Remember Van Wanggaard! The Bad, Bad Loser...STOPS TANTRUM.

UPDATE: Tuesday 8:50 am- Mt. Pleasant: The recall appears to be over for residents of the 21st Senate District. A statement from incumbent Republican Van Wanggaard's campaign confirmed Tuesday morning that he will not file an appeal in Racine County Circuit Court today to challenge the results of the recall election against him. The deadline to file a lawsuit contesting election returns is end of business today.

Rachel Maddow with the latest on the Republican politician that wouldn't leave, Van Wanggaard:

Lehman wins again, in recount, but that's not good enough for Republican thug Van Wanggaard.

The tortured recount will never end if Racine Republicans and Tea Party brownshirts continue to intimidate poll volunteers and local residents. I couldn't resist re-posting this creative picture at the Siren's site, showing a few Republican investigators questioning liberal terrorists.

Check out the whole bizarre story, and the lengths these thugs will go to kill the public's faith in anything. No one is closer to the story in Racine than the Siren.

I heard Scott Walker say that he would not call a special session with the Democratic senate, because Democrats won't agree with everything they would cover. 

Racine County Republicans biggest friggin’ whiners and losers. Could somebody find their pacifier?

What a bunch of authoritarian crybabies. Not happy with a wildly partisan flip in government, political attacks on unions; labor; teachers and firefighters, now they want their 21^st senate district seat back because the boundaries have changed. Aw, poor things. You’ll notice the party is making the claim, and not one angry resident.

Caledonia Patch: Some residents who live in the new 21st Senate District didn't vote in the June 5 recall election and are now claiming they were disenfranchised, according to the Racine County Republican Party … county GOP Chairman Bill Folk said residents in parts of Racine and Kenosha counties feel a little cheated.

"Voters in the new 21st are truly disenfranchised because they didn't have the opportunity to cast a vote for who will represent them until 2014."

Big surprise?

An attorney for the state Government Accountability Board, which oversees elections in Wisconsin, points out that this process takes place every 10 years. "A lot of individuals are now being represented by people they did not vote into office," said Mike Haas. "Theoretically, the Legislature would have considered this when redistricting." … the law said it would only apply for those conducted "concurrently with the 2012 general election" in November. "The language is plain about when the new districts go into effect," Haass said.

Looks like more bad government from the party that hates it so much.

Day 7, Still no Concession for Republican Wanggaard!!! Bad Republican Loser.

For a Republican party carrying out the will of the voters, Van Wanggaard is suddenly not buying into that idea anymore. Remember when the recount for the State Supreme Court was described by Republicans as a complete waste of money and time? They’ve changed their minds now, on a senate seat they apparently have lost by 834 votes.  

jsonline: An official count Tuesday determined that Democrat John Lehman indeed won the Senate recall election in Racine, but Republican Sen. Van Wanggaard has yet to concede and is considering a recount, leaving the issue of Senate majority undecided …  the final vote tally is 36,351 to 35,517, yielding an 834-vote victory in Democrat Lehman's favor. Wanggaard is still considering whether to ask for a recount,  the cost will total $685.

Do Republicans Hate Wasting Taxpayer Dollars on Recalls, and Overturning the will of the People? Nah!!

Republicans hate recalls, the cost of recalls and vow to change the rules for recalls. That’s why they’re determined to continue to spend more taxpayer money on the righteous fight. This must be Gods will.

91.3 KUWS: Group backs off on Jauch recall; blames burnout. There probably won’t be a recall of Democratic State Senator Bob Jauch. A Milwaukee-based group had promised to resume recall efforts of the northern Wisconsin senator as soon as this week’s recall ended, but they’re re-thinking it. Citizens for Responsible Government (CRG) spokesman Orville Seymour says they’re still discussing recalling Jauch…but they’re holding off for now. “There is recall burn-out.” Seymour should know. He’s taken part in 30 recall efforts in the past decade. But he says this week’s recall sent a clear message.

Wow! 30 recalls?? But Republicans "hate wasting taxpayer money on recalls," especially when they try to overturn the will of the people…like in Racine County where voters wanted change:

Journal Times:The election results from Tuesday’s recall have not yet been certified, but already there is some chatter about recalling John Lehman next year. The very next day after those results came in, John Bertermann, 70, placed a “Recall Lehman” sign in his front yard at 1656 Michigan Blvd. on Wednesday morning. “I don’t think that there should have been a recall election in the first place,” Bertermann said Wanggaard has done nothing wrong, and former state Sen. John Lehman did not deserve to apparently defeat him.

Bill Folk, the chairman for the Racine County GOP, said if it does happen, Lehman would be recalled in a new, more Republican-leaning district.

According to Rep. Robin Vos, the Democratic Party’s values just don’t fit into Wisconsin’s future anymore. And besides, who knows when Sen. John Lehman will “flee the state” again (Democrats, they do that ya know):

State Rep. Robin Vos said … there are a lot of conservatives in western Racine County who are angry they will soon have a senator representing them who doesn’t represent their values. “I don’t believe in recalling someone just because he is a Democrat.” But at the same time Vos didn’t say he was entirely opposed to a possible recall, such as if Lehman doesn’t represent the wishes of the district or flees the state. 

Will somebody pour a beer over this guys head again please. Actually, a recall would put these jackals on our own progressive data base of newly blacklist conservative job seekers. Oops, probably shouldn't have tipped our hand.

The Debate Audio: The Good (Lori Compas), the Bad and the really Ugly (Scott Fitzgerald)

Sen. Scott Fitzgerald is a bully, a misogynist, and a condescending, mean spirited, juvenile escapee from an anger management facility. He's also and a-hole, if you know what I mean. He didn't disappoint during his debate with Democratic challenger Lori Compas. WKOW:

Fitzgerald had to answer questions about past decisions.

"And we said, you know what? We can't continue to prop up this one sector of Wisconsinites that have not lost their jobs, have full benefits, both health and pension," said the Republican Senate majority leader. Fitzgerald continued to Compas, "So if you're hearing from the same people that are really hurting out there I can't believe you wouldn't support Act 10 or the reforms we put in place."

Compas responded by saying, "This is another example of this 'divide and conquer' strategy. You are turning neighbor against neighbor. What we're seeing here is a pattern of abuse of power and betrayal of trust, the Senator broke the Open Meetings Law," Compas said."

God that grating Fitzgerald voice, whining endlessly about how much he hates America. Compas said what even Mayor Tom Barrett isn't; the Republican Party is wildly abusing their power.

Compas was impressive and cared more about public policy, where Fitzgereld sniped about opposition to his ideological policy. There is a video of the debate, but the sound was awful, so I thought the audio version worked best. At the end of part 3, chants for Lori filled the room. Here's part 1 from WFAW, with more here:



Part 2 from WFAW: in a moment.........



Part 3 final WFAW:

Scott Fitzgerald's war on women.

Scott Fitzgerald would like everyone to think he really, really does respect women, but actions always speak louder than the lying words from his condescending mouth. Lori Compas is rightfully offended.

Fitzgerald: "I don't for one minute believe she is the organizing force behind this whole thing."

Lori Compas has (a) YouTube respond to Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald's comment that he believes her husband is a driving force behind her recall campaign.

The video, posted Sunday with the title "Fitzgerald, welcome to the 21st Century," features a satirical re-enactment of Eric Compas putting his oblivious, subservient wife up to the recall of Fitzgerald.

"I've been talking to some union bosses and protest junkies, and that Senator Fitzgerald has got to go," he tells her. "What's a senator?" she responds, wearing an apron and holding a feather duster.

GAB's Kevin Kennedy ignores law barring fake Democrats, leaves it up to public opinion.

GAB's Kevin Kennedy freaked me out when I heard him give the reason below for allowing the fake Democrats to run in the primary. In summary, he want to let the people decide...forget about the law or lying to an election official. It got a lot of press, so why enforce the law?  From WPT's Here and Now:

Uh oh, fake Democrat holds fund raiser, stumping state GOP over unintended consequences.

What if you held a fake primary and the phony tries raise money, or worse, tries to win? How could that affect the plans of the incumbent? What started off as an allowable attempt at election fraud, has now morph into a Pandora's box of possibilities.

Caledonia Patch: Tamra Varebrook, the "protest" candidate for the 21st Senate District, is hosting a fundraiser Thursday (today), but the state GOP had no idea and has no involvement.

State Sen. Van Wanggaard is under recall here in Racine County (against) former Sen. John Lehman. In an email to Patch, Varebrook explained the event as more of a get-together. “Tomorrow's event is a gathering a friends, family, and supporters. We are against the recall of Senator Wanggaard, Governor Walker, Lt. Governor Kleefisch, and the other 3 senators. Our focus is to remind the constituents…”

Patch requested an interview with Varebrook to ask her what she'll do with the money she raises, but in a second email message back to us, she declined to comment.

Ben Sparks, communications director for the Republican Party of Wisconsin, had no idea Varebrook was holding a fundraiser. "This is the first I've heard of it ... The state party is not expending further resources past getting names on the ballot." The county party is also not involved, "A placeholder candidate is just that. If this were still a three-way race, it might make sense, but otherwise, I really have no idea."

Ken Brown of the Racine TEA Party said "If she uses the money to actively campaign  … Or she could keep it in her fund and donate it toward the election campaigns of other Republicans … Varebrook can hang on to the money and use it to run for office again one day.

This is only the beginning too. The GAB's decision to allow Republican fake candidates, ignoring the statute that makes it illegal to lie to an election official, has opened the door to every lying scoundrel (conservative) to throw their hat into the ring. How long will it be before we also lose faith in the electoral process and the candidates running in them?

Wisconsin’s slide into despotism. Repeat the lies long enough, they become policy.

Well what do you know, we are going to drive off the cliff.

I guess my clue came the other day when Republicans went after food stamps instead of military spending. What surprised me was the nation’s collective yawn over something so outrageous. It didn’t seem to change anybody’s mind about voting Republican. I’ve blamed Democrats in the past for bad messaging, but I’m thinking now it’s something more. As a country, we’ve bought into the often repeated right wing version of reality. We are sprinting into the Bizarro world of conservative theory. They really have created their own reality, and people want to live there.

For example, voter fraud doesn’t exist, but people…even Democrats, have bought into it:

Most Americans think voter identification laws are needed to stop voter fraud, according to a Fox News poll released Wednesday. Overall, 70 percent of Americans say voter ID laws are needed to stop illegal voting. Some 74 percent of independents and 52 percent of Democrats agree. The poll was conducted in connection with a new documentary to air on Fox News Channel this weekend. Hosted by Eric Shawn, it's called "Fox News Reporting: Stealing Your Vote."

How convenient? And in Wisconsin, despite the dictatorial way the Republicans seized power and the nasty vilification of teachers, firefighters and the police:

Wispolitics: New surveys for the liberal blog Daily Kos show three of the four GOP Senate candidates in the recall elections with double-digit leads. GOP Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, was backed by 48 percent of respondents, compared to 46 percent who supported Dem John Lehman.

Sen. Terry Moulton, R-Chippewa Falls, was leading Dem challenger Kristen Dexter 51-41, while GOP Rep. Jerry Petrowski, R-Marathon, was up on Dem Rep. Donna Seidel, D-Wausau, 51-37 for an open seat. Senate GOP Leader Scott Fitzgerald led Dem Lori Compas 54-40.

We’re okay with this? The shocking truth is, many are now more determined than ever to fight the common liberal enemy. Go Ted Nugent.

A little word game for the Fake Democratic Candidates...

Let’s see if the illegal and unethical electioneering by the Wisconsin Republican Party will stand up to a little test I came up with.

jsonline: Ben Sparks, a spokesman for the Republican Party, said he was confident the board would approve putting the fake Democrats' names on the ballot. "Their candidacy will ensure election fairness going forward and guarantee there is one primary and general election date for all candidates," he said in a statement.

I’m going to add Sparks’ own word “fake” to his quote, so we can get the full meaning, and see how it stands up:

“Their fake candidacy will ensure election fairness….”

That says it all about this “Alice through the Looking Glass” Humpty Dumptyish party of con men. 

To show how big a scum bag Sparks is, check out his attitude here from a WISC story on the recall. Sparks isn't going to "allow" one of his Republican candidates to run..." during the Democratic primary. What an authoritarian "ends justify the means" attitude:



There's a certain nonchalant arrogance about these guys that makes it seem like they're entitled to be in power. For instance, the next clip shows how Walker doesn't care at all about his opponent or his record, just the money unions will be spending against him. Otherwise, he's got the election in the bag.

Still no word on Wildly Reckless Recall Fraudster Mark Demet.

The oddest case of recall fraud took place in the Racine area, on petitions to recall Sen. Van Wanggaard. The problem is, no one seems to know why Mark Demet did what he did in the most obvious and reckless way. It would appear to be intentional, as a way to perhaps draw attention to the fraud. It may have been Demet's intention to delegitimize the recall effort.

What else would explain the less than accusatory way the right wing fringe isn’t playing up the story? Check out the laughably described “non-partisan conservative” tabloid Media Trackers story, which by any measure, is not hyperbolic. That would never happen if they truly wanted to exploit this dramatic example of recall fraud:

First to find the fraud was Ken Brown of Citizens for Responsible Government (CRG) of Racine who discovered Mark’s brother Jeff Demet’s name four times on the Wanggaard Recall when Jeff never signed and opposed the recall of the Republican State Senator. As others began to dig, it was quickly revealed that Mark Demet himself had signed the Wanggaard recall multiple times and he had signed other individual’s names without their knowledge.

As of February 28, Mark Demet faced 9 felony counts in Racine for recall fraud. But … Mark Demet’s recall fraud extended beyond Racine to Kenosha where he appears to have signed his father’s name, Homer Demet to the Scott Walker recall using a Kenosha address. The only problem is, Mark Demet’s father Homer Demet has been dead since November 6, 2004. And once again proving that he is not the smartest perpetrator of fraud, Mark Demet signed his own name directly above his deceased father on Walker recall page 071942.

Again, something isn't quite right about this story. No matter which way it goes, or whatever his intention, one thing is for certain; it was really really dumb.

Republicans: “Recalls are a Waste of Time, Should not be over One Issue!!!” Now Demand One Issue Recalls!!

Republicans just don’t care anymore about how they’ll look, especially when they hypocritically abandon the “moral high ground” to achieve their goal, a recall.   

jsonline: A third wave of recalls could be in store this summer as conservatives target one Democrat, Sen. Bob Jauch, and one Republican, Sen. Dale Schultz, over their opposition to mining legislation.

Shirl LaBarre of Hayward filed the paperwork against him Monday. "Sen. Jauch did not listen to the majority of his constituents and, frankly, we've had it," said LaBarre, who runs a plumbing business. "Mining is our history," she said. "It's our culture and it's our future. Well, (Jauch) just threw that down the toilet, and that's coming from a plumber."

One issue recall? Sure, over a take it or leave it offer from a mining company that demanded environmental exemptions that would have trashed the environment across the entire state. Big money mining interests that offered no compromise…now that’s pretty gutsy. That’s how dramatic Republicans have shifted the interests of the state to big business.

From Channel3000:

Dan Curran, a retired salesman from Dodgeville, created the exploratory committee to recall Schultz because of his stance on mining. Curran said he was disappointed in Schultz's vote on that issue as well.

And the grass roots effort locally to gather recall signatures? Call in the outside professionals.

Citizens for Responsible Government, the group that led the recall efforts in 2002 after the Milwaukee County pension scandal, are assisting the efforts against Jauch and Schultz. Schultz described CRG as "kind of a fringe group from Milwaukee loosely tied to talk radio. They like to spend a lot of time in other people's pastures," he said.

Schultz nailed it.

Who's Mark Demet and why was he forging recall signatures?

As much as I've tried to stay on top of this story, very little is written about the guy in Racine who's looking at 9 felony counts for faking the signatures of family and friends.

What was he trying to do and why? Isn't anybody curious?  Channel3000:

Mark Demet faces nine felony charges and 49 years in prison if convicted of tampering with recall petitions against Sen. Van Wangaard, R-Racine.

Investigators said the Racine man signed his mother's and several neighbors' names without permission on recall petitions. 

Nine Felony Counts for Recall Petition Fraud. Details Sketchy.

The plot thickens over the forged signatures on the Wanggaard recall petition, and we may find out more March 13 or soon thereafter.

What we know right now; the recall organizer claims they don't know the guy, Mark Demet, who committed the fraud. The recall committee assumes it was done to call into question the petitions legitimacy. On top of that, it was the Racine area tea party that turned Demet in, with the help of the Demet's brother. So what made Mark Demet do what he did?

Reporter Denise Lockwood at the Caledonia Patch has been all over this.

A man accused of falsely writing in signatures on a petition to recall state Sen. Van Wanggaard — including one from a deceased person — faces nine felony charges. Mark Demet, 59, of Racine, has been charged by the Racine County District Attorney's Office with two felony counts of election fraud/nomination certification and seven felony counts of misappropriating identifying information for financial gain. If convicted on all charges, Demet faces up to 42 years in prison and fines up to $90,000. According to the criminal complaint, Demet admitted that he circulated the petition and signed the names of seven people on the petition. Investigators spoke to six of the people whose names appeared on the list to verify that they had not signed the petition.

Randy Brandt, treasurer for the Committee to Recall Van Wanggaard, said Demet might have been planted to discredit the recall effort, but the criminal complaint doesn’t address that issue.

Ironically, a Wisconsin Tea Party member put two and two together in identifying the falsified signatures. Citizens for Responsible Government of Racine is a blog written by Ken Brown, who is an active Racine County Tea Party member. Brown said he has a business relationship with Jeff Demet, Mark's brother. When he saw Jeff Demet's name on the petitions, he believed that Jeff didn't sign the petition (his name was listed four times) because the two had talked about politics. So he called Jeff. "(Jeff) was pretty mad," Brown said. "I asked him if he knew this guy, Mark. He said, 'Yeah, he's my crazy brother.'" Brown turned over the information to the Racine County District Attorney's Office.

Looks Like Republican Senate Recall Challenges won't hold up.

The smoke and mirrors challenges by sitting senate Republicans won't be enough to put off their early unemployment. There are no details here, but Sen. Scott Fitzgerald continues to claim he won't get recalled. WKOW:

State Democrats say the recall petition challenges by four Republican senators won't hold up. If that's true, it means all four lawmakers would head to recall elections.

The State Senate Democratic Committee said in its rebuttal, it found what it calls a "big discrepancy" between the senators' challenges and the legality of those challenges.
 

Democratic Challengers announce in Recalls.

A flurry of Democrats announced their challenges today to the sitting radical Republican recalled senators. From the Patch: 

Former State Sen. John Lehman, of Racine, has announced he will challenge Sen. Van Wanggaard to retake the state senate seat he lost in November 2010. "In 2010, Mr. Wanggaard never once agreed to debate or answer questions about what he would do in Madison," Lehman said. "And, to my knowledge, Wanggaard has never once in his year in office appeared at a listening session or a public meeting where the critical citizen could ask questions."

Wanggaard responded by making one huge mistake; following the talking points we’re already tired of hearing from Scott Walker. We also know those talking points are inaccurate and purposely misleading. Will conservative voters tolerate being snow jobbed? Probably.

Wanggaard: "Voters are going to have a clear choice. Do they want to go back to the Jim Doyle and John Lehman days of billion dollar budget deficits, lost jobs and skyrocketing taxes, or do they want balanced budgets, lower taxes and a Wisconsin that continues to move forward towards job creation, fiscal responsibility and common sense?"

Sorry, but Gov. Doyle and the Democratic legislature had to deal with the Great Recession. Ya think that might have been a problem? Under standard accounting practices, which include promised tax cuts and budgeting, the Walker administration is over $3 billion dollars in deficit. Ooops. And lower taxes only applies to business. As a property tax payer, taxes didn’t go down. That’s supposed to make me happy?

The Wisconsin Democrats just announced that former Rep. Kristen Dexter and Rep. Donna Seidel would take on other recalled senators.