WISGOP WIN! Wisconsin Recalls Decided One Day Before Election

In Wisconsin Timing is Everything

In case no one has noticed, the reactionary forces which took control of Wisconsin in a sled run lubricated by Koch Brothers' money have acted very, very, very, very quickly to fortify their tenuous hold on the state's government.  No doubt expecting a recall election for control of the Senate at the earliest possible moment, the GOPCons have successfully moved a startling body of voter suppression bills through the train wreck in Madison.

In a manner similar to their savage union busting gambit, these voter suppression laws have moved through the legislative process very, very, very fast, too.  Everything had to be put in place in time to successfully resist the recall election.

If the counter attack could have been stifled or even just delayed, additional time for more looting could be gained.

Dusting Off Walker's Election Rigging Tool Kit

Naturally, among other things, Waukesha County's trusty old county clerk, Kathy Nicholaus, had to be sobered up, showered and prepped for the big day.

Wait a minute.  Who's Kathy Nicholaus again?

To answer this question, we will have to try something that is very difficult for American voters.  We will have to remember last time.

In this case, "last time" was the "election" of a Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice in April of this year.  Here's a little reminder from "way back" in April, 2011.

 

Wisconsin high court election

turned on its head 

The challenger to conservative Supreme Court Justice David Prosser had already declared victory in a vote that drew national attention because of the state's union battle. Then Waukesha County's clerk announced she had neglected to count 14,000 votes.

April 08, 2011|By Nicholas Riccardi | Los Angeles Times

 

In a shocking twist, a clerk in a conservative Wisconsin county announced Thursday that she had discovered a net gain of 7,582 votes for an embattled conservative Supreme Court justice, a total that would make him the winner of an election in which his challenger declared victory Wednesday.

The election drew national attention because it was seen as a referendum on Republican Gov. Scott Walker's proposal to strip most public workers of their collective bargaining rights, which sparked huge protests and has been put on hold by a judge.

Unofficial tallies Wednesday had put Assistant Atty. Gen. JoAnne Kloppenburg 204 votes ahead of Justice David Prosser. But as county canvassing boards began double-checking totals Thursday, those margins shifted.

Then Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus announced at a 5:45 p.m. news conference that she had left out the 14,315 votes cast in the city of Brookfield in the totals she released Tuesday night. Prosser won 10,859 votes there to Kloppenburg's 3,456. Coupled with small increases elsewhere in the county, Prosser gained a total of 7,582 votes on his challenger, giving him a 0.5% margin — enough to avoid a state-financed recount.

"This is human error, which I apologize for," said Nickolaus, a Republican.

Nickolaus has drawn controversy for keeping election data on private office computers that are not part of the county network. She said the error had nothing to do with that. The mistake was discovered during an open meeting of the county canvassing board, which was attended by at least one Democrat, Ramona Kitzinger.

Kitzinger told reporters at the news conference that Nickolaus was telling the truth. "We went over everything and made sure that all the numbers jived up, and they did," Kitzinger said.

Other Democrats were skeptical of the announcement.

Rep. Peter Barca, the Assembly minority leader, in a statement noted that Nickolaus had worked for Republicans in the Legislature when Prosser was a leader there. "Her approach raises questions about the integrity of the election to the highest court in our state."

nicholas.riccardi@latimes.com

We have to assume that dozens of crooked little county clerks have been ordered to "maximum alert" status for the recall election.  There are already probably thousands of anti-recall ballots already positioned to "be found" late Tuesday night.  You know, like the "election" described in the article above.

Likewise, the state's useless Supreme Court, now controlled by the same sort of throwbacks inhabiting the rest of Walker's weird government, is also "on alert" to do everything imaginable to thwart the will of Wisconsin voters where ever possible.

 Also, the "voter suppression" effort is not just another toothless gizmo, either.  The Wisconsin state legislature has thrown everything except the kitchen sink into the long, tortured road a Wisconsin voter must endure to throw the lever on one of Wisconsin's extremely suspicious voting machines.

Wisconsin used to be a state where a voter could register and vote on the same day.  Hysterically publicizing the seven voter fraud cases in the 100's of millions of Wisconsin votes cast in the last decade as compelling evidence of the necessity of "tightening" voter registration laws, the busy little fascists in the Wisconsin legislature have, once again, over reached, arrogantly rushing beyond any possible legitimacy.

Republicans everywhere know that nothing good can come from elections which take place without "thinning the herd."

Proof through the night that our flag is still there

The flag which flew over Ft. McHenry (image source)

Now, this post is from Monday, August 8, 2011.  The recall elections begin tomorrow morning.  Heh, heh, what will pass for the vote counting will be well underway by this time tomorrow.

MeanMesa predicts that, although there will almost certainly be massive election fraud, the flood tide of Wisconsin voters saying "No" to the likes of Governor Scott Walker and his stinky little clutch of tea bags will carry the day.