3rd Congressional District Democratic Party of Wisconsin

John Nichols ties the Koch brothers to our latest round of voter suppression laws intended to keep people from the polls in Wisconsin.

http://host.madison.com/ct/news/opinion/column/john_nichols/john-nichols-walker-and-kochs-vs-voting/article_0aa3ce18-fef4-5bae-8f7e-6d56de03eb0a.html?mid=54

Walker and Koch vs. Voting by John Nichols

…For the Koch brothers and their kind, less democracy is better. They spend millions to help elect the likes of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who famously took a call from someone he thought was David Koch during last winter’s wrangle over labor rights. And ALEC has made it clear, through its ambitious Public Safety and Elections Task Force, that while it wants to dismantle any barriers to corporate cash and billionaire bucks influencing elections, it wants very much to erect barriers to the primary tool that ordinary Americans have to influence the politics and the government of the nation: voting.

That crude calculus, usually cloaked in back-room deal-making, came into full view in 2011….

From municipal clerks and poll workers to the elderly, poor and  minorities, people all across this state are waking up to the assault Walker has pushed forward against their rights.

And they are standing  up by the hundreds of thousands to fight back by signing a recall petition and asking their friends and neighbors to do so as well. Help out with the fight by visiting www.wisdems.org and signing up to volunteer or making a financial contribution.

Politiscoop had an excellent article Friday on one of many reasons why hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites are signing recall petitions and tens of thousands are collecting those signatures.

http://www.politiscoop.com/us-politics/wisconsin-politics/618-scott-walkers-refusal-of-federal-rail-money-leaves-wisconsin-taxpayers-on-the-hook-for-84-million.html

Scott Walker’s Refusal of Federal Rail Money Leaves Wisconsin Taxpayers On the Hook for $84 Million

MADISON – Analysis released yesterday by the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau shows that Wisconsin taxpayers will now have to shoulder the financial burden of Scott Walker’s short-sighted rejection of federal rail funds, paying as much as $84 million for expenditures that would have been covered under the federal grant…

Looking for information on the recall and how to get involved? Visit www.wisdems.org today.

Members of the Eau Claire County Republican Party sought to attend a meeting of the Wisconsin Recall Taskforce which took place Tuesday evening in Eau Claire, hosted by the UWEC College Democrats. Brian Westrate, Chair of the Eau Claire County Republican Party asked to reserve two seats for his organization at the event.

“We certainly sympathize with anyone who voted for Scott Walker last year and has now come to regret that decision,” said Melanie Franklin, Chair of the Third Congressional District Democratic Party of Wisconsin and local coordinator of the event. “I’ve heard from so many voters who didn’t know until now the dire economic conditions Governor Walker left behind in Milwaukee County and even more who have questions about the John Doe investigation that has granted immunity to two members of both of Walker’s administrations. I can see how Westrate and others in his party may be interested in supporting Governor Walker’s recall. Unfortunately, this meeting was organized by the Wisconsin Recall Taskforce to mobilize groups who supported or worked on the State Senate recalls this summer.”

The Wisconsin Recall Taskforce is a grassroots organization working in collaboration with United Wisconsin, We Are Wisconsin, and the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. The meeting they held in Eau Claire was the fourth of eleven meetings taking place across the state to consider all factors surrounding the recall process, build community connections and develop a consensus on any approach to a future recall.

“Unfortunately, we had to reject Mr. Westrate’s reservations,” said Franklin. “We thanked them for their interest and will certainly welcome the serious participation of any Republican in any effort to recall Scott Walker which may develop.”

Information on how to participate in a potential recall of Governor Scott Walker can be found at www.unitedwisconsin.com or www.wisdems.org or at the Democratic Party Resource Center, 405 S. Barstow, Eau Claire.