Tommy's Entitlements!

"Then he(Scott walker) says to the Unions, we are going to ask for help.  Isn't that tough.  AWWWWWWWWW.  We're gonna say we would like you to pay 5% of your retirement.  Are you kidding me? What's wrong with that?  Can you tell me, is that a crime? And then he had the audacity to say,  we are going to ask you to pay 5% for your healthcare.  Isn't that sad?   Can you tell me, is that a crime? Can you tell me why are we having a recall"  Tommy Thompson - 1/21/12

"A measely 5 % of retirement....and 5% of healthcare" Tommy Thompson regarding State Employees (of which he used to be one). Since Tommy will not release his tax returns,   Let's take a little deeper look!

 The average base pay salary for a Milwaukee police department employee was $48,177


The Milwaukee Fire Department's net salary and wage total for FY 2011, according to the city budget, was $69,465,872.

The avergae wage of a Madison Metropolitan High School teacher is $50,193. 

The salary of Wisconsin's  Governor is $137,092/year.(X14 = $1,919,288).  

While Tommy Thompson is throwing red meat to a crowd of crazies, criticizing public workers, who make $50,000/yr, let's see what money means to Tomney. 

The 14 year Governor of WI, Tommy Thompson made in his public employee gubernatorial career alone (give or take a few dollars) $1,919,288.  

For those scoring at home,  Tommy made as Governor of WI.  OVER One Million nine hundred thousand taxpayer dollars. 

What did Tomny say when he left office?  Thank you?

Nope he said this :









"Everybody knows I was broke when I left Government 5 years ago and I went and made some sheckels,  Not as many as you guys think I have made. but i ahh uuuh aaahhh uhhhhh......." Tommy G Thompson.  

SO asking most state employees to pay an extra 10% towards your their pension and healthcare and they get an "aww isnt that sad" from the person who wants to be US Senator, yet has made over $2,000,000 was "broke"?   And we want him having control over our budget??

Extra credit.  

"It's tough to go back, there is no question about that."  Tommy Thompson referring to joining the US Senate after being a lobbyist.   

FYI: salary for a US Senator -  $174.000.00 per year!    Its hard for Tommy to end his lobbyists days where he makes millions, and go back to working for a measly $174,000/yr.  


Extra Extra Credit:
The one thing we know for sure about Tommy?  He did not make his millions based on merit pay! 

Words Fail Me

For the anger I feel at a story like this:

A police officer in Houston shot and killed a man on Saturday, claiming that the man was threatening them and that he “[f]ear[ed] for his partner’s safety and his own safety” at the time of the shooting. The circumstances of the shooting, however, raise serious questions about just how threatening the shooting victim could have been:

A Houston police officer shot and killed a one-armed, one-legged man in a wheelchair Saturday inside a group home after police say the double amputee threatened the officer and aggressively waved a metal object that turned out to be a pen. . . . [Police spokeswoman Jodi Silva] said the man came “within inches to a foot” of the officer and did not follow instructions to calm down and remain still.

“Fearing for his partner’s safety and his own safety, he discharged his weapon,” Silva told The Associated Press.

Police did not immediately release the name of the man who was killed. They had been called to the home after a caretaker there called and reported that the man in wheelchair was causing a disturbance.

The owner of the group home, John Garcia, told the Houston Chronicle that the man had a history of mental illness and had been living at the house about 18 months. Garcia said the man had told him that he lost a leg above the knee and all of one arm when he was hit by a train.

These cops should be fully investigated and prosecuted. At least here in Milwaukee, there is some call for accountability from our law enforcement officers.

The Walker Budget Keeps On Working! Part CXLVII

If you want to know what a Romnney/Ryan led country, just look at Fitzwalkerstan, where the rich are already getting huge tax breaks and the costs are borne by the working families:

Seven months after Tom and Betty Schoenberger bought Boese’s Home Bakery from Dick Boese, a gas oven malfunctioned and exploded on April 4, 1968. Tom Schoenberger suffered first and second degree burns and the family’s Oregon Street bakery was closed for a month.

Once it re-opened, though, Schoenberger’s Pastry Shops would grow to need locations on both the south and north sides, to deliver fresh baked breads and buns to restaurants from Milwaukee to Borth and to survive long enough to become the last stand-alone bakery in Oshkosh.

But after 45 years, Betty Schoenberger and her daughter, Karen Schulz, have decided there’s not enough dough in dough. The family-run business will close its doors for good Sept. 30.

[...]

But times have changed and now, Schoenberger and Schulz said, the rise of grocery and convenince store baked goods and the general economy have forced them to end their run. An auction in early October will sell off much of their equipment.

“It’s just not a viable business anymore,” Schoenberger said. “We are grateful to the customers and restaurants who use us, but it’s just not enough. We can’t keep putting money into the business and not getting it back.”

This is not the way to run a state or a country. They must not be allowed to keep hurting the good people.

Quote of the Day

Comes from the republican party leader and presidential nominee:

“I appreciate the fact that she is on the ground, safe and sound. And I don’t think she knows just how worried some of us were,” Romney said. “When you have a fire in an aircraft, there’s no place to go, exactly, there’s no — and you can’t find any oxygen from outside the aircraft to get in the aircraft, because the windows don’t open. I don’t know why they don’t do that. It’s a real problem." Mitt Romney.

The Undecided Voter

While the professionals can be very funny:  









Sometimes reality is much more funny than anything they can possibly emulate!





'nuff said!

The Cayman Debate

There are two sides to the whole Cayman Islands money laundering debate.

The first side if the Mitt Romney side where it is perfectly acceptable to hide your millions there so you can avoid paying taxes and contributing your fair share to society.   As Paul Abrams points out, while Mitt is not really welcome anywhere overseas, his money sure is:

Mitt Romney (R-MA) seems to have succeeded in becoming persona non grata overseas, but his money is welcome everywhere.

That Romney has docked hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars in foreign tax accounts whose only purpose is to hide it from paying taxes and yet has the chutzpah to run for President of the United States while trashing those who pay no income taxes is shocking enough. But, Lindsey Graham (R-SC) thinks this is just peachy dandy. And, Chris Christie (R-NJ) aspires to have his money hiding in the Cayman Islands' someday.

While Mitt desperately aspires to be President of this great country, this country is not great enough for Mr. Rmoney to have all of his money accounted for here.  Mitt has so much love for the Cayman's, he even likes to party on yachts that fly the Cayman's flag!

Then there is the other side of the debate, the one Paul Ryan (R- Wall St.) espouses.   The one that says "the Cayman's is just a place to hide your money"!

 Here are the two sides who disagree on tax shelters duking it out in CBS:

Or not!

Keep in mind that Mitt Romney has not held a job since 1999 and still made $20 million + last year and paid a meager less than 14% in taxes.  How much did you pay?

WISGOP Is Winning Their War Against Women

Depressing news came out last week showing the gender gap in Wisconsin, as well as the nation, is still at abhorrent and untenable levels:

An unprecedented analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data released this week confirms that Wisconsin has a significant gender-based wage gap in all of its Congressional districts.

According to the analysis, the median yearly pay for women in Wisconsin is $10,324 less than the median yearly pay for Wisconsin men, or 78 cents for every dollar.

Nationally, full-time working women are paid 77 cents for every dollar paid to full-time working men, according to Census data. The analysis was conducted by the National Partnership for Women & Families.

“It is stunning and deeply troubling to learn that the wage gap affects women in nearly every congressional district in the country. Women and their families are losing critical income for food, gas, rent, health insurance and more due to a punishing gender-based wage gap that has plagued this country for decades,” said Debra Ness, president of the National Partnership.

“This new data should be a clear and resounding wake-up call for all lawmakers who have the power to pass legislation that would help close the gap and promote economic security for the women and families in their districts.”

Sad to say, but the current batch of politicians have shown that they are more inclined to make the problem worse rather than fix it.

This goes to show that the upcoming elections are just as important as ever. Make sure that the people you vote for are against the war on women and not simply against women.

How Dare They Enforce The Constitution!

I've already written about President Obama's rally in Milwaukee this weekend, as well as some unknown Romney event and the CRG/AFP snake oil sellathon in Walkersha County.

So it turns out that there was a fourth event over the weekend.

A small group of Walkerites went to Madison to have a protest of Dane County judges upholding both the state and federal Constitutions:

The organizing group consists of Caledonia resident Eddie Willing, a member of Founders Intent; Paris Procopis, an activist affiliated with Founders Intent; Wisconsin state treasurer Kurt Schuller; the Tea Party Patriots; an unnamed former judge; and an unnamed state legislator.

“We demand they respect the other two branches of government and allow our state to run by the consent of the people,” according to a statement released by the group. “Our state Constitution needs judges that apply the law the people write, not reinterpret it.”

The purpose of the rally is to remind “judges they are consistently ruling against the democratic majority in this great state,” according to the statement.

The group cited several examples of decisions, including DNR regulations, voter ID laws and the collective bargaining law — and call the judges' actions an abuse of power.

I bet these fools had signs saying things like "Corporations are people too!" and "Corporation rules over constitutional obstruction!"

The real irony comes in when one considers who these people are.

The gentle reader will recognize the name Paris Procopis from a overhyped rally in Wauwatosa to celebrate Weasel Appreciation Day during the height of the recall.

Also worth noting, when I did a follow up on the story, the happy little group of trolls commonly referred to as the Knotheads.

The Knotheads are also known as "Knot my Wisconsin" and "Operation Burn Notice" who get their jollies of stalking women on Facebook and in real life and harassing them because the women dared to exercise their right to Free Speech and did not agree with their fascist teachings of the Knotheads.

They are also the ones that thought it would be cute to go out and pose as signature collectors during the recall and then burn them.

So this group who tries to intimidate people who express themselves and who openly supports tyrants who take away civil rights from almost every group of people in the state, are now holding a protest, carping that their rights are being violated because a judge upheld the Constitution.

Now, I don't claim to be a constitutional expert, but I don't believe that there is a constitutional right to deny other people their rights. But I'm sure they'll be petitioning for that soon.

Walker/Doe 2016

Image courtesy of
Rock Netroots

In case you haven't been aware of it, the Republicans have been turning on Mitt Romney, savaging him almost as well as a liberal blogger could.

After the numerous blunders coming from Team Romney, most notably the infamous 47% video, Romney's been losing ground all around the country. To distance themselves from the sinking Romney election yacht but to maintain the message of hate, bigotry and fiscal oppression fiscal responsibility, they have been taking the particular and odd tactic of calling for more of Lyin' Ryan in the campaign.

Calling for more Ryan is odd because Ryan has no experience running a state wide campaign, much less a national one. Heck, one might even argue that Ryan hasn't even ran a real campaign in his own district for years. It is also odd that they are calling for this despite Ryan's difficulty with telling the truth, or at least lying effectively. It's also rather odd that they would start this push on the day that Lyin' Ryan got booed off the stage by a bunch of senior citizens.

Leading this charge for a more prominent role for Lyin' Ryan is the man who knows how to lie better than anyone - Scott Walker.

On Friday, Walker ran to his favorite refuge against the real world, Charlie Sykes, to push for more of Ryan's lyin'. Politico, probably fed the story by Walker, Sykes and/or other members of WISGOP, ran with the story:

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker told radio host Charlie Sykes on Friday that he is bewildered by the way things have gone since Ryan was picked.

“I thought [picking Ryan] was a signal that this guy [Romney] was getting serious, he’s getting bold; it’s not necessarily even a frustration over the way Paul Ryan’s been used but rather in the larger context. I just haven’t seen that kind of passion I know Paul has transferred over to our nominee, and I think it’s a little bit of pushback from the folks in the national campaign. But I think for him to win, he’s gotta [do] that.”

Walker added, “They not only need to use [Ryan] out on the trail more effectively, they need to have more of him rub off on Mitt because I think Mitt thinks that way but he’s gotta be able to articulate that. … I think too many people are restraining him from telling [his vision].”

Walker kept at it on Sunday, per the Washington Post:

Echoing his sentiment from a Friday interview, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) said Sunday he wants to see “more passion” from Mitt Romney and more of the enthusiasm he witnessed when Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) was first tapped by the former governor to be his running mate.

“I want to see fire in the belly,” Walker said of Romney on “Fox News Sunday,” adding that he wants to see the Republican nominee “lit up and ready to go.”

“I think you’ve got to get off the heels and get out and charge forward,” the Wisconsin governor also said.

On the surface, it seems that Walker is merely trying to light a fire under Romney's ass to get him moving. After all, the Koch brothers, Sheldon Adelson and the other billionaires have invested big money to see their agenda carried through. It just wouldn't do to have Romney blow it now after all their hard work. Romney's not as an effective tool as Ryan is, apparently.

But one has to stop and wonder exactly what Walker's motivation is behind this. Is it simply trying to spur the team on to victory or is there something else that Walker is thinking about, like maybe a run for the presidency himself in 2016?

Don't think for a second that Walker hasn't considered this himself. Hell, he's probably been planning out his campaign since November 4, 2011.

After all, he did the same thing as Milwaukee County Executive. From the day he won the election for that office, Walker's every move wasn't calculated in what was the best for the county, but what was best for his eventual gubernatorial campaign.

There are a few examples to support what I am saying.

Leading up to his first gubernatorial run in 2005, Walker refused to negotiate a new contract with the unions. But he sure did squawk about those evil, greedy, no good union workers on the campaign trail and to whomever would listen. But once Walker got bumped out of the race by the party bosses in favor of Mark Green, Walker came scurrying back to Milwaukee to sign a contract with the unions. In fact, he felt such urgency to get it done that he gave the workers a $250 signing bonus to get it done.

Likewise, in his second run for governor, Walker again attacked the unions. This time, he forced them to take up to 26 days of furlough, claiming that it was the only way to balance the budget since the unions would not give him the concessions he wanted. The only thing is, he never, ever, sat down at the negotiating table to ask for those concessions. This way he got to present the image that he was tough on those mean old union workers and fiscally responsible. Turns out that he was doing things illegally and has set up Milwaukee County taxpayers up for a multimillion dollar bill as they have to pay back the workers the money that Walker took from them for no purpose than to use it as campaign fodder.

And who could forget his infamous Harley Davidson rides, which he took each year, in order to promote "tourism" for Milwaukee County, but was shown to be nothing more than a way to promote himself and his campaign.

Now compare those behaviors to the ones we have seen from Walker during the past 20 months.

He's been waging the ultimate war against the unions with his first strike - dropping the Act 10 bomb. That gained him a certain following of faithful Kool Aid drinkers from around the country. That with the recall and he had the opportunity to fly around the country and make various appearances, sometimes under the guise of fundraising for the recall and sometimes just to do the teahadist hero routine.

Of course, being the Kochs' puppet made it so much easier for all this to happen. As did the fact that most of the mainstream media hasn't been paying attention, much less reporting, about Walkergate. From the reports I heard from the Democratic National Convention, not even most Dems from around the country are aware of the investigation.

So now he has the name recognition and quite the list of big time, and I do mean big time, donors. He's also got a plan for the next few years to keep his name in the news and win the heart of more of the big donors with things like right-to-work-but-not-get-paid-for-it legislation, a new attempt to sell out the Northwoods to the mining companies and more tax breaks for the rich which will be paid for by the poor and the working class.

So, when Walker is "cheering on" the home team, one must wonder if he is really meaning it. It looks a lot like he is hoping that Romney/Ryan crash and burn so he can run for POTUS in 2016. Remember, he's only been hitting Romney, not Ryan nor the message. And the way in which Walker has been slamming Romney, both in intensity on on specific topics, it's more than a wee bit reminiscent of two contenders in the same race than two party members pulling together.

Oh, I know, you're thinking that there is no way that Walker would even consider running for national office with the John Doe hanging over his head. Well, as I mentioned earlier, the national media, or even the local media for that matter, hasn't exactly been following the story as closely as we have. On top of that, Walker is such a megalomaniac that he probably truly cannot conceive that he did anything wrong.

I didn't think Walker could possibly win in 2010, given the way he drove the county into the ground and the illegal activities he and his staff were participating in. But he was able to put enough lipstick on that pig and was able to keep enough people to taking a close look at it to pull off his charade. And win it he did.

Then I thought surely the state learned his lesson by the recall. But not enough people were actually paying attention to what was going on and weren't outraged enough for their self-preservation instincts to kick in.

In sum, I really do think that Walker is angling up for a 2016 campaign for the presidency. And given that he has already won two races he shouldn't have, I'm not willing to rely solely on the better judgement of people. Remember, they are the same ones that elected George W. Bush twice too!

I know. The entire concept of President Scott K. Walker is enough to keep one up nights, and it's not even Halloween yet.

But there is still hope. There are still two ways to save the country from the pain we suffer through now. One we can control, one we can't.

The one we can't control is the Walkergate investigation. Unlike Walker minions, we realize that we cannot petition justice. It will happen when it happens. And you know where to go to get the story.

The other hope we have is if we can knock Walker out of office in 2014 and send him scrounging around with Sarah Palin. We might want to start thinking about a strong, progressive candidate soon though. There will be a lot of groundwork to do to try to make up for the megabucks and utter corrupted control Walker will have.

But first, let's make sure that Barack Obama stays in the White House and Tammy Baldwin goes to the Senate.

Wisconsin is going FORWARD With President Obama

I had the ultimate honor in being able to join with thousands of others in welcoming President Obama to Milwaukee on Saturday afternoon. I went with my mom, my dad and my younger brother. We heard from Senator Herb Kohl, Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin and Mayor Tom Barrett, and we were even graced by the attendance of some Packers - Jermichael Finley and Desmond Bishop (I knew it was smart to wear my Packer hoodie!) as well. The weather was great and the rain held out almost until President Obama was done speaking. In fact, this rainbow appeared a few minutes before he took the stage:

I know some media outlets (looking at you TMJ4) want to downplay the numbers in attendance, but I can tell you that when we arrived only a half hour after the doors opened, the line went from the end of the Summerfest grounds, all the way past the art museum. The line grew larger by the minute. People arrived in droves. And they were still arriving hours after we had gotten there. The energy of the crowd was contagious. People came out from all walks of life. All of America was represented. It was amazing.

The President's speech was brilliant. He spoke with us about the necessity of a strong, thriving middle class. He compared his plans to the plans of Mitt Romney, and the differences are incredibly vast. President Obama has been fighting non-stop for the past 4 years, through Republican obstructionism and corporate cash, to set our nation on the right track. He supports the middle class, students, women, small business owners, veterans, the LGBT community, immigrants and DREAMer's, and social security and medicare. A Romney future would be bleak, scary and financially devastating. It would be an all-out oligarchy. Corporations would be writing policy. The middle class would vanish. Schools would crumble. Rights would no longer exist for those who aren't rich. It's very scary.

On our economy, President Obama reminded us that our it grows from the bottom up, not from the top down. Trickle down economics does not work and it's what caused our economy to tank in the first place. He spoke on how cutting taxes for the middle class and small businesses is a MUST and that he would not allow the wealthy and corporations to continue to escape paying their fair share. We are Americans. We all do out part to build our nation stronger. Mitt Romney will bloat a trickle down idea that will cause another financial crash like we saw in 2008.

President Obama reaffirmed his support for women's rights and equality. He supports a women's choice rights, and our rights to fight back against discrimination in the work place. He will continue to support funding for Planned Parenthood, free screenings for breast cancer and the RIGHT of women to obtain birth control. He also discussed his support of the LGBT community in their fight for marriage equality and their rights to fight back against the discrimination they face in school and the workplace. He took Don't Ask, Don't Tell off the books. Mitt Romney would reinstate this discriminatory policy that is destructive to our soldier's livelihood.

Veterans are one of President Obama's most important focuses. He genuinely cares for them. He cares about their futures and their recovery. He talked about how important it is that we rally for veterans and their cause. We can not, and will not leave them behind. He knows that supporting our troops is more than slapping a bumper sticker on your car, and doesn't end when they come home. He's implemented programs that helps them get the physical and mental help they need, as well as finding jobs, education and homes when they return. Remember, Mitt Romney said that he didn't include our military in his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention because he didn't believe it was an issue that was important enough for him to mention. Do we really want someone like that in charge of our national security?

Education and students were also a hot topic for the President. He discussed with us about the need to continue fight for quality and AFFORDABLE education in our country. He stressed the necessity for students to graduate in the fields of math and science so we can compete in a global economy. He wants to ensure that communities have schools that are teaching at a full capacity. He wants to make sure that our tech schools are strong so that Americans looking for work can obtain the skills they need to find good paying jobs. On our environment and energy, President Obama talked about his support for green jobs and clean sources of energy. Wind and solar are necessary to our nation to keep it clean and going for future generations. He stressed the need to end subsidies for oil companies. I couldn't agree on that one more.

I knew I was voting for President Obama again a long time ago, but I know now more than ever that he is the right person for the task. His is proven his leadership. He has our back, and we have his. He will fight endlessly for us to obtain everything that is needed to fulfill the American dream. Education, a clean environment, our economy, our housing, our country, our world, they are safe with President Obama. I know that the Republicans are getting scared about Wisconsin. President Obama is leading Mitt Romney and they are getting worried. I've seen a ramp up of negative ads from Romney, the GOP and his superPACs. They range from Obama being weak on China to lies about the Affordable Care Act. But from what I saw yesterday, Wisconsinites aren't letting themselves be fooled by corporate money. We are standing firm for our President and he has our support. We're fired up and ready to go. We are moving forward with President Obama and Vice President Biden!

Oh, and there were Romney supporters there protesting...all 5 of them.

He's No Sean Duffy

Pat Kreitlow, the Democratic candidate taking on Sean "Tiny Dancer" Duffy has come out with his first ad, and it is simply brilliant:



Solid points couched in some good humor is always a winner. It reminds me of Russ Feingold's ads when he first ran for the Senate.

I think we now know why Duffy is so nervous.

The Dirty Little Secret About Election Fraud

Over the summer, I wrote about Thaddeus McCotter, the rather bizarre congressmen from Michigan, who wanted to be president but couldn't even get enough legitimate signatures on his nomination papers to stay on the ballot for his current seat. Because of allegations of improprieties with his nomination signatures, McCotter not only withdrew from all of his races but immediately resigned from his seat.

Now we know why.

Four of McCotter's staffers were charged with a total of 36 counts of falsifying the nomination papers:

Four staffers of former U.S. Rep. Thad McCotter, R-Livonia were charged today in connection with the false nominating petitions that led to McCotter's departure from Congress.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette described the four as "not simply Keystone Kops running amok ... criminal acts were committed."

He said the petition forgeries and cut-and-paste jobs on the petitions "would make an elementary art teacher cringe."

Schuette said the McCotter staffers also likely did the same thing in the 2008 elections, using 2006 petition signatures.

In a eerily similar path as we're seeing here in Fitzwalkerstan, one of the staffers already entered a plea of no contest.

Can you imagine that? The party so worried about election fraud is again the party that commits it.

I would point the gentle reader to this article which my friend pointed out to me, which points out what the Republicans don't want you to know:

This incident perfectly highlights the dirty little secret about election fraud. Election fraud overwhelmingly happens on the campaign side, not the voter side. It’s far easier – and more rewarding – to cheat while working from within the system than it is to commit in-person voter fraud. The GOP is legislating against cases of voter fraud in which a person would have to give someone else’s name at the correct polling place in order to falsely vote once; meanwhile a Republican Congressman and his staff fabricated 1,756 signatures so that he could run illegally.

And this is the truth about so many Republican policies: rules and regulations are put in place to scapegoat people who aren’t causing problems. In Florida, drug testing welfare recipients showed that less than 3% of those receiving welfare were using drugs illegally, while that discriminatory testing cost the state nearly $120,000. Mitt Romney has evoked the “47% of people [who] pay no income tax,” conveniently ignoring that collecting income tax from all of those households would bring in less than than the president’s Buffett Rule which would slightly raise taxes for the country’s wealthiest. Reagan’s racist welfare queen myth still looms large in the conservative narrative, despite the fact that the Bush-era bailout for corrupt and irresponsible banks cost far more than years of welfare programs.

The cognitive dissonance bordering on willful delusion has become the hallmark of Republican policies and rhetoric. Expecting this heinous fraud to bring the GOP back to reality would be wishful thinking at this point, but at least one corrupt Congressman is now out of a job.

I do believe I've mentioned before that when the Republicans start squawking like wet hens about something, like election fraud, it's best to start looking at where they're not pointing.

Lyin' Ryan Loses The Senior Citizens' Vote

On Friday afternoon, Lyin' Ryan was out a-lying to some members of the AARP in New Orleans, trying to sell them the usual crap about how Romneycare wouldn't hurt them, which is, of course, utter nonsense. Romneycare would nail senior citizens for thousands of dollars each year, forcing many to chose between medicine or having a home.

The seniors weren't buying any of it, and per Think Progress, were openly calling Ryan a "liar" and told him to "go home."

Think Progress also provided us with this video showing exactly the way Lyin' Ryan's lies went over:



And that was before Ryan could even tell them how he swam out to the Bahamas just before the speech.

Perhaps the best commentary on Lyin' Ryan's flop is the person who will be taking his congressional seat after the election, Rob Zerban, who issued this release after the news came out:

“Paul Ryan’s speech to the AARP yesterday shows seniors aren't buying into Ryan's snake oil salesman routine. Even after countless independent news organizations debunked Ryan’s lie about President Obama’s Medicare record, Ryan repeated the same outrageous claims simply to scare voters and cover up his indefensible budget plan. But the facts are simple: Paul Ryan would end Medicare as we know it and force seniors to pay an extra $6,500 per year out of their own pockets—while President Obama has consistently protected it. Voters know Ryan is trying to balance the budget on the backs of our seniors, and that’s why he was repeatedly booed yesterday.”

Is it any wonder why Ryan is afraid to show his face back in his district and try to debate Zerban. The way Zerban would take Ryan to task would make Ryan think the senior citizens were warm and weldoming.

That is why Ryan is using the lucre he has gotten from his multimillionaire buddies to try to buy the election. Which is why we need to help Zerban out. Learn how at his website.

Sean Duffy: He's No Reality TV Punk (NSFW!)

Yesterday, I posted some raw footage of Sean Duffy at a WISGOP strategy summit. Among the many wild things he said, Duffy was complaining about the way Democrats were portraying him (starts about the 7:30 mark):

"They view me not as a father of six, not as a prosecutor for ten years, they view me as a reality TV punk."

Gee, I wonder why anyone would think that! Do you suppose it just might have something to do with this video? (NSFW!)



And for those of you so inclined, fell free to print off this picture and see if Duffy, aka Mr. Family Values, will sign it at his next appearance, anywhere:

Heck, print it out several times and hang it up all over the district.

Obama's "Wisconsin Problem"

As I'm sure the gentle reader is quite aware of, President Barack Obama came to Milwaukee today to do a little fundraising, do a little campaigning and to chow down on some of Usinger's excellent sausages. (They beat the hell out of Johnsonville, that's for sure.)

Republicans belied their growing desperation by claiming that this meant that Obama has a "Wisconsin problem." Man, first they complain that he doesn't come to the state and then they complain that he does. What a bunch of sorry malcontents this lot is.

Scott Walker then felt compelled to chirp in with his two cents:

“With his visit today, President Obama admits he has a Wisconsin problem. This election must be about who can best lead America to overcome its greatest challenges, and on every important measure President Obama has failed us over the last four years. It’s time for a change, and Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have the vision and experience required to confront our challenges and lead us toward prosperity for future generations.”

I won't go into how the Romney/Ryan plan is to take us right back to the policies that brought the country's economies to its knees in the first place. But, really? Walker? The Republicans want him as their point man in political attacks? Well, Obama might have 99 problems, but a legal defense fund ain't one of them.

This whole line of attack by the Republicans is an odd one to take. One has to wonder if they realize how ridiculous they look saying that Obama has no support in Wisconsin when we just learned that five recent polls all show that Obama leads the state by as much as 14%.

Oy, I should have such problems.

What makes them look even more pathetic is how things turned out today.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said that the 5,000 seat BMO Harris Pavilion was filled to standing room only, with thousands more filling the bleachers or even standing out in the open, exposed to the wind and rain. Even the right wing propagandist group Wisconsin Distorter, when they weren't whining about Obama running on his successes, had to admit there was at least 15,000 people there.

To help drive the point home, here is a picture sent to me by a friend who had attended the event.

Click on image to embiggen it

Take note of two things. One, the picture was taken when my friend was at the end of the line. Secondly, the little yellow arches on the left of the picture, left of the gray-haired woman's head, is where the Summerfest grounds are, where Obama was speaking. Some have estimated that the line to get in had reached two miles long. Judging from where they were standing in this picture, I believe them.

Perhaps, Obama does have a Wisconsin problem...the venue at the Summerfest grounds just wasn't big enough.  They should have booked Miller Park.

On the other hand, the Republicans had two Wisconsin events today.

One was the CRG/AFP snake oil sale going on in Waukesha County. It apparently was a dud since no one, media or blogger, has made mention of it.

The other event was an appearance by one of Romney's sons, Tagg. It was such a big deal that I hadn't even heard about it until it was over. Even though they had to take their event indoors, they still drew a whopping 200 people, which means it might have been 20 people in real life - and 18 of those were paid staffers.

Yeah, I am definitely starting to think those polls ARE off. I think that they are coming in pretty low as far as how big Obama's lead really is.

But the Republicans might have a problem of their own.

If you look at this picture that my friend had also sent to me, you will see a faint rainbow on the left side of the screen.

Click on image to embiggin it.

It obviously means that God is on Obama's side and sends His blessings to Obama.  That'll really throw the Republicans into a tailspin.

Oh, and if like me, you missed Obama's speech, you can catch it right here.