Wisconsin update

A faithful reader writes with a report from Hudson, Wisconsin, just across the St. Croix River from Minnesota, about 20 minutes from St. Paul:

I was just talking with one of my co-workers here in Hudson as to an experience she had with someone canvasing her neighborhood looking for signatures to try and get a recall going against Sheila Harsdorf, one of our brave Senators looking out for the taxpayer not the unions. She indicated that this individual came to her door and asked if she would like to help straighten out things that recently happened down in Madison with the collective bargaining law. The person seeking signatures simply indicated that she would need sign a form to make sure she was represented properly in Madison. Not once during the conversation was there ever mention that the person was representing a group attempting to recall Senator Harsdorf.

Our reader concludes that “once the recall group had their initial run of individuals willing to sign the petitions for recall that it has become increasingly difficult to get the number of signatures necessary in the time frame required, so they have to resort to tactics to deceive people into signing these petitions.” Or they have taken this path from the git-go. In either case, “it would be worth at least letting people know what the recall petition tactics are and they are attempting to deceive voters into signing something without mentioning what it is actually for.”
The Wall Street Journal editors draw attention to another front of the battle of Wisconsin: the April 5 election that pits incumbent Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser against JoAnne Kloppenburg. The Journal editors call it “Wisconsin’s battle supreme.” The unions are pulling out all the stops to elect Kloppenburg: “A liberal outfit called the Greater Wisconsin Committee has thrown some $3 million into the race and launched a website, ProsserEqualsWalker.com, to whip heat against the Governor into the race. Democrats hope a victory would discourage other Republicans who might dare to face down Big Labor.”
Justice Prosser’s campaign site is here. I can’t find a contribution tab on Justice Prosser’s campaign site, but readers desiring to support Justice Prosser may wish to do so via donations to Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, one of his leading supporters.
It would be extremely unfortunate for the rule of law in Wisconsin if Kloppenberg were to win that race. Wisconsin Democrats have conducted a full-scale assault on the rule of law in their opposition to Governor Walker. In the Star Tribune this past Sunday, my friend Katherine Kersten documented the “brownshirt tactics” (Kathy’s words) that have been a prominent feature of the Democrats’ toolkit in Wisconsin. Her column is “In Wisconsin, mob rule and intimidation.” The folks who run the Star Tribune Web site buried Kathy’s column. Annoy them; please read it!
UPDATE: A call to the Prosser campaign this morning reveals that the campaign is publicly financed and that Justice Prosser’s campaign cannot accept private contributions. A contribution to WMC via the link above may be one of the best ways to support the Prosser campaign.
NRO has posted an excellent account of the Wisconsin Supreme Court election campaign.
THIS JUST IN: Katie McCallum is the communications director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin. Ms. McCallum writes: “I read this morning’s excellent ‘Wisconsin Update’ post, and wanted to let you know about a special project put together by the Republican Party of Wisconsin: the Recall Integrity Center. The center is an online hub for reporting and viewing incidents that threaten the integrity of the Wisconsin recall process. The story shared by your reader is an excellent example of the type of conduct we hope to expose. I hope you will consider sharing the site with that specific reader, or perhaps with all of your readers if you find it of interest.”

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