The Political Environment

Scott Walker's Road To Ruin Is 25 Feet Long

noreply@blogger.com (James Rowen) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:41:00 +0000

According to a criminal complaint alleging misconduct in office, and multiple felonies, twenty-five feet is the distance from former Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker's office to the office of Kelly Rindfleisch, his Deputy Chief of Staff in 2010.

That shorter, folks, than a first down, without any linebackers, guards or tackles in the way.

The complaint alleges she used her taxpayer-paid job and resources to perform allegedly-illegal Republican campaign organizing and fund-raising using a secret computer email system setup in her office by another Walker staffer and also used by other partisan campaign operatives,.

Did the boss, County Executive and now-Governor Scott Walker - - or the Chief of Staff - - ever walk down the hall and stick his head in her office and say, "Hey, Kelly, what's shaking?"

Did they ever have staff meetings, when people went around the room and discussed what they'd been working on for the people of Milwaukee County - - the folks paying their salaries and benefits - - and what was on their plates?

Was this a public office doing the public work, or was it a partisan consulting firm using public resources . with a communications system hidden from public view, to save campaigns the trouble of paying for their own staff, offices, and equipment?

Special Interest Mining Bill Passes Assembly, DOA In Senate

noreply@blogger.com (James Rowen) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:02:00 +0000

The Wisconsin Assembly disgraced itself Thursday by passing an industry-written mining bill that would trash the Bad River watershed and undo hundreds of years of water conservation work, plus state, constitutional and Native American sovereignty in Wisconsin.

Fearing a public opinion backlash, and recall elections that have already claimed two members and threaten four more, Republican State Senators will go more more slowly; their first order of business will be to shelve the Assembly's toxic, anti-democratic action.

An excellent, ongoing source of information about this issue is the open Facebook page:

Citizens Concerned about the proposed Penokee Mine

Scott Walker, The New Nixon

noreply@blogger.com (James Rowen) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 06:01:00 +0000

These few paragraphs reported by Dan Bice about Darlene Wink, one of two former Walker staffers in the Milwaukee County Executive's office charged Thursday with criminal behaviors on public time, indicate how far, wide, deep and fast Walker's legal and political problems are expanding:

...Wink, cut a deal with prosecutors under which she has agreed to provide information in a related investigation about the destruction of digital evidence and to aid in further prosecutions. This is the first indication that the multifaceted John Doe investigation may be pursuing charges of evidence tampering.

Milwaukee County prosecutors also made the surprising disclosure that top Walker aides set up a private Internet network set up by top Walker aides to allow them to communicate with one another by email about campaign as well as county government work without the public or co-workers' knowledge.

The emails traded by Walker officials via the shadow government could provide investigators with a trove of information as they pursue other angles in the case. Earlier this week, the Journal Sentinel reported that the probe was focusing on possible bid-rigging and other misconduct in the competition to house the county Department on Aging in private office space.

The network was set up by long-time Walker and staffer Tim Russell, already charged with stealing money from a veterans fund, among other allegations.

Not to mention Walker's ethical deficits, which we have seen before.

These things will stick to Walker, and they underscore why his people, or others who control the conservative dollars flowing to his campaign coffers, would talking about a Plan B.

He's weakened - - they are weakened. He goes down - - they take a fall, too.

Walker fancies himself the heir to Ronald Reagan and his conservative leadershp's legacy, but, more and more, it is Richard Nixon (Tim Rissell, meet Alexander Bufferfield), , secret tapes and the drip-drip-drip of an unfolding corruption case that come to mind.

And by the way, commentary about all this should come from the pre-eminent Nixon Scholar Stanley Kutler, my friend and former Constitutional Law professor.

Have at it.

Tommy Thompson Wants Even Faster Train From Milwaukee To Madison

noreply@blogger.com (James Rowen) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 03:03:00 +0000

Hey - - Midwestern High-Speed rail has found a Republican backer, even in railophobic Wisconsin.

On video, the champion is Tommy Thompson, in his own words.

Mr. Amtrak is back.

But, uh oh, that drove the right-wing Club For Growth nuts.

Even though Tommy still supported Walker for killing the Milwaukee-to-Madison train. Says so in that same video. Really.

But which the Club for Growth wasn't buying. See its release, above, again

Oy! Can't a flip-flopper get a break?

Stay tuned, as all parties watch Tommy Thompson's off-the-rails run for US Senate.

Walker, Eagle Scout, Again Blind To Legal, Moral Questions

noreply@blogger.com (James Rowen) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 01:51:00 +0000

Remember the infamous and revealing taped phone call between Scott Walker and a blogger/prankster named Ian Murphy - - whom Walker thought was the Right's uber-financier David Koch?

Murphy suggested that Walker insert provocateurs into the crowds of peaceful protesters at the State Capitol?

Walker didn't say, "Holy cow! That would be wrong. Illegal. Immoral."

No, Walker said that troublemakers might cause a boomeranging political reaction and weaken the fight he'd picked with public unions over collective bargaining.

Murphy: Right, right. Well, we’ll back you any way we can. But, uh, what we were thinking about the crowds was, uh, was planting some troublemakers.

Walker: You know, the, well, the only problem with that — because we thought about that...My only fear would be is if there was a ruckus caused is that that would scare the public into thinking maybe the governor has gotta settle to avoid all these problems.

So: politics trumps the law, or an ethical response from the Governor.

Flash forward to Thursday's arrest and charging of two more former staffers from his days as Milwaukee County Executive.

The complaint indicates that when Walker found out one of the now-charged staffers had been written up in the Journal Sentinel for using county resources to work on his gubernatorial campaign, he didn't say, "Holy cow! That's wrong. Illegal. Immoral."

He said:

We cannot afford another story like this one," Walker said in the email he sent Russell. "No one can give them any reason to do another story. That means no laptops, no websites, no time away during the work day, etc."

Another self-interested politics response. Eagle Scout code, Governor?

A Possible Plan "B" For Scott Walker, Ex-Governor

noreply@blogger.com (James Rowen) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:22:00 +0000

I know without knowing that state and national political consultants and operatives far above my pay grade are already thinking along these lines because their goal is to keep Wisconsin on its far-right track:

* Gov. Walker resigns if the John Doe probe gets fatally close to him. Depending on the timing, it could moot the recall effort which is already delayed by Republicans' insistence on the most laborious signature verification procedures imaginable. Since the Doe probe and related events could last a long time, it is possible that Walker could win the recall election, then have to leave, much as Richard Nixon won re-election in 1972 with Watergate events already underway - - but then resigned when his culpability and involvement in illegal activities was clear.

* A resignation would elevate Lt. Gov. Kleefisch to the office, and, again depending on the timing, could moot the recall against her, too. If that happened before the recall election, I believe - - and correct me if I am wrong - - it would start another year-long clock before she could be recalled.

* If he left before he'd spent it, Walker's trove of recall-related fundraising could either be returned to donors, gathered up again as a Walker support/legal-defense-if-needed fund, or transferred and/or re-contributed in part or in whole to Kleefisch's campaign account, depending on the law. It's their money, and events may push it elsewhere.

* Conservative backers, if they cared, would find and fund a slot for Walker somewhere, depending on what happens with the John Doe and whether they choose to extend their loyalty, and how far.

Walker is ultimately a pawn in the right's game, and if need be, is replaceable.

Keep an eye on how this particular scenario, as Dan Bice described it on January 22nd:

In an interview last week, Walker said he has not been contacted by investigators for the Democratic district attorney but would be open to sitting down with Milwaukee County prosecutors to discuss the issues they are investigating.

"I certainly would be willing if they asked me to in the future," Walker told the Journal Sentinel's Madison bureau. "Like I said, no matter who it might be about, we'd be more than willing to in the future."

Asked if he has hired his own attorney for advice regarding the John Doe investigation, Walker declined to answer.

"I've not been a subject of this," the first-term Republican governor said. "At some point in the future, if I am, I'll discuss that with you."

His campaign hired Steve Biskupic of Michael Best & Friedrich in late 2010, when officials subpoenaed campaign emails. Last year, Walker's campaign paid Michael Best nearly $110,000 for "compliance issues."

John Doe Charges Show Walker Was No Post-Ament Reformer

noreply@blogger.com (James Rowen) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:36:00 +0000

Fresh criminal charges brought today against two more former Milwaukee County employees - - these who worked directly for then-County Executive Walker - - allege persistent campaign fund-raising and other forbidden political activity on taxpayer-paid time taking place right under Walker's nose, as reported by Dan Bice.

The complaint also reveals the existence of a secret email system used by Walker and his aides - - and alleges that records from the system were withheld from release under Open Records requests.

Serious stuff.

Additional charges could come that further implicate top Walker County staffers, campaign officials and long-time advisers; Walker as witness is among the distinct possibilities.

Serious stuff, getting more serious.

Couple these revelations with earlier John Doe convictions for illegal donations to Walker's campaign for Governor, and pending charges of theft by Walker appointees from funds Walker was supposed to have moved out of his office, and a picture of Walker is emerging as a failed administrator - - at best - - of a major public office.

Remember that Walker was swept into that office after Tom Ament resigned as County Execitive in the wake of a massive recall signature effort.

Set aside that irony, given Walker's criticism of the same recall process now being used against him.

Set aside, though don't forget, that people had already been found guilty in the caucus scandal years earlier for similar behaviors.

It now looks like Milwaukee County taxpayers simply traded one form of public dysfunction for another:

In the case of Ament and supervisors who expanded fiscally ruinous pension payments, it was a matter of using a publicly-financed system to pad their retirement incomes.

With Walker, it was a matter of using the same publicly-financed system as a partisan consulting business to help candidacies and campaigns.

In both cases, public offices and resources were misused.

Walker the reformer. Hardly.

I'm looking at this paragraph from the Journal Sentinel's 2010 contorted endorsement editorial for Walker, that praised his "habit of upending the status quo," and does it ever ring hollow now:

If there is one thing Walker has shown in his tenure as county executive, it is an abiding intolerance for the failures of business as usual.

Grover Norquist-Style State Planning Killing Jobs In Wisconsin

noreply@blogger.com (James Rowen) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:23:00 +0000

Republican State Senate leader Scott Fitzgerald, currently facing a probable recall election in the spring, signals deeper cuts in the 2013-'15 state budget, assuming he and Scott Walker survive their recall campaigns. and are in control of the government.

So cutting the most money per-pupil out of local schools among all the states, and coming in at number three nationally in cuts to higher education weren't political satisfaction for these guys at the expense of teachers while snuffing out main street spending?

Six straight months of rising unemployment in Wisconsin while hiring is up nationally? Do they not see a relationship between their budget cuts, micro-management of local public budgets and the loss of business activity and hiring statewide?

Grover Norquist, the anti-taxation Washington, DC power broker who wants government shrunk to fit into a bathtub, then drowned, would be pleased with Wisconsin's lurch to the far-right under Walker and the Fitzgerald brothers, which means these small-government ideologues are comfortable with the unemployment that results when billions in purchasing power is withdrawn from the economy.

Their state planning is failing.

Our Governor Gets One Thing "Right"

noreply@blogger.com (James Rowen) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 06:01:00 +0000

Gov. Walker said in the State of the State speech that Wisconsin is headed in the "right direction."

"Right," as in to the political right? OK, give him that.

Walker has infused Wisconsin with a jaw-droppingly far-right, fact-depleted, anti-worker, anti-woman, anti-urban, anti-teacher, anti-environment, tax-the-poor-a-little-heavier and split-the-state-down-the-middle agenda and (mean) spirit.

Yes, mean. He dropped a bomb on many middle-class citizens and gloried in it its sneaky, signature deceit.

There's no way that was right.

And if losing private sector jobs for six straight months- - as the nation is adding jobs - - and falling so far behind in his campaign pledge to create 250,000 private sector jobs - - by 2015 - - that he won't hit the pledge until 2029 - - well, go figure how that's the right track.

Here are a few other things he did not get right - - though he knew better.

Imagine, Wisconsin, A Governor Who Was Interested In The Truth

noreply@blogger.com (James Rowen) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:11:00 +0000

What does it say about the state of Wisconsin and its politics that the advance text of Governor's Walker's State of the State tonight repeats demonstrably false claims about the budget being balanced, and furthermore, balanced without having raised taxes?

State fiscal records show that two taxes were raised, and Walker's Secretary of Administration recently told federal officials the state was still running a deficit.

And what does it say - - actually, these numbers speak for themselves - - that the PolitiFact rating service has found 27 of 40 statements of Walker's it vetted to be "mostly false, "false," or "Pants on Fire?" That's a pretty lousing batting average.

We all know there is a certain amount of exaggeration by some elected officials - - "I gladly yield the balance of my time to the Gentleman from the Great State of such-and-such..." - - and that politicians will take credit for something created or achieved when, in fact, scores, thousands of people deserve some or even most of the credit.

But repeating falsehoods, even after true facts to the contrary are publicized?

That, Bucky is a problem.

Walker State Of The State Speech Falsely Claims Balanced Budget

noreply@blogger.com (James Rowen) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:04:00 +0000

Along with a proven falsehood about a budget without tax increases, Scott Walker's State of the State speech - - and here's a primer on what you won't hear - - contains another falsehood: that the budget is balanced.

Excerpts from the speech contain these lines, reports the Journal Sentinel:

And we balanced the state budget. We balanced it -- without raising taxes; without massive layoffs; and without budget tricks;

Who is the source of the revelation that the budget still has a deficit? A Democrat?

No - - it's Walker's Department of Administration Secretary, Mike Huebsch, who told federal officials there was a deficit that permitted the state to cut public health plan rolls.

As State Sen. Jon Richards posted to WisPolitics last week:

Rep. Richards: Walker's administration states his budget is not balanced
1/18/2012

Contact: Rep. Jon Richards, (608) 266-0650

The governor’s administration certifies that the budget has a deficit in order to kick up to 53,000 people off health care

MADISON—Contradicting repeated claims by Gov. Walker that he has balanced the state budget, his administration told federal health officials late last month in writing that Wisconsin has a budget deficit so it could drop health care for Wisconsin families. That’s according to documents released today by Rep. Jon Richards (D-Milwaukee).

On Dec. 29, Walker administration secretary Mike Huebsch sent a letter to federal health secretary Kathleen Sebelius certifying that Wisconsin will have a budget deficit through June 30, 2013. By certifying that its budget isn’t balanced, the Walker administration can now dodge a federal law requiring it to continue providing health care for up to 53,000 residents. The Walker Administration letter contrasts starkly with public comments by Walker, who has claimed repeatedly since June that his budget is balanced.

More details, here.

Walker Repeating Tax Lie In State Of The State Speech

noreply@blogger.com (James Rowen) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:22:00 +0000

Walker is a piece of work. As predicted, his State of the State speech mirrors a year of deceit.

Again, according to the Journal Sentinel, he will repeat tonight the falsehood that his budget did not raise taxes - - which it did.

Here is what he is repeating - -

"And we balanced the state budget. We balanced it -- without raising taxes;"

And here is what PolitiFact wrote:

But what about his 2011-"13 budget?

It included some tax cuts, but also tax increases.

That"s according to the nonpartisan state Legislative Fiscal Bureau, which both parties have long cited as a neutral scorekeeper on budget matters.

The bureau determined that Walker included three tax increases in the budget totaling $49.4 million over the two-year period.

The largest involved a reduction in a state tax credit for low-income working families, known as the earned income credit. A tax credit reduces the amount of tax you owe.

In this case, the earned income tax credit is in place for both state and federal taxes. It"s refundable, so individuals with little or no income tax liability may still receive the credit.

Walker"s plan would decrease the tax credit for families with more than one child, allowing the state to collect an additional $41.3 million in taxes over two years from those families. (The credit would actually go up for families with just one child.)

A second tax increase, the fiscal bureau said, is stopping the inflationary adjustment of the state"s Homestead Tax Credit -- the property tax break that appears as a credit on income tax forms for low-income homeowners and renters. The bureau calculated that change would increase taxes by an estimated $8.1 million.

Kedzie And Political Quicksand

noreply@blogger.com (James Rowen) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:13:00 +0000

As the Assembly stumbles and blunders towards approving a mining bill that damages its credibility and the state's water-dependent environment, attention will turn to the State Senate where a committee led by State Sen. Neal Kedzie, (R-Elkhorn), is supposed to be writing a mining bill presumed to be less flawed and confrontational.

That's the general expectation, though Kedzie has been signalling a shift to the right and loyalty to Walker, so we might end up with a Senate bill masquerading as something better, but in reality is simply re-bottled Assembly sludge, with a dab of lipstick on the label.

If Kedzie comes across as Jeff Stone's brother from another district - - short video, here - - he could easily find himself on the next recall list.

Voters are less tolerant these days of legislators who carry water for the far-right, out-of-state ALEC machine - - see Kedzie;s official bio, and also see consequences/Fitzgerald, Scott/recall- - and who are willing to sell off the state's conservation legacy to anyone with a dragline

and a ~~permit~~ coupon from Walker's commercialized DNR.

Environmental Lawyers Shred Assembly Mining Bill

noreply@blogger.com (James Rowen) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:01:00 +0000

Great posting from Midwest Environmental Advocates.

Walker John Doe Probe In A Higher Gear

noreply@blogger.com (James Rowen) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:24:00 +0000

And so is the local paper's reporting.

The extensive piece in the Wednesday Journal Sentinel about the John Doe probe and Scott Walker's former Milwaukee County staff and senior campaign officials is a significant piece of journalism that advances a significant political story by leaps and bounds.

The reporting does a helluva job explaining that the probe is looking at possible irregularities - - and no one has been charged in this avenue of investigation - - surrounding real estate bids, awards, lobbying and politicking that involved millions of dollars in County-paid office real estate contracts.

The corruption investigation into Gov. Scott Walker's time as Milwaukee County executive is focusing on the bid competition to house the county's Department on Aging in private office space, the Journal Sentinel has learned.

Investigators are looking for signs of bid-rigging or other misconduct as representatives of the privately owned Reuss Federal Plaza vied unsuccessfully in 2010 to keep the department offices, according to sources familiar with the case. The offices had moved in 2005 to the blue tower, 310 W. Wisconsin Ave., in a $3 million deal.

In December, the real estate broker for Boerke Co. who spearheaded the Reuss effort in 2005 and 2010 was arrested and jailed overnight on allegations of failing to cooperate with the ongoing John Doe investigation.

The broker, Andrew P. Jensen Jr., faces an order to talk to prosecutors Wednesday.

John Hiller, one of Walker's highest-ranking campaign aides, said he worked on behalf of the building's owners on the 2005 deal. An official told the newspaper that he also had a role in the 2010 effort.

In 2005, Schlitz Park - which had housed the offices for 20 years - won an initial bid for the offices. But records show a rushed, last-minute rebid resulted in the Reuss group getting the $3 million deal...

In late summer 2010, the county ultimately rejected all private office space options as too expensive and the department's offices moved into vacant space in a county-owned building, a cost-saving move some supervisors had recommended five years earlier.

Around that time, the district attorney's office, which launched the Doe investigation in May 2010, received a tip about possible insider dealing in the lease-space competition. An email obtained by the Journal Sentinel showed the Walker administration tipped off some brokers about strategy months before any bids were formally sought.

None of the players in the deals has been accused of wrongdoing, and Walker has defended the county's actions...

The fact no lease contract was awarded in 2010 could make any potential prosecution more difficult, but misconduct charges do get filed under such circumstances, veteran Chicago criminal defense attorney Robert Loeb said. They hinge on the illegality of the behind-the-scenes acts, not necessarily on whether the contract was awarded.

This line of John Doe inquiry has been reported by the paper's Dan Bice, including in a Sunday column that said:

The next phase, insiders say, is focusing on the role some of Walker's closest associates and county employees had in a real estate deal involving a county agency. The point man on the deal, real estate broker Andrew Jensen, was arrested last month for allegedly failing to cooperate with the investigation. Jensen, who was not charged, is set to meet with prosecutors this week.

The Wednesday blockbuster takes readers to political territory in and around County government several notches above that inhabited by middling Walker staffers and associates recently charged by the Milwaukee County District Attorney with diverting funds from a Walker-founded veterans' charity to pay for personal cruises and airplane tickets - - as serious as that conduct would be, if proven.

But as a former Milwaukee Journal and Journal Sentinel reporter and assistant metropolitan editor, here's what jumped out at me about the Wednesday story: five Journal Sentinel staffers got bylines or contributor credit.

Five!

Even in the long-gone era of big newsroom staffs, five reporters does a serious team make.

Add in the copy, content, senior editing and design involvement, and it's even more clear that the paper, already owning the story, is really all-in as that story gets hotter.

If you are Scott Walker, or are on his team, or were with him in County government, trust me: this is not the way you hoped his State of the State speech Wednesday - - or the next few weeks or months - - would unfold

A Primer On Scott Walker's Year Of Deceit, Wisconsin's Decline

noreply@blogger.com (James Rowen) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 06:01:00 +0000

(originally posted Tuesday, Jan. 24, 1:52 p.m.)

Here is what you will not hear, or what will be turned on its head Wednesday night as Scott Walker delivers his State of the State speech and tries to put lipstick on His Year of Living Deceitfully:

* Walker withheld from the public his intention to bludgeon unions and public employees statewide and strip away nearly all their collective bargaining processes, then used the phrase "dropped the bomb" in a taped phone call to describe his action. And disclosed he'd considered sending provocateurs into crowds of protesters to make mischief.

Name another elected official in American who treats citizens, law and the workplace environment with such contempt.

What we learned as this unfolded was that sneakiness, misdirection and outright falsehoods were to be Walker hallmarks - - the exact opposite of what he told a Lakeland Times reporter in a September, 2010 gubernatorial campaign interview was the virtue and strength he'd gained in the Milwaukee County Executive's office (more about that later):

When he says he believes in government transparency, it's not just a campaign slogan, Walker said "I don't just say that, I've lived it," he said.

* Little wonder, then that the media fact-checking service PolitiFact has examined 39 Walker statements and rated 27 of them, or 70%, as "mostly false, "false" "pants on fire." The statements vetted went across-the-board: budgets, health care, campaign disputes, education, tax relief, collective bargaining, state finances, the business climate and more.

* Among his more brazen cynical manipulations that went beyond rhetoric was the disclosure that Walker's budget-appointees are using two sets of state fiscal figures. One allows Walker to claim in releases, interviews and self-promotional TV ads that the state budget is balanced - - but another allows him to claim an ongoing budget deficit for political reasons so the administration can toss low-income adults and children off state-supported health-care plans and pick an ideological fight with the Obama administration.

* In a related manipulation, Walker claimed he was expanding the scope of publicly-funded health plans for the disabled, seniors and others - - and even invited advocates to a Madison news conference where he made his compassionate announcement - - then had to admit that the federal government had forced him to add people to the programs' rolls because he had removed them from coverage inappropriately. Details here.

* Walker's ploys extend to environmental matters as he taints the state's political environment, too. Wetlands and waterways in the public domain are being readied for private takeover and probable degradation through multiple pieces of legislation initiated or sought by Walker. This giveaway of public water and land has been as narrow as a special wetlands-filling bill at Walker's insistence for one Green Bay developer (and Walker donor), and as sweeping as wetlands and mining changes statewide written into bills behind closed doors to speed-up development at the expense of clean water, treaties with Native Americans and 224 years of water protections incorporated into the state constitution's "Public Trust Doctrine."

* Walker and his party pushed through a vote-suppressing ID law, another law with flawed and disenfranchising legislative-redistricting maps, and even - - read the next few words carefully - - openly and without apology ran Republicans posing as Democrats to extend Senate recall campaigns and the 'real' Republicans fund-raising and active campaigning time frames. Taxpayers had to pay the cost of the unnecessary primaries.

So what is the State of the State?

Stressed and suffering on Walker's watch through months of corrosive leadership, mounting job losses and negative publicity nationally.

* All made worse by the behavior of Walker allies - - from State Supreme Court Justice David Prosser's intemperate outbursts, to Justice Michael Gableman's participation in cases argued by the high-profile law firm Michael Best & Friedrich which did not bill him for representation in a judicial ethics case worth $100,000, according to published estimates.

* It is the same law firm that is collecting significant fees from state coffers for representing Republicans in their controversial redistricting.

* And which is representing the Walker campaign in some aspects of the John Doe probe.

Details in the above bulleted points, here.

All these events and revelations have played some role in fueling the recall campaigns aimed at Walker, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, and State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, a key Walker ally - - and which no doubt Walker will evade, distort, omit, misrepresent or spin during the State of the State speech Wednesday night.

It is his pattern - - and it exceeds the normal exaggerations in political speech and self-interested strategy.

But we know the truth, and I'll bet he does, too:

The recall efforts - - like those last year that cost the GOP two Senate seats - - are genuine grassroots efforts that withstood establishment political and media condemnation, opponents' vandalism and even scattered assaults, and yet garnered against Walker and Kleefisch, in a mere 60 cold wintery days, a history-making million+recall signatures.

And the necessary signatures also to force an election on Scott Fitzgerald in his conservative district, and in three other GOP-leaning State Senate districts.

This authentic citizen achievement was distorted by a demagogic Walker who has called it a movement of paid workers and outside labor bosses. And, he claimed last year's Capitol protesters were mostly out-of-state, though PolitiFact knocked that down as "false" in February, 2011.

It's not coincidental that the same manipulative, plotting and forked-tongued Governor who revealed himself these last 12 months also has had some donors, associates and even key, former staffers charged criminally - - with others reportedly about to be named - - because of plotting activities on his behalf.

Nor is it coincidental that Walker is now raising millions of dollars out-state for his recall defense from powerful individuals

Just four individuals, using a loophole in Wisconsin campaign law, have given a total of $1 million, the Journal Sentinel reports.

The Journal Sentinel's Dan Bice, whose reporting about the ongoing Walker-related John Doe probe has been outstanding, captured in this memorable column the ironic essence underlying Scott Walker's performance:

Gov. Scott Walker says he isn't worried about a John Doe investigation of his current and former aides.

That's because, Walker said, he is a man of integrity.

"I know that throughout my career - first in the Legislature, then as county executive and now for the last 10 months as governor - I live by the standards I got from my parents," said Walker, whose father was a Baptist minister. "Certainly, they got me to the rank of Eagle Scout, and I continue to have that kind of integrity."

Tommy Thompson Again Uses Jewish Terminology To Talk About Money

noreply@blogger.com (James Rowen) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:41:00 +0000

What is with Tommy Thompson, money and things Jewish?

He blew up his silly vanity run for the Presidency in 2007 by saying that making money was part of Jewish culture.

Today, the AP quotes Tommy, describing his financial success in the private sector this way:

Everybody knows I was broke when I left government five years ago," Thompson said in 2010. " `I've made a few shekels, not as many as you guys think I've made, but it's tough to go back, there's no question about that."

The shekel is the official currency denomination of Israel, the Jewish state.

Why didn't Tommy say he'd made a few bucks, dollars, greenbacks?

Somehow, someway, money and Jewish images are tied together in Tommy's head.

He's learned nothing from his 2007 experience, when this was the news, and I hadn't seem the AP account above when I linked to a different article earlier in the day for a post in which I thought I could make a brief satirical reference to Tommy's past stumbles:

MONDAY, April 16, 2007, 5:24 p.m By Associated Press

Thompson apologizes for Jewish remarks

Republican presidential candidate Tommy Thompson told a Jewish group today that earning money is "part of the Jewish tradition," a remark for which he later apologized.

"I'm in the private sector and for the first time in my life I'm earning money," the former Wisconsin governor told the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. "You know that's sort of part of the Jewish tradition and I do not find anything wrong with that."

Later, he added: "I just want to clarify something because I didn't (by) any means want to infer or imply anything about Jews and finances and things. What I was referring to, ladies and gentlemen, is the accomplishments of the Jewish religion. You've been outstanding business people and I compliment you for that."

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz first reported the comments.

A Wisconsin Assemblyman Parades His Biases

noreply@blogger.com (James Rowen) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:03:00 +0000

Videotaped arrogance: Jeff Stone, (R-Greenfield), admits that the Assembly excluded Native Americans when drafting mining legislation that also covers many water issues, too.

Though the mining bill was written in such secrecy, but with input from the mining company, that no legislator would put his or her name on it as a sponsor.

But drafting input from the mining company? Sure.

From Native Americans whose Bad River watershed will get the mines' polluted silt. No.

Here's what the headwaters of the Bad River looked like this morning, according to Pete Rasmussen.

And I remember when Stone was considered a reasonable, moderate, thoughtful guy. Former Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist and I used to have coffee with Stone on Water St. to talk about transit, and government.

But these days, the Republicans feel free to air out their biases, Like State Sen Neal Kedzie, (R-Elkhorn), another former moderate, but who is now leading the fight for Indian high school mascots and nicknames, and, in the Senate, in favor of wetland fillings and quick mine approvals.

Discrimination is in vogue!

And the public be damned. It's the era of Walker and big money, so let the feast begin.

So let the mining lawsuits fly - - which the reckless Assembly knows are coming - - with Stone's remarks becoming Exhibit "A."

Walker's Big Donor List

noreply@blogger.com (James Rowen) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:52:00 +0000

Still think there aren't economic classes in America? The 1% is buying Wisconsin. Digest this data.

Post-Debate Fact-Checking: Stimulus Created 1.2-3.7 Million Jobs Last Year

noreply@blogger.com (James Rowen) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:43:00 +0000

The next time you hear a righty radio talker or Republican candidate jabber about the stimulus and its impact on hiring, remember these numbers that CNN published right after Monday's GOP debate:

ROMNEY: President Barack Obama's $814 billion economic stimulus program "didn't create private-sector jobs."

THE FACTS: There is no support for that assertion. Between 1.2 million and 3.7 million full-time-equivalent jobs were created last year because of the stimulus, according to an August 2011 report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Meanwhile, another government report found the stimulus program has paid $34.5 billion in tax incentives to businesses, including $260 million to hire younger, unemployed war veterans.

Economists debate whether the stimulus lived up to its promise or was worth the cost, but no one seriously argues that it created no jobs. Many believe it helped to end the recession even while falling short of its employment goals.

Tommy Says He Made A Lot Of Money

noreply@blogger.com (James Rowen) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:39:00 +0000

Tommy tells the Journal Sentinel "I did quite well" in his private sector years.

Nothing else to say but "Mazel Tov."

Background here.

Metro Milwaukee Jobless Crash For African-Americans On Walker's Watch

noreply@blogger.com (James Rowen) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:32:00 +0000

As reporting shows record joblessness for African-Americans in Metro Milwaukee, can we hear from Scott Walker, current Governor and Milwaukee County Executive from 2002-2010 about that? Can he explain what job development his now-criminally charged economic development point man Tim Russell helped arrange, especially in Park East land Walker sat on for years because he was too stubborn to turn it over to the city's Department of Development for packaging?

I remember a moment during one of the televised debates during the 2010 gubernatorial campaign between Walker and Tom Barrett where Barrett, Milwaukee's Mayor, asked Walker to cite a single job Walker had created in Milwaukee's central city.

Walker had nothing to say, which the data reflects.

John Doe Probe, Criminal Charges, Make Walker Boast Laughable

noreply@blogger.com (James Rowen) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:16:00 +0000

With more criminal charges apparently coming against Scott Walker insiders and former staffers who worked for him during his Milwaukee County Executive tenure, these lines from a Lakeland Times campaign interview with gubernatorial candidate Walker in September, 2010 sure look silly now:

When he says he believes in government transparency, it's not just a campaign slogan, Walker said "I don't just say that, I've lived it," he said.

By the time that interview took place, a shortfall of funds had already been discovered in a veterans fund managed from Walker's office, and Walker had already ignored County ethics' advice to remove the fund from his office and personally it handed to long-time aide Tim Russell, who now stands accused of stealing from it.

Transparency?

Please.

Walker Solicits Wall Street's 1% To Fight Wisconsin's 99%

noreply@blogger.com (James Rowen) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:30:00 +0000

$2,500 would have gotten you through the door last week to join the former CEO from bailed-out AIG to fete Scott Walker on Park Ave. in New York City help Walker fight a million citizens trying to recall him back home in Wisconsin. The checks got written to "Friends of Scott Walker." Just whom do you think those "friends" are? 61% of Walker donors live out of state, a new study shows.

Mining Bill Spurs Protests

noreply@blogger.com (James Rowen) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 04:26:00 +0000

Bad bills have consequences.

Protests are scheduled this week in Madison over the Assembly's pro-industry mining bill - - despite 11th-hour, minimal tweaks - - and little wonder,

Among the phrases the Journal Sentinel editorial board - - which supports the mine - - used in a full-throated screed against the Assembly bill, were:

"...a travesty of legislation...significantly weaken environmental protections...as if children had replaced Republican legislators...dump toxic waste into wetlands and flood plains...allow mining corporations to contaminate the groundwater of neighboring properties...allow mining operations to inflict significant damage to the environment...an act of political cowardice...an insult to the people of northern Wisconsin...

And the Legislature will do to wetlands what the mining bill will do to the Bad River watershed. It's a coordinated attack on people and the waters that belong to them.