Democrats Peter Barca and Cory Mason vote for $3 billion giveaway to Foxconn

With Democrats like Peter Barca and Cory Mason it’s no wonder Wisconsin’s Democrats have little hope of regaining what they’ve lost since 2010.

All but two Republicans supported the bill in the 59-30 vote and they were joined by three Democrats – Reps. Cory Mason of Racine and Peter Barca and Tod Ohnstad of Kenosha. GOP Reps. Adam Jarchow of Balsam Lake and Todd Novak of Dodgeville joined the bulk of Democrats in opposing the measure, which now goes to the Legislature’s budget committee and the Senate, where it could see further changes.

The “deal” to bring Foxconn to Wisconsin is estimated to end up costing Wisconsin’s taxpayers $3 billion, and some reports note Wisconsin might not recoup the corporate welfare it doles out for at least 26 years and over the next 15 years, state taxpayers would pay out $1 billion more to Foxconn than the additional taxes that would be generated by the deal.

That’s the deal Peter Barca and Cory Mason voted for, and in doing so they gave Scott Walker the opportunity to show how “bipartisan” he is leading up to his reelection in 2018.

Nice job guys, and good luck in the minority for the foreseeable future!

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12 thoughts on “Democrats Peter Barca and Cory Mason vote for $3 billion giveaway to Foxconn

  1. Agree on this. It’s a really bad look to have the Assembly Dem Leader vote for this garbage. I don’t care if Peter’s district will benefit from this, you have to speak for the party in this case. Either that, or step aside from
    being a “face of the party” in leadership.

    Between this and the sellout on the Uber law, Mason has put a ceiling on what seemed to be a bright career a few years ago. It may be the best of all worlds if he becomes Mayor of Racine and be replaced by someone who won’t play games that fuzz up the Dems’ message.

    Bottom line- you cannot play footsie with corporates and other bad business actors. And all Dems in the Senate better say no to the Fox-con- including Bob Wirch from Kenosha. Make the GOPs own this desperate, costly giveaway.

    1. Good points in this thread. The Republicans had no trouble voting Yes all over the state where people know the concept of Foxconn is terrible.

      The Democrats who voted yes made Foxconn look bi-partisan and that hurts democratic candidates around the state. At a minimum a vote for new Democratic leadership in the Assembly should be expected.

      Foxconn was about the allocation of resources in our state and instead of having money for schools, roads, parks, and public health, our money is going to corporate welfare.

      1. AJ’s point is on the money. Note that Vos and Walker were portraying the vote as “bipartisan” today, trying to make it sound like some kind of reasonable compromise instead of a disgusting giveaway negotiated in secret and jammed through the Legislature.

        If Barca and Mason and Ohnstad didn’t know they were going to be used by the amoral GOP, they are too dumb to have any kind of position that makes them a face of the party.

        All Dems in the Senate must vote NO if the Fox-con stays in its present from. , and give no cover to this scam.

        1. Jake, the 3 democrats that voted Yes represent 3 solid democratic districts.
          This deal was so bad they were not going to get a Fighting Bob award for voting No and they sure are not going to get one for voting Yes.

          It was not that hard to vote No and state Wisconsin should not need to hand out cash bribes to get business. Agreed here that all Democrats in the Senate must vote NO.

  2. I am not surprised considering the districts they represent…and I am surprised at how few Republicans voted against it. I would have thought the Vos would have let a few go since he had the votes anyway. I can’t imagine if this thing actually happens that it is going to benefit the western and northern portions of the state one little bit.

    But as Jake stated…if they are going to go against the party line they shouldn’t hold party positions of leadership in the assembly.

    1. Jeff Simpson had a good point at CogDis. Barca said all the right things leading,up to the final vote. He questioned why it was being jammed through, why the real was so costly and stupid, etc…He was shown on Madison TV last night making those statements.

      Then he turns around and votes for the damn thing! It totally steps on the Dems’ message and gives cover to WISGOP for this garbage giveaway.

      Peter can be a Rep from Kenosha, or he can be in Dem leadership. He is trying to be both, and it is failing badly. Time to step away, Peter…or get taken away

  3. Nice to see Rep. Barca choosing bipartisanship on such an important issue to Wisconsin’s economic future. I think he would have had a hard time facing his constituents after a ‘no’ vote. Hopefully, future success of the Foxconn development project will open the door to more bipartisan cooperation on major economic development issues. Turning away jobs for your constituents just to do harm to the other party is petty, and I think voters can see through tactics like that pretty easily.

    1. How about saying no to corporate welfare?

      It’s funny….Republicans hate “handouts” when they’re going to poor people, but they fall all over themselves to give much more significant handouts to corporations that hardly need the help.

      Mark my words…Foxconn won’t create nearly the number of jobs promised, and Wisconsin’s taxpayers are going to be left holding the bag.

      1. It should not be difficult to vote No on corporate welfare. The perception of how corporate welfare is more popular with the voters of Racine and Kenosha counties than any where else in the state is bleak. I recall how a state senator representing Racine was thrown out of office for voting yes on corporate welfare.

  4. Agree. It’s time for Barca to step aside. He’s had a long career and done a lot of good, but that almost makes this (and the Bucks arena) vote worse… with his record and reputation, in his deep-blue district, he’s the last person who should get a pass on “voting his district” against the interests of the whole state.

    Chris Taylor for Leader!

  5. Foxconn: the Tony Mandarich of business deals. I’m sorry, I just don’t want 17% of my tax dollars going to pay for corporate welfare. And if I have an objection it goes straight to the Republican controlled State Supreme Court. Do people who care about Wisconsin’s future, environmentalists or anyone who questions Gov. Walker’s obvious irresponsibility here have any say in this?

  6. Looks like Mr. Barca was shown the door! Whatever you want to say about politics in Wisconsin… it’s not boring.

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