July 11, 2011

"It feels like madness abounds in our state, like Wisconsin is 65,000 square miles surrounded by sanity."

"We're just living in a really weird time."

Said Mike McCabe, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

"I'm sort of happy about this because this shows people that politics is about things that affect people's lives. On the other hand, I'm sad for Wisconsin because this is all the wrong kind of politics.... We've gone from clean-cut to really being on the cutting edge of the new form of American politics — battle to the death, win at any cost."

Said Mordechai Lee, a professor of government affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

And this is what really got me:
The state's nine legislative recall elections compare with a total of 20 across the nation since 1913, according to Joshua Spivak, a senior fellow at the Hugh L. Carey Institute for Government Reform at Wagner College in New York. Wisconsin has had two.
Amazing. We really have gone crazy.

IN THE COMMENTS: Meade said:
As Mrs. Stapleton said to Fred Clark (the Undemocratic Party District 14 candidate for senate), "it's a crime" that these recalls are happening at all. The cynical true purpose of these recall elections is to reverse the democratic expression of the voters in last November's general election. A vote for the so-called "fake" primary candidate tomorrow is a vote against the recall election itself - a waste of time and money and an insult to all Wisconsin citizens.
Brilliant! I agree completely.

114 comments:

mccullough said...

Forward!

Fred4Pres said...

Does this explain your Obama vote?

Do you feel a bout of craziness coming on for the 2012 election?

Mark said...

Don't forget, you have Minnesota to your east. We no longer have a Governor making decisions for us, we have a "Special Master" who is deciding what should be funded and what shouldn't. Expect new car sales to drop to near 0 in the next couple of weeks.
You might have to look to the Dakotas for sanity to the west.

Anonymous said...

My dyed-in-the-wool-democrat mother-in-law, who is from the upper-Midwest (though not Wisconsin) and who campaigned for and raised money for Obama, was railing about how awful teachers' unions were last night. I was astonished.

galdosiana said...

Well, that's just because until this year, we didn't really know what democracy looked like.

Revenant said...

Does this explain your Obama vote?

The only thing needed to explain a vote for Obama is the fact that he ran against John McCain. The 2008 election was a race between two men devoid of redeeming qualities.

garage mahal said...

Republicans started it! Dems are just simply responding to Alinsky tactics from the right

Anonymous said...

"... battle to the death"

If you can't stand the heat, lady, get the fuck out of politics.

I mean, do you think we've even started to bring the WAR to you yet? We haven't even BEGUN, you whinging pussy.

Throw up your white flag and resign. Get out of politics and go grow some garlic or something, Mike.

I'm not sure you have the stomach for the coming fight for the soul of our country.

But we do.

David said...

It's crazy, but it's crazy for a reason.

We are now in the early stages of an earthquake in how we view government as a nation. The debate will play out over several years, and get more not less intense. The small government-big government divide is not new, but the stakes are. As a nation we face financial failure. Not next week, or next month, or probably next year. But soon, if we do not change how we do things.

These changes will gore so may oxes that some wild politics are inevitable. We will have demonstrations, lawsuits and at some point perhaps considerable violence. I expect some strong third party Presidential candidates at some point. It will seem--and be--chaotic.

It will not be clear for some time who the long term winners are. It will shift back and forth. But the reckoning will come, and it will have to include huge cuts in government spending. Otherwise we will be broke.

Wisconsin is on the leading edge of this upcoming long term battle. That's a good thing. It will stay crazy for a while in our wonderful country and wonderful state. But because we are starting earlier than many, perhaps it will end sooner here.

David said...

Shorter version: Don't expect normal times for quite a while.

traditionalguy said...

Wisconsin has been organised by the Far Side. It more Larsen themed Posts.

In Larsen's Wisconsin, the signs in the yard say,"beware of the Doug", and Doug lurks behind the tree.

Biddy read a Larsen Far Side cartoon book sent to her by the Walker haters, and she ran for the hills.

Anonymous said...

Wisconsin political intrigue ... brought to you by the editors at a gay newspaper 1,500 miles away.

Local news ... that's what will save newspapers.

David said...

It is a battle to the death--figuratively speaking, I hope. Powerful interests are being challenged. The will fight change with ferocity.

ricpic said...

The gravy train ride is coming to an end. Hence the craziness not of "we" but of, to quote another commenter, the moocher class.

Dad29 said...

Noteworthy: Joseph J. Thorndike, director of the Tax History Project at the nonprofit group Tax Analysts [said] "The sort of value proposition of a tax has been destroyed..."

He was addressing the national scene, but could well have been describing the Wisconsin situation before Walker FINALLY put a stop to it.

Shanna said...

Republicans started it! Dems are just simply responding to Alinsky tactics from the right

Yeah! Damn those republicans for having the gaul to win an election and then pass bills the other side doesn't like! That's so alinsky of them. Oh wait, that's just regular politics.

Anonymous said...

"It feels like madness abounds in our state, like Wisconsin is 65,000 square miles surrounded by sanity."

Democrat Mike McCabe is a fucking moron. He doesn't even know how big his own state is.

It's not 65,000 square miles.

It's 54,310 square miles.

bagoh20 said...

Losing your mind should include a feeling of elation and ecstasy if you're doing it right.

It was the insanity over the previous decades that was the good stuff.

Anonymous said...

"It is a battle to the death--figuratively speaking, I hope."

No. It's not.

It's a literal battle to the death.

It's not over until we win.

We learned that strategy from Russ Feingold. He taught us - like Obama.

Obama and Russ taught us to get in their faces. And to fucking punch them twice as hard. Until we win.

Battle.

To the death.

This is not Wisconsin.

THIS. IS. SPARTA.

garage mahal said...

I'll gladly pay more and receive less, as long as Paris Hilton is not asked to! Anything else is tyranny.

bagoh20 said...

Biden got right to it when he said: "This is a big fucking deal."

Now the right is making some omelets.

edutcher said...

"the new form of American politics — battle to the death, win at any cost."

Uh, somebody 'splain to me, when was this not the way the Demos did business?

bagoh20 said...

Isn't it pathetic that after getting most of what we need from the likes of her, we still need to hit up Paris Hilton to survive? How did we get here?

dbp said...

Althouse: "Amazing. We really have gone crazy. "

I don't know about the use of "We" there. There are a lot of crazy people, they are not in charge but there are enough of them to cause a lot of chaos.

dbp said...

May be they are a bit like Dostoevsky's Devils?

dbp said...

“Your Excellency,” said a policeman, coming up to him, “what if you were to try the repose of home? . . . It's dangerous for your Excellency even to stand here.”

This policeman, as I heard afterwards, had been told off by the chief of police to watch over Andrey Antonovitch, to do his utmost to get him home, and in case of danger even to use force—a task evidently beyond the man's power.

“They will wipe away the tears of the people whose houses have been burnt, but they will burn down the town. It's all the work of four scoundrels, four and a half! Arrest the scoundrel! He worms himself into the honour of families. They made use of the governesses to burn down the houses. It's vile, vile! Aie, what's he about?” he shouted, suddenly noticing a fireman at the top of the burning lodge, under whom the roof had almost burnt away and round whom the flames were beginning to flare up. “Pull him down! Pull him down! He will fall, he will catch fire, put him out! . . . What is he doing there?”

“He is putting the fire out, your Excellency.”

“Not likely. The fire is in the minds of men and not in the roofs of houses. Pull him down and give it up! Better give it up, much better! Let it put itself out.

Anonymous said...

GarageBanal: "I'll gladly pay more and receive less"

Nobody is fucking stopping you from gladly paying more, Garage. You always have that option. We've made sure of that.

Click here, and you can DONATE your money to the United States Treasury.

Please, be my fucking guest. Waste your money.

I choose instead to spend my money securing the liberty and freedom of my family and my tribe of friends.

Go ahead. Give away your money. But I'd suggest that you think twice before you try to take MY fucking money, asshole.

(Incidently, in Massachusetts citizens are allowed to pay a voluntary higher rate of 5.5% state taxation. US Senator John Kerry pays the lower rate. Not the voluntary higher rate he would impose on the rest of us Americans.)

bagoh20 said...

"We" can only apply to the liberals in Wisconsin. I didn't see any insanity outside of that.

Yet there are many who saw that, but continue to bitterly cling to their bean bags and folk music.

Carol_Herman said...

Yeah, it's sad that you can define areas one way or the other.

Politics is about individual choices. There should be no threats to people of other faiths. Religious. Or otherwise.

I think t'marra's recall elections must be freaking out somebody, no?

What if the "recalls" were a stupid idea? Will it make a difference next week, when you hold the second of two?

Carol_Herman said...

Battle to the death?

How do you know the contest has started? Does somebody yell out "choke-hold?"

I gather hitting below the belt, though, is okay, huh?

Meade said...

As Mrs. Stapleton said to Fred Clark (the Undemocratic Party District 14 candidate for senate, "it's a crime" that these recalls are happening at all. The cynical true purpose of these recall elections is to reverse the democratic expression of the voters in last November's general election. A vote for the so-called "fake" primary candidate tomorrow is a vote against the recall election itself - a waste of time and money and an insult to all Wisconsin citizens.

garage mahal said...

How did we get to a place where the 98% of this country think they get some of "say" in how things are run? It's so stupid.

bagoh20 said...

A system of continuous recall elections could lead to a more responsive government, or even better, just have 100% referendums.

bagoh20 said...

mulligan?

The voters should sneak out of town and refuse to vote.

Leadership

Lombardi Chick said...

Democrat Mike McCabe is a fucking moron. He doesn't even know how big his own state is.

It's not 65,000 square miles.

It's 54,310 square miles.


He's a Democrat, so...maybe he was including northern Illinois?

ricpic said...

I love summer
Summer is cool
Summer is cool
Cause it's hot.

I love summer
Walk around naked
Walk around naked
Why not?

James said...

WOW.... they trotted out every garden-variety lefty for that article.

coketown said...

You're surrounded by Illinois, Minnesota, and Michigan, among others. I wouldn't call that 'surrounded by sanity.'

I have an idea. Give Garage Mahal a stage at the capitol so he can regale everyone with stories about his black neighbor and how awesome high speed rail is. Then you'll look less bat-shit crazy by comparison.

edutcher said...

ricpic said...

I love summer
Summer is cool
Summer is cool
Cause it's hot.

I love summer
Walk around naked
Walk around naked
Why not?


Depends who it is.

Ann is one thing, garage something else.

rhhardin said...

It's not madness. It's incivility. By any means necessary took over from waiting for the next election.

Gore started it.

It always struck me as treason.

Anonymous said...

"Give Garage Mahal a stage at the capitol"

GarageMahal already has a stage at the Capitol.

He's the obese guy on a "hunger strike" who after the cameras leave goes to Burger King and downs two Whopper Combos back-to-back.

What ... you didn't know Garage was the obese fatty that Ann has been taking pictures of while he gains weight on his "hunger strike?"

I thought that was common knowledge.

Methadras said...

No, your state is run by a mob. A public employee unionista mob. This is what you get when taxpayers aren't being represented at the negotiating table because unionistas kick up the dues to the bosses, who grease the palms of their democrat legislative cock-suckers and the tax-payers get nothing in return except the circus show that has become Madison. You live in a broken state run by broken people who don't give two shits about what you think because all they want is your money and more of it.

Anonymous said...

"The state's nine legislative recall elections compare with a total of 20 across the nation since 1913"

How many more we see in the next few years depends in large part on how many are successful.

Methadras said...

garage mahal said...

Republicans started it! Dems are just simply responding to Alinsky tactics from the right


If you weren't a joke already, I'd laugh even harder at you.

coketown said...

What ... you didn't know Garage was the obese fatty that Ann has been taking pictures of while he gains weight on his "hunger strike?"

Well, no. From the way he talks, I thought he was a female half-black/half-latino homosexual government worker who donates all his disposable income to the US Treasury.

At least, that's how he builds himself up.

Unknown said...

Garage said:

"I'll gladly pay more and receive less, as long as Paris Hilton is not asked to! Anything else is tyranny."

No silly. If the government forced you to pay more for less--that would be tyranny. Likewise, if the government forced Paris Hilton to pay more so that you could pay less, that would be tyranny. And if you insist that Paris Hilton's lovely curvaceous ass should pay for your lame saggy ass' retirement, that would be tyranny.

Look, if you want Paris, you should pay or at least go dutch.

garage mahal said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
garage mahal said...

He's the obese guy on a "hunger strike" who after the cameras leave goes to Burger King and downs two Whopper Combos back-to-back.

I would wager I paid more taxes last year than you and that little shitstain troll Coketown made year. Certainly more than you, you told us you do not work, correct.

Bob Ellison said...

Professor, you say "I agree completely" [with Meade's comment]. I don't agree at all.

This argument is trotted out for every recall and impeachment. "They're trying to undo the election!" Well, it appears that Wisconsin has a legal system for fixing election choices that turn sour. Is the original election so sacred that the recall should never be considered? Why have the recall provision at all, then?

A recall is a drastic measure. If this particular recall effort is as fake as Meade suggests, it will probably fail miserably. If it's still that lousy and yet succeeds, then Wisconsin has bigger problems than we all thought.

Perhaps the barriers to obtain a recall election should be higher, or perhaps Wisconsin would fare better with no such provision at all. Me, I like recalls and threats of impeachment. We have very little of that going around, and more of it would scare career politicians.

bagoh20 said...

"I would wager I paid more taxes last year than you "

But by your own argument it's not enough, and you are the problem, because you don't pay more. So write that check, since you don't have anything better to do with your money.

Sal said...

A friend of mine, today, said that it's all comes back to the contempt for open government and blitzpolitik. They would've never been elected on this agenda. I agree.

Phil 314 said...

When all is said and done its not "craziness" its math and accounting.

Having to pay for stuff from the Dems perspective is

CRAZY

Phil 314 said...

I'll gladly pay more and receive less, as long as Paris Hilton is not asked to!

Paris Hilton lives in Wisconsin!?

Awww, lucky!!

The Crack Emcee said...

It's all reflective of How The Progressive Liberal NewAge Mind "Works".

Once that comes into focus, it will stop.

coketown said...

I would wager I paid more taxes last year than you and that little shitstain troll Coketown made year.

By "troll" he means "people who make points of such erudite nuance and profound complexity that I cannot hope to respond."

The point I made that got his panties in a twist was pointing to data at the BLS website on Madison's labor composition, showing 1/3 of all jobs are taxpayer funded. He responded by calling me a "dumb fuck." Now I'm a troll. Just don't call me the N-word!

DaLawGiver said...

@ ricpic

The gravy train ride is coming to an end.

Didn't you mean the
Crazy Train
?

Unknown said...

Coketown,

Garage said: "I would wager I paid more taxes last year than you and that little shitstain troll Coketown made year."

At the very least, I wouldn't let Garage do your laundry anymore. The lawn, perhaps?

wv: crylsish, adj.describes lib whining, as in "Garage's posts are simply 'crylsish.'"

Calypso Facto said...

A friend of mine, today, said that it's all comes back to the contempt for open government and blitzpolitik. They would've never been elected on this agenda. I agree.

And therein lies the problem, an entrenched population of self-interested government employees that would NEVER vote to reduce their own income/benefits/influence. The only solution is smaller government, more responsive to the needs of, you know, the rest of the citizenry who pay more in taxes than they receive in benefits.

Triangle Man said...

The area of the great State of Wisconsin is 65,500 square miles. Of that, 54,160 square miles is land, the rest is water.

Triangle Man said...

The area of Wisconsin.

Calypso Facto said...

Of that, 54,160 square miles is land, the rest is water.

Even our water is crazy?

chickelit said...

So garage, what's plan B if the recoil elections fail to go your way?

Carol_Herman said...

I remember Linda! (Mrs. Stapleton) ... And, I remember the phone call her telephone recorded ... when Fred Clark was "dialing for votes" ... was so good ... that beyond her "IT'S A CRIME" ... was that after she hung up Fred wanted to call her back. He also wanted to beat her up!

As to a fake candidate, why not run one in wisconsin. The dems ran one in 2008. And, he was a better choice than McCain. (Alas, as choices go ... because the stupid party tends to neglect choosing compence over family money) ... Fake ... make get in before "accurate."

Carol_Herman said...

Typo. I meant to type MAY ... not make.

And, oddly enough I think Fake always makes it. Before Accurate opens her eyes.

Triangle Man said...

Even our water is crazy?

Especially the water.

Anonymous said...

"...So write that check, since you don't have anything better to do with your money."

They NEVER EVER DO THOUGH ... do they?

Moneyrunner said...

No Ann, Wisconsin is not seeing the sudden transformation you describe: “We've gone from clean-cut to really being on the cutting edge of the new form of American politics — battle to the death, win at any cost."

Revolutions and counter-revolutions, the things you’re seeing in Madison, don’t happen like that.

What we’re seeing is what happens when the ruling class loses control. Wisconsin is Syria without the gunfire. The Liberals have been in control for so long simply won’t accept the last election. As long as
Republicans accepted defeat gracefully, they were tolerated as a voiceless, powerless minority whose function was to as demonstrate that there were two parties. But the thought of them actually exercising power, and moreover exercising power in opposition to established policies … well who in the hell did they think they were?

Wisconsin’s Democrat politicians are demonstrating that they are no more clean-cut than any Chicago thug. They did not just discover the power of mob rule; they knew how to use it as soon as their hold on the state was loosened.

The battling harridans on the Wisconsin Supreme Court bench are not clean-cut jurists but gutter politicos who don’t hesitate to make sexist accusations of assault if it means that they can regain control.

Surface tranquility is always seen in one-party states. The willingness to use violence and thuggery usually keeps things quiet until the people rebel. That’s when violence breaks out and people who had no problem with the regime ask “what happened, everyone was so happy … and proud … and clean-cut.”

Carol_Herman said...

David @5:23 PM

First of all I loved your post.

But I couldn't help thinking that with the Euro worth .04% over the dollar ... that the "failure" will be in Brussels. Europeans will tear themselves apart. And, the german's ... as soon as they can turn Merkel's ass into a football ... will go back to the old "deusch-Y-mark" ...(somtimes I can't spell.)

When the german's regain their currency ... there will be stabilization. Greece, Portugal, Spain, Ireland and Italy will be so broke people will sell treasures for a piece of bread.

While, America will be glad there's an Atlantic that separates us from them.

Alas, for Japan, the monsters in charge are worse than their Shoguns. They're lying shits. So Japan still has to recover from the nuclear mess they've made through engineer incompetence. And, their ability to mount LIES!

In America? Lying to the public at large is not quite so easy.

While I still think Murdoch, in England, at 80 ... will win his war against the Guardian. And, Labor. But the Iron Lady has dementia. Tony Blair is a crook on the order of the Bush's and the Clinton's.

While who knows? Assad thinks he's gonna win. And, we've got our Ambassador trapped in our Embassy in Damascus. They've got about a week's worth of food ... behind the secured part of their fortress.

Americans aren't going to fight each other ... because the left has wilted. All they have are paper mache puppets. And, parades that let in the light between small clusters of people.

While obama? He can't even fill up a stadium's seats with supporters, anymore.

Who has to worry? The Ambassador in Damascus.

Don't be afraid to hold DOLLARS.

Jube said...

@Calypso Facto


Yes even the water. Remember the "flotilla" a few days ago?

http://althouse.blogspot.com/2011/07/newest-wisconsin-protest-jackassery.html

David said...

Carol, the Europeans are going to fail too, and probably sooner than we do. I'm not sure about the dollar thing though. I never even thought about owning gold for most of my pretty long life. Now I have a lot of it. Right now the Administration and the Treasury are letting the dollar sink because it's the only way we can compete in an export economy. Then comes the great reflation.

The good news is, if we are willing to accept the pain, we can come out much better. But it's going to be very painful.

The people who have gotten us into this--and they are not all democrats by a long shot--are going to have about the same historical reputation as Neville Chamberlin.

Calypso Facto said...

Especially the water.

Yes even the water. Remember the "flotilla" a few days ago?

Good point. I see that the scene of the shame, Lake Mendota, was actually included either way, because the 54,160 sq. miles figure includes inland waterways and only excludes the Wisconsin portions of the Mississippi, Lake Michigan, and Lake Superior. I used to think those waterways were good buffers against surrounding insanity. (A Vikings fan? Really?) Now I suspect our neighbors know the feeling in reverse.

rhhardin said...

Surrounded by vanity.

Carol_Herman said...

David - GREED got us into this!

We watched as the bubble expanded ... and everybody thought they were making unearned profits.

You bet, ahead, it will be painful.

You bet, when people look back ... who used their homes as ATM machines ... and bought themselves "fancy stuff." Including cruises, cars, and vacations ... And, thought they'd never end up in trouble ...

Well. Guess what.

There's really no other way to teach people the various values that work over time.

We are a nation that has survived more time than most people thought was possible.

We survived because people wanted to risk their lives on leaky wooden boats ... that were powered by the winds. And, could make you seasick for weeks, if not months, at a time ...

And, people still came! Because they could pull themselves up by their bootstraps.

We were a nation where it was worth the sacrifice, because almost from the beginning this nation provided a free education.

Do you know the value of just knowing how to read and write?

I read a long time ago about China. How it's a hard life. And, only one out of a hundred would be taught to read. Being able to do so meant that 99 peasants were sweating in the fields. Providing meager sustenance.

Life was NEVER easy!

We're going to have to go back there.

And, the next wave of technology that's come along since telephones and the steam engine ... isn't on the horizon right now.

We still go forward.

Plucking off the government parasites, however, will mean more people without skills ... who can't figure out how to put their boots on. Let alone rise up. And, pull them on.

Well, is there a garden where you don't have to go in, every once and awhile, and pull up the weeds?

Do I sound like a gypsy?

Drew said...

The Democrats are employing a scorched earth policy here in Wisconsin, and it pisses me off.

My fervent prayer is that these recalls change nothing at all. Barring that, my back-up prayer is that the Republicans remain in control of both houses..

Is it possible to pass legislation that makes Democrats ineligible for elected office in Wisconsin? Because I want to see the Republican legislature do that -- just to watch the heads explode.

Chuck66 said...

One of the worst things is the paranoid conspiracy theories on the part of the left.

Governor Walker could stop at Arby's for a roast beef, and the liberals would accuse him of getting bribes to stop there.

Read the comment sections of the Wisc State Journal and Milw Journal. It's scarey how paranoid they are.

Chuck66 said...

Everyone accuses the other side of being goofy, but have you ever seen this?:

-Thousands of union and gov't employees going to a rally where an ex-governor of another state is speaking, and chanting "FUCK YOU" over and over and over to her.

-Getting boats to try to crash a private event held by the state's first lady

-Showing up at State Reps house at 6 AM and banging on his windows

-and on and on and on.......

David said...

Birds of a feather, Carol.

Greed indeed.

And also just pure thoughtlessness.

roesch-voltaire said...

The Republicans did not run on the most of the agenda and bills they are passing and that is why a good %50 of the citizens want a recall. This seems a sane response to pols who have gone power mad themselves.

David said...

"if the drama continues on both sides of the Atlantic, we may soon get to witness a paradox: where does a capital "flight to safety" go if America defaults while the euro implodes?"

Megan McCardle, wrutung in today's Atlantic.

(g . . . o ..... l.........d!)

Shouting Thomas said...

The Republicans did not run on the most of the agenda and bills they are passing and that is why a good %50 of the citizens want a recall. This seems a sane response to pols who have gone power mad themselves.

The same old lies for refusing to abide by the results of an election.

Underneath the pretense of reasonableness, r-v, you're a true commie.

I do enjoy the pretense, however. You do a good job of it.

traditionalguy said...

The problem here is the absurd Re-call Election statute.

It lays out a how to of civil disobedience to the Elected Representative government.

I know what. Repeal that stupid law.

purplepenquin said...

I find it really funny how the same crowd of people who say unions have to vote to certify each&every year are having a hissy fit about these recall elections.


Did I say "funny"? I meant "hypocritical."

Calypso Facto said...

The Republicans did not run on the most of the agenda and bills they are passing

You mean like:
"Obama was vigorous in his attacks on Clinton for including an indvidual mandate in her plan. Now that the Democrats in the House have included a mandate in health reform legislation, he's fine with it." Politifact

Or

"In 2006, then Senator Barack Obama argued and voted against raising the debt ceiling saying, “Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership.” Today, during a White House press conference on raising the debt ceiling, President Obama suggested the Democrats and Republicans in Washington are the “professional politicians” most capable of managing the nation’s debt." TIME

Or Guantanamo, or civil trials of terrorists, or attacking Libya, or the GM bailout, or any of the flip-flops or un-campaigned on issues President Obama has implemented that 50% of the population don't like?

Does your RECALL OBAMA bumper sticker go over or under your RECALL WALKER sticker, RV? Because to claim one as "power mad" without including the other would be just plain hypocritical.

KCFleming said...

So tomorrow will Wisconsinoids kick themselves in the ass by replacing R with D?

Stay tuned.

Fred4Pres said...

Robert Stacy McCain thinks there are some stupid people in Wisconsin.

Fred4Pres said...

Althouse-McCain craziness.

Seeing Red said...

--If the government forced you to pay more for less--that would be tyranny.--


Congrats, GM, you're finally understanding Obamacare.

Nate Whilk said...

Coketown wrote, By "troll" he means "people who make points of such erudite nuance and profound complexity that I cannot hope to respond."

Compared to the rest of garage's "output", the phrase "shitstain troll" IS erudite nuance and profound complexity.

wv: unroarli

Meade said...

purplepenquin said...
I find it really funny how the same crowd of people who say unions have to vote to certify each&every year are having a hissy fit about these recall elections.
Did I say "funny"? I meant "hypocritical."


Good point. Make them certify each and every six months.

Chuck66 said...

Purple penguin. I don't think any one here is asking for a mid-year revote on union representation if the orginal vote didn't go as we wanted it to. We would just gear up for the next election.

Chuck66 said...

Meade...heh, I like your response.

Chuck66 said...

Here is something for a thread tomorrow....WEAC is telling its members to do this when Governor Walker speaks tomorrow in Racine:

"Bring signs, horns, flags and drums! Let the governor know it is disgraceful that someone who cut funding to the tech colleges by 30% would even be invited - let alone treated as an honored guest!"

Alex said...

Garage - name one Alinsky tactic the GOP is using?

themightypuck said...

Limiting collective bargaining agreements to one year would have an interesting impact on pro sports in the USA.

Alex said...

Look if the GOP gets recalled tomorrow, then the WI voters deserve what they get. It pays to be consistent in life. Or maybe garage is right that WI voters really are pro-union and they got hoodwinked by Walker.

Methadras said...

Coketown said...

He responded by calling me a "dumb fuck." Now I'm a troll. Just don't call me the N-word!


Calling you a dumb fuck is how a leftard progressive, government cock-sucking, lying, nutjob like garage calls you a nigger.

Freder Frederson said...

As Mrs. Stapleton said to Fred Clark (the Undemocratic Party District 14 candidate for senate), "it's a crime" that these recalls are happening at all. The cynical true purpose of these recall elections is to reverse the democratic expression of the voters in last November's general election. A vote for the so-called "fake" primary candidate tomorrow is a vote against the recall election itself - a waste of time and money and an insult to all Wisconsin citizens.Brilliant! I agree completely.

So what Meade is saying (and you too, since you "agree completely), is that democracy is good only when the results are the ones you and he wish for.

The recall law allows the voters to express buyers remorse. They apparently did not realize that they were voting to destroy the civil service of Wisconsin in order to enrich already powerful entities.

Maybe the reason there were so few recalls in the past is that the state has never seen such a radical and destabilizing change in government before.

Fen said...

I find it really funny how the same crowd of people who say unions have to vote to certify each&every year are having a hissy fit about these recall elections.

I find it really funny you equate union certification with holding statewide elections EVERY year.

Freder Frederson said...

Democrat Mike McCabe is a fucking moron. He doesn't even know how big his own state is.

Before you call people "fucking morons", you should carefully check your facts. Otherwise you end up looking like a fucking moron.

While the land area of Wisconsin is indeed 54,000 square miles, the total size of the state is 65,000 square miles (there are a lot of lakes in Wisconsin). There is more than one way to measure the size of a geographical region.

Curious George said...

Pogo said...
So tomorrow will Wisconsinoids kick themselves in the ass by replacing R with D?

Stay tuned.

Alex said...
Look if the GOP gets recalled tomorrow, then the WI voters deserve what they get. It pays to be consistent in life. Or maybe garage is right that WI voters really are pro-union and they got hoodwinked by Walker.

Today are just the primaries, the recall elections are in August. Now we may see recall candidates fail today, even if they do prevail they still will need to beat the incumbent next month.

DADvocate said...

What Meade said.

It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that Democrats don't support the democratic process.

Lincolntf said...

Freder, that crap doesn't float around here. We've watched since Day 1, and the "radical destabilization" was a direct attempt by the Dems/Unions to overturn an election. Not a sudden realization by voters, but a massive rejection of the voters by the Government employees and their Union paymasters. They fled the State, occupied buildings, destroyed property, threatened officials, etc. not because they wanted to be part of the process, but because the process meant that their side lost. You're lying to pretend otherwise, no matter how you couch it.

Toad Trend said...

@Moneyrunner 8:26

You hit the nail right on the head.

I live in NY State. The land of democrat 'surface tranquility' (i.e. political stranglehold).

Wisconsin is just the first of many states where citizens are waking up from their slumber.

As long as democrats are in control of things, well, that IS the current 'normal'.

The winds of change, the are a-blowin'....

Toad Trend said...

@Alex

"Garage - name one Alinsky tactic the GOP is using?"

Yawn.

Projection, pure and simple, they OWN it. Progressives/liberals are ill, sick with envy, they can't help themselves.

The party of COVET.

Toad Trend said...

Ann, respectfully, is it necessary to remind commenters how you made the 'rational' choice to vote for the junior senator from Illinois?

I mean, isn't that a bit like someone that continues to bring up the time they failed to check their mirrors before backing out of the driveway, running over the family dog???

Can't you just issue a mea culpa, once and for all, that despite your 'reasoned' approach, it was still a blunder?

Curious George said...

roesch-voltaire said...
The Republicans did not run on the most of the agenda and bills they are passing and that is why a good %50 of the citizens want a recall. This seems a sane response to pols who have gone power mad themselves.

The GOP most certainly did run on the bills they are passing...cutting costs, cutting taxes, reducing government and regulations, voter ID, concealed carry.

X said...

The Republicans did not run on the most of the agenda and bills they are passing

the dems ran on overpaying government employees and giving them Cadillac pensions? I doubt it, yet that's their agenda.

AlphaLiberal said...

Bullshit, it's a crime. It's the law of Wisconsin. We are exercising our legal rights. These elected took radical measures they refused to put in front of voters last fall.

Where were your objections when Scott Walker got into Milwaukee County Exec Office with recall?

What's going on in Wisconsin is a putsch, plain and simple. Next week the knuckle draggers will ram through a redistricting plan with no public debate, no maps done by local governments. This is lock down their grip on power. Period.

Hey, have you wingers heard of Rupert Murdoch's phone-bugging scandal? They bugged 9/11 victims! Where is your outrage?

Meade said...

Bullshit, it's a crime. It's the law of Wisconsin. We are exercising our legal rights. These elected took radical measures they refused to put in front of voters last fall.

Bullshit, yourself. She used "it's a crime" as a figure of speech. And the radical measures have been before the voters for years. In fact, they came from the voters. Wake up from your utopian lefty dream world.

Where were your objections when Scott Walker got into Milwaukee County Exec Office with recall?

I don't object to recalls. I object to these recalls for the reason stated.

What's going on in Wisconsin is a putsch, plain and simple. Next week the knuckle draggers will ram through a redistricting plan with no public debate, no maps done by local governments. This is lock down their grip on power. Period.

Putsch schmutsch, reductio ad nazium boy. It's legal democratic republican push back, plain and simple. Your guys have been pulling a slow one for 50 years. Our guys pulled a fast one in 6 months. So suck it up and quit your blubbering.

vet66 said...

With all the out-of-state money pouring in from the likes of ACTBLUE, Wisconsin is in danger of losing control of it's own destiny. It is a certainty that those democrats involved in the recall and who have accepted money from ACTBLUE to unseat Republicans will be expected to toe the progressive line.


Wisconsinites will become nationalized on their way to citizen of the world status. If they are successful they will be marginalized by the very masters they look to for support.

To those Wisconsinites who live outside the wire that is Madison, you are about to lose control of your state to outside interests who don't consider the sobriquet "cheesehead" to be anything but a pejorative.

The Dude said...

AL - not just a troll, but now a concern troll. Please tell us again what to pay attention to and what to ignore, and change your handle to Off Topic, please.

Aurelian said...

If anyone made even a cursory reading of Fisher Ames this is not surprising. And will get worse as we long for a true democracy instead of a Republic.

Joanna said...

garage mahal said...
Republicans started it! Dems are just simply responding to Alinsky tactics from the right


BWAHAHAHAHA

A day later, and it's still crackin' me up.

RonF said...

Carol Herman said:

So Japan still has to recover from the nuclear mess they've made through engineer incompetence.

I bet the engineers didn't recommend building a nuclear reactor on the seashore next to one of the most active faults on the planet.

And once the politicians decided who was going to get paid off to site it there, I bet when then engineers said "Here's how you build this to ensure that there's no problems with a tsunami or earthquake" the politicians said "That'll cost too much. Scale it down. We'll never have to worry about a 9.2 earthquake."