Democrats call on Obama to Rule Like a Dictator

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More liberal Democrats are calling for the President to rule like a dictator on the debt ceiling.

On Thursday, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) gave President Obama the green light to bypass Congress and unilaterally rule on the debt ceiling invoking the 14th Amendment.

"It's arguably his power to do so," Hoyer said, according to a report at The Hill.
"Very frankly, if it came down to his looking default in the eye on Tuesday or taking this action, as President Clinton said, better to take the action and find out later that perhaps he went beyond his authority but at least protected the credibility of the United States of America," he added.

A number of Democrats, including Texas Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee, have called on the President to commit what Rep. Tim Scott called an "impeachable act" - that is, usurping the Congress to rule on fiscal policy.

James Clyburn (D-SC) and John Larson (D-CT), Chair of the Democratic Caucus, have also said the President should use the 14th Amendment to effectively rule on the debt like a dictator.

"The Republicans, through their failure, have given you license to do whatever it takes to not let the American family go down into [the] abyss," Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA), vice chairman of the Democratic Caucus, said Wednesday.

On Friday, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) added his voice to those calling for Obama to don the mantle of dictator on the debt ceiling.
According to The Hill:

Harkin, attacking the Tea Party as "nuts," told liberal talk show host Bill Press the country would applaud a President for taking dictatorial action to get things done:

"I think the American people would stand up and applaud a president who had the guts and the courage to stand up and make sure the political battles don't tear this country apart,” he said. “I think the Tea Party will probably go nuts, but what the heck, they're already nuts anyway.”

Proud to be a Hobbit

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The “Lord of the Rings” metaphors crept into the debt-limit fight on Thursday, as tea-party heroes fired back at Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) who mocked members of the conservative grassroots movement as “tea-party hobbits.”

“I’d rather be a hobbit than a troll,” freshman Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said on a conference call when asked by POLITICO about McCain’s remarks. “I think in reading the books, the hobbits were the heroes. They overcame great obstacles, and I think I’d rather be a hobbit than a troll.”

Added fellow freshman Sen. Mike Lee, who co-founded the chamber’s tea party caucus with Paul and Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.): “It’s stunning to me that some people have resorted to name calling rather than simply addressing the issue.”
McCain, his party’s presidential nominee in 2008, took to the Senate floor a day earlier, blasting tea-party “As in the fable, it is the hobbits who are the heroes and save the land,” she added. “This Lord of the TARP actually ought to read to the end of the story and join forces with the TEA Party, not criticize it.”

Dear Fellow Conservative

Sen. Wirch's liberal allies have released tv and radio ads making absurd allegations
that I support "hundreds of millions" in tax breaks for corporations and the rich.
They are also claiming I owe thousands in taxes, which is entirely false.  Rest
assured, all my taxes are paid.

I expect that these attacks will only get more outrageous, and I need your help
to fight back.

The Republicans are in serious danger of losing the Senate.  I need the resources
to make sure that I can defeat him so that this doesn't happen.
Many of you have already supported my efforts and I am extremely grateful for your
support.  If you can pass this email onto friends and family, or donate an additional
amount no matter how small, it will go a long way to fending off these attacks and
retiring Senator Wirch.

$1,000, $500, $250, $100, $50, $25 or whatever you can afford, will allow me to
get my message out and fend  off some vicious attacks on my credibility. You may
also click here to donate online.

Thank you for your continued support,
Jonathan Steitz
Candidate for 22nd Senate District
P.O. Box 580973
Pleasant Prairie, WI 53158
(262) 358-8008

We can defeat Runaway Senator Bob Wirch but we can't do it without your help.  Please donate to Steitz for Senate today!

Severely out of Line - Wirch’s Record Doesn’t Match Rhetoric

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MILWAUKEE – State Senator Robert Wirch (D-Kenosha) has over the years reiterated to constituents that he is a “fiscal conservative.”[1] Yet a recent review of Senator Wirch’s record by Media Trackers, a non-profit, non-partisan investigative watchdog group, revealed that his rhetoric and record are severely out of line. “Unfortunately, Senator Wirch’s record hardly qualifies him to claim the title ‘fiscal conservative,’” said Brian Sikma, communications director of Media Trackers.

Some key things in Wirch’s record that do not qualify as being fiscally conservative include:
In 2003, Senator Wirch voted to uphold Governor Jim Doyle’s veto of a Taxpayer Bill of Rights that would have capped Wisconsin property taxes. Wisconsin property taxes rose by 5.9% and led to Wisconsin having the 11th highest property taxes in the country.

[2] In 2007, Senator Wirch voted in favor of Governor Jim Doyle’s 2007-2009 budget that increased taxes by $376.8 million dollars and increased fees by $386.4 million.

[3] In 2009, Senator Wirch voted in favor of Governor Jim Doyle’s 2009-2011 budget that increased taxes by $1.6 billion and still left Wisconsin with a $3.6 billion budget deficit.

[4] Democratic Senator Jim Holperin said “the Governor’s got enough little tax and fee hikes in that budget to sink a good-sized battleship.”
In 2011, Senator Wirch voted against Assembly Bill 9, a measure that would protect taxpayers by requiring a supermajority to raise taxes.

[5] In 2011, Senator Wirch had the opportunity to vote for a budget that cut taxes, eliminated a $3.6 billion deficit, and provided the state with a $300 million surplus. Not being a “fiscal conservative,” Wirch voted against this budget.

[6] “Certainly, Senator Wirch would want to say he is a fiscal conservative,” noted Sikma. “Wisconsinites are fiscally conservative and they want to see common sense in government. But it isn’t enough to say you are fiscally conservative, you have to actually be fiscally conservative. Senator Wirch is not fiscally conservative, and he needs to start being honest about his record.”

Sikma concluded saying, “On August 16 voters will have a chance voice their thoughts in a recall election in Senator Wirch’s district. They deserve to have the record – and not just the rhetoric – on-hand before they make their decision.”
[1] Official Website of Senator Wirch, http://legis.wisconsin.gov/senate/sen22/news/
[2] Tax Foundation, Wisconsin Property Taxes: Among The Nation’s Highest
[3] Legislative Fiscal Bureau, State Tax And Fee Modifications Included In 2009 Act 28, January 2, 2008
[4]Legislative Fiscal Bureau, State Tax And Fee Modifications Included In 2009 Act 28, July 8, 2009
[5] Roll Call AB 9
[6] Roll Call AB 40

PDF Press Release version of this story: WirchRhetoricRecordOutofLine-Presser.

Onto the Backs of our Children and Grandchildren

 “The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a
 sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government cannot pay
 its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial
 assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless
 fiscal policies. Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and
 internationally. Leadership means that ‘the buck stops here.' Instead,
 Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our
 children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of
 leadership. Americans deserve better.”

 -- Senator Barack H. Obama, March 2006

Obama's Dishonest Little Universe

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Though it was decades ago, I have never forgotten my first real-life lesson in naked extortion. It's how local governments work; when voters won't give you the tax increases you demand, retaliate by threatening to withhold the few legitimate government services they actually desire and need. i.e. Holding back police protection ... between midnight and 8 a.m. every day.
 
This is what we are seeing now on a cosmic scale with the debt-ceiling crisis in Washington, D.C.
 
Barack Obama and his administration's propaganda ministry (formerly known as the "mainstream media") constantly repeat the mantra that failure to raise the debt ceiling will result in "default." It's no longer a question to them; "default" is presented as a given in their dishonest little universe. There is no default. It's a lie.
 
Let's break it down one more time.
 
In his Marketwatch blog today, investment guru Kurt Brouwer explains what all honest economists readily concede – "The U.S. Treasury will not default
 
" – and he does so in a way that makes the ongoing deception crystal clear to any 8-year-old:
Q: What is a default?
     A: In this case, a default would be the failure by the U.S. Treasury to make payments of principal or interest on its debt in a timely manner.
Q: In a given month how much does the Treasury owe as interest on its debt?
     A: Roughly about $15-20 billion.
Q: How much revenue does the Treasury take in on average in a month?
     A: Roughly about $200 billion.
Q: Are you saying the Treasury could pay interest on its debt 10 times over (or more) from monthly income?
     A: Yes. Therefore the likelihood of not paying interest on its debt is zero.

Let's sum up so far: If you are telling people the U.S. government will automatically "default" if the debt ceiling isn't raised, you ARE lying.
 
Now upping the ante, Obama is threatening to withhold old people's Social Security checks
 
if he doesn't get his way in the current extortion – I mean, negotiation. Believe me, if he could threaten to eliminate police protection throughout America, and get away with it, he would probably do that too.
 

School Boards are Cheerfully Switching Their Coverage

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Wisconsin labor union reform: Saving Jobs, Money, Schools

There is a striking (if you’ll pardon the pun) dichotomy taking shape in the Wisconsin public school system right now, and it’s one that should hardly be surprising to anybody who was paying attention to this spring’s labor union reform struggles. Said dichotomy is as follows:
School districts that were able to institute Scott Walker’s & the GOP’s reforms to collective bargaining procedures have generally been able to balance their school budgets for the year without layoffs.
 In fact, at least one district that was on the verge of instituting layoffs will be able to avoid that.

School districts that were not able to institute those reforms – for whatever reasons – will not be avoiding layoffs.

The Weekly Standard article linked to above lists Milwaukee (354 teachers fired) and Kenosha (212 teachers to be laid off). The first example is particularly noteworthy because: a), Milwaukee had to fire an additional 482 teachers in 2010; and b), the Milwaukee school board estimates that it could rehire at least 200 of their teachers if the union simply agreed to instituting employee contributions to their own pensions (5.8%). The union (in the form of its president Bob Peterson*) refused, of course. They’re rather defensive about it, too – which is nice; I always like to see admissions of shame and remorse, even if it’s just being restricted to subconscious attitudes.

If you’re wondering why the schools are having such a dramatic turnaround in their funding**, well, it’s not just from having teachers kick in more towards their pension. As I wrote about at the beginning of the month, there’s also something called the Wisconsin Education Association Trust (or WEA Trust). The WEA Trust (which was set up by Big Labor, of course) used to be effectively the only health care provider option available to many school boards… and, seeing as the school boards had no choice but to use it, the WEA Trust was utterly indifferent to market forces. But once labor union reform took effect, lo! – school boards in places like Hartland-Lakeside, Pewaukee, and Menomonee Falls are cheerfully switching their coverage – and why the Kaukauna school district has discovered that WEA Trust is now downright eager to match their new competitors’ lowest prices. It’s amazing how reasonable a seller can get when you suddenly no longer have to buy from him.

I note all of this mostly because there are some recall elections coming up in Wisconsin, and it’s important that Wisconsin voters understand the issues involved. They have a choice, of course. They can vote for the party that let teachers fired because there’s no money left to pay for them. They can vote for the party that refuses to think and act in the best interests of the schools, the teachers, and (most importantly) the students. They can even vote for the party who is trying to establish a service monopoly on the behalf of a crony corporation that has been inflating prices for years.

Or they can vote for the Republican.

Taking It To The Streets

Take an hour or two and find a busy corner. You'll be surprised on how many cheering fans agree with you. A tip of their cap, a hand wave, a thumbs up, a honk of the horn is how you will be welcomed by the public.  I know, I did it on Tuesday July 19th. I took a vacation day and spent a few hours on the corner of 75th and Green Bay Road. The public knows the old ways of Wirch, is the wrong way for Kenosha and Wisconsin.  Spend a hour on the Corner. It will energize you as you receive eye to eye recognition that others feel the same way you do.

Its a simple and great method to Get Out the Vote. Arm yourself with a Steitz sign and or a message to Get Out the Vote for the general recall election on August 16th.You'll quickly learn via eye to eye agreement, which of the public supports Jonathan Steitz and who doesn't.  I'm glad to include myself in the group that want a change. And if you are like me, the public which shows them self to be against you. You'll understand who they are and how rude they can be. Civil they are not, sometimes. I felt a great connection to the people that day. I plan to go back for more.

We need your help to reclaim the 22nd District!!

Steitz Campaign Volunteer UpdateJuly 2011

Dear Supporters,

A heart felt thank you to all my supporters - you guys are amazing. The next phase of the campaign starts now. With your help I'm confident we'll be celebrating another victory in four weeks.

I need your help.  With less than a month to go until the general election we need to make a huge effort to get out and pound the pavement and make phone calls to fellow conservatives so they go to the polls on August 16th.

Please give a few hours to the campaign in the coming weeks, so that we can defeat Runaway Wirch in August!

Thank you for your continued support,

Jonathan Steitz
Candidate for the 22nd State Senate District

To volunteer please email info@steitzforsenate.com or call Shawn at 262-237-1956

Office:
5901 75th St (Hwy 50)
Kenosha, WI

LaborUnionReport -Spending and Taxing Our Way into Bankruptcy.

Full Story

It is really unbelievable to listen to a President call bi-partisanship while, at the same time, he uses his OFA machine to help union bosses recall GOP legislators.
Then again, why should we expect anything less from this administration?

Obama Calls For Bi-Partisanship As OFA Barnstorms Wisconsin On GOP Recalls
Posted by LaborUnionReport

On its main page this weekend, the Obama campaign website, barackobama.com, is featuring a video of the President calling for a bi-partisan approach to spending and taxing our way into bankruptcy. What is so disingenuous about the President’s call for bi-partisanship is the fact that the Community Organizer in Chief’s website is littered with activities to help angry government union bosses and their Marxist allies turn out the vote in the Wisconsin recall elections on August 9th.

According to  the OFA website:
This summer, we’re spending time working on important State Senate elections in Wisconsin. We’re knocking doors and making phone calls and talking to voters about the importance of participating in these elections on August 9th. We can’t do it without you — we need you and your neighbors to come out and join us! We hope to see you at our event.

On Friday, according to WisconsinPolitics, Michelle Kleppe, Wisconsin State Field Director for Organizing for America sent an email to supporters stating (in part):
http://www.redstate.com/laborunionreport/2011/07/23/obama-calls-for-bi-partisanship-as-ofa-barnstorms-wisconsin-on-gop-recalls/

On August 9th, Wisconsin voters will go back to the polls to decide whether six Republican senators have failed to serve the needs of Wisconsin’s hard-working families.
Senate Republicans broke the trust of Wisconsinites earlier this year when they forced drastic cuts in funding for schools, seniors, and the disabled to cut taxes for their own contributors.
Since then, hundreds of OFA Wisconsin supporters across the state have spoken up, saying they want to have an impact in the recall elections in August. So in the coming weeks, volunteers will be organizing their networks, working phone banks, and knocking on doors to get the word out about what’s at stake on August 9th — and there are several events in Dane County this weekend.

GOTV "Drive-By" Ballot

Join us at the
Inaugural Drive By Ballot
Hosted by the Kenosha TEA Party Movement

PICK UP YOUR ABSENTEE BALLOT REQUEST
Saturday July 23
10:00am - 1:00 pm
Citgo Gas Station 57th Ave & 75th St

Sign up to recieve infomation on the upcoming GOTV (Get Out The Vote) Rally in August


View Larger Map

Wirch Abandoned his Principles and his Constituents

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As a newly elected Assemblyman from Kenosha, Rep. Bob Wirch sponsored legislation to “trim the amount of taxpayer funds available” for “midwinter junkets.” Of the trips taken, Wirch said “I understand the anger out there, and to me, this is an area that can be cut back.”
Wirch went on to say, “the only traveling I do is between Madison and Kenosha.”
Senator Wirch was once considered a dependable legislator looking out for the interests of his constituents. But when given the choice of representing voters in Senate District 22 or the interests of big labor, Wirch hopped in a car with other Democratic Senators to flee Wisconsin and take his own “midwinter junket” at the behest of union leaders. “Senator Wirch abandoned his principles and abandoned his constituents,” said Media Trackers Communications Director Brian Sikma. “If Senator Wirch is willing to flee the state and leave his constituents without a voice in Madison, citizens have every right to question his ability to continue to serve in public office.”

Source for Wirch Quotes: Rep Targets State Junkets, Capital Times, 1/7/1994

Steitz Advances to take on Wirch in August Recall Vote

Congratulation Jonathan,  Now the Real Fun Begins ... We're coming to get you Bob

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/125862603.html

http://www.fox6now.com/news/politics/witi-20110719-wirch-steitz-ekornaas,0,6337754.story

Attorney Jonathan Steitz wins Republican primary; will take on State Sen ...

FOX6Now.com Milwaukee - ‎12 hours ago‎

Attorney Jonathan Steitz has won a Republican primary in a Wisconsin recall election, and now advances to challenge Democratic state Sen. Robert Wirch next month. Steitz has 64 percent of Tuesday's vote, with 73 percent of precincts reporting. ...

Steitz advances to take on Wirch

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Georgia Pabst - ‎18 hours ago‎

Corporate attorney and political newcomer Jonathan Steitz advanced out of Tuesday's Republican primary and will face Democratic state Sen. Robert Wirch in the Aug. 16 recall election. Steitz, 37, defeated Fred ...

Candidates vie to unseat Senator Wirch

Today's TMJ4 - Erik Bilstad - ‎22 hours ago‎

The two Republican candidates for Senate District 22 say even though they are competing against each other today, they agree it's all about who can beat Senator Robert Wirch next month. “This isn't about making me a Senator, ...

Kenosha Voters Turn Out For Primary Day

WISN Milwaukee - ‎Jul 19, 2011‎

KENOSHA, Wis. -- It's election day in Wisconsin, but only three Senate districts in the entire state are headed to the polls. But those three districts could determine who controls the state Senate this fall. In southeast Wisconsin, voters in Robert ...

Republican Jonathan Steitz To Face Wirch In Recall Election

WISN Milwaukee - ‎18 hours ago‎

MILWAUKEE -- Attorney Jonathan Steitz has won a Republican primary in a Wisconsin recall election, and now advances to challenge

Big Labor tactics questioned in Wisconsin recall campaign

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Labor union is concerned about the incumbent Democrat’s chance in the recall race.

By: Alissa Smith | WisconsinReporter.com | 07/15/11 6:30 AM

It’s not unusual for political pollsters to try to determine which candidate voters prefer in a particular race.
But when labor giant AFL-CIO started calling voters in state Senate District 22 recently, things got a little curious.

Here’s the catch — there’s no mention of Ekornaas’ opponent in the July 19 primary, Kenosha attorney Jonathan Steitz. Ekornaas is the Republican vice chairman of the Kenosha County Board. The winner of the July 19 primary will face incumbent Wirch, a Pleasant Prairie Democrat, on Aug. 16.

The AFL-CIO did not return calls seeking comment on the survey.
Also tied to the Washington, D.C., telephone number is Working America, an AFL-CIO community affiliate for employees in jobs that are not represented by a union.

When asked about the number and the survey questions, Aruna Jain, media relations specialist for Working America, said she wasn’t aware the polling questions focused on two of the three candidates.

The strategy behind the survey question — and intentionally leaving out one of the candidates — could affect the way voters approach the contest, said Kathy Cramer Walsh, an associate professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“It’s more like a salience effect. It’s more prominent in our minds; there is so much going on in our head,” she said. “It’s sort of like when someone says, ‘Don’t think about an elephant,’ you can’t help but think about an elephant.”

Walsh said it’s difficult to say if one polling call will make a difference on the ballots, but voters “will prefer a name they’re familiar with.”

Katie McCallum, director of communications for the Republican Party of Wisconsin, said the phone calls show the labor union is concerned about the incumbent Democrat’s chance in the recall race.

“While they’ve already spent millions of dollars attempting to turn Wisconsin back to the failed policies of the past, they’ll soon learn yet again that voters trust Republicans to continue to stand up for the middle-class, and not big labor,” McCallum said in a statement.

Alissa Smith covers Wisconsin politics and government for WisconsinReporter.com.

Dirty Tricks? Look For Da Union Label

Full Story
By Charlie Sykes CREATED Jul. 14, 2011

Media Trackers comes up with an actual dirty trick, courtesy of the AFL-CIO.

With less than a week before the Republican primary in Senate District 22 (Kenosha, Pleasant Prairie, Burlington), residents in the Kenosha area received an automatic phone survey polling them about issues of importance and who they might support in the August 16th recall election.

But “When the survey asked ‘who would you support in the August 16 election?’ It said ‘press 1 for Senator Robert Wirch, press 2 for Fred Ekornaas, and press 3 for undecided.’” The poll is omitting the other Republican candidate, former small-business owner and corporate attorney Jonathan Steitz.

So would a scientific poll really only list two of the three candidates?
So where did this call originate? The listed number from the call was 202-974-8147. When Media Trackers called the Washington D.C. phone number, we were greeted by this automatic message identifying who was behind the fake survey.

Listen To The Automatic Voice Message Here

That’s right, the AFL-CIO is calling residents in Senate District 22 with a fake poll that omits the name of the Republican front-runner in an effort to confuse voters. Steitz’s campaign manager Ashley Schultz told Media Trackers “it’s clear that Senator Wirch and his liberal allies are threatened by Steitz.” “Despite the unions efforts to deceive voters, we’re confident that the people of the 22nd District will get out and vote for Steitz in the primary on Tuesday,” said Schultz.

The deceptive survey from the AFL-CIO comes in the wake of allegations by liberal bloggers that Wisconsin Right To Life used automatic calls to confuse and suppress the vote.

See how Bob, Fred & Jonathan answer the first eight questions

Hopefully you'll love how Steitz answered Question # 7 as much as I did.

for the District 22 Online Debate at
http://d22onlinedebate.blogspot.com/

Each candidates' responses are now posted for the CRG Online Debate.

Jonathan response
http://d22onlinedebate.blogspot.com/p/jon.html

Fred response
http://d22onlinedebate.blogspot.com/p/fred.html

Bob's response
http://d22onlinedebate.blogspot.com/p/bob.html

Meet and Greet at Sunnyside Club for Jonathan Steitz Saturday, July 16, 2011

On Saturday July 16th there will be a Meet & Greet held at Sunnyside Club Bar & Restaurant for Jonathan Steitz, candidate for State Senate in the 22nd District.

Your attendance would be greatly appreciated, and you will have the opportunity to meet Jonathan and hear his vision for the future of our area.

As you know, Governor Walker's stand against the liberal special interests has put Wisconsin at the forefront of a political fight that has resonated throughout the country. With so much on the line, we must win the battle of resources so that we can defeat Wirch in August and start bringing positive changes to the 22nd District.

A strong, grassroots effort is the key to our success. This will require massive canvassing of the district and TV and radio ad campaigns to inform and mobilize voters.  We are asking our friends to support Jonathan's efforts.

Jonathan has put together an aggressive campaign plan that can lead us to victory.  This recall election is our chance to send a message to Bob Wirch that we won't tolerate him abandoning us. It's time to bring real leadership to our state. 

Meet & Greet with Jonathan Steitz
Saturday, July 16, 2011 
12:00-2:00pm
Sunnyside Club Bar & Restaurant 
7517 22nd Ave
Kenosha, WI 53143

P.S. Please RSVP by July 14th to the Steitz Campaign (info@steitzforsenate.com)

Thanks for your support,

Listen to Jonathan and Fred with Len Iaquinta

Since Fred and Bob will not participate (to date) in the CRG Online Debate. Please use the following link to hear the July 2nd broadcast of WGTD 91.1 FM's Community Matters  Archive,hosted by Len Iaquinta

Between Jonathan Steitz and Fred Ekornaas, the two Republican primary candidates for the July 19th election to determine who will run against Democratic State Senator Bob Wirch, in the recall election slated for August.

http://d22onlinedebate.blogspot.com/

The Canary in the Public Union Coal Mine

Full Story

As you’ve combed through the pages of NRO for the past few months, you’ve probably wondered what’s so darn special about Wisconsin. Why would NRO let some nobody from Wisconsin spend five months posting stories about his state’s union dispute?
Apparently Nancy Pelosi has figured out why Wisconsin is important, as she has reportedly been raising money to fund the elections to recall six Republican state senators who supported Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to scale back the ability of public-sector unions to collectively bargain. National Democratic figures have concluded that Wisconsin is the canary in the coal mine for public unions — if Walker’s plan is successful, it could serve as a blueprint for weakening public unions around the country.

Consequently, national union money has been pouring into the state in order to make Republicans pay for weakening unions. The We Are Wisconsin Political Action Committee announced last week that they had raised $4 million for the effort to recall GOP senators, with over $3 million of that coming from the national AFL-CIO. Additionally, the PAC collected six-figure donations from AFSCME, United Food and Commercial Workers, and WEAC, the state’s largest teachers’ union. As pointed out by Media Trackers, the PAC’s spokesman is Kelly Steele, who most recently worked on Sen. Harry Reid’s reelection battle in Nevada.
In the meantime, the 14 Democrat state senators who fled the state to hold up passage of Walker’s bill have continued to garner national attention. On July 2, the “Fleeing 14” senators were honored at the National Education Association convention in Chicago, taking part in a pep rally that would embarrass even Lebron James and the the Miami Heat:

But if Democrats succeed in winning three recall elections and win back control of the state senate (two seats are almost certain to go their way, which means they need to win just one of the remaining four), they will be emboldened. It will be trumpeted nationwide as a rebuke of Scott Walker’s policies, and will serve as a warning for future legislators around America who would dare tinker with union benefits.

— Christian Schneider is a senior fellow at the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute.

5th, 6th 7th & 8th Questions Posted

See how Bob, Fred & Jonathan answer the eariler four questions for the District 22 Online Debate at http://d22onlinedebate.blogspot.com/

Question 5: Republicans are proposing new limits on Recalls of elected officials because of what they call an abuse of the system. Would you be in favor of stricter limits on Recalls, making Recalls easier or keeping things as they are currently? Please elaborate.?

Asked by : Orville - Member of Citizens for Responsible Government
Asked on: July 8th ~ 1:00PM

Answers Posted on:

======================================================

Question 6: If you were forced to eliminate 1 dept. in state govt. in order to balance the budget, which dept. would you choose?

Asked by : Chris - Member of Citizens for Responsible Government
Asked on: July 8th ~ 1:00PM
Answers Posted on:

======================================================

Question 7: Are you in favor of the state of Wisconsin joining the law suit against Obamacare?

Asked by : Amy - Submitted by the Public, and selected by a Member of Republican Party of Kenosha County
Asked on: July 8th ~ 1:00PM
Answers Posted on:

=====================================================

Question 8: Consider this scenario: You are a state senator, and the state senate is about to pass a bill that you think would be a horrible mistake. You are meeting with fellow legislators who are also opposed to the bill. The group is considering their options. What options would you have? Would leaving the state with like-minded senators be one of them?

Asked by : Tom - Submitted by the Public, and selected by a Member of the Kenosha Tea Party Movement
Asked on: July 8th ~ 1:00PM
Answers Posted on:

Wisconsin isn’t over

Full Story

Other than the possible fisticuffs and chokeholds at the Wisconsin Supreme Court, Wisconsin politics has faded from the national headlines.

But Wisconsin isn’t over folks.  Democrats challenging Republicans in recall elections are doing better at fundraising, and Nancy Pelosi is headlining a fundraiser as well.
One of the primary agitators and sources of much of the nastiness, a grouped called We Are Wisconsin, hired Harry Reid’s campaign spokesman to lead its “communications” operation.  The group has raised several million dollars from outside sources.
The first recall election is July 12, but most are on July 19.  [see correction below] If anyone has local intel on how things are going, or links to where people can donate to Republicans, please post in the comments.

July 12 Democratic primaries
• Dist. 8 (incumbent Sen. Alberta Darling): Gladys Huber vs. Sandra Pasch
• Dist. 10 (incumbent Sen. Sheila Harsdorf): Shelly Moore vs. Isaac Weix
• Dist. 14 (incumbent Sen. Luther Olsen): Rol Church vs. Fred Clark
• Dist. 18 (incumbent Sen. Randy Hopper): Jessica King vs. John Buckstaff
• Dist. 32 (incumbent Sen. Dan Kapanke): James Smith vs. Jennifer Shilling
Winners will face incumbent Republicans on Aug. 9

July 19 Republican primaries
• Dist. 12 (incumbent Sen. Jim Holperin): Robert Lussow vs. Kim Simac
• Dist. 22 (incumbent Sen. Robert Wirch): Fred Ekornaas vs. Jonathan Steitz
Winners will face incumbent Democrats on Aug. 16