Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Fund Raising for Governor's Race "Out of Proportion"/Disclosure and Redistricting Reform After the Recall Election


Reform Update
May 30, 2012


CONTACT:
Jay Heck – 608/256-2686


  1. Fund Raising for Governor's Race "Out of Proportion"
  2. Special/Extraordinary Session Needed to Pass Disclosure and Redistricting Reform Legislation
  3. Walker and Barrett on Political Reform (Again)
  4. Negative Campaign Advertising -- Does it Work?
  5. Popular Ideas That Go Nowhere


1. Fund Raising figures for the latest reporting period for Governor Scott Walker for the June 5th recall election were reported late yesterday afternoon. Walker raked in about $5.2 million in less than a month -- from April 24th to May 21st. Most of the money was from outside of Wisconsin. That brings Walkers' fund raising total since January, 2011 to over $30 million -- the most ever, and an obscene figure that all Wisconsinites should hope is never repeated again. Walker's challenger, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett raked in about $3.1 million during the same period -- also huge. But his total fund raising figures are far below Walker's and he raised a higher proportion of his campaign funds from within Wisconsin. CC/WI Director Jay Heck commented on the latest figures for this Wisconsin State Journal article.



2.
The seemingly endless recall election process in Wisconsin will finally reach end a week from today -- Tuesday, June 5th. Regardless of who prevails in the contest for Governor and for the four State Senate seats in play, there are two political reforms with bipartisan support that are all set to be considered, passed,and signed into law and it could be accomplished by the end of June. And neither would cost the taxpayers of Wisconsin a dime. In fact, if both of these reforms became law, Wisconsin taxpayers would save millions of dollars.

Current Governor Scott Walker or new Governor Tom Barrett should call the Wisconsin Legislature into Special Session. Or, Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald and current Co-State Senate Majority Leaders Mark Miller or Scott Fitzgerald should call the Wisconsin Legislature into Extraordinary Session and thereby demonstrate to the citizens of Wisconsin that bipartisan political reform can still happen -- even in a state as bitterly polarized as Wisconsin. In fact, enactment into law of these two reforms before the primary and general elections is exactly the kind of first step that is needed to begin the needed process of ratcheting down the vitriol, hate and resentment that has torn Wisconsin's state government and its citizens apart.

Here are the two legislative measures drafted during the 2011-2012 session that adjourned in March, but which could quickly be reintroduced in Special or Extraordinary Session Bill:

Disclosure
: For years, and most dramatically in 2011 and this year, outside special interest groups have been spending millions of dollars to influence the outcome of Wisconsin elections and the voters have no idea who the donors are behind the mostly negative attack ads. Wisconsin voters deserve to know who the donors to these outside groups are -- and it could be accomplished easily with the right leadership and political will to make it happen. Minnesota has a disclosure law. Even Illinois does. But not Wisconsin. Yet. Let's have disclosure in place for the upcoming August primary and November general elections! The legislation is already written and ready to go.

In February, Wisconsin State Senator Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) introduced long-anticipated electioneering disclosure legislation that had bipartisan support. Senate Bill 446 would require outside groups who engage in sending widely-disseminated communications (primarily broadcast ads and mass mailings) that are really campaign communications masquerading as issue advocacy during the period 60 days or less prior to an election (primary or general) to disclose their donors. Currently in Wisconsin, outside special interest groups escape state disclosure, reporting and registration requirements by avoiding the use of the "magic words" such as "vote for," "defeat," "support," and the like. Obviously there are many other ways to engage in electioneering without using those express terms. The donors behind these phony issue ads -- which have escaped basic disclosure for years -- would finally be revealed to the public if SB 446 were enacted into law.

The narrowly decided (5 to 4) U.S. Supreme Court Citizens United vs. F.E.C. decision two years ago opened up the floodgates for unlimited corporate, union and individual money to be used by supposedly "independent" expenditure groups (or individuals) to influence the outcome of federal and Wisconsin elections. But that same Court opined 8 to 1 that Congress and the states ought to strongly consider passing disclosure legislation or administrative rules so that voters would have some idea about who is behind the torrent of special interest campaign cash about to be dumped on them.

CC/WI worked closely with Senator Erpenbach -- with legal advice from the Brennan Center for Justice of New York University and from national Common Cause -- in fine tuning Senate Bill 446 so that it will be effective and constitutional. In addition to Jon Erpenbach, the other State Senate co-sponsors at introduction are: Michael Ellis of Neenah, Tim Cullen of Janesville, Dave Hansen of Green Bay, Jim Holperin of Conover, Julie Lassa of Stevens Point, Bob Wirch of Pleasant Prairie, Sheila Harsdorf of River Falls, Fred Risser of Madison, and Tim Carpenter and Chris Larson, both of Milwaukee. SB 446 was also co-sponsored by Representatives Penny Bernard Schaber of Appleton, Sondy Pope-Roberts of Middleton, Kelda Roys of Madison, Fred Clark of Baraboo, Bob Turner of Racine, Sandy Pasch of Whitefish Bay, Terese Berceau of Madison and Gary Hebl of Sun Prairie.

The Republican co-sponsors are Senators Ellis and Harsdorf. Others would support this legislation too. It is long overdue. Senate Bill 446 can be introduced as part of Special or Extraordinary Session Bill 1.


Redistricting Reform
: Last July, the Wisconsin Legislature passed and Scott Walker signed into law the most partisan, secretive redistricting plan in Wisconsin's history. The majority Republicans in the State Senate and Assembly concocted this monstrosity entirely in secret, utilizing hundreds of thousands of dollars of scarce taxpayer money to pay partisan lawyers. It was introduced on a Friday and given a single public hearing the following Tuesday. There was no alternative redistricting map that had any legislative, editorial or widespread citizen support and no other process to undertake redistricting was considered.

It didn't have to be that way and should not be that way the next time redistricting is undertaken in 2021-22. But to ensure it doesn't happen then, the Legislature and Governor need to act now. It becomes much more difficult to enact non-partisan redistricting with each passing month towards the next Census. Do it now -- right after the June 5th recall -- so that Wisconsin citizens can have confidence that the Legislature and Governor are working toward addressing the best interests of citizens instead of for their own, narrow, partisan, selfish self-interest.

Last year CC/WI worked with Rep. Brett Hulsey (D-Madison) and a number of other legislators to construct an alternative, non-partisan redistricting process plan -- Assembly Bill 198 -- that would have a neutral entity like the Legislative Reference Bureau and/or the Government Accountability Board draw the district lines without partisan political considerations but rather according to community interests. The Legislature would simply be able to vote the plan up or down. Such a process has been the law in Iowa since 1980 and has worked incredibly well. Legislative and Congressional elections are far more competitive there and the districts "make sense" and are contiguous and compact -- not full of holes or lizard-shaped. And, it costs next to nothing to accomplish in Iowa and they did it all -- out in the open -- in just a few weeks.

This is the vehicle we need in Wisconsin to reform our disgraceful redistricting process.

Disclosure and redistricting reform before the 4th of July! Contact your legislators and the next Governor (Scott Walker or Tom Barrett) and tell them you want these reforms now. Here is how to contact your legislator. If you are not sure who your State Senator and State Representative are go here.



3. In case you missed it when it appeared in the Green Bay Press-Gazette on May 20th, here are the positions of Scott Walker and Tom Barrett on Wisconsin political reform issues, written by CC/WI director Jay Heck last Sunday and today in The Capital Times.


4. Wisconsin has been very fortunate to gain a relatively new and very reputable monitor of money in politics here. The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism recently looked into why political campaigns investigate so much money and effort into negative political ads. Center writer Bill Lueders, one of the state's long-time leading investigative reporters, talked to CC/WI's director Jay Heck for his perspective in this recent article. What's yours?



5. Here is yet another thought-provoking essay on politics and the human condition by CC/WI Co-Chair, former Republican strategist, writer, thinker and sage -- Bill Kraus. It is posted on our blog site: A Wisconsin Political Fix.



Jay Heck, Executive Director
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 W. Johnson St., Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
608/256-2686

Want Good Government?
Join Common Cause in Wisconsin!
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Monday, May 21, 2012

Walker and Barrett Differ on Key Political Reform Issues


Reform Update
May 21, 2012


CONTACT:
Jay Heck – 608/256-2686


  1. Walker and Barrett Disagree on Political Reform Issues
  2. ALEC Makes Mockery of Wisconsin Lobby and Tax Laws
  3. To Understand the Infamous Citizens United U.S. Supreme Court decision -- Read This Article!


1. As is the case with almost every other issue in the upcoming gubernatorial recall election, there are stark differences in the positions of incumbent Scott Walker and challenger Tom Barrett on how to reform (or not) the political process in Wisconsin. As most Wisconsinites know, issues like knowing what special interest groups are trying to influence your vote, how political campaigns are financed, how the boundaries of state legislative and congressional boundaries are drawn, and access to the polling place -- all underlie how state government works (or doesn't) and what issues of concern to voters will be addressed (or not) during the public policy-making process that follows elections.

The Green Bay Press-Gazette asked Common Cause in Wisconsin (CC/WI) director Jay Heck to delineate the Walker and Barrett positions on political reform in this Sunday guest editorial. Read it and determine which candidate's position most closely mirrors yours.



2. Last Thursday, CC/WI joined the Wisconsin-based Center for Media and Democracy at a Capitol press conference to call on Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen to investigate possible tax violations by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a large and influential nationwide corporate lobbying umbrella organization that wines and dines state legislators in posh resorts in places like New Orleans and Phoenix, who then utilize ALEC "model" legislation (not of Wisconsin origin) of all kinds to ram through the Legislature past an unsuspecting public.

ALEC claims it is a "charity" and does not lobby and therefore reaps tremendous tax benefits by hiding behind this fiction. CC/WI and CMD sent this letter to Van Hollen asking him to look into the lobbying activities of ALEC. CMD also released this detailed, comprehensive report about ALEC's huge influence and involvement with Wisconsin legislators, of whom 49 of our state's 132 state legislators are dues-paying members of ALEC.

There was extensive media coverage of the CMD and CC/WI press conference, including on television here, radio here and here, and in print here and here. The press conference was also carried in its entirety by Wisconsin Eye.



3. As unprecedented sums of corporate wealth and individual campaign cash inundate the recall elections in Wisconsin, as well as the upcoming elections for state and federal office -- and particularly for the U.S. Presidency, it is very important that citizens have a good sense of how this sad state of affairs came to be where it is today. Many of us have a vague sense of the Citizens United vs. F.E.C. decision by the U.S. Supreme Court issued on January 21, 2010 -- which literally opened up the floodgates that for 100 years had blocked unlimited campaign spending by corporations and other entities in the name of staving off some of the gravest excesses of the corrupting influence of money over our federal and state elections and in the public policy-making process that follows elections.

This most excellent article, "Money Unlimited," by Jeffrey Toobin that appears in the May 21st issue of The New Yorker, is an excellent overview of how the decision was made and for what reasons, and why it must and (many, including us, believe) will be overturned and relegated to the trash bin of history. The future of American democracy depends on it -- and as soon as possible.

If you read nothing else about money in politics this year, do read this!



Jay Heck, Executive Director
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 W. Johnson St., Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
608/256-2686

Want Good Government?
Join Common Cause in Wisconsin!
Holding Power Accountable Since 1972

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Friday, May 11, 2012

Walker's "Divide and Conquer" Political Strategy Revealed in Shocking Video


Reform Update
May 10, 2012


CONTACT:
Jay Heck – 608/256-2686


  1. Walker's Plan to Make Wisconsin a "Red State"
  2. Citizens, Legislators & Reformers Gather in Milwaukee for "Reform Forum"
  3. Wisconsin in the Post "Citizens United" Supreme Court Decision


1. As if there was any remaining question about what it was all about, there is none now. The surprise attack by Governor Scott Walker on public employee collective bargaining in February, 2011 was done, not to balance Wisconsin's budget, cut the state's structural deficit or to "save" the jobs of public employees. Oh, that's what Walker and his allies claimed and many Wisconsinites still haven't seen through it. Yet. There are many ways to balance the budget, eliminate the structural deficit and prevent employee layoffs. The Walker "bomb" was packaged to be sold as an economic measure to help Wisconsin.

But the action -- which has torn Wisconsin apart -- was done far more to gain partisan political advantage than it was to improve Wisconsin's economic climate.

Now we know, without any doubt, that the attack on public employees was first and foremost political. It was done to transform Wisconsin into a red state (solidly Republican) by crushing the political power of unions and others who have often supported Democratic candidates in Wisconsin. Walker, just two weeks after being inaugurated in January of 2011, went to Beloit to see Diane Hendricks, the billionaire owner of ABC Building Supply and a strong Walker supporter. Hendricks has contributed more than $500,000 to Walker since last year -- the single largest campaign contributor in the history of Wisconsin! She wanted something big from Walker and he told her he would deliver. And then, he did. It is quid pro quo politics at its most shocking.

In this amazing video, Hendricks and Walker have this exchange:
"Any chance we'll ever get to be a completely red state and work on these unions -"
"Oh, yeah," Walker broke in.
"- and become a right-to-work?" Hendricks continued. "What can we do to help you?"
"Well, we're going to start in a couple weeks with our budget adjustment bill," Walker said. "The first step is we're going to deal with collective bargaining for all public employee unions, because you use divide and conquer."
Here is the complete story which was broken by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Still think big money plays no significant role in Wisconsin public policy-making? If so, you must be living in a cave in the woods. Under a rock.



2. Last Monday evening, about a hundred citizens gathered at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee for another in CC/WI's continuing series of reform forums entitled "What Ever Happened to Good Government in Wisconsin -- And How Can We Fix It?

Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Janine Geske, State Representative Jon Richards (D-Milwaukee), former State Senator Peggy Rosenzweig (R-Wauwatosa) and CC/WI Director Jay Heck discussed with the audience political reform issues, including Wisconsin's voter photo ID law -- the most extreme in the nation, public financing of elections and disclosure of special interest money, the need for redistricting reform, whether our State Supreme Court Justices should continue to be elected or should we look at a merit selection process, and the Citizens United Supreme Court decision. It was a lively discussion and exchange of views with the audience. Mary Kae Nelson, the President of the League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County moderated the forum.

You can watch the event, filmed by Wisconsin Eye, here.



3. The January, 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision Citizens United vs. F.E.C. is transforming American politics for the worse. The flood of corporate money -- most of it undisclosed -- unleashed by the misguided 5 to 4 decision is drowning out the voices of voters, turning national and state elections into auctions and increasingly steering public policy decisions to the advantage of the few who spend the most campaign cash.

The national publication Governing Magazine recently published this article about what the Citizens United decision is doing to Wisconsin. CC/WI was interviewed for the article and provided extensive background information.



Jay Heck, Executive Director
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 W. Johnson St., Suite 212
Madison, WI 53703
608/256-2686

Want Good Government?
Join Common Cause in Wisconsin!
Holding Power Accountable Since 1972

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Tuesday, May 1, 2012

In the News - May 2012



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Walker's Out-Of-State Millions to Flood Wisconsin Airwaves, Mail Boxes, Phone Lines


Reform Update
May 1, 2012


CONTACT:
Jay Heck – 608/256-2686



1. Walker's Raises $13 Million -- More Than $8 Million of that from Outside of Wisconsin

2. CC/WI Signs On to Lawsuit Against Most Restrictive Voter ID Law in the Nation

3. Political Reform Forum in Milwaukee on May 7th



1. Fasten your seat belts Wisconsinites. It's going to be an even more bumpy ride ahead.

Three month (January 18-April 23) totals for the state recall elections were announced yesterday and embattled Governor Scott Walker pulled in over $13 million dollars. That's more than any candidate for Wisconsin Governor has raised in an entire election cycle-- ever. By far. That's more than $135,000 a day--most from out-of-state. Almost three quarters of the number of Walker's contributions were from out-of-state donors and 63 percent of that $13 million -- or over $8 million -- was not from Wisconsin. During most of the three month period, the $10,000 limit on contributions to Walker was suspended because of a peculiar state law that allows individuals to make unlimited political contributions to candidates who have been recalled. And Walker, who has spent numerous days outside of the state raising campaign cash according to press accounts, has characterized his recall campaign as a national election and has been opening big Republican wallets in Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, Washington, DC and many other places.

During the same three month period, Walker's Democratic opponents have raised just a fraction of what Walker has stuffed into his coffers. Former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk raised $977,000 since January, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who didn't enter the race until March 30th, pulled in $830,000, Secretary of State Doug La Follette took in $118,000 -- all but $6,000 from himself, and State Senator Kathleen Vinehout took in about $44,000.

And then there is the millions of dollars of outside, special interest group money that is already being unleashed in Wisconsin.

For more on all of this, including CC/WI comment, go here  and here.



2. Wisconsin, long one of the top two or three states in the nation in the percentage of eligible voters who participated in elections, was saddled last year with the most extreme and restrictive voter identification law in the nation. It is more extreme than voter identification laws in Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina (which also passed its new law last year), and other states of the Old Confederacy who have long histories of denying many of their citizens the ability to vote.

Why did Republicans ram through this measure and why did Walker sign it?

Because they could.

But now, they are paying the price for trying to deny thousands of Wisconsinites their most basic and sacred act of citizenship -- the right to cast a ballot. The Wisconsin law has been enjoined on constitutional grounds by two Wisconsin judges and it will not be in effect for either the May 8th recall primary election or the recall general election on June 5th. For this very positive development, Wisconsin can thank the heroic leadership and efforts of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin and others for defending democracy.

The Wisconsin photo voter ID law may also violate laws protecting federal voter rights. Last week, CC/WI signed on as amicus to a lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of Wisconsin of the U.S. District Court. To read the brief go here.




3. For five years, CC/WI has organized a series of forums throughout Wisconsin to bring citizens, legislators, advocates and experts of all political viewpoints together to discuss and debate political reform issues such as the Wisconsin, voter ID law, redisticting reform, disclosure of special interest spending in elections and others. Last October, over 160 citizens attended our forum in Wausau. In November, more than 200 people gathered at our Oshkosh Forum and this past March more than 150 filled every chair at our Sheboygan Forum.

Next Monday evening, May 7th (Primary Election Eve), we are hosting a reform forum at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. Panelists include former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Janine Geske, Democratic State Representative Jon Richards, former Republican State Senator Peggy Rosenzweig, Democratic State Senator Chris Larson and CC/WI Director Jay Heck. And you!

For more details about this free event go here.




Jay Heck, Executive Director
Common Cause in Wisconsin
152 W. Johnson St., Suite 212
Madison, WI  53703
608/256-2686

Want Good Government?
Join Common Cause in Wisconsin!
www.CommonCauseWisconsin.org

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