Analysis of Walker's Obfuscation and Barrett's Success in Final Recall Debate

The short election campaign for Tom Barrett is nearing its end now that the second of two debates are complete. I would first like to say that the right-leaning Mike Gousha did a fantastic job of moderating the debate last night. Gousha sure didn't forget about the follow-up question, and he elegantly danced from left to right in a nonpartisan fashion. It was a breath of fresh air. Thank you, Mike Gousha!

It's really too bad there were only two debates. Barrett has far exceeded my expectations, knocking down nearly every one of Walker's dubious claims with passionate but calm and simple reasoning. Thank you, Tom Barrett, for being the candidate this time that we knew you could be in 2010.

You can watch the full video online at WISN.

Clearing the Air

Nearly all of the questions that I felt were critical were asked either by Mike Gousha or Tom Barrett, but Scott Walker, the "Rock Star of the Tea Party," continued to obfuscate everything with his thoroughly rehearsed lines.

Walker continued to say that stripping collective bargaining rights saved money, but this is simply not true. Walker even admitted it didn't save money under oath in front of Congress last year. The same savings would have been reached had Walker negotiated with the unions, because, as Barrett mentioned, the unions conceded to massive cuts to their pay and benefits Walker asked for as long as they could keep their rights. But since Walker wanted to strip their rights, he did it even though he didn't need to.

Taxes did not go down for everyone, just the average, and that's only real estate taxes with an average decrease of only 0.4%. Taxes went down for the very rich, many of whom now don't pay any taxes. However, many poor and middle class are receiving less from the government, in effect increasing their taxes. In fact, the Homestead Credit was cut, which is a tax increase on the poor and middle class. And we can't forget about increased tuition costs for Wisconsin technical colleges and universities. It's simply disingenuous to say that Walker saved the average Wisconsin taxpayer money, because it's not true.

Walker actually increased spending beyond the Doyle administration, though less services are now being provided.

As Barrett pointed out, since 70% of Wisconsin schools had to fire teachers, the tools were clearly not enough to make up for Walker's historically massive cuts to education. Our class room sizes are now the largest they've been since 1995. Talk about moving backward. It simple doesn't add up when you cut funds by the most in Wisconsin history, schools will suffer. We need to pay teachers more, not less, and we need to equip our students with the tools and books necessary for a proper education. That simply can't be done with the funds Walker has appropriated to our public schools.

Unions are not and can not be dictators of anything, contrary to Walker's claims. Unions bargain, as in collective bargaining. The definition of bargain excludes any ability to dictate anything. If Walker wanted to make real change the democratic way, he would have negotiated with the unions to achieve Wisconsin's goals. There was simply no need to strip their rights to accomplish Wisconsin's goals, in this case, balancing the budget. The power was already in the hands of the taxpayers to balance our budget before Walker took office, but by stripping their rights, Walker made himself a dictator.

Barrett is not the "union's candidate." That was clearly Kathleen Falk. Barrett said he supports our citizen's right to collectively bargain, but he won't agree to their every whim. He'll do the tough job of actually negotiating to accomplish goals.

The reason that collective bargaining isn't the only thing that pro-Wisconsin people decry Walker for is because Walker has done so much more damage since, not because the reforms are working. Official verified statistics have shown this consistently for over a year. If you want to use Walker's unverified numbers, we're still dead last in the nation and far from his promised 250,000 jobs.

After the debate, Tom Barrett was finally able to fully clarify the issue with Walker's numbers to a WISN reporter. Thursday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics told PolitiScoop that they have not verified Walker's numbers yet. The Bureau told Walker that they "confirmed the methods used" not verified the numbers saying, "...we would not have confirmed the numbers yet."

Critical Obfuscation

When asked about his "divide and conquer" plan, Walker blatantly lied. The "powerful special interests" Walker supposedly wanted to divide and conquer are not the real powerful special interests. All you have to do is look at the $25 million Walker has and who he got it from and compare that to Barrett's $1 million. The powerful special interests are clearly behind Walker, and most are from out-of-state.

A further example of Walker's intent was his discussion with the faux-Koch in which he said he "dropped the bomb." A governor doesn't drop bombs to ethically balance budgets, especially budgets as close to black as it was. We weren't broke, which Walker's increase in spending is clear proof of.

A third example of Walker's intent is his refusal to say whether he would veto a Right-to-Work bill. When Barrett said that Walker would sign a Right-to-Work bill, Walker made no attempt to deny it. That's a very clear answer. Walker wants to rid Wisconsin of unions.

As Barrett said, not giving billions in tax breaks to corporations that aren't linked to job creation would have been a good start to solving the budget deficit without resorting to stripping citizen's rights. Those tax breaks were a complete waste of our tax money, which we must pay to make up for, particularly with Walker's increased spending. Big corporations and the very rich that pay little or no taxes love Scott Walker.

Who's funding Walker's $160,000+ criminal defense fund? Walker refused to say. Instead, Walker continued spreading the lie that he started the investigation as if he's simply been cooperating. In fact, Walker "stone-walled" the investigation. Walker provided a flaky attempt to explain himself, but if Walker wasn't able to get the information, why would someone be left with the impression they were stone-walled?

Walker won't release his emails, even though he's been told he can. He continued to hide behind the notion that he can't talk about the investigation. However, as Gousha stated, unless Walker is under investigation, there's nothing preventing him from talking about his own involvement. Walker refuses to clear the air with his emails, because he clearly can't. I don't know how one can come to any other conclusion at this point.

We Can Remove Walker

Just think of what we've been able to accomplish. Down financially $25 million to $1 million in any other election, we wouldn't stand a chance. Instead, the election has been a statistical tie from the beginning. It's clear that people in Wisconsin can see through Walker's lies.

We can remove Scott Walker on June 5th. Lets make it happen.

What Has Scott Walker Done for Wisconsin Lately?

In an update to the popular post What Has Scott Walker Done for Wisconsin, this post adds to the list of things Walker has done for Wisconsin in the last few months. Walker still hasn't created any jobs, the numbers he provides are unverifiable statistics which deviate wildly from official verified statistics, and thus can't be trusted until verified. Walker still hasn't balanced the budget, and contrary to Walker's claims, he raised taxes on the poor and middle class to support tax breaks for the very rich.

But all of that was already covered in the previous post. A lot has happened in the three months since.

Walker's Criminal Mind

In March, Walker opened a criminal defense fund, becoming the first ever governor in the United States to do so. According to Wisconsin Statutes, Walker can only legally open a criminal defense fund if he "is being investigated for or charged with a violation of campaign finance laws or prohibited election practices." However, Walker continues to say that he is not under investigation by the FBI in their John Doe probe (Walkergate) that has resulted in two convictions and four apprehensions on felony charges, all connected to Walker. So, Walker is either lying or he's breaking the law.

Walker stole millions from victims of the mortgage crisis in order to help offset his budget deficit. That's right, Walker has a budget deficit, i.e., he did not balance the budget. Not only that, he used money from the poor and unfortunate to help bolster his budget.

Walker and the Republican leadership killed any hope of jobs or mining legislation by not even compromising within the Republican party to provide what Gogebic Taconite wanted instead of an additional far-right wishlist. The Democrats had a bill that gave the mining company what they wanted without the ideological rollback of environmental protections that Walker wanted, the Wisconsin Way Mining Reform Act. However, the Republicans did everything they could to prevent a vote on the sure-to-pass bill, holding out for their impassable bill and thus killing the Republicans' only jobs plan.

Throughout Walker's term, particularly this spring, Walker signed into law a wide array of secretly corporate-backed model legislation from ALEC.

Policies of the War on Women

Instead of any jobs legislation, Walker amped up the far-right War on Women in Wisconsin.

To start, Walker repealed part of Wisconsin's Fair Employment Act so that women and minorities will find it even more difficult to get the same pay as white men. Republicans in Wisconsin have stated that they believe men should make more than women, and this bill helps to ensure that continues to happen.

Walker banned abortion coverage from future Wisconsin private health insurance plans that will be setup through the Affordable Care Act exchanges. So, women on those health plans, the least fortunate women and many in the middle class, won't have insurance coverage for potentially life-saving abortions.

Walker signed into law a bill that requires women to make unnecessary appointments with their doctors 24 hours before having an abortion. This forced Planned Parenthood to stop offering the morning after pill to rape victims.

Walker then allowed schools to teach the myth that abstinence is the only effective way to prevent pregnancy or STDs and not teach anything about condoms or contraceptives, because Walker doesn't like to use facts so neither should our teachers.

In a blatant sign of Walker's ignorance for women, Walker ignored the bombing of a medical clinic for women in Appleton.

Far-right and Unconstitutional Legislation

Rolling back environmental protections in mining wasn't enough for Walker, he and the Republicans successfully repealed wetland protections in the middle of the night. No jobs were created as a result of the legislation.

Nearly every one of Walker's legislative achievements were found unconstitutional including the Voter Suppression Law, the collective bargaining rights-stripping law and the Republicans' illegal gerrymandering. So, IDs are not required to vote and parts of the union busting law were struck down, but Walker refused to fix the illegal gerrymandering, costing more taxpayer money in court where new maps will now be drawn.

Collective Secrecy

In the previous post, I mentioned video that showed Walker saying he would negotiate with unions during his campaign, contrary to his statements that Wisconsin knew he was going to strip collective bargaining rights from public workers. Walker hadn't made any public statements to that effect prior to releasing the bill.

Now, recently released video shows Walker in January 2011 telling Diane Hendricks, a billionaire heiress who paid $0 in state taxes that year and gave Walker a record $510,000, that he plans to get rid of unions in Wisconsin through a "divide and conquer" plan that begins with the public employees. Walker hid this plan from the rest of us, but gladly told his rich donors who are the only people to gain from such efforts. This divide and conquer plan turned out to be the collective bargaining rights stripping bill that Walker released less than a month later.

Rich Kings and Queens

All the while Walker has been either under investigation or breaking the law, very rich donors have been donating over 25 million dollars to his campaign as well as Super PACs, billboards and TV ads. Nearly all the way up and down Highway 41, you see billboards from rich a**holes who want to buy tax breaks for themselves at our expense. What's not to like about Walker if you're rich? Well, other than the fact that his policies don't improve the economy, Walker hasn't done anything in the open and cordial Wisconsin way.

But money means way more to top Walker donors like Diane Hendricks who doesn't pay any Wisconsin taxes and wants to turn Wisconsin into a unionless state, otherwise known as Right-to-Work. They could care less what happens to us as long as their bank account gets fatter. Heck, they don't even care that Walker is either investigation or breaking the law. Most of all, the lies don't seem to bother these rich donors one bit. Many of the out-of-state donors don't care what happens to Wisconsin as long as Walker's anti-union, anti-women, anti-minority messages prevails here and spreads.

Tea Party Hero, Wisconsinite Zero

Walker is a national hero to the Tea Party crowd, and he's been using his far-right hero status with a rich donorbase by travelling across the nation to raise over 25 million dollars in campaign donations from the aforementioned rich. Compare that to the nearly 1 million that the entire effort against Walker has raised. How dare Walker complain about the "millions from out-of-state union thugs," when that's not happening, and instead he's the one brining in millions from out-of-state. "Out-of-State" Scott Walker has spent so much time travelling the nation that he refuses to tell us how much time he's been out of Wisconsin.

Haven't we had enough of Walker's lies, secrecy and damage to Wisconsin?

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker Broke the Law

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker broke the law when he opened his historic criminal defense fund, the first ever in Wisconsin for a sitting governor. Either that, or "Out-of-State" Walker is lying and he is under investigation by the FBI in their John Doe probe (Walkergate) for using taxpayer money for his political campaign. Because that's the only legal purpose for creating a criminal defense fund, according to Wisconsin Statutes. The statutes say that Walker can only set up a criminal defense fund if he "is being investigated for or charged with a violation of campaign finance laws or prohibited election practices." However, Walker continues to say that he is not a target of the investigation by the FBI (maybe he's under investigation by someone else?). But then, Walker must have broken the law in March when he opened his criminal defense fund.

We don't know whether Walker is a criminal or just under investigation for being a criminal, because Walker refuses to tell us the truth about his legal defense fund which currently holds $160,000 in donations to pay two big-time criminal defense lawyers from Chicago and Milwaukee. Why would Walker need to set up a criminal defense fund if he isn't under investigation? Walker even lies about who started the investigation, Walker did not ask to start the investigation as he said in the first debate last Friday.

The answer clearly isn't good for Walker's recall campaign, but the answer is critical in light of his coming recall. The FBI probe has already resulted in conviction of a Walker aide and apprehension of four other close associates, as well as the conviction of a top donor to Walker's 2010 campaign. More arrests are expected in the continuing investigation, and Walker is suspected to be John Doe.

Wisconsin deserves to know what Scott Walker knew about the corruption surrounding him and whether or not he's breaking the law by funding his criminal lawyers with donations. We also deserve to know who's funding Walker's criminal defense, but he refuses to provide any information after countless attempts from the media, Tom Barrett and others.

Scott Walker's secrecy stinks, and it's time Wisconsin citizens and media demand answers from Out-of-State Walker. The media really makes this way too easy for Walker. What happened to journalists who asked follow-up questions? I guess the far-right media corporations Gannett, Journal Communications and Lee Enterprises have forced their bias on their employees.

There's no ethical way to vote or endorse Scott Walker's re-election without knowing whether his criminal defense fund is legal and Walker is lying or not. Here's looking at you far-right Journal Sentinel...

U.S. Congress Requests Answers from Walker About Validity of Sworn Testimony

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government sent Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker a letter today, asking him to answer their questions regarding the validity of his sworn testimony by June 1. Tuesday, Walker told a local Fox affiliate that he was upset members of the committee wrote to the chairman instead of Walker directly. So, today, the members fulfilled Walker's request, and now it's time for Walker to provide some answers.

Last year, Walker told the committee under sworn testimony that he never "had a conversation with respect to [his] actions in Wisconsin and using them to punish members of the opposition party and their donor base.” This recently released video of Walker talking to billionaire heiress Diane Hendricks, who later gave Walker $500,000 and pays $0 in income tax, about his plan to "divide and conquer" unions blatantly contradicts Walker's sworn testimony.



The committee wrote,

"It is critical for Congress to obtain accurate information from witnesses who testify before the Committee in order to help inform our policy decisions. Your videotaped conversation with Ms. Hendricks not only raises serious concerns about the accuracy of your testimony before the Committee, but it undermines the entire rationale put forward for your unprecedented campaign against public sector workers."

The committee asked Walker, "Do you now wish to withdraw your sworn testimony?"

Walker has until June 1 to respond...

Scott Walker's Significant Job Losses Explained

In a recent TED talk, Nick Hanauer, a serial entrepreneur and member of the 1%, explained why Wisconsin has such a significant job loss since Scott Walker implemented his policies (33,900 jobs lost) and why we need to appropriately tax the rich again.



The rich are not "job creators," because they create jobs only as a last resort with gritted teeth when customer demand requires it. No entrepreneur starts a business because they want to create jobs. It's their customers that create jobs. Without a strong customer base, no business will create jobs, and that's the problem we have here in Wisconsin. Hanauer says that calling people like him job creators is "disingenuous." We're the real job creators.

By reducing the amount of middle class jobs like teachers and janitors, and reducing the pay of those who have jobs, Walker has single-handedly reduced the customer base of Wisconsin businesses. Businesses in Wisconsin aren't growing, because their revenue doesn't support it. Some big companies are doing well in Wisconsin, e.g., GE, but most businesses are growing slowly if at all, and businesses continue to close all over Wisconsin. A big and popular restaurant just outside of Green Bay, River's Bend, closed last week.

Hanauer says the fix to our economy is to appropriately fund government services with a fair tax that receives more investment from the rich, e.g. the Reagan Rule.

Hanauer doesn't say this because he's generous, but he said "ultimately these things are good for me," because his businesses grow when we have more money to spend on their products and services. Although some of Hanauer's logic is flawed, or his explanation lacking, his main point is right on.

The rich clearly don't need more money, with the millions they can donate to Walker and use for billboards and TV ads all over Wisconsin. They need to support the state that supports them. It's time we get a governor who will stand up to the rich like Diane Hendricks.

Vote for your economic interests and your neighbors'. Vote Tom Barrett. Early voting has already begun.

The Problems with Scott Walker's Unverified Jobs Numbers

There are several problems with Scott Walker's new unverified claim of a net increase of jobs during his term: the numbers haven't been verified, there's no proof, they're not consistent with trends and verified data, and Walker released the unverified numbers with conspicuously perfect timing.

The biggest bipartisan complaint with Walker is the significant job losses Wisconsin has suffered since Walker took office, more than any other state in the nation (most states have gained jobs). According to verified numbers by the U.S. Dept. of Labor, Wisconsin lost 33,900 private sector jobs. If you count public sector jobs, Wisconsin lost far more jobs.

You wouldn't trust your safety on an airplane if critical safety checks weren't verified. Why would you trust other unverified work, i.e., Walker's unverified jobs numbers? How can anyone trust unverified numbers when it comes to such a critical decision.

Walker has not publicly released the raw data. So, there is no way to verify the numbers until the U.S. Dept. of Labor does, and their verification won't be finished until after the recall election June 5th. There's no actual proof that Walker's numbers are accurate, and no way to get proof until after Walker's recall election.

If Walker's unverified numbers are accurate, the numbers from the U.S. Dept. of Labor would have to be very inaccurate for nearly 12 consecutive months. The difference between the verified numbers and Walker's is 57,200 jobs. The unverified state numbers that Walker cites has never deviated so far from the verified numbers from the U.S. Dept. of Labor. So, the probability that Walker's unverified numbers are accurate is very low.

The unemployment rate has gone down, but experts attribute this to people who can no longer claim unemployment benefits and have given up on getting a job. Such people are not counted as unemployed, and so can skew the numbers if too many people are without jobs for too long. So, just because the unemployment rate goes down does not mean the economy has more jobs, and likely doesn't given all of the verified data.

Walker had no problem using the numbers from the U.S. Dept. of Labor. He touted the numbers early last year before we began bleeding jobs. However, it would behoove Walker to release conflicting data showing an increase in jobs instead, especially less than 3 weeks before a statistically tied recall election, even if they turn out to be inaccurate after the election.

Wisconsin has never publicly released this data before last week. Up until now, Wisconsin waited for the U.S. Dept. of Labor to release the numbers after they verify them. Walker released the unverified numbers a day before the U.S. Dept. of Labor was expected and did release new verified job numbers for April showing a loss of 6,200 private sector jobs in the month. The same day Walker released his unverified numbers, his campaign released an ad displaying the Journal Sentinel headline of that day touting his new unverified jobs numbers. Clearly, Walker was hoping to combat his horrible job record and offset the coming negative news of continued bleeding.

While the timing doesn't prove Walker cooked the numbers for political purposes, it doesn't help Walker's trustworthiness.

We have no way of knowing whether Walker cooked the numbers, and we have no reason to believe he hasn't cooked the numbers. Walker, the Republicans, and the rich have a lot to gain and lose with this election, and we know Walker and the Republicans are willing to do just about anything from breaking their own laws to hiring people that break campaign finance laws.

The core problem is that there simply is no way to verify Walker's numbers. If Walker wants us to believe his new numbers, he must provide the raw data so that his numbers can be independently verified. As taxpayers, we pay for that data, and deserve to see it upon request. Otherwise, we'll have to depend upon the data that we know have been verified.

Anti-Union Website Sponsored by Wisconsin State Journal - More Far-Right Media

Lee Enterprises, the publisher of the Wisconsin State Journal, has set up an anti-union website with many myths, have truths, and tons of spin to make you think you're better off negotiating with employers by yourself than collectively.

The site is called Lee Union Free, and is a despicable website coming from what is supposed to be an unbiased news source.  Lee Enterprises recently chided their employees for signing recall petitions, as if signing a recall petition says you don't support Walker. They did this in an effort to look unbiased, but in fact their behavior just supports their bias towards Walker by chiding people who signed the petition but may plan to vote for Walker in the recall election, just like the far-right Walker supporting Gannett.

The biggest spin of them all on the site: "You don't need a union. Let your performance speak for itself." If that was true, we would have never needed unions, but that's definitely NOT true. Lee Enterprises would rather keep unions out so they can pay you what they want based on the performance they want to measure.

Their "Facts about Unions" page plays a video from the Daily Show. Really? I know they *can* be factual, but that's LE's only source of facts against unions? They're a newspaper for crying out loud! They couldn't dig up their own facts or reliable sources?

Besides the Daily Show video, they provide a link to unionfacts.com which is some non-profit in Washington D.C. The site profiles the extreme cases of union corruption, which I have deep concerns about, but it barely mentions the benefits of collective bargaining. Yes, any organization can become corrupt, and we must prevent that as best as possible, but that doesn't mean unions are bad. If anything, it means that anti-corruption policies that govern both unions and corporations are not working.

The site even violates their supposed policy: "Participation in public affairs or events that may leave the impression that news judgment is being influenced by activism is prohibited." Creating an anti-union website is clearly public and political activism biased against unions, but singing a recall petition is not biased. Signing a recall petition doesn't mean you can't support Walker and vote for him in the recall election. It means that you support Wisconsin's ability to choose in the future whether to replace an official before their term is up. So, signing a recall petition should not leave any biased impression. If Lee Enterprises wanted to assure their readers that their employees weren't biased for signing the recall petitions, Lee Enterprises could have simply reported on the facts of a recall, but that doesn't make for "attractive" headlines.

Now, it's very clear that Lee Enterprises is far-right Walker supporting media. They don't like unions or recall petition signers. They punish employees for taking part in an unbiased form of democracy, but then create an activist website that supports Walker's anti-union agenda.

If the Wisconsin State Journal, the La Crosse Tribune, and others want to appear unbiased, they need to shut this blatantly biased and spun website down! You can't have your cake and it eat, too. Either you're unbiased and show support for no particular cause, or you are biased.

NOTE: I'm not qualifying my statement about our far-right media in Wisconsin anymore, they're clearly far-right Walker-supporting media.

How Many Teachers Has Scott Walker Fired?

I was talking to a teacher the other day who was telling me about 21 teachers who will lose their job under her district's latest plans. She asked me, "How many teachers has Scott Walker fired?" I couldn't answer her question at the time, but I thought it was a very interesting question.

See, the whole reason that Walker says he stripped the rights of our public workers last year was to give local governments and districts the "tools" needed to deal with his massive budget cuts without firing any teachers. Walker said that this would save thousands of teachers jobs. However, we know that this has been far from the case. So, how many teachers has Scott Walker fired?

According to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Scott Walker has fired* at least 1,446 teachers!

That's 2.4% of Wisconsin's teachers!  All fired by Scott Walker in one year, so that corporations and super rich people like Diane Hendricks can pay little or no state taxes. In the end, we suffer with lower-quality education. The children of the super rich go to the best private schools money can buy.

So much for saving thousands of teachers' jobs, but we all know that wasn't the reason Walker stripped their collective bargaining rights. It was to push his far-right ideological and corporate goal of stripping rights from a specific group of people he figured he could get away with, public employees. "Divide-and-conquer," as he told Diane Hendricks just before she gave Walker the biggest donation in Wisconsin history and less than a month before he "dropped the bomb."

Walker's "tools" don't work.

But we all know Walker is a big fat liar.



*Yes, I know he didn't directly fire them, but they lost their jobs due to his massive budget cuts to give tax breaks to corporations. So the buck stops at Walker.

Is Scott Walker Breaking Wisconsin Law?

Is Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker breaking the law right now?

Walker set up a legal defense fund several weeks ago in response to the FBI's criminal John Doe investigation, otherwise known as Walkergate. This lead many to believe Walker must be a target of the investigation - most likely the John Doe.

However, Walker continues to say he's not a target in the investigation. Yet, if he's not a target in the investigation, then he's breaking the law, because that's the only time a legal defense fund can be setup under Wisconsin law. Several news organizations have asked Walker since, and none have gotten a straight answer. If Walker isn't breaking the law, then we deserve to know how and why.

It's time this gets investigated. Either Walker is breaking the law or he is not, and Wisconsin deserves to know. Who begins such an investigation? If it's Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, that explains why we still don't know. This is someone's responsibility, and these questions need to be answered now, particularly because he'll soon be standing before Wisconsin's recall.

Can someone please tell me how we determine if Scott Walker is breaking Wisconsin law? And has Walker met with prosecutors or the FBI yet?

Walker is either being investigated for breaking the law or he's breaking the law now.

Wisconsin needs answers now.

Did Scott Walker Meet with John Doe Prosecutor Today?

DailyKos blogger ForestLake spotted Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, the first governor to ever set up a legal defense fund, rushing into the Milwaukee County Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse around 9 this morning. I tried finding any news about his trip to the Federal Building, but I haven't found anything. Was Walker finally meeting with the DA in the FBI John Doe investigation?

That's a great question, with an interesting answer most likely no matter what, and we might know if he made his schedule public on his website.

Another great question that hasn't been answered is, is Walker breaking Wisconsin law?

Walker set up a legal defense fund several weeks ago. However, he says he's not a target in the investigation. If he's not a target in the investigation then he's breaking the law, because that's the only time a legal defense can be setup under Wisconsin law. Several news organizations have asked Walker since, and none have gotten a straight answer. If Walker isn't breaking the law, then we deserve to know how and why.

It's time this gets investigated. Either Walker is breaking the law or he is not, and Wisconsin deserves to know. Who begins such an investigation? If it's Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, that explains why we still don't know. This is someone's responsibility, and these questions need to be answered now, particularly before he stands before Wisconsin's recall.

Can someone please tell me how we determine if Walker is breaking Wisconsin law?

Wisconsin needs answers.

Update: (2:11pm) No one yet seems to know what Walker was doing. Walker's sighting at the Federal Building may not have anything to do with the John Doe investigation, given that neither the FBI nor the DA would probably meet with Walker there. There aren't any better explanations yet.

Update: (2:43pm) I called Walker's staff, but they didn't have Walker's schedule for today and weren't able to tell me where he was. I was told to email Cullen Werwie to find out, and I have. Waiting...

Update: (8:37pm) No response from Werwie so far, and I can't find any more information. Jud Lounsbury at UppityWis believes that Walker may have been visiting the RICO prosecutor. If the visit was just normal governor business, why are we being kept in the dark. What was Walker doing?

Update: (4/9 2:37pm) No response from Werwie after several attempts from several addresses. I haven't seen anything in the press about Walker's whereabouts that day.  So, I guess we'll just never know. Annoyingly secretive Walker!

Barrett: Another Gubernatorial Candidate With Special Interests

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.

Gannett Is Far-Right Walker-Supporting Media

Most of Gannett's reporters didn't sign a recall petition. Therefore, Gannett is clearly far-right Scott Walker-supporting media, because not signing a recall petition is clear support for Walker, while signing a recall petition isn't express support for or against Walker. Gannett has gone so far as to discipline those reporters who didn't follow their political bias and signed the petition. So, Gannett can't possibly report unbiasedly with so many people supporting Walker.

One could easily have signed a recall petition and then vote for Walker in the recall election. You can support Walker and be a petition signer. You may just want to give others a chance to elect someone else. My step-father is one of these people. Gannett is making sweeping claims that these people don't support Walker and then disciplining their employees based on their claims.

Signing a recall petition doesn't remove an elected official from office, the desire of the petition filers. It only gives Wisconsin a chance to remove the official through a recall election. However, not signing a recall petition keeps an official in office, the desire of the elected official. Therefore, there is no other way to interpret not signing a recall petition other than clear support for the current elected official.

Gannett publishes many Wisconsin newspapers including The Green Bay Press Gazette, The Post Crescent, The Fond du Lac Reporter, The Oshkosh Northwestern and Manitowac's Herald Times Reporter. All of these newspapers are in the bag for Walker since most of the reporters are. That's a significant portion of Wisconsin's newspapers that are far-right Walker supporters.

If Gannett is worried about the perception of their bias. They should make sure that half of their reporters sign a recall petition and half don't. Or they can report on what signing a recall petition really is.

Defend the Recall!



(In case you haven't figured it out yet, I don't really believe that Gannett is far-right Walker-supporting media or that they should have half of their reporters sign recall petitions. However, they can't claim that signing a recall petition is "political activity" and has any bearing on reporting.

The main point is: one cannot infer someone's political bias based on their signing or not signing a recall petition.

Gannett, and all other companies, must not prohibit their employees from signing recall petitions, and they must not discipline employees for signing recall petitions. Now that they know, Gannett must come clean and admit what signing a recall petition really is in all of their Wisconsin publications or face the moniker of far-right Walker-supporting media.)

Let Us Pass A Mining Bill Now

With the State Senate split 50/50, the far-right Republican leadership now must work with Democrats to pass mining legislation. Let's get it done. We've got illegal gerrymandering to fix anyway. Two birds, one stone.

In fact, the Democrats have enough votes with Republican Senator Dale Schultz to pass the Wisconsin Way Mining Reform Act right now. It doesn't curb environmental protections, and it gives Gogebic Taconite what they want.

The Republican leadership was planning on a special session for mining legislation, but they cancelled it. The only reason they planned the special session was to prevent passage of the Wisconsin Way Mining Reform Act in the regular legislative session. The planned special session made it impossible for the Democrats to vote on the WWMR Act. Then, the Republicans blamed Democrats and Schultz for not passing new mining legislation, when in fact it was their inability to compromise with even others within their own party that prevented a bill from passing.

Now it's time for the Republican leadership to make good on their word. We need a special session on mining to pass the only jobs plan the Republicans have.

We all know the Republicans won't make good on their word and even just start a special session for mining legislation, but our calls to begin one will shine a bright light on their hypocritical stubbornness.

Scott Fitzgerald Reveals That Corporations Wrote Mining Bill

A friend of mine pointed me to this video of Scott Fitzgerald talking about "when the corporations started building that bill," referring to the mining bill AB 426, which the Republican leadership held steadfast to instead of passing the bipartisan Wisconsin Way Mining Reform Act. The clip takes place during Fitzgerald's press conference after the Senate failed to pass their industry-written bill.



The entire video is here



The Republican leadership say they're against government regulation, but when it comes to women's bodies, the Republicans in Wisconsin want more government regulation. They're pushing several bills in the Assembly today. I guess it all depends upon who's lining their pockets.

Scott Walker Confirms He's Under Investigation - Sets Up Legal Defense Fund

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker confirmed today that he is under investigation by the FBI in their secret John Doe probe. Walker announced that he has set up a legal defense fund (JS paywall). For the first time in Wisconsin history, a sitting governor has set up a legal defense fund. According to Wisconsin Statutes, the only way that Walker is permitted to set up such a fund is if he "is being investigated for or charged with a violation of campaign finance laws or prohibited election practices." So, Walker most likely is "John Doe," and it looks like the rumors of a possible arrest and subsequent resignation by Walker aren't without some merit. Walker made the announcement late Friday to try to keep this as quiet as possible, and Daniel Bice from the JS noticed Walker must be under investigation to start the fund.

Walker already announced last month that he hired two big-time criminal defense lawyers from Chicago and Milwaukee to represent him in the investigation (JS paywall). The scandal has always pointed to Walker, who was only feet away from a convicted aide, several others who have been charged, and a secret email network. Now, Walker has confirmed our suspicions.

Update: Daniel Bice now points out that there appears to be a consensus among election lawyers that Walker has confirmed he is under investigation or has been charged. A Walker spokesperson says that "Walker has been told that he is not a target in this investigation," but that appears to be another lie, because if he isn't, then how is he not violating Wisconsin law right now? Neither Bice nor WisPolitics received a straight answer.

Scott Walker IS John Doe.

For more information on the Walkergate scandal, visit Walkergate.info.

Scott Walker Campaigned On Negotiating With Unions

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker says that he campaigned on stripping collective bargaining rights from our public employees, but no one has ever been able to corroborate that with audio, video or otherwise. Now, we have recently released video of Walker telling the Oshkosh Northwestern a week before his election that "you still have to negotiate" through collective bargaining.

Editorial Board member: Before, we were talking about state employees contributing to their plan, paying their share of the pension plan. Collective bargaining come into that?

Walker: Yep

Editorial Board member: How do you get that negotiated and accepted by the state employee unions?

Walker: You still have to negotiate it. I did that at the county as well.

Thanks to Jud Lounsbury at UppityWis for pointing the video out and editing it for consumption.

So, when did Walker campaign on stripping collective bargaining rights? Did he change his mind in less than a week?

If he felt he could negotiate with the unions, why didn't he ever try?

This just adds to the lies Walker spewed last spring, including that stripping the rights saved money.

Wisconsin Republicans Refuse to Fix Gerrymandered Maps After Judges Plea

A three-judge panel in Federal court, who has lambasted the Republicans for their secrecy many times, gave the Republicans the option yesterday to make changes to their gerrymandered maps to fix the issues that brought them to court. The Republicans responded by saying they wanted to, but couldn't change the maps because of some ancient one-time Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling.

Today, the three-judge panel called out the Republicans for their ridiculous assertion. Judge Diane Wood said, "Nothing stands in the way of further revision of the redistricting plan."

By fixing the maps, the Republicans could have ended the court case. Judge Robert M. Dow Jr said "We wouldn't be sitting here if we didn't think there were some issues for trial. You guys can take those issues off the table."

The Republicans were given until 2pm today to decide if they would fix the maps. At 2pm, the judges gave them more time to decide, until 4pm. However, the Republicans continue to waste taxpayer money in court and refuse to make any changes. They have officially refused to fix their gerrymandered maps.

So, now that they can change the maps, they don't want to. Seems they were lying when they said they had any desire to fix their gerrymandering.

Keep wasting the taxpayers' money on frivolous arguments to keep your gerrymandering process secret and the result unchanged, Republicans. You could have stopped this now and saved a lot of time and money. Instead, you continue to stick your nose in the sand, believing in your own twisted reality.

I guess we'll see you Republicans in court again tomorrow.

Wake the f**k up, Wisconsin, and get these Greedy Bastards out! -> Walker is still a toss-up in the latest polls!

What Has Scott Walker Done for Wisconsin?

Walker says he balanced the budget, but he hasn't.

Walker says he created thousands of jobs, but he hasn't.

Since taking office as Governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker has had very little to brag about. He'll brag to his rich corporate donors that he crippled the rights of workers in Wisconsin, but the two other accomplishments he touts are myths.

What has Walker done for Wisconsin? He didn't balance the budget or create thousands of jobs. He walked Wisconsin back 50 years and then gave it to his corporate donors and their allies.

He's made the poor and middle-class pay for tax breaks to corporations and the wealthy. He's drastically cut education funding from K-12 to our highly respected UW System.  He's held Wisconsin back on innovative projects such as high-speed rail and wind energy for ideological reasons. He's pushed tens of thousands of jobs away. He's exacerbated our government's increasing use of foreign energy. He's made our kids work more hours while in school. He's increased taxpayer funding of private schools such as religious schools (think Scientology, Islam or any religion you might not support). He's increased many people's property taxes by reducing state aid to local communities. He's cut health care for seniors and the poor, and he's looking to make further cuts.

All of these and far more are nicely outlined with sources in Losses to Working Families Under Governor Walker.

Wisconsin is quickly falling behind, because Walker wants to fight his ideological battles.

Instead of getting Wisconsin on track for the future by working to find the best solutions to our most critical problems, educating our workforce, and enticing high-tech and biotech companies to start in or come to Wisconsin, Walker has done a few other things that are anti-Wisconsin.

• Made it more difficult to vote requiring more time and taxpayer funds and producing longer lines - injuncted
• Concealed carry - opposed by 60%
• For those in support, why do you need to conceal your weapon if you're using it for protection?

The lies about the budget and jobs aren't Walker's only lies. Last year, he tried convincing us that we could save money by stripping collective bargaining rights from our public workers. A month later, Walker admitted under oath to Congress that "it doesn't save any." He also said that he campaigned on stripping those rights, but video has now surfaced of Walker saying, a week before the election, he would negotiate with unions using collective bargaining. And that's just some of the major lies, PolitiFact found a lot more with even more under Pants on Fire!.

So, what has Scott Walker actually done to improve your life?

Update: (5/31/2012) For more recent actions, read What Has Scott Walker Done for Wisconsin Lately?

Secret Republican Documents Reveal They Orchestrated Public Testimony in Gerrymandering

The Journal Sentinel has inspected the 84 documents that Republicans fought tooth-and-nail to keep secret, now that they were made public today when the Republicans were "slammed" by three judges for their secrecy.

The Journal Sentinel's inspection of the documents shows "among other things, that those who drew the maps orchestrated the testimony in favor of the maps for a public hearing that occurred just after they were made available publicly."

"The records provide an inside view on the process Republicans used to draw the maps and show the testimony in favor of the maps was largely orchestrated by those who drew the maps. They recruited people to testify and supplied them with talking points."

Wisconsin Republican leadership was able to keep these secret in part through intimidation of their peers.

Last year, Republicans rudely denied any plans to draw new maps in secret.

'“You talked to Democrats who ‘think’ that Republican leaders have these grand plots,” Andrew Welhouse, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, says in an email response to questions about GOP plans. “I guess I’ll leave it up to your journalistic standards if their motivated speculation is worth reporting on.”'

Update: (7:16pm) The Journal Sentinel has updated their page with additional information.

From the Journal Sentinel, "The redistricting team considered forcing some senators who were not up for re-election in 2014 to go through special elections in 2012, the emails show. They did not pursue that plan after determining it might violate the state and federal constitutions."

WI GOP "Slammed" for Secrecy in Gerrymandering

The latest decision in the federal court case against the Wisconsin Republicans for gerrymandering is a harsh review of recent Republican tactics, calling them "shameful," the Journal Sentinel reports. The Republicans were fighting tooth-and-nail to keep some 84 documents secret, but have now been ordered to make the documents public.

The Republicans were claiming the documents fell under attorney-client privilege, because they consisted of only legal advice. However, the panel of three judges (2 Republican appointees and 1 Democrat) found the documents to primarily consist of political advice. Thus, the documents can't fall under attorney-client privilege. The panel wrote,

"In the court's view, it is quite apparent that these email discussions involve advice on political strategy, as opposed to legal strategy, and, therefore, are not afforded attorney-client privilege protection."

"Without a doubt, the Legislature made a conscious choice to involve private lawyers in what gives every appearance of an attempt -albeit poorly disguised - to cloak the private machinations of Wisconsin's Republican legislators in the shroud of attorney-client privilege. What could have - indeed should have - been accomplished publicly instead took place in private, in an all but shameful attempt to hide the redistricting process from public scrutiny."

The court gets it. The Republicans did the work of the people in private through intimidation, when they should have done it in public. Now they think they can keep the documentation behind that work secret. The Republicans are dead wrong.

The Republicans in Wisconsin are finally being called out for their intimidation, secrecy and lies.

We now have a glimpse into why the Republicans fought so hard to keep the documents secret.