Slog
News & ArtsTuesday, August 9, 2011
Politics Dems Pick Up Two in Wisconsin Recall, but Appear to Fall Short of Flipping State Senate
Posted by Goldy on Tue, Aug 9, 2011 at 10:16 PM
Democrats picked off two of six Republican incumbents in the historic recall elections in Wisconsin today, but have apparently fallen one short of flipping control of the state senate. Disappointing, I suppose, but only if you ignore the enormity of the task and the impressive achievement that the two successful recalls represent. Voters sent a strong message to union-busting Gov. Scott Walker today... just not quite the earth-shattering message we had hoped for.
A third victory was tantalizingly close, until once again Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus sat and sat on ballots, before miraculously producing a huge margin for the Republican. Needless to say, Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Mike Tate has his suspicions:
"The race to determine control of the Wisconsin Senate has fallen in the hands of the Waukesha County clerk, who has already distinguished herself as incompetent, if not worse. She is once more tampering with the results of a consequential election and in the next hours we will determine our next course of action. For now, Wisconsin should know that a dark cloud hangs over these important results."
Come January, Walker himself will be eligible for a recall, and if today's results are any indication, it's gonna be close.
2
I wonder what the chances are of flipping a moderate Republican on the Senate? Throw in as many perks as it takes....
4
I won't presume to comment on the disputed election's validity. I am, after all, a native Midwesterner, and I know how capable Midwesterners are of electing complete idiots.
But why, oh why, oh why-o, WHY do they let that woman continue to be county clerk? Even the Republicans - who are, after all, horrible people - should see how pathetic this makes all of them look.
But Republican Politicians are shameless. and their base is not very bright. So I guess that makes it OK.
But why, oh why, oh why-o, WHY do they let that woman continue to be county clerk? Even the Republicans - who are, after all, horrible people - should see how pathetic this makes all of them look.
But Republican Politicians are shameless. and their base is not very bright. So I guess that makes it OK.
5
@2 There is a moderate republican that has gone with the Dems in the past. One of his Dem fellow senators stated that the guy votes on issues rather than on party lines. So all in all a win of two seats can still have some real results. Not to mention the shot in the arm that the record turn out, and the closeness of the races, let alone that there were 6 recall elections tonight. News reports have been mentioning that until tonight there had only been 20 recall elections nationwide since 1913 or 1916.
So as Goldy said, this is really quite significant.
So as Goldy said, this is really quite significant.
6
Absent the Citizens United ruling, this goes the other way. On the other hand, absent the Citizens United ruling, it wouldn't have been necessary.
Kudos to the those fighting the good fight in Wisconsin. Solidarity.
Kudos to the those fighting the good fight in Wisconsin. Solidarity.
7
It's disappointing - but still really good news. I admit I haven't watched any recall news closely but just in general I was rather surprised they won any. I hope they stick with it and try to recall Walker when that option becomes available.
9
the same county flipped the recall results last minute for the state supreme court election two months ago. just sayin'
11
The original article on wisdems is gone now. I did some Googling on Kathy Nickolaus and wow, what a scumbag she appears to be.
12
I don't see any silver lining in this at all. If Wisconsin really was against the rise of fascism in their state the Democrats should have easily picked up the three seats. And why didn't anyone ask why the Democrats got voted out of power in the first place allowing Scott Walker and his criminal ilk in? There is another side to why Wisconsin got turned off to the Democrats that no one is talking about.
At this point I would not be shocked if Washington state goes to the GOP next year. Face it kiddies....America is going hard right. So I'd buy a gun or two.
At this point I would not be shocked if Washington state goes to the GOP next year. Face it kiddies....America is going hard right. So I'd buy a gun or two.
14
Senator Darling would have won without a single Waukesha vote
also don't forget the two recall elections of Wisconsin Senate D's next week, one of which is likely to lose
also don't forget the two recall elections of Wisconsin Senate D's next week, one of which is likely to lose
16
"Republican Politicians are shameless. and their base is not very bright."
Yeah right, and the ACORN voters are rocket scientists.
"I don't see any silver lining in this at all."
Good.
"the rise of fascism"
Oooooh! Yes, because moving state workers to defined contribution pensions, from defined benefit plans, certainly deserves a Godwin Award.
"So I'd buy a gun or two."
Your bladder wouldn't be able to handle them.
Now, onward to WA state and time to clean house here.
Yeah right, and the ACORN voters are rocket scientists.
"I don't see any silver lining in this at all."
Good.
"the rise of fascism"
Oooooh! Yes, because moving state workers to defined contribution pensions, from defined benefit plans, certainly deserves a Godwin Award.
"So I'd buy a gun or two."
Your bladder wouldn't be able to handle them.
Now, onward to WA state and time to clean house here.
18
I haven't paid too much attention to this - aren't there two Democrats up for recall as well or did I make that up?
20
@18:
Those elections take place next Tuesday, and from what I understand, at least one of those two Democrats could be vulnerable to flipping, as apparently they just barely won their seat in 2010.
Those elections take place next Tuesday, and from what I understand, at least one of those two Democrats could be vulnerable to flipping, as apparently they just barely won their seat in 2010.
23
Oh God, here we go again..... Trolly McTrollerson and his one man racist review. All the fun of a John Birch society meeting in an un air-conditioned mobile home. Doesn't that bird know any other tunes?
Here it is, in a nutshell, for those of you who don't read unregistered comments.
blah blah blah state fair blah blah blah black people blah blah blah MC Hammer concert blah blah blah innocent white people blah blah blah libtards blah blah blah Seattle's so white blah blah blah eveything is black people's fault blah blah blah goldy blah blah blah hispanic is a separate race blah blah blah
Here it is, in a nutshell, for those of you who don't read unregistered comments.
blah blah blah state fair blah blah blah black people blah blah blah MC Hammer concert blah blah blah innocent white people blah blah blah libtards blah blah blah Seattle's so white blah blah blah eveything is black people's fault blah blah blah goldy blah blah blah hispanic is a separate race blah blah blah
25
I am NOT a tranny, Troll dear (not that there's anything wrong with that) I am a full grown mannequin. I wouldn't expect you to know the difference. You probably don't get out much when it comes to matters of gender or sexuality, do you?
Poor thing. A good explosive orgasm would probably clear all those cobwebs out of your head and get your mind off all this stuff about black people. There are ladies you can pay, you know, to help you out in that department. Delicacy forbids me from saying more.
Poor thing. A good explosive orgasm would probably clear all those cobwebs out of your head and get your mind off all this stuff about black people. There are ladies you can pay, you know, to help you out in that department. Delicacy forbids me from saying more.
26
@25 Good to see public workers spending their day posting to Slog.
And you wonder why McKenna's going to win in November and start cleaning house here in WA state?
And you wonder why McKenna's going to win in November and start cleaning house here in WA state?
27
@25. See comment #24. It applies to your comment at 25 as well. Tell yourself whatever you need to about me, in order to maintain your religious denial of actual facts.
29
"When it comes to taking out incumbents, 2 out of six is a credit-worthy result. I'd rate it AA+."'
"Close" only counts in horse shoes, ya moron.
"Close" only counts in horse shoes, ya moron.
30
It's amusing how every time the center right majority electorate speaks it's either voter fraud or Citizens United that causes Dem losses.
You could learn a lesson that Americans don't actually want communism lite or unions destroying our industrial base or the lib notion of cradle to grave nanny state. But no, it's Diebold or the Koch brothers or some county clerk rigging the votes while demonically laughing.
Sheesh, you've got a teenage kid relying on you for a role model Goldstein. Try to act like a grown up once in a rare while.
You could learn a lesson that Americans don't actually want communism lite or unions destroying our industrial base or the lib notion of cradle to grave nanny state. But no, it's Diebold or the Koch brothers or some county clerk rigging the votes while demonically laughing.
Sheesh, you've got a teenage kid relying on you for a role model Goldstein. Try to act like a grown up once in a rare while.
31
This was almost predicatable. Anyone who bothered to pay attention to the after-election interviews, when they first elected anti-worker, anti-union, Gov. John Wanker, would have noted any number of union members who claimed to have voted for Wanker.
This is highly reminiscent of when I was a union organizer and was pleading with PATCO about their plan to endorse Reagan back in the '80 presidential election. (We know what happened to them!)
Best to re-read the great sociologist, and former journalist, Ferndinand Lundberg's great work, Treason of the People.
This is highly reminiscent of when I was a union organizer and was pleading with PATCO about their plan to endorse Reagan back in the '80 presidential election. (We know what happened to them!)
Best to re-read the great sociologist, and former journalist, Ferndinand Lundberg's great work, Treason of the People.
32
Now troll, don't be bitter. I'm sure you're very attractive, in your own way, and that there are many, many women who would accommodate you without charging. Why don't you try one of those cocktail lounges near military bases, or one of those services that match Russian women with husbands?
And while I appreciate your concern for the bottom line, rest assured no ratepayers funds were squandered here on Slog. Someday, when you move out on your own, you'll get a job and discover that people work all kinds of shifts. Just like in your Richard Scarry book.
And while I appreciate your concern for the bottom line, rest assured no ratepayers funds were squandered here on Slog. Someday, when you move out on your own, you'll get a job and discover that people work all kinds of shifts. Just like in your Richard Scarry book.
34
Catalina @ 32...
That asshole would get turned down in a craigslist sting.
He couldn't even get fondled by a priest...in Ireland.
That asshole would get turned down in a craigslist sting.
He couldn't even get fondled by a priest...in Ireland.
35
Mannequin, 33 dear, not tranny (not that there's anything wrong with trannies). Mannequin.
You know - like in a store? Or like in the 1987 Andrew McCarthy/Kim Cantrell romantic comedy? (the perfect romantic comedy for the Reagan era, btw. So very emblematic)
Try again dear. I know you can get this. We all have faith in you. You're more than some dumb racist troll.
You know - like in a store? Or like in the 1987 Andrew McCarthy/Kim Cantrell romantic comedy? (the perfect romantic comedy for the Reagan era, btw. So very emblematic)
Try again dear. I know you can get this. We all have faith in you. You're more than some dumb racist troll.
36
Two things to remember:
1: This was not a statewide vote. These elections were held in a handful of out-state districts away from the liberal centers of Milwaukee and Madison.
2: These were very Republican districts. Because of the way Wisconsin's recall law works, these Republicans had to have won their seats in 2008, a sweep election that saw Democrats take both houses of the legislature and the governorship. For them to lose now, their districts have to have swung left of 2008 or the liberals in these districts have to have been more energized than they were when people thought Barrack Obama was progressive.
It'll take longer than we'd hoped, but this is very far from over.
1: This was not a statewide vote. These elections were held in a handful of out-state districts away from the liberal centers of Milwaukee and Madison.
2: These were very Republican districts. Because of the way Wisconsin's recall law works, these Republicans had to have won their seats in 2008, a sweep election that saw Democrats take both houses of the legislature and the governorship. For them to lose now, their districts have to have swung left of 2008 or the liberals in these districts have to have been more energized than they were when people thought Barrack Obama was progressive.
It'll take longer than we'd hoped, but this is very far from over.
38
@29 - Also archery. Also darts. Ya overweight, live-with-your-mom, unemployed, sociopathetic internet user.
Is that an insult to internet trolls?
and commence trolling....
Is that an insult to internet trolls?
and commence trolling....
40
@39: Who can forget the old English saying: "Close only counts in Quoits and Mills bombs"
or, for the Russians: "Close only counts in Gorodki and molotov cocktails"
or, for the Russians: "Close only counts in Gorodki and molotov cocktails"
41
Meanwhile, in other news from Wisconsin, conspicuously ignored by 'White-Guilt Goldy', the enabled of child-rapists and murderers:
New 911 police tapes from Wisconsin State Fair released
By Mike Mullen Thu., Aug. 11 2011 at 7:49 AM
A huge fresh batch of 911 tapes has been released by the West Allis Police Department, shedding new light on the racially-fraught crime wave that gripped the Wisconsin State Fair last Thursday.
Call after call came in to the 911 dispatcher, each sounding similar but adding a new story:
"Hi I'm calling because my kids came from the state fair and they were attacked by a group of black people that opened the car door and started punching them," one woman tells the dispatcher.
Then, another caller:
"Hi, uhm, there was like 25 black kids that were trying to jump a State Fair park worker," a woman says.
Meanwhile, West Allis police say race did play a factor in 11 incidents they're investigating from that night, including nine assaults, and that it might still charge some of the incidents from that night as "hate crimes," according to Milwaukee radio station WTMJ.
Many of the tapes, which were obtained by WTMJ, sound like echoes of each other.
VIDEO OF THE VIOLENCE: Cell phone footage WI State Fair wilding [VIDEO]
One caller just after 11:30 said he "just wanted to make sure somebody got to the kid who was getting, just, pummeled on the side of the road."
"The African Americans that were beating the hell out of him pulled him up off the sidewalk into the bush," he says. And then: "And the security guard, the African American lady that was working that gate, her ass needs to be fired, because she didn't do a damn thing. She just stood there and watched."
In another tape, a man who sounds drunk or dizzy tells the dispatcher he was jumped and beaten, and eventually turns his rage on her.
"Yeah, there's a group of African Americans that are walking down 75th Street, going north, that thought it was okay to have a law abiding citizen walking by... and they just jump me, what?"
"Do you need an ambulance, sir?"
"No I don't need an ambulance. I'm bleeding but I don't give a shit."
"Do you want an ambulance?"
"No I don't want a fucking ambulance. Send some squads, arrest these people."
"We have squads all over the area you're going to have to walk up to an officer and find one."
"Walk up to an officer? I don't see an officer anywhere what are you talking about?"
"We have about 20 squads all around the general area."
"I mean this is what I gotta go through, I pay taxes and I'm walking down the fucking street -- really? -- and this is what the fuck happens, some stupid fucking black motherfuckers, they think they can just punch people, really?"
Wisconsin State Fair police arrested 23 people during the violence, all but one of them between the ages of 15 and 20, and West Allis Police arrested another seven. Police reports from the incident are expected to come out later today.
http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2011/…
More...
New 911 police tapes from Wisconsin State Fair released
By Mike Mullen Thu., Aug. 11 2011 at 7:49 AM
A huge fresh batch of 911 tapes has been released by the West Allis Police Department, shedding new light on the racially-fraught crime wave that gripped the Wisconsin State Fair last Thursday.
Call after call came in to the 911 dispatcher, each sounding similar but adding a new story:
"Hi I'm calling because my kids came from the state fair and they were attacked by a group of black people that opened the car door and started punching them," one woman tells the dispatcher.
Then, another caller:
"Hi, uhm, there was like 25 black kids that were trying to jump a State Fair park worker," a woman says.
Meanwhile, West Allis police say race did play a factor in 11 incidents they're investigating from that night, including nine assaults, and that it might still charge some of the incidents from that night as "hate crimes," according to Milwaukee radio station WTMJ.
Many of the tapes, which were obtained by WTMJ, sound like echoes of each other.
VIDEO OF THE VIOLENCE: Cell phone footage WI State Fair wilding [VIDEO]
One caller just after 11:30 said he "just wanted to make sure somebody got to the kid who was getting, just, pummeled on the side of the road."
"The African Americans that were beating the hell out of him pulled him up off the sidewalk into the bush," he says. And then: "And the security guard, the African American lady that was working that gate, her ass needs to be fired, because she didn't do a damn thing. She just stood there and watched."
In another tape, a man who sounds drunk or dizzy tells the dispatcher he was jumped and beaten, and eventually turns his rage on her.
"Yeah, there's a group of African Americans that are walking down 75th Street, going north, that thought it was okay to have a law abiding citizen walking by... and they just jump me, what?"
"Do you need an ambulance, sir?"
"No I don't need an ambulance. I'm bleeding but I don't give a shit."
"Do you want an ambulance?"
"No I don't want a fucking ambulance. Send some squads, arrest these people."
"We have squads all over the area you're going to have to walk up to an officer and find one."
"Walk up to an officer? I don't see an officer anywhere what are you talking about?"
"We have about 20 squads all around the general area."
"I mean this is what I gotta go through, I pay taxes and I'm walking down the fucking street -- really? -- and this is what the fuck happens, some stupid fucking black motherfuckers, they think they can just punch people, really?"
Wisconsin State Fair police arrested 23 people during the violence, all but one of them between the ages of 15 and 20, and West Allis Police arrested another seven. Police reports from the incident are expected to come out later today.
http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2011/…
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