October 27, 2014

"President Barack Obama is making a rare appearance on the campaign trail just one week before Election Day in an effort to help a Democratic challenger oust Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker from office."

"Obama will appear at a high school in Milwaukee, the state's largest city and a Democratic stronghold," AP reports.
[Mary] Burke must win big there and in similarly liberal Madison to counter Walker's support among Republicans in the conservative Milwaukee suburbs and in rural areas....

"They're trying to drive up turnout figuring they're not having much impact of convincing any more persuadable independent voters and it's more about turnout," Walker said. Walker, who launched a bus tour Saturday for the final 10 days of the race, said he was trying to compete for undecided voters all across the state.
And here's a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article where the money has come from. Excerpt:
"We have a score to settle with Scott Walker," AFSCME President Lee Saunders told The Washington Post on Sept. 10... Eight days later... AFSCME dumped $1.1 million into the Greater Wisconsin Political Fund, a liberal Madison-based, tax-exempt outfit that has been pummeling Walker with TV ads this year, according to newly released federal records.

The D.C. union was not alone. New state records show Greater Wisconsin's political action committee received just under $1.3 million from the Wisconsin Education Association Council — the state teachers union — in early August. WEAC has, in general, kept a low profile so far in this election....

53 comments:

YoungHegelian said...

The Dems really have no message other than GOtV, with Obama showing up in primarily black areas in order to talk them into showing up at the polls.

Obama made an appearance with the Democratic candidate for governor in majority black Prince Georges County, MD. Talk about carrying coals to Newscastle, both in terms of county & state votes, but still he did it!

It's like the Dems don't even pretend any more to reach out to independent voters. Hey, it just may work yet again........

Ctmom4 said...

Brown in MD apparently dropped 9 points in the polls after the Obama visit. He really has the reverse Midas touch. Hope it holds true in Wisconsin.

President-Mom-Jeans said...

Why, its almost like Obama and Burke are coordinating with those unions.

I'm sure Bitchtits will be calling for a John Doe investigation about it any day now.

n.n said...

The empire strikes back. Return of the conservative is next in the series.

Bob Boyd said...

"Listen folks, vote for Mary. Have I ever steered you wrong?"

Wilbur said...

In the really close races, the Dems gin up enough fraudulent votes to win 75% of the time.

Thankfully it only works (see Franken in Minnesota, e.g.) when its really close.

garage mahal said...

Why, its almost like Obama and Burke are coordinating with those unions

Hahaha. The whining is already starting. Have a Happy Nov 4th, jackass.

PoNyman said...

This is the second story I've seen claiming a rare appearance on the campaign trail for the President. How many times does he have to show his face before it becomes common? Do fund raisers count?

Michael K said...

" Have a Happy Nov 4th, jackass."

Thanks, garage. I suspect mine will be better than yours.

Original Mike said...

" Have a Happy Nov 4th, jackass."

Garage knows the fix is in.

Big Mike said...

How's this for a slogan? "If you like your governor, you can keep your governor."

Ann Althouse said...

What if I said I will vote for the candidate whose supporters will be most gracious and inclusive if he/she wins and against the candidate whose supporters will be most painfully exultant toward those whose candidate lost?

garage mahal said...


"Garage knows the fix is in."

Or, you sense the bloom is coming off the rose.

Anonymous said...

Garage when conservative groups work together politically: "JOHN DOE HUNT! SUBPOENA! SWAT TEAMS!"

Garage when unions coordinate with Democrats politically: "Hahaha."

Says it all. What a pure hack. It's about nothing but political victory to him. Why even bother engaging him?

Bob Boyd said...

I generally vote for the candidate whose supporters aren't going to form a fucking drum circle.

ALH said...

I support Walker but have a bad feeling about the outcome. Too many "anti-walker" voters out there plus a much better likelihood of getting apathetic people that tend to vote D to actually vote.

ALH said...

Since the Dems have shown absolutely zero graciousness / inclusiveness in the past 4 years in WI, it is a safe bet that Walker will get at least 1 vote in Madison next Tuesday.

MadisonMan said...

The one reason I can think of to vote for Burke is that it splits the Legislature and Executive branches. I dislike having one party control.

I'm curious: If Walker wins, will Republicans call a special session to push through legislation?

MadisonMan said...

And hearing the AFSCME President talk about score-settling does not incline me to vote for Burke. I can't be alone in that. I imagine Burke thinking to herself about Lee Saunders: Oh Please shut up.

Walker freed School Districts from the selfish and greedy dictates of teacher Unions. That is not being undone with the current or near-future Legislature, and I'm glad about that.

Douglas B. Levene said...

Isn't coordination illegal in Wisconsin? Has anyone from those unions ever talked with anyone from the Burke campaign? Why isn't the public prosecutor siccing the dogs on Burke, with midnight raids and SWAT teams?

Oh, never mind, he was all ready to go and Garage told him to stand down.

Birkel said...

"gargae mahal" goes Full Fascist.
Nobody should go Full Fascist.

President-Mom-Jeans said...

"Hahaha. The whining is already starting. Have a Happy Nov 4th, jackass."

What, Bitchtits, they didn't teach you sarcasm at that middle school you were an athletic hero at?

Admit it, your mother shopped in the "husky" section for you even back then, huh fat boy?

Gahrie said...

What if I said I will vote for the candidate whose supporters will be most gracious and inclusive if he/she wins and against the candidate whose supporters will be most painfully exultant toward those whose candidate lost?

I'd say:

"Repeal the 19th Amendment"

Curious George said...

The Zoo interchange is a disaster, and President Clusterfuck is going to tie up traffic for hours around downtown?

I know the audience he's looking for doesn't generally work, more true now with black unemployment at record highs because of his policy failures, but it's gonna piss off a lot of metro area voters that don't care that Obama and Mary Burke are going to promise a lot of free things to others.

Paul said...

Everything Obama touches turns, to paraphrase the series 'Defiance', to Shitko.

And he will do the same in Wisconsin.

Michael K said...

Well, we can hope Obama has the same effect on Burke he had on the Maryland candidate he appeared with

a new poll indicates the Democrat gubernatorial candidate has dropped 9 points — a stunning, precipitous drop — in his race against the GOP’s Larry Hogan since President Obama made a rare campaign stop on his behalf.

Laura said...

Welcome to tonight's episode of As the Wurm turns.... Watch breathlessly as the swing voter tries to bully the council into holding their breath for her vote, until they turn purple... And tonight's moderator is looking for the new episode of Luther, dang those great BBC dramas...

MadisonMan said...

since President Obama made a rare campaign stop on his behalf.

See? He doesn't do it often. They say it's rare. It has to be true!

RecChief said...

YoungHegelian said...
The Dems really have no message other than GOtV, with Obama showing up in primarily black areas in order to talk them into showing up at the polls.


Don't forget vote fraud

RecChief said...

"Ann Althouse said...
What if I said I will vote for the candidate whose supporters will be most gracious and inclusive if he/she wins and against the candidate whose supporters will be most painfully exultant toward those whose candidate lost?"


And whom do you suspect fits the description of the latter?

garage mahal said...

All is not well in Walker World. Weird whining about Christie and Obama a week before the election? Seems uncharacteristically off his drone messenging system. And on edge. I wonder what's bothering him?

Birkel said...

If Walker wins (which I expect will happen) I wonder how many more John Doe Investigations "garage mahal" will support.

Over/Under is at 2.5 more JD Investigations.

Bruce Hayden said...

I think that the Dems have been playing with fire here. If Burke wins, many will blame the hyper-partisan John Doe investigation. Similar to how they stole that Senate seat in Alaska, and ran DeLay out of politics. And Sarah Palin too. For a lot on the left, winning is everything, because, to them, the reason for politics is power, and part of that drive is that political power can easily be turned into money. A lot of money.

But, the downside of cheating to win elections is that their victories are seen as less and less legitimate. A discussion the other night on whether, if the Dems cheat enough to keep the Senate, there should be armed rebellion or civil disobedience, primarily in the realm of income taxes. My guess is that the civil disobedience alternative will be the winner, at least this time. And when the IRS goes to Congress to ask for money to combat this, I expect that the Republicans in the House ask where Lerner's emails are, and why she got a pension after effectively admitting that she had committed federal crimes by pleading the 5th. And require that anyone involved be fired.

People are already using the IRS hi jinks as a defense to tax audits. They claim that they were singled out for audits and other actions based on their political beliefs and actions, and ultimately, the IRS is going to be pushed by courts to prove that they aren't doing so.

I just don't think that this is going to end well.

garage mahal said...

Yes, the party who has their opponents outnumbered has to cheat to win. So much projection.

Original Mike said...

"Or, you sense the bloom is coming off the rose."

Huh? I was commenting on your assertion. You're completely incapable of following a line of thought.

garage mahal said...

Your line of thought was silly. Why didn't democrats put the fix in during the 2012 recall election? Or 2010.

Curious George said...

And after talking to the inner city African Americans, and telling them how wonderful he and Mary Burke are for the future, he is off to a 16,000/plate fund raiser. Serving sushi.

The only way any of these voters they're wooing will be in attendance is bussing tables, parking cars, or doing dishes. Nope, they'll be rubbing elbows with the rich 1%.

Birkel said...

"garage mahal":
Why didn't democrats put the fix in during the 2012 recall election? Or 2010.

Those elections were outside the margin of fraud. You are hoping this one is within the margin of fraud because then a trunk full of ballots can be "found" to "win" the election.

Any more questions?

Meade said...

"What if I said I will vote for the candidate whose supporters will be most gracious and inclusive if he/she wins and against the candidate whose supporters will be most painfully exultant toward those whose candidate lost?"

I'd say you and garage must be planning to vote for different candidates.

Mark said...

I am not sure this is the location to talk about how gracious either side is. I dont see a lot of grace outside the hosts of the blog from either side.

Certainly the recall did not yield graceful winners. I await seeing this new, respectful tone by commenters, but expect to see lipstick wearing pigs fly first..

Rusty said...

garage mahal said...
Yes, the party who has their opponents outnumbered has to cheat to win.

Outnumbered on paper anyway.

Rusty said...

Birkel said...
"garage mahal":
Why didn't democrats put the fix in during the 2012 recall election?

It wasn't for lack of trying. 222,000 signatures thrown out. Thrown out only because honest people were looking over your shoulder.

Dan from Madison said...

MAN do I miss InTrade. Real people betting real money on outcomes instead of theory, innuendo and rumor.

Rusty said...

Dan, they were betting based on theory, innuendo and rumor.

Henry said...

In Providence Rhode Island the teachers union has backed independent Buddy Cianci, a twice convicted felon (assault, racketeering).

Cianci's opponent, Democrat Jorge Elorza, has promised education reforms, including performance-based contracts for teachers and competence-based promotion for students. He supports charter schools.

Cianci, the former mayor convicted of running the city as a "criminal enterprise" promised the teachers more money.

That's pretty much all you need to know about teachers' unions.

garage mahal said...

Outnumbered on paper anyway.

Even Walker acknowledged there are more registered Democrats than there are registered Republicans in Wisconsin. Democrats just need to get their party to the polls, they don't need to cheat.

wendybar said...

Oh don't worry. Democrats will win because of voting machine calibrating all Republican votes to Democrat. (see Maryland and Illinois)

Peter said...

I'd like to see Pres. Obama and Mary Burke go downtown and explain to all how much better off they and their children would be if WEAC were back in the saddle, and the door to taxpayer-funded school choice was firmly and finally slammed shut.

After all, what's good for public-sector unions is good for all of us. Isn't it?

Mark said...

Rusty claims "222,000 signatures thrown out."

That's funny, of the 931,053 signatures collected, only 30,115 were struck.

http://gab.wi.gov/node/2294

Not sure where you are getting this 222,000 exact figure.

mikee said...

The Wisconsin race for governor will be decided by vote fraud, the same way the Dems tried and failed to beat him in his first win.

Keep a few precincts in the Republican suburbs unreported until all the Madison votes are counted and Walker will be certain to win by at least 4%.

Rusty said...

Not sure where you are getting this 222,000 exact figure.

From the local Milwaukee rag at the time of the election.

Mark said...

Rusty, I searched and didn't find that number associated with recalls.

If you are going to claim something is true, I would think you should appear to care if it's accurate.

How about a source for it?

Rusty said...

I sourced it back during the recall election. Hit the Althouse archives. The 31,000 figure you mention are just the signatures they could prove were fraudulent. There were 200,000 plus that were disallowed for other reasons. Very sloppy work for the recall petition people.
But then I guess if you believe in your heart that the opposition is pure evil then any actions on your part are permissable. At least according to garage.