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Barrett, Walker Primed for Second Showdown
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett will meet Gov. Scott Walker in a June 5 recall election after winning Tuesday's primary over former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk and three other candidates.
Like it or not, Wisconsin, we're getting a recall rematch.
Voters hoping to recall Republican Gov. Scott Walker have put their faith in Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who handily won Tuesday's Democratic primary election. Barrett will square off against Walker one month from now in the June 5 recall, a rematch of the November 2010 showdown.
Over the next month, Barrett undoubtedly hopes to ride the momentum of Tuesday's convincing victory over former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk. Barrett garnered 55 percent of the statewide vote to Falk's 37 percent, as of 10 p.m. Tuesday.
"I will end Scott Walker's ideological civil war," Barrett told supporters at the Hyatt Regency Milwaukee after his victory.
In November 2010, after incumbent Jim Doyle chose not to run for re-election, Walker defeated Barrett with 52 percent of the vote to become the state's 45th governor.
Just a few short months later, however, Walker announced how he planned to follow through on his campaign promise to eliminate the state's deficit — in part by stripping collective bargaining rights for public employees through Act 10 — creating what has become a never-ending political season in Wisconsin. Since February 2011, the state has been as politically divided as it has ever been.
"He looked for new ways to divide us and that division is exactly opposite from the way I will govern," Barrett told supporters. "Because in difficult times, we do not need a leader who will divide us, we need a leader who will bring us together.
"Do we want a governor who has divided this state like it has never been divided before? Do we want a governor who has caused this state to lose more jobs than any other state in this country?" he asked. "Do we want a governor who raises 60-70 percent of his funds from outside this state? Do we want a governor who has to have a criminal defense fund? We do not want this in our state."
Barrett's victory had been expected for weeks. Less than a week ago, Barrett held a 17-point lead over Falk in a Marquette University poll, as he steadily increased his lead and widened the gap between himself and Falk.
Barrett secured labor endorsements from the Wisconsin Professional Police Association, the Iron Workers District Council of North Central States and a few others, but his list paled in comparison to Falk's, which included the Wisconsin AFL-CIO and the Wisconsin Educators Association Council, two of the state's largest unions.
But those endorsements did not pay off for Falk on Tuesday.
"Together we have been an energy and a force that has helped us get to this historical election just 28 days away," Falk told her supporters at her election part in Madison. "I worked as hard as I could becuase I love Wisconsin and the people of Wisconsin.
"I put my full support in this race to Tom and I encourage you all to do the same. You and I must turn to tomorrow and the healing of Wisconsin must intensify and gov. Walker must be recalled," she said. "I implore you to continue to keep up this fight. The next four weeks could be the most important in our state's history and I ask you all to join the fight."
According to the Huffington Post, there will be a unity event in Milwaukee on Wednesday, with the four Democratic candidates and Democratic Party Chairman Mike Tate.
"It's been a terrific effort, and Kathleen has built an enormous tent of support from public workers and environmental groups," Scott Ross, spokesman for Falk's campaign, told Patch. "This is the kind of grassroots momentum that we will need to defeat Gov. Scott Walker on June 5. ... All of the candidates are united in their desire to ensure Gov. Walker is removed from office June 5."
Falk, Barrett focused on jobs
Falk jumped into the recall race in mid-January, immediately after the deadline for recall signatures had passed. Since then, she has promised to restore the collective bargaining rights stripped under Walker, a promise Barrett has not yet made. Barrett, who waited until March 30 to declare his candidacy, has said he will work to restore collective bargaining a little at a time.
Falk and Barrett campaigned on the importance of job creation, and both criticized Walker when news surfaced that Wisconsin lost more jobs than any other state over the last 12 months.
Walker retorted by pointing out much of that job loss has come in Milwaukee, where Barrett is the top official.
Now those two will square off again, and recent numbers have the race as a dead heat. That same Marquette poll showed Barrett led Walker among all registered voters polled, 47 to 46 percent. Among likely voters, however, Walker got the nod by a point, 48 to 47.
Walker targets Barrett's record in Milwaukee
Walker, meanwhile, secured the Republican ticket Tuesday with 97 percent of the vote over political newcomer Arthur Kohl-Riggs.
"For anyone out there that has any doubt about what the future would be if we made a change, just look at where we're headed moving forward versus where Milwaukee is today," Walker told supporters in Waukesha on Tuesday. "In Wisconsin over the past year, we've balanced the budget without raising taxes, without massive layoffs … we're going to keep taking care of this state in the future."
The Republican Party of Wisconsin wasted no time criticizing Walker's opponent, issuing this statement 30 minutes before the polls officially closed:
"Tom Barrett's failed record in Milwaukee has been a serious concern throughout this contentious primary, and tonight, many Democrats showed they're still not convinced he's the right candidate to challenge Governor Walker.
"Milwaukee's ranking as the ninth poorest city in the country, coupled with a 29 percent rise in unemployment since becoming mayor, clearly demonstrates that Tom Barrett's policies have only hurt Wisconsin's middle-class. Over the next four weeks, it will become even clearer to Wisconsin voters that Tom Barrett represents nothing more than the failed policies of the past, and it's Governor Walker who is moving our state forward."
Friends of Scott Walker deputy campaign manager Dan Blum continued to pile on Barrett in this statement:
"As Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett enters the general election in his soon to be third statewide losing campaign, he will surely find that his record of raising taxes and promises to continue to do so will not resonate with voters. While Governor Walker's term has seen unemployment drop to its lowest rate since 2008, unemployment under Tom Barrett has risen more than 28 percent.
"Rather than Tom Barrett's path of taking Wisconsin back to the days of billion-dollar deficits, double-digit tax increases and record job loss, we are confident that voters will choose to stand with Governor Walker and move Wisconsin forward."
Rounding out the field in the gubernatorial Democratic primary were Sen. Kathleen Vinehout (4 percent), Secretary of State Doug La Follette (3 percent) and Gladys Huber, the Republican running as a Democrat (1 percent).
More than just the governor race
Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefish and four Republican state senators also learned who their recall opponents will be in June.
Mahlon Mitchell (51 percent) defeated Isaac Weix (27 percent) and Ira Robins (22 percent) in the lieutenant governor Democratic primary.
Also, Lori Compas defeated Gary Ellerman in State Senate District 13; Kristen Dexter knocked off James Engel in District 23; and Donna Seidel toppled Jim Buckley in District 29.
John Lehman was leading Tamra Varebrook in District 21, but that race had not been called as of 10:30 p.m.
7:33 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
You mean the same as Walker lost in his own county in the Governor's election 2010?
Steve ®
10:38 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Yeah, Milwaukee is known for being a republican hot bed.............
2:05 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Milwaukee County kept Walker in office for quite some time, Steve. Let's keep it real!
; )
Dirk Gutzmiller
8:55 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Steve ® - As a trademarked commenter for ALEC or some other Koch- type cell, and your online claims that you are a 1%'er and drive a Cadillac Escalade that you peel out at traffic lights, your credibility is underwater, except with your alternate persona, Alfred.
Steve ®
10:39 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Are you taking medication for this delusion or were the shakes getting to you so you had to stop?
2:19 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
I'm looking forward to the streetcar. Having spent time in some fair-sized cities, I'm accustomed to hopping buses and subways. Milwaukee's mass transit, once a national model, is in a woeful state in comparison. Spending as much time downtown/East Side/Third Ward as I do, parking is a challenge.
What's nice about the streetcar is that is celebrates our history. My father told me that streetcars and trackless trolleys once ferried people everywhere. A special streetcar went practically to the door of old County Stadium. A special bridge (which began on Wells Street) provided an "express" trip over the Valley to the west side. And he and his friends would travel to Chicago via trolley, then transfer to the train (the Metra out of Kenosha is a vestige of that route). He also told me that many people commuted to Chicago daily for work by this method (and vice versa).
Unfortunately Milwaukee's mass transit fell slowly victim to increased automobile usage, as did the systems in many other American cities.
2:49 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Is Barret's street car going to solve your parking problems in the Third Ward or the East side? There's a reason why the streetcars of the olden days fell by the wayside as people started to drive...
Steve ®
3:00 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
►mass transit fell slowly victim to increased automobile usage, as did the systems in many other American cities.◄
Typical liberal solution. Force the market and spend vast amounts of tax money trying to create something that will never take hold. You can look at the recent "green" energy money pit if you need a reference. You already state why it has failed in the USA, so why continue the path of failure? Why rip up the streets that American's want to install a product they do not want?
Dirk Gutzmiller
3:45 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Steve ® - You are delusional if you forget you wrote a month or more ago on Patch that you drive a Cadillac Escalade, peel out at traffic lights, are a 1%'er.
Maybe you are a robocommentator for ALEC, and I am talking to a machine.
Steve ®
4:55 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
I do have an Esclade. I do not peel out at lights. Defined by the socialists I am the 1%. Bren is the resident ALEC/Koch crack pot you can't steel her thunder.
So now what does this have to do with anything?
Dirk Gutzmiller
8:04 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Steve ® - You say, and I very much doubt, you are a 1%'er with an Escalade. I have a comment from you of over a month ago that said you were going to peel out in the Escalade on your way home just to burn gas. What I am saying is, Steve, if true, you are not very relevant to others on Patch. If untrue, you are a fraud. . And as to the streetcar, if you ever went to San Francisco, I am fairly confident you would drive around cursing the cable cars, looking for a Burger King. You ought to come in from Slinger once in a while and sample urban life. Leave the .45 at home.
Steve ®
9:39 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
I must be relevant you seem to have to reply jibberish and personal half ass attacks to my every post.
Dirk Gutzmiller
9:02 am on Thursday, May 10, 2012
Steve ® - I am saying you are not relevant to speaking for the great majority of us. Your blurts, most often profane and hateful, represent the fraction of the upper 1% that echo the extreme positon of the Koch Bros. and their selfish ilk. Your last comment implies you can dish it out, but can't take it. When you take extreme positions, expect a reply. That is a lesson in democracy. I am not ignoring you like most.
Nick Poulos
11:18 pm on Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Barrett is the right person at this present now to send Walker, rightfully and justly, packing and back to his plutocratic handlers, who can continue to tell lies and distort facts. The Walker spin-meisters do not believe in these simple statements: "Truth is un-hiddenness." "Questions are the piety of thought." and "What is most thought-provoking in our thought-provoking times is that we are still not thinking." If you find that hard to believe then it is time to visit the tubal detoxification outlet on capital drive.
Keith Schmitz
6:36 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
It's one thing to make assertions when nobody is governor. It's another when somebody is governor.
People don't are going to be a lot less tolerant of Walker when the job numbers suck. Whine all you want about low unemployment in Wisconsin. Read the charts and those numbers got a running start coming out of the final two quarters of the Doyle administration -- which pushed into Walker's first quarter.
Once Walker's policies kicked in it has been all down hill from there.
No matter how you slice it, this recall is all Walker's. People are not as enamored with right wing talk radio policies as he thinks or you all do.
Be smug. Please. The millions of out of state money pounding the beach has done nothing for Walker. Now they will find out we shoot back.
6:55 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Watch. Tom Barrett's campaign will be run on any issue but his own record.
7:09 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
you're full of shi%.....when you can't say it in plain english, shut the front door!
Jory Pradjinski
9:39 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Nick- it's not hard to think about the overly bloated state government, that WEAC ran the governor's mansion for many years and when they got kicked out they ran crying. Think about the teacher union's desperately trying to maintain their strong hold on school districts and their own members. Think about being forced to pay union dues even though you don't want to, where's the freedom in that? Think about getting manufacturing jobs back into Wisconsin which have been lost for years. Think about the fact of Shorewood school district saving somewhere around $400,000+ due to securing health insurance for teachers away from WEA Trust/WEAC. That's better then the stinkin' thinkin' that's been in this state.
9:54 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Seriously? Well lets see you left wing radicals claimed over 1 million signatures to initiate a recall. Well lets see the vote total for all the dem gov selections did not equal 1 million. Hmmmmmmmmmmm
Gov Walker will once again send Mr Barret packing. Can you say 3peat loser. As for jobs seriously? Again lets look at the facts. A State that is constant turmoil with unknowns around every corner due to all you Libs forcing a recall, what business would look to expand in this State. It appears Gov walkers reforms are working and are now starting to take shape.
Also Milwaukee under Mr Barret is what at 25% unemployment, my mother in law just receieved a notice from the city informing her that her propertie value has once again declined drastically and there would be no change to her property tax bill. Barret ya ok
10:33 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Somebody needs to take their nose out of the thesaurus and look at the real world. Glad your not on my team.
Dirk Gutzmiller
11:08 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
@Nick - You have to get down for this extremist right-wing crowd. They just do not get it. A study shows that simplistic right wing principles are easier to understand for lower I.Q. folks. Straight arrow thoughts are much easier than those involving nuance and compromise..
lolo peeg
10:46 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Barrett will lose again to Walker. Barrett and Falk together got less votes than Scott. People came out in droves to support Scott this time even though they did not need to. In 27 days we'll see if Walker's margin is as large as it was in 2010, or larger.
jonathan Shen
3:02 pm on Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Barrett is the right person for what? carry on Obama's agenda in Wisconsin to increase unemployment to 8.2% or higher.
7:12 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Tom Barrett - #1 again for polluting the Great Toilet known as Lake Michigan. In competition with third-world shi*&%^$ s, Milwaukee Poop placed FIRST!
Robert Merlin
7:24 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Enic--you do know the sewage dist.is run by the county right?
The county that Walker headed,and ran into the ground befor leaving!
Jay Sykes
7:43 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
@Robert Merlin... Milwaukee County has absolutely no control over MMSD. The the voting majority of the board of MMSD is appointed by Barrett(mayor of Milwaukee), a minority of the members are appointed by the suburbs in the MMSD boundries.
7:45 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
@Robert Merlin .... um you may want to read this?? Facts before bloviating
Jory Pradjinski
9:29 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Actually Tom Ament ran the county into the ground with his pension scandal, the very same pension scandal which will plague the county finances for many more years. Even the current county exec tried blaming the county money problems on Walker instead of knowing the fact that Ament and his cronies pocketed lots of $$$$$$$$$.
Dirk Gutzmiller
10:47 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
At least the new County Exec, the able Abele, has managed to get the Sheriff to get rid of all those excessive deputies. There is no unincorporated land in Milwaukee Co. for them to even patrol. Walker was obsequious to the badges, as usual.
Brett bushman
6:39 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
If you blame the executive that couldn't get anything through a thick minded mayor's (Tom barrett's) office, then we should blame the secretaries and the assistants and everyone else that has worked in the mayor's office for the last 8 years and watched the city crumble into ruins... And don't tell me those teamster semis that rolled into Madison from OUT OF STATE 16 months ago weren't loaded with millions of dollars in OUT OF STATE money....
Dirk Gutzmiller
8:11 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
@bushman - Not sure you know what you are talking about. The County Executive is a separate political role from any mayor in the County, and does not report up to anyone but the County residents.. Last I looked, the City had not crumbled into ruins. Get out of the bush, and come into the city. Maybe take in a play, a good restaurant, or a ball game.
lolo peeg
10:51 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
NOT True. MSSD is run by a commission with 11 members, 7 of which are appointed by Barrett, and 4 by the mayors of the suburbs. Barrett therefore has a majority of the votes in his back pocket. The county has no vote per se on the MMSD Commission.
7:37 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Do you think Barrett will stop embarrassing himself after he goes 0-3 in his attempt to be governor?? He keeps saying 'independent', but he's so far right and will go to the extreme and restore collective bargaining?! That's a sign is is a HUGE liberal. He knows he'd end the civil war because republicans won't pull the dog and pony show that the democrats did last year. He's so out of touch. How about fixing Milwaukee first?!
7:41 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
I thought this whole recall was about restoring collective bargaining..
Oh wait thats right, its real loser for all the losers on the left.. So changing the subject again. Wait for it, That didnt work, so we are changing the subject again, wait for it, That didnt work, repeat and rinse as needed...
Cant wait for June, its going to be a lot of fun for Walker, and the rest of us who think Mayor Barrett is the toast, when we look at his accomplishments.
10:25 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
You thought wrong--and you know it but are too much of a Walker fan to admit it and my guess is that you will continue with your lies.
"I thought this whole recall was about restoring collective bargaining"
Meanwhile, here is a new ad. I saw it on my local evening news last night.
It is spot on.
NEW AD: Did Walker really not know about felonies being committed right outside his office? http://bit.ly/JTXpjA #WIunion #WIrecall
Scandal surrounds Scott Walker
May 7, 2012 by GreaterWisComm
Fifteen felony and three misdemeanor charges have been filed against top aides and associates of Scott Walker. Two have already plead guilty. Another had her home raided by the FBI. Investigators believe Walker's staffers installed a secret computer network inside his government office building so they could conduct campaign activities while working for the taxpayers. Walker wants us to believe he had no knowledge of these activities. How could he not have known what has going on in the offices of people he personally hired and worked only feet from his office?
Steve ®
10:46 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Does you boss know you spend all day slinging left wing propaganda online?
Dirk Gutzmiller
3:48 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Steve ® - It is good to be employed. Try it. Does your mom know you are on Patch again?
Steve ®
4:57 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
You're not very good at this internet thing. One minute I have an Escalade and am the 1% and the next I am unemployed and still under the control of my mother. It's not close to witty or funny.
Practice, tomorrow, 6am sharp.
Dirk Gutzmiller
8:18 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Steve ® - I think I am much better than you at this "internet" thing. I do not easily believe your claim that you are an Escalade owner, you are a 1%'er, that you own a thriving business that caters to 1%'ers, that you are not "Alfred", and that you are not an intentional disrupter of blog posts.
7:59 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
From the MMSD website:
MMSD is run by a Commission made up of eleven members. Seven are appointed by the mayor of the City of Milwaukee (subject to Common Council confirmation). At least three must be elected officials and each of the seven members must have his or her principal residence in the City of Milwaukee.
Four Commission members are appointed by the Executive Council of the Intergovernmental Cooperation Council (ICC) which is composed of the mayors and village presidents of the Milwaukee County suburban municipalities (excluding South Milwaukee). At least three of these appointees must be elected officials and each of the four members must have his or her principal residence within the District but outside of the City of Milwaukee.
Commissioners establish and enforce District policy through the following two standing Commission Committees:
Jory Pradjinski
9:22 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Sally- Nice job presenting the facts to the clueless.
8:17 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Barrett accomplishments. Higher unemployment, more spending, less high school graduates, higher taxes, lower property values mayor of one of the poorest large cities in America and a decreased city credit rating. If thats the accomplishments he wants to run on thats fine but thats his record anything else is pure bull.
Even your unions didn't support him, what does that tell you?
Jory Pradjinski
9:25 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Well said. But you forgot street light "fees", garbage pick up "fees" (guess he thought residents would think he eliminated some taxes. Plus add on his shining 'achievement' of the 2.1 mile street car - one of the dumbest ideas yet.
lolo peeg
11:01 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
You also forgot the 100 million $ streetcar (but we still have time to stop it, I hope!)
8:55 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Forrest Brigand
9:12 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Barrett says about Walker "He looked for new ways to divide us and that division is exactly opposite from the way I will govern," Ending collective bargaining was ending the division between the public and private sectors that shouldn't have existed in the first place. I can't get enough of all these Union code words. "Workers", "fairness", means "union workers" and "higher taxes on the productive class". Is there any unionized workplace in the country where it isn't union employees vs. non-union management? How productive is that? If unions are so great why is it necessary to make it mandatory to join? Why not make it voluntary? .... because very few people benefit from a union. Very few. The majority of "workers" do not. We need to make Wisconsin a right to work state. Let the unions attract members based on choice, not force. Vote Walker!!
Dirk Gutzmiller
9:13 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Walker was the head honcho for Milwaukee County for eight years, EIGHT YEARS, but not really responsible for anything that went wrong, was corrupt, or inefficient? According to the AP, his county budget increased 35% during his tenure. And Walker as a hero and winner? He chickened out and withdrew in 2006 after he had announced as a primary candidate for Governor. He lost his first election to be a Wisc. state legislator, and had to move to a Republican district to continue his quest to be a professional politician. Could not make the grade in college. Was not retained by IBM where he was a computer warranty salesman. Did not find a job in the private sector, went to the Red Cross. Only the 3rd governor in U.S. history to undergo a recall.
9:20 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Dirk, Walker proposed a very do-able 0% increase budget every year at MKE county, only to have the dysfunctional MKE county board over-ride his vetos of their spending attachements, including the ridiculous fish hatchery. You know better than to blame the budget increases on him. As for the rest of your personal swipe, well, I'll consider the source of the attacks.
Dirk Gutzmiller
10:33 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
@Gearhead - Must be making strong points you do not want to address, and you meekly shrink back into the corner and whine and get personal. What exactly do you mean "consider the source' in referring to me?. Kind of afraid to comment on those strong points? And as to Walker just sittin' there vetoing everything, why not get down and get dirty and actually work on persuasion, compromise and diplomacy with the Board. Same deficiencies he has now as Governor, can't deal with opponents except through power plays. If you want to bring up the fish hatchery, how about me bringing up the lack of maintenance on a building causing a slab to fatally fall on a teenager. Oh yeah, maintenance is not sexy to a demogogue.
Steve ®
11:57 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Is this the part of the liberal brain where we blame Walker for pushing concrete on a teenager and Bush for creating hurricane Katrina?
Dirk Gutzmiller
3:51 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Steve ® - Your incrdedible insensitivity to a dead teenager once again comes through. Yes, Walker cut budget for maintenance of structures.
Jonah Goldberg
9:35 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
THIS RECALL IS COSTING THE TAXPAYERS OVER 16 MILLION DOLLARS. YOU ALL COMPLAIN ABOUT LOSING YOUR BENEFITS BUT YOU ARE OK WITH GIVING UP 16 MILLION DOLLARS? HYPOCRITICAL CRY BABIES, THAT IS WHAT YOU ARE. RECALLS SHOULD NOT HAPPEN UNLESS THERE ARE LAWS BEING BROKEN, WHICH THERE ARE NOT. my advice-GROW UP, and stop your complaining!
9:57 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Thats ok Jonah, Walker raised $25 million himself to fight the recall. I am sure as good hearted as Walker is he will chip in and pay for this himself. Wait, he needs the money for his legal fund....sorry.
Dirk Gutzmiller
10:35 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Getting a little nervous now about the Recall, are you Johah?
Steve ®
11:59 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Mike. Really? Walker really started the drive to petition a recall on himself. In perspective, I am sure as good hearted as the unions are they will chip in and pay for this themselves. WEAC trust should have plenty of money in the coffers from overcharging billions in healthcare over the years.
4:45 am on Thursday, May 10, 2012
@Dirk-Again 1 million signatures but only 600,000 votes total for all the Dem candidates!!! Hmmmmm if I was you I would be the one getting a little nervous. Seeing that Walker alone got over 600,000 votes
9:41 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Milwaukee schools are the 9th worst in the entire USA...
Shouldn't Barrett stay in the position he ran for, won and said he'd repair? Or, is he on a quest to ruin the rest of the state as well?
9:42 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Love it---Walkers Corp bosses.
Andy Kroll @AndrewKroll
Feingold: Walker "relies on corp. bosses from coast to coast"; a united grassroots "can put an end to Walker's harmful policies." #wirecall
9:55 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Walker himself had 626,538 votes - 58,818 FEWER votes than all of the Democratic candidates and Kohl-Riggs combined (685,356). How hard is it for you to do the simple math here. The Dems split their vote amongst many potential candidates. Walker was one viable candidate on the GOP side. When the Dems vote for their 1 candidate they outnumbered Walker by 58k more votes. This is a slam dunk for Barrett. What you seen last night is what you get with Walker, about 600k votes. Barrett will crush walker by more than 100k votes.....easily.
10:35 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Remember that Walker wasn't really running against a serious candidate. There really was no incentive for republicans to turn out and vote for Walker yesterday. He's going to have much higher numbers in June, while the Dems are unlikely to see the same gain in their numbers come June...
Steve ®
12:03 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
A non disillusion thinker would look at the 626K votes for Walker and understand that is a massive turnout of support, especially since they didn't even have to show up to the polls yesterday.
But I'm sure you fantasy land is all warm and fuzzy, I don't want to crush it too much.
12:59 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
@Cow Dung -- Really? No incentive for Republicans to turn out? Then why did the City of Brookfield have a higher turnout than for the GOP Presidential primary? The talk I was hearing at my polling place indicated that the Republicans were very intent on showing those recallers a thing or two.
As of today, Walker will be running against a serious candidate. I'm expecting you all to lock and load on Barrett, but we'll see.
2:18 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
By 'no incentive', I meant that Walker didn't really need the votes to beat the token opposition. It's obvious that voters turned out in support of Walker to send the message to the Dems/Recallers that Walker has strong support.
2:20 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
I'm thinking that since Walker will now be facing 'real' competition, voter turnout in support of Walker will be much higher during the June election.
Steve ®
3:03 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Who said most of Falk's support didn't come from Republicans voting for her instead of Walker.
Dirk Gutzmiller
4:03 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Steve ® , Cowdung - It is called whistling by the graveyard, i.e., "delusional", Steve's word of the day. He must have had another doctor's appointment today. Everybody knew Barrett was way ahead of Falk, why bother with Dem voting.
Dirk Gutzmiller
8:30 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
@Cowdung - In your mind, I voted the straight Communist ticket. I always vote, every chance I get, no matter how moot.
Wondering how may moderate Republicans and Independents voted for Barrett. I did not see any real push to get Dems to the polls for a moot primary.
9:15 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Considering most republicans that are going to vote for Walker in 4 weeks - DIDN'T VOTE YESTERDAY
lolo peeg
11:07 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Dream on, doofus. 100,000 votes in the Democrat primary were made by crossovers. That leaves the leftists with a lot fewer votes..
10:01 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Well as I see it, yesterday was a HUGE victory for Gov Walker!! Lets see you all claimed to have over 1 million signatures that were gathered to force the re-call. Yet the vote totals are some where near 685,000 give or take for all the Dem candiates combined. Hmmmmmm Where did the other 315,000 go? If the poeple of this State were so inclinded to re-call Gov Walker then plzzzzzz explain to me why the Dem Vote totals were not in the millions.
Exactly you can not!! Once again the hard working, common sense thinking citizen of this Great State will once again speak come June!! Gov Walker's reforms are working and he will continue to reform this State period!!!
10:20 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Wakers reforms are working Patriot to the tune of minus 29k jobs lost under Walker. Wisconsin is dead last in jobs. Is that working for you? Walkers reforms have pending layoffs for schools districts around the state, is that working for you? Walker is under criminal investigation and had establised a fund and paid over $300k to attorneys to keep him out of jail. Is that working for you? Walker has divided the state like no other political candidate, only 3 governors have been recalled in the history of the US, is that working for you. Walker has looted millions from the foreclosure settlement that was intended to help others and balance his budget...Is that reform working for you. Gezz, open your darn eyes to what is really going on here. Walker is an epic fail.
Dirk Gutzmiller
10:42 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Patriot - Your eternal references to your extreme beliefs as "common sense" says a lot about your comments. If Walker is a shoo-in, why all the extreme angst coming through and paltry one-sided "analysis". of how Walker is so dominating?
10:44 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
@Patriot misspeaks:
"Gov Walker's reforms are working and he will continue to reform this State period!!!"
5:09 am on Thursday, May 10, 2012
@Mike-Hmmmmm 29k jobs under Walker? Are you sure those losses did not come during the transition from Doyle to Walker? Because if I am not mistaking Walker has been in office for 1 year? Job numbers are moving in the positive direction. Current unemployment is what 6.8? Hmmmmm down from a year ago? Wisconsin has moved up in the rankings of Business freindly States from 40th to 20th? Hmmmmm Walker has not divided the State, Big Unions have divided the State. I have ZERO issues with Gov Walkers performance. Maybe if our State was not in constant turmoil the Jobs numbers would be a little better. We have only you progressive Liberals to blame for that. Again I think it was pretty evident with the recent elections and the vote totals. So most of Wisconsin like myself is very happy with the Job Govenor Walker is doing since that is why we elected him.
5:11 am on Thursday, May 10, 2012
@Dirk-Extreme beliefs? WOW!!! The only extremists on here are all you progressive liberals. I mean come on, we have a President with the same beliefs as you Wisconsin progressives. How is that working for ALL OF YOU? i GUESS IF YOUR DEPENDENT ON THE GOVERNMENT, THEN ITS WORKING GREAT BECAUSE YOU HAVE A PRESIDENT WHO IS FIGHTING TO KEEP YOUR ENTITLEMENTS!!! nOW HE IS OPEN TO SAME SEX MARRIAGES!!! WOW
Dirk Gutzmiller
9:20 am on Thursday, May 10, 2012
Patriot - No need to shout. Calling yourself Patriot and declaring its your "common sense" way or we are all a bunch of government dependents speaks volumes. Frankly, I am not a government dependent, but care about others and society as a whole. And that is extreme and lacking common sense in your mind?
10:23 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Great point- '1,000,000' signed the recall - actually 930,000ish, but the democrats only get 650,000 to vote?? I guess they'll need Barrett's street cars, buses and high speed trains to get all the people to the polls!!! Vote Walker - or we'll all be bent over and forced to Barrett!
12:11 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
TheNewDeal @TheNewDeal
Thanks to Walker, WI is Dead Last in Job Creation: http://bit.ly/Jtn1EZ It's Time for Change. Vote @Barrett4WI on June 5th! #WIunion #p2
Steve ®
3:05 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
#p3 Milwaukee losing thousands of jobs per month #89 Vote @Barrett4WI on June 5th! so we can elect a job creating machine#p5
5:13 am on Thursday, May 10, 2012
@Mornimist-Hey there ya go. Vote for the guy who is responsible for 28% unemployment, lowered home values, failing school districts. Ya thats who I want running the State!!!! HAHAHAHA
Resident of O.C. Paul
10:33 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
I don't know whether this election was a joke or just stupid.
We end up with 2 candidates people hate.
First we have Scott Walker...approximately 1 million (49% of all Wisconsin voters) people that signed the petition to have him recalled...Guess a lot of people felt he was an incompetent governor...
Then we have Tom Barrett, who has run for governor before but lost...Guess people could not see him as the governor of our state...
So who do we end up with finalists in the election for Governor of Wisconsin? ... Walker and Barrett.
People don't like these 2 as Governor, then how is it that they are the finalists?
People want change, yet here we are with the same people vying for office...
Where is the change?
How do people think having Walker or Barrett will change anything?
Do people think that if either gets in that they will change how they are running or ruining Wisconsin?
I guess people just base their vote on name recognition, and not base their vote on what the candidate has done in past public positions, the candidates competence or incompetence, or what they want to do should they get the office they are seeking.
11:22 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
I agree and I will continue to NOT vote for the lessor of two evils. Both candidates are uninspiring. It's really a shame.
1:09 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Some of us really like Walker and want him to have the chance to complete the term that we voted him in for. We did not ask for or want this BS recall.
Pretty straight forward and simple to me.
@Satori...We don't care.
Joan S.
3:16 pm on Monday, May 14, 2012
NOTE: There are actually over 3 million eligible voters in Wisconsin. Only 2 million came out to vote in November 2010. Hence the requirement of the 25% of the 2 million needed for recall signatures... http://elections.gmu.edu/Turnout_2010G.html
3:40 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
I believe a lot of people voted for Walker based on his campaign agenda. Now they have an opportunity to vote on his real agenda. Under those circumstances alone I believe the recall is completely reasonable and fair. I must point out that, regardless of the recall outcome, if Walker had been forthright about his ALEC affiliations to begin with, he would have saved our state the cost of a recall. For those who still believe the revisionist fiction that Walker campaigned on ALEC union stripping, consult Google. He is documented on video stating that he would negotiate with public employee unions.
Tom Barrett is a good, solid candidate. He lost by a small margin in 2010. He's not an ALEC tool. Perhaps, thanks to Citizens United, he can get support from the 13 corporations that left ALEC's radicalism behind! (Coke, Pepsi, Kraft, Yum! Brands, McDonald's, Wendy's, Procter & Gamble, Intuit, etc.--they have a few bucks to spend).
How many folks will vote against their self-interest and support Walker and the radical ALEC agenda, or embrace Wisconsin and the wellbeing of their neighbors, friends, and families with a vote for Barrett? We'll find out next month.
10:30 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
If Walker won the election by the majority of votes, why can't we see what Walker really can do for the state in 4 years. How can anyone accomplish anything if everyone wasted one plus year protesting in Madison, going to Chicago, fighting recalls. In four years if it is that bad you can vote him out, clear and simple. Barrett had 8 years to turn Milwaukee around, and failed now Obama also wants 8 years.
10:03 am on Thursday, May 10, 2012
What normal person would run for office? Would you want to be exposed to all that invasion of privacy? Frankly, in the 70's in college I smoked AND inhaled! I was not always at my best. I wouldn't want my kid's every move investigated, either.
The media has made it so that a normal person (and yes, most normal people have skeletons in their closets) could not run for office. So we are left with really, odd people running. That and the pay isn't that great. Look at the presidential race - yuck and yuck!
10:34 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
:✔ Tom Barrett 390,109
Kathleen Falk 228,940
✔ Scott Walker 626,538
These results are the telling ones!
Face facts. Conservatives were more motivated on a day they didnt have to be. Walker vs Barrett wont be a cake walk as the state is split. But Walker certainly has a lead vs a Milwaukee Mayor some of the Unions cant stand. Of course , they see him as better than Walker, But reality is the true Union Candidate (Falk) was destroyed .
Barrett canceled an appearance at a Unity event today as he didn't want to stand with Falk or Union leaders. Politically it might be wise , but it also shows a lot of cracks within the Base Barrett needs to even have a chance.
Walker's base is clear. It is voting for him and it is likely at least 50 percent of the State. Time will tell . But Democrats certainly don't like the lack of momentum heading into next month's election.
Certainly, some Republicans voted for Falk as they viewed her as a candidate that couldn't beat Walker. Walker was a lock yesterday . The union candidate Falk couldnt even win her own County . That fact alone shows everyone that the reversal of collective bargaining is not going to happen .
In the end, Walker has the high ground as we have a month more of political campaigning on the horizon.
I project a WALKER win . I believe his margin will be larger this time than the original face off with failed mayor Barrett.
11:09 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Fact: Barrett leads Walker 47% to 46% in the last poll before the primaries. Barretts numbers will grow as he grabs the other Dems that were split with Falk. Your math is a little fuzzy Skiiny.
Dirk Gutzmiller
11:22 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
As you fear, the somewhat diverse Democrats will coalesce and get behind Barrett. Why? Because defeating Walker is job #1. Walker now pays for being so totally divisive, that there will be very few disillusioned Democrats not voting, and not voting for Barrett. Walker on the other hand, how could a moderate Republican really believe in hiim this time?
lolo peeg
11:16 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
The only poll that counts is the one in June. The other polls are just miniscule samples of the population. Walker's people will be out IN FORCE next time, we will not have the leftists take the state back down the debt hole.
11:08 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
FACT ONE: number of people who went out last night and voted for Dems are more than number of people who went out last night and voted for Repub. FACT TWO: DEMS do not care who will win the primary. They are voting to get Walker out no matter who runs against him. If a monkey runs against walker, I would vote for the monkey. Most of people I know including myself did not vote yesterday. I am not voting for Barrett or Falk, I am voting against Walker.FACT THREE; 2010 election had more than 2 Mil voters on both sides. So most of people did go last night on both sides. All the Walker supporters stop with the speculation....means nothing.
11:17 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Mike you can convince yourself of that if you want , Fact is Republicans are very happy with yesterdays results. :)
12:04 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
hey skinny
Walker got 1.2 million votes in 2010 (can't recall the exact number but you can correct me).
Now where are the half million who did not show up yesterday???
Steve ®
12:07 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Fantasy land
Feels like a soft warm blanket in the dead of winter.
12:38 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
12:04 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
hey skinny
Walker got 1.2 million votes in 2010 (can't recall the exact number but you can correct me).
Now where are the half million who did not show up yesterday???"
97% of the vote is not enough? I think he won by a few points more than Barrett. Even though Walker's challenger was prettier than Barrett's.
Joan S.
1:46 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Agree - speculation on both sides is silly at this point. Strong pulls on the both sides of the tug-o-war. Sadly, all this money that could be spent on encouraging job growth or fixing roads or working on the school system (especially MPS) & helping low-income folks has to get spent on all this ridiculous power play.
Let's cut the junk about name calling.
The only thing I will speculate on - is that there will be a RECOUNT!!
If memory serves, the major issue that caused this who landslide was the Collective Bargaining. And, shall we NOT forget that our current President of the United States gives LESS Collective Bargaining to his Federal Employees than the CURRENT State of Wisconsin Collective Bargaining laws allow. And let us not forget that these Collective Bargaining changes can be voted in/out as the legislature deems necessary. I'm sure when it was put in place years ago, there were more honest folks around. Sadly, corruption from the few has caused these "rights" to get questioned and as we can see already around the state - the medical insurance savings themselves has been indisputable.
As for other Collective Bargaining benefits, perhaps individual items could be looked at. But as I understand it, many of those that tied back to financial repercussions on the WI Taxpayer.
2:24 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
@ Greg
You are aware that Walker supports showed up better than expected . I mean he was a Lock . The Dems had to spent millions to turn out the vote and the support there was flat. Walker will start up his machine now and with the army of volunteers he doesnt have to pay .......like the unions......he will be a very tough uy to defeat. Again....Repubs didnt have to show up yesterday ...Walker had that in the bag before the day started .We all know that. But given that fact ...he still got more votes than Barrett and Falk Combined. They were both actively doing get out the vote campaigns spending MILLIONS.....Walker is now just starting that process. Youll see. I have very pleased with these results. Very pleased INDEED
2:48 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Yes, I'm aware. Most of my post was quoting Moroninmist, my reply was at the bottom.
10:43 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
So you are going to vote for a monkey. Now we are really in trouble.
11:32 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Skinny, likewise as someone who will vote Walker out, I am surprised that the actual number of combined dem votes beat out Walker. I heard every Walker supporter telling me they ran to the voting stations to back Walker in the tune of only 626k votes. The Dems won this round with over 58k votes. When the real election takes place the major population areas such as Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha and Madison will extend Barretts numbers even more. Go ahead and look at the Dem primary back when Walker defeated Barrett, he had less votes, a lot les votes than now.
11:53 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Union trouble ! After spending 5 million on their hand picked candidate K. FALK. She was soundly defeated in her home county by 31 points--62-31 OUCH! Let's just say that her career as a state wide politician has come to an End. Taxing Tom Barrett will find that same reality in one month when he losing state wide yet again
12:28 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Anyone that thinks that the sum of 4 candidates votes can be combined for a single candidate, is an idiot. Some people that voted for the other democrat candidates hate Barrett.
There also was a cross-over vote of republican voters voting for Falk. We do not know how many but they were there.
In the end, if I had celebrated the recall signature numbers like some did, I would have expected a few hundred thousand more votes for the democrat candidates.
This looks like a major failure for the recallers and the left.
11:55 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Mike, If what you say is true. How did Scott walker become the governor to start with? The union issue that caused this recall was swept under the rug because the polling showed on 12% of the people thought it was a big deal. Use a little common sense look at Barretts record as Mayor of Milwaukee, how could you possible in good conscience support that double talking , "it's not my fault",do nothing Barrett? As far as the total votes yesterday what does it matter the Repulicans had no reason to turn out. Walker had no threat from the knucklehead the Liberal/Progressive/ Socialist fake candidate. Little reality would go a long way in the "Lefty" comments made about this article. After Walker wins the recall maybe all you Libera/ Socialsts can go live in France, that government is more in tune with your thinking.
12:07 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Hey Pete
The austerity model of Europe --that Walker has pouched and applied to WI--is NOT working in Europe (France just voted out their austerity President) and will not work here. Walker is out of office come June 5.
12:12 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Hey Clark
Walker is missing about a half million votes compared to 2010.
10:23 am on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Great point- '1,000,000' signed the recall - actually 930,000ish, but the democrats only get 650,000 to vote?? I guess they'll need Barrett's street cars, buses and high speed trains to get all the people to the polls!!! Vote Walker - or we'll all be bent over and forced to Barrett!
9:29 am on Thursday, May 10, 2012
Walker has to catch up to his 2010 winning vote count. Half did not show up on Tuesday. Now you get it?
12:36 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Lisa Mux. @Muxywithmoxie
Tom Barrett Makes Victory Speech In Recall Primary http://www.todaystmj4.com/multimedia/videos/ Great speech! #wiunion #wirecall
12:45 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
You can never win with emotion, or fake emotion in Barretts case. An argument can only be won with facts and Barrett could not come up with any.
Barretts speech was one of the worst that I have seen. He better be able to state what HE is going to do, if he wants a chance at winning.
I guess if I were a drum banging hippie the speech would have been awesome.
6:06 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Tom Barrett is an articulate speaker if you have seen him at events (which I have). He has an understated personality, without a continuing need for attention as has our current governor. If you want someone who focuses on the people of Wisconsin, vote for Barrett in June. If you want someone who focuses on the ALEC agenda and himself, vote for Walker. Simple as that.
9:30 am on Thursday, May 10, 2012
Your side never wins with fake candidates. Shame on them and your party and you if you support such disgusting crap.
12:50 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Has anyone noticed that there are other problems in the state besides changes to collective bargaining and teachers take home pay? How does the state become so polarized and rabid about these issues when MPS is failing, chronic long term unemployment is rising, health care availability is being cut, higher education costs are rising faster than inflation, etc, etc. ? There are other serious problems impacting significantly more people on a daily or hourly basis. Did the capitol building get occupied when Howard Fuller wanted to invest in Milwaukee schools? Would Falk have held the budget hostage over Badgercare? Will Barca travel to Milwaukee to scream "shame" over the proposed $100M streetcar? Is all the rancor, political ads and outside money on both sides about what's most important or who can scream the loudest?
2:15 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Wisconsin DHS preliminary plans to cut $28M from Badgercare budget following federal approval (modified) of cuts proposed by Walker administration.
2:54 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
While Walker faced a large deficit left by Jim Doyle and the Democrats, he invested $1.2 billion in new state funds for Medicaid, the largest influx of state funds in Wisconsin history. Nearly all of the new revenue that the State of Wisconsin brings in over the next two years will go to fund the programs and care that is needed by so many Wisconsin families.
12:53 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
@morningmist- the republicans figured Walker would win his BS primary easily do they didn't vote. Let me turn that around... Back in 2010 just over 1,000,000 people voted for Barrett- yesterday he got 390,000 votes- where are the other 615,000 people that like him?!? Whoops- your math/ idea backfired on you just like spending $5 million on Falk. Be prepared- June 5th's margin will be larger than the 2010 results. Vote Walker!!!
Keith Best
1:23 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Supposedly, over "one million" signed the recall petition. Where were the 400,000 who didn't vote for their Democrat candidate???????
Joan S.
1:47 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Jobs - are of course important in this election. But it is my understanding - that as a whole - our country - NOT DOING WELL. Our credit rating was dropped & we continue to borrow 40 cents for every $1 spent. If our households did that, we would loose our homes & have to declare bankruptcy.
It was my understanding, that in the midst of our United States Economic Crisis, that Wisconsin is still doing better than MOST states out there. Not to mention, that the Iron Mine up north could have helped out with that. And the distractions of this whole recall effort - that couldn't possibly have taken time away from the Governor's office to work on the job effort? Could it? Oh - wait - he commissioned a group to work on job growth - particularly in Milwaukee's industrial wasteland.
2:06 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Blind hate will prevent some from ever seeing your good points.
Plain and simple, Governor Walker had to break a few eggs to make a cake.
6:01 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Joan, our Standard & Poor rating dropped due to concerns about divisiveness in Congress. Money has been borrowed but that started earlier than the Obama administration. Concerning Wisconsin's jobs numbers and your other points, Scott Walker is using Wisconsin to push ALEC legislation and as a stepping stone to national attention (his 30 pieces of silver, so to speak). You can support this radical agenda or someone like Tom Barrett who is pro-Milwaukee and pro-Wisconsin.
3:16 pm on Monday, May 14, 2012
Hey Wisconsin - Let's go back to having a deficit, unions that have not changed with the times and, just for fun, have a new election every couple of years. Nothing better than spending money when it's going to get spent again in 2 years.
Walker brought a new perspective and ideas into his office. That just can't happen. We must keep the status quo (forever).
Resident of O.C. Paul
3:41 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Instead of focusing on making Wisconsin a better place, and correcting its problems all the yo hos (Barrett and Walker) can focus on is who did what..."did"... a past tense verb...it's the past, put it behind and move forward, quit the bickering and work together, all political parties aside these people we put into office to guide the government and to help us govern ourselves.
As for the speculation that Barrett has what it takes to win in June is open. How many of the votes cast for Barrett were cast by those people trying to shake things up, or cast by people that don't like Barrett? And, how many of those votes cast for the democrat candidates running against Barrett were cast by those that will go with Walker in June because they can't stand Barrett? You can not believe the numbers. One concern is votes cast for Walker look like a real threat...626,000+...you can't tell me that any of those were cast by the opposition just to shake things up, if so the percentage would be very small.
7:14 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
If I wanted all of Wisconsin to be as bad as Milwaukee, I'd elect Barrett.
Dirk Gutzmiller
8:46 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Nuitari - How about as bad as Milwaukee County, of which Milwaukee the city is about two-thirds? Your wonderful governor was the Milwaukee County Executive for eight years!
9:44 am on Thursday, May 10, 2012
Dirt: Barrett is a prime example of how good walker ran Milwaukee. Since Walker went to Madison and Barrett too over, the place has become more of a ghetto.
It is hard to understand why he won the primary if it is all about jobs. In reality it is all about a revote.
3:26 pm on Thursday, May 10, 2012
Dirk: Walker was the county exec, his proposed budgets were regularly 'adjusted' by the county board. Would you characterize the county board, at least those who are not indicted, as 'wonderful' also?
Dirk Gutzmiller
6:15 pm on Thursday, May 10, 2012
@sloowhand - Betcha there are many fewer indicted Milw. Co. Board members than indicted Walker staff members. Remember there are liberal, moderate, and conservative members of the Board, and from the suburbs as well as the City. The misconception seems to be out there that the County Board is a bunch of wild spending, corrupt "inner city" types. Not so, much less so than the County Executive office wasunder Walker..
9:09 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Love the photo - looks like Barrett got a crowbar up his keester when they took this.
Dirk Gutzmiller
9:35 am on Thursday, May 10, 2012
You can use statistics, more statistics, damn statistics, and try to shed some light on what the primary election results mean.
I believe Mike is correct about anit-Walker voters. The only way to vote directly against Walker was to vote for his token resistance in the Primary, which a few percent actually did. Wait until the State can cast a vote directly against Walker. There is much more anti-Walker sentiment than there was pro-any-particular-Democrat. The anti-Walker sentiment had little real outlet in the Primary. It will now be unfettered in the general election.
It's mostly about voting against Walker.
10:04 am on Thursday, May 10, 2012
Barrett is not liked outside of Milwaukee and Dane county. Milwaukee is blight, a mismangaged city run by socialists and misfits for years, and the rest of the state knows this. Barrett will never win anything outside of Milwaukee County. Dirk's wet dream of this huge anti Walker vote isn't going to happen, it's only the parasites and moochers like Dirk that hate Walker.
Dirk Gutzmiller
3:48 pm on Thursday, May 10, 2012
@Alfred - Walker is from Milwaukee Co. He worked in downtown Milwaukee for eight long years in a big office suite. His job was as the head of Milwaukee County, his title being County Executive. Milwaukee is most of Milwaukee County. Many of his staff from those days are headed to prison for various crimes against the taxpayers and our Veterans. Walker himself has a legal team working to keep him from joining them.
Seems Walker's office was part of the blight, and a haven for parasites and moochers.
Gregory Kluck
5:21 pm on Thursday, May 10, 2012
Alfred, Did you know that Milwaukee had three Socialist mayors?
During that time, Milwaukee was a model for cities based on financial conservatism, park and sewer creation, created a model school system, and still managed to take care of our less fortunate. That said, these former mayors were of a different breed than the Socialists of today. Also to Steve....an Escalade is nothing but a gussied up Chevy. My HHR SS Turbo Panel is at least an honest Chevy that will do a verified 155 mph. Care to join me on track day in Elkhart lake? BTW, I'm conservative and tend to vote GOP.
4:55 am on Friday, May 11, 2012
There is not one thread of decency in Walker.
He purposely is using Wisconsin and its people for his own political ends.
"Divide and Conquer" he says. WOW!! This is NO way to Govern!!
In film, @GovWalker talks of "divide and conquer" union strategy http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/in-film-walker-talks-of-divide-and-conquer-strategy-with-unions-8o57h6f-151049555.html
A filmmaker released a video Thursday that shows Gov. Scott Walker saying he would use "divide and conquer" as a strategy against unions. Walker made the comments to Beloit billionaire Diane Hendricks, who has since given $510,000 to the governor's campaign - making her Walker's single-largest donor and the largest known donor to a candidate in state history. »Read Full Article...
5:03 am on Friday, May 11, 2012
Walker caught on tape is up on youtube also.
I sincerely agree with this commentator and All Republicans should also!
Scott Walker says he wants to "divide and conquer" Wisconsin
As I republican I apologize on behalf of the sane bipartisan part of our party. Walker is deceitful and coward, who wishes only to polarize. Country First, not Party.
lolo peeg
12:41 am on Wednesday, May 16, 2012
And as a democrat, I apologize that we put up four ineffectual opponents to Walker and that when the primary votes were counted, the four of them together could hardly equal the vote total for Scott who had only a token opponent. State first, not party or union.
6:18 am on Friday, May 11, 2012
"Walker made the comments to Beloit billionaire Diane Hendricks, who has since given $510,000 to the governor's campaign - making her Walker's single-largest donor and the largest known donor to a candidate in state history"
But I thought all the money was coming from out of state.
You liberals are toast, and grasping at straws.
6:54 am on Friday, May 11, 2012
Funny thing is, she only gave HALF the amount of money that Doyle gave to Barrett's 2010 campaign. What a cheapskate she is!!!
7:10 am on Friday, May 11, 2012
At Weac...
You know --that the majority of Walker's money is coming from out of state big donors who are buying Wisconsin piece by piece. If you do not know that you are out of touch.
Luke-try to stay focused on the topic. We are talking about Walker's donors. But being the true RW Rovian--you will change the subject instead of addressing the facts.
7:28 am on Friday, May 11, 2012
Sorry, but you don't dictate what we talk about here. And in case you didn't notice, you made an ironic comment, which was pointed out by someone else. Then I added to the conversation, without changing the topic.
Jory Pradjinski
9:57 am on Sunday, May 13, 2012
So you want to say that no Democrat has ever received campaign donations from out of their area? With 4 Democrats running for the spot the big money didn't know who to give money to, plus they're looking at what will be good investments since so much money is going to Obama's campaign. People who wish to donate get the opportunity to give it to whoever they like. Whining about out of state donations is just a waste of time.
This whole recall issue was started because Democrats decided to abuse the recall process. It began when WEAC went whining to whoever they could that big bad Walker was making teacher's have to actually pay more into their own pensions and health insurance (more inline with the private sector). How horrible to make the teachers be more personally responsible! WEAC can no longer have their way in the governor's mansion since Doyle no longer owes them for helping elect him governor.
4:35 pm on Thursday, May 31, 2012
Barrett, Run on your record and accomplishments!
YOU HAVE NONE WHATSOEVER -- Get ready for another DEFEAT -- Just your Number 3 Loss!!
You have Talked a lot But NO ACTIONS!! A Lot of Steam getting you NOWHERE!!!


text:
Pennsylvania Absentee Voters Get More Time
Tuesday's deadline pushed back due to Hurricane Sandy.
Congratulations, there is a silver lining. Hurricane Sandy has pushed back the clocks, at least when it comes to the state's absentee voters.
According to reports on philly.com, Gov. Tom Corbett has extended the deadline for Pennsylvania's absentee voters to get in their votes. Originally set for 5 p.m. Tuesday, the new timed deadline is now pushed back to Thursday at 5 p.m.
Corbett gave voters each day back that the county offices were closed due to Hurricane Sandy.
In order to file for an absentee vote, a voter must show up in person at the county's election offices. Those in Bucks County should visit the County Courthouse in Doylestown.
The absentee application is available by clicking here. It will download as a pdf file, so you will need Adobe Reader. A free copy is available for download on the voter site. It can also be picked up at municipal offices, libraries and the state liquor stores in each town of Montgomery County.
Absentee voters can also ask for one on the spot, fill it out and return it all in one visit. They will be unable to mail their ballots later, according to reports.
"It will be too late to use that extended deadline to send an absentee ballot through the mail, because Corbett said he was not extending the Friday deadline for completed absentee ballots to arrive at county election offices," said the philly.com article.
Federal law defines those eligible for absentee ballots as anyone unable to physically attend their usual election day polling place.
"With the exception of absentee voters who have a disability or who are overseas, all absentee ballots must be delivered to the County Board of Elections either in person or through the U. S. Postal Service," said the Bucks County Board of Elections web page. "Absentee Ballots delivered by any other means for absentee voters who do not have a disability will not be accepted or counted by the County Board of Elections."
For more information on absentee voting, visit the Bucks County Board of Elections page or call 215-348-6154.
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8:43 am on Saturday, November 3, 2012
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2:03 pm on Saturday, November 3, 2012
Vote via mail or in person, but vote informed:
Please don't let Obama sweep Benghazi under the rug...
Lets not forget those four who were left to be slaughtered in Benghazi...
Every voter needs to read this excellent article... Very well worth your time...
These are pretty good as well:
Romney/Ryan 2012
2:16 pm on Saturday, November 3, 2012
FEMA is out of water!! NY and NJ residents are dying. Gas rationing.
Yep, FEMA is doing awesome!!! If there were Katrina, libs would be saying Bush hates black people. Applying the same standard does this mean Obama hates white people?
And why are Dems threatening riots?
Why is Bill Maher saying blacks will attack whites? Is this the type of person in the Democrat party you like? Sick!!!
Bill Maher on HBO's Real Time Friday might have said one of the most disgraceful things uttered during the 2012 campaign season.
"If you're thinking about voting for Mitt Romney, I would like to make this one plea: black people know who you are and they will come after you"
Why black people Bill maher....are you saying they are racist against Romney supporters?
Do all of the liberal posters support these comments?

subset: commoncrawl


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Donald Marron
Director of the Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, Donald is an expert on fiscal policy and the interplay between government and the economy. From 2002 through early 2009, he served in a series of senior government positions, including as a member of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, acting director of the Congressional Budget Office, and executive director of Congress's Joint Economic Committee. Earlier in his career, he taught economics and finance at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, consulted on major antitrust cases, and was chief financial officer of a health care software start-up.
In addition to leading the Tax Policy Center, Donald is a visiting professor at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute and writes about economics, finance, and life at www.dmarron.com.
He will be advising Fair Observer on economic policy issues and their communication to a general audience.
Our advisors help us to stay true to our mission by suggesting key global issues for analysis, giving feedback and sharing their thoughts with us. They are involved in strategic advice and in formulating our vision but have no role in the day to day running of Fair Observer and hold no responsibilities. Therefore, our advisors hold no legal liability whatsoever for Fair Observer.


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Dangerous Hurricane Sandy is increasing in size and intensity as it approaches the Greater New York metropolitan area. According to meteorologist Ryan Maue of Weatherbell Analytics, the city is "insufficiently prepared."
After initially downplaying storm surge from the hurricane, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg reversed course on Sunday and began ordering mandatory evacuations for low-lying areas in the city. The subway stopped running Sunday evening, and will remain closed through at least Tuesday morning.
Sections of Brooklyn were under water by mid-day with the worst of the surge still several hours away. The surge in Long Island Sound and New York Harbor is likely to be extremely destructive. For those of my readers in Rhode Island, where my family and I are based, it is the next 12 hours that will be critical. A packet of strong winds has started raking the state and will last for four or more hours. If power lines are going to come down, this is the most likely time for it to happen.
The storm surge in Narragansett Bay will largely coincide with the evening high tide at 8:26 p.m., and will cause flooding. As of 12 noon EST, the National Hurricane Center indicated a probably peak surge for the bay of 5 to 7 feet.
Beach erosion from Cape Cod to the Outer Banks of North Carolina will range from severe to extreme, with waves of 15 to 20 feet pounding the coastline for 24 to 48 hours. The damage on the Rhode Island coastline is likely to be horrendous.
In the midst of the extreme conditions, the National Hurricane Center has chosen to play games with terminology. The NHC, anticipating a transition of Sandy from a "pure" hurricane with tropical characteristics to an extratropical cyclone, declined to issue hurricane warnings throughout New England and even the New Jersey coast where the storm is expected to make landfall.
Although Sandy has been a hurricane for longer than 10 days, and may yet make landfall as a hurricane, the likelihood of the extratropical transition has convinced the meteorologists employed to serve the public to instead confuse it with the designation protocol.Make no mistake. Under normal circumstances Cape Cod to Montauk would be under a tropical storm warning. Montauk to Delaware Bay would be under a hurricane warning. And Delaware Bay to the Outer Banks would be under a tropical storm warning.People understand these designations, and they should be used in situations like this.
If you are in Rhode Island, the time to seek shelter and ride out the storm is right now.
David E. Barboza
1:47 pm on Monday, October 29, 2012
Latest from conference call at 12:30 PM with RI State Emergency Management Agency.
Through the National Weather Service they could not stress how serious a threat we are facing with Hurricane Sandy.
The highest winds will be occurring between 2:00 PM and 10:00 PM this evening.
Significant impact will be felt in coastal areas. An astronomical high tide in combination with strong winds occurring at 8:20 PM will result in a storm surge.
People are advised to seek shelter if they are in flood prone areas, or if not, please stay indoors until the emergency declaration is lifted.
In Bristol, for emergencies continue to call 911.
For information or assistance with non-medical/fire issues please call the Emergency Operation Center at 253-6912,
Stay safe.


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Big & Tall Fit
An ode to lazy summers at the shore and careless days spent at the local boardwalk, this vintage inspired camp shirt will take you back to simpler times. Crafted from a soft blend of cotton and silk with a subtle texture of engineered stripes, it features an intricate paisley design with faded appeal. As dapper as it is versatile, this lightweight look goes from the backyard to the bungalow with stylish ease.
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Dean is Chairman Emeritus of 'Truth About Trade & Technology, a nonprofit advocacy group led by a volunteer board of American farmers.
By John Reifsteck: Champaign, Illinois
If it's not hard, it's not worth doing.
U.S. and EU trade diplomats must keep this slogan in mind as they prepare to negotiate a sweeping free-trade agreement between the United States and the European Union.
Success would deliver a big boost to economies on both sides of the Atlantic, as phony barriers to the flow of goods, services, and investments come down. Europe is already America's largest export market, worth about $459 billion last year and supporting about 2.4 million jobs, according to federal statistics.
The good news is that we can do even better: One estimate says that a wise agreement would pump nearly $100 billion to the U.S. economy. It would function like a job-creating stimulus program, without costing taxpayers anything or adding to the national debt.
The bad news is that a few voices are already suggesting that we limit our expectations, especially in agriculture, even before formal talks begin next month. We're hearing murmurs about how everything would go a lot more smoothly if only we didn't have to argue about biotechnology.
But argue we must, because genetically modified crops are a fundamental issue for American farmers. This is a fight worth having.
Here in the United States, our science-based regulations approve biotechnology as a safe tool of sustainable agriculture. The technology allows us to grow more crops on less land, helping us feed the world and conserve resources at the same time. The vast majority of our corn, soybeans, and cotton are genetically modified, as they are throughout much of the western hemisphere.
In Europe, however, everything is political, including the regulatory process that controls what products farmers can use. Many scientific groups in Europe, such as Britain's Royal Society, have endorsed GM crops. So have sensible environmentalists such as Mark Lynas. Yet European governments ignore these recommendations, preferring to let anti-biotech activists drive consumer ignorance and dictate policies.
So GM crops have become a major area of transatlantic disagreement—a non-tariff barrier to healthy commerce in food. The coming round of trade talks represents an excellent opportunity to change this by harmonizing rules and reaching a smart resolution.
We should seize this moment. Rather than running away from a difficult conversation, we should confront it and do our best to persuade Europe on the safety and sustainability of biotechnology.
It may not even be as hard as we fear.
Here's a secret: Many Europeans actually want the United States to win this dispute.
Don't get me wrong. Europe's opposition to GM crops is strong and we should treat it seriously. Yet it may not be as formidable as some officials and pundits would have us believe.
Last November, I traveled to London for an agriculture conference. Its theme was "sustainable intensification of agriculture" but in reality the discussion was about the European regulatory system and how it stifles agriculture production. This politicized regulatory process is making it difficult for Europe to feed itself.
If the meeting had been in the United States, it would have been focused on technical issues, with panels talking about choosing the right seeds, battling weeds, and growing more food. In the London meeting it was obvious that the participants believed the greater challenge to agriculture was politics and unscientific regulation.
Farmers hate this, no matter where we live. We'd rather plant our fields and harvest our crops than fill out piles of paperwork and butt heads with bureaucrats.
An attendee from a European country surprised me with a private conversation: "Please push us on biotechnology." He believes Europe needs to accept GM foods and believes that can occur with pressure from America.
In other words, a number of Europeans understand and appreciate the virtue of GM crops. They're ready and willing to talk. Along the way, they may make loud complaints about hardheaded American negotiators, but they'll also budge from their position, make concessions, and allow progress.
Is this an optimistic view? Perhaps. But it makes sense to start these talks with a spirit of hopefulness and a desire to achieve.
When British Prime Minister David Cameron visited the White House last month, he spoke on how the United States and Europe should have wide-ranging conversations on trade: "That means everything on the table, even the difficult issues, and no exceptions."
Let's take him at his word. Rather than taking biotechnology off the table, let's make it a centerpiece.
John Reifsteck is a corn and soybean producer in Champaign County Illinois. He volunteers as a Board Member for Truth About Trade & Technology (www.truthabouttrade.org). Follow us: @TruthAboutTrade on Twitter | Truth About Trade & Technology on Facebook.
By Terry Wanzek: Jamestown, North Dakota
When a farmer discovered biotech wheat on a remote field in eastern Oregon in April, he found the agricultural equivalent of a needle in a haystack—a few stalks amid more than half a billion acres of wheat planted and harvested in the last dozen years.
The detection made headlines around the world not merely because the needle was hard to find but because it wasn't supposed to exist at all: Genetically modified wheat was developed, tested, and proven safe for human consumption but it was not commercialized.
The last approved field-test planting of GM wheat in Oregon was in 2001, according to the Department of Agriculture. The most recent field test anywhere in the United States was in 2005. Since then, American farmers have grown more than 500 million acres of wheat. That's an area larger than the state of Alaska.
Amid this enormous bounty of crops, someone spotted a small handful of plants that shouldn't have sprouted from Oregon's soil.
As a North Dakota wheat producer, the first thing I want you to know is that GM wheat doesn't put anyone at risk. "The detection of this wheat variety does not pose a safety concern," said the USDA in a statement last week.
The technology in question—herbicide resistance that helps crops fight weeds—is well understood and commonly used in corn and soybeans. We eat safe and nutritious food derived from it every day. This trait was not commercialized in wheat for the simple economic worry that foreign buyers would refuse it because they have not yet embraced farming's biotech revolution.
So the biggest question over the GM wheat in Oregon is not whether it's safe—we know with confidence that it is—but rather how it got there in the first place. Authorities must launch a thorough investigation that examines every possibility, from the misplacement of seeds during field tests years ago to the survival of a few stray plants in the wild.
And let's not discount the possibility of mischief: The enemies of biotechnology are thrilled by this discovery because they think it gives modern agriculture a black eye.
Meanwhile, let's learn two lessons from this episode.
The first is that we have an outstanding system of food regulation in the United States. It's so good that it can spot an isolated event in an Oregon wheat field and help us begin the process of understanding what happened.
The second is that we have nothing to fear from biotech wheat.
This is a safe product. Both farmers and consumers would benefit from its commercialization. It would allow wheat farmers to grow more food and reduce their production costs. These savings ultimately would find their way into grocery stores, where consumers would pay less for bread, cereal, pasta, and other products that come from our wheat fields.
This is more than merely a missed opportunity. Our wheat supply already suffers from a lack of biotechnology. Many farmers are switching away from wheat because it's a less predictable crop than corn and soybeans, which have been improved so much by genetic modification.
On my own farm in North Dakota, we've been cutting back every year on wheat. We used to grow it on as much as 80 percent of our acreage. Now we're down to about 10 percent, mainly because we prefer the advantages of biotechnology in corn and soybeans. My neighbors have been doing the same.
Convincing Americans about the advantages of biotechnology never has been the main issue. The United States, along with Canada and most of the Western hemisphere, already has accepted biotechnology as an excellent tool option for farmers and consumers.
It's time for the rest of the world to catch up.
When news of the GM wheat discovery hit the media, our buyers in Japan and Korea immediately suspended purchases and promised to test samples. Europe said that it would increase its testing of wheat as well.
They almost certainly won't find anything: It looks highly unlikely that any GM wheat entered the food supply. Korea's first test results, announced on Monday, appeared to confirm this.
Yet the time to commercialize GM wheat is past due. The sooner everyone stops fussing over a safe and healthy product, the sooner farmers and consumers all over the world will benefit.
Terry Wanzek is a wheat, corn and soybean producer in North Dakota. He serves as a ND State Senator and volunteers as a board member for Truth About Trade & Technology (www.truthabouttrade.org). Follow us: @TruthAboutTrade on Twitter | Truth About Trade & Technology on Facebook.
By Gabriel Carballal: Mercedes, Uruguay
Farmers believe that every day should be for the environment, because we depend on the environment to produce the food the world demands. We need good plants, good soil, and good weather. Without a good environment, we're helpless.
That's why we must take advantage of opportunities such as next week's World Environment Day. Think of it as a second Earth Day. Each June 5, the United Nations sponsors WED. This year's theme is "Think.Eat.Save." Organizers have a specific request: "reduce your footprint."
Here on my farm in Uruguay, that's what we do all year round, thanks to advances in technology.
My family farms almost 6,000 hectares (roughly 15,000 acres) near the town of Mercedes, in Soriano. Our most important crops are soybeans, but we also grow corn, sorghum, wheat, barley, canola, oats, and grass seeds. The weather is variable but we never see snow, which allows us to plant for 12 months.
We started growing GM crops 16 years ago. It became obvious immediately that they're excellent for conservation.
As the website for WED points out, agriculture accounts for 80 percent of the world's deforestation. This is the result of pressure to convert wilderness into farmland, to keep pace with a booming global population. To protect what remains, we must produce more food on less land—and that's exactly what biotechnology lets us do.
The first year we planted GM soybeans on our farm, in 1997, we tried it on 30 hectares. The results were amazing. Within two years, we had converted entirely to GM soybeans. When biotechnology came to corn in 2004, we quickly switched to it as well. Genetic enhancement drove our yields upward because these excellent crops are so good at fighting weeds and pests.
Our experience shows that science can help us produce more with less—the very definition of sustainable agriculture.
There are other benefits as well. We're now able to do a much better job of maintaining natural pastures for a combined crop-cattle operation. This helps us preserve biodiversity.
Best of all, however, is our no-till farming system. Soil erosion is a huge challenge for farmers around the planet, but our soil is actually improving each year. Our crops pump carbon into the soil, and we can keep it there because we no longer need to fight weeds by tilling the soil after harvesting. At the end of the growing season, we simply leave the straw on top of the soil.
A friend of mine, Carlos Crovetto of Chile, puts it well: "Grains are for the people, straw and residues are for the soil."
GM crops make this possible.
Here's another statistic from the WED website: Agriculture is responsible for 30 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.
And here's another benefit of biotechnology: Because we plant GM crops, our greenhouse gas emissions have dropped sharply. We're doing our part to combat climate change.
I can plant all of my fields with just two big tractors, an air drill, a planter, a big sprayer, and two combines. I've seen much smaller farms that use a lot more equipment, spewing out carbon emissions at a far higher rate than we do.
GM crops allow us to reduce the number of times we have to drive over our fields, which means that our environmental footprint has shrunk.
It's like we've reduced our shoe size. When does that ever happen?
Other advantages are harder to spot but they're equally real. Consider tire wear. I can buy a tractor, use if for 8,000 hours, and sell it with the same tires. This is important because petroleum is an important ingredient in tire manufacturing. The more use we can get out of our tires, the better—it's good for my bottom line as well as for the environment.
Unfortunately, many nations resist biotech crops because they don't understand the benefits. Farmers like me in South America already know why GM farming makes sense, as do farmers in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere.
If we're going to continue reducing footprints around the world, what we must do is spread the word—and on World Environment Day, the United Nations should help us.
Gabriel Carballal farms with his father in Mercedes, Uruguay, growing soybeans, corn, wheat, barley, canola, oats, grass seeds, sorghum and raise beef. Gabriel is a member of the Truth About Trade & Technology Global Farmer Network (www.truthabouttrade.org). Follow us: @TruthAboutTrade on Twitter | Truth About Trade & Technology on Facebook.
By Dean Kleckner: Des Moines, Iowa
With the election of Brazil's Roberto Azevedo as the next director-general of the World Trade Organization, it's time to hope for a "Nixon goes to China" moment.
In 1972, President Nixon traveled to Communist China and met with Mao Zedong, marking a new and more productive phase for relations between the United States and China. It was also a diplomatic feat that only a political leader with Nixon's anti-Communist credentials could have pulled off. Just about anybody else would have suffered dearly in the fallout.
Perhaps in the future, we'll speak of "Azevedo goes to Geneva."
That's because the Brazilian, who will assume the position of Director General in September, may be just the person to revive the WTO at a turning point in its history.
Several commentators were quick to express skepticism about Azevedo. "Brazil has not been the most positive partner at the WTO," said Ernesto Zedillo, former president of Mexico, in the Wall Street Journal. "Brazil doesn't have the best credentials to lead the WTO. As a country that tends to be protectionist, it's not a great champion of a multilateral trading system."
The European Union favored a different candidate, Herminio Blanco of Mexico. The United States remained officially neutral, though many Americans also seemed to prefer Blanco over Azevedo because he helped negotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Whereas Mexico appears to have embraced global free trade, Brazil recently has moved to protect its own favored industries, even though it already has one of the world's lowest rates of trade to GDP.
Despite these concerns, Azevedo may have a tremendous upside: Developing countries trust him as a champion of their interests. This could prove important, because they've become an obstacle to completing a new multilateral trade agreement that improves the flow of goods and services around the world.
In 2001, the WTO launched the "Doha round" of world trade talks. Yet these negotiations quickly fell into a stalemate. For all practical purposes, Doha is dead--and it's been dead for a long time.
Its failure springs from many sources and there's plenty of blame to spread around. Yet developing nations may have presented the most significant hurdle. Many of them approached the talks looking for a handout, believing that wealthier countries should make concessions, almost out of charity. They didn't seem to understand the importance of opening their own markets to competition--and that any successful agreement involves a give and take from both sides.
Brazil played a central role in all of this. As a result, many developing countries believe Azevedo will be an ally at the WTO.
And they may be right, though not in quite the way they expect. Rather than convincing wealthy nations to rethink their own Doha strategies, the main challenge for Azevedo will be to persuade developing countries to reconsider past approaches.
Success is essential. As Azevedo noted at a news conference last week, the WTO "is clearly stuck." He must now get it unstuck--and it may take a figure with his special credibility among the leaders of developing nations to make it happen.
If the WTO doesn't come unstuck, it will still serve the useful function of arbitrating disputes between its members. Yet it will have lost one of its chief purposes, which is to lower trade barriers.
It's good to have big goals, but perhaps the WTO should think about playing small ball, at least for a short while. The Doha round was a swing for the fences. At this crucial juncture, however, it may be wiser to hope for a mere base hit--not a swing and a miss, but a solid knock that keeps the inning alive.
One idea may be to admit what everyone knows: Doha is dead, and it's time to move on. Perhaps we need an entirely new round, with a new name.
That won't magically change the geopolitical dynamics that caused WTO to reach its current impasse. Yet it could be an essential public-relations maneuver that revives global trade--and creates an opportunity for Azevedo to go to Geneva.
Dean Kleckner is Chairman Emeritus for Truth About Trade & Technology (www.truthabouttrade.org). Follow us: @TruthaboutTrade on Twitter / Truth About Trade & Technology on Facebook.
By Tim Burrack: Arlington, Iowa
When Americans speculate that the United States is "becoming Europe," we don't mean that our art museums are getting a lot better.
Instead, we worry about the encroachments of a growing bureaucracy that is smothering freedom and innovation.
Last Friday, in an unexpected announcement, the U.S. Department of Agriculture took an unfortunate step toward Europeanization when it delayed the approval of two crops that will help farmers control weeds and produce more food. The decision didn't receive much immediate attention outside the agricultural press, but it sent a troubling signal about the future of farm technology that should concern all Americans.
At the heart of the controversy lie a couple of time-tested herbicides: dicamba and 2,4-D. Scientists have figured out a way for staple crops such as corn, soybeans, and cotton to resist these chemicals, which means that farmers can control weeds without hurting the plants they're trying to grow.
This is hardly a radical development. As the USDA acknowledged last week, these herbicides "have been safely and widely used across the country since the 1960s." My father was using 2,4-D even before that, in the 1950s. It was the first herbicide he ever applied to his fields. It's also one of the top ingredients in the weed-and-feed formulas that Americans apply to their lawns and gardens.
So why the sudden delay? Environmentalists complained that the introduction of these new crops will lead to the overuse of the two herbicides. This claim is at best unproven. Farmers certainly must pay attention to the development of herbicide resistance in weeds, but the answer to this problem is the advent of new technologies that keep us one step ahead of weed adaptations.
In other words, these new crops are part of the solution—and keeping safe products away from farmers just makes it harder for us to grow the food our country needs.
Farmers rely on effective methods of crop protection, including weed control. With them, we can grow more food on less land—and thereby reduce the pressure to convert wilderness into farmland. Environmentalists ought to join farmers in search of new conservation technologies, not oppose us in their safe implementation.
Of greater concern to me is the fact that the Center for Food Safety had threatened to sue the USDA if it didn't perform an environmental impact study on its own initiative. These traits had already been under review by USDA for 3 years with no evidence of potential harm to humans or the environment. Using litigation to slow down or ban a safe product should concern all of us!
Farmers lose either way. The USDA's bad decision means that these new crops won't go on the market and be available to me and other farmers next year, as previously planned. Now we'll have to wait until 2015 at the soonest. This postponement may not sound like much, but it contributes to a disturbing trend. In the United States, it's becoming harder and harder to introduce new agricultural technologies.
America has led the world in boosting crop yields. Food is safer, more abundant, and more affordable than ever before. Rather than cheering on our ingenuity, however, bureaucrats increasingly want to hold it back.
We're watching a major slowdown in new crop approvals. We've gone from leading to it now taking the United States three times as long as Argentina and Brazil to approve a new technology. The U.S. is going backwards while Brazil and Argentina are moving forward by effectively using internationally agreed upon science-based regulations. Innovation in agriculture technology has always has been one of the American farmer's great advantages over his food-producing competitors. Now we're handing it away, and for no good reason.
We need to return to sensible, science-based regulations—not shifting sands and unpredictable decrees from bureaucrats.
Europe already has traveled far down this fateful path. Its embrace of the "precautionary principle" has made it all but impossible to approve agricultural innovations, stifling the continent's biotech industry. European farmers envy Americans, who can plant genetically modified crops. USDA's decision on herbicide-resistant plants suggests that they may not be so envious in the future.
Earlier this year, the British writer Samuel Gregg published "Becoming Europe," a book on economic and cultural trends in the United States. He urged Americans to reject Europeanization and embrace their freedom-loving heritage. He also quotes Alexis de Tocqueville, the 19th-century Frenchman who studied our country: "The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults."
So here's a message for USDA's bureaucrats: Waste no time in repairing your crop-protection fault.
Tim Burrack raises corn, soybeans and pork on a NE Iowa family farm. He serves as Vice-Chairman and volunteers as a Board Member of Truth About Trade and Technology (www.truthabouttrade.org). Follow us: @TruthAboutTrade on Twitter | Truth About Trade & Technology on Facebook.
© 2010 Farm Journal Foundation. All Rights Reserved. Farmers Feeding the World is a registered trademark of Farm Journal Foundation. The Farm Journal Foundation is a non-profit corporation dedicated to sustaining U.S. agriculture's ability to serve the vital needs of a growing world population with education and assistance focused on the unique interests of people and organizations aligned with U.S. agriculture.


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I hope what I am about to write makes sense.
I know how to make a raised vertical "row" in a knit project, using the *slip one stitch to cable needle and hold in back, knit two and then purl the one in the back* ... but does anyone know how to make a raised horizontal row?
I have a sample square that's working where I *make one stitch on every stitch on the row*, then I slip every second stitch until there's a "bump" across the row and then I knit two together to finish the "bump". If anyone has a better way I'd love to hear it.