Bachmann Wins! Bachmann Wins...Actually Nothing In Iowa

She wins no delegates. It's a meaningless straw poll that raises money for the GOP, with 'candidates' able to lure 'votes' with free food and bus rides from across the state to a summer carnival.

It's like a high school prom King and Queen popularity contest, where the most sought-after kids could bribe their way to spots in the Big Dance Court with limo rides, beer, soda and pizza.

Bachmann grabs a few headlines from her native state.

Big deal.

And so ends the early chapter of the national scene's odd fascination with Iowa - - until its winter caucuses tell us more that ain't pivotal or representative of much of the rest of the country.

And good-bye to the thinnest of reeds, Tim Pawlenty and especially Rick Santorum. Please.

Grotesquely Huge Outside Donations Subsidized Prosser Recount

Never another word from Republicans, conservatives and associated hypocrites about outside, outsized or outlandish money from special interests to influence Wisconsin politics.

Just retire the phrase, bronze it and hand it to the David Prosser group. From The Journal Sentinel:

Prosser's recount got ample funding

Lawyer who worked on justice's behalf has case pending before court

By Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel

Aug. 13, 2011 5:02 p.m. 

Madison - A Philadelphia philanthropist and his wife gave Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser $100,000 this spring for his recount effort, and three others gave a combined $100,000, records show.

A quirk of state election law allows candidates to receive unlimited sums during recounts, and Prosser used that opportunity impressively, campaign finance reports show. Over 13 days in April, he collected three $50,000 donations and two $25,000 donations.

In all, he raised $272,887 for his recount efforts. More than $75,000 went to the Troupis Law Office, which is headed by Jim Troupis and has a major First Amendment case before the court Prosser sits on.

Three legal experts said judges and justices cannot hear cases argued by attorneys who have recently done work for them. Prosser plans to remain on the case regardless.

The State Supreme Court takes perhaps a fatal hit on top of the now-infamous chokehold allegation - - also involving Prosser - - as the system is simply gagging on special-interest playing.

Talk about the influence of money on justice in Wisconsin.

In Iowa, Stage Right Is Crowded

As the curtain rises tonight in Ames-So-What (the one-night show in this town picked for geographic centrality is the silly Iowa straw poll/GOP fundraiser), Mitt Romney can't be heard, and Rick Perry has upstaged Sarah Palin who upstaged Michele Bachman who tripped Tim Pawlenty as Newt Gingrich forgot his lines after Mike Huckabee left the troupe.

Herman Cain and Jon Huntsman are understudies.

The refund line forms over here.

Most-Read items On this Blog Last Week

Here's my weekly feedback report to readers. By the way, the #1 item ranks #6 in hits among more than 8,000 posts since this blog began in January, 2007.

Many thanks, one and all:

Tuesday Wisconsin Recall Elections Test Grover Nor... Aug 8, 2011

Alberta Darling Talking Herself Out Of Her Job Aug 8, 2011

One Clue To Wisconsin Recall Outcomes Aug 9, 2011

Why Ron Johnson Is Keeping A Wisconsin Law Profess... Aug 8, 2011

Dems Say No Challenge To Darling's Victory, Celebr... Aug 10, 2011

Feds Force Walker To Abandon Privatized Food Aid Service

The Walker administration wisely comes into compliance with federal rules that require public employees have contact with food air recipients, lest the state lose a fortune in food aid.

This is a perfect example of privatization creating more problems that it solves.

And in following federal procedures - - still required of the states, a principle more of less settled after the end of the Civil War.

Bad News: Asian Carp Are In Wisconsin Waters

These predatory, invasive fish are on the move.

Tea Party Whoops Up The Credit Downgrade

But complains about critics "objectivising us."

Really.

The whooping video.

And the rest of it set to music for Simac. A legislator? Please.

Republican Recall Candidate Cleans Up Loose Ends - - Boots Sex Offender Tenant

Not ready for prime time.

In Simac's Tea Party World, Less Is More - - And Better

It is not completely surprising that Tea Party candidate Kim Simac - - the 'Repubican opponent iagainst incumbent Democratic Senator Jim Holperin in next Tuesday's Up North recall election - - cannot name a single bill she either supports or opposes.

The Senate and bills?  Who cares: As Stephen Colbert might say, it's not about facts, it's about how you feel in your gut.

Tea Partiers do not believe in science (climate change is a hoax), the Constitution, (Michele Bachmann on what's unconstitutional, Ron Johnson thinking the document gives him the right to select federal court nominees, so he's blocking one. Also see Johnson, climate change, sunspots), finance (let's run the national government by tripping and celebrating a credit downgrade - - see Tea Partiers whoop it up video), or things generally (see Tea Party candidate Michele Bachmann, etc.)

Facts - - such as, are delinquent taxes delinquent? - - do not matter to ideologues who have their own language (Simac on "perspiration" drugs, and "perception" drugs), history (see Bachmann, above) and outlook  - - again, the video about the credit downgrade and "onjectiving us" - - that is separate from mainstream realities.

So why should basic knowledge of the state government that Simac seeks to help operate, fund and constantly evaluate be of any consequence?

Some clues to Simac's thinking have been removed from blogs and websites, but Glenn Beck did tout her latest children's book, With My Rifle By My Side, here.

Good Reminder Message About The Two Remaining Recall Elections Tuesday

From the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters:

Now we're headed toward Round Two - fighting to protect 2 pro-conservation leaders, Senators Jim Holperin and Bob Wirch, on August 16th.

Like before, the stakes are high and the opposition is fighting hard to beat us. And, like before, we're ready to fight back. 

We have a lot of work to do these next 5 days, and these races are too close to call, which makes every vote count and every action we take to win mean more than ever. 

This is important for the Wisconsin we know and love. So, please donate whatever you can afford, and help us deliver a knockout punch during this final round.

Dale Schultz Is Now The Real Senate Majority Leader

As the potential swing vote to flip a 17-16 Republican majority, the moderate GOP Senator Dale Schultz from Richland Center now wields considerable influence.

Remember that Schultz was the only Republican Senator to vote against Walker's divisive plan to strip public employee unions of most of their collective bargaining rights , and he has recently claimed that Walker's decoyed him into a meeting in the Governor's office at the very time that Schultz's attempt at a compromise on the so-called Budget Repair Bill [sic] could have been worked into the proposal.

His actions and disclosures show that Schultz is not afraid to speak as an independently-minded official, not a rubber-stamp.

There could be a Profile in Courage in the making in the Wisconsin Senate. This is the stuff of which legacies are made.

I don't expect Schultz to buck his party or Walker just to grab headlines, or to be a player, but he could serve as a check on abusive, Machiavellian moves - - and Lord knows, we have seen them already (see: Walker, 'dropping the bomb,' etc.).

But just knowing that Scott Fitzgerald and Walker know they are only one vote (or more, given Schultz's stature) away from difficulty - - and, yes, I'm assuming that both Democrats are returned to office next Tuesday - - is an important check and balance for the Senate and the state, and a source of inspiration.

GOP Iowa Debate Irrelevant

Ron Paul and Rick Santorum, talking and talking...who cares?

What Rick Perry has to say later, and whether Sarah Palin does anything - - now that will have meaning.

Terence Evans' Death Is Tragic

A great loss for Milwaukee and Wisconsin. Our condolences to his family. He was a great jurist and father.

Republicans Prepare For Their Goofy Iowa Straw Poll And It Will Be Over-Covered

There's nothing else like it in American politics Saturday's straw poll over in Iowa, our good neighboring state to the southwest.

There, sixteen months before the presidential election, Republicans come to the centrally-located city of Ames and 'vote' for their favorite among the GOP presidential candidates who have paid to take part.

Yes, that's right: candidates willing to pony up big bucks to the GOP can welcome participants and gather 'votes' on the events' grounds, which have been subdivided .

The choicest locations have been awarded to the highest bidding candidates.

So Ron Paul, willing to pay $31,000, gets the spot equivalent at the Mall near the fountain, usually occupied by an Abercrombie& Fitch. The less a campaign agreed to pay, the more likely it is that their spot is off the beaten path - - you know, like where they cluster the mall kiosks selling two-for-one sunglasses and knock-off watches.

Some candidates are on the 'ballot,' like Romney, but have not paid to reserve campaign space there. Other potential candidates like Palin and Perry, of Texas, haven't declared and are not on the ballot. Maybe you can write in your name, if you're a Hawkeye.

So the spectacle is part 'balloting' and part fundraising by the Party. And it's also a test of the campaigns' ability to turn out Iowa voters: the private transportation sector in Iowa is always a big winner because the campaigns bus in supporters.

Less so a test of who will eventually win the Presidential nomination. Pat Robertson won it in 1987: John McCain ignored it in 2007.

Oh: And Fox News is co-sponsoring a debate there tonight.

'nuf said.

GOP Goal - - Total Victory

This will be the GOP blueprint in Wisconsin post Aug.9: Win back their losses on the 16th. Punish those who helped defeat Kapanke and Hopper, and put Darling to the test! Appear moderate, keep turning right to reward the base. Tout Walker nationally, raise Rightist money now in advance of his recall. Remember that these are no-compromise ideologues.

Walker Now For Bipartisanship

Recall Defense 101.

Now The Recall Battle Switches to Holperin, Wirch And Their Lesser Opponents

Tuesday is gone and next Tuesday the 16th brings the last of the Wisconsin Senate recall elections, where Democrats Bob Wirch in the Kenosha area (southeastern Wisconsin) and Jim Holperin, from Conover, in the northern part of the state.

Barring any last-minute discovery of bags of ballots, both should win, as they are veteran legislators with good records.

And their opponents are at the fringes and margins of mainstream politics.

Walker Recall Decision Can Come In Due Time

And no need to signal him anything.

Waukesha's Water Use Substantially Below Its Lake Michigan Diversion Request

Interesting that Waukesha's daily water use is falling and is far less than the minimum amount it wants permission to divert daily from Lake Michigan.

So how much of that figure is for growth, really?

Seems to me if the City continues to conserve, and were to drop the Town of Waukesha from the application, it might either need far less water from Lake Michigan or other sources (especially induced from the Fox River bank), to offer federally-compliant water to its customers.

The DNR has its work cut out for itself; was this application really complete enough to move into formal review if the water need bottom line is this fluid?

The question answers itself.

Dems Say No Challenge To Darling's Victory, Celebrate Victories

So - - barring further developments, the GOP loses two seats, and now has a 17-16 vote majority in the State Senate. The trend is away from them, the Tea Party extremism and all forms of "No" masquerading as policy-making and governance.

At 12:26 A.M., Democratic Party Executive Director emailed this statement:

"On Tuesday night, Wisconsin spoke loud and clear with the recall of two entrenched Republicans. This is an accomplishment of historic proportions that I do not wish to be overshadowed by statements regarding results in the 8th Senate District.

Though we believe that Sandy Pasch was able to battle Alberta Darling to a virtual tie, on her turf, we will not pursue questions of irregularities. Those heat-of-the-moment statements came in light of the uncertainties that arose from a recent election, known too well.

The fact of the matter remains, that, fighting on Republican turf, we have begun the work of stopping the Scott Walker agenda."

Defeating Alberta Darling on her home turf was a huge hurdle for Sandy Pasch to overcome. She ran a fine race, and is a model legislator and candidate.

I still believe Walker is vulnerable to recall. His name on the ballot, and not these Senate surrogates, is a whole different story. There's a lot of sober planning ahead.

Walker Is Still Vulnerable To Recall

His methods and actions have been secretive, destructive and spiteful. His poll numbers are awful. He lost two Republican Senate seats Tuesday night. He made himself the lightning rod, and isn't out of the woods even if he were to have a 17-16 majority in the Senate.

Stay tuned.

Every Person Of Good Will In Wisconsin Owes Sandy Pasch Gratitude

You will not find a better candidate, legislator or person willing to get into the storm than Sandy Pasch.

Another Counting 'Delay' In Waukesha County; Are You Kidding Me?

The Pasch-Darling race is the last one out and Waukesha County is not reporting? Is this Prosser II?

OK - - Two Dems Winners Declared in Recalls; One More Needed

King and Shilling in: Hopper and Kapanke out. Big wins for Democrats and rising wopmen stars in the Democratic Party.

Go Sandy Pasch! Out with Darling.

Recalls, So Far, Going As Expected

I am not surprised that Republican incumbents Harsdorf and Cowles won, and though I had hoped Fred Clark could upset Luther Olsen, that was still a longshot. Fred is a great legislator. I hope he isn't gerrymandered into oblivion.

It seems Shilling is going to defeat Kapanke - - so that's a pickup for the Dems of one - - and I expect King to maintain her slim lead over Hopper, so that could net the Dems two of the three they need o retake the Senate.

Sandy Pasch is still the underdog to the entrenched and anachronistic Alberta Darling, but I'm not throwing in the towel yet.

Walker, Of Course, Signs Redistricting Bill - - Hoping Independent Recall Voters Don't Notice

As predicted, Walker inked the grossly partisan redistricting plan at the last possible second, hoping not to provoke more recall votes against the Republican Senators who voted for it - - and will benefit from it, win or lose today.

People who foolishly thought he'd veto or alter it need to watch more Sopranos' re-runs for Power 101 lessons.

And for us all, a lesson in why control of the State Legislature is so important. Unless a court intervenes, we're stuck with these embedded GOP advantages for a decade.

Under The Gun, Walker Will Delay Approving Redistricting Until The Last Possible Second Today

So as not to give one additional Democrat or fair-minded Independent or Republican a reminder that today is a good day to cast a protest ballot.

Context, here.

Gilbert Brown Joins Charles Woodson In Sacking Rightist Republicans

Wisconsin's amazing recall process brings Gilbert Brown to the playing field, joining Charles Woodson.

One Clue To Wisconsin Recall Outcomes

I posted an item about this earlier, but it bears repeating:

If the GOP felt confident that they could hold their own or make progress in the recall elections, why did they go to such extremes in the hurried gerrymandering they forced through the Legislature prior to the recalls?

Republicans stand to greatly benefit from the proposed changes in district lines. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) would lose much of her Democratic constituency residing in Shorewood (where her recall effort was launched) and the east side of Milwaukee rendering her district to be a virtual Republican stronghold. The plan even goes so far as to push incumbent Democrats out of their current districts. For example, Senator Bob Wirch (D-Pleasant Prairie), who is up for recall, would be placed outside of his home district.

 Strong motivation to elect Democrats who are the subject of these telling manipulations.

Recall Election Day: On Wisconsin

Today is the first day of the return of sanity to the state of Bob La Follette, Gaylord Nelson, the Democratic 14 who helped reveal Scott Walker's spiteful intentions, and to the excellent recall candidates trying to retire Republicans who overthrew due process, collective bargaining and other basic democratic values.

As they say these days, we have the tools.

Former Darling Supporters In Pasch Ad

Excellent TV spot to close out a good campaign.

Sandy's superiority over Alberta Darling is undeniable: the proof.

National Campaign Emerges To Help Stop Dumping Steamer's Coal Ash Into Lake Michigan

There is a national push against efforts to delay by five years an EPA order requiring the last coal-burning Great Lakes ferry to switch fuels and stop dumping tons of coal ash overboard during its Lake Michigan shipping season daily round-trips from Ludington, MI to Manitowoc, WI.

Some history, here.

Why Ron Johnson Is Keeping A Wisconsin Law Professor Off The US Court Of Appeals

Freshman Senator Ron Johnson has been in office for seven months, but deems UW-Madison Law School Professor Victoria Nourse unqualified and is blocking her confirmation.

And a good thing he stepped in: look at her fly-by-night qualifications:

According to the White House, Nourse, 51, is currently the Burrus-Bascom Professor of Law at the University of Wisconsin Law School, which she joined in 1993. She has also taught at the Emory University Law School, the University of Maryland School of Law, Yale Law School, New York University School of Law, and Georgetown University Law Center.

Nourse has written extensively on criminal law, legislation, constitutional history and the separation of powers. She also assisted then-Senator Joseph Biden in drafting the Violence Against Women Act, part of the Biden-Hatch Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. Nourse received her B.A. in 1980 from Stanford University and her J.D. in 1984 from the University of California, Boalt Hall School of Law.

Another website reveals more of these so-called 'qualifications:'

Professor Nourse has written over two dozen articles on Congress, statutory interpretation, constitutional history and the criminal law, published in Yale, Stanford, Penn, Texas and other law reviews. In 2009, she published 3 articles:   A Tale of Two Lochners in the California Law Review; The Lost History of Governance and Equality (with Sarah Maguire) in the Duke Law Journal; and Varieties of New Legal Realism:   Can a A New World Order Yield A New Legal Theory? (with Greg Shaffer) in the Cornell Law Review.  In 2010, she will publish a book review essay, Toward A Representational Theory of the Executive (with Jack Figura) in the Boston University Law Review and, in 2011, Misunderstanding Congress:  Statutory Interpretation, the Supermajoritarian Difficulty, and the Separation of Powers, in the Georgetown Law Journal.

Professor Nourse came to teaching after a series of assignments in Washington and New York. She was Senior Counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee under the Chairmanship of then-Senator, now Vice-President, Joseph Biden where she was charged with drafting Senator Biden's Violence Against Women Act (see Equal:  Women Reshape American Law 309-444 (Norton 2009)). Professor Nourse came to the Judiciary Committee from appellate practice in the Justice Department, where she argued cases in the D.C. Circuit and other courts of appeal. Prior to that, she served as Special Counsel to the Senate Iran-Contra committee. She began practice in New York at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, after clerking for Judge Edward Weinfeld (S.D.N.Y). She is an order of the coif graduate of the University of California (Boalt) law school; and a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Stanford University.

Johnson is the owner of an Oshkosh (corrected) plastics company, an accountant and first-time office-holder who attended Tea Party rallies and decided to run for office after seeing Dick Morris on Fox News discuss the Wisconsin Senate race.

More context here.

Johnson is also blocking a separate nomination to the US District Court bench for former Wisconsin State Supreme Court Justice Louis Butler, but only because he can.

Alberta Darling Talking Herself Out Of Her Job

The incumbent cannot answer a reporter's simple question. Video. Yipes.

Republicans Crashed The Economy In 2007-08, And...

With the Tea Party, they are doing it again - - this time to get Obama. Ideologues that hate government should not run it, since their goal is to drain it, then run it into the ground.

Tuesday Wisconsin Recall Elections Test Grover Norquist Vision, GOP Tactics

Let's be clear: the Right's goal in Wisconsin and elsewhere is to unwind the New Deal, demonize The Great Society, and as the ultra-conservative power-broker Grover Norquist has put it, shrink Government to fit into a bathtub and drown it.

And wants to replace it with a fetishized, hands-off, "I've Got Mine, Jack" approach to governing itself through a loop that pre-eminently protects corporate power and high-earners (thank you, Citizens United), further marginalizes minorities (through Voter ID, registration barriers), manipulates workers as scapegoats (collective bargaining is bad, public school  teachers are the enemy), privatizes whenever and wherever it can (contributors and sponsors, line up here!) and mines the middle-class for taxes from which high earners and corporate coffers are increasingly exempt (see: Scott Walker/George Bush tax breaks, and the Tea Party-engineered debt-ceiling deal).

And uses astroturf activists as foot soldiers, while the Tea Party founders and funders and spinners have convinced everyday conservatives that their movement is more about Joe the Plumber than David Koch.

Recalled suburban Milwaukee Republican State Senator Alberta Darling's move to the Right, her role this year as Joint Finance Committee co-chair, and subsequent Senate recall defense in which ends have repeatedly justified her means [update: Darling survived, though two of her GOP colleagues did not] offers an instructive template as well as a case study:

To be a Republican these days means making a hard Right turn, serving special interests, then raising a jaw-dropping fortune from conservative, corporate interests to defend yourself - - and get gifted just in case with a fail-safe, re-mapped District by her colleagues and their taxpayer-paid lawyers that is stacked with entire, fresh Republican neighborhoods, if needed, to smooth any and all re-elections.

Democrats and progressives, as Eugene Robinson has argued, will need a new Big, Throw-The-Bums-Out Idea that is rooted in fairness and justice for all - - in the economy and the law.

An idea and movement that is stronger and deeper than Grover Norquist's "No New Taxes" pledge- - but to have it catch on, things may have to get even worse, for more people, before the Bums are given their rush.

Let's hope it doesn't come to that, with Tuesday being the beginning of the turnaround. The opportunity is there.

DNR Updates Its Waukesha Water Diversion Webpages

From the DNR:

We have recently updated the Waukesha Diversion Application webpage to include the presentation, handout and displays available at the recent informational meetings and public hearings held July 26, 27 and 28, 2011. 

The public comment period for the EIS scope remains open until Aug. 13th, 2011.  Please the webpage for details.

Another 'Moderate' Wisconsin Republican Embraces His Party's Extreme Agenda

This time it's State Sen. Neal Kedzie endorsing the Voter ID bill's phony underpinning, as well as the green light to go around with a Glock in your pocket or purse.

Wisconsin Voter ID Centers Will Be Open 20 Hours A Week, But Mute Your Applause

The good news: Wisconsin will not cut the number of DMV offices where the new Voter Suppression Exemption ID's will be issued - - and, in fact, four new offices far from the state's SE Wisconsin urban core will open.

The bad news: these offices, which will cost $10 million to operate in the next two years, are open only half time and with virtually no weekend hours.

Younger Downtown Milwaukee Workers Will Ride The Rail

Tom Daykin at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel catalogs the increase in downtown and East side housing developments attracting young workers, even those whose jobs are in the 'burbs.

It's an impressive list. The City and the market are betting on urbanity, even in a rough economy.

It bodes well for entertainment and cultural destinations located there, for the creative tension that produces new businesses and commerce, and for the city's planned streetcar system, as younger professionals and residents are among the very riders at whom urban rail is aimed.

And it's why state and local transportation budgets should be focused on better transit services, rather than new highways to subdivision ghost towns with big lots and houses and mortgages and commutes that retires are abandoning and younger occupants are avoiding.

I remember staffing a meeting of young urban professionals invited to City Hall by a business organization during Mayor John Norquist's last term, so probably in 2003.

Most of the attendees lived downtown, by choice, and were Milwaukee-area natives who'd worked elsewhere, then returned, by choice. In other words, the very cohort you want anchoring the community, sticking around, having families, encouraging their friends to move here.

Their Number One gripe, the thing they missed most about the places from which they had moved: "Where's the light rail?"

Tar Sands Oil Pipeline Promoted By Fake Twitter Accounts

Another sign that the Keystone XL pipeline is in trouble: industry backers appear to be promoting it with fake Twitter accounts.

So much for its alleged level of grassroots support.

With The Outcome of Most Senate Recalls Only Days Away, Wisconsin Also Awaits...

1. The results of an investigation ordered by the Wisconsin Governmental Accountability into Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus - - the local official with a track record of questionable office practices whose botched vote processing procedures threw the April State Supreme Court election into doubt, turmoil and an eventual recount. David Prosser, the incumbent, was eventually found to have won.

2. The results of an ongoing investigation into an alleged physical confrontation between State Supreme Court Justices Prosser and Anne Walsh Bradley prior to the Court's validation of the State Senate's approval of Gov. Walker's controversial plan to strip public employees of collective bargaining rights. That plan led to the recall elections.

3. The results of an investigation into the cause of the July 30 fire in La Crosse that destroyed the offices of a labor organization's recall effort aimed at State Sen. Dan Kapanke, (R,. along with more downtown properties destroyed.

Weekly Feedback For Readers

I'm posting the top ten most-read items from this blog last week - - instead of five, as has been my practice - - because so many items had roughly the same number of hits. Call it my gesture towards fair and balanced:

Alberta Darling, State Senate Republicans Have One... Aug 1, 2011 Ron Johnson's Muddied Vote Aug 2, 2011 Dynamite Essay By One Of Wisconsin's Great Public ... Aug 5, 2011 Alberta Darling Forgets (?) How Long She Was On Pl... Aug 5, 2011 Prove Mike Ellis Right Next Week Aug 1, 2011 Two Milwaukee Men Win Golden Finger-Pointing Award... Aug 5, 2011 Fair Review Of MMSD Cleans Up Sensenbrenner Rant Aug 3, 2011 Wisconsin Undistinguished US Representation Aug 3, 2011 Journal Sentinel Water Editorial Can't Wish Away P... Aug 4, 2011 Republicans At the Wisconsin Capitol Go Snap, Crac... Aug 4, 2011

We Can Assume Darling Assumes She's In Trouble

Recalled State Sen. Alberta Darling must have internal polling showing her to be in trouble because if she knew she held a comfortable lead she would not be campaigning from the gutter, and would not have had her Republican colleagues gerrymander her District so blatantly to pave the way for easier re-election, or a potential, 2012 comeback, as Craig Gilbert explained so succintly:

Under this plan, Darling loses the most Democratic parts of her district: Shorewood and fragments of Glendale and the city of Milwaukee. These areas are not just Democratic. They are intensely Democratic. They form the political base of the recall drive against Darling this year. The wards the Darling district sheds under the plan combined to give Republican Scott Walker a paltry 27% of the vote in last fall’s race for governor.

By contrast, the areas added to the Darling district under the new plan are in hugely Republican Washington, Waukesha and Ozaukee counties. These added wards combined to give Walker 73% of the vote last fall -- almost 50 points better than the areas they are replacing.

When you’re trading hostile territory for friendly turf, it’s pretty hard for an incumbent to do better than that.  (All the numbers used here are based on my analysis of the new map; in some cases the figures aren’t exact because the new plan divides some existing wards.)

What’s the net partisan effect on this seat? Darling’s district supported Walker last fall 54% to 45%, which was marginally better than Walker did statewide. Under the new lines, Walker would have won the district by 27 points (63% to 36%) instead of nine.

In 2008, a very good Democratic year, Obama carried the Eighth and Darling nearly lost it, winning barely over 50% of the vote. These changes would lock the district down for the GOP even in bad Republican years.

Even if the new map were approved next week, the new lines would not be in effect for the August recall elections. But they would apply in 2012, meaning that if Democrats defeated Darling next month, their odds of holding the seat next year would be poor.

Darling Campaign Hits Moral Bottom, Earns New "Pants On Fire" Rating

In a mailer and TV ads, recalled Republican State Senator Alberta Darling - - and remember, this is a well-financed, veteran incumbent who knows the ropes - - claimed opponent Sandy Pasch supported using taxpayer funds to pay for Viagra for unionized Milwaukee Public Schools teachers - - a sleazy, preposterous and easily provable falsehood Darling's campaign could not defend when asked, as PolitiFact finds:

We asked Darling’s camp to explain the connection between the nearly decade-old MPS dispute and Pasch, who was elected in 2008.

Andrew Davis, Darling’s campaign manager, did not cite a specific vote on the MPS issue or on coverage of Viagra. 

Darling is my State Senator and has shown over and over again - - her vote with Walker on the collective bargaining erasure, her sneaky maneuver to use the state budget to force Milwaukee taxpayers to keep on paying fired Milwaukee cops, her attack on Planned Parenthood funding and 'forgetting' how long she served on the group's Board of Directors, and when  - - why she is not qualified to be in office.

Misleading Absentee Ballot Materials From Tea Party Got Wide Distribution In Wisconsin

Communications about Wisconsin recall contests that carried an election date after the actual election day on August 8th date were sent by the Tea Party advocacy group Americans For Prosperity more widely across the state to potential than was first known, according to The Washington Post.

Since the AFP is also buying air time in support of certain candidates - - incumbent, conservative Republicans - - which local, state and/or Federal agency will take this seriously enough to open a formal investigation?

New York Times Poll Shows Public Support For Tax Increases, Almost None For Tea Party, Boehner

For those results and other interesting findings check out the internal numbers through the link in this Washington Post account of the NY Times poll - - I know, the attributions are weird - - and see, among other things, that voters by a huge margin 44-15 - - lay the blame for the current fiscal mess in the country on the George W. Bush administration, and not on the Barack Obama administration.

And Democrats in Congress, or Obama, get less blame for the debt ceiling or related hassles, or higher marks for making the right decisions, than do Republicans.

Two Milwaukee Men Win Golden Finger-Pointing Award

At least they can say during their racialized, finger-pointing rant they haven't been in positions of power, decision-making and community leadership for years and years and years.

Oh, wait a minute: they're Aldermen!

Dynamite Essay By One Of Wisconsin's Great Public School Educators

And a hat tip to my son Sam for finding this posting about education policy in Wisconsin these days by one of his best high school teachers.

Waukesha Willing To Hold Water Meeting In Milwaukee

A good move by Waukesha, and having asked, Ald. Murphy should follow-through and accept - - though the DNR should moderate the meeting, as it did with three earlier hearings and presentations held earlier, but not in Milwaukee.

Kudos To Wisconsin League Of Conservation Voters For Big Recall Push Through Election Days

Great grassroots effort by WLCV:

Here's where we need your boots on the ground:

• This weekend, join any of the enormous GOTV efforts happening across the state.  Find all the details here.
• On Monday, August 8th: 
  • Join us in River Falls where we will canvass in support of Shelly Moore.  Carpools available from Eau Claire.  More info and RSVP to tom@conservationvoters.org.
  • Join us in Milwaukee where we will canvass in support of Sandy Pasch.  Carpools available from Madison.  More info and RSVP to anne@conservationvoters.org.
• On Tuesday, August 9th, join us in La Crosse where we will canvass in support of Jennifer Shilling.  More info and RSVP to tom@conservationvoters.org. 
• Starting Saturday, August 13th, join us in the Northwoods in support of Jim Holperin for the FINAL four days of campaigning.  Carpools are running from around the state.  We will find you a job to do and a place to stay.   Join us by contacting matt@conservationvoters.org for details.

You Want To Know Why SE Wisconsin Consistently Has Ultra-High Medical Care Costs?

Bruce Murphy has one explanation: hospital over-building.

And as I noted a couple of years ago, there are direct public costs associated with some of these projects, as the underutilized Aurora Hospital/Palace in a former farm field in Oconomowoc wouldn't be there without a public;y-subsidized Tax Incremental District's amenities on and surrounding the location.

And taxpayer-paid highway work, too.

Bush's Policies Added More Cost And Debt Than Did Obama's, Data Show

The New York Times put up this fascinating chart - - and remember that the costs of Bush's expenses are recurring and long-term (Medicare drug coverage, tax cuts), and were crafted with the help of the Republican leaders who led the demand now for deficit-reduction:

Stephen Colbert Brings Wisconsin Recall Truthiness To National Audience

Amazing where you find investigative reporting these days.

Why Would Walker Wind Down Growing Wind Industry Sector?

It is still inexplicable that in a state he claimed to be "open for business," Scott Walker put the clamps on this one growing sector?

Alberta Darling Forgets (?) How Long She Was On Planned Parenthood's Board

The best you can say about the increasingly pathetic recalled State Senator Alberta Darling is that she was wrong about how many years made up her long, now-documented service on the Planned Parenthood Board of Directors, reports Whitefish Bay Patch.

Despite Sen. Alberta Darling's claim that she left the board of directors at Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin before she was elected to the State Assembly in 1990, a review of the organization's records shows she spent five years on the board after being elected.

And while Darling says she left the group when its focus "shifted" to abortion, Planned Parenthood actually began offering abortion services while she still was on the group's board.

Darling's statement was in response to a journalist's question during a Newsmaker Luncheon Tuesday at the Milwaukee Press Club.

"I belonged to the Planned Parenthood board when I was a very young woman, before I entered public office," said Darling, a Republican who is facing Democrat Sandy Pasch in Tuesday's 8th Senate District recall election...

"That was before I was in elected office," she said. "That was before I was a state rep..."

Records from Planned Parenthood show Darling was a member of the board from 1986 to 1995. Planned Parenthood provided Patch with annual reports from every year, with each report listing Darling as a member of the board.

Darling was elected to the state Assembly in 1990 and elected to the state Senate in 1992.

 As I said a couple of months ago - -  how do these people sleep at night?

You expect a little gratuitous dissembling in a campaign - - taking all the credit for a project when it was a group effort, for example - - but this is rewriting history and is more akin to resume faking.

It's late in the campaign, but this would be a slam-dunk for PolitiFact, which has already dinged Darling for false or flip-flopped statements:

Alberta Darling

Actually, federal law requires bargaining on many other topics

Limiting labor negotiations to only wages is "how it is for the most part in the private sector."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alberta Darling

Pushed a budget amendment, then asked the governor to veto it

On pay for fired Milwaukee police officers 

 

July Jobs Report Out Today Should Show Wisconsin Created 289% Of US Jobs

The national job-creation numbers show an surprising increase, so if June's "Wow" report is any predictor, Wisconsin under Walker will no doubt again report fantastic results.

After 14-Week Delay, Republicans Release Federal Unemployment Funds

But in time to pose for Holy Pictures before next week's recall elections.

Craven as all get-out.

Republicans At the Wisconsin Capitol Go Snap, Crackle, Pop

The alleged balloon-and-self-stabber says he "just snapped." (Read to the end of the linked story)

And while investigators are still sorting out what happened between Justices Prosser and Bradley, we know that Prosser admitted calling Chief Justice Abrahamson "a total bitch," and threatened to destroy her.

He said the outburst came after Abrahamson took steps to undermine him politically and to embarrass him and other court conservatives.

"In the context of this, I said, 'You are a total bitch,' " Prosser said. "I probably overreacted...

Is mandatory anger management counseling part of the Republican Platform, or the party handbook for candidates and elected officials?

It should be.

Hat tip to an ally.

Political Tide Rising Over Waukesha Plan To Divert Great Lakes Water

As I said in a posting this morning, Waukesha's application for a Lake Michigan diversion is and will be immersed in politics for years.

By complete coincidence, this letter sent today by Milwaukee officials to their Waukesha counterparts underscores that point.
\August 4, 2011

Mayor Jeff Scrima 201 Delafield Street Waukesha, WI 53188-3633
Daniel S. Duchniak General Manager Waukesha Water Utility 115 Delafield Street Waukesha, WI
Common Council President Paul Ybarra 2610 Keri Court Waukesha, WI 5318853188-3615

Dear Sirs:

We are in receipt of the June 29, 2011 letter requesting the commencement of negotiations regarding a possible water service agreement between the City of Waukesha and City of Milwaukee. Before we proceed any further, several matters require clarification.

First, as you know, under Resolution 080457, the City of Milwaukee is required to undertake a time-consuming and expensive process of evaluating various categories of data and preparing various reports for Common Council consideration before formal negotiations can commence. In addition, the resolution provides:

Before an agreement for water service may be executed the community which has applied for water service must enter into an intergovernmental agreement that contains a “non-compete” clause and an economic compensation provision that is substantially similar to the “Cleveland Agreement” ...; provided, however, the precise amount of economic compensation shall depend on the particular circumstances of the community which has applied for water service.

In light of this requirement, we believe that a threshold issue be must addressed; namely, is the City of Waukesha agreeable in principle to entering into an intergovernmental agreement with the City of Milwaukee that would contain a non-compete clause and an economic compensation provision?

We raise this issue since we are mindful of public comments made by elected officials and citizens in the City of Waukesha that suggest that a non-compete clause or an economic compensation provision would not be acceptable to the City of Waukesha.

Second, we have concerns regarding who speaks for the City of Waukesha. Again we are mindful of public comments by elected officials and citizens in the City of Waukesha that create some doubt regarding the ultimate authority of your “negotiating team” to reach a water service agreement and an intergovernmental agreement with the City of Milwaukee.

Our concern is exacerbated by the fact that there has been no response to our April 9, 2010, and May 13, 2011, letters to Mayor Scrima regarding water negotiations. We also note that one member of the “negotiating team” mentioned in your letter is no longer employed by the City of Waukesha.

Therefore, before the City of Milwaukee begins the research, evaluation, and negotiating process we need to have clarification regarding the two issues raised above.

Thank you for your consideration and we look forward to your prompt response.

Sincerely,

Tom Barrett Mayor
Willie L. Hines, Jr., President City of Milwaukee Common Council
Michael J. Murphy, Chair of the Finance and Personnel Committee City of Milwaukee Common Council
Robert J. Bauman, Chair of the Public Works Committee City of Milwaukee Common Council

A Note To Readers: Why I Can't Allow Open Comments

Without the moderation function that gives me the chance to review comments before they are posted, today's blog would have included multiple spam insertions and an overtly racist barb aimed at Obama. To the rest of you, thanks for being patient and filling out the comment box as required.

As The Stock Market Plunges, Call Ron Johnson And Say "Well Done"

That debt-ceiling brinksmanship to weaken Obama is working as planned.

Worth Noting: John Torinus Thinks Tommy Will Run For The US Senate

High-profile Republican moderate John Torinus says on his blog he's betting Tommy Thompson will run for the US Senate seat being vacated by Herb Kohl.

A couple of things: Shame on me for not knowing that John had a blog.  He's a thoughtful guy and a first-rate writer, so I'll check it out regularly.

And my goal here isn't to bash anyone,

I just don't think Tommy will run because he can't get his party's nomination and won't want to round out a legendary political career - - he's be 70 in November - - with a rejection by his party, let alone voters.

To get the Republican Party nomination, Tommy would have to make and hold a hard right turn - -  which could happen - - Alberta Darling has done it - - but Tommy would have to defend to his Party a close history with public employee labor, having added something like 10,000 jobs to state government because as the penultimate political people-pleaser he wanted everybody's vote.

And the "no-new-taxes-ever" talk radio crowd would go hard after Tommy over his Miller Park stadium sales tax, a tiny tax, but a tax nonetheless, that many in Southeast Wisconsin still irrationally hate.

There was a time when a politician with Tommy's name recognition and approval numbers could have waltzed into a US Senate seat, but that era is over.

The hard-edged Republican operatives, decision-makers and primary activists a generation or more younger than Tommy would demand someone more in the Ryan/Walker/Priebus mold.

Tommy's legacy of deficits, taxes, support for public sector health care and big government probably rule out a successful run for the Senate today, relieving us of watching what would really be unpleasant: seeing Tommy at this stage of his career pretending to be something and someone he isn't.

20 Years In Office, Darling Forgets That Language Is More Than Talking Point Cliches

Twenty years in the legislature, and this is the summation?

I actually flinched when I read this quote attributed to recalled State Sen. Alberta Darling in a Wednesday Journal Sentinel report from her final joint appearance with challenger Sandy Pasch:

"'We had the audacity to take on the special interests," Darling said. "We are Wisconsin. And we will stand up for the people" to put the state on the right track for jobs."

Huge Clean Water Victory For Wisconsin

Thanks to the advocacy groups that pressed for upgrades to numerous state practices that fell short of basic, Federal clean water standards.

Journal Sentinel Water Editorial Can't Wish Away Politics

The Journal Sentinel offers an editorial calling for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to do a thorough, fact-based review of Waukesha's application for a diversion of Great Lakes water.

No argument there.

But the editorial wishes for something that cannot possible take place:

The review should focus on issues of science, technology and economics - and not on political matters.

That is because every agency and participant on staff or in management who is called upon to weigh in on the application's merits, and its ultimate failure, success or implementation - - the DNR, The Waukesha City Mayor, Common Council, and Water Utility, and similar agencies and officials in three potential water-selling lakefront cities, and the Town of Waukesha, with its elected officials and direct, citizen-democracy, and seven other Great Lakes states' regulatory agencies parallel to the Wisconsin DNR, and all eight Great Lakes Governors - - each and everyone of these organizations and key members is either an elected official or reports to one.

And don't forget that there will be formal consulting input inserted into the process by non-voting governmental bodies in two Canadian provinces and by First Nation tribes, too.

That means thousands of political calculations and decisions will be made throughout a years-long politicized process because the authority over these waters is shared across a giant region where the Great Lakes water resources themselves are mutually managed and 'owned.'

This all began years ago with intensive politicking that created the Great Lakes Compact under which Waukesha's precedent-setting application has been produced - - and, in fact, there wouldn't even be a Waukesha application eligible for review without the active and successful lobbying (politics in action) by Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle's representatives to persuade negotiators from Minnesota to New York State to create a specific diversion exemption under which a community that is entirely outside of the Great Lakes basin - - like Waukesha - - could ask for a diversion in the first place.

Of course, this is a political process, and while the newspaper is right to urge the DNR to be thorough and scientific (read: fair) about its review there will be politics galore surrounding the application as it moves forward, or stop.

That's because what's at stake is who gets to use a limited and valuable resource held in trust for so many competing groups.

The Real La Crosse Serial Killer ID'ed, Again

As I've written before, his name is John Barleycorn.

WI Club For Growth Celebrates Death Of Commuter Train Pushed Hard By Business Community

Business organizations from Milwaukee to Kenosha supported the proposed lakeshore commuter train, but Walkerites in the Legislature killed it, and the Wisconsin Club For Growth in its regular Wednesday smear across the Internet had this to say about it:

KRM, R.I.P.

For far too long, far too many Republicans thought the only viable defense against destructive Liberal ideas was to implement them a little more slowly and finance them a little less generously than the Left preferred.  Thankfully, that’s over.

A fitting official holiday to mark the occasion might be the anniversary of then-Governor Elect Scott Walker saying yes, he really was serious about Wisconsin rejecting borrowed federal money for a not-so-high-speed rail line where one was least needed.

And now another celebration is in order, as the curtain closed last week on the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee (KRM) rail project.  Five years in the unmaking, this boondoggle would have become a steady drain on local taxpayers, but for the efforts of elected officials and constituencies that knew how to say no.
 

Alberta Darling Says Turnout Will Determine Election Outcome. Duh!

This is like a football player saying the game result will be determined by who scores the most points.

Last Coal-Burning Ferry On Great Lakes Wants Five More Years To Switch Fuels

The S. S. Badger now wants another five years to stop burning coal as its fuel source, according to news reports, which means the operator also wants to continue dumping its coal ash into Lake Michigan.

This blog has covered the issue for some time - - more than two years ago, here, and later, for example, here- - and it's also been a long time since the company began dithering about burning a cleaner fuel source.

But has found the time to run a high-octane PR campaign to slow the regulatory process.

And if Tea Party'Libertarian/Republican efforts to weaken the EPA succeed in Congress, (hat tip, Ron Johnson, et al), the Great Lakes may continue to be the Manitowoc, WI-to-Ludington, MI ship's coal-slurry discharge pond.

Walker To Binge Drinkers, Drug Abusers: Have One For The Road

The state's Secretary of Health Services whom Walker imported off-the-shelf from the ideological right and the Heritage Foundation, is back to his old ways, blocking the receipt of federal grant money to fight substance abuse.

Like that's not a problem in Wisconsin, where we lead the nation in many alcohol-abuse categories.

Tea Party Rally For Darling Shows How Far Right She Has Moved

A Tea Party rally Saturday for Alberta Darling proves a central point of the campaign against her: that the once moderate Darling is now politically in the fringes, along with Joe the Plumber.

Funny thing about the schedule that the Tea Party organizers released: the "Milwaukee" appearance is in Thiensville.

Fair Review Of MMSD Cleans Up Sensenbrenner Rant

PolitiFact dumps a well-deserved "False" rating on Cong. Jim Sensenbrenner for an attack he delivered in Whitefish Bay against the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District - - the kind of unsubstantiated, demagoguery you'd expect to hear in the fact-free world of conservative talk radio, but not at a public event uttered by a veteran Member of Congress.

Semsenbrenner claimed the MMSD is one of the worse polluters in the country, an allegation that PolitiFact calmly dismisses - - and also puts MMSD's operations and track record into a comparative prospective that shows it to be better-performing than peer, and even larger agencies

Sensenbrenner's staff offered explanations that PolitiFact found wanting, adding more evidence that Sensenbrenner's claim was false

Sensenbrenner's staff claimed that the MMSD pollutes local beaches: PolitiFact reports data and findings available for years that show the sources of beach pollution arise elsewhere, and not with the MMSD.

I've been writing about this since early 2005, and in helping report that Milwaukee County pipes, and not MMSD operations were responsible for harming Bradford Beach. And I also reported that it was the MMSD that paid for beach grooming that helped bring the beach back for safe public use.

Finally, PolitFact takes Sensenbrenner's operation to task for having said the MMSD's overflow pollution, by gallon, was larger than BP's pollution of the Gulf of Mexico.

PolitiFact points out the obvious - - what MMSD puts into the water is primarily water that contains some contaminants, but what BP put into the Gulf was oil.

Conservatives have been using the MMSD as a scapegoat for decades, whipping up the suburbs against the District and its urban center as if it were running a dozen light rail trains a day.

The PolitiFact report is a welcome fact-and-science based antidote to the political and rhetorical pollution the Right regularly dumps into Southeastern Wisconsin.

For Scott Walker, Mission Accomplished: Video Shows How New Wisconsin ID Law Discourages Voting

Hat tip to to the Cap Times' Dave Zweifel for posting a link to this video showing how state workers can charge $28 for one those now-mandated allegedly free Voter ID's.

Wisconsin Undistinguished US Representation

Tea Party plastics maker and Republican Senator Ron Johnson votes against the debt-ceiling measure, even though his party got 98% of what it wanted.

My Representative Gwen Moore somehow missed the vote.

As a Badger, I feel abused, and cheated.

The Right's Dirty Tricks In Wisconsin Becoming Clearer

Not content with advantages obtained with big-dollar fund-raising and confusion sowed by fake candidates,  Republican candidates in recall elections are supported by a group sending out absentee ballot information with false and misleading information.

And we're still waiting to learn from investigators whether the destruction by fire of the offices of the La Crosse-area recall effort, and other attached properties, was accidental or intentional.

I Guess A Tea Party Senator Owning A Plastic Business Would Have Little Use For The EPA

 Forget all those pesky rules that keep the air and water clean for the rest of us,  says Plastics Man.

He'll vote against the debt-ceiling and spending reduction bill (not enough cuts, not enough recognition for the 'jobs-creators'), so will vote for deeper cuts to the EPA and other programs underpinning the common good when those opportunities roll around.

Maybe cuts to the Federal Election Commission, too?

Anti-Gay Group Spending Big Money In Recalls

But whose money is it, the Wisconsin Gazette asks.

Ron Johnson's Muddied Vote

Our Republican and Tea Party Senator Ron Johnson voted "No" on the debt limit and budget-cutting plan, saying it did not go far enough.

Though John Boehner said it got him 98% of what he wanted: I guess Tea Partiers wanted 110%, or Armageddon, whichever came first.

Here's the contradiction: Note the lakeshore photo on his Senate news release webpage:

That looks like a pretty big body of Wisconsin water, perhaps Lake Superior or Lake Michigan.

Both of which require - - if you want to preserve, use and improve them - - massive amounts of federal funding through the Clean Water Act and the Great Lakes Restoration plan, and through local/state/federal water treatment efforts, and through federal ballast water and invasive species' control programs to keep these waters and their watersheds clean for fishing, drinking, swimming, boating and multiple commercial, municipal and private-sector uses, projects and developments.

These are among the very domestic, non-defense "big government" programs that will be cut under a bill that "small government" Johnson says does not go far enough, and which will be trimmed again later under this bill and again and again in related state and local reductions when federal cuts rain down on state grants, too.

Would Johnson would like to come out now, as a matter of policy and Honesty In Voting, in support of dirty water, contaminated lakes, clogged rivers, out-of-control invasive species and polluted watersheds?

If this bill does not go far enough, what would satisfy Johnson, representing a state with a water-dependent economy.

Johnson has had difficulties with other aspects of the job, notes blogger Tom Foley.

Prove Mike Ellis Right Next Week

State Sen. President Mike Ellis is upset, the Journal Sentinel reports, that the mean-spirited vote today to kick Wisconsin's unemployed while they are down will hurt recalled Republicans in their elections next week.

I hope he's right. As they say, elections have consequences, and so do votes that expose your empty core.

Every voter in these districts fed up with Scott Walker, Scott Fitzgerald, Paul Ryan and the Tea Party selfish extortionists from Wisconsin to DC can make their feelings known and send a message in the recall elections:

Enough is enough. This is a sucker-punch too far.

Alberta Darling, State Senate Republicans Have One Last Shiv For The Unemployed

Having made the long-term jobless in Wisconsin wait 22 weeks for available federal unemployment insurance payments, the Senate Republicans add one last indignity and financial deprivation - - just because they can.

Remember this come the recall elections.

Liberals Take A Hit In First Encounter With Multi-Party Rule In DC

People in countries with multi-party systems know that a fringe band of fanatics, like The Party, can hold the keys to the castle.

Especially if that minority party puts their their fingers through the ring on the pin of the grenade.

Abandoning Obama is absolutely the wrong response. Working harder to elect Democrats at every level is the path.

Dave Zweifel Explains Rail And Republicans

Thanks to Dave for the analysis and shoutout.

Joblessness In Wisconsin Under Walker Is Up, Data Show

Wait, what? I thought Wisconsin was responsible for creating half of all the new jobs in America in June.

Oh, that was false?

Thanks to John Nichols for pointing out that joblessness in Wisconsin under Walker is actually accelerating - - even though Wisconsin had created half of the country's new jobs...not.