November 1, 2014

Mary Burke's use of the swastika in her ad does the very thing defenders of the ad will say she's accusing her antagonist of doing.

"Mary Burke hits Scott Walker in ad with swastika imagery," says the headline at the Washington Post.
Democrat Mary Burke released a new ad Friday accusing Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) of using a Republican county chairman's "lies to attack" her. The ad includes images of swastikas, it says, the county chair posted to his Facebook page.

Burke's ad seeks to tie Walker to Gary Ellerman, the Jefferson County Republican Party chairman and a former human resources director at Trek Bicycle, the Burke family company where the Democrat used to work.

Ellerman was quoted in a report on the conservative Web site Wisconsin Reporter that cited sources saying Burke was fired from the company. In the report, Ellerman said, “She was not performing. She was (in) so far over her head. She didn’t understand the bike business." Burke denies being fired.
You can watch the whole ad at the link, but here's a screen shot of the part where swastikas float across the screen and have whatever subliminal effect they're supposed to have:



There's writing on the screen, but are we supposed to read it or just have feelings that something awful is going on? If you're watching it on line, you can freeze it and read it, and if you do, you'll find swastikas used against Obama in exactly the same way swastikas were used against Scott Walker back in the 2011 protests, to say that a politician you oppose is like the Nazis.

Burke seems to be saying that Ellerman is bad because he used the swastika, and since Ellerman asserted something about Burke that could help Walker, Walker is connected to Ellerman, and Ellerman's form of expression should be attributed to Walker, making Walker bad.

If we had the time to read the words on the screen, it would be clear that Ellerman's use of the swastika is not pro- but anti-Nazi, but the ad doesn't give us that time, and in fact, the words on the graphic on the left never fully appear appear on screen. The most you ever see — and I had to freeze the frame to read this — is "cordance with the/Order, all Christian/-ches must hand over/-rmons regarding/-sexuality and gender/state so that we may/or and "correct" any/-rsive speech that/-dicts our Manifesto," a quote attributed to "-ton's Democrat Mayor, Annise Parker." The words "-sexuality and gender" line up with the eyes of the unfamiliar woman who is smirking and has her hands in what could be called the I-have-an-evil-plan position.



What subliminal effect does that have? One might, in so little time, subliminally read the "evil" woman as Mary Burke. And it is Mary Burke who is wafting swastikas in front of our eyes. I've seen anti-Walker protesters holding signs that put a swastika on Walker, so a casual viewer might think that's what Burke is doing here, even though she wants to say that's the kind of thing that Ellerman does. But most of us don't know or care about Ellerman any more than we know or care about Parker, so I think the subliminal effect — probably intended — was to make us think of Walker as a Nazi. That's something that Burke herself cannot say as a mainstream candidate, but it is something Walker-haters have been expressing for years.

At the 2011 protests, we saw many, many signs comparing Walker to Hitler. Meade and I frequently approached people who were holding these signs. Asked to explain, they always defended the comparison. Here's of photo of mine from February 2011:

P1060646

I asked that woman behind the sign if she thought Scott Walker was like Hitler, and she said "Yes." So I followed up with: "Are you saying that you think fascism could come to America?" And she said, "It's what's happening." 

And then there was this woman, also from February 2011:



The expression on her face and the tone of her voice when she said "like Hitler" is something Meade and I have never forgotten. (Watch how quickly she otherizes Meade.)

Here's an "Adolf Walker" sign with a swastika.

P1060655

Here's a young woman with a sign that says "Walker is a dictator" and has an image of Walker with a Hitler mustache. She says she "definitely" thinks Walker is like Hitler. Why? "He doesn't do nice things. He's not a nice person."



Meade follows up: "So, anyone who's not nice is like Hitler?" She tries again: "Well, no. He doesn't do what he should, doesn't do the right thing, and he's doing something that might ruin a lot of things for people. He's pretty much ruining, like, our future."

Meade offers: "You don't think that's over the top, that you're comparing him to Adolf Hitler?" She responds: "It might be a little over the top." Meade: "Just a little?" She makes the concession that might be perhaps what Gary Ellerman would say about Obama: "Just a little, but we kind of need to be dramatic in something like this."

An older woman cuts in and says: "It brings the point across." Meade: "And the point is?" Woman: "The point is this is a democracy, not a dictatorship." Meade asks whether there was something undemocratic about the election back in November, and she says: "Nothing. But what he's doing now is undemocratic." The woman continues, admitting that she didn't vote for Walker, but it's undemocratic because he's not "willing to compromise and negotiate... and that's what democracy is." That's what a lot of people thought about about Obama — quite aptly — when he said "I won" and foisted Obamacare on us when clearly there wasn't majoritarian support for it.

Now, you can see that the young and the older woman are nice people, not extremists, but aggrieved by the policies of the candidate who won the last election, and that they are appropriating a vivid graphic symbol for dramatic effect. Personally, I would not display a swastika as a way to make an exaggerated point about an American politician, but others do — on the right and on the left.

Obviously, I don't refrain from showing you that others are using a swastika in their form of expression, and you might say, that's exactly what Mary Burke is doing in her new ad.

But I am showing you things carefully, so you can study them, and to slow things down so there is no subliminal effect, no irrational roiling of the emotions. And that's exactly what Mary Burke is not doing. Her ad begins with a picture of Walker standing with "a Walker campaign worker and donor who puts pictures like this on his Facebook page." The image — my screen shot, above — slips by in 3 seconds, obliterating any hope of figuring out that Ellerman is not a Nazi fan and that he's just another Wisconsinite using dramatic imagery to get his point across.

Ironically, Burke's use of the swastika works exactly like Ellerman's, and she's doing the very thing defenders of the ad will say she's trying to criticize Ellerman for doing. Arguably, it's worse, because it's not a still image that you can gaze at until you understand. It means to creep in by the backdoor to your mind.

AND: From February 20, 2011: "Do you think Scott Walker deserves to be compared to the Nazis?"/"Yes, I do":



ALSO: I'd written "Annie Parker," but it's Annise Parker. Here's the story the swastika graphic was about:
The city of Houston has issued subpoenas demanding a group of pastors turn over any sermons dealing with homosexuality, gender identity or Annise Parker, the city’s first openly lesbian mayor. And those ministers who fail to comply could be held in contempt of court.

221 comments:

1 – 200 of 221   Newer›   Newest»
Darrell said...

Short version--
Mary Burke: Leave the Nazis alone!!11!!!!

Anonymous said...

nice folks you have in WI :)

Mark said...

He ran as a fake democrat. How much more of a party operative can one be?

YoungHegelian said...

The folks who associate Walker with Nazism are going to vote Burke anyway.

For everyone else who sees that sort of an ad, the response is going to be "Yuuuuuck!". It triggers a visceral response that's going to push independents & undecideds to Walker. Bad move, campaign-wise for Burke.

donald said...

Those two women were not nice. They were stupid and evil. They were democrats.

donald said...

I digress.

Ann Althouse said...

@YoungHegelian

So it's get-out-the-vote stuff?

I think it's an effort to make Walker feel toxic.

Walker himself has stayed away from any material like this.

gk1 said...

I fail to see the liberal logic in this. Dems accuse Walker of being a Nazi AND creating a toxic political environment. Make up your minds.

Hagar said...

I was very young at the time, but please, do not ever associate anyone here with Hitler and the Nazis. You just do not know what you are talking about. The Nazis were evil beyond your comprehension.

Could say that about the young man with the bullhorn too. Except for the high-tech bullhorn, he sounded very 1870ish.

Gusty Winds said...

I like how the older woman in the second video defending the use of Walker as Hitler, then states "we're not a communist state". Would it be lost on her to point out Hitler wasn't a communist either?

Hagar said...

That turned out a bit wrong. The young man with the bullhorn is what Lenin called "a useful fool;" I did not mean to call him evil.

Birkel said...

So the Trek company hires people who use Nazi imagery? Both Mary Burke and Ellerman use Nazi imagery so I can safely assume Trek is pro-Nazi.

Right? I hope the Leftists will support the needed economic boycott of Nazi-supporting Trek Bicycles.

Was that the message?

Anonymous said...

Again: sometimes the correct response is a punch in the face.

If someone attempted to smear Harvey Keitel with Nazi innuendo you know what he would do.

People: do not fear your Inner Keitel.

jr565 said...

The left knows nothing about Hitler or the Nazis except that they're bad and killed the jews. I had an argument with a lefty recently and he swore to me that Hitler and the Nazis were Christians.
And I had to point out to him the Nazis 30 point plan where they basically banned all bibles and christian icons in the church and replaced it with Nazi propaganda. No Christian is going to have a plan to do away with God in the very churches. The whole idea is ludicrous. And by 1939 there was no Catholic church proper in Nazi Germany. They viewed the church not as a place to meet and join as a community around God's principles. Rather it was simply a place to meet and be Nazis. The church was competition.

Yet, to the left because the Nazis were bad,and Christians and republicans are bad, they are similarly Nazis.

They cannot except that just maybe the words National Socialism in their name has any clue as to where they were coming from.

sane_voter said...

This confirms to me that Burke is losing and she knows it.

Ann Althouse said...

"I like how the older woman in the second video defending the use of Walker as Hitler, then states "we're not a communist state". Would it be lost on her to point out Hitler wasn't a communist either?"

Yeah, I didn't include that in my transcription because I thought it was a distraction. Maybe she'd read Jonah Goldberg's "Liberal Fascism."

rhhardin said...

Kroger has sign nazis in lower management that even charm school hasn't helped, as shown by the post-charm-session results (learned: "always add something positive to your threat")

Dress Code

Winter

Bob Ellison said...

Hitler wasn't a communist. He was a socialist with statist philosophy.

Not a lot of difference, but most leftist factions hate all the other leftist factions, not because they disagree, but because they want the power for themselves.

John Clifford said...

This is a perfect example of Godwin's Law... you can tell which side is losing the argument on the merits of their position, and knows it, when they start labeling their opponents as Nazis.

Coconuss Network said...

No Nazi Symbols in Germany unless neo-nazi's and they go to jail. Very bad move by Burke. Walker walks. And talks the talk.

YoungHegelian said...

@Prof. Althouse,

So it's get-out-the-vote stuff?....I think it's an effort to make Walker feel toxic.

I think it's a poor attempt at GOtV, but I agree with you that it's an attempt to "toxify" Walker.

My point is that it's a very bad way of smearing Walker, and one that'll probably push independents & undecideds into voting for Walker as a reaction against such over-the-top dirty politics.

I'm sorry if I was unclear before.

Anonymous said...

Hitler would no doubt be apoplectic at the comparison: he, Hitler, almost succeeded in ruling the World, and now he is compared equally to some guy running for Governor in Wisconsin?

Warhol was right: in the future everyone will be Hitler for fifteen minutes.

Joe Schmoe said...

Ellerman wins again. This ad reeks of desperation, and he got Burke to reveal her 'nasty' streak that was brought up in the firing stories.

This ad says more about her than it does about Ellerman and especially Walker.

Anonymous said...

We are Democrats and don't propose to leave our party and identify ourselves with the party whose antecedents are beer, blitzkrieg and Belsen." -- Mary Burke, any day now

garage mahal said...

Can't Wisconsin Republicans come up with sources [all Walker supporters] that aren't racists, drunks, violent, use swastikas, or smash themselves in the face with a rock?

tim in vermont said...

Well, the Swastika was not a national symbol of Germany, it was a symbol associated with Hitler and his party.

What other politician do you know that has a symbol like that? One that ordered a car created for de Volt, err I mean de Volk. One who had written two autobiographies before he was thirty. I just don't know. I don't think there has ever been a politician like that in the US!

William said...

It is desperation pure and simple. Burke's internal polling must be similar or worse than the Marquette poll.

A campaign premised on lies collapses. Good for Wisconsin (assuming Walker beats the margin of fraud)

David said...

Summary: Arrogant ignorant people are prone to do and say arrogant ignorant things.

I appreciate the intelligent and dispassionate analysis, Althouse. I really do. I agree with a lot of it. But ultimately the people making these comparisons are showing their ignorance of the past, their moral arrogance and their own lack of empathy with the millions of victims of the Nazis.

Ann Althouse said...

It's fine to say that the Nazis were so evil that the word and its symbol the swastika should be preserved apart from all other expression, but the Seinfeld "Soup Nazi" episode happened 2 decades ago.

You just can't stop the flow of harsh speech into more casual use.

I'd like to get people to stop referring to Hell casually. But it's not going to happen.

chillblaine said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
chillblaine said...

Subliminal imagery at its most blatant. Walker and his henchmen wear Hawaiian shirts to mask their evil intentions. Mary should have tried subtlety; a picture of Walker superimposed over licking flames would have been enough.

BTW love love the videos. The creepiest was the young lady in the bunny hat who followed you guys around. She knew who you were but wouldn't give her own name. Bravo Althouse!

garage mahal said...

It is desperation pure and simple.

It's desperation to point out the people at the heart of the attacks on her tenure at Trek are GOP operatives, Walker-supporting, racist weirdos?

Ann Althouse said...

"It is desperation pure and simple. Burke's internal polling must be similar or worse than the Marquette poll."

I don't get it. I'd recommend that someone who thinks she is about to lose ought to end gracefully and preserve her image and genuinely display good character.

If an ad like this worked and flipped the election at the last minute, I would regard the win as undeserved and illegitimate.

traditionalguy said...

This pure BS only works if the target no information voters are living in Dem Propaganda la la land where all conservatives are Nazi skinheads. Really, only about 10 % of Conservatives are Nazi skinheads. But 100 % of liberal/Progressives are old fashioned Marxists all for the extermintion of the professional classes; such as, teachers, Doctors, Lawyers, Journalists, Military Officers, and Religious leaders.

jacksonjay said...

tim in Vermont sez:

de Volt

That's a good one. Dat dere is funny, I don't care who you are.

de Voltswagen. Ha!

Gusty Winds said...

If Scott Walker is Hitler; when does he plan on launching an invasion and occupying 'The Yooper'?

SteveR said...

Seems like the people running her campaign are more worried about maintaining their image as hardcore partisans, to the end, even in defeat, then they are concerned with Mary Burke's image.

Anonymous said...

I find it interesting that -- anytime Hitler comes up -- people take it as a given that he was responsible for the deaths of all those Jews. Talk about projection.

David said...

"You just can't stop the flow of harsh speech into more casual use."

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?

buwaya said...

Winning is winning in politics.
There are few drawbacks to winning in some impolite manner. Or at least nothing as bad as the consequences of losing.

Joe Schmoe said...

Regardless of how she flames out, ignominiously it seems now, she can rest assured that she will go down in US political history for saying "I wasn't fired; we simply reorganized and eliminated my position."

That was awesome.

virgil xenophon said...

Ideas? Ethical campaigning? Whether local, state or nationally, all the left has is slime. As pilot lingo goes: They're "out of altitude, airspeed and ideas" all at the same time..

Curious George said...

"garage mahal said...
Can't Wisconsin Republicans come up with sources [all Walker supporters] that aren't racists, drunks, violent, use swastikas, or smash themselves in the face with a rock?"

Please show any evidence that Albers is any of the above Corky.

Big Mike said...

Both Mary Burke and Ellerman use Nazi imagery so I can safely assume Trek is pro-Nazi.

Well, before Mary Burke fixed it, they used to have their European headquarters in Germany.

Better and cheaper weed in Amsterdam.

Drago said...

garage: ""garage mahal said...
Can't Wisconsin Republicans come up with sources [all Walker supporters] that aren't racists, drunks, violent, use swastikas, or smash themselves in the face with a rock?"

LOL

In one simple sweeping statement garage labels the entire anti-Walker movement as out of bounds.

Funniest part: He doesn't even realize he did it.

Again, this is what happens when garage attempts to engage all by his little lonesome outside of the slogans/talking points he is provided.

LOL

Anonymous said...

I hate hearing about and seeing people like Bush and Walker referred to as Nazis.

Nazi's were people just like you and I. Their was nothing special about them. Such a thing can happen in any society. Thats not to say we are all bad people, but if we other the Nazi's we risk letting it happen again because, "That could never happen here!"

When you call someone like Walker a Nazi, you don't really make Walker look like a Nazi. I'd be surprised if most people even knew much about the Nazi's other than, "bad!" So calling Walker a Nazi is like calling Walker bad.

But the more you call someone who is good, bad, the more you destroy language and make us complacent.

For example, if you introduced me to 100 people that you were aquianted with and I called all of them "Bad!" And you knew a lot of them weren't at all bad, then I introduced you to a rapist, murderer and their and said, "bad!" You would probably ignore my judgment and accusation.

If a group like the Nazi's were to rise here in the United States, if there were someone very much like Hitler rising to power, how could we tell people? No one would listen.

Thanks Democrats.

Anonymous said...

C'mon: you take the boogeyman of the alleged Final Solution out of the picture and who wouldn't vote for Hitler?

Birkel said...

"garage mahal":
Can't Wisconsin Republicans come up with sources [all Walker supporters] that aren't racists, drunks, violent, use swastikas, or smash themselves in the face with a rock?

You mean like the black Democrat Sheriff in Milwaukee who says fellow Democrat Prosecutor Chisholm is engaging in an illegal witch hunt that deserves a special prosecutor? It's the top post on Instapundit right now.

I say "blame the messenger".

Michael Fitzgerald said...

You know what Wisconsin politicians were not willing to negotiate and compromise? The fleebagging democrats who hid in Illinois to avoid a quorum. Democracy Now! Remember who else refused to negotiate and compromise? Barry "I won" Obama. Democracy Now! You know what kind of people remind me of Nazi party members, and talk about rounding up and eliminating their political opponents, and make their children sing songs to their party leader? Democrat party members. Democracy Now!

Anonymous said...

Naziophobes, all of them.

Big Mike said...

Now, you can see that the young and the older woman are nice people, not extremists, but aggrieved by the policies of the candidate who won the last election, and that they are appropriating a vivid graphic symbol for dramatic effect. Personally, I would not display a swastika as a way to make an exaggerated point about an American politician, but others do — on the right and on the left.

(a) No they aren't nice. You must live in a city of despicable people to believe that they are in any way, shape, or form "nice."

(b) I've never seen anyone on the right use a swastika "to make an exaggerated point about an American politician." If you are referring to Goldberg's book Liberal Fascism then I assert you are doing so in error.

khesanh0802 said...

Garage is getting a little shrill even for him! Desperation?

Edmund said...

The story behind the subpoenas is this:
- although Mayor Parker is IDed as a Democrat, the city elections in Texas are officially non-partisan. Party politics starts here at the county level. She is an open lesbian, recently went out of state to marry, and is adoptive mother of 3 kids.
- Houston city council passed an equal rights ordinance that covers gays, lesbians, and transsexuals
- it was very contentious before the vote, and many churches encouraged members to show up and protest against it.
- there were some pro-ordinance rallys also.
- after the ordinance passed, there was a petition drive to put the ordinance to a vote in the city. Over 50k signatures were collected, and only 17k or so were needed to get this on the ballot. Many of the churches that rallied and spoke out against the ordinance were involved.
- the petitions were turned in, but the city attorney DQed most of the signatures and said they didn't have enough to get this on the ballot next week.
- one of the petition organizers sued the city to force them to reverse the petition decision.
- discovery started, and the city filed a very broad subpoena asking for speeches, sermons, etc. from a number of the churches that were involved in the protests/petitions (but were not plaintiffs in the lawsuit). They wanted not just communications regarding the ordinance, but also about gays, lesbians, transgendered, the Mayor, etc. I think the city was looking for indications that the pastors were using the pulpit for direct electioneering, which might be a violation of their non-profit status.
- protests ensued. Much consternation. Of note, at least one of the pastors in the subpoena was leader of a large African American church that is a Democratic stronghold.
- the subpoena was narrowed to cover just the petitions.

As noted over at Popehat, when doing discovery, you ask for everything and fight it out in court if they don't want to hand over everything. It was a typical response to a lawsuit, but politically tone deaf. The mayor also made some stupid and contradictory statements that stirred the pot.

alan markus said...

What subliminal effect does that have?

A few thoughts:

I wonder how many people actually give 100% attention to these ads as they play, but I am not so sure that it is the wisest thing to put your name in the same "neighborhood" of the swastika. Is the purpose to move some voters to Burke, or move some voters away from Walker?

Some people are offended by the use of the swastika in any context - will they blame Walker (who is indirectly attached) or will they blame Burke for taking an image that most people would not have seen (assuming that Ellerman doesn't have 1000's of Facebook friends)and blasting it across the screens of television viewers?

The screenshot has some blue along with the red swastika - almost subliminly conjures up the Confederate flag - wonder what impact that might have on the black voter. Is Burke practicing voter suppression by "scaring" the black voter?

garage mahal said...

Please show any evidence that Albers is any of the above Corky.

I don't have to. Others have corroborated Burke's version of events who worked at Trek. Others that don't post on Facebook that Obama is a homo-Nazi and Michelle Obama is a man. Not unusual rhetoric for rank and file Republicans, but embarrassing at the governor level.

donald said...

You know what Wisconsin politicians were not willing to negotiate and compromise? The fleebagging democrats who hid in Illinois to avoid a quorum. Democracy Now! Remember who else refused to negotiate and compromise? Barry "I won" Obama. Democracy Now! You know what kind of people remind me of Nazi party members, and talk about rounding up and eliminating their political opponents, and make their children sing songs to their party leader? Democrat party members. Democracy Now!

You're a nazi. You nazi.

And a teabagger!

alan markus said...

"garage mahal said...
Can't Wisconsin Republicans come up with sources [all Walker supporters] that aren't racists, drunks, violent, use swastikas, or smash themselves in the face with a rock?"


That's an easy one to answer - if you are going to compete against an enemy, you need to be at least equal to or better than your enemy.

cubanbob said...

A bunch of morons and communists complaining about a fascist takeover. What a joke.

All of those complaining about the loss of bargaining rights should get their wish fulfilled but with a twist: their pay and benefits packages can only be approved by the voters in a regularly scheduled election. The taxpayers need to be able to bargain for themselves as well.

Anonymous said...

People reflexively hating Nazis and willfully blind to the good things the Nazis accomplished. Baby, bathwater.

Anonymous said...

Everyone wants the omelette made with uncracked eggs.

garage mahal said...

you need to be at least equal to or better than your enemy.

Nah, you need money and a compliant press who will print low-rent garbage as news. Plus, Walker makes the media a ton of money, they want him in office. There is zero interest in Walker as a private citizen. Nobody would care.

Bruce Hayden said...

Hitler wasn't a communist. He was a socialist with statist philosophy.

This is the thing that is so ignored by the left anytime that they try to tie the Nazis to Republicans and conservatives. The reality was that the fascists (and Nazis) were crony capitialism brand of socialism as a response to the spread of communism during the Great Depression. And, yes, FDR's progressivism was similar.

But, also, socialism, whether communist or fascist, inevitably leads to totalitarianism. I think that a good look at this can be seen in the contemporaneous Hayak's "Road to Serfdom". In the case of Germany, they "won" an election or two, and thereafter made sure that they wouldn't lose one in the future.

Bruce Hayden said...

A bunch of morons and communists complaining about a fascist takeover. What a joke.

Nothing new there - they have been fighting each other for the soul of socialism since at least the 1930s.

n.n said...

Dreams of the Swastika was before my time. Dreams of a Hammer and Sickle is contemporary and progressive. Also, more people, from conception to death, lose their lives under a sickle and liberty under a hammer. Still, promises of dissociation of risk, and other material benefits, are a potent stimulus.

LarryK said...

Yes, this ad is supposed to toxify Walker, but it is so ugly, deranged and inflammatory that the toxic fluid was spilled over Burke instead.

This ad reminds me of pro-lifers showing pictures of aborted fetuses at their protests; they think they'll win people over with shock value, but they only rile up the extremists who already agree with them and disgust and repel everyone else.

This is one of the repulsive political ads ever produced by a candidate for a major political office. Mary Burke is shredding what little is left of her reputation.

kcom said...

From Instapundit:

Sheriff says Dem prosecutor is on a ‘witch-hunt’ against Wis. Gov. Walker

Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. has accused District Attorney John Chisholm, a fellow Democrat, of "abuse of prosecutorial power" in the relentless criminal investigation of Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and 29 conservative groups.

Clarke's forceful public criticism is of Chisholm and the so-called "John Doe" investigation that Chisholm has pursued since 2010 against Walker, his staff and virtually every conservative advocacy group in the state.

Clarke, who has been sheriff since 2002 and is running for re-election on Tuesday as the Democratic nominee, has been elected and re-elected with heavy support both from fellow African-Americans and from conservatives.

garage mahal said...

Walker's campaign co-chair is CEO of the Bradley Foundation, which funds Wisconsin Reporter, who came up with this story on Burke. How's that for incestuous coordination and manipulation of the media? All it takes is boatloads of cash. And boatloads of idiots willing to go along with it.

Joe Schmoe said...

Others have corroborated Burke's version of events who worked at Trek.

Unfortunately for you they all shared the same last name.

Birkel said...

All it takes to keep anti-Walker stories in the news is a corrupt prosecutor.

garage mahal said...

Unfortunately for you they all shared the same last name.

Not true. Again, the liberal media will not report anything that contradicts Walker's Kremlin-esque state-backed media.

JPS said...

eric, 1:06:

"Such a thing [as Naziism] can happen in any society. Thats not to say we are all bad people, but if we other the Nazi's we risk letting it happen again because, 'That could never happen here!'"

Interesting. Ever read Herman Wouk's The Winds of War and War and Remembrance? There's a running thread in which the protagonist, now old and retired, is translating the analytically acute but infuriatingly self-justifying memoir of a [fictitious] German general he'd known before the war broke out.

He submits for publication his translation of the general's morally evasive essay on the Wannsee Protocol, arguing that the regular German military was blameless. The editor, an old friend, returns it with this scrawl: "Just what is the purpose of offering to the Proceedings this obtuse cold-blooded sickening drivel?" He responds: "To show ourselves what we might be capable of."

That last comment irritated me when I was young. It makes a lot more sense to me now, as does your objection to "It could never happen here."

George M. Spencer said...

Subliminal pffft.

It's one of the more persistent myths of our age.

It doesn't work.

If it did, we'd know about it, because every major advertiser would use it all the time.

The Big Lie is what works—the more outrageous the better, i.e. Cigarettes will make you sexy.

chickelit said...

@garage:

Swig Heil(eman)!

chickelit said...

Ann Althouse said...

I don't get it. I'd recommend that someone who thinks she is about to lose ought to end gracefully and preserve her image and genuinely display good character.

I agree. But suppose Burke isn't pulling the strings in her own campaign?

David said...

"I don't get it. I'd recommend that someone who thinks she is about to lose ought to end gracefully and preserve her image and genuinely display good character."

One of the many reasons you are unsuited to political campaigning or office. You found the right spot.

David said...

garage mahal said...
All it takes is boatloads of cash. And boatloads of idiots willing to go along with it.


The one where Garage shows his true attitude towards the electorate.

chickelit said...

@betamax3000: Need I remind you of the original "Downfall" video scene when Hitler says:

Es bleiben im Raum: Keitel, Jodl, Krebs und Burgdorf.

Lay off Harvey!

David said...

garage mahal said...
you need to be at least equal to or better than your enemy.

Nah, you need money and a compliant press who will print low-rent garbage as news. Plus, Walker makes the media a ton of money, they want him in office. There is zero interest in Walker as a private citizen. Nobody would care.


Garage not liking the will of the people so much when it does not agree with him. Stupid people.

damikesc said...

So, no attempt to refute the messenger. Smear the messenger.

Duly noted, candidate moron.

Can't Wisconsin Republicans come up with sources [all Walker supporters] that aren't racists, drunks, violent, use swastikas, or smash themselves in the face with a rock?

Has a non-Burke supporter spoke of her competency in a positive light?

There is zero interest in Walker as a private citizen. Nobody would care.

But Mary Burke --- that woman is fucking ELECTRIC!

PURE energy!!

Walker's campaign co-chair is CEO of the Bradley Foundation, which funds Wisconsin Reporter, who came up with this story on Burke. How's that for incestuous coordination and manipulation of the media?

I think I threw my back out trying to give a shit.

Curious George said...

" garage mahal said...
Please show any evidence that Albers is any of the above Corky.

I don't have to. Others have corroborated Burke's version of events who worked at Trek. Others that don't post on Facebook that Obama is a homo-Nazi and Michelle Obama is a man. Not unusual rhetoric for rank and file Republicans, but embarrassing at the governor level."

As usual, and as expected, you have nothing.

Curious George said...

AA, thanks for the reminder of what trash those protesters are.

cubanbob said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
averagejoe said...

"We need to tax the rich! They hoard all of our money!" LOL! Progressives are so ridiculous, so over-the-top silly, no wonder why they are so vulnerable to mass hysteria and groupthink... Obama's gonna save us/Obama's gonna change the world

cubanbob said...

arage mahal said...

Unfortunately for you they all shared the same last name.

Not true. Again, the liberal media will not report anything that contradicts Walker's Kremlin-esque state-backed media.
11/1/14, 2:05 PM

Comedy gold! First you paint Walker as a Nazi and now you portray him as a Stalinist. Are you admitting that there isn't very much of a difference between Nazi's and Communists besides race and ethnicity? Well if Walker has his state run media (and that much power) then its pretty much over and done with as far as this election is concerned. Perhaps you should emigrate from WI ASAP before you're sent to camps. You know Walker will reveal his true nature soon after the election and eliminate The Enemies Of The People. I'm looking out for you so take my advice and go and go now before its too late.

Paul said...

The Drill SGT said...

nice folks you have in WI :)

Kind of reminds me of the Bush/Hitler thing.But you know, the ones running the Nazi and Hitler ads never ever confronted a real Nazi nor a Hitler.

They need to take a vacation in North Korea or Iran to see what a real Hitler is or what the Nazis were like.

Annie said...

"Tax the rich...they are hording all of our money"...really? LOL
Maybe Obama's friends he rewarded with tax dollars, but in general, I think not.

Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...

If a group like the Nazi's were to rise here in the United States, if there were someone very much like Hitler rising to power, how could we tell people? No one would listen.

Umm, Eric,... like a President who announces intent to disregard Laws and rule by fiat?

furious_a said...

Now, you can see that the young and the older woman are nice people...

No, they're not. When pushed, they're ignorant little partisans who blurt "HITLERRR!!!" at the least provocation.

furious_a said...

The left knows nothing about Hitler or the Nazis except that they're bad and killed the jews.

Given the Left's embrace of Arab nationalism, the jew-killing would for them be a feature and not a bug.

furious_a said...

I'd recommend that someone who thinks she is about to lose ought to end gracefully and preserve her image and genuinely display good character.

Assuming she or her supporters had any. Some people just want to see the world burn.

garage mahal said...

It's Subliminal man. Mary Burke is trying to trick you into thinking a Walker friend/supporter, and source of an alleged story, actually posted embarrassing racial stuff on Facebook. It's not even really there when you think about it!

*glug glug glug* Down goes the Kool-Aid.

donald said...

Unfortunately for you they all shared the same last name.

Not true. Again, the liberal media will not report anything that contradicts Walker's Kremlin-esque state-backed media.

11/1/14, 2:05 PM


Its really hard to conceive of just how fucking stupid, dishonest and venal your fat ass is.

You live in the workers paradise ass wipe. Your fellow travelers run the show. You have no concept of honesty or integrity.

Mike Smith said...

How in the world do you conclude those two are "nice"?

Anonymous said...

Nice pivot away from Ellerman. Your Uncle Saul must be so proud, and I'm sure you'll be promptly rewarded via the Amazon portal for the campaign work you're doing on behalf of Scott Walker and the entire Republican party.

garage mahal said...

Remember, Mary Burke is the RealNazi© and probably the RealRacist© too. Read Jonah Goldwhale's book fer crying out loud!

chickelit said...

garage mahal said...
Remember, Mary Burke is the RealNazi© and probably the RealRacist© too. Read Jonah Goldwhale's book fer crying out loud!

Worse, she comes off as not being in control of anything. She's just a puppet -- exactly what you accuse Walker of being.

Drago said...

It's clear there is no way for garage/madisonfella to change the clear meaning and irrefutable timeline of Mary Burkes own family booting her from the family business after her failure in Europe.

It is fun to watch however.

Birkel said...

chickelit:
Fen's Law.

Now, about that Democrat calling the John Doe investigations illegal and calling for a special prosecutor...

Drago said...

garage: " Read Jonah Goldwhale's book fer crying out loud!"

Wow.

"Goldwhale"

Very clever of you to twist a jewish guys name. And not unexpected given your full-throated defense of the islamist terrorists in gaza. In a "nazi-thread" no less. Well played rake-face.

Of course, you probably didn't grow up knowing many jewish folks in the middle of no-wheres-ville WI in the same way that you didn't grow up knowing any "blackys" (your word) in your neck of the woods.

So, again, it's all to be expected.

Anonymous said...

The one where Garage shows his true attitude towards the electorate

In all fairness, the co-chair of the RNC feels the same way. Or at least about Wisconsin voters. And she said so very recently, while standing next to Scott Walker on stage.

So it is a bi-partisan attitude.

Rusty said...

I see the ad was aimed at a certain type of democrat voter and I see it worked.

And you're right Hagar. If people understood just how evil the nazis really were they'd be hesitant to use them as a political tool.

My father used to tell us how o
his father would routinely correspond with relatives still living in Germany. After 1945 noone answered his letters.

garage mahal said...

Mary Burke is super controlling, and yet has never been in charge of anything. k

Walker/Kleefisch/Tables/2016

Drago said...

madisonfella: "In all fairness, the co-chair of the RNC feels the same way. Or at least about Wisconsin voters. And she said so very recently, while standing next to Scott Walker on stage."

Feel free to post a link.

Not that we don't believe your interpretation of course.

Of course.

Drago said...

garage mahal: "Mary Burke is super controlling, and yet has never been in charge of anything."

LOL

Oh, she was "in charge" for Trek in Europe all right.

And she failed.

That's why she was promoted to "get out of the company".

By her own family.

Impressive.

Anonymous said...

It's clear there is no way for garage/madisonfella to change the clear meaning and irrefutable timeline of Mary Burkes own family booting her from the family business after her failure in Europe.

Now it is considered "irrefutable" that she was fired?! LOL!!

No surprise at all that someone like you would find Ellerman to be a completely credible source.

mccullough said...

The swastika and Nazi comparisons are stale and cartoonish. It's as cliched as the "hey, hey, ho, ho, [insert] has got to go."

People are immune to this stuff. It is not shocking or effective.

n.n said...

averagejoe:

It's not just wealth disparity that stokes the flames, but also physical and mental attributes. For example, feminists demonstrate a distinct envy of women with superior physical attributes and aesthetic appeal. Envy, whether of material success or physical beauty, is an ugly character trait

jr565 said...

This ad and the footage from Althouse just goes to show how comfortable the left is at smearing their opponents with the "Nazi" epithet.
Which only shows they have no sense of perspective, historical understanding, and are ideologues.
You'd think that invoking Godwins law would make their argumetns void, but they keep doing it.

Remember the other post on Althouse where people started getting punched in the face if they insulted Islam? Maybe a few people shoudl start using that same tactic when dealing with people who would call them Nazis. See how long it took before ideologues became reluctant to use that language.

Drago said...

madisonfella: "Now it is considered "irrefutable" that she was fired?! LOL!!"

LOL indeed.

Oh no, Mary wasn't "fired".

She was "promoted".....to "get lost".

Which is what happens to all successful executives.

At least, that's according to former President and COO Albers.

BTW madisonfella, have you found any proof for your assertion that I said that Blue Fist posters were hanging up in Chisholms offices yet?

I'm betting no, since it never happened.

So your apparent ignorance of Albers comments on the record are not surprising. You seem easily confused.

Anonymous said...

Feel free to post a link

http://bit.ly/1DHTv5W

For someone who constantly acts as if he is the smartest man in the whole room, you sure need a lot of easily found information spoon-fed directly to you.

garage mahal said...

Now it is considered "irrefutable" that she was fired?! LOL!!

Yes!!! According to the guy that says Barack Obama is a Kenyan Muslim homo-Nazi. It makes perfect sense doesn't it? "Yep".

geokstr said...

garage mahal said...
Walker's campaign co-chair is CEO of the Bradley Foundation, which funds Wisconsin Reporter, who came up with this story on Burke. How's that for incestuous coordination and manipulation of the media?


And I can do the "6 degrees of Kevin Bacon" routine and tie nearly every Democrat pol, every radical/socialist/enviro/feminist organization, every one of the alphabet networks and dying fishwraps, and pretty much everything else leftwing to George Soros and his ill-gotten billions. Many would take only two or three degrees at most.

In fact, here's a huge, valiant narrative stab at it that's probably still very incomplete: Discover the Networks: George Soros

I tried to find a diagram showing his networks of organizational/political spending but even those at the highest summary level were so gigantic and convoluted they wouldn't fit legibly on my 17.3" laptop screen.

But I don't recall you ever having a bad word to say about him.

Anonymous said...

have you found any proof for your assertion that I said that Blue Fist posters were hanging up in Chisholms offices yet?

Now that you mention it, you rarely ever take a stand one way or another on anything so perhaps it wasn't you after all.

But feel free to clear it up now: Do you believe the reports about there being Blue Fist posters in the DA's office or do you think the anonymous source was lying about that?

garage mahal said...

"MY side is losing the culture war I don't care whatever cheating needs to be done will only counteract leftist cheating!!!

Anonymous said...

But I don't recall you ever having a bad word to say about him

Dark money in politics is bad for society, no matter the source. It destroys any trust the citizens have in their elected official, especially with the Judge Randa ruling that candidates can directly coordinate with these shadow organizations and anonymous donors.

Have you ever said a bad word about Charlie and David, or does it only upset you when those other assholes do it?

chickelit said...

Have you ever said a bad word about Charlie and David, or does it only upset you when those other assholes do it?

Try telling me something convincing about the Koch Bros. instead of the usual underwhelming hypobole.

Diogenes of Sinope said...

Burke and many Wisconisin Democratic party insiders hate Walker as though he is Adolf Hitler. So it is no surprise Burke would link Walker to Hitler. IMHO Burke is holding back on comparing Walker to Hitler.

chickelit said...

garage mahal said...

Yes!!! According to the guy that says Barack Obama is a Kenyan Muslim homo-Nazi

Those people are hyperbole-challenged. BHO is much closer ideologically to his father and to Robert Mugabe than to Hitler.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Berman repeatedly boasted about how he could take checks from the oil and gas industry executives — he said he had already collected six-figure contributions from some of the executives in the room — and then hide their role in funding his campaigns.

"People always ask me one question all the time: 'How do I know that I won’t be found out as a supporter of what you’re doing?; " Mr. Berman told the crowd. "We run all of this stuff through nonprofit organizations that are insulated from having to disclose donors. There is total anonymity. People don’t know who supports us."


http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/31/us/politics/pr-executives-western-energy-alliance-speech-taped.html?_r=0

geokstr said...

I don't recall the Kochs organizing and funding a project specifically designed to elect ideological partisans to the positions that count the votes in all the swing states, one of which gave us our very first bad comedian Senator, and led directly to the takeover of the health industry. These same partisans are the ones in charge of voter rolls and are refusing to clean them up.

How very Uncle Josef of Mr Soros.

garage mahal said...

IMHO Burke is holding back on comparing Walker to Hitler.

Hitler eliminated trade unions as part of his first 100 days in office. Not saying you're Hitler, but wouldn't you hate to be connected to that?

chickelit said...

People always ask me one question all the time: 'How do I know that I won’t be found out as a supporter of what you’re doing?

Because the name Koch doesn't appear in Madisonfehler's article it must be true.

Diogenes of Sinope said...

Mary Burke has nothing to lose poisoning the well in Wisconsin politics. Burke will just go back to being the unemployed wealthy heiress she was before the election.

chickelit said...

Hitler eliminated trade unions as part of his first 100 days in office. Not saying you're Hitler, but wouldn't you hate to be connected to that?

Which trade unions did Walker eliminate since taking office?

Drago said...

madisonfella: "For someone who constantly acts as if he is the smartest man in the whole room, you sure need a lot of easily found information spoon-fed directly to you"

You sure seem defensive about providing links for your assertions.

Why might that be?

Drago said...

madisonfella: "Now that you mention it, you rarely ever take a stand one way or another on anything so perhaps it wasn't you after all."

I'll take that as an admission that you were full of beans with your nonsensical assertion.

Something tells me you should be in much better practice having to admit you were wrong.

paminwi said...

Garage says "and a compliant press".

Really? The two largest newspapers in the state are on Burke's side and the three largest TV stations in Madison are on her side and you idiots are worried about a little organization that received $119,000 from the Bradley Foundation?

Your logic escapes me!



Lnelson said...

Walker's issue was about public employee unions and their burden on the state budget, not trade unions.

"The process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service".
Franklin D Roosevelt

Drago said...

garage: "Yes!!! According to the guy that says Barack Obama is a Kenyan Muslim homo-Nazi. It makes perfect sense doesn't it? "Yep""

Wow.

Right on top of madisonfella's nonsense assertion regarding me and Blue Fist posters, garage quadruples down (as middle school mentalities tend to do) with an even more hilariously false assertion.

LOL

I guess those middle school football heroics took a toll.

chickelit said...

@garage: Serious point here. When his whole brew-haha started, I told you that the unions could have avoided public wrath if they had only curbed their demands a little. The Wisconsin public sensed harder times ahead and the State employee unions reacted with greed. And even if they eventually caved in their demands before being slapped down, then never made their case that they were doing doing that?

Why?

I think it's because SEIU goons at the national level were telling them "don't cave -- look at us in DC -- we're livin' it up! Austerity is for chumps!"

And so the Democrats in the great state of Wisconsin traded away a good portion of the hard won goodwill. Trade unionism isn't going away anytime soon in WI -- but unchecked greed is under threat.

Drago said...

garage: "Hitler eliminated trade unions as part of his first 100 days in office. Not saying you're Hitler, but wouldn't you hate to be connected to that?"

Now it becomes clear.

Garage doesn't understand the difference between private sector trade unions and public sector unions.

Well, they probably didn't cover that in high school.

Which is where garage topped out.

Obviously.

geokstr said...

What Walker did to some of the civil service unions (he did nothing to private sector unions) was stop the state collection of enforced dues to those unions, which massively decreased their membership in short order. He also voided all those overpriced taxpayer ripoffs called union health insurance plans that stole many tens of millions of dollars every year.

If he wins I hope he does the same to the bloated unions "representing" the police, firefighters and the others he passed on last time around.

Drago said...

Larry Nelson: "Walker's issue was about public employee unions and their burden on the state budget, not trade unions.

"The process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service".
Franklin D Roosevelt

Well, I guess garage now thinks FDR was a nazi.

Again, stuff not covered in high school.

garage mahal said...

Because the name Koch doesn't appear in Madisonfehler's article it must be true.

You're not even paying attention Herr Chicklet. You're predictably lost. Huh >what> Koch> eh> so> what> slurp.

richard mcenroe said...

Back when I was attending Tea Party rallies in Los Angeles (before I moved to Texas where every day is a Tea Party!) the acolytes of perpetual jailbird candidate Lyndon Larouche used to show up and set up a table with a large poster featuring Barack Obama as Adolf Hitler.

EVERY time they showed up, they were ushered off the rally site either by organizers or the PD at organizers' request... whereupon they would set up their booth at the far side of a parking lot or across the street, and such press as showed up would rush over to show the "racist nazis at the Tea Party".

Larouche, of course, was a Democrat, which made the nazi-love of his cultists perfectly understandable.

Anonymous said...

Which trade unions did Walker eliminate since taking office?

Act 10 made it illegal for over 5,000 worker at the UW Health Clinics to be represented by a labor union, as well as home health care workers, family child care workers, and University of Wisconsin faculty and academic staff.

richard mcenroe said...

Pamwini -- ANY dissent is a threat to a Democrat, a quality they share with most other totalitarian movements.

Titus said...

Let me preface by stating I don't give a shit about the Wisconsin elections.

But as a Senior Level, Executive HR person, I would never speak about why someone exited a company.

I would not be surprised that there was a confidential agreement-at Burke's level anyway.
Kiss Kiss.

Anonymous said...

You sure seem defensive about providing links for your assertions.

???

Link was provided, as requested. Nothing defensive about it.

What wasn't provided was your answer to a simple question: Do you believe the reports about there being Blue Fist posters in the DA's office or do you think the anonymous source was lying about that?

Alex said...

When Democrats play the Hitler card, the subliminal message really is:

"X Republican would throw us all into gas chambers if they could".

There is no other reason to bring up Hitler other than to invoke the gas chambers or mass shootings.

I'm not buying the bullshit about labor unions. If all Hitler ever did was take over some labor unions, he wouldn't have been HITLER.

Alex said...

You have to admit, garage is getting very desperate sounding as we get closer to Tuesday. Now, Mary Burke might just win because Wisconsin is supposed to be a very blue state. Garage doesn't like that a Republican would ever win state-wide office or be in an election this close. He wants Wisconsin to trounce Walker 80/20.

Douglas B. Levene said...

From where I sit in Shenzhen, China, the Tuesday election in Wisconsin is looking good. The ad reeks of desperation, and garage is only adding to that impression.

Anonymous said...

Personally, I would not display a swastika as a way to make an exaggerated point about an American politician

Perhaps not an American politician, but you have repeatedly displayed a swastika as a way to make an exaggerated point about an entire group of protesters and labor organizations.

Alex said...

Perhaps not an American politician, but you have repeatedly displayed a swastika as a way to make an exaggerated point about an entire group of protesters and labor organizations.

Ugh, when has Althouse ever done that? She simply shows the video of the left-wing protester with the "Walker as Hitler" sign. Or is she not allowed to do that?

Rusty said...

OpenID madisonfella said...
Which trade unions did Walker eliminate since taking office?

Act 10 made it illegal for over 5,000 worker at the UW Health Clinics to be represented by a labor union, as well as home health care workers, family child care workers, and University of Wisconsin faculty and academic staff.


Yes. tragic.
But the question was. Which unions has Walker eliminated.
That you can't gin up membership since act 10 is the unions fault, not Walkers.

Anonymous said...

When Democrats play the Hitler card, the subliminal message really is

Is it a different subliminal message when Republicans play the Hitler card?

Alex said...

which Republicans play the Hitler card? I mean prominent ones, not some former Trek executive.

RecChief said...

when I saw the LGBT rainbow with a swastika superimposed, I thought 2 things:


1. Gays forcing people to bake them cake

2. Annise Parker, subpoenaing sermons of Christian churches

Anyone else?

But then, I'm not a Wisconsin voter.

RecChief said...

I'd recommend that someone who thinks she is about to lose ought to end gracefully and preserve her image and genuinely display good character.

Like Wendy Davis has been doing the last couple fo weeks in Texas?

Lnelson said...

A huge part of budget problems in most states is the defined benefit deals that public employee unions have with those states. The fair thing to do would be to go with Social Security contributions combined with optional 401K or IRA, just like all the rest of us have to "suffer" with.

As all here know, Wisconsin is the battleground for the future of public employee special privileges. I always wondered...who or what are the unions protecting the employees from? It wouldn't be a shakedown scam, would it?

Anonymous said...

Yes. tragic.
But the question was. Which unions has Walker eliminated.


I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night
alive as you and me.
Says I "But Joe, you're ten years dead"
"I never died" said he


Nice sentiments, and one can say that as long as there is hope then one is truly not "eliminated". But fact remains he made it illegal for over 5000 workers to belong to a labor union.

That said, Walker is not Hitler and it is ridiculous to say he is.

That you can't gin up membership since act 10 is the unions fault, not Walkers

If McDonald's customer base were to suddenly plummet because it a new law made it illegal for them to sell any food products at all except for french fries, and even then they were only allowed to sell small orders of it, I would say that the law was the main factor for the loss of business. Especially if McDonald's was also required to give everyone french fries for free if the customer didn't feel like paying for it.

You'd really say it was McDonald's fault for not being able to gin up business?

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

Hitler didn't eliminate trade unions, he consolidated them into a massive national union and he gave them more pay, long and government-subsidized vacations, and put them on corporate boards.
Surprisingly, the NSDAP received substantial contributions from that union.

Anonymous said...


"Perhaps not an American politician, but you have repeatedly displayed a swastika as a way to make an exaggerated point about an entire group of protesters and labor organizations."

Yes, Inga, it's so offensive to actually show the signs leftist protesters displayed and the things they said about Walker. Terribly unfair of Althouse.

Your complete inability to think logically remains a marvel.

Drago said...

madisonfella: "Do you believe the reports about there being Blue Fist posters in the DA's office or do you think the anonymous source was lying about that?"

Your obsession with Blue Fist posters seems rather odd.

Do you see them in your sleep?

Do you fear them?

Did you love your parents?

We need to get to the bottom of this.

Drago said...

Alex: "Ugh, when has Althouse ever done that? She simply shows the video of the left-wing protester with the "Walker as Hitler" sign. Or is she not allowed to do that?"

It appears that our resident lefties are very very very upset at others for noticing the lefties use nazi imagery frequently.

However, if truth be told, I'd rather the lefties continue to use nazi imagery rather than defecate on police cars and/or swoon over islamist terrorists.

Drago said...

Livermoron: "Hitler didn't eliminate trade unions, he consolidated them into a massive national union and he gave them more pay, long and government-subsidized vacations, and put them on corporate boards."

Precisely.

Bottom line, Hitler took over the trade unions, like he took over everything else.

Don't expect the resident leftists to internalize that fact though. It would destroy several of their narratives.

Jupiter said...

Hey, what's with all this Naziphobia?

Anonymous said...

Typical Drago. Refusing to offer his opinion while constantly ridiculing others for theirs. And how can you call it "my obsession" when you're the one who brought it up in this thread?

And then trying to cast shade on my parents?? Lame, even for you.

kcom said...

"They need to take a vacation in North Korea or Iran to see what a real Hitler is or what the Nazis were like."

Unfortunately, I'm not sure that would be enough. Plenty of people visited the Soviet Union in it's heyday and still couldn't see the evil. Hell, fools still go to Cuba and think it's just ducky, despite the political prisoners, deprivation and one party control.

Drago said...

madisonfella: "And then trying to cast shade on my parents?? Lame, even for you."

LOL

I asked if you loved them.

Your failure to answer reveals much. There is indeed much work to do here. I fear time is not on our side.

Alex said...

Drago - that's not nice of you talking to madisonfella like that. Now you apologize like I know you're going to, or my mule just might take serious offense.

Drago said...

madisonfella: "Typical Drago. Refusing to offer his opinion while constantly ridiculing others for theirs."

Hmmmm, so you really really really want me to speak to the "Blue Fist" poster crisis?

What do Blue Fist posters have to do with Mary Burke being shepherded out the door due to her business failure by her own family?

Is is some lame attempt on your part (per usual) to change the subject away from the all to delicate flower Mary Burke and her record?

One senses...yes.

Bob Ellison said...

Fascists and Nazis and communists and socialists do the same thing: they take power.

They want power.

Every fifteen years or so, we have to re-learn this rule.

They only want power and money.

Every fifteen years or so, another half-generation learns that lesson.

Drago said...

kcom: " Plenty of people visited the Soviet Union in it's heyday and still couldn't see the evil. Hell, fools still go to Cuba and think it's just ducky, despite the political prisoners, deprivation and one party control."

More precisely, leftists visited the Soviet Union, saw the truth and were happy (HAPPY) to lie about it. Similarly with Cuba and every other marxist "paradise".

I'll give the lefties this: they've been utterly consistent totalitarians since the French Revolution.

Anonymous said...

Hell, fools still go to Cuba and think it's just ducky, despite the political prisoners, deprivation and one party control.

One party control is never a good thing. Which is why I'm voting for a divided government on Tuesday.

kcom said...

Personally, I'm just sickened by the way Mary Burke is spouting that Naziphobia.

kcom said...

"One party control is never a good thing. Which is why I'm voting for a divided government on Tuesday."

Is that a consistent principle or just a principle of convenience for Tuesday? If a Democrat becomes governor, will you vote for Republican legislators to balance that out later? Yes? No?

Drago said...

kcom: "Is that a consistent principle or just a principle of convenience for Tuesday? If a Democrat becomes governor, will you vote for Republican legislators to balance that out later? Yes? No?"

Easy with the questions there kcom.

Don't overload our patient.

Meade said...

LarryK said...
"This is one of the repulsive political ads ever produced by a candidate for a major political office. Mary Burke is shredding what little is left of her reputation."

Shredding, apparently, is the thing Ms. Burke does best.

Drago said...

Meade: "Shredding, apparently, is the thing Ms. Burke does best."

Sounds like a resume bullet for our fair Mary when she applies for a job at the IRS or any other executive agency under obama.

Jupiter said...

Most Nazis are moderates who just want to live their lives in peace. The Nazi Party is a Party of Peace.

Michael K said...

"It's desperation to point out the people at the heart of the attacks on her tenure at Trek are GOP operatives, Walker-supporting, racist weirdos?"

Only if it isn't true and it isn't. Desperation much, garage ?

chickelit said...

Meade wrote Shredding, apparently, is the thing Ms. Burke does best.

She could shred through any Jane Doe paper blizzard the defeated Republicans foist on her -- if he doesn't bone out first or get sick of the 5-0 grind.

Drago said...

MichaelK: "Only if it isn't true and it isn't. Desperation much, garage ?"

Garage has yet to present any evidence that Albers is any of things he alleges.

And he won't.

Because he can't.

After all, Albers was a trusted member of the Trek team for years and was promoted to the highest levels. He has tremendous credibility, not least because Richard Burke trusted him so much.

Did Richard Burke trust his own daughter?

hmmmm, not so much.

Not to worry though, garage will keep posting ARMeltdown-level insults at Albers and pretending it's all true.

He has to, lest his make believe house of cards collapses.

Anonymous said...

Hmmmm, so you really really really want me to speak to the "Blue Fist" poster crisis?

You're the one who first brought it up in this thread, not I. And you brought it up right after a link was provided. A link which you requested because you had deep doubts about what was said by one of Walker's political bosses while she stood next to him on stage. Yet once you saw the results of that link you suddenly didn't want to talk about that anymore and minutes later you brought up these blue fist posters. And only agter you brought the subject up did I ask your opinion about them. But you dismiss that question much like you dismissed that link, only with more attempts at ridicule and juvenile taunts.

What is really funny is how you demand a link as proof, which is immediately provided, yet you go to great lengths to avoid giving your own opinion on an issue you raised.

And by "funny", I mean "assholish"

chickelit said...

And by "funny", I mean "assholish"

I've about had with the assholier than thou schtick.

Anonymous said...

The word "irrefutable" keeps getting tossed around, as does Albers being cited as the only valid source. But I am unable to find any statements or quotes from him saying it is irrefutable that she was fired.

Anyone got a link?

Anonymous said...

If a Democrat becomes governor, will you vote for Republican legislators to balance that out later? Yes? No?

Depends. Does one party control both chambers? Which party has the Supreme Court?

Drago said...

madisonfella: "What is really funny is how you demand a link as proof, which is immediately provided, yet you go to great lengths to avoid giving your own opinion on an issue you raised."

LOL

"demanded"

Not requested.

Nor asked for.

"demanded".

You poor put upon little thing you.

Drago said...

David and garage earlier exchange:

David said...
garage mahal said...
All it takes is boatloads of cash. And boatloads of idiots willing to go along with it.

The one where Garage shows his true attitude towards the electorate.

11/1/14, 2:36 PM

Later, madisonfella offers this:

madisonfella: "A link which you requested because you had deep doubts about what was said by one of Walker's political bosses while she stood next to him on stage. Yet once you saw the results of that link you suddenly didn't want to talk about that anymore and minutes later you brought up these blue fist posters."

8:30pm

So I finally got around to viewing the link and here's the salient part:

From madisonfella's link (in comparison with garages "boatloads of idiots comment) : "It's not going to be an easy election, it's a close election," said Sharon Day, the co-chairwoman, while speaking at a GOP field office in Waukesha, Wis., according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "Like I said, much closer than I can even understand why.

"I don't want to say anything about your Wisconsin voters but, some of them might not be as sharp as a knife," she added."

So, madisonfella, given that garage and you are both part of the WI electorate, it appears Ms Day's comment is spot on.

Spot on.

Drago said...

And yes madisonfella, I did bring up the Blue Fist poster issue first since you lied about me being one who claimed it was true but hadn't fessed up about your lie (at that time).

Even later your "fessing up" to lying about it left much to be desired.

Drago said...

So, to recap for madisonfella, the only "Blue Fist" poster "issue" I ever raised was your putting words in my mouth related to it.

Michael K said...

Now stop being mean to Inga, I mean madisonfella. She's delicate.

Original Mike said...

Democrats send out equivalent of We know where you live letters.

JD said...

Jesus, how many times must I tell you idiots Madisonfella isn't Inga? Poor Madisonfella.

Michael K said...

"Jesus, how many times must I tell you idiots Madisonfella isn't Inga? Poor Madisonfella."

About 100 times. Maybe just a clone of Inga ? Halloween and Zombies was last night !

Gahrie said...

You'd really say it was McDonald's fault for not being able to gin up business?

Well I wouldn't.

But neither would I pass a law that said someone had to eat at McDonald's in order to get a job.

Gahrie said...

If an ad like this worked and flipped the election at the last minute, I would regard the win as undeserved and illegitimate.

The Democrats don't care about your opinion, just your vote and their power.

Alex said...

If this ad flips the election, I weep for our republic.

chickelit said...

Alex said...
If this ad flips the election, I weep for our republic.

As you weep, so shall you sew
the rent fabric of tears...

Anonymous said...

And yes madisonfella, I did bring up the Blue Fist poster issue first since you lied about me being one who claimed it was true

I wasn't lying. But you sure are.

PackerBronco said...

OpenID madisonfella said...

If McDonald's customer base were to suddenly plummet because it a new law made it illegal for them to sell any food products at all except for french fries ... I would say that the law was the main factor for the loss of business.
11/1/14, 7:08 PM


A very very very poor analogy. If you want to compare public unions to McDonalds, it would closer to mark to say:

"If McDonald's customer base were to suddenly plummet because public schools passed a new regulation against serving french fries to students. That would be a factor in loss of business."

You see, the key question is to what extent can a public union force itself upon the government and to what degree is the government free to set terms and conditions in how it interacts with public unions.

If the government chooses no longer to associate with a particular public union or to say "we will deal with you on these issues but not those", it is no more outlawing that union than the public school is outlawing french fries by refusing to continue to serve them.

Drago said...

madisonfella: "I wasn't lying. But you sure are."

LOL

Then it should be a simple matter to provide a link where I claimed the Blue Poster assertion was true.

Go ahead.

Post that link.

You can't.

Because it never happened.

But you are convinced it did, despite your lack of evidence.

Do we really need to delve further into what this indicates about your mental health?

Drago said...

Don't worry madisonfella.

Everyone here knows your schtick so no one will be holding their breath waiting for you to back up your hilariously false assertions.

Drago said...

Of course, the what no one can argue with is the fact that li'l Mary Burke was shown the door at Trek and Mary Burkes supporters seem to have a proclivity for the ignorant application of nazi imagery.

No wonder madisonfella feels so at home with them.

Kindred spirits (and mentalities) and all.

Anonymous said...

But you are convinced it did, despite your lack of evidence.

Not only is that untrue, you've even quoted my own words where I say the exact opposite of what you are now claiming I said. So you know it isn't true, which makes you a liar as well as an asshole.


You see, the key question is to what extent can a public union force itself upon the government and to what degree is the government free to set terms and conditions in how it interacts with public unions.

Actually, you see, what was being discussed is what has more blame for the decline in union membership after Act 10, that law or the unions themselves. When the government makes it illegal for a business to provide anything at all of value except for a very limited service or product then of course the prohibition on those services being provided is the main reason for the loss of business.

Anonymous said...

Now stop being mean to Inga, I mean madisonfella.

Better not be expecting me to pay all that rent Inga owes for living in your head all these past months.

Rich Rostrom said...

madisonfella @ 11/1/14, 7:38 PM said...

One party control is never a good thing.

One-party control is the norm in parliamentary states, which are the great majority of the world's democracies.

Which is why I'm voting for a divided government on Tuesday.

Translation: "I'm voting for Burke for governor."

He can't vote for a Republican for state senator, because Madison lies in the 16th and 26th Districts, which don't vote this year (and in any case are so Democrat they weren't even contested by Republicans in 2012).

He probably can't vote for a Republican for state representative, because Madison lies mainly in the 48th, 76th, 77th, and 78th Districts, which are so Democrat they are not being contested by Republicans. He might live in the 79th District, where there is a token Republican candidate to cast a meaningless vote for.

Or maybe he lives in the 78th, and will write in Jonathan Dedering, the 2012 Green Party candidate.

What he won't do is cast a meaningful vote for a Republican who might win.

PackerBronco said...

madisonfella said...

One party control is never a good thing. Which is why I'm voting for a divided government on Tuesday.

11/1/14, 7:38 PM


I eagerly await your votes on a straight Republican/Conservative ticket the next time city elections are held in Madison.

But somehow I doubt that will actually will follow through on your "deeply held" principle.

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