Let me get this straight. Wasserman is worried he lost in an unfair election?

Is there no limit to the size of the Wasserman's ego that he can't let go even after he lost by 1,990 votes?

However, some Wasserman backers are raising questions about whether all ballots in Shorewood included the contest.

Shorewood Village Clerk Sherry Grant said today all the ballots were identical and there were no problems; Lisa Weiner Milwaukee Election Commission administrator, said the ballots were either all correct or all wrong.

Weiner said no official demand to check the ballots has been made.

You realize the Wasserman campaign has a problem. If they take this election to court, their candidate cannot take the stand as a credible witness.

I think it would be a real trick for Wasserman (or any Democrat) to overcome 1,990 votes. If he wants any future in politics, somebody on his team needs to tell him to concede now rather than end up looking like Kathleen Falk.

Silver lining

At least Darling beat Wasserman, Coleman beat Al Franken in Minnesota, and Mitch McConnell won re-election in Kentucky.

Belling's interview of Wasserman

I'm surprised this interview of Sheldon Wasserman by WISN's Mark Belling is not being pushed by Republicans more. Belling grills Wasserman on a host of issues, revealing Wasserman as a weaseling, lying, liberal pretending to be something he is not. The interview is tough but fair. Even Wasserman would have to admit that he was treated fairly. But what a piece of work. Policy and partisanship aside, why would anybody want Wasserman representing them in Madison?

The Sheldon and Ruth show

In this week's column for the Waukesha Freeman (just $.50 at your favorite gas station), I took a look at the Sheldon Wasserman campaign and the Ruth Page Jones campaign. Wasserman is pretending to be a conservative while running against a liberal Republican while Jones is just a liberal running against the conservative Bill Kramer.

On Wasserman:

Like a college kid waking up on New Year’s Day, Wasserman says he’ll never, ever support tax increases again. But the Senate Democrats have huge spending plans, and if he won, Wasserman’s first vote would be for Senate majority leader. Taxpayers can expect it wouldn’t take long for Wasserman to fall off the tax-and-spend wagon again.

On Jones:

If Democrats do not upset state Rep. Bill Kramer, it won’t be for lack of trying. Ruth Page Jones has been hitting doors and spending money.

The Jones campaign finance report from Monday showed that she already has spent more than $20,000, and she claims more than $24,000 on hand heading into the final week. Jones has shown a personal commitment to the campaign of $1,500 in an actual contribution, and $15,000 in loans to the campaign.

Meanwhile, Jones has been hitting doors. She told me she’s been getting a good reception at the doors and that she’s really enjoyed that part of the campaign. Her volunteers have been out, too, dropping off her education hit piece.

But the "no tax increase" pledge looks pretty in the frame in Wasserman's office

State senate candidate and current State Representative Sheldon Wasserman (D-really) is getting free advice from One Wisconsin Now (OWN)* regarding his pledge to Americans for Tax Reform never to vote for a single tax increase:

Before he keeps insisting we can’t raise any new taxes, Sheldon should read the new report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office showing that 57 of all domestic companies paid no federal income tax for at least one year in the period between 1998 and 2005 and 42 percent paid no tax for two full years. This despite $2.5 trillion in sales for these same companies weaseling out on their obligations to the rest of us.

Sheldon may think by opposing any and all tax increases he’s helping his constituents, but he simply has to accept that sometime taxes have to be increased. Sheldon may not want to raise any taxes ever, but that’s just not a formula that long-term is going to help us.

It's hard to imagine that OWN's Scot Ross is so vexed by the pledge Wasserman made. After all, Wasserman doesn't seem to be bothered by it at all. As Americans for Tax Reform points out:

Rep. Wasserman signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge in 2002, but has failed honor the Pledge by sponsoring, supporting, or voting for at least three tax increases during his tenure in the State Assembly:

• In 2005, Rep. Wasserman sponsored a bill to increase the state’s cigarette and tobacco taxes by well over $300 million per year. The bill would have pushed the cigarette tax rate from $0.77 to $1.77 and increased the tax rate on chewing tobacco to 57%. (2005 AB 451, SB 211)

• In 2007, Rep. Wasserman voted in favor of advancing a $48 million tax increase on garbage collection. The bill would have increased the current tax by 233%. (2007 AB 76)

• Last October, Rep. Wasserman expressed willingness to break his Taxpayer Protection Pledge by supporting a tax hike included in the 2008-2009 Budget. (2007, WI Act 20)

'Despite his Pledge to taxpayers, Rep. Wasserman has repeatedly sought to increase taxes on Wisconsin consumers and families,' said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. 'Not only that, but he has violated the very spirit of the Pledge by dismissing it in support of tax hikes.'

Perhaps One Wisconsin Now should calm down a bit considering Wasserman really is one of their OWN.

* The lefty tax-and-spend organization with the wonderfully fascist-sounding name.

Get that idiot off the fairway

This week we look for the Idiot Politician of the Week with a surgeon’s precision. Can we ask for a local?

How about a Coggs? Milwaukee County Supervisor Elizabeth Coggs? Because nothing puts the loco in local politics like a Coggs. Having learned about Milwaukee Alderman Mike McGee Jr. receiving a transportation allowance while sitting in jail, Coggs asked for a transportation allowance, too. Sorry Coggs, but you’re only guilty of criminal stupidity. No transportation allowance for you.

Down the hall from Coggs is Milwaukee County Board Chairman Lee Holloway, who wants to raise taxes because people are too poor to drive to the suburbs.

I almost feel deprived out here in Waukesha. Here we only have Alderman and County Supervisor Kathy Cummings. Cummings was last heard arguing in the Waukesha Common Council against spending the money to upgrade the rail crossings because we would all eventually get used to the train horns. Since the city failed to get their application in on time, Cummings’ theory has been put to the test. I’d ask for her reaction, BUT I CAN’T HEAR HER OVER THE TRAINS.

Perhaps in a more quiet, tranquil, peaceful setting we can really concentrate on the task at hand and find this week’s Idiot Politician of the Week. Shh. It’s the U.S. Bank Championship celebrity golf driving event. Dr. Sheldon Wasserman, state representative from River Hills is about to tee off. Wasserman is facing State Senator Alberta Darling in the election, and Wasserman surrogates have raised questions about Darling’s health. Wasserman himself likes to add to the speculation by claiming a near-perfect attendance and voting record in Madison. Shhh. The doctor is about to tee off.

Oops. It looks a little short on that one! About 18 yards less than his opponent. He doesn’t look happy. After all, what idiot enters a golf driving contest against his political opponent after questioning her health, and then isn’t good enough to do better than her? When she out-drives him by a pretty good distance? When she’s older than him by 17 years? Whose health is in question?

I’ll tell you what kind of idiot. It’s our Idiot Politician of the Week Sheldon Wasserman. If he keeps making bone-headed decisions like this one, he’ll have plenty of time for golf lessons after an abrupt ending to his political career.

Secret agent Sinicki

Former State Senator Tom Reynolds has formed a group, Clean Sweep Wisconsin, to recruit candidates in the Milwaukee area to run in the Democratic primary against incumbent legislators. The idea makes sense. After all, while Reynolds was a Republican, he was a very independent Republican. Reynolds has never been about the party.

Democrats dominate the Milwaukee area. It should be no shock to anyone that Reynolds would recruit conservative Democrats to try to change the complexion of Madison.

It's certainly not much different than the Democratic National Committee recruiting conservative Democrats to challenge in overwhelmingly Republican areas.

Of course, this didn't stop Rep. Christine Sinicki (D) from crying "fraud" which is especially funny when she used a false name to get information from the organization.

I wonder what alias she used? Natasha Fatale, and Mark Pocan was Boris Badenov? Did she request the information be sent to the Russian consulate on microfilm? Did she tell Tom Reynolds, "Shhh, we can't talk now. My phone may be tapped. Meet me at Whitnall Park with the information. I'll be carrying a white rose. The secret code phrase is, `The dog that did not bark.'"

I wonder if Reynolds is recruiting someone to run against Sheldon Wasserman in that state senate primary. Of course, it's kinda hard to nail down which party Wasserman belongs to. Libertarian? Democrat? Maybe Sinicki should spend her time worrying about that kind of deception.

Wasserman watch

I had a nice conversation with a retired veteran in the Menomonee Falls area, Joe Sturmberg, who called State Representative Sheldon Wasserman (Dem) after Wasserman left a note on his door saying he had been in the area. Wasserman is campaigning for state senate against the incumbent Senator Alberta Darling (Rep).

Sturmberg told me he asked Wasserman if he was a Democrat. Wasserman told him, "No, I'm more of a libertarian." According to Sturmberg, Wasserman told him he wasn't running as a Libertarian because that party isn't registered to be on the ballot in Wisconsin.

This is not someone who doesn't understand politics. Sturmberg is pretty sharp and has a good understanding of who the players are. He told me flat out that he thinks Wasserman just tells people what they want to hear.

I spoke with Wasserman this afternoon and he claimed to be confused by the voter's claims. He remembered the person I referred to, and then suggested that maybe he told the Menomonee Falls voter that while he sympathizes with the Libertarians on social issues, there's no chance a Libertarian could be elected to office in a two-party system. Wasserman then cited Libertarian support for stem cell (I presume he meant embryonic stem cell) research and on "end of life" issues.

Wasserman's website still does not list his party identification, nor does his campaign literature. Wasserman claims he doesn't want to be labeled. "I don't want to belabor that I'm a Democrat. I guess I am." That'll be good news to his caucus.

Wasserman also told me that he's about to re-do his website and it still won't include his party identification.

At least he knows his party, and seems to understand that, yes, there are Libertarians on the ballot somewhere. But given my conversation with Joe Sturmberg of Menomonee Falls, we can only imagine what Wasserman is telling voters at the doors.

Time served

The Recess Supervisor at Playground Politics looks at State Rep. Sheldon Wasserman's (D) term limit promise and does a little math:

So in other words, Wasserman vows to end his career in public service by 2020, at the age of 59. By then, his WRS age reduction factor will be .981. Not sticking around for that extra 1.9% proves that he is the real fiscal conservative.

Also pretty easy to make that kind of promise if there's a good chance you won't win.

Wasserman update

In case you slept in this morning, you can still catch the podcast from this morning's Jay Weber show on WISN-AM 1130 (also linked here).

Jay Weber not only mentions Wasserman hiding his party affiliation when he campaigns door-to-door and in his mailings, Weber discovered the Wasserman campaign website does not mention his party affiliation either. Wasserman also claims on his website to be a conservative, which he clearly isn't.

Wasserman's continued campaign clumsiness is going to knock him right off the priority list, if he was ever on it.

Don't tell anyone, part II

Don't tell anyone, but State Rep. Sheldon Wasserman is really a Democrat. No, really. But it's our little secret. He doesn't want anyone to know. Even his campaign literature doesn't say what party he belongs to. It claims he's a conservative (which he's not). But don't tell anyone he's a Democrat. You may think this might matter to some people in the state senate race against Alberta Darling. Maybe that's why Wasserman doesn't want you to know.

So don't tell anyone, and don't tell anyone you heard it from me.

By the way, do you think Wasserman's prominent mention of the Wisconsin Breast Cancer Coalition is a lame attempt to try to deflect the criticism he received when people working on Wasserman's behalf attempted to use Alberta Darling's recovery from breast cancer as an issue?

Don't tell anyone

Don't tell anyone, but State Representative Sheldon Wasserman (Democrat) is really a liberal. But don't tell anyone. After all, he isn't telling anyone. He's telling people at the doors in his race against State Senator Alberta Darling (R) he's really a conservative. So don't tell anyone.

Hey, idiots. The first rule of comedy is that cancer isn't funny.

Time for this week's Idiot Politician of the Week. Yep, we're moving it to Friday to give them a chance to repent over the weekend.

We have a few nominees this week that could win the prize almost any other week if we're weren't talking about politicians.

We start this week with international affairs, specifically former President Jimmy Carter's love affair with radical Palestinian terrorist groups. Carter is about to go on a trip to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip to talk with the leaders of Hamas. Just a warning to Jimmy. These Muslim fundamentalist extremists tend to take a rather dim view of homosexuality, so don't go laying a Carter-Loves-Brezhnev on them or they might just stone you. Since we doubt you're going to avoid asking them to stop firing rockets at Israel, could you at least ask them to stop killing Palestinians that disagree with them?

Closer to home some idiocy is even criminal. Kenosha County Executive and former Sheriff Allan Kehl has chosen option "B" for living off the taxpayers for awhile - as an inmate at a federal prison near you. As former State Senator Cathy Stepp put it, "I mean really, accepting money in a bag in someone's garage?! Even drug dealers are more sophisticated than that today."

This is your brain. This is your brains on drugs. This your brain if you're a politician accepting bags of cash in your garage.

Sometimes I feel like I'm writing less of a blog than I am a sort-of political Darwin Awards segment. This week's winner comes from the "I could have been a contender until I started poking fun at cancer" category. State Representative Sheldon Wasserman must've fallen off his bicycle one too many times without a helmet to not try to stop his fellow liberals from scoring the biggest "own goal" of the November election cycle so far. Democrats are putting around the story that State Senator Alberta Darling is too ill from surviving breast cancer to mount an effective re-election campaign this year. Of course, it's not true. It's also a pretty low and slimy political stunt. I don't think Democrats would have been too happy about if the situation was reversed and it was Republicans spreading the story about Attorney General Lautenschlager two years ago.

Think about how twisted this double-standard is.
Lautenschlager (D): brave, courageous.
Darling (R) : Too ill to serve.

Wait until the women in the senate district find out that Wasserman's political allies were trying to use breast cancer as an issue in the campaign. Wait until they hear Doctor Wasserman's allies were using someone's health as an issue in the campaign.

The moment Wasserman saw the mention of Darling's health in Milwaukee Magazine he should've told his side to cool it. He claims he didn't know.

Well Sheldon, you're the Idiot Politician of the Week. If you don't know what's in the press about your own campaign, if you don't know what your own side is doing, then you're the idiot. And if you did know, then you're a slimy idiot at that.

(Send your nomination for the "Idiot Politician of the Week" to Jamesmdw@yahoo.com. The idiots will be identified every Friday.)