tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6621691715090523319.post821519915506027260..comments2023-10-08T04:12:46.273-05:00Comments on The Political Environment: Explaining Scott Walker's Catastrophic Decision To Give Tim Russell Those Veterans' FundsJames Rowenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10203270946492159686noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6621691715090523319.post-6565766468550826462012-01-10T10:57:39.378-06:002012-01-10T10:57:39.378-06:00James, Bill, Jim, and the Anonymi: For all that Sc...James, Bill, Jim, and the Anonymi: For all that Scott Walker and Tim Russell may have been friends -- or, more to the point, Russell was Walker's loyal supporter and got appointed to jobs accordingly -- this long long while, I do not think the matter can now be portrayed as Walker having supported the gay community in any way whatsoever.<br /><br />Joe McCarthy's infamous right-hand man, Roy Cohn, was gay. Joe MCarthy, need I say it, never supported the gay community. (Did Roy Cohn himself, even to the end of his days? Does barebacking in bathhouses, when <i>he</i> knew he had HIV, count as such?)<br /><br />Surely <i>l'affaire</i> Tim Russell-Brian Pierick has done no good for the reputation of the gay community, and will not make it <i>more</i> likely for other Republicans to appoint known gay staffers to responsible positions. There is indeed such a thing as bad publicity.Ravenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17974090948640572660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6621691715090523319.post-12300960710368202632012-01-10T08:12:53.631-06:002012-01-10T08:12:53.631-06:00Walker, having played the Christian Card and in fa...<i>Walker, having played the Christian Card and in fact his whole party being SO virulently anti-gay, can not possibly justify the natures of these close Walker friends to the party image. As an anti-gay, how can Walker have turned a blind eye to a man who is openly gay and SOOO actively forced that man on various orgs.</i><br /><br />Wow, talk about being a bigot! You actually believe that Walker can't justify being friends with someone simply because of their sexual orientation and that there must have been something else?<br /><br />Do you eliminate Christians as your friends? How about business owners? If not, how do you "justify" these friendships to liberals?<br /><br />Here is a tip for you: Crawl out from under that rock you have been living under and open your eyes. Conservatives have friends in all walks of life. Gay, Lesbian, non-christian.... and wait, the big one.... even democrats.<br /><br />Your bigotry is simply astounding coming from the side of "coexist."<br />Congratulations, and way to cast yourself in such a positive light!Reagan's Disciplenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6621691715090523319.post-85520282582899100322012-01-09T22:39:13.926-06:002012-01-09T22:39:13.926-06:00"Secondly, I have a gut reaction that this st..."Secondly, I have a gut reaction that this story-line is going to be the "final nail" in the Walker public image coffin. Walker, having played the Christian Card and in fact his whole party being SO virulently anti-gay, can not possibly justify the natures of these close Walker friends to the party image. As an anti-gay, how can Walker have turned a blind eye to a man who is openly gay and SOOO actively forced that man on various orgs. SO actively helped that man's career?"<br /><br />How about Walkers relationship with Sue Black and Cynthia Archer?<br /><br />Never made sense that a "Christian Right Wing Pol" would surround himself with so many openly gay appointments. Liberals yes, Neo Conservatives no...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6621691715090523319.post-75973418353248901562012-01-09T20:10:32.242-06:002012-01-09T20:10:32.242-06:00Another lefty blog referred to them as "speci...Another lefty blog referred to them as "special friends." I think I may have peed a little when I read that.jimspicehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16316014985662331998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6621691715090523319.post-72069342488953281662012-01-09T19:44:13.810-06:002012-01-09T19:44:13.810-06:00a key question is whether walker knew russell had ...a key question is whether walker knew russell had been terminated from a state job for personal use of a state credit card before giving him responsibility over the vets' funds.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6621691715090523319.post-48223370363912870012012-01-09T18:30:26.560-06:002012-01-09T18:30:26.560-06:00Walker and Russell were at Marquette at the same t...Walker and Russell were at Marquette at the same time. I wonder if the were friends in college? Maybe Russell helped with Walker's campaign for student government president in 1988?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6621691715090523319.post-69938690939259101152012-01-09T12:17:22.981-06:002012-01-09T12:17:22.981-06:00@Bill - - I think Nardelli, in this case, did exac...@Bill - - I think Nardelli, in this case, did exactly what a chief of staff is supposed to do and protected the boss with some CYA work.<br /><br />About the rest of that? Who knows. My gut feeling is that Walker had a coterie of loyalists - - there are photos on news sites of Russell doing go-fer work, organizing yard signs and photo ops - - and every politician needs a group of worker bees who are willing to do what needs to be done in campaigns.<br /><br />So Russell got plugged in, here and there, to reward him and keep him available for whatever needed to be done 24/7.James Rowenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10203270946492159686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6621691715090523319.post-27057073952978363192012-01-09T12:05:35.698-06:002012-01-09T12:05:35.698-06:00Did Walker keep Russell around because they were v...Did Walker keep Russell around because they were very close friends? How many ultraconservative christian men do you know that count openly gay men as their close friends? <br /><br />Did Walker keep Russell around and on the payroll to keep him from coming forward about anything that would look bad in the newspaper? <br /><br />If Russell was a woman I think people would assume that they were having a sexual relationship. We have seen it so many times. <br /><br />Doesn't this explain the apparent rift between Walker and longtime staffer Tom Nardelli? Meaning if Nardelli brought the missing funds issue to light without knowing it was Russell who stole it wouldn't that upset Walker who would probably have rather never it never came out. <br />Inquiring minds want to know.Bill Lumbergnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6621691715090523319.post-72425503389183809682012-01-09T10:42:07.093-06:002012-01-09T10:42:07.093-06:00@UnicornChaser: I'll be mindful of the paywall...@UnicornChaser: I'll be mindful of the paywall issue. <br /><br />@Anon - - I think it's too early to tell, as I do not think this is all the charging to come out of the John Doe. Remember that the first charges were related to illegal campaign donations.James Rowenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10203270946492159686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6621691715090523319.post-63009889008968448632012-01-09T07:20:07.582-06:002012-01-09T07:20:07.582-06:00part-ah two-ah ~
And - why IS Scott Walker soooo ...part-ah two-ah ~<br /><br />And - why IS Scott Walker soooo emotionally attached to this man? LOL where oh WHERE have Scott Walker's boyish looks taken him? How are they so "intimate" that Russell felt okay using Walker04 as his own screen name?<br />People will not maybe say all that in print because it's "rude" but I guarantee they'll be thinking about those gross questions that have been raised. No one is so naive anymore that we (the public) don't easily begin to wonder what anti-gay politicians are really tap-tap-tapping their feet under restroom doors. <br />So this issue has a fetid underbelly that too many people have now seen. I do still think partisan loyalty will induce tons of people to defend Walker, but it will be a much more hollow defense, a defense of the position and not the man himself. <br />Third, a person I talk with asked me, and I don't know, how similar this scenario is to the Sean Hannity veteran's charity scandal of some time back. I guess the Hannity one did not involve gov't orgs, but still - ripping off Veteran's? How does that sit well with Republicans also? Is that a way to treat "our boys"? More underbelly, IMO unless the Dems screw up (and they do so often) or there is some weird weird legal loophole (Waukesha power!) that suddenly saves the Walker bacon - he's done now.<br />Lastly (i know, blah blah blah) re: political scores etc. You'd have to (and a lot of people do this) go around with blinders on to "not notice" scores of heinous behaviors, I myself have certainly seen a lot of them, As a result my default settings are hate and contempt, however, as I hinted at previously I feel you are doing a fine job of blogging here. Keep up the good work and giving Great Link like the IndianCountryTV.com one of yesterday, very enjoyable to watch.<br />I like the unpolished (therefore more powerful) nature of it, and the genuine and very individual responses as opposed to the usually parsed, echoed talking points we always see. Now THAT was Real Internet, no Zuckerbergs needed thank you - very rare. props dude.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6621691715090523319.post-69208983488846501412012-01-09T07:18:50.099-06:002012-01-09T07:18:50.099-06:00A few (too lengthy so in 2 parts) observations
Fir...A few (too lengthy so in 2 parts) observations<br />First, I assume I am not alone in recently hitting the JSOnline paywall. I have complained elsewhere that I find it irritating that Left-leaners have sent so much blog traffic to the JS, and as I already go on "too long" all the time I did not specify that I meant tit-for-tat (weird expression) opinion pieces. Now that I am familiar w/ the JS I easily see it is a source for news that does not appear elsewhere. I became a constant online reader as a result. I guess I can keep looking at the front page and gleaning info from headlines, but on an emotional level I tend to stay away from paywall sites. I haven't been back to the NYTimes in ages. IMO it's just counter-intuitive behavior re: what the net was originally all about, and the centralizing and commercializing of it is actually killing it IMO at the very time corporate types and political types are still gleeful over the alleged possibilities of the internetz. If the gov't remains complicit in the corporate/colonialist bullshit paradigm that is mutating the net, we all won't recognize it or even like it in a relatively short time. But that's a rant for elsewhere I guess. The point being, it's going to be more important now for people(bloggers) to relay the actual original info as you have here and not just their own ravings. I have a limit of 15 story-views per month, I would have gone thru what - 3 of them or so just on your post here alone. Those 15 will go fast. So I (and others) appreciate your informative way of citing info. <br />Secondly, I have a gut reaction that this story-line is going to be the "final nail" in the Walker public image coffin. Walker, having played the Christian Card and in fact his whole party being SO virulently anti-gay, can not possibly justify the natures of these close Walker friends to the party image. As an anti-gay, how can Walker have turned a blind eye to a man who is openly gay and SOOO actively forced that man on various orgs. SO actively helped that man's career? And, as I did read in the JS, these men (one of whom is obviously a lot older) are into Father-Son role-play sex, and you have to assume that plays a part in the Russell home-life as his partner is clearly 800 years old and he is quite younger - how is this not turning the stomachs of everyone these dudes meet? How can you be a gay-teach-me-Daddy sex game player and have any cred with Christian right Repubs? How does Tonette 'splain this to her boys? She will have to now. Why is Daddy friends with Those Men?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6621691715090523319.post-33094536002721301922012-01-09T03:12:25.393-06:002012-01-09T03:12:25.393-06:00I'm serious wondering then, if this scenario ...I'm serious wondering then, if this scenario plays out as you've described, will Walker become a target or not? It seems like Walker himself will not be an actual target if this scenario is true.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com