On May 30, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett (D) will have two big fundraisers to help him raise money in his campaign to unseat Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) in the June 5 recall election.
Former Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold will be the special guest at a fundraiser that day from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. at the Majestic Theatre in Madison. Tickets range from $50 to $2,500.
Democratic National Committee Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) will also be in Wisconsin that day, headlining a breakfast at the Italian Conference Center in Milwaukee, according to WisPolitics.com. Suggested donations range from $250 to $2,400.
Feingold remains a popular progressive figure since losing his Senate reelection campaign in 2010, and he has been active in protesting and speaking out against Walker and his Republican allies in the state legislature. Indeed, polls last year showed he would have perhaps been the strongest Democrat in the state to go up against Walker.
In early May, Feingold also sent an email to supporters of his group, Progressives United, raising money for Barrett.
The Wasserman Schultz announcement comes just days after she called Barrett and pledged to do a fundraiser and provide grassroots support. The Obama campaign has also promised grassroots help, already organizing phonebanking and canvassing. On Thursday, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent out an email to raise money for field operations in Wisconsin, although the money was going directly to the DCCC rather than to the Barrett campaign or the Wisconsin Democratic Party.
In a recent poll by Marquette Law School, Walker held a six-point lead over Barrett.
Below, more on the history of the Walker recall:
Wave Election Sweeps In Conservatives
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In 2010, a surge of Tea Party momentum and backlash against Democrats helped elect conservatives including Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who became the state's first Republican governor since 2002.
Walker promised to cut taxes and create 250,000 new jobs, but a deeper look into his past also showed a politician who had inflamed tensions with unions before.
The Washington Postreports on his time as Milwaukee County Executive, during which the collective bargaining rights of unions already appeared to be one of his most ambitious targets:
During his eight-year tenure in Milwaukee County, Walker never raised property taxes. He cut the county workforce by 20 percent, improved its bond rating and gave back hundreds of thousands of dollars of his own salary as part of the effort to trim spending. But he also saw his relations with local unions deteriorate.
Union leaders say Walker never negotiated in good faith and had a singular solution to every budget problem: cut. Under his watch, the county privatized public jobs, laid off workers and placed others on furlough.
[...]
Walker argued that collective bargaining was the biggest hurdle to balancing the budget and that unions had little incentive to give ground because they almost always prevailed in arbitration. He said that the cuts he proposed were intended to prevent layoffs and accused union leaders of being uninterested in compromise.
Walker promised to cut taxes and create 250,000 new jobs, but a deeper look into his past also showed a politician who had inflamed tensions with unions before.
The Washington Postreports on his time as Milwaukee County Executive, during which the collective bargaining rights of unions already appeared to be one of his most ambitious targets:
During his eight-year tenure in Milwaukee County, Walker never raised property taxes. He cut the county workforce by 20 percent, improved its bond rating and gave back hundreds of thousands of dollars of his own salary as part of the effort to trim spending. But he also saw his relations with local unions deteriorate.
Union leaders say Walker never negotiated in good faith and had a singular solution to every budget problem: cut. Under his watch, the county privatized public jobs, laid off workers and placed others on furlough.
[...]
Walker argued that collective bargaining was the biggest hurdle to balancing the budget and that unions had little incentive to give ground because they almost always prevailed in arbitration. He said that the cuts he proposed were intended to prevent layoffs and accused union leaders of being uninterested in compromise.
Wave Election Sweeps In Conservatives
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/ 8
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In 2010, a surge of Tea Party momentum and backlash against Democrats helped elect conservatives including Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who became the state's first Republican governor since 2002.
Walker promised to cut taxes and create 250,000 new jobs, but a deeper look into his past also showed a politician who had inflamed tensions with unions before.
The Washington Postreports on his time as Milwaukee County Executive, during which the collective bargaining rights of unions already appeared to be one of his most ambitious targets:
During his eight-year tenure in Milwaukee County, Walker never raised property taxes. He cut the county workforce by 20 percent, improved its bond rating and gave back hundreds of thousands of dollars of his own salary as part of the effort to trim spending. But he also saw his relations with local unions deteriorate.
Union leaders say Walker never negotiated in good faith and had a singular solution to every budget problem: cut. Under his watch, the county privatized public jobs, laid off workers and placed others on furlough.
[...]
Walker argued that collective bargaining was the biggest hurdle to balancing the budget and that unions had little incentive to give ground because they almost always prevailed in arbitration. He said that the cuts he proposed were intended to prevent layoffs and accused union leaders of being uninterested in compromise.
On May 30, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett (D) will have two big fundraisers to help him raise money in his campaign to unseat Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) in the June 5 recall election.
Former Wis...
On May 30, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett (D) will have two big fundraisers to help him raise money in his campaign to unseat Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) in the June 5 recall election.
Former Wis...
"It was a recall." That's the explanation offered by AFL-CIO political director Mike Podhorzer for a series of publicly released internal surveys by Democratic pollsters...
WASHINGTON -- The Wisconsin gubernatorial recall race is now a dead heat as voters have learned more about the corruption probe surrounding Gov. Scott Walker...
WASHINGTON -- Perhaps the most frightening and controversial flyer in the Wisconsin recalls is being circulated not in the high-profile gubernatorial battle, but in one...
The Democratic National Committee is fundraising directly for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin in an effort to aid Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett (D) in the...
Posted by Texas State Employees Union (CWA Local 6186)
‎"Virtually ALL the benefits you have at work, whether you work in the public or private sector, all of the benefits and rights you enjoy everyday are there because unions fought hard and long for them against big business who did everything they could to prevent giving you your rights. Many union leaders and members even lost their lives for things we take for granted today."
Why is it that Cher cares more about Wisconsin that President Obama and Debbie Wasserman? Keep the eggs and bacon Debbie and show us the money. It should have been here long ago. Just send the money Wisconsinites have sent to the DNC to Tom Barrett and save the trip. I am just disgusted. Cher, will you run for president? Right now you'd get Wisconsin's vote over President Obama as the polls are showing. People are mad here.
Lmakar: Why is it that Cher cares more about Wisconsin that
Why is it that failed defeated democrats just can't go away? It must be that they don't have any other vocation than politics. That, in turn, could explain their socialistic mindset.
saulthesavior: Why is it that failed defeated democrats just can't go
Please tell me why everyone hates the fact that government employees earn a living wage with benefits? Don't we want a civilized society where everyone can earn a living wage and have affordable healthcare? When the average person earns a living wage the money they earn supports their local community. Their wages get spent at the local restaurant, hardware store, and even the local farm where you can pick strawberries, apples, and in the winter you can cut down your own Christmas tree. Without the living wage these other businesses can't thrive.
Scott Walker and the Republican tea party don't believe in a minimum wage let alone a living wage. They represent people like the Koch brothers that want the average person to work for peanuts and grovel for a living. Is this what we want for our country? Don't we want a higher standard of living for everyone? If you do, vote Scott Walker out of office and restore the dignity of the state of Wisconsin.
DTrevino: Please tell me why everyone hates the fact that government
Feingold (voted out by Wisconsin voters) and Wasserman-Schultz (a complete whack-job)? That's who the Democrats are bringing in to bolster Barrett? Ask yourself why prominent and powerful Dems aren't coming to Wisconsin - Obama, Biden, Pelosi, Schumer, Reid - to lend their support. Most likely it's because they know Barrett is heading for a loss and don't want to be associated with him. If you think that's wrong - ask yourself why any one of them wouldn't be on a stage with a presumed star of the state during an election year?
gino618: Feingold (voted out by Wisconsin voters) and Wasserman-Schultz (a complete
If I was a Democrat congressman I would be asking the DCCC why they are getting involved in a governor recall instead of helping me survive a congressional election.
Ramirez: If I was a Democrat congressman I would be asking
Barrett is such a friend to state citizens and employees that he decided it was more important to campaign rather than attend a fallen-police officer memorial hosted by his own city's police department that he had confirmed he would attend. When asked about it - he hemmed and hawed and then tried to blame Walker for his politicking around the state rather than doing his job. Walker was at the memorial, as were other elected officials. Perhaps we can use liberal logic and start saying that Barrett hates the police - especially those who've given their life in the line of duty.....
gino618: Barrett is such a friend to state citizens and employees
We have many old, white, Fox News watching Tea Baggers in this state. It always amazes me that the "I Stand With Scott Walker" signs are nine times out of ten in front of the most run down houses or trailers...most with 15 broken down old cars in front. I'm beginning to wonder if they are being used as a wind breaks.
Lmakar: We have many old, white, Fox News watching Tea Baggers
I do not like or understand this process. The vote should be IN or OUT for Walker. If he is out, then the LT Gov serves until the state conducts an election for the Governor's office. The way this is being done it is a choice between Walker and somebody else. What if voters do not like that somebody else? That choice dilutes the objection to Walker. This recall should be about Walker and no one else.
Longhorn_Buddy: I do not like or understand this process. The vote
Some how this writter seemed to forget that Walker hired A company while in Milwaukee Co. that were Criminals an in doing so fired Many union workers who had to go to Court an spend Thousands to get their jobs back as well as get rid of the Company who's boss had Criminal Record. Walker was a distructive force as well back in Milwaukee Co.
treadway123: Some how this writter seemed to forget that Walker hired
There seems to be a lot of convenient forgetfulness when it comes to Walker. He makes a habit of taking things that seemed bad or went wrong and spinning it as the fault of others. Somehow people seem to keep falling for it. Then again this is the group that somehow ends up so easily convinced of the justice in policies history has shown time and again to be foolish. If he does lose this recall Walker should give Warner Bros. a call, he'd make a perfect Lex Luthor.
Kinnickinnic: There seems to be a lot of convenient forgetfulness when
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The Huffington Post | By Amanda Terkel Posted: 05/18/2012 9:21 am Updated: 05/18/2012 10:33 am