Dirty Tricks In Wisconsin: Secret Group Shuts Down Phones Of Scott Walker’s Democratic Challenger With Spam Texts

By Scott Keyes/Think Progress

One week before Wisconsinites vote on whether or not to recall Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI), a conservative group is engaged in dirty tricks that have shut down the Democratic challenger’s campaign phones.

According to multiple reports, independently verified by ThinkProgress, the following spam text message is being blasted out to many Wisconsin cell phones:

FRM:WI@obamasaliar.com
SUBJ:Union Puppet
MSG:Tom Barrett is a Union Puppet who will give Union Thugs everything they want. Call & ask why 414-271-8050

The phone number is that of Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett’s campaign headquarters. The influx of calls following this spam text message has shut down phones at Barrett’s campaign, just seven days before Election Day and right as get-out-the-vote efforts are ramping up.

If you live in Wisconsin and have received this message or have any tips about its origin, leave a comment below.

Wisconsin recall organizers gather more than 1 million signatures

By Reuters

MADISON, Wisconsin (Reuters) – Organizers of the petition drive to recall Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker submitted what appeared to be more than enough signatures on Tuesday to force the first-term Republican to defend his seat in a special election.

The group United Wisconsin, which opposes the collective bargaining changes and other measures Walker pushed into law last year, said it gathered more than 1 million signatures to recall the governor by the January 17 deadline — roughly double the 540,208 signatures required.

In a statement, Brad Courtney, the chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, called the recall effort “shameful” and predicted it would “accomplish nothing but saddle Wisconsin taxpayers with over $9 million in unbudgeted costs” related to the special election.

The filing of the petitions will not automatically result in Walker’s removal from office. But if the petitions are certified, Walker will be forced to defend his seat in a special election later this year.

“We very clearly believe there is no challenge — legal or otherwise — that would prevent these elections from going forward,” said Mike Tate, the head of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.

So far, a Democrat has not yet emerged to run against Walker, though Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who ran for governor against Walker in 2010 and Secretary of State Doug La Follette have been mentioned as possible candidates.

As many as 17 Wisconsin state senators — 11 Republicans and six Democrats — could face special recall elections this year in contests triggered by last year’s fight over union rights and other Republican-backed measures.

Indeed recall organizers on Tuesday also submitted what they said were enough recall petitions on Tuesday to force four Republican state senators, including Senate majority leader Scott Fitzgerald, as well as Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, into special elections defending their seats later this year.

Ryan Lawler, a board member of the United Wisconsin, said the success of the signature gathering effort “represents a crystal clear indication of how strong the appetite is to stop the damage and turmoil that Scott Walker has brought to Wisconsin.”

The elections could tip the balance of power in the state Senate, where Republicans currently hold a 17-16 majority.

But they may also provide an early glimpse of how closely fought this November’s presidential race will be in key Midwestern states like Wisconsin, where voters backed Barack Obama in 2008 but then handed big victories to Republicans, including Walker, in the 2010 midterms.

Organizers: 50,000 sign Walker recall petition in just 48 hours

By Stephen C. Webster/Raw Story

A statewide vote on whether Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) should be recalled seems more likely today after organizers told The Associated Press that they had collected over 50,000 signatures after just 48 hours of campaigning.

That’s well above the roughly 9,000 per day they’d need to reach the 540,000 required by Jan. 17. If Democrats and other community groups can keep up the pace, they’re almost certain to trigger a recall.

Organizers are aiming to far exceed the state’s signature requirements, just in case they have any duplicates or other issues that could disqualify some signatures.

There’s been some speculation, based on discussions found on social media, that undercover conservative activists may be plotting acts of sabotage against the petition drive, in an effort to destroy signatures or flood the process with fraudulent entries.

“Destroying petitions or engaging in the acts [described] are serious felonies,” a Wisconsin Democratic official warned. “However, these threats are intended to sow confusion. We won’t let them win, especially not like this.

Conservative activists plotting to sabotage Scott Walker recall effort

By Muriel Kane/Raw Story

The campaign to recall Republican Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker will not officially kick off until next Tuesday, but conservative activists are already openly discussing plants to sabotage the petition drive.

The Politicscoop blog reported on Friday that it has been receiving screenshots of conservatives discussing how they might circulate false petitions of their own and later destroy them.

“I’d like to collect signatures of those who want to recall Walker…so I can have something to feed my shredder,” read one Facebook post from a user calling himself “Charles Atlas Shrugging.”

“I shall be heating my home with recall signature,” another replied. “As they sign, I’ll make sure to tell them not to sign another petition. I figure I can get a hundred to a few hundred signatures off the ballot. F*#&* (Word edited) Liberals.”

A third Facebook poster, Will R. Jenkins, appears to be upping the ante with a plan to infiltrate the genuine petition drive and destroy other participants’ petitions as well as his own. “From my estimation, I’ll be able to destroy 15-20K signatures,” he writes, “unless the guy above me gives me access to where he stories his own signatures so I can place mine in there. If this happens, I’ll be able to destroy upwards of 15-20% of the entire collected ballots [sic] in the state of Wisconsin.”

He later adds “I am a highly trusted member of a recall group who nobody would expect would do such a thing.”

Mother Jones has picked up on the story and has looked further into some of the posters. It notesthat Jenkins describes himself in his Facebook profile as a “UNION SLAVE LABORER” at the Kenosha Unified School District and complains, “Dealing with white trash, illegal immigrants, and criminal gang black kids isn’t fun and games.” He lists his interests as “Greeting A Liberal,” “Beating A Liberal,” Strangling A Liberal,” Burying a Dead Body,” and “Having a Few Beers.”

There is no proof, of course, that “Jenkins” is telling the truth about being associated with the petition drive or even about working for the Kenosha School District. Last August, other Facebook users were already drawing attention to his postings and profile and forwarding screenshots to the Kenosha superintendent — with no apparent effect on his Facebook activities.

Mother Jones showed the recent screenshots to an election law expert, who responded, “If a person fraudulently solicits recall petitions and then destroys those petitions, they will probably go to jail. The law is very clear on this.”

“The list of disgusting posts go on,” Politicscoop’s Paul I. Tascoupe observes, “even after a user reminded each and every one of them that their plans would violate Wisconsin statutes. It makes me wonder if the media will pick up on these plans and make it public knowledge.”

Tascoupe has contacted the Democratic Party of Wisconson, whose spokesperson replied, “Destroying petitions or engaging in the acts you describe are serious felonies. However, these threats are intended to sow confusion. We won’t let them win, especially not like this. Petitions will be clearly marked and the circulators will be identified by a lanyard.”