Friday, December 11, 2015

Eric Bott Bears False Witness

By Jeff Simpson 

Americans for Prosperity(AFP), the Koch Founded dark money haven and far right wing "think" tank was in my mailbox lately and the email was interesting to say the least.

Apparently their mission is:

Our Mission
Our mission is to mobilize citizens to advocate for policies that cut red tape and increase opportunity, put the brakes on government overspending, and get the economy working for hard workers– not special interests.
Of course, that is a bit like Colonel Sanders wanting to make sure there is room for Beef and Pork in the fast food industry.   But I digress, the interesting folks, led by Scott Fitzgerald protege and fomer lobbyist Eric Bott, to lead the State of Wisconsin Sect of the national AFP cult, sent out this email.

Jeffrey,
Did you know that secret elections in Wisconsin decide where millions of taxpayer dollars are spent? 
Big-government liberals are holding referenda  that decide millions of dollars in new spending, in off-year elections, hoping you won't be paying attention. 
Let's help stop this.   Will you send a letter to your legislators and tell them elections are fairer when everyone has the chance to participate. Let's bring referenda back into the light and move them to general elections when more people vote.Add-your-name-RED-buttonFor freedom,

Oy Vey.  As Inigo Montoya would say about the term "secret" elections:




se·cret
ˈsēkrit/
adjective
  1. 1.
    not known or seen or not meant to be known or seen by others.
    "how did you guess I had a secret plan?"
    synonyms:confidentialtop secretclassifiedundisclosedunknownprivate,under wraps; More
noun
1.
something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
"a state secret"
synonyms:confidential matter, confidence, private affair;
skeleton in the closet
"he just can't keep a secret"


There are tw 
There are two kinds of elections in Wisconsin, the non partisan held the first Tuesday of every April and the partisan, held the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.    


ELECTION DAYS
Primary Elections are held to nominate candidates to be voted on in the general or spring election.
Spring Primary:  Third Tuesday in February. In presidential election years, presidential preference primaries are also held at this time.
Fall Primary:  Second Tuesday in August.
Spring Election:  First Tuesday in April to elect judicial and nonpartisan municipal, county and education officials.
General Election:  Even-numbered years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November to elect U.S. Senators, Representatives to Congress, President and Vice-President, and state and county partisan officers.
Special Elections:  Held to fill vacancies or for other designated purposes.
Now that we have established that the Spring elections are NOT "secret elections", they happen every single year, in every single municipality in Wisconsin, we know that Mr. Bott is a bearer of false witness(for those scoring at home, that is breaking the 9th commandment).  

Why would Mr. Bott, outright lie?  The same reason they always do.  Money.  

The Republicans, have spent four years decimating public education budgets and telling us that if schools want to spend more money, go to referendum and have the taxpayers approve it.  That way the "taxpayers have control".  The problem is schools, out of necessity, were doing just that and passing them at a 77% rate.   

This flabbergasted the anti-intellectual republicans who are now doing all they know how to do.  Legislate their troubles away.   They are now coming up with an ALEC inspired referendum "reform".  

Republican state lawmakers are seeking to restrict when and how local school districts can raise money from their local taxpayers at a time when the state is offering few new dollars for public schools.
But critics say the measures are another example of GOP lawmakers making it harder for public schools to pay the rising costs of educating the state’s 870,000 public school students and could hurt school boards’ ability to ensure cash flow.
The bills come during an uptick in referendums — 206 in 2014, the most in at least 10 years, state records show — and the rate at which they pass. One in four in recent years were held outside of the traditional spring or fall elections, according to the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance.
In April, 76 percent of the referendums to exceed revenue limits passed. That compares to a typical rate of about 50 percent in years prior. This represents a changing perception of the state’s support of public schools, said Todd Berry, president of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance.
“This reflects a shift in public opinion due, I think, to tighter state-imposed restraint on aids and revenue limits in recent years,” Berry said. “There is one instance above all when locals will vote to tax themselves: a fear that they might lose their community’s or neighborhood’s school.”
Of course the right wing echo chamber was all over that:   

The thing about the right wing echo chamber, in the era of Trump, is that they need to be even more outrageous and full of crap before anyone pays attention.  

Hence Mr, Bott's ridiculous claim that a spring election is a "secret" election.    No one is kept from voting(except veterans and college students thanks to the Republican voter ID bill), in the spring election.  

Something to take into account next time AFP puts an op-ed in the paper, emails you their BS or is a guest on a local political show.  

They not only lie, but that have no idea how the Government or our democracy works.   




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