Friday, December 7, 2012
Democrats received more votes statewide in the November elections, but Republicans won more seats. What does that say about redistricting?
The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board’s Nov. 29 certification of the official results of the Nov. 6 election made it, well, official: Democratic candidates got more votes than Republicans in state races for president, U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, state Senate and state Assembly. But the Republicans were able to keep a 5-3 lead in the U.S. House of Representatives, reclaim control of the state Senate by a margin of 18 to 15 seats, and secure a commanding 60-39 advantage in the state Assembly, despite getting fewer votes overall. How can that be? Mike McCabe, the executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, a nonpartisan elections watchdog, has a theory: “The outcome of this year’s U.S. House as well as …
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Walker maintains he had nothing to do with the ongoing investigation, and says he would have done the right thing if he had knowledge of any misconduct.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Tuesday confidently stated that he has no worries when it comes to the ongoing John Doe investigation. Walker maintained he has done nothing wrong, and has no knowledge of illegal campaign activities that may have occurred on the taxpayers' dime during his tenure as Milwaukee County executive. Walker distanced himself from the investigation while visiting Tailored Label Products in Menomonee Falls. “We’ve been told repeatedly, if there were bigger concerns, they would be coming to us,” Walker said. “Remember, we were the ones asking for this two years ago, and brought it to their attention.” Walker is of course referring to blowing the whistle on his former aide, Timothy Russell. Russell is accused of …
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Former Republican governor says his Democratic opponent in U.S. Senate race is too liberal; she claims he represents special-interest groups in Washington.
Trailing in the polls, former Gov. Tommy Thompson went on the attack Friday night against U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin in their first debate for the U.S. Senate race. Republican Thompson portrayed his Democratic opponent as a “taxer and a spender” who is outside the mainstream, according to WisPolitics.com. My opponent is so far to the extreme even her party doesn’t pass any of her legislation," Thompson said. The Associated Press reported that Thompson spent most of the debate on the attack, casting himself as a visionary reformer and branding Baldwin "a taxer and a spender." "When you don't have a record, you attack the other person," he said. "I get things done. I don't criticize the other side. I make sure things happen." Baldwin wasn't shy…
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Wisconsin governor says he wants Republican presidential candidate to talk directly to voters — with a feisty Paul Ryan firing up the crowd for him.
- ELECTIONS
- Jim Price
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Thursday, September 27, 2012
“Passion” is at the heart of the presidential campaign, Gov. Scott Walker believes, and he said Thursday Wisconsin Republicans have enough of it to carry the state for presidential candidate Mitt Romney. But, he said, Romney needs to show more of that passion — and one way to bring it out would be to campaign more with a pumped up U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan running at his side. Walker said he knows Romney to be a man of passion, and now, with just less than six weeks left in the campaign, he needs to get out and show it. “I love seeing Paul Ryan on the stump,” Walker said. “I want to see more of the enthusiasm I saw in Waukesha the day after he was announced, when I saw Mitt and Paul together — because I not only saw Paul pumped up, I saw Mitt …
Friday, September 14, 2012
A Dane County judge has declared Act 10 — the budget repair bill — as unconstitutional at both the state and federal levels.
The law that ended most collective bargaining rights for public employees was struck down Friday by Dane County Circuit Judge Juan Colas. According to our media partners at Fox 6 News, Colas ruled Act 10 — the budget repair bill — as null and void because the law violates both the state and US Constitutions. Specifically, the law violates the guarantee of freedom of speech and citizens' freedom of association. Colas' 27-page decision is summarized in The Capital Times, quoting the judge's primary reason for his decision as " (Act 10) single(s) out and encumber(s) the rights of those employees who choose union membership and representation solely because of that association and therefore infringe upon the rights of free speech and …
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Party leaders and delegates offer up some advice for U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan on what will be the biggest speech of his life.
TAMPA, FL -- All eyes will be on U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan on Wednesday night as the Wisconsin congressman formally accepts his vice presidential nomination in a prime-time speech at the Republican National Convention here. Patch chatted with Wisconsin delegates and other party leaders in Tampa about Ryan's acceptance speech and asked them what they thought he needs to do to introduce himself to America. __________________________________ Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch: "Paul Ryan just needs to go and be himself. Paul Ryan is loved in Wisconsin. Paul Ryan is a hero not just to the GOP in Wisconsin, but to all of us who share his values, who share his love of the outdoors, his love of family and his Midwestern virtues that he is going to bring to …
Monday, August 13, 2012
Former Gov. Tommy Thompson and businessman Eric Hovde appear to be frontrunners, but many voters still undecided - which could help candidates Mark Neumann and Jeff Fitzgerald.
When conservative voters went to the polls in Wisconsin’s recent recall elections, their choice for candidates was pretty clear. Tuesday’s U.S. Senate Republican primary, however, poses a difficult decision for voters — and a clear favorite is far from evident. Hedge fund manager and businessman Eric Hovde; former Gov. Tommy Thompson; state Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald; and former U.S. Rep. Mark Neumann will face each other in the statewide primary. The winner will advance to take on Democratic U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin in the Nov. 6 election for the seat left vacant by the retirement of Democrat Herb Kohl. Gov. Scott Walker, who has said he will remain neutral in the primary, said the quartet of candidates have combined to offer voters …
Saturday, August 11, 2012
A Patch survey of Wisconsin Republican "insiders" say they see Ryan as a strong conservative.
A Patch poll conducted Saturday found that Wisconsin Republican insiders are enthusiastic about Mitt Romney’s decision to tap Rep. Paul Ryan as his vice presidential running mate. The overwhelming majority of respondents — 96 percent — to the "Red Wisconsin" Survey agreed that the selection of Ryan will "galvanize" support for Romney in the Badger State. "I absolutely love Romney making a bold decision like this," said one GOP influencer. "I believe I speak for the majority of conservatives when I say we have been waiting for Romney to make this sort of decision — a very specific one — for months... I am excited, and I believe Romney just showed he is all in. Game. Set. Match. " Added another respondent: "Paul Ryan is a great pick for …
Friday, July 6, 2012
With no limits on contributions, Gov. Scott Walker raised $37 million over the course of the recall — roughly the same amount both his opposition and independent groups spent.
Gov. Scott Walker raised $6.7 million in the final days before and weeks immediately after the June 5 recall election, according to his campaign. That brings Walker's total fundraising during the recall to $37 million and his total cash on hand, accumulated since he took office in January 2011, to $1.6 million. Meanwhile, other candidates and independent groups raised $37.4 million during the recall, bringing total spending to more than $70 million. In May, $62 million had been pumped into Wisconsin recalls. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, a Democrat who lost to Walker in both the 2010 race and the recall, raised about $2.5 million during the recall's home stretch; $6.3 million from March 30 to June 30. He spent $6.6 million and had $250,000 …
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Also, Ryan deflects any talk about vice presidential nod, but Walker hints that he wouldn't mind seeing a home-grown executive-in-waiting.
Wauwatosa – Introduced by state Sen. Alberta Darling as Wisconsin's Republican "superstars" of national politics, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan and Gov. Scott Walker on Tuesday blasted away at President Barack Obama's fiscal policies in a joint press conference in Wauwatosa. The occasion: The fourth anniversary of a speech by then-candidate Obama in Fargo, ND, in which he branded President George W. Bush's $4 trillion increase in the national debt "irresponsible" and "unpatriotic." There was no question, though, that despite his name being mentioned only sparingly at first, the event was all about promoting Mitt Romney, Obama's Republican opponent in November. Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, went on the warpath first, saying that after…
Dave Koven
11:14 am on Friday, December 14, 2012
Alinsky...What would be so wrong with having Hispanic reps. in a largely Hispanic district? The real problem is that various ethnic groups (non-caucasian) tend to vote more Democratic. This kind of fiddling around has to stop. Again, just because something is technically legal doesn't make it right. more ›