Scott Walker & His Cronies, What A Newsworthy Bunch They Are!, page 1

I can't believe this guy!

First he gets caught in a phone sting where the caller, who is pretending to be David Koch, is telling him what a good job he's doing as union-buster in chief while Walker gladly accepts the complementary remarks with pride and admits considering the idea of planting troublemakers in the crowds.

www.npr.org...

While Walker doesn't say anything that appears immediately career-ending, when the fake Koch suggests putting "troublemakers" in the crowd of protesters who've been at the Wisconsin state capitol for eight consecutive days, presumably to discredit them, Walker says: "We thought about that."

Once exposed, his outraged constituency amasses over 750,000 signatures in order to demand a recall election. Talk about buyers remorse!

www.rawstory.com...

With Tuesday’s deadline fast approaching, The New York Times reports that Wisconsin’s activists are prepared to submit about 720,000 petition signatures, far surpassing the 540,000 needed to trigger a recall election later this year.

Now it looks like the political fundraising corruption goes far beyond Walker himself and includes his inner circle of aides and associates.

host.madison.com... 871e3ce6c.html

Charges filed Thursday in the ongoing John Doe investigation into former and current aides of Gov. Scott Walker allege a pattern of illegal fundraising and what appears to be a systemic avoidance of campaign laws by Walker's inner circle.
Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm charged Kelly Rindfleisch, 43, with four felony counts of misconduct in public office and Darlene Wink, 61, with two misdemeanor counts of political solicitation by a public employee. Both worked for Walker during his time as Milwaukee County executive, and both are accused of fundraising activities while at their taxpayer-funded jobs.

Read more: host.madison.com... 871e3ce6c.html#ixzz1kikr97Op

The new allegations bring the total number of people criminally charged in the John Doe investigation to six. Earlier this month two Walker appointees, Tim Russell and Kevin Kavanaugh, were arrested and charged with embezzling from veterans groups. Russell's partner, Brian Pierick, also was charged with child enticement.
The probe already has netted one conviction. William Gardner, president of Wisconsin & Southern Railroad, was sentenced to two years of probation after acknowledging funneling at least $72,800 in illegal and excessive campaign contributions to Walker and other candidates.

Read more: host.madison.com... 871e3ce6c.html#ixzz1kin6kwFu

www.rawstory.com...

A former aide to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R) will testify against her former colleagues after officials filed charges of illegal campaign activity while working on taxpayer time, local media has learned.

Darlene Wink, a 61-year-old former public employee charged on Thursday with two misdemeanor counts of political solicitation by a public employee, could be the weak link that spills yet another major scandal over the embattled governor, even as he appears likely to face a recall election later this year.

When I got to looking a little deeper, I found this article regarding the guy charged with child enticement;

www.rawstory.com...

An investigation into the embezzlement of funds by former aides to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has led to charges of sex crimes on the part of the domestic partner of one of the alleged embezzlers.

Computers and cellphones seized from the home shared by former Walker aide Timothy Russell and his domestic partner Brian Pierick revealed a series of text messages that Pierick exchanged with a 17 year old boy from Waukesha, Wisc. in 2010. As a result, Pierick was charged on Thursday with child enticement and causing a child to expose his genitals.

What a despicable bunch of dirtbags these people are! It's sickening for me to even contemplate this group of people occupying such a powerful office in state government. Apparently they all felt that there was no law that they were not above and they could just do as they please. WOW! I sincerely hope that the good judges in Wisconsin throw these people under the jail, change the locks and throw away the keys.

reply to post by Flatfish

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You didn't seem to point out that Gov. Walker is the one who requested the investigation in the first place. Also, you failed to point out that there were no charges filed against the Gov. Walker, nor are there any expected to be!

In reference to the recall petition signatures, there were over 1 million signers, but it has been estimated that less than 3% were citizens who actually voted for Gov. Walker in the last election. The remaining 97%, it would seem, are just people who are bitter at the outcome of the 2010 Elections, and are trying to disenfranchise a majority of the voting public.

I will get the ball rolling........I know very well,the support Walker has in the state of WI.....
(you couldn't get 3 blocks,without seeing a Recall Walker petition booth)

Scumbag?

Sure,All politicians are.

Hated?

You bet.

But....regardless of how he did it,hes doing what he set out to do..........

We have to see why Walker,set out to do what the Democratic Governor failed to do in his 8 years.
(Yes,I am playing the same card Democrats do when they compare GWB and Obama,and what was handed to him)

Governor Jim Doyle

Perhaps no other issue defines the governor’s political statements’ relationship to his actual policies than taxes. In his 2003 State of the State address, Doyle said, “Going forward, my mind will be open to every solution except one. We should not, we must not, and I will not raise taxes."

Shortly after that speech, Doyle proposed to raise the nursing home bed tax from $32 per month per licensed bed to $116 per month per licensed bed to generate $13.8 million for the state’s general fund. More importantly, he vetoed the legislature’s attempt to freeze local property taxes, despite estimates taxes would go up 5.9%.

The raids on the Compensation fund were part of a pattern of raids on segregated funds, including over $1.3 billion from the state’s transportation fund. The state then borrows to fill the gaps in those funds, something it cannot do for the state’s general fund. The 2009-2011 budget authorizes $1.3 billion in borrowing for the transportation fund. As a result of all this borrowing, only 88 cents of every dollar collected for transportation actually goes to spending on transportation needs.

Doyle spent much of his time as governor not living up to the political statements he made. From big issues to small issues, he disappointed and frustrated friend and foe alike. The Doyle motto seemed to be what Rush Limbaugh once described as the strategy of the Clinton White House years, “How do we fool them today?”

Debating Doyle’s Legacy

That is why Scott Walker was elected. Period.

(Blaze/AP) Republican Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed his first budget Sunday, a two-year $66 billion deal that will balance the state’s $3 billion shortfall without raising taxes. Balancing the budget without raising taxes fulfills a campaign pledge, and Gov. Walker was able to accomplish this prior to the new fiscal year starting July 1. The budget passed without the support of a single Democrat in the Legislature.

Wisc Governor Signs Balanced Budget On Time Without Raising Taxes

See how its done?

Like I said ,love the guy,or loath him. Hes doing what he said he was going to do.
I do believe Wisconsin is a better state when Taxes are not on the rise.

Many will agree with that also.

reply to post by sonnny1

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...and many will disagree as well.

"Doing what you say you're going to do" is only a virtue when your actions aren't misguided. Andrew Jackson did "exactly what he said he was going to do" too when he sent the Cherokee's on a forced death-march in the middle of winter and did not allow even pregnant women or the elderly to ride horseback.

As most historians agree, this doesn't make him a "hero". Instead it makes him one of the most despicable characters to ever sit in the Oval Office.

"Cutting taxes" only has merit if you can provide the same or a superior level of service to the citizens. We could cut taxes to zero tomorrow...however a county without police officers, traffic lights, airports, sports stadiums, hospitals, schools, a means to defend itself, firefighters, public libraries, or air traffic control towers seems a bit naive to me. Thus we can see, that "cutting taxes" in and of itself is not inherently positive. That being said, it COULD be...if executed correctly.

Meanwhile...the illustrious Mr. Walker turned down $800 billion in no-strings Federal grants to construct a new, state of the art, high-speed electric rail system estimated to create 10,000 jobs in the state and instead thought it better to shovel $400 billion into cobbling together the Amtrak system to hopefully get a few more years out of it using Amtrak's largely Illinois-based workforce.

More importantly though...is the manner in which Walker has completely disregarded, alienated, and shunned the 47% of the state who didn't vote for him. Yes..."majority rules". However...only a fool thinks that because they got an extra 3% of the vote that they should be able to completely disregard the other HALF of the population.

...just remember...if it's OK to behave this way the next time it might be somebody seriously in opposition to your views that wins by a couple percentage points. What if a Democrat who wins by 3% wants to up the state income tax on $100,000 /yr + wage-earners by 300%?

Is that "justified" just because they have 51% of the vote (elections or state legislature).

Personally....I don't think so. There is wisdom in moderation.

reply to post by milominderbinder

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Wisconsin is a classic example of the divide between the people who service (Cities) and the people who Provide (Farmers).

Almost, though not everyone, I know in Wisconsin is backing Gov. Walker.

He's doing what he set out to do. The hard decisions always are painful. People forget that.

reply to post by TDawgRex

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Same here. I know alot who are going to vote for him........

Look,i said it before,you dont have to like him,or his "boys".

He balanced the budget,and didnt raise taxes.

reply to post by sonnny1

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Methinks that FlatFish really has no dog in this fight other than ideology.

He must be frantically researching Google and Wiki to come up with the something that backs his point of view.

Chances are that he will come up with something from MediaMatters or the Teachers Unions though.



No basis in reality....just opinion, in my opinion.

Originally posted by pyguy
reply to post by Flatfish

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You didn't seem to point out that Gov. Walker is the one who requested the investigation in the first place. Also, you failed to point out that there were no charges filed against the Gov. Walker, nor are there any expected to be!

Yeah and "it ain't over till the fat lady sings" either. By the time this is all said & done, I'll just bet that Scott Walker ends up regretting that he didn't heed the advice offered in the old saying; "Be careful what you ask for, you just may get it."

reply to post by sonnny1

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I really didn't start this thread to discuss the merits, or lack thereof, of ex governor Jim Doyle. Furthermore, I doubt that the disgruntled voters there in Wisconsin are much concerned with him at this point in time either. I could be wrong, but I think it's Scott Walker who has their attention right now.

On the other hand, if you expect me to debate you on the issues of the day, you're going to need to provide something more substantial than opinion pieces from right wing think tanks. Especially those with a history of false reporting on a level only challenged by Rupert Murdoch and Fox News, much less one that has extensive ties to the Koch brothers.

Let's just take a little peek at who "The Maclver Institute" really is;

www.sourcewatch.org...

Method of Operation and reporting irregularities
The MacIver Institute claims to be a news service, but it actually gathers-- and in some cases seems to create-- "news" footage designed to advance a conservative, anti-worker agenda.[8]

Irregularities in the MacIver Institute "doctor's note" video
The MacIver Institute created a video in which the organization claimed to have caught doctors in white coats in February, 2011 directing Madison, Wisconsin protesters to places where they could obtain absentee excuses for the time they were out of work marching in protest of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's "budget repair" bill.[10] However, numerous irregularities were found in the reporting. The names of the "doctors" listed on the notes could not be verified. The notes listed the doctor as "Kathy Orton," but no Kathy Orton was found to be listed as a Wisconsin doctor. Also, the contact listed on the doctors notes was "Badgerdoctors@gmail.com," but no listing for "Badgerdoctors" existed, which one would presume to be the name of the medical group or association the "doctors" were from. Usually in protest situations, the final negotiation with employers forgives the days missed for protests, but this information was not mentioned in MacIver's "report." It was also revealed that videographer who shot the "doctor's note" footage was Christian Hartstock, a friend of Andrew Breitbart, who is known for putting misleading videos on his web site, BigGovernment.com [

Ties to the Kochs
ThinkProgress reports that the MacIver Institute has numerous ties to the billionaire Koch Brothers, billionaire co-owners of Koch Industries, which has numerous business interests in Wisconsin. ThinkProgress writes,
Mark Block, the Americans for Prosperity Wisconsin state director and a key figure in the alleged voter suppression plot, sits on MacIver’s board of directors. MacIver and AFP Wisconsin also share two other board members, David Fettig and Fred Luber. MacIver also works closely with AFP Wisconsin as part of the Wisconsin Prosperity Network, along with another group with ties to Koch funding, American Majority. The think tank also participates in the Koch-funded Institute for Humane Studies’ Koch Summer Fellows Program and is a member of the Koch-funded State Policy Network.[

When you take a closer look at who staffs the Maclver Institute it looks like a carbon copy of Scott Walker's corrupt inner circle of staff and advisors except for that fact that most of them have already been convicted.

Let's start with Scott Jensen;

Jensen is controversial because he was the subject of an eight-year criminal case for misconduct while he was in office in Wisconsin. The case concluded in December, 2010 after Jensen agreed to pay a $5,000 civil forfeiture fine and reimburse the state of Wisconsin $67,174 in legal fees initially borne by taxpayers, according to a plea deal. Waukesha County Circuit Judge Patrick L. Snyder found Jensen guilty of an ethics code violation related to his using his government position for illegal gain. Felony charges against Jensen were dropped under the deal. Jensen also has a 2006 misdemeanor conviction in Dane County for violating the public trust. In 2002, Jensen (along with other GOP leaders in the State Assembly) was charged with using taxpayer dollars to run a secret, illegal campaign machine out of the Capitol

---Continued---

reply to post by sonnny1

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Next, let's take a look at the president of the Maclver Institute, Brett Healy;

The president of MacIver Institute is Brett Healy, who worked for Scott Jensen for 12 years and was Jensen's Chief of Staff during the time Jensen was brought up on criminal charges.[17][18] During Jensen's trial, Healy contradicted testimony offered by two staffers he supervised, Leigh (Himebauch) Searl and Carrie (Hoeper) Richard -- that Jensen was fully aware of the campaign work they and others did on behalf of Taxpayers for Jensen while at the office. In testimony given prior Healy's in the trial, Leigh (Himebauch) Searl said that for four months in 2000, she worked on Jensen's campaign while drawing a state salary and occupying an office at the Republican Party of Wisconsin. Healy testified that he was unaware of that arrangement. Healy went on to become a lobbyist for School Choice Wisconsin in Milwaukee.

Then there's the treasurer of the Institute, Marc Block;

The Institute's Treasurer, Mark Block, was State Director of the Wisconsin chapter of Americans for Prosperity. Block was banned from politics and fined $15,000 for participating in an illegal scheme in the campaign of Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Jon Wilcox. Block served as Wilcox's campaign manager. Block illegally coordinated $200,000 worth of campaign activity with a group that pretended to be operating independently. The person who ran that "independent" group was fined $35,000 and was also banned from Wisconsin state politics for five years. Justice Wilcox also paid a $10,000 fine. The fines were the largest ever assessed against a campaign in Wisconsin's history

In addition to the enlightening summary of the Maclver Institute that I have provided here, I would say "ditto" to the remarks offered by milominderbinder in his/her post.

This is about the bums who are currently occupying the Wisconsin capitol today, not his predecessor. Only time will tell just how the majority of Wisconsinites feel about this man and personally, I don't see his political future as being all that promising.

Originally posted by stirling
Goberments typically get struck by unions becaude they refude to deal with the unions realistically.
The Govt Workers must have a method to twist the Goverments ear other than going on etrike at the drop of a hat.

From what I can tell, the "drop of a hat" strikes you are referring to haven't really been an issue for quite some time.

www.wisconsinlaborhistory.org...

It is perhaps that tradition that helped Wisconsin to lead the way in public employee unionism (the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Workers was founded in 1936 in Madison.) Public workers gained true union rights in the late 1950s, with some public employee unions recognizing that they had to use private industry tactics, such as the strike, to win justice. In Milwaukee, AFSCME District Council 48 almost annually threatened garbage strikes at budget time, prompting city officials there and elsewhere to seek state law supporting public sector collective bargaining and banning strikes. The result was Section 111.70 of the State Statutes, which finally was given teeth in 1963. The law set up union elections procedures, a “prohibited practice”, and fact-finding, all of which gave public employees greater rights and helped to spur unionism.

The Wisconsin law was a model for the nations; it was a success in that few crippling strikes occurred, while employees gained better wages and working conditions. Teachers’ unions struggled for a while to find their place under the new law, needing in some cases to cast off their former leadership by principals and superintendents to become “unions” in fact, if not in name.

The 1974 Hortonville Teachers’ strike, however, demonstrated the chancy results of public employee strikes, particularly in smaller communities. In 1977, following strikes by Madison firefighters and Milwaukee police, the legislature called for binding arbitration of public employee strikes, virtually ending such job actions in the public sector.

Originally posted by sonnny1
reply to post by TDawgRex

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Same here. I know alot who are going to vote for him........

Look,i said it before,you dont have to like him,or his "boys".

He balanced the budget,and didnt raise taxes.

It's clearly evident that the main thesis behind your post in this thread is that "The Ends Justify The Means." If I'm not mistaken, that's the same mentality that G.W. bush utilized to lie this nation into the Iraq War and he basically admitted it when he said that history would should that he was right. I'm still waiting for that history to be manufactured and I suspect it will be a historian like Glenn Beck or Bill O'Reilly who authors it. More often that not it makes no sense to me, but if it works for you, go for it!

Originally posted by TDawgRex
reply to post by sonnny1

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Methinks that FlatFish really has no dog in this fight other than ideology.

He must be frantically researching Google and Wiki to come up with the something that backs his point of view.

Chances are that he will come up with something from MediaMatters or the Teachers Unions though.

No basis in reality....just opinion, in my opinion.

edit on 28-1-2012 by TDawgRex because: (no reason given)

I hate to disappoint you but it seldom takes a frantic search of any kind to invalidate the claims of radical right-wingers, usually all it takes is a closer look at their sources of information. More often than not, that yellow brick road will lead to Andrew Breitbart, Grover Norquist, James O'Keefe or Fox News. Need I say more?

Originally posted by Flatfish

Originally posted by TDawgRex
reply to post by sonnny1

---

Methinks that FlatFish really has no dog in this fight other than ideology.

He must be frantically researching Google and Wiki to come up with the something that backs his point of view.

Chances are that he will come up with something from MediaMatters or the Teachers Unions though.

No basis in reality....just opinion, in my opinion.

edit on 28-1-2012 by TDawgRex because: (no reason given)

I hate to disappoint you but it seldom takes a frantic search of any kind to invalidate the claims of radical right-wingers, usually all it takes is a closer look at their sources of information. More often than not, that yellow brick road will lead to Andrew Breitbart, Grover Norquist, James O'Keefe or Fox News. Need I say more?

Nope. You have a point there.

My info comes from the people who live there. Freinds and family.

All have commented on how things are actually getting better in Wisconsin since Walker entered office, slowly, but surely.

One friend, who is a old school democrat, said it turns his stomach to admit Walker is turning things around, but he gives credit where credit is due.

He'll still be voting democrat come the next election though.

Originally posted by Flatfish
reply to post by sonnny1

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I really didn't start this thread to discuss the merits, or lack thereof, of ex governor Jim Doyle. Furthermore, I doubt that the disgruntled voters there in Wisconsin are much concerned with him at this point in time either. I could be wrong, but I think it's Scott Walker who has their attention right now.

On the other hand, if you expect me to debate you on the issues of the day, you're going to need to provide something more substantial than opinion pieces from right wing think tanks. Especially those with a history of false reporting on a level only challenged by Rupert Murdoch and Fox News, much less one that has extensive ties to the Koch brothers. .....

K.......

Sources provided are sketchy,so dont look at them. I could go at News sources to show you Governor Doyle failed this state,but I suppose that wouldn't matter also.

Lets get down to the nitty gritty.

Opinion or Fact.


Was the budget in a mess when Governor Doyle left?
Did Governor Doyle RAISE taxes,after promising to not raise them?

You have to take that under account,you would be a fool not to.It was the reason why Walker was elected.

Look,I am not defending Scott Walker,but I am saying he is trying to right the ship,albeit not the way I would have done it.

About his "boys"?

How can you be angry at this,when the previous administration had the same amount of inconstancy/stupidity? Where are you posts on that?

When you rob Peter to pay Paul for 8 years,Peter is going to come looking for the money eventually.

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