And Democrats unelectable.
Wisconsin Republicans have a secret weapon in the nine senate districts up for recall this summer.
No, it's not the Republicans running as "stealth" Democratic challengers in the six Republican districts. I reiterate here that I believe in truth in sentencing and truth in politicking. But I understand Sen. Fitzgerald's point that his people are busy writing a state budget and don't have the time usually afforded by the normal election cycle to campaign.
The fake Democrats will trigger primaries so that what would have been the final election on July 12 becomes a Democrat-only primary election and pushes the general election back to August 9. Besides which, it is hardly a secret that these folks are Republicans. In fact, it has widely been reported. Plus, it appears they will be advertising themselves as protest candidates.
(Democrats pulled the same trick last year on Rep. Bob Zieglebauer of Manitowoc. Democrats in Milwaukee County have groused for years that Sheriff David Clark is not one of them.)
No, the secret weapon that Republicans will use to preserve their six senators and unseat the three Democrats being recalled are hiding in plain sight.
- They are inhabiting the Tent City on the Capitol Square.
- They are being carried bodily out of the Joint Finance Committee as even Democrat members call for order.
- They are F-bombing a 13-year-old girl.
- They are giving the finger to unblinking cameras.
- They are smoking marijuana in the Capitol.
- They are threatening small business owners, e-mailing death threats, faking doctor's excuses, disrupting the legislative process, and walking out of their classrooms.
- They are acting like zombies and upstaging a Special Olympics ceremony.
"Wow, they couldn't even leave the Special Olympics alone," marvels the MacIver Institute, which has the story. The planners expressed no remorse on hijacking that event. Who's next? Orphans? Organ donors? And those are just the O's.
Even the Democrat(ic) party denounced the stunt. "It was totally inappropriate behavior that distracts from the good work the Special Olympics does," said a spokesman.
It's alive! It's alive!
Democrats created this monster when 14 of them took the extra-legal step of skipping town in violation of the state constitution rather than do their jobs. Now the monster controls them.
We saw it when Mayor Paul Soglin apparently allowed hotheads like Kyle Szarzynski to think that police would look the other way while young radicals closed down the Capitol Square rather than draw a firm line.
This may be quintessential Madison but it does not play well in Green Bay or Hudson or the North Woods. You can bet that seasoned professionals are assembling the video footage even now into compelling 30-second TV ads. This will be what Democrats look like.
Cooler heads like Sens. Bob Jauch and Tim Cullen will be outshouted by bullhorn bellowers like John Nichols and his International Socialists. The Left has its marching orders.
"Activists say it's time to make Wisconsin ungovernable." So says editor Matt Rothschild in the cover story of the current Progressive magazine.
Rothschild approvingly quotes a rogue's gallery of Lefties: teachers union boss John Matthews boasts that "his people" are itching to "walk out on the job again."
Ellen Bravo, former national director of 9 to 5, vows to keep up the raw intimidation. "We have to keep making them scared."
In the money quote, Frank Emspak of Workers Independent News threatens, "We need to make the state ungovernable."
Hear that, voters of Wisconsin? Elect Democrats or there's going to be trouble.
Days of Rage coming next week?
Next week could see the biennial state budget take final form and the crazies at a fever pitch. DOA Secretary Mike Huebsch says he is beefing up security at the State Capitol for the expected rough stuff. I got to think - this is pure conjecture - that the National Guard is on alert.
Folks, it is the broken windows theory of crime applied to politics. Allow a window to be broken today and tomorrow a crack house moves in and the next day the coroner is called to the scene. In politics, allow protestors to elbow aside a scheduled Red Cross blood drive and tomorrow they're shutting down a bank, closing schools, threatening a state senator and -- what's next?
All for what? Because unionized government employees won't share the sacrifices of private sector workers, many of whom are out of work and their homes foreclosed? Because they won't pay a little more for their generous pensions and top shelf health plans?
What's that? You say you ARE willing to share the sacrifice but why take away our bargaining rights?
Then why did City of Madison, Dane County, and Madison school employees rush to beat implementation of Governor Walker's bargaining law changes, in some cases locking in 2 and 3 percent pay increases and no (or smaller) contributions?
Now the Milwaukee school board -- not a Republican in sight is asking that its teachers union open up its contract to agree to a 5.8 percent pension contribution. Doing so would save 198 teaching jobs, 23 nurses, and 27 art and music teachers at a time when state shared revenue is decimated by the Obama recession.
No sale, says Mike Langyel, MTEA president, according to jsonline.com.
The teachers unions are embarrassing many good Democrats.
"It might make for great chest thumping and quotes in the paper, but blaming Scott Walker isn't really an effective strategy for preventing teachers, school nurses and counselors from being laid off," says Left on the Lake.
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Kevin Binversie at Lakeshore Laments says Randy Hopper should step aside. James Wigderson agrees. I love his header: "Randy Hopper in the Wiener Republic." Get it, history buffs? I'm predicting a primary in that race - on the Republican side.
Love how Google mines a website's key words to place advertisements. It can produce this timely juxtaposition. As the New York Daily News notes, "Erections Have Consequences." (Hat tip to Binversie.)
Marquette Law Prof Rick Esenberg tells advocacy journalist Vicki McKenna that the state Supreme Court could rule 6-1 to overturn Judge Sumi very soon. Yes, even the Chief Justice.
Today's encomium: Blaska's Blog is "racist, misogynist, randroid posturing." -- Detritus 2-15-11.
"Randroid?"
