# Fake Democrats lose in Wisconsin recall primary **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 21, 2011, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-democrats-lose-in-wisconsin-recall-primary/589809 "2011-07-21T03:47:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-democrats-lose-in-wisconsin-recall-primary/589809/1 "2011-07-21T03:47:13Z")
[Good try, GOP, but no…](http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-07-12-wisconsin-recalls-fake-democrats_n.htm) > [@](#): > > All six fake Democrats lost to Democrats supported by the party in primaries Tuesday that are the first in a series of recall elections targeting nine Wisconsin state senators for their positions on Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s divisive union rights restrictions. > > The winners advance to take on incumbent Republicans targeted for recall on Aug. 9. > The state Republican Party orchestrated the placement of the fake Democrats on Tuesday’s ballot, thereby delaying the general election for a month. That gave the Republican incumbents more time to campaign and distance themselves from the turmoil over the union law that they voted to support in March, spurring the recall efforts. > > Five of the six winners had at least **65 percent** of the vote, based on unofficial results. The sixth, Shelly Moore, had 54 percent. Boy, when you can’t even pull off an “Operation: Chaos,” the situation is getting desperate… 😃 [BTW: Dear Mods: I really did try to find a general Wisconsin recall thread, but nothing came up on my search. Feel free to merge as necessary.] ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-democrats-lose-in-wisconsin-recall-primary/589809/2 "2011-07-21T04:06:31Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > [Good try, GOP, but no…](http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-07-12-wisconsin-recalls-fake-democrats_n.htm) > > Boy, when you can’t even pull off an “Operation: Chaos,” the situation is getting desperate… 😃 > > [BTW: Dear Mods: I really did try to find a general Wisconsin recall thread, but nothing came up on my search. Feel free to merge as necessary.] They succeeded in their goal which was to delay the recall elections giving the Republicans more time to pass their legislation. The Republicans will lose some seats but they are playing a long game. They are breaking the Democrats long term fundraising ability. Kill the unions and all the top campaign funding will be dollars for Republicans. Once they are the only ones with serious funding they can pick any seats the want for themselves. The Democrats of Wisconsin seem to be the only ones to be really putting up a fight and they’re barely holding on. ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-democrats-lose-in-wisconsin-recall-primary/589809/3 "2011-07-21T04:06:56Z")
I don’t get it. What’s the point of putting these people on the ballot? Were they repubs posing as Democrats or completely phantom names? And why? Were the repubs so worried about getting the votes that they tried to skew the results by convincing the masses to vote for someone who doesn’t exist? Or claims to be Democrat and then switches sides when they take office?? I don’t get the thinking here. ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-democrats-lose-in-wisconsin-recall-primary/589809/4 "2011-07-21T04:12:03Z")
> [@czarofspam](#): > > I don’t get it. What’s the point of putting these people on the ballot? Were they repubs posing as Democrats or completely phantom names? And why? Were the repubs so worried about getting the votes that they tried to skew the results by convincing the masses to vote for someone who doesn’t exist? Or claims to be Democrat and then switches sides when they take office?? > > I don’t get the thinking here. It pushes the recall election back a month to have the primary first, even if everyone knows it’s a sham primary. Meanwhile, the Republicans facing recall are still in office. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-democrats-lose-in-wisconsin-recall-primary/589809/5 "2011-07-21T05:16:37Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > They succeeded in their goal which was to delay the recall elections giving the Republicans more time to pass their legislation. The Republicans will lose some seats but they are playing a long game. They are breaking the Democrats long term fundraising ability. > > Kill the unions and all the top campaign funding will be dollars for Republicans. Once they are the only ones with serious funding they can pick any seats the want for themselves. I think the idea here is, turf the GOP legislators, and eventually the GOP governor, and repeal any legislation regarding the unions. I don’t think the GOP, Wisconsin or nationwide, realize that a hornet’s nest they stuck their hand into here. Prosser, a pro-GOP, anti-union judge, did get reelected, but by a narrow margin even in GOP-held counties. And given that he had since [been accused of physically assaulting another Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice](http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-06-26-wisconsin-supreme-court_n.htm), surely an impeachable offense, even this might be a pyrrhic victory. The people of Wisconsin are pissed, they feel the GOP legislature and governor are working against them, and they have whipped themselves into a frenzy. We shall see. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-democrats-lose-in-wisconsin-recall-primary/589809/6 "2011-07-21T11:45:37Z")
Is Prosser the guy with the partisan hack official “found” thousands of votes on her PC or some damned thing? ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-democrats-lose-in-wisconsin-recall-primary/589809/7 "2011-07-21T13:00:20Z")
> [@tnetennba](#): > > Is Prosser the guy with the partisan hack official “found” thousands of votes on her PC or some damned thing? It was his re election where that happened - and the votes were ‘found’ by a woman who had a history of similar bullshit. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myron_Van_Horowitzski)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-democrats-lose-in-wisconsin-recall-primary/589809/8 "2011-07-26T19:53:35Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > They succeeded in their goal which was to delay the recall elections giving the Republicans more time to pass their legislation Which includes redistricting, and voter suppression. And now look what they’re [doing](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/07/25/998594/-Wisconsin:-After-signing-Voter-ID,-Walker-makes-it-harder-to-get-IDs?via=search). I am just sick. I don’t know what to do. These filthy bastards will stop at nothing, and nobody seems to be able to do a fucking thing about it! ---
**Author:** ![Orr\_G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ee59a6/32.png) [@Orr\_G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orr_G)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-democrats-lose-in-wisconsin-recall-primary/589809/9 "2011-07-27T00:47:17Z")
> [@Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](#): > > Which includes redistricting, and voter suppression. And now look what they’re [doing](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/07/25/998594/-Wisconsin:-After-signing-Voter-ID,-Walker-makes-it-harder-to-get-IDs?via=search). > > I am just sick. I don’t know what to do. These filthy bastards will stop at nothing, and nobody seems to be able to do a fucking thing about it! It is sickening. I’m at a bit of a loss myself. There’s also [this video](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/07/26/998944/-VIDEO:-WI-DMV-Tells-Boy-His-Bank-Account-Doesn%E2%80%99t-Show-Enough-%E2%80%9CActivity%E2%80%9D-To-Get-a-Voter-ID), which highlights some of the practical issues in just getting a voter ID in this state. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-democrats-lose-in-wisconsin-recall-primary/589809/10 "2011-07-27T02:25:34Z")
This incident underlines what utter hypocrites these people are. They say they want to balance the budget and they say that they’re fighting for the taxpayers, but they force a phoney meaningless primary which serves no legitimate purpose and costs the taxpayers over $470,000. Can one of the Republicans on this board justify this to me? ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-democrats-lose-in-wisconsin-recall-primary/589809/11 "2011-07-27T16:23:14Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > This incident underlines what utter hypocrites these people are. They say they want to balance the budget and they say that they’re fighting for the taxpayers, but they force a phoney meaningless primary which serves no legitimate purpose and costs the taxpayers over $470,000. > > Can one of the Republicans on this board justify this to me? Clinton got a blowjob? More likely it’s because any election in which they lose is by definition not a “real” election. Anything they do is therefore justified. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-democrats-lose-in-wisconsin-recall-primary/589809/12 "2011-07-27T17:41:02Z")
> [@Orr\_G](#): > > It is sickening. I’m at a bit of a loss myself. > > There’s also [this video](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/07/26/998944/-VIDEO:-WI-DMV-Tells-Boy-His-Bank-Account-Doesn%E2%80%99t-Show-Enough-%E2%80%9CActivity%E2%80%9D-To-Get-a-Voter-ID), which highlights some of the practical issues in just getting a voter ID in this state. What really pisses me off about the whole situation is that the Righties are cheering this sort of thing on. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-democrats-lose-in-wisconsin-recall-primary/589809/13 "2011-07-27T18:12:06Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > What really pisses me off about the whole situation is that the Righties are cheering this sort of thing on. Why? It’s not like it should be a surprise. The important part of voting is making sure that the right people vote so that they can win. What’s done after a victory, and even the responsibilities that go a long with that victory are completely unimportant. My team won, your team lost. That’s all that really matters, you loser. And if the wrong side won, well it wasn’t a real victory anyways -Joe ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-democrats-lose-in-wisconsin-recall-primary/589809/14 "2011-07-27T21:06:34Z")
Once they get legislative power, they use that power to do things that help them increase that power even more. [ul] [li]Phony primaries to waste their opponents resources.[/li][li]Redistricting (to be fair, both parties do this).[/li][li]Sending mobs to raise a ruckus if someone dares to request a recount.[/li][li]Making it more difficult to register to vote and making it more difficult to actually vote after you’re registered.[/li][/ul] It’s like it’s a game to them. They aren’t actually interested in representing their constituents. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-democrats-lose-in-wisconsin-recall-primary/589809/15 "2011-07-27T21:27:29Z")
Isn’t this sort thing skirting some…I don’t know…election laws or something? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-democrats-lose-in-wisconsin-recall-primary/589809/16 "2011-07-28T23:25:40Z")
> [@spooje](#): > > Isn’t this sort thing skirting some…I don’t know…election laws or something? Duh. Only (illegal or otherwise) minorities and Democrats commit voter/election fraud! ---
**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:** [July 30, 2011, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-democrats-lose-in-wisconsin-recall-primary/589809/17 "2011-07-30T03:26:17Z")
> [@tnetennba](#): > > Is Prosser the guy with the partisan hack official “found” thousands of votes on her PC or some damned thing? > [@Merijeek](#): > > It was his re election where that happened - and the votes were ‘found’ by a woman who had a history of similar bullshit. > > -Joe No votes were “found” because they were never lost. The Waukesha county clerk failed to include vote totals from the city of Brookfield. [The error](http://www.ci.brookfield.wi.us/DocumentView.aspx?DID=1560) was discovered during the post-election canvassing process. [This website](http://brookfield-wi.patch.com/articles/brookfield-gives-prosser-nearly-11k-votes) had the numbers on election night, which precludes them being created after the fact. ---
**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:** [July 30, 2011, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-democrats-lose-in-wisconsin-recall-primary/589809/18 "2011-07-30T04:17:16Z")
> [@Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](#): > > And now look what they’re [doing](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/07/25/998594/-Wisconsin:-After-signing-Voter-ID,-Walker-makes-it-harder-to-get-IDs?via=search). [From this WisDOT news release.](http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/opencms/export/nr/modules/news/news_2839.html_786229440.html) > [@](#): > > The Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is working to expand customer service throughout Wisconsin as required by the 2011-13 biennial budget. The budget included a provision that at least 20 hours per week of driver license, skills testing and identification (ID) card services be available in a cost-effective manner in every Wisconsin county. > > To provide the expanded customer service by early 2012, the department needs to lease, equip and furnish permanent office locations to accommodate the expanded hours. **Currently, at least 20 hours per week of service is available in 30 counties.** That means service will be expanded in the 42 counties which do not currently meet the new standard. > [@](#): > > Driver license and ID products are good for eight years, minimizing the need to travel to a customer service location. Once the changes are made, weekly DMV driver license and ID card services will increase by more than 625 hours – that equates to more than 32,000 hours of increased DMV services annually. And, if you look at the tentative list of DMV closures in the news release, then compare it to [this map](http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/106588378.html), you will see that 13 of the 14 counties that might be affected actually were carried by Walker last November. ---
**Author:** ![Orr\_G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ee59a6/32.png) [@Orr\_G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orr_G)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-democrats-lose-in-wisconsin-recall-primary/589809/19 "2011-07-30T10:58:21Z")
> [@Reginald\_Hobbes](#): > > And, if you look at the tentative list of DMV closures in the news release, then compare it to [this map](http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/106588378.html), you will see that 13 of the 14 counties that might be affected actually were carried by Walker last November. Anybody have a better map? I suspect that the DMV shuffling may prove to be less of a concern than it appears initially, and I’ve been waiting for more news on this than what I’ve seen so far. Certainly Walker’s actions give reason to be watchful for such shenanigans, but I’m not convinced that it’s happening in this particular case. I must say, though, that comparing the proposed list with the map linked isn’t enough to set my mind at ease on this at all. I’d be more comfortable with a map with a finer granularity. Was the lawmaker who claimed that it was offices in Democratic areas that were being targeted just full of shit? Does anyone have a line on who said that and what information they were basing their statement on? ---
**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:** [July 30, 2011, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-democrats-lose-in-wisconsin-recall-primary/589809/20 "2011-07-30T12:43:04Z")
> [@Orr\_G](#): > > Anybody have a better map? Are these [two](http://legis.wisconsin.gov/ltsb/redistricting/Maps/2008_Percent_Democrat.pdf) [maps](http://legis.wisconsin.gov/ltsb/redistricting/Maps/2008_Percent_Republican.pdf) what you are looking for? > [@](#): > > I suspect that the DMV shuffling may prove to be less of a concern than it appears initially, and I’ve been waiting for more news on this than what I’ve seen so far. Certainly Walker’s actions give reason to be watchful for such shenanigans, but I’m not convinced that it’s happening in this particular case. Since all plans are tentative right now, and the end result will be more DMV service across the state, not less, wait and see is probably the best approach here. > [@](#): > > I must say, though, that comparing the proposed list with the map linked isn’t enough to set my mind at ease on this at all. I’d be more comfortable with a map with a finer granularity. Was the lawmaker who claimed that it was offices in Democratic areas that were being targeted **just full of shit**? Does anyone have a line on who said that and what information they were basing their statement on? I think so, but YMMV. From [this](http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9OKSP800.htm) > [@](#): > > One Democratic lawmaker said Friday it appeared the decisions were based on politics, with the department targeting offices for closure in Democratic areas and expanding hours for those in Republican districts. > > A high-ranking DOT official rejected that claim, saying the changes were based on economics, not politics. > > Rep. Andy Jorgensen, D-Fort Atkinson, called on the state Department of Transportation to reconsider its plants to close the Fort Atkinson DMV center. > “What the heck is going on here?” Jorgensen said. “Is politics at play here?” Jorgensen appears to be the “one Democratic lawmaker”, but he provided nothing to back up his claim. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-democrats-lose-in-wisconsin-recall-primary/589809.md?page=2)