AFL-CIO Statement on Scott Walker Announcement

July 13, 2015

Statement by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka in response to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s upcoming announcement to run for President of the United States:

Scott Walker is a national disgrace.

Heh. Richard Trumka wins the Internets today.

Transparency when it comes to public business doesn’t appear to be in vogue anymore.

This past week in Wisconsin:

Sweeping secrecy is big mistake

July 03, 2015 10:31 am

Republicans are supposed to be suspicious of big government.

Instead, the GOP leaders who run the Legislature’s budget committee want citizens to trust state government with sweeping secrecy.

No thank you.

The full Legislature should reject the Joint Finance Committee’s sneaky attempt Thursday night to exempt state lawmakers from Wisconsin’s open records laws….

[….]

….Aren’t Republicans supposed to favor responsibility? Apparently, Wisconsin Republicans do not.

Among several troubling passages inserted into the state budget Thursday night is this doozy: “No provision of the state’s public records law that conflicts with a rule or policy of the Senate or Assembly or joint rule or policy of the Legislature applies to a record that is subject to such rule or policy.”

In other words, state lawmakers do what they want, when they want – and taxpayers will be in the dark….

[….]

Meanwhile, in Missouri:

Missouri judge dismisses lawsuit over open Senate committee meetings

Lawsuit claimed lawmakers must allow filming of meetings

5:52 PM CDT Jun 30, 2015

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -A Missouri judge dismissed Tuesday an advocacy group’s lawsuit that challenged restrictions on filming Missouri Senate committee meetings.

Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem dismissed the petition brought by Progress Missouri, which claimed decisions by Senate committee chairmen to prohibit filming by the group violates the state’s open meetings law. The liberal advocacy group also said the prohibition infringes on its freedom of speech and association.

The state’s Sunshine Law allows public bodies to establish guidelines on recording to minimize disruption, but the lawsuit said Progress Missouri’s filming wouldn’t have been disruptive. Senate rules state that cameras may be allowed with the permission of the committee chairman “as long as they do not prove disruptive to the decorum of the committee….”

[…]

Sunshine ain’t bustin’ out all over.

The stalwart courage of old media in Missouri is inspiring:

Jason Hancock ‏@J_Hancock

Progress Missouri challenges state Senate on Sunshine Law (via @krcg13) [….] 4:19 PM – 23 Jun 2015

We asked:

Michael Bersin ‏@MBersin

@J_Hancock @KRCG13 So, KRCG was denied permission to film a Senate hearing in the past and they’re not a party to the lawsuit? Why not? 4:31 PM – 23 Jun 2015

Interestingly, there was no response.

Previously:

Because asking politely for people to comply with the law always seems to work out so well (April 15, 2015)

On the wrong side of history and technology (April 20, 2015)

Previously:

On the road to Iowa (June 1, 2013)

The Missouri General Assembly holds no monopoly on bad ideas or insanity. Travel to other battleground states and a reading of the local news about the legislature therein reveals the pervasiveness of the batshit crazy. Let’s see, defund public education, defund higher education (and limit access), attack labor and labor rights. Falling backward is a feature, not a bug.

“Wisconsin” atop the capitol dome. Sometimes referred to as “Miss Forward” (there’s another statue with

that title on the grounds – “Forward” is the Wisconsin motto). Locals would also refer to the statue as

“Miss Rennebohm” because it ostensibly gazed toward the Rennebohm Drug Store on the square.

Not quite a Libertarian paradise:

A display of republican dogma proudly exhibited on a vehicle parked on the grounds of the Wisconsin capitol.

Because government shouldn’t do anything and if we prevent it from doing anything by starving it of revenue people won’t expect anything from government. Except maybe abortion restrictions.

No Exit.

Mislabeling inside the Wisconsin capitol?

What’s the similarity between Jay Nixon and Scott Walker? Their respective political bases consider them the best republican governor their state has ever had.

What are the odds of either becoming president?

In the People’s Republic of Madison:

Hagiography in the lion’s den.

Scott Walker borrows a page from Michele Bachmann

May 29, 2013 5:00 am  •  Cap Times editorial

When Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker traveled to Iowa last week to gin up talk about a possible 2016 presidential run, he borrowed a page from Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann….

….He thanked Iowans for their support in Wisconsin’s 2012 recall election, which sort of made sense, as Walker’s campaign was heavily funded with out-of-state money. Of course, most of that money came from states like Texas and California and Florida. But Iowa did its part….

….Iowa caucus-goers may be amused by local links. But they ultimately are interested in positions and track records. And Walker will, ultimately, have to explain why the policies he has implemented in Wisconsin have failed so dismally to renew the state’s economy. Wisconsin under Walker has dropped from a No. 11 ranking for job creation to a No. 44 ranking. That puts Wisconsin behind Iowa and all of its neighboring states on what a lot of voters think is the primary measure of a governor – and, presumably, a presidential candidate….

That left a mark.

A sign along U.S. 151 in Wisconsin, on the way to Iowa.

There are just as many signs and bumper stickers still visible in Wisconsin berating Scott Walker (r) as those that support him. That would make the Wisconsin Governor a polarizing political figure. And the perfect republican nominee for President.

Somehow I don’t think we’ll be seeing Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (r) schmoozing Iowa voters at the Harkin Steak Fry in Indianola this September. That ain’t his crowd.

Game. Set. Match. Election.

Apparently Mitt Romney is going to announce on the U.S.S. Wisconsin in Virginia today that Paul Ryan (r), not Joe Lieberman, will be his vice presidential running mate.

April 4, 2011

GOP Aim: Cut $4 Trillion

Budget Plan Would Transform Medicare, Reset Budget Debate; Democrats Balk

….The budget has been prepared by Rep. Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican and the new chairman of the House Budget Committee….

….The plan would essentially end Medicare, which now pays most of the health-care bills for 48 million elderly and disabled Americans, as a program that directly pays those bills…..

….Conservative activists who are familiar with the Ryan plan said they expect it to call for a fundamental overhaul of the tax system, with a 25% top rate for both individuals and corporations, compared to the current 35% top rate….

Medicare in the Ryan Budget

By Paul N. Van de Water

March 28, 2012

….Most Medicare beneficiaries live on modest incomes and are in no position to pay much more for their health care.  The median income of Medicare households is about $25,000 a year, and only about 15 percent of Medicare households have total household incomes over $50,000.  Medicare households also spend three times as large a percentage of their budgets on out-of-pocket health expenses – 15 percent compared to 5 percent – as non-Medicare households do.  The Ryan budget would significantly raise the out-of-pocket health costs for Medicare beneficiaries with modest incomes, even as it proposes huge new tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans….

End Medicare as we know it and cut taxes for people like Mitt Romney (r). Sounds like a winner. For Obama.

Uh, for Ayn Rand true believers the timing for “going Galt” was supposed to be after the November election, not before.

From a comment at Charles Pierce, the Obama/Biden campaign ads will write themselves:

….Vote for Willard & Paul, and believe me, it’s not going to be a problem: you won’t be able to use the words “health”, “care”, and “affordable” in the same sentence ever again.

Game. Set. Match. Election.

Wisconsin recall election breaks state’s political spending records

Published: 12:44 PM 06/04/2012

….Many high-dollar donations have come from anti-union billionaires including Dick DeVos, David Koch, and Sheldon Adelson. Walker’s top three contributors contributed more money to his campaign than Barrett’s campaign has collected overall….

[emphasis added]

Via Twitter:

Rep. Vicky Hartzler ‏@RepHartzler

A victory tonight for fiscal responsibility and job creation. May it spread from Wisconsin across the nation. 9:28 PM – 5 Jun 12

Seriously?

Wisconsin Recall Election – total raised:  

Walker, Scott [R] $30,505,082.66

Barrett, Tom [D] $3,938,574.59

Trivedi, Hariprasad $120,089.63

[emphasis added]

If corporations were people and could vote it would have been a landslide. Oh, wait…

Missouri is not Wisconsin and the Koch Brothers probably aren’t willing to spend it all on every Congressional race. Probably.

Ouch, from Think Progress:

Missouri Becomes Second State To Divert Foreclosure Funds Away From Homeowners To Balance Its Budget

By Travis Waldron on Feb 13, 2012 at 9:25 am

Last week, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) announced that he would use the funds his state received from a $26 billion mortgage settlement between 49 states and the nation’s largest banks to help balance the state’s budget, even though the settlement money was marked to help homeowners. In all, Walker will use $25.6 million of the $31.6 million Wisconsin’s state government receives to help close a budget shortfall.

Though Walker’s move to push struggling homeowners aside may seem radical, it is now being followed by at least one other state. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon (D) and Attorney General Chris Koster (D) have pledged to put $40 million of the state’s $196 million share of the settlement into the state’s general fund to boost its higher education budget….

Wisconsin’s republican Governor Scott Walker bragged in television ads that he had a balanced budget and then grabbed the settlement funds to balance his budget because his policies didn’t actually fix the budget. Missouri’s Democratic Governor Jay Nixon submitted a budget with a 12.5% cut to higher education (ostensibly, to balance the budget) and when the settlement came in decided to relieve some of that cut to higher education with settlement money.

There is a difference.

Oh, my:

Over One Million

MADISON – United Wisconsin today announced that more than one million Wisconsinites have signed a petition to recall Scott Walker, representing the most-participated-in major recall effort in American history, and a number so significant that it is beyond any legal challenge. More then 845,000 signatures were collected for Rebecca Kleefisch. Signatures were submitted to the Government Accountability Board this afternoon.

The signatures represent the largest recall effort in the history of the United States and 185 percent of the signatures needed to trigger a recall of Walker….

….The weight of all of the signatures collected is 3,000 pounds. That’s two of the heaviest Wisconsin Dairy (Holstein) Cows, or 158 of the heaviest Badgers.

300,000 pages at 14″ each laid end to end is 66.3 miles. This is the distance from Green Bay to Oshkosh, La Crosse to Tomah.

Stood straight up the petition pile is 128 times higher than the tallest building in the world.

Stacked on top of one another, the petitions would reach 125 feet high, which is taller than the wings of the Madison Capitol Building (those are 84 feet high)….

How much is that in butter cow sculpture at the state fair?

Put those numbers in perspective with the results of the 2010 election, from the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board:

Office GOVERNOR Total Votes: 2,160,832

1,004,303 46.48% TOM BARRETT/TOM NELSON Democrat

1,128,941 52.25% SCOTT WALKER/REBECCA KLEEFISCH Republican

Back to the recall. That’s certainly a lot of signatures. What’s the lead recallee doing?:

Gov. Walker skips interviews, does NYC fundraiser

By Jason Stein of the Journal Sentinel Jan. 17, 2012 11:00 a.m. |(20) Comments

Madison — With recall petitions to be filed against Gov. Scott Walker Tuesday, aides said the governor would not be available for an interview because of a busy schedule.

Walker is scheduled to hold a fundraiser in New York City in the afternoon hosted by Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, the founder of financial services corporation American International Group, according to a copy of the fund-raising solicitation posted on the website of the New York Daily News….

Previously:

Wisconsin: in the trenches for the recall of Gov. Scott Walker (r) (December 19, 2011)

Wisconsin: in the trenches for the recall of Gov. Scott Walker (r), part 2 (December 21, 2011)

Wisconsin: in the trenches for the recall of Gov. Scott Walker (r), part 3 (December 23, 2011)

Wisconsin: they were misinformed? (December 26, 2012)

Over the course of the last year we covered a number of government and political events in Missouri (and elsewhere), in the process taking thousands of photographs. Most of them didn’t make it into the blog. Some of the things we saw and heard made us smile, made us think, made us gasp, made us hope, and made us despair. We thought we’d provide a retrospective of some of the pictures and stories we consider to be memorable.

January 5, 2011 – The Missouri General Assembly begins the legislative session –

Secretary of State Robin Carnahan (D) brings the House into session.

We covered the opening of the Missouri General Assembly session. Again.

Teabaggers, and nullification, and the cult of the lost cause, oh my! (January 5, 2011)

Teabagger rally at the state capitol: when astroturfing lobbyists speak, they listen… (January 5, 2011)

Opening of the legislative session in Jefferson City: January 5, 2010 (January 6, 2011)

Our hopes were dashed. Again.

January 19, 2011 – Senator Claire McCaskill (D) sits down for a talk with bloggers at her Kansas City office.

Senator Claire McCaskill (D) sat down for a conversation with Missouri political bloggers for over an hour in her office in Kansas City. Five years ago the thought of doing so wouldn’t have crossed anyone’s mind. The world has changed.

Senator Claire McCaskill (D): a conversation with bloggers in Kansas City (January 20, 2011)

Senator Claire McCaskill (D): a conversation with bloggers in Kansas City, part 2 (January 20, 2011)

Senator Claire McCaskill (D): a conversation with bloggers in Kansas City, part 3 (January 21, 2011)

Senator Claire McCaskill (D): a conversation with bloggers in Kansas City, part 4 (January 22, 2011)

February 26, 2011 – Teachers and organized labor rally in solidarity with Wisconsin workers at the state capitol in Jefferson City.

Photo by Joan Ferguson, Show Me Progress.

In late February teachers and organized labor held a rally in solidarity with Wisconsin workers at the state capitol in Jefferson City. There was a much smaller astroturf teabagger rally on the opposite side of the building at the same time.

Rallies in Jefferson City, Saturday, Feb. 26th: support organized labor or teabaggers, your pick (February 24, 2011)

Rallies in Jefferson City, Saturday, Feb. 26th: organized labor or teabaggers – photos (February 26, 2011)

Voices of Organized Labor in Jefferson City on February 26, 2011 (February 27, 2011)

An editor for the Wisconsin State Journal, a Madison paper, contacted us in April about using the photo in their coverage of the ongoing rallies at their state capitol. We granted permission and they ran the photo, with a credit.

Wisconsin: “Thank God for Missouri…” (April 21, 2011)

March 22, 2011 – Sly James is elected Mayor of Kansas City – speaking with the media.

In March we had to make a choice about which post election gathering to cover for the two candidates running for Mayor of Kansas City. We made the correct one.

Sly James: Mayor-elect of Kansas City – photos (March 23, 2011)

Our long municipal nightmare is at long last over (March 23, 2011)

May 29, 2011 – President Barack Obama speaks at the memorial service for victims of the Joplin tornado

on the campus of Missouri Southern State University.

In late May we covered the memorial service on the campus of Missouri Southern State University for the victims of the Joplin tornado.

Governor Jay Nixon in Joplin – remarks (May 30, 2011)

President Obama in Joplin – photos and remarks (May 30, 2011)

Some thoughts on Joplin (June 2, 2011)

June 16, 2011 – Governor Jay Nixon (D) addresses Missouri Boys State on the campus of the University of Central Missouri.

Missouri Boys State 2011 (June 11, 2011)

Former Governor Bob Holden at Missouri Boys State: Q and A, part 1 (June 12, 2011)

Former Governor Bob Holden at Missouri Boys State: Q and A, part 2 (June 13, 2011)

Governor Jay Nixon (D) signs HB 233 into law at Missouri Boys State (June 16, 2011)

Former Senator John Danforth at Missouri Boys State: Q and A, part 1 (June 16, 2011)

Former Senator John Danforth at Missouri Boys State: Q and A, part 2 (June 19, 2011)

June 17, 2011 – A rally in support of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security at Senator Claire McCaskill’s (D) office in St. Louis.

In June we had one of those rare Show Me Progress blog gatherings where the westsiders joined the eastsiders in St. Louis. We used the opportunity to cover two events.

St. Louis: calling on Sen. McCaskill (D) to protect Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security (June 18, 2011)

Definitely not a teabagger… (June 18, 2011)

Definitely not a teabagger, part 2 (June 20, 2011)

St. Louis: Jefferson Jackson Dinner – photos (June 18, 2011)

St. Louis: Jefferson Jackson Dinner – Wisconsin State Senator Lena Taylor (D) (June 19, 2011)

August 10, 2011 – Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) listens at a town hall in Warrensburg, Missouri.

Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) held town halls in Clinton and Warrensburg in August. People other than teabagger true believers attended and there was significant pushback against Representative Hartzler’s agenda from many in attendance.

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r): town halls in Clinton and Warrensburg (August 10, 2011)

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r): town hall in Warrensburg, part 1 (August 11, 2011)

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r): town hall in Warrensburg, part 2 (August 12, 2011)

Vicky Hartzler is trying trying to scare you (August 12, 2011)

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r): town hall in Warrensburg, part 3 (August 13, 2011)

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r): town hall in Warrensburg, part 4 (August 14, 2011)

September 18, 2011 – Paul Begala (D) speaks to the media at the Harkin Steak Fry in Indianols, Iowa.

In what has become an annual September road trip for us, we once again made the trek to Indianola, Iowa to cover the annual Harkin Steak Fry.

The 2011 Harkin Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa (September 18, 2011)

The 2011 Harkin Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa: Senator Bernie Sanders (I) (September 19, 2011)

The 2011 Harkin Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa: Paul Begala – part 1 (September 20, 2011)

The 2011 Harkin Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa: Paul Begala – part 2 (September 22, 2011)

The 2011 Harkin Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa: Paul Begala – part 3 (September 23,2011)

October 9, 2011 – Occupy Kansas City marches down to the Plaza.

In October the Occupy Wall Street movement changed the conversation across America, including in Kansas City.

The Occupation of Kansas City: Day 9 (October 8, 2011)

Occupy Kansas City (October 8, 2011)

The picture I didn’t take (October 8, 2011)

Occupy KC, Day Ten: The day the occupation came to me (October 9, 2011)

Occupy Kansas City: a concert, a few speeches, and a march (October 9, 2011)

Occupy Kansas City: a concert, a few speeches, and a march – part 2 (October 10, 2011)

October 30, 2011 – Occupy Kansas City holds a downtown rally and marches in the streets.

Occupy Kansas City: rally and march from Ilus Davis Park (October 30, 2011)

Occupy Kansas City: rally and march from Ilus Davis Park, part 2 (October 31, 2011)

Videos from Occupy Kansas City October 30 rally! (November 1, 2011

Videos from Occupy Kansas City October 30 rally! – part 2 (November 2, 2011)

December 6, 2011 – President Barack Obama speaks in Osawatomie, Kansas.

Photo by Jerry Schmidt, Show Me Progress.

President Obama made a speech in Osawatomie, Kansas.

President Obama in Osawatomie, Kansas (December 6, 2011)

President Obama in Osawatomie, Kansas: the crazification factor kicks in (December 7, 2011)

Obama Speech at Osawatomie, Kansas 2011 Video(December 9, 2011)

December 19, 2011 – A conversation in front of the Middleton, Wisconsin City Hall

between a recall petition signature gatherer and a supporter of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (r).

We had the opportunity to interview folks taking part in the recall process against Governor Scott Walker (r) in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin: in the trenches for the recall of Gov. Scott Walker (r) (December 19, 2011)

Wisconsin: in the trenches for the recall of Gov. Scott Walker (r), part 2 (December 21, 2011)

Wisconsin: in the trenches for the recall o
f Gov. Scott Walker (r), part 3 (December 23, 2011)

Wisconsin: they were misinformed? (December 26, 2011)

We look forward to more of the same in the coming year.