Main Street

Wisconsin Roundup XII: Return of the Roundup

If you thought the end of “Recall Summer” meant the end of the Main Street Blog’s Wisconsin Roundup, think again. With over 500,000 Wisconsinites stepping up to oust Governor Walker with more on the way, the news is coming fast and furious.

If 2011 was Emperor Walker’s first strike, 2012 may be the year the Badgers Strike Back. This is your Wisconsin Roundup:

• Our first catch of the day. Accompanying the effort to kick out Gov. Walker and Lt. Gov. Kleefisch are several parallel efforts to complete the take-back of the Wisconsin Senate. In August, only two State Senators were replaced, giving the Walker Republicans a one-vote majority – and that’s only if you count Dale Schultz, the moderate Republican who opposed the union-busting bill. With renewed energy among Wisconsin workers, organizers are looking to finish the job.

The first one on the chopping block could be Senator Van Wanggaard:

As of Sunday morning volunteers for the campaign to recall Sen. Van Wanggaard of the 21st district have collected at least 16,000 petition signatures, more than the 15,500 that would make him eligible for recall.

Like the recall targets last summer, Wanggaard’s support of Walker’s union-busting Act 10 spurred a great deal of anger against him. But as the Caledonia Patch reports, voters are also upset with the Racine area senator for his votes for Concealed Carry and the voter ID bill, as well as his promotion of charter schools while cutting public education.

Other recall targets include Sens. Pam Galloway (R-Wausau) and Terry Moulton (R-Chippewa Falls). However, some organizers are after a bigger prize.

• The end of Fitzwalkerstan? When Walker gained nationwide infamy for his anti-worker activities, two brothers with close ties to Walker also got some unwanted attention:  Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald and his brother Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau). The radical agendas of the three men lead some in the Wisconsin blogosphere to joke that the state should change its name to “Fitzwalkerstan.”

While Jeff is now pursuing a run for U.S. Senate, Scott is facing a very grassroots recall challenge driven mainly by a woman from Fort Atkinson named Lori Compas. Like Wanggaard, Fitzgerald’s support for Act 10 isn’t the only motivator:

“I think a lot of people remember the outrage that they would break the law and Scott Fitzgerald himself would break the law,” Compas said. “He broke the Open Meetings Law. When you break the law as Senate majority leader while acting in your official capacity, you’ve got to answer for that.”

Not to mention the Scott’s appearance on Fox News, when he revealed that the Wisconsin GOP’s effort to bust unions was ultimately about defeating President Obama in 2012, not jobs. And not to mention the Fitzgerald Brothers paying lawyers $400,000 of taxpayer money to get a redistricting map that would keep them in power.

• Walker is Number One…in job loss. Walker and Co. are raining millions of dollars to defend his non-record on television. As one of our blog commenters put it: “I told my husband a few hours ago (as we saw yet another proWalker commercial) to make sure there wasn’t anything heavy near the TV because I’m ready to toss a brick right at the screen.”

But while consultants and ad-makers are getting rich off of Walker’s agenda, actual Wisconsinites continue to hurt. For the fifth month in a row, the state of Wisconsin lost jobs. Remember that the controversial collective bargaining rights-stripping law went into effect in June. That makes Gov. Walker Number One in job losses in the country.

Assembly Member Peter Barca, who you might remember from this video, took to Daily Kos to call out Walker on touting his agenda all over the airwaves while failing to live up to his key campaign promises on jobs:

The day the jobs numbers came out, Democrats responded directly to the figures.

Meanwhile, the governor put out releases about appointing a new executive director at the Office of Justice Assistance, signing legislation relating to unlicensed drivers and one about saving Charlotte the Deer from being killed by his Department of Natural Resources.

Instead of criticizing the national economy, or the methodology used by the federal government or other states, or my press release – it is time for Gov. Walker to tell the people of Wisconsin why he promised them 250,000 jobs and has given them nothing but excuses for five months straight.

As 2011 comes to a close, Wisconsinites have an amazing year to look back on. Let’s hope that in 2012, they make history once again.

Image from Recall Scott Fitzgerald on Facebook.

Tags: Corporate Accountability, Jobs, Scott Walker, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Recall, Wisconsin Roundup