Repudiation: Republican Bigotry, Thinly Disguised

As the 2012 Republican contenders heat up their debates, I was expecting to hear Mr. Romney and Mr. Santorum sound different on the topic of marriage equality.  The following clip from Think Progress.

Each of them, the former Governor and the former Senator, says, effectively, "I do not discriminate."  The details of their words, including in the pledge they each signed against equality for the Family Leader, belies the facade.  Is there a big difference between Mr. Romney and Mr. Santorum, the two front runners coming out of Iowa?

Each of them failed in their most recent attempts at federal office.  Each of them is wealthy from Washington and Wall Street.  While Mr. Romney is better known for his flip-flops, Mr. Santorum's history is nearly as rich (if you will pardon the pun).

Either way, if either man is elected, get ready for big social government and austerity for those who can least afford to tighten their belts.

FollowUp 6: Wisconsin Republican Dirty Tricks

The latest allegation against those endeavoring to recall Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is from Evan Wynn, a Republican state legislator from Whitewater, in Southern Wisconsin.  He talked about writing legislation to make it illegal to pay for recall petition signatures with World Net Daily.

"I had a person, a constituent, who called and told me a friend had received $10 for signing the petition," he said. "The Government Accountability Board responded in a letter to me and said the statute doesn't say anything about recall petitions."

"But they'd like that changed," he said.

His short bill would do just that, adding a prohibition to state law against paying for those signatures.

"It's common sense that bribery's not a good thing," he told WND.

He said the bill could be considered as early as next month and adopted on a fast track shortly after. But he said the change would not impact the organized campaign to recall Walker, as those 540,000 signatures are due in January.

As I wrote previously, the groups organizing the petitions to recall the Governor say that they are not paying for signatures.  Channel 3000 has been covering the allegations.

WISC-TV followed up with the governor, to ask if he had proof of any recall circulators being brought in from out of out of state or paid to gather signatures.

"I haven't talked to any of the circulators, not at all," said Walker. "My assertion was that if they did what they did in Ohio, which was they paid circulators along with activists and they got close to a million there in a state about twice our size, if they do that, they'd be more than likely to get enough to get on the ballot.

"United Wisconsin and the Democratic Party assert they're not paying anyone except supervisory staff.

So, Mr. Wynn's contention appears to be off base.  At the end of the Channel 3000 article they confirm that the state has nothing.

The Government Accountability Board said Tuesday that it hasn't received any complaints or contact about any circulators being paid.

It wouldn't really matter if those circulating the petitions or those signing the petitions were paid, neither would be illegal under current Wisconsin laws.  But, this is just one of many ways that Governor Walker and his party are endeavoring to mislead voters in Wisconsin.  Mr. Wynn continued.

The governor then will have time to challenge individual names – and likely will be busy as state officials already have confirmed they would not arbitrarily remove signatures such as Mickey Mouse and Adolf Hitler if they were accompanied by a valid Wisconsin address.

This was picked up by Fox News and refuted by Talking Points Memo.

Fox News reporter Eric Shawn told viewers on Thursday that signatures from “Mickey Mouse” and “Adolf Hitler” were “allegedly on petitions in Wisconsin in the recall for Governor Scott Walker.” Fun little story with the potential to go viral? Absolutely. True? Not so much.

In fact, the original story that Shawn evidently built his report off of is about a strictly hypothetical situation discussed by members of the Wisconsin’s Government Accountability Board who were asked what would happen if someone signed the petition as Mickey Mouse. There’s been no actual allegation that anyone actually signed the petition against Walker that way.

So, Mr. Wynn is continuing to play off of that hypothetical situation.  There are neither paid signatures on the petitions nor is there petition bloating in an attempt to fake enough signatures to recall the Governor.  There were threats from supporters of Governor Walker to destroy petitions which would be a felony offense in Wisconsin.

For those familiar with World Net Daily (famous along with Donald Trump for refusing to believe that President Obama has produced his real birth certificate), it is not surprising that their article gets a bit crazy.

Wynn told a Wisconsin television station the idea of activists paying for petition signatures is "outrageous."

Critics have said the attacks on conservative legislators and the governor are a typical "Alinsky" fight. Saul Alinsky was a radical who developed the confrontational political tactics that were used during the 1960s.

Barack Obama was trained by the Alinsky-founded Gamaliel Foundation.

Mr. Alinsky is an interesting choice to use for this comparison.  While he was an early Chicago community organizer, like Mr. Obama would be many years later, Mr. Alinsky was known as a leader of the "nonsocialist left".  That's not the way conservatives usually characterize Mr. Obama.

Sadly, this has become a national fight.  Conservative publication, Human Events, has a recent article which interviews Governor Walker.

“And don’t forget that here in Wisconsin, you don’t need a reason to recall someone from office,” Walker told us, noting that in the last two recall elections of governors—North Dakota’s Lynn Frazier in 1921 and Gray Davis of California in 2003—the former was for malfeasance in office and the latter for clearly breaking campaign promises he had made the year before.  The recall facing Walker, he noted, “is because I made promises of reform and have kept them.”

Walker also noted that while state law requires 25% of registered voters to have signed petitions, it is not required that they be voters in the last election, just that they are eligible to vote.  This means that college students who are just turning 18 and becoming eligible to vote may sign petitions to force a recall election.

The governor freely acknowledged that he will be outspent by his enemies, recalling how in recall elections against Republican state senators earlier this year, the union-backed opposition spent nearly $40 million, or twice as much as the GOP and its allies.

Again, this is meant to mislead.  Mr. Walker claims that the legislation that he has pushed through the legislature is what he promised during his campaigns, but that was one of many lies.  One Wisconsin Now has a press page that documents the malfeasance of Mr. Walker's term so far.

The last lie to point out in this post is on spending.  Mr. Walker complains that "union-backed opposition" is outspending him two to one.  But, that's not how it is seen from the perspective of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

At the outset of Wisconsin’s historic recall fight, GOP Gov. Scott Walker and his allies are outspending the other side on television by a margin of roughly 4-to-1, an advantage he’s expected to maintain in the weeks ahead.

The governor has already aired more than $1 million in broadcast ads since he hit the airwaves in mid-November, according to the ad-tracking firm Kantar Media CMAG.

When you include cable ads and time bought for spots that haven’t aired yet, Walker’s TV spending easily exceeds $2 million, according to two political sources tracking media buys.

Walker’s ability to dominate the opening phase of the race on television could be a key factor in a contest with huge national overtones -- America’s third-ever gubernatorial recall election, taking place in a battleground state in a presidential year.

The recall organizations are not paying for signatures, despite the allegation that they are.  Micky Mouse and Adolph Hitler are not signatures that have been found on the petitions as of this writing, despite the allegation that they are.  Those working to recall Governor Walker are not outspending him two to one as he alleges, he is outspending them four to one.  Mr. Walker needs to be forced to find other employment.

16 November 2011, Original Pedantic Political Ponderings post.
30 November 2011, FollowUp 1.
4 December 2011, FollowUp 2.
11 December 2011, FollowUp 3.
14 December 2011, FollowUp 4.
15 December 2011, FollowUp 5.

13 January 2012, FollowUp 7.
17 January 2012, FollowUp 8.
25 January 2012, FollowUp 9.
2 February 2012, FollowUp 10.
9 February 2012, FollowUp 11.
12 February 2012, FollowUp 12.
18 February 2012, FollowUp 13.
22 February 2012, FollowUp 14.
6 March 2012, FollowUp 15.
12 March 2012, FollowUp 16.
16 March 2012, FollowUp 17.
30 March 2012, FollowUp 18.
31 March 2012, FollowUp 19.
3 April 2012, FollowUp 20.
4 April 2012, FollowUp 21.
11 April 2012, FollowUp 22.
14 April 2012, FollowUp 23.
17 April 2012, FollowUp 24.
21 April 2012, FollowUp 25.
29 April 2012, FollowUp 26.
2 May 2012, FollowUp 27.
6 May 2012, FollowUp 28.
10 May 2012, FollowUp 29.
13 May 2012, FollowUp 30.
23 May 2012, FollowUp 31.
24 May 2012, FollowUp 32.
30 May 2012, FollowUp 33.
2 June 2012, FollowUp 34.
4 June 2012, FollowUp 35.
5 June 2012, FollowUp 36.

Repudiation: NOM Hypocrisy on Out of State Money

The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is complaining, again, about out of state money influencing the New York legislature in its approval of marriage equality.  They feature this YouTube interview of New York State Senator Jim Alesi.

A NOM staffer writes:

When asked why he intends to run for re-election after voting for same-sex marriage and losing the endorsement of the NY Conservative Party as a result, Sen. Jim Alesi responds: "I have to run as a Republican because I have to be able to say 'you can vote for marriage equality as a Republican and you can survive."

Say to who? His constituents? Or the out-of-state millionaires who paid him off for his vote?

NOM's contact address is in Washington, D.C. and they have a post office box in Philadelphia.  Both are out of state for New York.  That did not stop them from committing two million dollars in October, out of state millions, to overturn marriage equality.

Hypocrisy!

Repudiation: Newt Gingrich Lied About First Divorce

Today seems to be one of revelations about lies and hypocrisy among the 2012 Republican contenders.  CNN reports that Mr. Gingrich has been lying about his first divorce.

On the "Answering the attacks" page of his campaign website, Newt.org, which "(Sets) the Record Straight: Newt's Positions on the Issues and His Record," the campaign discusses Gingrich's first divorce.

"It was (Jackie Gingrich) that requested the divorce, not Newt," the campaign website said, referring readers to an online column written by Gingrich's youngest daughter, Jackie Gingrich Cushman, last May.

According to the court documents, provided by CNN, it was the other way around.

5.  Defendant shows that she has adequate and ample grounds for divorce, but that she does not desire one at this time.

There is a lot more in the CNN article that shows that Mr. Gingrich had lied on a few more items regarding the divorce.  Normally I think that this should be a private matter and not for public scrutiny.  Except, Mr. Gingrich is not asking for privacy, instead he is actively a liar.  From Mr. Gingrich's campaign website:

Recently, Newt’s daughter, Jackie Gingrich Cushman, wrote a column to set the record straight about this smear.  The column reveals that 1) It was her mother that requested the divorce, not Newt, and it was months before the hospital visit in question; 2) Her mother was in the hospital to remove a tumor, but it was benign, and she is still alive today; 3) Newt visited the hospital for the purpose of taking his two children to see their mother, not to discuss a divorce.  You can read it here.

Newt Gingrich championed the second Impeachment of a President of the United States because, Mr. Clinton had lied to a jury.  He said he wasn't a hypocrite.

[I]t wasn't hypocritical of him to lead impeachment proceedings against President Bill Clinton in the 1990's, even though he was having an extramarital affair at the time, because the impeachment case was "not about personal behavior."

Mr. Gingrich is a hypocrite and a liar.

FollowUp 1: Rick Perry Double Dipper

Let me confess now that Governor Perry is the candidate that I like least of all of the 2012 contenders.  This has nothing to do with disagreement over issues, and we disagree on most issues.  This is about liars and cheaters.  If Mr. Perry were one of my students, I would be documenting every time he lied and every time he cheated to make sure the "F" would stick.

It is bad enough that many candidates don't understand certain issues.  Mr. Perry alters data when facts don't match his agenda.  He is hypocritical about government spending.  The most recent example is one of hiding information and hypocrisy regarding travel expenses.

In June, the Governor asked the legislature to hide travel expenses related to his security entourage.  The Houston Chronicle reported the story.

Gov. Rick Perry's office has asked lawmakers hammering out details of a school finance bill to include an unrelated provision that would keep secret the expenses of the Department of Public Safety team that provides security when he and his wife, Anita, travel.

This is not necessarily about trivial amounts of money for a state.

Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News writer Peggy Fikac reported last October that Texas taxpayers had spent close to $1 million for security during 23 foreign trips taken by the Perrys over a seven-year period.

In August, the Washington Post reported that legislation was passed and will keep the public from knowing the travel costs the Governor Perry accrues during the campaign until after the November 2012 election.  The article also discussed more of the burden that Mr. Perry is on the Texas taxpayer.

Although security around public officials has been tightened considerably since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, the secrecy that surrounds Perry’s travels is unique, according to Ken Bunting, executive director of the Missouri-based National Freedom of Information Coalition.

And the governor’s critics contend that it has as much to do with politics as safety — especially after the embarrassment for Perry when taxpayers learned that they had been paying for scuba gear and golf cart rentals for officers who accompanied Perry and his wife to the Bahamas in 2004.

On Christmas Day, the Texas Tribune reported that Mr. Perry's security contingent is now costing Texas taxpayers as much as $400,000 each month.

Aside from President Obama, Perry — the only sitting governor in the 2012 race — has the largest security contingent, and apparently the only one on the Republican side financed by taxpayers.

Weeks before he officially announced his presidential bid, Perry said it was appropriate for the Texas Department of Public Safety to pay for his security and called any criticism of his government-provided protection a “diversion.” He also said that Texans would benefit from his travels.

“I’m going to be promoting Texas,” Perry said in July, as he began to traverse the country. “I’m going to be traveling to places where the Texas story needs to be told, and we will tell it.”

If the state of Texas is to benefit from their governor's travels, they are in need of a better spokesman than Rick Perry.  Aside from fumbling at numerous speeches and his failure to place his name on the Virginia primary ballot, Governor Perry calls for smaller government and tightening government expenditures while simultaneously spending large amounts of Texas tax dollars for his national campaign and endeavoring to hide much of that information from the public.

Rick Perry is a liar, a cheater, and a hypocrite.  He is not worthy of the office of the President of the United States.

Thanks to Joe My God for the heads up.

18 December 2011, Original Pedantic Political Ponderings post.

Repudiation: Rick Perry Double Dipper

Today's San Francisco Chronicle tells how Governor Perry retired early this year to enjoy his pension, while continuing to serve as governor.  This really should not be an issue except that Mr. Perry is constantly complaining about big government.  He wants a part time Congress.  He wants term limits for the Supreme Court.  He wants to freeze federal salaries.  Mr. Perry wants limits for everyone else as long as he gets to line his own pockets.  Hypocrite!