Assuming enough signatures are collected for a recall, there needs to be a candidate. Who's it supposed to be? Shouldn't the people asked to sign the recall petition want to know? Here's a little interview with former U.S. Rep. David Obey on the subject, and Obey himself has been suggested as a candidate. But look at him:
Slouching with his pot belly aimed at the camera and repeatedly scratching his ratty beard, he can't be serious about running. Why would Walker opponents want to set up a race that will give Walker a big platform for promoting himself unless the other guy (or gal) has a great fighting chance?
In the interview, Obey cites the names Tom Barrett and Herb Kohl. Barrett is the Milwaukee mayor who already lost to Walker (back in 2010). And Kohl is 76 and retiring from his not-too-onerous seat in the U.S. Senate. Assuming he'd run against Walker, how good a fight would Kohl put up against the 43-year-old governor who will be battling for everything he's worked for and defending himself after year's worth of over-the-top assaults on his integrity?
By the way, Obey is quoted — at the link — saying that the new Wisconsin law requiring that voters show an ID card "is not only a recallable issue; it ought to be an impeachable issue." You'd impeach elected officials for passing legislation? Ridiculous. Of course, if you had the votes in the legislature to impeach, you'd have the votes to repeal the legislation, so Obey is simply spluttering from his out-of-office dream world.
ADDED: Let me take Obey's nutty idea about impeachment and run with it. If we get a new governor through the recall of Scott Walker, the ouster of the governor ought to be seen as an impeachable offense. Let the Republican legislature impeach the new Governor Obey/Kohl/Barrett/Feingold. Why not? The Democrats have set the theme: Use anything and everything you can get your hands on to defeat your opponent. As one possible future governor likes to say: "This game's not over until we win."
October 20, 2011
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"Spluttering." Another great word, I've got to remember that one.
You're en fuego today with these arcane perfect-fit words, Althouse.
I'm surprised that they've pushed this recall so hard without a viable candidate already in mind. This is just a huge windfall for Walker, if they run some loser against him. They would have been much better off with no recall attempt at all.
Slouching with his pot belly aimed at the camera and repeatedly scratching his ratty beard
I take it you don't exchange Christmas cards with him?
Obey is and always Has been a source of ...oh forget that.. He's an a.hole ...and continues the Meme for the left pols.
As a libertarian who has a real spite for anything resembling a "papers please" police state, even I can't see any reason whatsoever to oppose requiring an ID to vote. Not just "pros and cons". I can't see any reason at all.
I have to sign a document in order to vote. It's not a secret that I voted.
I can't help thinking that those who oppose requiring an ID for someone to cast a vote in the name of a person on the ID has some completely different, and ulterior, agenda.
Isn't Bill Katzenmeyer or Tony Earl available?? How about Ed Garvey 2..The Bloviator Returns.
It would be amusing to see campaign platform that included removing the voter ID requirement. How do you sell that in Oshkosh? "Well, it used to be the law..."
And profressor, that's not a pot belly, it's a Milwaukee Tumor..stage 3!
Good God NO, to all three of them. Too bad Tammy Baldwin is running for Senate and Feingold declined. Can you imagine if Lena Taylor ran? She would get most of Madison and Milwaukee. If she energized black voters in Milwaukee in huge numbers, lookout Walker.
It could happen.
Oh yeah, and good luck repealing concealed carry, fuckwads.
Who is signing the recall petition? Maybe Republicans should sign?
Agree with Winding.
Obey has always been a sack of slime.
"Obey is simply spluttering from his out-of-office dream world."
No different than his in office dream world. He's been leading with his government subsidized pot belly and rat beard for years. A mean, vicious man is David Obey.
And what is with the incessant blinking? Does he do this all the time?
Every dollar the Dems spend on a sure to fail recall election is a dollar less they can spend on the 2012 elections. I'm down with that.
That is the problem with the Recall Walker agenda.
If the person running against Walker was a new up-and-coming Democrat with fresh ideas, well, I'd be more enthusiastic. I am not interested in returning to 2008 in WI. (There's a reason the state motto is 'Forward'). All of the suggested candidates make me think of a return to the Past. Pass.
I think there are things that make Walker vulnerable: Policies that have demonstrably cost the State money and not following through on campaign promises, for example. And there are plenty of very odd pieces of legislation being floated during this 'jobs' special session (My favorite: Joel (is that his first name?) Kleefisch wanting to make Pre-Nup agreements ironclad, even if they were entered into fraudulently). If a democratic Gubernatorial candidate can tie Walker to weird loose cannons on the Republican side of the aisle (while maintaining a distance from equally weird democratic cannons), he or she is more likely to be successful.
You shall Obey!
The only impeachment going on today is Ms. Althouse's skewering of Mr. Obey.I'm thinking his very name would preclude him from running or winning elected office. If he indeed did win office then the rabble would be in position of having to Obey.
Who is signing the recall petition? Maybe Republicans should sign?
Operation Chaos
Well, except it's Oh'-be
I can think of the *perfect* campaign poster for Obey.
I always liked Obey.
So...Wisconsin has the nation's highest drunk driving rate.
Why am I not surprised.
You shall Obey!
Obey does sound like a Dalek..
Obey Obey Obey
Ann I gather from your observation is that the democrats can't win without questionable ballots cast.
I don't have a dog in this fight since I am not a WI resident but it is disturbing that a political party seems to have such a problem with preserving the integrity of the election process.
"Operation Chaos"
Yeah, I thought of that too.
Is Operation Chaos not a form of voter fraud?
Didn't Walker win his seat as County Executive through a special election? Why Yes he did!. He won his first seat in the Assembly in a special election as well, and if I'm not mistaken, the Governorship is the first office he's won in a normal election.
The Dems could always demonstrate their forward thinking by running Pat Lucey.
What's Gray Davis doing these days?
"The Dems could always demonstrate their forward thinking by running Pat Lucey."
I'm for LSD.
Why would Walker opponents want to set up a race that will give Walker a big platform for promoting himself unless the other guy (or gal) has a great fighting chance?
Two options come to mind:
A) Rabid hatred of Walker untempered by political calculation of any rational sort.
B) Related to the last half of A), maybe they think that Progressive Wisconsin will really prefer Obey* anyway, regardless of how ridiculous that sounds to an outsider.
(* I couldn't help but think of that as "really prefer TO obey".)
Walker is the trouble maker. He goes in and makes Democrat infested places scream "Raid's here!"
In the insect v. Man war it is truly never over.
When Walker stopped public union dues deductions Walker simply used the pest control method of entomologists to disrupt the reproductive cycle of the pests.
The locust plague is temporarily over...but for how long. Locusts cannot help being locusts.
"Can you imagine if Lena Taylor ran? She would get most of Madison and Milwaukee. If she energized black voters in Milwaukee in huge numbers, lookout Walker."
Scott Walker utterly destroyed Lena Taylor in the 2008 Milwaukee County Executive race.
It would be amusing to see campaign platform that included removing the voter ID requirement. How do you sell that in Oshkosh? "Well, it used to be the law..."
Agreed, I think if a candidate ran on that platform, they’d lose pretty handily as (a) most people already have the required form of ID (e.g. a driver’s license) so it’s not a burden to produce it and (b) the ones who don’t and are unwilling to make the minimal effort to obtain it are likely already not voting and (c) it’s such a minimal “burden” that most people are going to either be surprised it wasn’t already required and/or suspicious of anyone who tries to vote who can’t show that they are who they claim to be.
"garage mahal said...
Didn't Walker win his seat as County Executive through a special election? Why Yes he did!. He won his first seat in the Assembly in a special election as well, and if I'm not mistaken, the Governorship is the first office he's won in a normal election. "
Walker one a special election that came up because the previous County Executive Tom Ament resigned over a pension scandal.
His Assembly special election was in 1993.
Neither of them were because of recall petitions.
Nice try.
Every dollar the Dems spend on a sure to fail recall election is a dollar less they can spend on the 2012 elections. I'm down with that.
Agreed, the more resources tied up in Wisconsin to keep it “blue,” the less that get spent in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida . . .
Tosa Guy, yes, but times have changed. The rest of Wisconsin has been exposed to Walker and even Lena Taylor. In the race for county exec, black voters didn't come ou in droves.
"Mitochondri-Allie said...
Good God NO, to all three of them. Too bad Tammy Baldwin is running for Senate and Feingold declined. Can you imagine if Lena Taylor ran? She would get most of Madison and Milwaukee. If she energized black voters in Milwaukee in huge numbers, lookout Walker.
It could happen."
LOL Thanks for lightening up my day.
"Who's going to run against Scott Walker in the recall election?"
A loser.
garage mahal said...
Didn't Walker win his seat as County Executive through a special election? Why Yes he did!. He won his first seat in the Assembly in a special election as well, and if I'm not mistaken, the Governorship is the first office he's won in a normal election.
And that relates to a recall election how ____ again?
Oh, you're an idiot, that's how.
Curious George, those who laugh last.......
How long does Meade need to be a resident before he can run for governor?
Meade would appeal to the farmers.
And he would always win the debates.
If Lena Taylor ran and won (hahahaha!), would she run away and hide in Illinois if the legislature passed a law she didn't like? Would she request absentee ballots so she could vote from her fortress of idiocy in Illinois? Would she scream "don't you know who I am?!?!" at anyone who dared to question her?
The really sad things are that there are a lot of idiots in her district who keep voting for her, and a lot of idiots and deranged people in Dane County who would vote for her too...
Wisconsin lost 12,400 jobs in September, unemployment rose from 7.3% to 7.9% under their watch, and the WIGOP are debating fertilizer, abstinence only sex ed, and deer, in their 'Back to Work Agenda' special session. These idiots just can't help themselves.
"Tosa Guy, yes, but times have changed. The rest of Wisconsin has been exposed to Walker and even Lena Taylor. In the race for county exec, black voters didn't come ou in droves."
And you think the rest of the state knowing Lena Taylor is supposed to help her? This woman has called for boycotting businesses in her own senate district.
"Wisconsin lost 12,400 jobs in September, unemployment rose from 7.3% to 7.9%"
So I take you are not going to vote for Obama then.
Lena Taylor and the rest of the Senators did the right thing, this act made them heroes in the eyes of many Wisconsinites. I guess we will have to wait and see who ends up running , we are in for a wild ride. Maybe Walker can go to Cali and visit his sugar daddy Koch after he loses.
Obama did not promise to bring 250000 jobs to Wisconsin.
I recall reading that such a job increase is normal during a recession recovery, so maybe Walker was just betting that the recession would end.
Why is the Republican Party no focused laser-beam like on jobs in their Special Session? That is a valid question.
Tosa Guy, Walker said he actually thought about planting trouble makers in the protests when he was having his phone call with "Koch". Don't think for a minute that that phone call won't come up over and over.
Yes Madison Man, just what ARE they focusing on in that Special Session? Deer, fertilizer and sex ed.
So I take you are not going to vote for Obama then.
1. Wisconsin's unemployment rate is rising faster than the national average.
2. Wisconsin's unemployment rate is rising faster than even neighboring states with Democratic governors.
It's not working.
Don't forget Pre-Nup laws! Those are important for a Jobs Special Session too!
Read the stupidity. At least this bill will never see the light of day. (Warning: Capital Times link, but their coverage of pending bills is interesting, at least).
"...repeatedly scratching his ratty beard..."
Barbaphobia... the last refuge of scoundrels.
>>Good God NO, to all three of them. Too bad Tammy Baldwin is running for Senate and Feingold declined. Can you imagine if Lena Taylor ran? She would get most of Madison and Milwaukee. If she energized black voters in Milwaukee in huge numbers, lookout Walker. <<
Lena Taylor ran for Milwaukee County Executive against Scott Walker in 2008. How did she do?
Don't forget Pre-Nup laws! Those are important for a Jobs Special Session too!
Don't forget repealing the Equal Pay Enforcement Act. The reason is they don't want frivilous lawsuits clogging the state circuit court system. How many cases are currently clogging our courts? Zero! How many have been taken to circuit courts in two yrs since enactment? None!
Impeach him? Did he write the legislation, or did he sign it? If he wrote it, impeach him, if he signed it, you have bigger problems than just him and would have to impeach everyone in the houses who voted for it.
Good luck with that!
Trey
Unemployment nationwide has gone from 7.6% since The One took office to over 9% today. Not counting people who have simply given up.
It's not working.
" Mitochondri-Allie said...
Tosa Guy, Walker said he actually thought about planting trouble makers in the protests when he was having his phone call with "Koch". Don't think for a minute that that phone call won't come up over and over."
That's 100% bullshit. He indicated it was brought up, but he wasn't for it.
James, she was running for County exec as I said earlier,
times have changed and Wisconsinites KNOW now what Walker is. PLUS, Taylor could bring black voters in Milwaukee out in droves, she is a well known person now.
Semantics, Curious George.
Mitochondri-Allie said...
Tosa Guy, Walker said he actually thought about planting trouble makers in the protests when he was having his phone call with "Koch".
You are an out & out liar.
Petunia said...
Unemployment nationwide has gone from 7.6% since The One took office to over 9% today.
And that is after a trillion in "stimulus" spending and tens of billions wasted in "green jobs" investments.
So, if they try to recall Walker and fail, they can do it again next year, right?
How many more recall attempts before the law gets changed?
Mitochondri-Allie said...
Semantics, Curious George.
"Semantics" = you're lying.
>>James, she was running for County exec as I said earlier,
times have changed and Wisconsinites KNOW now what Walker is. PLUS, Taylor could bring black voters in Milwaukee out in droves, she is a well known person now.<<
Are you delusional? Lena Taylor couldn't win County Executive in a county where her "base" is the largest group and you think she can win a state-wide race?
Jaytard said...
You are an out & out liar.
Murphy: Right, right. Well, we’ll back you any way we can. But, uh, what we were thinking about the crowds was, uh, was planting some troublemakers.
Walker: You know, the, well, the only problem with that — because we thought about that.
It appears that Walker backers are getting nervous. Wonder how the John Doe probe is going?
The word verification is "latin."
This means Walker will win it in a walk while Wisconsin wingnuts withhold withering, weighted words of woe.
Forgot this-
Walker: My only fear would be is if there was a ruckus caused is that that would scare the public into thinking maybe the governor has gotta settle to avoid all these problems.
Nice.
Garage I have a friend whose husband does political commercials, I bet he's working on some good ones of the "Koch" phone call. So much good material to work with.
Silly conservatives! The Equal Pay Enforcement Act isn't harmful, just totally ineffective!
Mito
A lot of material to work with to be sure. The part about "dropping the bomb" on Wisconsin right after the Superbowl win might rub some Wisconsites the wrong way I would think.
Where did Jay go?
Dems really want to die on this hill don't they? Funny how they can't seem to find a leader that wants to join them.
Reminds me of the opening scene in "Stalingrad" where the Russian officers yelled from behind to the advancing horde of conscripts being sent to their deaths (only every other man had a rifle), "When the man in front of you falls, pick up his rifle...."
The fact that this question still doesn't have an answer tells you all you need to know about the chances of a successful recall.
No qualified Democrat is going to step up, because they know what the recall morons don't...no chance in hell.
Feingold knows. He just got his ass handed to him. Same with Barrett...the Dems had to put a gun to his head to run the first time.
Jim Doyle knew. Why he chose not to run for re-election in the first place. Same with that fucktard Obey.
Lena Taylor? LOL. Nobody but her 99% black district would vote for her. Most wouldn't trust that idiot to wash their car.
So you will end up with a few unqualified obscure lefties.
I know ...
Don Nelson!
Obey always had that nervous ticking eye blink?
How did he ever get elected in the first place?
As to the "recall" ... at least let the dems spend this money. Imagine what they could do with a real war chest!
Meanwhile, voters voted OUT Feingold. And, Obey.
It's not like this TV interview works any better than it would have ... if he did it from his mom's basement.
Of course, if you had the votes in the legislature to impeach, you'd have the votes to repeal the legislation,
Perhaps the concept isn't just to get rid of the law, it's to exact revenge for having had the temerity to pass it in the first place.
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