Seven Wisconsin Republican Senators Likely Recalled

The Post Crescent reports that organizers for the recall of Senator Robert Cowles will file on Thursday more than enough signatures to trigger a recall election. That makes Cowles the sixth Republican senator to likely face a recall election.

A DailyKos diary reports a Facebook announcement by the organizers for the recall of Senator Glenn Grothman for a post-canvass celebration. This may indicate they have enough signatures to file the recall petition, but that's the only info I've been able to find. As of April 27th, the organizers are not ready to file a recall petition and are still collecting signatures, see here for ways to help.

Last week, petitions were filed for the recall of Republican Senators Olsen, Harsdorf and Darling. The recall petitions for Republican Senators Kapanke and Hopper were filed a couple weeks before. So even without Grothman, Wisconsin has filed petitions to recall six of its Republican senators. This unprecedented momentum shows just how strongly Wisconsin feels about workers' rights.

The Koch brothers and the Republicans actually began recalling eight Democrat senators before the Democrats started recalling the Republican 8. However, they've only been able to collect enough signatures to file recall petitions for three Democrats. In fact, the Republicans have to submit their signatures for seven of their eight recall efforts by 5pm today (some of the petitions had to be or were filed earlier). So, it looks like the Koch brothers and the Republicans will be able to recall at most three Democrats.

The Wisconsin Democrats are calling into question the means for which the signatures were collected. Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin Mike Tate said that he guarantees "there will be fraudulent signatures turned in." So, there may be significant challenges to the three recalls of Democrat senators, but I haven't seen any new information since last week Thursday. dane101 has some more details including photos of an "Out To Lunch" sign and other evidence of unattended petitions.

Tate also said that the signatures to recall the Republican 8 were almost entirely collected by volunteers with paid organizers there to oversee while Republicans hired out-of-state workers to collect signatures. The magnitude of Wisconsinites who support democracy and workers' rights is becoming very clear. Keep up the good fight!

You can thank the thousands of people who have helped recall the Republican 8 here.

I love this ad!



The quickest most effective way Wisconsin can move Forward is to recall all of the Republican 8, but we only have until May 2nd (Sunday, May 1st really). So the two remaining efforts can use any and all help they can get

• Senator Glenn Grothman - Senate District 20
• Senator Mary Lazich - Senate Disctict 28

We don't have much time. So, please start thinking about making plans to spend just a few hours this weekend in one of these two districts if you're not available to help during the week. Just by talking to people about the issues will help keep the momentum going.

Wisconsin needs you.

Updated: (April 27, 2:25pm) I updated the status on the recall effort for Senator Glenn Grothman, because the organizers have NOT collected enough signatures yet. See here for information on ways you can help these last two efforts.

Recall the Republican 8! - Final Week

I visited my family for Easter this weekend in Senator Cowles's district, and I was fortunate enough to catch an ad called "Recall the Republicans." I absolutely love this ad!



We've already submitted more than enough signatures to recall five of the Republican 8 senators, which is incredible, but the Koch brothers and the Republicans have submitted enough signatures to recall three Democrats. We've sent a strong message to Walker and the Republicans, but we need to recall all of the Republican 8 to have a shot at retaking the Wisconsin Senate for the people. Because we've already seen the Republicans don't care about us.

We figure that Walker and the Republicans are planning to introduce financial martial law legislation similar to Michigan's. We could easily stop such a law if the Republicans don't have a majority in the Senate. Not only that, we could start introducing and debating real solutions instead of false solutions such as the collective bargaining bill and the voter distraction (suppression) bill. We'd also have a much better chance of preventing many calamities in Walker's budget proposal.

The quickest most effective way Wisconsin can move Forward is to recall all of the Republican 8, but we only have until May 2nd (Sunday, May 1st really). So the remaining three efforts can use any and all help they can get

• Senator Robert Cowles - Senate District 2
• Senator Glenn Grothman - Senate District 20
• Senator Mary Lazich - Senate Disctict 28

We don't have much time, but I know that many people are working hard to recall Senator Robert Cowles, who still tells the lie that the collective bargaining bill saves money. In fact, my parents, who have already signed the recall petition for Cowles, were visited today by a volunteer. Please start thinking about making plans to spend just a few hours this weekend in one of these districts if you're not available to help during the week.

Wisconsin needs you.

Five Republican 8 Senators To Face Recall Election - Many Recall Efforts Questioned

Organizers for the recall of Wisconsin State Senator Alberta Darling filed their overwhelming collection of signatures today according to the AP. The announcement was hinted at on Tuesday by Ed Schultz on his MSNBC show, The Ed Show, and Uppity Wisconsin spotted the organizers' announcement last evening.

Before this week, petitions were already filed to hold a recall election for two of the eight Republican senators. Senator Dan Kapanke was the first senator whose district gathered enough signatures to trigger a recall, and Senator Randy Hopper was the second. With the announcements from Monday and the filings Tuesday from the recall campaigns for Senators Luther Olsen and Sheila Harsdorf, half of the Republican 8 senators will face a recall election. Now, five of the Republican 8 senators will face a recall election, and that means there's a good chance the Democrats can retake the majority of the Senate. However, that does depend upon the success of any recall attempts by the Republicans.

The Republican 8 are being recalled for outright lying to Wisconsin and voting to strip collective bargaining rights from Wisconsin workers. Two senators facing a recall election with just over half the allotted time to get signatures was quite amazing. Now, just two weeks since filing a petition for Randy Hopper's recall, it's unbelievable that three more senators have been added to the list. It shows just how strongly Wisconsin feels about workers' rights.

The effort to collect enough signatures for Senator Robert Cowles is thought to be not far behind, though it's difficult to tell as I've been saying this for a while now.

In the same time, the Koch brothers and Republicans have been trying to recall eight Democrats. According to the AP article, three of the efforts have resulted in enough signatures to file petitions with the Government Accountability Board. However, as I spotted earlier, the Wisconsin Democrats are calling into question the means for which the signatures were collected. Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin Mike Tate said that he guarantees "there will be fraudulent signatures turned in." There's also this article from Slate. From a TPM article,

"On a conference call with reporters on Thursday morning, state Dem chair Mike Tate and attorney Jeremy Levinson predicted that they would able to successfully challenge the validity of much of the signature-gathering effort by Republicans -- which Tate repeatedly called a "racket."

[Tate said,] "In the coming days, you will see affidavits from citizens in these targeted districts who were deceived into signing petitions by the Republican roadies who often refused to identify themselves by their real names."

"In addition, Tate said that the Dems had stories on hand of people being misled into signing: "We've had people lying saying this is in support of [Democratic state Sen.] Dave Hansen, not to recall Dave Hansen. There are going to be examples of these mercenaries who are paid to collect as many signatures as possible, not valid signatures."

"Also, Levinson said that Democrats would not even necessarily have to scrutinize all the individual signatures, looking for ones to disqualify. "We know as fact that they have had people circulating signatures who are legally prohibited from doing so. Those signatures should all be tossed," said Levinson, also adding: "To circulate a petition, you either need to be a qualified elector [voter] in wisconsin or eligible to be a qualified elector in Wisconsin."

"In particular, Tate said that the Republicans brought in paid signature gatherers from out of state, who were paid on a per-signature basis, and that some of these gatherers had criminal records."

On the other hand, as Tate stated, signatures to recall the Republican 8 were almost entirely collected by volunteers with paid organizers there to oversee. The magnitude of Wisconsinites who support democracy and workers' rights is becoming very clear. Keep up the good fight!

The remaining efforts to get signatures for the Republican 8 are for:

• Senator Robert Cowles - Senate District 2
• Senator Glenn Grothman - Senate District 20
• Senator Mary Lazich - Senate Disctict 28

Even though the recall campaigns have been going extraordinarily well, these remaining efforts need all the help they can get because the deadline to collect signatures is quickly approaching - May 2nd.

I should mention that Republican Senator Dan Kapanke also believes he has a case against his recall, because he feels sufficient paper work wasn't filed. I'm not sure how much legal weight there is behind his argument. He filed a challenge on April, 15th and the organizers filed a rebuttal Tuesday saying the claims were "insubstantial potshots." The deadline for Kapanke to respond is today, but I can't find any news regarding his response. So it's likely he's given up.

Fifth Wisconsin Republican 8 Senator Recall Announcement Coming

MSNBC's The Ed Show has become the place for breaking news on the Republican 8 recall campaigns. John Nichols has correctly hinted about coming recall announcements at least two times on The Ed Show. Tuesday evening, Ed Schultz hinted that an announcement regarding the recall of a fifth Republican 8 senator is coming, and he said that senator is most likely Alberta Darling.

The short segment doesn't appear in the videos online, but another interesting piece of the show was when Ed interviewed a resident from Waukesha who attended yesterday's town hall on Paul Ryan's budget.



Before this week, petitions were already filed to hold a recall election for two of the eight Republican senators. Senator Dan Kapanke was the first senator whose district gathered enough signatures to trigger a recall, and Senator Randy Hopper was the second. With the announcements from yesterday and the filings today from the recall campaigns for Senators Luther Olsen and Sheila Harsdorf, half of the Republican 8 senators will face a recall election. Now, it sounds like at least five of the Republican 8 senators will face a recall election, and that means there's a good chance the Democrats can retake the majority of the Senate.

The Republican 8 are being recalled for outright lying to Wisconsin and voting to strip collective bargaining rights from Wisconsin workers. Two senators facing a recall election with just over half the allotted time to get signatures was quite amazing. Now, with just over a week since filing a petition for Randy Hopper's recall, it's unbelievable that two more senators have been added to the list, not to mention a likely third. It shows just how strongly Wisconsin feels about workers' rights.

In the same time, the Koch brothers and Republicans have been trying to recall eight Democrats. However, they haven't been able to gather enough signatures to recall even one.

The effort to collect enough signatures for Senator Robert Cowles is thought to be not far behind, though it's difficult to tell.

The magnitude of Wisconsinites who support democracy and workers' rights is becoming very clear. Keep up the good fight!

The remaining efforts to get signatures for the Republican 8 are for:

• Senator Robert Cowles - Senate District 2
• Senator Alberta Darling - Senate District 8 (likely complete)
• Senator Glenn Grothman - Senate District 20
• Senator Mary Lazich - Senate Disctict 28

Even though the recall campaigns have been going extraordinarily well, these remaining efforts need all the help they can get because the deadline to collect signatures is quickly approaching - May 2nd.

Fourth Republican 8 Senator To Face Recall Election - Sheila Harsdorf

John Nichols hinted last week that more recall petitions would be filed for the Republican 8. Yesterday, Senator Luther Olsen became one of those senators, and Steve Hanson at Uppity Wisconsin reports that today Senator Sheila Harsdorf will become the fourth. Volunteers announced last evening that they will be filing the recall petitions with the Government Accountability Board today.

Before this week, petitions were already filed to hold a recall election for two of the eight Republican senators. Senator Dan Kapanke was the first senator whose district gathered enough signatures to trigger a recall, and Senator Randy Hopper was the second. With the announcements from yesterday and the filings today, half of the Republican 8 senators will face a recall election.

The Republican 8 are being recalled for outright lying to Wisconsin and voting to strip collective bargaining rights from Wisconsin workers. Two senators facing a recall election with just over half the allotted time to get signatures was quite amazing. Now, with just over a week since filing a petition for Randy Hopper's recall, it's unbelievable that two more senators have been added to the list. It shows just how strongly Wisconsin feels about workers' rights.

In the same time, the Koch brothers and Republicans have been trying to recall eight Democrats. However, they haven't been able to gather enough signatures to recall even one.

The effort to collect enough signatures for Senators Darling and Cowles are thought to be not far behind, though it's difficult to tell.

The magnitude of Wisconsinites who support democracy and workers' rights is becoming more clear. Keep up the good fight!

The remaining efforts to get signatures for the Republican 8 are for:

• Senator Robert Cowles
• Senator Alberta Darling
• Senator Glenn Grothman
• Senator Mary Lazich

Senator Luther Olsen Becomes Third Wisconsin Republican To Face Recall

John Nichols hinted last week that more recall petitions would be filed for the Republican 8. Today, Senator Luther Olsen became one of those senators, making him the third Republican senator to face a recall election. Volunteers filed the recall petitions with the Government Accountability Board today.

Already, two of the eight Republican senators will face a recall election. Senator Dan Kapanke was the first senator whose district gathered enough signatures to trigger a recall, and Senator Randy Hopper was the second.

The Republican 8 are being recalled for outright lying to Wisconsin and voting to strip collective bargaining rights from Wisconsin workers. Two senators facing a recall election with just over half the allotted time to get signatures is quite amazing and shows just how strongly Wisconsin feels about workers' rights. Now, with just over a week since filing a petition for Randy Hopper's recall, another senator is added to the list.

Also, Saturday, Jud Lounsbury at Uppity Wisconsin spotted this in the Inter-County Leader, "Those gathering signatures to force incumbent State Senator Sheila Harsdorf into a recall election in June have indicated they have collected more than the 15,000-plus signatures needed." The recall petition organizers still want to collect more signatures to "provide a safe margin" before submitting the petition. So, Senator Harsdorf is likely the next Republican senator to fall.

The effort to collect enough signatures for Senators Darling and Cowles are thought to be not far behind, though it's difficult to tell.

In the same time, the Koch brothers and Republicans have been trying to recall eight Democrats. However, they haven't been able to gather enough signatures to recall even one.

The magnitude of Wisconsinites who support democracy and workers' rights is becoming more clear. Keep up the good fight!

The remaining efforts to get signatures for the Republican 8 are for:

• Senator Robert Cowles
• Senator Alberta Darling
• Senator Sheila Harsdorf (though very close)
• Senator Glenn Grothman
• Senator Mary Lazich

Don't forget about a little known but important battle, the Voter Distraction Bill (Senate Bill 6).

More Wisconsin Republican 8 Recalls Likely Coming Very Soon

John Nichols, of The CapTimes and The Nation, who has worked very hard the last few months to keep us informed, said Monday on MSNBC's the Ed Show, "There will be more recalls filed in coming days." The announcements have probably been delayed until all of the canvass boards have completed. So, I expect to hear the news soon.

"I think that people who aren‘t in Wisconsin often think wow, they took another hit. They found 14,000 votes in Waukesha County. People are going to get frustrated and give up.

It is quite the opposite. On election day last week, there were people at polling places all over the state collecting recall signatures. Those signatures are piling up. There will be more recalls filed in coming days.

And there are now candidates stepping up. Jennifer Schilling, a terrific state representative, who you may not remember, Ed—she actually appeared briefly on your show when you were in Wisconsin—has announced that she is going to take on Dan Kapanke. And she is a very strong candidate.

So far from the enthusiasm going [this way], there is an awful lot of evidence that people are getting into these recall races and saying, you know, look, if we‘ve got to pile up an extra 14,000 votes to ensure a victory, we‘ll do it."

Already, two of the eight Republican senators will face a recall election. Senator Dan Kapanke was the first senator whose district gathered enough signatures to trigger a recall, and Senator Randy Hopper was the second. Randy Hopper's recall was hinted at by John Nichols on MSNBC's Ed Show the day before the petition was filed.

The Republican 8 are being recalled for outright lying to Wisconsin and voting to strip collective bargaining rights from Wisconsin workers. Two senators facing a recall election with just over half the allotted time to get signatures is quite amazing and shows just how strongly Wisconsin feels about workers' rights. Now, with only a week since filing a petition for Randy Hopper's recall, at least one more senator will likely be added to the list.

The effort to collect enough signatures for Senators Darling and Cowles are thought to be not far behind, though it's difficult to tell who of the remaining six Republicans will be next.

In the same time, the Koch brothers and Republicans have been trying to recall eight Democrats. However, they haven't been able to gather enough signatures to recall even one.

The magnitude of Wisconsinites who support democracy and workers' rights is becoming more clear. Keep up the good fight!

Another important battle, in my book, is the Voter Distraction Bill (Senate Bill 6).

Update: (April 17, 2:27am) Jud Lounsbury at Uppity Wisconsin spotted this in Saturday's Inter-County Leader, "Those gathering signatures to force incumbent State Senator Sheila Harsdorf into a recall election in June have indicated they have collected more than the 15,000-plus signatures needed." The recall petition organizers still want to collect more signatures to "provide a safe margin" before submitting the petition.

Senator Randy Hopper Becomes Second Wisconsin Republican To Face Recall

Just as John Nichols hinted last night that enough signatures had been acquired to trigger a recall election for a second Republican, the CapTimes reports today that Senator Randy Hopper is that second Republican.

That forces two Republican senators to face a recall election. Senator Dan Kapanke was the first senator whose district gathered enough signatures to trigger a recall. The 8 Republican Senators are being recalled for voting to strip collective bargaining rights from Wisconsin workers. Two senators facing a recall election with just over half the allotted time to get signatures is quite amazing and shows just how strongly Wisconsin feels about workers' rights. The effort to collect enough signatures for Senators Darling and Cowles are thought to be not far behind.

Two Wisconsin Republican Senators Possibly Recalled

Following on the heels of a major electoral accomplishment for worker's rights supporters, John Nichols hinted on MSNBC's The Ed Show that the Wisconsin Democrats may be planning to announce the successful collection of signatures to recall a second Republican Senator Thursday.

The 8 Republican Senators are being recalled for voting to strip collective bargaining rights from Wisconsin workers. Senator Dan Kapanke is the first to face a recall election with Senators Hopper, Darling and Cowles most likely close behind. Two senators facing a recall election with just over half the allotted time to get signatures is quite amazing and shows just how strongly Wisconsin feels about workers' rights.

Update: (9:56pm) The Journal Sentinel thinks the second recalled Senator is Randy Hopper.

Can't Protest At The Capitol? You Can Help A Lot

Yesterday, my mom told me that my cousin from Oconto Falls was looking for more information about what's going on at the Capitol. She also told my mom that she wishes she could come down to the Capitol, but with work and a family with kids she just can't make it. My mom asked me to send my cousin the link to my blog (my mom's better at computers than she thinks). As I began to write my cousin an email, I realized that there's lots of ways that she can have a meaningful effect right where she lives, some of which she might not know about. I wrote everything I could think of, and sent the email. Then I thought that there might be a lot of other people wishing and asking the same things. So, if you can't make it to the Capitol in Madison but want to show your support for Wisconsin's public workers, these are some things you can do where you live that I believe can have a real impact.

(1) First and foremost, find out if you live in one of the Republican 8 senate districts, the eight Republican senators who voted against workers' rights and can be recalled now. If even three Republicans are recalled, the law may get repealed (Walker can still veto if he dares). We have less than 60 days to collect enough signatures to have a recall election for each senator. So it's important that we get as many signatures as quickly as possible. WisconsinRecall.net is the best place I've found to go for information on the recall campaigns. Make sure you sign, and get as many other people you know in your district to sign. Then, watch the news for when the recall election will be held, and vote.

(2) You can help spread the word. Look at the map here. If you think you know anyone who is in one of the red areas and supports workers' rights, tell them that their state senator may be up for recall and to sign the recall form and later vote. Facebook can be a great way to easily spread the word.

(3) There's a major election for Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice on April 5th. Prosser, alleged Tea Party conservative and the current justice, was appointed by Gov. Tommy Thompson and most likely supports Walker, but now we can choose who we want to serve in his position (he ran unchallenged in 2001). His opponent, JoAnne Kloppenburg has said she's independent and will judge cases based on the facts of the law not ideology, and she most likely supports workers' rights.

A vote for Kloppenburg is a vote against Walker. Especially, since the law might be taken to the Supreme Court. Currently, the court is split in Walker's favor, but with Prosser out and Kloppenburg in, it could split the other way. If Kloppenburg wins, which may not be very likely given the massive corporate support Prosser has as we've seen with Walker, it will be a strong message that Walker is wrong. Kloppenburg can't accept donations, because she's using public financing. So you can help by volunteering, spreading the word, and voting for JoAnne Kloppenburg on April 5th.

(4) There may be other local elections on April 5th in your district with candidates who are for or against workers' rights. If you don't know how they stand, try to ask the candidate, so that all the voters know. Then vote for the candidates who support workers' rights.

(5) You may not be able to make it to the Capitol, but there are lot's of protests and events throughout the state. The best site I've found for information on events around the state is here.

(6) Tell people why unions are good. I think we as a country have forgotten the value of unions. People want to know why this whole "collective bargaining thing" matters. So it's a great time to talk about it because people are listening. If you're in a union, talk about what it means to you to be in a union, and what you get out of it, and don't forget to mention that anyone in Wisconsin can join a union. If you're a public worker, you can also talk about the value of your work, why you do what you do, and you can talk about how this law will affect you. Your story matters. Facebook is good for this, too.

Lot's of really good people are doing everything they can to help. I hope things get better, but I believe now is one of those times when action can really make a difference. The energy at the protests is unbelievable, and you see that on people's faces, hear it from people as you pass by, and are told by people who are much wiser than myself that they haven't seen Madison like this since the 60's, if even then. People from truly all walks of life show up, with no more men than women, both young and old, rich through poor, there's no better characterization than Wisconsin. We can all help each other by spreading this energy across the state, like it already appears to be.

Wisconsin Republicans Should, But Don't Compromise

Republican Senator Rob Cowles told the Green Bay Press Gazette that he believes the Republicans should be willing to compromise on collective bargaining and other non-fiscal provisions in the budget repair bill. “The important part is the monetary concessions. That’s the part that helps balance the budget. The other things are less monetary in nature,” said Cowles, who is the latest Republican to admit collective bargaining doesn't affect the budget. I'm glad to see two Republicans now think we can negotiate on non-fiscal items. Yet, there are many ways a budget can be balanced, and even though the Republicans insist they know best, based on their latest behavior, I'm skeptical to say the least.

Instead of compromising, the Republicans seem like they're just sticking their fingers in their ears and shouting near obscenities. Last night I commented on the dramatic difference in behavior between Rep. Cory Mason (D) and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R) on MSNBC's The Last Word. By the end of the interview, Fitzgerald was so agitated that it made me uncomfortable. I attributed the behavior to the massive public pressure the Republicans are under. Today, The Cap Times has an editorial comparing Senator Mark Miller's (D) letter to Fitzgerald with Fitzgerald's letter in response, and they noticed the same stark contrast in tone. Fitzgerald's behavior is reminiscent of Charlie Sheen. Would Fitzgerald be acting this way if he truly felt he was on the right side of history?

Fitzgerald isn't the only Republican acting up. Republicans U.S. Representative Jim Sensenbrenner and Wisconsin Senator Leah Vukmir walked out on a town hall after about 30 minutes, because they didn't want to talk about the issues with the budget repair bill.



Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Democratic Party say they have reached 15% of the required number of signatures to recall the Republican 8 in the first weekend, and Republican Senator Dan Kapanke said he figures they'll get enough. So, it seems the Koch addiction is strong, confusing the Republicans into political suicide instead of standing up for the rights of Wisconsin workers.