I do not believe in conspiracy theories. I always try to believe in the good of my fellow man. That being said…I have no idea of what is going on in Waukesha County. Neither do a lot of my friends and relatives. I have no idea what my Republican friends believe because I only have one left at this point and I do my best not to discuss politics with him anymore.
More below the fold…
Here in Wisconsin Fitwalkerstan we always try to give our neighbors the benefit of the doubt. If someone says they made a mistake we tend to honestly believe them. If they make the same mistake twice – well, then we start looking at them and wonder if they have been spending a little more time at the local tavern than they should be.
As many other great diaries on this subject have already stated, this is not Kathy Nickolaus’ first rodeo where votes were found after the fact. She also worked for David Prosser and was granted immunity during the great caucus scandal. For those of you unfamiliar with the caucus scandal I will just briefly say it was the most disgusting thing I had ever seen in Wisconsin politics – until now.
I want to believe Ms. Nickolaus. I really do; however, given her past history and her inability to understand that you do not have to click save in Microsoft Access, or even the fact that she is using a crappy product manage elections on what appears to be an unauthorized computer system…I am just not buying this.
After everything the Republican Party of Wisconsin Fitzwalkerstan has pulled in the last few months I simply cannot believe them. Here is what they have done so far:
- Broken a covenant with public workers that has existed for sixty years.
- Ignored the will of the people.
- Threatened illegal action against the WI 14 (i.e. threatened to arrest them.)
- Restricted free speech.
- Restricted access to the State Capitol, violating a court order.
- Broke the open meetings law.
- The governor said he “Thought about” putting agitators in the protest marches.
- Attempted to implement the collective bargaining law, thus ignoring a court order.
- Passed a bill with fiscal items in it without a quorum – or proper notice.
- Passed a bill in the Assembly where the Assembly members were only given seventeen seconds to vote.
This list could go on and on…but I think you all get the picture…
Now, two days after the election I am supposed to believe that approximately 7500 votes (just enough to prevent a state paid for recount) were discovered in the reddest county of the state where the county clerk is a diehard Republican, has done this before, and who used to work for the Conservative candidate in this election. Oh, and the right wing blogosphere and right wing talk radio knew about this before the General Accountability Board and the public. Really?!? I swear - you cannot make this shit up.
As a lifelong Wisconsin Fitzwalkerstan resident…I have lost faith in my elected officials. In Wisconsin we have always had a tradition of honesty in government. The Caucus scandal rocked that tradition; however, we managed to survive it. This time, my Midwestern values have been shocked to there very core. Next time the pizza guy tells me thirty minutes for my pizza, I won’t believe him. Even though he is a fellow Wisconsinite Fitzwakerstanian. Someone tells me they made a mistake…sorry, I ain’t buying it.
Thanks Governor Grand Imperial Poobah of the Great Democratic Republic of Wisconsin Fitzwakerstan, Scott (I killed the Super Bowl Buzz for the State) Walker. Your quest to be the most reactionary of all the Republican Governors Grand Imperial Poobahs has succeeded. You sir - are going to roll the clock back to 1955…a 1955 that exists only in your mind. So what if along the way you destroy a few Wisconsin traditions – like being nice to each other, transparency in government, or fair and honest dealings in the legislature. Not a big deal to you if that gets in your way. What's next...going to outlaw the Friday night fish fry at the local supper club?
Me, I have come to realize that I live in a banana republic where the rule of law no longer exists. It is a sad day for me and all of Wisconsin.