Minority Leader Larson appoints Shilling, Wirch to serve on Joint Finance Committee

This is about a week old, but I’m just catching up from a long Thanksgiving “weekend.” Incoming Senate Democratic Leader Chris Larson (D–Milwaukee) announced today the appointment of Senator Bob Wirch (D–Somers) and Senator Jennifer Shilling (D–La Crosse) to serve on the Joint Committee on Finance for the 2013-2014 Legislative…

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Two simple math equations for all my conservative friends

Here’s two simple math equations for all my conservative readers: 19 – 2 = 17 14 + 2 = 16 Democrats win two more seats in the State Senate = win for the Democrats.

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Just a couple of observations about tonight’s recall elections

In State Senate District 12, Democrat Jim Holperin prevailed over tea party Republican Kim “cops are cowards” Simac by a larger margin than Holperin’s margin of victory in 2008. Holperin beat Simac 55% to 45% after winning in 2008 with only 51% of the vote. In State Senate District 22,…

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Democrats at odds over illegal immigration legislation

On June 27, Democratic State Senators Dave Hansen, Bob Wirch, Jim Holperin, John Erpenbach, and Tim Carpenter introduced Senate Bill 137, a bill that would make “companies that hire persons who are not legally in the United States ineligible for certain tax exemptions, governmental contracts, grants, and loans, granting rule−making…

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Jonathan Steitz announces candidacy against Wirch but fails to mention state tax warrants

Earlier today Republican attorney Jonathan Steitz announced his candidacy for the 22nd State Senate district seat currently held by Democratic State Sen. Bob Wirch. The press release announcing Steitz’s candidacy noted Steitz previously owned his own event management and production company, but curiously the press release did not mention the…

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Second conservative to announce candidacy against Wirch in recall election

According to the “Recall Wirch” Facebook page, another conservative seems poised to enter the recall election against Democratic State Senator Bob Wirch. Attorney Jonathan Steitz will be holding a press conference in Pleasant Prairie on Wednesday to announce his intentions to seek the seat currently held by Sen. Wirch if…

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Wirch recall effort recruits the dead to sign recall petition

From the folks who brought you “shots for signatures” comes “dead people signing petitions.” According to the report by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the recall petition against Democratic State Senator Bob Wirch includes a signature for the long-deceased father of Democratic State Rep. Mark Pocan of Madison. Bill Pocan, father…

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Uh, if you’re going to recall an elected official, shouldn’t you at least have a candidate?

I may not know a lot about the inner workings of political campaigns, but I do know one thing’s certain: you need to have a candidate to win an election: [Recall organizer Dan] Hunt wanted Rep. Samantha Kerkman, R-Powers Lake, to run. But she said she talked about it with…

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“Shots for signatures” certainly doesn’t seem very grassrootsy

I’ve been hearing about this for a while now, but Amanda Terkel of the Huffington Post has an audio clip of a bartender at John’s Main Event, a Burlington-area bar, offering patrons free shots of booze if they’ll sign a recall petition against Democratic State Senator Bob Wirch. While offering…

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