Alberta Darling's Unrequited Love

At her own fund raiser, Alberta Darling gushed all over herself and everyone else in singing the praises for Paul Ryan's Medicare Coupon Discount Plan:



Alas, poor Alberta's love for Ryan and his malevolence is an unrequited one, since, as with Dan Kapanke, Ryan apparently doesn't want anything to do with a sure recall victim (emphasis mine):

Supporters of state Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) have scheduled a fund-raiser for her this evening in Milwaukee, and opponents are interested in knowing if U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan will be there.

They presumably want to link her to Ryan's federal budget proposal, which proposes changes to the way Medicare is administered. Democrats recently won a congressional seat in a historically conservative New York State district by linking the Republican candidate to Ryan's proposal.

But an aide to Ryan says the congressman won't be there.

Poor Darling. Unlucky in love, unlucky in recalls. Then again, it's her own damn fault on both counts.

Have A Good Weekend And Behave Yourselves

I will be AFK and offline at the castle for the rest of the weekend. Behave and be safe out there while I'm gone. Last time I was gone for this length of time, y'all allowed Walker and his masters to buy the election for governor.

I don't want to come back to another headache like that one.

In Solidarity.

Quotable

The quote of the day is from Sheila Cochran, secretary-treasurer of the Milwaukee Labor Council, on the problems Milwaukee County seems to have even sitting down to the negotiating table, much less reaching an agreement with the unions:

Calling Abele’s letter a “clarion call to act for the taxpayers,” Sheila Cochran, secretary-treasurer of the Milwaukee Area Labor Council, led other community leaders in asking a simple question. “If the county exec is in favor of negotiations, where is the County Board?”

Given that a clear majority on the board actually agrees with Abele, that question crystallizes a mystery to be answered at the next full board meeting – and the Milwaukee community intends to bring a throng of witnesses at 1 p.m. Friday, June 10, at the Courthouse.

“I’m truly disappointed in the board leadership,” said Cochran, pulling no punches in her conversations with constituents and public officials. “Now that Scott Walker is gone, and is demonstrating his lack of leadership on the entire state of Wisconsin and now that the eyes of the world are upon us, can’t we in Milwaukee County go forward?”

From Dominique Paul Noth's article on the Labor Council's webpage. The whole thing should be mandatory reading for everyone.

The Republican Front Starts To Crumble Faster

Now the Republicans in the legislature is backstepping from Scott Walker's wholesale privatization of everything that's not nailed down.

Still, it's too little too late, but it is fun to see the right starting to realize they've crossed the line.

The Greater Evil Is Outraged At The Lesser Evil

Yesterday, a group of a couple dozen students held a zombie-themed protest regarding the actions of Scott Walker and WISGOP, who have been working hard to take away the kids' rights and raise their tuition exponentially.  Unfortunately, these youngsters decided to cross the line (which has been happening way too much lately) and act like boors by disrupting a Special Olympics event.

Koch News, aka MacGuyver Institute (Motto: Reporting all the news worth a press release), captured it all on video on how the zombie student protesters placed themselves between Walker and the Olympians and turned their back on Walker in silent protest.

Yeah, they needn't have done that and shouldn't have done that .

But the craziness of the right wing came out in full force after this clip made the right wing email/press release circuit.  The selective outrage was all over the map on the right side of the Cheddarsphere.

It started out with the right wing not even clear on who they were complaining about.  Charlie Sykes thought they were unionistas.  Patrick Dorwin thought they were public sector union members.  Lance Burri thought they were selfish students (I'm not sure what's so selfish about wanting to keep one's rights, but I'm not a right winger either).  Cindy Kilkenny thinks I was somehow responsible for it all.

For the record, Burri came the closest to the truth, according to an article which, ironically, comes to us via Kilkenny.

But their outrage is laser thin in its selectivity and ocean wide in its hypocrisy.

While they are wailing about the two dozen rude college kids ruining the Olympians special day, they completely ignore the fact that it is Walker and WISGOP who have decreed that 10,000 disabled people do not deserve to get services by capping off Family Care.  (At least 2,000 of these people are in Milwaukee County alone.)  Nor do they mention that even those currently receiving services as that the Republican legislature has given Walker the sole power of playing God and deciding who will continue to get services and who are not worthy of their independence and a quality of life.

They also miss the fact that Family Care has been shown to save tax payers $90 million a year, not to mention all the jobs for caretakers, day program providers and special transportation drivers (like Dorwin) that Family Care creates and preserves.

In summary, according to the RWNJs, it's perfectly fine to ruin the lives of thousands of disabled people, take away their court won rights to independence and services, tax people $90 million more than needed and not create a single job, but don't you dare act the fool and disrupt the one day that Walker decides to use them for a photo op.

As for me, I don't want anything to do with either of those two groups and would rather stick with the people that are willing to do the right thing for our most vulnerable citizens, like the majority of the #wiunion protesters.

The Emerge(ing) Force - Taking Back Wisconsin

From my good friend, Wendy Strout, executive director of Emerge Wisconsin, with some exciting opportunities for our future women leaders:

There Is Change In The Air
Emerge is ready to take back Wisconsin! Are you?
In July, Emerge will both graduate our fifth class of future Democratic leaders while at the same time accepting applications for our 2012 class! These women are part of the change that is coming to bring our state back from the destruction that is the Walker administration.
To welcome in the change that is coming, Emerge invites you to join us in Madison or Milwaukee to help us to Take Back Wisconsin.

Please join us:

Madison Event:
Tuesday, June 21, 5:30 - 7 PM
Argus Bar and Grill, 123 East Main Street
To Sponsor or RSVP, Click Here

Milwaukee Event
Thursday, June 23, 5:30 - 7 PM
BYO Studio, 2246 S. Kinnickinnic Ave
To Sponsor or RSVP, Click Here


Please join us and fight back against Walker by joining us as we work to Take Back Wisconsin!

Sincerely,

Wendy Strout
Executive Director

Walker's Anti-Union Stance Keeps Racking Up The Bills

Scott Walker's campaign stunt of refusing to negotiate with the unions while he was county executive is starting to pile up into some big numbers.

Walker, along with his pals on the county board, like Joe Sanfelippo and Joe Rice, have now cost Milwaukee County tax payers more than $20 million.

If they're supposed to be looking out for the tax payers, I wish they'd go look out for them somewhere else, far, far away.

But The State Is Broke!

The state is supposed to be broke, but Scott Walker is managing to find $140 million to widen a 16 mile stretch of freeway that almost no one drives on and no one wants.

Well, no one but his road builder campaign donors, that is.

#walkerville Schedule

For those of you who are at #walkerville or plan on going there some time this week, here is the schedule that of planned events:

Walkerville - a 'city' of tents around the Capitol square calling attention to the devastating state budget cuts to education, health care and other programs benefiting Wisconsin's working families.
Saturday June 4 – Tent city opens
· 7:00 p.m. tent city opens
· 7:30 p.m. Briefing on Tent city
· 7:30-9:00 open mike event (why I am here)
Sunday June 5 - K12 Education
· 3-5 Press Kick off of Tent City with communal meal
· 9:00 p.m. movie Freedom Riders
Monday June 6- Public Services
· 12:00 pm march to the Capitol
· 12:00 pm and 7pm, Program
Tuesday June 7 – Healthcare
· 12:00pm and 7pm, Program
1:00 pm Press conference at the Capitol on immigration
Wednesday June 8- Higher Ed
· 12:00pm and 7pm, Program
Thursday June 9- Democracy/Corporate Power
· 12:00pm and 7pm, Program
· 9:00 pm Screening of Too big to Fail with speaker
Friday June 10 – Anything Goes Friday
· 12:00pm and 7pm, Program
Saturday June 11 – Social & Economic Justice
· 12:00pm and 7pm, Program

For those of you out there tonight or those coming out, I salute you and thank you.

Voters Flunk Olson

Funny how the right wing keeps trying to tell us that #wiunion is dead, or at least fading out.

Tonight we've seen the rebirth of #walkerville.

Courtesy of We Are Wisconsin PAC

We also saw a very respectable number of people show up in the tiny town of Ripon to give soon to be former State Senator Luther Olson his grades on respecting the voters and listen to them. From a press release from We Are Wisconsin PAC:

Wisconsin Residents Take a Stand Against Sen. Olsen’s
Radical Education Budget Cuts

Constituents gather on Saturday in Olsen’s hometown to demands answers over his support for a budget that cuts $61 million from District 14 schools

RIPON – Just before noon today nearly 100 citizens gathered in Ripon, Sen. Olsen’s hometown, to express their disgust in his lockstep support of Governor Walker’s extreme cuts to education. Statewide education supporters fear cuts could result in a $1.7 billion loss of revenue for public schools and nearly $61 million in funding cuts for Senate District 14.

“Senator Olsen just doesn’t get it. In these tough times the last thing we need to do is shortchange our children so Walker and Olsen can give millions in tax breaks to their corporate donors,” said Mark Resch a local high school teacher. Ann Schmidt, a speaker at the rally called on Olsen to stand up to Walker, “Olsen claims to care about education but follows Governor Walker in lockstep while he cuts school programs our children need most. If he’s really an advocate for education, he’ll stand up to Walker’s shameful cuts.”

Senator Olsen chairs the Senate Education Committee and is also member of the Joint Finance Committee, the principal body deliberating Governor Walker’s budget. The Committee has proposed over $1 billion in education cuts while Olsen has personally sponsored $250 million in corporate tax breaks for out-of-state corporations.

Any rumor of the movements demise is rather premature and extremely exaggerated.

The above picture is also from their site and you can find more here.

A Tale Of A Rat, A Snake And A Mole(man)

Sen. Kapanke describing
the money he is getting
from the Koch Bros.

Soon to be former State Senator Dan Kapanke just can't handle following ethical behavior.  Despite his already lengthy history of having ethics problems, he has gone and gotten himself entangled into another mess.

Dan Bice, one of the few people at Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that I still respect, reported on the latest apparent shenanigan from Kapanke:

In a newly obtained secret recording of the La Crosse County Republican Party meeting on May 25, party officials claim they talked with a staffer for Sen. Dan Kapanke and a top GOP official about taking steps to extend the campaign and delay the recall vote.

This conversation took place in the same meeting in which La Crosse County Republicans discussed running a spoiler candidate against Democrat Jennifer Shilling in an effort to delay the Kapanke's recall election. The move, they said, would give Kapanke more time to campaign and force Dems to spend more cash.

Of course, Kapanke backpedaled from this as fast as his little rat legs could carry him.

But Bice doesn't stop there. He also reports that the rat had talks with a snake as well:

But in the new recording, Chris Rochester, who oversees public relations for the La Crosse Republican Party, said, "I would just advise, I guess, having talked to Dan’s campaign manager, to make sure that as the process goes along, we know that it would be better for them to have an extended period of time."

La Crosse County Republican Party Vice Chairman Julian Bradley responds, "Yes, but this is a wish that comes from the RPW's political director, Mark Jefferson."

Jefferson is the former executive director of the state Republican Party who recently left to take a post with the national GOP. He could not be reached for comment.

So this is some part of the new WISGOP policy and procedures? It does bring one's mind back to Scott Walker's infamous phone call with the fake David Koch, where he admitted that they were considering using plants and where he asked Koch for help with trying to defend his corrupt and amoral allies in the state senate.

There has been some speculation on why WISGOP would want to delay the recall election and run a spoiler candidate. Some have hypothesized that it is to cause Jennifer Shilling, Kapanke's Democratic opponent, to spend money and get smeared before the election by someone else.  David Dayen of Firedoglake feels it more likely that they just want to hold onto their death grip of the government and the state longer to implement more of their profit and power grabbing laws.

This story takes an interesting twist as well.

The La Crosse Republican Party is planning on suing the person who videotaped* this particularly damning speech.  That's very much like a gang of thieves saying their going to sue the person who snitched on them and prevented a big heist they were planning.

Interesting, the people involved fall all over themselves in trying to deny that there was ever any sort of plot only to admit that they still might be planning on it (emphasis mine):

She again said the campaign is not seeking a candidate to challenge Shilling in a primary.
"It is not something the campaign is discussing with anybody," she said.

Harrington also said she had no knowledge of the county GOP's plan to sue the person who made the tape.

Wisconsin law says it is legal for a person to record a conversation if one party gives consent. It also says consent is not required if the person being recorded does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in that communication.

Feehan, the party chairman, said that since Bradley made comments early in the meeting that it should not be recorded, the person who made the tape had broken the law.

"We're not going to take this laying down," Feehan said.

He also said there are some in the party still considering a spoiler candidate but declined to say if it was an official party strategy.

Now, I've dealt with these things long enough to see that they are saying that they're not talking now, but not they are not denying having talked about it at all, which could very well mean that they already have things in place.

Also, given their past behaviors with myself and Professor Cronon and others, their threat to sue seems more likely an attempt to distract from their own misdoings and push people's attention elsewhere.

This is really only throwing gas on the fire, but it also only emphasizes that the fact that La Crosse could run a discarded tennis shoe and receive better representation than they are from Kapanke.  He's as dirty as they come and really needs to go.

*Odd thing is I thought WISGOP loved themselves some molemen.

My Guys Never Win

WisPolitics.com is reporting that in a straw poll at the Democratic Convention, Russ Feingold easily won top spot to both replace retiring Senator Herb Kohl and the soon to be recalled would be emperor Scott Walker.

And I had voted for Tom Foley and Jay Bullock, respectively.

Dang it! My guys never win.

The Not So Great Race: Getting Thrown Under The Ugly Bus Edition

It's difficult to tell which one is just the most ridiculous in the right wing nut jobs' race to the bottom.

Sarah Palin's entry:

Or Scott Walker's entry:

Putting Protests Into Perspective

On Wednesday, I heard Jeff Wagner, afternoon squawker on WTMJ 620, having a hissy fit about a group of people that gather inside the Capitol every weekday at noon for an hour of singing songs about solidarity, unions and general support for the working men and women of the state. ( @SolidaritySings for the Twitterati.) This was dutifully parroted by the right wing echo chamber.

They were just so upset because people dare to exercise their first amendment rights and show solidarity! If they are intimidated by such a small thing as this, they must truly be in a panic and know they are quite in the wrong in their ceaseless assault on Wisconsin and the good men, women and children who are its citizens.

But the right's selective and hyperbolic outrage doesn't end there.

On Thursday, both Charlie Sykes and Wagner were mewling about the return of #walkerville.  The common mewl was do demonize and de-humanize the protesters who will be coming out for the return of the sleep ins, or in this case, the sleep outs.

What these faux complaints really are is just an effort to minimize the damage that will be done to their side when the people continuously see tens of thousands of people standing together in solidarity against the forces that are trying to remove their freedoms and everything that true Wisconsinites hold dear.

Unfortunately, Tuesday evening, a handful of young hot heads gave the right wing squawkers and their unquestioning followers something they can use to beat the rest of the protesters with.  The behavior of these is most unfortunate and not acceptable by any stretch of the imagination.  They have not accomplished anything but to give themselves and the other pro-democracy people a big black eye.

But in the grand scheme of things, really how bad were their behaviors? They were yelling and causing a disruption during a late night hearing of the Joint Finance Committee.  Yes, it was uncalled for. Yes, it was in poor taste and not holding with the decorum of a governmental body in action.  Yes, it went against everything that the other protesters rightfully pride themselves on, which was having peaceful protests and events.

The supposed horror of people doing a sing-a-long or having a jamboree or even yelling "Shame!" in a crowded committee room pales even further when one considers the way the right wing nut jobs express their displeasure.  There is really no way that anyone of either side can condone in way, shape or form the act of throwing a Molotov cocktail at a private citizen's home, just because she protested a local store that advocated (with tongue firmly in cheek, one would hope) shooting people because of their nationality.

I can personally say that if given a choice, I'd rather have some young person yelling at me than to have someone jeopardize my home and my very life.

And if you look at what made these young goofs so upset that they were willing to throw away common courtesy and decorum, their "outrageous" behavior seems rather constrained.

The last time someone tried to take away our rights, make us pay higher and higher taxes to benefit a handful of already obscenely rich people and treat us like serfs, we had a little thing called the American Revolution.

All in all, I would daresay that a sing-a-long, even if it was off key, is a mild event compared to what our founding forefathers would have done. Instead of complaining, the Republicans should be grateful that they aren't getting what they deserve.

Cross Posted at Whallah!

Quote/Questions of the Day

From Bruce Murphy of Milwaukee Magazine:

Back on May 10 my column noted that former Republican state senator Ted Kanavas was the one pushing this idea with Gov. Scott Walker. The Sunday JS story finally noted his involvement, telling us that Walker asked Kanavas to hold meetings with business people and legislators to determine the structure for a bill to invest in venture capital.

I see. And so these Wisconsin business people and legislators suggested a program where all the money would go to CAPCO companies from out of state? I find that a little hard to believe. Perhaps Kanavas could provide the names of these business people and legislators who suggested a CAPCO plan was the way to go.

[...]

Meanwhile, it's worth asking, what exactly is Kanavas getting out of promoting this sweetheart deal for CAPCOs? There's been talk of Kanavas running for U.S. Senator, but I can't imagine a bill like this will win him many votes. Just how close is he to these CAPCO companies?

Well, at least we can't say Kanavas is the do nothing senator anymore. That would be an improvement for him now.