Sunday, May 8, 2011

Even Smoke And Mirrors Can't Hide Darling's Nervousness.

Alberta Darling is scared for her job.

Oh, she won't admit it, not publicly at least. But you can tell that she and the GOP are awfully nervous.

First, she's been running radio ads for several weeks now, even before she knew who her opponent might be or even before they turned in her recall papers. (Oh, yeah. She's really on the tax payer's side, all right. Two words: Child Welfare. No savings there, just higher taxes.)

Darling's latest stunt is to roll out a new drunk driving bill which would make the first time offense a criminal case, but only if the impaired driver was twice the legal limit.But what the hey, who could bad mouth a law toughening drunk driving, right? That'll surely get her a vote or three.

Unfortunately for our soon to be ex senator, the most vocal and passionate anti-drunk driving people, MADD, isn't so keen on Darling's shenanigans:
But Frank Harris, state legislative affairs manager for the national office of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said in an email to Darling and Ott that, while their bills are well intentioned, MADD wants laws that make drunken driving a misdemeanor at 0.08 as opposed to 0.15. Additionally, Harris wrote, MADD wants laws that require an ignition interlock for first time offenders who have a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or greater.

"MADD applauds your leadership on keeping the streets safe from drunk drivers in Wisconsin," Harris wrote in the email, which was also sent to the Journal Sentinel. "MADD supports making a third offense a felony but is neutral on the proposal to make a first conviction with a blood-alcohol of .15 or greater a misdemeanor.

"Making a first OWI conviction a misdemeanor at .15 BAC is not a step and this does not represent progress against drunk driving."

Added Harris: "This .15 BAC bill sends a mixed message on what the illegal level of drunk driving is in Wisconsin exactly and will not send any message or deterrence necessary to stop drunk driving or the majority of drunk driving deaths in Wisconsin caused by drunk drivers with no prior convictions. The only benefit to this legislation is that more drunk drivers may refuse and thereby receive an ignition overlock."
Senator to be Sandy Pasch also saw right through this and sent out her own press release regarding Darling's stunt:
8th state Senate District candidate Sandy Pasch issued the following statement today on Senator Alberta Darling's flawed bill that only criminalizes first time drunken-driving offenses for those driving nearly twice the legal limit:

"Every year in Wisconsin, families are torn apart by the tragedy of drunken driving, and Senator Darling's bill fails to seriously address the problem.  Essentially doubling the legal limit before criminal penalties are assessed sets a bad precedent, sends a mixed message, and embodies the kind of nonsense 'solutions' we get from out-of-touch career politicians who have been in Madison for far too long.  Rather than legislating in sound bites, we must take a more thoughtful, community-based approach to addressing the critical issue of drunken driving. Unfortunately, this proposal - coupled with likely cuts to public safety caused by the Walker and Darling budget - falls dramatically short for families and victims of drunk driving in Wisconsin."
At a time when the citizenry is already outraged and highly alert to the political climate, does Darling really think it was a good idea to sign on a meaningless bill? Does she think insulting her constituents' intelligence is really going to win over many people?

Alberta Darling is a person that is in dire need of being forced to retire, enjoy her truly lavish benefits, and spend her golden years touring golf courses.

1 comment:

  1. It's overtime for this Hagg. She must GO!!!
    br

    ReplyDelete