With Mark Harris Bill, Republicans won't let Democrat run for State Senate.

Yes, Republicans are now using their political power to block a Democrat from running for office.

They aren't hiding it anymore. Why bother building up fantasy world scenarios to stoke fear and envy in the base. Pretty much unlike the the ideas put forth by the founding fathers in our Constitution, Republicans see a more authoritarian one party state.

The  Democratic Party of Wisconsin summed it up this way: 

Yesterday, Senator Scott Fitzgerald introduced a bill to specifically bar county executives from serving simultaneously in the Legislature. The bill comes as Winnebago County Executive Mark Harris, a Democrat, is running for Republican Sen. Mark Gudex's open Senate seat in the 18th Senate District.
(1) Fitzgerald stayed silent when fellow Republican Paul Farrow held his Senate seat and ran Waukesha County executive. (2) Furthermore, former Rep. Bob Ziegelbauer served in both the legislature and as the Manitowoc County executive for nearly six years, between 2006 and 2012.

When asked about the proposal in an interview, Sen. Fitzgerald admitted that the“Harris’ candidacy was the impetus for the bill.” 

Will the media dog Fitzgerald on this issue, or will they drop the ball on this one too?

The Real Walker Deficit? A possible $4 billion Hole!!!

Do we have a $2.2 billion projected budget deficit or don’t we? Let’s cut the crap here. It could very realistically be more.

The most amazing mind to chime in on the issue is Winnebago County Executive and former Democratic candidate for the 6th Congressional District Mark Harris. Cap Times:

When Walker took office that year, the state faced a $2.5 billion shortfall. After about $1.1 billion of state agency funding requests were added in, that projected deficit amounted to $3.6 billion.

(Harris) voiced concerns that people might compare it with the $2.2 billion estimate from the DOA memo … pointed out a difference in the way the two figures were calculated.

Harris is pointing out how the new Walker estimates include “projected” new revenue, where under Doyle’s shortfall, no revenues were figured in. Big difference:

Think what I can do to the country!

The (Doyle) $3.6 billion number was based on the baseline biennial budget number — including neither increases in revenue nor increases in expenses — combined with agency budget requests, Harris said.

But the current DOA estimate includes $1.4 billion in new revenue. "If you back these revenue increases out of the $2.2 billion figure you will get $3.6 billion," Harris said in an email.

Harris also said "Revenues for the last eight months of this fiscal year would have to run more than 8 percent ahead of the same months of the prior fiscal year in order to reach the DOA projection," Harris said. "I believe that the shortfall measured on a similar basis with four years ago would be close to $4 billion."

If that weren't bad enough, Walker's recently proposed tax cuts will only make things worse:

The state expects revenues to fall $2.2 billion short of what state agencies have requested to operate in the 2015-17 budget.

But those agencies won't get everything they ask for. Plus, these calculations don't account for income and property tax cuts promised by Walker for the next budget. That means this estimate will change.

6th District Candidate for Congress Mark Harris casually wipes the floor with grumbling Glenn Grothman on Drug Testing!!!

I think I could listen to Winnebago County Executive Mark Harris, a Democrat from Oshkosh, talk all day about his solutions to today's problems. He was the adult in the room, with Republican State Sen. Glenn Grothman down the table from him.

Grothman looked uncomfortable, irritated and inconvenienced, throwing off answers only because he had to.

The highlight was Harris' answer on drug testing. It was the only major applause line that prompted a warning from the moderator. This is gold:

Harris: "But there's a presumption here that people that are poor are more likely to be abusing drugs, and I'm not sure we have any evidence to support that. I think it's a little insulting that we jump to that conclusion. I bet you none of the business men that are going to get your manufacturing tax credits are going to have to pee into a bottle before they get it." 

Grothman, Fitzgerald don't give a rats-ass about voters! Why should they?

The flat-out arrogance we're seeing from Senators Glenn Grothman and Scott Fitzgerald should see some kind of voter blowback, if just to send a message the electorate still counts in this representative democracy. 

But the breathlessly angry Borg-like "stand with Walker" base, who have been herded into the fantasy bubble world of know-it-all "leaders" and mounting Ebola threats, don't seem to care.

In today's get-to-know your candidates profile in the 6th District, Sen. Scott Fitzgerald refused to participate:

Michelle Zahn, the owner of a mail-order specialty soap company, is challenging five-term incumbent Scott L. Fitzgerald for his state Senate seat … Fitzgerald’s campaign declined to supply information for this article.

And why should he, he's a leader?

Even more egregious is the sudden complete disappearance of media darling Sen. Glenn Grothman, running for a congressional seat against Democrat Mark Harris.

Winnebago County Executive Mark Harris has participated in two debates that Grothman declined to attend. Staying out of the spotlight is an unusual approach for Grothman, who's known for making bold, often polarizing statements. But in addition to declining debates, he's also been unusually unavailable to media. "Grothman has largely gone quiet, taking a low-key approach to campaigning and avoiding making any eyebrow-raising statements," wrote Amanda Terkel for the Huffington Post.

The less you know, the better? Grothman's strategy says more about the partisan and irresponsible nature of conservative voters. Republican constituents don't need anything but and (R) next to the candidates name.

The wonkish fiscal brilliance of Mark Harris doesn't hold a candle to Grothman's vision on the real issues:

Glenn Grothman on Equal Pay Rights: "You could argue that money is more important for men. I think a guy in their first job, maybe because they expect to be a breadwinner someday, may be a little more money-conscious. To attribute everything to a so-called bias in the workplace is just not true." Source: The Daily Beast

Glenn Grothman on Single-Parenthood: "A controversial bill targeting single parents came to the table at the Senate Committee on Public Health, Human Services and Revenue public hearing in Wisconsin this week. State senator Glenn Grothman, an admitted opponent of the social welfare establishment that he believes encourages women to have children out of wedlock, introduced Senate Bill 507, which would formally consider single parenthood a contributing factor to child abuse, if passed into law. SB507 would require the Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board to emphasize that non-marital parenthood is a contributing factor to child abuse and neglect." Source: The Huffington Post

Glenn Grothman on women in the workforce: "Also, and any big company will tell you this, they're doing what they can to promote the women ahead of the men. Now in addition to the fact that that leads to a little bit of chicanery as people pretend the woman's owning the company when the guy's owning the company. In the long run a lot of women like to stay at home and have their husbands be the primary bread winner. You have to ask yourself in this country can we continue to exist if we have a government that is actively discouraging the government or the businesses from hiring men? And that's a very sensitive iss ue but that's what's going on in America today. It's another issue that nobody is tackling." Source: Washington County Tea Party Rally, August 2010

Glenn Grothman on sex education: "Why sit down with 7th graders and say to some you will be heterosexual, some homosexual? Part of that agenda which is left unsaid is that some of those who throw it out as an option would like it if more kids became homosexuals," he said. Source: Madison Capital Times 

The above examples were put together by Harris for the web site  "The Real Glenn Grothman." 

The harsh reality of Walker tax cuts: Taco Bell worker pays more in taxes than factory Owner!!!

Glenn Grothman's Democratic opponent Winnebago County Executive Mark Harris is throwing down a few memorable lines Democrats would be smart to repeat. This guy is good. PolitiFact took a look at one of his latest observations, that should give anyone with half a sense of decency a reality check:

From PolitiFact: 

In doing an interview with Harris on Sept. 2, 2014, John "Sly" Sylvester, a liberal radio talk show host in the Madison area, argued that Gov. Scott Walker’s administration has provided "corporate welfare" and that the Legislature "has been sort of a rubber stamp."

Harris, who is the Winnebago County executive, referred to Walker’s 2011-’13 state budget in giving this response:

"Well, even in the first Walker budget, Mr. Grothman pushed through tax credits for manufacturing and agriculture. And they basically passed credits that all but eliminate income tax on manufacturers and on agricultural operations. And, you know, it's not fair to have someone that owns a factory that produces millions in income pay less tax than their nephew would if he worked full time at Taco Bell for minimum wage. But that's exactly what Glenn Grothman passed, and it's phasing in gradually."

The Walker Recall Blacklist is Back, used against Democratic Candidate Mark Harris running for Petri’s seat.

Major donors get to hide their political affiliations all the while influencing local elections and public policy. It’s all about free speech. But those citizens who participate in the actual electoral process, like deciding to have a recall, have their political affiliation publically exposed and are retaliated against by the Republican Party. 

A brief line covering the recent private “debate” between Glenn Grothman and Mark Harris pretty much says it all. Harris had a nice comeback, as seen below, despite Grothman's insinuation that the recall signature all by itself should disqualify Harris from public office. Dissent will not be tolerated. Also note the interesting purpose for voter ID bluntly stated in the picture:

WPR: Republican State Sen. Glenn Grothman, and Democratic Winnebago County Executive Mark Harris, competing in the 6th Congressional District, sparred over topics … Grothman also criticized Harris for signing the recall petition against Gov. Scott Walker. 

Harris destroyed Grothman's smug suggestion that Act 10 helped Harris' county. There's a reason why I thought Harris should have run for governor; he's quietly smarter and more confident than most every politician in the state.

Harris said he did so because Walker's policies hurt the county and its many public employees in and around Oshkosh. 

Harris' answer to signing the recall petition and dealing with Act 10 was right on the money:

Sly's Interview with Winnebago County Executive and possible candidate for governor Mark Harris! Says Walker Setting us up for Fall and more Cuts.

In this Sly interview with Mark Harris, I inserted a statement he made at the end, and put it in the beginning. It's that important, because he nails the Republican formula for downsizing government; create deficits with tax cuts and borrowing, just so they have an excuse to make more cuts because government is still spending to much (and it always will be).

This guy is great, and has my support so far (audio):

Possible Democratic Gov Candidate Mark Harris knows Numbers, exposes Republican budgeting Flaws.

At long last, a former accountant who actually knows numbers and has been in the banking business (unlike Dumb Ron Johnson and Dale Kooyenga). He may be running as a Democratic candidate for governor, and I welcome the debate. Winnebago County Executive Mark Harris in one fell swoop spills the beans on the budget fiasco's passed by our Republican pirates and signed into law by Scott Walker.

I really like this guy because he's practical and thinks long term. Harris rattled off a lot of numbers and made it understandable. After Scott Walker, a sociopathic ideologue, I'm willing to jump at anything that sounds smart, adult, and less vengeful. Harris doesn't doesn't seem to be courting low information voters to win elections. My conservative friend in Milwaukee called and is completely unaware of the administrations borrowing and business tax cuts that'll be coming home to roost.

Great interview, again, from Upfront with Mike Gousha. In this clip, Harris explains how off base Walker's budgeting and tax cuts have been. He points out they're all geared for short term benefits (election cycles I would imagine) (worth seeing the whole clip at above link):