No Runny Eggs

The repository of one hard-boiled egg from the south suburbs of Milwaukee, Wisconsin (and the occassional guest-blogger). The ramblings within may or may not offend, shock and awe you, but they are what I (or my guest-bloggers) think.

Archive for August 17th, 2009

Priebus calls Doyle out

by @ 14:00. Filed under Politics - Wisconsin.

How much do you want to bet that Gov. Jim Doyle doesn’t take RPW chair Reince Priebus up on his challenge issued in the following press release?

MADISON – Following Governor Doyle’s official announcement that he will not seek reelection in 2010, Republican Party of Wisconsin Chairman Reince Priebus issued the following statement:

“Governor Doyle’s decision not to seek a third term can be attributed to many factors, but self-imposed term limits isn’t one of them.

Low approval ratings and a budget mess to clean up, on top of embarrassing stories such as an illegal legal counsel and a no-bid train contract likely helped convince Governor Doyle that Wisconsin voters have had enough of his failed policies.

If Governor Doyle really believed that all governors should be limited to two terms in office, then why was he raising campaign cash during the past two years? In his press conference this morning, he mentioned he and Jessica believed he would be a two-term governor. In that case, Governor Doyle should donate all of the campaign money he’s raised during his second term to charity, and I am calling on him to do just that.”

Lawton in, Ryan out, Kind unknown

by @ 12:28. Filed under Politics - Wisconsin.

That was fast – the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting that Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton will throw her hat into the Democratic gubernatorial primary, while Rep. Paul Ryan will not throw his hat into the Republican gubernatorial primary.

I don’t buy this statement from Lawton’s camp for a second considering the news came out less than 1 1/2 hours after Gov. Jim Doyle announced he would not seek a third term – “Today is Gov. Doyle’s day and the lieutenant governor wishes him well.” I would think that one would at least let the fireball start contracting before announcing, “The lieutenant governor intends to run for governor and she will have more to say about that in the near future.” Then again, there is no love lost between Doyle and Lawton.

Meanwhile, Rep Ron Kind (D-La Crosse) was more succinct in his statement – “Since Governor Doyle’s decision has become public, people from around the state have contacted me and urged me to run for Governor. I thank them for their support and I am considering it. In the weeks to come I will make my decision.”

As expected (and frankly, predicted by me this morning), Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Janesville) issued a statement saying that he had no interest in running for governor in 2010. That tracks with the last question I asked him at the state GOP convention regarding a possible Senate run; he’s just too happy in the House right now.

One noted BS’er congratulates another noted BS’er

My thanks to WTMJ-AM for posting the following statement from President Barack Obama issued in the wake of Gov. Jim Doyle’s non-reelection announcement:

Jim Doyle is a true friend and a tireless public servant. From the Peace Corps to Attorney General and then as Governor, he has demonstrated a commitment to helping those in need and a passion for fighting for what’s right. His tough and fair leadership enabled him to work across the aisle to strengthen education and spur economic recovery.

Jim’s unwavering dedication and his love for Wisconsin are evident in his 25 years of dedicated service to the state and the people of Wisconsin are lucky to have him as governor.

Doyle was mercurial and unwilling to reach across party lines, and we were very unlucky to have been stuck with him.

New NRE poll – When will Doyle depart the governor’s office?

by @ 11:54. Filed under NRE Polls, Politics - Wisconsin.

Now that the non-candidacy of Gov. Jim Doyle is (all-but-)official (pending just a statement of non-candidacy filed with the Government Accountability Board), it’s time to ask when he will actually give up the office. Somehow, I doubt that he will stick around all the way until 1/3/2011, when the term is actually up.

When will Jim Doyle depart the governor's mansion for the last time?

Up to 1 answer(s) was/were allowed

  • 1/3/2011 (the day the term expires) (66%, 21 Vote(s))
  • After the 2010 primary election but before the 2010 general election (11/2/2010) (16%, 5 Vote(s))
  • Before the 2010 primary election (9/14/2010) (13%, 4 Vote(s))
  • After the 2010 general election but before 1/3/2011 (the day the term expires) (6%, 2 Vote(s))

Total Voters: 32

Loading ... Loading ...

Kevin Binversie picks me as a Big Loser in the Doyle self-dump

by @ 11:14. Filed under Miscellaneous.

Kevin runs through the winners and losers in the wake of Doyle’s announcement that he is not running for a third term. He proves he is an honest broker by including himself as one of the big losers in the “Those Who Though Doyle Was Running” category. Yes, I do have to put myself there too – I said the moment that he line-item-vetoed the Milwaukee Transit Taxing Authority out of the DemoBudget, he was running.

Looking back at it, that was his last, desperate gasp at trying to save his 2010 chances. Doyle absolutely, positively needed Milwaukee County by a big margin, just like every other Democrat.

The eventually-inevitable Barrett-Peters question

by @ 9:48. Filed under Transportation.

Headless Blogger asks it:

What was Trolley Tommy doing driving to the State Fair when there was cheap and convenient mass transit available to him?

Before some lefty decides to go off half-cocked, allow me to answer:

– Tom Barrett lives in the Washington Heights neighborhood (for you out-of-towners, it’s a very nice neighborhood west of the Stadium Freeway (US-41) between Vilet and North Avenues). Assuming everybody gathered at his house, the best transit option would be Route 76 (specifically, the one that goes to Southridge via 76th St.).

– That trip involves a 10-minute walk to 60th St, a bus ride to 76th and Greenfield, and an 8-minute walk into the fair. Given Barrett did not park on the Fairgrounds, I doubt walking would have been a problem.

– I don’t know the ages of his daughters or his niece, so I do not know whether they qualify for the $1 one-way trip given to those under 12 years. I do know that he and his sister would have been charged $2 for a one-way trip, so that would be $8 just for the two of them. Depending on the ages of the children, the total cost would be between $14 and $20.

– Speaking of parking, I don’t know whether Barrett availed himself of the lawn parking services that many of the residents around the Fairgrounds offer. If memory serves, they typically charge between $5-$10, with the higher amounts closer to the Fairgrounds. In fact, parking on the Fairgrounds is $10 during the Fair.

In short, Barrett made the economical decision that driving himself, his sister, two of his daughters and his niece to the Fair would be cheaper than taking public transit. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.

Monday hot read part 2 – the MacIver Institute’s “MacIver Poll Gave Wisconsin Governor Road Map to Prevent His Political Demise”

by @ 8:35. Filed under Politics - Wisconsin.

File this dispatch from the MacIver Institute under T for “Told you so!” The takeaway:

Polling done by others showed Governor Doyle’s approval and re-elect numbers plummeted lower and lower each month after his Budget address in February. Our poll showed him with a lead over both of his prospective GOP challengers this spring, but foretold what would would happen if the Governor chose spending and taxing over belt tightening.

With the predicted Wisconsin voter reaction now a reality, Governor Doyle is poised to bow out, rather than face their wrath at the polls.

As our polling showed, it didn’t have to come to this.

The question now is: Will other elected officials in Madison learn from his mistakes?

They also throw in a flashback to the final state budget that ought to scare the bejeebers out of the rest of the field as well – $12.1 billion of bad ($3.63 billion of new spending, $2.05 billion in new taxes, $3.58 billion of borrowing, $1.50 billion in allowable local property tax hikes, and $2.05 billion in structural deficit). While it most-affects Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton and the Legislative prospective candidates, it also doesn’t bode well for noted fee-hiker Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett or noted federal tax-hiker Ron Kind.

Doyle’s self-dumping hits the WaPo

by @ 8:17. Filed under Politics - Wisconsin.

While I don’t keep up with much from the Washington Post, I do follow Chris Cillizza’s The Fix. He picked up on the news from the Politico over the weekend, and I do have to give a couple of commenters a inside-the-cheese perspective. Since I’m not about to register to comment over there, I have to do it here.

For mark_in_austin, who wonders how Kathleen Falk could be considered a serious contender, I first recommend this morning’s hot read from Christian Schneider. I further point out that she has failed in two of three statewide elections – the 2002 Democratic gubernatorial primary and the 2006 AG general election (she did, however, knock off a scandal-ridden incumbent who dared to push just a little bit into the shady dealings of Doyle). The second loss is the only statewide/Congressional office that flipped from the Democrats to the Republicans in the 2006 election cycle.

For JayPen, who wonders what will happen to Doyle’s $2 million war chest, it will most-likely be wound down slowly. If I’m reading the appropriate statutes right (Chapter 11), a bit over $40,000 per cycle can go to an individual gubernatorial campaign, with lesser amounts going to lower statewide and local campaigns. The moneys could also be returned to the donors, or donated to a charitable organization or the common school fund.

Monday hot read (and blatant rip-off of Charlie) – Christian Schneider’s “Who Got the Gravy?”

by @ 7:27. Filed under Politics - Wisconsin.

(H/T – The blatantly-ripped-off Charlie Sykes)

Christian Schneider, one of the true professional political handicappers, handicaps the race to replace Gov. Jim Doyle on the Democratic side of the ticket. He introduces a new name to the mix; Senate Democratic Leader Russ Decker:

Through the miracle of modern technology, I was able to actually record Russ Decker’s brain waves regarding his decision on whether to run for Governor:

“So I’ve been busting my tail for the people in the state senate for 20 years, and some kook like Barb Lawton is actually mentioned as a more viable candidate for governor than I am? I’m the freaking Senate Majority Leader for Christ’s sake! I’m the second most important Democrat in state government – and as much as I’d love to run for Dave Obey’s congressional seat when he retires, everyone knows that bearded skeleton is only leaving Congress feet first. He’ll probably serve until he’s 132.

But what if people start figuring out that my fingerprints are all over this most recent disastrous budget? Aren’t I culpable for the huge tax increases and future deficits this budget creates? Are voters really going to elect someone that’s saddled with all the same baggage that Jim Doyle carries around?

And how is it that Pizza Hut keeps coming up with new pizzas to sell us as ‘specials,’ when they’re all essentially the same ingredients?”

(Sorry, I didn’t turn off the thought transcriber machine in time.)

Verdict:

RUSS DECKER GOT MORE GRAVY THAN PEOPLE THINK

Bonus coverage from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel includes news that I’ve been fearing; the Thompson gang,
including Tommy himself and former aide Bill McCoshen, are taking a second look at running for governor. Further, they speculate with no comment from the respective campaigns that Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Janesville) would jump in. While Van Hollen might try to prove that A.G. stands for “Aspiring to be Governor”, I strongly doubt that Ryan would bolt from the House.

They also have a run-down on available money for the various Democratic challengers:

  • Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett – $840,257 (the biggest available Democratic warchest)
  • Rep Ron Kind (D-La Crosse) – $43,128 of $955,512 legally available
  • State Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Waunakee) – $21,000
  • Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk – $17,000

Barrett beaten for doing the right thing

by @ 7:18. Filed under Law and order.

One of the bad things about going on the road is sometimes I miss important things. Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett was beaten by a violent and vicious thug (hey lefties; don’t take my word for it; take Milwaukee police chief Ed Flynn’s) with a lengthy police record by the name of Anthony J. Peters when he broke up a domestic dispute. When Barrett and his family happened upon the scene while walking to his car after attending the Wisconsin State Fair, he asked his sister to take his daughters away from the scene and attempted to calm Peters. When Barrett took out his cell phone, Peters attacked with a lead pipe, leaving Barrett lying in a pool of blood with a broken hand. Barrett’s niece, who stayed at the scene, dialed 911 on her phone, and the West Allis Police Department responded quickly.

I offer my prayers for a quick and full recovery for Barrett.

Some people are wondering why Barrett didn’t have a police security detail with him. While the mayor of Milwaukee is entitled to one, and Barrett does use one when he performs official duties, Barrett typically does not use one when he goes out as a private citizen.

But, Of Course It Is

Early last year as the endorsement battle was fully engaged, videos and quotes of Obama’s long time pastor, Jeremiah Wright, came to light.  These videos and quotes showed the man that Obama referred to as his “mentor,” was a racist and anti-Semite.  Although he had spent the bulk of his adult life in Wright’s congregation, Obama denied that he knew of Wright’s heinous perspectives.  When challenged about Wright, Obama responded:

He does not speak for me.

In other words, Obama and the compliant media which echoed his defense, were telling us that this was a problem entirely with Wright, or as Obama might say “This isn’t about me!”  Those of us who had our own ability to think knew that the opposite was true, it was entirely about Obama and his acceptance of Wright’s ideology.

After the Saddleback Forum last August in which he denounced late term abortions, an audio tape surfaced of Obama arguing against an Illinois statue that would require medical support for babies that survived botched abortions.  In his attempt to reconcile his recently stated position with the past recordings, Obama tried multiple explanations.  All of the explanations were focused on issues that other people had created.  None of the explanations had anything to do with Obama changing his position, misunderstanding the issue or lying.  In other words, Obama could have said, “This isn’t about me!”  Again, a reasonably inquisitive mind was able to see that the excuses Obama rasied were red herrings and that in fact, the issue was all about Obama.

If you do a Google search of “Obama “not about me”” you’ll find numerous instances in stump speeches, his world reunification speech in Germany and even his endorsement acceptance speech where Obama told people that his candidacy was “not about me.”

During his last prime time media love fest, President Obama refuted that health care reform was a personal issue for him saying:

This isn’t about me!

In fact, you might say that Obama’s entire national political career has been spent with him telling people “this isn’t about me!

Since that last statement, President Obama has inserted himself directly and personally into the debate over health care reform.  At town hall meetings in New Hampshire, Montana and now Colorado, President Obama has personally defended health care reform.  At each stop he couriously debates and defends what is or isn’t in “the plan.”  Curious because President Obama doesn’t have a plan of his own and repeatedly responds to the few challenging questions by avoiding an answer or by making erroneous assertions about what the House plan contains.  Even the USAToday, a paper that is not considered unfriendly to Obama, identified numerous Obama falsehoods following the New Hampshire townhall.  Many of these falsehoods were repeated in Montana. 

What are the results?  In the month since he claimed it wasn’t about him, Obama’s dream of a government take over of health care has been met with stiff resistance.  Since Obama’s personal involvement, Rasumussen Reports polling shows that support for health reform has fallen 5% and those who disapprove of health care reform now represent a majority.  In a new poll by Rasmussen, 54% of voters now believe that doing nothing would be better than implementing the plan that is coming through the House.  This is especially important as independents favor doing nothing by almost a 3 to 1 margin.

Contrary to his protests, the health care debate is all about President Obama. 

Obama came into office on the sweet spot of a wave.  Iraq, a sagging economy and a Republican party that operated largely indistinguishably from the Democrats, gave Obama a populace that wanted change so badly they were willing to give an inexperienced, opportunistic, job hopper a chance to play president.  In fact, change was desired so badly that neither the media or those who supported Obama, stopped to ask much about the details as to what Obama wanted to change.  If they had, they would have found that from the start Obama was focused on the takeover of the health care industry via a single payer system and the takeover of energy via cap and trade.  These two items were/are cornerstone to the transformation of America that he envisions and promised.

After moving through the House with relative ease, Cap and Trade is sitting in the Senate.  60 votes are required to move the Cap and Trade bill through the Senate.  With Kennedy and Byrd rarely in the Senate due to their illnesses, the Democrats would need to get 2 Republicans to side with them if they can get the other 58 Democrats to support the bill.  That is a big IF, and moving towards “not likely,” as the economy continues to struggle, the economic reality of the bill continues to sink in and global warming “science” is finding less and less support amongst voters.  In fact, Cap and Trade has lost so much momentum that even Democrat Senators are now saying that it won’t receive a hearing until next year….if at all.

Having Cap and Trade in limbo is good and bad.  It’s good because passage of the legislation would be disastrous for the US economy.  It’s bad because as one of Obama’s two major pieces of legislation, having it in danger of dying puts more pressure on the issue of health care reform.  As the only other major legislation, if health care reform fails it will relegate the man once held in messianic admiration to that of purveyor of just another mystic religion that serves no purpose other than to provide emotional highs with no ability to resolve anything.  It is this fear that has Obama personally engaged in the health care debate.

President Obama’s personal insertion to the middle of the health care debate is much like Kevin Bacon’s appearance towards the end of Animal House.  Standing in the middle of the melee and shouting “All is well.  All is well,” didn’t calm the public for Kevin nor will it for Obama.  In both instances the acts were those of desperation.  As it didn’t work for Bacon, neither will it for Obama.

With President Obama fighting to find new scapegoats to blame and allies for support, the path and outcome of the health care reform debate is far from certain.  That said, one thing is certain.  The next time you hear Obama, discussing any topic, say “This isn’t about me,” you will know without a doubt that after sifting through all of the obfuscation and half truths, the one thing in fact it is about is Obama!

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