Wisconsin Democrats Screwing Up on Toll Roads, Opposition Is a Winning Ticket in November

Pictured above is the Illinois tollway, (ABC-7 TV-Chicago).
For the edification of Wisconsin Democrats tolls are not
what people are calling for. No one, no one comes home
from a commute and complains, 'I wish we had tolls like
Illinois.' C'mon, what is wrong with unified opposition to
this horrible Republican idea for Wisconsin?

Wisconsin Republican legislative leaders are launching their latest Con against Wisconsin with their newest push for toll roads, (Bauer, AP).

Toll roads.

It's a stupid idea about as popular as snow in June.

I mean no one in the real world is calling for toll roads.

So naturally Wisconsin State Assembly minority leader, Gordon Hintz, (D-Oshkosh), is on the record saying "I'm in" for this unpopular idea from Wisconsin's Lost Decade, 2011-2019, (cited in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, adding the Hintz' quote to Scott Bauer's AP piece,).

It's the same misdirection Republicans have been pulling since they took power, gerrymandered their way into keeping power, and turned their back on the Wisconsin people.

And we have Rep. Gordon Hintz leading the loyal opposition?

The Republican state Senate majority leader said tolling is the "only" way to go forward after Republicans and only Republicans made a fiscal mess of future budgets, and our roads.

Of course Scott Walker offers this beauty of a statement in Walker-weasel fashion, saying on Wednesday that while he would be "open" to tolling ... he’s "not in any way suggesting support" for it.

So, Mal Contends phoned Gordon Hintz' office, (608 266 2254) and Hintz' office took a page from Walker's playbook, with the legislative aide saying she was not in the meeting with the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel from which the Hintz quote on proposed toll roads was taken, the representative is unavailable because he is a meeting, the aide did not have the position paper on toll roads in front of her ... blah, blah, we can have someone call you back.

Somebody needs to give the Democratic Party a kick in their collective ass or we will get stuck with Scott Walker for another four years.

Toll roads. Only Wisconsin Democrats could screw this issue up.

Sole Latino Wisconsin Rep, Zamarripa, Hits Partisan Redistricting

 State Rep. JoCasta Zamarripa  

Virtually no local, public input; Latino community excluded
Milwaukee—Wisconsin's only Latino member of the state legislature blasted the Republican redistricting plan Senate Bill 148 (SB 148) expressing outrage that the scheme excluded public input on both the local level and communities of interest including Latinos.

"Seven days ago only one hearing was held on this massive plan that impacts every single citizen of our great state," said State Rep. JoCasta Zamarripa (D-Milwaukee, 8th Assembly District). "The GOP leadership allowed virtually no public input and passed this plan through both houses of the Legislature only one week after the public hearing."

Additionally, members of the Latino community in Milwaukee, who were able make it to Madison, on short notice expressed anger and disgust with the GOP redistricting process, said Zamarripa. "One Latino activist, Juan Carlos Ruiz, spoke passionately about how Latino’s of all political stripes came together on the local level to work on redistricting but were completely left out of the state process."

In order to satisfy their own thirst for a partisan monopoly, the majority party has thrown Wisconsin’s growing Latino community under the bus," said Zamarripa.

"On Saturday, it was reported in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Governor Walker wanted to work with Democrats," said Zamarripa. "A veto of the blatantly partisan SB 148 is an excellent starting point if the Governor is serious about working with Democrats."

Bring Cell Phones to Fight DOJ Asst AGs and Special Agents

- Special Note: See http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/wioffices for a list of Obama offices. - Fight back on Election Day against Van Hollen's "election integrity efforts."

If you witness any obstruction or intimidation on Election Day by any of Van Hollen's people, call: 1 866 OUR VOTE and report it, and call Obama's people.

Don't back down and don't take NO for an answer for your right to vote. Fight!

If you have a cell phone and see Van Hollen's hacks harassing or intimidating a voter, document it discreetly on your cell phone camera, and call 1 866 OUR VOTE right away to get the incident aired and rectified. Or simply take notes, gather facts and report them, get the ward number and time of day.

Obama's people have 1,000s of lawyers prepared for Van Hollen's last-minute dirty tricks. And polling places throughout the state are filled with numerous Obama supporters dedicated to the rule of law and the right to vote.

Find your local Obama headquarters and them know what is happening, especially in Milwaukee where those uppity blacks insist on voting. See http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/wioffices for a list of Obama offices.

McCain's only shot at winning Wisconsin is to suppress Milwaukee blacks, and they know this fact well.

Milwaukee Concerns

Milwaukee - Spent this weekend listening to numerous people in Milwaukee in one of Wisconsin's most diverse and densely-populated areas.

Asking residents (living in expensive homes, modest homes, and rentals) their concerns in open-ended questions, I expected answers on Iraq, the national debt, the price of a college education, downsizing and outsourcing to be the most frequent complaints.

And downsizing and outsourcing were mentioned, but by far the biggest complaint was the lack of respect for a person's home, a quality-of-life issue for which residents seek redress from all levels of government.

Complaints ranged from jerks littering on front yards, vandalism, loud music, trespassing, with burglaries rounding out the list.

The consistency is striking, residents in a $500,000 home two blocks down from a $100,000 home share the same anger toward trespassers, vandals, and people screaming in front of their homes like they're at a Brewer game.

In so many words, people just do not like anyone messing with their homes in which they have carved out their familiar, calming refuge in an increasingly isolated, inequitable society.

Advice to Obama: Never forget to bring the campaign all back home; no one likes people pissing near their castle walls. Facing declining tracking poll numbers, get local fast.

Pro-Life Wisconsin Endorses Tom Reynolds' Candidates

via mal contends - Pro-Life Wisconsin announced their candidate endorsements via its Pro-Life Wisconsin Victory Fund political action committee this week.

Five of the six candidates being run by Tom Reynolds' Clean Sweep Wisconsin (CSW) in the Milwaukee-area Democratic primaries are recipients of the "Pro-Life" endorsements, even though the five candidates themselves have not voiced the extreme anti-abortion and other controversial views of CSW's treasurer and mastermind.

The Pro-Life Wisconsin endorsement corroborates the conventional political wisdom that Tom Reynolds' Clean Sweep Wisconsin is running rightwingers in the Democratic primaries, further eroding his already nearly nonexistent credibility.

Reynolds, has been disavowed by establishment Republicans and Democrats alike, and is being investigated by the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board for filing an anonymous and frivolous election challenge to incumbent State Sen. Spencer Coggs (D-Milwaukee).

ProLife Wisconsin stresses “... the ‘no exceptions’ pro-life philosophy ... (position)," said Mary Matuska, president of the Pro-Life Wisconsin Victory Fund PAC.

This position, if enacted as a statute, would outlaw all abortions, even in the event of rape, incest, or protecting a woman's health.

The Clean Sweep Wisconsin-endorsed candidates receiving the Pro-Life Victory Fund endorsement are listed below.

(D-10) - Charisha Allen
(D-15) - Josh Hoisington
(D-16) - David D. King
(D-17) - Samantha H. Bady
(D-20) - Philip Landowski

The Clean Sweep Wisconsin-endorsed candidate, Jose Guzman, running in the Eighth Assembly district on the south side, did not receive a Pro-Life Victory Fund endorsement.

Anti-Catholic Pol's Slate of Candidates Revealed

Update II: Clean Sweep WI's PAC report.

Update: MJS: Democratic Party begins endorsing incumbent Assembly members

Tom Reynolds' Clean Sweep Wisconsin (CSW) slate of candidates running in the Milwaukee area are revealed in CSW's July campaign finance report.

The report indicates seven Assembly candidates (one since disqualified) and one State Senate candidate, Nicholas E. Cosey, (since disqualified) as recipients of CSW's PAC money.

The former Wisconsin state senator, Reynolds, has been disavowed by establishment Republicans and Democrats, and criticized for the dealings of his PAC in running rightwingers in Democratic primaries while denying that he is doing so.

Reynolds is being investigated by the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board for filing an anonymous and frivolous election challenge to former CSW candidate Cosey's opponent, incumbent State Sen. Spencer Coggs (D-Milwaukee).

Reynolds has been ostracized for, among many extremist public positions, his close associations with anti-Catholic and assorted rightwing organizations, and bizarre behavior as a state senator.

Although Reynolds and his recruited opponents running in Democratic primaries stand little chance of posing a threat to incumbents in the September Democratic primary, it is instructive to note who Reynolds' people are because of the toxic nature of Reynolds' ideology.

Listed below are the six remaining CSW candidates on the right column of the chart below and the amount contributed by CSW.

CSW's Candidates' Campaign Contribution

(D-15) - Josh Hoisington (CSW contributed $75)

(D-8) - Jose Guzman (CSW contributed $80)

(D-20) - Philip Landowski (CSW contributed $75)

(D-17) - Samantha H. Bady (CSW contributed $75)

(D-10) - Charisha Allen (CSW contributed $75)

(D-16) - David D. King (CSW contributed $75)

Candidate Landowski Denies Recruitment by Anti-Catholic Pol

Update II: Informed sources say that absolutely no mainstream Republican will have "anything" to do with Tom Reynolds. That will make this story a bit less fun to cover, but it merits stating that the GOP ought not be blamed for anything Reynolds and his people do and say.

Update: Clean Sweep Wisconsin’s (CSW) PAC is mandated to file a 2008 continuing financial report with the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board by July 21. Citizens seeking CSW’s disbursements made prior to July 21 can request a copy or inspection of CSW’s report. CSW can claim exemption from financial reporting if several criteria are met.

Tom Reynolds' candidate, Phil Landowski, says on his website that he was not recruited by Tom Reynolds or Reynolds' political action committee, Clean Sweep Wisconsin.

Landowski is running in the Democratic primary against Christine Sinicki (D-Milwaukee, 20), and has been linked to the notorious anti-Catholic Reynolds in press reports.

"... I haven’t been ‘recruited’ by any Tom, Dick, or Harry and I made that quite clear to Mr. Pitsch (of the Wisconsin State Journal)," says Landowski on his site.

The Landowski denial, echoing other denials made to Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writers, casts further doubt on the credibility of his candidacy, that has been described as part of a disingenuous effort by Reynolds, because Landowski's links to Reynolds have been made public in several press reports.

Last Sunday's Journal-Sentinel political column by Daniel Bice notes:

Landowski is a graduate of Bob Jones University, a fundamentalist Christian school that barred interracial dating as recently as 2000 and has been accused of being anti-Catholic. Landowski said he opposed the ban as a student and isn’t sure if he would send his children to Bob Jones. ... Landowski, of Milwaukee, one of Sinicki’s two primary challengers, demurred when asked if he had been recruited by Reynolds. But he acknowledged he has talked to the former West Allis senator about his campaign.

Bice has posted the audio of a Tom Reynolds phone call to state Rep. Sinicki (D-Milwaukee, 20), revealing the rightwing Reynolds' plan to run his recruited candidates in the September Democratic primary, opposing Milwaukee-area state representatives. [See link to the audio of the Reynolds phone call.]

Transcription of the Reynolds phone call, reads:

“… In Milwaukee here, we are working on a full slate of 12 candidates; eight on the north side, and four on the south side. And we are at eight or nine candidates right now. ... We have a candidate against Sinicki and a candidate against Staskunas. And we're still working on Zepnick and Colón….”

Landowski has also criticized the reporting of the Wisconsin State Journal's Mark Pitsch, asking, "So what’s this guy Tom up to that’s so sinister, that Mr. (Pitsch) couldn’t seem to focus on anything else (so much for issues) in our interview?"

One political observer sympathetic to Democrats, speaking on background, said the Reynolds-Landowski and allies' efforts, is a "clumsy head fake," that has "politically ruined anyone associated with it forever. ... At least we still have Tom Reynolds to kick around some more."

Clean Sweep Wisconsin still refuses to post its slate of candidates or answer its phone.

Updated - Anti-Catholic Reynolds' Candidates Avoiding Press

Update: Daniel Bice has the audio of a Tom Reynolds phone call to state Rep. Christine Sinicki (D-Milwaukee, 20), “a veteran Milwaukee Democrat, (who) has a direct and personal interest in what Reynolds was doing, so she signed up - using a fake name - with Clean Sweep Wisconsin.”

This is the link is to the audio of the Reynolds phone call, and the URL is: http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=770314

Transcription of the Reynolds call, in part, follows:

“… In Milwaukee here, we are working on a full slate of 12 candidates; eight on the north side, and four on the south side. And we are at eight or nine candidates right now. ... We have a candidate against Sinicki and a candidate against Staskunas. And we're still working on Zepnick and Colón….”

An anti-Catholic-Reynolds ally in Colón’s district? That likely will not play especially well there; though it’s a fair bet that Reynolds’ brand of politics and hate will not play well anywhere in the Milwaukee area. See the Milwaukee-area Democratic State Reps chart at the end of this post.
***
What does a rightwing candidate recruited by a notorious anti-Catholic, Tom Reynolds, say if his/her name is on the ballot challenging Milwaukee-area Assembly Democrats in the September primary?

As little as possible.

And he/she hides from the public, staying in the shadows, an odd posture for candidates for public office, though consistent with the past odd behavior of former state senator Reynolds who reportedly had asked of prospective staff whether they were virgins.

The silence from the Reynolds candidates goes double for Reynolds' anti-Catholic PAC, Clean Sweep Wisconsin, whose motto should be: Stay in the closet with the brooms.

Reynolds' Clean Sweep Wisconsin's project to recruit some 12 candidates to run against Milwaukee-area Democratic incumbents (first revealed in the Wisconsin State Journal in late June) in the Democratic primary has an opaque website, Clean Sweep Wisconsin (CSW).

Clean Sweep Wisconsin's site reveals not one candidate today, the day after the deadline for candidates filing for state Assembly, though the site boasts that, "We need to elect NEW people to state offices to make our government accountable and work for the people again, instead of the special interests...are YOU willing to help."

Voters might ask of CSW candidates: Are YOU willing to reveal yourself?

Five incumbent Milwaukee-area Democratic state representatives have no primary opponent, the State Elections Board reveals.

Repeated phone calls to Clean Sweep Wisconsin's phone gets a Reynolds' answering machine or a non-answer. Not exactly Emily's list which proudly promotes their endorsed candidates.

Two Reynolds' candidates revealed in the Milwaukee press are Phil Landowski (running against Rep. Christine Sinicki (D-Milwaukee)) and Josh Hoisington (running against Tony Staskunas (D-West Allis), West Allis being Reynolds' home turf), as reported by Daniel Bice in Sunday's Journal-Sentinel.

Phil Landowski, running in the 20th Assembly District democratic primary offers the following on his "On the issues"web page:

Life - The regressive programs and agendas based on an ideology of eugenics were formed nearly a century ago by political and corporate elites who sought stratification of society based on ‘class’ and ‘desirability’. This backward paradigm flies in face of all things pertaining to life and liberty. I support all legislation that attempts to protect the most vulnerable of our society, which includes the pre-born.

Kudos to Phil Landowski, interviewed in the Journal-Sentinel, to have the guts to publicly speak his mind, and not hide from the public he is running to represent, though his prose may lean to the turgid for a candidate for public office.

As for the other Reynolds' Clean Sweep Wisconsin candidates besides Landowski and Hoisington, we'll have to wait until they crawl out of their closets or are outed as CSW candidates posing as Democrats.

Below is a list of Milwaukee area Democratic state representatives and their Democratic primary opponents.

Incumbent Rep. - Primary Opponent [CSW-IDed as confirmed]

Tony Staskunas (D-15) - Josh Hoisington (CSW)
Pedro Colón (D-8) - Jose Guzman, Laura L. Manriquez
David Cullen (D-13) - No opponent
Jason Fields (D-11) - Deon Price
Tamara Grigsby (D-18)-- No opponent

Frederick Kessler (D-12) - No opponent
Jon Richards (D-19) - No opponent
Christine Sinicki (D-20) - Philip Landowski (CSW), Steven Sutherland
Barbara Toles (D-17) - Samantha H. Bady

Annette Williams (D-10) - Charisha Allen
Leon Young (D-16) - Richard M. Badger, David D. King, Andy Parker
Josh Zepnick (D-9) - No opponent

Sheldon Wasserman (D-22) (Confirmed noncandidacy) - Andy Feldman, Guy Johnson, Dan Kohl, Sandra Pasch, Rosemary Ponik

Anti-Catholic Man's First Salvo at Assembly Dems

The first candidates for Tom Reynolds' (R-Outer Reaches) Clean Sweep Wisconsin's project to run some 12 candidates against Milwuakee-area Democratic incumbents in the Democratic primary are now public.

The Reynolds' folks are: Phil Landowski (running against state Rep. Christine Sinicki (D-Milwaukee)) and Josh Hoisington (running against Tony Staskunas (D-West Allis), West Allis being Reynolds' home turf), reports Daniel Bice in yesterday's Journal-Sentinel.

Reynolds, almost universally blasted during his tenure in the state senate (see Waxing America's profile on Reynolds and his anti-Catholic cavorting from 2005 and Milwaukee Shepherd-Express on Reynolds), has reportedly convinced several candidates to run against incumbent Assembly Democrats for reasons not entirely clear.

Bice notes, "State Republican Party officials emphasized last week that they are not affiliated with Clean Sweep and won’t be giving it any help."

Bice does not offer auspicious press for Reynolds' people. Of Landowski, Bice profiles in part:

Landowski is a graduate of Bob Jones University, a fundamentalist Christian school that barred interracial dating as recently as 2000 and has been accused of being anti-Catholic. Landowski said he opposed the ban as a student and isn’t sure if he would send his children to Bob Jones.
But his alma mater is the least of the first-time candidate’s concerns.
Landowski was busted in ’99 for carrying a concealed weapon, a charge that was later reduced to a civil violation and fine.

The status of Reynolds' purported targets in his ambitious project are listed below:

Tony Staskunas (D-16) - Reynolds man, Hoisington, has him in his sights
Pedro Colón (D-8) - Awaiting the Reynolds ax.
David Cullen (D-13) - Awaiting the Reynolds ax.
Jason Fields, (D-11) - Awaiting the Reynolds ax.
Tamara Grigsby, (D-18) - Awaiting the Reynolds ax.

Frederick Kessler, (D-12) - Awaiting the Reynolds ax.
Jon Richards, (D-19) - Awaiting the Reynolds ax.
Christine Sinicki, (D-20) - Reynolds man, Landowski, has her in his sights
Barbara Toles, (D-17) - Awaiting the Reynolds ax.

Sheldon Wasserman, (D-22) - Awaiting the Reynolds ax.
Annette Williams, (D-10) - Awaiting the Reynolds ax.
Leon Young, (D-16) - Awaiting the Reynolds ax.
Josh Zepnick, (D-9) - Awaiting the Reynolds ax.

Tuesday, July 8, is the filing date for Assembly candidates. Will keep you posted.
Check out the Journal-Sentinel for more info.

Anti-Catholic Nut Tom Reynolds' Guys to Be Revealed Next Week

Clean Sweep Wisconsin's foray into the state Assembly races is being fronted by former state senator Tom Reynolds (R-Outer Reaches).

Reynolds has created Clean Sweep Wisconsin's PAC and is recruiting numerous rightwing candidates to run in the Democratic primaries of Milwaukee state representatives.

The Wisconsin State Journal's Mark Pitsch politely describes Reynolds as "eccentric".

But with Reynolds, politeness obscures reality.

The Milwaukee Shepherd-Express' Lisa Kaiser leads her piece from June thusly:

Former state Sen. Tom Reynolds—the kooky right-wing legislator who allegedly asked his staffers if they were virgins, and who superimposed the faces of his family on Mary and Joseph on their Christmas cards—is attempting a comeback.

Just how kooky is Reynolds? And why would any candidate associate him/her self with this guy?

He's indescribably kooky: Reynolds is an anti-Catholic, homophobic nut. From Waxing America's profile on Reynolds from 2005:

Wisconsin State Senator Tom Reynolds needed his own post about his cavorting with the anti-Catholic crowd. To set the record straight, in 2003 Reynolds attended the International Conference on Homo-Fascism. These are the folks who brought us 'An Urgent Plea to Roman Catholics'. Since that conference (Homo-Fascism) in 2003, Reynolds has refused to disavow these religious bigots ...The purpose of the post is look at what Reynold's buddies say about the Roman Catholic Church:

An Urgent Pleas to Roman Catholics
The Word of God and the word of the Roman Church are at direct odds with each other on many foundational issues including, most critically, how one receives forgiveness and salvation from God. It is impossible for one to be obedient to both the Roman Church and the Bible, just as it is impossible to follow both the pope and Jesus. ...

It will be enlightening to list Reynolds' slate of candidates next week (July 8 is the filing date for Assembly candidates) and see who will carry out the political vision of Reynolds' Clean Sweep Wisconsin.

Wonder if that means all Catholics and non-virgins will be swept away this election cycle.

Rightwing Radio Takes off on Pedro Colón

You can tell a lot about a political candidate by the enemies he or she makes.

In Pedro Colón's (D-Milwaukee) run for the Milwaukee City Attorney’s race, Colón has gained the enmity of the usual suspects on rightwing radio.

Both Charlie Sykes and Mark Belling ripped into Colón Monday though not offering any argument against his candidacy.

Of course, Colón who lists among his supporters the Milwaukee DA, the City’s legislative caucus, and US Rep. Gwen Moore, also gets an occasional hit from those upset by his successful advocacy of a sexual harassment victim. The nerve of that Colón!

And Colón is campaigning for the City Attorney’s office advocating that he would work with other officials to flush out the law protecting Milwaukee citizens so that citizens would be better served by the actions of their government and the police. What nerve this uppity Hispanic has!

The naysayers are unpersuasive.

Reads the Shepard-Express endorsement:

Colon’s ideas would take the city attorney’s office into the 21st century by working with other levels of government, especially on reducing crime and nuisance properties; training police officers to respect the rights of citizens while making arrests; fighting to fix the school choice funding flaw, which currently penalizes city taxpayers; finding fair solutions for residents who have had their driver’s licenses taken away; and personally advocating for the city when important lawsuits arise.

Amen to Colón's efforts to make government serve the people it is supposed to serve.