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20 Feb 2012 14:34

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Politics: Koch thinks Walker recall is all that’s standing between trade unions and Highlander status

  • If the unions win the recall, there will be no stopping union power.
  • Billionaire David Koch • Speaking about the Wisconsin recall efforts against Gov. Scott Walker. Koch made the comments during a recent speech after a benefit dinner, and were quickly backtracked by his spokeswoman, who clarified, “[Koch Industries thinks] the best workplace relationships are fostered when the employer works directly with its employees. It is a mischaracterization of our principles to say this means we oppose unions or want to dismantle all unions.” The Koch brothers find themselves under ever-increasing scrutiny for supporting political causes around the country, most notably the recall campaign of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. source
Posted by Scott Craft • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Jan 2012 11:21

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Politics: Wisconsin: Scott Walker could face a recall very freaking soon, guys

  • 540,208 signatures gathered source
  • » That’s way more than enough, but … In a huge sign of support for the unions that suffered greatly at the hands of Scott Walker, over half a million signatures were gathered against the Wisconsin governor. The signatures, which will get submitted to the state’s Government Accountability Board today, could be enough to force a recall election against the governor just over a year into his term. However, it’s important to keep in mind that gubernatorial recall elections are rare, and have only succeeded twice in U.S. history. The most recent, though, was the 2003 recall of Gray Davis in California, so it’s certainly not unprecedented in the modern political climate for a governor to lose a recall election. But will there be an opponent formidable enough to defeat Scott? Maybe Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who lost against Walker in 2010 but knows a thing or two about coming back strong after getting his butt kicked.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Nov 2011 14:18

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Politics: WI Gov. Scott Walker says he didn’t cause recall effort

  • Walker to state: Who, me? As the recall push against Wisconsin’s Governor Scott Walker heats up, Walker has pushed back, denying he incited such action: “…we wouldn’t have to spend a penny of that if there weren’t recalls. This is not something we brought on.” To refresh the memory, Walker and the state GOP passed a law stripping union rights from public sector employees earlier this year. Despite the unions agreeing to accept Walker’s benefit cuts if he’d leave collective bargaining alone, Walker wanted the whole hog (he also admitted to a David Koch impersonator that he’d considered planting troublemakers at the Madison protests). source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Sep 2011 15:26

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Politics: Scott Walker’s chief of staff resigns at a somewhat suspect time

  • what Scott Walker’s chief of staff, Keith Gilkes, just decided to resign from his post. The timing is suspect due to an investigation over Walker staffers possibly doing political activities on the taxpayer’s dime.
  • why Gilkes, who says he’s not involved in the “John Doe” investigation, claims that he’s returning to his being a political consultant, but will come in from the bullpen if Walker gets recalled next year. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Aug 2011 23:58

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Politics: New poll brings bad news for Republicans

  • -6 Obama’s net favorability, as of this month
  • -7 The Democratic Party’s favorability
  • -25 The Republican Party’s favorability source
  • » Why no love for the GOP? Over the last six months, everybody–Obama, Democrats, and Republicans–has seen a net drop in their approval ratings, but Republicans are clearly the most hated of the bunch. This is probably due to a combination of factors: Paul Ryan’s budget proposal, Scott Walker’s anti-union antics in Wisconsin, and the GOP’s handling of the debt ceiling debate were all high-profile issues that attracted (mostly) negative attention to the GOP. Whatever the cause, there’s one thing we can glean from these results: Democrats seem to be out-messaging Republicans in 2011. Whether or not this can carry Obama to reelection amidst a horrible economy remains to be seen.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Aug 2011 10:36

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U.S.: Wisconsin Democrats survive recalls unscathed; GOP still has majority

  • Maybe it shows that voters indicated they deserved more time to let their voice be heard on such an important piece of legislation.
  • Wisconsin State Sen. Jim Holperin • Discussing the reasons he felt he and fellow State Sen. Robert Wirch got to keep their seats last night after facing a recall over the controversial anti-union legislation that led to an earlier set of recalls that cost two Republicans their seats. The final tally? Republicans now have a 17-16 majority in the state senate — less than what Democrats wanted, but enough to make Republicans take notice. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Jul 2011 00:31

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Politics: Democrat survives recall attempt in Wisconsin

  • Wisconsin Republicans’ quixotic attempt to recall Democratic state senators has gotten off to a bad start: State Sen. David Hansen was easily re-elected in today’s recall election, defeating his opponent by a 2:1 margin. Hansen is the first of nine WI State Senators facing recall attempts (three Democrats, six Republicans).The recalls were first initiated by Democrats hoping to punish Republicans for supporting Scott Walker’s anti-union bill last Spring. Republicans, out of a combination of boredom and petulance, responded by launching their own recall petitions against Democrats who opposed the bill. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

18 Jul 2011 23:02

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Politics: A quick-ish update on the Wisconsin situation

  • plan Democrats in Wisconsin are pushing hard to recall Governor Scott Walker for the draconian anti-union bill he pushed through the legislature this past Spring.
  • problem The recall election could fall on the same day as the GOP presidential primary, ensuring a large Republican turnout and possibly carrying Walker to safety. source
  • The Details: Stick with us here. In order to recall Walker, Democrats need to gather around 540,000 signatures (that number being 25% of the total votes cast for Governor last year); once this process starts, they’ll have sixty days to hit that target. If and when they do, state election officials will likely schedule the recall on the same day as the next major statewide election. The question is: When should Democratic operatives start gathering signatures?
  • on the one hand…This fall, recall elections against several state senators (of both parties) will have wrapped up. Some Democrats want to ride that momentum directly into the signature-gathering process, ensuring that they’re able to collect enough. The thing is, if they do it within that timeframe, the recall will most likely fall on the same day as the GOP presidential primary.
    .
  • on the other hand…Democrats could also wait longer to gather signatures, timing it so that the recall falls the same day Obama faces re-election. This would result in a much higher voter turnout for Democrats. However, Walker’s anti-union antics may have faded from the public consciousness by then, jeopardizing the Democrats’ ability to get enough signatures.
  • » The kicker: State Republicans, who would prefer the first scenario, are said to be considering launching a fake “Recall Walker” signature-gathering campaign in the fall, in order to force an early recall. Seriously, guys—who ever said politics was boring?
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Jul 2011 11:01

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Politics: Scott Walker: Yeah, we made mistakes on handling that union thing

  • The mistake I made early on is, I looked at it almost like the head of a small business: identify a problem, identify a solution and go out and do it. I don’t think we built enough of a political case, so we let … the national organizations come in and define the debate while we were busy just getting the job done.
  • Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker • Discussing, during the National Governor’s Association meeting in Salt Lake City, the whole anti-union saga that has engulfed his state for a good four or five months now. Walker has faced tons of criticism from the left over the law, which passed in a sneaky behind-the-back way at the end of a lengthy holdout by numerous Democrats in the state senate — and was later upheld in court after a proxy battle over a judge’s election favored Walker’s law. Many Republicans who voted for the measure face a recall vote in August, and Walker could face one of his own in 2012. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Jun 2011 10:25

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Politics: Scott Walker: We always knew we could ignore open meetings law

  • I think it was something that we just believed that the legislature has always had the ability to do no matter if it was Democrats or Republicans in charge.
  • Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker • Reacting to the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s decision (read it here) allowing Walker’s collective bargaining bill to go through because the state’s opening meetings law doesn’t apply to legislators. What did they have the ability to do, Scott, ignore the spirit of the law by holding a vote with two hours notice, because they felt it didn’t cover them, and wait for the state Supreme Court to prove them right? As you might guess, Democrats aren’t exactly thrilled by this decision. Not only the decision itself, but the fact that a law designed to prevent things like this essentially doesn’t apply to legislators, and now the Democrats will have to rewrite the state constitution to put that protection back in. Republicans on the other hand, are thrilled. This situation is a total mess, no matter what way you look at it. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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