# Explain why Wisconsin's recall election is actually recalling anything **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 17, 2012, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-why-wisconsins-recall-election-is-actually-recalling-anything/619057 "2012-04-17T16:59:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2012, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-why-wisconsins-recall-election-is-actually-recalling-anything/619057/21 "2012-04-18T18:27:43Z")
Because of the large number of early retirements, increased employee contributions to health insurance and pensions off-setting the Act 10 reductions in state aid to education, school boards in Wisconsin were able to do OK for the 2011-12 school year. But those one time cost savings won’t help much for the 2012/13 school year and into the future. A number of school districts have already given lay-off notices to sizable numbers of teachers. 2012 won’t be as bad as 2013. That’s the year the hammer really falls. * * * The unions that supported Walker in 2010 are unlikely to do so again. They can see the handwriting on the wall. * * * Meanwhile Walker cavorts with NY and Texas billionaires rounding up million$ in contributions. He’s already run $12 million in Wisconsin TV ads. > **[Where’s Walker? Ask the Kochs](https://captimes.com/news/opinion/editorial/where-s-walker-ask-the-kochs/article_d6f8f3bb-6218-5d09-95ec-89d741f31cff.html)** > > In recent months, Gov. Scott Walker has traveled to California, Arizona, Texas, Florida and other states to address groups tied to the billionaire Koch brothers. Gov. Scott Walker took his recall re-election campaign to the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum on April 11. Where in Wisconsin is the museum located? In the Oklahoma City part. As in Oklahoma City, Okla. Walker was speaking to the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, a “think tank” backed by, you guessed it, the Koch brothers. About half of Walker’s funding is from outside the state. His $12 legal defense fund was also raised mainly out of state. [Wanna See Scott Walker's Special Interests? | Publius #9](http://publius9.blogspot.com/2012/04/wanna-see-walkers-special-interests.html) [NBC News - Breaking News & Top Stories - Latest World, US & Local News | NBC News](http://american-idle.newsvine.com/_news/2012/03/12/10655645-scott-walker-sets-up-legal-defense-fund) * * * Walker plays the victim card: “I am a target”. > **['I Have Become A Target'](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/scott-walker-nra-speech_n_1425874?ref=topbar)** > > 'I Have Become A Target' Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker told National Rifle Association members Friday he’s “a target” and asked for their help in his upcoming recall election. “I have become a target,” Walker told the crowd at the NRA convention in downtown St. Louis. * * * Walker, who ran on a jobs - not a bust the unions platform in 2010, has overseen a very poor performance by Wisconsin in that regard. Granted, any governor is only part of the problem or solution, but Walker’s main promise of 250,000 new jobs is a long way off right now. [The politics of Wisconsin's sluggish job growth](http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/142860605.html) ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2012, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-why-wisconsins-recall-election-is-actually-recalling-anything/619057/22 "2012-04-18T18:30:30Z")
> [@Reginald\_Hobbes](#): > > [Wisconsin Police and Firefighters Didn’t Endorse Walker](http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/wisconsin-police-and-firefighters-didnt-endorse-walker/) > You’re actually equating the loss of collective bargaining to Auschwitz? Seriously? :rolleyes: Walker had to exempt those who endorsed him since he is a hypocritical little prick. He was just willing to endure exempting similar groups that did not endorse him as a necessary evil in the overall game. Sure, I’m equating the two. Walker may not have the gas chambers but he is doing what he can to destroy what he deems undesirables. ---
**Author:** ![Reginald\_Hobbes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@Reginald\_Hobbes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reginald_Hobbes)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2012, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-why-wisconsins-recall-election-is-actually-recalling-anything/619057/23 "2012-04-18T18:53:45Z")
> [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > Because of the large number of early retirements, increased employee contributions to health insurance and pensions off-setting the Act 10 reductions in state aid to education, school boards in Wisconsin were able to do OK for the 2011-12 school year. > > But those one time cost savings won’t help much for the 2012/13 school year and into the future. A number of school districts have already given lay-off notices to sizable numbers of teachers. 2012 won’t be as bad as 2013. That’s the year the hammer really falls. Why do you consider them “one time cost savings”? Will the retired teachers not stay retired? Will the contributions not continue next year? Which districts are laying off a sizable number of teachers? Did any of them find themselves in a hole because they chose to extend contracts before Act 10 took effect? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2012, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-why-wisconsins-recall-election-is-actually-recalling-anything/619057/24 "2012-04-18T19:36:10Z")
If I may ask a factual question. How many signatures were needed on the petition to trigger a new election? If it was a majority of voters in the state, then I’d argue the petition served as the equivalent of a vote for recall. By signing the petition, a majority of voters were indicating they wanted a change which is the functional equivalent of a majority of voters casting a vote for a change on a recall ballot. Two different mechanisms, same result. However, if only a relatively small number of signatures were needed then I agree it’s a bad procedure. If, for example, five percent of the voters can trigger a new election you’re going to have a paralyzed government. You’re always going to have some minority of voters who are unhappy with the current government. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2012, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-why-wisconsins-recall-election-is-actually-recalling-anything/619057/25 "2012-04-18T19:52:54Z")
[504,000 signatures were required to recall Walker.](http://www.thenation.com/blog/165679/million-wisconsinites-petition-recall-scott-walker) 931,053 were submitted, [900,938 were ultimately deemed valid.](http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/03/wisconsin-start-your-engines-walker-recall-petition-review-completed.php) . [There were 2,158,974 votes for governor in 2010.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconsin_gubernatorial_election,_2010#Results_2) Walker got 1,128,941 of them ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2012, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-why-wisconsins-recall-election-is-actually-recalling-anything/619057/26 "2012-04-18T19:55:11Z")
[The Root](http://www.theroot.com/buzz/wisc-drive-far-exceeds-signatures-recall-gov-scott-walker) > [@](#): > > Petitioners were required to gather 25 percent of the total turnout in the most recent gubernatorial election – 540,208 valid signatures – to trigger a new election. Over 1 million signatures were filed, of which 900,938 valid signatures were certified. That’s about 40% of the total vote and about 20% of the eligible voting population. So it was neither a small number nor a majority. That’s why an actual vote is required. And getting 40% of voters to sign a recall petition is an extraordinary number, so saying that petitioners were only intimidated by Teamsters to do so is ludicrous partisan nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-why-wisconsins-recall-election-is-actually-recalling-anything/619057/27 "2012-04-19T01:07:25Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > [The Root](http://www.theroot.com/buzz/wisc-drive-far-exceeds-signatures-recall-gov-scott-walker) > > And getting 40% of voters to sign a recall petition is an extraordinary number, so saying that petitioners were only intimidated by Teamsters to do so is ludicrous partisan nonsense. Easily the largest percentage of recall petitions signed in American history. Generally intimidation involved anti-recall people intimidating petitioners: [http://www.wisn.com/Walker-Recall-Intimidation-Caught-On-Video/-/9374034/8043706/-/q8dqcz/-/index.html](http://www.wisn.com/Walker-Recall-Intimidation-Caught-On-Video/-/9374034/8043706/-/q8dqcz/-/index.html) [http://www.wisn.com/West-Bend-Man-Charged-With-Destroying-Recall-Petitions/-/9374034/8043826/-/1uhgjp/-/index.html](http://www.wisn.com/West-Bend-Man-Charged-With-Destroying-Recall-Petitions/-/9374034/8043826/-/1uhgjp/-/index.html) [http://www.wkow.com/story/16315822/darlington-police-investigating-recall-walker-sign](http://www.wkow.com/story/16315822/darlington-police-investigating-recall-walker-sign) [http://www.recallscottwalker.com/2011/12/stoughton-man-cited-for-allegedly-taking-a-swing-at-recall-volunteer/](http://www.recallscottwalker.com/2011/12/stoughton-man-cited-for-allegedly-taking-a-swing-at-recall-volunteer/) [http://scottwalkerwatch.com/2011/12/13/waukesha-county-walker-thug-kevin-stoll-leaves-disturbing-messages-to-recall-petition-signers-and-is-exposed/](http://scottwalkerwatch.com/2011/12/13/waukesha-county-walker-thug-kevin-stoll-leaves-disturbing-messages-to-recall-petition-signers-and-is-exposed/) [http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/news/wisconsin/woman-charged-with-tearing-up-recall-walker-sign](http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/news/wisconsin/woman-charged-with-tearing-up-recall-walker-sign) Some GOPers threatened to sign “Mickey Mouse”, Adolph Hitler and other false names, but those were either weeded out by the people gathering the petitions or were actually never done. > **[Man facing charges for allegedly forging signatures on Wanggaard recall...](https://journaltimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/man-facing-charges-for-allegedly-forging-signatures-on-wanggaard-recall/article_c7e86c94-6227-11e1-852d-0019bb2963f4.html)** > > RACINE — The man who allegedly forged signatures on recall petitions, including the signature of a dead man, will face multiple felony charges in March. One GOPer claimed to have signed 36 (or a similar number) times, but that duplication was not noted in the GAB review. I recall reading that counties which gave Walker nice majorities in 2010 came up with surprisingly large numbers of signed recall petitions. Whether or not Walker can hang on by outspending a Democrat 4 or 5 to 1 remains to be seen. ---
**Author:** ![Reginald\_Hobbes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@Reginald\_Hobbes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reginald_Hobbes)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-why-wisconsins-recall-election-is-actually-recalling-anything/619057/28 "2012-04-19T04:30:28Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > And getting 40% of voters to sign a recall petition is an extraordinary number, so saying that **petitioners were only intimidated by Teamsters** to do so is ludicrous partisan nonsense. Who has made that claim? > [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > I recall reading that counties which gave Walker nice majorities in 2010 came up with surprisingly large numbers of signed recall petitions. Which counties would those be? I checked Waukesha County (one of the most Republican in the state) and came up with 28,550 signatures. That’s only 15% of the 2010 vote total. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-why-wisconsins-recall-election-is-actually-recalling-anything/619057/29 "2012-04-19T05:08:18Z")
> [@Reginald\_Hobbes](#): > > Who has made that claim? zookies in post #5. ---
**Author:** ![Reginald\_Hobbes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@Reginald\_Hobbes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reginald_Hobbes)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-why-wisconsins-recall-election-is-actually-recalling-anything/619057/30 "2012-04-19T10:30:41Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > zookies in post #5. > [@zookies](#): > > If a couple of Teamsters asked me to sign a petition, Aside from **zookies** ’ hypothetical, I don’t recall hearing any reports of people coerced or intimidated into signing. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-why-wisconsins-recall-election-is-actually-recalling-anything/619057/31 "2012-04-19T12:05:18Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Walker had to exempt those who endorsed him since he is a hypocritical little prick. He was just willing to endure exempting similar groups that did not endorse him as a necessary evil in the overall game. > > Sure, I’m equating the two. Walker may not have the gas chambers but he is doing what he can to destroy what he deems undesirables. Maybe he really thought that police and fire-fighters deserve a little more than your average public employee union slug sucking at the gov’t teet. I do… and I’m an HLP too some times…aren’t we all? Oh except you clearly … don’t want anyone to think I’d engage in name calling. ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-why-wisconsins-recall-election-is-actually-recalling-anything/619057/32 "2012-04-19T12:34:34Z")
> [@What the .... ?!?!](#): > > public employee union slug sucking at the gov’t teet If you think that employment is not based on mutual exchange of goods, then surely public sector employees are far less damaging than corporate employees. After all, that’d mean that every corporate employee is depriving the corporation of more funds. It’s “teat”, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-why-wisconsins-recall-election-is-actually-recalling-anything/619057/33 "2012-04-20T13:58:18Z")
> [@Reginald\_Hobbes](#): > > Who has made that claim? > Which counties would those be? > I checked Waukesha County (one of the most Republican in the state) and came up with 28,550 signatures. > That’s only 15% of the 2010 vote total. 28K from the heart of Fitzwalkerstan isn’t bad. ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-why-wisconsins-recall-election-is-actually-recalling-anything/619057/34 "2012-04-24T02:20:40Z")
[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqhfeUETVMs) Huge money advantage for Walker, but will he be indicted before the election? Ed, the liberal, is probably a bit too hopeful (from his side) here. The prosecutor won’t indict unless he really has the goods. Considering that the investigation is getting a bit long in the tooth, I think there is a good chance Walker will escape. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-why-wisconsins-recall-election-is-actually-recalling-anything/619057.md?page=1)