We’ve got tons of government workers in my district - tons. We gotta hope that they, kind of, are sleeping on July 12th - or whenever the (election) date is.
--Republican Senator Dan Kapanke, in a secretly recorded conversation, hoping that government workers in his district “are sleeping” during the recall election. It would seem hard to continue claiming you’re not pushing an agenda to discourage voting after making a statement like this.
Signatures to Recall the Sixth Wisconsin Republican to be Filed Thursday
Number six: Robert Cowles (Green Bay). Six down, two to go!
Fifth Wisconsin Republican to be Recalled!
Number five is Alberta Darling (R-Milwaukee), the co-chair of the Joint Finance Committee! A little over 20,000 signatures were required; around 30,000 were collected.
Update: Volunteers and supporters can meet up here tomorrow.
To put this in historical context: only 4 Wisconsin legislators have been subjected to a recall campaign since the right to recall an elected state official became part of the Wisconsin Constitution in 1926. Protecting this right was part of the progressive platform in the early 1900s to bring direct democracy to voters – along with referenda, direct primary elections, and women’s suffrage.
Today, residents in this district— a district that overwhelmingly supported Walker in November— will be filing the signatures to recall Sheila Harsdorf, a Republican who has held office (first in the Assembly, now in the Senate) since the late ’80s.
The times they are a-changin…
Three Down, Five to Go
Signatures to recall Republican Luther Olsen will be filed with the Government Accountability Board today.
Update: One Down, Seven to Go
Way more (40% more!) signatures than required, collected in less than half the time allowed. Damn.
linked above.
One Down, Seven More To Go
Today, organizers will file the paperwork to recall the first of the Republican eight: Dan Kapanke (La Crosse)! Grassroots organizers collected more than 20,000 signatures in a mere 27 days, making it the fastest recall in Wisconsin history. The grassroots group will turn in the signatures they’ve collected (at 3:30 p.m., 212 E. Wash in Madison if you want to witness history), and the Government Accountability Board will have 31 days to review them. Kapanke can challenge any of the signatures during the first 10 days. Kapanke said earlier this month that the recall efforts would not deter him from standing with the governor and voting to ban collective bargaining.
Seven more to go! Get involved here: www.recalltherepublican8.com
On this date in 1954, a bipartisan, grassroots campaign to recall Senator Joe McCarthy began in Sauk City. Over 400,000 signatures needed to be collected in just 60 days in order to force a recall. Despite very few financial and organizational resources, the group was able to collect 335,000 signatures. Although the recall effort was unsuccessful, the Senate voted to censure McCarthy later that year.
Help make history this time around. Get involved.
Wisconsin GOP Using the Open Records Law to Intimidate Critics
A few days ago, UW-Madison Professor William Cronon wrote a thoughtful, well-researched op-ed for The New York Times.
The Republican Party of Wisconsin responded by filing an open records request for Cronon’s emails (although they misspelled his name in the press release they issued). Specifically, they requested all emails “into and out of Cronon’s state email account from January 1, 2011 to present which reference any of the following terms: Republican, Scott Walker, recall, collective bargaining, AFSCME, WEAC, rally, union, Alberta Darling, Randy Hopper, Dan Kapanke, Rob Cowles, Scott Fitzgerald, Sheila Harsdorf, Luther Olsen, Glenn Grothman, Mary Lazich, Jeff Fitzgerald, Marty Beil, or Mary Bell.”
Cronon has started a blog about this issue and I would encourage you to check it out (it, too, is very thoughtful and well-written) and keep an eye on this story as it unfolds.
45 Days!
That’s all we have left to collect the signatures required to recall the Republican 8! All hands on deck. Check out www.recalltherepublican8.com to get involved! There are volunteer opportunities on weekdays and the weekend, work that involves interacting with a lot of people and work that is more behind-the-scenes…you can find something that works well for you. You don’t need to give a lot of time; even an hour or two here and there can be tremendously helpful.
Recall The Republican 8!
Your help is needed this weekend to help recall the Republican 8.
On both Saturday & Sunday, at 10 am and 2 pm each day, people will be meeting in the following locations to help gather signatures:
Robert Cowles (Green Bay/De Pere/Ashwaubenon)
1061 W. Mason St., Green Bay AND 132 South Main Street, Shawano
Alberta Darling (Milwaukee/North Shore suburbs)
2510 E Capitol Drive, Shorewood
Sheila Harsdorf (Hudson/River Falls)
800 Carmichael Rd., Hudson AND 321 N 2nd St, River Falls
Luther Olsen (Portage/Waupaca/Ripon)
813 W. Carroll St., Portage AND Waupaca Woods Shopping Mall at 825 W. Fulton St. AND 443 Scott St., Ripon
Randy Hopper (Fond du Lac/Oshkosh)
325 Trowbridge Drive, Fond du Lac, AND 748 Algoma Boulevard, Oshkosh
Dan Kapanke (La Crosse/Onalaska)
1307 Market Street, La Crosse
You can also check out my post (here) with brief answers to FAQs for more info. Make your voice heard!
Please note: I do not have any info on organizing for Grothman or Lazich yet, but will update if I find out.
