Why the growing discontent by Republican voters? For many it boils down to Senator Fitzgerald becoming
too extreme, and too caustic for the state.
But overall those that I talk to are deeply disappointed in his change in
attitude towards serving special interest groups and generous donors, (especially
from out of state) over serving the taxpayers of his district. In fact, the senator will and has stated
publicly that the majority of his campaign funds are from out of state donors
and that soliciting in this manner is the nature of the business in state politics. If you do not believe me, just attend one of
his listening sessions. Better yet, just ask him for yourself. He actually seems proud to talk about it.
A growing number of Republicans tell me that the senator does not demonstrate that he cares about them or their families anymore and they are not
going to vote for him on June 5th.
They are saying that Lori Compas has their vote this time. Some are telling me that they like what Lori
represents while other Republicans say that they just want to get the senator
out and they will overlook that she is a Democrat. The bottom line, they will be
voting for Lori Compas and not Senator Fitzgerald. When I ask them if they would ever consider
staying home and not voting at all, they respond with such things as “not a
chance!” In fact, some will go as far to say that they would vote for a monkey
on the ballot if it meant getting the senator out of office. Lori Compas is their person and they are going to take it to the polls on June 5th. I will be there with them.
In upcoming posts I will start offering my reasons for the
cross-over vote from Senator Fitzgerald to Lori Compas. But I would love to hear from others who will
be supporting Lori Compas as well, or those who will no longer be voting for Senator Fitzgerald. Share your reasons for the change because you
are not alone and it is time for the media to stop ignoring that Republicans
against Senator Fitzgerald are out there in a larger number than any are giving
credit to.
I look forward to posting your emails.
Sincerely,
Gary
Well kudos to those Republicans, but are you the same Republicans that have voted for the extreme policies of Gov. Walker. If so you are no better than the Fitzgerald bros.. you are part of the problem. The only Senator who serves his district(all of the people) is Dale Schultz, even if he disagrees with us. We are his constituents and he listens. I hope you same Republicans will help vote Walker out, and then maybe we can work together to get our Wis. back, I miss the pride we all used to have in our state. We have become an embarrassment, but the whole nation is pulling for us.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous - Your comments are well taken by me becuase I am embarrassed and disspointed in this extreme right of the current GOP. It does not embody the party that I grew up with and I want to speak out for the need for a better way where both parties are reminded that they need to work together for the good of all the people. While I do not agree with Senator Schultz on all of his positions, I do appreciate his statemenship in representing his constituents. Thank you for your input.
ReplyDeleteGary
Thank you, Gary for your comments.
ReplyDeleteOne of my many reasons for not supporting Senator Fitzgerald anymore is related to the redistricting fiasco that is still ongoing and being battled out in the courts.
ReplyDeleteWith the proposed redistricting maps and Senator Fitzgerald’s heavy involvement in that process, I would like to ask the senator what Keith Gaddie’s (Professor of Political Science – Oklahoma University) role was in the process and how much he was paid for that role. When the senator gets done with his rhetoric and no answer response, I would like to ask him what his thoughts are on the claims that the GOP hired Professor Gaddie in an effort to invoke political collusion (– to defraud and hide their true agenda from the people of Wisconsin in this
process.)?
After reading the article, tell me whether you see reason to be suspicious of Senator Fitzgerald’s true intentions. I will gladly listen to reasons why I might be jumping to conclusions or overlooking something.
http://bdgrdemocracy.wordpress.com/2012/02/17/the-most-influential-under-reported-player-in-the-wisconsin-gop-redistricting-strategy-oklahoma-university-professor-keith-gaddie/
Gary
I just want the FIRST lie of being 3.6 billion strightent out this got the whole lies started. Get the truth out about this FRIST
ReplyDeleteI attended (and videotaped)a recent Fitzgerald listening session where he defended passing all legislation offered to him by ALEC. Then he refused to say how much of his campaign funds came from out of state but maintained any percentage was fine. So who does Fitz really represent?
ReplyDeleteGary-
ReplyDeleteI absolutely LOVE the title of your blog! You could call me a Democratic- Republican or a Republican-Democrat. I am fiscally conservative and have never been called a "liberal" until 3 years ago, when extremists took over. Anyone who does not agree with their tactics is a "leftist socialist". We'll see about that, hey?
Thanks so much for all you have done and are doing to unseat these tyrants.
It is interesting that you mentioned what happens when people do not agree with their tactics. Because that is exactly one of the conversations that I had with Senator Fitzgerald in his office at the Capitol last year.
ReplyDeleteWhen it became apparent that we had a stark difference of opinion on the “manner” in which he and Governor Walker are legislating the people, Senator Fitzgerald quickly dismissed my constituency input as being of any relevance to him. It became very apparent in a hurry that my continued vote for him was of no concern to the man.
That is just one reason why I will be cross-over and voting for Democrat Lori Compas.
Thank you for the response.
Gary
Amy - I know that a lot of Republican legislators are members of ALEC and many of them do more than utilize legislation created by ALEC, the legislators actually push for ALEC sponsored/created bills to be implemented into law.
ReplyDeleteI never voted for Senator Fitzgerald with the desire to have him pushing ALEC agendas and ALEC bills. I expect Senator Fitzgerald and his staff to do their own work that best fits the local needs of the people.
As far as the amount of outside money that Senator Fitzgerald is collecting, he agreed with me at the Watertown listening session in Dec when I asked him if more than half of his campaign funds were from out of state donors. I am assuming that he is starting to catch flak over that and if he is starting to release how dumb it was to be telling us the truth for once.
Thank you for your input.
Gary
My favorite Fitzgerald quote is “Legislating is like sausage making. You don’t really want to know what goes into it.” I heard him speak these remarkable words at a Watertown listening session before the recall began. The fact of the matter is yes, Senator, we do want to know what goes into it and who is writing it. And since this past January the most destructive legislation that has been passed was written by the American Legislative Exchange Council of which Fitzgerald is a member. And the Senator himself has used the most manipulative tactics to shepherd these bills into law. Things like conference committees, extraordinary sessions, violation of open meetings laws, running fake candidates to prolong their majority, manipulating redistricting maps and the process for redistricting itself, requiring other legislators to sign confidentiality agreements about legislation, assigning his staff to work on state business from a private law firm’s office and using their personal gmail accounts to avoid public record laws, and the list goes on. Now that we all see what has been going into his “sausage making” how could anyone, of any political background, find it palatable?
ReplyDeleteCall me a Progressive and a Socialist and a Christian. I believe a community is responsible for its members. In response to Gary's article and the comments, I think Dale Schultz and Tim Cullen should be running the show! They have been the model for working together to solve problems. They truly believe that differences must be solved through that give-and-take called negotiation. We have not seen that in the other Wisconsin legislators.
ReplyDeleteAs for Scott Fitzgerald... recalling just one fairly lengthy article that I read in the Daily JeffersonCounty Union about one of those 'listening sessions', that bully did 99% of the talking and others really didn't get a chance to give input. How does one listen when he is dong all the talking?
From what I've seen and heard of Lori Compas, she is an intelligent, extremely well-organized young woman who truly wants to represent the People. She learned a LOT and quickly about state government and state politics and issues and I think she honestly wants to represent the people
Thank you for your posts, Gary.
Anonymous - I have said before that while I do not agree with Senator Dale Schultz on everything, I appreciate his approach to looking at both sides of the issues and for his willingness to work with all parties for the good of the people. I believe that my senator (Scott Fitzgerald) could learn a thing or two from this type of leadership style.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that when (R) Senator Schultz and (D) Senator Cullen started to work with the author of the mining bill and other Republican legislators to explore and possible draft a more palatable revision to the bill,(R) Senator Fitzgerald stepped in and hastily dissolved the mining bill committee and rammed the original bill through when everyone knew that it was going to fail.
Part of me strongly believes that Senator Fitzgerald knew that he was not going to get his way if let the two senator draft a revised bill, which leads me to believe that Senator Fitzgerald helped the bill to fail so that he could blame it on others.
And yes, Lori Compas is proving to be a quick learner with a demonstrated desire to listen to and serve the people. Now that makes a second person that Senator Fitzgerald could learn a thing or two from.
Just my opinion. Thank you for yours.
Gary
Very interesting post and replies. Thank you, everyone. I attended one of Scott Fitgerald's "listening" sessions. He puffs up his chest and sticks out his chin when he talks and does nothing I would call listening. His ego and need for power are out of control. He can't possibly effectively represent us. Let's get out there and save our state!
ReplyDeleteK
Oh, I am so glad to have found your blog! It was downright depressing to have to choose sides all of the time when nothing is ever black and white, right and wrong, etc. I too admire Dale Schultz for showing independence and dedication to his job rather than to political cronies. Along with many, I have become appalled at what we got when we elected Mr. Walker: Your basic schoolyard bullies running this state. It has been downright scary actually. Thanks for being there--thought I was all alone.
ReplyDeleteI made numerous attempts to contact Sen. Fitzgerald via email, asking him to respond to a number of questions that were laid out in a civil and respectful manner. I received a couple of canned responses that failed to address my questions, and even with several follow up emails detailing the questions that were never answered I still did not receive any response. It was at that point I indicated my intention to recall him from office when the opportunity became available. I think forwarded that communication to him, suggesting he look for my name on the recall petitions because I held true to my word, unlike him.
ReplyDeleteI understand and accept that there are different methods, priorities and ideologies on how to accomplish the goal of the government providing the services needed while being fiscally responsible. What I did not understand and cannot support is the method on how this administration ripped apart the fabric that once held the fine people of Wisconsin together as a very moderate and independent state that could swing between red and blue. Now, somehow the extremist agenda and absolute refusal to compromise has made it's way into WIsconsin and torn apart friends, family and neighbors. That is not how civil people behave. I've found the Coffee Party USA (www.coffeepartyusa.com), focused on inciting civility and reason, to be a little beacon of hope that this damage can be repaired at some point down the road.
Hey everyone. Good discourse. I will return later when I have a bit more time. However I do want to correct one error. It is Senator Jauch, not Senator Cullen who worked with Dale Schultz on the bi-partisan mining bill. And because of his actions some up north are trying to gather a recall against him -- although I haven't heard anything in awhile about whether or not the recall is having any success. In the meantime we need to vote into office those legislators who will listen to the voters in their district, not those who write checks from far away places.
ReplyDeleteThanks Gary for your honest appraisal of Wisconsin's current Republican Party.
Hey everyone. Good discourse. I will return later when I have a bit more time. However I do want to correct one error. It is Senator Jauch, not Senator Cullen who worked with Dale Schultz on the bi-partisan mining bill. And because of his actions some up north are trying to gather a recall against him -- although I haven't heard anything in awhile about whether or not the recall is having any success. In the meantime we need to vote into office those legislators who will listen to the voters in their district, not those who write checks from far away places.
ReplyDeleteThanks Gary for your honest appraisal of Wisconsin's current Republican Party.
lph – Thank you so much for pointing out my Freudian slip, because you are exactly right. I said “Sen Cullen” when I should have said “Sen Jauch.” Even though I knew that it was Sen Jauch and accidently put in the wrong senator’s name, it was essentially sending bad information that was not intentional and I did not catch it. This is a perfect example of why I encourage good civil discussion on matters like this.
ReplyDeleteThank you for holding me accountable and for giving me a chance to correct the error. I look forward to your future comments and continued reading.
Gary
Hi Gary-
ReplyDeleteI was so excited to hear about your offer to publicly debate Fitzgerald! WOW!!! I hope this happens but he won't take it, he's too yellow! You are brave... being principled is part of that.
BTW- I sure do hope the dems or somebody highlights the distinct differences between Gov. Walker with regard to their treatment of women who are the victims of abuse, sexual abuse. Barrett risks his life at a fairground to help a woman that was being beaten to death with a tireiron. He has had 3 surgeries on his arm and has limited use of it as a result of defending this woman. He has to shake hands with his oppostite hand.
Walker's administration has made unprecedented cuts to agencies who help victims of sexual assault in WI, most of whom are women. His opposition to equal pay laws in WI goes a long way to making sure that even if women are maltreated, their chance of being able to financially separate from their "mates" is greatly reduced.
Barrett, though not as passionate as I would like, walks the talk. Walker and Fitzgerald, in MHO are sociopathic ego-maniacs that crave power to mask their serious inferiority complexes that when put up against REAL personal power and intergrity, makes them want to run away like little children. Keep us posted on his response. This would be the event of the year!
As much as I want Walker recalled, I want Fitzy recalled more. He's an arrogant liar and the scum of the earth. Go Lori Compas!
ReplyDelete