Today we expose the real hypocrisy on who stands up for the hard working men and women of Jefferson.  The Jefferson County Daily Union recently published about a recent literature drop the Jefferson County Republican Party did to expose Representative Andy Jorgensen (D-Fort Atkinson, Jefferson, Lake Mills 37th District) who represents a majority of Jefferson County.  Jefferson County is a lot like the Commonwealth of Virginia which is a third republican, third democrat, and third independent.

Jefferson County in the past few years has been one of the most hardest hit counties in terms of job losses in Wisconsin, but with Jefferson County losing a major anchor of their economy in Briggs and Stratton, this shows that Wisconsin’s current economic policy structure is not working.  However, the Daily Union recently publishes an article trying to portray Representative Jorgensen, who like Rep. Mike Sheridan is a former GM plant worker as someone who claims he stands up for working families.

It was a literature drop that tried to hit the point that because of Georgia and Alabama having more competitive and business friendly economic policies allowed for Briggs and Stratton to move its manufacturing operations down South and to expand their business with better tax savings.  Rep. Jorgensen was the one who voted for the 11.5 increase in business taxes in the form of combined reporting that was passed without a public hearing combined with no transparency.  Georgia passed House Bill 482, known as the Georgia JOBS Act that allowed “all tangible personal property constituting the inventory of a business shall be exempt from state ad valorem tazation”. The law was approved by Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue. Basically it allowed for Briggs and Stratton to buy better equipment without being taxed to death to make better pressure washers at the McDonough, Georgia plant.

However,  Jefferson Mayor Gary Meyers is talking two faced on what he stands for working families in Jefferson.  Jefferson Mayor Meyers thinks its a lie the Republican Party of Wisconsin is trying to point Rep. Jorgensen to the closure of the Jefferson Briggs and Stratton plant.  

“There are a lot of things about the policies of the Doyle administration that I don’t agree with and that I think are anti-business,” Myers stated. “However, I think it was a bit of an inappropriate cheap shot to link Andy directly to the loss of Briggs. That’s a bit of a reach.”

Mayor Meyers talks of his two-faced stance saying: “If you want to look at overall policies, the current policies in Madison aren’t helping us retain business,” said Mayor Meyers. “But to link Andy and the Briggs loss directly, that’s just unfair.”

Mayor Meyers give me a break.   This is a load full of hypocrisy for what Jefferson’s Mayor stands for.  Jefferson’s Mayor is says he is against the Governor’s anti-business policies, but he is supporting Rep. Jorgensen who is part of the problem in Madison.  If Mayor Meyers knew early on that Rep. Jorgensen was going to vote for the job-killing combined reporting tax that he could have the guts to sound the megaphone at Rep. Jorgensen.  Maybe the most recent, SurveyUSA/KSTP-5 poll showing Governor Doyle’s lowest approval ratings ever is why the reason that Mayor Meyers is shielding Rep. Jorgensen.  

The working families of Jefferson deserve better.  Nothing will change in Jefferson until a morally bankrupt hypocrite like Gary Meyers is held accountable by the people of Jefferson.

Patrick McIlheran at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel picked up our blog post breaking down the most recent post-state budget polls on the Governor’s job performance and we thank him for noting the importance of these polls in the mainstream media.  Also, we thank Jo Egelhoff at FoxPolitics for putting our post in their morning newsletter to help hit the message home in the Fox Valley.

The North Shore Exponent will continue to critically evaluate the approval rating polls for Governor Doyle and the state legislature and examine the impacts.  When the next set of polls comes out, we will evaluate them and provide you with in-depth analysis breaking down the polls.

With Democratic political opportunist Mike Tate continues to avoid the truth of the polls and belittle 2010 Republican State Senate and Assembly candidates, we will hold Mike Tate and the Democrats in Wisconsin accountable.  We will continue to point out that Chairman Tate’s party is in serious trouble and we will continue to expose why the Democrats stand in the way of accountablity and transparency.  As many more mainstream media sources in Wisconsin are sounding the alarm at Jim Doyle and Mike Tate, the Exponent will continue to be the “megaphone” to make sure both Doyle and Tate listen to the taxpayers.

We thank the many readers who came to the North Shore Exponent in the past couple days as a source to get the analysis they need on the direction of Wisconsin on the most recent polls.

Just yesterday, the first two post-state budget polls came out on the Governor’s approval rating and on the direction of Wisconsin.  These two polls today show a growing consensus showing that Governor Doyle and the Democrats are in serious trouble in Wisconsin.

The first poll was the KSTP-5/Survey USA Poll.  The poll shows that Governor Doyle’s disapproval rating is at 61% which is a two point increase from a poll conducted in late April.  When I took a look from all the polls Survey USA conducted this year when the first poll showed Governor Doyle with his approval at 48 percent to 46 percent disapprove, Governor Doyle has taken a sharp 15 point drop.  The poll had 600 voters with a +/- 4%

The Second poll was the Badger Poll conducted by the University of Wisconsin Survey Center.  The poll measured more of the direction of the state, but technically considers Governor Doyle’s job performance.  With the poll having the same margin of error and respondents, 56% disapprove of the direction of the state while only 42 percent approve of the direction of the direction of the state.

Key Factors in the polls

In the Survey USA poll, the poll continues to show the trend of a large block of independent voters against the Governor’s job performance.  Independents disapprove of the Governor in this newest poll on the margin of 69 percent to 20 percent with 12 percent undecided.  This is a three point drop off from the April Survey USA poll.  Also, the newest SurveyUSA poll shows a clear majority of students disapproving of Governor Doyle on a margin of 59 to 24 percent.  Despite sixteen percent of students polled are undecided, the numbers are showing that students are not happy with the Governor especially a planned 5.5% tuition increase.  Also, on geographic breakdown, Doyle is receiving large disapproval in the Green Bay and Milwaukee (including City of Milwaukee) media markets as both markets had at or near 70 percent disapproval.  Doyle’s only strong area so far is Madison as his approval is 47 to 44 percent with nine percent undecided which is a six percent drop from the last poll conducted by Survey USA in April.

When looking at the Badger Poll, the poll technically measures the Governor’s job performance despite it does not mention Governor Doyle, the poll has shown a 18 percent drop from April of 2008 confirming the trend across all the major polls that the Governor is serious trouble.  Despite how the geographic breakdown is different,  a good section of the poll numbers are in concurrence with Survey USA.  In the Green Bay Media market on a 3 to 1 margin, voters disapprove with the Governor.  In Madison and South Central Wisconsin, Governor Doyle barely has approval on a 50-49 margin.  Milwaukee shows strong disapproval towards the Governor, however the poll numbers for Western and Northern Wisconsin for the Badger Poll shows a red flag.  Because of how the sectioning off differs will again prove that areas like Eau Claire and La Crosse will be critical in the 2010 elections

Factors that could impact poll numbers

The factors that would impact the Governor’s approval ratings are Stimulus II and a possible relocation of  Mercury Marine in Fond du Lac.  If Stimulus II gets introduced in Congress, we can expect to see another increase in the Governor’s disapproval as many taxpayers will have serious questions of where the stimulus money is going in Wisconsin.  Now, with numbers showing the state’s  structural deficit at over $2 billion, taxpayers will demand answers if Stimulus II comes.

The second factor is the possible re-location of Mercury Marine to Oklahoma.  If 1,900 family supporting jobs leave Wisconsin for Oklahoma, then voters will question the handling on the state budget in terms of job creation.  Fond du Lac, Racine/Kenosha, Janesville/Beloit, and Sheboygan have unemployment rates anywhere from fifteen to twenty percent.  Janesville/Beloit, Kenosha/Racine, and Sheboygan which had been reliable Democrat strongholds are seeing a large drop of support for Governor Doyle.   The Republicans will be targeting their campaigns in these areas as areas of high unemployment will be key to re-gaining legislative control and the Governor’s mansion.  This is evidenced that Doyle is barely winning approval in the Madison media market and faces strong disapproval in the Green Bay and Milwaukee media markets in these polls.

Milwaukee Public Schools has became one of the first large scale government agencies  in the state along with Milwaukee County to submit to the ultimate in openness and transparency by creating a easy to search spending database in which the taxpayers of Milwaukee can see their dollars spent.

MPS should be applauded for making the effort to be fully open and transparent.  But, if MPS can be open and transparent, why can’t the State of Wisconsin?

Today, the Center for Fiscal Accountablity at Americans for Tax Reform blasted the Doyle Administration for their very poor record on transparency on their blog.  Transparency should be simple as states like Missouri and Nebraska are even giving the software to any state for no cost up front.  It sounds simple, but when we lag behind Illinois, yes even Illinois approving transparency legislation while the Democrats in the Wisconsin legislature drag their feet on transparency, it raises a real red flag on whether the Democrats in control stand for the average taxpayer in Wisconsin.

Taxpayers in Wisconsin are hungry for openness and transparency.  Citizens need to put the heat on legislators in both parties to get the comprehensive transparency legislation sponsored by Rep. Bill Kramer signed into law.  Ask your legislator, if Milwaukee Public Schools and Milwaukee County is open and transparent, whats holding the politicians in Madison back?  Tell the Democrats to put the taxpayers first before being loyal to Mike Tate and the Democratic leadership in Wisconsin.

Just this morning, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel  in an investigative report showed that this time the Doyle Administration failed to properly document travel expenses 145 times over the past two years as state laws dictate.

How has the Doyle Administration wasted your tax dollars at work,  Doyle spent more than $1,500 on two chauffeured vehicles in Canada despite it did not violate state travel policy.  Also, the Journal-Sentinel exposed that the Doyle Administration used your tax dollars on a a $5,200 business class flight to Ireland and a $654 (USD) a night stay in a London hotel.

JSOnline provided a link to the documents that they got via open records law, including a Doyle staffer not disclosing over $2,700 in travel expenses.  

This again proves why the Democrats in Wisconsin have stood in the way of meaningful transparency reform.  Just as states like Minnesota, Missouri, Indiana, and Illinois have created websites or recently enacted legislation that allows taxpayers to see their dollars spent online in real time, Wisconsin is stalling behind.   Taxpayers in Wisconsin deserve to see how their tax dollars are being spent online, in real time.  It should not take an open records request to know how much of your hard earned money is being wasted.  If we had transparency right now, we would not be in  the budget mess we are in today.

This shows why the Democrats in Wisconsin are the “Party of NO Transparency and Accountablity.”  In 2007, Rep. Bill Kramer of Waukesha, introduced comprehensive transparency (2007 WI AB 862) legislation that passed the Assembly on a wide bi-partisan margin, however the Senate Democrats killed the bill in Rules Committee as they ignored to schedule a vote before the last legislative session ended.  Rep. Kramer this year during the budget deliberations introduced an amendment (WI AA 64 to WI AB 75) to allow for comprehensive transparency and the amendment was rejected on a party line vote. 

As our state budget was dealt in the backroom this year and now with the Doyle Administration cannot back up its own travel expenses, this is got to make taxpayers angry and demanding for change.  It starts with leadership, and if Wisconsin Democrat Party Chairman Mike Tate cannot hold his party accountable on transparency, the people on November 2, 2010 will make their voices heard for transparency and elect men and women who care about the taxpayers.

Today was not a good day for our hard working people in Wisconsin when a well respected company in Briggs and Stratton is moving its manufacturing operations from Wisconsin to Georgia and Alabama because of the Democrats job killing regulations.

Now, on the same day when jobs are leaving Wisconsin, Democrat Party Chairman of Wisconsin Mike Tate issued some tabloid material about Ted Kanavas was contemplating a move to Texas and calling both Scott Walker and Mark Neumann “the same failed, retread leaders.”

Let me make this clear, Mike Tate is the “same, failed retread” Democratic Party leader.  Tate is the same, failed retread because this blog has pointed this out in previous posts and we will point this out again, he has no plan for getting our economy back on track.  All Mike Tate offers is a mouth talking all rhetoric and no game and that was evident during the 2009 state convention in Green Bay as Chairman Tate has talked about more tough rhetoric than job creation.  In the short tenure he has became party chairman, he rewards a corrupt party during a corrupt state budget process and offers written statements in press releases that come with the attitude of a sixth grader as basically he has become pretty negative and immature.

As the families in Jefferson are seeing their jobs leave for Alabama and Georgia and many in Fond du Lac that are fearing of seeing their jobs going to Oklahoma because of the Democrats job killing regulations, maybe before Chairman Tate spews more of his “failed retread” rhetoric that he should listen to the same middle class families he is claiming to protect as Chairman Tate is inflicting more pain on our middle class.  If Chairman Tate ignores the cry of the middle class and the job creators who want an environment to create jobs, then we can say Chairman Tate is the “same failed, retread leader” as voters in Wisconsin will be smart to vote out those in his party who inflict pain on the middle class.

Despite this is an Illinois Republican as one of the Eight traitors on Cap and Trade, in Wisconsin we feel the impact of Mark Kirk’s Yes Vote on Cap and Trade in the House of Representatives as its not the families in the 10th Congressional District of Illinois who feel the pain of his Yes vote, its everyone in Wisconsin and across America.

Here Mark Kirk is claiming he is reading the Cap and Trade bill:

But, what he says and what he does is two different things.  Here is John Boehner reading all of the bill, so oops Mark Kirk perhaps missed some key parts of that 200 pages he has left and John Boehner takes Congressman Kirk and Henry Waxman to school:

Mark Kirk has lost a lot of conservative support in the 10th District of Illinois.  With also the 10th District not too far away from my home in Milwaukee, I think it is important for people in Wisconsin who believe in lower taxes and limited government to not just support the likes of Scott Walker, Jim Senesenbrenner, and Paul Ryan, it is important we support a conservative ouster to Congressman Kirk in next year’s GOP primary if he runs for House or the Senate.

Why we need Badgers to help vote out Kirk, because it will take a unified front in the grass roots, technology, and dollars across the Midwest and the whole nation to throw out one of the eight traitors to Cap and Trade who went against the principles of the GOP.   When a strong conservative announces his candidacy, I encourage anyone to give even if it means $5 or $10 to his or her campaign to vote out Congressman Kirk.

Mark Kirk’s stance to defend his yes vote is indefensible.  I know plenty of friends who live in Northbrook, Skokie, and Winnetka, IL which are part of Kirk’s district and they even are sending back to Kirk’s office in DC their shirts, stickers, and anything that says Kirk for Congress because they had enough of a candidate who does not stand for the people and a candidate who does not know what the definition of a conservative is.  Also, on the Guy Benson Show on Sunday night, people flooded the show’s phone lines saying they had enough.

This Fourth of July weekend, lets go to the Tea Parties no matter where you are and show the Cap and Traitors including Congressman Kirk that ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

Today, DPW Chairman Mike Tate issued another empty press release attacking  Scott Walker about the fundraiser with Newt Gingrich in Milwaukee. Just as Chairman Tate is rewarding his party for doing the state budget with no transparency and done in secret in the backroom, Chairman Tate again spews out more dirty, empty rhetoric especially with his party struggling in approval rating polls by attacking Scott Walker in another press release that is basically baloney.

As more middle class families suffer in Wisconsin under higher car insurance rates, cell phone taxes, and the immoral and uncompassionate sick tax while raising state spending, the empty attacks shows that Mike Tate is running from the truth by attacking Walker because right now 7 out of 10 independent voters disapprove of Governor Jim Doyle’s performance.  Mike Tate can claim his party is the of transparency and accountability on the budget, Mike Tate and Wisconsin Democrats are “The Party of NO Transparency and accountablity.”

Also, today’s Eau Claire Leader Telegram scolds the party chairman for his empty attacks on Scott Walker in the County Execuitive’s ride last week and really calls on the party chairman to defend how Governor Doyle handled the state budget with all the pork put in the budget.  The Green Bay Press Gazette has called for stronger legislative reform by making party caucuses by follow open records law during the budget and took Chairman Tate to task of making his politicians in his camp more disconnected from the people.   As people and the mainstream media in Wisconsin are sounding the alarm on the empty attacks, the North Shore Exponent calls on Chairman Tate to hold accountable his party to be open and transparent.  The empty press releases against Scott Walker will do nothing as long as the Democrats act as the “Party of NO Transparency.”

Lets show what our country is made of tomorrow as the US Mens Soccer team can beat Brazil in the FIFA Confederations Cup.

Part I of the Joe the Plumber

Part II of Joe the Plumber