Wisconsin State Supreme Court Race... a political side show and farce
By ParaTed2k
@ParaTed2k (22940)
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
April 6, 2011 2:59pm CST
The Wisconsin State Supreme Court race is too close to call (as my friend Annie already posted). Wisconsin will now become the new Florida when it comes to jokes and parodies about elections.
It doesn't surprise me that it turned out this way... because it started out as a farce.
The race became a "referendum on Walker", which is ridiculous from the start. But it didn't reach farcical proportions until the out of state money and partisanship moved in.
Now both sides will be pointing fingers at the other. Inane and less than honest accusations will be made at the other for "buying the election". When both sides are equally guilty, no one gets the high ground.
Now the reports of voter fraud and "irregularities" have started coming in. Lost ballot boxes, pencils instead of markers, machines that suddenly "don't work".
I do blame the Wisconsin Legislature Republicans for two things here. 1) They had ample time to pass laws that could have cleaned up our elections. Voter ID, removing the totally dishonest "same day voting" laws.. etc. They really blew it here. Especially with the known history.
So, the farce will go on. The election will be stolen, and the only thing that will come out of it is more fraud, more waste and the facts will continue to be ignored.
Welcome to the real world, liars, crooks and thieves, today is your day.
1 person likes this
3 responses
@bobmnu (8157)
• United States
6 Apr 11
One thing is clear - the race was about one issue and that is the Collective Bargaining rights of Public Employees. In the Primary Judge Prosser won the primary with around 58% of the vote. From what I can see the Unions had very little interest in this (the Primary Election) because the runner up received around 28% of the votes.
This type of election disturbs me because you are electing a person for a single court case. What effect will this have on Wisconsin for the next 10 years? This is just like a person or group that votes on a single issue - the candidate may be against everything you stand for except one issue.
By making this election about one issue both candidates are indebted to the groups that financially supported directly or in directly their candidacy. Which ever one wins their decisions will always be questioned and the reputation of the Supreme Court is tarnished.
1 person likes this
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
14 Apr 11
I think I heard on election day that Wisconsin was a state where their elections were usually done very efficiently and without problems. I take it that's not true?
One thing that really SEEMS to be true is Kathy Nickolaus, the county clerk who discovered her own error is totally incompetent at best and a crook at worst. Somehow I think if the situation were reversed the GOP would now be crying foul, and I wouldn't blame them. It's especially interesting that she found almost exactly as many votes needed for Plosser to avoid an automatic recount.
For the record, I'm not in favor of judges being elected to begin with. Seriously, how can any of these career politicians be "impartial"?
Annie
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
14 Apr 11
Um, the mistake was found during the normal canvassing, performed by both Republican AND Democrat representatives.
These were not "found" votes. The only discrepancy was between the unofficial count (reported to the AP before verification) and the official count (made to the state after verification).
If the oafs at the AP would just wait, and only report on official numbers, there would have been no controversy at all.
At the press conference, the Democrat rep (who is also the vice chair of the county Democratic party) state quite emphatically that the final count was accurate. If Nickolaus "found" these votes, then both the Republican and Democrat on the team were in on it.
The reason there is bipartisan verification canvasses is to catch such errors before they become part of the official count. The fact is, this is really an example of the system working.
What I find interesting is, we're supposed to make a federal case out of this discrepancy, but we're supposed to ignore the hundreds of discrepancies in most other counties in Wisconsin.
They are saying that Nickolaus waited until the other counties had reported so she could make sure she "found" enough votes to secure victory for Prosser. The problem with that idea is, the biggest county in the state still hasn't reported, so she had no idea what it would take to secure anything for Prosser... and Milwaukee is a predominantly Democrat county.
1 person likes this
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
14 Apr 11
I'm not saying you should make a federal case out of it necessarily but I still think she's incompetent and I don't think her position should be a political one. Maybe the AP could have been more patient but she still made a really BIG error there and you have to admit it looks pretty suspicious to people who don't know all the details.
Annie
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
14 Apr 11
True, and to tell you the truth, I was suspicious until I heard the details. But once the details were out, and even the Democrat on the canvassing team vouched for the explanation, I considered it a non issue.
Now, if the announcement came AFTER the official count was certified by the state, then I would be calling for an investigation too. As it stands, I don't think one is necessary, but I also wouldn't be against one. While I would consider it a waste of money, it would tend to put the whole thing to bed.
What I do find interesting is the same people who are demanding a federal investigation don't want it to include other, more credible accusations of fraud and illegal voting.
As for anything you've heard about the integrity of Wisconsin elections.. it's sad, but no, there is little. Last presidential election, there were over 1500 voter registrations that listed vacant lots or even addresses that dont' exist. There were more votes than ballots cast.
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