October 29, 2014

Scott Walker opens up a big lead against Mary Burke in the new Marquette University poll.

Suddenly — after tying in the last poll — it's 50% Walker, 43% Burke.
In the new poll, Walker enjoys a significant lead among independents, who have bounced around more than partisan voters in this race. Among likely voters, Walker leads among independents 52% to 37%.

One other shift in the new poll: Burke's personal ratings have worsened, while Walker's haven't changed much.

Among registered voters, 38% view Burke favorably while 45% view her unfavorably. Among likely voters, 39% view her favorably while 49% view her unfavorably.

"It's the first time we've seen her that far upside down or under water on favorability ratings," said poll director Charles Franklin.
What has changed? Well, there were 2 debates. Burke seemed able to stand with equal weight next to Walker. She tended to attack him and call him not good enough, perhaps without explaining what she could do better, and he tended to speak optimistically about accomplishments. Maybe that made a difference. The other thing that changed is that Burke has identified herself strongly with the Obama administration with 2 big appearances alongside Michelle Obama.

It's post-poll, but worth mentioning here that President Obama himself appeared with her yesterday [CORRECTION: I originally thought the appearance was today.]
The event was at North Division High School, in a ward where Obama outpolled Republican Mitt Romney 843 to 5 in the 2012 presidential election, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The somewhat risky bet that Burke is making is that Obama, polarizing as he is, will help turn out Wisconsin’s urban Democratic base for her next Tuesday....

Burke is one of the very few candidates to welcome Obama, whose unpopularity in the polls has made him somewhat of a pariah amongst vulnerable Democrats in tight races. But Wisconsin’s labor-heavy, populist base hasn’t always loved Burke, a millionaire former executive at her family’s company, Trek Bicycle. Thus the gamble with Obama, whose presence risks putting off independent and suburban voters....

“I think it reflects the fact that she’s the candidate of Washington. We’re not bringing Washington surrogates in,” Walker told reporters after an event Tuesday in Wausau.
And I'm a little skeptical of October surprises — why are we getting this one week before the election? — but I feel compelled to acknowledge this new item in Wisconsin Reporter by M.D. Kittle, "Trek sources: Mary Burke’s family fired her for incompetence."
The [European sales staff] threatened to quit if Burke was not removed from her position as director of European Operations, according to Gary Ellerman, who served as Trek’s human resources director for 12 years. His account was confirmed by three other former employees....

A former employee with the company told Wisconsin Reporter that John Burke, Mary’s brother and current Trek president, had to let his sister go. The former employee, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal from the Burke family, said Mary Burke was made to return to Wisconsin and apologize to a group of about 35 Trek executives for her treatment of employees and for the plummeting European bottom line.

Managers in Europe used to call Burke “pit bull on crack” or “Attila the Hun,” one source said.
You know, she could spin that in her favor. Some of us might like a "pit bull on crack" or "Attila the Hun" standing up to the entrenched interest groups here in Wisconsin.
“There is a dark side to Mary that the people at Trek have seen … She can explode on people. She can be the most cruel person you ever met,” said Ellerman, who started a consulting business after he was “asked to leave” Trek in 2004 over a difference in hiring philosophy.
Come on! "She can be the most cruel person you ever met"... that could be a great political slogan.

Anyway, read it yourself and decide what to make of it. I tend to think Walker doesn't need or even want this kind of help. He's avoided attacking Mary, perhaps because he doesn't want to be thought of as the cruelest person, even though many Wisconsinites have wanted to portray him that way. Here's a picture I took during the protests of 2011:

P1060646

ADDED: Finally, here's the link to the Marquette page. Additional information of interest:

After narrowing to just 2 percentage points in the previous poll, the gender gap in vote choice has returned... Among likely voters, Burke’s lead among women is 49-43 while Walker’s lead among men is 58-36. In the six Marquette Law School Polls since July... Burke has averaged a 52-42 lead among women and Walker a 55-40 advantage among men.
I'd say the Democrats' milking of gender politics hurts them. It might be driving more men to the GOP than pulling women to the Democrats. Republicans seem to avoid gender politics, but it's funny if the Democrats' gender politics helps Republicans. Wouldn't it be weird if both parties decided it wasn't worth doing?
Likely voters who are independents support Walker over Burke by 52 percent to 37 percent. Two weeks ago, among independents.... Burke had a 45-44 edge with likely voters.
Is this suspect? I don't know who the commenter Jennifer Gardner is, but she wrote in the comments on this post:
Walker was always ahead. Marquette U pollster Charles Franklin is a rabid liberal who was the pollster for both the Huffington Post as well as the Daily Kos. He pulled this same crap in the recall polling where he tried to keep Barrett "in the game" for as long as possible before releasing an accurate poll just days before the election so he could ultimately save face and boast how accurate his (final) poll was.

In this instance, he even inferred two weeks ago AFTER releasing a poll showing the race even that the poll probably would change: "Franklin cautioned that the movement among independent voters could change again."

JUST THINK ABOUT THAT: How would he know that after just conducting a poll showing independents dramatically shifting towards Burke? What possible indication would there be at that point that independents would flip back to Walker in just two weeks? By adding that caveat he essentially was admitting that he skewed that poll -- probably to appease all his liberal buddies in the business that wanted to fund raise for Burke on the premise of a "tight race."
Back to the Marquette poll page:
When it comes to being “able to get things done,” ... [a]mong likely voters, 43 percent say Burke can get things done while 43 percent say this does not describe her. The previous poll found 46 percent saying this described her with 39 percent saying it did not.

For Walker, .. [a]mong likely voters in the current poll, 65 percent say Walker can get things done, with 32 percent saying this does not describe him. Two weeks earlier, 67 percent said this described him while 30 percent said it did not.
Isn't that a crazy shift?

219 comments:

1 – 200 of 219   Newer›   Newest»
NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

Uh... a former employee is afraid of reprisals from the Burke family? Why? How?

Anonymous sources better have a good reason to be anonymous. Otherwise I ain't buying it without confirmation.

FedkaTheConvict said...

We need a welfare check on Garage Mahal.

mezzrow said...

This should be fun. I'll check back soon. Sounds like the GOP has decided to hit back twice as hard.

Surprised here, as well.

Rusty said...

Get out! Really?
I had on good authority that Walker doesn't stand a chance. I'm sure this is a mistake.

FedkaTheConvict said...

The Wisconsin Democratic Party slogan for 2014:

Burke/Lehman

"Vote for the dilletante and the draft dodger."

Michael The Magnificent said...

As much as I enjoy seeing the latest poll results, I'll wait until Tuesday evening before popping the cork.

Regarding the accusations she'd been fired by her own family, I'm not buying it.

Curious George said...

MU was keeping Dem hopes alive, keeping union money flowing to Burke...now it's time to not look the fool.

Anonymous said...

Obama's Muerta touch.

Achilles said...

I have had "me or them" discussions with employees over equity partners. People who own parts of companies but who suck at management put executives in a tough spot.

It usually ends in exile for the equity partner.

And every one of those employees needs anonymity because equity partners tend to own more than one business in a community.

I have seen this anecdote played out to a tee. It is very credible to me.

RecChief said...

I think the pit bull with lipstick image would only work in a Palin speech.

Might be handy to note that, from what I've read, people were walking out on Obama again today.

FedkaTheConvict said...

http://pjmedia.com/blog/bombshell-report-claims-wi-gov-candidate-falsified-her-job-history-resume/

"Gary Ellerman, a 21-year employee and head of Trek’s Human Resources Department (the article discloses that Ellerman is the current head of the Jefferson County Republican Party), said of Burke:

She was underperforming. She was [in] so far over her head; she didn’t understand the bike business.

Ellerman also claims that Burke’s father Richard Burke, founder and then-CEO of Trek, sent Tom Albers, then-president and CFO, to Amsterdam to evaluate Mary Burke’s performance. Albers reportedly found the European operations in disarray. As a result of Elbers’ review, Burke’s brother John — then-VP of sales and marketing and current Trek president — was obliged to let his sister go."

RecChief said...

Also, Althouse should add a #BanBossy tag to this, as the European staff at Trek apparently couldn't handle a strong, leaning in woman. (/sarc)

Achilles said...

Michael The Magnificent said...
"As much as I enjoy seeing the latest poll results, I'll wait until Tuesday evening before popping the cork."

The margin of fraud keeps growing with every election.

Nonapod said...

I have learned to never be overly optimistic, never assume too much, and to never underestimate the Democrats ability to generate votes (seemingly from thin air) when their backs are up against it.

PackerBronco said...

What's changed? Could just be an outlier. Or it could that people are finally having to decide and when you come right down to it, Burke never gave people a reason to vote FOR her and she does have an incredibly paper-thin resume: a failed attempt at Commerce under the now-discredited Doyle, a trust-fund baby position at Trek, and ... what? Madison School Board? Snow Boarding?

It's really amazing that the more you look at Mary Burke, the less there is to see. Maybe the voters are cluing in on this.

Anonymous said...

My polling theory:


All the polls are complete and utter rubbish until a few days before the election. The purpose of the polling way before the election is, well, different than telling us who is "in the lead". It creates storylines, whatever those stories happen to be.

However, the polls that get remembered are the ones that come out right before the actual election. And so, if a pollster wants to continue to be employed, they have to be accurate.

A month before an election, they can say it's 42% to 42% because who is going to know?

But if the actual election is 52% to 48%, they'd better get those polls a little more accurate before election day.

averagejoe said...

"Some of us might like a "pit bull on crack" or "Attila the Hun" standing up to the entrenched interest groups here in Wisconsin." Maybe, but does anyone think that a democrat party progressive in debt to Obama for an electoral victory is going to stand up to the entrenched interest groups in Wisconsin or anywhere else?

Meade said...

"He's avoided attacking Mary, perhaps because he doesn't want to be thought of as the cruelest person, even though many Wisconsinites have wanted to portray him that way."

And perhaps it's because he wants to be able to actually, you know, lead and govern the Wisconsin state government after he's reelected next Tuesday. (Not that I'm getting cocky or anything. (Heh.) (Heh heh.)

lgv said...

First, polling has become far more difficult/less accurate since the demise of land lines. For example, there is a consistent 5-15% swing between CBS and Rasmussen, with Rasmussen always pro-Dem. I would heavily discount any poll that swings that much.

Second, the story of her failure as a manager is not surprising. This is not uncommon in family businesses. First, her academic training did not match the job requirements. Second, she didn't earn her chops working all the way from shipping and receiving to the head of Europe. This wouldn't be a big deal other than she is applying for the job of running a state. The other applicant has decent work experience doing that very job.

PackerBronco said...

I'm pretty skeptical about the Trek story, but the reason that is so effective is that it seems that it could be true. There's nothing in Burke's sketchy history that speaks of competence or real achievement.

Curious George said...

Can't believe she got fired?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7wBfY1lRic&t=0m20s

FedkaTheConvict said...

I also forgot to mention that Cory Nettles, Mary Burke's predecessor as Commerce Secretary called her "a disaster"

"Vote for the disaster and the draft dodger."

http://watchdog.org/63489/wirep-lehmans-war-wi-senate-candidate-still-fighting-vietnam-war-record/

" He was ordered to take a physical in Milwaukee, which he passed, and was drafted and told to report for induction on Aug. 5, 1968.

Standing in the induction line, he declined to step forward to serve, refused induction and went home.

Later, Lehman was indicted in federal court. In 1971, he was found guilty of refusing induction, he appealed. His appeal was denied, and in August 1972, right around his 27th birthday, he reported to a federal marshal and began a 90-day jail sentence in Waukesha County jail."

richard mcenroe said...

I hear folks walked out on Obama the way they walked out in Maryland.

Here's hoping he does for Burke what he did for every American business he personally endorsed...

Drago said...

This certainly explains her "sabbatical" from Trek.

"Sabbatical".

Hilarious.

Curious George said...

Name another family member of a large successful business that simply walked away and did nothing for a decade.

richard mcenroe said...

Uh... a former employee is afraid of reprisals from the Burke family? Why? How?

"Former Trek executive slain in pedal-by shooting. Police suspect Green Tea Party members extremists..."

Paul said...

Hope Walker wins past 50 percent so no run off is needed (if there are run off type elections there.)

Ann Althouse said...

A former employee still has an interest in having a good reference.

But obviously, it's less fair and more suspect if the person isn't named.

I have a problem with the material coming out this late in the game, because it's so hard to respond to and it doesn't get fully digested and put into proportion with everything else.

Remember when George Bush had to deal with his DUI arrest at the last minute.

Also I am annoyed that we never learned that much about Burke. Whether this story is true or false, I would have like to have gotten a fully detailed story of Burke's work experience.

Dan from Madison said...

It is obviously over and time to cue this up:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQIMDTjHB6A
I do wonder if the Democratic Party was partly responsible for getting the info out about Burke getting canned to burn her down to try to salvage the good old "it was the candidate, not the message" routine.

Alex said...

Probably a right-wing poll funded by the Koch Brothers and over-sampling Waukesha county.

Bogus poll, ignore.

Meade said...

RCP already has the new poll factored in.

Lance said...

Some of us might like a "pit bull on crack" or "Attila the Hun" standing up to the entrenched interest groups here in Wisconsin.

I just googled "Wisconsin entrenched interest groups". Interestingly this post shows up as #2 in the list. After a brief scan, it looks like several of the top hits aren't related to politics. The remaining top hits all refer to Gov. Walker having taken on the unions.

Michael K said...

"All the polls are complete and utter rubbish until a few days before the election."

The problem with this is early voting and absentee ballots. I just mailed mine. It's interesting how much trouble I had finding who appointed some judges. Even though this is California, several did not list who appointed them anywhere. They were all appointed by Democrats I finally learned.

Hmmm.

Alex said...

Meade - stop the right-wing propaganda already. We've had enough of Snotty "couldn't finish college" Walkerhead.

Meade said...

Thanks, Dan! She's very busy with no time to waste but I was able to give her a quick twirl around and return her to her seat. (Plus one deep dip on "we'rrrre not goin' back... no way...)

Curious George said...

Time to launch JOHN DOE III!@!!!!

RecChief said...

beware teh man with an axe to grind

Let's just say I am skeptical of a convenient story. About someone getting fired coming from a guy that was fired from teh same company. That reinforces my perception (thereby flattering my intelligence).

It might be true, but I'm skeptical that this is just coming out now. Expect a swift denial from Trek (not that a denial is proof it's a made up story)

Peter said...

"You know, she could spin that in her favor."

You could try. But if you'd ever worked for a family-owned business where family is family (always right, even when wrong) and all other employees "the hired help" (always replaceable, for any reason or no reason) you'd recognize the portrait that (true or not) has been presented.

deepelemblues said...

"Also I am annoyed that we never learned that much about Burke. Whether this story is true or false, I would have like to have gotten a fully detailed story of Burke's work experience."

What's the saying? If you aren't driving the news cycle it drives you? Or replace driving with "on top of."

If you don't like this stuff coming out so late because there isn't enough time to process it, blame the candidate. The people should know the candidate's history by a week before election day. If a candidate did what you want stories like this wouldn't be so much of a much. You, and everyone else, would be able to judge them and draw conclusions faster and more intelligently.

So don't blame the sources. Their stories would have far less effect if candidates were better at campaigning. Barack Obama didn't have any trouble with this kind of stuff coming out about him. Burke is no Barack.

PackerBronco said...

Blogger Alex said...
Meade - stop the right-wing propaganda already. We've had enough of Snotty "couldn't finish college" Walkerhead.

10/29/14, 2:17 PM


Alex typifies the "Everything I know about rhetoric, I learned in kindergarten" school of defense.

Lance said...

I tend to think Walker doesn't need or even want this kind of help. He's avoided attacking Mary, perhaps because he doesn't want to be thought of as the cruelest person, even though many Wisconsinites have wanted to portray him that way.

Pres. Obama avoided attacking Mitt Romney, yet Romney found himself attacked non-stop.

Pres. Bush avoided attacking John Kerry, yet Kerry found himself relentlessly swift-boated.

Not wanting to attack and not wanting your opponent to be attacked are two different things.

Anthony said...

Ann said: "Also I am annoyed that we never learned that much about Burke. Whether this story is true or false, I would have like to have gotten a fully detailed story of Burke's work experience."

You really expected this from the press?

Actually, the press these days is kind of like reading Pravda: you only look for what's missing.

rehajm said...

I have a problem with the material coming out this late in the game, because it's so hard to respond to and it doesn't get fully digested and put into proportion with everything else.

You've asked and answered your own question. It's a clearly defined strategy in a late chapter of the campaign playbook. We used to call it the 'dead hooker story'.

Quaestor said...

Managers in Europe used to call Burke “pit bull on crack” or “Attila the Hun,” one source said.

I have little doubt that Burke's main qualification for her position in Trek hierarchy was genetic, but that anonymous quote is too "American" to be creditable.

Let no one say Quaestor heaps his dreaded scorn on one side only.

RecChief said...

yet Kerry found himself relentlessly swift-boated.

Spending 4 months in a war zone, then viciously attacking the people you were with with lies will get you that. No sympathy for Kerry on that one.

Quaestor said...

John Lynch wrote: Anonymous sources better have a good reason to be anonymous. Otherwise I ain't buying it without confirmation.

[THUMPS UP]

rehajm said...

Interestingly, because it's risk of backfire, the Dead Hooker Story is only prescribed for those candidates that believe they need a slight bump for election day.

Alex said...

It's always the usual crap for Republicans. They know they can't win on issues(like ever), so they go personal.

rehajm said...

Elements necessary for the Dead Hooker Story to work:

'Truthiness', a sufficient period of time for the news cycle to report and absorb the allegation, an insufficient period of time for the new cycle to report and absorb the rebuttal.

RecChief said...

John Lynch wrote: Anonymous sources better have a good reason to be anonymous. Otherwise I ain't buying it without confirmation.

Point of order. The source is not anonymous. And it's disclosed in the article that he was fired from Trek, and is Chairman of the Jefferson County Republican Party. He was HR director for Trek for 12 years. I'm still skeptical.

rehajm said...

Mary Burke's rebuttal: Arnold Schwarzenegger groped me.

Emil Blatz said...

As I have often said, and do fervently believe, he gonna beat her like a damn rented car!

wendybar said...

Look at the racist in that picture holding up a sign of Scott Walker as Hitler.

Michael K said...

Blogger Alex said...
"It's always the usual crap for Republicans. They know they can't win on issues(like ever), so they go personal."

Yeah, that story about Romney's dog on the car was serious policy.

Jeeez ! Dopes abound.

Anonymous said...

The liberal media is putting out false poll numbers again in an effort to support their cohorts. After what Burke said during the debates regarding drunk drivers there is no way Walker gets less than 80% of the votes. Any poll which says otherwise is lying.

Quaestor said...

Pres. Bush avoided attacking John Kerry, yet Kerry found himself relentlessly swift-boated.

Not a good analog.

Kerry got what he richly deserved in 2004. He traded on his war experience, striking poses and mouthing bromides. First as the disillusioned veteran turned radical hipster. Then as decorated veteran returning to the colors. Gawd, what a hypocrite, what a brass-plated fraud... the swift boat vets were merciful given the treatment John F. Kerry merited.

BTW, Kerry still hasn't released his DoD service records to the public.

Quaestor said...

It's always the usual crap for Republicans. They know they can't win on issues(like ever), so they go personal.

That's either maladroit sarcasm or just another stupidity eruption.

Alex said...

Romney's dog just made his defeat much worse than it was already going to be. He never stood a chance on the issues which revolve primarily on the general screwage of the middle class and the complete stomping of the lower classes by evil Rethuglican policies.

Alex said...

BTW, I'm off my meds today so bear with me.

RecChief said...

Alex said...
It's always the usual crap for Republicans. They know they can't win on issues(like ever), so they go personal.



Cause telling people that Republicans are going to outlaw birth control pills is a serious assertion.

chillblaine said...

The winds of November came early for Mary...

Rumpletweezer said...

It keeps coming back to a Dirty Harry quote: "A man's got to know his limitations." A woman does, too.

garage mahal said...

As I have often said, and do fervently believe, he gonna beat her like a damn rented car!

All the Walker trolls finally have a good poll to talk about, and they magically re-appear! Welcome back fellas! We missed you so much.

Lance said...

Kerry got what he richly deserved in 2004.

Fair enough. My point is that it wasn't Bush making the accusations. That's how it works. To suppose that Scott Walker doesn't want Mary Burke attacked is ridiculous. The race has been a dead heat, she's outspending him, she's got most of the important county clerks on her side, of course he wants her attacked.

Michael said...

Garage

You probably know some insiders over at Trek: is it true or not that the brother had to give her the heave ho? It certainly sounds like it given the former HR person's description of the disaster she caused in Europe.

Alex said...

Michael - even if that's true, Mary was in her early 20s. She was just "finding herself". Everyone in their early 20s make a fuckup, haven't you?

Larry J said...

If the lead above the margin of cheating?

garage mahal said...

: is it true or not that the brother had to give her the heave ho?

Judging from the publication I highly doubt it. Wisconsin is thick with Bradley Foundation funded rags that just make shit up. Ellerman is the chairman of the Jefferson County Republican Party, and ran as a fake Democrat against Lori Compass. Seems a bit odd if Walker were up 7% you'd see a hit piece like this come out, and watch Walker publicly crying for money from the RGA.

Mark said...

The simplest explanation is Marquette is covering its butt. Some interesting (to me) findings in the poll:

53% disapprove of the job Obama is doing. Easy to see why Dems in close races are treating Obama as toxic. The only reason to bring him in is if you're really desperate for a big turnout of the base.

52% approve of how Walker is doing as Governor. This explains why Wisconsin Democrats are willing to risk bringing Obama in to rally the base. This number kills Burke's chances without a big turnout by Blacks and pro-Union voters.

49% unfavorable for Mary Burke/51% favorable for Scott Walker. See previous point.

4.6% Undecided/Don't Know/Refused "If the election were today". That actually strikes me as a pretty big chunk. If Burke can win two-thirds of those that's a 3% swing in her direction. I expect something big in the way of an anti-Walker broadside between now and Sunday.

54% think Wisconsin is on the "Right Track" Whatever broadside the Dems come up with will have to be big, because that number is death for a challenger.

Quaestor said...

Look at the racist in that picture holding up a sign of Scott Walker as Hitler.

Old news. In fact that picture dates back to 2011.

To be equated to Hitler is high praise. It means they haven't laid a glove on you yet, nor can they.

Walker should grow a toothbrush moustache just to rub salt in their wounds.

The correct term for the "Walker is Hitler" sign waver is jejune loser. If this is character assassination it's like Lee Harvey Oswald lurking on the 6th floor of the Texas Schoolbook Depository armed with a popgun.

The Left is in the process of evolving from a threat to liberty into an object of pity.

One more thing: Racist is no longer a pejorative. These days it means one thing, and one thing only: you've got a brain and the courage to use it. Crack would say Quaestor is a racist. Quaestor would be insulted otherwise. Given the mental vacuity behind that photoshopped Walker/Hitler image, the sign waver is certainly not a racist.

sane_voter said...

Mary was born in 1959. She was in her early 30s, not 20s. She still could have been over her head, but she wasn't just out of college when this went down.

Quaestor said...

4.6% Undecided/Don't Know/Refused "If the election were today"

Historically at this stage in a campaign the Undecideds either don't vote or break even on ballot.

gerry said...

There's nothing in Burke's sketchy history that speaks of competence or real achievement.

There's nothing in Obama's sketchy history that speaks of competence or real achievement, either. Burke and Obama - made for each other.

Anonymous said...

"It's always the usual crap for Republicans. They know they can't win on issues(like ever), so they go personal."

Risible. Burke touted how well she supposedly did at TREK to show her qualification for the governorship. This article directly addresses her professional performance. It's not personal.

As another commenter pointed out, it similarly was not "personal," and was utterly fair game, to critique John Kerry's war record, particularly after Kerry made that record the centerpiece of his early campaign.

You know what IS personal? References to Walker's baldness, not finishing college, being cross-eyed, etc.

PackerBronco said...

HTML needs to introduce the <empty> tag in order to mark text devoid of serious and useful content. I would apply to the following:

<empty>All the Walker trolls finally have a good poll to talk about, and they magically re-appear! Welcome back fellas! We missed you so much.</empty>

Joe Schmoe said...

I'm definitely not a lawyer, but it's fun to play one on Ann's blog.

Direct evidence: Burke has a short work history with a multi-year gap of unemployment.

Circumstantial evidence: A named source with direct knowledge alleges she was a bad manager and was fired. This is corroborated by multiple other sources. Burke has been evasive and inconsistent when discussing her work and sabbatical history.

And finally, if there were a compelling story to tell, don't you think she and her campaign would've told it?

I'm more inclined to believe it than not, and at best she's shown herself to be more of a rich dilettante than a committed, capable public servant.

Original Mike said...

Oh, oh. Time for Chisholm to indict.

garage mahal said...

Original Mike knows the fix is in!

Original Mike said...

Time for Chisholm to go all in!

Original Mike said...

Chisholm must indict now. You don't want to get voted off the island with an idol in your pocket.

Peter said...

Well, the Journal-Sentinel has declared that Mary Burke "seems quietly competent — and very bright." And that "she has grown enormously as a candidate."

Although they unfortunately failed to say why they held these opinions.

( http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/as-gov-scott-walker-and-mary-burke-hit-the-home-stretch-final-thoughts-b99375646z1-280375992.html )

Michael said...

Alex:

Yes, why yes I have. But post fuck up I didn't say that I had made a spectacular success of what I fucked up. In which case see Mary Burke

Michael K said...

"BTW, I'm off my meds today so bear with me."

We knew. It's OK.

Michael K said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
tim in vermont said...

That's right Garage, because the investigation is all about politics, and now is the time for politics!

garage mahal said...

One of Wisconsin Reporter's best columns:

On Friday morning, two days after Wood says he was brutally beaten by a man at Wood’s High Street home, the openly gay campaign worker for 2nd Congressional District Republican candidate Chad Lee shared his story with Wisconsin Reporter.

He says the alleged attack was politically motivated and related to his sexual orientation, although Wood says he isn’t fond of terms like “hate crime.”

As he recovers from his cuts and bruises and as Madison police continue to investigate, Wood said he’s trying to understand how things in this bitterly divided state have turned so violent and why representatives who have been so outspoken about violence targeting members of the gay community have kept silence about reports of his assault.


Except the part that Kyle Wood made the entire story up. Whoops! Notice they didn't even update the story to reflect it was a complete fairy tale. Journalism at its finest.

Unknown said...

She's falling apart faster than a $3 suitcase!

Michael The Magnificent said...

Except the part that Kyle Wood made the entire story up. Whoops!

Why, isn't everyone granted one free grope? Er, one free fuck-up? Or is it one free dick-pic? One free mistress? One free drowned woman in a Oldsmobile? One free gay prostitution ring? One free dead border patrol agent?

Or is it one free slander? I can never remember how low you lefties last left the "beyond-the-pale" bar.

garage mahal said...

Or is it one free slander? I can never remember how low you lefties last left the "beyond-the-pale" bar.

"one free"? Wisconsin Reporter, MacIver Institute, Media Trackers, et al are one giant ratfucking operation funded by billionaires.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel even ran that ridiculous Kyle Wood smear job, and they didn't update, or admit any wrongdoing, they just disappeared the column from Christian Schneider completely. Moving on.

Achilles said...

garage mahal said...

"Except the part that Chisenholm made the entire story up. Whoops! Notice they didn't even update the story to reflect it was a complete fairy tale. Journalism at its finest."

FIFY

Mark said...

This guy sat on the story until 6 days pre election?

Sounds like he is concerned he could be fact checked if he allowed more time.

Dirty bullshit, but you post it anyway

Achilles said...

garage mahal said...
"Or is it one free slander? I can never remember how low you lefties last left the "beyond-the-pale" bar.

"one free"? Wisconsin Reporter, MacIver Institute, Media Trackers, et al are one giant ratfucking operation funded by billionaires."

It's entertaining to watch garage project. Continue your crusade against all available evidence that the vast majority of billionaire money is spent on the left. The democrat party gets more money from billionaires than republicans.

You just shill for the .00001%.

viator said...

On the Sean Trende chart (of Real Clear Politics), in recent cycles, a candidate with a 7 point lead, 7 days from Election Day went on to win… 100 percent of the time.

Sean Trende

Also notice candidates with a 4% lead go on to win about 90% of the time.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

"We need a welfare check on Garage Mahal."

Pretty sure garage has already cashed his welfare check.

Unknown said...

Nothing changed. Walker was always ahead. Marquette U pollster Charles Franklin is a rabid liberal who was the pollster for both the Huffington Post as well as the Daily Kos. He pulled this same crap in the recall polling where he tried to keep Barrett "in the game" for as long as possible before releasing an accurate poll just days before the election so he could ultimately save face and boast how accurate his (final) poll was.

In this instance, he even inferred two weeks ago AFTER releasing a poll showing the race even that the poll probably would change:

"Franklin cautioned that the movement among independent voters could change again."

http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/latest-marquette-poll-results-come-in-busy-week-on-campaign-trail-b99371330z1-279278392.html

JUST THINK ABOUT THAT: How would he know that after just conducting a poll showing independents dramatically shifting towards Burke? What possible indication would there be at that point that independents would flip back to Walker in just two weeks? By adding that caveat he essentially was admitting that he skewed that poll -- probably to appease all his liberal buddies in the business that wanted to fund raise for Burke on the premise of a "tight race".

Franklin needs to be investigated. He's currently doing these Marquette polls off of a federal grant -- in other words, the taxpayers money. Immediately upon seeing that "all is even" poll two weeks ago, I knew his next would show Walker way up. Even Nate Silver has questioned the ethics of pollsters (see http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/pollsters-say-they-follow-ethical-standards-but-they-arent-so-sure-about-their-peers/).

Achilles said...

Mark said...
"This guy sat on the story until 6 days pre election?

Sounds like he is concerned he could be fact checked if he allowed more time.

Dirty bullshit, but you post it anyway"

Watching lefties go apoplectic over a story late in the cycle is entertaining after their long and easily researched history. Forged ANG documents and DUI reports just off the top of my head.

Curious George said...

"Mark said...
This guy sat on the story until 6 days pre election?

Sounds like he is concerned he could be fact checked if he allowed more time.

Dirty bullshit, but you post it anyway"

LOL. I'll bet you are appalled. Right?

Wilbur said...

Meade said:
""He's avoided attacking Mary, perhaps because he doesn't want to be thought of as the cruelest person, even though many Wisconsinites have wanted to portray him that way."

And perhaps it's because he wants to be able to actually, you know, lead and govern the Wisconsin state government after he's reelected next Tuesday."

Interesting. In 2008, I recognized that McCain made a similar decision in declining to destroy Obama with Rev. Wright, in that even if he won, he believed the country would be ungovernable.

garage mahal said...

Nothing changed. Walker was always ahead

4 of the last 5 polls had a dead heat. This polls had Walker up 7%. Which is the outlier? And Charles Franklin is a rabid liberal? Where do people get this shit?

Anonymous said...

Forged ANG documents and DUI reports just off the top of my head

Excellent point! This last minute claim about Burke being fired from the family business is probably just as true as the last minute DUI and desertion claims about Bush were.

Anonymous said...

Uh, John Lynch, the story itself mentions that 3 other people confirmed the report.

Willful ignorance or just poor comprehension skills?

Curious George said...

"garage mahal said...
4 of the last 5 polls had a dead heat. This polls had Walker up 7%. Which is the outlier?"

Hang on tight garage. Hang on tight.

Anonymous said...

Did these anonymous sources also say there were Blue Fist posters above Burke's desk while she was working at Trek?

tim in vermont said...

You know that they did a study during the Bush era that purported to show that if you showed a person images of Bush as Hitler, the obvious unfairness of it actually drove people to view Bush more favorably.

I am sure they did the study to find the most effective tactics to destroy Bush, but calling him BusHitler didn't seem to work.

tim in vermont said...

Remember when, just a few short days ago, madisonfella was posing as a middle of the road moderate?


Ha ha ha!

Bill said...

Obama finally found a candidate willing to be seen in public with him ... and look what happens. It almost makes you feel sorry for him.

Ann Althouse said...

"If you don't like this stuff coming out so late because there isn't enough time to process it, blame the candidate."

Presumably, the candidate to blame is Walker. He chose not to run with this kind of material (as I noted in the post). That did expose Burke to the risk that someone would dump it in the end. I assume she was ready with answers, but chose not to inoculate herself by putting it out there her way. She took a risk (assuming the information is true).

If it's not true, it's really bad, because she wouldn't have had a reason to prepare to defend herself and she doesn't have the ability to attack Walker for dumping this in the end. He didn't do it.

Michael K said...

"is probably just as true as the last minute DUI and desertion claims about Bush were."

The DUI claim about Bush was true so I guess you agree she was fired.

The huge mistake Rove made (assuming he knew) was to not reveal this early so it was old news. It drove down the fundamentalist vote which would have all been for Bush and, I believe led to the tie.

Anonymous said...

Remember when, just today, Tim in VT said there are no ads on this blog except for the Amazon portal?

Ha ha ha!


Meanwhile other sources are indicating that Gary Ellerman was fired from Trek, possibly over some shady and unethical dealings. Surely he doesn't have any axes to grind with Trek.

Big Mike said...

And I'm a little skeptical of October surprises — why are we getting this one week before the election?

So to your way of thinking only Democrats are allowed to throw out a negative fact at their opponents during the last week of the election? Like, say, Dubya's DUI (which, to your credit, you cited)?

If Mary Burke is going to run, in part, on her performance as a manager at Trek, then surely this information is relevant.

Ann Althouse said...

"'Managers in Europe used to call Burke “pit bull on crack” or “Attila the Hun,” one source said.' I have little doubt that Burke's main qualification for her position in Trek hierarchy was genetic, but that anonymous quote is too "American" to be creditable."


Yeah, how do you say "pit bull on crack" in French?

Answer: pit-bull sur le crack.

Anonymous said...

The DUI claim about Bush was true

So says all the libtards. That lie was just another attack from the mainstream media. It is what they do, you know.

Daniel said...

Like many others, I tend to be skeptical of last-minute dirt dumps. (Not that Democrats have clean hands with which to complain, considering the shenanigans coming out of Milawaukee.)

However, this could be the first move in a "Strickland gambit", in which a serious charge is made against a candidate but without any evidence. The second move is when the accused candidate then vociferously denies the charge and calls it ridiculous. The third move is when the backup evidence is revealed, thus totally skewing the accused candidate's credibility.

If that's what is happening here, expect some of the "anonymous" corroborating witnesses to reveal themselves tomorrow or Friday, along with documents supporting the charges. At that point Mary Burke becomes burnt toast.

Anonymous said...

"So says all the libtards. That lie was just another attack from the mainstream media. It is what they do, you know."

Your battles with the conservative who lives between your ears (and nowhere else) and says things real conservatives don't actually say - well, those battles must be epic, Ing-oh excuse me, madisonfella.

You're the only one in this thread who has denied the DUI claim. None of the conservatives have because it is something that is very easy to fact check.

Ctmom4 said...

Professor: How reliable a source is the Wisconsin reporter?

Ann Althouse said...

"Professor: How reliable a source is the Wisconsin reporter?"

I don't know. That's why I framed my link the way I did.

Meade said...

"4 of the last 5 polls had a dead heat. This polls had Walker up 7%. Which is the outlier? And Charles Franklin is a rabid liberal? Where do people get this shit? "

From you.

Anonymous said...

I'm a bit leery of the story too. We'll see if Daniel's call is correct.

I am very happy about the poll though, considering that MU's last poll before the recall election was right on the money.

If the Royals win tonight and Walker wins next Tuesday, I won't ask for anything for Christmas.

Meade said...

"If the Royals win tonight and Walker wins next Tuesday, I won't ask for anything for Christmas. "

Now let's not be greedy.

ken in tx said...

It's the Gales of November coming early. A gale is more than just a wind. Ask any sailor--Small craft warnings.

tim in vermont said...

madisonfella, then I owned up to it and corrected myself. I hadn't noticed the ad before, I admitted. Even before you pointed it out, I add.

Yet still you yammer on, and still stand by your "follow the money" comment about a single penny per view blog ad.

PuertoRicoSpaceport.com said...

Pitbull in lipstick, about Palin, seems very different from pitbull on crack.

One seems to say that this is a person who is generally a nice person, generally easy to get along with. Unless you screw with something that is important to her. Then she will defend it by any means at hand.

The other seems to mean that this is a crazy person who will attack viciously without warning or provocation.

One in a compliment and a desirable characteristic. The other not so much.

It will be interesting to see what happens to Burke's numbers after the Obama visit. The Maryland candidate immediately dropped by about 8-9 points after Obie came out for him.

John Henry

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

Livermoron said...

Uh, John Lynch, the story itself mentions that 3 other people confirmed the report.

Willful ignorance or just poor comprehension skills?

----

Confirmation by other anonymous sources isn't confirmation! Are you this stupid in your daily life?

The only named source is the chairman of a county committee of the Republican Party.

Seriously, how willfully ignorant are you to not ask simple questions about an obvious hit job like this?

PuertoRicoSpaceport.com said...

Lance said:

...yet Kerry found himself relentlessly swift-boated.

And what did the Swiftboaters say about Kerry say that was not factually true?

That he lied about throwing his medals away?

That he lied about taking the CIA guy into Cambodia on Christmas Eve?

That he lied about carrying the CIA guy's hat around in his briefcase "To this day" (in 2004)

That 300 or so of his former shipmates from VN thought he would make a lousy candidate?

That he had some pretty bizarre testimony in front of Congress as a winter soldier?

And so on.

Please, Lance, tell us what was factually untrue that the Swiftboaters said.

If you want to characterize the Burke firing story as Swiftboating, that would be to say that you accept it as truth.

John Henry

Anonymous said...

Yet still you yammer on, and still stand by your "follow the money" comment

Yes, I still stand by my claim that advertisers are told that this is a "conservative blog" in an effort to sell ad space. Are you still disputing that or are you suddenly going to "own up" to that mistake as well?

Wilbur said...

An obvious hit job? Sure. If you mean it's timed for maximum damage to the candidate.

But none of us know if it's untrue. Not yet.

President-Mom-Jeans said...

Hey Bitchtits,

"Have a Happy Nov 4th, jackass."

Anonymous said...

Meade: I want a Royale with cheese.

garage mahal said...

"Have a Happy Nov 4th, jackass."

Have fun with your miserable life and your fake lawyer "career".

Anonymous said...

You are pathetic, garage. Your comments are nakedly political, so you're not convincing anyone of anything.

I enjoy coming here just to see you still wasting your time. You have no life, do you?

Kirk Parker said...


Achilles,

Re equity partners: I'm currently just wrapping up the sale of a closely-held business (as a board member of said corp.) Truly, the ability of family-member owners of shares, who are not involved in the operation of the business (the recently-expired Old Man was very wise in that regard, about his offspring) is truly awesome to behold (in the destructive sense.)


Althouse,

" I would have like to have gotten a fully detailed story of Burke's work experience. "

Indeed. Isn't that, alone, a completely adequate reason to vote against her? Seriously, it's not like she's Hillary's age, she can easily come back and run again in 4 years, suitably chastened, and hopefully (for her) having some actual accomplishments in that 4-year span?

Meade said...

Garage, MomJeans,
Would you guys please get room?

Sam L. said...

"Isn't that a crazy shift?"

I'd take out that f.

John L, don't you know what lefties do to those who harsh their mellow and narrative? Plenty of reasons to be anonymous.

Meade said...

Exile, believe me - if I were king, I'd have it overnighted to you.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

I even want Walker to win and I'd vote for him for President. That doesn't make this anything other than what it is- a partisan hit job with no sources for other media to investigate. By the time the truth comes out the election is over. Why'd they sit on the story until less than a week out from the election?

This is the same shit that happens to Republican candidates all the time. Everyone should know what it looks like. Call it what it is, or don't cry when it happens to your guy.

Kirk Parker said...


Alex, you pathetic shape-shifting troll: our biggest warships are routinely steered by people "in their early 20s". Only very VERY rarely do they "make a fuckup".

I do understand your cohort is entirely f'ing different, though.

Known Unknown said...

As far as Alex is concerned, the assholes are all on the other other side, alternating every other Tuesday and Thursday.

Achilles said...

"This is the same shit that happens to Republican candidates all the time. Everyone should know what it looks like. Call it what it is, or don't cry when it happens to your guy."

Does that make the story "fake but accurate?" Or is it accurate but sleazy? I lean towards the latter. Family owned businesses that put loser scions in positions they can't handle happens so often and everything we have seen out of Burke is failed silver spoon up the butt Havvaaad grad who has accomplished nothing else in her life.

I completely understand your point and agree. But I also enjoy watching the lefties and self proclaimed centrists cry more than I agree with you.

Birkel said...

Nobody can understand why the sources would want to be anonymous?

Joe the Plumber is on Line 1. Would An Althouse commenter please pick up a courtesy phone? Line 1, please.

PuertoRicoSpaceport.com said...

Speaking of anonymous sources:

Garage, ARM, others, complaining about this, how come you are anonymous?

How come you don't post under your real names?

Not complaining, just pointing it out. Feel free to continue to hid behind your fakery.

John Henry

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

I'm complaining about it. Hi, I'm John Lynch. I approve of this comment.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

PuertoRicoSpaceport.com said...
Garage, ARM, others, complaining about this,


Point to where I have complained about anything in Wisconsin politics.

Rusty said...

“Voter ID laws are at-issue across the country, with newly Republican-controlled legislatures having passed them in numerous states after the 2010 election,” explained The Washington Post’s Aaron Blake. “Most states still request some form of ID, but don’t require it. Another 20 states don’t require identification. In case you’re wondering where your state is at in all of this, a helpful (sic) graphic from the Post’s graphics team.”

So who ended up using the Post’s helpful graphic? The country’s foremost pro-amnesty Hispanic immigrant organization.

The Chicago chapter of Asian Americans Advancing Justice tweeted Blake’s article with the message, “Reminder — #Illinois does NOT require #voterID to cast a ballot,” along with the pro-Democrat hashtag #TurnOutForWhat. The tweet was helpfully retweeted by the National Council of La Raza.

From the WaPo no less.
So now you can STFU about it.

tim in vermont said...

Is Althouse still being sold to advertisers as one of the top conservative blogs in the nation? Follow the money; it will always point you to the answer. -madisonfella

In case anybody, which I doubt, is remotely interested in what madisonfella is ranting about, she is defending the above statement. She is talking about that tiny blog ad. That is what she means by "follow the money."

You see, madisonfella, like ARM is a moderate centrist.

Tom from Virginia said...

"He's avoided attacking Mary, perhaps because he doesn't want to be thought of as the cruelest person."

You've expressed this sentiment more than once. Isn't this a more likely explanation - that Scott Walker has a core, and at the core he is a decent and honorable man.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

tim in vermont said...
You see, madisonfella, like ARM is a moderate centrist.


Still battling with the voices in your head?


ALH said...

Mary Burke says "“We reorganized and eliminated the position that I had, and I left that organization in charge of two other people who reported directly to the U.S.,”

That seems to be new information that she never shared before.

http://watchdog.org/180258/mary-burke-trek-scott-walker/

alan markus said...

Is Althouse still being sold to advertisers as one of the top conservative blogs in the nation? Follow the money; it will always point you to the answer. -madisonfella

In case anybody, which I doubt, is remotely interested in what madisonfella is ranting about, she is defending the above statement. She is talking about that tiny blog ad. That is what she means by "follow the money."


So, only "conservatives" are in the market for high capacity SSD cards?

virgil xenophon said...

Kirk Parker@7:11pm/

Exactly. I'm always amused when the "you've got to excuse their youth" excuse is used. At age 24 I was flying combat missions in Vietnam entrusted with a multi-million dollar aircraft. And a year later stationed in the UK trusted enough (as were all my contemporaries) to be sitting alert on top of a tactical nuke, when not preparing for conventional warfare in the F-4D aircraft. One mistake in Vietnam and one was either dead or one's career was ended. And same in Europe for the career-ending mistake--not too many second chances when dealing with matters of life and death, potential or otherwise..

Birkel said...

I liked Inga when she had a relative for every occasion. This new Inga, madisonfella, is boring. Remember that time Inga had a daughter in the military? And that time Inga had a (relative here) who was (job here) that gave Inga absolute moral authority on (topic here).

madisonIngafella is just not as entertaining a character. Bring back Original Inga. *shudder*

David said...

There are reasons to be skeptical about this article. However, the story of Burke's career with Trek has always been painted with the broadest of brushes, and family solidarity and lack of data on a private corporation make the Burke version suspect too. Overall her record of accomplishment is very thin, and certainly her attempt to run as an accomplished businessperson has been a failure.

The bottom line is that Burke has not been much of a candidate. Her main appeal is that she is not Walker. We will see if that is enough.

PuertoRicoSpaceport.com said...

Exactly. I'm always amused when the "you've got to excuse their youth" excuse is used. At age 24 I was flying combat missions in Vietnam entrusted with a multi-million dollar aircraft.

And if you were flying off of a carrier, at 24 you were probably one of the older people on the ship.

We had a guy in my division on the ship that we called "Pops" because he was so old. He had 10 years or so in at the time so he might have been 30 or so.

At a guess, back when Mary Burke was young and inexperienced, 75-80% of all the crews on Navy ships were under 30.

How old was Bill Gates when he founded Microsoft? He was only 25 when IBM came out with the PC using MS-DOS.

We could probably come up with hundreds of similar, if not quite so spectacular, examples.

John Henry

Original Mike said...

I thought Mary's tenure was so profitable they rewarded her with a two year snowboarding vacation.

deepelemblues said...

"Presumably, the candidate to blame is Walker."

No, it's on Burke. That's what the reference to Obama meant.

Obama had this kind of stuff brought up against him fairly consistently during his campaign. There was no last-week surprise of this nature, but all these hits at his character and judgment were not effective because he was brilliant at preparing the ground by getting his story out there in the way he wanted to for more than a year before he beat Clinton and then McCain. When things arose the potential hurt was blunted because people already had all these other (positive) details of his life in their minds, and they believed that. The media certainly helped Obama a lot, but...

Burke presumably has the same media advantage. If she gets hurt by this story it's her own fault for not presenting her time at Trek in more detail. If you're annoyed that you don't have enough time to properly judge this story, that's Burke's fault too. She could have put out a bunch of details that would have influenced your conclusions about this story. She didn't.

Mark said...

So you do a bang-up job over less than three years increasing sales for your family's business and as a result they downsize your position. You then build upon your success by snowboarding for a couple of years, followed by some heavy-duty dabbling.

Sounds plausible.

PuertoRicoSpaceport.com said...

How accurate were the polls showing Burke and Walker close? Has Burke really dropped that much in a week?

I don't have a lot of faith in polls. They need to show close races. Some see-sawing back and forth is good too. It sells newspapers.

More importantly, it sells advertising. If a poll shows 2 candidates 20 points apart, neither will spend much on ads. The leader figures he has it sewed up so why waste his money. The loser figures they can't win so why waste theirs. This leaves the paper (and TV etc) with empty pages they can't sell.

The reason for the big drop last week, I predict, is because Burke is going to get a thumping on Tuesday. The pollsters need to start backing away now so they don't look so in the tank for the media.

It's all about the money.

John Henry

Curious George said...

"Birkel said...
madisonIngafella is just not as entertaining a character."

That's because Madisofella is Purple Penguin.

Daniel said...

It looks like my earlier speculation (http://tinyurl.com/ncyn5ag) about a "Strickland gambit" is turning out to be correct. I see that WISN now has a news report (http://tinyurl.com/otmq7dy) saying that Tom Albers, Trek’s former Vice President and Chief Operating Officer who served as Burke’s second-in-command, has confirmed that she was fired.

richard mcenroe said...

second source for Burke firing. http://tinyurl.com/otmq7dy

Achilles said...

"We had a guy in my division on the ship that we called "Pops" because he was so old. He had 10 years or so in at the time so he might have been 30 or so."

I was old when I joined, just over 30. I was called "old balls" at battalion. There were a few of us 30 somethings wherever I went. My first platoon Sgt at battalion was 27. There were some awkward moments. They only tried "hazing" me once. The army is a young persons place.

Anonymous said...

John lynch, the reporter confirmed the report from a named source via confirmations from three other people whose identities were not released...that doesn't mean that they are 'anonymous', just simply unknown to you.

Not that confirmation has come from her former boss as well....
well, time for you to ratchet up the willful ignorance again supplanted with a lot of 'yeah, but stills.'

Anonymous said...

'Not' should be 'Note', FYI

averagejoe said...

"Obama had this kind of stuff brought up against him fairly consistently during his campaign... but all these hits at his character and judgment were not effective because he was brilliant at preparing the ground by getting his story out there in the way he wanted" LOL! Yeah, he was brilliant- That Reverend Wright God Damn America thing played right into Hussein's hands! And Ol' Bill Ayres, Obama saw that coming too...LOL! The only reason that moron got away with the crap he did was because the democrat party media flooded the airwaves with proclamations of Barry's brilliance and the awesome crease in his pants, completely embargoed any negative information on the creep when they weren't actively refuting it like his paid spokesmen, and went into overdrive slandering, lying about and impugning McCain and Palin. This is why to this day people still contend that Obama was editor of Harvard Law Review, that he graduated with honors even though his grades and transcripts have never been made public, and still sneer that Palin can see Russia from her house. In other words, the democrat party propaganda complex foisted this imbecile on the American public. Even after four years of his abject stupidity, they were still defending The One and slagging his opponent on his behalf- or don't you remember Candy Crowley coming to his defense and supporting his lies during the second debate with Romney? 47% 47% 47% 47% Binders full of women Binders full of women Binders full of women Binders full of women

Mark said...

The only named source for this article ran in the recalls as a 'fake democrat' to extend the process as the Republican Party wanted.

Just like that was, this was known and planned by the party. I am sure there is plausible deniability, but this source has a history of bad faith electoral shenanigans.

In two weeks, this will all turn out false. But you will have helped Walker win with this dirt

Wisconsin Reporter is a joke. The same source as every anti John Doe story, which have not stood up so well to fact checking over time. True skepticism would keep it off this page.

Diogenes of Sinope said...

Fired or not, Burke has no clue how working people live and work. Burke is a wealthy heiress who has never had to work a day in her life. Burke has not had a regular job for the last 6 plus years and had earlier taken a 2 year vacation....She was born wealthy and is out of touch.

iowan2 said...

Polls are a product of the purchaser. The reflect the desires of the purchaser.

The Polls on this race have always had the desired effect of giving the illusion that Burke had a chance.

Now that the election is upon us the polls scramble to be accurate. Thats all we are seeing.

Concerning this race, I have not seen a single Democrat enumerate exactly why Burke is a better choice than Walker.

Exactly like Obama, supporters are able to project their own agenda on the blank canvas that is Burke.

Like Obama, Burke has Zero experiences that translate to an effective administrator. She should tell the voters who her 'trusted' advisory is that will be running things,ie Valary Jarrert.

Rusty said...

Mark said...
So you do a bang-up job over less than three years increasing sales for your family's business and as a result they downsize your position. You then build upon your success by snowboarding for a couple of years, followed by some heavy-duty dabbling.

Sounds plausible.


(John Lovitz)Yeah. That's the ticket.

damikesc said...

Holy shit, she actually WAS fired? That wasn't BS?

And from her FAMILY'S business?

Dang, that is pretty bad.

Joe Schmoe said...

We reorganized and eliminated the position that I had, and I left that organization in charge of two other people who reported directly to the U.S.,” said Burke.

That's a Dilbert cartoon come to life, right there.

Oh my Gawd. If Romney had ever said anything like that in his life, the press--after nutting all over their keyboards, in the biblical sense, of course--would've lost their collective shit for weeks on end.

amielalune said...

So really, Anne, you think that someone who is basically a bully with low people skills is a good idea in Washington?

Oh, right, you voted for one for President, didn't you?

But Burke is even for despicable because she was in her position ONLY DUE TO HER FAMILY and therefore wasn't even held to the decency standards that a "regular" employee would be.

amielalune said...

Plus, what on earth makes you think she would stand up to "entrenched interest groups?" She has depended on nepotism her entire life, and she's a Dem. She would have no interest in "standing up" to anyone except the real enemy, the Republicans and the Tea Party.

Curious George said...

"Burke worked for Trek twice, first as director of overseas operations from 1990 to 1993. She has said she left because she needed time off after holding a demanding job. She took two years off, which included three months snowboarding in Argentina."

So would she take time off after three years in office? What a bunch of bullshit. Trek could clear all this up and provide info to prove Mary's involvement in Trek's success, right?

"John Burke said...he did not have detailed financial records from that far back..."

LOL. Guess not. This my surprised face :-0

"John Burke said he decided to bring his sister back to the company because she had done such a good job in her first stint..."

After running a whole division and kicking major ass, I'm sure it was some very important management role, right? I mean it would have to be. Right?

"She returned to the company in 1995 in a non-managerial role and eventually led strategic planning and forecasting."

Whoa. Guess not. Well, I'll bet Mary had her hands in every important decision, right?

Like the relationship with Lance Armstrong that helped catapult the company?

Nope: "...Mary Burke and (Trek) said she had nothing to do with the firm's relationship with disgraced Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong."

Well, outsourcing jobs to China was certainly strategic, and likely allowed the company to survive. She was behind that, right?

"Mary Burke...claims...that she never made decisions to ship jobs overseas."

WTF? What did she do?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Her whole fucking working life is a fraud.

Unknown said...

The snow boarding sabbatical. down for the struggle with the little people.

PackerBronco said...

Blogger Mark said...
The only named source for this article ran in the recalls as a 'fake democrat' to extend the process as the Republican Party wanted.


Check the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Mark. They came out with another source that has also testified that Mary was ousted from her position at Trek.

We might never exactly know what went down at Trek, but one thing is clear: Mary's time there was not a good one.

And we know that her Dem colleague at Commerce termed her work there "a disaster".

So ... poor job at Trek (maybe poor enough to get fired by her own family.) Poor job at Commerce (even according to the Dems). No other administrative experience of note. Trust fund baby who took off from responsibilities to snowboard for several years. No record of accomplishment at anything.

You tell me why we should vote FOR her. Not why we should vote against Walker, why we should vote for her.

furious_a said...

Nobody expects the The October Surprise!

Did Wisconsin's Sweetheart play a role in ,ending, under pressure from Lance Armstrong, Trek 's contract with Greg Lemond?

Mark said...

The no-I'm-not-bitter Mark said:

In two weeks, this will all turn out false.

The personal stuff, the parts about being a bully, forced to apologize, etc. will never be proven without Candid Camera footage. (Trek is a rich company wholly-owned by rich people, and they can buy a lot of "no comment").

But when a company eliminates a position and the person who was in that position leaves the company, that's a firing. Spin it all you want (and the Burke family obviously didn't want to humiliate the "brains" of the family) but she was canned.

garage mahal said...

Whoa. Guess not. Well, I'll bet Mary had her hands in every important decision, right?

Walker's longest stint in the private sector...was...wait for it.....*drum roll* at McDonalds. In the real world, without the media propping him up and covering his ass, Walker would have been fired a long time ago.

RecChief said...

Tom Albers, former CEO of Trek, confirms that Mary Burke was fired.

Curious George said...

"garage mahal said...

Walker's longest stint in the private sector...was...wait for it.....*drum roll* at McDonalds. In the real world, without the media propping him up and covering his ass, Walker would have been fired a long time ago."

Walker worked for the Red Cross for four years. And didn't quit to go snowboarding. Imagine that?

You keep holding on tight garage. Very tight.

Meade said...

"You tell me why we should vote FOR her. Not why we should vote against Walker, why we should vote for her."

On the Madison School Board, she used her leadership skills and voted against raising taxes. Of course, her vote lost as all the other members voted to raise taxes.

Curious George said...

Mary Burke on her first stint at Trek from 1985 to October 28, 2014:

"I left because I was burned out"

Mary Burke on her first stint at Trek on October 29, 2014:

"We reorganized, my position was eliminated, and of yeah, I was burned out"

Should have better vetted this idiot first Dems.

Unknown said...

Ah, that time in the election cycle where low-information voters are an asset.

Meade said...

And then she went snowboarding.

PackerBronco said...

Blogger garage mahal said...
Walker's longest stint in the private sector...was...wait for it.....*drum roll* at McDonalds.


Also worked for IBM and for four years at the Red Cross. Don't let those facts interfere with your narrative.

Besides, it's all irrelevant anyway, at the point he first ran for governor he had already served in the state assembly for 8 years and as Milwaukee County Executive for 8 years.

In other words, voters had a long history to exaine from both the public and private sectors.

Now tell us why we should vote for Mary Burke. Not why we should vote against Scott Walker ... why we should vote FOR Mary Burke. Give us her history of accomplishments that merit her election to the governorship.

... crickets ...

Curious George said...

"Meade said...
On the Madison School Board, she used her leadership skills and voted against raising taxes. Of course, her vote lost as all the other members voted to raise taxes."

That was a first for Mary, in the past she went with the crowd. She did however vote for pay raises for the teachers...not sure how they will pay for them without raising taxes. I also heard that she voted "yes" on raising taxes, and then said "Wait, I mean no"

Idiot.

Joe Schmoe said...

The good news for her is that her current position is about to be reorganized and eliminated in about 5 days. Just in time for snowboarding season!

PackerBronco said...

Blogger Meade said...
On the Madison School Board, she used her leadership skills and voted against raising taxes. Of course, her vote lost as all the other members voted to raise taxes.


So ... she took a position and was outvoted and thus essentially did nothing. Hey, I can take a position against taxes too! I'm as qualified as Mary Burke!!!

Besides, I'm sure that Burke knew the measure was going to pass anyway, so voting against it was a freebie since it did not effect the outcome but made her look like a tax hawk.

I would say "nice try", but really that was such a pathetic response I can only shake my head.

garage mahal said...

Burke has a blunt managerial style and Walker has never held a real job. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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

She's in charge of strategic planning and she had nothing to do with the sponsorship, and commitment of many millions and millions of dollars, of Lance Armstrong?

Or the shipping of operations to China?

But she had an important role, Trek" Really? Who you crapping Trek?

PackerBronco said...

Blogger garage mahal said...
Burke has a blunt managerial style and Walker has never held a real job.


Nice to know that county executive and governor of Wisconsin are not really jobs.

This is too easy. Try again. Why should we vote for Mary Burke; not why should we vote against Scott Walker, why should we vote for Mary Burke?

Anonymous said...

That's because Madisofella is Purple Penguin

Earlier you said I was actually "shortbus". And sometimes you insist my real name is "Corky". Now you're back to calling me "Purple Penguin". Just can't make up your mind, huh?

What is really funny is that comments written by Inga and Garage (the other names the kids keep accusing me of being) can actually be found in this blog, while there has never been anything written by "Purple Penguin" nor "Corky" nor "shortbus" on Althouse. You're delusion, plain and simple.

Speaking of delusional, tell me again how you are absolutely sure Meade never corrected the mistake you've been making this entire time. Because the fact that you keep insisting as such, even after being shown the thread where he did exactly that, clearly proves you are nucking futs.

Mark said...

Should have better vetted this idiot first Dems.

But she was going to self-fund! And she has a vagina!

(There's some weird dynamic where the most bald-faced liar gets the nod from the Democratic machines, then the press picks up the baton and works to carry the slimey thing over the line, and the I'd-vote-for-Hannibal-Lector-before-I'd-vote-for-a-Republican-pseudo-intelligentsia beclown themselves supporting someone who palpably doesn't give a rat's ass about anything remotely Liberal. Within that triad you'd think someone would see the pattern and do something about stopping it.)

garage mahal said...

Nice to know that county executive and governor of Wisconsin are not really jobs.

I thought government workers, in this case a career government worker, are parasites? Walker's kids have been on government healthcare their entire lives.

Anonymous said...

Trek could clear all this up

They can and they have.

Trek also refuted the allegations in a statement to News 3.

"Mr. Ellerman was fired from Trek in 2004," the statement said. "His politically motivated characterizations of Mary and her tenure at Trek are inaccurate."

"When Mary was in charge of Europe, she grew sales from $3 million to $50 million," the statement continued. "In 1993 Mary decided that it was time for her to make a change and she left Trek."

Burke was then asked to return to the company in 1995.


http://www.channel3000.com/news/politics/burke-rejects-allegations-of-firing-from-trek/29420382

PackerBronco said...

Blogger garage mahal said...
I thought government workers, in this case a career government worker, are parasites? Walker's kids have been on government healthcare their entire lives.

10/30/14, 9:04 AM


C'mon GM, strain what little wit you have left. The question is why we should vote for Mary Burke; not why we should vote against Scott Walker.

You have two strikes against you now. Give us her qualifications to be governor.

Her work at Trek? Uh ... you probably don't want to go there.

Commerce secretary. Oh dear, you probably don't want to wade into that "disaster" either.

Well, she did buy membership on the Madison School Board. I guess everyone knows that that demanding position qualifies you to be governor. Riiiiggghhhttt.

C'mon GM!!!

garage mahal said...

Give us her qualifications to be governor.

First would have to be she didn't knowingly commit felonies.

Curious George said...

"garage mahal said...

I thought government workers, in this case a career government worker, are parasites? Walker's kids have been on government healthcare their entire lives."

Walker has private sector experience. It's been pointed out multiple times in this thread.

And he is certainly not a career government worker. Has never been in any state employee union. His salary and benefits have never been collectively bargained.

Hang on tight garage!

Curious George said...

"garage mahal said...
Give us her qualifications to be governor.

First would have to be she didn't knowingly commit felonies."

That only ties her with Walker. Next?

Anonymous said...

First would have to be she didn't knowingly commit felonies.

She also hasn't promised her billionaire donors that she will divide the state.

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