Today is the first day recall petitions can be filed in Wisconsin against officials who were elected in November 2010. Right on cue, someone filed a recall petition against Scott Walker in order to fulfill a friend's last request:
Paperwork to recall Gov. Scott Walker has been filed with state elections officials.
The state Government Accountability Board said the request was filed Friday, the first possible date of the recall. To succeed in forcing a recall election of the Republican governor, organizers must gather 540,000 signatures in 60 days.
The petition was filed by David Brandt of Muskego in Waukesha County and the "Close Friends to Recall Walker" committee. Brandt said in the government filing that he was registering a recall committee to "fulfill my friend's last request."
More than one recall petition can be circulated at a time, and the Democratic Party of Wisconsin will file its own petition, in conjunction with community activists, on Nov. 15. However, today's filing does mean that Scott Walker can start immediately raking in unlimited donations. As such, Wisconsin Democrats are questioning the motives behind this petition filing.
Whatever the reasons for this petition filing, the good news is that Wisconsin Republicans appear to have failed in their attempts to increase the difficulty of the new round of recalls. On Monday, their plan to have future recalls against state senators take place under a new legislative map drawn to benefit Republicans collapsed. The next day, their plan to require that all recall petitions be notarized was shelved indefinitely.
Wisconsin Democrats will have to file separate recall petitions against both Scott Walker and Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, However, the Wisconsin Democrats have confirmed to Daily Kos that they will do just that.
So the table is now set. Scott Walker will get his unlimited donations, but grassroots activists working to recall Walker will likely not experience additional roadblocks to their efforts. While that does not make this an easy fight, it does make it an extremely appealing one.
Please, contribute $5 to the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, which is organizing the recall of Scott Walker.