The College Republicans target women with stylish "Tim Scott" dress, made from new ideas!!!

The following surreal College Republican ad campaign inadvertently plays off the current controversy over the supposed plagiarized elements of Democratic governor candidate Mary Burke. It touts all the "new ideas" pouring out of the GOP governors nationwide. The GOP would never think of using the same add everywhere. Oops...see pic to right.

You might say they're "dressing up" an aging agenda that isn't working. It's a humorous attempt to save endangered GOP governors who've failed miserably with their "new ideas," like Scott Walker.

It appears there was a "Yes to the Dress"-themed ad planned for Gov. Scott Walker, but the public may not get to see it.

Ironic too is the fact that no one has asked Scott Walker to point out the new ideas he's brought to the table that won't break the budget and will create jobs and new businesses. 

Gov. Sam Brownback was asked that very question. You'll be shocked at his honesty and fairly redundant answer:

This is jaw dropping fantasy that more than anything challenges the media to ask Republican candidates what unique new ideas are in their plans. Trolls, any help? We'll be fact checking:

jsonline: The College Republican National Committee cut ads for a number of GOP candidates for governor that plays off the TLC reality show. In the ads — which some critics have panned as bizarre and sexist — a young woman tries on a dress that has the same name as a GOP candidate, saying it is perfect because the candidate "has new ideas that don't break your budget."

Burke Tweets Jobs Plan Response...

"Stand with Walker" trolls apparently don't care about getting results, like jobs, or they would be all over Scott Walker's failed 4 page plan lifted right from the GOP platform.

Instead, they're attempting to redefine the word plagiarism, ignoring the jobs plan that might get Wisconsin's economy going again. Power not jobs, that's what this is about.

Here's Mary Burke's simple tweet:

Burke is "unintimidated" by the right wing harassment, standing behind her better ideas:

UPDATE: Not many Unique Ideas, Sorry: Beside the right wing obsession (weird huh?) with "copy and paste" Burke, they're also chiding her for not pointing out a "unique idea" in her plan. It was an odd question from WISC's Jessica Arp, because there's nothing new under the sun regarding state level job and business creation. It's a combination of "best practices" a person chooses, guided by their ideology, that leads them to success or failure. 

Walker drones demand "unique ideas" from Democrats, but not from Republicans. Proof?

Just by coincidence, right wing Gov. Sam Brownback bragged his plagiarized Kansas "Comeback" relied on what he described as "not anything new," "nothing we're doing is new," "nothing that we're doing is different from what we've done before." I smiled when I saw this:

His honest "nothing we're doing is new" economic plan has had surprising results. Results that other governors who are bragging about their plagiarized state "comebacks," should be a little worried about:

The admitted and laughable Phony Outrage over Burke's Economic Plan for Wisconsin

The Burke campaign blundered badly over supposed “plagiarized” language in her jobs plan. Instead of laughing at the phony outrage by Republicans who have no problem instituting the exact same agenda nationwide including ALEC legislation verbatim, Burke fired the consultant who used the same language of a well thought out Democratic economic policy to grow businesses and jobs.

Guess the Burke campaign was caught, guilty of finally accepting a party idea and repeating it. How awful. This was Burke’s whole campaign, and they blinked. In the words of Han Solo, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

On WPR radio, former Attorney General of the State of Wisconsin Peg Lautenschlager had the right answer, a no brainer that immediately occurred to me when I heard about this ginned up “controversy.” You'll first hear the voice of former GOP legislator Michelle Litjens who wonders if former Trek exec. Mary Burke has any real thoughts on how business works:

Don't just believe me, take the word of right wing loon Nik Nelson at the Morning Martini, who also got it right...kinda:

Let’s get something straight: Mary Burke didn’t plagiarize portions of her jobs plan from other governors’ campaigns.

She signed off on a platform for creating jobs in Wisconsin that was drafted by a well-paid consultant, reviewed by her team, and put into print to appease liberal voters and just enough moderates to get elected. And that’s the problem.

And in a moment of pure projection, Nelson spewed this...

This jobs plan is designed for political, not economic, gains. The Burke Campaign would have you believe she deserves your vote because she would bring an outsider’s business-oriented, solutions-based pragmatism to Madison to cure what ails it.

As we all know the Club for Growth and Americans for Prosperity are purely Wisconsin based interest groups, right?

In a major hyperbolic piece from Dan Bice, he wrote this:

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke swiped significant sections of her jobs plan from earlier proposals published by three Democratic candidates who ran for governor elsewhere. Burke spokesman Joe Zepecki said the campaign fired Schnurer Thursday evening. The sections in question, Zepecki said, represented "fewer than 10 paragraphs of a 49-page plan." He suggested that the main ideas in the proposal are Burke's alone. 

Of course everybody I've heard from is wondering how Scott Walker and the Republicans, who have used economic ideas and legislation verbatim themselves and have denied it with a straight face, could fain such outrage without calling attention to their own hypocrisy.

With the answer to that, check out the Political Environment for more.

UPDATE Saturday: The following response by Burke's should have been their first response. This is another misdirection play to distract from Burke's meaningful plan, which Walker can't debate because he doesn't have real world experience. It should also be noted that the following professional opinions stating none of this was plagiarism appeared later in the article, where many have already stopped reading.

Burke’s been clear since she introduced the plan in March that she also relied on experts throughout the country in an effort to spur economic growth and create jobs. “These are ideas that are based on best practices,” Burke said in an interview Friday. “He should not have used the same language, though” … she was proud of her jobs proposal and has no intentions of changing it.

Michael Wagner, a UW-Madison journalism professor and expert on elections, politics and media, said he doesn’t think the situation fits the traditional definition of plagiarism. “From an ethical perspective, it doesn’t meet the definition of plagiarism … The consultant, to me, has self-plagiarized,” Wagner said. “It doesn’t rise to the level of plagiarism...”

Barry Burden, a UW-Madison political science professor also didn’t consider it a clear-cut case of plagiarism because the same consultant was using the same language.

Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, said political consultants borrowing language from what they have previously written is “very common.” “Honestly, I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. So much of what we see in politics is cookie-cutter language.”

Obama Math: Minimum Wage Hike = Job Growth!!! Walker's Math: Minimum Wage Freeze = Dead Last in Job Growth!!!

President Obama wasn't even given 6 months before Republicans were calling his economic agenda a failure, a job killer, a waste of taxpayer stimulus money. Well 10 million new jobs later, and having gained back all the job lost during the Great Recession-and then some, Republicans are still selling their lie. And according to the Tweets I've seen from a few trolls, they believe it too.

If you’re a Republican with presidential ambitions like Scott Walker, with a record of anemic job growth that hasn't yet replaced the jobs lost in Wisconsin, that's a sign “it’s working.” Reelect the boy wonder.

I don’t want to bury the real lead story, so here it is:

Newser: Despite the absence of a federal increase, 13 states raised their minimum wages at the beginning of this year. Those states have added jobs at a faster pace than those that did not raise the wage, providing a counterpoint to a Congressional Budget Office report that projected the nation (could lose up to) 500,000 jobs.
   jsonline: President Barack Obama came to Milwaukee's Laborfest on Monday to talk up an improving economy, push Congress to boost the minimum wage … Obama set up a sharp contrast with congressional Republicans, who say a boost in the minimum wage will lead to job loss.

Republicans pounced on the Burke-Obama connection: "Mary Burke may be ducking

President Obama and his out-of-touch economic revisionism…” the RNCsaid. WISGOP: “The truth is that Burke and Obama represent the same failed policies that have produced disastrous results – and just as President Obama has taken our country backward, Mary Burke would take Wisconsin backward.”  

Who’s pushing economic revisionism? Scott Walker’s 4% jobs growth rate is moving us forward, President Obama’s jobs growth rate of 6.2% is moving us backward? Not even a nice try guys.

Walker’s Record: According to a new Labor Day report released from the Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS): “From January 2011 to June 2014, Wisconsin gained 109,200 jobs, posting growth in the labor market of 4.0 percent.

Obama’s Record: Over that same period, the national economy grew by 6.2 percent. If Wisconsin had simply kept pace with national growth, we would have added 167,622 jobs. That difference – 58,422 missing jobs in Wisconsin – suggests that over the last four years, every time Wisconsin added two jobs, the national economy added three.”

Who has jobs growth bragging rights, Walker or Obama? 

Obama said that over the past 53 months American businesses have created nearly 10 million new jobs. "You wouldn't always know it from Washington news — by almost every measure, the American economy, the American workers are better off than when I took office. We're better off by almost every measure."

But of course, Obama’s agenda - with tax increases and job killing regulations - is moving the nation backwards right? How can Walker ignore the following:

(Wisconsin's) hourly median wage grew a paltry $0.50 between 1979 and 2013, taking inflation into account. Wisconsin women earn just $0.82 for every $1 a man earns. 

Walker still refuses to raise the minimum wage.

Burke's Venture Capital plan vs Corporate Welfare, they're not the same.

If you missed WPT's Here and Now special on venture capital, catch the highlights below. You can watch it all here. It's changed my perspective on the whole idea, and it might do the same for you.

Burke making up late start, offers counter arguments to cliched Walker Campaign disaster.

In reaction to a long Facebook discussion over Mary Burke and the wimpy Democratic Party of Wisconsin, I thought this latest interview from WPT's Here and Now might help fine tune the message a bit. Burke now has more to offer than when she first announced, which seems to be where a few unhappy progressive voters are still at right now. Click the link above for the whole thing:

Walker Campaign says Mary Burke's expansive Economic Plan similar to theirs, but will take us Backwards?

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke came out with a detailed economic and jobs creation plan the press apparently wasn't ready to receive. For years they did just fine not knowing what Scott Walker was doing, leaving those decisions up to our “leaders.”

The media got so lazy that even the dumbest Walker ideas were taken seriously.

Dumb Jobs Promise Litmus Test: Scott Walker’s promise to create 250,000 has turned out to be one hell of a broken promise, with the current count sitting at a miserable 103,000. 

And the press bought into this preposterous 2010 campaign promise. Here’s what the reporter for the Wisconsin State Journal wrote in two different parts of the article, like it really meant something:

"Burke discussed her plan at Marquette Law School … and it didn’t include specific goals for job creation similar to Walker’s 250,000 jobs pledge."

"While Burke didn’t promise a specific number of jobs that Wisconsin would create if she is elected, she did provide some numbers."

So Burke is criticized for not making the same foolish and desperate jobs promise to get elected as Walker? 

Burke’s Plan = Walker’s Plan, but Burke will move us Backward? Besides the noticeably embarrassing Walker promise to match Burke’s 40 page business plan (with lots of words I'm told, maybe in extra large font too like before), the Walker campaign claims Burke is doing everything Walker’s doing already, but will only move Wisconsin backwards?

Walker said in an interview that his administration has already been investing in different industries and venture capital.

Walker’s campaign said voters couldn’t trust Burke to help create jobs. “Mary Burke’s plan looks familiar because Governor Walker has already taken the lead on policies aimed at closing Wisconsin’s skills gap, lowering tuition costs, and improving the state’s business climate,” Evenson said.

But that “familiar” plan will not move us “forward” like Walker. Let's face it, you can’t trust a former business executive who hasn't been a career politician for the last 20 years:

“At the same time, Burke’s plan contains policies that would kill our recovery and take us back to the days of billion-dollar deficits, double-digit tax increases, and record job losses. Voters simply can’t trust Mary Burke on jobs.”

Because as the media never corrected, the job losses during the Great Recession were Burke’s fault.

The thugs that make up WISGOP are still doing their best 3 Stooges act with name calling and verbal eye pokes. Joe Fadness makes Reince Priebus look like a Rhodes scholar. You'll notice how the party of rugged individualism can't function without their leaders:

The Republican Party of Wisconsin released its own scathing version of Burke’s jobs plan with a website accusing her of failed leadership … the party’s executive director, Joe Fadness, criticized Burke for saying she wanted to bring outsourced jobs back to Wisconsin, saying that her former company was part of the problem. “Ironically, Mary Burke’s plan criticizes outsourcing, begging the question if she will follow her own advice and bring Trek’s 800 employees overseas back to the United States.”

Forget WISGOP loved outsourcer Mitt Romney or that Mary Burke had nothing to do with Trek's corporate decisions. 

Walker "pushes back"…against the truth? Nice try Journal Sentinel and PolitiFact!

Walker is stumped and confused! He’s outraged by the clever truth in Mary Burke's first ad.

Scott Walker is playing dumb, along with the media (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/PolitiFact). How else can you explain this embarrassing headline: “Scott Walker pushes back…!!!”  

Is Mary Burke is lying? No, but she's being very clever. PolitiFact naively joined in this this: 

Only if you think we're that dumb...

“…the ad claims unemployment is higher under Walker and provides figures indicating an increase from 4.8 percent to 6.2 percent. But the rate was much higher than 4.8 percent when Walker took office and it has gone down, not up, during his tenure … But the ad gives no indication that that is the comparison she is making.”

Funny, I knew what she was saying. I also thought it was a great jab at the Republican Governors Associations play on words blaming Doyle and Burke for the Great Recessions job losses (Politifact rated this MOSTLY FALSE). It's the same false message Walker's been using for years. Two could play that game, but in Burke's case, she didn't have to lie about it.

Burke Fact: Unemployment under Walker is UP from the time Mary Burke served:

“Burke served as state commerce secretary from 2005 to 2007, and during that time the average annual unemployment rate was never higher than 4.8% … ‘The Walker camp cannot dispute that there were more jobs, and unemployment was lower, when she was commerce secretary than during Walker's time as governor.’”

Then the Walker campaign again used the "mostly false" Great Recession lie to "push back:"

"With a job creation record as abysmal as Burke's, it comes as no surprise she would mislead voters," said Stephan Thompson, Walker's campaign manager.

Typical of the Right Wing Authoritarian movement: Walker tries to Censor the Ad: 

Walker's campaign filed complaints Friday with television stations urging them to remove the ads for inaccuracies about the unemployment rate.

Burke Campaign, PolitiFact Demolishes Republican Governors Association Lies.

The Mary Burke ad response to the Republicans Governors Association media blitz is a wonderful slap at the GOP style of selective truths. There's only a few, like Burke's claim that unemployment numbers under Walker are up. True, compared to Burke's numbers before the Great Recession. Artfully sarcastic, you'll be encouraged by this gutsy comeback that highlights Wisconsin job losses due to a struggling middle class, low wages and the widening income gap:



As for the Republican Governors Association ad, Politifact ripped that apart today, reminding everyone that Walker is lying when he blames the GOP's Great Recession job losses on Gov. Doyle/Burke:

Did Burke, as state Commerce secretary under Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, throw Wisconsin for a six-digit jobs loss?

As backup for the jobs claim, the RGA spot cites a very familiar source: A September 2013 item from PolitiFact Wisconsin. But in that item, we rated Mostly False a Walker claim that Doyle’s policies cost the state 133,000 jobs in his second term, from 2007 through 2010. Walker, we noted, got the number right. But experts said the national economic crash had far more to do with Wisconsin’s job losses during that period than any state policies. Indeed, Wisconsin actually fared somewhat better than the rest of the country.

Here are the numbers Burke should get out right-away:

We ran the numbers using US Bureau of Labor Statistics quarterly census of employment and wages data, considered the most accurate measurement: Burke’s state tenure: Gain of more than 55,000 jobs. Start of Doyle’s tenure to end of Burke’s: gain of at least 94,000.

The Walker campaign responded with even more lies and deceptions, claiming Burke "misstates" the record. Not only did they not address any misstatements, they're taking credit for the national economic recovery and surplus seen in every other state.  Very sad:

jsonline: Walker campaign spokeswoman Alleigh Marre said Burke's ad misstates Walker's record on the economy .
"Wisconsin's unemployment rate is the lowest it's been since 2008, we've seen over 100,000 new jobs created since he took office, and our $3.6 billion deficit has been turned into a nearly billion dollar surplus," Marre said in a statement. "While Mary Burke has resorted to distorting the truth, the facts are clear that Wisconsin is moving forward under Governor Walker's leadership."

I think Politifact above clearly shows Walker "distorting the truth" by blaming Gov. Doyle/Burke for the jobs lost during the Great Recession.

Remember when Scott Walker released his "Serious" Jobs Plan in Big Type?

I was wondering if you got as tired of seeing this message from the Walker brownshirts at WISGOP as I was:

Serious stuff right?

On WPR this morning, reporter Shawn Johnson reminded me just how "serious" Scott Walker was  about his almost nonexistent jobs plan during his campaigned for governor. Clue: Large Type.



Here's Keith Olbermann with that very story:



Oh, and that tacky boxing glove ad that made fun of Mayor Barrett's injured hands, when he stepped in and defended a woman and her child?