Quid Pro Quo

By Jeff Simpson

Quid pro quo ("something for something" in Latin^[1]) means an exchange of goods or services, where one transfer is contingent upon the other. English speakers often use the term to mean "a favour for a favour"; phrases with similar meaning include: "give and take", "tit for tat", and "you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours."

More proof that evolution is real.  The Wisconsin republican contingent for years has been doing exactly what the lobbyists and ALEC tells them to do.  They finally wised up and want something in return besides money - their time.

When you govern to please your corporate masters, it does not inspire too many people to work hard to get you elected.   That means they need help with voter contact.  Rep. Jim Steineke was sick of trying to find actual people to help with his campaign so he came up with the idea to make the lobbyists actually work.   

 Republican leaders in the Assembly are urging lobbyists to help them knock on voters' doors in an effort to strengthen their majority.
They've dubbed the effort "Leggiepalooza."
Rep. Jim Steineke (R-Kaukauna) this summer has regularly emailed supporters to tell them when and where to meet for the door-knocking program, and already some lobbyists representing key industries are participating.
The push comes at a time when Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) has stepped up efforts to get lobbyists to personally give to candidates. In the past, legislative leaders had asked lobbyists to help raise money for candidates but had not coordinated a detailed program to get them to dip into their own wallets for the effort.
That changed two years ago, with Vos' push to have lobbyists give to the Majority GOP Conduit. That fund — which collects donations and then distributes them to candidates — helps candidates for both the Assembly and Senate.
The conduit is holding a Sept. 2 fundraiser with Gov. Scott Walker at the Madison Club. Republicans control the Assembly 60-39 and the Senate 17-15 with one vacancy.

 
Since the republican elected's  do whatever the lobbyists tell them to during the year, it is only fair that the lobbyists do whatever the elected's tell them to do once every two years!  

One last thing, if you see any of these people on your doorstep call the police they are extremely dangerous to the well being of middle class WI! 

In one recent email, Steineke thanked several people for the help they had already provided.

Among those he thanked were four lobbyists: Jason Johns, a former deputy veterans affairs secretary who frustrated Republicans last year as he lobbied for veterans against a bill curtailing asbestos lawsuits; Scott Meyer, who represents United Sportsmen of Wisconsin, a politically active group that lost a $500,000 grant last year after questions arose about its tax-exempt status; Tom Fonfara, who represents a number of clients, including the conservative activist group Americans for Prosperity and Gogebic Taconite, which hopes to site an iron mine in northern Wisconsin; and Steve Conway, who represents chiropractors, podiatrists and Aquila Resources, which wants to develop gold mines in Marathon and Taylor counties.


  Jason Johns




   Scott Meyer
    Tom Fonfara


The $64,000 question is, how many doors has Scott Tyre knocked on for the republican party?

Political Incest

By Jeff Simpson

Shamefully, Wisconsin has been voted least likely to care about black children in our society:

According to a national report, Wisconsin has been ranked the worst state in the country when it comes to racial disparities for children.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation, a 66-year-old charitable organization concentrating on family issues and well-being, spearheaded the study. "Race for Results: Building a Path to Opportunity for All Children" scored states according to 12 different factors, from educational access to socioeconomic status and home life.
Wisconsin scored a 238 on its ability to prepare black children for educational and financial success, the lowest of all states (the average score was 345). Interestingly, Wisconsin was ranked 10th overall in its preparation for white children.

Since republicans have taken over our state, they have found the best way to address this is to end affirmative action and  take a vote secede from the rest of the United States.   Our own Governor, when he is not busy running for President of  the United States, has taken a survey of the state of Wisconsin and has declared the fact that minorities can vote with few obstacles to be THE biggest problem facing Wisconsinites today.    While many people in WI, if they knew were not busy worrying where their next meal was coming from, would vehemently disagree.  

Scott Walker appoints people to work on these problems, the problem is the people he appoints.    He gave republican lackey Joe Handrick the very important job of Equal Rights Division Administrator at State of Wisconsin - Dept of Workforce Development.  With Wisconsin having the biggest gap of unemployment in the nation between African Americans and Caucasians, his work is done there. 

Relax, I am not calling him a racist.   Just pointing out, that as a public worker, in a very important job serving the public, has prioritized his responsibility as helping Scott Walker win election. 

Here is Joe Handrick doing what he is actually being paid by our tax dollars to do - campaign for the republicans:

Winning one of those seats could be a tall order, according to an analysis by Republican strategist Joe Handrick, a redistricting consultant since the 1990 Census. The analysis is based on voting patterns in partisan statewide elections between 2004 and 2010. It projects which direction each seat leans and by how much, both before and after the district boundaries shifted in 2011.

Republican Strategist by day or Equal Rights Division Administrator by day?  When exactly did Matt Defour interview republican strategist for this story?  Should a republican strategist also be serving as Equal Rights Division Administrator?  Since when was that a political position?  Maybe we should just have every public worker who wants a raise, spend part of each day working on the "Friends of Scott Walker" campaign.  

But Wait there is more!  

A quick check of Joe Handrick's background and we see not only is he the Equal Rights Division Administrator and republican strategist, but he is also a lobbyist.    Although are you a lobbyist, when the people you are lobbying for do not want you to do it? 

Which now brings us to taxpayer republican's former Badger Advocate co-worker - Scott Tyre.  Scott Tyre is the husband of Mary Burke's top political advisor Tanya Bjork and also her business partner in republican lobby firm - Capitol Navigators! 

Yes, when you give $1000 to this guy, you are a republican lobbyist! 

Now ask yourself, if you are surprised, when the person running for the Democratic nomination of Governor of Wisconsin, hires someone to be her top political adviser whose main source of incomes is partnership in a republican lobby firm and runs a listless campaign! 

It is getting so bad that even Peter Barca had to weigh in!

“One mistake I think she’s made — and I told her people — she should be advertising now,” Barca, who represents Kenosha, told the Beloit Daily News. “She’s got the resources. People need to know who you are and feel comfortable with you and know your plan. Unfortunately the only way to get it out there is to advertise.”
Barca’s view is a common one. Former Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz made a similar point months ago, urging the Democratic candidate “to spend a bunch of money to define herself right now before she gets swift-boated by the other side.”
Other Democrats (and some Republicans) have wondered what the point is of recruiting a wealthy candidate if she’s not going to pump major money into the campaign. They argue that the function of Burke’s personal fortune is not merely to provide money that the campaign would otherwise seek from donors, it's to stimulate more contributions by showing that she is serious about winning the race. Donors don’t like to give to lost causes.

With such strong ties to each other is there any idealism or wanting to do the right thing?  Is there any motivation for these people except to have their hands on easy money?  On either side?  Once you get into the nuts and bolts of politics, can you tell what side is which?   Does anyone care anymore that people like Joe Handrick pass on actually performing their taxpayer funded job to campaign?  Why is there not outrage about the sad state WIsconsin is in?    

Time To Draw The Line On Lobbyists!

By Jeff Simpson

Jack Craver wrote a story recently about how the lobbyist's in Madison do not even waste their time talking to or trying to lobby democrats anymore.

“I will see every lobbyist who asks to see me unless I have a scheduling conflict because I know they have a job to do and I can get important information,” says state Rep. Terese Berceau, D-Madison.

For Berceau, the problem is that lobbyists have no interest in speaking to her anymore. Their avoidance of her and other Democrats reflects the perception that Republicans will be running the show in Wisconsin for many years to come. Unlike in past years, when the balance of power in the Capitol was more delicate, lobbyists no longer see an incentive to cultivate relationships in both parties.

“There’s been a notable change this year,” Berceau says. “I have always been visited by lobbyists, even when we’re in the minority. They’re not even bothering now.”

 

I guess when Democratic elected reps are lamenting that lobbyists will not talk to them, we no longer have to ask ourselves why the Democratic base does not come out and vote.   That being said, this story clears some things up about the Mary Burke campaign.  

Lobbyists have no reason to talk to Democrats anymore because they have no power and the Democratic candidate for Governor's campaign is being run a by a lobbyist.  That explains why her speeches appeal more to the republican base than the Democratic base. 

It also explains why,  when we need to get the base out to the polls and people do not know who Mary Burke is, she spends her valuable time meeting with Kurt Bauer of all people.

If you want to continue your successful and lucrative lobbying business, you need to make sure NOT to ruffle feathers.   It is well documented, with the pettiness of the Wisconsin republicans and Scott Walker, that they will punish you if you do not tow the ALEC line! 

Just ask Mike Ellis!

 



Solutions?  Simple!  Rid your campaign of lobbyist's, and start addressing the real issues in WI.   Charles Blow writing in the NY Times addressed it perfectly: 

We should be in a rage over the widespread attempts to disenfranchise voters, from the gutting of the Voting Rights Act to the rise of the Voter ID movement — a near-naked attempt by conservatives to diminish the number of Democratic voters.

We should be in a rage over Republican efforts, particularly on the state level, to drag the range of women’s reproductive options back to the 1960s.

We should be in a rage over the extraordinary pressures facing ordinary families. According to The New York Times’ Economix blog, college costs have risen over 500 percent since 1985, medical and gas costs more than 300 percent. And, the Pew Research Center reported Tuesday that “in inflation-adjusted dollars, average weekly child care expenses for families with working mothers who paid for child care” rose 70 percent from 1985 to 2011.

And yet, a report last week from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that “some 69 percent of the cuts in House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s new budget would come from programs that serve people of limited means.”

We should be in a rage over the fact that people in this country can work a full-time job and not earn a living wage. We should be in a rage that this country’s infrastructure is literally crumbling beneath us. The “2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure,” produced by the American Society of Civil Engineers, gave our infrastructure an overall grade of D+ and estimated that $3.6 trillion would be needed by 2020 to fix it. 

We should be in a rage that we are spiraling toward cataclysmic, irreversible climate change with little interest or effort in averting it, with little coverage and less than accurate coverage.

But where rage should be, there is too often a whimper

Blow also summed it up perfectly:

When will we demand the country we deserve: reflective of its people, protective of its people, simply of its people? When will the young and the poor and the aggrieved and the forsaken walk abreast to the polls and then to the public squares?

If we don’t like the government we have, we can change it. If we don’t like the path we’re on, we can alter it.

It is NOT too late to alter the path we are on.  Yesterday in Wisconsin, we lost over 1000 well paying jobs throughout the state.  It's NOT working and never has.

I am here to Beg Mary Burke to get serious about running a real campaign.  One that can actually beat Scott Walker.  One that a majority of Democrats and independents are asking and hoping for.  

Let's connect with the people of WI and not WMC.   Let's explain why Walker has been such a failure, in terms of our ideas not their failures.  Let's fire up the base, let there be no doubt or blurred lines on your support for labor, public education and the middle class.

Right now Ms. Burke, you have an army of Wisconsinites ready and willing to follow a leader to victory in November.  You signed up for the position, now prove to us you are that leader!

 

The future of our state depends on it! 

1,500,000 Wisconsinites

By Jeff Simpson

In the latest debate going on where the republicans are in closed door meetings deciding how many of our public education dollars they will be giving to private for profit education, one thing is missing from the talks - a single democrat.  

While one thing (a single democrat) was noticeably absent from these closed door discussions, one thing was conspicuously in attendance(no not real media coverage, no one expects that),  Private Education Profiteer Lobbyist  John Gard!  

Seriously, not a single democrat is in the room and the for profit well paid lobbyists are!  

For those of you scoring at home, in the 2012 elections; 

Democrats received the votes of 1,500,000 Wisconsinites.  

John Gard received 0.0! 

In other words anyone who voted anywhere in the state for a democrat is being completely shut out of the debate while John Gard gets to sit in and decide how many of OUR PUBLIC EDUCATION TAX DOLLARS, get funneled away from our children and into his and his clients pocket!

The Wisconsin republicans are not, just far right extremists, they are zealots! 

There is a reason that the Wisconsin is rated 49/50 for the next 6 months economic outlook! 




H/T Rebecca Kemble for this picture of former Republican Assembly leader praying they can steal all of our childrens public education money before anyone notices!   

Den of Thieves!

Matthew 21:12

(KJV) And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,

We all know what happened when the republican party took control of Wisconsin in 2010.  They had a plan to gerrymander the state, to make sure they did not have to worry about running on the issues and facing the voters for the nest ten years.   While we had a pretty good idea what that meant to WI, the fact that the republican party then elected Robin Vos as their leader we knew for sure.   Ethics in Government was now a thing of the past! 

The first (and definitely NOT last) story comes from the very small, dark mind of Robin Vos.   Vos decided that he was sick of lobbyists just buying his loyalty with their clients money, so he decided to implement a pay to play system with the lobbyists themselves:  

For years, Madison pols have been asking lobbyists to hit up their clients and company execs for donations. But starting in June, Vos and the Assembly Republican leaders began calling in and contacting lobbyists one by one to say they were each on the hook for at least $500.
The result: Vos collected $36,000 in personally signed checks from scores of lobbyists in the final months before the November election, money that went into a fund and then was distributed to targeted Assembly races, according to recently filed campaign reports. The maximum donation to a state rep is $500.
Some Madison types contacted No Quarter to complain about what were dubbed "loyalty checks" - though the tactic is perfectly legal.
"Lobbyists were quite upset - most of them saw it as an obnoxious 'loyalty check' by the new leadership and an incredibly arrogant display of partisan power," said one Republican insider. "Who was going to say no to a personal request from the next speaker of the Assembly?"

The best part about Robin Vos is that because he is not the brightest light on the tree, and he knows that because of the gerrymandered districts it will be practically impossible to lose his majority, he is prone to occasional bouts of actual honesty!   He had one here(emphasis mine):

"Lobbyists are in Madison happily raising money from their clients or other individuals to give to legislators," Vos said Friday. "This might have been the first time that many of them were actually asked to give their own money to attend an event, as opposed to spending yours"

Finally someone admits that the hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars that companies spent buying legislators, comes right out of the consumers pockets!   Of course Vos does not care or have a fix, he just wants to make sure that when it comes out of our pockets, it goes into his!    

Robin Vos found one way to get more money in his pockets and then once he smelled the money, he needed more.  In order to get more money, Vos decided to change the rules and allow fundraising during the budget process. 

Assembly members will be able to raise money while considering the state budget under a policy approved by paper ballot on Thursday — reversing a ban that had been in place since 2009.
The policy, approved by the Republican-controlled Committee on Assembly Organization on a 5-3 party-line vote, allows most Assembly lawmakers, their campaign committees and support committees to raise funds everywhere in Wisconsin except Dane County. Legislators whose districts include Dane County are exempt.
It is in force during the budget period, beginning the day the biennial budget bill is introduced and ending on the date the bill is presented to the governor. Gov. Scott Walker plans to unveil his 2013-15 spending plan on Wednesday. July 1 begins the new fiscal year.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, circulated the ballot and urged adoption of the policy change. He could not be reached for comment Thursday.

What could go wrong with this really? 

Mike McCabe, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, called the move a step in the wrong direction. He pointed to a policy banning all fundraising for Assembly members during the budget period, which was approved when Democrats were in control during the 2009-2010 session.
"We still believe there should be a law banning this," he said. "It definitely weakens the Assembly policy."
He and others other campaign finance reform advocates have long argued that lawmakers raising campaign cash during the budget process creates the appearance that special interests can buy budget provisions.
McCabe and Jay Heck, executive director of Common Cause Wisconsin, both said that lawmakers should go beyond setting just policies and pass a law banning fundraising during the budget process.
"It's going in the wrong direction," Heck said. "We shouldn't have fundraising during the budget and I'm always at a loss to figure out why the Legislature thinks it's a good idea."

Once again the republicans prove that both parties are NOT the same since one party (democrats) enacted the ban and the other party (republicans) lifted the ban - thus turning on the  FOR SALE  sign.   

Look for records amount of fundraising by members of the Assembly and also keep an eye open for those who give the most "miraculously" benefitting tremendously from the new budget!

Tommy Thompson: No One's Senatorial Candidate But The Lobbyists'

The Democrats welcomed Tommy Thompson to the general election today in grand form, just as Thompson is kicking off his fall campaign - in Washington, D.C., surrounded by a slew of his lobbyist friends.

Check out their press release and you'll find that Thompson has all the same moral compunction as one might expect from Scott Walker:

Instead of campaigning with the Romney-Ryan ticket in DePere today, Washington DC insider Tommy Thompson will hold a campaign “kick off” at an elite lobbying shop in Washington tonight.

Thompson, who has cashed in making millions working for Washington DC lobbyists and now has a net worth of over $13 million dollars, will "kick off” his general election campaign at Washington’s most elite lobbying firm, Barbour, Griffith, Rogers, with over 33 Washington D.C. lobbyists that work for special interests, including - Koch Industries, drug companies, insurance companies, and many of the same special interests Thompson has cashed in with.

Thompson’s cozy relationship with special interest lobbyists has gotten him in trouble before.

In 2007, the Associated Press reported that, “A new report is resurrecting old questions about the handling of Wisconsin gambling projects by presidential candidate Tommy Thompson and his former aides,” namely lobbyist Bill McCoshen, a close confidant of Thompson.

According to the AP, McCoshen signed a “secret agreement” with investors in an Indian gaming casino in Kenosha. The deal, initially signed in 1997 and revised in 2000, called for McCoshen to cash in on his relationship with Thompson as a former campaign manager, Chief of Staff and Commerce Secretary and receive $46.5 million for winning Thompson’s approval of the project.

During Thompson’s failed run for President, David Redlawsk, associate professor of political science at the University of Iowa, told the AP the report could hurt Thompson with religious conservatives, many of whom strongly oppose gambling.

In addition, Thompson has a record of being fined for violating lobbying laws, accepting illegal campaign contributions and refusing to return the illegal donations.

Thompson fined for violating lobby law. In 1987 a circuit court fined Thompson and two top aides for violating the state's lobbyist law. Thompson and his aides accepted free meals and beverages from a lobbying organization. [Wisconsin State Journal, 7/17/87]

Thompson admitted, and then denied lobby law violations. While criticizing the current lobby law, Thompson admitted he was "quite sure" he violated the law as a legislator. Thompson declined to provide specifics of his lobby law violations, but described a typical example, saying, "If two or three or a half dozen of you are having a sandwich and you each have a bottle of beer and one person picks up the tab, that person might have been a lobbyist .... That's happened lots of times." Thompson's remarks sparked an investigation into whether Thompson had violated the lobby law within the previous three years, and Thompson later claimed the newspaper misrepresented his remarks. After reviewing two tapes of the interview, the newspaper's managing editor concluded the story quoted Thompson accurately. [Wisconsin State Journal, 12/12/88;12/14/88; 12/15/88]

Thompson accepted $44,000 in illegal campaign funds. In 1992, Thompson's campaign fund accepted $44,780 in illegal campaign contributions from organizations that hire paid lobbyists. Groups that hire lobbyists may only donate after June 1 of an election year, and Thompson was not up for reelection until 1994. After a newspaper showed the governor's spokesman evidence of the donations, the spokesman promised the governor would return the money. [Milwaukee Sentinel, 10/28/93]

Thompson refused to return illegal donations. Thompson declined to return campaign contributions from insurance company executives who made the donations at a Blue Cross-organized fundraiser attended by his state Insurance Commissioner. It is against the law for a Wisconsin insurance commissioner to directly or indirectly solicit campaign donations. [Wisconsin State Journal, 1/14/94]

Barbour and his lobbying firm have accepted millions of dollars from a diverse range of clients such as big tobacco, the health care industry, and energy companies.

The Government of Mexico Hired Barbour’s Firm to Work on NAFTA Implementation. According to documents filed in 2001 with the Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Haley Barbour’s firm was contracted by the Embassy of Mexico. The documents indicate that the “political activities that Barbour Griffith & Rogers Inc. (Registrant) will engage in on behalf of the Government of Mexico (Foreign Principal) include seeking continued implementation of the NAFTA trade agreement.” The release goes on to describe Haley Barbour’s critical role on the Barbour Griffith and Rogers team. The firm’s fee for their service was $35,000 a month – for at least three months. [DOJ Registration Statement, filed 10/02/01 ]

BGR Group Earned $3.21 Million In Lobbying Fees For Health Care Interest In 2011 Alone. According to data from Lobbying Disclosure Act records available through opensecrets.org, the firm BGR Group earned $3.21 million in lobbying fees in 2011 from the following industries (as categorized by Open Secrets): Health Services- $800,000; Hospitals/Nurs Homes- $1.06 million; Insurance- $150,000; Misc Health-$220,000; Pharm/Health Prod- $980,000. [Open Secrets Lobbying Profile: BGR Group, Summary for year 2011]

Does Anyone Recognize Tommy Anymore? NO!

Who is this guy? He is definitely NOT the same Tommy G. Thompson that was Governor of Wisconsin in the 1990's!


 


 Please help Tammy Baldwin, defeat this stranger!

Why won't Tommy release his tax returns? Because he is not smart enough to actually do them correctly!

All The Easier For Walker's Money Carriers

Now Walker's money carriers and the special interests in Washington, D.C. will have an easier time getting their wads of cash and marching orders to Walker:

Frontier Airlines begins Madison-Washington service on Thursday

$50,000 Spent On Lobbyist For County Officials

The Milwaukee County Clerk issued a report(pdf) stating that in 2008 groups hired 28 lobbyists and spent nearly $50,000 on efforts to influence county officials.

It is pretty much what I would expect, but I would like to emphasize a couple of things:

AFSCME spent nothing in efforts to influence county officials. It was done by members of the union who are also private citizens and taxpayers.

WEAS Development and Wheaton Franciscan spent nearly $2,500 to try to influence county officials in moving the mental health complex to the decrepit St. Mike's.

I wonder if one would find the executive officers from these two bodies, or even the bodies themselves, as campaign contributors to certain county officials. A birdy has told me that there might be some interesting things to be found.