As Owen Says: They Came, They Spent, They Lost

Owen Robinson, transplanted right winger from Texas, tries to be cute by spinning the recall elections in the favor of the Republicans, in a hack piece which he titled "They came, they spent, they lost."

His spin aside, the title is accurate.

The Koch Boyz dumped millions of dollars in these races, either directly or more commonly, indirectly through their front groups like Americans for (Kochs') Prosperity or Wisconsin Club for Growth (of Kochs' riches).  And who could forget the traveling Tea Party Song and Dance Revue?!

So they came in and spent like there was no tomorrow in order to continue their reign of corporate statehood.

But they fell short.

They had four candidates win.  The Democrats had five win.

Unless you're doing Scott Walker's budgeting, five is greater than four.

And things are so bad for WISGOP that their chair can't even comment on Tuesday's failed attacks on two Democratic senators.  They have to bring in the National GOP chair to try to spin a victory out of the jaws of delusion.

What is means is that the majority of Wisconsinites have regained their senses and are rejecting the notion of corporate serfdom.  But it also means that not enough have hit rock bottom yet and will need time before attempting to recall Scott Walker.  Not as long as the Democrats are hoping, but maybe in the spring when people are finding out that they are paying much higher fees for everything and that their schools are about to see the true impact of Walker's budget.

For Those Voting Today

Before the people voting in the last two recalls of the first stage of them, here is a video of Scott Walker and the Republican Legislatures celebrating the day they made sure it harder for you to make ends meet if you lose your job:



It's pretty obvious they don't stand up for the little guy, isn't it?

Reflections By The Fire

I got to spend the last part of my vacation up north by the castle.  Outside of a few minor annoyances, like the rain on Friday whenever I tried to do something, it was just what the doctor ordered.  Got the grass cut (more like got the hay harvested), a few other minor chores done and still had a chance to have a nice bonfire to burn some brush.

It also gave me a chance to ponder some things and observe others, which I present here in no particular order:

One of things that helped keep me out of the house and outside enjoying the beauty of the land was that the TV was rotten with political ads.  If you thought the Sandy Pasch/Alberta Darling contest was overdone, it was anemic compared to the ads between Jim Holperin and Kim Simac.

And indeed, the Koch Brothers are pouring money into that race like there's no tomorrow.  Their front groups were running no less than three different ads.  In two of the ads, they were playing the racist card, but it wasn't clear if this was because they thought that would sell up there or if it was more of a reflection of their own attitudes towards minorities.  Their ads also were rather disjointed, and seemed to be throwing everything they could hoping that something, anything, would stick. One of them jumped from veterans to the time the Democratic senators slowed down the Republicans stripping rights from the people of Wisconsin back to veterans and then to "illegal aliens."  They accused Holperin of just about everything but despoiling virgin goats and eating babies.

WISGOP ran their own "us vs. them" ad, trying to pit the protesters against the rest of the state.  I don't know if they understand that many of the protesters came from that region or if they even care.

Simac even had at least one ad that I saw.

The funny thing is none of them, not even Simac herself, could say one positive thing about her, but could only throw one barb after another at Holperin.

We Are Wisconsin also were running a few ads, but not with nearly the frequency that the Koch Brothers front groups were running theirs.  What I learned from these ads was that Simac doesn't like paying her taxes and that the books she writes get printed in China and not at one of the printing businesses here in Wisconsin.

Unlike Simac's side, there were a couple of positive ads as well, like this one from the Greater Wisconsin Committee:

But, in my humble opinion, the most effect ad was with Holperin in it. In said commercial, he simply pointed out that the big business/corporation folks were dumping a lot of money attacking him because he would not support giving them all the handouts they want.  He adds that they can attack him, but he will still work for the voters.  There was nothing flashy about the ad, but the truth behind it and the simplicity of it spoke very loudly.

The water levels in central Wisconsin, or at least in my little part of it, is still very high, especially for this time of the year.  It's a pleasant change from the drought that they were having up there for years. Although the higher water does make cutting the grass, especially near the marsh, rather challenging.

Barack Obama, even having the terrible month he's been having, must have gotten a laugh out of Iowa's straw poll.  I know I did.

If you're going to build a basement in the really sandy soil in my neck of the woods, which is not advisable, make sure you have a sump pump in place and make sure that said sump pump is on.  The neighbors learned that one the hard way.  The damage must be in the tens of thousands of dollars.

I saw the movie "V for Vendetta" for the first time (yeah, I'm way behind on my movie watching and my reading too).  It's kind of eerie how close it reflects American and Wisconsin politics right now.  But instead of those little knives, he should have had a good old sword.

Just like Milwaukeeans often feel like we're the unwanted stepchild by the rest of the state, those in central and northern Wisconsin feel abandoned and that everything they hear is Madison this and Milwaukee that (and that's just not from the Holperin commercial either).  It would appear that the politicians from both sides of the aisle are pitting different parts of the state against each other.  Their biggest fear is occurring now that the people from all areas of the state (even some from Waukesha and Washington Counties) are pulling together and challenging the status quo.

One of my greatest joys in life is to have all my chores done, sitting outside in the yard on a comfortable summer day, with the sound of the birds and the crackling of a small camp fire serenading you into a nap.

Attention: All Northern WI State Troopers And County Sheriffs!

Straight from Kim Simac's campaign website:

Kim will be driving around in her green GMC work truck with a crack in the windshield and a 4×8 Kim Simac Field sign in a wooden rig on the back of the truck

.
Here's a screencap:

I'm sure that's street legal.

I'm also sure I'll let the reader make their own cracks about Simac doing a tour of truck stops in their own mind.

H/T Democurmudgeon

Kim Simac: Defender Of Sweaty Street Drugs!

Photo courtesy of TPM

Kim Simac, the GOTeAA+ candidate running against State Senator Jim Holperin in next Tuesday's recall election is a very busy woman. ;She's got books to sell, you know, including that family favorite, "With My Rifle By My Side."

She's so busy that she couldn't be bothered attending an event hosted by a couple of aging advocacy groups. Instead, she filled out the questions in advance and had someone read them verbatim to the group.  I'm wondering if that person really did read them verbatim.  If so, I bet it was a laugh riot.

Why?

Well, just look at her answer to Question #4 which I reproduce here, with all spelling and grammar errors intact, but with my emphasis added:

4. Do you support collecting sales taxes on internet sales (e-fairness) to create a level playing field for Main Street businesses and increase revenues to support vital programs for the elderly?

I believe one of the problems with healthcare is that there are so many discrepancies and the lack of transparency in the cost of care, that includes perspiration drugs. levying a sales tax on internet transactions doesn't lower the cost of healthcare it makes the more affordable option more expensive. We should be looking at ways to make healthcare and perception drugs cheaper and that should include FDA approved internet suppliers. True competition will help lower the prices of prescription drugs, we shouldn't be looking to increase prices because of taxes, and this will only make this situation more difficult for our seniors.

At least by the third try, the spellchecker finally kicked in.

This gives me an idea for two new laws they could pass. One, candidates have to pass an IQ test to be on the ballot. Two, candidates must pass a drug test to be on the ballot.

We Haven't Hit Rock Bottom Yet?!

When I was but a lad of nine years old, I got a President for my birthday.  On August 9, 1974, my ninth birthday, Gerald Ford was sworn in as President of the United States.  Ford had the formidable task of trying to heal the nation after it was rocked by the scandalous Richard Nixon.

Nixon was forced to resign in disgrace, because he and his scandalous behaviors had taken the nation to rock bottom - the point at which the people wouldn't and couldn't stand it any more and demanded  change to the situation.

Fast forward too many years and I again find myself receiving two politicians, Jessica King and Jennifer Shilling, for my birthday.  And as with Ford, these two were elected because of their predecessors' scandalous and amoral behaviors.

The two Republicans they defeated were scoundrels through and through.  Dan Kapanke, defeated by Shilling, had a long history of violating campaign finance laws and the Freedom of Information Act.  Randy Randy "Bed" Hopper was having an adulterous affair with a lobbyist and not even living in the district he represented or voted in.

But what really got the citizens of the state riled up was how they unquestioningly went along with Scott Walker's assault on the working class, the poor, women and even kids.

Having hit rock bottom for many people, they demanded that these attacks stop. When the Republicans willfully failed to heed the people, the people took up their legal rights and initiated recalls.

Six Republicans were at risk of losing their seats in recalls.  But after the dust settled, only the two seats were claimed back by the people.  Two of the surviving Republicans, Robert Cowles and Sheila Harsdorf, were in districts so red that, as one tweeter quipped, they'd vote for a goat if it had an "R" after its name.  Another Republican, Luther Olson, won by a narrow margin, even though he hails from the birthplace of the GOP.

The last race, which was awarded to incumbent Alberta Darling, is shrouded in yet another scandalous cloud of incompetence and election tampering in Waukesha County.

Now two of the Democrats did themselves no favors by shooting themselves in the foot with some really stupid mistakes.  Shelly Moore, running against Harsdorf, fumbled out of the starting gate by using public school email for her campaign.  Sandy Pasch failed to make a clear divide between her campaign and an action committee she is part of, including using the committee's treasurer as her campaign treasurer.

While the Republicans are crowing that this is some sort of mandate, like Darling is foolishly doing, it is anything but that.  First of all, they lost two seats and the Democrats have lost none.  Secondly, while millions of Wisconsinites are seeing what's happening, and are righteously outraged by it, there are still millions more that haven't hit that rock bottom point yet.

I can't say when it will happen, but they too will reach the point that the rest of us are at.  It could be when they realize their schools aren't in the great shape that Walker and the Republicans claim, and their kids are piled into overly-filled classrooms.  It could be when the fee hikes kick in and they're paying much, much more than they've ever had to pay before.  It could be when a loved one, a friend or a neighbor loses or is unable to gain the assistance they need due to severe budget cuts to the programs they need.  It could be when they lose their job when their employer has to close because money is being taken out of the hands of the people and into the coffers of wealthy bankers and businessmen.  It could be when they lose a friend who was shot by a "responsible citizen" exercising their right to carry a gun, even if they aren't properly trained or even fit to be armed.  It could be when they realize they aren't able to make enough money to keep their house, because the unions which kept their wages at a sustainable level are no longer there to protect them, even if they never belonged to the union.

It could be any one of hundreds of different things.

But the one thing that is guaranteed is that eventually the majority of people will finally hit rock bottom and come to realize what a toxic miasma the Republicans are making of our state.

And then we can take the next step in reclaiming our state and continuing the healing process. I only hope it's before too many people get irreparably hurt by the Republicans' maleficence.

Until then, I would just like to thank my fellow Wisconsinites for the lovely birthday gift of two more senators who will do right for the people of this once and future great State of Wisconsin.

Teahadists, WISGOP Colluding To Break Election Laws

Via Mother Jones, We Are Wisconsin filed a complaint with the GAB today alleging violation of Wisconsin election laws by the Teahadists and WISGOP:

In a complaint filed with Wisconsin's Government Accountability Board Tuesday morning, We Are Wisconsin alleges the two groups violated Wisconsin campaign law that prohibits coordination between independent expenditure groups and candidates or groups working on behalf of candidates. The complaint points to an August 8th email from the Tea Party Express to its supporters urging supporters to volunteer in its "Phone From Home program with the Wisconsin Republican Party" to make calls in support of GOP candidates. The link in the email leads to an online volunteering site that lists Tom Dickens, the WI GOP's political director, as the contact person. The Phone From Home page also presents volunteers with a call script praising GOP Sen. Randy Hopper's record creating jobs and "working to fix the state budget shortfall without raising taxes."

We Are Wisconsin's complaint depicts all this as a joint effort between TPE and the WI GOP. "Scott Walker and his national right-wing backers have proven time and again that no tactic—however despicable or illegal—is off limits in their quest to maintain absolute power and push their corporate-backed attacks on Wisconsin's working families," says Kelly Steele, a spokesman for We Are Wisconsin. A spokeswoman for the WI GOP did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The complaint also alleges that the Tea Party Express violated a different part of Wisconsin law by engaging in electioneering without registering with the Government Accountability Board, which oversees campaign finance in Wisconsin.

You can see the report by clicking here.

H/T muttmutt

Luther Olson vs. Poy Sippi Elementary School

From Bold Progressives:



Bonus points if you know where Poy Sippi is without looking it up on teh Google or a map.

Previously: Clark's got the momentum on his side.

Dems Keep Seat, Gain Big Mo

As was predictable, Dave Hansen went on today to win the first recall by trouncing the troubled David Vanderleest (or is it now Vanderlost?) to retain his seat.

But since Vanderleest did just about everything he could to shoot his campaign in the foot, the trouncing may or may not indicate much as far as whether the people of Wisconsin have retained the momentum that the overreaching and overbearing Republicans sparked in February.

I pointed out last night that things I observed up north in the Fred Clark vs. Luther Olson race, the signs showed a bit of an enthusiasm gap which was heavily in the Democrats' favor.

Tuesday's elections showed that even more clearly and undeniably.  In temperatures in the 90s and heat indices that were approaching 100, Green Bay voters turned out in droves to support Hansen, with estimates at 51% voter turnout.  Meanwhile, in Kenosha County, in a Republican primary to see who will lose to Senator Robert Wirch, the Republicans could barely scrounge up 10,000 voters or about 5% voter turnout.

That disparity in turn out shows, without any doubt, who has the momentum going into the August recalls.  The Republicans are either burnt out on politics or more likely, are also turned off by the poor behavior and illegal and unconstitutional power grabbing.

Yet the Republicans in Madison just keep doubling down on their boorish ways as they now go against state law and basic ethics in their drive to further screw with the electoral system with their gerrymandering.

Remember Your Goal When You Get To The Poll: Democratic Primary Rhymes

Rhyming has always proven to be an effective mnemonic device, and in that light, Joanne Staudacher, part June Cleaver and part meat cleaver, prepared this helpful reminder to avoid voting for the fake Democrat in Tuesday's primary on her Facebook page and republished her at her request:

Concerned that your family and friends may be confused about how to vote in the Democratic primaries tomorrow, especially with reports of automated phone calls giving false information? This note is visible to everyone, so please share/link it widely today and tomorrow! These rhymes endorse the real Democratic candidates.

District 18 - Jessica King is the real thing!

District 14 - Democrats: It's a walk in the park if you pick Fred Clark!

District 10 - Democrats adore Shelly Moore!

District 32 - Democrats: It would be thrilling if you pick Jen Shilling!

District 8 - In the district eight clash, pick Sandy Pasch!

District 2 - The Democrats fancy for you to pick Nancy! Vote Nusbaum!

Yoo Hoo, Alberta! Some People Want To Speak With You!

Wouldn't it be nice if Alberta Darling took a little time away from authoring the most malicious budget in state history to actually sit down and listen to her constituents for a change?



Yeah, I wouldn't hold my breath for her to do that either. She needs to be sent packing to the nearest golf course so that a responsible adult, like Sandy Pasch, can do the job she won't.

Who Do You Trust? The Election Game Show

Dominique Paul Noth of Milwaukee Labor Press shows his witty side in this humorous but simultaneously enraging look at the games the Republicans continue to play with our electoral system.  Here's an excerpt, but be sure to read the whole thing, especially to the end:

We understand, don’t we folks? So let’s just say you’re over 75. Well, Gladys, you’ll be happy to know that in the US, 75 is the typical age of a US poll worker. What’s that? Folks, Gladys HAS been a poll worker! Bet you itch to go back next year now that photo ID is here, right? What’s that, Gladys, speak up? Folks, get this, she says she definitely can’t wait to be one of those people who look at your photo ID, look back up at you, look down again and look up again and again to make sure you are who you say you are before she allows you to vote and lets others in line move forward. Talk about homeland security! Applause

But she’s also been an election official, right Gladys? She represented the Republican Party for the Ozaukee County Board of Canvassers in the recent Prosser-Kloppenburg race for the Supreme Court. OOOH-Applause Sign.

Well, Gladys, that loyalty is going to win you major prizes here on Who Do You Trust. First and most important, you’re getting to pretend to be a Democrat for a month! Turn on Cheer Sign

Yes, Gladys, you’ve volunteered to be the Pretend Dem in the Senate District 8 race to force the real Democrat, Sandy Pasch, to compete with you first. That gives her actual opponent, incumbent Alberta Darling, whose campaigns you have long worked for and given money to, an extra month to get ready. That’s more time to raise money, more time to hope voters forget how central Darling has been in passing that hateful Walker budget, more time to figure out what to say to Pasch’s stern arguments.

And if you’re willing to make this sacrifice, Gladys, to enter your twilight years to the hoots of laughter from disbelieving citizens, we’re ready to help with big prizes. We registered a Friends of Gladys Huber group with the state to help you raise money and gather the 400 to 800 signatures you need to force a Democrat primary race July 12.

Yes, Gladys, while it took almost 30,000 signatures of District 8 citizens to set up the recall against Darling, it only takes a few hundred to get you on the ballot. Isn’t democracy wonderful! Applause Sign

Reflect on what you’re doing for Walker and our beloved motherland -- you’re seeking to delay the real election to mid-August, when many voters will go on vacation and some might forget how badly the budget bill has stung their children and communities. You’ve made a mockery of the genuine voter anger and Democratic discipline that brought about the recall. You may need those paid Friends when it’s all over, but you’ve given Alberta Darling the only chance she has to survive. What a sweetheart!

Voters Flunk Olson

Funny how the right wing keeps trying to tell us that #wiunion is dead, or at least fading out.

Tonight we've seen the rebirth of #walkerville.

Courtesy of We Are Wisconsin PAC

We also saw a very respectable number of people show up in the tiny town of Ripon to give soon to be former State Senator Luther Olson his grades on respecting the voters and listen to them. From a press release from We Are Wisconsin PAC:

Wisconsin Residents Take a Stand Against Sen. Olsen’s
Radical Education Budget Cuts

Constituents gather on Saturday in Olsen’s hometown to demands answers over his support for a budget that cuts $61 million from District 14 schools

RIPON – Just before noon today nearly 100 citizens gathered in Ripon, Sen. Olsen’s hometown, to express their disgust in his lockstep support of Governor Walker’s extreme cuts to education. Statewide education supporters fear cuts could result in a $1.7 billion loss of revenue for public schools and nearly $61 million in funding cuts for Senate District 14.

“Senator Olsen just doesn’t get it. In these tough times the last thing we need to do is shortchange our children so Walker and Olsen can give millions in tax breaks to their corporate donors,” said Mark Resch a local high school teacher. Ann Schmidt, a speaker at the rally called on Olsen to stand up to Walker, “Olsen claims to care about education but follows Governor Walker in lockstep while he cuts school programs our children need most. If he’s really an advocate for education, he’ll stand up to Walker’s shameful cuts.”

Senator Olsen chairs the Senate Education Committee and is also member of the Joint Finance Committee, the principal body deliberating Governor Walker’s budget. The Committee has proposed over $1 billion in education cuts while Olsen has personally sponsored $250 million in corporate tax breaks for out-of-state corporations.

Any rumor of the movements demise is rather premature and extremely exaggerated.

The above picture is also from their site and you can find more here.

A Tale Of A Rat, A Snake And A Mole(man)

Sen. Kapanke describing
the money he is getting
from the Koch Bros.

Soon to be former State Senator Dan Kapanke just can't handle following ethical behavior.  Despite his already lengthy history of having ethics problems, he has gone and gotten himself entangled into another mess.

Dan Bice, one of the few people at Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that I still respect, reported on the latest apparent shenanigan from Kapanke:

In a newly obtained secret recording of the La Crosse County Republican Party meeting on May 25, party officials claim they talked with a staffer for Sen. Dan Kapanke and a top GOP official about taking steps to extend the campaign and delay the recall vote.

This conversation took place in the same meeting in which La Crosse County Republicans discussed running a spoiler candidate against Democrat Jennifer Shilling in an effort to delay the Kapanke's recall election. The move, they said, would give Kapanke more time to campaign and force Dems to spend more cash.

Of course, Kapanke backpedaled from this as fast as his little rat legs could carry him.

But Bice doesn't stop there. He also reports that the rat had talks with a snake as well:

But in the new recording, Chris Rochester, who oversees public relations for the La Crosse Republican Party, said, "I would just advise, I guess, having talked to Dan’s campaign manager, to make sure that as the process goes along, we know that it would be better for them to have an extended period of time."

La Crosse County Republican Party Vice Chairman Julian Bradley responds, "Yes, but this is a wish that comes from the RPW's political director, Mark Jefferson."

Jefferson is the former executive director of the state Republican Party who recently left to take a post with the national GOP. He could not be reached for comment.

So this is some part of the new WISGOP policy and procedures? It does bring one's mind back to Scott Walker's infamous phone call with the fake David Koch, where he admitted that they were considering using plants and where he asked Koch for help with trying to defend his corrupt and amoral allies in the state senate.

There has been some speculation on why WISGOP would want to delay the recall election and run a spoiler candidate. Some have hypothesized that it is to cause Jennifer Shilling, Kapanke's Democratic opponent, to spend money and get smeared before the election by someone else.  David Dayen of Firedoglake feels it more likely that they just want to hold onto their death grip of the government and the state longer to implement more of their profit and power grabbing laws.

This story takes an interesting twist as well.

The La Crosse Republican Party is planning on suing the person who videotaped* this particularly damning speech.  That's very much like a gang of thieves saying their going to sue the person who snitched on them and prevented a big heist they were planning.

Interesting, the people involved fall all over themselves in trying to deny that there was ever any sort of plot only to admit that they still might be planning on it (emphasis mine):

She again said the campaign is not seeking a candidate to challenge Shilling in a primary.
"It is not something the campaign is discussing with anybody," she said.

Harrington also said she had no knowledge of the county GOP's plan to sue the person who made the tape.

Wisconsin law says it is legal for a person to record a conversation if one party gives consent. It also says consent is not required if the person being recorded does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in that communication.

Feehan, the party chairman, said that since Bradley made comments early in the meeting that it should not be recorded, the person who made the tape had broken the law.

"We're not going to take this laying down," Feehan said.

He also said there are some in the party still considering a spoiler candidate but declined to say if it was an official party strategy.

Now, I've dealt with these things long enough to see that they are saying that they're not talking now, but not they are not denying having talked about it at all, which could very well mean that they already have things in place.

Also, given their past behaviors with myself and Professor Cronon and others, their threat to sue seems more likely an attempt to distract from their own misdoings and push people's attention elsewhere.

This is really only throwing gas on the fire, but it also only emphasizes that the fact that La Crosse could run a discarded tennis shoe and receive better representation than they are from Kapanke.  He's as dirty as they come and really needs to go.

*Odd thing is I thought WISGOP loved themselves some molemen.

My Guys Never Win

WisPolitics.com is reporting that in a straw poll at the Democratic Convention, Russ Feingold easily won top spot to both replace retiring Senator Herb Kohl and the soon to be recalled would be emperor Scott Walker.

And I had voted for Tom Foley and Jay Bullock, respectively.

Dang it! My guys never win.

Kapanke's Two Part Campaign Strategy: Spaghetti and Lightning

State Senator Dan Kapanke (R-Copeland Field) is obviously feeling the heat of the upcoming recall election.  In response, his crack campaign team* has devised a two part campaign strategy which they have apparently named "Spaghetti and Lightning."

The spaghetti part, named after the act of testing cooked spaghetti by throwing it against a wall to see if it will stick, has already been launched when Team Kapanke filed a lawsuit seeking a halt to the recall election.  Team Kapanke's argument appears to be that there are irregularities in the recall petitions. Then again, given the Republicans' track record, Kapanke probably considers them to be irregular because they were collected in a grassroots uprising of all sorts of people and not by some paid, out-of-state felon.

I freely admit I'm not familiar with all the nuances of election laws, I have a feeling that Kapanke's spaghetti, unlike his political career, his not done yet and nothing will stick.

The other part of his campaign strategy is based on the hope that the old adage "Lightning never strikes twice" is as inaccurate has his campaign finance accounting.

Kapanke is hoping that the voters in his district, with a large number of public employees, fall back asleep, and allow him to eke out another victory.  He is hoping for a recurrence of  November 2010, when the populace did fall asleep on election day and allowed WISGOP to have such a wide sweep of victories, not just across the state but across the country.  This is why there is such an unprecedented level of voters' remorse everywhere one goes.

Again, I would hazard to say that Kapanke is out of luck.  He and his WISGOP colleagues in corruption have  woken the sleeping giant, and I don't see this giant going back to sleep for a long, long time.

*There is no confirmation at this time if certain right wing operatives are part of said campaign team.

Wisconsin's Own Michele Bachmann

Did you think that Minnesota had cornered the Midwestern market for crazy with Michele Bachmann? Well, Gentle Reader, before you put your money down on that, get a hold of Kim Simac in this clip courtesy of Zach at Blogging Blue:



I don't know exactly what rights the Constitution gives God, or why He would need a man-made rights to begin with, but our own Michele Bachmann apparently doesn't live in our reality either.

And if you thought that was bad, you should see the full clip, when Simac and the host, Dorothy Spaulding, try to out-crazy each other throughout the whole thing.

It also makes me wonder how desperate the GOP must be if this is the type of candidate they are putting up in these races.

So You Want To Go Canvassing?

But you don't know where to go?

Well, gentle reader turned canvasser, you'r in luck!

All the info you're looking for is right here.

Even Smoke And Mirrors Can't Hide Darling's Nervousness.

Alberta Darling is scared for her job.

Oh, she won't admit it, not publicly at least. But you can tell that she and the GOP are awfully nervous.

First, she's been running radio ads for several weeks now, even before she knew who her opponent might be or even before they turned in her recall papers. (Oh, yeah. She's really on the tax payer's side, all right. Two words: Child Welfare. No savings there, just higher taxes.)

Darling's latest stunt is to roll out a new drunk driving bill which would make the first time offense a criminal case, but only if the impaired driver was twice the legal limit.But what the hey, who could bad mouth a law toughening drunk driving, right? That'll surely get her a vote or three.

Unfortunately for our soon to be ex senator, the most vocal and passionate anti-drunk driving people, MADD, isn't so keen on Darling's shenanigans:

But Frank Harris, state legislative affairs manager for the national office of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said in an email to Darling and Ott that, while their bills are well intentioned, MADD wants laws that make drunken driving a misdemeanor at 0.08 as opposed to 0.15. Additionally, Harris wrote, MADD wants laws that require an ignition interlock for first time offenders who have a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or greater.

"MADD applauds your leadership on keeping the streets safe from drunk drivers in Wisconsin," Harris wrote in the email, which was also sent to the Journal Sentinel. "MADD supports making a third offense a felony but is neutral on the proposal to make a first conviction with a blood-alcohol of .15 or greater a misdemeanor.

"Making a first OWI conviction a misdemeanor at .15 BAC is not a step and this does not represent progress against drunk driving."

Added Harris: "This .15 BAC bill sends a mixed message on what the illegal level of drunk driving is in Wisconsin exactly and will not send any message or deterrence necessary to stop drunk driving or the majority of drunk driving deaths in Wisconsin caused by drunk drivers with no prior convictions. The only benefit to this legislation is that more drunk drivers may refuse and thereby receive an ignition overlock."

Senator to be Sandy Pasch also saw right through this and sent out her own press release regarding Darling's stunt:

8th state Senate District candidate Sandy Pasch issued the following statement today on Senator Alberta Darling's flawed bill that only criminalizes first time drunken-driving offenses for those driving nearly twice the legal limit:

"Every year in Wisconsin, families are torn apart by the tragedy of drunken driving, and Senator Darling's bill fails to seriously address the problem.  Essentially doubling the legal limit before criminal penalties are assessed sets a bad precedent, sends a mixed message, and embodies the kind of nonsense 'solutions' we get from out-of-touch career politicians who have been in Madison for far too long.  Rather than legislating in sound bites, we must take a more thoughtful, community-based approach to addressing the critical issue of drunken driving. Unfortunately, this proposal - coupled with likely cuts to public safety caused by the Walker and Darling budget - falls dramatically short for families and victims of drunk driving in Wisconsin."

At a time when the citizenry is already outraged and highly alert to the political climate, does Darling really think it was a good idea to sign on a meaningless bill? Does she think insulting her constituents' intelligence is really going to win over many people?

Alberta Darling is a person that is in dire need of being forced to retire, enjoy her truly lavish benefits, and spend her golden years touring golf courses.

Volunteers Needed For Sandy Pasch

Even though today is Mother's Day, the fight for our freedom and our state doesn't stop. Give a gift to every mother in the state by helping restore our state to the right path by volunteering for Sandy Pasch, who has announced that she is taking on Alberta "I never met a golf course I didn't like" Darling.

To help out:

Canvassing for the Pasch campaign starts tomorrow 5/8 at 2pm and phone banking starts at 3pm. We need as many volunteers as possible in the next few weeks to win this election.

Stop in to help out.

**Here's the volunteer schedule up until the last weekend of the election.**

Canvasses
- Every day
- Regional Dem. Party Office (6807 N. Green Bay Avenue)
- Weekdays: 4:00pm – 6:00pm and 6:00pm – 8:00pm
- Weekends: 10:00am – 2:00pm and 2:00pm – 4:00pm

Phone Banking
- Every day
- Regional Dem. Party Office (6807 N. Green Bay Avenue)
- Weekdays: 3:30pm – 5:00pm and 6:00pm – 8:00pm
- Weekends: 11:00am – 1:00pm and 1:00pm – 3:00pm and 3:00pm – 5:00pm

Calls to
- Volunteers
- Direct Voter Contact

Data Entry
- Every day
- Regional Dem. Party Office (6807 N. Green Bay Avenue)
- 9:00am – 11:00am; 7:00pm – 9:00pm