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31 May 2011 16:54

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U.S.: Wisconsin board approves recalls against GOP, but not Dems

  • six Wisconsin GOP Senators will face recall elections, following Wisconsin’s Government Accountability Board (GAB) approving the signatures collected by Democratic activists
  • three Wisconsin Democratic Senators may or may not face recall elections, as the same GAB stated that they’re not ready to approve the signatures collected by GOP activists source
  • » So, what’s going on here? Basically, the GAB’s decision means they believe the signatures collected by Democrats, in the aftermath of Gov. Scott Walker’s nationally spotlighted union-busting effort, are legitimate. The Republican signatures, however, “have raised numerous factual and legal issues which need to be investigated and analyzed,” the board says. This is likely to ignite a firestorm of accusations about political bias, favoritism and so forth — the Democrats likely see this as a major boon, as they’ve argued fraud on the GOP’s petitions. We’re inclined to sit tight and see how this plays out, but today’s events, suffice to say, don’t favor the Wisconsin GOP.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 May 2011 02:08

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Politics: Scott Walker is becoming very unpopular

  • Watch out, Walker: If a recall election were held today, you’d get booted faster than you can say “Gray Davis.” source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Apr 2011 22:28

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Politics: Feingold would have a shot at toppling Walker, new poll says

  • Heads up, Scott: A new poll shows progressive hero Russ Feingold neck-and-neck with Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker in a hypothetical recall election. This is less than a year after Feingold lost re-election to the Senate by five points to a political novice. Yeah, yeah, we know: this doesn’t mean much, as Feingold hasn’t expressed any interest in running and Walker is nine months away from even being eligible for a recall. But we can dream, right? source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Apr 2011 22:15

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Politics: Wisconsin: Recall campaign gains steam, control of State Senate now in play

  • three number of GOP State Senators in Wisconsin who will face a recall election, thanks to Democratic organizing efforts
  • three number of seats that have to change hands in order for Democrats to gain control of the Wisconsin State Senate source
  • » Total Recall: Democratic efforts to flip control of the Wisconsin State Senate just reached an important milestone, as organizers have now collected enough signatures to force three Republican senators into recall elections. If Democrats win all three elections, they’ll be rewarded with control of the Wisconsin State Senate. This is, of course, pending validation of the collected signatures; in all three cases, Democratic organizers submitted around 150% of the required number of signatures, so it’s unlikely that the petitions will be invalidated on those grounds. If Democrats are successful in recalling even one Wisconsin Republican, it’ll be an enormous victory for the pro-union movement, which launched the recall campaign last month in response to Governor Scott Walker’s union-busting “budget-repair” bill.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Apr 2011 17:11

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U.S.: What’s next in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election dramarama?

  • state Despite the much-wider difference in vote count after Waukesha County’s tally suddenly jumped, it’s still close enough that a statewide recount could take place.
  • county Another option, which would cost JoAnne Kloppenburg money, would be a recount in Waukesha County alone. Incumbent Justice David Prosser is open to this.
  • federal And some, including U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat, want Attorney General Eric Holder to scrutinize Waukesha County’s results. Which would be fun. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Apr 2011 00:20

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Politics: More bad news for Walker: Judicial election shows major shift in county-level support

  • 19 counties in WI switched from Republican to Democrat source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Apr 2011 00:09

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Politics: In theory, Democrats have enough signatures to recall Scott Walker

  • 541,000 signatures needed to initiate a recall election for Scott Walker, once he’s eligible in 2012
  • 738,000 votes cast for the Democrat in Wisconsin’s judicial election last Tuesday source
  • » A few caveats: First, a lot can change in a year; who knows if Wisconsonites will even be thinking about Walker’s 2011 assault on unions in 2012? Second of all, an obscure judicial election isn’t really comparable to a signature-gathering recall campaign; they’re apples and oranges. Still, this is reason for Democrats to be cautiously optimistic about the feasibility of recalling Walker in a year. JoAnne Kloppenburg, the Democratic candidate in question, has claimed victory in the judicial election, although there will assuredly be a recount.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

06 Apr 2011 09:42

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World: Hotly-contested Wisconsin judicial election faces recount

  • vote A vote for a State Supreme Court seat between incumbent David Prosser and Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg ended with fewer than 600 votes separating Prosser and the progressive Kloppenburg.
  • importance The vote is a key one — and a proxy battle — for Scott Walker, whose contentious anti-collective-bargaining act will likely face the State Supreme Court. The court currently favors conservatives to liberals, 4 to 3. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Apr 2011 22:51

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Politics: Scott Walker: Wisconsin is broke, but if your dad supports my campaign, you won’t be!

  • who Meet Brian Deschane, a 27 year-old from Wisconsin with no college degree, little political experience, and two drunk-driving convictions.
  • what Deschane earns $81,000 a year working a plum job for controversial Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, overseeing various regulatory and environmental matters.
  • why Deschane’s father is a lobbyist for the Wisconsin Builder’s Association, which gave over $120,000 to Walker’s election campaign. source
  • » After just two months on the job, Deschane received a raise of 25%, or $16,500 a year. This wasn’t too long ago; it was around the time Walker said that Wisconsin was “broke,” and has “been broke for years.” If that’s what it’s like to be broke, we don’t wanna be rich!
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Mar 2011 20:25

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U.S.: Wisconsin: Judge blocks collective bargaining law once again

  • then Wisconsin-based Judge Maryann Sumi ruled a couple of weeks ago that the just-passed anti-collective bargaining law couldn’t be implemented for procedural reasons. Scott Walker continued to implement it anyway.
  • now Judge Maryann Sumi has ruled again, saying that Secretary of State Doug La Follette can’t do anything to allow the law to take effect. Walker’s folks tried to get around him. With the latest order, they pretty much failed. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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