Sunday, January 10, 2016

Exposed!!! Republicans ignore constituent feedback, big surprise.

That gut feel we had about Republicans not listening to voters...as it turns out, we were right.

We've seen it time and time again, where local and national polls tell us what Americans really want, and it doesn't look anything like the GOP agenda.  

And while most conservatives vote Republican because of one or two fabricated issues, the dramatic downside is never enough to change their vote.

All of this is explained in one of the best exposes yet, thanks to We-the-irrelevant.org's freedom of information request.



Many GOP defenders in the comments section following the story are quick to mention the “silent majority” of voters who didn’t actively call their representatives. But that's not proof is it? Great stuff. LaCrosse Tribune:
List date Jan. 21, 2016
The Wisconsin Legislature recently passed bills to allow dramatically increased campaign contributions (“campaign finance reform”) and to dismantle the Government Accountability Board in the face of overwhelming public objection.

Retiree Sheila Plotkin of McFarland, Wis., (and her ) web site we-the-irrelevant.org sent open-records requests to Republican state senators and assemblymen to tally public input that each had received prior to voting. 

In total, 817 people (99 percent of those who contacted their legislators) were opposed to campaign finance reform, while only nine (1 percent) were in favor. Republican legislators nevertheless voted overwhelmingly in favor of the bill.

With regard to dismantling the GAB, 1,501 constituents (90 percent of those commenting) urged their legislators not to dismantle the GAB, while only 173 (10 percent) were in favor. Republicans nevertheless voted to dismantle the GAB.

Who are the Republicans representing? To check the input that your legislator received and compare it with their vote, check out Plotkin’s site. 
Rep. Kathy Bernier is one big offender. Interesting to note; nowhere at her official site does she mention her party affiliation. Embarrassed?


3 comments:

  1. Today's Wheeler Report lead me to read the RPW scare tactics of demonizing Feingold as being ineffectual against supposed threats from foreign radical regimes, while totally ignoring that the WI Regime of ruling Republicans just opened the back door to foreign investors secretly backing candidates in WI elections by destroying prior donation reporting requirements in election campaigns in the state.

    Lying and not listening to constituents seem to go hand-in-hand.

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  2. Thank you for posting information about we-the-irrelevant.org. I just discovered your reference, but I notice an error in the line above the video. I'd appreciate a correction from we-are-irrelevant.org to we-the-irrelevant.org. As of Jan. 20, new data is available along with a new spreadsheet that arranges legislators by Senate and Assembly Districts. More open records requests went out at the end of December and early this month.

    You might also be interested in the Dec. 24 "Plain Talk" piece by Dave Zweifel, Editor Emeritus of the CapTimes.

    http://host.madison.com/ct/news/opinion/column/dave_zweifel/plain-talk-we-the-people-no-we-the-irrelevant/article_c80856c8-4db0-509b-89f5-d3ec6cfc502c.html

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  3. Thanks for pointing that out. Keep up the good work getting this information out there. Until now, people thought their elected officials were actually carrying out the will of the people. Nothing could be further from the truth.

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