All Those "Discovered" Votes Smell

Hi Jeanie:

I’m sure you have all seen the alarming news: Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus, a long-time Republican operative, has magically uncovered over 14,000 votes two days after the election and turning it in favor of her former boss, David Prosser.

Wisconsin deserves answers while this election remains undeclared. Add your name to a letter calling for an immediate and thorough investigation by Attorney General JB Van Hollen’s Wisconsin Election Integrity Task Force -- and to ensure it is a bipartisan effort that he include Milwaukee District Attorney John Chisholm, who has worked closely with the task force.

Remember that under the demands of the conservative noise machine, law enforcement in Wisconsin has spent untold amounts of our tax dollars to investigate so-called voter fraud since 2004, turning up less than three dozen improperly-cast votes out of six million votes. With over 14,000 ballots in question and the integrity of our entire electoral process under threat, a full and complete investigation of Nickolaus, her computer and her files must commence immediately.

The facts are still coming out about the mysteriously-discovered votes in Waukesha, but here is what we know so far:

* Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus worked for Republican Assembly Caucus under the leadership of David Prosser
* Nickolaus dismissed an independent audit commissioned over concerns there are massive security threats in the system she maintains. Nickolaus maintains a secret system for keeping public voting data and laughed off the audit, drawing criticism from the Waukesha County Board Chair
* Nickolaus was one of two database experts for Assembly Republicans, spending 13 years becoming one of the state’s leading partisan experts on manipulating voter data.

Attorney General Van Hollen has made investigating and prosecuting so-called voter fraud and protecting the integrity of our elections one of his top priorities, and the Wisconsin Election Integrity Task Force is uniquely equipped to conduct a thorough, bipartisan investigation into the contested Waukesha vote numbers.

That letter was in my inbox a couple days ago. I can't add much to that except that the whole look-we've-found-these-surprise-votes thing stunk like a dead skunk in the middle of the road. It is going to take some real, dedicated effort to pull the curtain away from the men who lurk behind pulling levers.

But I am continually wondering what it is the tea party/ultra-conservatives have against the Common People? Jealousy - they want to keep all their money (and yours too!). Control - they want to keep all their money (and yours too!) Fear - they fear loss of perceived status, fear being taken advantage of by the common people. Those are three I can think of because I have heard those spoken. Many of the people speaking like this are common people themselves which makes it all the more crazy making, as my therapist used to say.

Rallies in Madison yesterday were well attended. The People have not gone home nor have their voices been silenced. Quite the opposite, the charge to remove Repubs from office continues as well as the effort to make Scott Walker a one-term guv. As a friend of mine used to phrase it when she had a difficult thing to say - "We wish we were sorry about that but we aren't!" We aren't sorry at all - you, Mr. Walker, have so divided the state, so twisted things, so damaged trust that you just need to go. Hopefully we will have counted all the votes and looked into the shameful bogus discovery of votes for your guy and laid that bare so that we can have some dancing in the streets when you leave. It will be a grand day!

Btw, keep your eye on Paul Ryan. As I mentioned yesterday, he's the mouthpiece behind the move to gut Medicare in the House. He's going to press this one to the max. It is his Precious! Send him an email and let him know you don't think much of his plan. You can write to him at:

Washington, DC office
1233 Longworth HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: (202) 225-3031
Fax: (202) 225-3393

Janesville office
20 South Main Street, Suite 10
Janesville, WI 53545
Toll-Free: 1-888-909-RYAN (7926)
Phone: (608) 752-4050
Fax: (608) 752-4711

Kenosha office
5455 Sheridan Road, Suite 125
Kenosha, WI 53140
Phone: (262) 654-1901
Fax: (262) 654-2156

Racine office
216 6th Street
Racine, WI 53403
Phone: (262) 637-0510
Fax: (262) 637-5689

These folks need to know that, out here in Common Person Land, we pay attention to everything and that we make input when we feel something isn't right. Paul needs to hear from The People in Wisconsin as Walker and Fitzgerald and now Prosser need to hear from us.

Power To All The People!