The Ends Justify the Means

It's no surprise Doyle's gaggle of partisan lawyers claim the ends justify the means when it comes to setting Mark Green up to take a half million dollar fall. After all, there's a lot riding on this election.

And while I'm certain they will each experience a few moments of uneasiness as they become key figures in the 2006 Gubernatorial election, I'm also certain that lying comes as naturally to most of them as taking a breath.

So just sit back and watch the rats jump ship as Waukesha County District Attorney Paul Bucher and the State Department of Justice begin investigating possible ethical and legal violations surrounding the State Elections Board action.

Board member and Milwaukee Attorney Carl Holborn says some of the emails from Maistelman were "inappropriate" though he didn't ask him to stop.

"Most of them I didn't even read. The one I did read, I responded to."

Gee Carl, if you didn't read most of the emails how did you determine that they were inappropriate? And according to the Maistelman emails, it was Holborn's idea to give Green time to have the out of state PACs register in Wisconsin in order to make the board look reasonable.

On the day of the board's vote, personal injury lawyer Bob Kasieta told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, that he had not been told how to vote by Doyle or his aides. The operative word being "told," when Kasieta starts talking will he claim not to have read the emails either?
If you consider the email exchange between Maistelman and Kasieta you know that pig isn't going to fly.

Kasieta thanks Maistelman for helping him "work through" the motions – proving that he was coached, steered, and absorbed the direction they wanted him to take.

Before August 28th, Kasieta receives Maistelman's messages, but does not appear to be focused. Then on Monday August 28th, Maistelman comes to Madison and meets with Kasieta. Later that day he tells Holborn and Dwyer:

"I am in Madison all day today to make sure we are set for our vote to ban Green money on Wednesday. I had a good meeting with Bob Kasieta and he is on board with the arguments we discussed including the one below."

In a message to Kasieta on August 28th,Maistelman fleshes out the argument to ignore the Legislature's suspension of the emergency rule and Kasieta replies the following day to say:

"This is very helpful. I would like to go through the language of the motion before the meeting. Thanks, Mike, for taking time to work through the issue with me yesterday." Bjk.

Finally the lawyer's lawyer, Michael Maistelman, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he was not working for the Doyle campaign on August 29th --- the day of the hearing. Was Maistelman lying then, or was he lying last week when he said he was representing the Doyle campaign when he sent the emails? Is he trying to protect "the powers that be" under attorney/client privilege?

With only 43 days until the election there are just so many lies and so little time.

Scumbag Lawyers One and All

There was never any doubt in my mind that Doyle's henchmen were behind the eleventh hour Elections Board ruling that directed Mark Green to divest of nearly half a million dollars in legally transferred funds.

I even suggested to others that phone records would show a trail of calls between board members and "the powers that be" in the Doyle Administration. What never occurred to me was that the Democratic Party's lawyer Mike Maistelman would be stupid enough to instruct three of the four Democratic board members as to how they should find.

The genius Maistelman even pointed out in writing that one of the Governor's appointees (who no doubt figured the whole scheme out through osmosis) should not be included in their email chain as it would constitute a quorum of the Elections Board and violate open meeting laws.

Maistelman told the happy trio that even if Green challenged their ruling in court it would be a "PR victory since it makes Green spend his money and have to defend the use of his Washington D.C. dirty money."So the Doyle campaign and Democratic Party used the State Elections Board to further their campaign goal of making Mark Green spend money.

It's too bad the taxpayers will also have to spend money defending their bogus ruling in court today. What's next - a break in at the Republican Party of Wisconsin headquarters?

But what the hell, these scumbag lawyers are playing for keeps even as Doyle is airing his latest "I am not a crook" ad.

http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/DG06_110_Give_it_BackLg_Prog.mov

Note to Kreitlow Campaign: Cancel Pat's Email

When it comes to losing an air battle of wits with a popular radio talk show host, once just isn't enough for State Senate candidate Pat Kreitlow.

Late last week, Kreitlow went back on the air with Bruce Butler, only to have Butler read a scathing email Kreitlow sent the radio station after his first appearance.

Kreitlow attempted to talk over the host while he was reading the message. When that failed, Kreitlow released his lawyers on station management.

Following is an excerpt from Kreitlow's email to the Valley Morning talk radio team. Listen to the entire exchange here.

I called in assuming we'd have a productive twenty minute chat about the Zien debate dodge, the real issues in the campaign and other personal back and forth. Talk about a bad assumption.

But it made for good radio which is all Bruce needs to care about, I understand.

Still even I under estimated the comical wrath of hurricane Bruce. An extreme example of someone can who dish it out but can't take it.

Tweak at the ratings, a poke at his multiple job duties. What the heck does he think he does to politicians and media people for a living?

Talk about hypersensitive Did he think I was treated with kid gloves all those years I was at Channel 13? Ha!. I can poke at him because I've been there.

And as long as you try to mount a high horse when you're number 11 in the ratings, Bruce you will keep getting poked.

Don't get mad, just get better.

I have to admit that even I was surprised he'd chosen to go the route of using my daughter and grandson as a political issue.

I thought we were above that, but not in Bruce's world.

He talks about having control of your children as if he's forgotten that all the education and information in the world can not overcome teenage hormones and a moment of wreckless behavior.

I guarantee you Senator Zien has enough class not to go there. And that he's aware how many thousands of Wisconsin families have to face this kind of turning point in their lives.

As I said we'll take care of this with love and support and an effort to keep her education and future on track.

Now let's talk about this phony common man issue. Does he have any idea what Sherry and I did to get to where we are today?

No.

He sees an easy talk radio target. A TV anchor turned politician.

His definition of hard work can not hold a candle to mine. I've worked my butt off for twenty plus year to be in a position where I can run to represent my neighbors in the Wisconsin legislature.

His version of hard work has put him in a position to sit behind a microphone for three hours and mouth off.



In Pat Kreitlow's world:

• Hundreds of lawn signs are a sign of desperation, not of the hard-working, well organized campaign of a popular incumbent.

• Polls showing the popular incumbent to be, well, popular must be wrong because we (Madison Democrats) don't like him.
  
• Repeatedly attacking the region's most popular talk radio host on the air (when he is trying to help you) is a sign of… OK, that's crazy no matter how you look at it.
  

Online survey question for today:

Has Pat Kreitlow always been unstable, or is the pressure of the campaign getting to him?

Irascible. Cantankerous. Crusty, Crotchety & Right

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel thinks Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner should be ashamed of himself for saying that Milwaukee is rapidly becoming the murder capitol of the U.S.

Milwaukee's liberal white establishment led by Mayor Tom Barrett, the Third Ward public relations firm of Speak No Evil and the former head of the Wisconsin Arts Board, want you to know that Milwaukee's not number one when it comes to murders. Milwaukee is number ten, and the number of murders would practically have to double in order for Milwaukee to surpass Baltimore as the murder capital of the country.

So if 77 people are murdered in the city and nobody talks about it, does it make a sound?

The answer is yes. And what really concerns the liberal establishment is not whether Jim Sensenbrenner's comments will hurt tourism. The sound they're afraid of is more levers being pulled for conservative, tough on crime candidates like Sheriff David Clarke.

Come November, will Milwaukee voters feel safer with Jim Doyle and Catch and Release Kate?

Today's online poll question:

What metaphor best describes Mayor Barrett and the liberal, Milwaukee elites? Are they:

a) Burying their heads in the sand.
b) Whistling past the (expanding) graveyard
c) Killing the messenger
d) Bringing a bookmobile to a gunfight

Signs of Desperation

State Senate Candidate Pat Kreitlow and the Democrat State Senate Committee have put some interesting spin on the race for the 23rd State Senate seat lately.

Kreitlow's Corner

Candidate Kreitlow suggests that a pre Labor Day proliferation of Zien lawn signs throughout the district is a sign of a desperate campaign. Kreitlow says the signs are likely to be ignored come November "because they will have been around for so long."

That sounds like something a campaign manager would say to appease an anxious candidate who wants to know why his opponent has so many signs and he doesn't have any.

The conversation might have gone something like this:

"Everywhere I go I see those damn Zien signs. I must have seen at least 20 on my way over here. Why don't we have our signs yet? How many did we order and will they get here? I can't win this race without yard signs."

"Pat, it's too early for lawn signs. You never put lawn signs up before Labor Day. Zien's just wasting his money. By the time November rolls around, people won't even remember seeing them. Why don't you go home and post something on your blog."

And that's how Littering the Landscape was inspired.

A full 10 weeks ahead of Election Day, the lawn signs are out there cluttering the view, soon to be ignored because they will have been around for so long. So when you see the big white "Z" scrawled across a large blue sign, remember what you're really seeing across the Wisconsin political climate... signs of desperation.

Democratic State Senate Committee Dismisses Polls

According to Matt Swentkofske, director of the Democratic State Senate Committee, two separate polls showing Dave Zien with a double digit lead over Pat Kreitlow just can't be accurate.

According to Swentkofske, supporters in the district called the campaign to say the poll questions were slanted against Kreitlow. (I think they call that testing the issues.)

He went on to say that Zien hasn't done anything significant enough to move the poll numbers so substantially from May.

"He hasn't done mail. He hasn't done any voter contact stuff. I still see his bike at the Capitol," Swentkofske. "I don't see how his numbers would move anyway."

Maybe it was all those yards signs...

Kreitlow: Don't Call Us, We'll Call You

Radio talk show hosts beware: State Senate candidate Pat Kreitlow does not want you to call him at home. That's just not how he operates.

That's what Pat Kreitlow told WAYY Radio host Bruce Butler when Butler called Kreitlow's home Tuesday evening. The popular Eau Claire radio talk show host called Kreitlow to offer him an opportunity to appear on his show after receiving Kreitlow's press release criticizing Senator Dave Zien for not debating his GOP primary opponent. Not surprisingly Butler discussed the bizarre exchange with Kreitlow on the air today. Kreitlow couldn't resist the urge to call in and give Butler a piece of his mind, though it doesn't seem he had one to spare.

After be given a second chance to attack Dave Zien on the air, Kreitlow instead attacked the talk show host for having the gall to call him at home. He went on to suggest Butler's ratings were dropping which forced Bulter to take a second job.

Astute callers then pointed out that Kreitlow, who quit his own job in broadcasting over a year ago, has been kept by his Doctor wife ever since.

Listen to the whole exchange here.

Honey I Sold the Kids

In an a last minute effort to raise money for his campaign for Attorney General, Republican candidate JB Van Hollen sold his children sources said Friday.

The two children were sold as a set to another Dutch family in Northeastern Wisconsin. Van Hollen closed on the sale late Friday morning, just in time to release word of his new found wealth before the long holiday weekend. A source close to the Van Hollen campaign said the contract included an option to lease back the children at some point in the future.

“Obviously JB did not want to sell his children, but he couldn’t see any other way to raise the additional $350,000 needed to overcome his opponent’s effective issue driven campaign and high name recognition in Southeastern Wisconsin.”

Van Hollen and his wife Lynn took out a second mortgage on their home in Waunakee to help finance the first $350,000 loan to his campaign. Van Hollen said he would have sold his airplane to raise the money if he hadn’t crashed it into a neighbor’s yard last year.