WISGOP Founding Fathers of Fake News

By Jeff Simpson 

For some reason, The Jussie Smollett story is a story that the WISGOP can not seem to stop talking about. 

From Jimmy Wigderson, to hate talker Vicki Mckenna and the incomprehensible Dan O'Donnell has been obsessed with it.

Now that it is rather obvious that "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett paid two Nigerian-born brothers (one of whom was for a time his personal trainer) to help stage a hate crime hoax in Chicago, one must ask why so many in the media and Democratic Party fell for such a questionable story in the first place.
To paraphrase Agent Mulder in another popular FOX show, it was because they wanted to believe.
They wanted to believe that President Trump has fomented such a hateful environment that his supporters would attack a gay, black Trump critic simply for being a gay, black Trump critic. They wanted to believe that, as CNN anchor Brooke Baldwin put it, "this is America in 2019."
Only it isn't. It's the America that the political left and its media allies have invented. Sadly, hate crimes do occur, but they are dramatically outnumbered by the truly staggering number of hate crime hoaxes that generate similarly uncritical and sympathetic coverage.

They are acting like staging attacks for political point is a new thing.   That it is some deep conspiracy that "the left" has concocted to figure out a way to make The Donald look bad. 

Yes the Donald can make himself look bad all on his own, he needs no help for that. 

However I want to perform a public service and remind our friends on the right, that making up stories to score political points is something the WISGOP and the right has been doing for years now.   Let's jog their memory.

The all star of fake news is, of course, Christian Schneider.   Schneider, for reasons unknown to anyone,  had a column in the Journal Sentinel for years and helped break the story that Mark Pocan's husband attacked and beat Pocans opponent.  As with many things that Schneider wrote, there was not a lick of truth to his story, so he did what most unethical people do when caught in a lie.  Deleted the story like nothing ever happened.

Not to be outdone by the idiocy, irrelevant ex Senator Neil Kedzie's son got beat up at bartime in Whitewater for being an ass.  Instead of owning up that he raised a son who could not handle his liquor, Kedzie blamed it on Democrats and said that his son was beat up because he had a Romney/Ryan sign in his yard.  Kedzie even had his taxpayer funded staffers calling the Romney campaign trying to get national exposure.  We knew it was fake immediately, because supporting Paul Ryan is punishment enough, no need to throw salt in the wound and hit him also.

Then, that captain of telling fake stories, Scott Walker, even wrote a fake book about all of the times he was harassed on the campaign trail, but stood up to the bullies like the hero he likes to think he is.  The problem of course was the time he told his ghostwriter about that made the book, were all #fakenews.    Walker claimed many things from, protesters surrounding his car at Devils lake and shaking it to getting spit on at his local grocery store.

The one commonality of all of Scott Walker's "protest" stories is that they are never true.

Speaking of the Capitol protests, Matt Kittle from Maciver recently tweeted about the riots at the Capitol.

During the #Act10 riots, the @NewsMacIver gave the world a clear picture of what was really happening in Madison - like the time liberals told the disabled they would die if Act 10 passed. #WIright https://t.co/C2xEgRUnWA

— MacIver News Service (@NewsMacIver) February 15, 2019

As someone who not only was at the Capitol protesting almost daily, I took my 7 and 4 year old children at the time whenever I could.   There was nothing resembling a riot.   Three Pinocchios to Matt on that tweet. 

We see that our friends in the WISGOP are the Founding Fathers of fake news and are actual Republicans, yet not a peep from the hate talk/propaganda bloggers trolling through the internet. 

I would say that it seems like many in the WISGOP are auditioning to be guest stars on "Empire" but not sure that Robin Vos and Jim Steineke allow anyone of our African American brothers and sisters to watch! 



 

Robin Vos Runs!

By Jeff Simpson

NO...Robin Vos is not running from his oath as a married man that he swore before God twice(at least) - He already has done that twice(at least)!  Nor is he looking to run for Governor....he knows he has no chance!

No Robin Vos is running from responsibility, again.  He is trying very hard to distance himself(and his party) from the debacle that is the United Sportsmen Scandal.

However, it is not working.  As typical, when Robin Vos speaks, ethics go flying out the window! 

First some background on United Sportsmen.

Scott Suder wrote a grant of WI taxpayer money into the last budget.  This money was written specifically for one group, a bunch of old Suder Staffers and republican donors.  It was for the sum of $500,000 and it was also written to give this group a sum of $250,000 annually for as far as we could see.

The problem was, that as is typical for the WI republicans, the former Suder staffers were not qualified in any sort of useful talent to actually justify such a payment, so Suder disguised it as a fishing and hunting grant.  Then Suder resigned his position to take another government position to double dip and help pad his WI taxpayer provided pension by joining the Walker Administration.  

Almost from the minute he wrote this horrendous piece of WI taxpayer theft, (it was debated all of 7 minutes then quickly passed by the Joint Finance Committee),  there were major problems.

First, as is par for the course for Wisconsin republicans, they lied from the start.  First about their tax exempt status. 

 - A sportsmen's group is apologizing for misleading lawmakers and the public about its federal nonprofit status in winning a controversial $500,000 grant to promote hunting and fishing. 

The Journal Sentinel reported on Friday that the United Sportsmen of Wisconsin Foundation Inc. appeared to be improperly claiming a federal tax-exempt status during the process of receiving a grant to promote hunting and fishing in the state.

 OOPS....But whats a little lying to the legislature amongst friends, because there is more.   Then Suder said the legislation was incredibly important for the future of hunting in WISCONSIN.

In an interview, Suder said the grant would help to avert a "looming crisis" for hunting and fishing and ensure the future of those pastimes in the state.

 The problem here?  His good friend, the former head of AFP-WI and former Suder staffer Luke Hilgemann does not EVEN LIVE IN WISCONSIN!

Hard to ward off a "looming crisis" in WI when you live in Burke, Virginia.

Not ones to be deterred by minor details such as this, they plodded on.  As regular readers know, there is ALWAYS more. 

The head of United Wisconsin, the hunting training experts, Andy Pantzlaff, was cited for illegal hunting AND lied to the DNR about it. 

OOPS. 

This turned out to be the final straw, as hard as he tried to give his friends $500,000 of OUR money, after this latest guffaw, the 2016 pretend presidential contender had to draw a line somewhere.   The final straw was probably main cheerleader the JSONLINE editorial board even asked their boy Scott Walker to rescind the money.

 As the saying goes, when you lose the JSONLINE editorial board....

So finally Cathy Stepp had to be drug, kicking and screaming, to stop the ridiculous payment. 

In a statement, Department of Natural Resources Secretary Cathy Stepp said she spoke with Walker on Thursday and he canceled the grant to United Sportsmen, which had been aimed at promoting the state's sporting heritage. Instead, Walker ordered the DNR to find other means to achieve that goal.

"We also agreed that it is essential for any organization that receives financial support from the state to have the trust of the public in its capabilities to produce concrete results. Even though United Sportsmen of Wisconsin Foundation Inc. did and does still meet the statutory criteria established by the Legislature for the grant award, the governor asked me to not finalize the grant award. I will honor this request and fully support this decision," Stepp said.

DNR Secretary Stepp, really really wanted to give them the money.  I get it though, they are all friends and im sure her friends at United Sportsmen already had that money spent!   

Its a tough thing for people like Hilgemann, havin to tell his wife the vacation to Hawaii this winter has to be called off for now.  

Now back to Robin Vos, who took time away from his paramour and attacking the UW  System to weigh in( Those paying attention will notice, that the longer Robin Vos has power the more arrogant he gets, but thats another blog).

What did Robin Vos have to say?  Exactly what you would think he had to say.   It was not his fault!

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said former Rep. Scott Suder, who recently stepped down as majority leader to take a job with the Public Service Commission, took the lead in adding the grant to the 2013-15 state budget.
Gov. Scott Walker asked DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp late Thursday to rescind the grant.
Vos said he “was not directly involved” in adding the language, which resulted in only one group, which has political connections to Suder, applying for the grant.
 

Vos is only the leader of the party and the head of the power joint finance committee that passed the amendment allowing this theft of WI taxpayer money but he was "not involved".   I'm guessing the party tries to cut him out of as many decisions as possible.    The party of "personal responsibility" is trying desperately to shirk the blame.   I am surprised in the article that Vos did not find a way to blame Obamacare.  

The light shone on the cockroachs and everyone went scrambling and two people who deserved much scorn and have escaped all scrutiny are Neil Kedzie and Al Ott.  

The five-member Sporting Heritage Committee is scheduled to meet Thursday in Madison to review the application.

The committee is composed of Gunderson, DNR executive assistant; Sen. Neal Kedzie (R-Elkhorn), chairman of the Senate Natural Resources Committee; Rep. Al Ott (R-Forest Junction), chairman of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee; and Mark LaBarbera of Hazel Green and Bill Torhorst of Oregon, both appointed to the committee by the DNR.

 Both of these "fiscal conservatives" could not give our money to their friends fast enough, no questions asked!  

My dream is that maybe one day, a reporter in the state will point out how truly not conservative, the Wisconsin "conservatives" are!

The Wisconsin republican party are NOT "fiscal conservatives", they are fiscal opportunists and its costing us all dearly! 



 

Fairy Tale of the Day

By Jeff Simpson

H/T Jud Lounsbury @ UppityWI

And even though Montgomery was also the epicenter of the civil rights stuggle and where Rosa Parks famously stood her ground, Walker chose to ignore that and instead talk about his own struggle, claiming that his mother and and son were spit-upon in 2011 when Walker took away public workers' right to collectively bargain:  

"He said he received death threats, and his mother and son were shouted at and spit upon during a trip to the grocery store." 

Hmmm... this doesn't pass the smell test.  This is the first time Walker has claimed that anyone in his family were spit upon and I find it hard to believe that Walker, who is perhaps the most opportunistic victim in Wisconsin history, would have waited for nearly two years to tell anyone about it. 

With the republicans ability to claim victim to pebbles in the road and work hard to turn their son's drunken beating into an attempt to score political points, does anyone think that if Scott Walker's kid would have actually been spit on, that Walker would not lead every story and speech with that example? 

Me either! 

The Heart of the Matter

There is starting to be a trend happening in Wisconsin.   Recently 2 people associated with the republican party have been attacked.  The first was Senator Kedzie's son in Whitewater(probably just stupid college hormones but we will see)  The second was a homosexual volunteer on the Chad Lee campaign(leave this kid alone, he obviously has other issues).  

While I condemn any and all acts of violence during the election season, as do all dems, our friends on the right seem to be downright giddy about it!  

I am going to leave those attacks right there, we will see what the ACTUAL investigations lead too, and then bring the facts and findings back here for discussion!   What I want to discuss is the attacks on the truth and actual history that the righties have done since Senator Kedzie  told us he was so upset about his son getting attacked, his first act was to send a press release to Mark Belling.

The leading person attacking the truth has been Jimmy WIgderson!   Wiggy, not one who has ever been known for interesting reading OR using facts, is at it again!  While the rest of the state is in a wait and see mode to see where the facts lead in these cases, Sherlock Wigderson has already done the investigation, held a trial and declared all democrats guilty.  

"Somebody remind me again about the peaceful left."  

What exactly does the left have to do with anything?   As we always say here, just wait there is more.  Perpetual Victim and Bullshit artist Wiggy whines about the tough times the republicans have had in our state and blames all violence everywhere on the left!   I wonder if Wiggy is related to Paul Ryan? 

Let's take a look at what the right wing paid propagandists are saying(we have to do it here, because we are banned there):

In Fond Du Lac, a Republican candidate for state Senate, Rick Gudex, says that his yard signs were thrown down on the ground, the vandals turned his American flag upside-down, and they broke some landscaping stones in his yard. Gudex says this was not the first attack on his home. His son’s truck was egged in the driveway. 

Poor Rick Gudex maybe he can call up Dan Kapanke who was also attacked often for support! 


It shouldn’t surprise anyone when we hear about incidents like this. After all, for the last two years in Madison Republican legislators and staffers have been living in a state of siege in the Capitol. We’re finally getting a measure of law and order under the new Capitol police chief.

Nothing says "law and order" like arresting people with an 8 1/2 X 11 piece of paper saying "I heart blood donors".   It is sad that someone who pretends to be a political pundit has never read the Constitution!  


You can point to the leadership. Gudex doesn’t believe the incumbent, Democratic state Sen. Jessica King, has anything to do with the vandalism at his home, and we all hope he’s right. 

BUT we are not quite sure, there is a possibility that Senator King could be out staling Gudex and stealing his signs.  Since there is some doubt maybe we should have re-elected Randy Hopper after all!  


But it probably doesn’t help the calls for civility when the spokesman for the Democratic Party in Wisconsin, Graeme Zielinski, is on Twitter accusing Republicans of not being Christians because they disagree with him. Holy McCarthyism, Graeme.


Unfortunately there is only one Reince Priebus!  Of course no one on the right could ever offend Wiggy on twitter, if they did he would definitely call them on it! As for the Christian thing, maybe Graeme was onto something! 

Nor does it help when Vice President Joe Biden, at a nationally televised debate with Wisconsin’s own Congressman Paul Ryan, thinks being rude, obnoxious, and even inappropriately giggly somehow makes him a “winner.” Turns out he was a “winner” like Charlie Sheen, but that didn’t stop so many of the talking heads of the political left from cheering on the juvenile delinquent behavior. 

Maybe if Paul Ryan had at least made an attempt to tell the truth once, Biden would not have been so amused!  

I remember when President Barack Obama was running in 2008, he promised a new tone in Washington. After the attempted killing of Congressman Gabby Giffords, Obama again called upon the American public to try to restore civility to politics. 

Now we are supposed to believe that Joe Biden laughing Paul Ryan off the stage,  will be the cause of the next shooting.  The right are doing the best they can to remain civil but it is so hard when the dems are so crazy.  

Other than that, Obama himself has done so much to poison the political discourse in this country, and his party has followed his lead.

Not so much! 


That’s not to say that Republicans are perfectly innocent in this melodrama (although I’m waiting for the first angry mob of taxpayers to climb through the Capitol windows). 

Yes republicans could do more to help restore civility, but for the life of me, I can not think of an instance where they could have improved their behavior!   The problem is here Wiggy is flat out lying again.   First of all, there was a court order to open the Capitol to the public which the walker administration blatantly ignored.    Secondly, I guess Wiggy thinks that the teachers, firefighters, police officers, county workers, state workers, stay at home parents, grandparents, clergy, union workers, professionals, etc.... who protested at the Capitol are not taxpayers?  

But at some point the anger really needs to stop. We should be able to disagree without angry threats and acts of vandalism being used to intimidate people. 

As with any problem, we can not end it unless we acknowledge it.   The people who have been paying attention understand where the problem is coming from.  Republican Thugs  are responsible for a vast majority of the violent incidences in scott walker's Wisconsin(from Jeffrey Radle, to Linda Lorino, to Phil Dziki, to Scott Fitzgerald the instances are too numerous to recount).   While our friends on the right refuse to ever acknowledge any of these incidents, they seem to even enjoy when an incident affects someone on the right!  

A perfect example happened recently where Wisconsin Democratic chairman Mike Tate called upon the Wisconsin RNC chair(whoever that is), to issue a joint press release condemning all attacks on anyone based on politics.   The unknown RNC chair originally agreed to it then flip flopped and declined.   Wonder why? 

From Mike Tate:

Earlier today I called my counter part at the RPW to ask if he would do a joint statement with me decrying the violence and other criminal acts that have occurred to people displaying Obama and Romney signs. Clearly we both deplore these terrible acts and everyone has the right to display support for their candidate of choice without fear. He initially agreed, then called back to say they didn't want to do a joint statement. I told him I felt it was a real missed opportunity for us to demonstrate some civility. Sadly they chose a different path and I find it symbolic of how the leaders in the Republican Party behave today.

Now that we have seen how there is violence on both sides, but heavily weighted towards the right,   and that when violence is perpetrated towards someone on the right, the right wing blargosphere just cant blame the left enough!   You can see the smile on their face when the story hits the wire! 

However, let us get to the heart of the matter.  While we have always been divided politically since the birth of the nation we have a split here in Wisconsin that goes beyond that.   The one thing about it, and how to fix it is to acknowledge it and find out where it started.   Here we acknowledge the problem, and now here is where it all started:

The Cure:

If you are thinking of stealing a sign and/or abusing someone of the opposite party, STOP!  Channel that anger/energy and write a LTE to your favorite candidate,    If you have stolen a sign put it back.  

However, most importantly, VOTE on NOVEMBER 6th!!!