Ira Robbins, a retired police officer, is running for Lt. Governor of Wisconsin in the recall election against Rebecca Kleefisch. However, unlike the other candidates for Lt. Governor, Robbins doesn't take money from any special interests. In fact, he doesn't accept money from anyone. He's one of a few candidates with no special interests, a true people's candidate.
Robbins is a big supporter of teachers and collective bargaining rights. In fact, he's running on a platform of returning to quality education while getting special interest money out of politics.
Since Robbins doesn't take money from any special interests, he'll have no reason to listen to them if he's elected. No Koch brothers, no ALEC, and no unions. Only people. This doesn't mean that Robbins doesn't align with the interests of members of any organizations, he just won't give them special treatment like nearly every other politician - Democrat and Republican. See, he's for collective bargaining rights, but not for succumbing to every whim of unions.
I encourage you to take a look at his website at voteira.com and find out more about Ira Robbins. If you think he would be a good Lt. Gov., he really needs your help getting the word out, because everyone else is getting lots of help from big special interests. Voting for people like Ira Robbins is the only way we'll get special interest money out of politics and return Wisconsin back to the people.
If you wanna see who Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's special interests are, now you can thanks to the superb interactive page put together by the Journal Sentinel. The page lets you visually compare how much money many of the recall candidates have received, from whom and from where. It's as plain as day to see that nearly half (47%) of Walker's $12 million comes from out-of-state special interests, far more than any other candidate.
One of the other things you'll first notice is that Walker's top 5 donors are all rich individuals except one named "Unitemized."
I have no idea who's money is "Unitemized," but it's clear by the donors lists and the secretly-funded billboards popping up all over Wisconsin, that there's a few loud rich people who support Walker and are doing everything they can to make their voices louder than everyone else. It's time we take Wisconsin back for the people - not just the few rich and powerful!
We can't take Wisconsin back for the people until we get special interest money out of politics. In order to do that, we must support candidates who refuse money from special interests - any nonhuman entity, particularly those from out of state. On the No Special Interestswebsite, you can quickly see which recall candidates take money from special interests and which do not. From there you can decide which candidates to support or to help persuade your favorite candidate to stop taking money from special interests.
I spent part of this weekend talking to people who vote for Democrats and some who vote for Republicans about Doug La Follette's campaign for Wisconsin Governor as I collected signatures for his nomination, and I've gotten a very good reception from everyone. After my introduction, I always went to "Doug La Follette doesn't take money from any special interests." I told them that fact is one of the primary reasons I'm supporting him for governor, and then I asked if they would be willing to support his name on the ballot. No one has turned me down yet. No more questions.
Everyone likes to hear that a candidate doesn't receive support from special interests, especially these days, and everyone I talked to was excited to help such a candidate get on the ballot.
This is positive news for Doug La Follette's campaign. All of the Democratic candidates are in a statistical dead-heat with Walker. So we're going to need a strong candidate with a stark contrast from Scott Walker, and Doug La Follette's confidence to stand for the people of Wisconsin without special interest support is the starkest contrast among the Democrats.
My experience this weekend also convinced me to create the No Special Interests.com website to help us get special interest money out of our politics. It became quite clear to me that people in Wisconsin are yearning for candidates who reject special interests. With this and all the political energy on both sides right now, I believe Wisconsin can start blazing another political trail - the defeat of special interests in politics.
Help us make that happen by spreading the word and supporting candidates who refuse money from special interests.
That may be a bit grandiose, but that's the goal of No Special Interests.com, the website that I created over the weekend. One of the biggest problems in politics today is the influence of various special interests from corporations to unions and everything in between. It's only gotten worse with the Citizens United ruling, and both sides of the aisle agree. Yet, nearly every politician says that they don't cater to special interests. So, the only way we can rid our politics of special interest influence is to find and elect candidates who truly aren't supported by special interests. No Special Interests.com was created to assist Wisconsinites with that effort and to hopefully start a nonpartisan grassroots movement to rid politics of special interest money.
Candidates who refuse money from special interests really need the support of Wisconsinites to win, and they need to win for us to take Wisconsin back for the people. They're already at a disadvantage by refusing support from special interests. They get less press and less advertising. Yet, they're the type of candidates we should support with the confidence to stand on their own for the people of Wisconsin. We must make an effort to support them if we want to have any chance at success. That means spreading the word about these candidates and why they're better for the people of Wisconsin.
The first step is getting people to realize the significance of special interest money in our politics and the candidates who accept it. Then, we need to encourage support for candidates who refuse support from special interests and put pressure on candidates who accept support from special interests. If we're loud enough, they will listen or stand the chance of losing, and the movement will grow exponentially stronger with each candidate who refuses special interest support.
The lack of support from special interests can be the one differentiating factor in the upcoming elections for candidates on both sides of the aisle. With enough volume, we can make it impossible for candidates to accept money from special interests. We attain success by using our voices and support to elect candidates who are people-funded.
With the historic recall elections approaching and political energy on both sides, we can make significant progress towards our goal quickly. Especially, if we elect a governor who refused special interest support. Everyone agrees this is the time we can really bring about change, and this is the only way we can do it.
On No Special Interests.com you'll find more information on why we need to get special interest money out of politics, how a little effort from each of us can make this happen, and why this movement can work here in Wisconsin right now.
Most importantly, you'll find information on where Wisconsin candidates stand on special interest support. So, you can see who is running a people-funded campaign and who is running a campaign on special interest money. Over the next few days I'll be adding all of the candidates for the races in the upcoming recall elections and the November election. I welcome all constructive feedback and greatly appreciate it!
However, the website is nothing without you. All it takes is a tweet, an email, or just talking to friends. We need to do this all ourselves, and we can do this all ourselves. Lets get this movement started.
It is Friday in Wisconsin, because there's more negative news. Tom Barrett just doesn't listen. The unions don't like him for whatever reason. The grassroots don't like him because he cozies up to special interests and Chicago politics. Even though Barrett has less union, grassroots and independent support than Kathleen Falk or Doug La Follette, Barrett announced late this afternoon that he will run for Wisconsin Governor to muddy the waters and try to take advantage of a weak front-running Falk. Who other than Rahm Emanuel wants you to run now?
Support from special interests hurts Democratic recall candidates, but Barrett just doesn't listen. In his announcement, he lies about his support from special interests, saying he doesn't cater to special interests. Really?!
This is why we need a real strong candidate who really doesn't cater to special interests, and that's Doug La Follette.
It really is time for you to pass the damn ball, ball-hog. There's already a petition for Tom Barrett to "fuck off."
The only difference Barrett brings to the campaign is a disconnect with unions. However, Wisconsin already has the "not in bed with unions" candidate, and that's Doug La Follette. He doesn't take money from ANY special interests. He's the true people's candidate with a campaign run for the people funded by the people.
Tom Barrett spent yesterday with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel raising funds from lobbyists. That's right, yesterday Barrett cozied up to out-of-state lobbyists with big pockets to get financial support for a potential run for governor. The likely reason Barrett hasn't announced a run for governor yet is so that he can rake in the special interest dough using this loophole.
Enough with the special interests! It's not just Walker's special interests we don't like, it's your special interests, too. Wisconsin is sick of our politicians listening to special interests instead of their constituents, and that's one of the reasons many people are fighting to recall Walker. We need campaigns that are run for the people funded by the people.
You're not listening!
This is not what thousands of us stood vigilant inside and outside the Capitol and later collected recall signatures in the cold, snow and rain for last year. This is one of our strongest nonpartisan critiques of Walker, i.e., one of the ways we can win over independents and defeat Walker. How do you propose fighting Walker on these issues when you're doing the exact same thing? You can't!
I wrote about Kathleen Falk's troubles with special interests two weeks ago, and two days ago the respected and witty blogger Giles Goat Boy, for the same reasons, asked Falk and Barrett to "pass the damn ball!"
As Doug La Follette said yesterday, "I am very saddened that this magnificent effort, this historic effort, this real people’s democracy was hijacked by the same-old, same-old big money politics that we thought we had rejected."
Russ Feingold's Progressives United feels the same way. “Up until now, the only beneficiary of ominous super PAC support was Gov. Scott Walker. Regrettably, as well intentioned as Wisconsin for Falk no doubt is, the impact it will have on the recall election will almost certainly be to undermine, not bolster, the chances of successfully replacing Scott Walker as governor.”
What's worse is that Rahm Emanuel has his own public education controversy in Chicago, potentially severely degrading the quality of education in poor districts. We want a governor who will listen to the people of Wisconsin, not simply make drastic changes without the knowledge and support from those who know most. Does Barrett agree with Emanuel's actions?
It only gets worse for those two. Falk is heading to Chicago on Friday for a fundraiser called “Chicago Stands with Falk." We don't need Chicago politics in Wisconsin. We need Wisconsin politics in Wisconsin.
What do you offer that Kathleen Falk doesn't? There doesn't appear to be anything after yesterday. Do everyone a favor and stay out.
We already have the "not in bed with unions" candidate, and that's Doug La Follette. He's a much stronger sell because he doesn't take any money from corporations or special interests. You clearly do, just as Walker and Falk. Where you split with unions, you split for other special interests.
We can win this and take Wisconsin back for the people with a campaign funded solely by the people, because we won't be able to compete with Walker's over $12 million war chest and his out-of-state Super PAC friends. Neither Falk nor Barrett's Super PAC and special interest friends have anything close to that amount of money. So, why bother with all of the trouble?
Feingold argues that Democratic candidates can win by rejecting special interest money and building more energy and support by being the people-funded candidate. We can have enough money to run a viable campaign if everyone who signed a petition gave $20 to such a gubernatorial candidate. The Wisconsin People's Legislature also supports this idea as part of their Tin Cup Platform, and they are pushing all recall candidates to run on it.
Start listening.
You clearly don't want this bad enough, or you would have jumped in long ago. Instead of jumping in and muddying the waters, most likely resulting in at least two negative primary campaigns, I implore you to endorse Doug La Follette. His platform appears to be the most inline with yours, and I believe La Follette is our best chance at defeating Walker and then moving Wisconsin forward as quickly as possible. I suspect that Feingold will endorse La Follette before too long for his stance on special interests, if he endorses anyone before the primary.
The time to get in has passed. Those with the confidence and motivation to run have already announced, and you don't offer anything new. It's time to choose who you will endorse. If you run, the grassroots of Wisconsin will fight you and Falk, because you're not what we're fighting for. But with your support, we can defeat Falk and Walker. Do Wisconsin a solid and endorse Doug La Follette - Governor.
Anyone who's been following this blog knows that I believe Doug La Follette is the candidate most able to defeat Walker and then move Wisconsin FORWARD. It was the first Governor La Follette that gave us the ability to recall politicians, now Wisconsin needs another Governor La Follette to give the state back to the people. (Clearly they're different people, and Doug doesn't necessarily have the same views as Fighting Bob, it's just name play.)
If you don't know much about Doug La Follette, or even if you think you know him, I urge you to look into the candidate. You can read more about our Secretary of State Doug La Follette on his website douglafollette.com and Meet the Walker Recall Candidates: Doug La Follette by Dane101. There is also a recent WisEye interview that really gives you a sense of La Follette and what he stands for.
Unlike Scott Walker, Kathleen Falk, and Tom Barrett; La Follette doesn't take money from corporations or special interest groups. He runs a campaign for the people funded by the people. So your support in this effort is all the more essential, and as always, he greatly appreciates it. If you'd like to contribute to his campaign, you can donate online at ActBlue or send donations to his office at 1211 Rutledge #3, Madison, WI 53703. I include this because I personally believe Doug La Follette is what Wisconsin is looking for, and I want him to get as much support as possible, as soon as possible.
Every politician, particularly Democrats, argue against lobbyists and special interests. However, most politicians actually take as much as they legally (and sometimes illegally) can from corporations and special interests. In order to win in the recall elections this summer, Democratic candidates must reject money from corporations and special interests, and we must support only those candidates.
One of our strongest nonpartisan critiques of the no-compromise Walker is his pay-for-play with corporations and conservative special interests such as the Koch brothers. You know, like the tried and true statements about "out-of-state money." We can easily win over independents who look for candidates that aren't sold to special interests, and that's what we need to do to defeat Walker. However, to do that a Democratic candidate can't be taking special interest money at the same time, no matter how "good" the special interest might be. The sales pitch dies there, and the critical ideas get lost in the ether.
Scott Walker has over $12 million in his war chest. His Super PAC and special interest friends have already lined up and committed millions more. No Democratic candidate can compete. So, instead of trying to compete, lets actually walk the talk. We can build more grassroots energy and support with the candidates that reject special interests. Let Walker talk to himself on TV. People who are convincible will want more information than just the slime they put out, if only because it'll be so clearly one-sided, and they'll have to look elsewhere. That's where our energy comes in - mainly talking to people. We can save money by doing things such as making our own yard signs which will make the campaign really look like a grassroots campaign.
Think of the stark alternative we would offer. I'm excited!
Russ Feingold agrees. In response to whether candidates should take money from special interests and Super PACs, he said, "People will see us as weak and not being a true alternative and just being the same as the other guy. And as I have said before, to me this is dancing with the devil."
Feingold's Progressives United has spoken out against Falk's support from special interests.
“Regrettably, as well intentioned as Wisconsin for Falk no doubt is, the impact it will have on the recall election will almost certainly be to undermine, not bolster, the chances of successfully replacing Scott Walker as governor. By funneling out-of-state special interest money to support Kathleen Falk’s campaign, Wisconsin for Falk muddies what had been absolutely crystal clear waters in the recall effort. Up until now, the only beneficiary of ominous super PAC support was Governor Scott Walker. That can no longer be said, and because of that, Kathy Falk has been forced to cede what could have been a powerful strategic advantage, namely the complete rejection of support from dubious organizations that the American public overwhelmingly rejects. In fact, a recent poll found that nearly 70% of the public thought that super PACs ought to be outlawed.”
The Wisconsin People's Legislature is pushing all recall candidates to run on the Tin Cup Platform, which rejects money from special interests. We can have enough money to run a viable campaign if everyone who signed a petition gave $20 to such a gubernatorial candidate. It's definitely within our reach.
The top progressive minds in Wisconsin are behind this, and that's usually who Democrats and progressives follow - the advice of independent minds that know what they're talking about. What's your reason for not supporting a candidate that knows what's up?
The two biggest names in the running or potentially running for governor, Kathleen Falk and Tom Barrett, have been cozying up to special interests.
There is a candidate for governor that doesn't take money from corporations or special interests, and that's Doug La Follette. He's a true independent, grassroots and "people's" candidate, and he offers the change Wisconsin is looking for.
In order for us to get a campaign for the people, it must be funded by the people, and we must support only candidates who reject money from corporations and special interests.
If we don't demand it, we won't get it. And if we don't get it, we'll lose to Walker!
