Republicans are more motivated to vote, and that may be the difference....
Police insurrections. Palace guards. Catch a Senator contests. Doctors behaving badly. Massive national solidarity protests which weren't. Identity theft as political theater. Shark jumping. Legislators who run away to other states. Bus bang bangs. Protesters locking their heads to metal railings and pretending to walk like Egyptians. Beer attacks. Canoe flotillas. (alleged) Judicial chokeholds. Tears falling on Che Guevara t-shirts at midnight. Endless recalls. And recounts. Communications Directors making threats. Judges who think they are legislators (well, I'll grant you that one is common). V-K Day. Hole-y warriors. Cities named Speculation and Conjecture. And the funniest blog headline so far:The collective bargaining law that precipitated the insanity recently was upheld in its entirely by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Now the unions are doubling (or is it tripling, at this point?) down on the get Walker meme, via WaPo:First They Came For The Right To Retire After 30 Years On Full Salary With COLAs
Democratic candidate for governor Brett Hulsey plans to hand out white Ku Klux Klan hoods to Wisconsin Republicans to highlight what he says are their racist policies. Hulsey on Thursday came into the state Capitol press room to show off a white hood he says he made with his daughter's sewing machine using curtain material he purchased for $1. Hulsey, a state representative from Madison, is running a long-shot campaign for the Democratic nomination against the better funded and more broadly supported candidate Mary Burke. Hulsey says he will attempt to hand out the KKK hoods to Republicans as they gather Friday for the state party convention in Milwaukee. State GOP executive director Joe Fadness calls it a "reprehensible, vile stunt" that should outrage everyone.The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel further reports:
The Madison representative running for governor got little attention for his plan announced earlier this week to portray Republicans as modern-day secessionists by dressing up as confederate soldiers and parading outside the GOP convention in Milwaukee.
Republicans call her “Millionaire Mary,” but Mary Burke has plenty of assets aside from her wealth to make her a strong contender to derail the reelection of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, along with his dreams of the presidency. Polls show the former Trek Bicycle executive either tied with Walker or trailing by just a few percentage points, while the Republican governor, who weathered a recall election in 2012, looks headed for a closer race than anyone expected.... “The things he has done with women’s choice issues puts Wisconsin right there with Mississippi,” she said over an iced tea Tuesday afternoon. Burke, who was in Washington for an Emily’s List dinner that night, has the pro-choice group’s endorsement, and it is making a big push to elect more Democratic women as governors.... At 55, Burke is a political novice, and in a polarized electorate, that might be a winning formula.The polling is, indeed, competitive, but Walker has faced such challenges before and prevailed. It's Wisconsin, so of course it will be relatively close, but close is not good enough and Burke knows it. So Burke has resorted to War on Women rhetoric that even Politifact Wisconsin rated False:
Walker just signed a $504 million dollar tax cut:
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, a Republican, on Monday signed into law a measure that uses the state's projected surplus to give a tax break of more than $500 million to workers and property owners. The law puts into place $504 million in tax cuts, consisting of $406 million in property tax relief and a $98 million state income tax break for those in the lowest tax bracket. A typical state homeowner will see a $100 reduction in property taxes and a worker who makes $40,000 will save about $58 annually, according to the governor's office.The collective bargaining changes are paying off to the extent that Burke is not making it a major issue.
