Democratic Party Games

The Republican Party of Wisconsin has a long history of being a machine.  In 2006, party leaders (read: the establishment) decided that Mark Green should be their gubernatorial candidate.  Scott Walker, who was making his first run for governor, quickly got the point (although he said that God told him not to run) and dropped out of the race before making more of a fool of himself.

In 2010, Walker became the Republican establishment's chosen one.  So much so that Reince Priebus, then head of WISGOP, was giving Walker warnings on what the other Republican candidate, Mark Neumann, was planning on doing.  It got so bad that they even kept Neumann's supporters from entering the state convention that year.

Sad to say, this is not a partisan occurrence.

After six dismal years of Mike Tate's lack of leadership, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin finally has a chance to pull out of their downward spiral by electing a new chair.  Sadly, things have quickly turned as ugly as a Republican convention.

At first, it looked like that Tate's hand-picked heir apparent, Jason Rae, was going to walk away with the race.  Rae is obviously the establishment candidate and has picked up most of the establishment endorsements.

But when Martha Laning announced that she was running, things changed.  Laning picked up the endorsements from people like State Senator Kathleen Vinehout and former state legislator Sandy Pasch.  Laning also seems to have picked up a number of union endorsements, including AFSCME.

Dominique Paul Noth covers the race and points out the issues with Rae's candidacy better than most could:

The leader, though, in terms of inside endorsements is young Jason Rae who has groomed party connections for years and has close ties to influential PR team Nathan Consulting. He is a member and advocate for  the LBGT community (which also supports other candidates) and  according to rumor has strong ties to well-heeled sources like Chris Abele (who has officially stayed out of this). Rae has earned the backing of David Obey, Penny Bernard Schaber (with whom he’s running) and many other well-known Democratic names.

On the negative side, his supporters have gone on the attack against opponents in personal and disturbing terms on social media, where the party needs to go to attract new blood to its operations.  It has upset many traditional funders  of the party who told me they are flat disgusted with the tone of the attack – and rightly or wrongly are blaming Rae.  Perhaps to counter that he has used his future husband to promote his candidacy, almost as if daring anyone  who attacks him to realize they are attacking a gay leader (something I frankly had not even thought of till I got the newsletter using his logo from his significant other).

His supporters (I don’t want to blame him without evidence) have made their main target a woman new to  many in the party, where Rae has been an activist for years. Yet in short order Martha Laning  has earned endorsement from many union groups, progressive leaders such as Kathleen Vinehout and Sandy Pasch (and Rep. David Bowen, who is partnering with her)  and certainly from the groups that are encouraging strong progressive Democratic women to seek office (2016 looks like a good year for that, doesn’t it?).

[...]

Rae’s supporters are attacking Laning for what I regard as trivialities. Like almost everyone who votes Democratic in the state she has only been a formal member of the party for  a few years.  Anyone who runs for office under the party label must join, which she did in a senate race in 2014, but I can name several long-term party members I wouldn’t vote for even if  they were running against Scarface.  It’s what a person stands for, and how they will stand, it’s what you glean from  lifelong principles that should count, not ridiculous opposition research twisting partial statements from years ago, which I detest  when either party does this.

Indeed, Laning's sudden surge was enough to make Rae's camp nervous and made them pull some deplorable stunts. A prime example of this, and of the points made my Noth, can be exemplified by this poorly written  post that appeared on Political Heat.  While that post is heavy on grammatical errors, it makes up for it by being amazingly fact free.  The arguments made had already been debunked, if the author had taken a minute to do some research instead of regurgitating Team Abele/Rae/Tate's talking points.

I have not made up my mind on who I like yet, mostly due to other issues pressing on my time and attention, and I make no apologies for it.

That said, I do have to agree with MAL Conteds, who referred to Rae as the Karl Rove of the DPW and said:

If Wisconsin Democrats elect Jason Rae, progressives in Wisconsin should be ready to bash these idiots on all fronts.

Then again, if the gentle reader is happy with the continuous losses to the Republicans, or even worse, the backing of more corporate Dems who are just as bad, if not worse than the Republicans, then Rae just might be the one you want.

Of Charlie Sykes, Right Wisconsin and Walkergate

I have often opined that journalism is a dead - or at least dying - trade.  All too often, it seems like it is nothing more than a regurgitation of political press releases without any questioning or investigation to the veracity of the statements being made.

Dominique Paul Noth, an old school journalist, wrote an eloquent article in which he also laments the changes that have happened in journalism, although he admits it wasn't always so great either back in the day.

While it would well be worth the gentle reader to take a few minutes to read Noth's poignant observations on journalism as a whole, there is a section that I would draw the reader's attention to which outlines what we all know but few are willing to say outright - that the corporate media is in bed with the political operation of Scott Walker and his dark money supporters:

Many readers now wonder aloud why parent company Journal Communications continues to
damages its reputation of journalistic integrity by turning morning TMJ Radio over to the right-wing blathering of Charlie Sykes. But that was a ratings decision, not a news one. The justification remains that Sykes, like Rush Limbaugh, describes himself as an entertainer not a journalist. (Of course, he wants his opinions revered as hard commentary and he comes from a journalist background. In fact, I worked in the Journal newsroom when he was a reporter there, haranguing veterans with his ideas, which they found amusing or just quietly rolled their eyes. The general opinion was that he was likeable but not believable, and his father, the late journalist Jay Sykes, was more respected. So no wonder Charles moved on to pastures that would put him on a higher pedestal.)

Sykes’ ego has now led to a larger error. His Right Wisconsin, a website requiring paid subscription and full of his musings and those of others who claim journalistic credentials, including several right-wing bloggers JS has hired, was started by him to spread his journalism credentials and is actually owned by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Journal Communications, moving from mere employer of an entertainer to conspirator in right-wing journalistic thematics. That has destroyed the JS reputation for objectivity especially right now, as Walker falls into deeper disrepute through his own behavior as county executive.

Just ask Bice himself. In a web chat on jsonline Feb. 26, he was asked to comment on whether Right Wisconsin was an arm of Walker’s political machine, given that its editor, Brian Fraley, has been revealed as email contact in the recent release of John Doe missives. Chatted Bice:

“If you want to understand how closely tied Right Wisconsin is to the Walker team, do this: Go to the email records and do a search for the word Fraley, as in RW managing editor Brian Fraley, who worked with Kelly Rindfleisch back in the legislative caucus days. Then note that Fraley is involved in the email exchange that just led Gov. Walker -- apparently -- to fire DOT legal counsel John Schulze. Then turn on your radio and listen to Charlie Sykes argue against the Schulze's firing. It's a small and deeply intertwined world.”

Part of that deep intertwine is JS ownership of this Right Wisconsin so closely tied to Walker’s camp and Sykes’s disgust when Walker backs away from supporting his own gang.

As of this writing, Bice as columnist has suggested but not flat out said that Walker knew of the secret email network and router set up inside his county exec office. Meanwhile Sykes pretends it’s all old news though Walker’s pettiness in these emails destroys his Eagle Scout image and explains why Republican and Democratic prosecutors and judges continue to investigate him.

Any journalist can smell that Walker was deeply involved but there is a legal concern – and Walker has a deep bench of high-priced lawyers – about what you can say in print. After all, there wasn’t enough back then to charge Walker with corruption, just hints that good lawyers could try to strangle in court action.

As I spelled out to friends who asked: “There is a legal reason that Walker dodges his obvious knowledge and even media reporters who demand he answers. Consider the consequences if he does admit publicly what the emails of others reveal. It would confirm his role in an illegal coordination between campaign and county workers on taxpayer time. That opens him up to criminal action, in effect reopening the first John Doe while he and supporters are scrambling to delay the second John Doe until after the election.”

So while I understand the caution of journalists, I must point out that aggressive reform-minded newspapers – unlike JS -- would say aloud that Walker knew despite the legal implications. They have lawyers, too, and the First Amendment to protect them when they draw obvious conclusions. It’s not a matter of opposing or supporting Walker, it’s just going where the evidence leads good journalists.

For now, Bice in his column can hint, but he won’t say. Maybe that’s unusual caution in practice. But maybe, now that his owners have shown their real stripes, he has little choice.

There is not much that I or anyone else could add to this. But I would point out that the intertwining to which Noth speaks is even deeper than he reported. While it is true that the Journal Sentinel owns the website, it is funded - at least in part - by the Koch-funded Wisconsin Club for Growth.

Thus Sykes and Fraley have forsook all pretenses of being entertainers or journalists.  They are simply marionettes controlled by their corporate puppet masters.

They Weren't Counting On Tanya Lohr

The esteemed Dominique Paul Noth does an excellent job reporting how Tanya Lohr has already changed the face of politics in the red belt and hopefully will change it more. Here is an excerpt of this must read article:

Whatever vestiges of truth in such fear of progressive ideas, the clichés don't fit the families you meet from Port Washington to West Bend and farms in-between and villages to the north, and it is there that Lohr reflects the concern about family, community and restoring local control and input.

Lohr comes from these people, from large clans of kin and neighbors devoted to hearth and kids, willing to pitch in, proud of their self-help roots and educational advances and hardly deaf to the spirit of cooperation. A devoted mother and teacher for 17 years, she is hardly a novice to the realities of their lives. It is Grothman who represents an anti-community spirit and "keep away from me" approach to life more than any party label.

Past patterns don't consider Lohr's mastery of the communication and technological revolution that is overtaking the nation. It may not be fast enough beneath the presidential election to change outcomes. No one should pretend that Facebook, Twitter and the rest don't also bring disturbing elements of intrusiveness and triviality, much less turning older thumbs into slabs of jelly.

But the social media that is as natural to Lohr as swimming and clearly alien waters to Grothman has also changed the immediacy and imagery of relationships and how people know and deal with each other.

And this is too good not to point out as well:

Cheerfully she meets hostile voters and charms them into listening to her common sense approach to governance. "You win," they tell her in the end, ready to reverse a lifelong habit of voting. The direct honesty and conversational touch that keep ninth graders in line and devoted to her in West Bend classrooms ("I like them right back," she says) work wonders at the doors.

All this has made her the queen of the Internet. The Huffington Post headlined an analysis of her race "Beauty and the Beast" (guess which is which) and had readers rolling in the aisles describing Grothman's positions in his own words - money means more to men than women; women shouldn't get equal pay or value in the workplace because they leave to do such terrible things as have children; women pregnant out of wedlock lie about their needs because of society's stigma; single parents should be a condition of criminal child abuse investigation; alternate energy standards should be reduced; early kindergarten should be eliminated; most education of women is a fraud; Obama wants more welfare because that translates into more lazy voters for him, and on and on -- leaving traditional Republicans aghast that this is the guy they have let speak for them in the legislature.

Lohr not only wins the publicity battle hands down. Her use of social media lets voters daily follow the campaign. She clearly adores her husband of 10 years, Andy, also a teacher, their two teenagers from his first marriage (Mallory and MacKenzie) and their young twins, 6 year old Elena and Eadrick.

Like I said, it's a must read.

The Wisconsin Revolution In Politics

From the venerable Dominique Paul Noth, describing the next phase for the battle of Wisconsin versus Fitzwalkerstan:

What's happening on the Milwaukee North Shore is typical around the state. Articulate family-focused lifelong residents interested in politics but novices to public office have been stirred to run by all this obstinate resistance to facts, by the misguided focus on antique concepts of families and values rather than on modern children and communities.

Deals made behind doors in the State Capitol have been exposed to main streets and forced people to wonder about the overreach of Act 10 attacking basic collective bargaining or Act 43 forcing a redistricting tightrope of extreme partisanship or the broad effects of Act 32 cutting the local citizens' ability to solve education, health care and general services.

That's not what we sent people to Madison to do. That's the cry you hear around the state regardless of political history. Perhaps that's why people find their neighbors who step forward to run far more credible than those paid pretend-neighbor outsiders from Koch-funded ugly rallies against health care, contraception and Obama's birth record.

There has been a widespread emergence of people everyone knows from down the street who are now running for office whatever the odds. It seems quite legitimate in contrast to the coordinated Tea Party outrage. It's an uncoordinated but now active and necessary outbreak of citizenship, a groundswell of civic involvement to slowly restore sanity and progress. Noted one political consultant, "These are not people who can be dismissed as some sort of flaming liberal activist."

Do read the rest as he goes on to introduce Cris Rogers, who is taking on Paul Ott. Also in the article are Kelley Albrecht and Tanya Lohr.

Quotable

Dominique Paul Noth, Labor Press Editor, has a commentary in the latest issue of the Labor Press in which he rehashes the recall election and eerie similarities between Scott Walker and Richard Nixon.*

He saves the best for last:

Americans are terrible at remembering the lessons of history or the motto that used to appear on the masthead of a Milwaukee newspaper: "Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it."

Unfortunately, today's Journal Sentinel backed Walker. And the published motto of its editorial page boss David Haynes is, "Keep the marketplace of ideas stacked."

I think he actually wrote "stocked," but you know how newspapers these days are full of typos.

Why, I do believe that is one of the best calling outs of Haynes ever. Or since this one

*No, Cindy Kilkenny, there is no link. You'll just have to get your own copy of the Labor Press.

"Operation Freedom" - Charitable Event Or Political Stunt?

When people ask me about the most recent chapter of the Walkergate saga, where Tim Russell, long time personal friend and aid to Scott Walker, and two others were arrested stemming from a tangent of the Walkergate  investigation, I tell them as explosive as this news is, it's just the tip of the tip of the iceberg.  I remind them there is a big part of the investigation that is still under way.

But even with just the news of the arrests, there is enough fodder for an army of reporters and researchers to keep busy for a long time. This one story is indeed like a rancid onion, in such that as you peel away one rotten layer, there is another, even more rotten layer beneath it.

One of the things that is puzzling a lot of people is the timeline of events regarding "Operation Freedom" and how it was managed.

Per a report from WisPolitics.com, the common accounting of things is that in 2006, concerns were raised by the Milwaukee County Ethics Board on handling a charitable event through the office of the County Executive.  The finances were given over to the Milwaukee Order of the Purple Heart, where Kevin Kavanaugh, was treasurer.

In 2008, Darlene Wink found that $11,000 was missing from the fund and reported it.  Kavanaugh readily agreed that his group owed the fund this money.  (It should also be noted that in 2010, despite his concerns of what happened to the money, Walker reappointed Kavanaugh to the Veterans Service Board.)

Subsequently, in early of 2009, the financial management was handed over to an American Legion Post.  About the same time, Tom Nardelli, Walker's Chief of Staff, went to the District Attorney's office and spoke to them about it.

Despite the American Legion doing an exemplary job of handling the money, in the fall of the same year, they were removed from  deal and the set up was handed to the Heritage Guard Preservation Society, which was basically a front group headed by Tim Russell.

In other words, despite the admonishment by the Ethics Board, Walker still had people in his office in control of the funds for "Operation Freedom."

In 2010, only after the money was transferred to this front group did Walker's office file a formal complaint.

This chain of events raise any number of question, with two of the main ones being why did Walker personally order the funding be transferred from a group that was doing well to the front group ran by Russell, who already had a history of stealing money?  And why did Walker ignore the advise of the Ethics Board by keeping his fingers in the mix?

To answer those questions, as well as some others that have arisen, one has to first look at just what is "Operation Freedom."

Well, according to their About page (complete with misspelled words), "Operation Freedom" is a non-profit group intended to honor veterans by hosting a free picnic at the Milwaukee County Zoo, including free admission to the zoo.

Sounds good, right? Well, on the surface, it certainly does.

But something nagged at me about it.  So, over the weekend, I decided to call Milwaukee County Supervisor John Weishan, Jr., who I know had proudly served in the United States Marine Corps.

Weishan told me that he also had a lot of questions about "Operation Freedom."  He told me that he would be invited, almost as an afterthought, to come to the event and stand on stage, behind Walker and whoever else was hosting it, usually one of the squawk radio hosts from WTMJ-620 AM - Charlie Sykes, Jeff Wagner and James T. Harris (none of whom, I believe, served in any branch of the armed services).  Weishan said that no matter what, he was always told that the would not be allowed to speak, which he considered to be offensive.

Weishan also told me that he was not the only veteran that Walker was less than respectful to.  He told me that certain vet groups, like Veterans for Peace, were also not invited to participate in these events.

Milwaukee County Supervisor
John Weishan, Jr.

He said that Walker might have wanted to keep such tight control of this in order to prevent all groups from participating, which would be difficult if the American Legion were in control of the finances.  He also questioned the purpose of the event, since it was only for certain veterans.  Part of our discussion was whether Walker was doing this to curry favor with the Bush administration and promoting the Iraq War.

As it turns out, I was not the only one questioning the purpose behind Walker's actions in regards to "Operation Freedom."

Dominique Paul Noth, of Milwaukee Labor Press and a man a deeply admire for his skills as a reporter and a writer, in a article worthy of reading for the comprehensiveness of it, was also thinking of Weishan:

When Supervisor John Weishan, a Marine, complained several years ago that Walker was engaged in self-aggrandizement, shutting out the America Legion and the County Board and insisting on creating his own charity effort along with Russell for veterans, Weishan was hooted down as just another liberal politician opposed to Walker’s right-wing vision. So busy were the attackers that they failed to notice what the DA seized on, that Walker created a 501 ( c ) for veterans out of his own elected office, a big warning signal of what could happen to funds from the well-meaning public.  

Today, Weishan looks pretty prescient . . . while Walker? It’s as if the preacher’s son was grabbing a nap in the back pew when morality and ethics came up in the pulpit.

James Rowen, another person I hold in the highest esteem, picked up on Noth's piece and took it even further.  Rowen points out that Weishan led the charge to keep Russell from being appointed as Director of Economic Development.  Rowen felt that this was part of a slap back at Weishan for his defiance:

So it would not surprise me that Walker chose to transfer the veterans' charity management to Russell because Walker saw it as a way to stick it to Weishan. 

I can hear Walker saying, 'Weishan thinks he's the veterans' guy in the Courthouse? He thinks he can push me around by making Russell's life difficult? I'll show Weishan who's in charge here: watch me give that veterans' program to Russell just to tick Weishan off.' 

That's my theory, and don't think for a moment that scores in government aren't settled just like that when a chief executive wants to teach a lesson to a nettlesome legislator.

While all three of these fine gentleman have rational theories that have merit - after all, Walker has shown himself to be a butt-kisser, unethical and punitive - my thoughts take me in a slightly different direction.

Having lived under the Walker regime for going on ten years now, one of things I know for certain about Walker is that everything he does is self-serving.  He can't resist a chance to grandstand and try to curry favor with someone.

At the risk of appearing overly cynical, I believe that Walker saw "Operation Freedom" as just one more opportunity to promote himself.  Indeed, if you look at the page for "Operation Freedom" you see Walker everywhere.  Even their flicker page, which only has 27 pictures after all those years and tens of thousands of vets, and half of those are pictures of Walker.  Yet the events were able to give him the appearance of being such a good patriot. And by tying in his good buddies and free advertisers at WTMJ radio, he was getting all sorts of publicity.

Since he left Milwaukee County, I can't recall one thing that he did to show that he still wants to honor vets outside of what is absolutely obligatory.

It would also explain Walker's desire to keep the control of "Operation Freedom" close to him, so that he could minimize any negative exposure for himself with all those mean old veterans that might not agree with his ideology.

When I spoke to Weishan, he told me that it cost Milwaukee County $100,000 in lost revenue each time they closed the zoo to the public.  In other words, this was just another way he could use his office to promote his personal political interests.

And if Walker was so concerned about the vets, why did he wait two years after the discovery of the missing money to finally file a formal complaint? Is it possible that he only did so when he became nervous when the Democrats filed their complaint against Walker and Russell?

All of this indicates to me that Walker did all of this just to get some free publicity and brownie points for his campaign.

And before anyone wants to try to raise the point that conservatives respect veterans too much to pull such a dastardly scheme as to use them in order to simply raise funds and promote conservative causes and/or candidates, let me give you two names to counter that false argument: Sean Hannity and Lt. Col. Oliver North.

Walker Fights To Retain Support From His Own Party

Dominque Paul Noth has a must read article that show the extremes Team Walker is willing to go to try to preserve the false impression that things are good and he still has support of most of his own party, when facts are belying that claim. Here's a taste to whet your appetite:

The power of campaign money and the naiveté of facile analysis have led even political science profs at major universities to note how few established Republicans have signed the recalls, leading to the bizarre claim that 90% of the GOP is standing by their man. Try 60% in actuality but who can blame them all for staying quiet except in private talks? There is such a thing as political self-preservation, which the professors would have to step out of the ivory tower to see.

There are many reasons people don’t sign recalls, which are historically a weapon of the extreme right. Some people don’t believe in the process. Others don’t like putting their names to any public documents. Some folks are shy, some are suspicious of everyone. Noted traditional Republicans may not regard Walker as their standard bearer – they may even be embarrassed by his antics. But are not about to commit political suicide since the GOP is scrutinizing names.

The inevitable day at the ballot box is coming, and there all the votes are secret and matters of conscience, not of fear from the bully’s pulpit. Do you think, maybe, that is what Walker is really afraid of?

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!

Quotable

The quote of the day is from Sheila Cochran, secretary-treasurer of the Milwaukee Labor Council, on the problems Milwaukee County seems to have even sitting down to the negotiating table, much less reaching an agreement with the unions:

Calling Abele’s letter a “clarion call to act for the taxpayers,” Sheila Cochran, secretary-treasurer of the Milwaukee Area Labor Council, led other community leaders in asking a simple question. “If the county exec is in favor of negotiations, where is the County Board?”

Given that a clear majority on the board actually agrees with Abele, that question crystallizes a mystery to be answered at the next full board meeting – and the Milwaukee community intends to bring a throng of witnesses at 1 p.m. Friday, June 10, at the Courthouse.

“I’m truly disappointed in the board leadership,” said Cochran, pulling no punches in her conversations with constituents and public officials. “Now that Scott Walker is gone, and is demonstrating his lack of leadership on the entire state of Wisconsin and now that the eyes of the world are upon us, can’t we in Milwaukee County go forward?”

From Dominique Paul Noth's article on the Labor Council's webpage. The whole thing should be mandatory reading for everyone.