Is The GOP Trying To Rig The Elections In Wisconsin Again?

What kind of mentally deranged parents think a philandering, lying bigoted pig like Trump would make a good role model for their children? Republicans. In a new Quinnipiac poll released yesterday, we saw that the vast majority of Americans agree that Trump is not a good role model for children. Republicans disagree. Just before the Washington Post broke the story about how the White House asked to borrow Van Gogh's Landscape With Snow from the Guggenheim but were offered an 18-karat gold toilet by Maurizio Cattelan instead, the poll came out affirming that because 90% of Americans say it's important that a president be a good role model for children and that Trumpanzee isn't. 67% gave Trump a thumbs down and only a pathetic 29% said he would be a good role model. 72% of Republicans say he is a good role model. Sick!

Trump does not provide the U.S. with moral leadership, American voters say 63 - 33 percent. Again, there is virtually no gender gap as all listed groups, except Republicans and white voters with no college degree, say by wide margins the president does not provide moral leadership. Republicans say 80 - 16 percent he does provide moral leadership and white voters with no college degree are divided 47 - 47 percent.

"For President Donald Trump, it's a troubling trifecta: Stagnant approval numbers, low grades on most character traits and the reality that if parents are looking for someone their kids should emulate, that person is not residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.

"Only 27 percent of American voters say they are proud to have Donald Trump as president, while 53 percent say they are embarrassed - a 2-1 negative."

American voters disapprove 58 - 36 percent of the job Trump is doing, marking 12 months of negative scores and seven months since his approval rating hit 40 percent.

The only groups approving of Trump are Republicans, 86 - 9 percent, and white voters with no college degree, 50 - 42 percent. White men are divided as 47 percent approve and 49 percent disapprove.

Trump's grades on most character traits remain negative as voters say:

• 60 - 35 percent that he is not honest;
• 59 - 38 percent that he does not have good leadership skills;
• 57 - 40 percent that he does not care about average Americans;
• 65 - 30 percent that he is not level-headed;
• 61 - 36 percent that he is a strong person;
• 54 - 40 percent that he is intelligent;
• 61 - 34 percent that he does not share their values.

Apparently he is a role model for the Wisconsin Republican Party, which has been trying to get away with the same crap he pulls. Yesterday our old friend, state Senator Chris Larsen reported on Governor Scott Walker's 7th and last "State of the State" speech. He pointed out that "Walker and his legislative cronies have been in charge of Wisconsin for the last seven years. During that time, they have chosen to ignore the needs and wishes of hardworking Wisconsinites."

Scott Walker has chosen to divide our state, vilify the poor, attack teachers, slash funding for our schools, and drag Wisconsin behind the rest of the nation in job growth. He's raised spending levels to the highest in our state's history while delivering the largest corporate giveaway in the history of our nation, virtually eliminated taxes for giant corporations and the rich, and he is still claiming that there isn't enough money to restore the funds to our children's education or give workers a raise.  ...Last night, Governor Walker:

• Spoke about the Foxconn corporate giveaway without mentioning the ever growing $4.5 billion price tag our Wisconsin neighbors will be left to pay for decades
• Touted the record number of Wisconsinites that now have health insurance (thank you, Obama!) but failed to mention that he has cost Wisconsinites nearly $700 million by not fully expanding Medicaid
• Neglected to mention the atrocities committed against youth at Lincoln Hills and his administrations failure to act under his leadership
• Neglected to mention our natural resources once, despite dismantling long cherished environmental and conservation protections
• Failed to mention his over $1 billion in cuts to our neighborhood schools that has jeopardized our children' future.

What Chris didn't mention is how the state Republicans continue working feverishly to rig the state's elections in their favor. The state Senate made a big move on Tuesday, voting along party lines to remove the state’s top election and ethics officials in the sunup to the midterms. The two ousted officials are Ethics Administrator Brian Bell and Elections Administrator Michael Haas.

Haas’ removal comes just weeks before a Feb. 20 primary in the state and a little under three months before the first day when candidates can begin circulating petitions for the 2018 fall election. As Wisconsin’s chief election official, Haas is responsible for administering those elections, ensuring compliance with federal law and overseeing investigation and enforcement of the state’s election code. He is also charged with overseeing the state’s election equipment, a role with increased importance this year because Wisconsin was one of 21 states targeted by Russian hackers ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

Mark Thomsen, a Democrat and the election commission’s chairman, noted during a meeting Wednesday that Haas was the only person in the agency with the required clearance to work with the Department of Homeland Security to secure the state’s election system.

...Meanwhile, the members of the state’s ethics commission unanimously picked Bell to serve as their administrator in 2016. The six-member panel is charged with overseeing the state’s campaign finance, lobbying and ethics laws. An investigation by the ethics commission into Bell found there was “not a scintilla of evidence” he was partisan in his duties at the Government Accountability Board. Earlier this month, Bell said he left the board because it was too partisan.

...Chris Ott, the executive director of the Wisconsin ACLU, said the timing of Haas’ dismissal was suspicious and said the sudden push to oust the officials was out of the blue.

“The Wisconsin Senate’s vote yesterday along party lines to try ousting the head of our Elections Commission looks like political interference in a nonpartisan agency that helps and protects Wisconsin voters, just a few weeks before important statewide elections start,” he said in a statement.

Jay Heck, the executive director of Common Cause in Wisconsin, called the vote not to confirm Haas and Bell “one of the most grotesque abuses of power that has occurred in Wisconsin in its history.”

“No evidence, no charges, no specific examples of misconduct, nothing. Just secret agreement among the members of the majority party in the State Senate to get rid of them both, right before important elections, and replace them, presumably, with sycophants and pawns that the Republicans will dictate what they decide and what the result of their work on elections and ethics will be,” Heck said in a statement.