Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

You are here: MacNN Forums > Community > MacNN Lounge > Political/War Lounge > Wisconsin Governor Recall

Wisconsin Governor Recall
Thread Tools
OAW
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: May 2001
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 17, 2012, 06:28 PM
 
More than a million people have signed a petition to recall Wisconsin's governor, the state's Democratic Party said Tuesday.

That's nearly twice the 540,208 signatures required to seek a recall of first-term Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who drew the ire of labor unions and public school teachers after he stripped public employees of their collective bargaining rights.


State Democratic Party officials said they would submit the signatures by close of business Tuesday. The officials also said they would turn in more than the required number of signatures needed for recall elections for the state's Republican lieutenant governor and three state senators.

The Wisconsin elections board will review the recall petitions.

"I think it's going to be a very impressive number that we hand in, beyond any challenge that this election is going to happen," Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Mike Tate told CNN affiliate WTMJ Monday.

Walker's administration gained national attention last year when he, along with Republican legislators, pushed forward a bill to cut state workers' collective bargaining rights. That bill was signed into law in March, following weeks of protests at the state capitol building in Madison.

This would be the first time in Wisconsin's history that a governor has faced recall.

In fact, there have only been two successful gubernatorial recalls in United States history, that of California Gov. Gray Davis in 2003 and that of North Dakota Gov. Lynn Frazier in 1921.

The more difficult battle will begin once the signatures are approved, and the state schedules a recall election. Both sides will be well financed and ready to battle, said Kenneth Goldstein, president of the Campaign Media Analysis Group.
Democrats: 1 million signatures collected for Wisconsin governor recall - CNN.com

We debated the chain of events that led to this unprecedented political backlash here about a year ago. As I said then I think it was an example of GOP governors and GOP controlled state legislatures vastly overplaying their hand coming out of their 2010 mid-term election victories. Regardless of where one stands on the activities that led to this recall my question is this ....

Do you think recall elections are even a good idea at all?

Even though I vehemently disagreed with Gov. Walker's actions ... I'm going to have to say no. Recall elections just strike me as a way for election losers to get a "do over". If an elected official has violated the law or committed some type of gross misconduct ... then there should be an option for an impeachment process. But short of that, I think the political backlash to an elected official's conduct in office should be handled at the next regularly scheduled election. Recall elections running rampant will simply cause too much interference with elected officials' ability to govern IMO.

Thoughts?

OAW
     
turtle777
Clinically Insane
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: planning a comeback !
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 17, 2012, 06:47 PM
 
I'm not against recalls in general, even if it is likely to be abused by "sore" losers.

My main concern is the cost. There is a high likelyhood that big amounts of money will get wasted on a recall, w/o any real change or something to show for.

So my idea would be this: this recall is obviously driven by the Democratic party affiliates. Say their recall efforts are unsuccessful - fine.
But come next election, their Budget (state subsidies etc...) will be CUT by the amount they spent on the unsuccessful recall. There needs to be some financial repurcussion for "wasting" money on frivolous recalls.

-t
     
ironknee
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: May 1999
Location: New York City
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 17, 2012, 09:54 PM
 
If you could recall Obama, would the cost be worth it?
     
ghporter
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: San Antonio TX USA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 17, 2012, 10:47 PM
 
Wisconsin seems to have established rules that make "I don't like the outcome of the election so I'll be a royal pain about it" recall drives. Which I think is a good thing, honestly. I would love for Texas to have both recall and initiative as tools for the citizens, but we do not have them, owing mostly to our 1876 vintage state constitution. Our "beloved governor" might not have made it past his first year if we'd been able to vote him out... No, wait. We haven't been able to rewrite our state constitution despite the numerous attempts we've made... But it would be nice to remind the Gov that his lease on the governor's mansion had an eviction clause.

I wish the voters of Wisconsin much luck in ousting a governor that ignored the outcry of his citizens to make a stupidly useless political point.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
OAW  (op)
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: May 2001
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jan 17, 2012, 11:54 PM
 
I will say this. It is quite telling that they have gathered more signatures to recall Gov. Walker than he received in votes during the election. Unprecedented to say the least.

OAW
     
   
Thread Tools
 
Forum Links
Forum Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Top
Privacy Policy
All times are GMT -4. The time now is 04:13 AM.
All contents of these forums © 1995-2017 MacNN. All rights reserved.
Branding + Design: www.gesamtbild.com
vBulletin v.3.8.8 © 2000-2017, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.,