Memo to Democratic boycotters: Rockford is beautiful this time of year
Three words for the good-government goo goos who blame crooked maps for Democrats’ inability to win elections in Wisconsin: Senate District #10.
A Democrat took that northwestern legislative district in Tuesday’s special election to replace Republican Sheila Harsdorf, who left office after 16 years to become Scott Walker’s ag secretary and a nice bump in pay. A low-profile Democrat defeated a sitting Republican state rep by 11 percentage points. A district that Donald Trump carried by 17 points just over one year ago.
The stunner in the Tenth disproves the Democrats’ whining that the legislative maps drawn after the last Census ensures a Republican majority. Their proposed remedy is a Rube Goldberg formula called the efficiency gap that, roughly speaking, counts “wasted votes” that do not elect a legislator. Either through packing them into one overwhelmingly Democratic district or cracking them among many district in order to create a minority in each. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to render its verdict to their case, Gill v. Whitford, this spring.
The Wall Street Journal today hopes the Justices are paying attention.
Unlike gerrymandering by race, partisanship is neither a defined nor inherited identity. Politics can change on an individual and district-wide level from election to election.
Indeed, Republicans represented the west side of Madison into the 1960s. Unthinkable today.
We’ve said before, in order to rectify the efficiency gap’s “wasted” Democratic votes in, say, the uber-liberal 76th Assembly District on Madison’s isthmus, Gill v. Whitford would spaghettify the district until it reached into Dodge County. A district that would be neither compact nor represent a community of interest. Both — along with contiguity — long the standard for ethical legislative districting. No one “packed” the 76th unless it was Two Men and a Truck.
“Democrats didn’t mind gerrymanders that helped them keep power in the House for 40 years before 1994, but now they want courts to help them overturn maps that help Republicans. “ — “The Wisconsin Gerrymander Lesson”
Shutting down government for illegal immigrants
If the federal government does go on holiday this weekend, Democrats may get the blame. The dominant social network meme detected here at the Stately Manor is that Democrats are choosing illegal immigrants (DACA) over the armed services.
Over 2 million soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen would not be paid until the shutdown ends. Training would be stopped and a hundred thousand national guardsmen sent home.
Even Trump-hater David Leonhardt at the NY Times asks if DACA is the hill on which endangered Democrats like Missouri’s Claire McCaskill want to die.
“I understand why Senate Democrats view a potential government shutdown as their best leverage. But Democrats would also be wise to be honest with themselves about the political downsides here,” Leonhardt advises. In other words, do they really want to push immigration front and center?
Trump’s approval rating has bumped up to 40%, according to poll guru Nate Silver, from 36% in mid-December. On the generic-ballot question, Democrats’ lead is down to eight percentage points from 13 points last month.
Republicans talk about jobs, more take-home pay, employee bonuses, factory expansions, a raging stock market and fatter retirement pensions, and corporations repatriating their money from abroad and paying $38 billion in taxes (as Apple did this week).
Republicans talk about defeating ISIS, curbing Kim Jong un, supporting police, and redrawing one-sided trade agreements.
Democrats talk about Illegal immigrants, Russian collusion, and that bad word. Illegal immigrants, Russian collusion, and that bad word. Illegal immigrants, Russian collusion, and that bad word. Illegal immigrants, Russian collusion, and that bad word. Illegal immigrants, Russian collusion, and that bad word. Illegal immigrants, Russian collusion, and that bad word.
Today in virtue signaling
Back in Madison, the Derail the Jail crew took a knee during the pledge of allegiance at Thursday night’s Dane County Board meeting. Literally. Despite still more disruption and a steady stream of the Usual Suspects (including a large contingent of UW sociology grad students) the board authorized a $76 million borrowing package to build a more humane, if smaller, county jail. Once again, of 37 members, only Bayrd, Hendrick, Kilmer, and Wegleitner voted against the jail.
Biggest laugh of the night: Socialist Alternative guy Teddy Shibabaw predicted supes who voted for a better jail will be defeated in the Spring election. “We’re going to make sure your political futures are threatened because all your’e going to respond to is a shift in the power dynamic.”
Problem One: Allowing criminals to roam free? Not popular. Problem Two: only five of the 37 seats are contested in the April election.
Mark Pocan will boycott the State of the Union address on Tuesday, January 30. Pocan joins U.S. Reps. John Lewis, Maxine Waters, and Frederica “All Hat, No Cattle” Wilson in this futile gesture. THAT will show Trump!
Hey Democrats, we hear Rockford is beautiful this time of year.
Hooray for Wisconsin congressman Sean Duffy, who has given his guest ticket to the ‘Deplorable Vet’ who called out Maxine Waters for her boycott.
Blaska Policy Werkes 
19 responses to “Democrats can’t win if they keep whining”
”Democrats can’t win if they keep whining”
Oy! Where that the only thing holding them back.
On a positive note, nationally speaking, they’re gettin’ their poop in a group.
To wit:
The latest iteration (Chair Tommy Perez) of the Brain Trust of a cascading failure better known as the DNC waxes hysterically philosophical: “the party needs to go to the suburbs, the exurbs and rural America, and talk to people.”
Yet this same party: “Scroll down the Democrats’ home page and you’ll find a dull party platform with 93 bullet points and a list of links entitled ‘People.’ Each link leads to a subgroup: Women. Hispanics. LGBT people. ‘Ethnic Americans.’ There are 17 different groups, and a different message tailored for each.” (bolds mine)
https://nypost.com/2017/08/26/democrats-wont-win-in-2018-unless-they-start-doing-this/
Funniest thing, those 17 inclusive groups don’t include EVIL White Conservative working class folks.
Unless they’re White Hispanics or cross-listed with another…um…alternative lifestyle approach.
The Gotch
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Keep Celebrating Diversity, Republicans will keep celebrating Unity. Basking in a glow of steamroller economy. Seems like Subdivide and and subjugate is the liberal way.
Republican and Conservatives take nothing for granted, Vet potential candidates better so we do not have more Moore’s.
Hammer Home what Wisconsin has overcome, come up with better messaging about the decades old Lincoln Hills issues, Education Reform vs. Prison System Spending, FoxxConn investments,
Numbers on budget spending, borrowing and tax increases if liberal democrats would have been in charge for the last 7 years. If the items they proposed were allowed into a budget. Show the real savings of 7 years of accomplishments. The tsunami of jobs coming will rocket past 250000 this year.
Rail on Democratic run gestapo KGB at the old GAB.
And most of All Rally the voters to vote again to keep moving us forward.
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“Democrats talk about Illegal immigrants, Russian collusion, and that bad word.”
That’s not what flipped the 10th SD. That’s not why 30-some seats across the country have flipped. That’s not why 30-some Congressional Republicans (including chairs) have already announced their retirements. Why is this all happening? Trump. You guys may love him, but most people don’t.
Thanks.
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Dems choose to fight on the DACA future voters for the same reasons the Unionistas had their last stand at the square… because they must. They’re out of hills to defend.
I predict similar results. (Proof of this is ABob’s threadbare Trump hate. No Russia? What happened to collusion?)
We should ask ourselves who was so stupid as to let 800,000 children into this country, illegally, in the first place? Who received them should be the ones to tell them they are going home to rejoin their relatives.
Then we end chain migration, anchor babies and diversity lotteries.
Sic transit gloria Obama.
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@AnonyBob;
DISCLOSURE: The talented Ms. Bayrd is a neighbor and a pal.
From the Issues That Matter To YOU department:
Good news from HAW side of the aisle, you’ll be able to breastfeed yer kids at County Board meetings!
http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/govt-and-politics/dane-county-board-welcomes-children-at-meetings-under-amended-ordinance/article_4a30a36b-e2b7-5e7c-8218-070fd22ceb00.html
The Gotch
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point: the Dems put a bill on the floor to make sure service members were paid and death benefits received during the shut down. The turtle objected and thus killed it. District 10 flipped because people are sick of the gop and are getting involved. After that loss Scooter must have switched to running as an independent. 200 million for healthcare, millions for schools, 7 million for ads, 76 million for a jail, 8 billion for Foxcon. Did he find a chest of gold coins buried on the capital grounds? Maybe the state will sell Saxon Harbor to a condo developer.
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poor richard,
Can’t discern the difference in Left or Right governance? Can’t tell the difference in Foxxconn versus the Bullet Train?
Then I’ll help you. The Dems are busy turning blue states into crapholes of deficits, high taxes, wasteful spending and illegal aliens. See Puerto Rico, Chicago, the rest of Illinois, NY, CA……
Scott Walker and Donald Trump are doing the opposite.
Questions?
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“crapholes of deficits” Were you similarly outraged at the recent tax reform which, according to numerous independent sources, increase the US deficit by $1.5 trillion?
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Ballsy, your independent sources said Trump’s victory would crash our economy. You’d prefer Solyndra to Foxconn. See the unfunded public pension plans in IL. and CA. Look to Chicago for fiscal prudence and Detroit for good governance.
Please pay your income tax at the Obama rate and I’ll believe you’re worried about the deficit.
P.S. Obama put $9 thousand billion on that debt.
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So deficits are OK when the R’s do it, but not when the R’s and D’s (6 of the 8 years Obama was in office) do it. Sooo many hypocrites, so little time.
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Anyone else wonder how 800,000 foreign kids got here? It took megabucks, massive logistics, education, food, lodging, medicine. Who was complicit? Why? Did they violate law?
Some years ago the Left would be howling about Yanqui imperialists tearing these children from home, family and culture.
Anyone remember voting on this?
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Well; it’s that time of the year again. Put your MAGA hat on, get your Trumpy Bear out of the gun safe and bust out a 6 pack. It’s time for the Fearless Leader to give his State of the State speech. Magic numbers and promises that will never be kept delivered to a room full of adoring conservatives hanging on his every word. Once the tweets are all sent, checks are written, the war chests filled and the blogs written the name calling will start and I’ll still have potholes in front of my house.
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@richard lesiak;
“Put your MAGA hat on”
“bust out a 6 pack.”
Heck, break out the 30 pack!
“I’ll still have potholes in front of my house.”
Shouldn’t that be the responsibility of the Trailer Park management?
The Gotch
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In the time it took you to bitch about potholes to strangers you could have filled one. Amazing concept huh?
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splat:
Maybe you should apply a little thought to the comment before sticking your foot in your mouth. Or do you have a stockpile of hot mix asphalt in your basement??
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Its easier than that Ballsy, you could just pound sand.
Ba da bump. Hey kids, tip the wait staff, I’ll be here all week.
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Sand in a pothole. You really are clueless……
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@hankdog/old baldy;
Yeah, he’s the clueless one.
The Gotch
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So we went from District 10 elections to putting sand in potholes. This blog is a riot. Skip the blog; come for the comments.
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