Grover Norquist Wants to Own the 6th

By Jeff Simpson

The extremist in Wisconsin have had much success this year in flushing anyone from the party who has a history of compromise with the left.    One of their victims was Tom Petri, the long serving republican Congressman from the 6th District.  

With moderation out the door, the far right republicans in the area all ran to get a crack at his seat.  The anti-Government right wing, for some reason, can not ever seem to leave the Government.  This would be a significant pay increase, so three people who would starve in the private sector, are all working hard to be the next Congressman from WI.   All wanting to go to give Steve King and Louie Gohmert a run for their money in crazy talk. 

The three Wisconsinites running on the right for this seat are Joe Leibham, Glenn Grothman and Duey Stroebel(intelligent talent is seriously lacking on the right side of the aisle).    Intra party primaries can bring some tension and this one is no different.   

All three of these far right wingers are fighting over who was the first to sign Grover Norquist's blood oath.   

  On Monday, Joe Leibham (R-Sheboygan) issued a press release saying he was the first candidate to sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge from Americans for Tax Reform.

It tells you how far to the right that these people are that they actually brag about signing their own free thoughts and votes away to Pennsylvania resident Norquist.  Announcing to the Wisconsin residents of the 6th district that they are bit players in the "I need more taxpayer money" roulette that these three are playing. 

For those of you wondering who Grover Norquist is, he is of these famous quotes:

" Our goal is to shrink government to the size where we can drown it in a bathtub".

Grover Norquist

• Our goal is to inflict pain. It is not good enough to win; it has to be a painful and devastating defeat. We're sending a message here. It is like when the king would take his opponent's head and spike it on a pole for everyone to see.

  • from the National Review, quoted in The Republican Noise Machine by David Brock, Crown Publishers 2004, pg. 50

[Democrats] will only become acceptable once they are comfortable in their minority status. Any farmer will tell you that certain animals run around and are unpleasant, but when they've been fixed, then they are happy and sedate.

• Grover Norquist cited in "The Great Revulsion" at nytimes.com, 10 November, 2002

  
  Norquist used to be one of the main power brokers in the republican party, then people found out what a vile human being he is and started to back off in droves.    However, as we know, the republican party of Wisconsin has their clocks set back 120 years, so they have not received the memo.  
  
  As for the actual pledge, it is one he wrote in 7th grade(which is why Leibham was actually able to read it) and is here:
  
  
  “I _____ pledge to the taxpayers of the __________ district, of the state of __________, and to all the people of this state, that I will oppose and vote against any and all efforts to increase taxes.”
  
  
  
  The problem with the pledge though, is that no where does it describe who is going to pay for the record debt that Leibham/Strobel/Grothman have left us? 
  
  Americans for Tax Reform
  722 12th ST NW
  Suite 400
  Washington DC 20005
  202.785.0266 (P)
  202.785.0261 (F)
  info@atr.org
  
  @taxreformer
  
  
  Luckily for the people of the 6th district you have an actual intelligent fiscal conservative running for office - Mark Harris!
   
  Support Mark with as much money, time and word of mouth as you can!!  
  
  
  

Breaking News In Juneau

By Jeff Simpson

Senator Scott Fitzgerald, one of the original thugs in the ACT10 fiasco, has answered the question that no one in Wisconsin was asking.  

Scott Fitzgerald will NOT be running for the open seat in the 6th Congressional District of WI!

MADISON, Wis. —Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald says he won't run for the congressional seat vacated by longtime Wisconsin Congressman Tom Petri.

Fitzgerald released a statement Monday saying he won't rule out a run for higher office in the future. But he said he plans to return next session as majority leader.

I am thinking that Fitz the Elder has gotten too much pressure from the old ball and chain to put himself through a national run!   Although with the way Fitz likes to hoard as many taxpayer dollars as he can, you would think the $174,000/yr would appeal to him.  Although it might mean he would actually have to work for his money.       

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! 

Wisconsin Republicans Try to Leave Sandy Victims Stranded!

Today the redistricted republican led House FINALLY voted for $9 Billion dollars of relief efforts to the victims of Hurricane Sandy! 

The final tally was 354 - 67.  67 republicans voted NO to help the Hurricane sandy victims!

67 republicans voted no in helping their fellow Americans recover and rebuild their lives from the devastation of one of the biggest storms in our history!  

67 republican members of the US House of Representatives said I do not care that you need help, it is NOT coming!   

Among those 67 are some people we know well, please call them and tweet them and let them know what they did was unacceptable!

Paul Ryan @reppaulryan

Janesville office
20 South Main Street, Suite 10
Janesville, WI 53545
Toll-Free: 1-888-909-RYAN (7926)
Phone: (608) 752-4050
Fax: (608) 752-4711

 Sean Duffy - @repseanduffy 

Wausau Office

208 Grand Avenue

Wausau, WI 54403

Phone: (715) 298-9344

 Tom Petri 

Fond du Lac Office

490 West Rolling Meadows Drive, Suite B

Fond du Lac, WI 54937

Phone: 920-922-1180

Fax: 920-922-4498

F. James Sensenbrenner - @jimpressoffice

 (262) 784-1111 

Please do not talk to me about what great Christians they are, or that they just want whats best for America like everyone else.  This was the move of an asshole and I hope when Karma strikes it will be on them and not on the great state of Wisconsin when we need help!   

For those of you who want some historical perspective:

 By the way, Congress passed $60 billion in Katrina relief just 10 days after the hurricane struck. It's now been 10 weeks since Sandy hit.

Here is Paul Ryan washing all morals and ethics off of his body! 

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!

Wisconsin Republicans Create Their First Job

State Republicans, most notably Goobernator-elect Scott "Train Wreck" Walker, has been taking a lot of flak for their anti-high speed rail posturing. Walker, as the reader is probably very well aware, made his anti-rail stance one of the main planks of his campaign platform.

Since the election, the people are starting to realize that the Democrats were correct and that Walker's grandstanding could get very expensive. Despite growing concern and repeated warnings, Walker continues his act of bravado with our jobs and money and states that he won't allow HSR to go through Wisconsin, but would rather use the money to fix roads and bridges. (This is the first recorded incident of Walker caring about maintenance of anything, by the way.)

Then, last Friday, as I predicted, Walker started to backtrack on his position, saying he was "in no hurry" to push for the rail funding to be used otherwise, in order to prepare for the inevitable flip flop. You could start seeing the concern growing in his base by then.

The following Monday, reacting to a rally held outside of the Talgo plant and increasing pressure from the state's Democratic Party and groups like One Wisconsin Now, Walker caved in a little bit more, saying he was now willing to allow that money to go to fixing current rail lines. Even the Wisconsin State Journal, which had originally endorsed him, appeared to be having some buyer's remorse. The flop sweat from the right was becoming quite noticeable.

On Tuesday, the desperation from the right was palpable as three of Walker's allies, Congressmen Jim Sensenbrenner, Paul Ryan and Tom Petri said that they would introduce a bill that would change the law so that if states like Wisconsin and Ohio, who made terrible blunders in their elections, wanted to forgo jobs and a large influx of money, it would go to back to pay off some of their debt and deficits.

But the chances of that bill going anywhere is somewhere between slim and none. The problem that these three stooges face is that they are not the only members of Congress. To get the bill passed, it would need the support of the representatives from Illinois, New York and now California, as well as any other state that would be more than glad to bring jobs and a recovering economy to their fair states.

To add to the job-killing Republicans disconcertion is the fact that U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood has again emphatically repeated the fact that if Wisconsin, Ohio or any other soon-to-be backwater state wanted to reject the HSR funding, he would move swiftly to make sure the money is responsibly and fairly redistributed to states that want to actually grow their economies.

And just to pile on more bad news, Walker's idiot ideology won't be cost the state $100 million as previously reported, but might actually be closer to $135 million.

With all of the backtracking, moving of goal posts, and attempts to throw up red herrings, it is easy to see that Walker and his Republican allies have actually created one job. That job is a massive snow job which they are trying to pull over on the state's citizens.

The only real question is which promise Walker going to break - creating jobs, stopping the train or both?