Blogging Blue » Hypocrisy

Erpenbach Strikes Back

Jeff Simpson — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:54:17 +0000

The story came out yesterday that The republicans were unanimous in swearing their secrecy, to Michael, Best & Freidrich while they spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money to make sure they had as many republican friendly districts as possible.

The problem with that(ok there are numerous problems, but one of the problems was the republicans denied the democrats legal representation. The republicans pointed out that thanks to MB & F, everyone was represented. They just forgot to ever let the democrats get involved. That did not sit well with Jon Erpenbach and he let them know with this letter:

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Eric McLeod

Michael, Best and Friedrich

One South Pinckney St.

Suite 700

Madison, WI 53707

Dear Mr. McLeod,

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) has insisted from the start of the redistricting process that the process has not been political in nature. He even went so far as to deny Senate Democrats legal representation in this process, saying that the Senate already had a law firm: yours. That fact was restated by his staff, when ask by myself, as a member of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Utilities and Government Operations during a recent hearing. During that hearing, I asked Sen. Fitzgerald’s staff on more than one occasion, and more than one way, if politics were involved with redistricting. His answer was always the same, “no.”

Therefore, it is my understanding, as the elected State Senator of the 27th Senate District, I am your client. As your client I would like to review the file regarding your firm’s work on redistricting.

Attorney client privilege should not be an issue here because I am one of the 33 clients you represent.

If it’s not your understanding that your firm represents all 33 Wisconsin State Senators, then perhaps we need further clarification from Sen. Fitzgerald. Otherwise, please provide me with a copy of the entire redistricting file.

To be very clear, I really have a disdain for reading about a case that involves me and the entire Wisconsin State Senate in the newspaper.

Sincerely,

Jon Erpenbach

State Senator

27th Senate District

I will anxiously await the response to this letter! This is starting to get interesting!

The Once and Future Shill

Phil Scarr — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:19:17 +0000

Shill: A shill, plant or stooge is a person who helps a person or organization without disclosing that he or she has a close relationship with that person or organization. Shill typically refers to someone who purposely gives onlookers the impression that he or she is an enthusiastic independent customer of a seller (or marketer of ideas) that he or she is secretly working for. The person or group that hires the shill is using crowd psychology, to encourage other onlookers or audience members to purchase the goods or services (or accept the ideas being marketed). Shills are often employed by confidence artists.

Rick Esenberg is, and always will be, a partisan hack. A mouthpiece trotted out before the press by the state GOP to render his “opinions” on a variety of topics that affect the lives of the people of Wisconsin. The trouble is, Professor Rick is a lawyer, and his opinions are different from yours or mine. I don’t mean that he holds different opinions, I mean that his opinions are part of his job as an attorney. When he is asked to “render an opinion,” he is bound by the canons of ethics for lawyers in Wisconsin. Lawyers are paid and expected to render opinions based on the facts and not on the party line. In his zeal to play the slavish lapdog to his Republican masters, he sometimes forgets this. He and Michael Gableman share this trait. But Professor Rick has never been bothered by ethical conflicts in the past, so why should he start now?

He can be guaranteed to toe the party line each and every time. The GOPs pet law professor.

So it’s always satisfying when he gets his ass handed to him in public by Peter Earle. Watch from a hearing on redistricting from July, 2011.

What makes this video so disturbing (and it is disturbing) is that, at the time, Peter Earle wondered publicly what information Professor Rick might have had access to that the rest of the hearing participants did not. How was Professor Rick able to render a legal opinion on data in such a short period of time?

Well silly me for thinking the GOP would ever play by the rules of governance. As it turns out, Voices de la Frontera, Earle’s client at the time, have now filed a complaint with the state that the GOP violated the open records law in their redistricting process.

Documents released yesterday showed that virtually all G-O-P lawmakers signed confidentiality agreements which promised not to discuss the maps while they were being written. And they were told that those who speak out could be called as witnesses in court. The documents also said that 33-of-the-58 Republican Assembly members would pick up additional voters under the new districts. The documents were released after three federal judges in the redistricting suit said G-O-P legislators filed frivolous legal requests, so they could hide their actions in creating the new maps. Those maps will be used for the first time in this fall’s elections unless the courts overturn them.

The complaint states, in part:

On June 20, 2011, Adam Foltz drafted a document captioned “General Talking Points” which he described during his sworn testimony on February 1, 2012, as talking points to guide the discussion at each of the individual meetings he had with each member of the Assembly who had previously signed a secrecy agreement. The talking points memo stated that the redistricting bill was a “placeholder map” and that “if the Senate comes back in the majority, we may come back and adjust.” Mr. Foltz testified at his deposition that the preceding sentence was referring to the then pending recall elections that were scheduled for August 9, 2011. The talking points memo also stated that “Public comments on this map may be different than what you hear in this room. Ignore the public comments.” The talking points memo then explicitly stated that the previously signed secrecy agreement applied to the individual meeting between Mr. Foltz and each individual Republican representative…. (emphasis in original)

The complaint asserts that this entire process is a violation of the Open Meetings law, a law these clowns have tripped over in the past.

So the real question I have is what did Professor Rick know and when did he know it? He certainly seemed to have some special knowledge back in July to which no one else was privy. He rendered an opinion of the fairness of the redistricting. We’re left with only two conclusions:

1. Professor Rick is incompetent and rendered a legal opinion on a limited understanding of the facts in evidence
2. Professor Rick is corrupt and rendered a legal opinion on preferential access to facts not in evidence

Which is it, Professor Rick? Take your pick…

Karen Handel Bent on Further Destruction of the Komen Brand

Steven Reynolds — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:28:39 +0000

I wrote last Thursday that the worst result of the underhanded intrigues at the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation was the harm that occured to the Komen Brand. Once one of the most respected and popular nonprofits in the nation, the powers that be at Komen decided through intrigue and deception to defund their partnership with Planned Parenthood, a partnership that provided tens of thousands of poor women the screenings and breast exams necessary for the saving of countless lives. That’s the crux of the issue, that donors can no longer trust Komen to either race for a cure or to race for prevention without the ugly politics of abortion getting in the way.

The story really hasn’t changed much over the last five days. Sure, Komen has given over a nonapology apology, failing to admit to their underhanded political manueverings. And they say that Planned Parenthood will still be eligible for grants in the future, though I’m interested to see if they follow through on that pledge. They have squandered their trust, after all. As I noted on Thursday, Elizabeth Thompson, and perhaps especially Vice President Karen Handel, were responsible for an unprecedented destruction of the Komen brand. Today’s news? It appears that Karen Handel has decided she has not done enough as yet to destroy the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Karen Handel is resigning. That is necessary for Komen to cure itself, and surely Komen must also come clean about its deceptions in order to regain the trust of donors. Handel’s resignation letter, available from several sources online, such as at The New Civil Rights Movement, gives much insight into the backroom manueverings at Komen, but clearly with her own PR spin. All that’s going to do is further alienate those already offended by Komen’s actions. Handel’s press conference later today will only exacerbate the matter. And Komen sits on its hands all the while.

What’s the real takeaway here? Karen Handel will further damage the Komen brand, and seemingly willfully. As indicated at this column in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, and in Handel’s resignation letter, Karen Handel has refused severance pay from Komen, which almost certainly would have required that she not spill her guts in public.

The self-congratulatory spin Karen Handel gives in her resignation letter throws both Komen President Elizabeth Thompson and Komen CEO Nancy Brinker under the bus, showing that the excuses they have given for the Susan G, Komen for the Cure Foundation’s actions have been all lies and spin. That’s Handel’s first action in further damaging the Komen brand. Today Handel will hold a press conference where she will surely show more clearly how all the PR spin laid out by Komen over the last week has been a tapestry of lies. More damage to the Komen brand and to the organization to which Handel claims reverence. And I GUARANTEE Karen Handel will be appearing on FoxNews, that most political of outlets, tonight, where she will likely claim that none of this was political at all.

Nancy Brinker needs a new strategy here, and that is to own up to everything, and to commit to a program of doubling its outreach to the underserved women served by the Planned Parenthood grant. Brinker claims she is working to learn from mistakes, but she needs to be proactive with more than words on a website. That’s the only way out of this mess. Komen won’t take this route if they continue to rely on Ari Fleischer for advice, that’s for sure.

Scott Walker should hold himself to the standard he demanded for Jim Doyle

Zach W — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:12:54 +0000

Over at Uppity Wisconsin, xoff has done a great job of pointing out the hypocrisy of Scott Walker (as if there was any doubt he’s a hypocrite).

In this case, Scott Walker’s hypocrisy stems from statements he made in 2006 after Georgia Thompson, a mid-level state employee appointed by then-Republican Gov. Scott McCallum, was indicted on trumped-up federal charges. Thompson was later convicted of the charges, though in April 2007 a federal court of appeals overturned Thompson’s conviction, calling the evidence against her “beyond thin” and ordering her release from custody that same day.

The timing of Thompson’s indictment and conviction were certainly convenient, given that then-Gov. Doyle was facing a tough reelection fight, and predictably Republicans followed Thompson’s indictment with a barrage of press releases and ads attacking Gov. Doyle and his administration for corruption. Despite the best efforts of Republicans to smear him, Gov. Doyle won reelection.

So here’s where Scott Walker fits into this story. At the time, Walker was still Milwaukee County Executive, and he was also seeking the Republican gubernatorial nomination, and when news of Thompson’s indictment broke, Walker was quick to attack Gov. Doyle as corrupt, stating he “condones unethical and illegal behavior.”

From WisPolitics.com:

Statement from Milwaukee County Executive and Candidate for Governor Scott Walker on the Indictment of one of Jim Doyle’s Top Aides in the Department of Administration:

“The indictment handed down today shows how corruption can infiltrate all areas of government.

Unfortunately we have a Governor and administration that condones unethical and illegal behavior. The people of Wisconsin deserve better.”

“Today’s indictment provides further confirmation that the Doyle administration is damaged and must be removed from the Capitol. Jim Doyle’s political connections to this aide are, without question, mentioned as a defining piece of the evidence used to bring forth this indictment.” …

“Governor Doyle needs to purge his administration of individuals who place politics and special
interests ahead of the people of Wisconsin….

“Little can be said to underscore the seriousness of this charge. I am hopeful that the people of Wisconsin will allow me the opportunity to clean up Madison with the same fervor that guided my reform movement in Milwaukee County.”

Clearly Scott Walker didn’t pull any punches in his attack on Gov. Jim Doyle, but I can’t help but wonder if Scott Walker circa 2012 will hold himself to the standard Scott Walker circa 2006 demanded of then-Gov. Doyle.

Will Scott Walker demand the resignation of those members of his administration that were complicit in the commission of crimes? After all, it’s a stretch to think that Cullen Werwie and Brett Davis, both of whom currently work in Walker’s administration, had no knowledge of the criminal activities committed by Kelly Rindfleisch on behalf of Davis’ Lt. Governor campaign during the time she was serving as Walker’s Deputy Chief of Staff in the Milwaukee County Executive’s office.

If Scott Walker were to actually hold himself to the standard he expected of a Democratic governor, he’d ask for – no, demand – the resignations of Brett Davis and Cullen Werwie, and he’d resign the governorship.

“Ignore the Public Comments”

Jeff Simpson — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:33:38 +0000

If you take away anything from this next story, as egregious as it is, remember that line. That should be the mantel that the democrats use to prop up their republican counterparts in the upcoming election.

Now on to the story: JSonline delved into more detail regarding the republicans redistricting process. and the one word to describe this process: WOW!

First off, republicans had to SIGN Secrecy agreements:

Other newly released documents also show almost all Republican lawmakers signed legal agreements promising not to discuss the new maps while they were being developed…The agreement tells each lawmaker “you agree not to disclose the fact and/or contents of such discussions or any draft documents within your possession.”

All the agreements were also signed by Eric McLeod of Michael Best & Friedrich, one of several attorneys who advised lawmakers on the maps. Legislative leaders have committed $400,000 in taxpayer money to pay Michael Best and the Troupis Law Office for their work on the maps.

Quick aside: If the name Eric McLeod sounds familiar, he is the lawyer who bought Michael Gableman.

The republicans (specifically Adam Foltz, a legislative aide to Jeff Fitzgerald who helped draft the maps), where this gem was written.

“Public comments on this map may be different than what you hear in this room. Ignore the public comments,” the talking points also say.

Why whatever does that mean? Adam Foltz is no help, he had no idea he wrote them. Luckily we have people like attorney Peter Earle who tells us

it was clear from the case’s record that GOP lawmakers were being told to ignore what their leaders were saying publicly and to focus on what they said in private.

translation: the republicans will be lying in public but working on it behind the scenes. Do not believe anything they say.

This case was started in court in December when Mr. Foltz testified that the new maps were not meant to increase the GOP majority.

Foltz said those who developed the maps used election data from 2000 to 2010 in helping decide where to draw the lines. Yet the goal of the maps was not to increase the GOP’s advantage in elections, he testified.

Not sure Adam rally wants to perjure himself at such a young age to protect the Fitzgerald family. You are too young to start your career like this, Ask Tim Russell what trying to cover up for your boss gets you. Hopefully there is still time for Mr. Foltz to correct his story. Since we now know he is not telling the truth:

The new batch of records also includes memos from Foltz to Republican lawmakers telling them how GOP candidates performed in their districts under the new and old maps. In a deposition in December, Foltz testified the new maps were not meant to increase the GOP majority in the Legislature.

Of the 58 Republicans in the state Assembly at the time, 33 would pick up additional Republican voters. For instance, the district for freshman Rep. Mike Endsley (R-Sheboygan) would go from marginally to solidly Republican.

Those Republican representatives experiencing a drop in the number of Republican voters in their district under the redistricting plan would still have a strong Republican majority of voters. For instance, the district represented by Rep. Joel Kleefisch (R-Oconomowoc) would still be about 60% Republican despite losing a share of its GOP bases under the redistricting plan.

Legal secrecy agreements, eric mcleod, Michael Best & Freidrich, only republicans allowed, new maps where it was broken down by republicans in the district, none of that was done politically? Yes if you believe that you will believe that Scott walker is voluntarily meeting with DA Chisholm.

As for Attorney Earle, here he is testifying at the joint public hearing on redistricting.

Peter, Paul & Debbie

Jeff Simpson — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 04:37:07 +0000

Former Michigan republican congressman and senate hopeful, is running against Senator Debbie Stabenow! Not having ideas to run on, Hoekstra went all in and bought a local ad during the Super Bowl. Instead of coming up with new ideas on how he was going to help turn Michigan’s economy around, he decided to go full fledged racist:

That commercial did not sit very well with most local leaders and clergy, including many republicans.

“It is very disturbing that Mr. Hoekstra’s campaign chose to use harmful negative stereotypes that intrinsically encourage anti-Asian sentiment,”the Asian & Pacific Islander American Vote group said in a statement.

On Twitter, Time magazine columnist and GOP consultant Mike Murphy called the 30-second spot “really, really dumb.”

Several Detroit ministers condemned the ad, too.

“The Asian woman speaking in this video would be no different than him having a black person speaking in slave dialect,” the Rev. Charles Williams II said in a statement Monday. “If Pete Hoekstra does not see any wrong in this commercial, he doesn’t deserve to be in the race.”

Just a quick aside…who lends their endorsement to Hoekstar and his negative, racist campaign? Why none other than Paul Ryan (R – Wall St.) (at least I think that is Paul Ryan not quite sure what he is attempting with his facial hair there). As pink Slip Paulie says

“This election will be a clear choice of what kind of people we want to be…”

I could not agree more and I choose to stand against racism. Where do you stand now paul?

The Commercial

Phil Scarr — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:46:57 +0000

The chatter around the water cooler at the office this morning is about the Clint Eastwood commercial from last night’s SuperDooperBowl.

“Did you see it?”

“Yeah, I saw it, it was awesome!”

“What’s wrong with his voice?”

“Who cares! It’s great! He’s great! It was a great message!”

Last night, Twitter was ablaze with references to The Commercial. I would say that 80% of it was favorable. Don’t hold me to that number, it’s very much a guesstimation, but it’s directionally correct. Most people said they liked it. They especially liked the quick reference to the Madison protests. If you didn’t see it, here it is.

I’m in the 20% camp who didn’t like the commercial. I found the message manipulative, exploitative and, in retrospect, a hollow vision of America as a corporate controlled wasteland. The rah-rah of Corporate America, represented by the Chrysler automotive group, never referenced the destruction of good jobs in America through an endless series of trade agreements, championed by these corporate hacks, that moved work offshore and destroyed the manufacturing base of the midwest. With apologies to Saint Ronoldus, patron Saint of Crony Capitalism,

Chrysler isn’t the solution to our problem, Chrysler is the problem!

Forgive me if I can’t get all misty when a gravely-voiced Clint Eastwood tells me how we’re going to come back stronger than before. I’m sorry. I can’t do it. I’m not buying what Chrysler is selling through their High Plains Drifter spokesmodel. Because that’s what he is. A spokesmodel for a corporatist vision of America. The lone gunman. The guy who can overcome all obstacles. Except that that’s a lie. It’s the biggest lie we tell ourselves as Americans. The lie of the American Dream that anyone can make it. They can’t.

You see, the deck is stacked against the average American to a degree we haven’t seen in more than 100 years. Income inequality and intragenerational income rigidity have combined to make America pre-Revolutionary France. Born Rich – Die Rich. Born Poor – Die Poor. It’s now the American Way.

Forgive me for not cheering.

Scott Walker’s Inconsistency

Jeff Simpson — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:37:24 +0000

How scott walker has changed his views regarding politics in Wisconsin is enough for Dan Bice to write columns through retirement. In Bice’s latest column he points out how Scott Walker was so quick to criticize Governor Doyle on the conduct of one of his aides! Walker, who we know was perpetually campaigning for Governor(PS read this link), supplied us with some very interesting quotes that Mr. Bice shares!

“Unfortunately, we have a Governor and administration that condones unethical and illegal behavior,” Walker said in a statement on Jan. 24, 2006. “The people of Wisconsin deserve better.”

OOPS…but wait there’s more:

“Today’s indictment provides further confirmation that the Doyle administration is damaged and must be removed from the Capitol,” said Walker, a Wauwatosa Republican, of his Democratic predecessor. “Governor Doyle needs to purge his administration of individuals who place politics and special interests ahead of the people of Wisconsin.”

Walker went on to call on Doyle to adopt a series of reforms that the candidate was proposing.

“Little can be said to underscore the seriousness of this charge. I am hopeful that the people of Wisconsin will allow me the opportunity to clean up Madison with the same fervor that guided my reform movement in Milwaukee County.”

Wow I guess Zach was right, for Walker to be consistent Cullen Werwie and Brett Davis must go. Of course with Scott walker’s track record, it looks like their job is secure(at least until the successful recall election).

Bu the way what did Ciara Matthews, Walkers new campaign spokeswoman who really likes to talk have to say?

Ciara Matthews, spokeswoman for Walker’s campaign, did not return messages last week.

The real question is whats next? Stay tuned!

Meet the New Hate, Same as the Old Hate

Phil Scarr — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 03:07:54 +0000

Salon has an interesting interview with Arthur Goldwag, author of the new book The New Hate: A History of Fear and Loathing on the Populist Right. He argues that the racist and conspiracist approach of today’s right-wing nut jobs is “largely the same as it was 50 years ago.”

But what caught my attention was this question and answer because I think it goes a long way towards understanding recent attacks on public workers in Wisconsin.

Why is this resurgence of the “old hate” happening now?

We’re going through a historic shift in this country. We were on an incredible run of prosperity in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, thanks to the New Deal social compact, thanks to big unions, thanks to very strong regulation – thanks to all the things that Glenn Beck’s followers think are the most evil things in the world. Fairly unskilled, uneducated people were able to earn a good living, and send their children to college. And that’s changed. Income inequality is growing. If you look at American history, the bottom has dropped out of rural people’s lives every five years, but there used to also be a manufacturing class that made a decent living. There used to be a route for people that weren’t well educated to make a decent living. There isn’t anymore. There’s a lot of anxiety about our individual positions in our society, and our country’s position in the world. If you’re not educated to be able to understand it, and you’re trapped in a disadvantaged life, you might become really, really angry. (emphasis added)

I believe that this is, fundamentally, correct. His assessment of the level of anger and vitriol in the undereducated population is being exploited by the right wing of the GOP in ways that are, ultimately, detrimental to their own interests. Rather than expressing solidarity with public workers who, while not paid as well as private sector workers in general, certainly retained levels of benefits not seen in the private sector since the 1970s. And that was achieved, of course, through collective bargaining.

You want to see envy in action, here it is. If you think the 99% envy the wealth of the 1%, private sector workers, many of whom have ceded more benefits and more compensation to their employers demands, are most certainly envious of the benefits of their public sector brothers and sisters. You can hear it in their rhetoric. The rich capitalize on this envy through the omnipresent right wing media who stoke these fires of jealousy into action against working-class Americans. They’ve even convinced these “useful idiots” that “right to work” laws will benefit workers! As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said,

In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, such as ‘right to work.’ It is a law to rob us of our civil rights and job rights.Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining by which unions have improved wages and working conditions of everyone…Wherever these laws have been passed, wages are lower, job opportunities are fewer and there are no civil rights. We do not intend to let them do this to us. We demand this fraud be stopped. Our weapon is our vote. (Martin Luther King, speaking about right-to-work laws in 1961)

Instead of standing in solidarity with the public sector and demanding the same benefits from their private sector employers, these cowards resort to jealous tantrums against “pampered” public sector workers. These class traitors demand that the benefits bargained by public sector workers be slashed to the same meager levels they suffer in the private sector. All the while, heaping opprobrium onto the very institution, the labor union, that could help raise them up.

Working class people tearing down working class people. The capitalists have certainly won.

Jay Gould’s dystopian worker’s paradise has certainly come to pass…

I can hire one half of the working class to kill the other half.

Paul Ryan Dishonors Martin Luther King, Jr.

Jeff Simpson — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 15:02:10 +0000

Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’
Martin Luther King, Jr.

On Martin Luther King, Jr. day, a teacher from Racine refused an award because it was given to him by Paul Ryan (R-Wall St.). The same Paul Ryan who has perpetually been adamantly against extending unemployment benefits for the unemployed workers in his district(which has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country), protections for General Motors and thousands of other American jobs and also has his sites set on dismantling Social Security and Medicare as we know it.

Al Levie had this to say about his refusal of the award from Pink Slip Paulie:

“I would not accept the award from Paul Ryan because Paul Ryan is a lackey for the 1 percent,” he said. “Paul Ryan had no business at a Martin Luther King event, it’s totally hypocritical. On the one hand he votes to slash health care, while on the other hand, King dedicated his life and he died for it, for people to have adequate healthcare, to have adequate jobs.”

“King made it very clear that he was on the side of working people,” he continued. “Ryan on the other hand, he has absolutely no affinity for the working class and for him to come to an event where somebody of King’s stature was honored is wrong.”

This tremendously upset the right wing as people like the rights brilliant orator Andy "go to hell" Breitbart labeled this "Liberal Hate".

No way that Paul Ryan (R-$350 bottles of wine) would ever treat anyone with such contempt, right?

Packer/Badger Schedule anyone?