Wisconsin Republicans are trying an awful new tack in scuttling the recall effort for Gov. Scott Walker: having Lt Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch (who would also be recalled under the petition) shame the state into inaction with a thinly veiled threat ad that the cost of a special recall election will have to be taken out of money for “teachers or health care for the poor, or school books for your kids.”
“There might be a day when someone asks you for your signature,” Kleefisch says in an ad released Wednesday. “Signing a recall petition is like saying you’re O.K. with spending $7.7 million on another recall election, 7.7 million that may already be allocated to merit raises for teachers or health care for the poor, or school books for your kids.”
“Signing a recall petition is like saying you’re O.K. with taking money away from those things and spending it on another special election,” she continues.
“Signing a recall petition is like saying you’re O.K with spending more months, and more millions, on political campaign ads. Signing a recall petition is like saying you’re O.K with the government taking more of your money to spend on other special elections.”
Yes, sure would be a damn shame if something happened to your nice state here if you dared to have this recall election, Wisconsin. We wouldn’t want to have to cut teacher’s salaries or health care for the poor or school funds in order to pay for your little dirty effing hippie populist tantrum, would we? That would be awful if that happened, so if you would just keep your mouths shut, nobody gets hurt, capiche?
What a lovely little hustle there, bringing in Kleefisch to beg those awful extremist Democrats not to force Republicans to make more cuts to pay for the special recall elections, not to mention giving the Tea Party in that state an excuse to play the “Why do you hippies hate Wisconsin schools?” shame card, all while barely cloaked as an advocacy ad that’s not officially a statement from her office but sure looks like one.
You couldn’t ask for a better zero-sum extortion racket from the one percent. Keep your head down and nobody gets hurt, plebes…or we make more cuts that will hurt you, not us.
What are you going to do about it, Wisconsin?
The Snarxist Formerly Known as Kryptik
Not to mention the added bonus that these are the same goddamn folks whose funds they were gonna cut eventually in the first place. Either way you’re gonna cut their money, so why not use it as a bludgeon and a hostage against your political threats anyhow? And if and when you skirt by the threat, cut it anyway! Win win, you fucking hippie!
Rathskeller
who would find this threat persuasive? “don’t sign the recall petitions, or we’ll do what we’ve publicly tried to do for months.”
Seebach
Watch what’s happening in New York, since the media’s not covering it:
http://www.ustream.tv/theother99
PIGL
The Republican Party is a threat to the life and freedom of more than 99% of all Americans, to the national security of the Republic, and to global security. It must be extinguished at every level from national down to lowliest dog catcher.
Egypt Steve
Kleefisch actually has a point. She and Walker could save the taxpayers a bundle by just resigning and cutting this business off now.
jwb
@Seebach: The Guardian is live blogging the protest.
cleek
“Fire Walker With Me” would be a good title for one of these posts.
Comrade Carter
Me, I yesterday went to the Milwaukee Teachers Union and signed the recall petitions.
Along with my wife (a certified teacher) and my son (his first political action since turning 18.)
My wife works at a bank, however, and we live in Wauwatosa (same place the Governors from).
No room for this in Wisconsin!
Yutsano
@PIGL: Please tell me that includes Harper and the Conservatives. Man I wish the NDP had a reason to cause a snap election.
cleek
@Seebach:
on MSNBC.com, it’s currently their lead story and the subject of their “breaking” news alert bar.
Bill
“What are you going to do about it, Wisconsin?”
We are going to recall him. That’s what we are going to do.
I’m afraid that if we don’t soon identify a viable candidate to run against him, it’s going to be wasted though. Russ – please come to the rescue!
Butch
There’s already a pro-Walker ad (it starts with glowering clouds that morph into bright sunshine because, according to the ad, the critics’ fears about the effects of Walker’s policy haven’t come to pass) that’s such a pack of lies and distortions it’s beyond belief.
jibeaux
“You have to keep the Republicans! Won’t anyone think of the children, and the poor, and the schoolteachers!” seems like a mighty fucking desperate plea to me, be honest with you.
Yutsano
@jibeaux: The whole act this early in the game does seem rather desperate. Plus if your opening argument is the expense of the election…where do you go from there? Are you going to even bother to argue policy?
jibeaux
@Yutsano:
I guess where you go from there is “also too, it’s a lot of work! Think of the basketball teams that might have to move their practices for the voting booths! The parking hassles!”
GregB
So now Walker and his stooges think that teachers and schools are important…the sleazy, overpaid, unionized teachers who only work 9 months a year….What a pathetic gambit.
Montysano
@Rathskeller:
Well…
daveNYC
I’d think the Republicans would be happy to have the petition go through. It gives them a ready made excuse (and they can blame it on the hippies, bonus!) to make the cuts that they’d be making anyway.
Dr.BDH
“Sign the recall petition if you don’t care how much of their money the Koch brothers will have to spend to keep their college dropout governor in office.”
Walker also has a doozy of an ad with an anonymous blond woman (“school board member”) saying he’s given her the tools to make her schools better.
kd bart
Surprised she didn’t sign off with “Go Packers”
Napoleon
@Dr.BDH:
Seriously, the school board member is anonymous? Has she been identified yet? I smell a rat.
kideni
Yeah, like the money would actually go to those things if we weren’t trying to recall them.
I don’t think Kleefisch has many fans outside of her Tea Party base (she’s so very creepy), so I doubt this will persuade anyone who’s not already opposed to the idea of a recall. She may also have violated campaign laws with this video (it’s a campaign ad that gives the impression that it comes from the office of the lieut gov, so the Dems have filed a complaint).
So what are we doing? We’re collecting signatures to recall her ass and that of her boss.
PIGL
@Yutsano: The Conservative Party is simply a threat to Canada and to Canadians. I think the best thing would be if we just gave you Alberta.
Harpers Conservative’s transformed the party of God, King and Country into the party of the Vicious Prick…in other words, northern Republicans. He is now seeking to institutionalise this party, and Canadians are too polite to notice how dangerous he is. Since we have the same 25% authoritarian followers as you do, we are pretty much fckued.
kideni
@Napoleon: She’s from Waukesha (of course) and has only been on the board since April, so really, she has very little background in budgeting. In addition, she ran on a virulently anti-union platform. Finally, she may have violated policy in speaking as if for the board as a whole and not just for herself.
Yutsano
@PIGL:
Inasmuch as that would be cool (my family was instrumental in the exploration of the Prairies) I think the opposite should occur: we should give back what is rightfully yours, the Salish Sea area and resultant properties. I’d understand if you didn’t want Tacoma though. :)
And if you think they’ll stop in Alberta, I got a park in Vancouver to sell you.
Butch
@Yutsano: Actually (I’m a resident of the UP but all our television is from Wisconsin), the cost of the recalls is one of the anti-recall arguments that comes up constantly.
2liberal
is this a twin peaks reference?
Cris (without an H)
The owls are not what they seem.
PIGL
@Yutsano: really? The Canadian Prairies?
I too regret that the Dakotas, Oregon and Washington, and Alaska were not properly managed. The craven gripe-farthing British gave them up far too easily. They should be part of Canada. But we have subtle and far-reaching revanchist plans to correct this historical oversight. Just you wait.
Dustin
Ad fail, this just prompted me to go out and get the recall petition forms so I can circulate them to my friends, coworkers, and family which’ll add at least two dozen names to the pile. Probably not the effect she was looking for.
PIGL
@Yutsano: btw, what’s wrong with Tacoma?
Yutsano
@PIGL: Apparently you’ve never heard of the Tacoma Aroma. The fact that they built a huge stadium for basically no reason at all kinda sticks out too. I think MikeJ compared Tacoma to Oakland in relation to Seattle/San Francisco. I think that’s accurate.
ETA: my surname is very common in Quebec. In fact I’m a distant relative of a recently appointed Senator.
Omnes Omnibus
@ PIGL: @ Yutsano: FWIW in Mark Lindquist’s novel “Never Mind Nirvana” a character tells the protagonist to “Fuck me like we’re in Tacoma.”
PGE
So Walker’s position is that Republican policies have so bankrupted the state that democracy is no longer affordable? Democrats should point that out every day from now till the recall.
Zam
Just a minor point, it’s actually a different recall petition for her. We need people to sign both.
rikryah
sign those petitions!!!
get rid of that fucker
giltay
The Toronto District School Board lost two trustees recently (they were elected to the Ontario legislature). Rather than hold an election for their successors some on the board have suggested hiring two people. So one trustee has put forward a tongue-in-cheek motion to go all the way and have the successors chosen by royal appointment.
Yutsano
OT: I somehow managed to get mashed sweet taters and stuffing cooked off before my appointment this morning. And now traffic cooperated so I’m way early. I might just have an okay day today. :)
giltay
@Yutsano: The NDP have no ability to cause a snap election on their own or with the help of the other opposition parties. Since the Conservative Party has a majority of seats, they would be able to defeat any motion of no confidence, unless some of the Tory MPs voted against the Government. Given the tight control Harper has on his party, I don’t see that happening.
smintheus
If Walker and Kleefisch are truly concerned about the cost, then they can resign in advance and save taxpayers the cost of a recall vote.
If they think they’re actually popular with the public, they could then run for office again in the special election that will need to be held anyway if the vote to recall them were to succeed.
TenguPhule
Or they could commit a double suicide by stabbing themselves 12 times in the back.
And then the state can auction the ritual desecration of their bodies to the highest bidders to raise money for tachers.
TenguPhule
Herman Cain really gets around, doesn’t he.
burnspbesq
@PIGL:
“I think the best thing would be if we just gave you Alberta.”
Only if you indemnify us for the environmental cleanup costs. And we’ll want B.C. as security for your indemnity obligations.
We may have fallen off the turnip truck, but it wasn’t this week.
The Republic of Stupidity
@PIGL: Wasn’t one of Harper’s
ridiculous wastes of moneyurgent priorities buying a bunch of fighter jets and as a sad result, being forced to end the national health care system?From whom does Walker think he’s protecting Canada?
Russia?
Alaska (more likely)?
The US (most likely….)?
Jim
What is the annual cost of the Walker-Fitz Voter ID Law? Seems like they’ve just set themselves for a hoisting on their own petard, yes?
Another Bob
Her language is just too subtle. She could have made a more compelling threat if she’d gone all National Lampoon on the voters:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Natlamp73.jpg
Mino
One voter actually did the math. The cost of a recall election $1.74 per voter.
Paul in KY
I would just say that you (the repubs & Walker) suck so much that, yes, it is worth it.
Then smile a big smile.