Uppity Wisconsin

With Tommy Thompson likely out of the race for governor, a desperate Wisconsin GOP is attempting an old trick.

Back in 1986 it was the dump "Tony the Taxer (Earl)" campaign [and the Thompson-pushed image of black welfare recipients in Milwaukee] that launched Tommy Thompson's entry into the governor's mansion and national prominence.

Now, a Wisconsin GOP Google ad reads:

Tom "the Taxer" Barret (sic)
Higher Taxes, Fewer Jobs
Wisconsin Cant (sic) Afford
Tom the Taxer
www.wisgop.org

Sure, the GOP misspelled Barrett's name and the word "Cant", but that's not the only mistake the GOP will make this campaign season.

People all over Wisconsin were happy Monday to see Gov. Jim Doyle announce his intention to not seek reelection.

One thing that progressive Democrats and rightwing Republicans agree on is that Jim Doyle is a liar, a vindictive and corrupt politician.

That’s who he is as governor. A lot of Democrats cannot stand the guy on a personal level. And Republicans are sad to see him go as Doyle would have given them a clear shot at the governor’s office.

That’s not really news and it’s not entirely clear how this reality fits into Doyle’ decision to not seek reelection.

According to Doyle, he reached his decision some seven to 10 days ago [WisPolitics], coming around to his belief that he claims to have held since being first elected governor in 2002: He will only serve two terms, the “norm” for governors.

"I think this national norm serves good purpose. It keeps the political world from becoming stagnant. It allows new leaders to develop. It gives the voters more choices,” said Doyle Monday.

Why then did Doyle raise more than $2 million for reelection?

Republicans are demanding that Doyle return the campaign money, but he’ll likely give it to a worthy cause to polish his legacy.

Jim Klauser is a very smart GOP operative advocating that Mark Neumann throw his hat into the ring against Jim Doyle in 2010.

Writes Klauser in his open letter in WisPolitics:

Mark Neumann, a former Congressman who nearly defeated Russ Feingold [in 1998), is a potential candidate. Mark is a successful business man from Waukesha County (a growing county). He and his family are involved in choice and charter school reforms. He is involved in his community and church. While a Congressman, Mark worked with Speaker Newt Gingrich to develop a no tax increase alternative to Bill Clinton’s spend, spend, and spend. ... I have concluded that of the prospective candidates, Mark Neumann is best able to win and govern well. I encourage you to consider Mark Neumann for Governor.

Update: Mills: "(Q)uite frankly, I have been unimpressed with Falk's leadership, and am deeply concerned by the glaring holes left in her record by the massive fuck-ups with the 911 center."
Rath: Falk dodges as Mistele fires

The Dane County Executive race is off and running with the first debate between Nancy Mistele and Kathleen Falk sponsored by the Dane County Public Affairs Council.

Though the political winds of Dane County blow left, this may prove to be a very interesting race in the face of a host of endorsements of Falk and Falk's 911 Center scandal.

 
Update: Washington Post - Bad Economy May Fuel Hate Groups, Experts Warn

© by Michael Leon

A social diversity event held last night at the Fond du Lac, Wisconsin Public Library entitled "¡Hola! Hispanic and Latino Experiences in Fond du Lac" was marred by a card left on the car windows of several participants by a neo-NAZI "Aryan Wear" group asking if the car-owners had "had enough diversity?".

The card is pictured above-left and was obtained by e-mail from Ken Hall, director of the Fond du Lac Public Library.

Update: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Greg Palast: Drinking the ACORN Kool-Aid: How Cries of Voter Fraud Cover Up GOP Elections Theft - While Republicans had the media searching for links between Obama and ACORN, RNC operatives were busily completing one of the most massive voter suppression and purging efforts in American history.

Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen's voter suppression suit was tossed because he misread a federal law and tried to use it to suppress votes fighting the spectre of voter fraud, the opposite of its public policy rationale. You would think he would be embarrassed.

Civil rights groups, labor unions, voting rights groups, good government groups - all came together to protect Wisconsin citizens from their attorney general and his political party.

Now, "Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen says he'll deploy more than 50 assistant attorney generals and state agents around the state Nov. 4 to guard against election fraud." - AP

What crap.

The good news just keeps on coming.

Voting in Fitchburg (pop. 20,501), Wisconsin (Dane County), located next to Madison, was brisk this last week as voters rushed to cast absentee ballots.

Obama should increase the 90,000-vote cushion that Dane County gave John Kerry in 2004.

Republican attempts at voter suppression in Wisconsin are naked, well-publicized and on Thursday or soon after likely be given a legal scolding. [Having too many blacks voting will not play well this particular election as a political message though J.B. Van Hollen and the Republicans will not stop trying.]

Obama endorses SeniorCare in Wisconsin, the popular Prescription Drug Assistance Program, that helps seniors buy needed prescriptions.

McCain favors letting people choose to pay for drugs or not get them. This will help Obama with a key voting demographic here.

And nationally, Obama looks to achieve an electoral landslide.

Colon Powell endorses Obama.

The Wausau Daily-Herald has an excellent editorial wrapping up the case against J.B. Van Hollen as a partisan using the Attorney General's office in his voter suppression suit. Great stuff. 

Update II: For up-to-date developments, see the Election Law at Moritz site, including the GAB's brief for a motion to dismiss. 

Update: WisPolitics piece at http://www.wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=138219.

Contradicting his earlier claims that "(there was no discussion with anybody involved in leadership with the Republican Party (or the McCain campaign) about this (voting rule) lawsuit before it was brought," as Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen has said earlier last month, WisPolitics has uncovered new audio (posted at WisPolitics) revealing Van Hollen promising action on alleged "voter fraud" during an address at the Republican National Convention held in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Update: See Voter Database Glitches Could Disenfranchise Thousands (Kim Zetter) and J.B. Van Hollen's amusing Protecting the right to vote. "A recent report from the Academies of Sciences noted that 'many (if not most) of the matching procedures used by the states have been developed on the basis of intuitive reasoning without further systematic validation or mathematically rigorous analysis, do not reflect the state of the art in matching techniques, and have not been validated in the market, scientifically, or otherwise.'"
- Kim Zetter, Wired Magazine

Update: Observers fear Van Hollen’s election lawsuit will cause problems

The GOP is trying to throw the election into confusion by ensuring that massive provisional ballots be cast, as well as massive delays. Van Hollen ignores this reality and raises the specter of voting fraud.

Now, come word about missleading absentee ballots sent by the McCain campaign and voter caging. 

We have a corrupt Attorney General Van Hollen fronting for the national GOP against Wisconsin's Government Accountability Board (GAB) that is sticking up for Wisconsin voters.

Van Hollen's DOJ Complaint was filed with Dane County Judge Maryann Sumi's office.

So who is Maryann Sumi?