Category Archives: Wisconsin Governor’s Race

The Wisconsin Democrat: Defeated or Determined?

Posted by Wonder Woman on

The Wisconsin Democrat: Defeated or Determined?

Are you feeling down and out, neglected by your supreme leader, local Dems not in sync with each other and infighting, not sure what the next step is? Here are some reflections and advice for your future!

I have taken quite a bit of time off to reflect on the recalls and lessons learned from the whole mess in Wisconsin. Did I gloat? Not really! Anyone who looks at the price tag of the union instigated hissy fit could not possibly see anything funny or laughable about the recalls. Did I take some gratification that once again I was dead on? A tad, I am human after all but still we have so much to do and we are so far behind there is no time for victory dancing, Lambeau Leaps, or brat summits. There is much to do!

The recalls and the race for reform have left this governor behind the eight ball in terms of policies and things that should have been in the implementation phase by now. Plans and meetings that were put on hold so that the governor could go around the state and explain his direction, are now being arranged and the business of the state is now priority #1 again. Governor Walker’s message and direction were things the governor admitted he did not do a good job of promoting the first time around. Hopefully with this lesson learned among others, he will be more proactive in sharing the direction of the state with everyone, including those who do not agree and most likely will have to come along forcefully.

Is the Wisconsin Democrat Down and Out?

Not by a long shot! However there is so much dissension and infighting within the group someone will have to heal and reunite the party from its current state of chaos. This person(s) will have to be union free, meaning unlike many of our state elected, this person will not be compromised by union temptations, outside money and other private interests. They must be extremely knowledgeable about plight of the entire state of Wisconsin from the loss of manufacturing jobs, the problems of public education, and all issues in between. This person must be able to understand and reach residents no matter what county they reside in and be able to strengthen the base of the party again.

The Mistakes that the Democrats made were so easy to spot and expose that it is interesting that they are not acknowledging them on their own and making critical changes for November right now.

 The Weird Protestors-The hippie/hemp/kumbaya protester is not a friend to the current Democrat. They represent lost nostalgia that most people do not want to revisit. It was messy and stinky and got pretty gross, Woodstock style. They were only looking for a return to the 50’s-70’s era of sit-in’s and protests. They were not really vested in current politics and issues.

New college students who joined in wanted to feel what those times and protests were like. They enjoyed it I think, accept the outcome. They probably did learn to be a little less complacent about the way things are in politics as a whole. In reality though college students are not finding jobs and are so far in debt that they are returning home “re-nesting,” and they are not liking life after college. They are turning to the Republican Party as some students feel the DNC has abandoned them as some current reports revealed. The national student debt/loan conversation will certainly be very important for both parties to address in legislation and media-wise. It is a battle for future voters really. Also a few weeks ago on Toure’s show on MSNBC, the young Republican correspondent gave Toure this same run down and Toure was left speechless. The stats and the new wave of younger Republicans was an amazing testament that the Republicans are working on reestablishing the party for the future. Democrats are busy putting out current fires and not able to do necessary rebuilding and recruiting. The Republicans will have to win the debt/loan debate to solidify this movement.

As an aside I do hope a new wave of young Republicans and Tea Party members will move out the old guard along with the “old white man imagery” of the party. It should be way more reflective of the society we live in now, not the GOP of Newt, Rush, and the typical list. The new generation leaders look more like us and there are many of them, young, vibrant, and diverse!!

Protests at Public Events-I have said this many times yet Democratic protestors still do this and it never wins them any fans. You simply CANNOT protest at the Special Olympics, you cannot protest outside schools and use vulgarity where innocent children are in class (do you really need someone to explain why?). You cannot appear in elected folks personal neighborhoods and homes (especially where their elderly parents rest, blowing your horn all day and night, HELLO), nor protest on bridges that working folk are trying to use to get home from a long day at work. You cannot show up at their family events (i.e. Walker’s son’s football game is off limits), and such things as these. There is a line as to what is politically acceptable and what is personal and the Democrat crazed lunatics of the left crossed that line each and every time without fail. Not only did they cross it, they jumped over that line by leaps and bounds and kept setting the bar lower and lower. Shame, shame, shame, the chants continued but they were the ones who were shameful.

Occupy the Inner City-You cannot come and scoop us up any longer and think we are not going to question your motives. Gone are the days of the white van “pick-ups” voting for whoever you say vote for!! The days of using Blacks as your Plan B are just about over.

In this recall, Blacks, especially in Milwaukee realized some things and voiced these things for the first time in mass numbers out loud. Most importantly they voiced how they are not being respected by their own representatives. They also noted how Democrats only come to “the hood” for election season and moved on leaving us back to square one as soon as the voting polls closed. They also realized that this particular Democratic candidate has been their worst enemy. Mayor Tom Barrett is horrible on many issues concerning Milwaukee Blacks. He did not take over MPS as he once touted and should have done. He gave “no-bid contracts” to his friends cutting out Black businesses and potential employees. Then there is the whole trolley debacle that many inner city people could care less about. Those who do know about the trolley costs and plans know that it is of no benefit to us and may potentially hurt us even more.

There were the dreaded Milwaukee stats; highest unemployment, lowest graduation rates, #1 in segregation consecutively, and CRIME IS UP not down controversially. Barrett accused Walker of many things but when we really analyzed Milwaukee, we found Tom Barrett was possibly corrupt or questionable himself while he levied charges against the governor. He gave a half-hearted welcome to Mahlon Mitchell and just expected we would be okay with sending a political newcomer, not well-vetted to be a band aid for these issues. Certainly he was not prepared and his lack of knowledge proved to be upsetting and disrespectful to Blacks who wanted more from a party with no clear plan for them. Adding insult to injury, Mitchell was found to be in support of the governor (in written form no less) and did in fact mislead people about signing a boycott letter.

Another aside, white Democrats continually say “Milwaukee has always had segregation problems.” This is no excuse to be complacent about racism and segregation EVER. It is not acceptable to Blacks who have to live with it daily.  Every time the words are uttered by some white liberal it really means “we are okay with racism and YOUR little segregation” issue. This cannot be glossed over and for Milwaukee to hold onto the #1 spot for consecutive years means many of you liberals must be willing and practicing participants. Milwaukee Blacks are starting to understand this and see your lack of concern or compassion for them. For Barrett to have been in the mayor’s office for nine years and not have formed a task force, committee, or even brought up segregation in discussion with the community says a lot about his leadership. He is not a leader on many government policy issues and that message spread all across the state during the recalls.

Black Choice Parents is a group unacknowledged and therefore part of the silent majority. These are thousands of families with a vested interest in their children’s future. Democrats did not address them, didn’t even register them on their radar along with a lot of other silent majority unusual suspects. And this is where the downfall of the Democrats got deep into trouble, so much so that Obama and the National Democratic Party pulled out very fast. Like many of us political watchers, they too saw this train crash coming for miles. The Wisconsin Democratic leaders seemed angry all the time and did not put together a good package of talking points. They did not conduct the business of the party like the newly crowned “architect” RNC Chair Reince Priebus who smiled, looked personable and was inviting. I do think some Democrats and most independents did not like the hostile new tone of the party. Some Democrats were more likely to be enraged and argumentative, which in turn ignited the silent majority and independents to vote and vote Republican. Evidence of this can be found in the exit polls that showed Obama still holding a narrow lead over Romney in Wisconsin.

Exhibit A: Anger Management

http://www.livinglakecountry.com/blogs/communityblogs/158162085.html

Looking at the left blogging sites and editorials, Democrats and left wing folk were very upset about the National lack of support and/or money not given to Wisconsin. I warned you months ago this would be the case because they are more vested in November than Wisconsin recalls. Yet again another dropped ball by Wisconsin Democratic leaders. The local leaders went public with their outrage with national Democrats and the party became discombobulated instead of unifying to dethrone Scott Walker. In the final hour when Obama tweeted a message of “hope” to Wisconsin many were already done with the national DNC and its leader. Forsaken yet again by the very person who said he would put on his comfy shoes and join them. Democrats were very upset about his lack of interest in Wisconsin, rightfully so. He never came, again. Instead they sent Debbie Wasserman-Schultz. Many of us think her to be unhinged at best!! She is of very little fame and not a draw. Enter Bill Clinton, he is a good draw but he was already having some public issues with Obama. His message did not play out too well since we could see even he was not in line with the DNC. Next at bat, Jesse Jackson who many know to be a fraud and only shows up wherever cameras are going to be. The dismal turnout at his events showed he is of little value anymore to Obama or any Democratic crisis. His rantings and that of Ed Schultz (and all PSMSNBC staff) are old and tired. They are rating driven or looking to advance their careers and income. Jesse has not worked in the real world since ???? He does not know the plight of the everyday Negro, nor can he relate any longer to the have not’s. He lives in a $million mansion and makes millions in bribing companies to keep him away or to create drama, while enjoying jet travels and the champagne life. He made his feelings about then presidential candidate Barak Obama public via hot mic and the tales of his promiscuity still surface in his neglected child outside of wedlock. Blacks did not fall for that either thankfully.

Locally Representative Gwen Moore sealed the deal with a horrid choice of messaging. It was embarrassing, disrespectful, dumb, and shameful. If this is her version of bipartisan politics, we are going to have serious trouble getting anything on the federal level for Wisconsin. None of our local elected stepped up to show a plan for Blacks either, the very thing that would have swayed the independent and Black vote their way. They offered no plan, no budget, no concrete ideas or numbers, just rhetoric and “vote for Barrett because he is not Walker!”

Tom Barrett was useless too. He simply had no plan and instead of just being Tom Barrett, he tried to invoke some kind of angry warrior. It didn’t work at all and it was very out of character for him. He used the silly “rock star” line in two debates (couldn’t he think of anything new?), kept bringing up the probe Scott Walker initiated himself, and he confused people by bringing up all types of messages and catch phrases that would not resonate with many people. His steady attacks contradicted his “clean campaign” promise, and he avoided proposing a budget of any kind. What did stick was the nastiness from him and from the left. Sorry but the right just did not come off as hostile as the left. Now I am not saying they did not have their moments or share of wackos, but not to the same degree as the left. Who wants to join in on that? Obama’s support/tweet was way too late, but possibly enough to keep the loyal off his back. Mind you he was between Minnesota and Illinois for fundraisers and could not drop in despite flying over Wisconsin at least twice in a matter of hours.

Exhibit B: Obama Avoids Wisconsin with another Lame Excuse

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/11/barack-obama-wisconsin-recall-election-responsibilities_n_1588224.html

The big question for Obama now is how does he show his face in Wisconsin before November after all the neglect and rotten treatment he gave to us? Can he really come to Wisconsin and ask for our vote? I am interested to see how he and the Democratic Party will handle this situation. Democrats are very upset at this president and rightfully so. Not only did he tell them he would support them, he promised to join them side by side but in the end he did nothing at all for them.

Election Night

With anger in their hearts and no message to stand on, Democrats went into election night knowing that they were pretty much defeated. I usually do not believe in polls, but anyone could sense that the silent majority was ready to speak for a 3rd time and do so triumphantly. Barrett fell apart in the final stretch offering no budget or real change people could hold on to. His failed mayorship in Milwaukee offered more contempt as he spoke of making Wisconsin a “better” place. His debate from when he first ran for mayor was featured on The Milwaukee Drum and circulated widely around the internet. This debate reminded Milwaukeeans that this man has done none of the things he promised for nine years. More importantly it reminded some of how he treated then Mayor Marvin Pratt (i.e. how he treated Blacks). Wisconsinites did not want to his version of leadership at the state level. Some union true blues were still upset about the Kathleen Falk candidacy and never really embraced Barrett fully.  Mahlon Mitchell could not save Barrett as he proved to be a liability and not an asset. He made critical missteps that could not disarm Rebecca Kleefisch. Election night just solidified the resentment of Wisconsinites toward Democrats flippant attempt at the recall campaign. They also voted against that tired blue fist and the unreasonable actions from the left.

http://themilwaukeedrum.com/2012/05/28/must-watch-tv-grin-and-barrett-the-debate-mayor-barrett-does-not-want-you-to-see/

The Little Things

No one could save Barrett; no one wanted “Milwaukee” on a statewide level. Some people attribute this to hate for Milwaukee. It is not hate but rather the incompetence of the city and county that people objected to.  There were also little things like tax breaks homeowners received and reports that showed the state was turning around in especially the housing market and job sectors. Some were upset that the state DNC went away from the initial purpose for the recalls like Collective Bargaining and “union busting.” Act 10 was “acting” better than predicted. School districts all around the state reported even better savings than the Walker camp had computed. Most districts not only kept staff but added staff and/or programming, saved millions in healthcare costs, and were freed from the strong-armed tactics of WEA Trust, WEAC, and teacher unions.

However this recall and all it encompassed has yet to become a watershed moment for Democrats as I had hoped it would.

As much as I am an independent conservative, I do not believe in one party reign either. The hate and petty bickering for some Democrats is not ceasing, only worsening. People are wandering around chat groups, blogs, and FB pages in ongoing arguments meanwhile the rest of the world has moved on. They are left in this weird political vortex waiting for someone to save them. I sure hope someone will.

Others are left in silence, not really knowing what to say. They talked so much mess they don’t know what to think or how to feel. They certainly do not know what the next step is because this governor is not going anywhere and their party has not been giving out any direction.  How these lost sheep connect back into the fold will be the job of Governor Walker but he will have to circumvent the DNC mind meld to do it. And since they have not given out marching orders, who knows which direction the DNC wants to move in. Their house, with no proper or solid foundation is right now a house of cards in a wind storm. These people were “ride or die” and are now upset that the party let them and all of us down. After all I too love a good challenge but this was a no brainer.

Then there are the diehards. Those who know things will get better if they hold on to hope and await positive messages and convictions they can believe in and get behind. These are the ones who will save your beloved party. Somewhere in this group there is a person who will examine the loss and assume the role of the phoenix and raise you up from the ashes. This person will not be Obama. If he is reelected it will be a miracle. He has done so many people wrong and wallowed in so much petty mess that he is souled out on many levels. The “Wedding Registry” was about my last straw. Really you want my wedding gifts? Luckily I am not getting married anytime soon, but I certainly would not ever fix my lips to ask people to donate to Obama in lieu of gifts, nor should he have! It was just desperate. In addition to ignoring Wisconsin, there is the Fast & Furious/Holder controversy, the ignoring of Blacks, the executive privilege that hurt his own people (perceivably illegals taking directly from his beloved Black community in the form of scholarships and placement to name two), and ObamaCare now passed is causing consternation about how it will be implemented and paid for. I am not sure he can overcome the pain he caused Wisconsin alone. Other states saw his mistreatment and abuse of a state of Democrats, a swing state, a key state. How they will react and what will they do come November? Will they wait for him to lace up and join their picket lines? I am afraid they will not be so naïve. But I have to give it to him; I thought Romney had no chance in hell. Now he is a contender!! WOW!

In order for Wisconsin Democrats to get back to their position of respect in Wisconsin, they must begin by examining each lesson from the recall and what preceded the recalls. From the fleeing of the senators, the actions of the party crossing acceptable boundaries of protest, their leaders and their lack of successful messaging and guidance and all of the lessons to be learned, they will need to sankofa (go back and fetch, African proverb) for some time. Democrats will need to search well and vet a quality candidate and arm them with a clear message regarding jobs, education, and government reform. This party as it stands now is beholden to the unions and their agenda, not the Democratic agenda, at least not in Wisconsin. When Dems scream “Koch brothers,” their rant does not go far, especially when they too are indebted to the very same 1%’ers and the same Wall Street/fat cat money. The Wisconsin DNC will need to do some serious polling and LISTENING to understand the level of anger the Wisconsin Democrat has at the party, the process, the locals, and the nationals. They must research and then begin to reestablish trust and make good on those broken promises and create a solid platform.

The Big Payback!

For career Black pols, your time is coming, boy is it coming!!! New comers and true servants of the people like, Nikiya Harris, and Tracey Dent are two new school leaders. They are not owned and they are the complete package. They are known, they are active, and they are respected. They come from the people and are in the streets fighting the fight. There are other new leaders in the community as well and they too are bringing knowledge about you and the dirty politricks being played in our own community.  They are creating a movement and the days of old, bashing white people and doing nothing for your people and getting elected on reputation are going away. Almost like the last scene in the Wiz “A brand new day!” And yes I can feel it, a change is coming!

You will have a tough time telling people how useful you are with stats that you have allowed ON YOUR WATCH regarding crime, education, and jobs during the Doyle years and for some of you before him too!  And you deserve to be kicked out or running scared!! Each of you who souled your people out and did nothing but lined your pockets with union money! Who will you blame for job loss and crime? Obama? Can’t blame Walker, he’s only been in office for 16 months. If you blame him, you will have to use the same logic to blame Obama (he’s only had one term blah, blah, blah…) and that won’t work will it? Guess you are out there bad! These types of new leaders will bring a battle against the old guard of Black Dems who have done little more than hold town halls for all their careers. They will have to bring their “A” game to the table. The Black Democrat is tired of the rhetoric, sick of town halls that go nowhere, tired of doing everything for your career and getting little to nothing in return. We are waiting for the movement, time and place, not talk! As much as Obama will have to fight this fight, you will suffer the initial blows of a well-deserved awakening.

For the Wisconsin Democrat I suspect your transformation will be too late for Tammy Baldwin; she comes with a lot of baggage anyway. She has done little and we have paid for her nonproductive career for some time. Tommy Thompson will make mincemeat of her and maybe this loss will signal the end of the career “do nothing” politicians at the federal level. Tommy Thompson is pretty well liked by many moderates and independents and that will not change unless he does something really stupid. As far as Paul Ryan’s competition, who????? Waste of time, but possibly the media will make it entertaining.

For now lick your wounds and brush your shoulder off. The Wisconsin Democrat is not done, hell even I have faith in you. However you will have to get rid of your State Chair Mike Tate because he is really out of sorts and your Communications Director Graeme Zielinski is very unprofessional. These two have done more harm than good in their respective positions. Unless they make great change in how they conduct themselves as professionals they can only hinder the party further. They set the tone and course of destruction the party is currently experiencing. They sent out enraged emails and press releases that were incredibly off point, hate-filled, and spiteful. Even your own blue blogging sites do not support these two men. The national party really is upset with them for their public lashings about private DNC business.  They are not endearing anyone to the Democratic cause. I propose they are losing people because of their type of leadership or lack of leadership, message, and adaptability to campaigns as they move along. A change in leadership is exactly what is needed and there are very good candidates that can help the Wisconsin Democratic Party refocus and put together a portfolio that can be used as the platform for August, November, and beyond.

I certainly think you will find some hope and encouragement for your party in this missive. Never count anyone out would be my message to the Democrats and to the right even more so. The Republicans did not run a very good campaign either. The fulltime absence and guidance of Republican National Chair Reince Priebus was certainly a factor the Dems could have exploited. Instead the Democrats made the recalls easier by running every which way but loose.

By November I hope to see a new and repackaged Democratic party emerge. You will need it if you want to see this president re-elected. I think he is doing his best to really not get elected. I truly do think this. Obama wants out, he does. He realized it is not fun being president and national politics is not the same as Illinois politricks. I am still with my girl Hillary Clinton for the next Democratic candidate for president. I think she deserves it. She has worked harder than most men in her party and she is experienced in national dealings. I have grown to respect her if for no other reason than her strength. I know she says she does not want to run again, but I hope she reconsiders. Other than Hills, the likely and obvious people’s choices are Newark Mayor Cory Booker (D) and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R). Now that would be the challenge of the ages. These men are great examples of bipartisanship in action and are a great duo. However these two men in a spirited competition may prove to be a most awesome treat for the avid political observer like myself. I would also think they would be the ones to restore politics back to its former self where we would not be questioning birth certificates, tax filings, and other mundane and petty crap. They already have great respect for each other and would not waste time in nasty bickering and hate-filled campaigns. They would actually stick to issues and policies.

Booker/Christie Spoof Seinfeld

This is worth the one minute and 40 seconds it takes to watch and it is pretty funny! It is rare to see two politicians working together and both equally committed to bipartisanship and to the people they serve.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w-JywmmihU

Good luck Wisconsin Democrats, see you soon at the polls and a better November to you!

Peace Family,

WW

Mahlon Mitchell Caught In Another Lie!

Posted by Wonder Woman on

Some may have seen the discussion between Rebecca Kleefisch and Mahlon Mitchell a couple of weeks ago. Mr. Mitchell denied signing boycott letters that kept some businesses leery of doing business with Wisconsin. The letters were found with his John Hancock on them. Why he chose to lie, he never did explain, nor apologize.

Now we find he went on national TV and again said some things that were uninformed and disingenuous.

On last Thursday’s ON THE RECORD at 10pm/ET, Wisconsin lieutenant governor candidate Mahlon Mitchell made the following comment about ABC Supply Co. owner Diane Hendricks: “Well, I think you got to look at people like Diane Hendricks, who’s one of Scott Walker’s buddy billionaires, who paid no corporate tax last year and is worth over $2.8 billion. So I think if you look at the tax breaks and loopholes that we have in our state, if we were to fill some of those loopholes, I would imagine you’d find more than $3.6 billion to balance the budget.”  

ABC Supply’s tax director Scott Bianchini sent us this statement in response to Mitchell’s remarks:

Statement regarding Diane Hendricks and ABC Supply’s Income Taxes:

Mahlon Mitchell recently said the following: “Well, I think you got to look at people like Diane Hendricks, who’s one of Scott Walker’s buddy billionaires, who paid no corporate tax last year and is worth over $2.8 billion.”

ABC Supply has paid $1,078,000 in estimated corporate income taxes to Wisconsin for 2011. ABC operates nationwide and pays income taxes to many other states where ABC has a larger business presence such as California, Texas, Florida, New York, and Illinois. ABC has paid many millions of dollars in corporate income taxes to these states and others as well as federal corporate income taxes. In support of the Wisconsin taxes, I have attached substantiation for ABC Supply’s estimated payments for 2011 Wisconsin corporate income taxes. These payments total $1,078,000.

ABC Supply’s 2011 Wisconsin corporate income tax return has yet to be filed. Like many other taxpayers, ABC extended the filing date of their 2011 Wisconsin tax return from March 15, 2012 to September 17, 2012. Therefore, neither the State of Wisconsin nor Mahlon Mitchell has any data yet regarding ABC Supply’s 2011 corporate income tax return as it has yet to be filed. However, once it’s filed, it will become a matter of public record that for 2011 ABC Supply paid over $1 million of corporate Wisconsin income taxes.

Finally, Mr. Mitchell refers to Diane Hendricks paying corporate income taxes.  Individuals don’t pay corporate taxes, only corporations pay corporate taxes.

Mr. Mitchell’s statements are inaccurate and uninformed in every respect.

http://gretawire.foxnewsinsider.com/2012/05/30/abc-supply-co-responds-to-wisconsin-lt-gov-candidate-mahlon-mitchells-remarks-about-diane-hendricks/

Peace Family,

WW

 

MUST WATCH TV!! Grin and Barrett, The Debate Mayor Barrett Does Not Want You To See!

Posted by Wonder Woman on

MUST WATCH TV!!

Grin and Barrett, The Debate Mayor Barrett Does Not Want You To See!

Congressman Tom Barrett attacks Milwaukee in debate with acting Mayor Pratt.

Yes we found some rather interesting video the Barrett camp does not want you to see but we got it!

Barrett, All Around the State the Same Song!

 

MATA Community Media

Tom Barrett VS Marvin Pratt – Milwaukee Mayoral Debate 2004

http://blip.tv/MATAMCM/tom-barrett-vs-marvin-pratt-milwaukee-mayoral-debate-2004-5950961

http://www.milwaukeecommunitymedia.com/2012/02/22/the-milwaukee-mayoral-debate-2004-marvin-pratt-vs-tom-barrett/

After losing his seat as a US Congressman, Tom Barrett faces then incumbent Marvin Pratt in a debate for Mayor of Milwaukee.

Run Date: March 20, 2004

Run Time: 27:33

In this 2004 meeting between Mayor Marvin Pratt and Congressman Tom Barrett you will find some similar themes, some potential integrity complaints, war on women, and some outright nonsense from the congressman as he laid it on thick to become mayor.

I know people don’t have time to watch the entire 25 minute video so I took the liberty of pointing out important highlights for you.

7:10 Barrett’s Focus

Then Congressman Barrett points out the loss of manufacturing jobs in Milwaukee, Crime, and Integrity in government.

Fast forward to 2012 and you will find we are still focusing on lost manufacturing jobs, crime, and integrity in government. In 2004, Milwaukee had the 3rd highest dropout rate and largest educational gap in the nation. Funny we are worse off nine years into his mayorship than in 2004.

Barrett attacked Pratt on these things saying Pratt protected the status quo. Barrett has not made a dent in any of these issues! He did in fact protect the status quo during his terms as Mayor of Milwaukee. On top of protecting the status quo, Barrett said he would make the City of Milwaukee more accessible to its citizens. The only accessibility I see has been with absentee voting for this 2012 recall election. Funny how all city agencies were closed except for the voting polls on Memorial Day.

As far as integrity we have crime numbers that are false, a police chief battling his own ethics and conduct, a emergency response system that does not work, parking checkers on the loose writing bogus tickets, towing cars and impounding them to make quotas, no-bid contracts to friends of Barrett costing the city millions in overbidding and not recouping monies we could be getting in submitting metals and scraps. There is also a question as to whether those contracts are cutting out minority business because they were not bid on as required by law. There are growing reports of police profiling in certain parts of the city and unspeakable brutality of minorities especially. Now we find that a hotel we sold land to for $1 was worth 2.5 million. This hotel is now two payments behind in their loan. Guess who will be picking up that tab?!

At 12:00, The topic of division comes up. Sound familiar? Well it should. This Mayor seems to show a clear pattern of divide and conquer himself. Barrett and his minions divided the city racially in 2004, attacking Pratt on everything from late WE Energy Payments to being incompetent. Fast forward to 2012, here we go again with the Democratic version of divide and conquer as Barrett takes his talents of destruction statewide! From keeping Milwaukee racially divided to making Wisconsin ground zero for political grandstanding. He is no stranger to tearing down and not to big on the rebuilding trust or civility business. Milwaukee has remained #1 in segregation under this mayor and all those promises he made to restore “civility” in 2004, did he ever? No he did not! Now we are to trust he can heal the state? Well if Milwaukee was healed from his 2004 divide and conquer strategy, Wisconsin will certainly never be whole again! He never reached out to Mayor Pratt to implement existing programs and ideas for making Milwaukee a less segregated city. He did absolutely nothing about segregation and again if I may, silence is complacency. I am tired of the left excuse of “well Milwaukee has always been this way.” As if that is an acceptable answer to how we live in this city. That is racism as well! What that response tells me is that white Milwaukee could care less about segregation and they are as complacent about it as Mayor Barrett.

Where is the task force on segregation? Where is the healing in the hood? Cease Fire Sabbath is a safety net for Barrett because he wants us to do the leg work but take the credit for it. You get out in these streets and you do something about the crime in the city. Stop cooking crime stats and start talking to these young people out here and find out what they have to say. Spend some time with Urban Underground, the Peace for Change Alliance, or the groups who work successfully with these youth to offer them some hope. How about supporting Black Enterprise and shop Black, ride our busses or be seen somewhere other than in the safety of the Black church?

At 14:40 Economic Development is the topic. Barrett says he is a salesperson and he knows how to sell Milwaukee! Sorry I had to laugh; he could not get Kohl’s or any other business in here. He lost major conventions to other cities and is having a tough time trying to bully his 2 mile trolley into the city. A trolley that many reports say could further segregate the city. He says Milwaukee is “Open for Business” (sound familiar, did Walker steal this?) and that Milwaukee is the “most livable city in the country.” Really now? Again is that using your crime stats or the FBI’s? Not much of a selling point when you also consider our educational system is in a state of emergency, that little segregation problem, and the urban blight lining the city upon entering it. There is massive black flight out of this city. MPS and all schools citywide are reporting sharp drops in minority attendance which is solid proof that we are loosing families at a rapid pace. Not to mention Mayor Barrett your wife does not even want to teach in the MPS system and you put your own kids in private school. How can you sell our education and services if you yourself don’t even use the product?

At 17:40 Pratt Finally Fights Back! He challenges the congressman about vilifying Milwaukee through statistics and horror stories about how bad Milwaukee was in 2004. BUT he would call on people to invest in the city. Now ain’t that calling the kettle black? Did he not use this same tactic against Walker but when convenient he used it too! HYPOCRITE! If we remember the Journal Sentinel was not a friend to Marvin Pratt at all and gave Barrett a pass on most everything. Although he had no plans, programs, budgets to offer, just empty words. He was also challenged on ethics on his fundraising because he told many donors and Mayor Pratt on four different occasions he was set on being the governor and raising money for that alone.

17:20 Barrett admits Milwaukee was his second choice. He did not really want to be mayor, but if it was between becoming irrelevant and being mayor, he would choose mayor. So from the start we were a step child for Barrett, a second choice, a place to settle until he could become governor. However we allowed this and we have been an abused victim of his hatred of having to settle for option two ever since!

19:00 Pratt cites specific plans and budgets and Barrett offers nothing specific. This has been his strategy in the recalls too. Stick and move, jab and duck. No one has called upon him to submit a budget, a plan, a specific, detailed map of where he wants to take Wisconsin. It has been almost two months and no one challenges him on this. Walker in your next debate you must harp on this. Are we going to let him become governor with no agenda other than “I am not Scott Walker.”

20:00 “You don’t seem like your from Milwaukee!” Barrett makes this claim but never defended us. Exactly how are Milwaukeeans supposed to act and why did he not defend the city he was trying to sell? Seems to me he was more apologetic then a proponent of this city.

21:30 Incarceration and Segregation Fleshed Out. In Milwaukee, kids with incarcerated parents were 70% more likely to become residents of the justice system and 40% more likely to drop out of school. Barrett had no plan or answer to this subject. Meanwhile Pratt points out specific meetings with other cities and cites his programs that are still operating now (Kings of Success and 100 Black Men). We can see a clear pattern of having no vision and the burden on our community from being led by the clueless. Again no task force, no work with Chief Flynn or Sheriff Clarke to curb this trend which is no longer a trend anymore, it is reality for our youth in Milwaukee.

24:00 Barrett Attacks MPS and the fact that at that time we had six superintendants within nine years. Most of these people were run out of town by the Milwaukee Teachers Education Association. This was the time to put an end to their union tyranny. Dr. Fuller and Dr. Korte were nationally heralded education reformers with proven success, but when it came to tackling the MTEA they did not stand a chance. Barrett did nothing to support those superintendants and he is M.I.A. now since MPS backed him off from taking over the system. He showed no courage, fire, or passion when it came to standing up to the silliness of MPS. Again addressing integrity, when board members where going on vacations and running up tabs he did nothing, did not call on them to resign, or asked MPS or the School Board to do something about this abuse of education money. He said nothing about Bradley Tech spending thousands on a pool it did not have and many other MPS abuses. He looked the other way and said very little.

24:30 again admits Milwaukee was not his first choice for employment.

I encourage you all to watch the entire presentation and make your own judgments. You will find that this mayor is not a visionary and had no plans in 2004. He certainly does not have any for 2012 or beyond especially statewide.

What I did see is that this person wanted to be governor for a long time now and he did not care how he got there and what he did until he was governor. Sorry I cannot unleash him on the state in good conscious. My kids deserve better and as a gift from Milwaukee to the rest of the state it would be best to keep him contained here as you do not want the same blight to come to your neck of the woods.  

Black Milwaukee you may want to pay extra attention to the crime and education conversation or lack thereof from then Congressman Barrett. Can you say you are in a better place with nine years of his leadership? This video reveals a lot because it shows he has not evolved or changed his message.

Peace Family,

WW

 

About Last Night: Wisconsin Recalls Round 1

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About Last Night: Wisconsin Recalls Round 1

Wisconsin Democrats turn out to support anything but Collective Bargaining & Unions.

Last night Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett defeated union backed Kathleen Falk, publically admitting the Democratic fight was not really a fight about union solidarity and Collective Bargaining after all.

For over a year now Wisconsin has been plagued with red shirts and blue fists, protests for union solidarity, and for collective bargaining. However the person who steered way far away from unions came out victorious. While Barrett made a very passionate speech last night, Dem blogs were lit up about the fact that he bucked the union solidarity day march and rally because he did not want to be seen with unions standing with him. Yet they voted for him anyway. So what was all that marching and protesting about if you voted for the very person who did to you what he has been doing to Blacks for over 8 years? Ignoring you!

In his speech, Barrett talked about out of state contributors, when in fact last week he welcomed Rahm Emmanuel and others to stand with him. He spoke about civility when his record shows a clear pattern of divisiveness in his own backyard. Some will remember when Barrett became mayor of Milwaukee; the city was #3 in most segregated cities in the nation. Milwaukee now under Barrett  has enjoyed the #1 most segregated city in the union for most of his mayorship. Yet we look at the Milwaukee Community Journal and see most of our Black elected supporting him. An inconvenient truth Black Milwaukee does not want to discuss, but it is so disturbing.

Many politicians ask are you better now than you where after my term? Well Black Milwaukee can unequivocally say hell no! Yet and still we support this man simply because he is a Democrat and the one thing we dare not upset is the Democratic Party. The Milwaukee Black has yet to learn this party has been no friend to us. Now don’t get me wrong I am not saying Republicans are better, but a blind vote for the Dems is a sign of agreement to the treatment we have been given. It is a clear overlooking of how our people have been ignored by this mayor and his party and thumbs up to continually being treated this way. Much like the battered wife, this abusive mayor keeps ignoring us except when the sheep need to be herded back into the fold. He uses our own people to do it, which is even worse. I will never understand our blind lust for this man or any party really, but particularly the Democratic Party, which is like a growing fungus in our community. What I do understand is that he is not the person to lead the Democrats and unions against a fight with this governor for the third time. REALLY??

Last Night’s Numbers:

Last night’s numbers do not have any real revelations for us other than Governor Scott Walker has a little more breathing room and Barrett’s climb is more uphill than predicted. Remember some Repubs played chess thinking a vote for Falk would be the best bet. Some Dems thought a vote for the fake Republican could catch Walker in a sneak attack and oust him right from jump. Neither move worked. The masses decided to send messages of support rather than play chicken. However the message was not well received and as the numbers came in, commercials for both candidates blitzed the media outlets in full force well before the AP declared anything.

Barrett vs. Walker

As mayor, Barrett will be hard pressed to speak to job creation, unifying the state, or education. He is 10% above the national average in unemployment, of course with Blacks highest in this category. Again #1 in segregation, and when he tried to take over MPS he was shouted down off the ledge. I really cannot think of the last time that idea crossed his lips again. He has proceeded over watching businesses leave Milwaukee, conventions and annual events never come back, leaving the Midwest Convention Center all but destitute. He has now watched condos go up only to be possibly half-filled. His trolley idea is a bust and he is pretty much left with attacks which will not create any civility. His campaign will have to be based on smearing and attacking. What else is there for him to speak positively about? Does anyone remember when Milwaukee hosted the biggest science fiction convention in the nation? They all but begged him to find a way to work with them to stay, but he had other things to do. They left and took millions in revenue and jobs with them. Not to mention gone are the Hollywood stars, TMZ, and all that comes with a international thriving industry. Aduh, where did they go?

There is the new hospitality industry and the new hotels being built but if you cannot keep conventions coming back how long will those hotels last? Summerfest is only for a few weeks and then what? Wait around for another Harley reunion? We have all been waiting for the “big plan” to accompany these new hotels but so far nada!

He cannot run on taxes because his have gone up every year except one and this year all Wisconsin homeowners saw monetary relief by April 15th courtesy of Governor Walker. Meanwhile this mayor had the nerve to get on TV and happily tell his constituents that foreclosed homes were theirs for the taking. Did he not forget that some of the people who saw that commercial were the very people evicted from their homes and foreclosure victims? Did he not think of the hurt and pain they faced as they watched their dreams being sold away as they watched him laughing it up on TV? They remember.

Barrett made the promise to young people that he would initiate a jobs program but with him being gone so much the program is sitting around with little movement and hundreds of applications waiting to be addressed. Another failed program that needed Barrett “all in” to get it moving. We now hold out hope the City Council led by Willie Hines will move it forward.

There are a host of other things that could be listed (after all, in 8 years of failed leadership there is a lot of time and damage to recount) but like the Teflon Don, this mayor will disavow these things like he does many of his failed ideas and programs. We have police brutality on the rise, crimes of armed robbery, car theft, property damage, sex trafficking all rising with little to no response by this mayor. It is as if he knows nothing about his own city. How can we expect him to deal with state issues? Will he bring his segregation to the state? Will he takeover state education as he attempted with MPS? Scary thoughts indeed.

And then there is Act 10. You cannot bash a governor and ride his coattails! His tools were implemented by you and now you are going to bash them? It won’t sit well outside Milwaukee.

Walker has going for him that he has not served a full term as a Governor, whereas Barrett has been allowed to ruin Milwaukee for 8 disastrous years. Walker however has some work to do. Many wonder if he had not had to address a statewide hissy fit, how far could we be? As far as the Jon Doe investigation, he can honestly say HE INITIATED IT! So if anything comes of it, short of him on the phone making an illegal transaction, that ship has sailed and he did what he was supposed to do. He reported it and yes in Wisconsin if I was a Republican I would lawyer up too! It is just par for the course. Dane county and Milwaukee County are liberal to the core and he has to protect himself. Most will understand this especially after looking at the recall signature sheets.

I would suggest to Walker that he be more vigilant about his dealings with Black media. He is going to have to take the fight to Barrett and that means dealing with the people who hate him the most, the black media in Milwaukee. This means buying whole pages of the Milwaukee Community Journal and Milwaukee Courier, with a simple message of what he has done. He will need to explain “Transforming Milwaukee.” He will have to sit in the hot seat and get away from the comfort of Mark, Charlie, and Jay. He will have to sit with Eric and Earl and bring it. He may also want to seek out the Black Conservative Media which is growing in the state. After hearing the Koch chants and big businesses mantra and all the rhetoric he can stomach, he will have his turn to speak. When all Dem talking points have been exhausted people tire of them and they will listen. He will have to get out and walk up and down North Avenue, something this mayor refuses to do, get back on busses and meet people where they are in the streets.

This fight does not have to get ugly; all he need do is what he should have been doing all along, connecting with us. No need to even mention Barrett because he is not present to us either! So why spend a single minute talking about him? We in the Black community know very well our plight (even though we ignore it so). Walker must show and tell what he is doing different to circumvent this mayor to get Black Milwaukee back on track. He must showcase his committee of bipartisan representation. This mayor does not have that type of committee; this governor has for well over a year.

June 5th

The next four weeks will be telling indeed. Barrett has already lied last night about civility. I have been subscribed to his tweets for some time and what he does not say in public, he and staff say via twitter. It is ugly and nasty and it will come to light. His calling for a state of healing was only a Kodak moment comment. His tweets show a very ugly side to his campaign.

How much will the unions conform and sell out? Given Barrett turned down their big union love day, he has some fence mending and kissing to do. Some of them are very upset and rightfully so. He is going away from everything they marched and protested for.

The flight of the 14 was a stunt and now it is confirmed as they sold out as soon as Barrett dropped his name. This race is not about unions or Collective Bargaining. It is about power and the lengths Dems will go not to part from it.

This race when all is said and done will not bring resolution or compromise people wish for. It will not end peacefully, nor will either side come together to sing Kumbaya!

At the end of the day this race will hopefully be about two men standing on their convictions and records allowing voters to judge those two things alone.

 

Peace Family,

WW

http://wonder2woman.blogspot.com/

@wonder2woman (Twitter)

An Inconvenient Truth: Wisconsin Recalls are Draining Us!

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An Inconvenient Truth

Wisconsin Recalls are Draining Us Financially and Emotionally!

Here we go again with another recall cycle. This time the next up to the execution block is Governor Scott Walker. However this recall won’t be as easy as some people seem to think. There are a lot of factors that will not be reflected in the polls or by the media.  These factors are an ever growing silent majority that does not factor in until the final vote is cast and counted. Whether you are Republican or Democrat there is much to think about before you sign your name to any recall petition or refute the whole process entirely.

Along with the expanded silent majority, there is a certain incumbent president who is not going to be sending back up or finances as he did in the past. He needs these things for himself as well as for other key federal House and Senate races. Wisconsin is just not high on his priority list, if it ever was since he never did show up to lace his tennis shoes and join in the protests as he promised.

Firstly we are tired of elections, recalls, and everything political. It takes a toll and Wisconsin has pretty much had enough collectively. By the time November 2012 elections come we will be well past our breaking point of politics I fear. Not long ago Steve Forbes said that out of all this political turmoil some good will come. Americans will grow weary of the process which will result in new parties and a better way of doing business for the government in all its facets. I hope he is right.

Wisconsin Recalls

To recall a sitting Wisconsin Governor the movement will need 540,206 signatures, one-fourth the amount of all the ballots cast last November. That is a lot of campaigning and cost.

One must ask themselves is this a worthy effort? Of course my answer is no simply because of the cost, time, effort, and undue reasons for the recall effort. This is just retaliation of this governor’s reform policies and union heads desperately trying to keep their cushy salaries and mock companies like WEA Trust. If people hate the Koch Brothers, they surely should be disgusted with the union heads making well into the 6k figures and the people buying and selling politicians every single day along with the Kochs. Secondly, union heads are bussing in thousands to take advantage of the 28 day provision to vote and that seems highly unfair. Thirdly, why should we not expect people to pay their fair share to their pensions and get Wisconsin in line with national numbers regarding pensions and insurance premiums? Fourthly, this is the season of giving. At a time when our nation is seeing poverty hit record numbers these recalls, protests, and other movements are disenfranchising the most vulnerable of our fellow Americans, especially the homeless and working poor. They simply cannot afford to see a drop in giving and donations.

Of course there are people who do not have any answers but respond like robots “Koch, Koch, Koch.” That is but one family of many that use and abuse the system. Where is the outrage and outcry for all lobbyists and billionaires and millionaires who take advantage of government corruption? The government is broke all every level. The Kochs’ like “Shenana on Vliet” are simply using a very broken system to get ahead. Why not name and blame all abusers of the system? If Obama has raised more than any of the Republican nominees combined, given billions to Solyndra and the like, where is the recall for him? He along with Eric Holder knew about the “Fast and the Furious” program. We now have guns in the hands of Mexican cartels killing innocent Americans and yet we say very little. But we want to crucify this governor for way less. Please at least be consistent with your stance. I would respect these protestors more if there was not obvious hypocrisy run amuck from the start of these recalls to the end.

For those poor college students who are just in it to be part of something meaningful, there are a lot of organizations that could use your help, instead of suing the homeless and walking past them as if they don’t matter to “fight for them” when in fact the sight of them grosses you out. What are you really there for? In my observations I did see two times where Occupiers walked right past homeless people with their hot and fresh Starbucks and bags of food to find land to sit and protest in. I could only shake my head and wonder if they even see these people. Nationwide this is also a regular occurrence.

Why are we recalling Walker?

People have their reasons from “union busting” to “imposing” state mandates that they feel hurt their financial bottom lines. They have every right to campaign for a recall, but it doesn’t make it sensible or even feasible. We can see by the lowering tax levies, school district savings, and increases to jobs and tourism that Wisconsin is indeed moving forward, just not in the direction fat cat union bosses would like. WEA Trust being one of the most wounded in this reform effort. They are now having to compete for the first time in a long time with other insurance companies for bids and contracts. How could that be wrong? People feel like they lost their voice with unions not having Collective Bargaining rights but through the protestors we have seen time and time again that some of these people had too many privileges that they abused and seem to be out of touch with real Americans and real world pensions and real world benefits. Some union members were exposed and were hiding behind the union because they were simply incompetent and the unions protected them time and time again.

So retaliation heads up this recall. It is a chance to get some payback for Alberta Darling, for Waukesha mishaps, for Republicans taking over what Democrats took advantage of. But payback is costing us all money we could be using to save the very things they fear losing!

Why he won’t be recalled in the end?

Now I am no political predictor, but in this case I am going to predict the silent majority is again going to speak up and very profoundly. After January when they see lowered property taxes, then it’s game over on the protests for sure. I could be wrong, but I think Choice parents are not going to say or declare loudly their support for Walker, but if you do not think they don’t know what is at stake, I can assure you that they do. If not, people like me are making them aware that Choice is a privilege we need to protect at all costs and by any means necessary.

The silent majority is growing by leaps and bounds, with the expansion of Choice and people actually educating themselves to the governor’s detailing of our successes and failures.  We can see for ourselves what is or is not being accomplished. Home owners will not be paying more in taxes from the state. People will not be charged new or raised fees from the state. Families with kids in good Choice schools won’t give that up for this cause. There are a lot of us in Choice and we are happy and willing to fight to keep our kids in these schools. And please don’t mistake that for MPS hate. I support MPS 110% but am I willing to risk my kids future for it? Not right now. I believe a lot of people think as I do about Choice who are now in the program. When MPS decides to decentralize and blend back into its surrounding neighborhoods, then it will move forward instead of going around and around like a chicken with its head cut off.

In the end I think people are just sick of all this partisan bickering and are going to send a message that they are sick of it by voting, by not participating, and not giving in to the same old tired scare tactics that have been used in Wisconsin over and over again from both parties. You only can scare Seniors so much with Medicare and they start to see the pattern. With the Alberta Darling recall campaign we saw this used time and time again. The Seniors knew that this is federal funded program and were not happy that they were being played for fools by the Democrats.

Now if Scott Walker does something dumb, he can kiss it all good bye so I suggest he not answer the phone without a proper screening!!!!! I have already said his right hand man is the weak link in a blog I wrote some months ago. So there is his worst weakness. He also has to get into black media. Buy the first page of the Community Journal for all of December or start infiltrating all things black, except churches unless they have Choice schools. Been there done that! Be creative! He also has to make a case to Milwaukee better than what he has been doing. Use Mayor Barrett’s Milwaukee Budget to show factually the tools Barrett did used that were given from the state in Milwaukee’s Budget. Form a cabinet or commission of Blacks to address segregation and Black concerns in the state. This is leadership beyond the typical and will help Walker start to deal with things he simply does not have the capacity to understand.

Yes Walker has reigned in spending but job creation has been lacking here in Milwaukee. I think partly due to an incompetent mayor and his inability to think outside the box, or possibly he is doing this on purpose to help the recall effort. He has an axe to grind as well right? Walker has to show how those jobs are going to funnel this way. He has to show people what was prior to his arrival. Be like Obama here and run against Doyle (or Obama) if you will, similar to when Obama ran against Bush’s record. Doyle set the bar so low Walker can’t help but surpass him on most every issue. Then lastly make the case to the state of who is going to do better. Thus far I have yet to see a name that has any pull. Barrett, Milwaukee really? Have we not had enough of him? Baldwin, are we not tired of paying for her lavish trips and gross abuse of taxpayer money? Kohl, need I say more? What could he possibly do? He is older now and never was a mover and shaker anyhow. What name would send fear into my heart?

To be honest Lena Taylor and a round two for these two would be a political pundit’s dream date. She has a new group of friends and they have money and power. She has worked the circuit, forsaking the people of her district to go national and might be a good match up if she can reign in her unbridled passion to the point of insanity for sensibility and calmness. Other than Taylor, I see very few that have broad appeal and power to draw the masses.

In the end though, I think the silent majority is willing to give this governor his four years to make his case. I certainly am one of those who will give him a chance. We asked this of Obama and I won’t be a hypocrite now. Give him his term and then vote him out. It will save us all a lot of time, money, and consternation. Knowing the sentiment of many, we are just plain tired of the whole political drama that is Wisconsin right now. We need a break from politics! The question will be just how complacent and frustrated are we? The second biggest question is who would they designate to replace him? A union shill no doubt. Has the rhetoric become part of the average life of a Wisconsinite or will revenge be a dish served piping hot as it has not had one minute to cool off.

The inconvenient truth is that for all the complaining about resources or lack thereof and money we supposedly don’t have to waste; unions and protestors are sure quick to use it to keep their bennies and stranglehold on this state.  In the end isn’t that what it’s all about? What grand master scheme has this governor unraveled to continue threats to his family, the constant obnoxious demonstrations that are just ludicrous. “Demon”-strators at the man’s personal home and at his kids activities and events? Extreme anger and by the way, when you ask these people what they are so upset about, most can only recite Democratic/Union rhetoric as if reading from the pamphlets and websites. Try taking them off script and they fumble like Ahman Green.

What has he done that even rises to the level of what Doyle has done to us? Whether it is Doyle’s trial lawyer friends running this state, to the racist contracts given with no other bids even allowed for consideration, to the good for nothing covenants that our kids were promised for college. This governor may be connected to some questionable characters but what has that led to? Not much of anything newsworthy yet. I guess they have access to the governor more so than I, but can that not be said of any politician?

Whatever happens throughout this recall cycle let us all demand some level of civility from each of these parties, some boundaries about where and what is acceptable protesting, and a new way of politicking in Wisconsin that does not include rhetoric but is born of facts and sensibility our kids can witness for once!

Peace Family,

WW