Next up for Wisconsin: the mother of all recall drives

[RandomGuy]

Chicago – The partisan fight over collective-bargaining rights in Wisconsin is moving from the streets of Madison toward the ballot box.

A recall drive of unprecedented scale is underway, with 32 efforts targeting 16 state senators involved in the three-week budget standoff between Senate Republicans and Democrats. In the 103 years since Oregon first adopted the recall process, only 13 state legislators have been recalled nationwide.

The campaigns – against eight Republicans and eight Democrats – have been infused with money and energy from outside the state, making the movement “a national event” that could drive momentum for similar efforts in other states, says Joshua Spivak, an expert on recall history at the Hugh Carey Institute for Government Reform in New York.

Others agree that the Wisconsin recall drive is unique in American history. “In Wisconsin, nothing like this has ever happened; in terms of the US, nothing comes close to such a wholesale effort,” says Greg Magarian, an election law expert at Washington University in St. Louis.

Republican Gov. Scott Walker ended the standoff by signing into law a measure that eliminated collective bargaining from all non-law-enforcement public sector unions – a move his party says will help better state budget woes, but that critics say amounts to nothing more than union busting. Wisconsin recall law prevents him from being subject to a recall until 2012.

Democratic senators are being criticized for fleeing the state for several weeks to prevent Republicans from having a quorum to vote on a budget bill. Republican senators are being criticized for removing the collective-bargaining provision from the budget bill through a controversial legislative maneuver and then passing the provision as a separate bill without a quorum.

The mother of all recall drives
Recall efforts are seldom used, and when they are, they typically fail because of the money needed to mobilize petition drives and to defend the validity of the signatures in court, Mr. Magarian says.

But the organizational help from outside the state could help, says Mr. Spivak. "The money is there and the will is there. Which makes it an unusual situation compared to the past but it may not be unusual compared to the future,'

Wisconsin makes it easy for outside forces to get involved in recall efforts. According to the state’s Government Accountability Board, which oversees campaign finance, elections, ethics, and lobbying laws, only one person from each recall committee is required to reside in the district of the legislator who is the target of the recall.

The actual petitioner who files the paperwork also does not need to be a resident of the district or state.

The American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 48 is helping lead the recall efforts of the eight Senate Republicans. AFSCME Council 48 Executive Director Rich Abelson told a Milwaukee television host Sunday his organization decided to invest in recalling the legislators instead of calling for a strike.

“We think by summer we will have changed the face of the Wisconsin Senate,” he said.

Democratic state party chairman Mike Tate told the Wisconsin State Journal Sunday that $940,000 was raised in donations last week for similar recall efforts.

Helping target the eight Senate Democrats is the American Recall Coalition, a Salt Lake City organization. In a statement, the group states that the grounds for its recall effort of the Democrats “are conspiracy to intentionally interfere with the proper functioning of the Wisconsin Senate and gross dereliction of duty.â€

“Politicians must learn that the American people will no longer tolerate political tantrums, holding the legislative process hostage or attempting to impose their will through extortion or dereliction of the duties they were elected to perform,” it adds.

Wisconsin Sen. Dave Hansen, one of the eight the group is targeting, released a statement last month questioning the integrity of the organization. "One has to wonder why a group in Salt Lake City Utah is so interested in what is happening here,"


How Wisconsin's recall process works
Recall committees have 60 days from the time of their filing to collect the needed signatures. To qualify for the ballot, the committees must have signatures from one-quarter the number of people who voted in the most recent election.

The signature deadlines for the 16 senators range from April 25 to May 4, because they were filed at different times. If any recall efforts qualify, a recall election would follow in that district within weeks or months, followed by an election to name a replacement if the recall is successful.

Wisconsin politicians are eligible for a recall only after they have been in office for a year, meaning that Governor Walker will not be eligible for a recall until Jan. 3, 2012.

That could benefit Walker if the economy improves and passions diminish, Magarian says.

On the other hand, if the economy does not improve, his opponents are likely to sustain their argument in every way they can through January.

“Labor is not going to go away. Obviously you’re not going to have 100,000 people in Madison every weekend, but if they keep the spotlight on Walker, he’s going to have a real problem,” Magarian says.

Editor's note: Monitor staff photographer Ann Hermes traveled with Wisconsin farmers on March 12 in a 'tractorcade' to the Wisconsin state capital in Madison to protest Gov. Scott Walker's efforts to stifle collective bargaining.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/369630
------------------------------------------------------------

[MannyIsGod]

With 1/4th of the time gone they've already got half the signatures required.

[fraga]

The Republicans might have painted themselves in a corner in this case...

[boutons_deux]

Kock Bros, US CoC, will give Walker legal aid to allege "signature fraud" and tie it up in the courts for years.

[CosmicCowboy]

Meh...they would still have to win the election.

[Winehole23]

http://www.wuwm.com/programs/news/view_news.php?articleid=9479

[jack sommerset]

Mannys big day is tomorrow. I pray whatever the results be, manny will celebrate the winners. Walker did not wage a war on unions, he was looking out for the tax payers money. Wisconsin has a lot of healing in front of them no matter of the results. God bless

"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

[jack sommerset]

CNN is saying walker will win recall vote. This was a huge waste of money, time, resources and energy. The man was doing the job he was elected to do. Now a second vote clarified that. I hope mannyisgod (u should change that name to just manny) can see the error in his thinking. Plus, side note, Obama won this state last election, may not be as easy this time around. God bless

[Crookshanks]

This was a resounding victory for Scott Walker and a big punch in the mouth to unions and liberal policies. Congratulations to the people of Wisconsin!

[Borat Sagyidev]

A lot of liberals voted for Walker, including a few that I know..who still Intend to vote for Obama. I don't think it was so much against union or liberal policies, but rather the corruption in the unions and waste.

A lot of teachers are happy not to be paying Union dues.

[boutons_deux]

WI regulations permitted the governor to receive much more money than a challenger. And most of Walker's money came from the VRWC outside of WI.

Citizens United, by the extreme radical right wing Repug SCOTUS, is allowing the completion of the coup d'etat that has been building for 35 years.

America is fucked and unfuckable.

[DMX7]

A lot of liberals voted for Walker, including a few that I know..who still Intend to vote for Obama. I don't think it was so much against union or liberal policies, but rather the corruption in the unions and waste.

A lot of teachers are happy not to be paying Union dues.

A lot of teachers will be paying much more than union dues when their benefits and salaries get slashed more.

[ploto]

Obama won this state last election, may not be as easy this time around. God bless

Exit polling still showed large support for Obama.

[ElNono]

Before the election


Walker did not wage a war on unions, he was looking out for the tax payers money.

After the election


This was a resounding victory for Scott Walker and a big punch in the mouth to unions and liberal policies.

[Nbadan]

Koch Money won this election....hooray for democracy!

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7092/7343972208_103965878a_o.jpg

[Nbadan]

http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/116/89899600.jpg

[ElNono]

You look kinda mad, Dan :lol

[Spurs da champs]

Damn poor Ed.

[Nbadan]

You look kinda mad, Dan :lol

I could give a rat's ass about Walker and this recall election....but Walker out-raised Barret 9-1 mostly with the help of out-of-state-donors...on top of that, Walker had a considerable PAC advantage, the RGA alone ran $8 million dollars of anti-Barret ads...given that, Walker outspent his opponent by a 10-1 margin...that's democracy in America....yippee..

Nice message...

[Nbadan]

Koch brother's AFP in action in Wisconsin

This is how you buy an election...

FYGE2cmLGZQ

This isn't what democracy looks like, this is what the end of democracy looks like

Save the democracy...overturn Citizen's United.

[Nbadan]

Of course, the most frustrating part of all this is that Walker has had 6 aids charged with felony and misdemeanor charges related to illegal campaigning

So far the investigators have charged six people with 15 felonies; one person, who turned himself in to prosecutors, was convicted on two counts:


* Timothy Russell (former deputy chief of staff to Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker) was charged with two felonies, and one misdemeanor related to embezzlement of donations intended for Wisconsin veterans in a special fund, which was created at Walker's direction. The money was used by Russell and his partner, Brian Pierick, to take a few vacations. Read the criminal complaint here.

* Brian Pierick (partner of Timothy Russell): charged with two felonies involving child solicitation. It appears Russell's phone records led to Pierick and a nasty story about two men soliciting a 17-year old minor for sex. Read the criminal complaint here.

* Kevin Kavanaugh (appointed by Walker as a county veterans' official): charged with five felonies related to embezzlement from the veterans fund. Kavanaugh appears to have been raiding the funds separately from Russell. Read the criminal complaint here.

* Kelly Rindfleisch (former deputy chief of staff to then-Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker): charged with four felonies relating to campaign fundraising while on the county payroll. Rindfleisch's worked on a secret wifi system in her office just steps away from Walker's office. Rindfleisch continued to work for Walker's campaign until she was charged. Read the criminal complaint here.

* Darlene Wink (former aide to then-Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker): pled guilty to two unclassified misdemeanors as part of a deal that she made with the prosecutors relating to working on campaign fundraising while on the county payroll. Winks office was down a short hallway from Walker's. Read the complaint here.

* William Gardner (President and CEO of Wisconsin & Southern Railroad): Gardner pled guilty to felony violations of Wisconsin's election campaign laws in April of 2011. Gardner tried to convince prosecutors that his $50,000 in illegal contributions to Walker, which he funneled through his employees and a girlfriend, was an innocent mistake, except he had done the same thing the previous year. Read the criminal complaint here.

4) What did Walker know and when did he know it?

The investigation was initially sparked by a probe into some $60,000 in missing veterans' funds. Based on discoveries made in that investigation, it expanded into a probe of illegal fundraising activity by government employees who were Walker's staff. The allegation is that Tim Russell set up an unofficial email and wifi system in the Milwaukee County Executive's office so that staffers could conduct campaign business on laptops while their salaries were being paid by the taxpayers. This type of activity is a felony in Wisconsin, and other high-level politicians have been prosecuted and convicted of similar misconduct in the past. The existence of the secret email system was "never disclosed to county employees outside a closely held group within the Walker administration," says the indictment of Kelly Rindfleisch, the employee hired by Walker who spent the most time on fundraising activities. On county time, the staffers communicated extensively with Walker campaign staff, organized fundraisers, made invitations, exchanged fundraising lists, and sent out campaign press releases, all just steps away from Walker's own office.

Walker says he knows nothing about it, but an email included in the Kelly Rindfleisch charging documents suggests otherwise. When the MJS caught Darlene Wink Facebooking for Walker's campaign while working on the county payroll and printed a story on the morning of May 14, 2010, she was fired. Walker sent an email to Deputy Chief of Staff Tim Russell that same morning at 8:46 a.m. -- not demanding an investigation or a top to bottom review of staff procedures -- but telling him he felt bad about firing her and stating "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." Many have described this as a "smoking gun" email.

http://truth-out.org/news/item/9578-will-scott-walker-get-a-pink-slip-an-orange-jumpsuit-or-a-second-chance

Walker is in the middle of a John Doe investigation, equal to a grand jury investigation in other states, and his former campaign manager has thrown him under the bus...

[Wild Cobra]

A lot of teachers will be paying much more than union dues when their benefits and salaries get slashed more.
So what?

Teachers work 9-10 months a year, and in many places get paid more than high risk jobs like police and fire fighters. they have too strong of a union with great benefits that you don't find in similar non government jobs.

Their status as elitists needs to end at some point. The kids need to come first.

[Wild Cobra]

Of course, the most frustrating part of all this is that Walker has had 6 aids charged with felony and misdemeanor charges related to illegal campaigning

So far the investigators have charged six people with 15 felonies; one person, who turned himself in to prosecutors, was convicted on two counts:



http://truth-out.org/news/item/9578-will-scott-walker-get-a-pink-slip-an-orange-jumpsuit-or-a-second-chance

Walker is in the middle of a John Doe investigation, equal to a grand jury investigation in other states, and his former campaign manager has thrown him under the bus...
Charged...

When you see a conviction, let us know.

Is it as credible as those charges against Edwards? You realize don't you, that politics is rather dirty, and these charges may be based on bad information. Right?

[Wild Cobra]

Exit polling still showed large support for Obama.
Interesting.

Large... Not a majority?

[Wild Cobra]

I could give a rat's ass about Walker and this recall election....but Walker out-raised Barret 9-1 mostly with the help of out-of-state-donors...on top of that, Walker had a considerable PAC advantage, the RGA alone ran $8 million dollars of anti-Barret ads...given that, Walker outspent his opponent by a 10-1 margin...that's democracy in America....yippee..

Nice message...
People from the outside appreciate someone elsewhere when they have nobody to support at home. I find it rare that I give a donation to anyone here in Oregon. Most are authoritarian liberals. Even the republicans in Oregon are almost all left of center. I give plenty to charities like Doernbechers Children's Hospital, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, etc. It's simply not often I ever donate to a political party. I did donate a nice UXGA monitor to the Chris Dudley campaign when I bough my WUXGA monitor, and cash. He is the first candidate I gave money to in a long time.

I very seldom donate outside the state, but I could see myself donating to Walker if I thought he needed more help than he was getting.

[boutons_deux]

What Walker has committed in WI is a strategy that will be coming to other states.

While claiming a budget crisis, he gives away $100Ms to UCA. Like all Repug politicians, he's a liar and a fraud.

[Wild Cobra]

What Walker has committed in WI is a strategy that will be coming to other states.

While claiming a budget crisis, he gives away $100Ms to UCA. Like all Repug politicians, he's a liar and a fraud.
Well, you have your opinion, but like the boy who always cries wolf, why should I believe a damn thing you say?

[DMX7]

Interesting.

Large... Not a majority?

A majority.

[coyotes_geek]

I could give a rat's ass about Walker and this recall election....but Walker out-raised Barret 9-1 mostly with the help of out-of-state-donors...on top of that, Walker had a considerable PAC advantage, the RGA alone ran $8 million dollars of anti-Barret ads...given that, Walker outspent his opponent by a 10-1 margin...that's democracy in America....yippee..

Nice message...

Yet when Obama outspends Romney on his way to a victory in November, you'll be okay with that....

[Wild Cobra]

I don't think there's enough money to buy the election this time.

He outspent McCain by how much last time, and won by how much?

Did his "hope and change" bring real hope, or only leave change in people's pockets?

My God...

He almost lost to McCain of all people!

[boutons_deux]

Count 'Em: 30 Billionaires Now Backing Romney's Super PAC

As of Sunday, at least 30 billionaires — 7.5% of the Forbes 400 — had donated money to Restore Our Future, a Mitt Romney-backing super PAC, either personally, through their companies or both.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2012/05/21/count-em-30-billionaires-now-backing-romneys-super-pac/

The 0.01%ers will buy the WH for their boy Gecko.

And the current Republican economy will get much worse for the 99% and insanely much better for the 1%, for decades.

America is fucked and unfuckable.

There's a good chance the single OWS-aligned candidate Warren, absolutely detested by the financial sector as Mama of the CFPB, will be outspent by Wall St donating $10Ms to Brown

[jack sommerset]

Funny....the Obama non supporters in here were not whining about all that money Obama had is 2008. We were concerned about his record or lack of one. Hoping all along he would do what he said he would do. It didn't happen. The big promises never kept. And of course the famous passing of the crazy health care law that nobody read. That big bribe switched a lot of colors in the house stopping Obama from doing more damage. I can go and on. Bottom line is people will give money for a good cause. They thought they were contributing to man of honor 4 years ago but they didn't. Now a veteran in campaign raising Obama will say and do anything to stay. I believe his policies are all up for sale. And who gives him the most money gets the prize. Never the less America has a voice and a vote. No amount of money will keep him in office. God bless

[boutons_deux]

"all that money Obama had is 2008"

millions of small donations dominated.

With Gecko and post-CU, it's the 1% buying the White House with $Bs.

[DMX7]

He outspent McCain by how much last time, and won by how much?


By more than 2-to-1 where it counts.

[boutons_deux]

http://thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/heartland_walker.png

UnaBomber and Charlie Manson will be speaking on global warming.

[clambake]

well, they had to spend all that money on sarah's wardrobe and pay all those consultants to teach her the alphabet.

[boutons_deux]

"Walker's Republican campaign outspent Barrett's Democratic campaign by $30.5 million to $4 million - that's a 7.5 to 1 advantage. Another way of saying this is that of the $34.5 million spent on their campaigns, Walker spend 88% of the money.

Walker beat Barrett by 1,316,989 votes to 1,145,190 votes - 53% to 46% (with 1% going to an independent candidate).

Here's another way of saying that: Walker spent $23 for each vote he received, while Barrett spent only $3.47 per vote.

But the reality is even worse than this, because the $34.5 million figure does not include so-called independent expenditures and issue ads paid for primarily by out-of-state billionaires (like the Koch brothers, Sheldon Adelson, and Joe Rickets), business groups, and the National Rifle Association, which were skewed even more heavily toward Walker. Once all this additional spending is calculated, we'll see that total spending in this race could be more than double the $34.5 million number, that Walker and his business allies outspent Barrett by an even wider margin, and that he had to spend even more than $23 for each vote.

In other words, business and billionaires bought this election for Walker. The money paid for non-stop TV and radio ads as well as mailers. There's no doubt that if the Barrett campaign had even one-third of the war- chest that Walker had, it would have been able to mount an even more formidable grassroots get-out-the-vote campaign and put more money into the TV and radio air war. Under those circumstances, it is likely that Barrett would have prevailed.

Pundits can have a field day pontificating about the Wisconsin election, but in the end its about how Big Money hijacked democracy in the Badger State on Tuesday, and how they're trying to do it again in November."

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/11789-walker-spent-88-of-the-money-to-get-53-of-the-vote

[Viva Las Espuelas]

Yet when Obama outspends Romney on his way to a victory in November, you'll be okay with that....

It was perfectly OK in 2008. No outrage then.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

Before the election



After the election

Shape shifters. Interesting

[DMX7]

It was perfectly OK in 2008. No outrage then.

Outspending your opponent is not the issue. It's the source of the funds. A few billionaires vs many small donors. I rather have normal peoples' interests prevail over that of the 0.1%.

[boutons_deux]

"Outspending your opponent is not the issue"

It is.

The outspender wins 90% of the time.

govt, at all levels, is for sale. Human-Americans' votes are a charade, a fraud.

[coyotes_geek]

It was perfectly OK in 2008. No outrage then.

Disparity in campaign funds is only something to be concerned about when it's your team who loses.

[DMX7]

"Outspending your opponent is not the issue"

It is.

The outspender wins 90% of the time.

govt, at all levels, is for sale. Human-Americans' votes are a charade, a fraud.

I don't care if they win 100% of the time. If a candidate is outspending because he or she has the resources to - and they were gathered from normal people making different degrees of donations to express their different degrees of support - then that's fine with me. If 4 or 5 billionaires from out of state drop in million dollar donations that are immaterial to them and disproportionately influence the election, then the process has been hijacked.

[boutons_deux]

"the process has been hijacked"

which is the case, elections, govt at all levels, America, have been hijacked.

[Thompson]

A majority.

Would this be the same exit polling that showed the race was a dead heat, when in actuality Walker won by 7 points?

[Nbadan]

Would this be the same exit polling that showed the race was a dead heat, when in actuality Walker won by 7 points?

umm...nnoooo..

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/06/05/us/politics/wisconsin-recall-exit-polls.htmlf

[BlairForceDejuan]

pwnt

losers gon lose

[Thompson]

umm...nnoooo..

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/06/05/us/politics/wisconsin-recall-exit-polls.htmlf

Your link appears to be broken - like the exit polls.

[Wild Cobra]

Your link appears to be broken - like the exit polls.
You mean broken like Propaganda Dan?

[boutons_deux]

Big-Lie Coup d'Etat

JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, BP, Chevron, WalMart, and billionaires Charles and David Koch are launching a multi-million dollar TV ad buy Tuesday blasting President Obama over the national debt.

Actually, I don't know who's behind this ad because there's no way to know. And that's a big problem.

The front group for the ad is Crossroads GPS, the sister organization to the super PAC American Crossroads run by Republican political operative Karl Rove.

Because Crossroads GPS is a tax-exempt nonprofit group, it can spend unlimited money on politics -- and it doesn't have to reveal where it gets the dough.

By law, all it has to do is spend most of the money on policy "issues," which is a fig leaf for partisan politics.

Here's what counts as an issue ad, as opposed to a partisan one. The narrator in the ad Crossroads GPS is launching solemnly intones: "In 2008, Barack Obama said, 'We can't mortgage our children's future on a mountain of debt.' Now he's adding $4 billion in debt every day, borrowing from China for his spending. Every second, growing our debt faster than our economy," he continues. "Tell Obama, stop the spending."

This is a bald-faced lie, by the way.

Obama isn't adding to the debt every day. The debt is growing because of obligations entered into long ago, many under George W. Bush -- including two giant tax cuts that went mostly to the very wealthy that were supposed to be temporary and which are still going, courtesy of Republican blackmail over raising the debt limit.

In realty, government spending as a portion of GDP keeps dropping.

As I said, I don't know who's financing this big lie but there's good reason to think it's some combination of Wall Street, big corporations, and the billionaire Koch brothers.

According to the reliable inside-Washington source Politico, the Koch brothers' network alone will be spending $400 million over the next six months trying to defeat Obama, which is more than Senator John McCain spent on his entire 2008 campaign.

Big corporations and Wall Street are also secretly funneling big bucks into front groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that will use the money to air anti-Obama ads, while keeping secret the identities of these firms.

Looking at the all the anti-Obama super PACs and political fronts like Crossroads GPS, Politico estimates the anti-Obama forces (including the Romney campaign) will outspend Obama and pro-Obama groups by 2 to 1.

How can it be that big corporations and billionaires will be spending unlimited amounts on big lies like this one, without any accountability because no one will know where the money is coming from?

Blame a majority of the Supreme Court in its grotesque 2010 Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission decision -- as well as the IRS for lax enforcement that lets political front groups like Crossroads GPS or the U.S. Chamber of Commerce pretend they're not political.

But you might also blame something deeper, more sinister.

I'm not a conspiracy theorist (you can't have served in Washington and seriously believe more than two people can hold on to a big story without it leaking), but I fear that at least since 2010 we've been witnessing a quiet, slow-motion coup d'etat whose purpose is to repeal every bit of progressive legislation since the New Deal and entrench the privileged positions of the wealthy and powerful -- who haven't been as wealthy or as powerful since the Gilded Age of the late 19th century.

Its technique is to inundate America with a few big lies, told over and over (the debt is Obama's fault and it's out of control; corporations and the very rich are the "job creators" that need tax cuts; government is the enemy, and its regulations are strangling the private sector; unions are bad; and so on), and tell them so often they're taken as fact.

Then having convinced enough Americans that these lies are true, take over the White House, Congress, and remaining states that haven't yet succumbed to the regressive right (witness Tuesday's recall election in Wisconsin).

I desperately hope I'm wrong, but there's growing evidence I may be right.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-reich/the-biglie-coup-detat_b_1571465.html

Reich is Reight, and VRWC/UCA know their boy 0.01%er Gecko is exactly the huge dildo they need complete their coup d'etat, fuck America harder.

VRWC's boy in WI is the prototype Repug governor + legislature, and "macaca" Jindal in LA is another, shoveling taxpayer dollars to "Christian" indoctrination "schools".

[jack sommerset]

"Actually, I don't know who's behind this ad because there's no way to know."

My brother. This is the part you should have bolded. Just another rant without merit. God bless

"When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken."

[boutons_deux]

BOLDED:

SOMEBODY's behind it is the point, and second point is that there's NO WAY TO KNOW WHO.

GFY and you Bible quotes, you fake Bible-thumper.

[jack sommerset]

BOLDED:

SOMEBODY's behind it is the point, and second point is that there's NO WAY TO KNOW WHO.

GFY and you Bible quotes, you fake Bible-thumper.

My brother, it's just another rant fueled by hate. You don't know who or why. Anyone could be somebody, brother. You should get the facts then in a constructive mature manner give us your opinion. I'm going to do a fun activity, indoor soccer. My kids soccer camps are cancelled due to rain so I will do something constructive, fun plus get a little workout in. I suggest you do the something other than ranting. Get your mind on something other than this hate ranting. I have hope for you. God bless

[boutons_deux]

"You don't know who or why"

Reich listed the Usual Suspects.

There's a reason UCA wants its funding of politics hidden, it would be bad for profits, sharedholders, clients.

[boutons_deux]

Repugs defund efforts to reduce the secrecty of donations

House Republicans Vote to Protect Broadcasters’ Interests, Ignore the Public Interest

So determined are Republican members of Congress to kowtow to the broadcast industry that today members of a House Appropriations subcommittee voted to strip the Federal Communications Commission of its ability to post online information that is already supposed to be public about who is paying for campaign ads.

In April the FCC adopted rules requiring the top four broadcasters in the biggest fifty media markets to put their “political files” online. The political file includes information about individuals and groups that purchase political ads on the station. This ruling was an important step for transparency because it meant that instead of having to dig through a file cabinet in a local broadcaster’s office, anyone interested in learning who was paying for a political ad could access that information by going to the FCC's website.

The National Association of Broadcasters have been fighting this transparency measure from its inception, preferring to keep secret information about where an expected $3 billion in political ad revenue is coming from. The FCC, in adopting the disclosure rules, stood up to the powerful broadcast lobby. Republican Members of the Appropriations subcommittee, not so much.

The appropriations bill will have to be marked up by the full committee before moving on to the House floor. Advocates, including the Sunlight Foundation and Free Press hope efforts by committee Democrats to strip the offending provisions from the bill are successful. House Republicans should not be able to blithely disregard Americans’ right to know who is paying for their elections.

http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2012/06/06/house-republicans-vote-to-protect-broadcasters%E2%80%99-interests-ignore-the-public-interest/

[boutons_deux]

Money talks loudly in many state campaigns

The tobacco industry is on the verge of a significant political victory in California after spending nearly $47 million to fight the $1-a-pack-tax known as Proposition 29.

The measure was losing by just 63,000 votes Wednesday, with an estimated 1 million ballots still to be counted. Yet, only two months ago surveys showed that Prop. 29 supporters had nothing to worry about: The tax was ahead by double digits.

A barrage of negative advertisements, however, helped sap support for the tobacco tax. The close race - which may not be decided for weeks - underscores a long-known fact in politics: Money talks.

"What money buys you is exposure," said David McCuan, a professor of political science at Sonoma State University who specializes in state politics.

"It's relatively easy for the no campaign to find some flaw in a ballot initiative or something wrong with the idea or the people behind a measure."

That's exactly what opponents of the tobacco tax did with their advertising campaign against Prop. 29, he said. A Public Policy Institute poll released two weeks ago found a 14-point drop in support for the tobacco tax between March and May. That kind of swing in support would have been nearly impossible for the yes side to accomplish, even if they'd had the money, Baldassare said.

http://mobile.sfgate.com/sfchron/db_41685/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=u9VUKZ2m&full=true#display

$47M to turn a majority of voters from for to against just $1/carton of cancer sticks. It worked.

[Winehole23]

Wisconsin Club for Growth quashes subpoenas in recall related discovery, prosecutors put Walker at the center of a criminal scheme to skirt state election laws:

http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/federal-judge-unseals-hundreds-of-documents-in-john-doe-probe-b99295017z1-263839791.html

[boutons_deux]

Wisconsin Club for Growth quashes subpoenas in recall related discovery, prosecutors put Walker at the center of a criminal scheme to skirt state election laws:

http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/federal-judge-unseals-hundreds-of-documents-in-john-doe-probe-b99295017z1-263839791.html

this happened weeks, months?, ago

the Repug judge who killed the case ordered all evidence destroyed. No Law Is Above The Man

[boutons_deux]

JOHN DOE SPECIAL PROSECUTORS ARE NOW WEIGHING IN:

After a day of listening to Scott Walker lying, Francis Schmitz, a REPUBLICAN and the special prosecutor appointed to lead the second John Doe Probe, spoke up (http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/special-prosecutor-rejects-scott-walkers-partisan-take-on-john-doe-b99296379z1-264102151.html):


"Mr. Schmitz spent over forty years serving his nation as an Army officer and as a federal prosecutor in the United States Department of Justice," Schmitz's attorney, Randall Crocker, said in an email to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "As a prosecutor, he represented the United States in both criminal cases and on counterterrorism task forces. He was a finalist for the position of U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin during the administration of George W. Bush."

Good resume. He's a Republican.


Walker's campaign on Friday said "the accusation of any wrongdoing written in the complaint by the office of a partisan Democrat District Attorney by me or by my campaign is categorically false. In fact two judges, in both state and federal courts, have ruled that no laws were broken."That "Democrat District Attorney" is John Chisholm, the Milwaukee County DA, whose office initiated the investigation before it expanded to four southern Wisconsin counties. Along with Chisholm, the DAs in those counties — two Republicans and two Democrats — said they sought an independent prosecutor to avoid partisan concerns. Schmitz was appointed by a judge in the John Doe case

"Mr. Schmitz swore an oath when he accepted his appointment to lead the John Doe investigations in accordance with the law and on behalf of the State of Wisconsin. He has kept that oath," Crocker's statement on behalf of Schmitz said.


Another whiz bang that Schmitz, who heads the investigation, is a Republican. And he's not finished:


"Mr. Schmitz also believes in upholding the purpose of Wisconsin's campaign finance laws — as set out in Wisconsin Statute 11.001 — that 'our democratic system of government can be maintained only if the electorate is informed.' Wisconsin has a compelling interest in a campaign finance system that "must make readily available to the voters complete information as to who is supporting or opposing which candidate or cause."

That's right. Laws don't have any political bias.Boom goes the "partisan politics" and "witch hunt" meme.

Schmitz added:


In the statement on behalf of Schmitz, Crocker said: "Because a secrecy order governs the John Doe investigations, Mr. Schmitz had no reason to believe this brief would be released to the public when it was drafted."

This is an important one. When they compiled and submitted what is known as Exhibit C, where they lay out their case so far, prosecutors assumed that document would remain secret. They were still investigating and serving subpoenas for documents and testimony. The multiple lawsuits by previously unnamed parties with secret filings have resulted in the John Doe Probe being halted pending a ruling of the Appeals Court.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/06/21/1308639/-Scott-Walkers-Criminal-Scheme-News-Just-Keeps-Getting-More-Juicy?detail=email