Walker Is Not a Better GOP Nominee for Dems

What is Joel McNally thinking?

After admitting that Milwaukee media (MJS and talk radio) are in the tank for Scott Walker who is the Milwaukee County executive, McNally says Walker would be the weaker GOP opponent of presumed Democratic nominee Tom Barrett.

2006 General election results for Milwaukee County

Doyle 61.6%
Green 36.7%

If McNally is right, one must presume that Walker would underperform Mark Neumann in Milwaukee County which in 2006 was carried by Gov. Doyle by some 80,000 votes, about half of Doyle's winning margin.

Dane County gave Doyle a 91,000-vote bump in 2006, so again Walker would underperform Mark Neumann in Dane County as well?

Mark Neumann is a right-wing, fully-fledged member of the Tom Reynoldesque religious right, and I'm thinking Walker's arguably libertarian credentials would make him the stronger candidate for the GOP in both Dane County and Milwaukee County.

At least Walker does not have any anti-Catholic baggage to haul around.

But some folks across the political spectrum are sure awfully worried about Mark Neumann being the nominee.

They should not be, unless one believes anti-Catholic, anti-Semitic, anti-choice religious zealotry plays well in the new media landscape much different than what Mark Neumann faced in 1998, his last statewide general election race.

Neumann lost that one in '98 and blamed "one county," Dane, as responsible. I think Neumann had a point there.

On the Pope as the "Anti-Christ" and the "the Jews and Their Lies"

Mark Neumann's rightwing ideology and intolerance is pervasive in his politics, and his rigid religion drives him, so says Neumann, to his credit.

Go to the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) and use Roman Catholic as a search term (upper-right search engine), or gay or Jew.

Some examples from Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS):

- "Our confessional writings from that period, still the official position of our church body today, address the papacy with unmistakable clarity and vigor. Perhaps the dearest statement is in Luther's Smalcald Articles: 'The pope is the real anti-Christ who has raised himself over and set himself against Christ.' "

- We recognize the Pope as the Anti-Christ by his false teachings and by his matching the traits of the Anti-Christ as revealed in Scripture, not by the alleged symbolism of something he wears or carries.

- (Luther) had hoped that the Reformation with its clear preaching of the pure gospel would convert the Jews. Luther himself provides examples from the Talmud in 'On the Jews and Their Lies' (Luther's Works 47:226-228): 'Their Talmud and their rabbis record that it is no sin for a Jew to kill a Gentile, but it is only a sin for him to kill a brother Israelite. Nor is it a sin for a Jew to to break his oath to a Gentile. ... '

- Christians must take care during their lifetimes not to regularly associate with any group or organization that would take their focus off Christ alone as their salvation.

- We must warn the impenitent that homosexuality, like all sins, excludes people from eternal life (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). The church, therefore, must not, bless same-sex marriages or unions, since these are contrary to the will of God. The church must not place into nor retain in the public ministry of the Word people who defend, condone, or persist in words or actions that are contrary to God’s law.

Mark Neumann: The Mean Machine

Update: See Bruce Murphy's Can Neumann Beat Walker in Milwaukee Magazine.

Why do political operatives think Mark Neumann is the best candidate for the GOP nomination for governor?

Neumann is running for statewide office with the same rigid anti-gay, anti-Catholic, and anti-Semitic ideology that sent state senator Tom Reynolds packing a few years back.

For those who don't recall Neumann's last statewide run (1998), it was unrelentingly negative against heavily-outspent Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Middleton).

Neumann has the money and drive to win the Republican nomination against Scott Walker. And apparently believes he can target rightwing constituencies sufficiently well to put up winning numbers in the general election.

But the Neumann "church" work that James Klauser cites as a qualification comes from a highly politicized rightwing, Pope-is-the-anti-Christ church that is in a word: Mean.

Just yuck. See for yourself.

Go to the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) and use Roman Catholic as a search term (upper-right search engine), or gay or Jew. It gets very yucky very fast.

Neumann's rightwing ideology and intolerance is pervasive in his politics.

Some examples from Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS):

- We recognize the Pope as the Anti-Christ by his false teachings and by his matching the traits of the Anti-Christ as revealed in Scripture, not by the alleged symbolism of something he wears or carries.

- (Luther) had hoped that the Reformation with its clear preaching of the pure gospel would convert the Jews. Luther himself provides examples from the Talmud in 'On the Jews and Their Lies' (Luther's Works 47:226-228): 'Their Talmud and their rabbis record that it is no sin for a Jew to kill a Gentile, but it is only a sin for him to kill a brother Israelite. Nor is it a sin for a Jew to to break his oath to a Gentile. ... '

- Christians must take care during their lifetimes not to regularly associate with any group or organization that would take their focus off Christ alone as their salvation.

- We must warn the impenitent that homosexuality, like all sins, excludes people from eternal life (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). The church, therefore, must not, bless same-sex marriages or unions, since these are contrary to the will of God. The church must not place into nor retain in the public ministry of the Word people who defend, condone, or persist in words or actions that are contrary to God’s law.

From a purely political perspective, this yuckiness does not work in Wisconsin.

Where is Catholic League president Bill Donohue?

Silent Pol Speaks Up, Hits State Rep. for Law Defending Rape Victims

The phantom southside Milwaukee candidate for state assembly, José Guzmán, is at last revealing himself contending with his recruitment by the political operative, Tom Reynolds, the notorious former state senator known for his anti-Catholic views and often bizarre political behavior.

After weeks of silence, Guzmán is meeting criticism of his campaign by finally speaking to the press, and accusing one of his opponents, incumbent Democratic State Rep. Pedro Colón (Eighth Assembly District, Milwaukee), of being "anti-catholic" for his vote for the Compassionate Care for Rape Victims bill, signed into law by Gov. Doyle in March.

Guzmán criticized Colón for his vote, saying Colón voted for "anti-Catholic legislation ... against the people of the 8th Assembly District." [See Guzmán literature above.]

Guzmán is now dropping 100s of pieces of literature in an attempt to appeal to voters in this low-turn out district.

Reynolds is the founder and administrator of his political organization, Clean Sweep Wisconsin, that has been disavowed by both the Democratic and Republican Party establishment.

The Compassionate Care for Rape Victims act guarantees rape and incest victims immediate access to emergency contraception in emergency rooms.

Guzmán has until recently avoided press queries and a questionnaire from the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin as he attempted to avoid mention of his association with the radical Reynolds whom he met at church.

Clean Sweep Wisconsin is running right-wingers in six Democratic Assembly primaries in metropolitan Milwaukee, it was confirmed here July 25th.

The Eighth Assembly District on Milwaukee's south side is the most Catholic district in the state.

Guzmán is running against incumbent Democratic State Rep. Pedro Colón and Laura Manriquez, who tried to have both Colón and Guzmán knocked off the ballot in a challenge that was unanimously rejected and panned by the Wisconsin General Accountability Board earlier this summer.

The Compassionate Care for Rape Victims act was a major victory for women and rape victims, as Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin writes:

Victims of rape or incest deserve immediate access to safe, efficient methods of pregnancy prevention. Compassionate Care for Rape Victims ensures that this occurs by requiring all Wisconsin emergency rooms to provide rape victims with information about and access to emergency contraception.

Guzmán says in his literature that "the founder of Planned Parenthood was a racist who wanted to use abortion to exterminate minority populations”.

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.