The Democratic Divide!

By Jeff Simpson

 

Mike Tate was re-elected last year at the 2013 Wisconsin State Democratic convention to lead the party again:

Mike Tate was easily re-elected state chair over Joe Kallas.

Tate received 476 votes to 95 for Kallas

In a party with over 15,000 members and with a million(give or take a few thousand) votes needed to win the Governor's seat, 381 people set the agenda for the 2014 election season.

That agenda has handed us a party of choice candidate - Mary Burke:

Here is Mike Tate when asked about Mary Burke:

"Should Mary get in and run, she would be an instant frontrunner and potentially clear the field," Mike Tate, the party chairman, told reporters in a conference call. 

In response to the above picture:

 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.

This from a Democratic Fundraising Letter:

Most notably, in a recent fundraising letter to Democratic Party members, state party chair Mike Tate flatly refers to Mary Burke as “the candidate who is going to win the game” against Gov. Scott Walker.
“We can elect Mary Burke, win Wisconsin back and restore our progressive legacy,” the letter concludes.

Now fast forward to Kathleen Vinehout:

When asked about Vinehout, who has done everything but declare her candidacy for Governor:

While calling Vinehout a “phenomenal public servant and intellectual heavyweight,” state Democratic Party chair Mike Tate expressed concern that she would be able to mount an effective campaign, adding that it would be a “great loss to the people of Wisconsin” if she weren’t still in public office in January of 2015.

"The reality is that while we will never have as much money as Scott Walker it is not realistic to believe you can defeat him without running a serious, professional campaign that raises enough money to get the Democratic message out,” Tate said in a statement. “The stakes are too high for our families that are struggling under Scott Walkers policies for anyone to attempt a bid for Governor that will not and cannot raise the money needed to run a grassroots campaign that can communicate with voters at their door, via television, direct mail and the Internet. Modern times require modern campaigns."

Sure does not sound like equal support to me.  Sounds like someone has picked a side!  What does the Constitution of the State Democratic Party say about picking a side?

ARTICLE VIII – Endorsements of Candidates in Primary Elections
The state organization, congressional district organizations, county organizations, the College Democrats of Wisconsin, the youth caucus, and all other subdivisions at any level of the state organization are prohibited from endorsing or supporting any candidate in a Democratic presidential preference election or any partisan primary election which will determine the candidate of the Democratic Party for the ensuing election to office unless the county or local Democratic group or congressional district recommends a certain candidate (or candidates) be endorsed or supported due to unusual circumstances and these circumstances be submitted in writing to the state Administrative Committee in a timely manner for approval of an endorsement and support of a specific candidate (or candidates) for a specific reason and the Administrative Committee approves said recommendation by a two- thirds majority.Democratic Party of Wisconsin Constitution

I know Mary Burke has received other endorsements and I say good for her.  Her job, when she entered the race was to win it.  Her securing endorsements, means she is actively campaigning and has a strategy she feels will help her win.  I applaud that.

That being said, the Mike Tate blatant fawning is inexcusable.  There is no doubt who Mike Tate is favoring, and who he is supporting.   The head cheerleader routine needs to be explained and it should be explained soon and it should also be stopped.   If we do not follow our own Constitution, why have it?   

This picking a candidate and then attacking those who support anyone else, comes from the party and trickles throughout the state.  

It is up to the party chair to navigate the waters amongst the different factions and beliefs that make up the Democratic party not to foster them.

The Wisconsin Democratic Primary will be held on Tuesday, August 12th, 2014.  

At that time, if there is a split within the party, the blame will lie exclusively upon our party chair!

MY Dem Endorsement!

By Jeff Simpson

This weekend is the Wisconsin Democratic Convention and there is a race for chair.  The race is between incumbent Mike Tate and challenger Joe Kallas.  There is also a race going on for 2nd chair between Jeff Christensen and Jamie Shiner.  Apparently there are not enough chairs to go around in our state so they have to fight over the 2nd one.  (edit note: Full disclosure I know Mike Tate and Jeff C and only know Joe Kallas and Jamie Shiner via Facebook).

This endorsement is mine, and only reflects what I think, not @cog_dis as Capper is perfectly capable of giving us his own endorsement.  Also, this is the only place where my endorsement will matter, since I did not "sign up as a delegate", I would now be voiceless at the Dem Convention(were I attending).   (edit note take 2 - the fact that only "delegates" can vote is a ridiculous rule and needs to be changed. Any paid member at the Dem convention should be able to cast a ballot.  Period!   Its hard to have as a position on your platform, protecting the voting rights for all when internally we set up barriers that would make robin vos proud).

In Mike Tate's career, the democratic party(for various reasons) has lost control of all three branches of Government and then in the last election, lose them even further.   While this is not all Mike Tate's fault, he was the one in charge.  Now he has a vague but promising 72 county strategy(I need more information and guarantees) and a billboard.




Joe Kallas is someone who has been involved in the party from all angles including having run as a candidate(against Tax Avoiding Tom Petri) yet he seems sincere about focusing on the grass roots and breaking down the barriers that the party has set that discourages outsiders from getting to close to the inside(like the secrecy on Mike Tate's pay and forcing a potential candidate to travel the state  However his inexperience as party chair and the turmoil a tate loss would throw the whole party in.

Add that to the fact that the Democrats have been non existent in messaging since the Graeme Zielinski fiasco, the disgusting votes by ten members of the democratic caucus for AB 110, the lack of any comprehensive plan(long term or short term), no relevance in Government despite massive vote totals that show our state is a center left state, while we enact extremist right wing zealot policies, a subservient media to the right wing, internal strife, and as of printing this no candidate for Governor and most 2014 seats.

I also feel that this is the election cycle  to make a mark(despite the unethical redistricting), we have an extremist group of semi religious, bitter and unethical group of republicans, who have not only broken every promise, but also tragically and epically failed at them.   We have a Governor who has a very bad relationship with the truth and his economic record puts WI in the lower 40's(out of 50).

Our friends on the right have pushed an abortion agenda so extreme that it goes beyond planned parenthoods!   They have been so unethical in how they passed their dismantling of education bill, that they had to do it in the middle of the night.   The fact that they handed northern WI to Gogebic Taconite  with no strings attached and diminished DNR strength,   They also are attempting to cut out the Center for Investigative Journalism, unconstitutionally cracked down on free speech, and have borrowed and spent us into a huge structural deficit, and enacted a devastating pay cut on hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites. And much much more to list.

With the opposition being so incredibly untalented and just plain bad, how can we not win?

Well part of it is that Peter Barca, Chris larson and Mike Tate are not all on the same page and as a party we cant go forward when someone is going solo.  We cant win, when elder members of the party are telling younger members of the party, to calm down and do not be so strong willed and aggressive.  We can not win when we spend more time and research on our own candidates then we do the opposition.

I do not see anything changing regardless of whoever wins this weekend.

For that reason, my recommendation is to vote

NO CONFIDENCE!

Let them know that you are sick of the games, sick of the cowardice, sick of the letting the right wing decide our tactics, let them know that there is truly a sense of urgency and it is NOW time to embrace the grassroots and the base and give Wisconsinites what they want - a Statehouse full of sane, bipartisan, intelligent, ethical, mature men and women. 

If I were allowed a ballot(and I am not) my vote would most definitly be the write in candidate :

NO CONFIDENCE!

let them know there is still time to earn it back but make sure they hear you that the same losing techniques will no longer be tolerated!

NO CONFIDENCE! 

Then let's build our party up from the grassroots! 

Joe Kallas

I offered all candidates for Wisconsin State Democratic Party Chair a chance to write up why you should vote for them at the upcoming State Democratic Convention.  This is from Joe Kallas(and not an endorsement):

Kallas for State Party Chair

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin(DPW) is at a crossroads. We can continue with the misguided policies of the last four years or elect a new chairperson and change course. When Mike Tate was elected in an uncontested race four years ago he had virtually no experience in running anything much less a state wide organization like the DPW. Fresh out of college he seemed to be the leader that we were all looking for. I admit, I supported him then and believed he would at the very least maintain the status quo. I and many others were wrong. Four years ago the state was blue. The Democrats controlled everything. In four short years we lost the Assembly, State Senate, Governor’s office, one US Senate seat, the recall of Walker, and two Supreme Court races. Not exactly a record of success. Now he asks for another term. I believe that would  be a big mistake. We have to defeat Governor Walker in 2014 and a vote for Tate, in my judgment, is a vote for Walker.

I am running for DPW Chair because I believe I have the knowledge, skills and experience to change the political climate and begin anew the long, tedious process of electing Democrats at all levels. I have over 40 years experience in Democratic Party politics. I campaigned for Robert Kennedy in the Indiana primary before he was killed. I have been chair of Green Lake Co.(now I’m vice-chair), been on the local Town and County Boards and ran for the Assembly in 1988. Most recently I challenged Congressman Petri in 2010 and 2012. I have been  a farmer and small business operator in my father’s tavern in Princeton. I have 12 years of supervisory experience working for the county and a community action agency. I have managed budgets, hired and fired staff, and consider myself to be a problem solver. I recently retired from a teaching position at Fox Lake Correctional. On a personal note, I have three adult daughters and live on the family farm where I built a log home in 1980.

Mike Tate will brag about the 19 million he raised last year but when you ask how he spent it, the details are sketchy at best. He says he spent almost 13 million on the recall but that still leaves 6 million for the 2012 elections. Why then didn’t the DPW support all Democrats running for office? They certainly had the money to do it. Not only didn’t the DPW give money to many of the campaigns, including mine, they  wanted me to pay $40,000 for the voter list(VAN). There was no way I could afford it. The practice of supporting only the candidates whom they decide have an excellent chance of winning has to end. I believe more Democrats would have been elected in 2012 if the DPW had supported them. Anyone who makes the time and effort to run for office should have the unconditional support of the party. I never want to hear anyone say, “It’s nice you are running, but you don’t have a chance.” There are many good people who have run over the years, received no party support, never ran again and in a lot of cases are no longer members of the Democratic Party. If I am elected Chairman, I will work to make the DPW a party of inclusion where everyone has a voice. How many times have you thought, I wish someone would listen to me? As Chairman, I will listen to everyone. Many good ideas have been lost because the current chairman, Mike Tate, does not listen to the membership. All he does is ask for money.

Finally, we should not be electing the DPW Chair at the convention. The convention is the place to unite the party and an election by its very nature causes dissention. The election should be held a month before the convention and should be conducted by mail or secure email. Currently only the delegates at the convention have a say in the selection of the Chair. I believe all dues paying members should be allowed to vote for Party Officers. With the election behind us, we can come to the convention and rally around our candidates and set our party platform for the next two years.

I will end with my favorite quote from Robert Kennedy whom I considered to be a true champion of the people. “Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not.” Why can’t  the DPW be inclusive regardless of a person’s  station in life? Why can’t the DPW support all Democrats running for office? Why don’t we have the message that resonates with the voters of Wisconsin? Why can’t we elect a Democratic Governor in 2014? The answer, of course, to all these questions is, we can. But in order for this to happen the DPW needs new leadership. I ask for your support to bring about the changes that will put a new face on the DPW. With new leadership we will be positioned to replace Governor Walker and renew Wisconsin’s Progressive tradition.

 

Fundraising Season

With back to school time, brings fundraising season. After Scott Walkers record's cuts to public education, that means every group, club, sport, activity, will be out in the streets of your home fundraising trying to make up for all of the money they need but that is not available to them.

Some advice for those people in the 6th district of Wisconsin, should hit up their congressman! Republican Congressman Tom Petri should have some extra money he is willing to give, since he has NOT PAID TAXES in the last four years!

Wisconsin Department of Revenue records show that Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Petri did not pay any state income taxes from 2002 through 2005.

The records were obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press from the liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now, which requested them from the Revenue Department.

Petri is the only one of Wisconsin's eight congressional representatives who didn't pay any state income taxes over the past decade. He is running for his 16th term this November against Democrat Joe Kallas.

I am always amazed why people would vote for someone who does not participate in our society monetarily to represent us in government!

The voters of the 6th Congressional District can change that in November. Help Joe Kallas win and actually represent the people of Wisconsin!