Sorry...

...we're not here anymore.

Please visit us at ScottForGov.com.

Hope you see you there!

We're half way there...

Ok…so as I mentioned in my previous post, we never imagined that we would be successful in getting Doyle to “retire” so quickly. I’ll have to admit I obviously didn’t think it through far enough and now the blog “RetireDoyle” is just not going to cut it anymore. (and I had some great post ideas in the hopper!)

I am amazed at how many people are following this blog already. (Albeit quietly) We obviously struck a tone and provided something that people were seeking.

So, with that said, we’ve created a new blog so that we can continue with our 2^nd goal of electing Scott Walker as our next Governor.

We hope you will visit us as we get ScottForGov.com up and running. Join us as we expose the lies and distortions spread about him, show the true colors of Scott’s opponents and tell you why Scott Walker should be our next Governor.

We’re 50% done with our goal. Help us achieve the rest!

NEWS FLASH: DOYLE TO RETIRE (as Gov)!!!

Well, if sources (and there are many) are to be believed Governor Jim Doyle will be retiring (or at least retiring at the end of his term) as our Governor on Monday.

We at RetireDoyle.com would like to claim victory for accomplishing this goal in 2 1/2 weeks!!! Never in our wildest imaginations did we think we could retire Jim Doyle in such a short period of time. Others have tried, for many years...but we have delivered.

Politico.com was the first to break the story:

Gov. Jim Doyle won't seek re-election

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle has told associates he will announce this week that he won’t seek a third term in 2010, POLITICO has learned.

He’s had to raise taxes and fees while furloughing state workers to help plug a $6.6 billion budget deficit. In doing so, his approval numbers have fallen below 40 percent. And just this week, he faced the embarrassment of seeing his legal counsel quit because she hadn’t passed the state bar.

Wispolitics has some additional reporting:
WisPolitics: Doyle plans Monday announcement on his political future

“Whether or not Governor Doyle runs again, Republicans will be well-positioned to take back the governor's office next year and get to work making Wisconsin great again," said state GOP Chair Reince Priebus.

"With a common-sense, positive plan for job growth and controlling health care costs while maintaining consumer choice, our agenda is a welcome contrast to the Democrats’ record of higher taxes and bigger government. We look forward to taking that message directly to the voters. Better days are ahead for the working families of Wisconsin.”

However...this was only HALF of our original stated goal. Our next goal is to get Scott Walker elected as our next Governor. We'll be just as successful in that effort as well. (Only wish we could do THAT in 2 1/2 weeks!!!)

Stay tuned...


UPDATE: One source said Doyle is expected to serve out the remainder of this term, which ends in January 2011. Doyle turns 65 in November 2010.

Scott Walker Endorsed by Congressman Petri

U.S. Rep. Tom Petri said Friday he is endorsing Scott Walker in the 2010 race for governor.

Walker, the Milwaukee County executive, is one of three Republicans seeking their party's nomination. Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle has not announced if he will run for re-election.

"Since Scott took the reins of county government in 2002, he has slashed the county debt by over 10 percent and reduced the taxpayer-funded work forceby more than 20 percent. That is exactly the kind of leadership Wisconsin needs to recover from Gov. Doyle's recklessness," Petri, R-Fond du Lac, said in a press release.

"Scott is the best person to lead Wisconsin forward."

I guess to have served with Mark Neumann in Congress is to endorse Scott Walker as Governor. Ouch, that has to hurt.

More on Doyle and Wood County

Is Doyle Playing "Show Me The Money" With Wood County DA Appointment?

Madison,WI – After three recent judicial appointments in Dane County went to the three highest contributors to Jim Doyle’s reelection efforts, it is becoming clear why Wood County does not yet have a new DA.

Someone needs to make a campaign donation ASAP.

“Over twenty people applied for circuit judge in Dane County and the top three Doyle contributors got the jobs. Now its revealed Doyle hired an individual who wasn’t even licensed to practice law in Wisconsin to be his Chief Legal Counsel…but she did give him $350 just before getting the job,” said Mark Jefferson, Executive Director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin. “It’s looking like Doyle has been waiting for a campaign check before he’s willing to make anyone DA in Wood County.”

Officials in Wood County have been concerned for weeks over the vacant DA position and the potential threat to public safety in the area. However, they’ve been met with indifference in the Governor’s office.

“Wisconsin deserves better than what appears to be pay-to-play tactics from their Governor, and Wood County deserves a qualified District Attorney,” Jefferson said. “It’s time for the Governor to put campaign contributions aside and do what’s right for the people of Wood County and all of Wisconsin.”

Our Previous post on Doyle's Wood County DA Dilemma

Doyle Administration Conspires With Reporter to Blindside Political Foe

Take a look at this story. If it wasn't so scary, it would be laughable. The lengths that Governor Doyle, his administration and the media will conspire to make Scott Walker look bad is astounding.

Steve Schultz should be fired. Absent that, he should be removed from ANY reporting that has to do with County or State Government!!!

• A January 23^rd email from DHS Communications Director Seth Boeffli telling Department of Administration spokesperson Linda Barth: “We also have a sympathetic reporter at the MJS (Steve Schultze) and we were thinking about bringing him in early so he can get everything from us early on an embargoed basis.”
  
• A string of emails from February 6^th discusses Walker’s criticism of DHS for failing to give him notice of their plans and references a request Schulze made for the “paper trail” to prove Walker wrong.
  
• An email exchange between top DHS officials on February 5^th and 6^th characterize conservative columnist Patrick McIlheran’s piece on the issue as, “straight up lies,” and “ridiculously one-sided,” while Doyle’s DHS Secretary Karen Timberlake asks if there is “anything to be done about McIlheran.”

It's only going to get worse folks. They are afraid of Scott Walker and will pull out all the stops.

A bargain at a Million dollars

I'd like to see the ratio of dollars spent versus what WEAC will get for their lobbying efforts. (Although with as much as Jim Doyle and the Dems in the legislature are in WEAC's pocket, not sure why they needed to spend so much) Unfortunately, until we see the property tax increases that are coming, we won't be able to do that calculation. Regardless...you know they will get a great bang for their million bucks!

The Wisconsin Education Association Council, the state's powerful teachers union, spent the most, at just more than $1 million. The union won several victories in the state budget, including the elimination of caps on raises for teachers during contract negotiations.

The limits on teacher raises had been in place for years to hold down property taxes but the union, Gov. Jim Doyle and the Democratic-controlled Legislature said they were unfair.

Rest of the Story

You would think Jim Doyle would want MORE jobs in Wisconsin!

A new study says that "Cap and Trade" would hurt Wisconsin.

A new study by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) predicts widespread economic hardship for Wisconsin consumers and businesses if Congress adopts the "cap and trade" bill being considered by the U.S. Senate.

The bill is otherwise known as H.R. 2454 or the Waxman-Markey global warming bill.
The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly approved the bill in June.

"Wisconsin citizens can expect higher electric bills, higher heating bills and higher gasoline prices if Congress passes the Waxman-Markey bill," said James Haney, president of the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC). "At a time when we are struggling to keep high-paying manufacturing jobs in our state, this bill would take us in the wrong direction with tens of thousands of additional lost jobs."

Wisconsin consumers and employers would be hit disproportionately hard by global warming regulations because of the state's significant investment in coal-fired electricity, and the state's status as the single-most manufacturing intensive economy in the country, according to the WMC.

The study found that key Wisconsin industrial sectors, including papermaking, machinery manufacturing and other energy intensive industries, would lose thousands of manufacturing jobs as a result of higher energy costs stemming from Waxman-Markey.

"Wisconsin businesses are faced with a highly competitive international marketplace where it is becoming increasingly difficult to compete on cost," said Thomas Howatt, president and chief executive officer of Wausau Paper of Wausau. "Driving up the cost of energy in Wisconsin with regulations like cap and trade will put us at a severe competitive disadvantage with our foreign competition."

Specifically, the NAM study predicted between 41,600 and 56,700 lost jobs in Wisconsin by 2030, depending upon the future price of carbon permits. Those figures are expected to worsen as the H.R. 2454 energy rationing plan reaches full implementation by the year 2050. Since 1999, Wisconsin has lost 160,000 manufacturing jobs, and the state's unemployment rate is at 9 percent, the WMC said.

In addition to the lost manufacturing jobs, the NAM study concludes that Wisconsin consumers would face substantial energy cost increases as a result of the Waxman-Markey legislation, taking a significant toll on the state's overall economy.

According to this Journal Sentinel article Jim Doyle embraces cap and trade. "Regional plan is full steam ahead."

I've got an idea Governor, let's work on supporting bills that will ENCOURAGE businesses to come to Wisconsin and actually CREATE jobs. I'm tired of your efforts to scare business and jobs away!

Doyle lets his departments run rampant

Eh, what's $850k?

Here's another example of how poorly Jim Doyle runs his administration. They are supposed to be looking at cuts and savings, and here is this department spending $850,000 without authorization. (a firetruck? really? for the State Veterans administration?)

STORY

Officials at the state Department of Veterans Affairs are asking state lawmakers to cover the cost of about $700,000 in unauthorized expenses, including a firetruck, that exceeded the department's budget.

An analysis by the Legislative Fiscal Bureau identified another $150,000 in unauthorized spending, bringing the total to about $850,000.

The purchases may have violated state laws regarding spending of state funds without specific prior authorization and spending in excess of budgets, the department said. It has asked the state Department of Justice to investigate the potential violations.

Journal Sentinel Bias

I know it's like saying water is wet, but the Journal Sentinel is showing their bias again this morning.

Take a look at this story: Foster Care Agency Fares Poorly in Report. Go ahead, read it. I'll wait.

So, after reading the story can you tell which government agency is responsible for the Milwaukee County foster care?

I'll give you a hint, it's NOT Milwaukee County.

I did a little, non-scientific, study and had 3 people read the article without telling them why I was asking. When they were done, I asked them who they thought was responsible for the agency. All three said Milwaukee County.

The State of Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, a Jim Doyle agency, is responsible for the problems that the foster care system in Milwaukee County faces. If you read real close and buried in the story it does mention who oversees the program. But from the first sentence of the article, you are led to believe that Milwaukee County runs the program.

No, there's no bias in Journal Sentinel reporting.


On the story itself....

Among the issues uncovered in the report:

• Those involved in Milwaukee County's child welfare system are not sensitive to issues of race and poverty.

• The bureau's computer system does not allow workers to easily determine how many foster homes have space available and what type of children they will accept.

• So many different agencies are providing services within the child welfare system, it is easy for them to avoid responsibility for problems.

• Foster parents are being trained by people who do not have graduate degrees or experience working with troubled children.

And let's not forget about the death of a child that occurred under the watchful eye of Jim Doyle and his administration.

Money Talks

Bruce at BadgerBlogger has some more information on Chandra Miller-Fienen and a coincidental campaign contribution.

Just another example of how Doyle does "business".

Drip, drip, drip...

Documents Shed Light On Doyle's Legal Counsel

Documents Shed Light On Doyle's Legal Counsel

MADISON, Wis. (AP) ― Newly released documents show Gov. Jim Doyle's chief of staff knew the person hired to be the governor's chief legal counsel had not taken the bar exam.

E-mails provided to The Associated Press on Tuesday following an open records request show that Chandra Miller Fienen was given the title of chief legal counsel when hired last year even though she had not taken the bar exam in Wisconsin.

Miller Fienen resigned abruptly on Friday. Doyle's spokesman Lee Sensenbrenner says she did pass the bar after being hired, but for an unknown reason did not get licensed as an attorney.

One e-mail from Doyle's chief of staff, Susan Goodwin, to Miller Fienen dated June 29, 2008, mentions that one issue the two needed to discuss was "taking the bar."

drip, drip, drip...

Doyle's Choo Choo Train Sets

Governor Doyle likes to claim his little choo choo train project is the most "shovel-ready" rail project in the Midwest.

“We’re maybe one of the only states in the country ... if not the only one that’s actually planned for this moment,” Doyle declared July 17 in announcing a new partnership with the Spanish train company, Talgo, to provide sleek new rail cars. “This truly is the most shovel-ready rail project in the Midwest and, I think, the U.S.”

The problem is, that it is far from reality. There has not been sufficient research to support his argument. Before we run off and spend hundreds of millions of tax payer dollars, don't you think we should have the facts?

In a rare example of great investigative reporting Lexie Clinton of the Janesville Gazette helps show why this is far from "the most shovel-ready rail project in the Midwest".

-- Wisconsin officials don’t know how many people currently commute along the route between Milwaukee and Madison. State transportation spokesman Christopher Klein countered that record ridership in Wisconsin on Amtrak, the nation’s passenger rail service, shows the state is ready for more. “Wisconsin doesn’t need to prove we want to ride trains,” Klein said. “We already have.”

-- Officials in four cities where stops are planned—Brookfield, Madison, Oconomowoc and Watertown—are enthusiastic supporters but remain unaware of many of the details. Klein said Wisconsin is ahead of most states in planning but cited a federal report that acknowledged some details aren’t worked out because “states have had little time to prepare for a ... program for intercity passenger rail of this magnitude.”

-- Critics question the viability of the planned stop at the Madison airport, which is nearly 6 miles from the city’s major downtown destinations. Klein said bringing the train downtown would add at least half an hour to the trip, which would be “extremely undesirable” for passengers not stopping in Madison.

-- Other benefits of the project have been thrown into doubt by a recent U.S. Government Accountability Office report that concluded rail projects would have “little impact on the congestion, environmental, energy and other issues that face the U.S. transportation system.”

-- The description “high-speed” is a misnomer. State transportation officials say the train likely would average about 70 mph the first few years. The train is expected to travel up to 110 mph by 2015 once the state completes additional safety improvements.

Read the rest of her article.

h/t Free Whitewater .

Wisconsin needs to go in a new direction

From the StevensPointJournal.com, an article by Scott Walker.

Wisconsin deserves a government that puts the needs of its citizens first, a state that places public safety and the education of its children above the demands of the special interests. We deserve a government that finds new ways to do more with less, not one that looks for new ways to tax families and employers when they can least afford it.

With so many Wisconsin families and employers struggling to make ends meet, it is difficult to understand why Gov. Doyle and the legislature would decide to raise taxes and fees by more than $2 billion while increasing new state spending by $3.6 billion.

To make it worse, they are not being honest with the taxpayers.

The governor says that the budget protects the middle class. In reality, this budget protects government at the expense of our families and employers. It will force families to pay more for property taxes, automobile insurance, nursing home and hospital care, and cell phone use. At the same time, it reduces state funding for law enforcement, local government services and even allows for the early release of criminals into our communities.

Gov. Doyle and legislative leaders say their tax increases are balanced with deep cuts in state spending. However, they actually increased state spending by 6 percent and included $37 million for legislative pork projects that range from renovating a local opera house to buying recycling bins. But even with the deep cuts to public safety and a massive $2 billion tax increase, Wisconsin will be left with a $2 billion deficit in the next state budget.

According to Chief Executive magazine, Wisconsin is ranked as the 43rd best state in the nation to do business -- near the bottom. What have Gov. Doyle and legislative leaders done to improve that ranking? They increased the capital gains tax on business investment by $242 million. This will only drive more employers and jobs out of Wisconsin.

We need to take our state in a new direction founded on the principles of limited government, economic growth and personal freedom.

Through their ingenuity, hard work and determination, the people of Wisconsin have made our state a great place to live, work and raise a family. Our companies are recognized as world leaders in everything from manufacturing motorcycles to making a better bovine. We are famous for our Midwestern work ethic. In fact, Wisconsin once led the nation in reform-changing welfare and providing hope to low-income families through education choice and charter schools.

Wisconsinites want government to live within its means and to set spending priorities that reflect their own priorities, rather than seek ever-increasing amounts of taxpayer money for programs that serve few, if any.

It is not enough to tinker around the edges of failed public policy. We need to change the way Madison thinks as well as the way it does business, but I need your help. Together, we can put government back on the side of the people and build a Wisconsin we can believe in again.

It is so nice to know there are still some politicians that understand what needs to be done and are looking to protect the taxpayers of this state. Walker is going to be a great Governor!

NOW they want to be sure.

Well, how nice that they now want to take the time to be sure things are as they should be. Too bad they couldn't have taken the time to actually find out if Ms. Miller Fienen was licensed to practice law in the state of Wisconsin before making her Chief Legal Counsel.

From the Wisconsin State Journal:

Gov. Jim Doyle is reviewing the work of his unlicensed former legal counsel to make sure she didn't inadvertently overstep her bounds, a spokesman said.

Chandra Miller Fienen resigned Friday amid revelations that she was not licensed to practice law in the state. On Thursday, an aide to Doye told the Wisconsin State Journal that Miller Fienen had not practiced law or represented Doyle in court while serving as his legal counsel.

"We think it's highly unlikely that she overstepped her authority," Doyle spokesman Lee Sensenbrenner said today. "We are doing a review just to be sure."

Friday was the last day for Miller Fienen, the daughter of Sen. Mark Miller, D-Monona, in the $100,000 a year job. Sensenbrenner said there were no plans so far for replacing Miller Fienen.

Doyle's missteps hurting Wisconsin

It's nice to see that the media is finally paying attention and seeing the mistakes that Jim Doyle continues to make. Here's an editorial from Sheboyganpress.com:

Editorial: Doyle's missteps hurting Wisconsin

Last week was a rough one for Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle

First, Doyle was roasted in editorials around the state for pushing a no-bid contract to spend $47.5 million on two sets of high-speed trains. The deal only needed an OK from the Joint Finance Committee, which it got on a party-line vote.

Though legal under an exemption to bidding, the deal for the trains is rightfully being criticized. Doyle claims the Spanish company that makes the trains was the only company interested in Wisconsin.

But how can the taxpayers really know unless the high-speed trains, which still have some serious questions surrounding them, were put up for competitive bids?

Then on Friday, a top member of Doyle's legal team, Chandra Miller Fienen, abruptly resigned when it was pointed out that she is not licensed to practice law in Wisconsin.

Miller Fienen, the daughter of state Sen. Mark Miller, co-chairman of the powerful Join Finance Committee, is listed as a member of Doyle's Office of Legal Council. Though she does not represent the governor or the state in court, she still gives legal advice to Doyle.

Doyle's choice of an unlicensed lawyer so closely connected to a state lawmaker — Miller Fienen said she came back to Wisconsin to run her father's political campaign — to advise him is troubling.

The no-bid contract spending $47.5 million of taxpayer money on high-speed trains is much more troubling because the state should not be spending that kind of money without competitive bids.

Miller-Fienen made it easy for Doyle to put this blunder behind him by resigning last week. But the cost is confidence in the state's top executive.

We can only hope that the deal Doyle and the Joint Finance Committee made on high-speed trains won't end up costing taxpayers more than it should.

A lesson in how not to budget

Here's a great article on the budget process written by Brett Healy of the MacIver Institute.

What's the bottom line? This budget spends $3.63 billion more than the last budget. This budget takes from Wisconsinites $2.05 billion more in taxes and fees than the last. This budget puts $3.58 billion of spending on the state's credit card. This budget lets local governments raise property taxes by $1.5 billion. And this budget burdens the next budget with future spending promises (a structural deficit) to the tune of $2.05 billion. 2011 isn't even here yet, and we already have spent $2 billion.

Irresponsible Budgeting by Jim Doyle???

Tell me it aint so.

The Leader-Telegram opines about the irresponsible budgeting by our Governor.

Our view: Deferring tough but necessary decisions is irresponsible budgeting.

Gov. Jim Doyle and his fellow Democrats who control the state Legislature expressed pride that for the first time in decades they were able to get a budget passed and signed by the July 1 start of the new two-year budget period.

But an analysis of the final budget by the nonpartisan Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance indicates that a shortcut to make that deadline left a $200 million hole in the budget that Doyle promises to close during the next two years by some unknown means.

I Blame Scott Walker

The Journal Sentinel is always quick to blame Scott Walker whenever he has to look at closing a pool or cutting hours. But it's AMAZING that when he extends pool hours, they can't even mention his name in the story.

One way to beat the heat is to head to a pool. Because of the heat advisory, Milwaukee County Parks is extending hours at all outdoor deep well pools from noon to 6 p.m.

"Cool Waters" in Greenfield Park and the David Schulz Family Aquatic Center in Lincoln Park will be open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

See extended hours here

Stay cool!

Thanks...

This is a new blog and it takes time to build traffic. But I wanted to specifically thank the State of Wisconsin Department of Administration for increasing my stats today. They have been busy, busy, busy.

You have to wonder WHAT they could have been looking at.

Regardless....thanks. :)

BREAKING NEWS - Chandra Miller Fienen Resigns.

From WisPolitics

Chandra Miller Fienan has resigned from her position as Gov. Jim Doyle's legal counsel following reports that she is not licensed to practice law in Wisconsin. (see our post on the topic here)

Her resignation came shortly after the Republican Party of Wisconsin filed a complaint with the Office of Lawyer Regulation, charging she vilolated the state's Rules of Professional Conduct for Attorneys by representing herself as Doyle's cheif legal counsel on official legal documents and govermental boards.

Doyle spokesman said in a statement today that the resignation was voluntarily and effective today. "she realizes that she has placed this office in a difficult position," Sensenbrenner said.

Gee...you think?

She still needs to be prosecuted.

Doyle's DA Dilemma

Although you could probably go a day or two without hearing about anything dynamic that happened in Wood County, it is just as much a part of Wisconsin as Milwaukee County or Dane County. However, it seems as though in his haste to save Wisconsinites from climate change and a train-less commute, Governor Doyle has overlooked one of his responsibilities to the people of Wood County. He has left the Wood County District Attorney position, to which he is required to make an appointment, vacant for over four months following the departure of former DA, Todd Wolf to a circuit court judgeship.

Read the full article here

Given Governor Doyle’s alleged hardnosed stance on crime and punishment, I find it strange that he hasn’t found the time to finalize his selection for the position. To put the best possible construction on it, let's assume Governor Doyle is trying to save money and limit his carbon emissions by not traveling all the way to Wood County to appoint something as insignificant as a District Attorney. He's always thinking about all of his constituents. Thanks, Governor Doyle!

Jim Doyle hiring illegals?

Mark Belling broke a story today that is simply astounding. Governor Doyle's Chief General Counsel is NOT LICENSED to practice in the State of Wisconsin!!!

You have GOT to be kidding me. (No, of course not.)

Chandra Miller Fienen, daughter of State Senator Mike Miller, has been employed by Jim Doyle for about a year. You would think this would have been discovered in the vetting process. Or maybe, just maybe, she would have told him that she isn't licensed to practice law in Wisconsin. You know, her main function.

She came to Wisconsin from California (where she is licensed) and obtained a job with the Department of Commerce as an Executive Assistant in 2007. That's quite a promotion to Chief General Counsel for the Governor of the State of Wisconsin!

Problem is, she's breaking the law by practicing without a license. Shameful. Governor Doyle needs to fire her and she needs to be investigated by the appropriate authorities for prosecution.

Listen to Belling's podcast (1st hour - part one and part two)


UPDATE...suprisingly, the Journal Sentinel reports on the story

Reporters and other state officials refer to Miller Fienen as the governor's chief legal counsel. Maistelman said that was his belief as well. But her official title is "senior adviser." In correspondence, she lists her workplace as office of legal counsel in Doyle's office.

Sorry...that still stinks to high heaven. She can't sign correspondence as "Chief Legal Counsel" and say she is just a "senior adviser". Oh, and her license in California is listed as "suspended".

Ummm, It's Kapanke.

I know, it's a trivial issue, but he should know better...

Mark Neumann "Tweeted" today:

"About to step into a meeting with Sen. Dan Kerpanke."

Is Mark really that far removed from state politics that he does not know that the Senator from the 32nd district is Dan KAPANKE.

You know...that guy who has announced he is running for Congress against Ron Kind. One of 33 State Senators and one of only 15 GOP State Senators.

If Mr. Neumann is going to run for Governor, he might want to get to know the legislators. Especially the ones on "our" side of the aisle.

Grass Fires

This past spring, something remarkable began to happen across the country that seemed to signal the beginning of the end of the Democratic honeymoon that had existed, at least nominally, on the local and national level. People, furious with their government over the reckless and economically fatal spending that had taken place in Congress in the form of bailouts, stimuli, and irresponsible budgeting, began to take to the streets and protest as part of what came to be known as the “Tea Party Movement.” People who watched as their savings went up in smoke while their taxes skyrocketed showed up in droves to give their representatives in the government on the local and national levels an earful. Outside of only a couple of isolated incidents that I’m aware of, the protestors were peaceful despite their anger. On the whole, most would consider what happened to be a huge success that sent a clear message to the government to stop socializing private industries, increasing the size and scope of the government and the welfare state, and to stop doling out their money for dead-end and brain-dead projects.

The movement was non-partisan and it was aimed at multiple levels of government and all irresponsible officials, regardless of their party affiliation. Believe me, I stood on the capitol lawn this April next to a gentleman who was not only vocally upset with Governor Doyle and the Democrats, but began to shout furiously when Republican Congressman Paul Ryan took the stage because he had voted for the original TARP (Troubled Assets Relief Program) spending bill. However, that's not what the media wants you to hear. They want you to believe that the "Tea Party Movement” and, more recently, the demonstrations taking place at healthcare reform town hall meetings are, at best, pockets of cranky, old, white, sore loser Republicans who want to prevent the government from fixing all of your problems.

On the national level, the media has been working hard to dismiss the growing discontentment among average citizens as nothing more than an “Astroturf” movement orchestrated by major corporations and the insurance companies that are not on board with some of the changes that Obama is proposing. The news media would have you believe that anybody who could possibly have an opinion that is different than those of President Obama and the Democrats in Congress is obviously working for some large, Republican machine somewhere, if not, taking direct orders from their arch nemesis, Rush Limbaugh.

What they do not understand is that this was a tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon. It was there the entire time begging to be shouted from the rooftops, but nobody could quite put their finger on it. All it took was for somebody to give it a name and light the match to start this grass-roots explosion.

Why am I rehashing all of this? Because I'm sick and tired of being put down by representatives, senators, congressman, "czars", pundits, talking heads, and everybody all the way up to Barack Obama. I am sick of left wing media personalities from Keith Olbermann to Contessa Brewer and funny men from Stephen Colbert to David Letterman downplaying what is going on in America right now. I am tired of hearing that everybody who is upset with the government is a sore loser or a shill for some kind of Republican special interest. If this is the only soap box that I have, then so be it.

I am not old, I am not rich, I am not bald, and I am not working for anybody's special interest.

What I am is a college student who is frustrated that I am about to enter a Wisconsin job market that has been seriously depleted because of foolish policies, burdensome taxation, and over-the-top governance. I have watched for the past seven years as Jim Doyle has chased jobs and industries out of this state before I even had the chance to fill out an application for a full-time job. Meanwhile, he courted and rewarded his pet special interests and doubled-back on his promises to stop heavy taxation in Wisconsin. I am a young man who is sick of having to listen to secular academia tell him that his opinion does not matter because anything but outright liberalism is hateful and outdated. I am a young man who is tired of watching this state slip closer and closer to the gutter because the union-stained public school system is churning out student after student who could tell you what Samuel L. Jackson did at the last Academy Award ceremony but could not tell you anything about Samuel Adams, save for the fact that he has a brewery named after him. These teachers still receive paychecks and pensions! I am a young man who is fed up with hearing his peers regurgitate tired, angry, and misinformed liberal monologues that they have picked up from Hollywood gossip shows, staggeringly dimwitted protest songs, and a public school system that is actively seeking to distort this country's amazing history. I am tired of watching a genuine, grass-roots movement that is seeking to reign in our out of control government being ravaged by people in the tank for the left. Most of all, I am MAD AS HELL and I am NOT going to take it anymore!

From where I'm sitting, 2010 cannot come soon enough.

How many business have to leave before Wisconsin's "leaders" act?

Here's an excellent post on Doyle's (and the legislature's) mismanagement by Mike H. at "Letters in Bottles":

Our political leaders have brought this problem on themselves. During the last few budgets and budget repair bills they have not cut spending or made government more efficient. Instead they have raised almost every conceivable tax on businesses. Such irresponsible policies have very serious consequences and we are beginning to see the end results of those bad policies.

We must change our tax code in Wisconsin to welcome and encourage business and job growth. Passing idiotic measures such as combined reporting only make the cost to businesses that much higher. In a recession as deep as this one, we cannot afford to shoot ourselves in the foot, yet in the last budget the Democrats in the legislature and Governor Doyle aimed a howitzer at our big toe.

Read the rest

Worth a Thousand Words

Last night I happened upon an image that genuinely disturbed me and bothered me enough to cause me to spend an inordinate amount of time in reflection. The image was not bloody, gory, spooky, or even doctored to give a false impression. However, in the same way that it isn’t so much what President Obama says but how he says it that produces results, it wasn’t so much what was on the picture but the way in which it was used – perhaps even the fact that it was used at all – that got to me.

The image was a picture of Scott Walker and his family. It appeared on a relatively obscure left wing blog that features a link to, among others, Frank Rich’s page with the New York Times. The picture was featured above an attempt at a tongue-in-cheek top ten countdown of reasons that Scott Walker changed churches almost four years ago. To me, the appearance of the picture and the nature of the post harkened back to the 2008 presidential campaign and the way that Sarah Palin’s family was not only thrust into the national spotlight, but subjected to unending and unmerited scrutiny. Not only will Scott Walker be subjected to the politics of personal destruction indefinitely, but the potential for his family to be dragged along for the ride is great. Being a Conservative in the public eye for over a decade and a half has probably numbed Mr. Walker to many of the attacks leveled against him on a daily basis, but as 2010 creeps over the horizon and into focus, both he and his supporters should be aware that the attacks will not only become more prevalent but that they will also become dirtier, more unscrupulous, and more shameless than ever before. Everything from the clothes on his back to apparently his family’s church life will be fair game to the left wing establishment in this state.

It’s as sickening as it is angering to think that even the most prominent paper in Southeastern Wisconsin probably won’t be going out of its way to ensure any sense of civility or balance during this election cycle so long as the scale is tipped to the left. Anybody who doubts that elements of the Journal Sentinel are in cahoots with the Doyle administration hasn’t been paying attention. In their minds and the minds of the rest of the left wing establishment and blogosphere, it is their job to protect a governor whose popularity continues to decline almost as rapidly as the productivity and economy of the state he governs. This all for the sake of the “D” affixed to his name and all of the useful connotations that letter has for their various causes and special interests. Unfortunately for Scott Walker and his family, protecting Jim Doyle for any reason will also inevitably entail blatant and repeated attempts to destroy Mr. Walker’s credibility, denigrate his accomplishments, and even shake the foundations of his family life in unethical and untruthful manners. Regardless, Walker must soldier on because Wisconsin deserves better than a disconnected and self-interested governor who is more concerned about playing with his toy trains than protecting the jobs that still exist in this state and preventing further hemorrhaging of the jobs that are bleeding into any of the other 42 states that rank higher than us in business climate.

Four more years of Jim Doyle: now that’s a frightening picture.

Welcome, Tom!

I have been receiving a great response to the blog. (Albeit, not so much with comments...ahem) Thank you for the feedback!

One person who is passionate about seeing Walker become our next Governor is someone that goes by the moniker "Tom Servo". I have invited him to join "Retire Doyle" and author some comments.

I've come to know "Tom" and have found him to be intelligent and thoughtful. He believes that Doyle is destroying Wisconsin and that Scott Walker is best positioned to retire him. His quirky sense of humor and youthful energy (he will be a Junior in College in the fall) will be a nice addition to the blog.

Hey...Doyle, you've got some REAL work to do here!

Our wonderful Governor has more important things to do than to help create jobs, reduce spending or cutting taxes.

Governor Schwarzenegger plows on for his green agenda by announcing the Governor's Global Climate Summit2: On the Road to Copenhagen. The summit will be held in Los Angeles from September 30th to October 2nd. For a second year climate leaders from around the world will gather to collaborate on efforts to further the global fight against climate change. Following 2008's successful meeting, this year’s effort will continue to expand the network of subnational cooperation to stimulate economic growth, reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, create green jobs, promote clean energy solutions and reduce greenhouse gas pollution.

The summit, co-hosted by Governor Schwarzenegger and other U.S. Governors including Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle and Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, and in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme, brings together like-minded leaders from different countries and cultures to share policies and strategies on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while growing green economies.

Doyle would rather be in California hosting a summit for a non-existent problem than solving real problems back home.

I think that pretty much sums up what he thinks of Wisconsin and how he has governed.

Link to Story

Some National Recognition for Walker

Great National Article on Walker

Governor Jim Doyle would do well to remember the Green Lake Reporter when planning his reelections’ next media blitz. Buried inside this week’s issue is a key journalistic clue, an opinion column entitled “Wisconsin’s citizens deserve better” written by Scott Walker, candidate for governor. Walker, Milwaukee County’s Executive, is one of four Republicans vying to unseat Doyle in 2010. A survey research firm, Public Policy Polling (PPP), found that Doyle has just over a 34 percent approval rating and trails two 2010 opponents in hypothetical contests: Scott Walker (48-40) and former Congressman Mark Neumann (42-41). Compared with President Obama’s overall 63 percent approval rating in Wisconsin this June, U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold’s 56 percent approval and the relatively low polling strength of Republican challengers, PPP concludes the results of the gubernatorial contest sampling “has a lot more to do with Doyle than it does with either of them.”

Governor Doyle misses the mark....again.

Governor Doyle traveled to Minnesota and proclaimed he was going to save the state MILLIONS of dollars. Seems it's not exactly that much. How about $74,000 so far.

Four months after Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle and Republican Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty released a plan outlining areas where the border states could work together, many of the ideas have been scrapped as unworkable, delayed or are still being worked out.

The governors originally put the savings at $10 million apiece, but Doyle's office estimated Wisconsin's savings to date at just $74,313, mainly from getting a better price on software from a Minnesota contract and piggybacking on a Minnesota transportation study. Pawlenty's office refused to offer a comparable estimate, but of 17 Minnesota agencies surveyed by the AP, only the Revenue Department quantified a benefit from the collaboration: $2,565.88 in outstanding debt collected from Wisconsin tax refunds. Most others said they anticipated savings but couldn't say how much.

Guess you just can't believe anything that comes out of his mouth.

Here's the rest of the story. (Notice that this is the Chicago Tribune...don't hold your breath waiting to see this in the Journal Sentinel.)

Lies from the Left

There is always room for legitimate differences with regard to a politician and their policies. What I can't stomach are the blogs out there that spread absolute lies about someone they don't like. I don't care for Jim Doyle and I feel he is completely wrong for Wisconsin, but I will not knowingly spread lies about him or his administration. What's even worse is that when confronted with the truth, these blogs continue to lie.

The Hispanic Conservative blog does a great job of dispelling lies about Scott Walker's objections to some of the "stimulus" money.

A Useful Fiction about Milwaukee Executive Scott Walker

Have you ever become proficient on an issue only to see some partisan hack deliberately skew the facts hoping that others won’t see the deception? We see revisionist history all the time. But let’s be honest, even reasonable people can have different interpretations of an event. However, it’s something entirely different when someone skews the facts even though he was corrected on it in the past. This article is about correcting those who feel the need to tell the same fiction over and over again.

Back in January, there was a big ruckus over a story published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about Scott Walker refusing federal stimulus funds. Columnist Steve Schultz entitled his piece, “Walker Says No Thanks to Federal Stimulus Dollars”, implying that Walker would reject any available stimulus funding for Milwaukee County. After local leaders and politicians had responded harshly to Walker’s position, Walker published an editorial a week later in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel trying to clarify his position.

Local liberal bloggers went wild with the story and recycled the same old content ad nauseam in their posts for months – yes, I said for months. After awhile, it got nauseating. So I decided to do some research to see if Walker was getting a fair shake. I rummaged the internet reading article after article. I read every relevant piece on the topic in the local media. I also read both of Walker’s editorials, one in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the other in the Wall Street Journal. After reading many opposing points of view, I called the Walker Office to verify if Schultze had in deed misrepresented Walker's position. The answer was a resounding “yes.”

Go read the rest

Now, let's get to work electing Scott Walker

While I applaud the massive effort that went into the campaign to recall Doyle (and the reason for the recall) I believe this is the right decision.

W.I.N. Decides to Halt Governor Doyle Recall
The Liberty Tree Lantern was informed yesterday afternoon by Vince Schmuki, a leader of Wisconsin Interests Now (W.I.N.), that the groups efforts to recall Governor Doyle have been halted.

..........

Further, we all know getting a good guy in as Gov. is not enough because we would then have a Walker/Milwaukee County Board gridlock situation repeated all over again. We must remove bad small-time players and get nomination papers circulated for good conservative candidates who can replace them and help out a conservative Governor. We have been in the past and can still be a force for change in our state in 2010.

We can still have a long lasting positive impact for the betterment of our state if we learn from our mistakes, refocus and move on to the next citizen effort. I hope that you will join in the vision and understand.

- - Vince Schmuki/ Representing WIN-Wisconsinites Interest Now

We're too close to the 2010 election and ALL efforts should be put into electing Scott Walker as our next Governor and getting him the help he needs in the legislature.

THIS is leadership that Wisconsin Needs!

Walker Touts Fiscal Frugality

Walker has been Milwaukee County executive since 2002, when he won a special election. Since taking office Walker said he has had seven straight budgets with no tax levy increases from previous years, has cut debt by 10 percent, improved the county's bond rating and reduced Milwaukee County government's workforce by more than 20 percent.

Contrast that to Jim Doyle. Governor Doyle has raised taxes, increased debt, increased spending and went back on his campaign promise to cut 10,000 positions.

Scott Walker will bring the leadership our state needs.

Inept Doyle Administration

Wow...strong words. Even the ultra liberal Capital Times in Madison knows how inept Doyle and his administration is.

... Doyle shares the blame.

His Department of Commerce is a ridiculously inept agency that spends most of its time preparing press releases that try to explain why old factories are closing and new ones are locating elsewhere. And he seems to be more interested in taking "trade missions" to distant lands than in rolling up his sleeves and doing everything necessary to retain what remains of Wisconsin's manufacturing sector.

Read the rest

Why doesn't Jim Doyle like Wisconsin Companies?

Milwaukee leaders want Talgo production at Super Steel

Huh...what if Jim Doyle would have just asked Super Steel if they wanted a shot at the $47 Million dollar job? Instead, Doyle gives a $47 Million dollar NO-BID contract to a company that isn't even in our country!

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, state Rep. Jon Richards (D-Milwaukee) and other members of the state Legislature this week are requesting that assembly of the trains Wisconsin agreed to purchase earlier this month be done at the Super Steel plant in Milwaukee.

Richards sent a letter co-signed by other members of the Assembly and Senate who represent Milwaukee to Antonio Perez, the president and CEO of Spanish rail care (sic) manufacturer Talgo Inc. The letter encouraged Perez to choose the Super Steel plant in Milwaukee because of the unique benefits this location holds over others in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle announced July 17 that the state will buy two, 14-car trains from Talgo for $47 million under an agreement that includes establishment of new assembly and maintenance facilities in the state. The train sets will be put into service on the Amtrak Hiawatha Service between Chicago and Milwaukee with the cars pulled by existing locomotives.

Super Steel manufactures rail cars as well as metal products and equipment for the railroad, construction, agricultural and industrial markets.

You would think that our Governor would prefer to give the business to a company that already has the capabilities and is located in Wisconsin - Milwaukee County. Wouldn't it have been easier than having to jump through Doyle's hoops now to beg for the business? Could it be Jim Doyle was just playing politics because Fred Luber, known Republican and Walker Supporter is an owner of Super Steel??? Now Super Steel is threatening to move their business elsewhere.

Nice job Doyle, way to save jobs! Maybe next time you could just ASK the Wisconsin company if they would like to compete for the business.

Greetings!

Thanks for stopping by.

I decided to create a place to vent and to share what I hear and see about Jim Doyle and how wrong he is for Wisconsin. I'll be up front and say that this blog will be entirely about retiring Jim Doyle and electing Scott Walker as our next Governor. (Sorry Mr. Neumann, but you should stay in the home building business or run against Feingold. We already have a great candidate.)

I'm honestly not much of a writer, nor do I have a great deal of time to spend here. I don't want to hear about and I’m not going to apologize for grammatical or spelling errors of mine or anyone else that comments. I want to share ideas and hear others thoughts. Sharing thoughts shouldn't require a Masters degree just to please the grammar police.

So, feel free to stop by when you have a chance. I look forward to hearing from you.