Your handy-dandy pocket guide to the ruin of Wisconsin

It's a regular menu of economic destruction.
"Governor Doyle, would you care to order?"
"Bring me all of it!"

Ht: Wisconsin Club for Growth

Falk opponent has speech reviewed by WMC agent

If there's a lesson here, it's double-check your Word documents before you send them out.

Later that same day, Mistele sent the text of her speech to media and others, as a word document, from her personal email.

If you save this word file to desktop and check "Properties," then "Summary," an interesting thing happens: The listed title of the document comes up as "PUGH."

Pugh who? Jim Pugh, the spokesman for Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the "nonpartisan" big-business lobby that backs mainly Republican candidates?

That's the fact, Jack.

"Here's the situation," explains Mistele campaign manager Jon Horne. "When Nancy was drafting her announcement, she considered input from Jim Pugh, who is a personal friend of Nancy's and has no position in our campaign. Nancy writes her own speeches, and her announcement was no exception."

Fine in a Republican primary, not so good when running for Dane County executive.

(Ht: Critical Badger)

When State Senators rob the charge of racism of any meaning

State Senator Bob Jauch is an argument for term limits, and proves it again when he compares Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce to the KKK.

To steal a line from Jim Rowen, people who carelessly throw around KKK labels or images are contemptable idiots. I'm sure Rowen would agree with me in describing Jauch's behavior as thuggish and unbecoming of an elected official.

Technorati Tags: Bob Jauch, Wisconsin State Senate, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, Ku Klux Klan

No hypocrisy here

You show me yours and... you show me yours. Mine will stay zipped up.

Over at FoxPolitics.net, I summarize the Soglin/Cap Times/WMC controversy.

By the way, as a means of full disclosure, I have received $0.00 in donations since starting this blog. (You bunch of cheap bastards.) Therefore I have no conflicts of interest. Using the progressive scale that claims that the bigger the pile of money the more evil the entity, this blog is nearing sainthood.

Ask the Cap Times

From: James Wigderson
Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2008 8:43 AM
To: Dave Zweifel
Subject: Soglin op-ed and quotes in articles

Mr. Zweifel:

Looking through the recent archives of the Capital Times concerning former Mayor Soglin and his battle with Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, I don't see it mentioned by the Capital Times that Soglin is actually getting paid to organize opposition to WMC.

Was the Capital Times unaware of Soglin's role as a paid agent when it allowed him to write a guest op-ed for the newspaper? No mention is made in the disclaimer at the end. Was it an oversight, or was the newspaper unaware? If the newspaper runs op-eds by the former mayor in the future will it note Soglin is paid to form opposition to WMC?

BUSINESS LOBBY IS WRONG; OUR COURTS RANK VERY WELL
6/30/08

NO PEEP FROM WMC AS REPORT SHOWS STATE IN BETTER LIGHT
12/14/07

I also noticed that when Soglin is quoted on the subject of WMC, or even when he and his blog are featured, no mention is made that Soglin has clients (his word) that are paying him in his efforts against Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce. I'm wondering what the newspaper's policy is regarding this kind of disclosure.

James Wigderson
Wigderson Library & Pub

From: "Dave Zweifel"
To: jamesmdw@yahoo.com
Cc: "Paul Soglin"

James: Thanks for your e-mail, but I suspect your knowledge of Madison's political environment is somewhat limited. But, then again, a visit to your blog site reveals several limitations. There is no need to further identify Soglin as other than the former mayor of Madison when it comes to WMC. Your implication is that he rails about WMC's tactics because he is being paid by someone to do so. FYI, Soglin railed about WMC when he was in the mayor's office during his several terms and when as a private citizen. He was hired as a consultant because of that -- not the other way around. We do have a policy to identify in shirt tails the interests of the author, but in Soglin's case this was not and is not necessary. Perhaps you could unleash your blogging power to convince WMC to reveal its funders, since that's the issue in all of this in the first place. Do you think it's OK to hide behind quirks in the law to protect the identity of those who would piggyback on racist and underhanded attacks to buy a Supreme Court justice? I appreciate your obvious deep concern about how we identify the former longtime mayor of our city, but just so you know, we're not easily intimidated by right-wing bloviators from Milwaukee and their mimickers from the troubled city's silk-stockinged suburbs. Perhaps you should return to spreading fears about commuter rail. We wouldn't want to make it easier for more folks to get to Waukesha now would we? They might just drink the water.

Regards,

Dave Zweifel

From: "James Wigderson"
To: "Dave Zweifel"

So if a private foundation pays me to write against tax increases - regardless of your personal bias on the subject - you would be okay with a newspaper publishing my column without that disclosure, if only because I have always been against taxes. Is that what I am understanding?

James Wigderson

Note: I'm not sure why Zweifel cc'ed Soglin on his response to me. Was it to remind Soglin that the Cap Times' journalistic ethics and standards are low enough that he is free to continue writing attacks on WMC without the Cap Times readership being told that Soglin is being paid to do so?

Who is funding the watcher?

Former Madison Mayor Paul Soglin almost seems hurt by the suggestion that anyone would be curious about who is funding his obsession with Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce. Like the Great Oz, he asks us not to peer behind the curtain as he thunders and smokes.

His justification for keeping secrets is that we should be more concerned about other secrets less-than-tightly held by his obsession, even as he claims he has no designs on affecting the outcome of any election. But if his purpose is to blunt the political power of the WMC, how can he claim his purpose is not political?

No, Secret Agent Soglin owes his readers full disclosure, if only so we can learn if Soglin's unproven allegations are nothing but a mirror of his own subsidy.

I hope his employers think they're getting their money's worth

Brian Fraley catches former Madison Mayor Paul Soglin comparing conservative Republicans unfavorably with the left-wing radical bombers of the Weather Underground.

The people who are financially backing Soglin's efforts to try and silence the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce must love it when he goes off the deep end like this.

Soglin engages in voter suppression

Former Madison Mayor Paul Soglin, paid agent of the forces of darkness to try to defeat WMC, is engaging in voter suppression.
As Edward B. Foley, Director of Election Law, Moritz College of Law noted:

Voters can be prevented from potentially voting for the other candidate (1) by direct threats of intimidation, (2) by suppressing turnout through disinformation and scare tactics, and finally, (3) by efforts to keep the other candidate's message from being communicated. (emphasis added)...

While voter suppression in its most drastic form involves physical threat and intimidation, it can be more subtle as were the messages laced through the WMC and other issue ads which was design to portray Justice Louis Butler as less than the honorable person that he is.

By constantly harping on the supposed "evil" of WMC, any conservative organization or any conservative voice in Wisconsin, Paul Soglin is attempting to suppress the conservative vote through subtle intimidation and less-subtle character assassination. It is perfidy of the worst kind, and patriotic Wisconsinites should condemn it outright.

The Left's disconnect (Plaisted Unbound)

I learned from him the bearing of a true professional man, the respect for opposing views, the value of informed argument and fair play.

Mike Plaisted, April 2nd

The classless, gloating radio and blog wing-nuts are having great fun this week grinding the salt of Louis Butler’s defeat into the open wounds of Wisconsin’s lost independent judiciary. When they aren’t childishly calling us whining losers, they are feigning outrage that anyone who tried to protect the state from WMC’s stack-the-court campaign would imply that the result of the Supreme Court election was anything but a reasoned choice of one "judicial philosophy" over another.

But they know what they did and what they do. The popping of champagne corks in country clubs, gated-community mansions and right-wing radio studios could be heard throughout the state – or at least in the North Shore and western suburbs – and throughout the nation, where the attack on the independent judiciary is driven (and funded) by the same devious greed-heads who brought you Junior Bush and the war in Iraq.

Mike Plaisted, April 3rd

You can almost picturing him reading his blog aloud at a podium, pounding it with his fists as foam is coming out of his mouth.

Colon flushed, rough night for leftys

Pedro Colon lost to incumbent Grant Langley, proving voters do like experience and qualifications over... what the heck was Colon doing running anyway?

McGee lost. Maybe he can be elected as activities leader for his cell block. I'm thinking of changing my name to Coggs.

Scott Walker won re-election. Milwaukee County Parks are going to converted to temporary holding facilities for the mentally disabled and overflow hardened criminals from the county jail. Buses will only run one way on their routes. Global warming will melt the courthouse. County supervisors will be expected to work full-time at fast-food restaurants to fund the county pension system.

Lena Taylor now has the time to tutor some of her colleagues in the state legislature through college and law school. Or... they have time to tutor her on Robert's Rules of Order.

And of course, Gableman defeated Louis Butler. Oh, the wailing and gnashing of teeth. And was that Mike Plaisted I saw sitting at the bar? Judging from the pre-election comments from lefty bloggers, corporate Amerikkka has just taken over the state and we'll all be slaves of Big Oil. If that's the case, then surely it was folly for anyone to quit their membership in WMC?

Shouldn't the members of the WJCIC have to commit ritual suicide?

I understand Jim Pugh and his personal interior decorator has an appointment at Shirley's office tomorrow.

But who are they trained to watch?

The Associated Press, reporting on the new ad by Judge Gableman, centers their story on the complaint by the pro-Butler Wisconsin Judicial Campaign Integrity Committee (WJCIC). The article does not mention the criticisms of WJCIC and the obvious bias of its membership. Instead they were called, "an independent group monitoring the election."

If they're an independent group monitoring the election, so is Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce.

Radio is cleaning up the nation

Meanwhile, on another front WMC is launching a more targeted radio ad,

Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce unveiled a new radio ad Monday urging state taxpayers to oppose the gross receipts oil tax in the state budget that will drive up pump prices by at least 5 cents a gallon.

The plan, according to the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, results in escalating gas tax hikes as prices go up and as more gas is sold. The gas tax hike is included in the state budget introduced by Governor Jim Doyle, which includes $1.7 billion in higher taxes and fees and allows property taxes to increase $1.2 billion.

Some in the legislature are behaving like deer trapped in the headlights but maybe these new ad campaigns will put some steel in their spines. They just have to remember what kind of Republicans we expect them to be.

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