Tim Russell's Recently Filed Motion

Scott Walker's longtime political operative and aide, Tim Russell has a court date on Monday.  It is for the very serious charges of him allegedly embezzling tens of thousands of dollars.  As most will recall, this case was brought against him based on the ongoing John Doe investigation.  Monday's court date is marked as a pretrial but only a few days ago Russell's attorney filed a motion and I'm wondering if it will be argued at that hearing.

Yesterday I went to the Milwaukee County Courthouse and pulled Tim Russell's file.  Because of the coming court date, the file was already in the actual court room, so that is where I had to examine the file.  Because of timing and logistics, I was unable to obtain copies of the newly filed motions.  The following points are based on my own notes and understanding of the motion that Tim Russell's attorney recently filed. (The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel covered some of this Thursday)

• In recent weeks we have seen a clear and coordinated effort from Walker supporters to attack the John Doe process and the dedicated law enforcement officers that are in charge of investigating and prosecuting alleged crimes related to it.  Based on the recently filed motion it now appears that Tim Russell's lawyers are going to start formally attacking the John Doe investigation, the process, the prosecutors and even the judge. 
• Tim Russell's lawyer claims that the only "remedies" to the issues that they raise is A. Dismiss the case entirely or B. Suppress virtually all of the key evidence (it specifically mentions evidence that was gathered via search warrants, Subpoenas and even  the testimony of two key witnesses). 
• Based on my reading of the motion, it seems clear to me that Russell's attorney is very concerned about his client's exposure related to charges that have yet to be filed against him.  Given some of the things that we have read in the various complaints, he certainly should be concerned.  At one point Russell's attorney seems to reference the idea that the prosecutors might be hanging these uncharged issues over Tim Russell's head in order to get him to cooperate.  
• Tim Russell's attorney repeatedly offers a quote that he attributes to Assistant D.A. Bruce Landgraf as saying, "everybody is cooperative when it comes to Tim".  To me that statement says that Tim Russell's political pals are more than willing to throw him under the nearest prosecutorial bus.

If Tim Russell's attempt to have the case thrown out or for the evidence to be suppressed fails, you have to wonder what would keep him from quickly making a deal.  It seems to be in his own best interests given the massive amount of uncharged legal exposure that is currently hanging over his head.  One would think that the motivation to reach the best deal possible would be increased when his political allies have apparently thrown him so completely under the bus.

I am not sure if this motion will be argued on Monday because I didn't see a response to the motion from the DA's office in the file.  Frankly I don't know when they are going to argue the latest Russell motion but I do know that we should all keep an eye on it.  We should also be keeping an eye on what Tim Russell decides to do if the motion does fail because it could have a direct impact on many of the remaining elements of the John Doe investigation.

Update 1: Also read Capper's take on this, "Russell Tries to Handcuff John Doe"

Update 2: During Tim Russell's court hearing today (6/4/12) it was revealed that it was HIS attorney that released the document that was featured in Dan Bice's story last week.  That document revealed Walker's stonewalling of the DA's investigation.  Furthermore it was revealed in court that Russell's lawyer released this document with his client's permission.  Does Russell still "stand with Walker" or does he finally realize that Walker and Company have thrown him under the bus?

Revisiting ScottforGov and its Open Records Request

Readers might recall that I have a long history with Scott Walker's Milwaukee County administration stalling and otherwise obstructing my open records requests.  In 2010 his administration made me wait at lest 8 or 9 months to get records that I had requested of them.  In fact I may have never received those records if a reporter would not have called them and inquired about the long delay.

In the past I have also contrasted Walker's history of open record obstruction with how his office quickly (and usually for free) processed both large and small requests for his political allies.  One example of this that I have given on this blog is their quick response to the anonymous shill blog, ScottforGov.  It is the blog that was very quickly taken down after Darlene Wink was caught doing political stuff on county time.  Based on criminal complaints we also know that longtime Walker aide Tim Russell purchased some of the domains related to this anonymous shill blog.

The following is simply a review of how this anonymous open records request was quickly processed for free by the Walker administration.  I've included more recent details from the John Doe that seem relevant.

1. Someone from the ScottforGov sent an open records request to Scott Walker's general county email account.  I don't know who personally sent the email but it is interesting to note that Tim Russell is the person that paid for the domains according to the criminal complaint against him. 
2. Darlene Wink originally received this open records request from the ScottforGov blog.  We know that she has already admitted to improperly doing political work on county time and has reached a plea deal with prosecutors.
3. After Wink received the friendly open records request she quickly forwarded it to Wallker's communications person, Fran McLaughlin*.  Her name may sound familiar to you because on Thursday she became the 13th person in the John Doe to request and receive immunity.  An interesting note is that she appeared to get immunity after first invoking her 5th amendment right against self incrimination.  

It is also interesting to note that the anonymous shills at ScottforGov knew the exact details of my open records requests to the Walker administration.  In fact they blogged about it later (see the "Neumann slithering around for dirt" entry) .  It is certainly a telling event given the people involved with that flawed process and all of the details that have emerged so far from the John Doe investigation.

*For the record it was Fran McLaughlin that I had to deal with on my open records requests and as previously stated it took 8 or 9 months to get those records (only AFTER a reporter called inquiring about the long delay)

More Walker Criminal Defense $ Means More Work

Scott Walker's most recent campaign finance filing shows that he put another $100,000 into his criminal defense fund.  He transferred $70k on May 3rd and another $30k on May 17th.  That is in addition to the previous $60,000 that he put in his criminal defense fund. He is the only governor in the history of the state to have a criminal defense fund, he continues to ramp up transfers to the fund and yet we still don't even have a straight answer from Walker about why it is even necessary in the first place.  Are we really supposed to believe that all of this money is being spent for his lawyers to simply photo copy emails for the District Attorney's office?

One thing is clear, Walker has certainly ramped up his funding of his criminal defense fund.  Since Walker is refusing to be transparent with voters, what can we gather from his actions on our own? It seems clear that his high priced criminal defense lawyers must be putting in rapidly increased hours in recent weeks.  Walker claims that he isn't using the money to pay for his aides legal fees. So what explains the jump in criminal defense spending? Have his lawyers hired an investigator or other consultants or experts of some kind? What work are they doing that is wracking up so many hours so quickly?  You don't have this level of legal spending because you are just simply "cooperating" with the prosecutors. Something is clearly afoot and voters should know what it is before the recall election.

Some Walker and Hiller Context

Today Dan Bice is reporting on a new element of the widening John Doe investigation that has already ensnared close Scott Walker aides, friends and other associates.  The big revelation in this new story is that prosecutors might be focusing on a personal email between Scott Walker and  long time confidant John Hiller.  This element of the investigation appears to be exploring possible bid-rigging within Walker's Milwaukee County administration.

So far Scott Walker has tried but failed to distance himself from his other associates that have been formally charged.  He will have even more difficulty distancing himself from John Hiller given their long history and the activities alleged in today's story.

Here is some additional context and history between Walker and Hiller that may be relevant as we continue to watch this specific part of the John Doe investigation unfold.

John Hiller served as Scott Walker's campaign treasurer from the early 1990's until just last year.  During that time Walker's campaigns have been the subject of a number of scandals including some of the following:

• In 2005 Scott Walker's campaign received what was the second largest ethics fine in state history. The fine was based on the fact that they paid for 40,000 robo calls but failed to include the mandatory disclosure saying that the Walker campaign was responsible for them. [MJS, 8/4/05]
• Walker's campaign finance reports have been absolutely filled with mistakes and questionable omissions of key information.  These and other various issues followed Walker's campaign from his entire time in Milwaukee County to his first failed run for governor and even in his successful campaign in 2010. [Milwaukee County Election Commission records; Capital Times, 5/14/02; WDC, 12/1/05; AP, 8/11/09; OWN,10/25/10]
• When Scott Walker first ran for County Executive, there were reports that his campaign was aggressively shaking down lobbyists to contribute. The suggestion was that if he didn’t win, he would still be a state representative and could influence legislation that was important to said lobbyists. [MJS, 3/10/02]

Walker has certainly appointed John Hiller to positions of influence and power.

• He was the director of Walker's transition team after he was elected in 2010
• He was appointed to the board of the Milwaukee Private Industry Council in 2003. Control of the organization was moved to the City of Milwaukee in 2007 because of a "lack of leadership" among other reasons.
• He has been on the Milwaukee World Festival board since 2003 (I believe he was originally appointed by Walker but at the very least that connection didn't hurt) 

Based on the new report Hiller has not been very shy about capitalizing on his very close connection with Scott Walker.  Hiller operates a consulting firm and has sold himself as having "...over 20 years of business and political experience to assist you in navigating the maze of local government..."

Both before and after Hiller's role as Walker's campaign treasurer, he has taken a number of meetings  with key Walker cabinet members.

Some of those calendar items include the following examples:

• Corrections Secretary Gary Hamblin met with John Hiller on April 8, 2011 
•  Health Services Secretary Dennis Smith met with John Hiller and Maximus representatives on June 10, 2011

The bottom line is that Walker and Hiller have been practically tied at the hip for a very long time.  It seems that this arrangement has been mutually beneficial for most of this time.  The question now is whether the dynamics of that long relationship could now become more of a millstone for both of them.

Is Dennis Smith Calendar a Policy Preview?

A few days ago I wrote about Scott Walker's disingenuous ad on health care. Essentially he ignored his proposed cuts and took credit for things that he certainly doesn't deserve.  I concluded that blog saying "Although he is trying to sugarcoat his radical agenda on health care now, he will certainly revisit it if he is not removed from office on June 5th".  A primary reason that I fully expect this is because his Health Services Secretary is right wing ideologue Dennis Smith.

Prior to joining the Walker cabinet, Dennis Smith was a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, an extreme right-wing policy organization. While there he repeatedly attacked Medicaid and other medical assistance programs.  For example, he advocated that states drop Medicaid. Smith also worked in the Department of Health and Human Services under George W. Bush. In that capacity Smith threatened to kill Wisconsin’s popular SeniorCare prescription drug program.

Recently I examined a full year-plus of Smith's official calendar and it seemed to verify his extreme nature on health policy agenda.  For example I found him attending numerous right wing conventions and events:

• June 16, 2011 - June 17, 2011: San Diego meeting at Hotel del Coronado with policy sessions including "Privatization and Public/Private Partnership" and "a conversation with D. Rumsfeld"
• October 11, 2011: Phone meeting with the Republican Governors Public Policy Committee regarding health care exchanges.
• October 24, 2011 - October 25, 2011: Conference in Washington D.C. including sessions like "Medicaid Waivers, Innovative Reforms and Pilot Programs" and "What Medicaid Reform Should Look Like".  One note in his calendar shows that the hotel was reserved by a Monica Block of the RGA.
• November 2, 2011: Another D.C. based  conference including sessions such as "Saving the American Dream: The Heritage Foundation's Plan to Fix the Debt, Reduce Spending and Restore" and one that Smith may have presented entitled "State-Driven Medicaid Reforms." 

Dennis Smith certainly had a great deal more meetings and appointments with right wing organizations and interests but one other thing stood out to me the most.  On February 24, 2011 Smith had a phone meeting with the Lieutenant Governor of Kansas, Jeff Colyer.  He had another phone meeting with him on November 18, 2011 regarding "MA [medical assistance] Reform".

These calls interest me because Colyer was tasked by extremist Kansas Governor Brownback to head an effort to totally turn their state Medicaid system on its head. In fact some are describing it as the outright privatization of their Medicaid program. Others protested the driving of thousands of developmentally disabled residents into managed care.   

My obvious questions are as follows: Why was Dennis Smith talking to the Kansas Lt. Governor about medical assistance programs? Did he advise them on such a radical plan? Worse yet, is he consulting with them to try the same thing here in Wisconsin?  Can we use Smith's calendar as a policy preview?

Walker: "She did what she was expected to do"

WTDY asked Scott Walker what Kelly Rindfleisch did in his office as Milwaukee County executive.  Part of Walker's response was very interesting and perhaps more telling than he had originally planned.  Walker responded saying "she did what she was expected to do".  A very odd comment given what has transpired since she worked for him in Milwaukee County.

Kelly Rindfleisch's time serving Scott Walker has resulted in a felony case alleging multiple counts of misconduct in public office. The details from the resulting criminal complaint also revealed that she did some of the following 20 feet away from Scott Walker's desk:

• Authored more than 1,000 campaign-related emails including fundraising on county time.
• Those contacts included campaign operatives like Keith Gilkes, Stephan Thompson, Jill Bader and others.
• There were also communications with longtime Walker friend and county/campaign aide Jim Villa, who had an unofficial advisory role with Walker's 2010 campaign.
• She was involved in the use of a secret network system allegedly used for both campaign and official county business.
• Minutes after Scott Walker's "we cannot afford another story like this one" email to Tim Russell, Rindfleisch responded to Russell via internet chat saying “I took the wireless down. It’s in my bag for now.” 
• In online chats Jim Villa told Rindfleisch "YOU are the political operation in that office now" and "Keith [Gilkes]will work better with you than with Tim [Russell]" 
• While chatting online with George Ermert she admits,"really, half of the stuff I am doing is policy for the campaign." 

So these are things that the criminal complaint alleges that Rindfleisch was doing on county time and 20 feet from Walker's desk. These alleged activities are illegal and have resulted in criminal felony charges against Rindfleisch.  Yet Scott Walker says that "she did what she was expected to do."

For once I just might agree with Scott Walker on something. I also believe that Rindfleisch did EXACTLY what HE expected her to do.  And that is the entire problem.

ht: Jud Lounsbury

Disingenuous Ads Don't Hide Health Care Agenda

One of the first misleading ads that Scott Walker launched during this recall campaign season, was the one that showcased a phony conversation on health care.  If you are paying attention to Walker's actual positions on the issue, your disingenuous meter may have shattered from shock.  You really have to assume that Walker is overcompensating for his extreme agenda and major shortcomings in the area of health care.

In Walker's patented phony style, he says that his administration spent over $1.2 billion on health care.  However that increased spending happened in spite of him not because of him and for him to try and take credit is completely ridiculous and totally self-serving.  Walker's budget initially proposed $500 million in cuts in health care programs that serve some 1.2 million Wisconsinites (by the way, I find it creepy that he proposed these cuts while at the same time increasing funeral funds for people on Medicaid). Here are a number of additional points that put Walker's statement in its actual context:

• His original plan would have translated into 65,000 people being cut off from BadgerCare and half of them would have been children.  
• Walker's original plan was rejected by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services but even his alternative stands to force out 17,000 participants. 
• Walker originally proposed freezing enrollments in the Family Care program. Later he disingenuously announced that he was removing that freeze without mentioning that the feds ordered him to do so.
• Walker planned on cutting $20 million from the Senior Care program but even his most reliable Republican rubber stamps in the legislature wouldn't go along with that plan. 
• Even with all of Walker's harsh cuts on health care, the state's projected Medicaid deficit through June 2013 is $82 million.
• Walker also had to pay more for health care programs because A. simple health care inflation and B. To cover previous funds that were provided by the federal stimulus. 

Again, the bottom line is that the increase in spending on health care was done in spite of Walker not because of him.  Although he is trying to sugarcoat his radical agenda on health care now, he will certainly revisit it if he is not removed from office on June 5th.

Selective Memory Fuels Rehashed RGA Attacks

Another day and another attack from the special interest-fueled Republican Governor's Association.  In their latest misleading ad they are simply rehashing the same stale talking points.  Their specialty appears to be selective memory and cherry picking data.  Perhaps they should consider some of the following to refresh their recollection on Scott Walker's record on the same issues that they are raising.

Walker Tax Increases:

First it is quite odd that Walker's special interest allies would bring up raising taxes as an attack. Walker promised that he would "oppose and veto any and all efforts to increase taxes." But once he got into office he forced through a budget that actually raised taxes by $49.4 million over the two-year period. Apparently Walker's promise was only directed at the wealthy and his large corporate funders but he had no problem raising the taxes of the working poor, seniors and others. Even PolitiFact declared Walker's broad tax increase promise as being broken.

Walker Spending Increases:

The RGA ad complains about spending in the City of Milwaukee but I'm waiting for them to call out Walker for his increased state spending.  Walker delivered devastating cuts to Wisconsin public schools, the UW System, Technical Colleges, transit, local roads, shared revenue for local governments and much more.  Yet somehow, even with all of his draconian cuts, he still managed to INCREASE state spending by $610 million in his budget! If you prefer to use the general fund budget that percentage increase in state spending was even higher. [Milwaukee Magazine, 8/2/11]

Walker's pattern of saying one thing and doing another on spending has been going on for a long time.  As Milwaukee County Executive Walker's own proposed budgets increased spending by 35% [Walker's Proposed Milwaukee County Budgets, 2003 - 2011].

Walker and Unemployment:

Scott Walker has had full control of the state government and he has had over a year to enact almost all of his radical right wing policies.  Wisconsin posted the largest percentage job loss in the nation over the past year. Yet Walker's special interest out-of-state funders are running ads complaining about the lack of jobs and unemployment? Not to mention the fact that many of the years that the RGA cites, Walker was in fact Milwaukee County Executive! Using the same lack of logic and cherry picking many of the same numbers we could just as easily pin Milwaukee's unemployment rate on County Executive Scott Walker, rather than the great Republican Recession.

The fact is that Scott Walker never took even a remote interest in jobs when he was Milwaukee County Executive.  It was only a platform for higher political aspirations.  Examples include some of the following:

• Walker eliminated the county's economic development office (only after his cronies damaged it)
• Walker left valuable county property like the Park East land sit vacant for his entire time in office.
• When others tried to spark economic and job growth in Milwaukee County and surrounding areas, Walker and his key advisors repeatedly ridiculed them. 

With a record like Scott Walker's, I fully understand why the RGA would focus on rehashed attacks and why they would employ cherry picked numbers and a highly selective memory.  Anyone that actually dares to deal with the reality of Walker's horrible record would also be forced to reject him.

Channel Your Outrage (Reposted from 11/3/10)

The day after Scott Walker won the 2010 race for governor I wrote a blog posting asking both myself and everyone else to channel our collective outrage into effective action.  Many people did exactly that and now we are presented with a historic second chance to correct that horrible mistake.  Remember the pain and outrage of 2010 (and 2011) and continue to use it.

As we all begin to unify in this effort, it felt right to just repost my original item on this subject.

The Following was Originally posted on 11/3/10 (minor edits have been made)

*****

There are countless things to be outraged about regarding the election results last night. For me they include some of the following:

•  The promotion of a failed county executive even though he has presided over the financial and literal falling apart of Milwaukee County(no wonder those voters overwhelmingly rejected him yesterday). 
• Electing a policy lightweight that refused to talk about "details" until after he was elected. In the mean time he provided us with talking points and slogans. He, along with the help of his corporate soul mates,were able to buy a seat on the U.S. Senate. This clown may have bought an election but he will never be able to "replace" Russ Feingold. 
•  The collective amnesia that we have had as a nation in forgetting which party brought this historic recession on us. The record already reflects that for the last 2 years we have been (too slowly) heading in the right direction. Yet voters chose to elect people that want to implement the very same policies that brought us to economic disaster. 

OK we are all rightfully outraged but now what? I think that the only acceptable solution is to start channeling this outrage into strategic and aggressive action. There are certainly behind-the-scenes and less predictable actions that can take place long before any of this extreme bunch ever takes the oath of office. Then after taking office they will provide us with a plethora of opportunities. If recent history teaches us anything, we already know that this crowd is incapable of effectively governing (at least if they actually keep all of the fanciful campaign season promises that they have made). Scott Walker no longer can pass the buck. He will have a Republican majority in the legislature and no Milwaukee County Board to blame. Republicans both in Wisconsin and nationally are bound to overreach very early and we should be prepared to take advantage of it.

Channel your outrage now to prepare for effective action later NOW.

Scandal surrounds Scott Walker

Are Privatized Prisons on Walker Agenda?

Phil Scarr at Blogging Blue has been focused recently on what he describes as the U.S. Prison-Industrial Complex.  In a series of blog postings he gave some brief history of the industry and observations on how its growth seems to coincide with bad policy and massively disproportionate incarceration rates.

In laying out his case against privatized prisons Phil also introduced us to the Geo Group Inc. formally known as WCC (Wackenhut Correctional Corporation). It is one of the world's largest private corrections organizations.  He goes on to detail a specific horror story involving one of their facilities and he lists some of the various problems with a profit-driven approach to corrections in general.

The timing of Phil's blog postings on this topic couldn't have been better because I just happened to be examining the official calendar for Gary Hamblin, Scott Walker's Secretary for the Department of Corrections.  One thing that jumped out at me was that he met multiple times with Wackenhut and others.

Here is a sampling of meetings:

• February 9, 2011: Cindy Archer, Bill McCoshen and Wackenhut.
• March 15, 2011: Correctional Medical Services
• March 21, 2011:  A'Viands (food service provider from Minnesota)
• April 28, 2011: Dennis Schuh/Mueller Communications, Mark Schaefer and 3 staff from G4S Wisconsin 

It seems probable that his February 2011 meeting with "Wackenhut" was probably related to Scott Walker dropping his "bomb" on Wisconsin. Reports at the time seemed to suggest that Walker's administration was concerned about a possible strike or other labor unrest involving corrections workers.  That might also explain the presence of Walker right hand Cynthia Archer. However Hamblin also met in late April with "G4S Wisconsin" (purchased Wackenhut in 2002).  Note: Bill McCoshen served in the Tommy Thompson administration at the Department of Commerce and has been a political adviser to him more recently.  He is also the owner of Capital Consultants Inc. and a registered lobbyist.

You will notice that Hamblin and/or a key staffer also met with other private contractors including A'Viands, which was a Scott Walker favorite company in his efforts to privatize food services in Milwaukee County.

Speaking of Walker favorites in Milwaukee County, he was also fond of trying to eliminate public employee security officers positions and replacing them with Wackenhut.  He did this even though they didn't have the best track record with Milwaukee County.  However Walker illegally laid off the public employee security force at the Milwaukee County Courthouse and replaced them with Wackenhut.  Not all of the private workers that he installed were exactly of the best quality including some of the supervisors.

When you consider Scott Walker's knee jerk urge to privatize in Milwaukee County, his history with Wackenhut, his prison fascinations as a state representative and the curious calendar of his Secretary, you have to wonder what he might have in store for the Department of Corrections.  He is already showing his longtime pattern of dysfunction in that department so what comes next? Do corrections officers across the state have anything to worry about? I don't know the answer but given all of the circumstances I would suggest that they remain vigilant.

Tommy and Trouble in the Tea Party II

It looks like DC Super Lobbyist Tommy Thompson is having trouble with the Tea Party again. In fact it seems that the Republican establishment is trying to actually block Tea Party influence at the RPW convention. Apparently "...the Wisconsin GOP is getting ready to disqualify hundreds of tea party activists as delegates to the state convention". Word on the street is that the Republican establishment is worried that Tommy will be embarrassed at the convention.

Jeff Simpson wrote about this here: "The 10 people left in the 'tea party' are going to be mad!" 

Phil at Blogging Blue gave his take here: "Schadenfreude: Tommy Thompson Edition" 

If this drama sounds familiar it is because Tommy had the same kind of strong Tea Party resistance when he sent up trial balloons for a U.S. Senate run in 2010.  Those trial balloons were quickly and embarrassingly shot down.  Do you remember the leaked email from Tea Party leaders? Remember how outraged they were at the Republican establishment attempts to push Tommy on them?

Just in case you would rather have a visual example, here is a video showing the Tea Party disdain for Tommy Thompson. I hope someone is shooting video at the convention if the Republican establishment really does try to silence and otherwise block the "true believers" that they were so willing to use over the last few years.

Forward

Paul Ryan's Ayn Rand-Inspired Heresy

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Is the Ron Johnson Model the New Normal?

In 2010 a rich political newcomer won the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Wisconsin.  Ron Johnson went on to avoid tough questions from the media, preferring to instead preach his fundamentalist Ayn Rand Gospel to the already converted.  Johnson married into wealth and certainly used a part of his personal fortune to bankroll his campaign.  The only opportunity most Wisconsinites had to see this political unknown was in his many misleading TV ads.

Now that Johnson has undoubtedly proven himself to be a know-nothing ideologue, you have to wonder if he would have ever been elected had voters known more than what showed up on TV.  You don't have to take my personal assessment of him, check out what some of his own Republican colleagues recently said about him in Roll Call:

“He’s an interesting case study of someone who has talked more than he has listened, lectured more than he has developed relationships with his colleagues, and now he’s having a tough time because of that behavior in advancing his policy goals,” one senior GOP aide said. “It’s kind of like watching a temper tantrum by a 2-year-old in the middle of the grocery store.”

Now Wisconsin is preparing to vote for U.S. Senate again and we have yet another filthy rich political newcomer spending gobs of his own money to get the job.  Like Ron Johnson in 2010, Eric Hovde is using his own personal wealth to flood the airwaves with ads.  Just before Hovde officially launched his campaign it was reported that he would be able to tap his own wealth gained through family real estate holdings, banking and hedge fund management to the tune of $10 million.

Like Johnson, he has not been properly vetted by voters and if he continues using the Johnson model that may never happen.  Right now the only thing that most people know about Eric Hovde is that he keeps giving us the evil eye, wearing white pants and running up stairs. Call me old fashioned but I really think that voters should get the chance to actually know the candidates well beyond this kind of gimmicky TV ad persona.

Hovde's new bio ad tries to make it seem like he is just one of us regular folks. But is it really the "American Dream" to find yourself born into a wealthy lifestyle and then simply use that inherited leverage to add to that wealth? Despite the perception that Hovde's new ad tries to paint I don't know many people that fit his actual real life profile.

• Growing up as a privileged son of a real estate developer that was also an official in the Reagan administration.
• Hedge fund manager that has lived for decades in Washington D.C. before conveniently moving back to Wisconsin just in time to run for U.S. Senate.
• In one 1980's media report he was described as a "Washington D.C.- based S&L industry consultant"
• To this day he appears to buy banks like most of us buy groceries (including bailed out banks, even though he was allegedly against TARP)

Don't get me wrong, we've had many wealthy candidates that have lived privileged lives and some have done outstanding work in public office.  But the problem here is a combination of factors taken as a whole : 

1. An unknown, untested, unvetted and unpredictable candidate 
2. No real policy track record of any kind 
3. Using vast personal wealth to create a fictional TV character. 

That was essentially the Ron Johnson Model to office and I don't want to see it repeated by anyone of any ideology or party.   The growth of this phenomenon should be concerning to everyone of every political stripe.  It may be good for a candidate's own ego, it may be good for their wealthy cronies or for their political party but it is certainly not good for the future of our electoral system or for the governance of our nation.  

Walker Still Treats Public Safety as a Photo Op

Today the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Sheboygan County District Attorney Joe DeCecco called out Scott Walker for his hypocrisy on public safety issues.  While Walker is busy posing for pictures during National Victim Rights Week, his actual policies paint an entirely different picture.   The Sheboygan DA accused Walker of merely posturing on the topic. He specifically referenced the funds that the state cut for the victim/witness advocate programs around the state.

“This critical program, mandated by state statute to be provided by county government, and which provides safety, security and services to victims and witnesses of crimes, has had its state reimbursement fund cut by some $400,000, leaving counties holding the bag without the means to obtain the necessary funds to cover that gap,” DeCecco stated, referring to the ACT 10 prohibition against any county’s raising property taxes. “Once again,” DeCecco said, “county budgets providing state-mandated essential services are nothing but pawns in an Administration’s game of hypocrisy.”

This is certainly not the only public safety issue that Walker has undermined while he has been governor.  Here are just a few other curious actions that don't seem to comport with his PR driven public face on the subject:

• Drastic cuts to shared revenue that have negatively impacted local communities public safety efforts.  For example last year Beloit braced for the cuts and faced a planned reduction of 20.5 public safety positions. Likewise the City of Manitowoc prepared for 8% cuts in both police and the fire departments. The police and fire chiefs were directed to cut nearly a combined $1 million. 
• A year ago almost to the day Walker threatened to overstep his boundaries to layoff assistant district attorneys from all over the state.  At the eleventh hour he relented from his bullying tactics that have long been his hallmark.
• Literally just before Christmas last year Walker announced a new round of cuts including $2.46 million to the Department of Justice and $9.46 million to the Department of Corrections. 

None of this is a surprise to anyone that was paying attention to Walker's horrible record in Milwaukee County.  In fact I posted a blog in 2010 highlighting only some of those public safety blunders.  The title of that blog was "Public Safety as a Photo Op" and it is very clear that Walker is still treating things that way as a dysfunctional governor.

Walker's Inflated Numbers

Scott Walker and his unquestioning operatives are now touting phony numbers of "savings".  The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel legitimized the claims by giving it the front page treatment although there was certainly a curious qualifier in that story.

"But the figures also included a significant amount of savings for local governments that could not be verified."

So it should be no surprise that as local governments and media outlets actually started looking at the numbers, they started finding problems.  The first local fact check that I saw was from the Sheboygan Press where they describe Walker's local numbers as "inflated".   This was the key passage from the report:

The $1 billion figure includes an estimated $1.3 million in savings in the City of Sheboygan, where city officials said the money saved under the budget bill was far less, totaling $420,000. City Administrator Jim Amodeo said the governor's estimate assumes Sheboygan employees weren't previously paying any money toward their health insurance when in fact most were paying 8 to 10 percent. "The savings wasn't everything the governor's office said it would be," Amodeo said.

I would assume that this was just bad research by the Walker administration but it is consistent with a long record of made-up estimates and cherry picked numbers.  Remember the initial Capitol clean-up estimates that the Walker administration claimed? What was it again? Eight zillion dollars? Some in the media dutifully reported the phony number without verifying it in any way. Later we learned that the Walker administration pulled the estimate directly out of their own nether regions. Why would people so willfully fall for a Walker estimate on anything ever again? This should be especially true during the heat of a high stakes election.

There were reports last year already showing the insufficiency of the Walker "tools" for local governments.  We should revisit some of those reports now that Walker is touting the new phony numbers. For example the La Crosse Tribune highlighted the negative (or at least lack of) impact of Walker's "tools" in that region.  Here are some of the highlights that remind me of the exact points made in the Sheboygan Press today:

• The City of Onalaska lost $139,783 (10%) in state payments but they got no savings from the health care cost shift because employees already were paying 20 percent of their premiums.
• In Holmen, employees were already paying a share of their health care premiums that met the state’s new requirement.  In the end the village was left with a $42,231 hole because of Walker's policies. 
• West Salem's only union employees were in the police department and were thus exempted from Walker's "tools".  When comparing their very limited savings versus the loss of state aid, they also lost more than they gained. 
• The Town of Onalaska had only 3 union employees but their contracts lasted until the end of 2012 and other employees worked without pension and health benefits. So Walker's "tools" didn't help them either. In fact they ended up with a net loss when you factor in Walker's drastic cuts to programs like shared revenue.

I think that it is a fairly safe assumption that the Walker propagandists did not drill down to these levels while generating their phony numbers.  I would suspect that these communities along with Sheboygan and many others across the state might also find Walker's made up numbers to be "inflated".

Who is "it" working for again?

Paul Bucher Knows First Hand

It is clear that the right wing must be very fearful of the John Doe investigation involving Scott Walker. In recent weeks they have participated in a clearly coordinated smear campaign against the law enforcement professionals in the Milwaukee County District Attorney's office.

First the smear machine Media Trackers, with their horrible record in tow, complained that a number of employees in the DA's office exercised their constitutional rights by signing recall Walker petitions. It amounted to a few dozen employees out of hundreds of staff including support staff such as secretaries and others. Media Trackers employed their typical innuendo-based tactic, even though none of the people actually working on the John Doe participated in the recall effort. But as is always the case with this smear machine, it isn't about the truth or reality, it is about tainting the opposition at all costs.

Almost on cue came the ever-uptight former Waukesha County District Attorney Paul Bucher. He picked up the Media Trackers smear and carried it further by requesting that the Republican Attorney General take over the John Doe investigation. Remember in the 2006 Republican primary for attorney general? Remember when J.B. Van Hollen told Bucher "you suck"? Well he must not feel much differently because he fairly quickly shot down the absurd Bucher demand.

Paul Bucher would know something about being a truly partisan district attorney.

• While he was DA and starting his Republican run for state attorney general, some raised "serious questions about whether he is capable of separating his political ambitions from his prosecutorial duties". The questions were raised because former Democratic Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager sent him a routine offer of assistance in a case involving alleged illegal campaigning in Waukesha County by an aide to state Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills. In response "Bucher freaked out" sending a "bitter rambling screed" to the AG. Apparently he was more concerned about partisan appearances and his political campaign than utilizing full state resources to investigate the incident. [Capital Times, "Bucher Blows Up", 10/5/05]
• In 2006 an attorney for former Governor Jim Doyle contacted members of the Elections Board regarding a matter pending before them. It involved Doyle's Republican opponent for governor, Mark Green. Paul Bucher inserted himself into that situation by launching an "investigation" alleging possible open meetings violations. The same day that Bucher launched his dead end "investigation" the executive director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin admitted that he also contacted a Republican member of the Elections Board. But Bucher conveniently didn't express the same fake outrage over that development. [Capital Times, 9/23/06]
• In 1996 a recall election was launched against former state Senator George Petak (R-Racine). The Republican Party of Wisconsin asked for an investigation into alleged "criminal wrongdoing" during the recall process (sounds familiar). Paul Bucher dutifully agreed to launch a phony "investigation" into the recall effort. Organizers of the recall described the Bucher "investigation" as a "total waste of taxpayer money." They proved to be correct about Bucher's "investigation". [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 3/15/96]

As you can see from these few examples, Paul Bucher certainly knows about (mis)using a district attorney's office for political purposes. Given his own history, he certainly seems like an odd character to serve as point man for attacking John Chisholm's office and his integrity.

Milwaukee District Attorney John Chisholm is the model example. He is a straight shooter and everyone knows it. As Xoff has already said, "He holds elected office as a Democrat, but is as close to non-partisan as anyone holding a partisan office". There are many examples of his independence including investigating and prosecuting numerous Democrats. I also remember his office taking part in J.B. Van Hollen's "Voter Fraud Task Force" in 2008. Hardly the act of a hard core Democratic partisan and it certainly didn't bring him praise with progressives at the time. But he did what he thought was right at the time, as he always does.

The bottom line: Paul Bucher's wild rhetoric seems to be a classic case of partisan projection.

Terry Moulton on His Jobs Agenda So Far

Walker's Wrong Way at Revenue

Earlier this year the Institute for Wisconsin's Future released a study showing that there are more than $900 million in taxes legally owed to the state but they have not been collected. It also estimated that there are several hundred million more dollars that have not been collected due to misfilings and nonfilings. These figures show that Scott Walker has apparently decided to totally ignore these streams of revenue that are currently and legally owed to the state. He is doing so while at the same time proclaiming that "we're broke" and using that statement as a pretext to make drastic cuts to education, local transit, Badgercare and other critical programs.

When I first started reading this IWF report I assumed that the Walker administration was just simply inept in failing to collect revenues that were already legally owed to the state. However I forgot about the fact that his default positions are equally both short-term and politically motivated. In fact he often remains stuck in that position even if it brings large long-term losses for the government and pain for his average constituent.

The IWF report goes on to provide detailed information that seems to take this issue far beyond ordinary Walker incompetence. Consider some of the following data points:

• Staffing was increased at the Department of Revenue in 2009 and it turned into more collected (already legally owed) revenue for the state in 2010.
• Scott Walker's administration ordered a cutback on DOR's goals for collecting such unpaid taxes. In fact the Walker goal was 10% less than what was actually collected in 2010.
• Under the current (Walker) state budget DOR lost some 52 staffers and a full 80 positions remain vacant.
• In January Walker's administration announced additional budget cutbacks (known technically as "lapses") that will further deplete DOR resources.

Again this comes straight from the Scott Walker School of Politically Motivated Mismanagement. Broadly cut public employee staffing for short-term (largely political) gain. But in doing so, he puts off the longer-term consequences for those actions. In this case that includes hundreds of millions (if not billions) of dollars in uncollected funds that are already owed to the state. The bottom line is that paying for increased staff at the DOR is a smart investment. The additional staffing would not only pay for itself but could help offset other Walker-imposed cuts.

The premise behind the IWF report makes total real-world sense in nearly every way. Unfortunately we no longer live in the real world, we sadly reside in the dysfunctional kingdom of Fitzwalkerstan.

Paul the Butcher

By Matt Wuerker from the Cartoonist Group via Center for American Progress

Media Distractors

The right wing Republican front group Media Trackers exists to unfairly taint the opposition and to distract an already tabloid-prone media. Based on everything that they have done in their relatively short existence, that much has been abundantly clear. It seems that some in the media are finally noticing the pattern of deception employed by Media Trackers while others still blindly promote their smears.

Legitimate news outlets should be referencing Media Trackers record before even considering mentioning them, much less amplifying their distractions. Frankly, their record is rather embarrassing and is filled with little more than innuendo, partisan rush to judgement and willfully negligent"research".

Here are some of their distractions that stand out to me and they should give at least a moment of pause to legitimate members of the media:

The Underage Girls that Weren't: Remember when Media Trackers promoted video of what they described as underage girls signing recall petitions? They even suggested that the African American girls were being compensated with cigarettes. The only thing that they had was video and their own wild speculation. Certain members of the more tabloid-prone media (WTMJ) quickly amplified the innuendo but the claims were quickly and easily proven to be false. Confirming the wild speculation would have only taken an extra layer of research but they were not interested in accuracy, only in distracting the larger media and attempting to taint the recall process.

Trying to Tarnish Senator Taylor: Late last year Media Trackers targeted a vocal Walker critic and major voice in the recall effort, Senator Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee). Once again, the group found enough information to quickly publish a smear on Taylor but not enough to actually make a legitimate case against her. They targeted a property owned by Taylor but run by her mother as a ministry to the homeless. They suggested that there were illegalities because homeless people actually registered to vote and listed that shelter as their residence. They further embarrassed themselves after finding out that one of the residents had been convicted of a felony once upon a time. Again they quickly ran with blind allegations of a felon voting without bothering to check if he was still on paper (he wasn't and was perfectly eligible to vote).

Public Smears vs. Sworn Statements: Another Media Trackers failure was the debunked "BBQ for votes" nonsense. They claimed that a progressive coalition's get-out-the vote effort engaged in "illegal election behavior." They suggested that the coalition exchanged free BBQ for votes. Their star witness to these wild allegations was one of their own staff members. When questioned under oath, he was specifically asked if anyone told him that he had to sign up to vote to get the food. In spite of Media Trackers public statements and vile innuendo on the matter, their star witness under oath was forced to admit that they were essentially baseless. No one ever told him that he had to sign up to vote to get BBQ.

Judicial Commission FAIL: More recently Media Trackers has been engaged in a coordinated effort of intimidation that would have made Joseph McCarthy blush. They have been steadily trying to tarnish anyone that dared to sign recall petitions against Walker. Not long after the Judicial Commission filed an ethics complaint against angry partisan Justice David Prosser, the smear machine went desperately fishing for what they perceived to be dirt on commission members. Again the group rushed to judgement over-hyping what they thought that they found. The group claimed that a number of commission members signed Walker recall petitions and were thus overly-partisan (an absurd argument in its own right). However they wrongly identified one member and the others no longer even served on the commission.

Targeting Walkergate Investigators but with Faulty Aim(s): Now, with cult-like fervor, the smear machine is continuing to target more people that exercised their constitutional right by signing a recall Walker petition. This time they are spewing their vile brand of innuendo at the Milwaukee County District Attorney's office. Once again their efforts are so easily transparent. Something in the Walkergate investigation must have them and/or their funders worried. They have identified several dozen employees, out of the hundreds that work in the office, that signed the Walker recall petition. Some of the people that signed are support staff like secretaries and others. However not a single one of them are actually involved in the Walkergate investigation itself. The group's effort is clearly to taint the Walkergate investigation and the entire district attorney's office.

The pattern with this right-wing smear machine is abundantly clear. Why any member of the legitimate media would even consider citing this group is beyond me. They have repeatedly proven that they play fast an loose with the truth only to serve very narrow and nasty political aims. Apparently they are of the mind that the ends justifies the dishonest means. That kind of relativism is a peculiar approach for people that self-identify as being "conservative" and as having "traditional values".

They call themselves "Media Trackers" but their real goal is to simply be a media distractor.

Got a Prescription from Your Congressman?

By Mike Peters from the Cartoonist Group via Center for American Progress

Tom Barrett February 2011

I hate this...as I said the other day, I have not even made up my own mind about which Democrat that I will be supporting in the primary for Governor. But these unfair smear attacks on Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett are just not right nor are they factual. You should be able to state your case without using these kinds of nasty tactics against another Democrat and a longtime ally.

Yesterday Mayor Barrett understandably criticized the misleading video being sent around about him. The video that provides only one portion of his comments to Charlie Sykes in 2011. It conveniently doesn't include the rest of the context, like when he clearly states that he fully supports the right to collectively bargain.

Reports indicate that AFSCME sent around the edited video and apparently they have sent around yet another email that isn't much better factually speaking. Here is one unfortunate example from that recent email:

“Ask yourself this: Why don’t I remember Tom Barrett’s role during those crucial weeks..."

If the people asking this question can't remember Tom Barrett's role during those crucial weeks, allow me to take you down memory lane.

Tom Barrett Comments on Collective Bargaining February 2011

"The budget adjustment bill pits general City of Milwaukee employees against the fire and police unions," - Tom Barrett [2/16/11]

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett voiced strong support Thursday for the state Senate boycott by fellow Democrats trying to save public employees' collective bargaining rights. [MJS 2/17/11]

"Instead of talking with teachers, nurses, and law enforcement personnel to work together on a solution to our budget crisis, Scott Walker is dividing Wisconsinites by attempting to end the collective bargaining rights Wisconsin public employees have had since 1959." - Tom Barrett [MJS, 2/22/11]

"I fundamentally disagree with the attack on the right to organize," - Tom Barrett [MJS, 2/22/11]

Barrett offered a budget-repair bill alternative that removed the attack on collective bargaining [MJS, 2/25/11]

"It's now clear to us that this is an ideological war, and it's a national ideological war, and the purpose of it is to take away the rights of people who work for the government" -Tom Barrett [MJS, 2/25/11]

"It is time we return to our Wisconsin, the Wisconsin where we can sit down at the table and work out our differences..." -Tom Barrett [MJS, 2/25/11]

Win on the Merits

First let me say that I have genuinely not decided which Democrat I am personally voting for/supporting in the primary for Governor. We have outstanding candidates that have very different strengths, weaknesses and skill sets. All four of the announced candidates come from different situations that can often require different styles of governing. Obviously I will get behind whoever wins the primary 100% but I really don't like some of the tactics that I have been seeing from my own friends and allies this week.

It started with listening to Sly on Madison's WTDY earlier this week. I normally enjoy going to his show's blog and listening to segments of the show. This is especially true because in Milwaukee we have no real alternatives to the right wing madness traveling our airwaves. However this week Sly has been conducting what I view as unfair one-sided attacks on Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.

In several cases both Sly and his guests have rushed to conclusions that are frankly ridiculous. Tom Barrett = Scott Walker? Are you serious? Barrett is "cozying up to Charlie Sykes"?? Because he did an interview with him? Really? Then he and several of his guests reference a very selectively edited video to draw all kinds of absurd conclusions?

I'm not saying that people should not voice their criticisms of Tom Barrett or any other candidate but at least do so in a substantive way. If you want to spend all of your time renegotiating City of Milwaukee contracts, then feel free to focus on that one issue. But in my view this election is much broader in scope and there is far too much at stake for that approach. And if you are going to make that your primary focus, at some point someone should be offered a chance for a rebuttal.

But these over-the-top smears, out-of-context videos and charged hyperbole are really not necessary. Frankly this kind of an attack is something that I fully expect from Republicans. I don't expect it from friends and allies because it is counterproductive no matter who wins the Democratic primary.

By all means, enthusiastically get behind your favorite candidate! Feel free to make your case to everyone that will listen. But please do it on the merits of your case and not by acting like a Wisconsin Republican or by employing their kinds of tactics.

Does Latest Block News Give Them Pause?

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Dan Bice is reporting that the Feds have opened an investigation into Wisconsin Republican operative Mark Block. Reportedly they are interested in Block organizations like Wisconsin Prosperity Network and Prosperity USA. It appears that the investigation is related to the use of those organizations finances and the start of the Herman Cain comedy campaign for president.

As the Bice column and many other people have noted, Block has a history of crossing a few lines. The most cited example is when he served as campaign manager for former-Supreme Court Justice Jon Wilcox in 1997. Regulators accused him of election-law violations and he settled with them by agreeing to a 3 year ban from Wisconsin politics and a $15,000 fine. Now we have this newly reported investigation and I have to wonder what Block-connected Republican front groups, operatives and donors are thinking?

For example our fragile friends at the MacIver Institute have been deeply involved with Mark Block since before they were even fully established as an official right wing spin machine. Based on MacIver's IRS filings Block served on their board as "treasurer" in at least 2008 and 2009. He was still listed on their website as being a board member as recently as November 2010. Heck, the organization is even named after Republican operative John MacIver, someone that a Journal Sentinel profile described as Block's mentor.

One of the Block organizations that is reportedly part of the federal inquiry is the Wisconsin Prosperity Network (WPN). Do you remember the first big story detailing that effort? It was a Mark Pitsch 2009 story in the Wisconsin State Journal. It detailed the right wing plans of creating 14 new Wisconsin front groups as part of the newly proposed Prosperity Network. The story listed the MacIver Institute as the very first entity to be formed as part of the scheme.

As of at least February 2011, MacIver was still listed on the Wisconsin Prosperity Network website as a "networked organization". At that time the WPN website invited people to become a member and "prosperity warrior" by giving $500 in annual dues. The "benefits" of giving to WPN included the following:

Prosperity Warrior benefits include membership in Americans for Prosperity Wisconsin Chapter (AFPWI) and subscriptions to The John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy, First Freedoms Foundation, and American Majority Wisconsin Chapter. Benefits also include complementary admission to WPN regional policy briefings, the WPN annual state briefing, Americans for Prosperity (WI) Defending the American Dream Summit, Tailgate for Taxpayers, annual MacIver Institute Gala Banquet, and a Wisconsin Prosperity Network lapel pin.

I am writing about this as yet another reminder of just how deeply Mark Block has been involved with the extremist right wing infrastructure currently ruining running Wisconsin. And the latest news of a possible federal investigation into Block's various ventures makes me wonder if it gives any of them even a moment of pause?

Fun Fact: This didn't seem to fit anywhere in the actual blog posting, but I noticed that Block's Wisconsin Prosperity Network had a post office box at the same New Berlin post office (53151) that served the MacIver Institute in at least 2008. I'm curious what other right wing Republican front groups have been based in that post office and why it is so popular with them?

MacIver Institute: Delicate Little Flower or School Yard Bully?

Earlier this week I got an email from a Dustin Beilke. I don't know Dustin but it was an opinion column that he wrote about the right wing MacIver Institute. I didn't post it as a guest column on this blog because A. I don't really do that here and B. I didn't have the time to do it properly. But that opinion column did surface elsewhere.

Next thing you know there were reports of people at MacIver disputing things in the column. That is fine, they should do that if they disagree or if they feel the need to correct the record. But at some point it crossed a line in my opinion and became more like bullying of local liberal bloggers and others. I'm hearing that people from MacIver were making both veiled and not-so-veiled threats to drag people into court. People that they know don't have access to the special interest funding that they posses.

With so many old partisan Republican hands over at MacIver, who knew that they would be so super sensitive? Or maybe they are just trying to silence their detractors in schoolyard bully fashion, I can't make up my mind.

Now don't get your wires crossed, this doesn't mean that I personally vouch for every single thing that Beilke said in his opinion column. But I do most definitely agree with the idea that the traditional media should be careful in how they use information that comes from MacIver. Because I do think that it is a right wing spin machine run by long-time Republican partisans with very obvious goals that don't include the production of legitimate straight news. Is having that opinion worthy of being the subject of bullying tactics and threats of lawsuits? No and it sets a horrible precedent.

Previously on this Blog:

• Introducing the Scott Jensen Chain Gang
• Shady Org Lies about Jensen Ties
• What MacIver Forgot to Mention Today
• Scott Jensen Finally Gets His Man!
• MacIver Punks Press, Pols and Public
• Does MacIver Handle All Requests to GOP Legislators?

Quick Hits: Private Sector Scott, Partisan Judges, Perennial LaBarre

I've been so busy with work that I have been inconsistent with blogging. Sorry, but I have to keep the lights on. However that doesn't mean that I haven't had things to say recently. So I'm going to try doing a quick hits blog posting when appropriate. I may not have the time to dig in deep on various issues but at least I can quickly get some relevant content out there. So here we go...

Scott Walker Going "Back" to the Private Sector?

Last week Scott Walker suggested that it might not be so bad to lose his recall election because then he could make "real money"by going "back to" the private sector. After hearing the comments the first thing that I asked was, "does he really think that his salary and benefits package as governor is not 'real money'?" How out-of-touch can he get...dare I ask?

The second thing that I asked was, "exactly why is he talking about going 'back to the private sector'?" When was the last time he was even IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR? That is a rhetorical question because I already know the answer. It was in the early 1990's when he was still in college and very shortly after he dropped out. What? Is he planning on going back to the Red Cross, IBM or getting back his old part-time gig as a building supervisor at Marquette's Helfaer Recreation Center? "Back to the private sector"...give me a break.

Judges Signing Recall Petitions vs. Straight-Up Partisan Judges

Some in the media and many on the rabid right got overly uptight about a number of sitting judges that signed Walker recall papers. Given our toxic political climate perhaps it wasn't the best move by the judges but in reality it isn't the end of the world either. More importantly I was struck by the hypocrisy and hype of this particular story. For example, did anyone in the media bother to focus this much on Waukesha County Judge Mac Davis' hardcore partisan background when he was busy ruling for Republicans? I'm trying to remember the outrage on the right when Angry Jurist David Prosser didn't step down from politically charged cases even though he was Republican leader in the state legislature. I assume that these same people are going to demand that the embarrassing and unethical Michael Gableman step down from political cases that come before the high court. Remember he was a big time Republican fundraiser for Scott McCallum who eventually appointed him to the bench in the first place. Don't even get me started on former Republican legislator, Walker BFF and all around right wing extremist Mark Gundrum.

If you don't have a problem with these purely partisan judges then kindly don't bother me with those that chose to sign recall petitions.

Please Let Perennial LaBarre Run!

As we already know, the CRG Network filed for two new recalls yesterday. I've already written about how I have doubts about CRG's recall abilities. So I am clearly getting the cart before the horse here, but if there is a recall election I sure hope that Shirl LaBarre is the Republican candidate! She is the person that filed the recall papers for Democratic Senator Jauch. She is a wacky right wing perennial loser-candidate and although her campaign committee name is "Go Far with LaBarre" I wouldn't expect her to go very "far" in an actual election.

Prepare but Don't Fear CRG Bluster

It must be a combination of recall-envy and a prolonged lack of attention. Or maybe it is just a group of longtime Scott Walker zealots trying to exact revenge. In any case the odd right wing club, Citizen's for Responsible Government (CRG) is threatening to launch a recall of Senators Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center) and Bob Jauch (D-Poplar). They are reportedly talking about it because of only one issue: the senators refused to support mining legislation written by and for one mining company. As far as I can tell the senators were not against a mining bill entirely but were against this free pass legislation pushed by Walker and the Republican mafia in Madison. So given the roots and history of CRG, it is no surprise that they are once again surfacing to make threats.

For those that may not know, CRG has been a Walker-loving club since he was pushing for a recall of Milwaukee County Executive Tom Ament in 2002. There was broad based outrage over the pension scandal at that time and a legitimate group of citizens organized as a result. However it didn't take long for right wing talk radio and their various allies to totally hijack that effort. Suddenly it became about promoting Scott Walker and the CRG that we know today was formed. During his train wreck tenure in Milwaukee County, CRG continued to blindly promote Scott Walker's political career.

CRG was successful in pushing Tom Ament out of office in 2002, they were successful in recalling several Milwaukee County supervisors and they were successful in getting Scott Walker elected. But that was Milwaukee County in 2002, it was fresh off the pension scandal and I can't think of a successful recall effort from them since. Oh, they have made many recall threats since then but most if not all of them were total failures. They've threatened recalls against more recently elected Milwaukee County supervisors, at least one Milwaukee Alderman, and other local officials in Wauwatosa, Cudahy and elsewhere. Not to mention the embarrassing effort to recall Governor Doyle.

So before the Senators get too worried about this threat, I hope that they take a moment to examine CRG's historic role of Walker zealotry. I hope that they look at their actual recall-to-threat ratio. Frankly, since their zenith in the early 2000's they haven't been very successful at recalls. That doesn't mean that the senators shouldn't prepare for the possibility, because one sugar daddy could finance such an effort, but they shouldn't fear CRG. Most of what they have been doing over the last decade has been bluster and Walker boosting but little else.

Afterthought: CRG and knee-jerk Republicans might want to fully consider the possible ramifications of recalling Schultz. Given the make-up of that district, it could very well backfire on you if you are successful. What you may end up doing is simply flipping the seat to Democrat.