Sunday, April 15, 2012

I'll Be Voting For Kathleen Falk On May 8th

As the gentle reader already knows, there are four Democrats running to be the one to take on Scott Walker in an effort to defeat him in June and start putting the state back on track of gaining jobs, rebuilding the economy and repairing all the damage done by Walker in the last year and a half.

The four contenders are Kathleen Falk, Doug LaFollette, Kathleen Vinehout and Tom Barrett.  I've already had some discussion on this matter earlier, explaining why I would not be supporting LaFollette or Vinehout in the primary, despite their status of being some of Wisconsin's heroes during the Walker regime.  I also had the opportunity to speak with Falk, two months ago, which I wrote about here.

That left the choice between the two front runners, Falk and Barrett.

While many of my fellow progressives have been focused on only who might have the best chance of winning in June, my focus went further.  My focus was not only on who might win, but who would also give the best chance of fixing the wrongs and making the state and its people whole again.  To do that, I looked at the major issues.

As for who might have the best chance of beating Walker in the general election, Falk and Barrett poll numbers are equal for all practical purposes, so this is not an area of contention.

Both Falk and Barrett claim to be the friend of the workers and the unions.  But Falk has earned the endorsement of most of the unions, including all of the major ones.  She has earned it by taking a strong stance on fully restoring collective bargaining rights.  .

However, she has received the most criticism for this.  Some have said that the unions were wrong for coming out so early with their endorsements, saying they should have waited until all the candidates were known.  They further add that the early endorsement and the pledge that Falk made about putting collective bargaining in the budget.  The third complaint was that she was only about the unions and that the recall was about much more than the unions

This is the poppycock that the right would have you believe.

When the unions realized that there were more than enough signatures to ensure a recall, they took proactive measures and reached out to all of the candidates, both announced and presumed.  And being the unions, their focus was naturally on workers rights and collective bargaining.

Falk was not the only one to pledge that she would put collective bargaining in the budget. Kathleen Vinehout and Peter Barca, two name just two of the others, also made the same pledge.  However, Vinehout changed her stance immediately after making her pledge and Barca was undecided whether he would run.  In the end, Barca chose to continue to be the brilliant leader in the State Assembly, providing us hope for that body.  Barrett, by the way, never even bothered to respond to the invitation to even speak with the unions.

As for whether collective bargaining should be in the budget, well, the budget is the only bill that the legislature is required to pass.  A special session wouldn't mean a tinker's damn.  The Republicans could just sit and stonewall the year around on it.  Then we would be in the same place we are now, only with a governor with a different name.

Let me put it this way: If my home was burgled and my stuff was stolen, I would expect that the police would do everything they could to get all of my stuff back.  I would not be satisfied if they said that they tried real hard to get my stuff back, but the thieves just wouldn't give it to them.

That Falk is only about the unions is the biggest misperception that people have about her.

Besides the unions, which is what most people only see, Falk has earned the endorsements of many politicians, women's rights groups and environmental groups, including Emily's List, Women's Campaign Fund, Clean Wisconsin Action Fund and the Sierra Club.  She has also earned the endorsements of the UW-Madison chapter of Young Progressives and Voces de la Frontera Action.

While any of the candidates would be a marked improvements over Walker, it is my firm belief that that Kathleen Falk presents the best chance of not only beating Walker in June, but then going on and correcting the wrongs that Walker and his associates have done to this state and its people.

Falk is fully aware of all the things that need to be addressed, from getting the economy moving again and bringing jobs to the state to rebuilding our education system to collective bargaining to ending the War on Women to restoring environmental protections.  Furthermore, she has plans on how to address those issues, instead of just talking points.

Her knowledge, her skill and her experience that she would bring to the governor's office has earned her the endorsement of a wide number or politicians and progressive causes.

I am proud to throw my name in with those that will vote for her on May 8th.

You can learn more about Kathleen Falk at her website.

And I shouldn't have to say this after ten years of fighting Walker, but yes, if someone else wins the primary, I will support them in the effort to stop Walker.

27 comments:

  1. From "out here" Falk seems to be pretty much that very "Madison politician" that is portrayed in the issue-mercials.

    I'm not a fan of being called from out of state numbers on her behalf.

    It's like last springs recall election when the DNC started calling on "our" behalf giving incorrcet voting dates, which added heavy suspicion for me that there was some agenda behind it all.

    This was right after the VA right to life calls that were mis-informing us voters.

    So, now we have (in our view) some person from Madison who got the big union endorsements and seems to have some cash behind her.

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  2. I'm 4 Falk 2 - and would add that we need more women breaking that glass ceiling.

    SuzyMetta4

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  3. Nice piece. However, I have learned myself that the phrase is "tinker's dam." If you can find a tinker, you can just ask them.

    Beyond that, I served with Kathleen Falk when I was on the Dane County Board. The real Kathleen bears no resemblance to the things said about her by Walker and other Dem candidate backers.

    Falk is the opposite of Walker: very competent, respectful, listens to all sides and seeks working solutions that benefit most people. She is Wisconsin born and bred, hailing from Waukesha County.

    People should really base their choices on listening to Falk directly, not based on rumors. You can hear her at speaking events or check out where she stands by visiting her web site. Falk is running a campaign on a number of kitchen table issues affecting Wisconsin families, like education, supporting the middle class, saving our environment.

    See for yourself here:
    http://www.kathleenfalk.com/

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  4. Andy Olsen, as one in Madison and maybe on the board at the time, can you address one of my few concerns about Falk, and one I have not found addressed elsewhere? That would by why she quit midterm in her last term as county exec -- pulling a Palin move before Palin did so! -- and Falk sounded at the time like she was out of politics and on to other things.

    What happened then and since? Why the back and forth about commitment to her county office and continuing a political career? I fear that there's something that we ought to know that could affect the rest of a gubernatorial term -- and re-election, as we need to plan long-term, as Republicans certainly do, to retain the governorship for many years. It will take many years to recover and restore much lost in the last year.

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  5. I'll vote for whichever Dem. gets through the primary.

    But I'm leaning Barrett in the primary. My concern with Falk is that by promising to veto any budget that does not contain the collective bargaining changes -- she's painting herself into a corner. What happens if no budget passes? We get the old -- Scott Walker budget -- it just rolls over into the new biennium. It's brinksmanship that if the Assembly and or Senate stay Republican -- get's us nowhere. The GOP would love to have that stalemate and get Scott Walker's old budget for two more years. It would mean even more cuts and the collective bargaining changes would continue.

    I also think she's going to get hammered by editorial boards in the general on that issue. It's an easy target for them.

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    1. Any Dem is going to get hammered, regardless of who they are.

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  6. cap,you say barrett never talked to the unions,but it was my understanding that some of the unions went to see him at his office(weac,afscme..) and he threw them out.this was before he declared.

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    1. They did go to see him, which was pretty damn stupid on their part. But that doesn't change the fact that he hasn't been the strongest supporter of the unions.

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  7. I am no fan of scott walker and did not vote for him, though i do lean to the right. that being said, i find it hard to back a candidate who will not pass a budget without a repeal of act 10. what if the budget put forth has some really good policy? restoring environmental protections, state aid for schools, green energy policy, and public transportation. as the previous commenter said, we will end up woth the same walker budget for 2 more years. i dont know if that is worth ot

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    1. Again, they have to pass a budget. They don't have a choice on that.

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    2. And that's why Falk had better have an answer for this for the editorial boards, not just on this issue but also for the larger concern about her expereince -- because it looks like naivete on the part of a candidate who has no legislative background nor any above the county level. (I can imagine a couple of answers that perhaps could work -- but we'll see what she has to say.)

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  8. She lost any and all chance of getting my vote when she accused people who disagree with her of "mowing her down" and accused Democrats who favor another of candidate of trying to "swoop in and co-opt our movement." I was really torn until this, but Wisconsin doesn't need another "you're with me or you're attacking me!" bully for governor. Saying those who have reservations about her aren't part of the recall movement is divisive and precisely not what the state needs right now.

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    1. Actions speak louder than words. When Barrett actively opposed working people and women, he lost my vote.

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    2. I really hope Dems can unite before the election, but the responses here don't give me any hope of that actually happening. be civil to each other and keep your eyes on the prize. there is room for each of us in this movement and this is much larger than either barrett or falk.
      --just some old guy.

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    3. Capper -- so you wouldn't even vote for him against Walker? Big difference between a disappoint friend and a deadly enemy, dude.

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    4. Read the last paragraph of the post:

      And I shouldn't have to say this after ten years of fighting Walker, but yes, if someone else wins the primary, I will support them in the effort to stop Walker.

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    5. Just double checking. When you said he lost your vote I wasn't sure.

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    6. For the primary. Although if it ends up Barrett vs. Walker, I will be holding my nose very, very hard.

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  9. When Falk resigned from her County Exec position, she said it was because she was about to be 60 years old and was ready to try something other than holding a political office. Is she prepared to address this if she's the Democratic candidate? She'll have to come up with a better reason than being 60, right?

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    1. This will be what, Barrett's third attempt at governor? What will be different than the first two times?

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    2. Wait, what? Yes, they've both run for statewide office and lost before.
      But I was wondering why she resigned. Barrett didn't quit halfway through a term; she did. It was a genuine question. I wasn't looking to pick a fight between Barrett and Falk...I'm still undecided. I just was wondering why she resigned and if she's prepared to talk openly about that in the campaign against walker...sorry for asking, won't happen again.

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    3. No, Barrett decided to jump before even being reelected.

      I'm sure if you ask her, she will talk about it. She was very open about things when I grilled her on stuff.

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    4. That's a legitimate question. I don't think it has anything to do with Barrett running for governor and having previously lost, but maybe I'm missing something.

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  10. She resigned in 2010. It wasn't related to this election. She was under a lot of pressure from progressives because she supported random police stops and she was being sued over some really botched police work (from the Zimmerman case). But to be fair, she doesn't talk about it.

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    1. Right, it's not like she resigned because of this (or any other) election. She just said she was retiring from political office and wouldn't finish her term. It does invite questions (and I think that's fair) so I hope she's prepared for that.

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  11. Kathleen Falk is to this primary as Newt Gingrich is to the GOP presidential primary. Both have paranoid tendencies. Gingrich's former Congressional colleagues didn't endorse him. Falk's former colleagues didn't endorse her. Both are political insiders who try to paint themselves as outsiders. Both resigned from their last term. Neither is opposed to attack ads or party infighting.

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  12. I'm from "out here" in the state, up north where a candidate who hunts ducks and fishes walleyes (as Falk does) will earn a knowing nod and a vote. Barretts an OK guy I suppose, and I'll support whoever emerges on May 8. But Kathleen Falk has already demonstrated her bona fides several times over by being there when it counted and standing up for what's right since Walker took the throne. Don't care why she retired when she did. The important thing is she's back in the fray and we need this smart woman to sort out the mess we're in. Where the hell was Barrett when I was standing out in the snow on a street corner in Vilas County?

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