Scott Walker's Paul Soglin Panic Attack!!!

Scott Walker's lack of ammunition against his Democratic opponents for governor is the real shocker.

As Madison Mayor Paul Soglin inched closer to making his announcement to run, Walker spewed an almost laughable and desperate tweet storm Jan. 4th (6 days ago Politifact):

And just today, Walker bashed Madison all the while promoting it: 

Soglin's successful management of Madison, it's incredibly low unemployment rate, the fact that it's always on the lists of best cities stand in stark contrast to Walker's reign as Milwaukee County Executive. He nearly bankrupted and broke up the county government. Here's what I wrote in a post from 2015...

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...In 2009, when Walker decided to run for governor, he claimed the problems in Milwaukee were caused by "poor policies" from...guess who, Democratic Governor Jim Doyle. But now as governor, it can't be Walker's fault? Check out this video from Upfront with Mike Gousha, that also includes his push for "shrinking" wages. You read that right:

Walker: (On doing away with more state jobs) "Yes...we're going to have to look at shrinking the size of government, we're going to have to look at shrinking more importantly, the size of wages and benefits..."

Oh, it gets worse...:

Remember, this all happened under Walker's watch back in May, 2009. Even then nothing was ever his fault:

Mike Gousha: "There are going to be people who say look, Milwaukee county has the highest poverty rate in the state, we're losing jobs in the city of Milwaukee, your largest municipality at a rate almost unmatched by any other big city. Do you share any responsibility for that?"

Walker: "Everybody does, but the state of Wisconsin has done specific things, policy wise, that have effected jobs here...if you look at the tax increases of $1.2 billion of new taxes..."

Mike Gousha: "Do you think you bare any of the responsibility for the numbers I just mentioned for the poverty rate, for the lack of employment right now in this community?"

Walker: "No, for us that's been an issue for years...politicians don't create jobs or eliminate jobs...!"

Walker never made the situation better in Milwaukee as governor. Walker as county executive actually agreed to dissolve the county, admitting that it was essentially bankrupt. From the Journal Sentinel's Dan Bice:

jsonline: Milwaukee County government is in such dire financial shape that state lawmakers should push through legislation that would allow it and other local governments to file for bankruptcy … the powerful Greater Milwaukee Committee is looking to recommend doing away with the elected county executive's post, slicing county worker benefits and spinning off the zoo, the bus system, the parks and much else under separate commissions.

(The Greater Milwaukee Committee tried to hide their report, saying) "We don't want this to become some sort of political football during the fall election campaigns ... If these dramatic steps - or something like them - aren't taken county government will collapse," the draft report suggests.

With Walker in charge....

The report also puts it this way: "If we don't make changes today … Parks will close, bus routes will end and families in distress will not get the help they need. Our Milwaukee will grow smaller and smaller as people and companies leave."

Here's one of my favorite cartoons that should have been taken more seriously:

Kinda liked these too...

Madison Mayor Paul Soglin urges voter ID push for Students and Seniors as "Act of Defiance."

I got pretty energized when I saw Mayor Paul Soglin push back against the voter suppression efforts by the Walker Authority:

Soglin: "I'm hoping everyone in our community sees this as an act of defiance, that they are determined to carry out. That they will vote." 

Here's the whole story from WISC's Jessica Arp regarding Madison's efforts to help Walker's suppression targets, students and seniors:

Soglin takes on Republicans, Citizens United, and Destructive Special Interest Money that undermines Local Control.

Madison Mayor Paul Soglin is going on the offensive.

Soglin’s attacking Citizens United in a way that every Democratic mayor in the country should be aware of, and adopting. You don’t often see this kind of well thought offensive taken on by liberal politicians.

While Democrats can only sit on the sidelines watching Republicans dismantle decades of progress, Soglin thinks it’s time to turn the tables. 

Soglin not only wants to hold businesses accountable for their political actions, but also for backing anti-consumer laws that harm local economies. 

Politifact: "Legislative action since Gov. Scott Walker’s election — including Act 10 in 2011 curtailing the collective bargaining power of most public workers, and more recently, legislation setting levy limits for municipalities and restricting cities’ powers in tenant-landlord law — got Soglin wondering if companies supporting Republican causes would rather lobby against the city or do business with it," the Cap Times story said. It added: "He’s betting that exposing such activities might prompt some companies to curtail them."

That’s what campaign disclosure laws are all about anyway. Make big money contributors publically stand up for what are now secret attempts to undermine our democracy. Pretty clear and pretty smart.

The ordinance, which requires people or entities contracting with the city for more than $25,000 to disclose contributions to certain advocacy groups ... receiv(ed) 4-0 approval from the Board of Estimates.

The ordinance aims to limit vendors doing business with the city from providing anonymous contributions to advocacy groups listed under section 501(c)(4) of the IRS. Several types of contracts are excluded from the requirement.

Soglin didn’t just come up with this idea, he was pushed into it:

Soglin (took) action after a mailer from a political action committee blasting 6th District Ald. Marsha Rummel showed up just days before the April 2 election with no indication of who financed it … maybe this was associated with a business in the 6th District,” Soglin said. “That was enough to prompt me to say we’ve got to do something.”

Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce President Zach Brandon … opposing it … questioned whether the problem the ordinance aims to fix exists in Madison.

Isn't that amazing? Business interests are always suggesting “what if” scenarios to push their deregulation, anti-consumer agenda. How many times have we asked Republicans about their legislative “solutions looking for a problem?” Voter ID is one example.

The same businesses who began threatening employees if they voted Democratic...they’re now crying fowl over something like this?

“The Chamber does not support this proposed ordinance … the potential to chill political engagement and the wrong message it sends that politics are important in the Madison procurement process,” he said.

That's right, politics is the last thing businesses thinks about, especially the big donors:

But Mike McCabe, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, an elections watchdog group said “It’s an important and very necessary response to the Citizens United decision,” McCabe said. “My experience is that practices that start at the federal election level do filter down to the state level and then eventually to the local level.”

By the way, Politifact's story went something like this;

The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty … contends the liberal mayor’s proposed ordinance is unconstitutional and violates "a bedrock principle of our democracy that government cannot play favorites among citizens, including public contractors, based on their political beliefs." The proposed ordinance, "according to Mayor Soglin, is intended to discourage contributions to organizations with which he disagrees." Is that what Soglin has said is a goal of the legislation?”

Politifact rates that "True," but Soglin also said…

"I think it would be a good idea to know if the bidders are working against the interests of the city. It is simply the idea that sunshine is good … if they’re supplying the city while they're behaving like the Koch brothers, it would be good for the public to know it. It’s a bit ironic when someone wants a contract with government, yet supports organizations that hate government and try to make it inefficient."

The proposal would require disclosure of donations to groups of any political stripe -- it does not single out conservatives or Republicans. Rather, the ordinance specifies that firms and minority owners disclose donations made to tax-exempt 501(c)(4) advocacy or "super PAC" organizations operating in Wisconsin the prior two years.

All perfectly fair and legal. Just like the recall petition blacklist used by conservatives to attack citizens and business owners? 

Traditional Mifflin Street Party Crack Down; Mayor Soglin and Chief Noble Wray Abuse Power, Act Like Thugs arresting 500 Students.

Grumpy gramps Mayor Paul Soglin got back at those rowdy kids for not obeying his warning, “get off of my street.” Chief Noble Wray brought the heavy hand of justice down on those disobedient students for drinking beer, big friggin’ surprise. Look, another “open container.” Crack! 500 arrests and big fines. Cha-ching. Petty government thugs.

WSJ: Arrest totals from Saturday's annual edition of the Mifflin Street Block Party are expected to exceed 500, said Capt. Carl Gloede of the Downtown district. A majority of those arrested are UW-Madison students, police said. "If there were about 5,000 people there, you can do the math," said UW-Madison Dean of Students Lori Berquam … Attendance was a quarter of last year's 20,000. Scores more were arrested — last year's event netted 167 arrests. The rash of violent crimes didn't return this time.

Despite no violence, no stabbings and a dramatically smaller, more controlled crowd, Wray had nothing better to do than arrest students. Tough guys. The crime….

Most citations were for open intoxicants, followed by underage drinking violations, glass containers in a ban area, trespassing and depositing human waste … Police Chief Noble Wray … was unimpressed by this year's tamer Mifflin, telling the State Journal on Saturday, "I don't think in any measure this could be considered a success."

Bullshit. Wray did just what Soglin wanted. The kind of drinking that was once mostly ignored, wasn’t, and the kids got cuffed. And where was the mayor, conveniently out of town.

Mayor Paul Soglin, who called for the event's end after last year, was out of town Monday and unavailable for comment. Students cited at the event could face additional punishment by the university.

Soglin did what the Fitzgerald’s wanted to do to the protesters at the Capitol; make an example of them. Mayor Soglin ditched his legendary liberal past to follow his new mantra, “with old age comes great irritability.”