Recall, the ability of voters to petition for an election to remove a sitting politician from office, is a powerful tool that voters in many states and local jurisdictions have to hold officials accountable. At any given time there are multiple recall efforts going on all over the country, from Cape May Court House, NJ to Portland, OR citizens are seeking to recall officials that they believe are not serving their interests.
 
Supporters of a recent effort to recall the mayor of Akron, OH have found themselves now fighting for their right to have a recall process at all. It seems city politicians are so scared that they have put a charter amendment on the November 3 ballot aimed at killing the recall process altogether. If the amendment passes, citizens will need over six times the number of signatures currently required to trigger a recall.
 
In a hearing last week, the leader of the mayor recall effort referred to the proposed change as “an incumbent protection plan that would make it impossible to hold another recall. They might as well do away with the recall provision with this number of signatures. He [the mayor] wants to be even more insulated from criticism.”

While the council voted to increase the signature threshold, voters in November will still have to approve the change. You can bet that activists will be out in force protecting their right to recall come November. Stay tuned to the Citizens in Charge Foundation blog for updates on the situation.

Shorewood, WI: Growing from a starting core group of dozen people to recently passing the 6000 mark on WWW.RecallDoyle.com, in under five months Win has demonstrated the great anti Doyle sentiment that exists in our state. WIN was started by a group of WI taxpayers such as teachers union workers business owners and just plain people all joined together with the common purpose changing the direction that our Gov. has taken WI in. Specifically, WIN chose as a means of change the removal of our Governor through a recall.  The recall process instituted by the progressive movement in WI the early 1900’s to prevent the repeat of rampant special interest money of ever co-opting the Governorship as had happened during that era. We, the people of WIN, recognized that same co-opting of our Governorship even today.

WIN had a stated goal of enlisting the help of 10,000 volunteer signature gatherers to start a recall by June 1st. In a few short months we gathered 6000 volunteers. Though falling short of our numbers goal and the resultant miss of our start date, WIN’s statement to the political establishment in WI is that 6000 voices came together in four short months with no significant money, no endorsements (quite the opposite really – disdain and ridicule came at us from both the left and the right) and little to no commercial press coverage (we could not even buy billboard space from Clear Channel Communications because of censorship of our message “Taxed Enough? RecallDoyle.com”-a true freedom of speech travesty)-THIS IS AN AMAZING FEAT BY ANYONE’S MEASURE.

The people of WI are angry and though the recall is dead the spirit and actions of the WI electorate will live on. WIN will fight for truth and honesty in WI politics and a place at the table for the average WI taxpayer. WIN lives on as a citizens movement to expose our Gov. and his now famous words, “We cannot we must not and I will not raise taxes…Wisconsin’s problem is not that we tax too little it is that we spend too much”. We will be present at every opportunity to let Jim Doyle know that we have not forgotten his lies. Further, WIN will act in conjunction with CRG-Citizens for Responsible Government to spearhead the recalls of individual WI legislators. The express purpose of the recalls will be to get the tone deaf Legislators of WI to become responsive to the needs of WI families during this time of runaway government deficit spending, ever increasing tax and fee hikes and economic crisis.

1. We miscalculated on the last possible starting date. This is either a four and a half or five and a half month process from start to finish based on whether there has to be a recall primary. CRG made this clear. We always based decisions on the shorter time frame because there was not a Mark Neumann in the race necessitating a primary. Now there is and that threw our calculations off. That puts the conclusion of this recall into Jan/Feb 2010 depending on a start date. We have always said, as a group, from the beginning, that this recall process cannot go beyond 2009 for obvious reasons. Once you dip into the 2010 election year it becomes obvious that we will have an impossible job selling a recall over the natural 2010 election cycle. I did not have this fact hit me until after our last meeting was over. It was and still is sobering.

2. We missed our best start opportunity to catch people at their zenith of anger. This was during the passage of the state budget. The anger and interest level has subsided now and hits to our web site show as much. Also, donation flow has dropped to nothing.    

3. We did not concentrate on organizing our S.E. quadrant of the state. It is simply a matter of too little too late to try to pull it together now. Tom Spear had said to me that it would take 6 weeks to turn our group into what it needs to be to organize our population base. Tom, a now retired professional organizer by vocation, is one of the most optimistic people in this recall effort. I take great stock of what he says.

4. I believe that a miserably failed recall will be a bigger disaster for the conservative movement than no recall at all. I originally thought that if we failed we would not have to reveal the numbers to the press but now I realize that the final tally would be impossible to contain given the number of people that would be in the know. We would become a laughing stock to the left AND THE RIGHT. The press already smells blood and have started to call me about the viability of the 6000 member database that we have. I couldn’t answer the question to the WI State Journal because we have no real knowledge. Again, we have never had the time or enough people in the core group to do a full scale evaluation of the database.

A badly failed recall would give the opposition great  reason to ridicule us. It would also leave the impression that there is little opposition to Doyle -a message that WIN does not want to and cannot propagate.

Lastly, time has always been our enemy but keep in mind that in this short time we have achieved an amazing feat and all is not lost, far from it. WIN can go still go forward with our head held high. Without major money, press or endorsements we did what everyone, on both sides of the aisle, said couldn’t be done. What ACORN does with hordes of our hard earned tax money we did on a dime. We organized and became the voice for thousands of WI residents who wanted a say in the political process.

Further, we all know getting a good guy in as Gov. is not enough because we would then have a Walker/Milwaukee County Board gridlock situation repeated all over again. We must remove bad small-time players and get nomination papers circulated for good conservative candidates who can replace them and help out a conservative Governor. We have been in the past and can still be a force for change in our state in 2010.

We can still have a long lasting positive impact for the betterment of our state if we learn from our mistakes, refocus and move on to the next citizen effort. I hope that you will join in the vision and  understand.

- -  Vince Schmuki/ Representing WIN-Wisconsinites Interest Now

From Wisconsin Assemblyman John Nygren

Wisconsin’s unemployment rate has jumped to 9.2 percent in June, just under the national average of 9.7.  Oconto and Marinette Counties’ unemployment rates were worse, 12.2 and 12.7 respectively according to the most recent data.  Because of these dire numbers you would think our current leadership would be pushing policies that create jobs.  Unfortunately, they have pushed through a budget that was described by an employer in Wisconsin like this, “They’ve sure given a lot of people the impetus to get the hell out of here.”

Included in the budget is an income tax increase that will impact 4,600 small business owners who file their taxes as personal income.  As well, capital gains (personal and employer gains on investment) taxes were doubled and corporate taxes were increased by hundreds of millions of dollars.  Taxes on your garbage and small business waste were raised to the highest levels in the nation.  These changes don’t exactly give incentives to employers to invest in Wisconsin.  These budget changes actually do the opposite.

The effect of the tax and policy changes in the budget has been immediate and damaging.  Harley Davidson cut 400 jobs earlier in the year and cited tax law changes (combined reporting passed into law by the governor and Democrats) as one of the reasons.  These changes were estimated to cost Harley $22.5 million.  Briggs and Stratton recently announced they will be cutting 430 jobs in Wisconsin and moving them to Alabama and Georgia instead of moving Alabama or Georgia jobs to Wisconsin.  This move is expected to save the company millions.

On top of these announcements, Mercury Marine of Fond du Lac has been discussing the possibility of moving 2,000 jobs to Oklahoma.  The move will depend on how aggressive either state is at attracting Mercury Marine.  Oklahoma has already stated they are doing everything possible to attract Mercury Marine.  The Oklahoma legislature voted to forgive $1.2 million in taxes owed by Mercury Marine and they’re in negotiations to offer other incentives to move the Fond du Lac plant to Oklahoma.  Considering Oklahoma is a right-to-work state and in the budget that just passed in Wisconsin Mercury Marine would be on the hook for additional taxes, I am not optimistic.

By rewarding special interests in the budget with billions in spending at the expense of private employers, the Wisconsin Democrats have given no reason for an employer to stay in Wisconsin if greener pastures are available.  Companies invest in states they feel will partner with them and grow their investment.  These investments create jobs – jobs that state residents desperately need. 

We should be doing everything possible to hold the jobs we have, to provide for the unemployed through direct benefits and job training assistance, and giving employers looking for business friendly states during this economic downturn incentives to plant their roots here.

Until we do these things we will continue to lose jobs.  At best, unemployment will begin to level off and stagnate.  If this happens, revenues from private employers and working individuals will continue to drop and the schools and social services that depend on these revenues to operate will suffer. 

Because of the actions taken in the budget passed by Democrats this year, the next budget will have a deficit that will be just as bad if not worse than the $7 billion we had earlier this year.  The odds of $2.2 billion in federal ‘stimulus’ money being available to plug budget holes in K-12, Medicaid, and local aids next budget cycle is not likely.  Wisconsin is already operating under a $2 billion structural deficit that will have to be closed in the next budget.  That number will grow if Wisconsin continues to lag behind in economic growth.

Wisconsin is in a competition with 49 other states for job creation and retention.  Based on the performance of our leadership this year we are losing that competition.  There are jobs moving and being created during this recession in the United States.  They are just in other states like Texas, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Alabama.  Unfortunately, some of those jobs moved and were lost from right here in Wisconsin.

* * * * * * * ****************************************************************

FROM: The Liberty Tree Lantern

WE MUST RECALL DOYLE BEFORE ALL OUR SMALL BUSINESSES MOVE OR CLOSE UP FOR GOOD.

Signup as a volunteer circulator of petitions at www.RecallDoyle.com

Mr. Melchert also spoke of the power that Wisconsin citizens have to recall Governor Doyle in the face of his $6.7 BILLION Dollar deficit that he is paying for with $3 BILLION Dollars of Federal Stimulus money (which will be coming out of our pockets in the next year or so in increased taxes on the common working man, in the form of “withholding” from our paychecks, and small businesses across our country) and the balance of $3.7 BILLION Dollars more in increased taxes and fees of all sorts coming directly from Wisconsin citizens paychecks, other tax bills, taxes on various products and additional taxes and fees on small business right here in our State of Wisconsin.  See: The Roth S.O.S. Report

Randy Melchert speaks at Wausau Tea Party on July 4^th.

Do you know where Governor Doyle is going to get $3 BILLION Dollars to pay for his Socialist spending programs for the 2010 budget when there is no more Federal stimulus package to raid?  Where is he going to go to get that money?  How are we Wisconsin citizens going to come up with $3 BILLION Dollars when Governor Doyle’s Socialist government spending and taxing policies have forced Wisconsin small businesses to either move to another State, shut down, or close and we are all out of work?  Have you noticed all of the companies that have closed over just the last two years of high Wisconsin business taxes and fees?  Have you noticed how many companies have closed just in the last 4 or 5 months?  Have you noticed how many Wisconsin citizens are laid off temporarily or permanently?  Why would any sane company, that you would want to work for, be so stupid as to come to Wisconsin with a Governor like Jim Doyle?  Do you think they want to come to Wisconsin to pay all these taxes and fees for us?  What do you think the owners of these companies think when they see the way the State of Wisconsin spends money on all sorts of programs and government associated unions, including WEAC, like a bunch of drunken sailors?  What about all of the “pay to play” corruption going to Jim Doyle and his minions election campaigns and socialist programs of all corruptible sorts?  An honest company can’t even get a clean break.  And to top that off, whom amongst us, here in Wisconsin would be willing to risk everything we own and our family’s nest eggs to start a business here in Wisconsin, when you see what Governor Doyle has done and is doing to the existing small businesses in our State?

If you answer the questions above honestly you must realize that you better STAND UP for yourselves and attend the next Tea Party in Wisconsin!  And, additionally and even more importantly you better realize why the way The Liberty Tree Lantern sees it, people of Wisconsin, we can either take care of our individual and personal responsibilities, in a free country, to reign in our State of Wisconsin Government by RECALLING James E. Doyle OR suffer the consequences of a dire economy, State Government corruption of all sorts, nightmarish taxes and fees and no employment to be had.

The “start” of the prescription to resolve the majority of our Wisconsin economic and spending problems is to volunteer as a petition circulator at www.RecallDoyle.com .  Our only other recourse is to make ready to move out of Wisconsin like the rest of the companies and everybody else.

I say we stand up for ourselves and our economy and RECALL JAMES E. DOYLE!  What say you?  Will you volunteer to help out all of us get our jobs and small businesses back here in Wisconsin?  Will you help us regain the right to keep our earnings from our labor and spend our own money for ourselves, our families and to thereby grow our economy here in Wisconsin?

One last question:  With Thousands and Thousands of Wisconsin citizens CONSTANTLY going to Tea Parties all over our State over the period of a year already, the last one was in Greenville, just outside of Appleton, WI,  last Sunday, how come the media hardly even mentions it?   With all the Thousands of Wisconsin citizens who have volunteered to be a circulator of the petitions to RECALL DOYLE, how come the media isn’t reporting on this all the time?  Why is the media purposely keeping Wisconsin citizens uninformed about all these never ending Tea Parties and Thousands of people who are going to be collecting petitions?  It’s a real head scratcher.

“Justice is the end of government. It is the end of civil society. It ever has been and ever will be pursued until it be obtained, or until liberty be lost in the pursuit.”

–Federalist No. 51, February 8, 1788 

“Justice is the end of government. It is the end of civil society. It ever has been and ever will be pursued until it be obtained, or until liberty be lost in the pursuit.”

–Federalist No. 51, February 8, 1788

by Virginia Foulk of Mazomanie, WI

There were the tea parties at the State Capitol in Madison, and in several other cities all over the country.

There was a protest in Green Bay when Doyle and Obama met for a Democratic party meeting. Twelve hundred strong, protesting against Obama’s health care plan.

Among the crowd were some 50 grassroots “Recall Doyle” members, part of WIN (Wisconsinites Interests Now). There was a demonstration at the Capitol rotunda on June 23, the WIN group came with posters and signs to protest Jim Doyle, the Joint Finance Committee and the budget. Why wasn’t any of this ever published or considered newsworthy?

Seems there is a media blackout for those who want to recall Doyle. Here’s another example.

When WIN tried to purchase billboard advertising with Clear Channel Outdoors, Clear Channel refused because WIN’s message “TAXED ENOUGH” www.recalldoyle.com “didn’t meet their decency clause.”

When the governor in California was recalled, all of the Wisconsin newspapers and TV stations played that process to the hilt. What is going on here?

Recall Doyle has thousands of volunteers that are ready to go out and collect signatures. Once we meet the agreed on number of volunteers, we’ll be out there. People are already asking to sign. We can do it.

I’m just wondering where are the reporters who are interested in the real news. It seems to me that a people’s grassroots endeavor like this would be important to any reporter interested in sharing newsworthy information.

Virginia Foulk, Mazomanie

OVER 8,000 Wisconsin Citizen’s in Madison, WI protesting Decades of U.S. Government Policies that have resulted in destruction of INDIVIDUAL freedom, liberty and prosperity.  These protestors are also very angry at the insane level of Socialist spending by The State of Wisconsin, the closing and moving of businesses out of Wisconsin, and the thousands of job losses resulting in unacceptable unemployment rates around the State, resultant from Governor James Doyle policies.  Doyle’s destruction of our business climate and State taxes and fees that are not tolerable anymore, according to these 8,000 Tea Party goers who chanted RECALL DOYLE, RECALL DOYLE so loud it echoed round the entire block.

Hundreds of Thousands of Americans, across the country, continue to protest decades of tyranny, usurpation, corruption, bailouts, TARP, stimulus packages, over taxation on people and small businesses, the loss of jobs and companies, The Federal Reserve “System” (A cartel of 12 privately held banks with massive control) and utter Constitutional contempt by all three branches of the U.S. Government.

In Madison Wisconsin the people also protested against the MASSIVE HUMOUNGUS Socialist spending programs of the State legislature and especially Governor James Doyle.  A group called W.I.N. (Wisconsin Interests Now) is helping Wisconsin citizen’s improve their lot with regards to insane spending and taxation policies of Governor James Doyle which have resulted in a vast number of business closings, business moving out of Wisconsin and job losses, by way of a Recall.   WIN feels that Wisconsin citizen’s, businesses, the economy and employment cannot possibly take another whole year of Governor Doyle’s $6.7 Billion dollar deficit spending and resulting tax and numerous fee raises.

See www.RecallDoyle.com

Watch, in this video, how much the Thousands of Wisconsin citizens at the Madison Tea Party want to see Governor Doyle RECALLED:

After the destruction of the Wisconsin economy and small businesses through taxation, fees on our citizens and small business and horrible business climate, the resulting loss of jobs and high Wisconsin unemployment numbers and the incredible high level of Socialistic and union spending programs, it is very easy to understand why so many thousands of people are willing to protest for the recall of Governor Doyle.

www.RecallDoyle.com

Would you help us to Recall Doyle?  We need as many volunteers to circulate petitions as we can muster.  Doyle has got to go!  Right now we need people to help us sign up more volunteers to circulate petitions.  Whoever wants to help should signup at www.RecallDoyle.com.  Remember, most of whatever Doyle does to our State will be non-reversible! Can we afford to let Diamond pay to play, Socialist, tax us to death, Jim Doyle in office for another whole year?  Look what he did to us in just the last 5 – 6 months!  

If we can get Governor Diamond Jim Doyle recalled, we will start a new wave across the country to hold our politicians responsible.  We The People of The State of Wisconsin will have lead the nation by example and show our fellow countrymen the power they have to get rid of the screwballs who are destroying our country, our small businesses, our economy, our jobs, our freedom, our liberty, our rights and our happiness.

Let’s stop complaining about all these things and GET THE JOB DONE, , ,   NOW.  It starts here in Wisconsin.  We The People FIRE the bastard who personally, with his minions in our Wisconsin State Assembly and Senate, spent us into a $6.7 BILLION Dollar Socialist debt and who now wants to tax and fee our small businesses and individual citizen’s into debt and who will destroy our entire Wisconsin economy until nobody has a job because there will be no companies to apply to.  They all will have closed or moved out of Wisconsin.

• Mercury Marine May Leave Wisconsin – Thank you, Gov. Doyle!
• Wisconsin Going Down the Doyle-lett?
• The Roth S.O.S. Report 

 It sure is nice to hear from you, Eric.  Please write me from time to time and let me know if you and any of your friends wants to help get our State and our Country back.  I am interested in getting a MeetUp going under a designated “Liberty Tree” at Menominee Memorial park once a month, which shall be called Marinette/Menominee – Sons and Daughters of Liberty <hotlink.  The plan is to get together with like minded fellow countrymen and get something going to save our freedom, our rights, our jobs, our businesses and our earnings from our State and Federal Governments beginning with a foundation of knowledge of The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution of the United States of America, the ONE and only meaning of freedom as our Founding Fathers defined it and which created the greatest most prosperous individual people on Earth with INDIVIDUAL rights and power and, with motivated and knowledgeable people will be once again.

If you have any friends who are interested in getting our country, our jobs, our businesses and our earnings back, please forward this to them and have them signup for the Marinette/Menomonee – Sons and Daughters of Liberty.  Who knows, our Liberty Tree being right at the harbor, we Sons and Daughters of Liberty just might have a little Tea Party of our own.  A few Indians might just dress up the place a little for The Waterfront Festival.  Wouldn’t it be fun to stage a representation of a Tea Party with some Sons of Liberty dressed as Indians to dingy out to The vessel Cosmo, anchored at the moorings at the south end of the marina, and dump some Tea; the boxes might read;

•  “T.E.A. — TAXED  ENOUGH  ALREADY” (the first two boxes)
• EAST INDIA TRADING COMPANY = THE FEDERAL RESERVE “SYSTEM” (Third box)
• WISCONSIN BEER TAX (4^th box) 
• $6.7 WISCONSIN DEFICIT (5^th box)
• DUMP DOYLE www.RecallDoyle.com (6^th box)

Then one of the Indians dives into the water and pulls a box OUT OF THE WATER and hands it to the other Indians on board with the words: FREEDOM PROSPERITY LIBERTY

DUMP DOYLE www.RecallDoyle.com at the Waterfront Festival in a re-creation?  That would be AWESOME!  Might be a great PR move for the Meetup group and the cause of freedom that is so necessary to reestablish our economy, businesses and jobs here in Marinette and all of Wisconsin.  Perhaps I might be able to persuade Capt. Jason to facilitate the venture if we can gather enough signups of Sons and Daughters of Liberty for our next Meetup on August 1st where we could make our planning for the TEA Party venture and have talk of events and freedom.  Sure would be all the rage in terms of sea stories at the Pirate’s Cove for years to come; it would be the stuff of legend.  Perhaps even another old salty dog of a Capt., you may know, might well don some of that Indian garb himself.  Can you imagine a youtube of this getting on the Internet and forwarded in e-mails across the country?

You know what music would be great to blast out from Cosmo’s Stereo while this is going on?  Pirates of the Caribbean Music.  Aye, mate, they be calling us Domestic Terrorists because we fight for the cause of Freedom and for our children and our grandchildren who “the powers that be” have set to hang on the economic hangman’s noose; Aye, but what they do not realize is that We The People HAVE NOT YET BEGUN TO FIGHT for our FREEDOM! 

 Behold, our fellow countrymen are marched out in chains of slavery to the beat of tyranny and oppression of the economic hangman of taxation.  How will we feel when are own children and grandchildren climb the stairs to the gallows as they look up at their own economic noose, or should they fight for their God given unalienable rights a real one, and, as the IRS Agent lifts him or her on the barrel,  sing his or her last song for Freedom?  HOW MANY DID COMMUNIST / SOCIALIST REGIMES MURDER?

The Brethern will still be looking here to us, in Wisconsin, to the Black Pearl to LEAD AND for need (of encouragement).  And what will they see?  Frightened bilge rats floating on a derelict ship?  No!  NO they will see FREE  MEN!  And FREEDOM!    And what the enemy will see is the thrash of our hands, they will hear the ring of our swords AND THEY WILL KNOW WHAT WE CAN DO!  By the sweat of our brows and the strength of our backs and the courage of our hearts.    GENTLEMEN, , , ,      HOIST THE COLORS!  Here in Marinette/Menominee Harbor!

They will pay for their treason, usurpation and tyranny against our laws that we the people did establish and ordain in The Constitution on them and the death of our children’s and grandchildren’s economic future!  We have yet to raise our colors aboard the Pearl!  The colors of FREEDOM!

Gentlemen, this here Captain. propose we hoist our colors!  It is time we FIGHT for our FREEDOM!  It is time to DUMP DOYLE for the freedom and economic viability of our State and then make weigh for Washington D.C.!  www.RecallDoyle.com

Ready on the Guns!  Break out “The sweeps”  We be damned if we allow them to hang our children and grandchildren in economic woes, slavery and oppressive taxation!  How many BILLIONS of Dollars more will our Wisconsin brethern and children be in a whole YEAR more of Doyle?   The Seas and the Lands of America be ours, mates!  They shall not chain us, turn us into slaves and beggars and march us to the economic gallows in this State nor any other!

I would like to send thanks to all of the individuals who completed my budget survey.  I received hundreds of responses and they were very useful to me as I debated the biennial budget.  These are the percentages of yes’s and no’s and the questions included in the survey.

 1. Do you support increasing state government spending by nearly 8 percent and taxes by $3.2 billion as the governor is proposing in the 2009-11 budget?

Yes 2%            No 93%

2. Do you support a new $270 million tax on oil that will be passed on to all consumers at the pump?

Yes 5%            No 95%

3. Do you support the $1.2 billion increase in taxes that was passed by the governor and legislative Democrats this year without a public hearing? This tax increase has been cited as a reason hundreds of jobs were lost in our current economic downturn.

Yes 2%            No 96%

4. Should the existing cost controls placed on local government spending that aid in keeping property taxes in check remain in place?

Yes 85%         No 12%

5. Should automobile insurance requirements be changed, as the governor is proposing in the budget, if those changes will drive up the cost of auto policies by up to 43 percent?

Yes 2%            No 97%

6. The governor is proposing in his budget to cut the use of active GPS tracking for violent child sex predators and use passive tracking to monitor these sex offenders. Passive tracking would notify law enforcement personnel only after a sex predator violated his or her parole, or after a crime had been committed. Do you support this cut to close the budget deficit?

Yes 13%          No 85%

7. Should taxpayer dollars be used to provide health care and retirement benefits to unmarried domestic partners of state government employees?

Yes 8%            No 92%

8. Do you support, as the governor has proposed in his budget, giving new mothers on state welfare benefits 24 weeks of paid leave when mothers not on welfare receive up to 12 weeks of leave that may or may not be paid? This change in Wisconsin’s welfare program will cost roughly $1.5 million over the next two years.

Yes 2%            No 98%

Don’t forget to Recall Governor James Doyle.  Sign up here: www.RecallDoyle.com

Be sure to read the fascinating comments below by clicking on “comments”, below,  or clicking on the title of this post above and scrolling down to the comments.