Political Heat

Safeguards against intimidation of signers must be met before release The Government Accountability Board has delayed publishing recall petitions online over fears of intimidation against people whose names appear within. Several adamant supporters of Gov. Scott Walker have encouraged such reprehensible tactics, openly declaring their intentions to use the list to inform employers that their workers support the removal of a pro-corporate governor. Such concerns are legitimate to worry over -- participants on both sides have used inappropriate means of intimidation both direct and indirect, that have caused a lot of unnecessary headaches. But recent Facebook posts indicate that several conservative-leaning individuals are seeking to make recall signers' lives a living hell. Democracy requires transparency, and those names deserve to be released for verification purposes. But if a sizable number of people, or groups of people, make it clear that intimidation is their aim, certain p...

Introducing "Video Heat," a new segment on Political Heat involving web video production In an effort to make the message of the recall a little more viable and understandable, I have created a new YouTube channel that will hopefully disseminate our message in a new medium. Gov. Scott Walker is busy raising millions of dollars to create advertisements that will broadcast daily ad nauseum. If we're to defeat him, we're going to have to use our own skills to do so. If you want to create (or already have created) a video to help the cause, comment on this (or any future) post below. Here's the first in what I hope will be a series of videos detailing the reasons why Gov. Walker should be recalled.

Making sure that the rich pay their share -- and framing the debate correctly -- will ensure victory for the president Fighting against charges of "class warfare" following his State of the Union address earlier this week, President Barack Obama had some remarks regarding the American peoples' views on the rich on Friday: "This is one of the biggest things I'm going to be pushing back on this year, this notion that this is somehow class warfare, that we're trying to stir up envy," Obama said. "Nobody envies rich people, everybody wants to be rich. Everybody aspires to be rich, and everybody understands you've got work hard to be successful. That's the American way." This is precisely what needs to be said. The poor don't envy the rich -- at least in the manner that class warfare is concerned. The debate over whether millionaires should pay a higher tax or not isn't about striking a blow to the wealthy in this country, but rathe...

Governor cites state constitution, omits key parts of what makes government tick A quick word on another line from the State of the State address delivered by Gov. Scott Walker on Wednesday night. Walker touted a provision from our state's constitution (stating it twice to emphasize his point), implying that a strict, conservative approach to governance was the only way our state's founders had intended to rule: Our heritage in Wisconsin is also built on fiscal restraint. One of the most important parts of our state constitution affirms that "frugality in government leads to freedom and prosperity for our people." That is worth repeating: "frugality in government leads to freedom and prosperity for our people." I believe our founders had it right. There are two problems from that statement. First, Walker omits other important aspects of that constitutional provision , which seem to run counter to the kind of governor that he is: The blessings of a free g...

Growing jobs in Wisconsin will require reinvigorating demand for goods and services within the state Gov. Scott Walker made an ambitious request tonight in his State of the State address, asking small businesses across the state to add one new job each to their payrolls this year. Walker, who is facing mounting pressure due to a recall campaign against him, made the plea amid six straight months of job losses for Wisconsin, a slide that began the month following passage of his budget bill late June of last year. The governor's plan to grow jobs at that time involved billions of dollars in tax breaks to corporations in order to, in theory at least, give businesses the capital they needed to hire again. But as I've noted before, capital alone won't create jobs in the state -- rather, capital must be coupled with demand as well, which creates a need for expansion of services or goods that a company produces, in turn creating an incentive for that company to grow its worker-b...

Nearly every issue touted at Wauwatosa rally hurts working-class Wisconsinites A pro-Scott Walker rally took place in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, this past weekend, where crowds were estimated to have included between 1,000-2,5000 people who feel the state is moving in the right direction. Believing fully that "it's working," several conservative speakers -- including Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, GOP U.S. Senatorial candidates Tommy Thompson and Mark Neumann, and Gov. Walker's wife Tonette -- gave impassioned speeches about why they supported the governor, who was notably absent during the entire ordeal. How exactly "it's working," unfortunately, was exaggerated during much of the pep rally. For example, Kleefisch made a comment that anti-recall supporters should donate to the Republicans this year using some of savings from their property taxes, which she contends came about due to the reforms the Walker administration implemented. However, that's not the...

What little gains did occur last year came about under the Doyle budget The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development released its preliminary job numbers for the month of December today. Unfortunately, the data suggests more of the same: jobs continue to decline in the state. For the sixth straight month, Wisconsin lost jobs. About 1,700 jobs were lost in the month December, and the revised number of jobs lost in November was 13,600. In total, since the Walker budget passed in June, Wisconsin has lost more than 35,000 jobs. --- What's remarkable about the job numbers is that the Walker administration continues to insist that their reforms are working. From the DWD report : "The seasonally adjusted data also show that, compared to December 2010, the private sector gained 13,500 jobs, including 9,300 in manufacturing and 8,200 in educational and health services." So from the start of the year, Wisconsin improved. But was that Walker's doing? As the graphs abov...

"Fundraising tour" raises questions about who Walker would ally himself with: the people of Wisconsin, or corporate interests Gov. Scott Walker, certain to face a recall challenge within the next year ( even he knows it ), has been touring the nation in an effort to raise money to fund his campaign. Even yesterday, when organizers dropped off a million signatures requesting a recall for the governor, Walker was in New York, meeting with AIG executives and even chatting-it-up with Rush Limbaugh during his visit. Two observable facts can be drawn from Walker's travels: First, in order to fund his defense to the people of Wisconsin, Walker couldn't rely on much in-state support. Whether this is due to his unpopularity or not is unknown; but it's certainly reasonable to believe that Walker's inability to raise money in Wisconsin alone could be due in large part to a huge dissatisfaction among his constituency. And second, it's rather troubling that Walker, w...

If you've got some time, stop over and watch the Real World: Government Accountability Board .

Recall thresholds met for Governor, Lt. Gov., and four Republican state Senators Over one million signatures supporting the recall of Gov. Scott Walker were turned in to the Government Accountability Board today. Around 845,000 were turned in for Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch. In all, nearly two million signatures were turned in for the recalls of Walker, Kleefisch, and four other Republican state senators who allied themselves with the governor's corporatist and anti-worker agenda. All of the recall thresholds were met. Let's put this in perspective: in 2010, when Walker defeated Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett for the governorship, Walker won with 1.12 million votes. Conversely, the volunteers to recall Walker very nearly gathered the same number of signatures that got him into office in the first place (almost 90 percent). The total represents 185 percent of the necessary number of signatures needed to initiate a recall contest. 46 percent of the signatures turned in would need to...

As you know, if I were standing at the beginning of time, with the possibility of general and panoramic view of the whole human history up to now, and the Almighty said to me, "Martin Luther King, which age would you like to live in?" — I would take my mental flight by Egypt through, or rather across the Red Sea, through the wilderness on toward the promised land. And in spite of its magnificence, I wouldn't stop there. I would move on by Greece, and take my mind to Mount Olympus. And I would see Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Euripides and Aristophanes assembled around the Parthenon as they discussed the great and eternal issues of reality. But I wouldn't stop there. I would go on, even to the great heyday of the Roman Empire. And I would see developments around there, through various emperors and leaders. But I wouldn't stop there. I would even come up to the day of the Renaissance, and get a quick picture of all that the Renaissance did for the cultural and esthet...

Organizers come to Madison to celebrate democracy in action This Tuesday, organizers will celebrate the turning-in of signatures for recalls of Gov. Scott Walker and Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, as well as other senatorial recalls (including that of Sen. Maj. Leader Scott Fitzgerald). Throngs of organizers will descend upon the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center , hopeful that their hard work will translate into the eventual ouster of the governor and his conservative allies. The event will begin at 5 P.M. and will go until 8 P.M. on Tuesday, January 17. For those traveling from outside of Madison, the Monona Terrace is located at 1 John Nolen Dr, off of Lake Monona near downtown. (View a map here ). Radio personality Ed Schultz will reportedly attend the event as well. Schultz, whose broadcast is heard daily in Madison on the Ed Schultz Show, was instrumental in gaining national attention for Wisconsin protesters during the marches that took place last winter. The protests ...

New businesses created don't make up for net deficit in WI for 2011 At first glance, it seems as though there was a welcomed change in the direction Wisconsin was heading under the leadership of Gov. Scott Walker. But upon further examination, it's more of the same from his administration -- more spin to cover up more bad news. A report released by the Department of Financial Institutions showed that there were more new businesses formed in 2011 than in 2010 . 33,190 new businesses were formed last year, 732 more than the 32,458 new businesses that were formed in 2010, a total growth of 2.3 percent in the category. That's a positive sign, albeit one that hardly justifies billions of dollars in tax breaks for corporations for such little change from the year before -- the 2.3 percent increase between the two years came as the state gave away $2.3 billion in revenues in the form of tax breaks . Regardless, it IS an improvement, and it should be treated as such, right? Ordinar...

For the price of a take-out value meal, you get the right of a recall Folks who are against the recall on Gov. Scott Walker based on economic grounds make a case most everyone can relate to: the estimated $9 million cost is a burden to taxpayers, a burden that, according to this line of thought, is unjustly placed on the people of Wisconsin. $9 million is a lot of money, but it's hardly the economic crisis that these critics make it out to be. Mike Tate, the chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, puts it in perspective : It would take more than 7 recall elections to equal the cost of Walker's tax increase on seniors and working families. It would take more than 11 recalls to equal the tuition hike Walker foisted on University of Wisconsin-System students and their families. And Walker's $2.3 billion in tax giveaways to out-of-state corporations and the super-rich would pay for more than 255 recall elections . Wisconsin simply cannot afford Scott Walker any longer...

Walker, as a "straight-shooter-in-chief," doesn't live up to the label In describing Scott Walker's governing style, state Sen. Glenn Grothman created a new word : "Scott Walker is a rare politician who doesn't try to make everybody happy with other people's money," says Grothman, a Republican state senator from West Bend. "He's the best governor of my lifetime. He's the least 'politician-y.' He's able to say 'no' to people." That assessment may blindside some people -- after all, Walker has polarized Wisconsin like no other political executive has in generations. But Grothman's description of the governor is meant to be a compliment. What Grothman means is that Walker doesn't act politically -- he's not interested in striking deals or working with the other side in any way whatsoever. In other words, Walker's not "politician-y" because he refuses to believe that his job requires him to ...

Round one of recall winding down: what's in store for round two? Recall petitions are set to be delivered to the state's Government Accountability Board (GAB) next week, which means the first round of the recall process will be completed. It's unknown at this point how many signatures are yet collected, but both the Democratic Party and United Wisconsin are confident that the number will far exceed the required 540,208 needed to initiate a recall election. So what's set to happen in the next part of the process? "Round two" will likely see three important aspects within it: educating the public, agreeing upon a candidate to challenge Walker, and fighting off legal challenges posed by Republicans. With regards to that last bit, the state GOP is going to challenge many of the signatures found within the petitions. That will take many hours, if not weeks, of work -- and taxpayer dollars, thanks to a ruling by a conservative court in Waukesha County that has de...

Jobs from Shopko-Pamida deal a drop in the bucket compared to net losses in past six months Gov. Scott Walker and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) are celebrating a recent merger between Shopko and Omaha-based Pamida that will result in 120 jobs created in its corporate headquarters in Green Bay. And celebrate they should. Any creation of jobs in Wisconsin is something worth being enthusiastic about, a positive step within a grim economy that needs all of the jobs it can get. The problem is, however, that for every moment of positive job growth in Wisconsin that Gov. Walker touts as proof " it's working ," there's massive layoffs that cancel that growth out, or worse yet overshadow that growth, creating a net loss in the process. In fact, since Walker's budget passed last June Wisconsin has seen more net job losses than any other state in the country during the same time period, beating out its nearest "competitor" by tens of thou...

Ad attempts to cover up job losses, budget deficit and tax increases Gov. Scott Walker, perhaps anticipating that recall organizers will indeed reach the 540,208 signatures needed to initiate a challenge against him, issued a new "pro-ME!" ad that touts the "positive" aspects of his tenure thus far. Unfortunately for Walker (and really, for the entire state), the "positive" picture Walker describes is grossly exaggerated. To an observer of the ad who knows the facts, it is a frustrating minute-long diatribe that makes you want to scream "YOU'RE SO FULL OF IT!" nearly every five seconds. To someone who might not have had the time to follow the events of the past year so closely, however, the ad is very convincing, with its friendly music, images of Wisconsinites hard at work, and crowds applauding Walker for all he has done. Let's break this ad down a little bit, looking at some of the major points Walker hopes will convince the state that...