Scott Walker: Wisconsin Recall Process 'Pretty Unusual'

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R) criticized his state's recall process, attacking the state's elections and ethics agency for allowing questionable names on petitions.

"The whole process is pretty unusual," Walker said Tuesday during an appearance on Fox News. "We had one of the local affiliates here [reporting] about someone signing it, proudly saying they signed 80 different recall petitions. As we see it, you should only be able to sign it once and only once, and it should be for a legal citizen."

Walker was criticizing the recent news that signatures from Mickey Mouse and Adolf Hitler would count on recall petitions as long as they are properly dated and include a valid Wisconsin address. The Government Accountability Board, which runs the recall process in Wisconsin, has said that it won't eliminate duplicate or questionable signatures from recall petitions, leaving the responsibility to validate signatures to the campaigns.

Walker's campaign and the state's Republican Party director have filed a lawsuit against the board, saying that allowing multiple signatures is a violation of the equal protection clauses of the state and U.S. constitutions.

Wisconsin Senate Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau), who supports Walker, was recently confronted over an email he sent to constituents titled "Mickey Mouse is helping..." asking them to "fight the fraud that is happening right now on recall petitions in my district." The email, which questioned the authenticity of the recall petitions, alleged opponents of the Badger State's governor were "going to cheat to get Scott Walker out."

Comments

[Jerry Person]

08:59 AM on 01/08/2012

Saturday Jan 8, 2012 Kenosha sheriff Brain Beth forces legal signature collecters from public property. One was disabled and one was senior citzen plus others collecting signatures. The sheriff a avid Walker supporter is tired of the recall. He fears loosing his kingpin. Beth was dropping off trash at a local transfer site. He decided in front of his neighbors in western Kenosha county arural area he would show off his power. The sheriff knows Wisconsin Attorney general is a major player in the GOP. Beth knows he is untouchable just like hundreds of members of the Wisconsin GOP. Wisconsin also has GOP appointee US attorney John Vaudreual protecting them too. The US attorney in Wisconsin and the states attorney are nothing more than a GOP/walker protection rackeet. If not for double standards they would notr have any.

[Jerry Person]

08:48 AM on 01/08/2012

• In many rural communities people are afraid of signing recall petitions. They are afraid of vindictive GOP like scott walker. Kenosha county sheriff Brian Beth attacked people gathering signatures for the walker recall. These were seniors and one disabled person. What a tuff guy did he pull his weapon?. He has ordered his deputies to do the same. The County said the people had the right to be public property. Kenosha has a vindictive GOP sheriff like in Phoenix Arizona. In most rural areas were the justice system is out of control. Honest people have to worry about vindictive deputies. It is a well know fact 99% of your police are GOP. The GOP has handed open checkbooks for the DOJ budget for decades. Just like in defense spending. The out of control judiciary in Wisconsin has the people afraid to sign recall papers. Wisconsinis the largest police state per capita in the world. Wisconsin courts are known for political acts and prosecutions. Just look at the supreme court of Wississippi. The Wisconsin Supreme Court is long gone. It has 4 corporate so called judges who are proven rubber stamps for corporations. This has more people per capita in jail than any place in the world. The people are outraged at the massive amount of damage done to genertions of our youth for personal and agency gain. Wisconsin People have not experienced liberty and justice for all. Plea bargaining/legal extortion the most violent crime in America.

[bowloforanges]

07:17 PM on 12/31/2011

MILWAUKEE - Starting this fall, Wisconsin driver's license cards will no longer be printed in Wisconsin. Instead, the state will outsource the work to a company that will print the cards in California.

Scott Walker good for Wisconsin? I think not.

[Jerry Person]

09:07 AM on 01/08/2012

This will guarantee many will not have ID`s on election day. They will pick the districts for slow return. This will also help ID theft. If scooter only had a brain. All he thinks about is is own gain. Privitization like this allows his campaign war chest to grow. History shows privitization always cost ten fold. Just look athe Justice systems and the healthcare. Privitization has ended healthcare and in the justice systems they have ended liberty and justice for most Americans.

[SitandStay]

03:31 PM on 12/30/2011

Judge to Scott Walker recall groups: ‘No intervention’
The State Column | Staff | Thursday, December 29, 2011


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Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s campaign team scored a small victory in a Wisconsin court room Thursday, as Waukesha County Circuit Judge J. Mac Davis ruled against Walker recall groups seeking an intervention in his campaign team’s lawsuit against the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, The Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal-Sentinnel reports.

“Friends of Scott Walker,” Mr. Walker’s Wisconsin state campaign committee and Wisconsin Republican Party Director Stephan Thompson filed a lawsuit against the Wisconsin GAB two weeks ago, requesting that the board be more thorough in its review of petition signatures.



Read more: http://www.thestatecolumn.com/articles/judge-to-scott-walker-recall-groups-no-intervention/#ixzz1i3GmO5bc

[MekongSailor]

03:27 PM on 12/30/2011

Hopefully, little Scottie can get his old job back, selling used cars and Ronco hom appliances. Must be nice and warm there in the Koch Brothers' pocket.

[SitandStay]

03:17 PM on 12/30/2011

Due to a limited vocabulary and also an interest in not being sued, Scott Walkerkochastan, casts a mild aspersion of "pretty unusual". This is not news worthy and only points to the fact that Mr Walker never spent much time in a home environment where big words were used nor was he able to avail himself of expressing himself by courses he had taken in high school or his marginal interest in post secondary education.
The proof will be in the pudding, Scottie.
It's so pitiful that people whom never found much value in their own education are so eager to dictate and pass judgement on the education they deem acceptable for others that do care about education.

[NancyPeske]

05:06 PM on 12/29/2011

How silly. ONE man who wanted to get on TV tells this outrageous story, that no one checks out, and the talk radio pundits in Milwaukee act like they're on a sugar high. Settle down, boys. We just went through this a few months ago and no one was freaking themselves out because of some goof shooting off his mouth. If you actually think the anti-Walker crowd isn't METICULOUS about the signatures to ensure their side's success, you just don't have any common sense.

[CodeRapture]

07:55 PM on 01/12/2012

It's FOX news. Nobody takes it seriously. You might as well read the national inquirer. They of course skip over things like facts. Like the fact that fraudulent names are taken out at a later step in the process according the the Government Accountability Board and the fact that the recall workers are actively removing entries that are obviously fraudulent to get a better idea of the count. Of course Walker has no problem deliberately spreading lies.

[NancyPeske]

05:31 PM on 01/20/2012

It's not just Fox, though. Charlie Sykes is a menace. He hands people silly soundbites and red herrings to chase after and people fall for it!

[beeper]

04:23 PM on 12/29/2011

If you don't like how things are done here Snott go play Governor somewhere else. We are all here trying to help you get out of this job that is causing you to be such a whiny little Beeeaaatch.

[Eidolas]

06:48 PM on 12/29/2011

Speaking of whining....

[Darthpanda]

04:57 PM on 12/31/2011

I'm not sure if what you are saying is accurate.
Should Beeeeatch be capitalized?

[Forty5ACP]

09:51 AM on 12/29/2011

Democrats fail to remember the corruption and lies that followed Doyle around during his term as governor. The scandal involving Adelman Travel and the $20,000 campaign donation. The political blackmail threat that Doyle issued against the Wisconsin Realtors Association. Or that Oracle employees gave Doyle’s campaign $3,250 weeks after the company got a no-bid state contract.

It is truly amazing. I can go on. How about the time that Doyle siccing his lawyer onto Democratic members of the State Elections Board to retroactively make a portion of Mark Green’s campaign fund illegal.

Did you happen to forget Christopher Kelly who gave Doyle $10,000 in June. Kelly is believed to be the "Individual B" in a federal indictment of Democratic fundraiser Antoin Rezko on pay-to-play charges in Illinois.

This is the CORRUPTION that Governor Scott Walker has addressed with the big unions being in the pockets of the liberal democrats. Wisconsin has a tradition of being a clean-government state. The citizens of Wisconsin took steps to help cleanup the corruption by removing Doyle and the democrat leadership from their state.

And Governor Scott Walker is leading the charge to a cleaner government.

GO GOVERNOR SCOTT WALKER! ! !

WISCONSIN NEEDS YOU! ! !”

[Eidolas]

06:50 PM on 12/29/2011

Doyle was one of the most corupt "pay for play" Governors Wisconsin ever had. But the Democrats ignore that because he was one of theirs. It's funny how just a few years ago the teachers unions were protesting Doyle's cuts to education, yet you never heard about it here. Hypocrites.

[adarps5]

12:15 AM on 12/29/2011

We are not used to pretty unusual governors here in Wisconsin. It is unusual to constantly lie, divide our state, take money from workers to give to the wealthy, deny the right to vote, and the list goes on and on.

[Ginger23]

08:45 AM on 12/29/2011

And there's more to add every day!

[Forty5ACP]

09:29 AM on 12/29/2011

And your Jim Doyle WASN'T an unusual governor? PUH-Lease. That man was up to his eyeballs in corruption, especially with regard to the rail deal. Oh and let us not forget the fraud charges perpetrated by a Doyle official for steering a contract to Adelman Travel Group. Doyle's campaign later received $10,000 before and after the company won the contract.

Yeah, that's not unusual for a governor in Wisconsin. Right?

Should I go over the illicit dealings that Doyle had with the Potawatomi tribe? Because we all know that's not unusual for a governor in Wisconsin.

Go away, adarps5. Your rhetoric is one sided and full of holes.

[adarps5]

10:36 PM on 12/30/2011

Your boy Walker will be the first Wisconsin governor and only the third governor nationally to be up for a recall vote in all the history of our country---How unusual!

And no, we will not go away. All the bullying, dirty tricks, childish posts and intimidation only makes us stronger and more determined.

Having a name of a gun as a screen name, is that to make us tremble? It,s not working Caps Man.

[adarps5]

10:09 PM on 12/28/2011

Not true Walker, not true. http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2011/dec/18/maciver-institute/conservative-group-says-wisconsin-allow-mickey-mou/

[pollclaire]

10:53 PM on 12/28/2011

The MacIver Institute is like the island of the misfit toys, the think tank that serves repository for all the ethically disgraced/convicted/ejected right-wingers that washed out of Wisconsin politics.

Instead of de-beaking chickens like ordinary parolees, they serve out their probation at MacIver.

[billbb]

09:32 PM on 12/28/2011

Republicans are the definition of irony.

Why?

- Busting the unions will save money. Only Walker cost the County of Milwaukee nearly half a million dollars plus court costs when he tried it there, dozens of times what he "saved."

- Scott Walker hates recalls. Only he became county executive in Milwaukee on the back of a rightie-run anti tax recall.

- Elections have to be handled very carefully and his opponents aren't following the exact rules. Only Snotty had to leave Marquette in his senior year because he went beyond what was allowed in a student election [ http://marquettetribune.org/2010/10/26/news/walker-wpo1-tw2-je3-one-question-controversial-claims-continue-in-walkers-campaign/ ]

Let's help Walker take a Walk!

[adarps5]

10:25 PM on 12/28/2011

Informed poster, Fanned!

[pollclaire]

10:56 PM on 12/28/2011

The fan of my fan shall also be fanned. Or something.

[Phil-EA]

09:05 PM on 12/28/2011

Well, he’s right, in that Wisconsin certainly has one of the least strict recall processes in the country. Forget all the shenanigans that seem to be going on with multiple signatures with falsified names. It’s certainly important, and needs to be looked into, but until we get actual figures it’s hard to speculate how rampant that abuse is. What’s really troublesome is the fact that a politician is being recalled simply because of their policy.

It’s one thing to break the law. It’s another to simply have people just dislike your politics. A successful recall essentially sets a precedent that says “if you’re too aggressive with your policies, we’re going to kick you out.” It’s hard to not see that leading to a wave of politicians who refuse to take any risks in their legislation, and would amount to lame duck politicians who are just passing the buck to the next politician to avoid having the public turn against them.

You have districts seeing great results where the legislation is in place (http://eng.am/n8zzMb), and districts struggling where the new legislation can’t go into place because of previously negotiated union contracts (http://eng.am/nfGqDq). Nevertheless, a recall election at this point seems inevitable. The problem we see here likely won’t have too much bearing on other states, as recall processes elsewhere require much more to take place, but you certainly worry about the future of Wisconsin and its ability to be governed without fear.

[pollclaire]

09:37 PM on 12/28/2011

I've said this before, but if Walker had stuck to the agenda he campaigned on he would have been fine, maybe even popular. Instead, he introduced a canned legislative agenda that was written by ALEC lobbyists long before before he was elected, and ran it throught the legislature at top speed in an attempt to keep the public from finding out what was really in the legislation. No committee hearings, no debate in the legislature, no opportunity for public comment... this is the definition of bad, unresponsive and high-handed government that serves corporate lobbying money at the expense of voters.

[NancyPeske]

05:10 PM on 12/29/2011

Well, handing out six-figure salary jobs to any loser whose daddy made a campaign contribution didn't help his credibility either...He's not bright enough to hide his grotesque corruption.
What shocked me is how quickly the Republicans in the legislature started acting like lemmings, refusing to debate bills and ridiculing the Democrats for giving them thoughtful consideration and raising concerns about possible legal ramifications of new legislation that would cost the state money. It was an ego fest, and the party is over... Now let's just hope that WHEN Walker runs against a Democratic challenger, the challenger isn't a crook like Doyle so we have a good chance of getting someone with integrity and common sense in there to clean up the mess the Republicans have made in this state in the past year. Honestly, it's just been obscene.

[getoffmyside]

09:50 PM on 12/28/2011

June 29th, 2011. Tell me what Kaukauna comes up with in June 2012.

[RRS4727]

08:13 PM on 12/28/2011

Please people - be realistic and be smart.
Who has the most to GAIN with obviously fraudulent names?
Anti-recall, Pro-Walker people.

“Recall Walker” people are smarter than that - they would not jeopardize their position with ridiculous fake names, begging to be thrown out.

I would check into who REALLY signed the false names.
99.9% sure it’s people who are trying to sabotage the recall.
(BTW - I've "heard" there "MAY" be ridiculous names; has anyone actually seen them?)

[getoffmyside]

08:32 PM on 12/28/2011

The signature gatherers I dealt with were very concerned that everything was on the up and up.

[billbb]

08:51 PM on 12/28/2011

We have been, and I personally witnessed every signature I gathered, and explained to the folks signing why I was paying such close attention. I have been cautious to the extent that I took pictures of the cars of any folks that seemed hinkty. If they turn out to be fraudulent, I will be happy to have them in Waupun for a few years. Most people have been very nice, and I have met some wonderful Wisconsin folks of all races and ethnicities signing. Sure looked different than the tea flea crowd! I set up for a while the other day in Shorewood, and not even a single Walkerista came by, but lots of beeps, waves and thumbs up.

[billbb]

08:55 PM on 12/28/2011

Some people HAVE ridiculous names, which is exactly why the Government Accountability Board will not automatically reject them. Using an example from public life and out of state to avoid confusion, the longtime spokesman for the Chicago Parks Department was Forrest Claypool.

That said, you are correct that fraud only benefits Walker, so all of the people that signed my petitions have been extremely careful to print as clearly as they can so the Republicans have absolutely no grounds for rejection.

[getoffmyside]

08:00 PM on 12/28/2011

Trawls, the best friend the left of center can have. They make our case so we don't have to.