Wisconsin Recall: Kathleen Falk, Tom Barrett Face Off In Contest To Replace Scott Walker

Salon:

The two main Democrats vying to represent their party in Wisconsin’s June 5 recall election share a dubious distinction. Tom Barrett and Kathleen Falk have both previously run in statewide general elections – and they both lost.

Barrett, the Milwaukee mayor who currently leads the Democratic race, was defeated by 52 to 47 percent in the 2010 gubernatorial race by Scott Walker, the target of the recall effort, while Falk fell about 9,000 votes short – a margin of less than 0.5 percent – when she ran as her party’s candidate for attorney general in 2006.

Read the whole story at Salon

Comments

[Eagleman]

12:37 PM on 05/01/2012

Let's see if Falk gets Falked or Walker gets Walked ?

[jhaasen]

08:49 PM on 04/30/2012

Had Walker bargained hard, but in good faith, with the public employee unions like Gov. Christy of NJ. did, he likely wouldn't be facing this recall. (And he would have likely been able to get concessions on retirement benefits that both side could have accepted.) I have no doubt he will be out in June--Wisconsinites believe in shared sacrifice, not diminishing the working class to benefit the rich.

[Ed and Deb Shapiro]

10:25 AM on 04/30/2012

Scott Walker is a nasty piece of work!

[Always Telling The Truth]

09:31 AM on 04/30/2012

It comes down to GOVERNMENT UNION free benefits vs. TAXPAYERS
Right to keep their family's hard-earned income and have less of it taken from them
and given to Government Unions.

I have no problem (most people feel the same) with private unions getting whatever compensation they get.
But If my family has to settle for less so GOVERNMENT UNIONS can TAKE MORE
Then -- Bravo Governor Scott Walker -
THANK YOU for looking out for us TAXPAYERS.

[tkernhickory]

09:49 AM on 04/30/2012

Great Point Truthman..........Anyone that thinks government bureacrats need labor union to squeeze out more has head trauma......my understanding was he asked them to take a small increase on their healthcare costs and pension..........no one working in the private sector gets penions except union workers .........the rest of us get 401ks and have contribute 5-10% of our paycheck to that..........these people cannot make a small concession ........WI is drowing in debt from this kind of crap

[USAGramma]

01:02 PM on 04/30/2012

Public unions accepted ALL of the financial concessions. That is why Walker needed to remove the collective bargaining issue from the budget concerns. His (unspoken in his campaign) agenda was to remove collective bargaining--it had nothing to do with budget issues.

[amendingangel]

06:28 PM on 04/30/2012

That's not what's going on here at all. It's the general public vs. the corporate structure. Your boy Walker is nothing but a promoter of the 2 class, corporate domination of the US. Keeping the masses oppressed and forcing slave wages onto them. You, are their foot soldier. They "train" you, and set you off on your path to self destruction. And you, willingly oblige.

[Eidolas]

01:06 PM on 05/01/2012

Not even you believe any of that claptrap about "the oppressed" or "slave wages." If it is so bad, why is anyone still working in the public sector? After all, they've been reduced to "slave wages" according to you. They've got it good and they.know, but if they don't like it, they can always look into one of the 30,000 plus open jobs in Wisconsin.

[emby]

09:17 AM on 04/30/2012

Walker is right
Unions have too much power and do not represent the average worker. He is not taking away all their rights, only the ones that have to many restrictions on the rest of us. Why should someone who is not in the union be forced to pay dues to them. What is the reason to become a sheep like so many union members are. When is the last time a union member really had a voice in what is going . Wake up america, unions are past their prime and have outlived their usefullness. They are greedy and only out for themselves

[David Dem]

09:37 AM on 04/30/2012

NeoCon austerity starts here. Unions have very little power. Take away the voice of workers and you destroy the American standard of living and the middle class. Walker's agenda destroyed Wisconsin jobs. Why are you so immune to the facts?

[Eidolas]

01:08 PM on 05/01/2012

Unions have very little power? Why have they dumped tens of millions into the recall effort, brought in "volunteers" from outside Wisconsin, taking away the voice of the private sector taxpayer and destroyed job creation in Wisconsin for their own political ends?

[tkernhickory]

09:50 AM on 04/30/2012

Why do people that work for the government need unions.........they are not in coal mines.

[dogreen]

09:02 AM on 04/30/2012

To all the union haters..... do you enjoy some if not all from the benefits listed below? Whether you like unions or not, they provided a better working environment for all workers, including you. Repubs want to take away those benefits you enjoy, as Walker has repeatedly mentioned, WI is the template and if he wins it will be a signal to all states that employee rights can be dismantled and that means you will lose the benefits unions have provided for all workers not just unionized workers.

Acts and Reforms Related to Labor (a Partial Listing)

1913 U.S. Dept. of Labor Created
1931 Davis-Bacon Act – provides for prevailing wages to employees of contractors and subcontractors working on public construction
1936 Walsh-Healey Act – creates labor standards including minimum wages, overtime pay, safety standards on federal contract work and provisions for child and convict labor
1949 Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is amended – child labor is prohibited
1963 The Equal Pay Act – prohibits wage differences based on sex
1964 The Civil Rights Act – prohibits many forms of job discrimination (race, color, national origin, sex or religion)
1970 Occupation and Safety Health Act (OSHA)
1974 Employee Retirement Income Security Act – allowing Congress to regulate pension funds

Read more at Suite101: Labor Unions in the United States: Unions's Provide Benefits for Workers Past, Present and Future | Suite101.com http://tanja-meece.suite101.com/labor-unions-in-the-united-states-a75099#ixzz1tWmZlz00

[mrsm00the]

11:08 PM on 04/29/2012

I thought Walker was bad. Then I read this article on the Democrat challengers. Why don't you Wisconsonites just slit your wrists.

[tkernhickory]

10:13 AM on 04/30/2012

Makes no sense why the voters of WI want to go bankrupt so fat bureacrats do not have to pay $20 or whatever the tiny bit is to save the buget...........they need to pay their fare share.

[wme98]

09:03 PM on 04/29/2012

Walker rode in on the back of the Tea Party revolution. After Walker is removed from office watch just how quickly all the rats on the Tea Party ship jump overboard.

[nuppup]

10:51 PM on 04/29/2012

In 1993 ?

[Just a passerby]

08:19 AM on 04/30/2012

Riiiight - because that's when he became governor.

[wme98]

12:57 PM on 04/30/2012

Hey Poindexter, he was elected Govenor in 2010, with the help of the Koch Bros and the Tea Party.

[2059nk]

09:33 AM on 04/30/2012

You mean tea traitors!

[wme98]

01:15 PM on 04/30/2012

I don't call the traitors, since they are entitled to their opinions as misguided as they may be.
What I don't understand is all the hatred towards Obama. After must thought the only conclusion I can reach is that racism is alive and well in America, all be it not out in the open. It may be hidden in the recessess of people's minds but it is there. There is not one thing that Obama has proposed that is extreme enough to cause all the hate. Most of his proposed legislation has at one time been favored by the Right. Never has a President had the opposition acted so hateful and with such obstructionism. NEVER. If the actions by the Right are not caused by underlying racism, please offer me an idea as to why they act the way they do.

[warmandcaringperson]

08:57 PM on 04/29/2012

Wisconsin Democrats don't have one strong candidate to run against Walker, they are all losers.

[newpoliticaljunkie]

09:06 PM on 04/29/2012

and so are you................

[MrStat1]

09:40 PM on 04/29/2012

I see you are a person with a high degree of intellegence!

[tkernhickory]

09:56 AM on 04/30/2012

How can the people of WI be so stupid as to even want to protect bureacrats in public sector unions getting and making more than most that work in the private sector

[David Dem]

09:59 AM on 04/30/2012

Teachers, firefighters, police. etc

[Who Honest]

08:39 PM on 04/29/2012

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/30/scott-walker-anti-union-law_n_1392372.html

http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/federal-court-strikes-down-parts-of-act-10-4k4qdap-145208985.html

The plaintiff unions challenged three specific provisions of Act 10:

Restricting the subject of "general employee" unions' collective bargaining to base wages only, and prohibiting fair-share agreements by which nonunion members pay the unions for the benefits won through the unions' efforts.

Requiring annual re-certification of general employee unions by an absolute majority of all employees in the bargaining unit, as opposed to a majority of those voting.

Prohibiting the automatic deduction of dues and fair-share payments from payroll checks of general employees.

TRANSLATION: Walker is forcing the Union bosses to be held directly accountable to their own union members!

The "true sin" of Scott Walker!

Act 10 needs to be enacted in every "state of the Union"!

[Ginger23]

08:57 PM on 04/29/2012

Quit blaming the unions for the fact that your life sucks. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps, take some personal responsibility and make your own life better instead of whinging about the unions.

[newpoliticaljunkie]

09:07 PM on 04/29/2012

And do you have any idea how much these people would love a Union job..........

[man hammer]

09:35 PM on 04/29/2012

Pulling your self up by your bootstraps, And taking personal responsibility, Means telling the unions to stick it. Public employee unions have about bankrupted many states,on the backs of tax payers, and private sector unions, have bankrupted many companies, Almost GM and Chrysler.

[anniesez455]

10:08 AM on 04/30/2012

Who Honest

Welcome NEW Fan!

[IndependentRule]

08:37 PM on 04/29/2012

Walker will win the SCOTUS will strike down the mandate and Obama will be shown to be the Emperor with a nice charismatic smile and no clothes. IF Scot wins the GOP will be emboldened beyond normal. The gov Unions will be weakened and even more nefarious unsupported by the majority.

[DeanWormer]

08:29 PM on 04/29/2012

Continued good luck to the taxpayers of Wisc in their ongoing battle with the Public Unions. Imagine what another Walker victory would mean.

[Obrand]

08:36 PM on 04/29/2012

Yea, the 1% needs him to stay.
Unfortunately, the 99% need him to leave.

[mrsm00the]

11:10 PM on 04/29/2012

What percentage of the 99% voted for Walker?

[tkernhickory]

10:06 AM on 04/30/2012

no the middle class taxpayer needs him to stay............the public sector unions do not. Good Lord you have any idea how much these public sector unions are costing taxpayers of all bracket...........it is just common sense.

[newpoliticaljunkie]

08:41 PM on 04/29/2012

Yes - please imagine what another Walker victory would mean - Probably why a million plus people, public and private sector signed the recall petitions and are going to vote on June 5th.
In working the phones this weekend, at least 3/4 plus of the people I talked to are planning to vote against Scott Walker. One elderly gentleman told me he'd vote for Hitler before he'd vote for Scott Walker.....should tell you how people view our esteemed Governor.

[shirley thomas]

08:50 PM on 04/29/2012

glad to get inside info. keep up the good fight. too bad pres carter can't be an election observer. don't trust the election officals or the koch backed walker. good luck

[jstanavgguy]

09:46 PM on 04/29/2012

Gee, someone in Wisconsin willing to vote for a Socilaist?

Imagine that.

[Clevelandinwi]

08:24 PM on 04/29/2012

walker is an incredible liar. He is a koch lackey. He performs a War on Women, a War on Education, a War on Everyone's Health, a War on the Poor, a War on the Elderly and a War on Everything that this country stands for. Anyone who votes for him is a soldier in a WAR against themselves. It doesn't make any sense!

[shirley thomas]

08:52 PM on 04/29/2012

the people who voted for him were brainwashed by fox, americans for prosperity ( for the rich only), and baggers, and let's not forget the birther crowd

[nuppup]

11:02 PM on 04/29/2012

You're right, it doesn't make any sense. Perhaps your accusations are unfounded.

[adarps5]

11:27 PM on 04/29/2012

Like Wisconsin leading the nation in job loss. Scott Walker....it's not working!

[Clevelandinwi]

08:14 PM on 04/29/2012

It's just a little different this time. 'Thinking' people have seen the criminality of the walker campaign and his connection to the koch bros and other right wing fascist governors and congressmen. They are also now very aware that he does not do as he says he will do, He seems to lie on an almost daily basis. A little different? No, a LOT different.

[MrStat1]

09:43 PM on 04/29/2012

Thinking people? Who are they? Only those who agree with you?

[David Dem]

10:03 AM on 04/30/2012

Walker betrayed his campaign promises and did a 180 when he got in office

[tkernhickory]

11:15 AM on 04/30/2012

Mr Stat that is the mind of a liberal.........nothing you can do about it ........it is sad really.

[tkernhickory]

10:45 AM on 04/30/2012

I do not know that he is lying ......you are drinking the liberal union kool-aid........you have a president that lies his butt off and you do not mind that.

[smiththomas]

08:05 PM on 04/29/2012

Surely the taxpayers will not vote for not being able to control their public employee wage expense. Who wants to be Greece?

[ryanwi]

08:26 PM on 04/29/2012

As a public employee here in Wisconsin, let me explain that we were doing givebacks before Walker became Governor. We just weren't being called liars, thieves and lazy slobs before Walker. And I'll give you a hint: The 900,000 who signed the recall petitions weren't all public employees, but they are all Wisconsin taxpayers.

[newpoliticaljunkie]

08:37 PM on 04/29/2012

And as a private sector employee in Wisconsin, I will second that we stand side by side with our Union brothers and sisters. As one of those who signed the recall petition, I can only hope for a time when all the citizens of my state are of equal value. Each and everyone of us bring something to the table - that's what Walker neglected to understand. F & F for telling the truth........

[Just a passerby]

08:25 AM on 04/30/2012

You can always tell when some dullard is getting his "information" from a propaganda site.

Here's a clue, sport: know the single biggest reason for Greece's crisis: systematic tax evasion.

Look it up.