Tuesday, June 12, 2012

GOP Senate Loser's Recount Strategies Muddied By GOP Anti-Recount Stance

It would be hard for losing Republican Racine Sen. Van Wanggaard to ask for a recount, and not just because apparent Democratic winner John Lehman now has a growing cushion of more than 1% and over 800 votes.

Wanggaard is boxed in because conservatives and Republicans backing Prosser as they blasted Supreme Court candidate JoAnne Kloppenburg's recount after the contested finish in the 2011 race told us Wisconsin recall history and math has made such recounts essentially unwinnable:

From a Prosser campaign news release:

April 12, 2011   

Largest Swing in a Statewide Recount—489 Votes
Insurmountable Odds of Sub‐.5% Recounts
From a subsequent Prosser news release about Kloppenburg's "nakedly political goal."
The record books show the largest number of votes turned in state history on a recount is 489. 
Then reposted on a Republican Network Website:
The record books show the largest number of votes turned in state history on a recount is 489. 
And The Republican Party of Milwaukee picked up the theme a few days later:
Historically over the past 20 years, statewide recounts change vote totals on-average 300 votes.
So: Oops.

And look for Walker to find a job for Wanggard, as he did for Plale, that basically doubles a Senate salary.

9 comments:

jimspice said...

Or as he did for Cathy Stepp, a previous holder of that seat.

Anonymous said...

Do they care? Do they have any scruples? Is the recount the real goal?

Anonymous said...

Why would history or logic enter into consideration.

The operative thought is IOKIYAR.

The question is "What's in it for ME?"

The explanation is "All others STFU."

Reagan's Disciple said...

I don't think a recall is going to turn anything around myself, but if Waangaard wants to pay for it, let him go on a fishing expedition and let's see what he comes up with. Sounds like the democrat party is afraid of something, doesn't it?


What could really be the explanation that Lehman received more votes than Barrett? The lower races never get more votes than the main event. Especially considering that like the norm, Waangaard received fewer votes than Walker. Yet Lehman had more than Barrett... hmm...

Perhaps stuffing the box with extra Lehman votes?

What a recount can do is expose the fraud that likely occurred.

In the end it won't really matter as the republicans will end up with 19+ seats in November and there won't be another legislative session until January.

JB said...

No it doesn't sound like the Democratic party is afraid of something, RD. It sounds like the Republicans forgot that when they espouse anti-democratic (Note the correct use of the lower-case "d") rhetoric, it can come back to bite them.

As for the difference in the number of votes between Barrett and dear old Van, I offer several other possibilities besides your unsupported accusations of fraud.
1) People in Racine don't like Van Wangaard's politics.
2) The union members in Racine who bought the "recall is anti-democratic" message of the Walker campaign did not apply it to Wangaard, seeing him as a turncoat (former?) public union member bent on destroying public unions. Maybe they don't tolerate that brand of hypocrisy.
3) John Lehman is a good man, and a good candidate! He deserved to be elected, and people wanted to remedy their mistake.

See, lots of other possibilities.

Boxer said...

RD
if you knew anything beyond your own blovious and oblivious opinions, you'd know that under-voting and over-voting are quite common in elections, and not indicative of voter or election fraud at all.

In addition to the reasons given by JB, local candidates often outpoll statewide or national candidates because it's more likely that the local people know the local guy--see him at the grocery store, go to church with him, his kids hang out with your kids, etc. Lehman's been around a long time and is well known in his community. Integrity is difficult to hide from. Lack of it, even more so, see your friend Van Wanker.

Betsey said...

RD said: "What could really be the explanation that Lehman received more votes than Barrett? The lower races never get more votes than the main event. Especially considering that like the norm, Waangaard received fewer votes than Walker. Yet Lehman had more than Barrett... hmm... "

James, some people just don't seem to let this voter fraud thing go, even after being repeatedly given the facts that show the purported fraud exists only in their own heads. We're going to have to give them a name so that we can quickly dismiss them and move on to more intelligent discussions: 'frauders' perhaps? "fraudists" ?

We already have "birthers" and "[flat] earthers" and creationists and climate change deniers, overall it seems like a lot of denial on the right. There must be a clever term for all of it or at least the voter fraud suspicionists.

RD said...

The Democrat party filled Racine county with Illinois vehicles. I would bet that many of them also voted in the election as they did in past elections in our state. They drive up, stay in a hotel for 3-4 weeks and then vote and move back home.

I can't wait until voter ID! You can enjoy your 1 senate majority while nothing goes on. We'll see you back here in January with 19-20 Republican Senators and a fresh new legislative session.

Does anyone know what the acronym RTW means? How about some "stand your ground" legislation?

Boxer said...

RD, you're like a scratchy 45 rpm record -- it always skips to the same place and makes the same crazy, annoying sounds.

Even if your Tea Party has the Guv's office, and both houses of the state ledge, the voter ID you lust for has been held up by 2 judges, one issuing a temporary injunction and the other issuing a permanent one--on CONSTITUTIONAL issues. You just don't get it, do you?