Keep Your Perspective, Keep Your Focus

Last week I read Wispolitics' Friday Report including its list of whose stock is allegedly rising and falling. Reading it you would have never known that Democrats had just taken two Republican seats in historic recall elections. Dems almost took others seats, even though they were in mostly Republican districts. Although those races were not won, there was a significant surge of votes for Democrats. (see HERE and HERE)

Admittedly I wanted to see Democrats take back the state Senate as much as anyone. So they came up one win short of that goal, but that does not eliminate everything that has been accomplished. Since when is Scott Walker's loss of two seats in the state Senate a win for him? Since when is a surge in votes for Democrats in traditionally conservative districts a win for Republicans? Since when is a massive statewide movement of fully engaged Democrats, progressives and workers a win for the right wing? Republicans losing 100% of their recall efforts is a victory? Give me a break.

There is still much more work to do as we move into next year and we can't allow ourselves to get distracted by pundits or by Monday morning quarterbacks. We need to keep our perspective as we reflect on what has happened thus far and we need to keep our focus on the work that still remains.

Hopper's real union "dialogue" was with Cass

Wispolitics cited the following quote from state Senator Randy Hopper in its Friday report to subscribers. Xoff picked up on it right away. After watching Hopper on Mike Gousha's UpFront program it appears that the quote came from that interview.

"When it came to having dialogue with leaders of the union they knew exactly where I stood because for the last two years I worked extremely hard to work across the aisle and have developed a relationship with those people. They are upset for losing their collective bargaining benefits, but it is important to help drive this state forward". - Sen. Randy Hopper, R-Fond du Lac

The quote is certainly jarring when you compare his words to his actual record and the actual reality of what has transpired this year. Just like Scott Walker, Randy Hopper never campaigned on trying to wipe out unions forever in Wisconsin. During his alleged "dialogue" with leaders of unions I am fairly certain that he never mentioned taking away all of their most fundamental rights in the workplace. It is not real "dialogue" when you talk to people and the whole time you are hiding the fact that you plan on "dropping a bomb" on them. No wonder union leaders and state employees in his district are so angry with him. He was dishonest, he shut them out and he was not and still isn't listening to them.

In fact, I've obtained yet another Randy Hopper email and I think that it really speaks to Hopper's phoniness when he suggests that he ever had a real "dialogue" with union leaders in the first place. The email also reveals what he really thinks about some of those union leaders when he is not actually talking directly to them.

On December 28, 2010 a union leader sends Hopper an invite to a local union meeting. They are hoping that Hopper will come to answer questions about his vote against the union contracts late last year. They also were anticipating that Scott Walker was probably going to do some "stupid things" to "screw over" state workers. So they also wanted to know what position Hopper was going to take when that time came.

You can argue about the appropriateness of the the guy's language because it was clear that he was probably very frustrated and angry and wanted some answers for his members. But the one thing that you can't say is that this guy was being a phony. Some may consider his tone harsh but it was also very clear, very honest and very direct. We might call it very open "dialogue", to use the word accurately.

After Hopper's staffer received the direct and very honest email he forwarded it to his boss. I don't have a copy of the actual reply from Senator Hopper to this union leader but I do have the email where Hopper forwards it to his alleged girlfriend Valerie Cass. Somehow I don't think that his actual response to the union official was the same as what he said to Cass. Here was his real unvarnished opinion in that email:

"Check this out then ask yourself how someone like this is elevated to lead? Wow what an idiot" -Randy Hopper to Valerie Cass in 12/28/10 Email

Again the union leader was certainly upfront and brutally honest about what he thought. You may not like what he said or how he said it but it was brutally honest "dialogue". Randy Hopper on the other hand proceeded to forward the guy's email to his alleged girlfriend. By the way, how many other constituent emails was he sending to her and is that even appropriate? In any case, Hopper proceeded to not only send that email to her but then went on to call the union official names behind his back and indict the workers that elected him to his position. Sorry Randy but that is NOT "dialogue". In fact it is much closer to the definition of phony.

That was then this is now: Open Meetings Edition

2007

"Access to open meetings and public records is an essential component of effective citizen oversight of the workings of our democratic government. Raising awareness, sharing information, and promoting compliance with open meetings and public records law is part of the ongoing mission of the Department of Justice." - J.B. Van Hollen, [Capital Times, September 12, 2007]

2009

"As the state's chief law enforcement officer, I am deeply committed to promoting compliance with Wisconsin's open meetings and public records laws." - J.B. Van Hollen, [Capital Times, March 16, 2009]

2010

"Nothing captures the essence of American democracy better than 'government of the people, by the people, for the people,' and a citizen's access to public records and meetings of governmental bodies is a vital aspect of this principle. That is why, as your attorney general, I am deeply committed to promoting understanding of, and compliance with, Wisconsin's open meetings and public records laws. Educating the public and public employees on these laws is one of the most important parts of that goal." - J.B. Van Hollen, [Capital Times, August 29, 2010]

2011

"Even by the low standard that Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen sets for himself when representing the interests of the people of Wisconsin, his move to try to eviscerate the state's open meetings law is unacceptable...If Van Hollen gets his way, Wisconsin's open meetings law would ultimately be rendered meaningless — as would the promise of open and honest governance that the legislators of the 1970s outlined and embraced for themselves and for all branches and units of government in Wisconsin. Van Hollen may not be the ablest lawyer. But he is no fool. He knows that he is attacking the underpinnings of the open meetings law." - Capital Times Editorial, [Capital Times, May 31, 2011]

New Gaps in Enthusiasm and in Momentum

Leading up to the November election last year we continuously heard about the enthusiasm gap that favored Republicans in that election. We unfortunately found out after the election results that the analysis was mostly true. Considering that it was only a handful of months ago, it is nothing short of remarkable at how both enthusiasm and momentum have completely and totally reversed.

Last night Steve Doyle picked up a state assembly seat in a special election in western Wisconsin. This was a seat that was held by Republicans for some 16 years and only opened after its former occupant Mike Huebsch was tapped for a high position in the Walker administration. Doyle's victory last night was convincing (by 8%) and more importantly it happened in a part of the state that has often served as a political bell weather.

The Steve Doyle win makes total sense when you consider the rapid and major shift in Western Wisconsin voting between the November elections and the supreme court election last month. The major swing in April helped turn what should have been a slam dunk win for Prosser into one of the closest statewide elections in recent memory. Kloppenburg gained 18 net points over Tom Barrett's November results.

Given all of this information it should be no surprise that state Senator Dan Kapanke appears to be in big trouble. The recall petition against him was the first to be filed and it was done with lighting speed. Initial signs seem even more ominous when you couple that with an early poll showing Kapanke losing to a generic Democrat 55-41%.

There is also much to be learned by comparing the recall efforts by Democrats vs. state Republicans. So far Democrats have filed six recall petitions compared to Republicans' three. The petitions filed against Republican senators happened with lightning fast speed and often included 40%-50% more signatures than were needed. In the three recall petitions that Republicans have turned in they have taken much longer and turned in much less signatures.

The vast majority of the recall efforts against the Republicans was handled by a small army of passionately engaged Wisconsinites while the Republicans relied heavily on out-of-state paid circulators. The Republicans must have been pretty hard up for help because several of those people have questionable backgrounds. Given the low quality of out-of-state paid circulators that Republicans had to hire, it is not really a surprise that we are seeing reports of dead people signing their recall petitions.

The bottom line in all of this is that there are new gaps in both enthusiasm and in momentum and Republicans are now on the losing end of both. The only thing to still be determined is if these new gaps will translate into recall election victories.

Scott Jensen's Behind-the-Scenes Support

When former Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen wasn't working on getting a new trial, he was busy working behind-the-scenes to prop up the Republican Party and it's infrastructure. On this blog we highlighted at least one example involving the start of the MacIver Institute. Now, even after working out a sweetheart deal with Republican prosecutors, it seems that Jensen still prefers to work behind-the-scenes.

Scott Jensen is still listed as a "senior advisor" for American Federation for Children which is a radical right wing organization that seeks to undermine public schools among other things. According to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign it is a spin-off of the Michigan-based group All Children Matter (ACM). Perhaps they needed a spin-off group because ACM was not getting the best publicity after being fined for violating campaign finance rules all over the country.

The American Federation for Children lists a Washington D.C. address in a recent filing with Wisconsin's Government Accountability Board. What you can also find in that filing is a listing of their recent activity in Wisconsin. The records show that on March 17th this radical group paid for robo-calls to support all 8 of the Walker rubber stamps that are subject to recall in the state Senate. As a reminder, those include the following:

• Robert Cowles


• Alberta Darling


• Glenn Grothman


• Shelia Harsdorf


• Randy Hopper


• Dan Kapanke


• Mary Lazich


• Luther Olson

According to their GAB filing, Scott Jensen's D.C.-based group spent a total of $8,102 for these robo-calls. I'm sure that this is only the beginning so before the rest of the money starts rolling in I think that the Republican Senators should encourage Scott Jensen to come out of the shadows. For example, if he is going to do more robo-calls then maybe he should actually be the voice that voters hear on the other end. Perhaps he should join them on the campaign trail, appear in campaign literature or maybe even do a cameo in the TV ads. If voters needed any other motivation to dump the Republican 8, Scott Jensen's public support could certainly help to serve that noble purpose.

Remembering Walker Words on Recalls

Recall Momentum

ht: The Plum Line

Grothman and his "social misunderstanding"

Glenn Grothman clearly has a problem getting along with other people. Since the unprecedented protests in Madison started he has gone out of his way to insult/incite protesters. Recently Grothman described firefighters, cops, teachers nurses and other protesters as "slobs". That kind of over-the-top-rhetoric is par for the course with this extreme ideologue.

Now desperate right wingers are trying to make Grothman into a victim because he left Scott Walker's palace last night and walked into a crowd of protesters . Apparently they followed him and chanted "shame" at him repeatedly. Oh my, how could he ever survive!

Apparently Grothman was in a Dane County courtroom earlier today insulting Wisconsin working people again but this time it was under oath. It just seems that he is a magnet for drama and that he thrives on it.

The recent Grothman antics remind me of something that I read in an August 2009 West Bend Police report involving him. The police found no wrongdoing and didn't cite Grothman or anyone else involved in the situation. That being said, a few statements in the police report stuck with me.

While investigating the incident the police officer advised "Grothman to be cautious of his style when attempting to acknowledge political rivals." The officer went on to report that the incident appeared to be a "social misunderstanding."

"Social misunderstanding(s)"...from what I can tell Glenn Grothman seems to attract them whether he is at Germanfest in West Bend or at the Capitol in Madison.

Consequences of Politically Motivated Layoffs

Scott Walker has been jet setting all over the state and appearing on national media outlets. Lately he has used that time and profile to issue threats, saying that he will start laying off thousands of people. It seems that the number keeps growing along with his political desperation. But everyone should know that this is a sick strategy that he had used in Milwaukee County

Earlier today One Wisconsin Now reminded us about Walker's "Koch" call and how he described that it was part of his political strategy to threaten more and more layoffs. They also went on to remind us of Walker's misuse of layoff threats while he was still destroying Milwaukee County.

In November 2009 Walker was being interviewed on WTDY's Sly in the Morning radio show. During that interview Sly asked about the various budget issues in Milwaukee County and Walker described how he issued layoff threats just to "get their attention". So to get what he wanted politically from the Milwaukee County Board, Scott Walker used the threats of layoffs.

Listen for yourself and pay specific attention to how Walker appears to take joy in using the threat of layoffs as a political weapon.



Using the threat of layoffs gave Walker some of what he wanted in the budget but that was not enough for him (it never is). Only a few months later he unilaterally declared a budget crisis (sound familiar?) so that he could bypass the County Board and layoff the county workers . Those layoffs included 27 courthouse security personnel that were replaced by a questionable private security company.

Nearly a year after Walker sent these workers to the unemployment line a ruling came down that Walker in-fact did fake the fiscal crisis. As such his layoffs were ruled illegitimate and the county was not only ordered to offer the jobs back but also to provide back pay. Walker had already been sworn in as governor at the time of this ruling and probably didn't care that his arrogance and political game playing cost Milwaukee County dearly.

State workers, their unions and the public at-large should take note of how Scott Walker abused Milwaukee County, its people and its public employees. He is repeating that pattern right now in Madison.

Outside Agitators You Say?

The right wing has desperately tried to explain away the massive and unrelenting numbers of protesters coming to Madison from every corner of the state. One talking point is that the large numbers can be explained away because there are allegedly "outside agitators" involved in the protests. Even Scott Walker alluded to this during his bumper sticker reading session last night. I'll be waiting for Walker to start chastising some of these outsiders that are injecting themselves into the debate:

• The Utah recall group that reportedly started the initial process of recalling the Wisconsin 14 (Democratic Senators that stopped this legislation from being rammed down our throats in only 5 days).
• The Koch Brothers and their bankrolling the attack on Wisconsin workers and on their rights. Not only are they paying the bills but they also recently opened shop near the Capitol, hiring a small army of lobbyists.
• The Republican Governor's Association now running their own brand of dishonest and over-the-top attack ads against Wisconsin workers. We also know that they are bankrolled by even more "outside agitators" like Fox News (among many others).
• Right wing charlatan and well documented liar Andrew Breitbart and his churning out vile propaganda against Wisconsin workers and those that stand in solidarity with them.

So if Scott Walker is really so concerned about "outside agitators" perhaps he should start with some of his own. Scott Walker can continue his delusional comments about the increasing and unrelenting thousands of protesters but it wont change reality. These are hard working tax paying Wisconsinites that are outraged at his aggression towards them. They are firefighters, teachers, snow plow drivers, concerned citizens and many others. Oh, and when the inevitable recall papers are filed against Walker and his enablers in the legislature, I can assure you, it will not be done by someone in Utah (or any other state).

Real Outsider Complains about the Imagined Kind

Right wing charlatan Andrew Breitbart has a well documented history of being a shameless liar and now he is busy telling lies about Wisconsin. His latest shtick is claiming that the growing thousands protesting in Madison are somehow "outsiders". In a surprise to absolutely no one Breitbart's absurd claims are based on nothing but the empty recesses of his dark mind.

It is not that hard to find the truth by just looking at all of the local unions, local members, and local allies that have been involved and organizing from the very beginning. Buses have been dispatched from every single corner of Wisconsin on repeated routes every single day. Does Breitbart really think that buses full of "outsiders" are coming from Wausau, De Pere and Eau Claire? What? are scores of activists from Michigan repeatedly swimming across the lake just to catch a bus in Manitowoc?

Unlike Breitbart I actually was a part of this local process. Early last week I called a Wisconsin union that had buses going to Madison. I spoke to someone local that I literally know and signed up for a Wednesday bus. I went to the designated place at the designated time and met with more local union people and other supporters. That process has been repeated all over this state countless times from the very beginning. The result has been literally hundreds of thousands of people protesting nonstop in Madison and inspiring people all over the world in the process.

So while a real outside agitator like Andrew Breitbart continues to lie, real Wisconsinites will continue coming to Madison in massive and unrelenting numbers to protest and stand in the gap for Wisconsin workers and their rights.

To Quote Scott Walker...

"You want a tough job; you've got to take some hits." [April 9, 2002]

Yes and that is especially true when you bring it on yourself by trying to end 50 years of law and tradition in only 5 days.

ht on video: Blue Cheddar