Wisconsin Dems Need 3 Seats To Take Back State Senate. They Have 2... But Vote Thief Kathy Nickolaus Is Holding Back 10 Precincts In Waukesha Co.

Today was supposed to be an accountability day for native fascists who have infiltrated and taken over the Wisconsin Republican Party-- as well as Republican Parties all over the country. Scott Walker's unrelenting class warfare against working families and against democracy itself was responded to by massive grassroots organizing and an unprecedented get out the vote effort. Before the polls closed in Wisconsin, another special election in New Hampshire was won by a Democrat:

"Bob Perry's victory tonight is a complete and total rejection of Republican House Speaker Bill O'Brien's reckless job killing agenda. In a historically Republican district, New Hampshire voters turned out in the middle of summer to send a loud and clear message to the out of control Republican majority. Its relentless attempts to make cigarettes cheaper but college more expensive, slash women's health care, and kill jobs by taxing hospitals must stop immediately.



"New Hampshire voters have seen enough of the radical Free State agenda this year with bills that would allow guns in schools and courts, would remove support for our United States' Constitution out of the oath of office, and would eliminate public kindergarten."

At 8pm local time the polls closed in the 6 Republican Wisconsin senate district seats. AP called it for Republican incumbents in the 2 reddest districts right off the bat: Cowles and Harsdorf, and Fred Clark ran strong against Luther Olsen but missed out. So to win back the state Senate Democrats Sandy Pasch, Jennifer Shilling and Jessica King all needed victories. Shilling was the first Democrat to win, with a 55-45% victory, with big wins in La Crosse and Richland. Soon after, Jessica King beat Randy Hopper thanks to voters in Winnebago who gave victories to Ron Johnson and Scott Walker last year coming to their senses this year. Early on I saw that the uber-corrupt Republican machine in Waukesha-- where stealing elections is what they do as a matter of course-- was holding back 10 precincts there in case Alberta Darling needed them in her close race with Sandy Pasch. Pasch is way ahead and I'll update that race as soon as the results are in. Why Kathy Nickolaus isn't in prison is an affront to democracy.



This morning Greg Sargent started the day by telling Wisconsin activists what they had already achieved. "Dems and labor," he wrote "have already succeeded in one sense: They reminded us that it’s possible to build a grass roots movement by effectively utilizing the sort of unabashed and bare-knuckled class-based populism that makes many of today’s national Dems queasy."



As Chris Bowers pointed out yesterday at Kos, the path the pushback against fascism took in Wisconsin was an especially steep one. These 6 districts are not exactly Democratic-friendly territory.

1. Despite narrowly winning Wisconsin in 2004, John Kerry lost five of these districts. In our top two target districts, currently held by Luther Olsen and Randy Hopper, Kerry lost by 13 percent and 15 percent, respectively.



2. Obama won Wisconsin by 14 percent, but only won one of these six districts by more than 4 percent. Outside of Kapanke's district, even during a landslide, the best Obama could do was 50-52 percent.



3. In addition to these being difficult districts, recalls themselves are extremely difficult. In the entire history of the United States, only 13 state legislators have been ever recalled. Nationwide. Ever. We are trying to pull off three or more in a few months.



4. Finally, while Democrats had a monetary advantage when Obama edged McCain in these districts three years ago, thanks to Citizens United now we are getting outspent. Daily Kos commenter Korkenzieher, who lives in one of the recall districts, explains what the monetary advantage buys for the other side:

Anyway, you wouldn't believe the shitstorm of blatant lies they're hurling at Pasch. She hates veterans. She hates children. She hates the whole community, except, of course, for illegal aliens. These are ads being run on every media outlet in Milwaukee, and this is just for one race in the Milwaukee suburbs. Now consider how much cheaper it'd be to run those same ads in small-town, northwoods or dairy farm Wisconsin. Honestly, Wisconsin is always a battleground state in presidential elections, and the stuff being thrown at Pasch alone exceeds anything the wingnuts threw at Clinton, Gore, Kerry or Obama in the last few presidential elections. It has an effect. It confuses people.

UPDATE: Vote Tampering In Waukesha... Again



Wisconsin Democratic Party chair Mike Tate following evidence of election tampering in the 8th State Senate District race: "The race to determine control of the Wisconsin Senate has fallen in the hands of the Waukesha County clerk, who has already distinguished herself as incompetent, if not worse. She is once more tampering with the results of a consequential election and in the next hours we will determine our next course of action. For now, Wisconsin should know that a dark cloud hangs over these important results."



UPDATE TO THE UPDATE



Tate's changed his mind about taking vote thief Kathy Nickolaus to court! He issued this disappointing statement:

"Though we believe that Sandy Pasch was able to battle Alberta Darling to a virtual tie, on her turf, we will not pursue questions of irregularities. Those heat-of-the-moment statements came in light of the uncertainties that arose from a recent election, known too well.



The fact of the matter remains, that, fighting on Republican turf, we have begun the work of stopping the Scott Walker agenda."

AFTER TONIGHT'S SPECIAL REPORT, "WOODY ALLEN TONIGHT"

RETURNS TOMORROW WITH PART 1 OF "DEATH KNOCKS"

(Barring unforeseen circumstances, of course!)

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Sandy Pasch Pulls Out Ahead In Wisconsin

Early in June Wisconsin state Senator Chris Larson introduced Blue America to progressive Assemblywoman Sandy Pasch. As you can see, 99 of us have contributed to her campaign. Since then she has been steadily gaining on Scott Walker/Paul Ryan zombie Alberta Darling and in the latest polling has even pulled ahead of the longtime incumbent. The GOP threw up an obstacle-- a fake primary where she had to fight off a challenge by Gladys Huber, a longtime official of the Ozaukee County Republican Party, who ran as a "Democrat." Sandy wiped the floor with her, winning 67-33%. But the GOP wasn't counting on winning that one. They were counting on draining Sandy's resources before the real battle next month.

August 9th, Sandy will go head to head with Walker lieutenant Alberta Darling in the race that will decide whether Wisconsin keeps going down Walker's and ALEC's road towards fascism... or not. It's that important.

To keep her momentum going, Pasch needs, desperately needs, to stay on the air with her progressive message between now and August 9th. If you can help, even with $5 or $10, it could make a real difference, not just in Wisconsin's 8th Senatorial District but across America. You can contribute through ActBlue here.

Darling's and Walker's right-wing allies are already inundating the airwaves in the expensive Milwaukee suburbs with negative advertising. A memo from a Democratic strategist in Wisconsin warned, "Past challengers to Darling were doomed precisely because they could not regain their footing, or clear the air of smears, after Darling's preemptive and massive television attack campaign. By smartly choosing to dominate the airwaves early, Pasch was able to eliminate a double-digit gap in the course of less than two months, and establish a beachhead of support. However, this position can ONLY be sustained if Sandy Pasch is able to raise the resources necessary to counter the fury of attack ads that will soon be unleashed by Alberta Darling and her special interest allies."

They come.

Club for Growth, Americans For Prosperity, W.M.C.-- the rogues' gallery of radical conservative special interests understand that Pasch is a direct threat to their agenda, and are, as we speak, plotting to tear down Rep. Pasch in a campaign we have every reason to believe will be conducted through Milwaukee television and will shock the conscience.

That Pasch has been able to come within striking distance of Darling in this District has been a testament to the grassroots fervor that Walker and Darling have spurred, and to the excellence of Pasch's candidacy. But it is also a testament to the effectiveness of Pasch's "strike-first strategy"-- a strategy that has catapulted her into the lead. The resources that have girded the success of Pasch's insurgency, however, have limits. Without immediate assistance a golden opportunity to derail the runaway Scott Walker agenda will be lost.

No less than the majority of the state Senate hangs in the balance. Of all the Republican Senators, Darling is Walker's handmaiden above all others-- removing her from the Senate will be a major victory for us and a crushing blow to Scott Walker. It is our sincere belief that the only hope to sustain the gains achieved by Pasch is an immediate influx of resources.

Sandy Pasch can win. But she needs help to do so. Now.

One more time: the Blue America Wisconsin recall page.

Wisconsin... Microcosm?

Despite a barrage of right-wing money and a relentless robo-call campaign from Republican operatives in Virginia urging Democrats not to vote yesterday and despite Republicans claiming the polls would close early and all their normal voter discouragement schemes, all six Democrats beat the shill candidates the GOP put up against them in the primaries yesterday... by landslides. Despite the tremendous sums of money fascist interests like the Kochs poured into the races, grassroots efforts by ordinary working people pretty much matched or even beat the right-wing onslaught.

Democrat Nancy Nusbaum trounced Republican Otto Junkermann 65-35 and will now face off against recalled state Senator Robert Cowles.

Democrat Sandy Pasch beat Republican Gladys Huber 67-33 and will now face off against recalled state Senator Alberta Darling, the self-professed Paul Ryan wanna be.

Democrat Shelly Moore beat Republican Issac Weix 54-46 and will now face off against recalled state Senator Sheila Harsdorf.

Democrat Fred Clarke beat Republican Rol Church 67-33 and will now face off against recalled state Senator Luther Olsen.

Democrat Jennifer Shilling routed Republican James Smith 71-29 and will now face off against recalled state Senator Dan Kapanke, the incumbent most likely to lose next month. The last poll showed Kapanke trailing by 14 points.

Democrat Jessica King beat Republican John Buckstaff 69-31 and will now face off against recalled state Senator Randy Hopper, a notorious tax cheat (and "family values" adulterer). Take a look at the Hopper ad up top. It's the inspiration for the microcosm idea in the title.

What Scott Walker and his zombies are doing to Wisconsin is exactly what the GOP plans for all of us across the country. Late last night, before the national media was declaring the Republican dirty tricks had backfired and blown up in their faces, I spoke to a jubilant Chris Larson, one of the Democratic state senators who's been out front leading the efforts to stymie Walker's anti-family agenda. "Today," he told me, "was just a distraction by the Republicans in the hope that citizens wouldn't hold them accountable for turning their backs on the middle class. But we've proven that we're more determined than ever to restore the balance in our state. Wisconsin continues to stand up for what's right and we're asking the nation to stand with us on August 9th."

August 9th is the day of the actual general elections and the small contributions from grassroots donors everywhere is what helped the six progressives win yesterday. Please, even if it's just $5 or $10, dig deep one more time for a state fighting for it's life-- and ours.

Wisconsin Recall Voting Starts Tuesday With Fake Primaries

The first phase of voting in the Wisconsin recalls comes Tuesday... yes, this Tuesday, July 12. These will be the primaries the GOP forced by running fake candidates. A good example is in the Green Bay area where Democrat Nancy Nusbaum should be facing off against right-wing Republican incumbent Robert Cowles of Allouez. Instead the GOP has managed to insert former state Assemblyman Otto Junkermann, a Republican, onto the Democratic primary ballot. If Junkermann wins the primary, he admits he'll drop out of the race and give Cowles a free ride. The GOP did this in all six districts where Democrats are trying to replace Walker stooges. The other Republicans running in Democratic primaries are Gladys Huber opposing Sandy Pasch, Issax Weix opposing Shelly Moore, Rol Church opposing Fred Clarke, John Buckstaff, opposing Jessica King and James Smith opposing Jennifer Shilling.

The following week, July 19, voters in three districts held by Democratic senators will vote, one general and two primaries. On August 9 the general elections in the first six races, where Democrats are challenging Republicans, will be held and a week later, August 16, the remaining 2 general elections take place. It's a mess that few voters understand-- which is exactly what the GOP was counting on when they did everything in their power to make it a mess.

In all, there are 6 Republican tools of Scott Walker with enough petition signatures to be recalled and there are also three Democrats with the requisite number of signatures. Neither of the two most hated politicians in Wisconsin are on the ballot, not Governor Scott Walker nor Congressman Paul Ryan. But, as you can see from these brand new videos from Sandy Pasch's campaign (the one up top and this one below), the Walker/Ryan essence is exactly what these elections are all about. Sen. Alberta Darling is an especially vehement supporter of both Walker and Ryan.



August 9 is d-day, though-- the day many Wisconsin voters will decide if their state is going to continue down a fascistic path or turn around and embrace democracy again. Blue America has a page dedicated to that day and our six progressive candidates will need all the help they can get between now and... 30 days from now. Even a $5 or $10 contribution, aggregated with lots of other $5 and $10 contributions, could make the difference. And then we'll deal with Scott Walker and with Paul Ryan after that, Walker with a January recall effort and Ryan when we replace him in November 2012 with Rob Zerban.



UPDATE: More GOP Dirty Tricks

Greg Sargent also covered the Wisconsin recalls today. In his Washington Post column he pointed out that "allies of Wisconsin Republicans are growing so desperate that they’re resorting to sleazy dirty tricks in their last-ditch bid to help the GOP hang on to the state senate." He also pointed out that Republicans are allowed to vote in Democratic primaries and are expected to turn out on Tuesday and vote for the fake candidates.

Allies of one of the top GOP targets in the recalls, state senator Randy Hopper, are circulating flyers in his district trying to get out the vote for the fake Dem in the Democratic primary against his Dem opponent.

You can view the flyer, which was found and passed along by We Are Wisconsin, right here. It urges voters to go out to the polls to vote for one John Buckstaff against the real Democrat, Oshkosh deputy mayor Jessica King, a strong candidate against the vulnerable Hopper.

The flyer is the work of a group that calls itself “Patriot Advisors,” which is registered as an opponent of the real Dem, Jessica King, and an ally of the fake Dem candidate, John Buckstaff, the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board tells me.

Buckstaff, even though he’s running in a Dem primary, is an 81 year old Republican and donor to ... GOP state senator Randy Hopper.

And here’s the real rub-- the flyer is geared towards getting Republican voters to go out and vote in the Dem primary. It does this by claiming that real Dem Jessica King is a union stooge and that Buckstaff will “roll up his sleeves and work with Governor Walker to eliminate special privileges for government unions.” This, in a Dem primary!

For Wisconsin GOP allies, this takes tampering in Dem primaries to a whole new level.

What's the difference between "Republican allies" and Republican scumbaggers? I'm guessing it's just something the Post's lawyers insist on.

Blue America Welcomes Wisconsin Heroes Sandy Pasch And Chris Larson

You'd have to be living under a rock not to know there's a battle in Wisconsin that's crucial for the whole progressive movement and for the future of our country. That's why Blue America started a new Wisconsin Recall page and it's why we've invited state Senator Chris Larson and state Senate candidate Sandy Pasch onto Crooks and Liars for a live chat today (2pm, CT, noon, PT).

As you no doubt recall, earlier this year the newly elected extreme Republican governor of the state, Scott Walker, pushed through a radical attack on basic labor rights. His plan to strip workers of the right to bargain collectively for protections against unfair treatment and unsafe worker conditions was one of the greatest assaults on working families in the last half century. And now he's pushing a radical, destructive agenda that guts priorities like education, health care and help for seniors while giving hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks to huge corporations. He couldn't have done it with an equally extremist state legislature, which has rubber stamped every single point on his destructive agenda.

The recall elections next month matter far beyond the borders of Wisconsin. The Walker agenda is being duplicated in state after state by the extreme Republicans who swept into power in last November’s elections. This fight for rights and the basic values we all hold dear will reverberate across the nation, impacting elections in every region of the country. With the help of Blue America's most trusted friend in Wisconsin, Sen. Chris Larson, we looked at all progressives running to replace the six Walkerites and we invited Assemblywoman Sandy Pasch to talk with us today about the elections. She and Chris are both open to answering questions about the campaign and about Wisconsin politics.

Sandy's running in the 8th Senate district. Over the course of a few months, more than 30,000 residents signed petitions to recall Walker-ally and friend of special interest, State Senator Alberta Darling. Darling is a 19- year Republican incumbent who has embraced the extreme conservative agenda. From slashing money for women’s health care, to raising taxes on seniors and the working poor while giving tax breaks to big corporations, to gutting money for Wisconsin schools, to making it easier to carry a concealed gun into days cares, malls and bars, Darling is a prime symbol of why we need to win these recall elections. Formerly a kind of mainstream conservative she's devolved into a career politician who puts the extreme, divisive agenda of the party bosses and special interests ahead of her constituents.

Remember, Democrats need just three net victories to take control of the state Senate and create a firewall against the reckless Walker agenda. Winning Darling’s seat will be a critical part of that equation. She's vulnerable. Polling shows she can be beaten, and even her Republican allies in the Senate have said to the press she is in trouble.

Sandy's a dedicated progressive and has over 30 years of experience as a clinical nurse and educator. She is committed to stopping Walker’s assault on Wisconsin’s working families. Darling won her last election by only 1,007 votes and next month Sandy is the right candidate to fix that mistake.

Winning these recalls will not just help protect Wisconsin-- it will send a signal to the entire country that we will stand up to extreme, divisive agendas that hurt our values and threaten the priorities we know are so important. Help her campaign now, and this summer Wisconsin will be the first step in our national efforts to stand for the ideals under threat by the most extreme right wing special interests facing our country since the 1940's. Please don't forget to make your way over to the live forum in the Crooks and Liars comments section at 2pm (Wisconsin time) today.