Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Endores Ted Cruz

Sen. Ted Cruz (L), Gov. Scott Walker (R)

Gov. Scott Walker called into WTMJ Radio in Milwaukee to announce his endorsement of Ted Cruz. Walker called Cruz a "principled, common sense conservative."

Not sure if endorsements actually do anything in this wild campaign season, though. South Carolina's Gov. Nikki Haley didn't seem to do much for Marco Rubio.

But we shall see. The Wisconsin primary is one week away.

The Ted Cruz campaign is thrilled with the news! From the Cruz campaign via press release:

We wanted to share some very exciting news with you: Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has just endorsed Ted Cruz for President. This is a HUGE deal. Scott Walker has enacted big, bold conservative reforms in Wisconsin. His endorsement confirms what we have been saying for months, Conservatives are uniting behind Ted Cruz.

Will you join Scott Walker in standing with Ted Cruz today? Over the last year we have been campaigning from coast to coast to elect Ted Cruz as President. We have accomplished a great deal, but there is still a lot left to do. Next week Wisconsin votes. We must send a strong message that we are all behind Ted Cruz.

Scott Walker’s endorsement proves that Ted Cruz has what it takes to win everywhere, including swing states like Wisconsin. The only thing left is your support today. Please join Scott Walker and conservatives across America by contributing to the Wisconsin Victory fund. Your contribution could make the difference between victory and defeat!

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker To Drop White House Campaign

According to the New York Times, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker plans to end his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination today. A press conference has been scheduled for 6PM today from Madison, Wisconsin.

The reason? His dramatic drop in the polls - he was at the top of most pundits list at the beginning of the year - where he now sees his stock plummet to less than one percent.

A supporter who was informed of the decision told the NY Times: “The short answer is money. He’s made a decision not to limp into Iowa.”

In addition to the disappointing poll results,  his lackluster performance in the two GOP debates thus far have apparently made donors nervous and have begun to flee the sinking ship.

One of his donors had this to say: “Donors have totally dried up for Walker, and getting people to come on Thursday was unbelievably hard. Everyone I know was just totally stunned by how difficult the fund-raising became, but the candidate and the campaign just couldn’t inspire confidence.”

Bye, Scott. It's like we barely knew your union-busting self.

News Round-Up: August 2, 2015

Some news stories you may have missed:

• HBO programming chief Michael Lombardo acknowledges canceling LGBT series "Looking" was a painful decision.

• Just for the fun of it - here's the best TV bloopers from local news reports in the past month. Folks are human, don't you know?

• Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker still backs a Constitutional amendment allowing states to ban same-sex marriage.

• Anti-gay Congressman Steve King says the recent SCOTUS ruling on same-sex marriage means you can now marry your lawn mower.

• Donald Trump may be riding high amid his GOP competitors, but a new poll shows every Democratic nominee would beat him.

• Did former One Directioner Zayn Malik throw shade at his former bandmates?

• GOP hopeful Dr. Ben Carson doesn't know if the Bible has "authority" over the U.S. Constitution.
(Here's a clue - it doesn't. Separation of Church and State and all that, don't you know...)

• Two current NFL players say they would come out if the media wouldn't make "a big deal out of it."

Scott Walker Openly Constitutional Ban On Marriage Equality

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker

Now here's a winning formula to become the next president of the United States: oppose an idea that currently enjoys the support of 60% of Americans.

GOP presidential hopeful Scott Walker said this today about marriage equality - considered settled law by the U.S. Supreme Court:

"Our conservative values were handed a big blow with the recent Supreme Court ruling. Let me be very clear: this decision was a grave mistake. Five unelected judges took it upon themselves to take that responsibility away from the states and redefine the institution of marriage.

"In 2006, I voted to amend my state constitution to protect the institution of marriage because I believe that marriage is between one man and one woman. I believe that the states have the right to define marriage.

"To protect this right, I support an amendment to the United States Constitution to reaffirm the ability of the states to continue to define marriage."

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Jumps Into 2016 GOP Race

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker officially announced his presidential campaign today, joining an already crowded field of GOP hopefuls.

In advance of today's announcement, CNN’s Dana Bash traveled to Madison to speak with Walker’s sons – 21 year old Matt and 19 year old Alex.

It turns out that Matt and Alex, like the vast majority of younger Americans, are both supporters of marriage equality. Gov. Walker, however, is decidedly not. He called the Supreme Court’s ruling last month a “grave mistake” and has tested the waters with an idea of a constitutional amendment to allow states to continue banning same-sex marriage.

Bash asked the two sons about their father’s negative reaction to the historic SCOTUS ruling, and how they feel about his position on same-sex marriage.

“We talked to him, like any family we have disagreements,” said Matt . “He just explained his position and that was it.”

“Matt and I aren’t necessarily changing his stances on any issues,” added Alex. “We respect his opinion on things.”

Walker is considered a GOP front-runner along with Jeb Bush, both of whom are expected to be competitive in a general election.

We shall see about that.

Scott Walker Campaign Trips Out Of The Gate

Scott Walker is expected to announce his candidacy for the GOP presidential nod on Monday.

But campaign staffers made a boo-boo when they tweeted out and then promptly deleted the above graphic yesterday.

It's going well, don't you think?

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Supports Constitutional Amendment Banning Same-Sex Marriage

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R), who voted for his state's ban on same-sex marriage in 2006, said in an appearance today on ABC's "This Week" that he supports a constitutional amendment banning marriage equality nationwide.

"I personally believe that marriage is between one man and one woman," said Walker, a prospective GOP presidential candidate, on ABC's "This Week." "If the court decides that, the only next approach is for those who are supporters of marriage being defined as between one man and one woman is ultimately to consider pursuing a constitutional amendment."

Walker added that "the decision on defining marriage should be left up to the states."

Recent polls show support for marriage equality at or near 60% approval across the U.S.

The most recent Quinnipiac University poll shows 56% of Americans support the Supreme Court striking down bans on same-sex marriage.

Same-sex marriage is currently legal in 36 states plus the District of Columbia.

To pass a constitutional amendment, you have to get approval from TWO-THIRDS of the Senate, TWO-THIRDS of the House of Representatives and then TWO-THIRDS of all state legislatures.

Clearly that won't ever happen. Walker is pandering to the conservative extremists.

Walker is expected to announce his candidacy for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination in the coming weeks.

Hillary Clinton Beats All GOP Contenders In New CNN/ORC Poll

In the latest CNN/ORC poll, Democrat Hillary Clinton beats every potential GOP candidate by at least 11 points.

Coming closest to Hillary is Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, but still 11 points behind the former Secretary of State with 54% preferring Clinton and only 43% picking Paul.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and current Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker each get only 40% to Hillary's 55%.

And it gets worse for the rest of the pack from there.

In terms of the Democratic nomination, folks like Hillary over Vice-President Biden 62%-15%.  Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts gets 10%.

The GOP side is still packed up in the teens with Bush getting 16% support, Walker getting 13% and Paul getting 12%.

Unions Demand Apology From Gov. Scott Walker For Comparison To Terrorists

Yesterday at CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference), Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker compared a president standing up against ISIS to his standing up to protesting union workers in his state:

"I want a commander in chief who will do everything in their power to ensure that the threat from radical Islamic terrorists does not wash up on American soil," Walker said, adding, "If I can take on 100,000 protesters, I can do the same across the world."

Once that sh*t hit the fan, he sought to "clarify" his statement saying "if I could handle that kind of a pressure and kind of intensity, I think I'm up for the challenge for whatever might come, if I choose to run for president."

Today, however, AFSCME (the country's largest public service employees union) issued a press release demanding an apology for comparing American union workers to terrorists:

We’re not going to stand by and let Scott Walker smear hard-working Americans, simply because the exercise their first amendment freedom to disagree with him. You don’t attack good men and women who give their time every day to make this country a better place.

[snip]

To compare the 100,000 men and women who stood up in Madison and called Governor Walker out for his attack on workers’ freedom to terrorists is disgusting. That’s the desperate act of a craven, career politician, not a leader whose values are aligned with what this country stands for. In Madison, we marched alongside military veterans, firefighters, police officers, nurses, librarians and teachers. There were senior citizens and children. College students and clergy.

This cannot stand, Governor Walker, and the nation deserves an apology.

Dropkick Murphys To Gov. Scott Walker: "Stop Using Our Music - We Hate You!"

Dropkick Murphys, a platinum-selling American Celtic punk band, sent the above tweet out Saturday to Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin.

The tweet reads, "@ScottWalker @GovWalker please stop using our music in any way... we literally hate you!!! Love, Dropkick Murphys."

The band members are ardent supporters of the working class and unions with a strong relationship with the AFL-CIO.

Walker, known for union busting in his state, is clearly the LAST person who should associate himself with band's music.

Rock on, Dropkick Murphys!

Op-Ed of the Day: Wisconsin should drop appeal of marriage equality ruling

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker

Excellent op-ed piece today from the editorial board of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel urging the state's Attorney General and Governor to NOT appeal the recent court ruling overturning the ban on same-sex marriage in the state.

An excerpt:

Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen feels obligated to try to block Friday's federal court ruling overturning Wisconsin's constitutional ban on same-sex marriages, so he asked two federal courts to stay the decision.

Instead, Wisconsin authorities should follow the lead of Pennsylvania, where a Republican governor last month said he would not appeal a similar ruling in that state. Gov. Tom Corbett had wanted to fight the ruling but then decided that he likely would lose an appeal. Attorney General Kathleen Kane, a Democrat, already had declined to appeal the ruling, saying the state's ban was unconstitutional.

Van Hollen and Gov. Scott Walker should realize how rapidly the sand has shifted under their feet on this issue. In fact, the debate is nearly over, and their side is losing it.

The editorial goes on to quote a recent Marquette Law School poll, released May 21, which found 55% of registered voters in Wisconsin now favor allowing gay marriage. So, there.

I encourage folks to read the entire piece here.

Of course, Governor Walker is going to appeal the decision. It's well known he has national political aspirations in the Republican Party and he can't afford to not at least "appear" to oppose the ruling.

Whatever.

I appreciate the editor at the Journal-Sentinel for prescribing the approach that keeps equality for all in mind.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker - Banning marriage quality provides a "healthy balance"

Gov. Scott Walker says having a state-wide constitutional ban on marriage equality makes for a "healthy balance" in Wisconsin.

Said Walker: "In Wisconsin, we’ve had anti-discriminatory laws that are very similar to [ENDA] for more than 30 years and they work quite effectively. We’re also a state that has a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as one man and one woman… I mean, we’ve not had problems. We’ve had no problems — I should say, limited problems — with [anti-discrimination laws]. At the same time, we still have a constitutional amendment that defines marriage. There’s a healthy balance there.

Breaking: Wisconsin's union busting law declared unconstitutional

Gov. Scott Walker

From ThinkProgress: Wisconsin Judge Juan Colas ruled that Governor Scott Walker’s (R-WI) law eliminating collective bargaining rights for public-sector unions was unconstitutional under both the Wisconsin and United States constitutions.

The law, which does not save the state any money but crushes the political and economic influence of unions, has been in effect for roughly one year.

It is unclear, per ABC’s reporting, whether union restrictions will be suspended immediately pending a likely Walker appeal.

Wisconsin recall wrap-up

So the long and short of it is: after out spending challenger Tom Barrett on a scale of 8 to 1, Gov. Scott Walker remains the governor in Wisconsin.  With 99% of the vote in, Walker beat Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett (D) by seven percentage points, 53%-46%, which was almost identical to the margin in their 2010 contest.

What apparently helped Walker - besides 75% of his campaign money coming from out of state - was 60% in exit polls said that recalls are legitimate only for official misconduct, which they didn't feel was the case here.

However, a couple of bright spots for Democrats from the evening:

1. The Obama White House and Chicago campaign headquarters can take comfort that the exit poll shows Obama beating Romney by seven points, 51%-44%, and it even shows him slightly ahead of Romney on improving the economy, 42%-38%.

2. Wisconsin Democrats appeared to have assumed control of the state Senate with results posted early Wednesday showing former Sen. John Lehman (D-Racine) defeating incumbent Van Wanggaard in a tight race.

Wisconsin: Governor recall election shenanigans

Voters across Wisconsin are relaying stories via Twitter, Facebook and online message boards about anonymous “robocalls” from allies of Scott Walker, telling them–incorrectly–that if they signed petitions to recall Governor Walker, their vote in today’s crucial election has been recorded.

An NBC reporter tweeted that a family friend was one recipient of the call:

Tom Barrett, the mayor of Milwaukee and the Democratic nominee to unseat Governor Scott Walker, told MSNBC host Ed Schultz last night that his campaign began receiving complaints yesterday that voters had been contacted with the misinformation. This morning, Salon reported on the robocalls too, and included comments from Carol Gibbons, a Wisconsin resident who got the call herself. And a local CBS affiliate is even reporting that the caller sounds eerily similar to Tom Barrett, suggesting the group behind the call may have hired a Barrett impersonator.

So far no recording of the call has surfaced, but the reports from voters was enough to prompt the Barrett campaign to make calls of its own, warning voters not to listen to the first call. For its part, the Walker campaign denied any involvement in or knowledge of the robocall or who was behind it.

Election day antics were a near certainty in Wisconsin. In the last week, reports of other campaign antics surfaced, including an attempt by Walker supporters to disable the Barrett campaign’s phone lines by flooding their call centers with spam phone calls.
(source)

WI: Multi-Platinum Recording Artists Headline ‘Get Out the Vote’ Rally in Madison

Via press release: Grammy Award-winning guitarist Tom Morello of “Rage Against The Machine,” singer-songwriter Jackson Browne, Tim McIlrath of the punk rock band “Rise Against,” international touring hip-hop artist Brother Ali and Mike McColgan, the original lead singer of “Dropkick Murphys” and the lead singer of the “Street Dogs,” are all hitting the stage in Madison to turn out the vote in a Wisconsin recall election that looks too close to call.

The “Get Out The Vote’ Rally, sponsored by We Are Wisconsin, will provide a massive boost to canvassing efforts days before the recall election on June 5.

The event, which will be held at the Madison Labor Temple at 1602 S. Park St., is free to the public with a sign up to volunteer to help get out the vote. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.

“Gov. Scott Walker messed with Wisconsin workers and now it’s time to pay the piper,” said Morello. “I’m headed back to Madison with some friends to help yank that right-wing extremist out of office like a bad tooth. We are ready, willing and able to use our music to help rally the troops to do the hard work of knocking on doors and getting out the vote during the last critical hours of this recall election.”

Three different polls released in the past week have shown a dead heat with challenger Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett having clear momentum and a superior field operation. Both sides have consistently said the election will come down to whom has the better ground game and turns out its base.

Wisconsin: Scott Walker's number stagnate despite millions spent on recall

A new Marquette Law School poll finds that Scott Walker and his most likely recall opponent, Tom Barrett, are in a dead heat, with Barrett edging Walker by 47-46 among registered Wisconsin voters.

The really important finding here, however, is that Walker’s approval rating, and his head to head numbers with Barrett, have not changed in months — if anything, they’re going down. And this is in spite of the fact that Walker and his allies have vastly outspent rivals in TV ads.

Charles Franklin, a political scientist and expert in Wisconsin politics who directs the Marquette poll, sends over some numbers.

In January, Walker’s job approval was 51 percent; in March, it was 50 percent; and this month, it's 47 percent.

Recent poll numbers:

January: Walker leads Barrett 50-44
March: Walker leads Barrett 47-45
Now: Walker trails Barrett 46-47

“There’s been a great deal of advertising in the state, especially from the Walker campaign and Republican supporters, and we’ve seen virtually no movement in the Walker numbers,” says Franklin.

Read more at the Washington Post.

One million signatures to be submitted for Gov. Scott Walker recall

Opponents of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker have about 1 million signatures on a petition to force a recall election, according to a state Democratic Party news release.

If the state’s Government Accountability Board rules that at least 540,208 signatures are valid and any legal challenges fail, Wisconsin will hold the third gubernatorial ouster vote in U.S. history.

One million signatures is 185 percent of the minimum threshold. There is no doubt about it: Gov. Scott Walker will face a recall election.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker recall petitions to be submitted Tuesday

Supporters of a push to oust Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker from office are prepared to declare victory in their effort to force the Republican into a recall election. However, a large issue stills remains undecided: who will run against him?

Recall organizers say they have gathered far more than the 540,208 signatures required to force the election against both Walker and GOP Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, and will submit their petitions Tuesday.

Democrats and union leaders insist they're not concerned about not having someone actively running against Walker and trying to match his fundraising. In fact, they say it was part of their strategy.

"It forced Walker and his minions to run on their record and issues rather than to run against an announced Democratic candidate," said Marty Beil, president of the Wisconsin State Employees Union, the largest union of state workers. "That was part of the rationale through the whole recall petition collection process."

Democrats and union leaders said they also never anticipated competing with Walker on fundraising. Beil said the key for recall supporters will be to maintain the enthusiasm that fueled recall signature collection for the past two months.
(source)

With over 500K signatures collected Gov. Walker recall looks inevitable

A recall of controversial Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker now appear inevitable. In just 28 days, activists collected 507,533 signatures. Organizers have until January 17 to collect 540,208 signatures, which is equal to 25% of the state’s 2010 general election turnout.

To be safe, recall advocates have set a new goal of 720,277 signatures by the deadline.
(source)