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.
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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