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 [...]]]> 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.

From the Wisconsin State Journal 1 year ago:

Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle’s administration announced last week it had completed negotiations on 17 contracts covering 39,000 state workers [...]]]> Lest we forget, Governor Jim Doyle managed to extract concessions from the state employee unions without the massive overreach that is going to cost Governor Walker his job.

From the Wisconsin State Journal 1 year ago:

Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle’s administration announced last week it had completed negotiations on 17 contracts covering 39,000 state workers ranging from teachers to janitors. The deals included no pay increases, factored in 16 furlough days Doyle ordered state employees to take in the current state budget and called for 5 percent increases in health care contributions.

The entire process was submarined by former Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker and Senator Jeff Plale who voted against the measure handing Walker the “tools” he would need to undermine worker’s rights and send the state’s economy into a tailspin.

Good work, Scooter!

Lil' Scooter LOVES His New Sweater!

REEDSBURG — Greenwood’s Cafe in downtown Reedsburg this week hosted an unusual example of retail politicking, as Sen. Tim Cullen pressed the flesh and listened intently to constituents who couldn’t possibly vote for him.

The Janesville Democrat had come to [...]]]> Tim Cullen & Dale Schultz are currently on a \"Bipartisan\" road tour.

REEDSBURG — Greenwood’s Cafe in downtown Reedsburg this week hosted an unusual example of retail politicking, as Sen. Tim Cullen pressed the flesh and listened intently to constituents who couldn’t possibly vote for him.

The Janesville Democrat had come to the local landmark, nearly 100 miles from his district, as a part of a daylong barnstorming tour of the region with Sen. Dale Schultz, a Republican.

Peace, as Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, is only achievable through understanding. And Cullen’s goal Wednesday was to understand the challenges facing people in that part of the state, and by extension, the challenges facing Schultz.

Early next month, Schultz will travel to Janesville to return the favor. It is all part of plan to prove to someone, somewhere, that bipartisanship is not dead in Wisconsin.

Unfortunately the Tim Cullen act is starting to wear seriously thin.

“The lines between the parties are now drawn so sharply that it’s almost impossible for Democrats and Republicans to work together on anything,” Cullen said. “Dale and I are trying to show that it doesn’t have to be that way; that there is room for cooperation.”

News Flash for Mr. Cullen and Mr. Schulz, the place to show that you can act in a bipartisan manner is NOT at Greenwood’s cafe! The place to show bipartisanship, is in Madison at the State Capitol. Clay Barbour breaks down some numbers:

In February, in the midst of the heated debate over Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s collective bargaining bill, all 14 Senate Democrats left the state to deny Republicans the 20-member quorum needed to pass the measure. For three weeks they conducted a long-distance filibuster as Republican senators faced the wrath of the thousands of protesters who filled the Capitol.

Before the protest, Democrats and Republicans voted in favor of several jobs-related bills introduced by the governor. After the protest, members of both parties stayed on their sides of the fence.

For example, Assembly Democrats have offered 376 amendments to Republican bills this session. Only one of them passed: an amendment that allowed families to participate in Milwaukee’s school voucher program, even if their income exceeded a cap.

Democrats also introduced 49 of their own bills, of which 42 have yet to even be heard in committee. None has passed the Assembly.

In the previous session, when Democrats controlled both houses and Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle was in office, 107 Assembly Republican bills were heard in committee, and 50 were passed by the Assembly.

“Bipartisanship isn’t just when we do what the Republicans want,” said Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, D-Kenosha. “This session, they have acted like we have nothing to offer.”

So when Senator Cullen and Senator Schulz want to truly start acting in a bipartisan manor, during the actual debate of bills then I will be interested in what they have to say. When things like this , this, or this stop then we will know that the republicans are serious about bipartisanship. Until then all they will get from me is a big yawn and much indifference.

Wisconsin taxpayers could wind up paying more to keep existing passenger train service from Milwaukee to Chicago than they would have paid to [...]]]> In our continuing series of fiscal conservatives we now have a Wisconsin train edition. As reported Wisconsin taxpayers are now having to pay millions for passenger trains.

Wisconsin taxpayers could wind up paying more to keep existing passenger train service from Milwaukee to Chicago than they would have paid to run new high-speed rail service from Milwaukee to Madison, according to a Journal Sentinel analysis of state figures.

The Legislature’s budget committee voted 12-2 Tuesday to spend $31.6 million in mostly borrowed state money on Amtrak’s Milwaukee-to-Chicago Hiawatha line, costs that could have been paid largely by an $810 million federal grant that would have extended the Hiawatha to Madison.

But Tuesday’s vote doesn’t cover all the spending that will be needed to keep running the Hiawatha, a growing service that carried nearly 800,000 passengers last year.

State transportation officials have estimated they would need millions more for locomotives, signals and a new maintenance base, even without expanding service beyond the current seven daily round trips.

And, like the spending approved Tuesday, all or most of those new costs would have been covered by the federal grant spurned by Gov. Scott Walker last year. That’s because the Milwaukee-to-Madison service would have operated as an extension of the Hiawatha, as part of a larger plan to connect Chicago to the Twin Cities and other Midwestern destinations with fast, frequent trains.

Taken together, state taxpayers’ share of the Hiawatha capital costs that would have been covered by the federal grant could total as much as $99 million, significantly more than the $30 million they would have paid for 20 years of operating costs on the Milwaukee-to-Madison segment, as estimated by former Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle’s administration.

Walker had cited those operating costs as his main reason for opposing the 110-mph extension. Federal money would have paid all of its capital costs. And that doesn’t count the other potential benefits that high-speed rail supporters have cited from the Milwaukee-to-Madison line, such as jobs, economic development, expanded tax base and improved freight rail tracks.

Sometimes we are broke and sometimes we are not, it gets so confusing.

H/T to Democurmudgeon!

Rep. Nass-TY recently introduced introduced legislation to bring back racist sports team names and logos.

Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, has [...]]]> This is that we redistrict our legislative districts in Wisconsin. Representative Steve Nass is at it again.

H/T to Democurmudgeon!

Rep. Nass-TY recently introduced introduced legislation to bring back racist sports team names and logos.

Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, has drafted legislation to repeal the law, which allows any school district resident to file a complaint with the local school board over the use of offensive nicknames, logos or mascots. The state school superintendent can then order districts to stop using such symbols if they promote discrimination, harassment or stereotyping.

The bill also aims to void all orders issued by State Superintendent Tony Evers under the new law, which was signed by Gov. Jim Doyle in May.

Luckily for Wisconsin, that bill died in committee, much to the chagrin of Representative Nass-TY.

“The indians have apparently put enough pressure on (Committee chair, state rep. Karl)Van Roy to kill the bill,” Nass tells WTMJ. “He does not have an interest in holding a hearing.”

Now Rep. Nass can move onto more important things like:

* feeling persecuted by \"liberal extremists in Madison who hate cars and think everyone should bike to work.\"

* playing Mayor of Madison.

* Or applying for the job of Wisconsin\'s director of tourism.

Steve Nass, the walking billboard advertisement for why we need competitive districts and how bad career politicians can be.

In the time since I have last posted…Jonathan Barry declared then undeclared all in a few days. Thus leaves an opening for a right wing candidate to surface from in the race.

In [...]]]> Due to the Holiday I have been a little lax in updating the race for Dane County Exec.

In the time since I have last posted…Jonathan Barry declared then undeclared all in a few days. Thus leaves an opening for a right wing candidate to surface from in the race.

In other news Zach Brandon, is not only supposed to pick up the republican votes, but also received the endorsement today of Governor Doyle.

“Jessica and I were raised in Dane County and we raised our own family here,” Governor Doyle said. “We will continue living in Dane County after I leave office, and Zach Brandon is the person I trust most to serve as my county executive. He is exactly the kind of innovative leader Dane County needs.”

Brandon served as senior policy advisor at the state Department of Commerce under Doyle, who appointed him to the post of Executive Assistant in August 2008. Brandon was promoted to Deputy Secretary in April 2010.

That makes for an interesting conundrum when the the \"vicki McKenna\" democrat is also endorsed by our outgoing Governor. I am guessing in Zach’s case this is not a helpful endorsement.

Finally, perpetual candidate Spencer Zimmerman is running under the platform of abolishing the Dane County Exec. That solid of a platform should pull in a solid 6 – 10 votes.

The first story comes from Racine. The Spending Revolt tour bus was in Racine for a “stop spending my children’s money” rally.

Most spectators, though, were drawn by rhetoric for [...]]]> Fridays Journal Sentinel had dueling stories on the front page and I am not even sure they understood the irony.

The first story comes from Racine. The Spending Revolt tour bus was in Racine for a “stop spending my children’s money” rally.

Most spectators, though, were drawn by rhetoric for lower taxes and smaller government, espoused by the likes of Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform and Tim Phillips, president of Americans for Prosperity.

“A lot of people are out of work and hurting,” said Annette Richey, 62, who described herself as a stay-at-home grandma. “They’re upset and they’re mad.”

“I think we need a change,” said Richey, who is voting Republican. “I don’t like the way the economy is going.”

Julie Bailey, 35, a medical lab worker, brought her 9-year-old daughter Skylar to the rally. She is eager to get to the polls and vote Republican.

“The public has been screaming for the last year and the politicians haven’t been listening at both the state and federal level,” she said.

Bailey said Republicans, if they get into office, should not take tea party voters for granted.

“The ones I vote for promise to reduce the size of government and repeal Obamacare,” Bailey said. “I’m going to watch them. This is not a one-time, one shot for me. I’m going to watch them for the rest of my life.”

So in Racine we have a rally of “we need to stop spending and keep government out of our lives” people.

Then we can travel a few miles north to contrast that with this story.

Quad / Graphics Inc. said Thursday it will create up to 1,300 new jobs in Wisconsin, including hundreds of immediate openings, as the Sussex-based printer gets $46 million in tax credits and closes five plants outside of the state.

As part of the deal to increase Quad’s employment in Wisconsin, Gov. Jim Doyle’s administration offered the company $46 million in enterprise zone tax credits – aimed at attracting and retaining jobs by reducing the company’s tax liabilities.

Thursday’s announcement was the largest and the latest in a string of economic-development and job-creation announcements by the Doyle administration this month.

Just in the past three weeks, including this week’s announcements for Quad / Graphics and Bucyrus International, the administration has announced state aid through tax credits or loans that would create 2,923 jobs in the coming years.

Of those, 2,590 of the jobs would be created in the greater Milwaukee area.

Doyle has used the tax credits to help retain and create jobs at Bucyrus, Harley-Davidson Inc., Mercury Marine Inc., Republic Airways, Uline Corp., Marinette Marine, Oshkosh Corp., and now Quad / Graphics. Those companies will receive the credits after they increase their employment.

Officials in Doyle’s office and the state Department of Commerce declined comment Thursday.

“It’s a big deal to us,” Quadracci said. “We are a big believer in the state of Wisconsin, but at the end of the day you have to do what makes economic sense for the company. The incentives have been absolutely crucial.”

A state study of the Enterprise Zone program was released to the Journal Sentinel in June. The report found that at that time the state had committed up to $135.6 million in incentives over the two prior years to four major employers to keep or create 7,400 jobs in Wisconsin.

The state is so far on track to recoup that money through economic growth that will boost state taxes by roughly $164 million or more, the study found. The state Department of Commerce is still in the process of updating the totals from that report to reflect the awards made through the Enterprise Zone program since then.

Without the incentives, Quadracci said his company would have looked elsewhere to consolidate work.

“We would have had a real issue,” he said, adding that other states would have welcomed additional jobs

So to be clear, while the few dozen “tea partiers” were protesting government spending and involvement and lack of jobs in Racine, in Milwaukee, Governor Doyle was intervening using the government to intervene and committing to $135.6 million dollars of government money and bringing in 7.400 jobs to the State of Wisconsin. Something to think about on election day as to who has the better job creating ideas. It also shows as to why Krugman in his latest column, says:

The economy, weighed down by the debt that households ran up during the Bush-era bubble, is in dire straits; deflation, not inflation, is the clear and present danger. And it’s not at all clear that the Fed has the tools to head off this danger. Right now we very much need active policies on the part of the federal government to get us out of our economic trap.

But we won’t get those policies if Republicans control the House. In fact, if they get their way, we’ll get the worst of both worlds: They’ll refuse to do anything to boost the economy now, claiming to be worried about the deficit, while simultaneously increasing long-run deficits with irresponsible tax cuts — cuts they have already announced won’t have to be offset with spending cuts.

So if the elections go as expected next week, here’s my advice: Be afraid. Be very afraid.