We can’t, can you?
Blaska’s attempt to get back in line to cast a second ballot at Madison’s Toki middle school was foiled by alert poll workers. The result: we voted early but not often.
We’re still trying to understand Tuesday’s 08-13-24 primary election results. Ol’ Sparky, our Eisenhower-era mainframe computer, could make no more sense than the Magic Eight Ball in our junk drawer.
We were ready to say that my Republican party’s nut cases were routed. In Assembly District 24, Republican state senator Dan Knodl of Germantown (a victim of remapping) defeated state Rep. Janel Brandtjen of Menomonee Falls, a big election denier, by a two-to-one margin. That improves the breed!
In a state senate primary, incumbent Dan Feyen of Fond du Lac defeated Timothy Ramthun of Campbellsport, 64-36%. In his unsuccessful campaign for the Republican nomination for governor two years ago, Ramthun hosted Trump’s My Pillow Man at the state GOP convention. Again, the legislature”s cumulative I.Q. just ticked up a notch.
Robin Vos took 69% of the vote in his rural Racine district against yet another election denier, which would be more encouraging if his opponent had actually campaigned. Instead, he dropped out, although his name remained on the ballot. The Assembly Speaker’s crime against nature is that he refused to overturn Trump’s defeat last time around. As if he could.
We do not know what’s going on in District 88 in DePere/Allouez but we see where Benjamin Franklin defeated Phil Collins. Space/time warp, maybe?
Wied is weird
Anyhoo, we were ready to say the voices of moderation — scratch that — the voices of sanity had prevailed except that in that Green Bay congressional district, guy named Tony Wied defeated two solid Republican legislators: former state Senate president Roger Roth and State Sen. Andre Jacque. Wied, who sold a chain of gas stations, got Trump’s endorsement. UPDATE: Should be said, Wied won with a plurality of 40% of the vote. Another way to look at it: 60% of Republicans voted against the Trump-endorsed candidate.
In April, Trump called Roth a “RINO” and “a clone of Paul Ryan, and no friend to MAGA.” The sorrow and the pity (Marcel Ophuls), is that this district was represented by Mike Gallagher, ex-Marine intelligence officer with a doctorate in government and international relations. Suffice to say, he was one of the brightest bulbs in Washington. Gallagher won three terms by anywhere from 63 to 74% of the vote — easily besting Trump’s performance. But Gallagher quit the dysfunctional House in April after blowback when he refused to impeach Homeland Security Sec’y Alejandro Mayorkus.
Wied (pronounced “weed”) will face a female obstetrician who’s all in on abortion; but the 8th may be Wisconsin’s most Catholic district.
Here in south-central Wisconsin’s Second District, Erik Olsen again defeated Charity Barry, this time 56 to 44%. Sorry, no one is going to beat Squad member Mark Pocan.
To no one’s surprise, Democrat(ic) state Sen. Melissa Agard took 57% of Dane County’s vote for county executive. County Supv. Dana Pellebon came in a poor second with 17%. The Werkes detects no real stop-Agard coalition. All four primary election candidates identified as progressive, although one of them — the black man — allowed that he might be a moderate. He finished last. Nice guy, from what we can tell.
Blaska’s Bottom Line: The two Republican-sponsored constitutional referenda failed 58% to 42%. The measures would have given the legislature budgetary authority over federal emergency funds. As much as anything, that signals trouble ahead for Republicans like Eric Hovde and Donald Trump and maybe Derrick Van Orden in November.
17 responses to “Making sense of Tuesday’s elections”
Hovde is toast. Bestiality denier Don Eggert in Baldwin’s new ad is the final nail in the coffin.
Yep, all they had to do to defeat the amendments was let everybody know that Republicans were voting “Yes-Yes.” If you really want to get control of the spending back in the legislature where it belongs, then elect a Republican governor. Dems will switch places then.
Amen. Further proof that an increasing number can’t see past their own partisanship. If Scott Walker had spread a disproportionate amount of federal funds around counties that made up his voting base, they’d have a much different take. Blind leading the blind.
The voters figured out that this amendment BS was nothing more than a bait and switch scheme. Giving more money to those fools in the capital is the last thing we want. Even WILL couldn’t come up with a good reason for it. Never met any politician who saw money that they didn’t want to grab. It’s worse when they have a majority and no over-sight is in place.
A Facebook friend from Superior wrote me a message last week saying her Republican friends who were very conservative viewed the ballot measures as nothing other than petty power plays and not in line with limited government.
Do you want more government accountability or less? The majority just voted for less.
I had long viewed Mike Gallagher as a promising VP candidate. Midwest, wedded to ideas rather than cheap rhetoric. He was way smarter than the bulk of the angry House caucus. The WOW counties last night showed more proof of leakage in the GOP boat, and I see nothing being done to moderate or add respect to the party that has lost elections since 2018. Will the party finally divorce Trump after election day this fall?
“… add respect to the party”
Like the Democrats did by jettisoning Democracy? And then going all in on DJT (Dumb Jamaican Twat)?
Heh! The Kacklin’ Kamala & Timmy AWOLz Sugar High Midnight Hour is fast approaching, and the fact-based Reality, which the despicable Lefty media is doing its level best to keep from a comically willfully blind base, will bat last.
From least popular VP EVAH to EXCITING at warp speed and Tough_As_Nails_Prosecutor** in the blink of an eye.
**Tough as nails MUST MEAN prosecuting minorities for misdemeanors and “quality of Life” crimes like smoking weed, their children’s truancy, etc., keeping non-violent offenders locked up, hiding exculpatory evidence, etc., etc., etc.
MONEY QUOTE: “Harris went beyond the call of duty, fighting for HARSHER SENTENCES, LARGER BAIL REQUIREMENTS, LONGER PRISON TERMS, MORE PROSECUTION OF PETTY CRIMES, greater criminal justice involvement in low-income and minority communities, LESS DUE PROCESS for people in the system, LESS TRANSPARENCY, AND LESS ACCOUNTABILITY FOR BAD COPS>. (bolds/caps/italics mine)
Adding respect to the democrat party must include orchestrating a soft coup/insurrection, stealth editing news stories, the border FUBAR and then lying about it, and having their candidate flip off the press.
This word respect you keep using, The Gotch doesn’t think it means what you think it means.
Anywho, the democrat Party asks their epically undiscerning base, who nod like bespawling bobbleheads, for locksteppin’ glassyin’, and unquestionin’ ideological fealty, and it’s succeeding beyond their wildest dreams; this, too, shall pass!
The Gotch
Gotch, hope you’re right. I see a lot of bobbleheads out there googly-eyed.
You’re complaining about “locksteppin’, glassyin’, fealty and still support that fat, lyin’ fool trump? Just look at who the Goobers On Parade picked to run for the senate seat in Minn. Look at the guy they picked to run for governor in N.C. and rump endorses these fools. Your party has lost it’s mind.
Eric Hovde’s right, it could never be any more clear: Single Parent Households Are One Of The GREATEST INDICATORS Of An IDIOT’S Future Poverty And Substandard Education.
The Gotch
Kooter, one need look no further than Kacklin’ Kamala and Timmy AWOLz ducking the press like it’s a syphilitic leper, with the press being a despicably compliant lapdog, to see they’re running scared…scared that the truth will emerge…which it will!
The Gotch
The problem with the GOP is right in front of you. No plan. No agenda. You act like a bunch of 3rd graders calling people names, yapping about skin color and believing every lie put in front of you. The two VP’s are going to have a couple of debates. I don’t think it will end well for Vance. Just because your posts are in a large font, all caps and contain the old tired insults and name calling can only mean one thing. You are losing.
Many on this board are already retired and in their 70s and 80s, kids well past college and earning, and hopefully enjoying their grandkids. Well some on here have kids still k-12, trying to save for retirement and make ends meet and paying for a kids college education. The last 3.6 year have been horrendous. From 2017 to 2021, we finally were able get ahead within our means. Now it is effing impossible, for the love of god, vote for Trump and his allies. The harm that Ws last 4 years, 8 years of Obama and obama/pelosi 3rd term have done to the pillars in the USA is unholy. For the love of god if you actually want your kids and grandkids to be better off than the damn Boomers had it, vote out all of them and vote for Trump/Vance. Right to Try saved my life, that was a trump sponsored legislation. You can argue about the social issue, their will always be those issues but all we see from the marxist/racist democrat party, is a running of a late, late show we have seen for decades and it always ends in equal misery for all! Greater good = equals trump/vance
Agreed Balboa! Question for Dick: please list the reasons why you would vote for Harris. I have been articulate in my reasons why I’d vote for Trump and against the progressive world view. You spew your typical hatred towards Trump all the time but I’ve yet to see you articulate why you vote progressive.
Because Harris doesn’t stand next to the head of 2025 during his speech and then tell me he doesn’t know anything about it. Because I don’t want the gop telling me what books I can read, how the women in my life need to treat their own bodies, that some fool is forcing his religion on kids that go to our schools, I like the idea that people using insulin pay only 35 bucks, I like that the current administration got the cost of 10 very expensive drugs dropped by hundreds of dollars, I like that Biden works with NATO and refuses to throw Ukraine under the Russian bus. Because Harris likes cat-ladies, post-menopausal women and feeding school kids breakfast and lunch. If you need more turn off Faux News and watch CNN; or have you drunk too much of trump’s Kool-Aid. I haven’t seen anything in these posts telling me why trump is the best to vote for. Now gotch can repeat one of his bloated, oversized, all caps’ insults.
Dick, it was a legitimate question and I guess I failed to see why you have to be insulting. I see a lot of Bluster and emotion but not too much rational cognition. As I said previously I like Trump better than Harris because he holds NATO accountable, strong borders, not providing handouts to college graduates, not supporting mutilation of children in the name of trans gender rights, the economy, and an America first position. I could go on. I’ve said numerous times I don’t like Trump the person but I like his policies. I’ve never drunk the kool-aid. I don’t watch Fox News and certainly not cnn. In fact I don’t watch news at all and get it primarily from reading. I suggest you reduce your Bluster and insults a bit– you might be taking more seriously
Just remember, Trump will be the end of the world and Harris will be utopia.