I’m not sure how much post-recall punditry and reporting you’re interested in, but … Scott Bauer of the AP reports: “[T]he rising Republican star [Scott Walker] is focusing his message on what lies ahead. His term runs through 2014 in a state that is still bitterly divided over his move to end collective bargaining rights for most public employees. ‘It's time to put our differences aside and find ways to work together to move Wisconsin forward,’ Walker said in an interview minutes after his victory. ‘I think it's important to fix things, but it's also important to make sure we talk about it and involve people in the process.’ Walker planned to invite all members of the Legislature to meet as soon as next week over burgers, brats and ‘maybe a little bit of good Wisconsin beer.’ ‘The first step is just bringing people together and figuring out some way if we can thaw the ice,’ he said.” Like with maybe … another election?
Jason Stein and Patrick Marley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report on one reason why Walker might want to buy the Democrats a beer: “[F]or at least six months, it appears that he could have to accommodate a newly Democratic Senate. Republicans needed to win all four state Senate recall races Tuesday to hold onto that house but were declared winners in only three of those contests. According to the unofficial tally by The Associated Press, GOP Sen. Van Wanggaard of Racine trailed by 779 votes to Democratic challenger and former Sen. John Lehman. The race has not been called by The Associated Press nor conceded by Wanggaard, though Democrats have declared victory. Lehman's lead currently sits at just over 1 percentage point, too great for Wanggaard to qualify for a taxpayer-funded recount. ... In a statement, Senate Democratic Leader Mark Miller said he hoped Republicans would respect the result of the election.” I don’t see that being a problem, do you?
In The New York Times, Michael Shear writes: “There were numerous crosscurrents that likely contributed to the outcome: particularly skepticism of the recall process and anger over the ballooning cost of public employee benefits at a time of economic distress. There is little doubt that the election was more about Wisconsin than about the battle between Mitt Romney and Mr. Obama. But the state is one that Democrats had been confident of winning in November, given Mr. Obama’s 17-point margin of victory in 2008. And the failure of a determined, well-planned Democratic effort to oust Governor Walker highlights the challenges the party faces in November as it goes up against Republicans who proved that they can put vast financial resources behind their political efforts using ‘super PACS’ and other vehicles.” It is as the Supreme Court wanted it.
The Baltimore Sun editorializes: “Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's victory in Tuesday's recall election doesn't mean President Barack Obama is going to lose his re-election bid — or even that he will lose Wisconsin. But it clearly shows that organized labor is a seriously weakened political force that needs to reinvent itself for its sake and for the nation's. The vote was widely billed as a preliminary skirmish in the November election between Mr. Obama and Republican Mitt Romney, but there is good reason to conclude that its predictive value is low. For starters, exit polling showed that even as voters handed Mr. Walker a convincing 53 percent to 46 percent victory over Milwaukee's Democratic mayor, Tom Barrett, a solid majority of them would have voted for Mr. Obama over Mr. Romney. On the crucial issue of improving the economy, more of them said they trusted the president than his Republican challenger.”
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Linda Feldman at The Christian Science Monitor writes: “President Obama got some good news in the Wisconsin recall election, even as the Democrats failed to oust Republican Gov. Scott Walker: The president polled ahead of Mitt Romney by a wide margin — 51 percent to 44 percent, according to the exit poll conducted by Edison Research. That spread matches Governor Walker’s seven-point margin over Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, the Democratic nominee in Tuesday’s recall election. Five months before the general election, Wisconsin voters also preferred Mr. Obama over Mr. Romney to deal with the economy, 43 percent to 37 percent, according to the ABC News exit poll. On ‘helping the middle class,’ Obama beat Romney, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, 47 percent to 36 percent.”
Done right, this is an idea that could catch on. Maura Lerner of the Strib writes: “A national patient-safety group has come up with a simple way to compare hospitals — by giving them a letter grade — and included 38 Minnesota hospitals in its new report card. The group, known as Leapfrog, graded 2,700 hospitals nationwide on a variety of safety measures, such as falls, infections and bed sores, in report released Wednesday. Among the A's: Abbott Northwestern in Minneapolis and Mayo Clinic's Methodist Hospital in Rochester. Among the C's: the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview; and Mayo's Immanuel St. Joseph's in Mankato. A Minnesota hospital official said it's unlikely that the grades will be of much help to consumers and patients, because the scores can be skewed by small variations.” Really though, it’s the “F” students I worry about.
The Campaign Finance Board has swatted down Common Cause’s complaint against the Minnesota Family Council. Catharine Richert at MPR writes: “The Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board has dismissed a complaint against the Minnesota Family Council, an organization that supports a constitutional amendment to define marriage as between one man and one woman. In its report , the Board said it found no evidence that the Minnesota Family Council (MFC) has violated state law. The dismissal stems from a complaint filed earlier this year by Common Cause Minnesota.
The complaint alleged that the Minnesota Family Council (MFC) violated state law by working on behalf of the marriage amendment because the family council is a political committee and failed to register as one. Common Cause said MFC should be subject to the same reporting and disclosure requirements as other political committees.”
If he didn’t protest it, he must figure he got off easy … Paul Walsh of the Strib reports: “Lawrence Coleman, 41 and with no permanent address, was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in St. Paul for the robbery of $1,700 from the City County Federal Credit Union at 4701 Chicago Av. S. on Oct. 25, 2010. In exchange for pleading guilty to that crime, charges were dropped against him alleging he robbed the City County Federal Credit Union in Brooklyn Center on Oct. 26, 2010, of $1,800 and $811 from the Citizen's Independent Bank in Robbinsdale two days later.”
Before that Canterbury-Sioux track/casino deal goes through, the Racing Commission is going to take a look at the fine print. In the Strib, Tony Kennedy says, “The Minnesota Racing Commission will hold a special meeting next week in Shakopee to consider a proposed agreement that would send tens of millions of dollars from Mystic Lake Casino to Canterbury Park to enhance track winnings and stabilize the state's horse racing industry. Barring unforeseen court involvement, the commission will have the only public authority over the proposed deal between Canterbury's private owners and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, owners of Minnesota's largest gambling house. The deal announced Monday stunned the state's gambling and political communities by creating a partnership that appears to cement the tribe's local monopoly on casino-style gambling.”
Jason Stein and Patrick Marley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report on one reason why Walker might want to buy the Democrats a beer: “[F]or at least six months, it appears that he could have to accommodate a newly Democratic Senate. Republicans needed to win all four state Senate recall races Tuesday to hold onto that house but were declared winners in only three of those contests. According to the unofficial tally by The Associated Press, GOP Sen. Van Wanggaard of Racine trailed by 779 votes to Democratic challenger and former Sen. John Lehman. The race has not been called by The Associated Press nor conceded by Wanggaard, though Democrats have declared victory. Lehman's lead currently sits at just over 1 percentage point, too great for Wanggaard to qualify for a taxpayer-funded recount. ... In a statement, Senate Democratic Leader Mark Miller said he hoped Republicans would respect the result of the election.” I don’t see that being a problem, do you?
In The New York Times, Michael Shear writes: “There were numerous crosscurrents that likely contributed to the outcome: particularly skepticism of the recall process and anger over the ballooning cost of public employee benefits at a time of economic distress. There is little doubt that the election was more about Wisconsin than about the battle between Mitt Romney and Mr. Obama. But the state is one that Democrats had been confident of winning in November, given Mr. Obama’s 17-point margin of victory in 2008. And the failure of a determined, well-planned Democratic effort to oust Governor Walker highlights the challenges the party faces in November as it goes up against Republicans who proved that they can put vast financial resources behind their political efforts using ‘super PACS’ and other vehicles.” It is as the Supreme Court wanted it.
The Baltimore Sun editorializes: “Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's victory in Tuesday's recall election doesn't mean President Barack Obama is going to lose his re-election bid — or even that he will lose Wisconsin. But it clearly shows that organized labor is a seriously weakened political force that needs to reinvent itself for its sake and for the nation's. The vote was widely billed as a preliminary skirmish in the November election between Mr. Obama and Republican Mitt Romney, but there is good reason to conclude that its predictive value is low. For starters, exit polling showed that even as voters handed Mr. Walker a convincing 53 percent to 46 percent victory over Milwaukee's Democratic mayor, Tom Barrett, a solid majority of them would have voted for Mr. Obama over Mr. Romney. On the crucial issue of improving the economy, more of them said they trusted the president than his Republican challenger.”
Linda Feldman at The Christian Science Monitor writes: “President Obama got some good news in the Wisconsin recall election, even as the Democrats failed to oust Republican Gov. Scott Walker: The president polled ahead of Mitt Romney by a wide margin — 51 percent to 44 percent, according to the exit poll conducted by Edison Research. That spread matches Governor Walker’s seven-point margin over Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, the Democratic nominee in Tuesday’s recall election. Five months before the general election, Wisconsin voters also preferred Mr. Obama over Mr. Romney to deal with the economy, 43 percent to 37 percent, according to the ABC News exit poll. On ‘helping the middle class,’ Obama beat Romney, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, 47 percent to 36 percent.”Done right, this is an idea that could catch on. Maura Lerner of the Strib writes: “A national patient-safety group has come up with a simple way to compare hospitals — by giving them a letter grade — and included 38 Minnesota hospitals in its new report card. The group, known as Leapfrog, graded 2,700 hospitals nationwide on a variety of safety measures, such as falls, infections and bed sores, in report released Wednesday. Among the A's: Abbott Northwestern in Minneapolis and Mayo Clinic's Methodist Hospital in Rochester. Among the C's: the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview; and Mayo's Immanuel St. Joseph's in Mankato. A Minnesota hospital official said it's unlikely that the grades will be of much help to consumers and patients, because the scores can be skewed by small variations.” Really though, it’s the “F” students I worry about.
The Campaign Finance Board has swatted down Common Cause’s complaint against the Minnesota Family Council. Catharine Richert at MPR writes: “The Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board has dismissed a complaint against the Minnesota Family Council, an organization that supports a constitutional amendment to define marriage as between one man and one woman. In its report , the Board said it found no evidence that the Minnesota Family Council (MFC) has violated state law. The dismissal stems from a complaint filed earlier this year by Common Cause Minnesota.
The complaint alleged that the Minnesota Family Council (MFC) violated state law by working on behalf of the marriage amendment because the family council is a political committee and failed to register as one. Common Cause said MFC should be subject to the same reporting and disclosure requirements as other political committees.”
If he didn’t protest it, he must figure he got off easy … Paul Walsh of the Strib reports: “Lawrence Coleman, 41 and with no permanent address, was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in St. Paul for the robbery of $1,700 from the City County Federal Credit Union at 4701 Chicago Av. S. on Oct. 25, 2010. In exchange for pleading guilty to that crime, charges were dropped against him alleging he robbed the City County Federal Credit Union in Brooklyn Center on Oct. 26, 2010, of $1,800 and $811 from the Citizen's Independent Bank in Robbinsdale two days later.”
Before that Canterbury-Sioux track/casino deal goes through, the Racing Commission is going to take a look at the fine print. In the Strib, Tony Kennedy says, “The Minnesota Racing Commission will hold a special meeting next week in Shakopee to consider a proposed agreement that would send tens of millions of dollars from Mystic Lake Casino to Canterbury Park to enhance track winnings and stabilize the state's horse racing industry. Barring unforeseen court involvement, the commission will have the only public authority over the proposed deal between Canterbury's private owners and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, owners of Minnesota's largest gambling house. The deal announced Monday stunned the state's gambling and political communities by creating a partnership that appears to cement the tribe's local monopoly on casino-style gambling.”