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.
I will be working with the Sam Adams Alliance and several other bloggers to report on voter/election fraud in and around Milwaukee until about 7 pm. Please stay tuned to this place, Vote Fraud Squad, and the #voterfraud hashtag on Twitter.
If you have any tips, please e-mail me at votefraud@norunnyeggs.com.
I’ll start down the ticket because I can with a quick revision/extension at 9:55 pm 11/3/2008 to add most no-challenger races –
Various advisory referenda in Wisconsin asking for government-provided health care, including Oak Creek – No. This is a back-door attempt to try to bully the Legislature into adopting universal health care in Wisconsin. The one plan that meets the suggestion of the standard referendum, Healthy (and Depopulated) Wisconsin, comes with a price tag that would double the tax burden in Wisconsin.
The Milwaukee County sales tax advisory referendum asking for a tripling of the county sales tax to 1.5% – No. Even the supporters admit that this is a $65 million-$80 million tax increase. That is assuming that, if that tripling is authorized by the state, half of the receipts would go to property tax “relief”. If not, and all indications including historical are that it won’t, it’s a $130 million-$160 million tax increase in a county where a $200 item would become cheaper to purchase outside the county.
The city of Milwaukee direct legislation asking for paid sick leave to be imposed on all businesses in the city – No. Another 9 days of vacation will drive what’s left of business out of Milwaukee. How bad is it? Even the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel came out against it.
Various school building and tax-increase referenda – No. At the risk of being called Dr. No, a time when the economy is at best tightening is not the time to be building new Taj Mahals for the teachers and administrators. Kids won’t know the difference between a 40-year-old building and a shiny new one, at least if the school districts wanted to do maintenance instead of create a “crisis”.
21st Assembly District – Mark Honadel The math is simple; Honadel wants a stable-to-lower tax burden. Brower wants an ever-higher tax and regulatory burden.
14th Assembly District – Leah Vukmir
57th Assembly District – Jo Egelhoff
97th Assembly District – Bill Kramer
Any other Assembly or state Senate race I missed – The Republican Folks, I’ll put this in simple terms. The Democrats, should they gain complete control of state government, will make this a regulatory and tax hell. From Healthy (and Depopulated) Wisconsin to Gorebal “Warming” to a complete lifting of whatever property tax limits are in place, they promise more-expensive government.
Any other race where only one party or the other is represented except the 5th Congressional (specifically the Waukesha County District Attorney race) – Dave Casper (write-in) Asian Badger pointed out in the comments I missed the idiot DA in Waukesha County. That’s probably because I don’t live there, but I’ll correct that oversight and give Dave a second chance for a victory party.
1st Congressional District – Paul Ryan Yes, Ryan is my Congressman. He is also a visionary who isn’t afraid to touch the third rail of entitlements.
8th Congressional District – John Gard Gard frankly got screwed two years ago. Those of you in northeast Wisconsin have seen subpar representation out of Kagen, and this is your best and probably last chance to oust him.
Any other Congressional race out there – The Republican (with the exceptions of Don Young and Ted Stevens, where I recommend a write-in) This will be much like my state Legislature endorsement. The current crop of Democrats are chomping at the bit to turn us into Cuba; don’t reward the leaders of the worst Congress ever with more seats.
President/Vice President – John McCain/Sarah Palin I know I’ll probably be fighting a McCain administration more than I’ll support it. The alternative, a socialization of this country, is too frightening.
The Racine County Republican Party passed along the following press release in the wake of the McCain-Palin Racine County co-chair and the Burlington Police Department catching a pair of Obama supporters stealing McCain signs:
Burlington, WI – On the evening of 1 November, McCain-Palin Racine County Co-Chairman Josh Kuehn spotted someone in his front yard. As he watched, the man grabbed a McCain-Palin yard sign from his front yard.
Kuehn then noted a vehicle moving slowly down his street with its lights out. He shouted for the man with the sign to stop, but he ran off, and the vehicle drove off at a high rate of speed. Kuehn quickly called police and took off after the thieves. He quickly spotted the vehicle a block away, picking up his dismounted accomplice. Kuehn followed the vehicle until police arrived and arrested the two perpetrators. The attached photographs document the arrest. Note; a pair of the photos appear below.
Additionally, the Racine County Republican Party would like assistance in solving the thefts of hundreds of yard signs in the Racine, Mt. Pleasant, and Caledonia areas. Multiple victims have provided a description of a white, late model, full size, short-bed pickup truck driving suspiciously in the area around the time of the thefts. The Racine County Republican Party is offering a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the driver of this vehicle
The Racine County GOP encourages those who have been victimized by intolerant Obama supporters to pick up replacement signs at our Racine Victory Center, located at 6500 Washington Avenue in Mt. Pleasant, or our Burlington Victory Center, located at 248 North Pine Street in Burlington.
The Racine GOP has sought to take the high road in this election, and offered to issue a joint statement with the Racine Democratic Party, condemning yard sign theft and offering a joint reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone stealing or vandalizing any political signs this campaign season. The Racine Democratic Party has not responded to this offer.
How do we know the thieves were Obama supporters? Kuehn snapped a few photos of their arrest (note; I have redacted the first 3 characters of the license plate; the photo I received had the only last 3 characters redacted).
One parting thought; it is telling that the Racine Democratic Party has refused to condemn yard sign theft.
This first came out in September, but the campaign had not previously made it available via YouTube.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgUVxz_4zAE[/youtube]
(H/T – Kevin)
WisPolitics reports that the Republican National Committee has not bought any ads in the Eau Claire, Green Bay and Milwaukee markets for the week of 10/15-10/21. I do not know whether they had or still have buys in the Madison (doubtful), La Crosse or Wausau/Rhinelander markets. WisPolitics also notes that the McCain campaign still has buys active through the 19th.
I can’t say I’m surprised. While Wisconsin was the closest state in 2004 and one of the 3 closest in 2000, the ‘Rat Fraud Machine has solidified its position here over the last 8 years. Worse, recent polls, whose internals appear to be heavily-skewed against Republicans, show Obama with a double-digit lead.
If you don’t find me here 11/5, I’ll be face down.
Revisions/extensions (2:55 pm 10/15/2008 and re-arranged 4:27 pm 10/15/2008) – Word on the ClearChannel news stations (somehow had WOKY on instead of WISN) is that McCain will keep buying through the 26th.
I saw this ad on Fox News this afternoon, and went to the Paul Ryan campaign site to see if they had an embeddable version to help spread it around. They didn’t, so I asked the campaign for permission to put it on my YouTube account. They said yes, so here it is.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNMi5Nj5qfQ[/youtube]
It shouldn’t be a secret that I do support Paul Ryan. I have neither requested nor received any compensation for this ad.
Nick Schweitzer has a good summary up of the debate in Germantown tonight between Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner and Dr. Jim Burkee for the Republican nomination (and, because there are no other candidates in any other parties, the actual seat) in the 5th Congressional District. Yes, he was there with his laptop, and he was typing furiously throughout the debate. Wisconsin Eye was also there, so they should have video up in the near-future and they have video and audio.
My contribution, at least at this point, is an audio recording of the debate. I’m too tired to give a detailed analysis right now, but I do want to say a couple things:
– I would much rather see a challenge to Tom Petri than either Sensenbrenner or Paul Ryan, especially since much of Burkee’s platform is fiscal responsibility.
– Jim Burkee would be a good person to either do that challenge or compete for an open seat. No, he wouldn’t be perfect, and depending on the other persons, I may not support him.
Revisons/extensions (4:15 pm 8/28/2008) – First off; sorry about the incomplete post. I suffered the typical user error on that.
Next, Wisconsin Eye did get the video up (thanks for that and the link, P-Mac).
Also, Dean Mundy, Jack Lohman, and West Bend Citizen Advocate were in the audience and have thoughts up on their respective blogs.
(All links from JSOnline’s DayWatch)
Just after finding out that 22% of voter registrations/address changes since August 6 do not match up to drivers’ license records, the Government “Accountability” Board ruled that not only will those registrants be allowed to vote with no correction of the voter registration and no check of any ID, but that future mismatches will be ignored. A vote on a motion to require an at-poll ID check for those that don’t correct inconsistencies in voter registration failed on a 3-3 vote, while a vote on a motion to ignore future mismatches passed 5-1.
Everything has gone according to ‘Rat Governor Jim “Craps” Doyle’s (WEAC/Potawatomi-For Sale) plan, as he is the one who put all 6 members that board after the two bipartisan boards that preceded it, the State Elections Board and State Ethics Board, failed in his favor on various matters before them so egregiously that “something had to be done”.
Revisions/extensions (6:11 pm 8/27/2008) – My semi-sarcastic advice to Team McCain; abandon Wisconsin (except for La Crosse, which serves northeast Iowa) as this state is now as lost a cause as Illinois.
Revisions/extensions (11:37 am 8/27/2008) – As noted below, WisPolitics was there, and filed this report. They also rolled video (yes, the sound quality isn’t the greatest, but my low-budget equpiment wouldn’t have done any better, and I don’t see anything up at WISN-TV’s site) –
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIqJG5DXhUI[/youtube]
Due to poor timing on my part, I was a bit too late for the meat of Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker’s press conference on Gov. Jim Doyle’s speech before the Democratic National Convention, so I don’t have audio. WISN-TV and WisPolitics were there on-time, the former with a camera, so they’ll have more extensive coverage.
First, allow me to post Walker’s pre-buttal, with an additional note from something from Doyle’s 2003 State of the State address that Walker stressed at the press conference:
"Jim Doyle will address the Democratic National Convention today with the theme of Renewing America’s Promise. Let’s take a look at Jim Doyle’s promises.
Before the last election, Jim Doyle told the people of Wisconsin in his State of the State address that, "˜We should not – we must not – and I will not – raise taxes.’ After the last election, he introduced a state budget that raised taxes and fees by more than $3 billion.
Now he’s pushing Senator Barak Obama for president. In his three short years in the United States Senate, Senator Obama has voted against tax cuts and for tax increases 94 times.
He says he’s for the middle class, but Senator Obama voted to raise taxes on those making just $42,000 per year. He wants higher taxes on income, investments, savings, businesses, Social Security and energy. He promises a better economy but taxing our way to prosperity just doesn’t work.
Jim Doyle’s failed slogans and broken promises have not worked for Wisconsin. Voters should remember that when they hear Senator Obama’s promises as well."
Walker also contrasted the following statement from Doyle’s 2003 State of the State address with the actions of both Doyle and Obama – “Obviously, raising taxes is not the answer. Holding the line on taxes helps our businesses grow, makes us more competitive with other states, and creates job opportunities for our families.” (emphasis in the original)
I did get to talk with Walker a few minutes on both Democratic Vice Presidential nominee (presumptive) Sen. Joe Biden and the field for the Republican Vice Presidential nominee. Repeating a theme that I first noted with Asian Badger, Walker called the choice of Biden “manna”. We shared stories of gaffes on Biden’s part, from the plagiarism that forced him out of the 1988 Democratic Presidential primary race, to the multitude of attempts to appease Iran. During an interview with the WisPolitics reporter I overheard, Walker was thinking that Obama would choose Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (I won’t go further than that; it wasn’t my interview).
On the Republican side, Walker believes that Governors Tim Pawlenty and Mitt Romney would make a good fit for Sen. John McCain, as they’re both outside of the Washington power structure, and both have executive experience. Indeed, he sees little chance that McCain can mess up the choice as badly as Obama did.
I could’ve swore that local governments were supposed to be capped to a 3.86% increase in property-tax levies last year. Imagine my surprise when the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that property tax levies actually increased by 6.1% in southeast Wisconsin last year, with municipalities increasing their levies by 5.2%. I don’t know what’s worse; the fact that they busted the cap by 33%, or the terming of that 33% busting as a “hold” by the presstitute who wrote the story, Mike Johnson. Hell, I wouldn’t even term the average county increase of 3.4% a “hold”.
By now, you should have seen the press reports (this one from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is representative) on the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute’s study that states the minimum markup law on gasoline costs us 8 cents a gallon. Some of you may even have taken the time to read the report itself. I hate to do this to Christian Schneider, but the report actually understates how much the minimum markup law is costing us, as it is far closer to 18 cents/gallon.
Allow me to explain how it was understated. The report references a 1999 WPRI report that states at that time, when gasoline was $1.27/gallon, the minimum markup law cost between 2 and 3 cents per gallon. Despite noting earlier in the report that, due to the fact that the markup law is a percentage of the price, its growth is independent of the costs of doing business, Christian uses the simplistic multiple of the current cost of gasoline now versus its cost in 1999 to state that the effect is only 8 cents.
A more-accurate estimate that is based on the earlier WPRI report would take into account not only the increase in the cost of gasoline, but the actual increase in cost of doing business. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does have a statistic called the Employment Cost Index, which is a better measure of how much it costs to run a business than the Consumer Price Index as wages tend to go up faster than prices. I don’t have the time to include increased taxes and property costs, or attempt to figure out how other goods and services offered by the gas stations interact, or even to adjust this for the increase in the amount of gasoline sold in 2008 versus 1999, but the ECI should yield a rather close estimate in the increase in the cost of doing business.
Before I get to the ECI, I need to establish what the “fair” markup was in 1999. I don’t have the report from that year handy, and the new report doesn’t explicitly mention what it is. However, I do have enough information to infer what that is. Gasoline was $1.27/gallon, the “excess” markup was between 2 and 3 cents per gallon (I’ll be generous to the protectionists and use the lower 2 cents), and the mandated markup was 9.18%. That made the minimum markup $0.107 cents/gallon, and the “fair” markup a maximum of $0.087 cents/gallon.
Back to the ECI; I am choosing to use the current-dollar version as it does not attempt to factor out inflation, and I need to include the effects of inflation. Since the BLS changed the definitions of the various categories of employees, including “service occupations”, at the end of 2005, and reports using the current definitions only go back to 2001, I have to note there may well be a discrepancy in this. Specifically, the report using the old definition had an ECI for service occupations of 84.8 in March 2001 (with a base of 100.0 in December 2005), while the report using the current definition and the same base of 100.0 in December 2005 had an ECI for service occupations of 85.5. Since I’m all about simplicity, I’ll otherwise ignore that discrepancy.
In March 1999, the ECI for service occupations was 78.9. In March 2008 (the last quarter the figures are available), it was 108.4. That translates to a 37.4% increase in the ECI.
Now, I can estimate what the “fair” markup per gallon of gasoline should be in 2008. Multiplying the 1999 “fair” markup by the increased cost of employment yields an estimated “fair” markup of 12.0 cents/gallon.
With that established, figuring out how much the minimum markup law costs us is a simple matter of subtracting the “fair” markup from the mandated markup. That mandated markup is, at a price of $4.07/gallon, 30.2 cents per gallon. Subtracting the 12.0 cents per gallon the station needs to stay in business means that the minimum markup law is costing us 18.2 cents per gallon.
Even if one were to accept the premise that gas stations needed the entire 10.7 cents/gallon in 1999, the minimum markup law is costing us significantly. The increased cost of business only brings up the necessary markup to 14.7 cents/gallon, which would mean the minimum markup law is costing us 15.5 cents/gallon.
Now, who wouldn’t like a 15-18 cent drop in the price of a gallon of gas? Gov. Jim Doyle supports the repeal of the minimum markup law, even though he believes it wouldn’t do anything to gas prices. The Wisconsin Institute for Leadership issued a call to Doyle for a special session, and Representatives Bill Kramer and Leah Vukmir joined WIL’s call. Now that a repeal of the minimum markup law has been demonstrated that not will have a significant and positive impact on gasoline prices, it is past time to repeal it. Every day that it remains on the books, it costs Wisconsin residents even more money.
John Hawkins sent an invitation this way to participate in his latest right-of-center bloggers poll, so Shoebox and I both submitted our lists of favorite gubernatorial/national elected Republicans. We could send between 1 and 10, and I chose 8. While I don’t know who Shoe voted for, here’s my list (in no particular order beyond what I typed in):
– Paul Ryan
– Marsha Blackburn
– Bobby Jindal
– Sarah Palin
– Jeff Flake
– Steve King
– Jim DeMint
– Tom Coburn
To see which ones (if any) made it into the top 20, as well as the complete top 20, you’ll have to head to Right Wing News.
We also submitted our least-favorite elected Republicans; that list will be out tomorrow.
Honestly, the fact that the state Supreme Court was unanimous in handing down said victory (per JSOnline’s DayWatch) is even rarer. They ruled for Walgreen’s against a couple dozen high-tax communities, including Milwaukee, Madison, Cudahy, Hales Corners, Kenosha and Waukesha, that use rent payments instead of market value as the determinant of the value of the property various Walgreen’s stores are on. Walgreen’s has developers buy choice properties and build to Walgreen’s specs, and in exchange, they pay above-market rent to the developer, along with the property taxes. Those communities, up until today, were using the higher rent payments rather than what the developer could sell the property for.
Naturally, the communities are saying that they’ll have to increase taxes on everybody else. How about cutting spending for a change, like those of us in the non-government world have to do every time our disposable income drops?
From the Republican Party of Wisconsin –
MADISON – Republican Party of Wisconsin Spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski issued the following statement regarding the donation from Senator Russ Feingold’s Progressive Patriots Fund to Minnesota Senate candidate Al Franken. Franken’s campaign won Feingold’s "Pick A Progressive Patriot" contest and will receive a $5,000 contribution.
"As someone who has sponsored a Senate Resolution raising awareness of sexual assaults on college campuses, we are shocked and outraged to learn that Feingold’s PAC would donate $5,000 to Al Franken, who is under fire in Minnesota for joking about drugging and raping news personality Leslie Stahl. Feingold says his PAC is "˜dedicated to promoting a progressive reform agenda,’ so we want to know where joking about drugging and raping women fit in the "˜progressive reform agenda.’ Feingold should ask that the contribution be returned to him as Al Franken’s sick and twisted humor is clearly out of line with Wisconsin values."
"The Progressive Patriots Fund is dedicated to promoting a progressive reform agenda and supporting candidates across the country. – Senator Russ Feingold" (Progressive Patriots Fund website, http://www.progressivepatriotsfund.com/, accessed June 25, 2008)
Feingold Sponsors Resolution Raising Awareness Of Sexual Assaults On College Campuses. "[Security On Campus, Inc.]’s efforts to improve campus safety got an important boost this week when the U.S. Senate took action to recognize September as the first ever National Campus Safety Awareness Month. Senate Resolution 221 "˜supporting the goals and ideals of "˜National Campus Safety Awareness Month” was passed unanimously Wednesday evening. "˜Raising awareness of the need for safety on college campuses should be a priority for all of us, particularly as freshman across the country are starting their college careers,’ said U.S. Senator Russ Feingold the sponsor of the campus safety month resolution." (Security On Campus, Inc. press release, http://www.securityoncampus.org/reporters/releases/09162005.pdf)
Al Franken Wins "Pick A Progressive Patriot" Contest, Wins $5,000. "A big thank you to everyone who voted for Al in the "˜Pick A Progressive Patriot’ contest. Because of you, that’s another $5000 in the bank as we wrap up this financial quarter! Our finance staff would be writing this themselves, but they’re pretty busy right now raising money (help them out and vote before June 25th for Al to receive the support of Sen. Barbara Boxer’s PAC for a Change!)" (Al Franken for Senate blog, http://blog.alfranken.com/2008/06/24/russ-feingolds-newest-progressive-patriot/, accessed June 25, 2008)
Franken Under Fire For Skit Idea That Included Rape Of "60 Minutes" Anchor Leslie Stahl. "In the 1995 New York magazine profile of "˜Saturday Night Live,’ [Al] Franken is described among a group of show writers sounding out a possible parody of Andy Rooney centered on a sedative pill bottle found in the "˜60 Minutes’ essayist’s desk. Franken and fellow writers Norm MacDonald and Jim Downey kick around fictional Rooney responses to the discovery of the bottle. The article quotes Franken putting an edgy twist on the discussion, saying in a Rooney voice: "˜And ‘I give the pills to Lesley Stahl. Then when Lesley’s passed out, I take her to the closet and rape her.’ Or ‘That’s why you never see Lesley until February.’ Or, ‘When she passes out I put her in various positions and take pictures of her.’" (Brian Bakst, "GOP blasts Franken over quotes in ’95 article," Associated Press, June 5, 2008)
Feminist Leader Steps Down Over Franken Endorsement. "Mari Urness Pokornowski of Cokato, president of the DFL Feminist Caucus, resigned Saturday when she learned that her group had endorsed Franken. As a mother and former teacher, she said, she didn’t see how Franken’s writings represented rural Minnesota values. The endorsement, she said, "˜was a choice made by the caucus, and once that decision is made, you have to make a choice where you stand, For me, my decision was to step down.’" (Patricia Lopez and Kevin Duchschere, "Franken sweeps to endorsement," Star Tribune, June 8, 2008)
###
Brilliance, Russ. Sheer, unadulterated brilliance!
(H/T – Ed Morrissey)
Wisconsin’s own embarrassment, Russ Feingold, has fully flip-flopped on filibustering the FISA compromise reached by the White House and Congress.
Feingold when the compromise was reached (via WisPolitics):
"The proposed FISA deal is not a compromise; it is a capitulation. The House and Senate should not be taking up this bill, which effectively guarantees immunity for telecom companies alleged to have participated in the President’s illegal program,….”
Feingold on Tuesday as reported by the Green Bay Press-Gazette:
Feingold said he and other Senate opponents won’t try to stop the vote, but they “won’t allow it to pass quickly.”
Instead, Feingold, D-Wis., told an audience at the New America Foundation that he plans to highlight the bill’s flaws in floor speeches.
Feingold yesterday per the Huffington Post:
“This is a deeply flawed bill, which does nothing more than offer retroactive immunity by another name. We strongly urge our colleagues to reject this so-called "˜compromise’ legislation and oppose any efforts to consider this bill in its current form. We will oppose efforts to end debate on this bill as long as it provides retroactive immunity for the telecommunications companies that may have participated in the President’s warrantless wiretapping program, and as long as it fails to protect the privacy of law-abiding Americans.” (emphasis added)
I wonder if Feingold remembers what happened to the last liberal ‘Rat who told his home-state constituents one thing and did the exact opposite. Does Tom Daschle ring a bell? Hopefully the Wisconsin GOP will finally have its act together by 2010.
(H/T – Todd Lohenry)
Those of you lefties who defended Jim “Craps” Doyle (WEAC/Potawatomi-For Sale) are probably going to be cheering his decision to hang onto all of the cash he got from his waterlogged annual golf outing. For the record, here’s the results of the poll I had up in the wake of the flood-damaged decision to go on with the golf outing even as waters continued to rise throughout south-central and southwest Wisconsin…
Should/will Gov. Doyle donate the proceeds of his golf outing fundraiser to flood relief?
Up to 1 answer(s) was/were allowed
Total Voters: 32
Loading ...Rep. Paul Ryan’s staff has provided me with a follow-up on an item from GOPgal in yesterday’s Scramble. He has signed Rep. Lynn Westmoreland’s pledge to vote to increase drilling. The simply-worded petition reads as follows – “I will vote to increase U.S. oil production to lower gas prices for Americans.”
Thank you.
I missed this Wisconsin GOP press release yesterday (thanks for waking me up, Kevin):
MADISON – After news broke yesterday that Governor Doyle held a campaign fundraiser instead of helping flood victims Tuesday, the Republican Party of Wisconsin Chairman Reince Priebus, along with conservatives across the state like radio hosts Jerry Bader and Vicki McKenna, called on Doyle to donate the money he raised golfing to the flood cause.
"With Barack Obama in the state, Obama’s top campaign staffer, Jim Doyle, gave voters a glimpse of the Democrats’ priorities this year – politics over Wisconsin families," said Priebus. "Thousands of families spent the day cleaning-up flood damage while Doyle raised thousands of dollars golfing, the least he can do is donate his proceeds to their behalf."
Governor Doyle held his golf outing Tuesday charging $1,250 a person.
###
With that, I’ve got a new poll up…
Should/will Gov. Doyle donate the proceeds of his golf outing fundraiser to flood relief?
Up to 1 answer(s) was/were allowed
Total Voters: 32
Loading ...From the Wisconsin GOP into my mailbox…
Obama Campaign Pulling Out of Wisconsin?
MADISON – After a series of puff articles over the weekend raving about Senator Barack Obama’s Wisconsin operation, it was discovered Obama actually doesn’t have any campaign offices in the state.
"Perhaps Democrats realize that the most liberal member of the United States Senate is no fit for Wisconsin voters and took their field offices back to Chicago," said Mark Jefferson, Executive Director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin. "This isn’t the first time the Obama campaign has sought to mislead folks in Wisconsin, and it no doubt won’t be the last."
Phone numbers listed on the Obama website for Wisconsin campaign offices were discovered to be inoperable this week. Obama’s national campaign said there hasn’t been campaign offices since the state’s February primary and didn’t know when they would reopen.
According to Jefferson, Obama’s visit this week could be to mask his anemic state operation or it might be a farewell visit to the Badger State.
"It will take more than overblown pep rallies to convince Wisconsin voters that Barack Obama shares their values," Jefferson said. "John McCain has a history of independent leadership that appeals to Wisconsin. Senator Obama has never put partisan interests aside to bring about progress. Maybe that’s why Democrats have to exaggerate their campaign operations."
###
I think it’s a bit too early to say that the Obama campaign isn’t looking at Wisconsin as a battleground state. After all, the Dems are but one Presidential election away from removing the last roadblock to unfettered vote fraud here. Also, Obama is fresh off a protracted, high-cost battle for his party’s nomination coronation, and Wisconsin’s primary came in relatively-early in that.
Still, it is rather interesting that there is no effective Presidential ground game on the other side. That draining of the Obama coffers and resulting lack of Wisconsin offices are a couple benefits of Operation Chaos.
(H/T – Owen)
The Milwaukee Area Technical College district wants to jack up budgeted spending by 6.2% over last year’s budget to $333 million, supported by a 4.9% property tax levy increase. Let’s run some numbers:
– Last year, despite budgeting “only” $314 million, they actually spent $331 million because of various unbudgeted construction projects.
– The 4.9% property tax levy increase asked for is, according to the article, mostly for increases in salary and benefits. That would be an additional $1.5 million in wages/salary, $2+ million in health care and $2.5 million in current-year non-health-care fringe benefits (an additional $2 million in increased fringe benefits is related to a new requirement to put future retirement benefits on the books the year they’re accrued instead of the year they’re paid out). Who here outside of government has had a 4.9% increase in wages and benefits?
– Tuition (set by the state) is going up 5.5%.
Jeanette Bell (ex-mayor of West Allis and proven tax-and-spender) had the audacity to claim that MATC cut to the bone. Again, I ask, who outside of government is getting a 4.9% increase in their compensation packages? Say, maybe it’s time to take another look at the $600,000 public safety initiative as well.
Sorry I don’t have video, but the county signs are in the way.
Since this portion promises to be quick-hitting, I’ll fire up the CoverItLive….
Because I burned much of the last hour catching up on the speakers to the convention-goers, I have but a half-hour before things start back up. Good thing there’s an Arby’s on the same property.
Of note, Rep. Sensenbrenner hit Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch rather hard on the budget repair bill.
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