Each November, hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites take to the woods to hunt, thinning our large herd of white tailed deer. A love of the hunt crosses all social and economic boundaries. Indeed, in the politically polarized environment of present day Wisconsin, deer hunting is one of the few activities that stirs passions strong enough to make many of us set aside our differences and share a few days with our fellow citizens, without regard to their political opinions.

If Walker has his way, management of State resources, including deer hunting, will fall to private corporations.

If Walker gets his way, all of this will change.

As reported in Lodi Valley News, Walker has hired Texan Dr. James Kroll to serve as Wisconsin’s “deer czar,” a position that gives Kroll considerable power over Wisconsin’s deer management policy. Kroll is an outspoken proponent of game farms, and an opponent of public lands and public game management, which he is on record as describing as “the last bastion of communism.”

The public lands Kroll despises include the state parks, state and national forests, and other publicly held property that hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites—particularly in the northern part of the state—rely on for deer hunting. Hunters on public land may be surprised to discover that Walker regards their annual trek into a state forest as a radical left wing activity akin to marching in a May Day parade in Red Square. But so it is.

If Kroll gets his way, public land hunters will get the shaft. The deer herd no longer would be managed as a public resource, but as the private property of wealthy landowners. Wisconsin will become like Europe, where hunting is the privilege of the wealthy.

Kroll’s view fit in nicely with those of DNR secretary Cathy Stepp, a Walker appointee who already has suggested that public lands be sold.

What this means for hunters is that the management of the state’s deer herd could be sold or contracted to management corporations like Johnson Timber, who already owns Summit Lake Game Farm on the southern edge of the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation, and vast tracts of timber land. Joe Hunter would have to buy his hunting tag (and perhaps make a bid on it) from a private game management firm for his deer, grouse, turkey, wolf, berry picking permits, etc.—in a monetized way—in order to exact the highest commercial value. The Game Management Unit, which encompasses timber company and other private, county and state park lands, would profit. They would also have their own Game Managers police force issue your license. In this way, the State would reap the benefits by taxing the net Income after expenses and be out of the business of managing the fish, deer, and other resource gathering rights.

To people who do not own land, or who cannot pay for access to other people’s land, Walker and Kroll’s message is simple: tough luck.

Each November, hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites take to the woods to hunt, thinning our large herd of white tailed deer. A love of the hunt crosses all social and economic boundaries. Indeed, in the politically polarized environment of present day Wisconsin, deer hunting is one of the few activities that stirs passions strong enough to make many of us set aside our differences and share a few days with our fellow citizens, without regard to their political opinions.

If Walker has his way, management of State resources, including deer hunting, will fall to private corporations.

If Walker gets his way, all of this will change.

As reported in Lodi Valley News, Walker has hired Texan Dr. James Kroll to serve as Wisconsin’s “deer czar,” a position that gives Kroll considerable power over Wisconsin’s deer management policy. Kroll is an outspoken proponent of game farms, and an opponent of public lands and public game management, which he is on record as describing as “the last bastion of communism.”

The public lands Kroll despises include the state parks, state and national forests, and other publicly held property that hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites—particularly in the northern part of the state—rely on for deer hunting. Hunters on public land may be surprised to discover that Walker regards their annual trek into a state forest as a radical left wing activity akin to marching in a May Day parade in Red Square. But so it is.

If Kroll gets his way, public land hunters will get the shaft. The deer herd no longer would be managed as a public resource, but as the private property of wealthy landowners. Wisconsin will become like Europe, where hunting is the privilege of the wealthy.

Kroll’s view fit in nicely with those of DNR secretary Cathy Stepp, a Walker appointee who already has suggested that public lands be sold.

What this means for hunters is that the management of the state’s deer herd could be sold or contracted to management corporations like Johnson Timber, who already owns Summit Lake Game Farm on the southern edge of the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation, and vast tracts of timber land. Joe Hunter would have to buy his hunting tag (and perhaps make a bid on it) from a private game management firm for his deer, grouse, turkey, wolf, berry picking permits, etc.—in a monetized way—in order to exact the highest commercial value. The Game Management Unit, which encompasses timber company and other private, county and state park lands, would profit. They would also have their own Game Managers police force issue your license. In this way, the State would reap the benefits by taxing the net Income after expenses and be out of the business of managing the fish, deer, and other resource gathering rights.

To people who do not own land, or who cannot pay for access to other people’s land, Walker and Kroll’s message is simple: tough luck.

Each November, hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites take to the woods to hunt, thinning our large herd of white tailed deer. A love of the hunt crosses all social and economic boundaries. Indeed, in the politically polarized environment of present day Wisconsin, deer hunting is one of the few activities that stirs passions strong enough to make many of us set aside our differences and share a few days with our fellow citizens, without regard to their political opinions.

If Walker has his way, management of State resources, including deer hunting, will fall to private corporations.

If Walker gets his way, all of this will change.

As reported in Lodi Valley News, Walker has hired Texan Dr. James Kroll to serve as Wisconsin’s “deer czar,” a position that gives Kroll considerable power over Wisconsin’s deer management policy. Kroll is an outspoken proponent of game farms, and an opponent of public lands and public game management, which he is on record as describing as “the last bastion of communism.”

The public lands Kroll despises include the state parks, state and national forests, and other publicly held property that hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites—particularly in the northern part of the state—rely on for deer hunting. Hunters on public land may be surprised to discover that Walker regards their annual trek into a state forest as a radical left wing activity akin to marching in a May Day parade in Red Square. But so it is.

If Kroll gets his way, public land hunters will get the shaft. The deer herd no longer would be managed as a public resource, but as the private property of wealthy landowners. Wisconsin will become like Europe, where hunting is the privilege of the wealthy.

Kroll’s view fit in nicely with those of DNR secretary Cathy Stepp, a Walker appointee who already has suggested that public lands be sold.

What this means for hunters is that the management of the state’s deer herd could be sold or contracted to management corporations like Johnson Timber, who already owns Summit Lake Game Farm on the southern edge of the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation, and vast tracts of timber land. Joe Hunter would have to buy his hunting tag (and perhaps make a bid on it) from a private game management firm for his deer, grouse, turkey, wolf, berry picking permits, etc.—in a monetized way—in order to exact the highest commercial value. The Game Management Unit, which encompasses timber company and other private, county and state park lands, would profit. They would also have their own Game Managers police force issue your license. In this way, the State would reap the benefits by taxing the net Income after expenses and be out of the business of managing the fish, deer, and other resource gathering rights.

To people who do not own land, or who cannot pay for access to other people’s land, Walker and Kroll’s message is simple: tough luck.

Sign posted at the Capitol.

Can it possibly be that you fail to discern the profound importance of the June 5th election in Wisconsin, not only for our state but also for our nation?

WRITE THE CHECK

This is a zero sum game, winner take all, the triumph of true grassroots democracy, the rise of the middle class or the triumph of right wing extremists, fascists, if you will, over the will and rights of the people.

WRITE THE CHECK.

We have twenty days to bring to fruition the goal of one of the greatest political uprisings in modern history. We do not have time for “fundraisers.”

WRITE THE CHECK.

Have you engaged in some tortured calculus under which a failure in this recall actually enhances the prospects for a victory in Wisconsin in November for the President, Tammy Baldwin or Rob Zerban?

WRITE THE CHECK.

I, along with tens of thousands of other volunteers, did not freeze our tails off for months last winter to see this movement suffer because the powers that be in the D.N.C. are either too myopic or too moronic to appreciate the absolute necessity of removing this cancer from office.

WRITE THE CHECK.

Map of the affected area. Click on image to enlarge.

The focus of the report was a 2009 case in which Herr Environmental, Inc. allegedly injected three times the permitted amount of untreated human waste into farm fields in the Town of Concord. The fields border residential neighborhoods where the homes rely on wells for drinking water. DNR investigators raised grave concerns about public health and safety given the proximity of the raw sewage to the wells.

Investigators recommended that the case be forwarded to the Department of Justice so that Herr Environmental could be compelled to pay for the testing of each family’s well, but their suggestion was rejected. Instead, top administrators and political cronies of Richard Herr stepped in to deliver a slap on the wrist, issuing five citations that amounted to $4,338 in fines.

But even that was too much for Rep. Joel Kleefisch (R-Oconomowoc), husband of Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefish who is facing a recall election June 5. Kleefisch attended an enforcement hearing where, according to a DNR investigator present, he pleaded on behalf of Herr: “In the age of the DNR/Wisconsin Governor being pro-business, why is the DNR giving Herr 5 citations and why can’t 2 or 3 be taken away as a show of good faith?”

About 50 concerned citizens showed up to the meeting Monday night looking for answers to questions about the 2009 violations, and to express worries about the continued application of raw sewage to fields so close to their homes. Town Board Chairman Bill Ingersoll repeatedly urged residents to get their wells tested for nitrates, noting that it was only a $25 test. He downplayed the harmfulness of the nitrates, saying that the amount of nitrogen in the sewage was equivalent to the amount of nitrogen in commercial fertilizer applied to farm fields. Ingersoll offered to pay the cost out of his own pocket to any homeowner who couldn’t afford it.

Rep. Brett Hulsey (D-Madison), member of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee, informed Ingersoll that, while nitrates in the water are bad, there are viruses and pathogens in sewage that are far more dangerous. Testing for those is considerably more expensive, and not all labs are equipped to perform the tests. Hulsey also pointed out that nobody should be paying a dime for the tests since it was the illegal actions of Herr that raised concerns to begin with.

Kimberlee Wright of Midwest Environmental Advocates was involved with obtaining all of the DNR investigation records that led to the Wisconsin State Journal article. She attended the meeting and described the potential dangers to public health when scientists aren’t allowed to do their jobs due to political influence at the top. She also encouraged Ingersoll and others to seek copies of the investigative record, since it has all of the information they need to understand the scope and severity of the problem.

Seely’s report noted that the Deputy Secretary of the DNR, Matt Moroney, recused himself from handling the case because he was “acquainted with another officer of Herr Environmental.” That would be Todd Stair, Vice President of Herr Environmental who also serves on the advisory board of the Metropolitan Builders Association. Moroney was Executive Director of that organization before he was tapped by Walker-appointed DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp to be her Deputy in late 2010. A builder by profession, Stepp has also served as a member and on the board of the Metropolitan Builders Association.

Todd Stair, VP of Herr Environmental, is grilled by Concord residents about the timing and location of sewage spreading.

Todd Stair attended the Concord Town Board meeting, and walked up to the front of the room to address the crowd. He claimed that, “Over-application did not occur. Bad record keeping did occur,” and then proceeded to blame the DNR for onerous reporting requirements and late mailings. In describing his recording keeping error, Stair said that the stack of papers with information on how much sewage went in and out of the holding tanks was, “this high,” indicating a height with his hand about five feet above floor level.

“That’s a lot of dumping,” said someone in the room.

Laura Callison, a resident of the subdivision next to the field, complained about the putrid smell in the neighborhood on the days during and after the spreading of sewage, saying that they can’t hang laundry out to dry because the laundry itself “smells like poop” when brought inside. Her husband led an earlier fight against Richard Herr’s proposal to open up a gravel mine in the area. He died recently from lung disease.

Another neighbor whose property abuts the field told the crowd that she was diagnosed with 4^th stage ovarian cancer three years ago, just after the massive over-application of sewage was detected. She and her husband moved to their property 16 years ago. She said she wasn’t going to say anything, but when Stair kept saying that this was a three-year-old case, she felt compelled to say something since the date corresponded to her diagnosis.

Stair claimed that Herr Environmental was one of only a handful of sewage waste haulers who have been given “high use” designation by the DNR for the fields on which they are spreading human excrement. David Bolha of the DNR confirmed this, explaining that, “High Use designation allows a septage waste hauler to land apply septage at a rate up to the needs of the crop planted.” That is, they are only allowed to apply sewage containing the amount of nitrogen that the plants can take up as nutrients. Excess nitrogen not taken up by the plants can convert to nitrates that may leech into the groundwater.

For most crops on most soils, the rate of nitrogen uptake is 100 lbs of nitrogen per acre. For the field corn that was to be planted on the fields spread by Herr, the maximum rate is 180 lbs per acre. In order to receive this “high use” designation by the DNR, Herr Environmental had to conduct a third party site evaluation including additional soil tests and seek approval from the DNR.

They were granted High Use approval after the 2009 citations, but once again ran afoul of the permit in 2010 when they were found to have spread sewage at the rate of 204 lbs. per acre. The designation was removed in April 2011 but reinstated in September after another site evaluation was conducted.

Sign in front of Herr Environmental property on Highway 18 in Concord, WI.

Todd Stair complained that the media focus on Herr Environmental’s ongoing violations of DNR permit requirements is politically motivated. When pushed about what he was talking about, Stair said that the timing of this report being released, “one month before the recall” was suspicious to him.

But the fact is, despite the “I Stand With Walker” sign in front of Herr Environmental’s property and the direct ties of campaign donations and professional association between Richard Herr and Todd Stair on the one hand, and politicians Scott Walker, Rebecca Kleefisch, Joel Kleefisch, and top DNR administrators Cathy Stepp, Matt Moroney and Scott Gunderson on the other, nobody in the room was talking about the recalls. They were there to talk about the threats to the health and safety of their families and neighbors by the reckless spreading of sewage by Herr.

If any political motivations are present, they are those of Herr Environmental and its political allies in the DNR. Concord residents are simply asking that the law be applied in defense of public health and safety. The collusion between Richard Herr and his high-placed supporters to suppress information and reject the recommendations of DNR scientists for stronger enforcement of legal and permit requirements is about as politically-motivated as you can get.

*********************************************************************************************************************************************************

Video 1 (below): Rep. Brett Hulsey explains to Concord Board Chairman Bill Ingersoll that the well test he recommended to Concord residents does not test for many sewage based pathogens that can hurt or kill people.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Video 2 (below): Kimberlee Wright of Midwest Environmental Advocates tells the Concord Town Board how field scientists with the DNR wanted the Herr Environmental case to go to the Department of Justice, particularly to have the wells tested, but were overruled by political appointees in the secretary’s office of the DNR.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Video 3 (below): Todd Stair, Vice President of Herr Environmental, tells a Concord resident he is mistaken when he says he has seen a tractor spreading continuously in fields for the last seven years.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Video 4 (below): Todd Stair asserts the article exposing Herr Environmental’s infractions was politically motivated. He discusses the volumes of paperwork involved in the case.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Later that day Kristen Seeman, one of the staffers shown in the video, sent this letter the Jason Stein, then-president of the Wisconsin Capitol Correspondents Association (WCCA):

Mr. Jason Stein,

This letter is in reference to Ms. Rebecca Kemble and Ms. Nicole Desautels Schulte who both have press passes for The Progressive.

On Friday, March 30 around 10:30 AM, Ms. Kemble and Ms. Desautels Schulte came into Senator Fitzgerald’s office with three other protesters, including one who has been dragged out of the Senate Gallery by police because he didn’t follow Senate Gallery rules. At least three of these individuals were holding cameras and video-recorders, including Ms. Desautels Schulte.

These individuals came to our office to ask whether or not Senator Fitzgerald was in, and what his thoughts were on having his recall election certified. This entire interaction was taped, with my co-worker Cindy Block and I both being recorded. When they learned Senator Fitzgerald was not available, and I attempted to procure a phone number where they would be able to receive a response to their political question [sic]. One of the individuals began to speak loudly to me, in a way that I found intimidating and unnecessary.

I find it incredibly uncomfortable and unsettling that two individuals who have press passes authorized by the Wisconsin Capitol Correspondents Association believe it to be ethical to associate with protesters when they go door-to-door in the Capital [sic], harassing public workers, and refusing to go through the appropriate and well-known channels of receiving a comment from an elected official.

Please consider my testimony when weighing whether to issue or revoke press credentials to individuals who I believe are breaking an ethical code that should be upheld by members of the media.

If you have further questions, you may contact me via phone at (608) 266-5660.

Sincerely,

Kirsten Seeman
Legislative Aide
Office of Senator Fitzgerald

Ms. Seeman’s description of the encounter in her letter bears little resemblance to the actual event. Her letter is typical of the petulant tone of injury and the casual dishonesty that the GOP masters of the Capitol have adopted in all of their dealings with their adversaries. Randian supermen one minute, cowering victims the next, they manage to combine a Scrooge-like callousness toward others with thin-skinned sensitivity to wrongs done to themselves. Thus secret schemes to win elections through illegal redistricting are fine, but dumping beer on their heads is a “tragedy.”

The Wisconsin Republicans view any challenge to their authority and personal dignity as a legal and moral crime that must be stopped. In the past year this has included having people arrested for wiggling their fingers, holding a variety of innocuous pictures, daring to ask questions of legislative staff, or for nothing at all.

No member of the WI Legislature is more prone to this self-serving schizophrenia than Seeman’s boss, Scott Fitzgerald, a man who has publicly bragged about being a bully (fellow GOP senator Mike Ellis called him a “grifter”), but who regularly throws tantrums of self-pity when things don’t go his way. Given her work environment, it is not surprising that Seeman has picked up some bad habits.

But none of this is the real story here. Abuse of power by the Wisconsin GOP has become such a regular occurrence over the past year that Seeman’s letter hardly stands out. No, the real story is to whom the letter is addressed: Why would Seeman believe that it is appropriate to complain to the official press organization in the Capitol about reporters associating with “protesters” and not going through appropriate channels to get comments from legislators? And Seeman is not simply complaining. She is looking for retaliation, for the revocation of Rebecca Kemble and Nicole Desautels Schulte’s press credentials. Seeman clearly believes that her arguments against Kemble and Desautels Schulte—her claims that they engaged in “unethical” behavior—will carry weight with Stein. The question is, why?

poster credit: Micah Ian Wright

Part of the reason is the strange relationship that exists between the WCCA and the Legislature, discussed in more detail in an earlier WCMC report. Briefly, the Capitol press corps is not what many people imagine a press corps is and should be—a fully independent observer and watchdog of the legislative process. Rather, the WCCA operates under authority granted to it by the Legislature. The WCCA is, in effect, a branch of the Legislature. As revealed in internal emails (such as those shown below), WCCA reporters view their access to legislators as a privilege that they live in fear of being revoked. Seeman’s letter plays on this fear, implying the possibility of retaliation against the press if her complaints about Kemble and Desautels Schulte are not addressed. It is a measure of how subservient the press is to the Legislature that a low-level staffer takes for granted her power to intimidate the head of the Capitol press corps.

There is more in the letter than intimidation, however. Behind the threat there is an assumption of common language and attitudes. Seeman does not bother to explain why “to associate with protesters” is such a bad thing for a WCCA-credentialed journalist. She takes it for granted that Stein knows and concurs with her concerns. Despite its aggressive tone, Seeman ultimately appeals to Stein’s sympathy as a fellow sufferer of the annoying intrusion of protesters into the quiet, rule-bound order of the pre-protest Capitol.

Prior to the protests, the Capitol was a political backwater from which ambitious reporters hoped to graduate to more important beats, and to which mediocre reporters were banished. Wisconsin political news was a subject that interested very few people in Wisconsin, much less the rest of the country. Even events like the Caucus scandal generated barely a ripple of interest nationally. Culturally and intellectually, the Capitol resembled a high school without teachers, with politicians as athletes, legislative staff as cheerleaders, and reporters as student newspaper and yearbook editors.

Nestled in their second-floor office, Capitol reporters could believe that this comfortable place of established rules and social hierarchies was the real world, and that what they had to say about it was important. But they were not prepared for what happened in February of 2011 and later, when events of actual importance erupted on their small stage.

November 19, 2011, Madison Wisconsin, Capitol. Protesters create a "flying pig" to celebrate the official opening day of the Scott Walker Recall.

Reporters have seen protests before, of course, but protests of the genteel sort with permits and programs and fixed start and end times. The Capitol protests follow no such rules and prove to be altogether beyond the ability of the Capitol press corps to comprehend. Pulitzer-Prize nominations notwithstanding, one of the peculiarities of the Wisconsin protests has been the complete failure of the local press, including liberal darlings like WPR and Isthmus, to produce any interesting coverage of them. This failure is not rooted in political bias but in the confusion and frustration that unimaginative and rule-driven people feel when confronted by something outside of their experience. Capitol reporters, legislative staff like Seeman, and many of the legislators themselves simply cannot accept the legitimacy of this loud and disorderly brand of politics, and resent its intrusion into their well-ordered lives.

Leaving the real work of narrating the Wisconsin uprising to an assortment of bloggers, videographers and other “citizen journalists,” the Capitol press has responded to recent events by closing ranks with legislators and their staff, dismissing the protests and demonizing the protesters. “Protester” has become a term of contempt, a word that describes interlopers who violate the customs of Capitol High School, and exercise political power without regard to decorum, dignity or dress codes. This is how Seeman uses, and Stein understands, the word ‘protester’ in her letter. Seeman is like a groupie of the football captain warning the yearbook staff that they’d better stop hanging around with “those people” if they want to be invited to the cool parties.

But the “protester” has become a major player in Wisconsin politics. While the persistence of the protests baffles and irritates reporters because it does not obey the narrative trajectory such things “should” obey, it diagnoses a political conflict that is far more deeply rooted than the shallow debates over policy that political reporters are accustomed to cover. Scott Walker and his policies have awakened the kind of passionate revulsion that drives revolutions, and that “normal” politics never will mend. The heart and future of Wisconsin politics, perhaps national politics, is not among the career-conscious interns in legislative offices eagerly working their way up the political ladder, but in the rabble chanting in the rotunda, shouting from the legislative galleries, and being dragged away by police. It is in the nature of the dreary people who become political reporters not to recognize such things. But if history is any guide, there are among the indecorous and shabbily-dressed protesters people who will have far more effect on the world than any of the star athletes of Capitol High. Such people are the actors in history, while the Fitzgeralds and Walkers are just the props.

While Capitol reporters fret about loss of privileged access to small-time politicos, they have squandered the privilege of witnessing at close range what may well be the most important—perhaps the only important—event in their careers.

graphic: Michael Matheson

It is impossible to understand what is happening in Wisconsin without understanding the intensity of popular opposition to Scott Walker and his policies, and the impatience many of Walker’s opponents have to traditional modes of political expression. Rather than rely on the often timid and half-hearted efforts of Democrats to resist GOP assaults, many have taken to direct action, ranging from rallies and attending committee meetings to organizing recalls and independent runs for office.

The press will have none of this. Reporters of all political stripes, from Isthmus and the Capital Times to the Wisconsin State Journal, have steadfastly refused to acknowledge the power, and often even the existence, of the two real political forces in the state: the corporate interests that dictate GOP policy, and the grassroots opposition that is organizing to oppose them.

The problem here is not so much political bias as laziness and a lack of imagination and observational skill, a kind of squeamishness about things beyond the ordinary rather than outright mendacity. Proper WCCA reporters view politics that take place outside of the conventional process in the same way sheltered affluent teenagers might view food in a third-world market, as something distasteful and slightly embarrassing. Politics begins and ends with the parliamentary dances in the Capitol. Anything else is illegitimate and unworthy of attention. Thus in the pages of the Wisconsin State Journal and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel you will find scant mention of the Koch brothers or ALEC. Meanwhile, Walker’s opponents operating outside of the legislative process are collectively dismissed as “the protesters,” meaning anyone who does not operate within the received political customs of the Capitol and thus does not deserve the attention of the Super Serious press. There is no effort to distinguish the protesters as individuals or to report on what they are actually protesting and why they are protesting it.

What follows are a few examples that illustrate how Capitol reporters view “the protesters.”

Jack Craver, Cap Times April 5, 2012
“Beyond the union issue, Walker is praised for standing up to another target: the loonies in Madison. Especially among voters outside Dane County, there’s contempt for what they see as professional protesters, liberal academics and hippies who prefer to cause a ruckus at the Capitol instead of getting a job.”

Mary Spicuzza, Wisconsin State Journal December 2, 2011
Uses the word “protester” six times and includes insulting remarks from Sen. Scott Fitzgerald: ”Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau said, ‘Then again, they’re launching recall for the awful crime of balancing the budget, so the words ‘recall’ and ‘common sense’ haven’t been in the same sentence for a while now.’”

Doug Erickson, Wisconsin State Journal January 17, 2012
Martin Luther King Day Cover ”While the majority of the two-hour program stayed tightly focused on celebrating King, some moments turned political . . . In an interview prior to the ceremony, event promoter Jonathan] Overby stressed the nonpartisan intent of the Capitol ceremony. ‘This is a time to set our political swords aside.’ . . . The most-active protesters — about two dozen — kept to the Rotunda area on the ground floor.”

AP, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel January 16, 2012
“Protesters hissed and chanted “shame” at Gov. Scott Walker after he read a proclamation at the state’s official Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday ceremony in the Capitol rotunda.”

Shawn Doherty, The Cap Times January 26, 2012
“The organizers got around new Department of Administration rules restricting protests in the Capitol — unveiled in December but not yet completely enforced — by organizing via Twitter. . .Outside, a discordant band called Forward played something called the Smash a Bank polka, composed for such activist street bands. . . It took a half dozen requests to clear them out, but even the most profane and passionate protesters left the building by 8:30 p.m., when Capitol Police Chief Charles Tubbs strode into the press room to inform reporters that the building was ‘all clean.’”

Scott Bauer, AP April 22, 2012http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20120422/GPG010405/120422018
“But Walker also has a challenger — frequent Capitol protester and Walker opponent Arthur Kohl-Riggs. He has taken to wearing a top hat and claiming he is running as a Republican in the tradition of Abraham Lincoln and progressive Wisconsin Republican Bob La Follette. ‘I still think when people see two names on the ballot, they are so supportive of Gov. Walker almost to the point of being all in,’ Vos said. ‘I think they’re going to want to vote for him even knowing this guy’s a whack job.’”

Bauer also wrote an email to fellow WCCA members when Arthur Kohl-Riggs’ press pass was revoked for reporting on the “protesters” in the gallery late last year. Note his concern that it is Kohl-Riggs who is putting the “media’s access to the chamber in jeopardy,” and not those who would actually deny access, whose right to limit access they implicitly acknowledge:

The people of Wisconsin are voting to pick the challengers to recall our TEA Party Governor, 1% Walker, Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, and four TEA GOP state senators. It is the ultimate showdown of what our uprising in Madison during February and March 2011 were all about.

Wisconsin citizens stunned the world last year with our utter rejection of this Robber Baron, John Birch Society, corporate-funded TEA Party-fueled Fitzwalkerstan Regime and everything they did to our progressive state with their blatant disregard of our state constitution and laws designed to keep open and transparent government in our beloved state.

Whomever emerges the winner today in the battle for the Republican and Democratic parties’ nomination for Governor will say a lot about whether or not the true grassroots message of accountability via the right to recall politicians has been heard by both major political parties in our state. In my opinion, as a Naught-TEA Republican, any of the five major contenders for Scott Walker’s job will be able to beat him in this election. But the choice is what determines the direction our state moves to address the reasons why Walker needs to be recalled.

For example, should Tom Barrett win the Democratic nomination, it will continue to be Party Politics as usual. He is favored by the Democratic Party, but there are those pesky unions who remember he also supported voucher schools before the Fitzwalkerstan Regime started expanding this program, stripping public schools of badly needed funding. Personally, I think we grassroots activists want something more than just a repeat of the 2010 race.

If Kathleen Falk wins, it will prove that our Wisconsin unions can still influence our political system. Also, she has a lot of women supporters who feel that after the war on women’s rights to equal pay discrimination lawsuits at a state level, the repeal of the Healthy Youth Act to allow abstinence only sex ed in schools, and her conservation record as Public Intervener can help her win. But I feel that she and Barrett are bound to split voters of Democratic Party union members which may bring unexpected results.

If Kathleen Vinehout were to win, it will be those who knew Wisconsin’s budget problems could’ve been solved in better ways. Her alternate budget put money back into public schools and universities. She also co-sponsored the “Castle Doctrine” law, which could help her get cross-over Republican votes. A Vinehout victory would validate the idea that the Wisconsin Fab 14 did the right thing, supported by our citizens, when they fled the state to stop the passage of Act 10. She is not taking special interest money to run her campaign, as Falk and Barrett are, so it would be a true grassroots victory if she were to be chosen.

And then there’s Secretary of State Doug La Follette, whom I believe has the best chance in the Democratic Primary. He is running a true progressive campaign, actually sinking $112,000 of his retirement savings into his run for Governor. A proven statewide winner since 1983, La Follette’s vow to return the power back to Wisconsin citizens and to re-invest in our proud progressive state, and his love for Wisconsin’s traditions and her people shows strongly each time he speaks. I believe his being chosen to face down Scott Walker would prove that voters chose to reject the big money campaigns and special interest candidates in lieu of voting for the candidate who only promises to put our people first.

I said five candidates, and the last one is actually running directly against Scott Walker on the Republican side of the ballot. If Arthur Kohl-Riggs, who is running as a Lincoln/La Follette Republican, were to win in his primary today, it would mean that Scott Walker’s TEA Party rule is over. It would also mean that real Republican voters are turning not against their party, but against the TEA Party altogether! A vote for Kohl-Riggs is a vote to reclaim Wisconsin’s proud Republican heritage from the corporate 1% Koch-addicted TEA GOP. It would validate the idea that the TEA Party politicians who belong to groups like ALEC, or who practice pay-to-play political cronyism with our taxpayer dollars will no longer be accepted in our proud progressive Wisconsin.

So the final results will be interesting, and I will be eager to see how this shapes up for our final battle – the June 5th general recall elections. The world is watching Wisconsin to see if we choose wisely. So go and vote today for whom you believe will be the best replacement as we recall Walker! And if you live in Senate District 13, vote for Lori Compas so she can help us recall Scott Fitzgerald as well. Let’s get both the Fitz and Walker out of Fitzwalkerstan to reclaim OUR WISCONSIN!

I just voted in Madison, and even though there were clear instructions about this posted in the voting booth itself, the ballot was still a little visually confusing.

If you are not voting in a senate recall race, you may cast TWO votes – one for Governor and one for Lt. Governor.

If you are voting in a senate recall race, you may cast THREE votes – one for Governor, one for Lt. Governor and one for Senator.

If your ballot is rejected by the machine because of an over-vote (voting for too many candidates), you may ask election officials for a replacement ballot. You may also ask for a new ballot if you make a mistake before inserting the ballot into the machine.

The Wisconsin Election Protection group says this:

“You only get to vote for ONE candidate for governor. NOT one per party! You CAN vote for different parties amongst the races (i.e. a Republican for Governor and a Democrat for Lt. Governor), but only one candidate per race!

“Any questions on voting? Our attorneys are standing by here and at 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683) or tweet them @EPWisco!”

Menomonee Falls ballot bag: winged and duct taped. April 2011 Supreme Court Recount in Waukesha County

Last September, the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board concluded that Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus had indeed violated state law by failing to report 14,000 ballots from Brookfield on election night April 5, 2011 for the Supreme Court race between David Prosser and Joanne Kloppenburg. GAB Board Chair Thomas H. Barland stated, “This action has significantly undermined public confidence in the conduct of elections in Wisconsin and Waukesha County. As a result, state and local election officials, and you in particular, will have to regain the trust of the Wisconsin electorate in the administration of elections in Wisconsin and Waukesha County.”

Despite breaking the law, Nickolaus was not charged, and not even punished. According to Dane County prosecutor Timothy Verhoff, who investigated the incident, Nickolaus’ crime was deemed an “honest mistake” and she walked away with a little more than a hand slap.

Nickolaus arrived in Waukesha already shrouded in scandal. Having been an aide to Prosser during his Republican years in the Assembly (1989-1996), Nickolaus was granted immunity to testify about her role as a computer analyst for the Assembly Republican Caucus, then under investigation for using state resources to secretly run campaigns. In 2002, Republican lawmakers Steven Foti, Scott Jensen and Bonnie Ladwig, as well as aide Sherry Schultz were criminally charged and later convicted in connection to using state resources to run political campaigns, similar to the charges involved in the current John Doe investigation.

Reporters and elections officials attempting to tally the results of the April 3, 2012 primary in Waukesha, when Nickolaus claimed her software wouldn't upload.

After the September 2011 hand-slap and her promise to straighten up, Nickolaus tanked again during the April 3, 2012 primaries. Claiming her software did not work, Nickolaus had poll workers tape vote tapes to the wall and perform manual counts. She even recruited the help of local reporters. This again delayed results until the following day, again breaking the law. Following the release of Waukesha’s results, Republican Mitt Romney’s lead rose from five to seven points.

Several days later, County Executive Dan Vrakas demanded that Nickolaus either resign or turn the elections over to the deputy clerk. At that time, Vrakas reported that Nickolaus opted to give her election duties over Deputy Clerk Kelly Yeager and restrict herself to the other duties her position requires.

However, on April 28, Nickolaus issued a statement saying that she would not be giving up any of her responsibilities for overseeing the upcoming recall elections but would also not seek reelection in the fall. “Residents of Waukesha County and the state of Wisconsin should know that election integrity has always been my primary focus,” Nickolaus said.

In lieu of these disturbing events, and with Nickolaus claiming she will be at the helm for Tuesday’s primary, perhaps it’s time to revisit the Supreme Court recount. Despite a common misconception that the recount investigated possible election fraud, it did not. Much evidence of fraud was uncovered, but was ignored by GAB Director Kevin Kennedy. It is quite likely what you see below was never shown to the full Board after the recount, before it decided that Prosser won.

One of the two duct taped ballot bags from Menomonee Falls in Waukesha County, April 2011 recount. After inspection these bags were found to be sliced open under the tape. They were also improperly secured –"winged" — with 6" open ends each side of the zip-tie.

The level of possible election fraud found by those who participated in the recount deserves to be revisited. It is vital to understand that Kathy Nickolaus did far more than simply fail to post Brookfield’s results for the Supreme Court election, the most widely reported of her mistakes. The recount uncovered over 800 anomalies and breaks in the chains of custody. Nickolaus has been portrayed as an inept but well-meaning county clerk, but the magnitude of evidence of election tampering suggests that Nickolaus’ previous association with political activities may not have ended with the caucus scandal.

We may never get a chance to legally revisit the evidence of election fraud that was swept under the rug by Kennedy last Spring. But we can surely participate in our own election review process and observe our polls after closing time to see where and how our ballots are handled.

After the unconstitutional Voter ID bill being struck down, and redistricting partially dismantled, be prepared for yet another Nickolaus gaffe. Call County Executive Daniel Vrakas. Email him a link to this article and demand Nickolaus step aside. Better yet, call Nickolaus herself and tell her to step down. She’s done enough.

Since she seems to be permanently immune to being accountable for her mistakes, it’s time for us to take charge.

Dan Vrakas
countyexec@waukeshacounty.gov
Phone: 262-548-7902

Kathy Nickolaus
countyclerk@waukeshacounty.gov
Phone: 262-548-7010

Curiously mis-matched initials on Pewaukee ballot bags.

Piles of ballot bags, open and ready to be stuffed.

A pile of signed, blank absentee ballots, ready to be filled out and stuffed into the open bags if need be.

More open bags.

One of countless bags that were winged–with enough room to remove or insert ballots

Ballot bags from Brookfield with crossed off tag number.

Waukesha County Clerk, Kathy Nickolaus, with Deputy Clerk Kelly Yaeger. Though "recused," Nickolaus remained involved on a daily basis from her office down the hall. Every evening the election materials were taken from the recount room to her office, out of public view. Yaeger worked in tandem with Nickolaus in and out of the recount room, and made conscious efforts to prevent public observation by blocking the streaming video camera and turning off the audio during challenges.

One of several photos of a touch screen poll tape I observed from Penaukee dated March 30, 2011 1:40 AM for an election that took place April 5, 2011. On Frinday, May 16, Barbara Hanson, election official overseeing the recount in Waukesha, confirmed twice that this was an official ballot. The same day, another clerk was sworn in and testified that this was indeed a real ballot, but that the votes were taken on April 5th but that she could not confirm how they got to be dated March 30th. On Monday, May 19, I submitted a letter to the canvassing board to include in the minutes a feasible explanation for how this date stamping occured. It was then I was told there were no touch screen votes from Pewaukee. Subsequent investigation with voting machine representative Aaron Storbeck confirms the only way to get an official ballot dated five days before an election is to insert the programmed pack, designed to only be used on election day, into the voting machine on that date and run off votes. Machines batteries are seldom used and when they do run down, a large yellow ban flashes across the bottom of the screen.