This is a week old, but it’s worth discussing…
“Scott Walker will see the inside of a jail cell before he sees the inside of another term!” yelled Wisconsin Democratic Party Chariman Mike Tate to great cheers at his party’s state convention this past weekend.
When Newsradio 620 WTMJ’s Wisconsin’s Morning News asked Kenosha Assemblyman Peter Barca about whether he would endorse those comments, he said, “No. Obviously not. Everybody’s innocent until proven guilty. The court process and the John Doe involving many of his former appointees will work itself out over the course of the next few months.”
While I understand Mike Tate was trying to fire up convention-goers at the 2012 DPW convention, the fact that the leader of the Assembly Democrats disavowed Tate’s comments doesn’t speak well for Democrats in Wisconsin getting on the same page when it comes to messaging, and that’s certainly a problem heading into some critical fall elections here in the state.
It sounds like Barca is the sober one.
Just Tate being Tate. I wouldn’t have said it out loud but it’s certainly a scenario I’ve been considering likely. And I’m sure Sykes and crew said something equally terrible about Dems or the perceived left on WTMJ later in the day. We’re just classy enough to back off our side’s nutty statements.
Of course, “Everybody’s innocent until proven guilty.”
But I subscribe to the rational that some are less innocent than others, especially if they are a target of an ongoing two year old John Doe investigation.
Anyone have how the professional odds makers are calling it?
I think Tate can say what he wants, in the same way Reince Priebus can. They are expected to be partisan. Barca is an elected official, so he has to be honest about it. I don’t think it means they are on different pages either. Everybody knows that these court cases take awhile, the innocent til proven guilty is correct, and these people might get off, even if they aren’t innocent, they will have good lawyers, I suspect.
You have a point.
Tate and other such bomb-throwers turned Walker into a national celebrity and galvanized conservatives like almost nothing else could have. I think it’s prudent for Dem leaders to distance themselves from this type of rhetoric.
Paul has a better point.
That is, if it matters to win more seats in the legislature in Wisconsin this fall.
That matters to me.
Here is the question I still have about this messaging thing. Is it true that people disapprove of Walker, but didn’t want a recall because a recall is too “radical”? If it is, then why are people calling for Democrats to be more moderate? It would seem that a similar approach, but not as “radical” as a recall, would be a good idea. Or is it the case that people think “it’s working”, at least outside of a few counties? Are the Dems too radical or just too all over the place with messaging? Do people dislike Walker and recalls (in which case the Dems would be in very good shape for Nov.) or is there some larger problem with messaging out there?
Tate is a partisan cheerleader and I accept or ignore his statements in that calling based upon current information much as I do to those of the GOP’s Reince Priebus.
At this point based upon the facts and evidence, there appears to be some involvement or at least unreported knowledge of a crime(s) or conspiracy by Scott Walker during his tenure as Milwaukee County CEO. I am more certain of a charge or indictment, but uncertain as to a conviction.
Another concern, I have, as a former corporate and credit union manager is as to Walker’s competency as a CEO, in particular to his oversight of Russell, Wink, et al and more importantly the moral and ethical standards he instilled in or required of his staff. I feel Walker’s, “drop (the(previously unannounced) bomb” and “divide and conquer” win at all costs, echos his zealotry and ideology that the end justifies the means.
The evidence against Walker is more convincing regarding his lack of competency than his criminality at this stage of the ongoing John Doe investigation; however, the sentencing and plea bargaining of those of his former staff and associates, including immunity grants, may ultimately tip the scales of justice to Walker’s criminal guilt.
Tate may be a bit premature, but isn’t cheer leading always about anticipation and encouragement and winning?