Unions under Attack...

[cardboardbox]

Outside groups made a final spending blitz on the weekend before the recall vote. According to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, outside spending, which includes independent expenditures and issue ad buys, now totals roughly $33.5 million.

Of this sum, Walker supporters outspent Barrett supporters $18 million to $15.5 million.

The state's registered 1.91 groups —which can spend unlimited corporate and union dollars to expressly advocate for candidates thanks to Citizens United — spent $24.5 million.

Unions devoted their resources to 1.91 groups, spending about $13.5 million on ads and field staff. The Walker camp benefited from major spending by the Republican Governors Association, whose Right Direction Wisconsin group made a majority of the Walker camp's $11 million in independent expenditures.

http://www.iwatchnews.org/2012/06/03...s-outside-cash

I can agree that Walker and his supporters had more money, but the 8-1 and 7-1 claims are utter nonsense.

[cardboardbox]

Was money as evil when The One had a massive advantage in 2008?

President-elect Barack Obama raised a record-breaking $745 million throughout his presidential campaign, the Federal Election Committee reported Thursday.

Mr. Obama, who spent campaign dollars furiously in the last weeks of his run for the White House, was elected on Nov. 4 with a reported $30 million leftover in campaign funds. In contrast to his Republican opponent, who was restricted to the $84-million limit involved with accepting public financing, Mr. Obama spent more than $136 million from Oct. 26 until Nov. 24. McCain spent $26.5 million in the same period.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/vote2008...ising_tot.html

[shrops]

The Hyper-partisanship on this on both sides is pretty funny to see. (Not that this is anything new...)

This election shouldn't have been a shock to anyone. Barrett was an extremely poor candidate, only nominally better then the pure hacks they ran in the primary against him. Wisconsin is still a blue state, but other than Madison we are not really all that Liberal. This is the 4th major election here in Wisconsin that the Democats have lost in a row, each one being more expensive than the last. (First Walker Election, Prosser Election, 1st Recall Election, 2nd Recall Election).

Anyway, the next interesting thing to watch here in Wisconsin is the November Election. I beleive Obama would win this State fairly easily under "normal" circumstances... but here's the wildcard:

There is a US Senate race, and this should have an impact on the Presidental race here. The Democrats are putting up a representative named Tammy Baldwin, Baldwin is a hardcore Madison liberal and an open homosexual. In Madison, She is a Hero and Admired by all.... Outside of Madison, this is a very different story. (Similar but more extreme to the Fiengold election, and Fiengold was a far far better man and politician than Baldwin) For Romney and the Republican nominee (probably Tommy Thompson, a very popular ex-Governor) it will be very easy to link the two as far left wing nutcases.

In a worst case Scenario for the Democats, this race could infiltrate the smaller races and lead to gains for the republicans in house and senate.

[Moonlight J]

http://www.iwatchnews.org/2012/06/03...s-outside-cash

I can agree that Walker and his supporters had more money, but the 8-1 and 7-1 claims are utter nonsense.

While Barrett has received about 26 percent of his $4 million in campaign donations from outside the Badger State, Walker has drawn nearly two-thirds of his $30.5 million contributions from out of state, according to campaign filings released May 29. Walker has outraised Barrett 7 ˝ to 1 since late 2011, though Barrett didn’t enter the race until late March.

$4m to $30.5m

how is this utter nonsense? 2/3rds of Walker's $$$ came from out of state and I deplore national funds affecting local contests. National elections is one thing but Wisconsinites and their $$ should be deciding their elections

[Moonlight J]

Was money as evil when The One had a massive advantage in 2008?

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/vote2008...ising_tot.html

You're equating apples and watermelons here. Two different sets of finance laws. When you can't beat 'em, cheat 'em! -- SCOTUS/CI

[Moonlight J]

and, no, I don't care for this either

[Moonlight J]

Walker, meanwhile, has benefitted from the state’s election finance rules that allowed his campaign to raise unlimited contributions from individuals after recall petitions were filed in November 2011. His challengers could take no more than $10,000 from individuals.

Through April, Walker’s top three donors combined gave more than challenger Barrett’s campaign had raised overall. Four of Walker’s top seven donors are out-of-state billionaires, including former Amway CEO and former Michigan gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos, and casino magnate Adelson, who each gave $250,000.
When Citizens United came down, it didn’t just nullify Wisconsin’s 1905 ban on corporate campaign cash, it also plunged much of the state’s campaign finance reporting into darkness.
“Because corporate and labor expenditures were previously illegal, there were no disclosure laws to regulate their spending,” said McCabe. “There’s been a precipitous drop off in transparency.”
Since Citizens United, Wisconsin’s Government Accountability Board requires independent expenditure groups to register as so-called “1.91 groups,” named for the state rule that created them. Of the more than $63 million spent in the race, $22 million has come from these groups, according to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

Activist SCOTUS is OK when it favors the GOP......

[Bernie Brewer]

I thought the link I posted from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel resolved the issue of how much Walker raised vs Barrett. You cut, slice and exclude certain numbers until the number tell your "truth" but the fact is the spending difference was a little less than 3:1. As for folks feeling good about the exit polls saying Obama would be up 8 in the fall, keep in mind those same exit polls said Walker and Barrett was a virtual deadlock tie! Oops.

And if Conservatives said the things and did the things about Obama that the liberals have said and done in Wisconsin, the uproar from liberals would be deafening. But since they're liberals, I guess it's OK.

[Bernie Brewer]

At least the Senate is back in blue so Walker is neutered the rest of the way but the damage has been done, especially to the schools I work with.

Yup, for five whole months. The Senate is now out of session for the rest of this term. Unless the Senate is called into emergency session, it will make no difference. The gentleman who won the recall to throw the control to the Democrats will likely only service for five months as the Republican controlled houses in Wisconsin just finished doing redistricting and the district that changed will become a majority republican district. It goes to election in the fall. While this was a symbolic victory for the Dems, it offers them a very weak consolation prize in the control of Wisconsin.

[chancellor]

There is a US Senate race, and this should have an impact on the Presidental race here. The Democrats are putting up a representative named Tammy Baldwin, Baldwin is a hardcore Madison liberal and an open homosexual. In Madison, She is a Hero and Admired by all.... Outside of Madison, this is a very different story. (Similar but more extreme to the Fiengold election, and Fiengold was a far far better man and politician than Baldwin) For Romney and the Republican nominee (probably Tommy Thompson, a very popular ex-Governor) it will be very easy to link the two as far left wing nutcases.

In a worst case Scenario for the Democats, this race could infiltrate the smaller races and lead to gains for the republicans in house and senate.

I did kind of snicker at calling Feingold a far better man than Baldwin. That being said, I'm sure it was just a rhetorical error and not intentional, so hopefully the LWBC won't get their undies a bundle.

I'm with you on two of your three points vis a vis Baldwin - yes, she's a real hardcore lefty, and yes, she's openly lesbian. Both of which won't play particularily well outside of Dane County. However, she is one heck of a politician - she basically built her Congressional base from the ground up. She was not the darling of Dane County until she won the Dem primary the first time for her House seat. She's smart, really understands social media, carefully controls her narrative, and is a fine speaker. She'd chew up Tommy T. in a debate and spit him out.

[Judge Jude]

yeah, amazing that the state Senate recall was such a waste of time.
win, and you get neat stationery! #votingonbillsnotincluded

[Judge Jude]

now a Democrat is going rogue
but again, they won't meet again until after the Nov elections, so what does this even mean?

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_b13c6b52-d5c8-11e1-90b2-001a4bcf887a.html#.UA8AOUm8Yew.twitter

interesting state - the Madison vibe always makes us assume it's D territory, but I guess it's a lot more complicated than that....

[The Feral Slasher]

Things like food, health care, and housing?

Sorry, the idea that human beings should be denied the basic necessities of life just because they can't afford it for whatever reason is pure crap. If we're still alive when robots eliminate a huge portion of the jobs currently being done, let's revisit this statement.

Moved comment to a new thread to get it out of Trump thread

In the last few years I've thought about this a lot. It's going to happen in so many industries...the idea that everyone who can't find a job is just lazy won't hold up that well I think. Globalization and huge corporations have already changed the landscape and it's only going to get worse. There will be a few industries and corporations that will provide good jobs for an elite group...and a lot of people struggling to make ends meet.

[heyelander]

Moved comment to a new thread to get it out of Trump thread

In the last few years I've thought about this a lot. It's going to happen in so many industries...the idea that everyone who can't find a job is just lazy won't hold up that well I think. Globalization and huge corporations have already changed the landscape and it's only going to get worse. There will be a few industries and corporations that will provide good jobs for an elite group...and a lot of people struggling to make ends meet.

Elon Musk is on record saying we are going to have to have some sort of universal basic income from the government.

“There will be fewer and fewer jobs that a robot cannot do better,” Musk said, according to Fast Company. “I think some kind of universal basic income is going to be necessary.”

http://globalnews.ca/news/3251188/elon-musk-basic-income-robots-jobs/

[The Feral Slasher]

Elon Musk is on record saying we are going to have to have some sort of universal basic income from the government.



http://globalnews.ca/news/3251188/el...e-robots-jobs/

Hey Dude !

I was going to mention basic income before I had to run off to dinner. It seems like that or some type of food/housing allowance will have to be made at some point...maybe not in our lifetimes, but then again maybe. I've seen several links to articles about basic income but don't recall reading them. Might have to look into it.