Updated: Dems win; Bluecheddar Has Live Wisconsin Recall Election Updates

Update III: Florence, Langlade and Lincoln counties [GOP counties] are late in reporting results in Holperin-Simac race. What is it about GOP counties in tight races?

Update II: Sens. Wirch and Holperin run strong and win, reports Dan Bice. Dems win.

Update: Recall results at MJS.

Bluecheddar has live updates on the two Wisconsin recall races featuring State Sen. Jim Holperin  (D-Eagle River) v. Kim Simac; and Sen. Bob Wirch (D-Pleasant Prairie) v. Jonathan Steitz.

The Holperin-Simac might be close; but the smart money is on Holperin.

Sen. Wirch will destroy Steitz.

Wisconsin Dems 8-4 Going into Final Two Recall Elections

The Democrats will win the two remaining recall elections against Sen. Bob Wirch (D-Pleasant Prairie) and Sen. Jim Holperin (D-Eagle River) Tuesday, capping a historic recall campaign season that will see the Democrats go 10-4 against Republican opponents (including the so-called GOP 'protest' candidate primary races) in senate districts drawn to elect Republicans.

The results almost guarantee a recall election against Scott Walker.

The two Republican-Tea Party opponents have little public service, plenty of corruption; and expressed no objection when the GOP outsourced its recall efforts, using paid signature gatherers from the shady Colorado-based Kennedy Enterprises to try to recall the Democratic senators who stalled the Scott Walker attack on Wisconsin families.

120,000-plus at Rally - March 12, 2011

Last week's recall general elections against six Republican senators saw the GOP garner just 50.2 percent of the combined districts' vote in the Republican gerrymandered districts.

So, a 10-4 record. Enough to make the play-offs for sure.

Kim Simac Calls for Employers to Foot Bill for Medicaid

Kim Simac, Recall Candidate

Employers should pay for Medicaid costs, says Simac

Kim Simac is challenging Sen. Jim Holperin (D-Conover) in one of the final two recall elections Tuesday.

But Simac is drawing laughs across Wisconsin through her stunning ignorance and to be charitable: Bat-craziness. For example, Simac can't name one single legislative bill she supports or opposes (Bice), but just knows that she should be elected to the legislature.

Medicaid

This next gem takes the cake, and is the most offensive and dangerous of Simac's quasi proposals, as Simac makes common cause with Paul Ryan's plan to kill Medicaid and Medicare.

Here's the plan: Simac says we can revitalize the Wisconsin economy, people will leave Medicaid ["some people (will) come off of it," in her words] and then employers will provide Medicaid for their employees. Problem solved.

But a big issue with Simac's solution to buttressing Medicaid is the over-looked fact this social insurance program provides health insurance coverage to folks with lower incomes who likely will not present a skill set attractive to prospective employers in pitching employers' pick up all of the rising health insurance costs, supplanting the state-run subsidy.

From the Rhinelander Daily News (Laurel Carlson): Simac said: "I think that if we can revitalize the economy in this state, you're going to see it maybe kick back and some people come off of it as they can afford to get their own health care, as their employers can provide it for them, so I think that that will be part of the solution."

Employers paying more health care costs will likely not win Simac any points.

Enemy Among Us

Simac warns there is an "enemy living among us" in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, but refuses to specify what the enemy is. Simac also sounds the alarm that American public schools are accurately compared to Nazi Germany; maybe those nefarious English teachers and the furtive-looking janitors are the analogues of the Wehrmacht and Gestapo respectively. [Apologies to my friends, Mikey and Walter; I know you hate NAZI humor.]

A clear and present danger from this wanna-be policymaker is her utter inability or refusal to grasp public policy.

So committed to ignorance is Simac, she makes Sarah Palin look like Joel Rogers, Professor of Law, Political Science and Sociology; Director, Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS) and MacArthur Foundation fellow at UW-Madison.

GOP Kim Simac's Contact Info: Ohio Area Code

Kim Simac - Via MyFoxWausau

Republican and Tea Partier Kim Simac (Eagle River) is challenging State Sen. Jim Holperin (D-Conover) in a recall election verified yesterday by the Government Accountability Board.

But according to Simac's press release, if you want to contact the Simac campaign, you have to call the 216 area code that covers greater Cleveland, Ohio.

That's because the campaign contact, Samantha Osborne, has not established her Wisconsin residency, said Osborne this morning. Osborne is new to the district.

Osborne assured me she is living in the Northern woods area of Rhinelander, but she could not give me the Simac campaign headquarters' phone number.

Word is the Simac operation [with its warped family values hyposrisy] is half-baked, incoherent and not much of a threat to knock off the popular Democratic legislator, Holperin [Senate District 12], who has long ties to the area.

The recall signatures against Holperin were overwhelmingly gathered by a Colorado-based operation that goes to state to state, and pays its employees by the number of signatures gathered.

The Simac press release, delivered by e-mail, follows:
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Samantha Osborne

June 8, 2011 (216) 650-4955

GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY BOARD CERTIFIES RECALL
ELECTION TO BE HELD ON JULY 19TH

RHINELANDER, Wisconsin-Kim Simac released the following statement today on the Government Accountability Board certifying recall petitions against Jim Holperin.

“The GAB ruling certifies not only the recalls petitions but the disappointment I’ve heard around the district over our current representation and the dirty politics going on in Madison. The people want real leadership. Real leaders get the job done and don’t run away when facing tough decisions.”

Jim Holperin is one of the 14 Senate Democrats that fled to Illinois during the debate on budget balancing measures. There were 19,255 valid recall signatures certified, the most against any Democratic Senator. Kim Simac announced her candidacy for the 12th Senate District on May 5th.
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