Despite Vos-Republicans 300 day Hiatus during the Pandemic, they claim Gov. Evers record "abysmal failure and absent leadership." Projection.

How different things in Wisconsin would have been if just two Democrats agreed to rush the ratification of labor deals with public unions in 2010, before Scott Walker took office (try finding any reference of this online). Now another two Democrats are blocking the parties agenda, this time nationally with  Sen. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema. 

Democrats have not been able to roll out their vision of government, so who's to know? 

1. Biggest Win by Republicans? Stopping Democratic Agenda: By stopping Democrats, Americans will never know if Democratic policies work, if they are better, or if they would fail. With no way of knowing, Republicans can make up anything they want, and manufacture fear around socialism and communism. When Gov. Evers said he was seeking a second term, he pointed this out. WSJ:

“The one predictable thing about this pandemic — and heck, ever since November of 2018 — is that Republicans will do everything in their power to stop our success, to keep us from getting things done, to keep Wisconsin headed in the right direction.”

2. Wisconsin's own QAnon Cultists: Yes, it's a cult of mass deception and manufactured lunacy currently pushing "communism" and a weird kind of "multi-level" projection. Vos-Republicans love it and are exploiting it.

Thing is, you can't begin to reason with them, or you would be the one projecting. Here are a few examples from my wacky friend in Milwaukee. You might be getting a lot of this same stuff from people you know as well:

But he does sent me stories that alert me to the QAnon crisis building nationwide. I don't think we have much time left as a democracy. Not kidding.

3. Nearly a Year, Republicans took a 300-day hiatus from passing COVID-19 legislation, yet Evers was Slow to Respond? Informed that Evers was running for a second term, Republicans want you to forget how they did nothing. Even under Republican majority rule at the Capitol, it's all Evers fault, blame him. But the reality and nuance of each issue below, even help from outraged Vos-Republicans...out the window:

WISGOP: “Over the past three years, Wisconsinites have suffered the consequences of an administration fraught with mismanagement, incompetence and a governor who has been asleep at the wheel. (1) Tony Evers had no plan to handle unemployment claims after shutting down our state’s economy, (2) no plan to address the violence in Kenosha after refusing federal assistance, (3) no plan to reopen schools while students were struggling, and now (4) has no plan to address the labor shortage while business owners are begging him for help. Evers has nothing to run on except a record of abysmal failure and absent leadership.”

 And yes, grotesque projection:

(5) “His only record of accomplishment is he’s really good at blaming Republicans.”

Blaming Republicans for taking a 300 day hiatus during the pandemic, THAT'S unfair? 

Here's a little reality poking through the web of lies: (1.) The system handling unemployment needed replacing, Evers begged for that, but Republicans just canceled funding for it. (2.) He properly responded to Kenosha's request for help. (3.) Evers had a plan to reopen schools but Republicans fought against treating the pandemic like it was real. (4.) The labor shortage predates Evers and unemployment rate is now nearly the same as it was before the pandemic. (5.) Looks who's blaming who.

Gov. Evers on the QAnon Cultist Republican hearing Friday! "Same old Crap."

Thursday Dec. 10, 2020: Sure I think Republicans will try to reject the Wisconsin election results and replace the state's electors with Trump supporters, but beside that, their other bigger objective is to reign in or stop the expanded opportunities to vote that made our last election so much easier. 

Forget talking to election officials, isn't it better to get opinions and anecdotal stories of fraud from the GOP central casting, picking Trump cultist QAnon conspiracy theorists and a radio talk host? Yes.

Get ready for some real voter suppression folks:

A month ago, Republican lawmakers said they were prepared to issue subpoenas for the first time in decades to haul election officials before them to get answers about how the presidential contest was conducted.

But they have now abandoned that plan and aren’t even bothering to invite them to attend a Friday hearing looking into an election that Democrat Joe Biden won by about 21,000 votes in the state.

Instead, they’re asking to hear from a conservative radio talk show host, a former state Supreme Court justice, a postal subcontractor who has offered a debunked theory about backdated absentee ballots and an election observer whom President Donald Trump wants to testify in court in one of his lawsuits over the election.

Crazy huh? Well, here's Gov. Evers take on this political sideshow:

 

Democrats on Tusler's committee said in a statement that Friday's hearing will likely "be a forum for debunked conspiracies and outright lies."

It’s unclear how lawmakers could change the results even if they wanted to do so because state law requires the governor to sign off on the state’s slate of electors.

Friday Dec. 11, 2020: Well, this started off well. Guess who's sending the message masks-are-ridiculous to their conservative constituents?:

  

NBC15: Saying “we have heard enough,” five Democratic members of the Wisconsin Assembly’s Committee on Campaigns and Elections declare they will no longer participate in Friday’s hearing investigating allegations of illegal activity during the November presidential election.

“After a morning of wild conspiracy theories that went unchallenged and uncorrected, it is clear that today’s joint hearing is exactly the kind of disgraceful display that we all feared it would be."

Describing it as a “sham hearing,” they argued the hearing does not focus on what lawmakers should be prioritizing, pointing to COVID-19 relief as an example. “This hearing does nothing but undermine our elections and election officials. Witnesses attacked our clerks and poll workers while Republicans gave them no serious opportunity to respond,” they continued.

Election Clerks the Real Villains? Rabid Republican witnesses pushed their conspiracy, inviting this blowback:

In written testimony, more than a dozen municipal clerks and election inspectors criticized lawmakers behind the public hearing for inviting testimony largely from conservative partisans and allies of President Donald Trump.

Village of Camp Douglas clerk Sarah Stark said in testimony she was "downright ashamed" of the persistent cries of election fraud, including from elected officials.

"We take the job of administering elections very seriously," Stark wrote. "What you are doing is telling each and every one of the 1,852 Municipal Clerks is we committed election fraud. I just can’t comprehend how you can begin to think that we all rallied together to commit this fraud on a municipal, county, or statewide level. This has to stop."

Republican COVID-19 Deniers intentionally destroying Wisconsin Economy to Blame Evers in 2022? Sure, even if a few hundred have to die.

Question: Could the gerrymandered Republican legislature be planning on destroying the Wisconsin economy just so they can blame Gov. Evers in 2022? I think so:

The 44 Percent Super-Spreaders, Reason 1: Okay, instead of screaming at my TV, I'm going to just ask the question here; why are reporters skipping past the huge number of heavy breathing Wisconsin Trump supporters not wearing masks? Is there a reason why COVID-19 is spiking off the charts in mostly conservative area of the state? Maybe it's those Trump supporters, ya think? 44 percent will vote for Trump, almost half the state:

The 44 Percent Super-Spreaders, Reason 2: Think back on the failed Republican idea to "have a discussion about those statewide high COVID 'pocket's,' and leave the other areas alone." How'd that work out? As you can see conservative area's of the state are exploding, counties that had low infection rates once, while liberal mask wearing counties today...aren't. The last 14 days...:

The 44 Percent Super-Spreaders, Reason 3: So it's pretty clear Republicans are using the mask-free-Trump-induced statewide spread of the virus to claim that wearing a mask doesn't make any difference. And conservative voters will oddly go along with the same list of irresponsible, tired, and ridiculous sounding excuses every time there's a problem Republicans don't want to solve? Here are some:

1. "Let's look at things that we can do to manage that." But Republicans have already said they won't be stepping in to help, so...?

2. "We can have this very detailed discussion...let's step back..." Sure, we've got all the time in the world. 

3. "They had people that were in hospice that had days to live, and then they died from what they had, and they got labeled (as COVID)..." Republicans claim a large percentage of the 214,000 COVID deaths were really from other diseases. 

4. "The problem here is the legislature isn't at the table, it's not able to get the facts to help make good decisions." Remember when the Republicans took the Governors powers away? So what do they need him for? Or how about the mind-blowing idea the Legislature doesn't have access to the facts?

TOP 4 Republican COVID-19 Deniers, Killing People and the Economy: Wisconsin Republican comments, like State Sen. Chris Kapenga statements below, should be added to the historical record, documenting just how bizarre this do-nothing Trump-cult party prevented government from responding to anything. Here's the answer to Kapenga's false statement about ineffective masks:

Mark Kaufman, a physician and chief medical officer for the Wisconsin Hospital Association, said “No part of the state is untouched. The main reasons are a lack of individual and collective compliance with the public health measures that we know will work to control this pandemic.”

From WKOW's Capitol City Sunday:

Still embarrassing his district, Sen. Van Wanggaard said the same nonsense most Trump-trash supporters believe now is true. It'll blow your mind again. From Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 

Reporter: "They're the premier health organization (CDC) in the country, why would they want to misrepresent information?"

Wanggaard: "I don't know if it was intentional..."

Reporter: "So the 210,000 people who have died this year..."

Wanggaard: "Could be much fewer than that."

From last week, Rep. John Nygren and Sen. Duey Stroebel made these breathtaking leaps of fantasy:

Sen. Duey Stroebel: "I'm not a scientist, I'm not a doctor, I think you can also look at some facts that say the masks haven't been changing anything, but then again..." 

Interiewer: "But Senator, that's not what your public health officials are saying...."

Economy will not recover until the virus is under control warns Federal Reserve Bank president.

Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, said at a webinar held by Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the state’s largest business association Wednesday, “This is not about politics — it’s about confidence.”

Kashkari’s overview of what’s ahead was not encouraging, he said people will be wary of going to restaurants, movie theaters and sporting events. “If thousands and thousands of businesses go bankrupt,” Kashkari said, “this recovery is going to be much slower.”

Employment in the manufacturing sector is still down by about 720,000 jobs nationally from February.

Republicans Legislate through the Courts with Lawsuits: With a gerrymandered permanent Republicans majority in control, they've set up a legal arm to take lawsuits to an activist conservative Supreme Court.

But wait, one judge is calling out that scheme:

St. Croix County judge R. Michael Waterman was appointed to the bench in 2015 by then-Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican. He said:

"The legislature can end the state of emergency at any time, but so far, it has declined to do so. As the statewide representative body of the citizens of Wisconsin, the legislature’s inaction is relevant and it weighs against judicial intervention, especially when the requested intervention will have statewide impact," Waterman wrote. The judge agreed with Evers that he can continually issue public health emergencies, which attorneys for the plaintiffs argued Evers could not do legally. Emergencies are limited to 60 days, but the governor can issue new ones after each emergency expires, Waterman said. "Plaintiffs in this case don’t ask to preserve the status quo; they ask to change it," Waterman wrote.

GOP Majority Leader Steineke on NOT providing UC to Wisconsinites: It "would only serve to expand eligibility to an already strained system." Yes!

Republicans don't seem too worried about losing their jobs by an angry electorate over their incompetence and inaction on the now out-of-control rise in Covid-19 cases: "On Tuesday, DHS reported a single-day increase of 1,117. A death toll increase of 13 over Monday."

We're now in the "uncontrolled spread" category.
Also, safely gerrymandered Republicans aren't concerned about the backlog of desperate Wisconsinites trying to finally get their unemployment checks. Like everything else, leaders Fitzgerald and Vos aren't interested in Gov. Evers proposed changes to speed UC processing up, because the maze they came up with is doing just what it was supposed to do; make it difficult.

Take this breathtakingly twisted admission by Republican Rep. Jim Steineke that while the backlog is now Gov. Evers fault, giving more people unemployment...is really the problem. You can't make this stuff up:

Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke said in a statement. “The tired proposals trotted out today would only serve to expand eligibility to an already strained system and fuel the flames of the problem at hand.”

Yes, he actually said that out loud. I hope that's clear now.

Scott Walker's purely partisan agenda was part of a nationwide GOP effort to punish the unemployed and force them to work for less. But the pandemic exposed that cruelty (Listen to the NPR Marketplace audio below):

Wisconsin’s unemployment insurance woes are part of a national trend, according to experts and media reports.

“Systems have been over-calibrated to prevent overpayments at the expense of paying appropriate benefits. States have programmed their computer systems to pause applications at every decision point, which can generate multiple eligibility determinations and denials,” Michele Evermore, senior policy analyst with the unemployment law group, testified this month to the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance. “As we have seen, that is going to slow down benefits getting to the public when there is a crisis.”

A 2014 state audit found that DWD call centers automatically blocked 80% of calls during times of high volume. 

Additionally, Walker signed a lame-duck law just before Evers took office that restricts the governor’s ability to waive certain requirements for state-federal benefits programs including unemployment insurance. And Wisconsin’s $370 a week maximum benefit is among the most miserly in the United States, ranking 40th

Speaking of Scott Walker...on WKOW's Capitol City Sunday, Emilee Fannon interviewed our seriously uninformed former governor Scott Walker, who hid his incompetence with repetitive memorized slogans and limited media access.

Remember Steineke's comment above, how it would "...only serve to expand eligibility to an already strained system," yes, that's what were trying to do! Urrghhhh!  

Walker, like he always does, focused on just one thing that he probably rehearsed a thousand times at home on, his claim that not enough people are processing claims. He wasn't about to take any responsibility for making it harder, and certainly didn't regret never updating the system when the state had surplus money to fix the phone system:

When pressed on whether he would encourage his GOP colleagues to accept changes to the laws he said lawmakers could, but reiterated it’s not a solution to the backlog.

“Making changes is fine, but that’s not the hang-up. You need more state government employees to process these claims.” 

Special note: After I tweeted a criticism of Fannon's interviewing powers, she came back strong in this interview. That's how it's done!

Republicans, who were once outraged they were left out of solving the pandemic shutdown, are now ignoring the sudden spike in cases and deaths, with no plans to deal with the predicted spread. 

I just found this Neil Covuto's show interview with Walker, were he said politician had to come up with a plan...you can't hide from this one Scott.

Scott Walker says there has to be a balance: Anyone see one now? Walker insists there has to be a "balance" where there is none, and back-to-work must happen now...but slowly? 



Here's more from a May 2019 post:

Making Unemployment Insurance Impossible to Get or Keep: Walker did everything he could to discourage and drop workers from their unemployment benefits. Other states went even further. Here's public radio's Marketplace report exposing the scheme to lower unemployment numbers, something Scott Walker exploited:



Here's are a few changes Walker put in place that are now being targeted by Gov. Evers for elimination or change:

1. One-week waiting period to qualify for unemployment benefits. 

2. A provision that makes people ineligible for benefits if fired for what the law defines as “substantial fault,” or failure to conform to a “reasonable” employer job policy ... recent court cases found it was improperly used to deny unemployment benefits to eligible applicants. 

3. The administration has authority to define the types of job offers a person can reject and remain eligible for benefits.

4. Eliminating requirements adopted in 2015 that applicants submit to drug testing to receive jobless benefits. The most sweeping of those requirements has not yet taken effect due to federal delays.

5. If someone has more than one job and quits one of them, they are now ineligible to collect unemployment for the next year if they’re laid off from another job.

The changes were part of a scheme to cut business contributions into the insurance program and artificially make the numbers lower to look like we didn't have a problem in the eyes of the federal government. It worked too. Here's a link to Wisconsin efforts and other state's cuts to unemployment eligibility.

With a minimum wage of $7.25 and tough unemployment insurance requirements that include work requirements and drug testing for food and housing benefits, is it any surprise Wisconsin has a labor shortage and out migration problem. 

"It's the wild west!" Wisconsin repeals public health protections, only State Supreme Court stacked with Republicans to do that!!!

The state's highest court curbed the Evers administration's power to act unilaterally during public health emergencies. 

Wisconsin has gotten rid of public health protections. With the most extreme Republican controlled activist State Supreme Court in the country, we have finally gutted the office of the Governor, and left the protection of public health up to the slow political whims of our gerrymandered Republican legislature. If you want to go out to shop or work, no rules! How does that feel? Any uncertainty now? I wish I was making this up:

JSOnline: The Wisconsin Supreme Court, 4-3, has struck down Gov. Tony Evers' order shutting down daily life to limit the spread of coronavirus — marking the first time a statewide order of its kind has been knocked down by a court of last resort.

The ruling, for now, immediately throws out the administration's tool to control the disease for which there is no vaccine and comes at a time when Evers has already begun lifting some restrictions as the spread of the virus slows down for now.

That's not all folks:

With no COVID-19 policies in place, bars, restaurants and concert halls are allowed to reopen – unless local officials put in their own restrictions. That raises the prospect of a patchwork of policies, with rules varying significantly from one county to the next.

Turning a pandemic into a never so orderly process of making law, well, no other state courts have seen it this way.

In the majority opinion, Roggesack determined Department of Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm should have issued such state restrictions through a process known as rule making, which gives lawmakers veto power over agency policies. Without legislative review, “an unelected official could create law applicable to all people during the course of COVID-19 and subject people to imprisonment when they disobeyed her order,” the majority wrote. 

For now, here's Gov. Evers comment with out embed, as long as it lasts. I'll have link soon;



Well, gotta wonder if federal dollars, like unemployment and local aid, is tied to the safe-at-home orders or not

Death-panel Justices!!!

In an emailed newsletter, the Wisconsin Counties Association said the local health orders placing restrictions on businesses and gatherings are made under the same set of state laws the governor's now-defunct order used as its basis.

"As a result, it is unclear whether a local health order would, in the Court’s view, suffer from the same deficiencies that caused the Court to invalidate the Safer at Home Order," the group told county officials.

Which brings us to one of the most relevant statements, made by the only dissenting conservative Justice:

Justice Brian Hagedorn wrote in dissent, "We are a court of law. We are not here to do freewheeling constitutional theory. We are not here to step in and referee every intractable political stalemate. In striking down most of (the order), this court has strayed from its charge and turned this case into something quite different than the case brought to us.

To make matters worse, it has failed to provide almost any guidance for what the relevant laws mean, and how our state is to govern through this crisis moving forward."

Even more hypocritical...Vos and Fitzgerald will meet Evers by PHONE:

Remember when Republicans said a "patchwork" of  local laws were too confusing, as they wiped out local control? So a helter-skelter approach to the pandemic is better?:

The governor said the leaders seemed uninterested in a new statewide plan, as counties across Wisconsin have adopted a patchwork of stay-at-home orders in the wake of Wednesday’s court ruling.

"They’re unconcerned about what I believe will be massive confusion that will exist without a statewide approach," Evers said. "Apparently, they believe that different rules are OK ... essentially mile-by-mile there may be different rules."

The details...

The decision was written by four of the court’s conservatives – Chief Justice Patience Roggensack and Justices Rebecca Bradley, Daniel Kelly and Annette Ziegler. The court’s fifth conservative, Brian Hagedorn, wrote a dissent joined by the court’s two liberals, Ann Walsh Bradley and Rebecca Dallet. 

GOP lawmakers who brought the lawsuit have said the legal challenge was necessary to get a seat at the table where Evers and state health officials make decisions about how to respond to the outbreak, which has killed 418 people in the state in two months.

Republican Rep. Deuy Stroebel gave us this completely detached comment that ignore all the demonstrations of total irresponsibility of protesters and crowded drive-in restaurants etc...I've got an idea, let's just run ourselves and not have any regulations, I trust everyone will do the right thing:

“Regardless of state regulations, I have watched my neighbors and constituents exercise reasonable care and caution as they have gone about their lives. I believe we can fully reopen our state by relying upon the judgement and discretion of our citizens to navigate the challenges of COVID-19 while resuming our day-to-day lives. If it is necessary to set statewide policies through the administrative rule process, I look forward to being a voice for targeted policies to protect our vulnerable population rather than the broad policies advanced by Governor Evers that have had disastrous consequences for so many Wisconsinites.” 

Solution Avoidance Excuses during Pandemic piling up.

The avalanche of excuses flowing out of Trump-like Republican blame shifters is now at such a shocking level that you would think media outlets would have notice?

Pandemic Exposed Lazy No Solutions Whiners: As I've written before, no one seemed to noticed how Gov. Scott Walker never solved any of Wisconsin's growing list of problems, which continues today with our safe gerrymandered Republicans legislature. Each one of the juvenile "can't do" whining's below avoids a problem or discounts a proven solution rolled out in other states.

It's so much easier to deny there really is a pandemic, than have to work hard solving the problem. GOP leaders are happy to jump on board the clown car parade, forget testing and downward trajectories. Hey, are these people from out of state?:

Even as the statewide stay-home order is working to stop the spread of COVID-19 and the virus curve is flattening, a right-wing conspiracy “news” site is promoting a mass gathering next week at the State Capitol in Madison to try to get Gov. Tony Evers to “open up Wisconsin.”

As of Thursday morning — the day after conservatives equipped with firearms, MAGA hats, and Confederate flags clogged the streets in Lansing, Michigan, for a similar protest — more than 750 people on Facebook have marked themselves as “going” to the Wisconsin event and more than 3,500 are interested. Members of a group called Wisconsinites Against Excessive Quarantine say forcing people to remain at home is hurting the economy and is no longer necessary to protect people’s health.

Just a thought, but shouldn't child services make a point of visiting this woman? Not only is she not protecting her kids with vaccinations, she had them carry signs to "reopen the playgrounds" without protective face masks:

 And yes, GOP idiocy follows a distinct pattern:

1. Mail-In Voting Statewide: 5 states have already converted to mail-in voting. If there is any problem getting a ballot, "Colorado allows people to cast a ballot at an in-person voting center during the early voting period or on Election Day ... (and) States also provide plenty of drop-off boxes." Still, despite the successful roll out of cost saving mail-in ballots, Republicans have imagined a whole list of phony excuses:

All mail-in headline

WSJ: Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke, R-Kaukauna, opposes the Democratic proposal (on mail-in voting) because of the cost, potential for fraud (voter fraud per capita is no higher, and often lower, in vote-by-mail states). For Steineke, such an overhaul isn’t worth it. “This idea that the system is broken and there’s no way to fix it is crazy.”

Oh, and about solving the problem of lost and returned ballots...you know, protecting a persons right to have their vote counted?:

They also balk at the mailing issues voters experienced with absentee ballots in April, and fear a primarily mail election could leave people with no recourse if they never received their ballot, because polling places would be reduced.(Again, Colorado solved that problem)

Voting Suppression Voter Purges...a thing of the past:

Steineke said he is concerned about 200,000 voters on the rolls may have moved. Ballot envelopes have bar codes that are unique for each individual voter, and only one ballot, the first one in, is accepted … States with all-mail elections are constantly updating their voter rolls, another benefit of all-mail elections.

2. Defy Stay-at-Home Democratic Gov. Evers Order: Death Party denialists are ignoring Trump's phase 1 plan for reopening some businesses that are still not in place in Wisconsin, and Republicans aren't willing to "spend money on" costly mass testing. NO Solution:

States must first meet a "gating" criterion that includes a "downward trajectory of documented cases within a 14-day period" or a "downward trajectory of positive tests as a percent of total tests within a 14-day period (flat or increasing volume of tests)," as well as hospital preparedness.

Anyone trust this owner of 3 pubs after hearing his whiny reasons to open? Again, Trump's 14 day downward trajectory and positive tests requirement have not been met:

Dangerous Dan

Dan Zierath, the owner of Jackson's Blue Ribbon Pub in Wauwatosa said he will open the dining room to the public on May 1, in defiance of the governor's safer-at-home order that bans dining in at least until May 26 … questioning customers at the door if they've been exposed to COVID-19 or if they have fevers (no quick read thermometer?), but he was determined to proceed. "I feel like our constitutional rights are being taken from us. And I’m just not willing anymore. What’s going to happen is going to happen...I just see no harm in that whatsoever." 

It's all about him and anecdotal support. Capitalist question; how will business insurers feel about picking up the costs and liability? 

Asked if he had consulted an attorney in the matter, he said he had and was advised against opening the restaurant. "I have a ton of support on social media if we open," he said.

3. Passed Referendum prompts Pandemic Recount and Large Gathering: The Racine school districts referendum passed 5 votes, but that's not good enough, so up to 125 people will have to gather at Festival Hall during a pandemic. Why not? Recount reasons by anti-education parents were mindboggling and labored:

The Racine Unified School District received four petitions from voters concerned the vote totals were incorrect. 

a. One petitioner said he did not believe all absentee or in-person ballots were counted.

b. Another said he believed ballots were changed to “falsely represent” the voter’s intended choice

c. and that poll workers persuaded certain voters to support the referendum. 

d. another said he believed ballots that were improperly filled out or postmarked were counted when they should not have been.

Vos/Fitzgerald phony outrage, may need safe space after Gov. Evers "criticism?"

Pretty soon, we won't even need a governor! True.

Here's the Vos/Fitzgerald bottom line, again, you can't make this kind of arrogance up: 

JSOnline: The GOP plan comes less than two years after Republicans passed lame-duck laws that trimmed Evers’ authority even before he took office. Seeking to further curb Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ power, Republican lawmakers are proposing to give a handful of lawmakers the ability to cut school aid and slash state spending if a deficit materializes.

Oh, they want all the power, and go after all those coronavirus afraid freeloaders...

The power they are seeking is vast. It would allow them to reduce aid to schools, local governments and University of Wisconsin campuses. They could also scale back programs aimed at helping the poor and those who have trouble getting health-care coverage.

"It sounds like they're making Finance a mini-legislature," Democratic Sen. Jon Erpenbach of West Point said by text message.

Will Somebody Fire these Whiners? If that weren't bad enough, with little to no major gaffs to criticize, again Republicans simply have to try and make things up. Remember Obama's "terrorist" fist jab, tan colored suit, or professorial delivery of policy ideas? Yup, compared that to Trump's sh** show...seriously? 

Can't Criticize Republicans Anymore Pt. 1: 

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said, "Millions of relief dollars are at stake for Wisconsin. Suggesting he’ll veto the full bill publicly, while privately we’re still negotiating, is irresponsible.

Boohoo, whine, bad governor they say! Let me get this right; governors have never threatened vetoes if certain items are included or not included in legislation? Didn't think so.

Here's another obvious lie and deception making it seem like they're "working with" Democrats: 

Republicans did not collaborate with Senate Democrats on the proposals (BUT) "We’ll keep working with the minority party to put together a bill...,” Fitzgerald said.

Can't Criticize Republicans Anymore Pt. 2: While Gov. Evers said he would likely veto a bill leaving him out of spending cut decisions, that simple critical observation was..."damaging the effort" to provide relief for the state:

Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke, R-Kaukauna, said by releasing and criticizing a portion of the package, Evers was damaging the effort on behalf of GOP and Democratic legislative leaders to reach a bipartisan package to provide relief for the state. 

And during the spread the COVID-19 pandemic, killing Wisconsinites, is it too much to give the DHS spending power? 

Leaders said Evers' proposal was a nonstarter in large part because of a provision would provide the state Department of Health Services unlimited spending authority during the public health emergency.

What Gov. Evers has simply asked for and is now being exploited by Vos/Fitzgerald?

The legislation would suspend a one-week waiting period to receive unemployment benefits, and allow the state to claim an extra $150 million every three months in federal aid for the state’s Medicaid programs such as BadgerCare Plus.

Oh no, Evers has probably outraged corona-conservatives again:

The governor said Wednesday if lawmakers don't take action within two weeks they would be telling residents that state officials don't know how to respond to the pandemic.

"The message sent to the people of Wisconsin is that this isn't a big deal and the fact that we have people suffering financially, physically, health-wise and otherwise isn't a big deal and I know none of the Republicans actually feel that way. The people of Wisconsin would, I think, be flabbergasted if we just do nothing."

Another really bad Republican idea during a pandemic: 

This week Rep. John Nygren, a Republican from Marinette who is co-chairman of the finance committee, said the state may need to freeze spending after July 1. Congress has allocated about $2 billion to Wisconsin to help fight coronavirus. Evers — not lawmakers — has control of how to spend that money.

It does not include many of the major proposals in Evers' first proposal, including $10 million to hire 64 new staff at the Department of Health Services and an unlimited spending authority for the agency during the outbreak.

"Dictator" Evers delays Election Day to June 9th, Vos/Fitzgerald cry like babies to the State Supreme Court...and get their way!!!

UPDATE: VOX

Wisconsin’s plan to hold an election in the middle of a pandemic is back on! On a party-line vote, however, the Republican-controlled state Supreme Court struck down Evers’s order, meaning that the state is now on track to hold its election as originally scheduled ... the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a second blow to the Democratic governor by tightening limits on which absentee ballots can be counted. Under that 5-4 order, voters will have to mail back their absentee ballots by Tuesday, go to the polls that day or give up their opportunity to vote.

Writing for the court's liberals in dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg concluded thousands would be "left quite literally without a vote" because their absentee ballots wouldn't arrive at their homes until after election day — too late to cast them. "If a voter already in line by the poll’s closing time can still vote, why should Wisconsin’s absentee voters, already in line to receive ballots, be denied the franchise?" she wrote.

WOW, this is a big problem...guess the US Supreme Court didn't do their homework. Will Vos/Fitzgerald throw a hissy fit over this? Yea, right:

Voter Suppression by Coronavirus Pandemic, exploiting tragedy?: Activist Court legislating from the bench? Sure. This was always a sure thing. Anything to suppress votes to maintain Scott Walker's appointed Justice:

As law professor and election law expert Rick Hasen recently noted, “only 38% of voters who had requested an absentee ballot in heavily Democratic Milwaukee County had returned one, compared with over 56% of absentee voters in nearby Republican-leaning Waukesha County.”

The Democratic reaction? Shoot me now..."disappointed?"

And the Vos/Fitzgerald response, hey, they wanted you to vote absentee but thems-the-brakes:

Fitzgerald and Vos said after the court's ruling, “The safety and health of our citizens have always been our highest concern; that’s why we advocated for everyone to vote absentee."

Will those who voted in person and a week later found positive with the COVID-19 virus blame Republicans, and will that be provable  in a lawsuit? Also, will Republican voters think this was okay? I know, that's expecting. Pandemic's, public beheadings...who knows.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Our better angels won this one...

Perhaps Evers had one other choice...:

But just a few days ago, Republican leaders Robin Vos and Scott Fitzgerald said voting during a pandemic, and risking your health, was no different than ordering takeout:

Today Vos/Fitzgerald will utilize their conservative activist State Supreme Court to force people into large gatherings at the now dramatically reduced number of polling places. What could go wrong:

At the same time, Trump cultists are taking a break from bowing to their Orange God to attack Gov. Evers for his election day delay, during a pandemic that's killing people, calling him a dictator. This is the best most ridiculous comment:

This morning, NPR told the rest of the nation just how brutal Republican are here, in incredible detail by WPR reporter Laurel White:



I just had to throw this in. Republicans have an odd sense of humor...?:

When it comes to golf courses, the lawmakers asked that Evers allow them to reopen if they follow certain guidelines, including:

• Clubhouses and dining remain closed. 
• Only four golfers per hole.
• Only one golfer per golf cart.
• Standard social distancing is practiced.

The lawmakers also developed additional guidelines that could be considered. Those include:

• Pro shops remain closed.
• Payments are made online or over the phone.
• Practice facilities remain closed.
• Flagsticks removed or touchless accommodation made.
• Objects on course that could be touched (ball washers, rakes, water coolers, benches, etc.) removed
• Tee times no less than 12 minutes apart.
• The placement of signs outside the pro shop and clubhouse outlining the social distancing guidelines under the stay-at-home order.

Republicans protecting Wisconsin from change! Move along, these aren't the changes you're looking for!

Republicans like things in Wisconsin just the way they are. Republicans are now willing to let things slide as a way of protecting their failing policies while the public watches in horror.

Bad Republican Timing Exposes Vos/Fitzgerald as Bad Leaders: Mass Shootings: Nothing like sticking your foot in your arrogant mouth highlighting another bad decision that ignores a Marquette University Law School poll where over 80% of Wisconsinites support new gun control measures:

Just hours before one of the worst mass shootings in state history ... Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, made clear that the state's gun laws would not change under a Republican-controlled Legislature despite a call for a review from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers:

"We’re going to have that discussion about the Second Amendment forever," Sen. Scott Fitzgerald told reporters in Franklin, about an hour before the shooting at the Molson Coors brewery. "A lot of the provisions that are in place already, people are satisfied with."

But 80 percent aren't satisfied, especially with this kind of response:

The Dumbest most repeated GOP freeloader idea Ever!!! A one time surplus in exchange for a permanent ratcheted down tax cut is madness, and an outright refusal to pay for anything. George W. Bush set the template:

“Today, our high taxes fund a surplus. The surplus is not the government's money. The surplus is the people's money.”

I have an idea. Why not take a look at Wisconsin's current list of needs including future plans, determine estimates for the amount of spending, and then compare that to state revenues!!!

For Republicans, Surprise, THIS is a Functioning Government? Republicans like former Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch now wants to push a similar but more simplistic idea stressing there really is a "free lunch" entitling conservative freeloaders a pass on paying their current bills, fixing things up, and improving the future of our state. Just off the top of my head:

Who needs to pay for transportation, new youth prisons, replacing lead water pipes, dairy farm support, broadband fiber optics in all rural communities for job creation, provide affordable health care, return schools to 2/3rds funding, fund the UW again, provide expanded public transportation, affordable housing, ask manufacturers to help pay for schools that educate their future employees by repealing their tax credit, and finally, wiping out our structural debt. 

Assembly "Leader" Robin Vos repeated W's nonsensical deficit growing logic:



Kleefisch:

Try this instead: A growing business, like our growing state, has a good year and higher profits. Should that business give back those higher profits, or invest, expand, and prosper? Tough one huh?

One year under Tony Evers limited control as governor, Republicans have conditioned their low information voters to think like this. Note: remember how Republicans accused Democrats of wanting Trump empeached right from the beginning...

Still, I'm waiting for Wisconsin Democrats to frame their message of responsibility in the simplest terms...hmm, what could they say...

Vos/Fitzgerald's zombie-like costly and outdated Tough-on-Crime" policies back, more draconian than ever.

So far, PolitiFact Wisconsin has taken the bait set out by scheming Republicans to portray Gov. Tony Evers a failure for not passing most of his campaign promises, including criminal justice reform, a huge drain on scarce taxpayer funding. 

Almost completely unnoticed (never mentioned in current coverage), Evers Unveiled his List of Criminal Justice Reforms:

Evers campaigned on a pledge to halve the state’s prison population. The bills would: 

1. Set incarceration limits for non-criminal supervision violations ... short-term sanctions as an alternative to revocation ... successful supervision and revocation systems in Texas and Michigan could be replicated in Wisconsin.

2. Expand earned release eligibility to include vocational or educational programs.

3. Expand on a compliance credit to allow for shortened community supervision options.

4. Evaluate and provide possible alternatives to prison for those in the state’s elderly inmate population.

5. Wisconsin is an outlier in many ways when it comes to the criminal justice system ... the state’s crowded prison system operated at 133% capacity through mid-2018.

The Republicans "Opposite Day, Every Day" Agenda: In another attempt to reverse the 2018 election of Gov. Evers (after lame-duck power grab by GOP legislators):

Pretending voters never elected a Democratic Governor, Rep. Robin Vos rejected what many deep-red Republican states did with money-saving criminal justice reform, by passing an in-your-face costly and outdated tougher-on-crime spree (all while promising tax cuts):

The bills are likely to face opposition from Gov. Tony Evers, who has advocated for halving the state's prison population. Part of the Republican "Tougher on Crime" push:

1.  Expand the types of crimes juveniles could be incarcerated for to include actions that would be felonies if committed by adults; 

2. Bar individuals who committed certain violent crimes from being discharged early from probation; 

3. Make it a felony to try to intimidate a victim in a domestic abuse crime.

4. One of the bills with the largest price tag would require the Department of Corrections to recommend that people charged with crimes while on parole, probation or extended supervision would have those statuses revoked.

5. That bill carries a $211 million annual estimate, and the agency also said it would require the building of two additional prisons costing $350 million each.

6.  Another bill to make "swatting," or reporting a fake emergency to police, a felony.