Judge Rudoph Randa Asked To Once Again Interfere Into John Doe Laws

Judge Rudoph Randa

The dark money groups that are supporting Scott Walker and other Teapublicans really want to end any and all campaign regulation laws.

First, Wisconsin Club for Growth, funded by the Koch Brothers, the Bradley Foundation and other dark money groups filed a federal lawsuit to stop the John Doe investigation into the illegal collaboration between Walker and the dark money groups. Randa put a stop to the investigation until a federal appeals court overruled him and sent the case back to the state courts, where it is currently sitting in limbo.

Then another front group, hilariously named Citizens for Responsible Government, manipulated the legal system to get their lawsuit in front of Randa. Again, he ruled in the favor of the dark money group. And again, he was overruled and it was sent to the state courts, where it also sits in limbo.

Now they are at it yet again.

Atty Christopher Wiesmueller

Attorney Christopher Wiesmueller, has filed his own lawsuit regarding the John Doe investigation. Wiesmueller is the attorney that had represented Walker aide Darlene Wink in the original John Doe investigation. Wink took a plea deal and was convicted of illegal politicking. In exchange for the plea deal, Wink was to testify for the state against her fellow defendants and to the destruction of digital evidence.

It was only recently learned that Wiesmueller was the person who destroyed the digital evidence from Wink's laptop. (Waukesha County District Attorney and Wisconsin Attorney General elect Brad Schimel chose not to charge Wiesmueller for his crimes.)

Weismueller's lawsuit, which he filed against the presiding John Doe Judge, Neal Nettesheim, echoes the previous two lawsuits in an effort to dismantle the John Doe laws:

On Monday, he sued Reserve Judge Neal Nettesheim in federal court, claiming that as the judge overseeing the case that became known as "John Doe I," Nettesheim could not be "detached and neutral" when deciding whether to issue search warrants as part of that investigation.

Wiesmueller's office was searched pursuant to a Nettesheim-approved warrant in December 2011, according to the lawsuit, which names Nettesheim a defendant in both his official and unofficial capacities. Wiesmueller is representing himself in the suit.

Wiesmueller contends that not only did Nettesheim's role inherently present a conflict, the judge had a "financial interest in perpetuating" the John Doe, "as a source of income."

[...]

Wiesmueller seeks a federal court order that any Wisconsin John Doe judge is in reality part of the investigation process, and any search warrants such a judge issues as part of the John Doe violate the Fourth Amendment's protections against unreasonable searches.

Wiesmueller also seeks an injunction barring Nettesheim from issuing any search warrants related to John Doe duties he might take on in the future, as well as monetary damages and attorney fees.

Wiesmueller's suit argues that Nettesheim is not entitled to immunity, since as "a highly competent Wisconsin jurist," he knew or should have known that issuing search warrants as part of a John Doe he was presiding over violated the Fourth Amendment.

The open-ended secrecy provisions of John Doe proceedings are unlawful as well, Wiesmueller contends, because they prohibited him from discussing the search of his office under threat of contempt. He still can't talk about it, his lawsuit claims, because the order is in effect forever.

"Perpetual bans on witnesses disclosing their own testimony or investigatory experiences, even after the termination of the secret proceeding, violates the First Amendment," according to the suit.

Basically, Wiesmueller is throwing everything he can at Nettesheim in order to give the dark money groups a stronger choke hold on the democratic process.

And yes, this case is scheduled to be heard by Randa. I don't think that there should be any questions on how this will end up.

There is an added bonus to this lawsuit as well because there's more. There's always more.

The taxpayers will get to pay for legal counsel to defend Judge Nettesheim in this frivolous lawsuit, which had already been decided through other cases which appeared in front of the Wisconsin Supreme Court:

Wiesmueller's Nov. 3 federal lawsuit contends that as the judge overseeing the John Doe investigation, Nettesheim essentially became part of the investigation, and could no longer be the kind of neutral magistrate who normally reviews requests for search warrants. By doing so, Nettesheim violated his Fourth Amendment rights, Wiesmueller claims.

Though Wisconsin Supreme Court cases have found that John Doe judges function in an administrative, not investigative, role and can approve subpoenas and search warrants from the John Doe, and that they can keep it all secret.

The silly season of the election cycle might be over, but in Wisconsin, the insanity and corruption remain.

Cross posted at Crooks and Liars

Mike Tate Has Got To Go(Version 2014)!

By Jeff Simpson

Mike Tate was on The Mike Gousha show yesterday and embarrassed the whole state, much less the Democratic Party. 



Some lowlights:

*  BUT YOU HAVE SCOTT WALKER, AND THEIR SOMEONE IN MY -- IT'S DIFFICULT FOR MY PARTY TO UNDERSTAND, BUT PEOPLE HAVE A GENUINE AFFECTION FOR HIM. ESPECIALLY IN THE GREEN BAY MARKET AND NORTHERN WISCONSIN, THEY THINK THIS IS A GUY THAT CAME IN AND TOOK BOLD ACTION. I DISAGREE WITH THE ACTIONS HE TOOK, BUT HE DID TAKE BOLD ACTION. 

Yes "Dropping the Bomb" on Wisconsinites is very bold action.   Of course the definition of a bomb is:

¹bomb

noun \ˈbäm\

: a device that is designed to explode in order to injure or kill people or to damage or destroy property
the bomb : nuclear weapons

: something that is a complete failure 

Technically Mr. Tate is right Scott Walker did take bold action.  I do not know however, if that is praiseworthy.  

*  I'M THE SAME GUY THAT I WAS AFTER THE 2012 ELECTION, 

I called for your ouster then also because it was a Democratic wave in every state but WI.   

*  BUT MY FOCUS, WHETHER I RUN AGAIN OR DON'T, IS GOING TO BE HOW CAN WE KEEP MOVING FORWARD?

The best way to move the party forward is to have Mike Tate resign,  effective immediately.    Please sign this petition and contact the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and tell them it is time for a leadership change -  (608) 255-5172 (voice) or info@wisdems.org. 

 One thing that was noticeable from this interview, is that there was not a single mention of the Democratic candidates who just ran or the tactics used against them.   The massive American Federation for Children's smear campaign against candidates all over the state or that the media had an October surprise based on the recollections of Swastika guy.

At least you used your five minutes on TV, post election, to sing the praises of Scott Walker.   

I wonder if Mike Tate is angling to be the next Wisconsin Railroad Commissioner?

Of Fundraising, Funerals And Ethics Fundamentals

A couple of weeks ago, I introduced the gentle reader to Milwaukee County Supervisor Deanna Alexander, a "rising" star among the Republicans. Alexander had gotten herself in a bit of trouble for using taxpayer dollars to help suppress the vote in Milwaukee. To make matters worse for herself, she got caught up in her lies about it.

Now Alexander is in even more hot water.

Unfortunately, her father passed away recently. And as anyone who has lost a loved one knows, funerals are expensive, even if you are making more than $50,000 a year like Alexander is.

So Alexander set up a fundraising account through www.youcaring.com.

The problem is that she advertised this account on one of her Facebook pages in which she identifies herself as a "public figure" and includes a link to her campaign website:

She's already raised over $2,000, many donations from anonymous donors, including one for $1,000:

Yeah, that's an ethics problem, as Georgia Pabst of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:

According to the county ethics code: "No county public official or employee shall use his/her public position or office to obtain financial gain or anything of substantial value for the private benefit of himself/herself or his/her immediate family, or for an organization with which he/she is associated."

Michael Maistelman, a lawyer who specializes in election law and who has represented the campaigns of prominent Democrats, said it appears Alexander is using her position for private gain.

"The question is would she be getting donations if she were not an elected public official," he said. "Would donations be made, or are they being made, because of who she is and her position."

With campaign contributions, contributors must give their name, address, employer and report the amount to make sure there's transparency, he said. Candidates must periodically file campaign finance reports that make that information public.

With an anonymous contribution, he said, someone could legitimately question whether there has been a violation of the public trust. That donor could be trying to get something from the county, but you don't know, Maistelman said.

To make this whole sordid affair even more sickening, she is using her office to raise funds for her father's funeral even as she voted to deny funding for indigent burials. (Over 300 families in Milwaukee County use indigent burial funds every year.)

As with most Republicans, she figures that as long she gets hers, that's all that matters and the screw the poor if they think they should get any type of help.

The good news is that Alexander won't get a free pass like she did with the voter suppression newsletters. A group called One Wisconsin Now has filed a formal complaint against Alexander:

"The law is clear and must be enforced," said Scot Ross, executive director of One Wisconsin Now, in filing the complaint. "No elected official can use their status to raise personal funds, regardless of the circumstances."

Any anonymous gifts through the YouCaring.com site would make it difficult for the public to know who may be giving to Alexander and to determine if individuals with business before the county may be attempting to influence her, the complaint states.

Cross posted at Crooks and Liars

People Are Starting To Speak Out Against Boss Abele's Abandonment Of Mentally Ill

While Scott Walker was Milwaukee County Executive, he continually abdicated his responsibility to the county's most vulnerable citizens.  He neglected the facility to the point that it was found to be in "  shoddy condition" by inspectors.  He hired a director who thought that allowing male patients to sexually assault female patients to be a fair trade for less fights among the male patients.

And every year, Walker tried to privatize the Community Support Programs, which are the programs that allowed people with mentally health issues to succeed in living in the community.

Fortunately, every year, the county board had the wisdom to undo Walker's cuts to these programs.

Then came along Boss Abele, Walker's buddy and protege.  Abele succeeded where Walker failed by buying some state legislatures to remove the county board - and the people's voice - from how the mental health system should be run. Now it is under the control of a panel of Abele's and Walker's political appointees who aren't answerable to anyone.

I have repeatedly pointed out how dangerous and unpopular Abele's agenda. Unfortunately, the local paper has chosen to schmooze Abele by covering up the problems.

Fortunately, the real people that are being harmed by Abele's poorly thought out and calloused approach are starting to speak out for themselves and their loved ones.

One such person, Patricia Spoerl, had the courage to speak truth to power in an effort to protect her son, a person who has benefited from the county's Community Support Programs:

People with serious mental illness need consistent care with continuity of caregivers. The caregivers need time to get to know their clients as individuals and earn their trust. Too many changes can be disorienting and upsetting for those with mental illness.

Now people with mental illness are going to be transferred to private, nonprofit agencies. These agencies often do not pay adequate wages, and their caseworkers often are overburdened with cases. Employee burnout is a real risk for caseworkers dealing with severely mentally disabled clients. Those of us with friends and family members who have mental illness have many stories to share about private CSPs, not all of them encouraging. John has been served both by a private CSP and by the county CSP, and he has said repeatedly that the county CSP is by far the best program of any he has dealt with.

Due to privacy regulations, county CSP workers have been hampered in telling their side of the story.

As Milwaukee County shuts down its hospital for those with mental illness, I certainly would have preferred that the money saved have been put back into the county CSPs and that these tried-and-true, professionally run programs be expanded rather than shut down and outsourced.

Public officials charged with overseeing care for those with mental illness must provide the private agencies with the resources they need to serve their clients well and monitor their performance closely. Our whole community has an obligation to demand adequate care for those of our neighbors who need a great deal of professional and compassionate assistance if they are to live dignified human lives.

Sadly, the privatization will happen in a few weeks and there is nothing anyone can do to stop it, especially when Abele took away control of the system from the people of Milwaukee County.

Also sadly, there probably won't be much of an uproar about it. It's another lesson Boss Abele learned from his friend and mentor, Walker - no one cares about crazy people.

Compassionate Conservatism Version 2016

George Bush not only made the term "compassionate conservatism" a common phrase but also showed what a joke it is.

Last year, Scott Walker picked up where Bush left off when he tried to defend his indefensible decision to reject federal money for Medicaid expansion:

Speaking to an audience of hundreds at a meeting here of business lobby Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, Walker said his plan would cover somewhat fewer people than a full expansion of Medicaid as provided under the federal health care law, which he said would cover 252,700 people, or 28,100 more than his own approach. But the Republican governor said that his proposal, which shrinks state health programs by a few thousand patients, would reduce the role of government in people's lives and make them more independent.

"Some people will portray this as not caring about people. I think it's just the opposite. I care too much about the people of this state not to empower them to control their own destiny," Walker told the audience.

Now that Walker is officially unofficially running for president, he is kicking his compassionate conservatism up a notch by adding a little patriotism:

“Beyond that, I just ask the basic question: Why is more people on Medicaid a good thing?” he said. “I’d rather find a way, particularly for able-bodied adults without children, I’d like to find a way to get them into the workforce. I think ideologically, that’s a better approach, not just as a conservative, but as an American. Have more people live the American dream if they’re not dependent on the American government.”

Don't you just get the feeling that he is going to just love all the poor people to death?

Cross posted at Crooks and Liars

The Walker Agenda Is Still Working! Part CCXXXVIII

The "good news" following Scott Walker's reelection keeps coming in:

The Kmart store in Eau Claire will close to the public in early February, according to a corporate news release.

The store, located at 2424 E. Clairemont Ave., will remain open to customers until February. A liquidation sale begins Nov. 16.

The store closure is part of a series of actions to reduce on-going expenses, adjust the asset base and accelerate the transformation of our business model, the news release states.

The store has 93 employees, most of which are part time. Associates that are eligible will receive severance and have the opportunity to apply for open positions at other area Sears or Kmart stores.

Again and again, we continue to see stores pulling out of Wisconsin because they are underproducing. And the reason they are underproducing is because the people simply don't have the money to spend on anything but the very basics, and all too often, the people don't even have enough money for just the basics.

This blame for this issue falls directly on Walker, who tanked the economy so that he could give our money to his wealthy campaign donors.

Scott Walker - Job Creator!

Doesn't the guy on the left look a bit like Scott Walker - complete with the cabinet-induced bald spot?

Happy Veterans Day

Veterans Day - A national holiday on which Republicans feign support for veterans even as they are cutting their benefits.

Thank a veteran for their service and call your legislators on the national and state and local levels and demand that they provide genuine support for our American heroes and their families.

Scott Walker Versus Jay Cutler

Scott Walker is very proud of himself because one of his campaign staffers sent out the following tweet:

Two things:

One, Walker might have more wins than Cutler, but Cutler has done more good for Wisconsin than Walker.

Two, if we look at both of them just on their poor performances, Cutler might be able to beat Walker in an election.

Why Wisconsin Democrats Are In Disarray And How To Fix It

When I was a young man, my grandfather told me that he almost always voted for Democrats.  He
said that they were the party that stood with the working people, with unions, for equal rights and for more democracy.

Indeed, as I look back on my life, I can't help but note that when times were good, Democrats were in charge. I would get raises if not chance to move up in the company or move into a better job.  My taxes would go down and I had big dreams.

But when I would get laid off, take a pay cut and see my taxes go up, Republicans were in charge.

So when it came to elections, I would take a close look at both candidates, but would usually vote for the Democrat, even though I never joined the party.   Their candidates reflected closest to my values and had plans that would make things better for everyone and not just a select few, like the Republicans wanted to do.

But then things started to change.

While there were still good Democrats to support and vote for, they seemed to becoming more scarce.  Many Democrats started to forget what made them popular and kept them in office and started top embrace the corporate agenda that the Republicans hold dear.

This retreat from their tradition values escalated after the protests of 2011 ended.

We had an alarmingly large number of Democrats that were willing to sell out their constituents in regards to things like school privatization and food stamps.

We had people like Senator Lena Taylor that not only was feeding at the education profiteers' trough, but feeding into the NRA and going along with concealed carry and the Castle Doctrine.

Most alarming was Chris Abele, whose only value that could be progressive would be his support of marriage equality.  But when it came to other traditional Democratic values, Abele was actively opposed to them.

In the past four years, Abele has tried to bust public sector workers twice; sang the praises of Act 10; he actively fought against a living wage; he destroyed representative government in Milwaukee County; he attacked fellow Democrats, including State Senator Chris Larson, County Chairwoman Marina Dimitrijevic and other county supervisors; he donated money to rabid Teapublicans like Dale Kooyenga and Joe Sanfelippo and even held a fundraiser for Deanna Alexander.

Yet the leadership of the Democratic Party - namely Mike Tate - did nothing to hold him accountable. Even worse, they actually honored Abele by having him  speak at one of their dinners.  Fortunately, the unions were present to hold him accountable even if the party was unwilling to.

It's not like Tate and the Democrats couldn't hold him responsible. After all, President Obama did so when he came to Milwaukee to celebrate Labor Day with us.  At the request of the unions and the Milwaukee Area Labor Council, Obama made it clear that Abele was not invited to participate in the day's events.

Things culminated last week when the Democrats got their butts handed to them again - the third time in four years - on Election Day.

Now, Tate was not responsible for Burke's horribly ran campaign or for her decisions to take the wrong stance on some key issues.

But he was responsible for clearing the field of other candidates and taking away any other choices for the people to support.  And yes, Tate was pushing for Burke even before she was an officially declared candidate.  He met with me while her candidacy was just a rumor and red flags were already popping up.

Obviously, he did not listen to my concerns at the time.  Just like he is not listening to the concerns of the people now:

Tate said he would make a decision on running in the new year. He said if he does run again he expects he would win, but if he doesn’t it would have nothing to do with Tuesday’s election.

“I think that we’ve done a tremendous job of building the party infrastructure,” Tate said.

“I have not had a single party leader or single party member or anyone active in the campaign (say), ‘This wave that swept across 30 states was your fault, you need to step down,’ ” Tate said

Tate is obviously not telling the truth. Plenty of party members are calling for him to step down, as illustrated in the petition drive Jeff Simpson had already reported on.

And even if they hadn't called for him to step down, there is nothing keeping Tate from doing the right thing on his own initiative, as his counterpart in Ohio did.

The most clear example of how far the Democrats have drifted from their origins is presented that when one considers how Tate led them to yet another bloodbath in the same election that several referendum questions that included raising the minimum wage, expanding health care and lowering costs and getting corporate money out of politics all passed with resounding success.

If the Dems had stuck to what works and improved their messaging, they - and the state in general - wouldn't be in the mess they are in now.

Tate needs to do what's right for his party and for the future by resigning now.  His failure to do so only shows that he is more worried about himself and about preserving the party machine instead of the party and its people.

Then, and only then, can they get back to be Democrats instead of Republicrats and get about winning elections and restoring the state.

Corporate Media's Freudian Slip

For once, a newspaper does some honest reporting.  The following image is from the West Bend Daily News:

To Mike Tate, Peter Barca and Chris Larson! Please Do The Right Thing!

By Jeff Simpson

After a recent election drubbing, its time to lick the wounds and move on.   It is also time to move on with new leadership all across the board! 

That starts especially in the State Assembly where Peter Barca has overseen a complete transformation from being the majority party to being a party that hold the same amount of power as the office cactus(water rarely but usually pretend its not there).    Barca, overseeing the Assembly races, let 26 of the seats go unchallenged.   Does he even try anymore?  

Why in the world with that record he would want to continue on is beyond me.  Unfortunately for the left side of WI he does.   Fortunately though Evan Goyke is stepping up to challenge him!  if you are lucky enough to live in one of the few districts represented by a Democrat that is left, call your rep and say  - "Please for all that is Holy do NOT vote for Peter Barca to be Minority Leader.  Fine Assemblyman, horrendous Minority leader." (or something to that extent). 

Chris Larson, fresh off the Pat Bohmack debacle, is running again.  While Mr. Larson blatantly mishandled this Senate race and cost the dems a seat, he has only done it one term.   I would not be opposed to giving him another chance, BUT Jennifer Schilling is challenging him(sad Kathleen Vinehout isn't).  I highly recommend voting Schilling!  

Which bring us to Mike Tate.    Mike Tate has a long record of massive failure and this years election was no exception.  As Callen Harty pointed out, his record is not pretty!

Below are some of the highlights of Tate’s career.
He was the State Field Director for Kathleen Falk’s losing bid for the governorship in 2002. In 2004, a year before he graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a bachelor’s degree in political science, he was named the Deputy State Director of America Coming Together (ACT). The national organization disbanded in 2005.
Also in 2004 he served as the State Director of Dean for America. Howard Dean had lost several primaries by the time Wisconsin’s came up. Dean had pretty much listed Wisconsin as a must win and indicated he believed that a win in Wisconsin could turn his entire campaign around and lead him to the Presidency. Under Mike Tate’s leadership of the state campaign Dean finished third here with only 18% of the vote. It pretty much ended his campaign and any chance of becoming President.
Fair Wisconsin in its desperate bid to defeat the 2006 Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in the state of Wisconsin hired Mike Tate to lead the campaign against it. The citizens of the state voted for the amendment with just under 60% of the voters supporting discrimination against their fellow citizens.
In 2008 he was the Executive Director of Advancing Wisconsin, a group that funneled money into the 2008 campaign to elect Barack Obama. Obama did win Wisconsin that year, one of the few things Tate has been associated with where his candidate or position fared well. According to an NPR special series called “secret money project” by Will Evans (11/3/08) Tate was quoted as saying that instead of the group fading away after the election he wanted to create “a permanent grassroots field-organizing infrastructure in Wisconsin.” Great idea if it were true. The organization’s website is no longer active and they are no longer registered with the Internal Revenue Service.
After his service with Advancing Wisconsin Tate became the chairman of Wisconsin’s Democratic Party. There has not been much to cheer about during his tenure. Wisconsin lost one of its most popular Senators when Russ Feingold fell to Ron Johnson. Also in that time Scott Walker won the governorship in 2010, became the first governor in U. S. history to survive a recall election, and proceeded to win re-election in 2014. The Democrats put forth Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett against Walker in 2010 and tried him again in the recall. This year the party, under Tate’s leadership, got behind the virtually unknown businesswoman Mary Burke almost as soon as she announced her candidacy. It was clear they had handpicked her and while Tate denied the party was endorsing her they did everything but come out and say it. Party regulars were denied a meaningful primary and never got fired up for her candidacy. She lost by 5%. Madison and Milwaukee voters did not turn out for her.

The amount of pain his incompetence has cost this state is almost unimaginable.   One good thing to come out of this though, is we finally found a way to bring the state together.  Start a petition to get Mike Tate to resign and people from all over the state will gladly sign it! 

I Signed and I recommend you do too!

It is time that Mr. Tate, Mr Barca and Mr. Larson  do the right thing. Step aside and clear the way for new leadership in our rudderless state.   Continue serving your constituents as well as you have been, work with the new leaders to advance our party, but please do not get in the way of needed and necessary change!

Ron Johnson Is Number One!

The Washington Post says that the Republican majority in the US Senate could very well be a short lived one. Democrats would need to flip four or five seats to regain control and of the ten most vulnerable seats, eight of them are Republican.

Leading the list as the most vulnerable and the seat most likely to flip is that of Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI):

1. Wisconsin (R): Sen. Ron Johnson starts the 2016 election cycle as the most vulnerable senator on the map. He's undefined in the eyes of many, polling shows; and he's running in a state that has gone Democratic in seven straight presidential elections. To boot, there are rumors that Democrat Russ Feingold, who Johnson unseated in 2010, may run. Feingold would start with high name recognition and a loyal liberal following.

RoJo took office in 2010, during the midterm Republican sweep, in an upset over the very popular Feingold.

RoJo likes to claim that he is a self-made millionaire businessman and that everyone could be if only it weren't for that darn government getting in the way. Poor old RoJo forgets that he actually married into the millions he has and that the company he runs was a gift from his father-in-law.

RoJo apparently learned his hatred of government when he got a low interest government loan of $2.5 million. (Maybe he got upset when he had to pay it back.) The poor suffering man also had to endure getting a railroad line built up to his factory, thanks to a HUD grant.

And showing that he is a typical Republican hypocrite, RoJo has some of his employees on the state-subsidized BadgerCare. Yet other employees are actually prison inmates who work for serf wages and have health care provided by the state.

Yes, Rojo has really suffered at the hands of the government.

Other RoJo highlights include, but are in no way limited to, the following:

• RoJo argued that the $20 billion that BP agreed to pay for the Macando oil spill was "not good for the country." And by country, he meant his stock portfolio;
• Standing with Charles Murray, who wrote an essay on why it doesn't pay to educate black children;
• Voting against the Violence Against Women Act;
• Fought against allowing tribal courts to prosecute people who aren't Native American and abuse a Native American woman on a reservation. RoJo doubled down on the dumb by saying that this was unconstitutional and would cost $2 billion;
• Leading a everlasting Quixotic campaign against the Affordable Health Care Act.
• Arguing that child rape victims should not have their day in court. (Here's the video, if you can stomach it.)
• Blaming global climate change on sunspots.

As the gentle reader can see, there is ample fodder to use against RoJo.

Furthermore, the authors of the WaPo article are correct that in Wisconsin's state wide races, where gerrymandering is not a factor, tends to go to Democrats, especially in presidential years. In 2012, Senator Tammy Baldwin easily defeated former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson.

If Feingold does run again, and wins, that would go a long way to make up for the embarrassment of Scott Walker being elected three times in four years as governor.

Taxpayer Funded Voter Suppression - There's More!

Deanna Alexander and her benefactor, Boss Abele

Last week, we reported about Milwaukee County Supervisor Deanna Alexander, a "rising star" among Republicans who caught caught using taxpayer money to send out a newsletter falsely informing people that they needed a photo ID to vote, even though the US Supreme Court had put a stop to it for the November elections.

Alexander defended herself by saying that she sent out a correction postcard to notify her constituents that her newsletter contained the false claim.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel did a blurb about the incident, giving Alexander cover by calling it a mistake.

Instead of keeping quiet and hoping the story would go away, Alexander tore into the journalist, Georgia Pabst, in a press release from her official office. Alexander accused the reporter of of "sloppy journalism":

Friday evening, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reporter Georgia Pabst published an article with a misleading title and context.

Ms. Pabst called Supervisor Deanna Alexander twice on Friday to ask about a newsletter sent to constituents in October. The newsletter, accurate at publication, alerted fall general election voters that they would need to show a photo ID to vote. After the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the Voter ID requirement for the November election, Supervisor Alexander used email, social media, and a second mailing—a bold post card—to update voters with the new information that electors would not need to provide an ID in order to vote.

“Ms. Pabst knew all of this, yet continued to publish an article falsely proclaiming that the notice was a mistake,” Supervisor Alexander said. “This irresponsible report has increased confusion by leading voters to believe that I either didn’t notice the error or purposely sent untrue information.”

“Ms. Pabst knew on Friday that I had provided voters with two rounds of information and that each were accurate at the time I published them; there was no mistake. Her article is
disappointing and sloppy journalism.” Supervisor Alexander concluded.

Like I said, Alexander would have been better keeping her mouth shut.

It turns out that Pabst did some more of that sloppy journalism and found that Alexander was lying through her teeth.

First off, she did not send the correction postcard. Milwaukee County Clerk Joe Czarnezki, who had received numerous complaints about Alexander's newsletter, is the person who sent out the postcard correcting her lie:

The post card mailing sent out the weekend before the November 4 election to 7,000 constituents of County Supervisor Deanne Alexander to tell them they did not need a photo ID to vote, was initiated and paid for by County clerk Joe Czarnezki.

Czarnezki said he received complaints about the information in Alexander’s newsletter that was received by many residents in Alexander’s northwest side district the weekend of October 25 saying they needed photo ID to vote. After consulting with the Government Accountability Board in Madison, the board recommended that correspondence be sent correcting the information, so the post card mailing was prepared, he said.

Postage and mailing for the post card cost about $2,000, he said. Alexander’s name was on the post card, along with Czarnezki’s . She contacted him about the matter after the post card preparation was under way, he said.

But there's more!

Pabst found out that Alexander's misleading and false newsletter wasn't mailed until October 21, almost two full weeks after the Supreme Court ruling. Alexander had more than enough time to stop the mailing of the newsletter, if not the printing of it. Yet she willfully chose to do nothing.

Something tells me that this is not the end of this story. Because when it comes to Republican corruption, there's more. There's always more.

Boss Abele Goes MIA Again

Earlier this year, when Boss Abele was supposed to have presented his 2015 recommended budget to the Milwaukee County Board, he ended up being missing in action.  We searched high and low, but know seemed to know where he was.

Abele finally stumbled into the courthouse a week late to present his budget.  Sadly, he had the thing so fouled up that people wished he had stayed missing.

Unfortunately, it appears that Boss Abele has gone MIA yet again.

On Wednesday, the first item on the Finance, Personnel and Audit Committee's agenda was to hear from Boss Abele talk about his budget and the corrections that the County Board had to make for it.

But Abele was a no show, no call.

In fact, his staff has been absent for most of the budget hearings.  Apparently, he doesn't feel the need to be accountable for his decisions or their consequences.

Because we are concerned for his safety - even though the feeling is not mutual - we are again in search of the missing Boss Abele.  To help us in this search, we have again put his picture on milk cartons:

And since Abele is not the type of person who would mingle with the common folk who drink milk, we are also reaching out to his fellow country club members in a manner they can relate to:

In all seriousness, this is an insult to every taxpayer in the county.  The fact that he doesn't feel that answering questions about his budget and providing rationales for his decisions is condescending and is in no way being a representative of the people.

Sadly, he cannot be held accountable for this dereliction of duty for another 15 months when he is up for reelection.  Then he can go missing as long as he likes.  I don't think many people will be looking for him by then.