Chicken!

By Jeff Simpson

Remember when everyone in politics, could not get to a microphone/computer/camera quick enough to call Brett Hulsey crazy when he said he was going to send someone with a chicken suit to follow Mary Burke because she ducked debates with him? 

Republicans would never do that! 

My Election Thoughts

By Jeff Simpson

Election results here!

1.  Brett Hulsey had a solid showing receiving almost 52000 votes.  Brett Hulsey did not deserve to win, ran a solid campaign, brought up issues that needed to be brought up and did not deserve to be treated as poorly by the party as he was.  

Brett Hulsey9 hours ago

If Mary Burke wins tonight, I support her to beat Scott Walker in November.

2.  Mary Jo Walters was the story of the night.   116,006 votes as a relative unknown, who was completely shunned by the party she tried to represent, with no money against the political insider, long time WI Senator who refused to acknowledge her existence.   Congrats Mary Jo and thank you for what you have done.  

3.  I have not decided if the 116,006 people who voted for her were saying F U to the Democratic executive committee that endorsed her opponent and shunned her or the Democratic Executive committee and Chairman Tate who treated her like a second class citizen and shut her out of the Democratic convention were saying FU to the 116,006 Wisconsin voters who supported Mary Jo Walters.  Either way it is up to them to heal and bridge the divide NOT the other way around.

4.  When the race is so close, maybe the people did deserve a debate.

5  This cracked me up.   Apparently he forgot to put in the asterisk.  * Only applies to people I approve of running.  

   

6.  The overwhelming win by Rob Zerban surprised me, the overwhelming win by Paul Ryan did not.   I always thought Jeremy Ryan's best chance to win would be to get on the ballot then disappear.  Not a second of campaigning and hope people checked the wrong box.  

7.  Every vote matters, ask Janis Ringhand and Ernie Wittwer.

8.  The Democratic establishment lost, ask Pat Bohmack, Jon Richards and Tom Rayome.  

9.  Mike Sheridan's political career is over while Robin Vos was given a promotion and I can not figure out the difference between the two.  

10.   The extreme's on the R side of the 6th Congressional district were not distinguishable.  

11.  Triple dipping Van Wanggaard won, despite the fact he advertised that he had the old Knotsies as supporters.   I would hope that the fact that he is running on a I got mine and now want to pull the ladder up" campaign will be noticeable to the voters in his district!  

12.  How in the world can Sheriff Clarke win?  Seriously?   If it was all cross over votes and you did not see that coming, whose fault is that?

13.  Susan Happ will make a great Attorney General.  

14.  The low turnout still fails to amaze me and the fact that it is not addressed by the Democratic party also amazes me.  Why go after the imaginary Walker/Obama voters and not after the 80% of the people who did not choose to vote in the primary?   Give people a reason to vote and they will!    

15.  Congrats to Dana Duncan, no support from the Dem party, shunned by Wisconsin Progress and won handily.  Now its time to retire Scott Krug.

16.  Scott Walker is beatable, no excuses from the team trying to do so allowed!  

2 East Main

By Jeff Simpson

With this interview from the head of the Wisconsin Democratic party, we at Cogdis were privy to an earlier conversation! 

This is scene one in the Wisconsin Gubernatorial race of 2014!

SW: Mike this is a very hard time trying to run the state and go through this investigation and run for president, I don't need the hassle. 

MT: Yes Sir Mr. Walker

SW:  Good I knew I could count on you.

MT:  Yes Sir, Mr. Walker.  I will do my best to make sure no one mentions that you are at the center of a criminal investigation and have been the last four years.     I refuse to mention that you have spent 3/4 of a million dollars on lawyers defending your activities.  I wont mention all of your staff that have been convicted either.   My lips are sealed!

SW:  And if anyone else does?

MT:  You saw how quickly we shunned and attacked Bret Hulsey....

SW:  Yes it was beautiful.  Hulsey's little stunt almost shone a light on our incredibly racist policies and emails,  since I have been in office.  I mean seriously my staff works hard, you need to raise alot of money to run for president, so why not let them blow off some steam by racist jokes.  You can only make fun of public workers so much, you need to mix it up a little.  

MT:  If anyone knows how to deliver a strong speech its you sir.   

SW:  Keep up the good work Michael, now leave me alone.  This steak dinner and expensive wine is not for you!   When you see Eric and JB in the lobby, send them in.  I have to give them their orders!

Also, if you know any good plumbers(wink wink) let Mike Huebsch know. 

MT:   Yes sir.   Have a great day sir.

SW:   mumbles and chews.....  


dim lights.....draw curtain

curtain call:

Let Him Speak!

By Jeff Simpson

Mike Tate was accused early on of endorsing Mary Burke for Governor.   Tate felt that the criticism was unfair and issued a statement:

Gang- I often promote the FB pages of all Dems running for an office, especially higher profile offices. More of a public service. Did the same thing in 2010, 12 and now. Not an endorsement. We promote Democrats running for office. If another serious candidate for Governor announces you’ll see myself and the party do the same thing. If you want someone else to run, go ask them to do so. Additionally there is no primary at this time and isn’t unless someone else enters it. So much as with Tammy Baldwin last year the party will promote Mary’s candidacy and should another serious candidate enter the race would promote that candidates activities too. Don’t remember anyone complaining about us promoting Tammy prior to her receiving full support of the party. No difference here.

Well, there is another Democrat on the ticket,  Brett Hulsey, and Mike Tate and the rest of the party has done their best to freeze him out.   Brett Hulsey wants and deserves a chance to speak at the upcoming Democratic convention but is not being allowed to.   

As Mike Tate himself said:

Not an endorsement. We promote Democrats running for office. If another serious candidate for Governor announces you’ll see myself and the party do the same thing. If you want someone else to run, go ask them to do so

Well Mike, another Democrat is running for Governor and as head of the Democratic party will you live up to your own words and allow him to speak at the convention or have you shown us that your word is not to be believed ever again?  







I also want to be perfectly clear that this is not an endorsement for Hulsey for Governor, but a sign of respect for someone who not only collected the required amount of signatures to run for office, but also has served as an elected Democratic official for many years.  

Let Hulsey Speak!  

Jumping Into The Crazy Season With Both Feet

When political campaigns start swinging into full gear, it's often referred to as the crazy season.  And there's not many places where it gets crazier than Fitzwalkerstan.

Case in point would be in regards to Robin Vos. Almost everyone - with the possible exception of Michelle Litjens and a handful of Koch/Bradley Foundation employees - would agree that Robin Vos needs to go.  There are few that are as sleazy, disreputable, greedy and power hungry as Vos.

So when it was announced that Vos was going to be primaried, one might have thought it good news.  But they actually found someone even crazier and more to the right than even Vos - a secessionist:

According to the Racine Journal Times, Bryn Biemeck -- the Republican taking on Vos this fall -- is touting her support of states' rights. That's the reason she said she is opposing the Common Core education standards for Wisconsin schools.

Biermeck -- a 28-year-old bank employee -- said she also backs a resolution that will be taken up at the state's Republican Party convention in Milwaukee next month that “supports legislation that upholds Wisconsin’s right, under extreme circumstances, to secede."

The Mount Pleasant Republican said she believes in “approaching states’ rights (with) that attitude.”

Sadly, the Democrats have yet to put up anyone to run against these doofuses.

The fact that the Dems haven't put up anyone in that race is because they are also busy jumping into the deep end.

Today, State Brett Hulsey announced that he was also running for governor.  Husley is saying all the right things that Mary Burke won't.  He's for reversing Act 10, protecting the environment and restoring public education.

Burke, on the other hand, has been doing double talk regarding Act 10, claiming that she wants to restore collective bargaining for public sector workers, but then goes on to praise Act 10, which took those rights away.

It was refreshing to hear a politician speak with passion and like a progressive.  Unfortunately, as Wisconsin Soap Box points out, Hulsey has so much baggage that he needs to turn in his red convertible for a 8-ton box truck.

If only there was a way to take Husley's platform and passion and combine it with Burke's calm demeanor and big money, we'd be talking about the Dems winning in a landslide.

Instead, we are all just jumping into the crazy season with both feet.

State Reps Ask Feds To Delay Possible Train Wreck

Last week, I reported about Scott Walker flaunting his corruption by having a model of a Wisconsin and Southern Railroad train going around the holiday tree in the State Capitol.  W&S is operated by William E. Gardner, the first person to be charged and convicted in the ongoing John Doe investigation into Walker and his campaign, commonly known as Walkergate.

As I reported then, W&S was being sold to a company called Watco Transportation Services, who actually brag about how their biggest customer is Koch Industries.

Because of the questions regarding the railroad and it's corrupt president and his ties to Walker, five state representatives - Brett Hulsey, Fred Clark, Louis Molepske, Kelda Helen Roys and Terese Berceau - have written a letter to the federal government's Surface Transportation Board to delay the sale of the railroad for sixty days while certain questions regarding the sale is investigated:

This 60 day delay would give legislators and the public time to explore these questions:

1. Would Wisconsin farmers, manufacturers, and rail shippers be hurt by a change in a rail carrier as they were with the sale of the Wisconsin Central line?
2. Is the buyer willing and able to work with state and local officials to improve
freight and restore passenger train service to many parts of Wisconsin?
3. Could the State of Wisconsin get a better deal on the more than $60 million
taxpayers have invested in train tracks with a more open bidding process like an
RFI for sale?
4. Is this sale a political payback for illegal campaign contributions made to the
Governor by WSOR officials?

As Hulsey points out, the state has invested $60 million into the rail system that W&S enjoys. They need to be responsible advocates for the tax payers by making quite certain that their investment is protected.

The question which should be most closely examined is the fourth one.

Given the things that we have learned about the way Walker and the Koch Brothers operate, it would be all too conceivable that the purchase of the railroad would include a large reward for Gardner.  You know, for taking one for the team, so to speak.

Likewise, the sale could very well be a way for the Koch Brothers and Walker to remove a potential problem.  While it's true that Gardner already admitted to the crime and was sentenced, what's to say that he doesn't know more than what he's already said?  Given the amount of people from that company that have been given immunity in the Walkergate investigation, it's not hard to imagine that Gardner might know more than he's said so far.

For these reasons as well as the other ones listed in the Representatives' letter, the feds should grant the delay for at least 60 days and conduct a full investigation.  It's a shame innocent people could be adversely impacted by the delay, but due to the level of corruption in this administration, it really is the only way to keep the tax payers safe.

And my commendations to the Representatives for standing up for the people of Wisconsin, as they have been doing all along.

Hulsey Is On To Something

When I heard the news that the state legislature wanted to make a teacher's whole career based on other people's test scores, I was livid with this idiotic attack on some of Wisconsin's finest and most caring people.  This stunt is just another maneuver to make the job as unattractive as possible to drive off the good teachers that would and should be paid a respectable wage.

I then imagined what this would be like for other lines of work. Should doctors be paid based on how many patients that live or die or develop chronic conditions?  Should cops be fined every time a crime happens?  Should road builders be penalized for every car accident?

Of course not.  Yet the Republicans, who would scream the loudest if anyone would even suggest these actions believe that the teachers should be held responsible for things that aren't even in their control.

But what if we held these politicians to the same standards?  After all, the Republicans had not one, but two "special jobs sessions" in which not one damn thing related to creating jobs was done. What if we held their pay  and disciplinary issues based on the number of jobs they created or the lack thereof?

Coincidentally, I'm not the only one with that thought.  State Representative Brett Hulsey issued a press release last week with a similar train of thought:

In this evening’s floor session, State Representative Brett Hulsey (D-Madison) will introduce the Governor Accountability Measure, which would set the Governor’s salary at three times the average Wisconsin’s worker’s salary. This is an amendment to Senate Bill 95, which would set teacher salaries based on test scores.

“This session is supposed to be about jobs, but has created no jobs, and the Governor should be held liable for that. Governor Walker should link his pay to the average Wisconsin worker because he and his fellow Republicans have not created jobs as promised,” said Hulsey. “Rather than link teachers’ pay to test scores, we should link the Governor’s pay to the real score—how much Wisconsin workers make.”

The amendment sets the Governor’s salary at three times the pay of an average Wisconsin worker, which is $40,980 annually according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That would be $121,162 instead of the $144,423 he makes today.  

This year, the Governor received a $7,331 pay raise over his predecessor, a 5 percent increase, while he gave state workers an 8 percent average reduction in benefit pay. This comes as new figures reveal a significant decline in real income statewide.

“Governor Walker should lead by example and link his pay to worker’s pay, like he wants to link teacher pay to student test scores,” Hulsey said.

Since Governor Walker signed the state budget, Wisconsin has lost nearly 23,000 jobs. Meanwhile, a sobering new poll shows that the people of Wisconsin are unhappy with Governor Walker and legislative Republicans for failing to create jobs

Of course, if we held Walker responsible for all of the mayhem he and his cohorts have already caused, he would need all of the Koch Brothers' riches to pay his fines. Unfortunately, this is just a warming thought and would never happen.

But we are not without recourse. Recalls start on November 15. I am so ready for it.