement for non-Walker forces.

Walker's appointment of three Representatives for his administration created the openings in a 60 Rep-37 Dem (one independent) State Assembly, and to be honest, moving three to the Blue side of the aisle won't make much of a difference as far as voting legislation goes.  The Republican puppets will still do as the puppetmaster commands.

However, the results will speak volumes about the satisfaction level of Wisconsin voters.  Some, such as the AP in the Chicago Tribune, are touting this as a virtual referendum on labor issues.

If labor has managed to mobilize and keep its base energized, there should be some tangible results.  Just as JoAnne Kloppenburg ran David Prosser to an almost vrtual dead heat in the State Supreme Court race--after finishing 30 points behind him in the primary--and the in-your-face vote for Milwaukee County exec Chris Abele over Walker pal Jeff Stone--in Walker's old job, by an incredible 61%-39% margin, so, too, will this gauge how the electorate is leaning.

Granted, of these three Assembly seats, two--District 60 in Washington/Ozaukee Counties (Candidate Rick Aaron), and District 83 (Candidate James Brownlow against Paul Ryan disciple Dave Craig) in Racine/Walworth/Waukesha--are stalwart Republican strongholds.  Even a 30% showing for Dems would be somewhat of a statement (Democrats usually garner no more than 25% or so of the vote in these districts).  35% would be major.  UPDATE: Upon further review, District 83 only went 21% for Dems in 2010, District 60 didn't even run a candidate. 
District 94 (parts of LaCrosse and Monroe Counties) has a real chance to turn the tide (as of this moment, LaCrosse station WXOW is reporting a 51-49% lead for Democrat Steve Doyle, with 23% of the precincts reporting).

It's possible by the time I actually get off my butt and post this thing, the election results will be announced.

Hopefully, for the state of Wisconsin, it's good news.

THIS WILL BE UPDATED AS RESULTS COME IN.

9:27 PM JS Online
Dist. 60  100% reporting
Stroebel , GOP, 7,331 votes, 76%
Aaron,     Dem,  2,357 votes, 24%

Dist. 83  100% reporting
Craig,      GOP,  8,313 votes, 74%
Brownlow, Dem, 2,895 votes, 26%

Dist. 94 100% reporting
Lautz       GOP,  7,219 votes, 46%
Doyle,     Dem,  8,369 votes, 54%

Special Election Tuesday--Vote!

Tuesday (tomorrow) is a special election to fill three seats vacated by Republicans appointed to Walker's administration.  Even though the elections are in pretty heavy Republican districts, I'm betting not a lot of Republicans show up to vote, so it's possible for a strong Dem showing. 

In my nearby race:
State Assembly 60th District  (Hey, you Trenton people, GO VOTE)--Democrat Rick Aaron,
former teacher and veteran, info about Rick Aaron info here and here.

District 83: Democrat James Brownlow info here
District 94: Democrat Steve Doyle info here

Call your friends and neighbors to help Dems (aka "voice of reason") make up some ground in the State Assembly.

Obama's big news: Is Bin Laden dead?

Link here to reason.com (original source for this post)

Updated 9:52 PM    According to NBC News Reports, bin Laden is confirmed dead by a military action and the US forces have Bin Laden's body.  Obama is preparing to address the nation.
Link to msnbc here.

Updated 10:55 PM  Personal viewpoint: If anyone's death is justified, the horror and hatred caused by bin Laden made his so.  Someone asked me if he's in his heaven now.  Islam is not about hatred, it is about love.  In my religion, my God is about love.  Right now, no doubt in my mind, bin Laden is burning in his hell.

Never rest in peace, bin Laden.

Obama's powerful message:

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.

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.