Wisconsin GOP State Senator Glenn Grothman Asks: "Why Must We Still Hear About Kwanzaa?"
In a bizarre press release, Republican Glenn Grothman wrote:
Of course, almost no black people today care about Kwanzaa - just white left-wingers who try to shove this down black people’s throats in an effort to divide Americans. Irresponsible public school districts such as Green Bay and Madison (and who knows how many others…) try to tell a new generation that blacks have a separate holiday than Christians. […]
But why do they do it? They don’t like America and seek to destroy it by pretending that its values as expressed in the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution, don’t apply to everyone.
He then warns people to “be on the lookout” for teachers who will try to “tell your children and grandchildren it’s a real holiday.”
Glenn Grothman is the same troll who said unplanned pregnancies are mostly “the choice of the women,” sponsored legislation that repealed Wisconsin’s equal pay law because “money is more important to men,” and wrote a bill to label single parenthood as a contributing factor in cases of child abuse.
Planned Parenthood has asked for help
…so I’m spreading the word. Wisconsin’s Joint Finance Committee votes tomorrow on budget issues that will have a major impact on reproductive health in Wisconsin. Walker’s budget:
- Eliminates the state’s only women’s health and family planning program
- Kicks men out of the BadgerCare Family Planning program
- Reduces Medicaid funding by $500 million
What can you do? Go here to learn more. You can also meet at the capitol tomorrow morning at 11:00 to join people from Planned Parenthood and others opposing Walker’s budget.
If your representative is on the Committee, give them a call. A list of the committee members and their phone numbers is attached after the jump.
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.
Tales From The Recall Trail (Part 3)
An outstanding diary from someone working to recall Republican Senator Alberta Darling. 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.
