Gov. Scott Walker (R) is up six points over Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett (D) in a new Wisconsin gubernatorial recall poll from Marquette Law School.
Walker leads Barrett 50 to 44 among 600 likely voters in the school’s first survey since the May 8 Democratic primary. Their last poll, released May 2, showed a dead heat.
The recall, sparked by Walker’s elimination of collective bargaining rights for public employees in early 2011, is only a few weeks away.
There appears to be an enthusiasm gap: 91 percent of Republicans say they are “absolutely certain” they will vote in the recall compared to only 83 percent of Democrats.
Democrats in the state are reportedly angry with the national party for not investing more in this race. Walker has spent more than $20 million so far.
The RIGHT has mobilized behind Walker and is not taking this recall election for granted.
Scott Walker is in a good place right now and should be able to even grow his lead.
While other polls also show Walker in the lead, no one is suggesting that this race is anywhere near over. Walker only leads among self-described Independent voters by 47.6%-44.6%, and the underlying numbers seem fluid. Still, some of Walker’s detractors have been vocal about the fact that Walker was duly elected in 2010 and in most states would not be able to be challenged with a recall without greater cause. And a whopping 95% of those called said they plan to vote in the June 5th election which will have the national spotlight on it.
For now, that light is shining a bit brighter on Scott Walker.
The national party may very well know that Walker is going to successfully defend his office and that campaign resources can be better spent elsewhere.
Nope = not so much civility from Democrat Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.
From the press release:
The Friends of Scott Walker campaign released a new web video today entitled “Civility?” to expose Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett’s extreme, hypocritical campaign rhetoric.
“Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett calls for civility in public but resorts to uncivil and extreme rhetoric behind the closed doors of the special interests,” said Tom Evenson, Walker campaign spokesman. “The hypocrisy of Mayor Barrett is unfathomable and the public deserves to know exactly what Mayor Barrett is up to as he attempts to take Wisconsin back to the days of billion dollar budget deficits, double-digit tax increases, and record job loss.”
In this web video, Governor Walker lays out the specific promises he made while campaigning in 2010 including addressing the state’s high unemployment rate, balancing the budget, eliminating the deficit and holding the line on taxes.
Here is the transcript:
Hi, I’m Scott Walker.
In the three years before I was elected, Wisconsin lost 150,000 jobs.
We promised to help employers create jobs.
Today, Wisconsin’s unemployment rate, it’s the lowest it’s been since 2008.
We kept our promise to balance the budget without raising taxes, and without massive layoffs, protecting jobs, and eliminating a $3.6 billion deficit.
We promised to hold the line on property taxes, and after years of tax increases, school property taxes actually went down.
Because public employees now contribute to their health and pension benefits, we were able to put more money back into the classroom, increase funding for healthcare for our seniors, and keep thousands of firefighters, police officers, and teachers on the job.
We can’t go back to the days of billion dollar budget deficits and double digit tax increases.
Help me oppose the recall, and let’s use the foundation we’ve built to keep moving Wisconsin forward.
Wisconsin State Governor Scott Walker speaks after signing the ceremonial bill, after the Republican-controlled House and Senate eliminated almost all collective bargaining for most public workers, at the state Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin March 11, 2011
Democratic prospects for recalling Scott Walker are looking like even money right now, an improvement for the party since PPP’s last poll in October when Walker led most of his potential opponents.
Walker continues to be unpopular with only 47% of voters approving of him to 52% who disapprove. Pretty much all Republicans approve of him and pretty much all Democrats disapprove, but what turns the scales against him is that he’s at just 43/55 with independents.
Walker trails both of his most likely opponents in the recall election by narrow margins. Tom Barrett would lead 49-46 in a rematch of their 2010 contest, and Kathleen Falk has a 48-47 advantage. These numbers represent positive movement for both Barrett and Falk who trailed by 2 and 8 points respectively on PPP’s last poll of the race. Those are tenuous leads for the Democratic hopefuls. In the State Senate recall elections last summer we generally found that sentiment moved away from recalling the incumbents as the election came closer. And Wisconsin voters aren’t exactly dying to remove Walker from office- 49% generally support a recall and 49% generally oppose one…it’s going to take a very strong Democratic campaign to knock Walker out.
It will take a strong campaign to oust Walker and interestingly enough campaign funding of recall elections in Wisconsin have NO donation limits.
This will be a heavily funded and fought campaign and it will be close all of the way.
The presidential nominating process is a lot like the US Open tennis tournament. There is a final (the Republican v. Obama), a semifinal (the top conservative against the top moderate for the GOP nomination) and a quarter final (the conservatives against each other and the moderates competing together for the right to enter the semis).
Mitt Romney and Donald Trump are centrists. Businessmen, economic growth free market types who will vie with each other for the moderate nomination. In 2008, Romney fought and lost to Huckabee for the conservative nod to oppose McCain. But, because of his health care position, he now has to fight it out on the moderate court.
Mike Huckabee’s withdrawal opens the way on the right court for Gingrich, Bachmann, and Daniels. Had Mike run, he would have easily carried the day and faced Romney/Trump for the nomination. But, with Mike out, it’s an open field.
Bachmann has the most to gain from Huckabee’s withdrawal. Polling shows that the Tea Party types and the evangelicals are more or less the same people. With Mike out, Michele has a clear shot at their support (once they get over Herman Cain and Ron Paul, neither of whom can win — and Paul shouldn’t win). As the odd-woman-out dissenting from the Boehner deals with Obama, holding out for fiscal conservatism and tough Republican bargaining, she can pick up a lot of ground in a hurry.
Gingrich’s announcement puts the onus on him to dispel the negatives that dog his campaign. All agree that he would be the best opponent to Obama in a debate and that he is the brightest, best candidate would have. But many are scared off because of the negatives. He has six months to show them that they are wrong.
And then there is Mitch Daniels, potentially, the conservative establishment’s answer to Romney. Despite an absence of charisma, his extraordinary record as governor puts him right in the thick of the hunt for the nomination. He, along with his supporters (Scott Walker of Wisconsin, Chris Christie of New Jersey, and John Kasich of Ohio), have walked the walk not just talked the talk. His candidacy is a most attractive one.
And, if Sarah Palin decides to come in now, I would say the battle for the social conservatives will really heat up.
Newt Gingrich with his personal baggage should be used as a foil against Obama but he is unelectable – too old and too damaged.
Mitt Romney will have to compete in Iowa and will probably take a loss there even with Huckabee not in the race. Romney will be vulnerable in South Carolina too –then on to Florida.
Exit question: Will Mitch Daniels with Scott Walker, John Kasich and Chris Christie endorsing him be able to beat Michele Bachmann in Iowa?
As tens of thousands of public employees skipped work last week to attend protest rallies outside the Wisconsin State Capitol, many wondered if they would face any disciplinary action for unexcused absences.
On Saturday, a group of men and women in lab coats purporting to be doctors were handing out medical excuse notes, without examining the ‘patients.’
The state Department of Regulation and Licensing and the Medical Examining Board said Wednesday that they had opened investigations into eight individuals who allegedly wrote doctor excuse notes for protesters at the state Capitol during rallies in February.
Last month, the Department of Regulation and Licensing said it had identified 11 people who may have provided the medical excuses, and it asked them to submit information about their activities at the Capitol.
Three members of the Medical Examining Board reviewed the information and decided to open investigations on eight of the 11, according to a department news release.
The eight being investigated are all licensed physicians, department spokesman David Carlson said.
Investigations were not opened against three people because the panel concluded no violations had occurred, the news release says.
The 11 were identified by complaints to the department. Nine of those named are licensed physicians and two are unlicensed, the department said.
The investigations will include a more extensive fact-finding process to determine if any violations of law occurred, according to the news release.
At the conclusion of each investigation, recommendations will be made about whether disciplinary action should be pursued.
The state Department of Regulation and Licensing previously has said disciplinary action could include a reprimand, license limitations, suspension or revocation.
Looks like a reprimand is coming and I doubt that anything harsher than this will occur.
Are the physicians wrong?
Yes, and they are a disgrace to the medical profession.
I hope they serve a five year probation though and are required to sit through boring classes on medical ethics.
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