Management Advice For The Scotts Fitzgerald and Walker

From dropping the bomb (transcript, audio) to bill-drafting in secret producing illegally-drawn voting districts to blowing off a Federal Court ruling - -  arrogance is not governance.

Winning Plaintiffs In Redistricting Case Seek Court Help Drawing New District Maps

Given Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald's refusal Thursday to bring the Senate into session to rewrite boundaries Federal judges ruled were illegally-drawn by the Legislature for predominantly-Latino districts, the winning plaintiffs today petitioned the judges for a hearing where proposed maps to remedy the situation could be submitted.

More later about Fitzgerald's defiance and the new monkey-wrench he's thrown into the process.

Update from the Journal Sentinel:

Madison - Democrats and Latinos asked a federal court Friday to immediately accept briefs on drawing new election maps because the Senate Republican leader has said the Legislature will not take up the issue.

A panel of three federal judges ruled Thursday that Assembly Districts 8 and 9 violated the voting rights of Latinos and that lawmakers should redraw them quickly. But just hours after the decision came out, Senate Republican Leader Scott Fitzgerald of Juneau said there was "not a chance" he would allow the Senate to reconvene and that he instead wanted the judges to fix the problem.

In response, the groups who brought the lawsuit filed a motion Friday contending Republicans were defying the court's decision. They asked the judges to quickly accept proposed maps from the parties and hold a half-day hearing on them the week of April 9.

"In the vacuum now intentionally left by the Legislature, the court has no alternative but to proceed," the motion says. "If the legislative leadership changes its mind, an unlikely prospect given its unequivocal statements, the court always can suspend its work and adjourn any scheduled hearing."

Update: More on the petition to the court. 

OK, It's Friday, Wisconsin: Any Big News Coming?

Last Friday, it was the filing of an ethics complaint by the Wisconsin Judicial Commission against State Supreme Court Justice David Prosser, and also when we learned of State Sen. Pam Galloway's surprise resignation from the Legislature, costing the GOP it's one-vote majority there.

The previous Friday, Gov. Walker announced he created a legal defense fund.

Last year, he dropped his collective bargaining "bomb" on a Friday, and signed that bill on a Friday, too.

Friday is the day politicians and agencies disgorge their news in the mistaken belief that the pre-weekend timing is a benefit.

But in reality, folks these days expect news to be made on a Friday, so we'll see...

State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald: 100% Political, 100% Wrong

For at least the third time in a year, we've seen now Co-State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald overtly display his hard-edged and unsavory one-dimensionality:

*  "Fitzwalkerstan" and its tone were defined and displayed in plain sight when Fitzgerald rammed through Walker's anti-union bill.

Fitzgerald's actions energized street protests and produced ultimately a 4-3 State Supreme Court affirmation by justices who were so divided in a political environment around the State Capitol so toxic that it left Justice David Prosser facing ethics charges over a confrontation with Justice Ann Walsh Bradley in her office.

And Fitzgerald's imperious management of the bill put him atop a round of upcoming recall elections - a first for a sitting Senate Majority Leader.

* A few weeks ago we also watched the thoroughly-political Fitzgerald seize control - - and quickly lose control - - of the mining bill. First he shut down a special mining committee he'd created because the measure it drafted was too bi-partisan and public-spirited for his tastes.

Then he substituted for consideration a grossly one-sided, pro-industry Assembly bill and maneuvered it to the Senate floor where he had a 17-16 Republican majority - - but it lost 17-16 because Republican Sen. Dale Schultz of Richland Center couldn't swallow it.

*And just yesterday morning, a three-judge federal court panel chastised what it said was the needlessly secretive manner in which Republicans wrote the once-in-a-decade redistricting bill - - a process that included some direction from Fitzgerald - - and sent back a portion of the bill to the Legislature to make two district maps in Milwaukee comply with the US Voting Rights law.

Break the law - - fix  the law. Quite a finding and task laid at your lawmaker leadership door.

But Fitzgerald said late Thursday he would not call the Senate back into session to complete the assignment - - though it's not clear if Fitzgerald can stage-manage that response and approach alone since one GOP member's recent resignation has left the Senate now split 16-16 between Republicans and Democrats.

Fitzgerald The Partisan may think he's won, and permanently, on these matters - - the collective bargaining bill did take effect; the right-wing spin machine created in a long election year a loud narrative that blamed the Democrats for the mining bill defeat; and though taxpayers have paid dearly for the secretive work that produced the redistricting plan last year, the Court did validate most of the new districts and may end up creating the new map it said was required by federal statutes without Fitzgerald having to lift a finger.

But at what cost are these 'wins' to Wisconsin and democracy?

Bullying, gamesmanship and win-at-any-price keeps the state on edge, activates Fitzgerald and Walker's opponents, and pushes the electorate to a tipping point that could bury the GOP in Wisconsin for a long, long time. 

Wins?

Pyrrhic victories.

Multiple Posts Here On The Redistricting Decision

[Archive updated during the day beginning at 9:00 a.m.]

Senate Leader Fitzgerald Hopes DA Van Hollen Can F... Republican Senator's Resignation Gives Dems Role I... It Took A GOP Village To Mess Up Wisconsin's Redis..
The Court's Redistricting Ruling Sends GOP A Power... Judges: 1 Million+ Voters Moved Needlessly, But On...   Redistricting Win In Federal Court Process Doesn't Matter? Federal Court In Redistric... Redistricting Decision At 9 A.M.

Senate Leader Fitzgerald Hopes DA Van Hollen Can Fix Illegal Hispanic Voting Maps

That's what the Senate Majority leader told WTMJ-AM's John Mercure about a half-hour ago.

Could an administrative action by the AG fix the map, and the process so harshly condemned in the decision?

...the drafting of Act 43 was needlessly secret, regrettably excluding input from the overwhelming majority of Wisconsin citizens, and although the final product needlessly moved more than a million Wisconsinites and disrupted their long-standing political relationships...

Fitzgerald should be recalled for his continuing contempt for democratic procedure.

[Thursday p.m. update:  Fitzgerald tells the Journal Sentinel he will not call the Senate into session to deal with the necessary redistricting.]

Senate Republican Leader Scott Fitzgerald of Juneau said there was "not a chance" senators would return to the floor to take up the maps.

Republicans lost their majority in the Senate on Saturday, when. Sen. Pam Galloway (R-Wausau) resigned. Galloway, who was to face a recall election this summer, said she left because of illnesses in her family. Her departure leaves the Senate evenly divided, and both parties would need to agree to come back in session.

The court did not set a timeline for lawmakers to make changes, but observers said maps must be put in place by April 15, when candidates can start circulating nomination papers. Democrats said they want the Legislature to take up the issue, and were distressed that Fitzgerald would not agree to return to the floor.

"It is ridiculous that Republicans would ignore a court order to fix an unlawful map. Maybe they should sleep on it," said Senate Democratic Leader Mark Miller of Monona in a statement.

"We need to immediately begin to redraw the maps in a manner that is fully open and transparent and does not, in the words of the court, 'needlessly move' more than a million citizens of Wisconsin," Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) said in a statement.

A day's worth of posts, archived here - - and a bonus post by Dom Noth.

Republican Senator's Resignation Gives Dems Role In Redistricting Do-Over

Pam Galloway's resignation last weekend as the session ended leaves the State Senate split 50-50, so the Republicans must share power and decision-making when following today's Federal court finding that Hispanic voters on Milwaukee's south side had their voting rights ignored by the earlier, GOP-led secretive redistricting planning and outcome.

Leads me to believe the Senate leadership thought they had the redistricting ruling in the bag.

As I observed a week ago:

Saturday, March 17, 2012

The Federal Judges Could Send Redistricting Back To A 50-50 State Senate

Just sayin'.

Could happen.

No decision yet on the redistricting lawsuit now before a three-judge panel in Milwaukee federal court.

But wouldn't that be a fitting karmic outcome and unintended consequence enabled by the sudden resignation of State Senator Pam Galloway, (R-Wausau) to  her party's smarty-pants' secret legislating and scheming: a do-over, but with both parties in the Senate having an equal say in what would be a very different redistricting process.

It Took A GOP Village To Mess Up Wisconsin's Redistricting Work

From the Federal court ruling in Milwaukee today, where the GOP-managed process took rhetorical and legal hits:

...the Republicans immediately began work in earnest, retaining the law firm of Michael Best & Friedrich LLP (“Michael Best”) to advise their caucus. Every effort was made to keep this work out of the public eye and, most particularly, out of the eye of the Democrats...

As we noted, the venue of the redistricting work was the offices of Michael Best. The actual drafters included: Adam Foltz, a staff member to Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald; Tad Ottman, a staff member to Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald; and Joseph Handrick, a consultant with the law firm of Reinhart Boerner Van Duren s.c. Others involved in the process were James Troupis, Eric McLeod, Ray Taffora, Speaker Fitzgerald, Majority Leader Fitzgerald, Sarah Troupis, Robin Vos, Senator Rich Zipperer, and Dr. Keith Gaddie...

Foltz testified that he worked with legal counsel and experts, and that Speaker Fitzgerald, Senator Fitzgerald, Robin Vos, and Senator Zipperer advised him where to draw the boundaries.

In June and July 2011, Foltz had meetings about redistricting with every single Republican member of the State Assembly. He did not meet with any Democrats. Nevertheless, he testified that it was not “a part of the goal to increase the Republican membership in the legislature.” Before his meetings with the Republicans, each person was required to sign a confidentiality agreement promising not to discuss anything that was said.

Ottman had similar meetings, conducted under the same cloak of secrecy. The drafters did not limit their outreach to public officials; they also held meetings behind closed doors with selected outsiders. In January 2011, they met with certain private business interests, including representatives from realtor and banking associations, and a hybrid state chamber of commerce called Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce.

In addition, the drafters reached out to certain members of the Latino community. They contacted Jesus Rodriguez, a co-founder and member of Hispanics for Leadership, a political organization comprised of local business people, educators, and community advocates who work toward “getting the most representation possible for the Latino community on all levels.” Rodriguez is also the President of Hispanics for School Choice, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing school choice for Hispanic children, notably through school vouchers. Hispanics for School Choice, available online at http://www.hispanicsforschoolchoice.com/ (last visited March 14, 2012).

Through Hispanics for School Choice, Rodriguez developed a professional and personal relationship with former Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen (a Republican), who presently serves as a senior advisor for another school choice advocacy organization, American Federation for Children. American Federal for Children, available online at:
http://www.federationforchildren.org/ (last visited March 15, 2012). Troupis also contacted the Mexican American Legal Defense Education Fund (MALDEF), a national Latino civil rights organization, in an attempt to secure its support for the Republicans’ plan. He hoped to “take the largest legal fund for the Latino community off the table in any later court battle,” by courting their approval.

The Court's Redistricting Ruling Sends GOP A Powerful Message

Fighting Bob honored in the decision's opening by a three-judge panel which has two appointees by GOP presidents, and the lead judge, J.P. Stadtmueller is a Ronald Reagan pick:

There was once a time when Wisconsin was famous for its courtesy and its tradition of good government. In 2006, James J. Conant was able to write that:

The most important feature of Wisconsin’s society, government, and politics during the twentieth century was its progressive nature. Wisconsin had a highly developed civil society, its elected and administrative officials continuously attempted to improve the state’s political institutions, and they attempted to enhance the economic and social circumstances of the state’s citizens. Throughout the century Wisconsin’s politics were issue- oriented, state government institutions operated free of scandal, and the administration of state policies and programs was conducted efficiently and effectively.

Students of American history still read about Robert M. La Follette, Sr., an independent thinker who came to prominence at the end of the 19th century and whose views defied the partisan pigeonholes of his day. More recently, Wisconsin has been called a “purple” state–that is, a state whose people regularly elect comparable numbers of Democrats and Republicans.

Over roughly the last half-century, six Republicans and six Democrats have served as governor. Over the same time, one of its two seats in the U.S. Senate has been held continuously by a Democrat, while the other one has been occupied by three Republicans and two Democrats.

[footnote:1 James J. Conant, WISCONSIN POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT: AMERICA’S LABORATORY OF DEMOCRACY at xv (2006).

This bipartisan tradition has not, unfortunately, exempted Wisconsin from the contentious side of the redistricting process that takes place every ten years in the wake of the United States Census

More on the judges' ruling, here.

Judges: 1 Million+ Voters Moved Needlessly, But Only Hispanic District Violates Voter Rights

The heart of the Federal Court redistricting ruling today in Milwaukee:

Milwaukee's Hispanic district as redrawn by the GOP-led Legislature violates residents protected voting rights and must be promptly redrawn; remaining districts needlessly moved more than a million people to new districts but meet Supreme court standards; drafting process was "needlessly secret...regrettably excluding input from the overwhelming majority of Wisconsin citizens...."

Conclusion

In conclusion, we find that the Baldus and Voces plaintiffs are entitled to relief on their Section 2 claim concerning New Assembly Districts 8 and 9, because Act 43 fails to create a majority-minority district for Milwaukee’s Latino community. Two influence districts have never been held to be an

[footnote - - 4 Indeed, the GAB claimed before trial that it is barred by the Wisconsin Constitution from making any amendments to the redistricting plan for the next ten years. We saw nothing in the Wisconsin Constitution or in Zimmerman that stood in the way of further revision by the General Assembly in the context of reaching a settlement with the plaintiffs, but for present purposes we will take the GAB at its word that it finds its hands tied to make any changes to the plan whatsoever until 10 years has elapsed, and assume that this position will also require it to argue to a competent court that any effort on the part of the legislature to advance the effective date of Act 43 is blocked by the state constitution.]

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adequate substitute for such a district under the factual circumstances that we have before us. This holding is not intended to affect any other district drawn by Act 43. Indeed, to avoid disrupting other lines, the court emphasizes that the re-drawing of the lines for Districts 8 and 9 must occur within the combined outer boundaries of those two districts. Recognizing as we have throughout this litigation the primary role that the state has in this area, we are giving the legislature the first opportunity to address this point, but it must act quickly given the impending elections. This should not be an impossible task, given that Dr. Mayer has prepared at least one alternative configuration that should be a useful starting point.

As for the other claims, we find that although the drafting of Act 43 was needlessly secret, regrettably excluding input from the overwhelming majority of Wisconsin citizens, and although the final product needlessly moved more than a million Wisconsinites and disrupted their long-standing political relationships, the resulting population deviations are not large enough to permit judicial intervention under the Supreme Court’s precedents. Act 44 has zero population deviation, which is why we find that the intervenor-plaintiffs have no meritorious “one person, one vote” claim. The intervenor-plaintiffs’ partisan gerrymandering claim never made it out of the gate because no workable standard was offered to the court.

Tempers can flare when people are excluded from the political process, whether they are shut out because of their party affiliation, because of their race, because of their economic status, or because of any other trait. Such a contentious atmosphere is neither necessary nor desirable. We know that it is not necessary, because courts hold themselves to a higher standard and have succeeded in drawing successful maps time and again. We should

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have learned that it is not desirable because of the rancor that it fosters. Some states, like Iowa and California, have adopted nonpartisan systems that seem successfully to have overcome this. New York is seriously thinking right now of taking a similar step, and there has been some talk of it in Wisconsin in the wake of this litigation. But we must deal with the here-and-now, and we therefore must acquiesce in the approach that Wisconsin (not alone among the states in this circuit, we hasten to add–see Committee for a Fair and Balanced Map v. Illinois State Bd. of Elections, — F. Supp. 2d —, 2011 WL 6318960, (N.D. Ill. Dec 15, 2011); Radogno v. Illinois State Bd. of Elections, — F. Supp. 2d —, 2011 WL 5025251 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 21, 2011))–has chosen.

Process Doesn't Matter? Federal Court In Redistricting Case Disagrees

I'm getting information about the exciting redistricting ruling in Milwaukee federal court today, where the three-judge panel found the contested Hispanic district illegally-drawn, and where the judges - - led by Reagan appointee J. P. Stadtmueller - - lambasted the GOP legislature for its secretive process.

The rest of the state's districts were left as they were redrawn, the Journal Sentinel reports.

Remember when a lawyer for the state told the judges during testimony that process didn't matter?

Apparently, and thankfully, it does.

Fitzwalkerstan begins to be unwound - - let Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald deal with this ruling during his recall election.

More later, but for your reading pleasure:

We know there isn't a separation between mind and body, and when it comes to law and the body politic, there's no disconnect between process and substance, either.

Local examples abound:

Federal judges hearing the redistricting case brought by Democrats and a grass-roots immigrant organization about how Republican legislators and their attorneys conducted the drafting of redistricting maps and legislation have issued statements and orders from the bench - and even a hefty fine over frivolous defense motions - that were critical of secretive legislating and the withholding of documents.

An assistant attorney general opined to the judges that "the process of legislation is not on trial." So it will be interesting to see whether the judges agree when they release their ruling - but you'd hope that with the phrase "due process" in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution that process in a case about voting rights would not get short shrift.

Redistricting Win In Federal Court

Hispanic district ruled illegally-drawn.

Secret process by GOP ripped by judges.

More later.

Redistricting Decision At 9 A.M.

In Milwaukee Federal Court, sources say.

Vos Wants End To Late Assembly Sessions; What Happened To Walker's Pledge?

Presumptive Assembly leader Robin Vos, (R-Rochester), wants an end to all-nighters.

Say - - why didn't Vos and the rest of the GOP follow through on this 2010 campaign pledge from Scott Walker:

" And I would make it, by statute, that the Legislature can't vote on anything after 10 at night or before 9 in the morning," Walker said. "They did things this last (budget) at 2 and 3 o'clock in the morning. As I tell my staff, nothing good happens after midnight. But they did it on purpose because not only do they not want average persons to know, they don't want reporters with deadlines to know - after 10 you miss the nightly TV news and you're not in print for the daily newspapers. They push it back on a Saturday, hoping people won't read about things like that"

Walker Says Union Leaders Under 5' 10 " Are Staying Out Of Wisconsin

I keep reading about these "big labor bosses..."

UN World Water Day To Be Celebrated In Milwaukee Saturday

Hers's some information:

In 2012, for the first time, Milwaukee is going to celebrate United Nations World Water Day.   We are going to celebrate with a "Wisconsin Walk for Water".

Please join us in the Premier "Wisconsin Walk for Water"!

The nearly 3-mile walk will symbolize distances travelled to access water in other parts of the globe.

Our "Wisconsin Walk for Water" will be on Saturday, March 24, 2012.

It starts at noon just outside Milwaukee Water Works Linwood Water Treatment Plant - 3000 N. Lincoln Memorial Drive, Milwaukee.

From there we will walk along the lakeshore of Lake Michigan - past Bradford Beach, McKinley Marina, Veterans Park, behind the Art Museum and end at Lakeshore State Park next to Discovery World.

We are looking for volunteers to show the route to participants and to help with the shuttle back from Lakeshore State Park to the starting point .

Call (414)227-3121 or email Dr. Murali Vedula mvedula@uwm.edu for details.Join our Facebook Community
United Nations World Water Day Milwaukee 2012

Edit Out GOP Talking Point Language

Stop referring to Republicans and their financiers by the self-serving term "job-creators."

The last GOP President was shedding 700,000 jobs a month when he finally left for Texas in January, 2009.

Scott Walker's first twelve months of zero employment growth statewide, his year-long freeze on major wind farm projects, and cancellation of labor-intensive Amtrak rail expansion and train maintenance work give the lie to any job-creating claim.

The phrase is as phony as Walker's "voluntary" cooperation with the John Doe probe, or his fake warnings on talk radio and Fox TV about out-of-state money flooding into the recall campaign against him while he has already used a loophole in recall law to collected millions of dollars, without limits- - from out-of-state donors.

And there should be a boycott on the unqualified use of terms like "streamlining" mining procedures, or to providing procedural "certainty" in mining review schedules- - when the real intent of the failed mining reform law was to shut the public out of democratic processes that govern public water resources and hand them over to special interests tied with "certainty" to Republican office-holders.

And the next Democratic legislator or advocate who slips into saying "Democrat" as an adjective - - thereby repeating and validating the intentionally dismissive party renaming fomented by Rush Limbaugh, et al - - has to wear a "Stand With Walker" button for 72 hours.

Subpoened Documents Again Surface Late In Redistricting Trial

The pattern continues.

After lawyers for the State of Wisconsin and GOP legislators were ordered by angry Federal judges to give plaintiffs records in a lawsuit against the GOP's secretive redistricting plan, and having already once belatedly located dozens of previously undisclosed emails, it turns out that additional email records have been found and released.

Testimony in the case ended some time ago. The judges decision could come any day. And all records were supposed to have been disclosed by court order.

I wrote this a month ago, and it's amazing that I could basically write the same thing again today about piecemeal compliance with court orders and essential courtroom fairness:

...the judges have already forced the GOP attorneys to release records withheld from the public and the suit's plaintiffs, and fined the GOP attorneys $17.500 for having muddied the case and its schedule by filing motions the judges said were frivolous.

Late Tuesday update: The trial may move forward Wednesday, or be delayed. But do you want to know what an iJudge J. P. Stadtmueller sounds like when reacting to news of the piecemeal disclosure of documents he'd ordered be released, and to other actions by the defense in this case? From the court transcript:

...we have had enough of the charade and mischaracterization. I don't mean to impugn either you or anyone associated with this case, but as they say, the facts are the facts. What has occurred here is beyond the pale in terms of lack of transparency, secrecy, and at the end of the day, as the court has commented earlier, it may not have anything to do with the price of tea in China, but appearances are everything, and Wisconsin has prided itself for one generation after another on openness and fairness and doing the right thing.

To be candid, we have seen everything but that in the way this case has progressed. Not because of anything that you did...or anybody else, but the facts are the facts, and so we're going to get to the bottom of the facts so that the judges who are called upon to discharge their function have all of the information before us that will result in a fair, just and complete opinion.

That's what this case is all about. So to the extent that additional discovery is required, it's going to happen.

All in all, what a dismissive display by the state and its GOP legislative leadership and staff.

And what an admission that they really don't give a hoot about process.

Walker Throws Away More Family-Supporting Blue-Collar Jobs

Last year, it was the cancellation of the federally-financed Amtrak line from Milwaukee-to-Madison - - and the thousands of working years at solid wage levels that would have gone into building it.

Now Walker is tossing away a train maintenance shop, the good jobs that would have been available long-term to Milwaukee workers, and is willing to mothball two new trains for successful Hiawatha connection to Chicago.

Lost jobs for workers.

Older equipment foisted on the commuters.

There's your job-creator, making the case to labor and the business riders who commute to Chicago and back for his recall.

After Shooting From The Hip, Stepp Will Talk

Mature public officials treat their counterparts with respect, which begins with respecting counterparts as counterparts, and communications minus the barbs.

The DNR Secretary, speaking first to the GOP's Tea Party/talk radio base - - a pattern established a week ago - - about the potentially-volatile walleye fishing season and bag limits, has had this backwards.