Move to Amend Continues

Guest Post by Brad Geyer

On March 7th, Move to Amend of Lake Mills and Rock River hosted a public discussion with Lori Compas, executive director of the Wisconsin Business Alliance, and Republican Senator Dale Schultz. We would like to thank the 50 citizens who attended this presentation and engaged in lively discussion as well as the L.D. Fargo Library for the use of theirt facilities. The tone was one of mutual admiration and respect for the sincerity and collegial efforts of attendees and speakers.

This was a truly heart-warming political event. (I never thought there could be such a thing). It was uplifting to see Democrat and Republican leaders standing side by side answering citizen questions, showing clear appreciation and admiration for each other. They demonstrated mutual respect for all the citizens with questions, citizens who sometimes had very heated responses to recent legislative discussions and activity. It was exceptional to see Sen. Schultz attentively listening and courteously responding to a very angry citizen complaining about her perception of unfairness in a legislative hearing. He reminded us that we were all present for the same reason – to get control of politics away from monied interests and back to the people – to seek consensual outcomes – thus turning around a citizen's response from one of anger at the system to one of agreement that the system is broken and needs to be fixed.

Senator Schultz began by saying "Lori is a Democrat and I'm a Republican. What is important here tonight is we've all come together because we care about the system of government that we think ought to be propped up, reformed, and improved, because it's a wonderful thing – not because it's perfect, but because it's a wonderful thing. Then we'd be able to find the things – beliefs – that we find in common, that we unite, and that we get them done. And of course tonight I think all of us here believe that it's time to Move to Amend."

Senator Schultz went on to say: "We're talking about billionaires turning this country into a Russian-style oligarchy, where there are two dozen billionaires who BUY the whole political process." Later he commented on how this is enabled: "People who run for offices ... are pretty good people. Really, they really want to change the world – at least they start out that way, until they realize that the only way they can stay there is to make the deal with the devil – the Faustian bargain. And then they're hooked."  He emphasized how important this constitutional amendment is: "The reality is, this is so important that we must place it as the number one thing."

Lori Compas started by saying, “There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root. We have all of these problems in our state right now, but I think the root of those problems is money in politics. We have to get at that root. Time and again, we see our elected officials passing laws that do not seem to be in the vast interest of Wisconsinites. People who are not paying attention do not understand the full impact of those laws, until, say, they live in small quiet town in western Wisconsin and suddenly they have 50 sand trucks going through per hour. That is actually happening right now.

As someone who tries to organize small business owners, I hear that all the time [that people do not want to be involved in politics.] You may not want to get involved, but there are other people involved, and they are spending a tremendous amount of money on these issues. It is important for us to stand up for what we believe in.” Compas went on to say, “Our system is really broken. I firmly believe that money in politics is the root of the brokenness.”

Lori Compass said that she researched Move To Amend despite initial skepticism. Noting how huge corporations are controlling political decisions that hurt small businesses and small corporations as well as individuals, she now fully supports MTA and its goals. It is not possible to make progress on hundreds of issues and problems because huge corporations and extremely wealthy people are controlling the political agenda.

There was a period for questions at the end. Leslie Demuth of Waterloo asked: "About bills allowing lobbyists to give money to legislators while they are making law. And another one I believe would protect the identity of the donors to do their false, smear campaigns. – Does it make a difference when I contact my senator?"

"We've got this situation now where, as Sen. Schultz has said, the elected officials have chosen their voters. They know they're safe. They can take as many campaign donations as they want. They can vote however – you know – I mean – I hate to say it – but they can vote however they're being pressured to vote by outside interests and not really have to care what we think," Lori Compas responded.

Sen Schultz: "I absolutely believe that one person can make a difference, and that's generally how the world changes. One person just stands up and says "I'm mad as hell. I'm going to change it. ...My suggestion is pretty much personified by her [Lori Compas] – she just woke up one day and pretty much said "No, this isn't going to happen, and I'm going to do something about it.

How can you make a difference? You have to realize that most of the people who run for office, whether they are Republican or Democrat, are pretty good people. Really, they really want to change the world. At least they start out that way until they realize that the only way they can stay there is to make the deal with the devil – the Faustian bargain. And then they're hooked. And then – it's a dilemma – what do you do?

I think that the answer is you have to say to people that this process is supposed to work. You have to be a good citizen. You have to know the process. I know how it's changed. And here are some specific examples. You can talk about Move to Amend. You can talk about redistricting. And you can say 'Where are you on these issues?' And no, you don't accept 'I'm OK with that." [When you talk to your representatives]

You don't accept 'What was that.' You don't accept 'Well, I'm for it.' You accept 'I'm for it," and then you quickly say 'and what can I expect from your for leadership?' And 'How will you report back?' That's what you have to do. You have to demand leadership. And then you have to tell people 'You want to know what? If there was ever a case for being a single issue voter, defending the process that serves all of us, certainly is a candidate for that. And I want you to know I'm paying attention and I'm doing everything I can to educate my neighbors.'

As a guy who stood for election 12 times, that's a message that rings very loud and very clear. And if we get enough people moving in that direction, the political class will finds its way to the front of the parade. Believe me."

Kirk Lund, leader for Lake Mills Move To Amend brought up the coming March 31 presentation featuring David Cobb of the national Move To Amend organization in the L.D. Fargo Public Library in Lake Mills.

The purpose of the event was to engage local citizens in discussion of the ways in which unregulated big money in politics negatively impacts our important issues. This is relevant preparation for the April 1 ballot referendum, which will ask City of Lake Mills and Town of Waterloo residents if they want a U.S. constitutional amendment stating "Corporations are not people and money is not speech," to reverse the effect of the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United case.

We would like Wisconsin to join the 16 states that have called on the U.S. Congress to reverse the Citizens United decision of 2010 and add to the 28 Wisconsin communities that have officially called for an amendment through resolutions and referenda. In addition to local actions there are also bills in the Wisconsin State Assembly and Senate supporting an amendment.

The bills read:

“We stand with the Move to Amend campaign and communities across the country to support passage of an amendment to the United States Constitution stating:

1. Only human beings — not corporations, limited liability companies, unions, nonprofit organizations or similar associations and corporate entities — are endowed with constitutional rights, and, 2. Money is not speech, and therefore, regulating political contributions and spending is not equivalent to limiting political speech.

Be it further resolved, that we hereby instruct our state and federal representatives to enact resolutions and legislation to advance this effort.”

If you live in the City of Lake Mills, Town of Waterloo, or the Cities of Edgerton, Elkhorn, Delavan, Waukesha, or Wauwatosa, or in the Village of Shorewood, Whitefish Bay, Waunakee, De Forest, or Belleville, or in the Town of Windsor, please vote "YES" on April 1, to help us regain control of our government that is supposed to be "of, by, and for the People."

Daniel Fary, Fort Atkinson and Brad Geyer, Jefferson

Rock River Affiliate-Move To Amend (Jefferson and Walworth Counties)

For more information...
Website:

 http://wimta.org/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wisconsin-Move-To-Amend/569078933112051

No Time To Despair

I know it has been a rough week for the democratic party in Wisconsin but now is NOT the time to despair. I know I was in a funk last week when I wrote this piece.  What got me to step out of said funk, was to have the republicans start gloating and telling the dems how to run elections. 

First of all it was not as resounding of  a defeat as the republicans make it out to be.   The democrats did flip the Wisconsin State Senate! That is no small feat in itself.  

Secondly, many people on the left and the right have been saying the democrats have "no bench".  While I do think that there is always room for improvement, and I would love to see more people get involved in politics on a local and statewide level, I find this claim from the right to be downright laughable.   Lets exam this a little bit closer. 

It was a year ago that Wisconsin had their first round of recalls.   This was before the recall petitions were scrutinized so the republicans actually were able to file petitions to recall 3 democrats (as opposed to 6 republicans).   All three democrats easily held their seats, while 2 of 6 republican seats were flipped.  Keeping in mind that in terms of money and name recognition and the way the system has been set up(by the incumbents) it is virtually impossible to beat an incumbent (recall or regular election).

So instead of looking at just the actual results, you have to analyze the big picture.  I wrote about it at the time:

* The Democrats have legitimate candidates and talent ready to run and serve and the Republicans do not. While the Republicans are running people like David Vanderleest, and Kim Simac, the Democrats are running people like Jess King, Fred Clark, Shelley Moore, etc… Then you can look at the “bench” of potential candidates and spokespeople where the Democrats have rising superstars like Tony Schultz and Mahlon Mitchell and the republicans have Brian Schimming.

The republicans were licking their wounds when the best they could find to run against the recalled democratic Senators were David Vanderleest who probably belongs in prison( and is thinking of running for office again), and Crazy Kim Simac, who appears to be off of her meds when she speaks.

If you want another example of the lack of talent on the republican side, look at the current race to fill Herb Kohl's US Senate seat.    The best the republican's can come up with is an unrecognizable Tommy Thompson, professional jobber Mark Neumann who no one likes and some rich guy from who lives in Washington DC.  

Excuse me for not taking you seriously when these are the kind of candidates you continue to run. 

I agree that the democrats have some serious problems that need fixing.   When an unethical, under investigation, college drop out with no real world experience and a horrendous record as a politician can get elected twice in two years as Governor of this great state, then there are serious flaws in the democratic party that need fixing.  

We know that the republicans will bury us in money in any election that they are interested in, until we fix the horrendous Citizens United decision, that is NOT going to change.    We found out that with enough money the republicans are able to turn a net loss in jobs to a "supposed strength" in their candidate.   Heck they even ran ads touting his horrendous record on jobs.  

So that being said we need to emrbace and adapt to the changing landscape.   No matter what happened, we stull have the advantage in people power.

The network of activists and enthusiasm we built up on the progressive side can not be replicated by an expensive bus and some crazy speakers. 

Some amazing people have gotten involved in politics on our side and that will all pay off in the end.  What Lori Compas did in her district was literally unprecedented.   Tell me any example of anyone on the right who has or could come close to accomplishing what Lori Compas did.  There are activist's now getting involved in even the more republican of districts and mobilizing progressive's, liberals, democrats, moderates and independents in ways that they have never been involved.   That will pay of in the end. 

We do need, and i am sure when things calm down, we will have some inflection from the democratic party.  We need better messaging and less paid consultants.   Let's hope whoever came up with the messaging in this last recall election will never work in Wisconsin politics again.  We also need the party to listen to the people more and support and embrace the grassroots activists more openly.  I would also like to see more aggressiveness from the elected officials in the party.  

We have some big hurdles to overcome, all is NOT lost for the democratic party going forward in Wisconsin.   We have the extreme advantage of a republican party that is insane and incompetent.  Now it is time to start taking advantage of that!  

Scott Walker and the Chamber of Horrors, er, Commerce

As I was working on catching up on the things I missed while I was away, I saw a story from JSOnline reporting that on Wednesday, our wayfaring governor is going to Washington D.C. to "attend U.S. Chamber of Commerce events."

Normally, I would have just brushed it off as just more of Walker's "rising-star-before-smashing-into-a-Walkergate-nova" antics.  But this caught me dead in my tracks.

Lewis F. Powell

The reference of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce was most timely.  During my travels, I was given a tip from a most sagacious soul.  Said tip had to do with a letter written 41 years ago by Lewis F. Powell, just two months before he was nominated to the Supreme Court of the United States by President Richard M. Nixon.

Powell's letter, which came to be known as the Powell Memo or the Powell Manifesto, was written to and at the request of his friend, Eugene Sydnor, Jr., then Director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.  It has come to be a strong influence in the strategy adapted by the likes of the Koch Brothers, Sam Adams Alliance and the Bradley Foundation.  It is also the basic playbook for ALEC.

The first part of the letter was a cursory overview of the plaints that businesses are echoing to this day: That taxes are too high and that there are too many regulations.  He goes on to complain of "attacks" by the usual bogeymen of the right wing corporate nuts - communists, socialists, statists and leftists. And, as one might expect, Powell portrays the CEOs as the poor, downtrodden class that is too meek for their own good.

But as one reads on, it gets downright scary as you see Powell describing what is happening today, forty years after he wrote his letter.

He speaks of infiltrating the school systems with right-minded people, both as speakers, as teachers and as activists.  This brings to mind the story from one year ago about the undue influence the Koch Brothers had in personnel decisions at Florida State University.  Walker's own "merit system" is nothing more than a way for him to force out the malcontents and to keep and reward the ones that pass their fealty tests.

Powell even advocates for censoring what is in the textbooks and what is being taught in the classrooms.  Does "intelligent design" and "abstinence only" ring a bell?

What sent chills down my spine is when Powell writes about the ways to control the public, which he says is most vital for the immediate term.

He describes controlling what's on television, including educational programs and newscasts, much like he wanted control over the textbooks.  He advocated for similar control of the radio.  Suddenly, Fox News and talk radio takes on a much more ominous look.

Powell also describes the need to put out their own publications, whether it be "scholarly publications," books, pamphlets and advertisements.  What he is describing is their need for pseudo-scholarly propaganda machines such as WPRI, MacIver Institute and the Franklin Center.  And yes, I would add corporate media like the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Wisconsin State Journal and the Wall Street Journal to this list.

Powell goes on with more strategies, such as using the courts (see Rick Esenberg and his legal group which just happens to be funded by the Bradley Foundation but "without expectations"). even more lobbying (which apparently became buying politicians like Walker) and generally flooding the system with more graft, er, I mean, money.

So what do we do now?

We have the corporate takeover of not only Wisconsin, but the entire nation, which has been meticulously and methodically taking place for literally decades.  They control most of the media and information sources, thereby controlling the population.  There is no better example than the unsuccessful recall of Walker.  It all looks like we are about to become an oligarchy and there's no way to stop it.

Well, we are not helpless and the situation is not hopeless.  Indeed, we have already started giving ourselves the means to stop and even reverse this trend.

First of all, Powell gives us a glimpse of the where they have overreached his original intent (emphasis mine):

We in America already have moved very far indeed toward some aspects of state socialism, as the needs and complexities of a vast urban society require types of regulation and control that were quite unnecessary in earlier times. In some areas, such regulation and control already have seriously impaired the freedom of both business and labor, and indeed of the public generally. But most of the essential freedoms remain: private ownership, private profit, labor unions, collective bargaining, consumer choice, and a market economy in which competition largely determines price, quality and variety of the goods and services provided the consumer.

The current version of the robber barons of old have stepped over the line when they started attacking Labor and collective bargaining.  Their greed has gotten the better of them and we can use that in a form of political judo.

Secondly, we have one of the largest grassroots movements in the nation in the form of #wiunion.  #wiunion is, as most already know, the loosely formed group that consists of people from the right, the left and the independent who feel that things have gone too far already.  We are public and private sector workers as well as the unemployed and underemployed.  We are the people of Wisconsin and we are fighting for our homeland, in every sense of the phrase.

Thirdly, we have ways to getting the information out there, whether it be through blogs, social media or even just social gatherings.  However, this is not enough at this time.  I would like to see a group of people come together to form a counterweight to the corporate media.  With the number of teachers and other workers who have been laid off and/or retired, not to mention citizen journalism, there are more than enough people who could be benefited by and beneficial for an alternative news source.  The funding to support the reporters, editors, artists, etc. could come from the same groups that supported the recall movement: the unions, the advocacy groups and groups like United Wisconsin.

Fourthly, as I pointed out right after the recall, we need to get some fresh faces into the political system.  We can't keep hanging our hopes on corporate Democrats who aren't much better than the Republicans.  The first example of this which comes to mind is Lori Compas.  Yes, she lost the recall election.  But the fact that there was even a recall election exceeded all expectations from the Republicans or the Democrats. Compas did that with the grassroots movement that I just mentioned above.

And lastly, we have the weapon that the would be corporate overlords gave us on a silver platter - Scott Walker and his crew.  Walkergate is upon them, with two convictions already and four more of Walker's aides facing serious charges.  It is only a matter of when, not if, Walker himself is indicted.  The level of corruption in Walker's administration is so complete that even though they are downplaying it, the corporate media that supports him has had to admit to the seriousness of it.

When Walker is indicted and goes to trial and the information comes spilling out, there will be a backlash at the extent the corporate overlords have gone in trying to make their final push at a hostile takeover.  This backlash, I have reason to believe, will spill all over the nation.

Then, maybe, just maybe, we can start restoring balance to our state and to our country.

My Thoughts on the Recall

First of all %^&*( ....ok thats off my chest.

1. It is sad that we not only rewarded the "divide and conquer" strategy of Scott Walker but we will continue it. We have Scott Walker on video, in numerous places and times, expkaining exactly what his plans were and what he plans to do with our state and to our workers. Of course even to this day he will not ever campaign on his actual strategy but I guess some people believe the commercials over the candidate.

 2. Debates just do not matter. Tom Barrett whipped Scott Walker in both debates handily and it did not move the needle at all. Rebecca Kleefisch is either too scared to debate or the Walker campaign would not let her, but her blatant hiding from the public had no effect on her re-election either.

3. Being outspent 10-1 made a huge difference. If you look at the exit polling, many people based their votes on issues that just were not true.

 4. The democrats had better get their messaging down and quickly. They win the issues in the polls and lose in the ballot box. Who is to blame for that is something that needs to be discussed but it is a problem that the Democratic party has had since I have paid attention to politics.

5. I do not understand how a 50/50 state, with a 50/50 exit poll results in 20 point wins for the republicans.

6. I would really like to know how Alberta Darling, who was interviewed when there was about 30% of the votes in, knew that Scott Walker(who was up 20% at the time) would end up with 53% of the vote which is exactly what he ended up with? Is she Ms. Cleo or did she know something no one else did?

 7. How bad a candidate is Van Wanggaard, that when his cohorts are winning by massive margins he loses?

 8. If you truly think that ACT 10 is "working" you have NOT been in our public schools lately. I challenge each and everyone of you who think it is working to go to your local public school and give them a days worth of volunteering. Call up the principal or your kid's teacher and ask them what you can do. It does not even matter if you have children in the district do it anyway, since not having kid's in the district did not stop you from forming an opinion on the effectiveness of ACT 10.

 9. If you truly think ACT 10 is working, educate yourself on Michael Brickman and then tell me again that Scott Walker cares about public education.

10. Does anyone really think that Foster Friess, Bob Perry, Dick Devos and Tim Phillips have the best interest of the Wisconsin Citizen in mind and thats why they gave millions?

11. Thank you very much to ALL of the volunteers who put the time and effort into collecting signatures, knocking on doors and getting people to GOTV. Many many new registered voters and people that now pay attention to politics. All things are cyclical, DO NOT GIVE UP and DO NOT GO AWAY!

12. Thank you to Lori Compas. Shame on anyone in that district that voted for Scott Fitzgerald! 

13. If you condemned the republicans for running fake democrats in the election to force a primary, feel free to come in here and complain about the cost of the recall elections. if you did not then please be quiet, your hypocrisy is showing.

14. If you are a "tea party" member trying to tell me that you are part of a grassroots movement to be more like "our Founders", and did not condemn the secrecy agreements, then please stop yourself. Nothing that has been done in the last 16 months could have been further from the Founder's original intention for our great country than to have one party sign secrecy agreements and spend millions of taxpayer dollars to write the most bitter partisan redistricting they could get away with.

15. STOP calling them "conservatives" what exactly are they conserving? Let me offer up some suggestions. Righties, right wing, republicans, extreme right, "friends" from across the aisle, red's, etc...

16. I am very proud to have stood beside, walked with and met so many great progressives in this state! Keep up the fight!

17. My Village went overwhelmingly in support of Barrett/Mitchell!  YEAH US!

18. 38% of union households voted for Walker??? Can someone please explain THAT mindset? How many chickens would vote for Colonel Sanders?

19. While I did not like some of the things that he did in the primary, I think Tom Barrett ran a pretty good campaign against Scott Walker. It was a short campaign so it would have been helpful had he started sooner. I would have also liked a stronger emphasis on returning collective bargaining rights and overturning ACT 10. We did not have to attempt to balance the budget on the backs of the working class and we do not need to in the future.

20. I look very much forward to seeing where the "John Doe" investigation takes us.

21. The wind in politics can change in a day. We have another big election in November, we can keep control of the Senate(proud to call Mark Miller Senate Majority Leader) and we can knock off some more of the assembly. We also must deliver Wisconsin for Barack Obama!

Seriously! Vote for Lori Compas!

Whatever happens when the dust settles today(whenever that is) there are two universal truths that have come out of the last 16 months.   

1.  That Scott Walker has no ethics or moral compas! 

2.  Win, lose or draw, Lori Compas is a hero to the working people of WI and she personifies everything our Founders envisioned in our great constitutionally limited democratic republic!!   I hope we see her involved in making WI a better state for a very long time!!

Moderate Republicans Are Not a Myth!

Once upon a time, we had moderate republicans in our great state of Wisconsin.   There are some still left AND  they are voting for Lori Compas and Tom Barrett/Mahlon Mitchell! 


From the Capital Times , this letter from Barbara Lorman, former Republican State legislator:

Barbara Lorman: I was GOP lawmaker, but I’m voting for Barrett

May 31, 2012 4:45 am  •  Barbara Lorman

Dear Editor: Why would a longtime Republican and former legislator vote for Democrats Lori Compas and Tom Barrett? Why would a business looking to expand consider moving to a state that is ruled by right-wing extremists whose ideology has caused endless conflict? Why would anyone look up to leaders on a mission to tear apart public education just when we need educated workers more than ever?

I believe a national agenda is at work here that has little or nothing to do with us and a lot to do with changing how we will look to the rest of the nation. Ask yourself if you want us to look like those states where parents with enough money avoid the public schools.

Of the many issues that have upset so many, , I worry most about the undermining of public education. Just like good medical care and good roads, good education costs a lot. Without a doubt, quality teaching is expensive. The draconian slashing of funding and targeting of teachers has made me sad. Do we not want a top-notch technical college system? One of the best higher education systems? The best-prepared high school graduates? Did the governor not get just about everything he wanted when he was offered concessions from the unions? And why have teachers been made scapegoats for everything that is perceived to be wrong with Wisconsin? Where is this coming from? It needs to go away.

I served with Tom Barrett in the state Senate. He was well liked by Republicans and Democrats. He is smart and decent. He would be a healer and consensus builder. I have met with Lori Compas and have the same impression of her. I believe we must move away from the narrow emotional issues that divide us and have little to do with good government. We need people in Madison who will restore our faith and confidence — people who will govern with evenhandedness and an open mind. I believe Tom Barrett and Lori Compass are such people. They will receive my vote, and, I hope, yours.
Barbara Lorman
Fort Atkinson

More on Lori's opponent here!  

The Obligatory Why We Must Vote The Bums Out Post

I had considered to make this post just a republishing of the five reasons to recall Scott Walker, but I realized that it's a bit dated.  But I will try to make it succinct on why we need to reclaim Wisconsin.

Scott Walker


I could have listed all the reasons why Walker needs to be recalled, but by the time I got done listing them, I wouldn't be done before the polls closed and it wouldn't do you, gentle reader, a stitch of good.  So I will keep it down to three basics.

It's the Economy and Jobs, Stupid!

Just after taking office in 2011, Walker "dropped the bomb" on Wisconsin.  His bomb was the initial phase of his previously planned move to make Wisconsin a right-to-work-for-less state.  What he managed to do is take billions of dollars out of circulation so that he could pay back his wealthy campaign donors  And since 70% of the economy is made up of consumer spending, and by decreasing that spending, he's sent the state's economy into a downward spiral.

With the decreased demand which naturally comes from the decreased spending, thousands of businesses closed and tens of thousands more laid people off.  The increase in unemployment, which leads the nation, even if you use Walker's made up, unverified and unverifiable numbers.

And if reelected, Walker will pass the RTWFL law and even more people will lose their jobs and those that are lucky enough to hold onto theirs will see our salaries drop by an average of 5%, thereby accelerating a downward cycle.  And we don't need our salaries cut even more, but that is the path that Walker has already set us on.

Adding to our economic woes is the fact that, despite his false campaign statements, he has not cleared up the deficit or lowered taxes.  The deficit is actually higher than when he took office and he raised taxes on the poorest of the poor who can least afford taking all these cuts.

Our Rights

This is the part that would take forever to itemize.  Walker has not only waged war on workers rights, but also the rights of women, the elderly, the disabled, veterans, hunters and fishermen, students, college kids, microbrewers, the poor, and the unemployed.  For crying out loud, he went after every person in the state when he tried to restrict people from the People's House.  And don't even get me going on what he's done to democracy.

Corruption and Malfeasance

Many of the Walker apologists keep trying to argue that recalls should be only for illegal or unethical acts.  Besides the fact that that position is unconstitutional, we already have impeachment for those sorts of things.

But even this argument of theirs is weak, since Walker's has shown plenty of both.

He has been extremely maleficent in his overreach, his efforts to consolidate all the power in the state to his office, his attacks on our democracy and justice systems, and his movement to make this a corporately-owned state.

And for corruption, do we have to really go any further than his phone call with the phony David Koch, his cronyism, or that thing we all call Walkergate?  I mean, c'mon, the guy is on the verge of being indicted.  He has a better chance of surviving the recall than he does in avoiding indictment and incarceration.  Hell, I have a better chance of winning today's election than he does of avoiding criminal charges.

Rebecca Kleefisch

Regarding Kleefisch and her unworthiness, Recess Supervisor puts it quite plainly and harshly:

For lieutenant governor, one must seriously consider whether Rebecca Kleefisch is capable of doing anything other than putting on a plastic smile and spouting catchphrases - especially in light of Gov. Walker's potential legal issues.  The consensus opinion from those in and around the Capitol seems to be that she is not.  So why not do what many of those closest to the epicenter are doing - cast your vote for Walker, and then vote Mahlon Mitchell for lieutenant governor?  Mitchell doesn't have experience in elected office, but his career experience is certainly more in line with public service than someone who read cue cards for a living and thinks her relationship with Christ is a qualification for elected office.  

Indeed, to my mind, this is the bigger race.  If Barrett would contrive a way to lose this race, but Mitchell wins, it will be only a short time before we end up with Governor Mitchell.  That is something that I would love to see.

Scott Fitzgerald

Fitzgerald is clearly as inept, unethical and corrupt as Walker.  Not only is is he tied up in Walkergate by sharing his list of donors, but he's got a few scams of his own going on.  He's rigged a few scams of his own, including giving himself a big tax break for having "a farm" but is also rumored to be collecting his taxpayer-funded per diem and from his campaign fund for the same days and times and trips. There is also the illegal passage of the Act 10 bill and the attempts at giving our Northwoods aways to mining companies. And who could ever forget his tantrum on the senate floor regarding Kathleen Falk.

Compare that to Lori Compas, who has not only called him out on his misogynistic statements, but managed to keep her cool and use his words against him in one of the best commercials in the recall.  She has a solid grasp on how the real world works.  She will cast her votes as a senator with a clear conscious and a level head, unlike the greedy, power-hungry Fitzgerald.  She will help bring peace and prosperity back to the state, before the corporofascist regime of Fitzwalkerstan took over.

We need peace.  We need prosperity.  We need integrity and self-respect.  We won't get any of those things from Walker, Kleefisch or Fitzgerald.

Vote the bums out already, would ya?

Help Lori Compas Be Our Voice In The Senate

Lori Compas has this great ad ready to go:



The only thing is, as great and powerful as Cog Dis is, we don't quite have the reach of public television. We're getting closer every day, but we're not quite there yet.

So, please help Lori out yourself by donating to her campaign so that she can buy some air time!

Lori Compas!

Last night Lori Compas finally got the debate with Scott Fitzgerald, and we see why he was so hesitant to do so. Full Debate,in front of a full house, here:
Video streaming by Ustream Some local news coverage here, here and here. Of course when Fitz speaks, fact checkers get overworked! Let's overlook what he lied about and take a look at a couple things he actually told us.

1. “I think it’s a mistake to allow mining companies to write their own mining law. I think it’s a mistake to allow mining companies to bend the rules. I believe in job creation too, but not at the expense of our resources,” Compas said. Fitzgerald responded that the legislature needs to rely on industry expertise to help prepare legislation and said he was hopeful a compromise could be reached on a mining bill prior to the November election.

Here is a man who is interviewing for a job, in front of the people he wants to hire him, explaining that in one of the biggest issues in Wisconsin, and one that he is basing his campaign on, he has no expertise. Would you hire someone who admitted to no expertise in the job you hired him for?

2. Fitzgerald talked up the creation of the Wisconsin Development Corporation as well as tax credits and deductions tied directly to job creation, small business tax credits and tax credits for business relocations. He suggested Wisconsin should model its economic development efforts after North Carolina and Texas. “Get government out of the way with less regulation and less red tape,” Fitzgerald said.

Again, the man who is interviewing for a job to represent WISCONSIN voters, wants to make WI more like North Carolina and Texas. I think he needs to clarify what about North Carolina he is wants to replicate? This or this? Is this the Texas that Scott Fitzgerald aspires to?

1. Texas leads the nation in the percentage of its population without health insurance (2010).

2. Only one state covered a smaller share of its poor population with Medicaid (PDF).

3. It's also number 1 in the percentage of children who lack insurance (2009).

4. Texas ranks dead last in the number of women who receive early prenatal care (2010).

5. It has the sixth highest rate of infectious diseases in America (2010).

6. It ranked 35th in the share of its children being immunized (2010)...

7. ...And 40th in overall health (2010).

8. Those numbers shouldn't come as a surprise – Texas had the ninth lowest level of health care spending per person (2010).

9. Texas ranked 36th in the nation in terms of its high school graduation rate (2010).

10. It has the lowest share of the population aged 25 and older holding a high-school diploma of any state (2008).

11. Its students have the sixth lowest SAT scores in the country (2008).

12. But Texas ranks fourth in terms of teen pregnancies (2005).

13. It's got the 16th highest crime rate (2010).

14. It ranks 17th in occupational fatalities (2010).

15. It's tied (with Missouri) for 19th in terms of the share of its citizens requiring food-stamps (2009).

16. It leads the nation in the amount of recognized carcinogens released into the air (2002).

17. Has the fourth highest amount of toxic chemicals in the environment (2002).

18. Texas’ per capita income growth was the eighth slowest of any state in the country between 1998 and 2008.

19. It ranks 47th median household net worth (averaged from 2007 to 2009).

20. Only seven states have a higher percentage of children in poverty (2010), and ...

21. ... Only nine states have a higher percentage of people of all ages living below the poverty line (2008).

Would you hire someone who says he aspires to make your company more like the two competitors that are on the verge of bankruptcy? Or is an understanding of the United States something else Mr. Fitzgerald does not have the expertise for?

Finally if you want to learn a little more about Scott Fitzgerald, you can check out his year of low lights here, and also see how when he gets mad at women, the police have to be called here! Then there is his greatest interview here: Finally you can meet Lori Compas, mr. fitzgeralds opponent here: Please give to Lori Compas - I did!

Scott Fitzgerald A Year in Review

The former Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald has had an interesting year.  Prior to The extremist wing of the republican party taking over our state, no one even knew who he was.   The Fitzgerald family had been flying under the radar with your average Wisconsinite, happily sucking off the public teat but then they decided they wanted more.  That as we have seen was a mistake.   Lets take a look at the last year plus of Scott Fitzgerald. 

Let's start with the passing of ACT 10 and the subsequent departure of the Democratic 14.  Scott Walker introduced ACT 10 on a Friday afternoon and wanted it passed by the following Tuesday.  Well we all know the rest of this story but in case you forgot a few details.  The Assembly democrats could not leave due to the assembly rules so their best option was to try and offer up amendments and speak to the horrors of ACT 10. The assembly republicans had enough democracy for one night and took a 17 second surprise vote, received the number they needed and ran out of the room(Paul Ryan(R-Wall St.) did say this election was about courage. Since Fitz's brother delivered his house to the passage of ACT 10, that left Fitz the elder as the one needing to get it through the senate.  Since he was stuck, boy was he pissed.

Scott Fitzgerald was so  mad that he yelled, bullied and intimidated a woman so badly she called the police on him.   Fitz was also so mad that he tried to have Mark Miller and the rest of the 14 democrats arrested.  Unfortunately for Fitz, it appears he wrote out warrant for the arrest of the 14 democratically elected state Senators in original German and the state troopers were unable to read it(Despite the fact that a crony appointment put Fitzgerald's dad in as his head of the troopers).   It was starting to get into March and the Senators were not back yet, and Fitz was getting even more upset.  So instead of trying to intimidate women or have more people arrested he had a two step plan.

Step 1.  Run to Fox News and whine:

Step 2.  Break the law to get it passed, since he knew David Prosser had his back.  

After all of these extreme actions and lawbreaking, the Fitz Brothers deserved a break, and they got hungry:

The Fitzgerald brothers so badly screwed up Wisconsin that the only thing to do was sing about it.

Also, the whole time that they were eating whip cream(do you think they even know those are not real pies?) They were deciding the electoral fate of WI over the next ten years by redistricting our state.  The problem with that was, they ran up hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal bills AND did it all in complete privacy.  Scott Fitzgerald forced every elected representative to sign secrecy agreements to never tell anyone how badly, and unethically they redistricted our state.


Which brings us to where we are now.  Scott Fitzgerald is facing a recall, and will be facing Lori Compas on 6/5.   Scott Fitzgerald is extra mad, that a woman is running against him, because he has no respect for women. 

Scott Fitzgerald is so distraught, that all he does now is drive around in his foreign made Toyota, with no seat belt and a strange woman!

He must be recalled!

PS:  if you know who this woman is, please email me at jeff_simpson7@yahoo.com. Also if you can think of events I missed please include them in the comments.  It has been a very long year!  

Lori Compas Rocks

We covered the Scott Fitzgerald Interview today.....Then Lori Compas immediately with this video, showing that she might possibly be the COOLEST candidate ever to run for office.   Lori Compas has run the most amazing grassroots campaign ever, and Thomas Paine and the rest of our Founders would be proud!  

Watch this video, then donate time and money to her to oust Scott Fitzgerald and his 1950's bully tactics and philosophy! 

There is no republican war on women

Why would you go to war, with someone you had absolutely no respect for?

From today's Wisconsin State Journal, recalled republican senator Scott Fitzgerald, had this to say about his challenger Lori Compas:

 
For the record, Fitzgerald said he doesn't buy Compas' Pollyanna image. He knows some people are painting the race as a David-vs.-Goliath contest. But Fitzgerald said he thinks her husband is one of the main forces behind her campaign, as well as unions and protest groups.

"I don't for one minute believe she is the organizing force behind this whole thing," he said.
When told of Fitzgerald's statement, Compas was audibly stunned.

"That is pretty insulting, but it does seem in keeping with his general views on women," she said. "He doesn't seem to have a lot of respect for them. That's OK; he can keep underestimating me."

Compas said that if Fitzgerald really doubts she is a serious candidate, he should accept her invitation to debate. "I have challenged him to five debates," she said. "If he thinks I can't handle myself, he should come out and face me.

Obviously Scott Fitzgerald has zero respect for women and their ability to function without completely being subservient to men in this world.  Now you see where this kind of stuff comes from.  

I wonder if he has such little respect for the women in his life?  Is he just trying to diminish all that Lori Compas has accomplished, or does he truly think a woman can not make it without a man?    That is something that the voters of his district need to call him out on!!!!

A couple more things from the article;

1.  Lori Compas wants to debate, I will be surprised if Fitz the Elder agrees, since he was already put in his place by her once:

2.  Thanks to Fitz's blatant sexism, this part of the article will go unnoticed, but I wanted to address it:

It was, by any measure, an ugly session, filled with rancor and turmoil. The Capitol became home to a monthlong continuous protest, which many Republicans came to view as a gantlet of anger and hate. "They were everywhere," Fitzgerald said. "And it could get scary."

The mood of the crowds was not helped by the Republican approach during the session, led by Fitzgerald himself, who bucked compromise and bent parliamentary rules to push Walker's collective bargaining law through a conference committee before it had passed the Senate.

It was so scary for a democratic staffer or Mark Miller's at the Capitol  that she had to call the police because of the person who was yelling at, intimidating her and bullying her.  She did not feel safe to walk the hall of the Capitol.  To her it was very scary, and the person she was scared of?  Scott Fitzgerald!

 Recently the Capitol Times ran a story by Steven Elbow on bad behavior at the capitol. While most of it was run of the mill stuff, a couple different stories stuck out to Elbow(and me). Unfortunately Steven Elbow did not do much follow through on these stories so I thought I would dig a little deeper.

1. One involved state Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, the Republican Senate majority leader who spent much of February trying to corral 14 Democratic senators who high-tailed it out of the state to avoid voting on the collective bargaining rights bill, a move that deprived Republicans of a quorum to vote on the measure.
On Feb. 17, the day the Democrats vanished, Sen. Mark Miller’s chief of staff, Jamie Kuhn, contacted police to complain that Fitzgerald went off on her.
“Fitzgerald told Kuhn that she was stupid and Miller was stupid, amongst other mean and hurtful things,” the state Capitol Police report says. “Kuhn was intimidated by Fitzgerald’s aggressive and angry nature during the conversation.”
Kuhn went to Fitzgerald’s office to tell the senator that she couldn’t get hold of Miller after Fitzgerald staffer John Hogan visited Miller’s office to say that “if her boss didn’t get the Democrats back into the state (Fitzgerald) was going to fire all of Miller’s staff,” according to the report.
Kuhn asked the officer to stay near Miller’s office until she left the building to avoid any further disturbances. She also told the officer that “she didn’t want to make a big deal out of this or have Fitzgerald or his staff involved in the report.”
There was no indication that the officer contacted Fitzgerald’s office about the matter, but he obviously felt it was worth mentioning.
Fitzgerald, who told me he doesn’t even remember the incident, says that he was reaching a boiling point at the time because Miller had completely “checked out.”
“At that time, even his staff was saying, ‘We can’t get him. He will not return our phone calls,’” Fitzgerald says. “It was a difficult period of time because I was making decisions about my staff, other legislators’ staffs, Democrats’ staffs, the whole thing.”
Fitzgerald, who days later unsuccessfully tried to have Miller detained by police and brought by force to the Capitol, says: “There certainly were some heated exchanges. I don’t remember the one you’re referring to, but it was a difficult time, there’s no doubt about it.”

I called Senator Fitzgerald’s office to see if this was everyday behavior for the Senate Minority Leader. Since Fitzgerald can’t remember yelling at a female staffer of another Senator so harshly it caused her to call the police, I wondered if this is such everyday behavior that it did not stand out. So I asked the person who answered the phone that question and not wanting to tell on his boss, he immediately passed me on to Andrew – “communications director”:

JS: Does Senator Fitzgerald make it a habit of yelling at other Senators staffers so badly that they feel the need to call the police? Andrew: “that’s a loaded question buddy.”
JS: Well its in a police report and Senator Fitzgerald said he did not remember the incident, usually you do not remember something when its a common occurrence.
Andrew: Have you not ever had tensions boil a little bit at your work place?
JS: Not enough that the police had to be called.
Andrew: I will answer your question when you have a fair one.
JS: Has he ever yelled at you like that?
Andrew: (pause) I am not going to answer that.
JS: Thanks that tells me what I needed to know. Have a great weekend.
Andrew: Good Luck with that.

So it appears(though not surprisingly) that Scott Fitzgerald our Senate majority leader is not only a bully but an unprofessional hot head who will yell at anyone when he does not get his way. He obviously has his staff and everyone else’s staff scared to be around him and he has proven himself not fit to lead! Let’s hope he is the minority leader by August. Also, if you want to call his office and let the Senate Majority leader know that you expect more out of someone so prominent in Wisconsin than to yell and berate women staffers, his phone number is (608)266-5660.

Madison Office Room 211 South State Capitol P.O. Box 7882 Madison, WI 53707-7882	Voting Address N4692 Maple Road Juneau, WI 53039
Telephone (608) 266-5660	District Telephone (920) 386-2218
Fax (608) 267-6795
Email Sen.Fitzgerald@legis.wisconsin.gov