Wisconsin Protests

In Heavy Snow, Massive Crowd Rallies in Madison

Eric Kleefeld | February 26, 2011, 5:28PM

Protesters at the Wisconsin State Capitol, February 26, 2011.

The state Capitol Square in Madison, Wisconsin, is now overflowing with protesters, in a demonstration that is even bigger than last Saturday's massive demonstration -- and in freezing, snowy weather to boot.

Last Saturday's protest was huge, with estimates of 55,000 or more. But many other reporters I've spoken to agree that there are even more today. The Wisconsin State Journal posted at 12:30 p.m. local time -- before the rally began -- that the crowd size was almost 70,000 people. I should add that it has only gotten significantly bigger since then.

On top of that, last Saturday was sunny and relatively warm for February, while this afternoon it's 17 degrees Fahrenheit with heavy snow coming down.

So take this as a clear sign that even if the Wisconsin Assembly has passed Gov. Scott Walker's budget repair bill, with its anti-public employee union proposals, the passion of demonstrators here is not dying down. The bill is still stuck in the state Senate -- where the minority Democrats have left the state in order to block the three-fifths budget quorum -- and each step of this process might only turn up the political heat.

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Wisconsin Protests

Wisconsin Capitol To Close Sunday Afternoon After Non-Stop Protests

Eric Kleefeld | February 25, 2011, 7:53PM

Demonstrators inside the Wisconsin state Capitol, February 16, 2011.

The protests that have deluged the Wisconsin Capitol are now being wound down -- at least the ones insides are -- with the Capitol Police announcing today that the building will close down on Sunday.

Preparations for the shutdown have already begun, with protesters asked to remove items such as mattresses, tables, chairs, appliances and boxes from the building. On Saturday, protesters will no longer be allowed to bring blankets or sleeping bags inside.

Key quote from the press release:

"We are closing the Capitol for a short period of time for public health reasons, as well as for general building maintenance," Chief Tubbs said. "Everyone agrees that our State Capitol is a source of pride for our state and that we should take a break to take care of the building. People have been very respectful of the building, law enforcement and staff to this point. Since the beginning, protest organizers have worked very cooperatively with law enforcement. Based on discussions with them about the need to return to normal business hours, Capitol Police is anticipating that a thorough cleaning can begin at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. As always, the top priority of Capitol Police is ensuring the safety of everyone at the Capitol. I thank everyone in advance for their cooperation.

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Wisconsin

Walker: I Visited Dems' Districts In Effort To Bring Them Back To Wisconsin

Eric Kleefeld | February 25, 2011, 7:22PM

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI)

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) just held another press conference at which he urged the 14 state Senate Democrats who have left the state to come back and no longer block the three-fifths budget quorum.

Interestingly, of the five questions that the state reporters asked Walker, none were about the issue that took up considerable time in his Wednesday and Thursday pressers: His phone call with blogger Ian Murphy, who was posing as Republican financier David Koch. Instead, all questions were about the issues of the budget process, possible layoffs of state and local employees, and the protests that have been going on in the Capitol.

Walker started by praising the State Assembly for all its work in its marathon, 60-plus hour debate on the budget -- with its controversial anti-public employee union provisions -- which ultimately passed late last night. "They're doing what we hope the Senate Democrats will do," Walker said, "and that is actually showing up and having a vote."

Walker said he'd also travelled around Wisconsin today, to Kenosha, Green Bay and Rhinelander -- that is, to the districts of Democratic state Senators Robert Wirch, Dave Hansen and Jim Holperin -- saying that he hoped "ultimately to make an appeal to the constituents in their districts, and the constituents of all those who are missing in action."

Newt Gingrich

Gingrich: Obama's DOMA Move Sounds Impeachable To Me (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 25, 2011, 6:34PM

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich

Newt Gingrich knows a thing or two about presidential impeachments. And after the Obama's administration's decision on the Defense of Marriage Act, Gingrich says the smell impeachment is in the air once again.

Speaking with Newsmax, the former House Speaker and oft-rumored 2012 presidential contender said that the Obama administration's decision to no longer defend DOMA in federal court is a "a violation" of President Obama's "Constitutional oath and clearly it is something which cannot be allowed to stand."

The host asked Gingrich "is what Obama's doing impeachable in your view?"

Gingrich: "I think that's something you get to much later."

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112th Congress

Republicans Back Away From Govt Shutdown Ledge?

Benjy Sarlin | February 25, 2011, 6:07PM

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA)

After a week of escalating rhetoric, House Republicans appear to be backing away from a possible shutdown, offering an olive branch to Senate Democrats with a short-term resolution to fund the federal government.

Late Friday afternoon, the House Appropriations Committee put out a new plan to extend funding for two weeks beyond the March 4 deadline to pass a continuing resolution or shut down the government. Included in the proposal are $4 billion in cuts broadly in line with Democratic proposals -- $1.24 billion from programs that President Obama has already called on Congress to cut and another $2.7 billion from removing all earmarks, another plan with White House backing.

"This is a vitally important measure to prevent a government shutdown and we sincerely hope that Senate Democrats will join us in supporting this reasonable measure that contains cuts and terminations that they have voiced support for," Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) said in a statement. Earlier that day, Cantor said in a conference call with reporters that a shutdown "is not an acceptable or responsible option for Republicans."

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Elijah Cummings

Cummings Backs Obama With Mortgage Fraud Investigation

Susan Crabtree | February 25, 2011, 4:59PM

Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD), the ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, is backing President Obama's hard line on mortgage abuses with his own wide-ranging investigation into foreclosure fraud.

Obama has been trying to broker a deal that would have the nation's largest mortgage lenders agree to cough up as much as $30 billion in fines to settle state and federal claims they abused borrowers and illegally foreclosed on homes, according to media reports citing state and federal officials engaged in the discussions.

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Gallup

Americans Quicker To Embrace 'Conservative' Than 'Liberal' Tag

Jon Terbush | February 25, 2011, 4:58PM

Liberal is a four letter word.

Citing polling data culled from a year of nationwide surveys, Gallup found that there are more self-identified conservatives than liberals in every single state in America. Even in deep blue Rhode Island, where 29.3% called themselves liberals, even more people, 29.9%, identified as conservative.

That does not mean that that there are more Republicans than Democrats. but it does show that the conservative brand has a far more positive connotation than liberal does. Republicans -- especially those with presidential aspirations -- are quick to tout their conservatism at events like CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Committee. Democrats, meanwhile, are hardly rushing to form LPAC.

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Wisconsin Protests

Another Day, Another Conservative Poll With Bad News For Scott Walker

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 25, 2011, 3:05PM

Dick Morris

A day after a conservative poll of Wisconsin showed voters there overwhelmingly opposed to Gov. Scott Walker's (R) plan to eliminate collective bargaining for thousands of state workers, conservative stalwart Dick Morris dropped his own poll of the state showing a similar result.

Fifty-four percent of the respondents to Morris' poll said they were opposed to eliminating collective bargaining. Just 41% said they favored it.

The voters Morris polled did want some changes made to the union worker's compensation plan. Basically the same ones the union has already offered.

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unions

Gallup Poll: Only Highest Earners Support Gutting Collective Bargaining

Jon Terbush | February 25, 2011, 2:47PM

Demonstrators outside the Wisconsin state Capitol, February 16, 2011.

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) does have at least one demographic on his side in the battle to eliminate collective bargaining rights for public unions -- the wealthy.

Earlier this week, Gallup released a poll showing that six in ten Americans said they oppose plans to roll back collective bargaining rights for public unions in their own states. As Greg Sargent noted today, only one income bracket within that poll -- those making more than $90,000 per year -- favors that idea.

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Ethics

In Limbo: Suspended Ethics Committee Attorneys Still On House Payroll

Susan Crabtree | February 25, 2011, 2:12PM

Rep. Jo Bonner (R-AL)

Last year was particularly rough for House Democrats as the messy public ethics spectacles involving prominent Democratic Reps. Charles Rangel (NY) and Maxine Waters (CA) played out for all the world to see right in the waning months before a difficult and ultimately devastating election for Democrats.

Now that Republicans are in charge of the House, watchdogs are scrutinizing their every move, waiting for signs that they're weakening the ethics standards or continuing Congress's long history of slow-walking ethics cases and its seeming inability to impose tough sanctions on those who break the rules.

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Abortion

It's Not Just SD: Slew Of New State Laws Put Pro-Choicers On Notice

Evan McMorris-Santoro and Jillian Rayfield | February 25, 2011, 1:22PM

South Dakota may have shelved its controversial "justifiable homicide" bill to protect unborn children, but the trend has already caught on elsewhere, with both Nebraska and Iowa introducing bills with vague language about the use of justifiable force.

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Mike Huckabee

Huckabee: Poverty Will Fall If Single Parents Just Get Married (VIDEO)

Andrew Jones | February 25, 2011, 12:42PM

According to former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee (R), America's poverty problem would be greatly reduced if single parents would simply tie the knot.

The potential 2012 GOP presidential candidate made the statements in the course of his appearance on Fox & Friend as part of the promotional tour for his new book, A Simple Government -- Twelve Things We Really Need from Washington (And a Trillion We Don't).

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Senate '12

Poll: Pennsylvania Voters Cold To Potential Santorum Senate Run

Jon Terbush | February 25, 2011, 11:32AM

Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA)

If Rick Santorum wants to get back into national politics, he'd better run for president, as a new survey conducted by Municipoll finds that a majority of Pennsylvania voters don't like the idea of sending the former Republican Senator back to Congress.

In the poll of likely voters, Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) trounced Santorum in a hypothetical 2012 Senate race, 50% to 38%. Casey captured Santorum's Senate seat in 2006 in a election year that saw Democrats reclaim control of the upper chamber of Congress.

Casey's lead over Santorum is slightly larger than the 48% to 41% lead PPP showed him boasting in a January poll.

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Shepard Smith

Fox News' Shep Smith: Wisconsin Is All About Union-Busting (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | February 25, 2011, 10:10AM

Fox News' Shepherd Smith broke down the Wisconsin protests for Juan Williams this week, declaring that it's all about politics and union busting, and "to pretend that this is about a fiscal crisis in the state of Wisconsin is malarkey."

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Progressives

New Report Ranks 'Most Liberal', 'Most Conservative' Members of Congress

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 25, 2011, 9:40AM

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)

Democratic Senators Sherrod Brown (OH), Barbara Mikulski (MD) and Harry Reid (NV) were among "the most liberal" Senators last year, according to new rankings by National Journal. Republican Sens. John McCain (AZ), Jim DeMint (SC) and John Thune (SD) were among the most conservative.

National Journal is out with its annual congressional voting record rankings, which track the voting patterns of the 535 members of the House and Senate. The takeaway? Congress in 2010 was the most polarized it has been in close to 30 years. Parties in Congress are increasingly working in "virtual lockstep," which the magazine's political guru, Ron Brownstein described as the "decline of individualism in Congress" and the rise of a "a more top-down, parliamentary-style institution."

But there are still members on both sides who represent the outer edge of the party's ideological leanings. Here are National Journal's top conservative and liberal leaders in each chamber.

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Bipartisanship

2010 'Most Polarized' For Congress In A Generation

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 25, 2011, 7:52AM

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)

Shocking news...

A new report shows Congress in 2010 was the most divided it has been in nearly 30 years.

National Journal's annual congressional vote ranking survey shows the House and Senate hit "a new peak of polarization."

Yeah, you read that right: the year that saw the rise of the tea party and the end of the epic health care debate turned out to be one of the most partisan in history. Who woulda thunk it?

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Wisconsin

WI Assembly GOP Passes Walker Budget In Surprise Vote -- Dems Chant "Shame!"

Eric Kleefeld | February 25, 2011, 3:27AM

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI)

MADISON, WI -- The Wisconsin State Assembly has just passed Gov. Scott Walker's budget repair bill, including its controversial provisions to eliminate almost all collective bargaining rights for public employee unions as well as many other provisions to weaken union organizing.

After much buildup in the 61-hour debate -- of Republicans wanting things to be over, and Democrats railing against Republicans who they said would cut off debate -- at about 1 AM Speaker Pro Tempore Bill Kramer (R) announced that he would hear a voice vote for a roll call on final passage. Immediately, the majority Republicans shouted their ayes, and the Democrats were booing, as they tried to be recognized to demand a separate motion to cut off debate.

Then Kramer called the vote. Within seconds, the digital vote system on the wall announced 51 ayes and 17 nays, and voting was suddenly closed. With a total of 96 members, that got to a majority for the bill but left 28 members who hadn't had a chance yet to vote.

At that point, the Democrats got up, chanting "Shame! Shame! Shame!" and similar exclamations, as the Republicans filed out of the room.

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Wisconsin

Walker At Press Conference: I Said That 'Crushing The Bastards' Wasn't A Good Idea

Eric Kleefeld | February 24, 2011, 8:34PM

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI)

MADISON, WI -- Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) just finished a press conference early this evening, in which he continued to warn about the specter of layoffs of government workers if his budget does not pass, and called upon the absent state Senate Democrats to return to the state. Predictably, he continued to face questions over the biggest story of the last two days: His phone call with blogger Ian Murphy, who was posing as Republican financier David Koch.

Walker took five questions in total. The first two questions were both about the "Koch" call, followed by three questions about the budget bill itself and his efforts to end collective bargaining for public sector workers.

In his initial speech, Walker said he had spoken to a small businessman in Wisconsin, who was concerned about the strife going on in the state, and who asked why Walker did not simply take the deal of the increased contributions by public employees to their health care and pensions.

"You look at what's happened at the local level over the past two weeks with this measure...actions speak louder than words," Walker said. "Over the past few weeks we've seen in cities and counties and schools in a rush to pass contracts that don't have a 5 percent and 12 percent contributions. In fact, what I've seen, they have no additional contributions for pensions and health care costs for government employees. In fact, in some cases they've rammed through contracts that have an increase in the salaries."

Walker also spoke of the concern that he said he had for state workers. He said he wanted to avoid layoffs that would hurt people's families, and in response to workers' concerns would strengthen civil service protections on issues of grievances, terminations and discipline etc.

"We've also got to give those workers the right to choose," Walker said -- restating his point from yesterday's press conference that he would give workers the ability to save about $1,000 per year by not paying dues to a union.

But a great deal of interest still focused on Walker's statements on the recorded prank phone call released yesterday morning.

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Cameroon

Is Cameroon Next After Libya?

Benjy Sarlin | February 24, 2011, 6:22PM

Anti-government uprisings have spread from an initial revolution in Tunisia to countries across the region, including Egypt, Bahrain, Libya, and Yemen. Could the revolutionary fervor be migrating outside of the Arab world as well?

In Cameroon, activists used the recent Mideast turmoil to rally protestors this week against President Paul Biya, who was ruled the African nation with total authority for the last 28 years. Opposition groups charge that he has rigged elections to keep himself in power and human rights groups, including Amnesty International, accuse authorities of stifling political dissent with extreme violence.

"We want to take charge of our destiny like the people in Egypt and Tunisia did," Kah Walla, an opposition candidate for president in Cameroon working to organize demonstrations, told CNN on Wednesday.

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Wisconsin Protests

Mysterious Conservative Poll Of Walker's Budget Plan Hits Wisconsin

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 24, 2011, 6:15PM

A poll purporting to show broad support in Wisconsin for Gov. Scott Walker's (R) budget proposal made the rounds today, popping up on at least one Wisconsin news site and getting a mention on MSNBC.

"BREAKING: Poll Shows 71% of Wisconsinites Think Walker's Budget Changes are 'Fair'," screamed the release from the poll's sponsor, the conservative-leaning Franklin Center For Government and Public Integrity, based in Alexandria, VA. More on all that from TPM's Eric Lach here.

The poll was quickly picked up, making an appearance on the WisPolitics.com news site and getting a shoutout on MSNBC dayside.

There's only one problem: the poll actually shows more Wisconsin voters are on the side of the pro-union protesters and their Democratic allies than back Walker and the Republicans.

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Darrell Issa

Issa Defends Subpoenas, Provides Timeline of Negotiations with DHS

Susan Crabtree | February 24, 2011, 5:39PM

Darrell Issa (R-CA)

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) is jabbing back at criticism from Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the ranking Democrat on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, that the first three subpoenas Issa sent out this Congress were "rushed" and "unilateral" and show a scatter-shot approach to investigating aimed at making headlines rather than improving government.

Cummings sent Issa a letter Wednesday accusing him of misusing the committee and failing to adequately consult Democrats before sending out three subpoenas in the last week, one to Bank of America looking for documents related to Countrywide's infamous VIP mortgage program, and two to Department of Homeland Security officials seeking depositions for the committee's investigation into whether DHS politicized FOIA requests.

Issa spokesman Kurt Bardella sent a lengthy response to Cummings' complaints and a detailed timeline, beginning with this quote: "Another day, another complaint and more righteous indignation. What else is new?"

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Health Care Repeal

Poll: Barely Half Of Americans Know Health Care Law Hasn't Been Repealed

Jon Terbush | February 24, 2011, 5:15PM

President Barack Obama

Republicans can finally relax -- the health care law has finally been repealed. Actually it hasn't -- but only half of all Americans know it.

In a new Kaiser Health poll, just 52% of Americans knew that the health care reform bill signed into law by President Obama is still in place. Meanwhile, one fifth -- 22% -- of all Americans believe that the law has been overturned, while another 26% aren't sure what's up with the law.

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Wisconsin Protests

Wis. AFL-CIO Ad Features Walker-'Koch' Phone Call (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | February 24, 2011, 5:06PM

Ad by the Wisconsin AFL-CIO, "Scott Walker and David Koch's attacks on Wisconsin's middle class"

The Wisconsin AFL-CIO is up with a new ad attacking Gov. Scott Walker's budget proposal to strip public employee unions of most of their collective bargaining rights -- making quick use of Walker's phone call with blogger Ian Murphy, who was posing as Republican financier David Koch.

Around the Capitol, the phone call is something people are talking about -- a lot. From the protestors yelling about Walker's "Koch habit," to reporters who kept asking him about the call during Wednesday's brief press conference. Indeed, it seems likely Walker will find it difficult to put the call behind him anytime soon -- from his discussion of political gamesmanship, brief considerations about planting fake protesters to start trouble, or his passion for busting the public employee unions in the mold of Ronald Reagan's firing of the air traffic controllers, this thing, as they say, has legs.

Enter the AFL-CIO's ad:

"Gov. Walker is set on eliminating collective bargaining for nurses, teachers, people who live and work in our communities," the announcer says. "He tells us it's for the taxpayers of Wisconsin. But to wealthy GOP funders like David Koch, it's a different story."

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Senate '12

Poll: Montana Senate Seat Could Go To GOP in 2012

Jon Terbush | February 24, 2011, 3:45PM

Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) and Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT)

Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) could be on his way out of the Senate after just one term.

In a new poll of likely voters conducted by 47 North Communications, Tester trails Rep. Denny Rehberg (R) in a hypothetical 2012 match-up. Forty-seven percent of respondents said they would vote for Rehberg, while only 44% said they would back Tester.

Earlier this month, Rehberg formally announced that he would take on Tester in next year's election.

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Harry Reid

Nevada's Brothel Lobbyist: Reid's Anti-Prostitution Stance A 'Unique Challenge'

Benjy Sarlin | February 24, 2011, 3:43PM

It's hard out here for a prostitution lobbyist.

George Flint, who has represented the Select Legal Brothels of Nevada for the last 26 years, is still reeling from Sen. Harry Reid's dramatic call for a statewide ban on the world's oldest profession. Flint, 77, told TPM he was particularly shocked because he and Reid have known each other for over 40 years, going back to the Senator's earliest days in state politics -- yet he's never heard him complain about the business.

"We're more or less personal friends and I'm completely blown out of the water," he said. "I have no idea what it's tied to. It's nothing like he's ever done before. We're all trying to get a handle on it."

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Tim Pawlenty

T-Paw Stands With Walker, Paints Ominous Picture Of Protesters (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 24, 2011, 3:36PM

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) is fully behind Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's (R) plan to strip many state workers of their collective bargaining rights. And he's pretty sure a number of the protesters pouring into Madison over the past few days to stop Walker are Democratic or union plants.

That's the message from a new web video and petition drive launched by Pawlenty's PAC on Thursday. Like most of the potential 2012 presidential contenders, Pawlenty's gone on record in strong support of Walker's so-called Budget Repair Bill, which critics call plain and simple union busting.

Now he's doubling down, launching a web petition and video campaign to support the embattled Wisconsin governor.

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New York Times

Mystery Solved? NYT Says Docs Show It Was Roger Ailes Who Judith Regan Accused of Telling Her to Lie

Andrew Jones | February 24, 2011, 3:01PM

Fox News president Roger Ailes

Just who did former HarperCollins publisher Judith Regan accuse of telling her to lie about her relationship with former NYC police commissioner Bernard Kerik?

As readers may recall, in the midst her lawsuit with her former employer News Corporation, Regan reportedly claimed via her legal team that a senior News Corp executive had asked her to lie about her relationship with then NYC Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik. Kerik was at the time being considered as the next homeland security chief.

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Elijah Cummings

Cummings Hits Issa For 'Rushed, Unilateral' Subpoenas

Susan Crabtree | February 24, 2011, 2:39PM

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD)

When Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) took over as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee early last month, Democrats braced for an onslaught of investigations of the Obama administration and rash of subpoenas.

So far, the subpoenas have been very few in number -- just three to date and all sent last week. But Democrats already aren't liking what they're seeing and don't want to let them go without a fight.

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Labor

Progressive Leaders Press Obama To Use Bully Pulpit In Public Worker Fight

Brian Beutler | February 24, 2011, 1:48PM

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)

Leading progressives in the Democratic party are pressing President Obama to get more involved in the fight over public worker rights playing out in Wisconsin and other states across the country.

Obama has publicly sided with state and local government employees against laws meant to crush their right to collectively bargain. But his political shop has run hot and cold on the question of involving him more publicly in the protests.

The co-chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus yesterday both called on him to speak out more loudly -- or even join the protesters in Wisconsin.

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Wis. Senate GOP Leader's Wife Gets School Layoff Notice

Eric Kleefeld | February 24, 2011, 1:31PM

Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R)

MADISON, WI -- The threatened wave of layoffs of public employees -- which Republican Gov. Scott Walker has said will occur if his budget bill does not pass with its anti-public employee union provisions -- is now hitting home with a top Republican leader. As the Associated Press reports, the wife of state Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald has now received a preliminary layoff notice.

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Barack Obama

Polls: Large Majority Of Americans Want Budget Compromise, Not Gov't Shutdown

Jon Terbush | February 24, 2011, 12:55PM

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

With the looming prospect of a government shutdown growing larger every day, two recent polls show that Americans overwhelmingly want Congress and Obama to reach a budget deal before the March 4 deadline.

According to a Gallup poll, six in ten Americans would rather see a compromise than see Senators who represent their interests hold out for a sweeter deal, even if it leads to a government shutdown. And in a PPP poll released earlier this week, 62% said they thought a government shutdown would be bad for the country, while only 26% said it would be a good thing.

If a federal budget isn't passed by the March 4 deadline, the government will cease all non-essential spending until a budget is be passed.

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WI Senate GOPers 'Debate' Voter ID Sans Dems, Can't Pass Without Budget Quorum

Eric Kleefeld | February 24, 2011, 12:50PM

MADISON, WI -- The Wisconsin state Senate has just recessed, after the 19 Republicans "debated" and voted on amendments to a strict Voter ID bill, while the Democrats who fled the state in order to stop a budget quorum for Governor Scott Walker's anti-public employee union proposals remain in hiding in Illinois.

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Wisconsin Protests

Madison Police Chief: Scott Walker's Koch Call 'Troubling'

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 24, 2011, 12:18PM

Madison, WI police chief Noble Wray

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) may have more than his own embarrassment to deal with in the wake of the prank call from from a progressive blogger claiming to be David Koch.

The police chief in Madison, Wisc. -- site of the protests at the state Capitol -- tells the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel the he found parts of the recorded call between Walker and "Koch" "very unsettling and troubling."

Specifically, Chief Noble Wray says that Walker's claim that he considered sending infiltrators into the crowd (prompted by a suggestion by "Koch," played by blogger Ian Murphy) made him nervous.

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Harry Reid

Harry Reid and John Ensign Duel Over Prostitutes

Benjy Sarlin | February 24, 2011, 12:03PM

Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)

Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) defended Nevada's legal prostitution industry on Wednesday -- putting him at odds with Sen. Harry Reid's (D-NV) call this week to end the brothel business.

"You know, that's a county by county issue and I think and it should be left to the counties," Ensign told local station KTNV.com after a town hall meeting.

On Tuesday, Reid delivered a speech to the Nevada legislature in which he declared "the time has come for us to outlaw prostitution." Many state lawmakers defended the current brothel system after and it's unclear whether Reid's position has enough support to move forward. Governor Brian Sandoval (R) has said the issue should be left to the counties as well.

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2012 elections

Democrats Keep The Pressure On Republican Anti-Abortion Foes

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 24, 2011, 11:34AM

Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (R-NY)

Steve Israel promised to take on Congressional Republicans over their push to tighten abortion laws. Now, the DCCC chair is making good on that pledge.

With the 2012 elections well over a year away, Democrats are already up with paid advertising aimed at five Republican members of Congress they hope to defeat in 2012. The program is part of a larger targeted web, radio and email ad program taking on 19 Republicans Democrats say are vulnerable next year.

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Infrastructure

Freshman GOPer Hopes That Transportation Project He Voted To Cut Gets Restored

Brian Beutler | February 24, 2011, 11:21AM

Rep. Bobby Schilling (R-IL)

Life was more fun for Republicans when they could vote "no" on job-creating bills like the stimulus, then go to ribbon-cutting ceremonies for stimulus projects in their districts.

Now that they're voting "yes" on bills that will slash, delay or eliminate those projects, life's pretty rough.

Check out, for instance, this interview with freshman Rep. Bobby Schilling (R-IL), who's tied in knots over his recent vote to kill a transportation project in his district. Specifically, he voted for the House spending legislation, which would eliminate a $230 million federal grant to build an Amtrak line from Chicago to Iowa City, if it goes into effect.

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Indiana

Indiana Republican: No Negotiations With AWOL Dems, But No Hard Feelings Either

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 24, 2011, 10:36AM

Rep. Eric Turner (R-IN)

While the Wisconsin legislative fight over union rights has devolved into a rhetorical Cold War, the similar struggle between Democrats and Republicans in the Indiana state House is positively cordial by comparison.

Though Republicans, led by Gov. Mitch Daniels, are firm in their insistence there will be no negotiation with the group of AWOL House Democrats currently cooling their heels in Urbana, IL, a member of the Republican House leadership tells TPM there will be no hard feelings if and when the Democrats finally return.

"None," Rep. Eric Turner, assistant GOP leader in the House told TPM Thursday morning. "Certainly, at times, members of the opposite party are our opponents, but they're not our enemies."

"We're legislators, we're colleagues, we're respectful of one another," he added. "We can have a difference of opinion on a piece of legislation and work on another piece of legislation together."

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WI Assembly Strikes Deal On Walker's Budget, Senate Dems Remain Out Of State

Eric Kleefeld | February 24, 2011, 9:51AM

MADISON, WI -- The debate is moving forward in Wisconsin on Republican Gov. Scott Walker's budget proposal and its controversial provisions weakening the power of public employee unions -- or at least, it's moving forward in the state Assembly. The state Senate remains effectively shut down.

As the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports, the Republican and Democratic leaders in the Assembly have reached a deal to limit debate on the many amendments that Democrats had been offering to the bill -- which have been voted down on party-line margins -- narrowing the list down to just 38 more, with ten minutes of debate for each.

At that rate, the Assembly could come to a vote later on Thursday.

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Senate '12

Poll: Majority Of Utah Voters Think Sen. Hatch Should Go

Jon Terbush | February 24, 2011, 9:27AM

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)

Last year, Utah voters ousted incumbent Sen. Bob Bennett (R) -- and now, a majority of them say it's time for the state's other Senator, Orrin Hatch (R), to go as well.

In a new Utah Policy poll, 54% of Utah voters said it was time to send someone else to Washington in Hatch's place, while only 31% said Hatch should be reelected to the seat he has held for 34 years. The poll also had dire news for Hatch's chances of surviving a primary challenge. In a hypothetical match-up with two-term Rep. Jason Chaffetz, Hatch only managed a tie at 42% apiece.

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Mike Huckabee

Huckabee: I Made The Right Call Granting Clemency To Maurice Clemmons

Brian Beutler | February 24, 2011, 8:56AM

Fmr. Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee (R)

If Mike Huckabee enters the GOP presidential primary, his opponents will batter him over the case of Maurice Clemmons. Clemmons was a prisoner in Arkansas to whom Huckabee granted clemency, who went on to murder four people in Washington state.

Huckabee isn't the first national political figure to face this line of attack. It often plagues former governors who run for president. And when it's true,their response options are often limited. That said, at a round-table discussion with reporters hosted by the Christian Science Monitor on Wednesday, Huckabee rose to the moment and said he made the right decision.

"There was a kid who was 16 years old, he committed a burglary, he was aggravated, but not armed. And for that he got 108 years," Huckabee said. "One-hundred-and-eight years."

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Mike Huckabee

Huckabee: Eliminate Government Unions And Slash Entitlements For Poor Public Servants Like Me

Brian Beutler | February 24, 2011, 8:00AM

Fmr. Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee (R)

At an elegantly catered tea-time roundtable fête with reporters Wednesday afternoon, likely Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said public sector unions ought to be entirely eliminated, or hamstrung to limit worker benefits and influence over elected officials. During the same session, though, he admitted that a life of public service, and running for public office, has left him without a sizable nest egg. In fact, he acknowledged that he wants to delay a final decision about the presidential campaign so he can put away more of the big-time private sector money he's currently making.

But just before offering a candid assessment of his own finances, Huckabee endorsed two policy measures -- Social Security benefit cuts, and the privatization of Medicare -- that would erode the safety net for public workers and others of modest means.

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2012 Presidential Primaries

Gallup Poll: Huckabee, Palin, Romney Tied Atop 2012 GOP Field

Jon Terbush | February 24, 2011, 8:00AM

Former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-M), former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR), former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK)

One year out from the first primary in the 2012 season, a Gallup poll shows Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin in a virtual dead heat to claim the Republican Party's presidential nomination.

Huckabee held a marginal lead in the poll, topping the field at 18%, with Palin and Romney close on his heels at 16% each. Given the poll's 3% margin of error, the candidates are statistically tied at the front of the GOP pack.

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Rick Santorum

Santorum On DOMA: Part Of Obama's 'Effort To Erode' America

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 23, 2011, 9:32PM

Potential Republican presidential candidate and noted "traditional values" defender Rick Santorum is, unsurprisingly, upset with the Obama administration's decision to no longer defend the constitutionality of the Defense Of Marriage Act.

In a statement released tonight, Santorum said President Obama's decision on DOMA is "is yet another example of our president's effort to erode the very traditions that have made our country the greatest nation on earth."

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Indiana

Indiana Dems: This Is Our Moment And We're Seizing It

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 23, 2011, 6:07PM

Chairman of Indiana Democratic Party Dan Parker

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) changed his tune on Wednesday, after Democrats said they're staying put in Urbana, IL rather than letting the GOP majority push through Daniels' education reform agenda. Gone was Daniels' conciliatory tone from Tuesday, when he told his party to drop the right-to-work bill that sent House Democrats across the border to Illinois. In its place a was a pledge to wait out the Democrats and keep the Indiana legislature open as long as he has to in order for votes to take place.

Color Indiana Democrats unimpressed.

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Libya

K Street Firm Explains Why It Lobbied for Libya Then Abruptly Cut Ties

Susan Crabtree | February 23, 2011, 5:44PM

Fmr. Rep. Bob Livingston (R-LA)

Former Rep. Bob Livingston (R-LA) severed his firm's lobbying contract with the Qaddafi-controlled government of Libya in the fall of 2009, after Qaddafi's son welcomed the individual convicted of bombing Pan Am Flight 103 back to his home country as a conquering hero.

"Saif Qaddafi gave him a really public greeting broadcast around the world to welcome him home as a hero of the state -- that was just too much," Livingston told TPM in a telephone interview.

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Star Parker

California GOPer On Wisconsin Senate Dems: 'Fire Them!' (VIDEO)

Andrew Jones | February 23, 2011, 5:21PM

On Fox News this afternoon, a former GOP House candidate from California called for the still-absent Wisconsin Senate Democrats to lose their jobs.

Star Parker, who was handily beaten last November by Rep. Laura Richardson for California's 37th Congressional district, appeared on Your World with Neil Cavuto -- but she didn't talk about her home state. Rather, she focused specifically on what punishment she believes the AWOL Dems deserve.

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Defense of Marriage Act

Huckabee Slams Obama On DOMA, Implies Link Between Gay Marriage And Broken Homes

Brian Beutler | February 23, 2011, 4:47PM

Fmr. Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee (R)

Likely Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee mauled President Obama's decision to halt the Justice Department's legal defenses of DOMA at a roundtable lunch with reporters on Wednesday. In defense of his position, he claimed a public mandate for the controversial Clinton-era law, and linked same sex marriage to the failure of heterosexual marriages.

"I'm deeply disappointed," Huckabee said. "They are clearly out of sync with the public."

Huckabee noted that 33 states have affirmed, via ballot initiatives, that marriage should be between a man and a woman.

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Scott Walker

Walker On 'Koch' Phone Call: 'I Take Phone Calls All The Time'

Eric Kleefeld | February 23, 2011, 4:26PM

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI)

MADISON, WI -- Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) held a tense press conference Wednesday afternoon, following the revelation that he had a 20-minute phone conversation with a prank caller pretending to be Republican financier David Koch, a call in which Walker and "Koch" discussed possible ways to disrupt the protests against his budget bill, and to bring the Democrats back to the Capitol.

The presser took place in the governor's press room, with the thick, wooden double doors closed in order to block out the ever-present sounds of the protesters inside the Capitol.

Walker started off by taking shots at the 14 state Senate Democrats who have left the state, in order to block the three-fifths majority needed for a budget quorum. "I'm here today working. I appreciated the fact that the state Assembly is here today debating the budget repair bill, and I appreciate that Senate Republicans are in the Capitol preparing to debate a number of measures...And I hope that by the end of the day we might receive some updates from the state Senate Democrats who are not here in the Capitol, not doing their job, that we might get an update as to when they might come back and start doing their jobs."

Walker also touted the savings he says would come to local governments from his budget repair bill's various cost-saving measures. He also touted the savings for workers themselves -- from not joining a union. "It also give them an option of whether they want to participate in a union, and no longer mandates that their union dues will be deducted from their paycheck," said Walker, explaining that this would save employees $1,000 a year, or $2,000 for a married couple who are both government employees: "That's real money that helps the bottom line, and we're giving those employes the right to choose whether to have that money taken out of their paycheck, and to choose whether to be part of the union."

Then came the Q&A -- which was very brief, with only four questions, but which featured a notably loud ending.

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112th Congress

Dem Rep. Polis: WH DOMA Decision Should Remove Marriage As Federal Issue

Benjy Sarlin | February 23, 2011, 3:59PM

Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO)

Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), one of the House's leading gay rights advocates, told TPM that he was "thrilled" by the White House's decision to drop its legal support for the Defense of Marriage Act.

"It's a big deal," he said over the phone. "I'm just thrilled they came to this conclusion sooner rather than later. I think that any sound legal analysis will come to the same conclusion and any defense of this law is a break with precedent, with tradition, and an overreach of power by the federal government."

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Rick Santorum

Rick Santorum: The Crusades Get A Bad Rap!

Jillian Rayfield | February 23, 2011, 3:34PM

Fmr. Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA)

If you were worried there wouldn't be a 2012 candidate touting the pro-Crusades platform, then today is your lucky day!

"The idea that the Crusades and the fight of Christendom against Islam is somehow an aggression on our part is absolutely anti-historical," former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) told a South Carolina audience yesterday. "And that is what the perception is by the American left who hates Christendom."

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Jeff Cox

Indiana Dep. AG Loses Job After Advocating 'Live Ammunition' For WI Protesters

Eric Lach | February 23, 2011, 3:30PM

Indiana Deputy Attorney General Jeff Cox

An Indiana Deputy Attorney General "is no longer employed" by the Attorney General's Office, after he tweeted for "live ammunition" to be used on protesters in Wisconsin, the office announced in a statement Wednesday afternoon.

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Net Neutrality

Key Senators Block GOP Efforts To Upend Net Neutrality

Brian Beutler | February 23, 2011, 1:58PM

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA)

Four Democratic senators are warning key leaders not to use the threat of a government shutdown to block the FCC from implementing net neutrality rules.

In a letter they're circulating to colleagues, Sens. John Kerry (D-MA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Al Franken (D-MN), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) say the Senate should not lend support to House GOP efforts to block the rules.

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Defense Of Marriage Act

LGBT Groups: White House DOMA Decision A Big Effing Deal

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 23, 2011, 1:50PM

LGBT advocacy groups are welcoming the Obama administration's decision to no longer defend parts of the Defense Of Marriage Act in court.

"I'm feeling great, as you can imagine," Freedom To Marry Political Director Sean Eldridge told TPM. "This is a huge moment and a huge step forward on our issue of marriage but just for the entire country."

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Barney Frank

Barney Frank: White House Move On DOMA Is A Political Winner

Benjy Sarlin | February 23, 2011, 1:40PM

Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA)

Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) couldn't be more excited to see the White House come around on the Defense of Marriage Act, which he said was the right move legally and politically.

"It's great news," Frank, who is openly gay, told TPM over the phone. "Particularly after DADT repeal, this is a further expression of his commitment to doing away with discrimination."

The Department of Justice announced on Wednesday that it would no longer defend parts of DOMA that restrict the federal government from recognizing gay marriages in states where such unions are legal.

Frank said he recommended to White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley in a meeting last week that the Administration drop its support for DOMA.

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Defense of Marriage Act

Boehner Spox: It's Not The Appropriate Time To Nix DOMA Defense

Brian Beutler | February 23, 2011, 1:39PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)

House Speaker John Boehner's spokesman Michael Steel questions the Obama administration's decision to halt its legal defense of DOMA.

"While Americans want Washington to focus on creating jobs and cutting spending, the President will have to explain why he thinks now is the appropriate time to stir up a controversial issue that sharply divides the nation," he said in a statement.

In a letter to Boehner, Attorney General Eric Holder wrote "[o]ur attorneys will also notify the courts of our interest in providing Congress a full and fair opportunity to participate in the litigation in those [DOMA] cases." Boehner could, in theory, intervene as a third party defendant in those cases, or could sue Holder, or could just make a fuss that amounts to nothing. But there's no indication yet of what he will actually do..

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Bryan Fischer

AFA: DOMA Decision a "Wake-Up Call" for Conservatives

Benjy Sarlin | February 23, 2011, 1:09PM

The American Family Association, which led an effort to boycott the conservative gathering CPAC this month over its inclusion of groups backing gay rights, is hoping the White House's decision to back off its legal support for the Defense of Marriage Act will help bolster momentum for social issues in the GOP.

"I think it's a clear sign that we simply cannot avoid engaging on the social issues," Bryan Fischer, director of issue analysis for the group, told TPM. "Mitch Daniels has called for a truce on social issues and that would be fine if the homosexual lobby was willing to lay down arms, but they're obviously not and this proves it. A truce is nothing more than a surrender."

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Scott Walker

Top Wisconsin Democrat: We Won't Be Falling For Walker's Prank Call Scheme

Brian Beutler | February 23, 2011, 12:41PM

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI)

Mark Miller, the leader of the Wisconsin Senate Democrats, says members of his party won't be falling for any of the tricks Governor Scott Walker might use to lure them back home and jam his union-busting bill through the legislature.

A bit of back story: Walker spent about 20 minutes on the phone yesterday with a man he thought was David Koch, one of the wealthy Koch brothers who bankroll a bunch of conservative causes. In the course of the call, Walker revealed that he was gaming out a bait-and-switch plan to tempt Democrats back to the state for bad-faith negotiations. Once they arrived, they could spend some time arguing with the governor over policy, but at the end of the day the Republicans would have a quorum in the Senate and could pass his legislation with no problem.

On a conference call organized by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, I asked Miller whether the Democrats were prepared for these sorts of antics.

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Paul LePage

LePage Dismisses Dangers Of Chemical BPA: 'Worst Case Is Some Women May Have Little Beards'

Jillian Rayfield | February 23, 2011, 11:27AM

Paul LePage, 2010 gubernatorial candidate in Maine.

Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) has dismissed the dangers of the chemical bisphenol-A, the effects of which are being debated in the state's legislature this session, saying that as far as he can tell, the worst side effect is that "some women may have little beards."

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Violence

Indiana Dep. AG: Use 'Live Ammunition' Against Wisconsin Protesters

Brian Beutler | February 23, 2011, 11:13AM

Indiana Deputy Attorney General Jeff Cox

This week, a Mother Jones editor named Adam Weinstein got into a Twitter tête à tête with an Indiana lawyer who called on riot police in Madison to use "live ammunition" to clear protesters out of the state Capitol.

It turned out that lawyer, Jeff Cox, is a deputy attorney general in the state. And -- perhaps unsurprisingly -- he's left a long online trail of controversial statements and diktats.

"[A]gainst thugs physically threatening legally-elected state legislators & governor?" he tweeted back at Weinstein. "You're damn right I advocate deadly force."

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Indiana

In Indiana, AWOL House Democrats Dig In

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 23, 2011, 11:01AM

The controversial "right to work" bill the Indiana House Democratic caucus wanted killed when it fled the state on Tuesday is dead. But the self-imposed Democratic exile lives on.

After Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) urged the Republican majority in the House to drop the bill that led Democrats to pack up and leave the state, Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma (R) obliged, saying Tuesday night that the bill -- which died thanks to the lack of a quorum prompted by the Democratic absence -- would not be placed back on the legislative agenda.

But that hasn't brought the Democrats back to Indiana. Thanks to the rules of the Indiana Legislature, Democrats say they can kill a slew of other bills they don't like just by staying away. And it sounds like they intend to do just that.

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Barack Obama

Obama's Approval Drops In All States -- But Stays Strong Where It Counts

Jon Terbush | February 23, 2011, 10:50AM

President Barack Obama

The honeymoon is over for President Obama, as a Gallup poll released this morning shows that his approval rating fell in all 50 states over his second year in office when compared to the first one. Yet a closer look at the results reveals that Obama isn't really in such a dire position as that statistic alone makes it seem.

Yes, Obama's average approval rating was lower in every state last year than it was the year before. But that mainly reflects his approval rating having leveled off after the post-inaugural highs he enjoyed at the start of 2009.

At the time of his inauguration, Obama boasted a sparkling 66% approval rating nationwide, according to Gallup. Almost without exception, Gallup has found presidential approval ratings dipping after an inauguration, as presidents moved from campaigning to governing. Soon after his inauguration, Ronald Reagan's approval shot up to nearly 70%; at the end of year two, it was hovering around 40%.

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Russ Feingold

Feingold Calls On Walker To End His 'Assault On Wisconsin's Traditions'

Brian Beutler | February 23, 2011, 8:00AM

Russ Feingold

In an interview Tuesday night, former Wisconsin Democratic Senator Russ Feingold characterized Governor Scott Walker's crusade against public sector unions as an "assault on Wisconsin's traditions," and called on him to drop his bid to ban state and local workers from engaging in collective bargaining.

Feingold took particular issue with the threat Walker issued in his fireside chat Tuesday evening -- that if Democratic state senators don't return to Wisconsin and help him pass his legislation, thousands of state workers will lose their jobs.

"This is not about the budget at all this is about trying to destroy people's right to collectively bargain," Feingold told me. "If you begin with a dishonest approach...and begin making threats, it's a really an assault on Wisconsin's traditions. It's really something a new governor shouldn't be doing."

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Wisconsin Protests

On The Ground In Madison: Wisconsin's Labor Tradition

Eric Kleefeld | February 22, 2011, 9:30PM

Protesters at the Wisconsin State Capitol, February 22, 2011.

MADISON, WI -- It has been a wild first day for me reporting in Madison, Wisconsin, where protests have been going non-stop at the state Capitol against Republican Gov. Scott Walker's budget proposal, which would not only require greater employee contributions to state benefits packages but also strip state employees of most of their collective bargaining and union rights.

As I write this, I sit inside the state Assembly chamber, where members of the Democratic minority have been speaking almost non-stop against the bill, with only occasional speeches by Republicans or questions from the GOPers to the Dems. But they aren't the only voices being heard in this chamber -- there is an ever-present sound of demonstrators in the Capitol building, chanting and banging drums against the proposal. Their volume rises and falls, from a subtle background noise to clearly audible objections inside the chamber.

When Walker's address to the state this evening, which was billed by the media as a fireside chat, came on the monitor screens in the Capitol from Wisconsin Eye -- the state equivalent of C-Span -- I could not hear even one word. He was instead drowned out by the protesters, who reached possibly their loudest volume of the whole day.

In order to understand why this proposal has struck a raw nerve in Wisconsin, to the point of having thousands or even tens of thousands of demonstrators picketing the Capitol day and night, it is important to understand the nature of progressive politics in the state -- something I learned firsthand when I was a resident of the state for six years. The Democratic Party in Wisconsin is, to an extent that is not true in most other states, a genuine labor party -- a party with deep ties to unions, with many politicians who have also been union officials, and which speaks for organized labor in key debates.

As such, a change to the state's union laws that would threaten the existence of organized labor in Wisconsin, would in turn threaten the existence of something else -- the Democratic Party in Wisconsin as people have known it for over half a century.

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Affordable Care Act

Federal Judge In D.C. Upholds Health Care Reform, Says Some Arguments 'Ignore Reality'

Ryan J. Reilly | February 22, 2011, 7:51PM

President Barack Obama

A federal judge on Tuesday upheld the health care reform law signed last year by President Barack Obama and found that Congress had the clear authority to regulate health insurance under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution.

U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler's 64-page ruling (below) takes aim at the argument espoused by many conservatives which holds that the passive act of not purchasing health insurance does not constitute an activity that can be regulated under the Commerce Clause.

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Wisconsin Protests

Scott Walker To Democrats: Come Home Or The Workers Get It

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 22, 2011, 7:40PM

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI)

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) took to the state airwaves Tuesday evening to offer another defense of his controversial budget package, which includes a provision that would strip many state workers of their collective bargaining rights. Speaking to camera, Walker repeated his threat of layoffs to come, if 14 state Senate Democrats who skipped town to prevent a vote from taking place, don't return to Madison. Walker said the protesters still packed in and around the state Capitol in Madison don't represent the people of Wisconsin.

"As more and more protesters come in from Nevada, Chicago and elsewhere, I'm not going to allow their voices to overwhelm the voices of the millions of taxpayers all across this state who know we're doing the right thing," Walker said. "This is a decision that Wisconsin will make."

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MoveOn

MoveOn Calls on Activists to Take Wisconsin Message to Congress

Susan Crabtree | February 22, 2011, 6:32PM

United States Capitol

MoveOn.org would like to tap into the fervor on display in Wisconsin to push back against House Republican spending cuts and replicate at least a taste of the Madison unrest on the national level.

In an e-mail to members, MoveOn leaders encouraged activists to show up at the offices of their member of Congress on Thursday at noon to rally against GOP spending cuts and any burgeoning national attempts to put the squeeze on unions and worker's collective bargaining rights.

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Rick Santorum

Santorum: WI Protesters Are 'Acting Like Their Drug Is Being Taken Away'

Jillian Rayfield | February 22, 2011, 6:04PM

Fmr. Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA)

Former Pennsylvania Senator and potential 2012 presidential candidate Rick Santorum doesn't have a very high opinion of the union workers protesting in Wisconsin. "They are acting like their drug is being taken away from them," Santorum told Republicans in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

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Wisconsin

Americans for Prosperity Ad: Wisconsin Public Employees Are 'Abandoning Our Children' (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | February 22, 2011, 5:30PM

Americans for Prosperity will launch a television ad in Wisconsin on Wednesday that says public employees "walked off their jobs, abandoning our children" and that Democratic state senators "don't even have the guts to show up for their jobs."

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Government Shutdown

Reid Rejects Controversial GOP Spending Bill Riders

Brian Beutler | February 22, 2011, 4:47PM

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the Senate will not accept the dozens of riders House Republicans added to their recently-passed spending bills -- policy measures that do everything from defund Planned Parenthood to rescind the EPA's authority to regulate pollution.

It's the latest salvo in the battle over funding the government -- and at some point House Republicans will have to decide whether they'll allow these measures to be flushed down the toilet.

Reid made the comments on a conference call to reporters after Republicans rejected his call for extending current spending levels for 30 days while the two parties craft a longer-term bill to cut those funds.

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Rick Scott

Florida Governor Rick Scott Gives Thumbs Up To Public Worker Organizing

Brian Beutler | February 22, 2011, 4:07PM

Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL)

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) is now to the right of Florida Governor Rick Scott (R) on the question of allowing public sector workers to unionize.

"My belief is as long as people know what they're doing, collective bargaining is fine," Scott said in an interview with Tallahassee's WFLA FM radio station.

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Indiana

Mitch Daniels Calls On State GOP To Abandon Union-Busting Bill

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 22, 2011, 4:01PM

Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-IN)

Members of the Democratic state House caucus in Indiana have found an unlikely ally in their quest to stop the GOP majority from pushing through a bill that critics say would destroy union organizing in the state. Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) took to the airwaves today to call on members of his party to drop the controversial "right to work" bill that led to Democrats going AWOL.

Daniels' statement, from WISH-TV:

"I'm not sending the state police after anybody. I'm not gonna divert a single trooper from their job of protection the Indiana public. I trust that people's consciences will bring them back to work. ... For reasons I've explained more than once I thought there was a better time and place to have this very important and legitimate issue raised."

Daniels has said for months that he's in favor of the idea behind the controversial bills, that critics say would make it nearly impossible for unions to organize in Indiana. But he's urged Republicans not to go ahead with their plans because he said their controversial nature would take the legislature off track.

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Allen West

Rep. Allen West To CAIR Director: 'Don't Try To Blow Sunshine Up My Butt' (VIDEO)

Meena Rupani | February 22, 2011, 3:57PM

Rep. Allen West (R-FL)

Rep. Allen West (R-FL.) became irate at a town hall meeting when Nezar Hamze, Executive Director of the Council for American Islamic Relations (CAIR) South Florida chapter, asked him to name the passage in the Quran that commands Muslims "to carry out attacks against Americans and innocent people." West brushed off the criticism -- and told Hamze not to "try to blow sunshine up my butt."

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Wisconsin

Poll: Majority Oppose Banning Collective Bargaining For State Employees

Jon Terbush | February 22, 2011, 3:31PM

As Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) continues to push for a bill that would eliminate collective bargaining rights for almost all of the state's employees, a Gallup/USA Today poll taken amid the standoff finds that most Americans would oppose a similar measure in their own state.

In the poll, 61% of adults nationwide said that they would oppose a law that would take away some collective bargaining rights for state employees, including teachers. Only one third, 33%, said that they would support that measure if it were proposed in their state.

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Government Shutdown

Dems And Republicans Up The Ante For Government Shutdown

Brian Beutler | February 22, 2011, 1:52PM

Harry Reid (D-NV)

Democrats and Republicans can't even agree on the size of a stopgap measure to fund the government for one month -- let alone until the end of the fiscal year on Sept 30. But they have just a handful of working days to bridge that impasse because, if they don't, the government will shut down on March 4.

While top Republican and Democratic staffers from both chambers negotiate longer-term federal spending legislation, House and Senate Democrats say that the government should continue to operate at current spending levels until April. Those levels, they point out, are already reduced to a level set by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell last year. And further across-the-board cuts would be too disruptive.

"Since this bill is intended to fund vital services like Social Security, our military and border security, it should have no legislation or riders tied to it," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in a statement. "This bill will include the $41 billion in budget cuts that Democrats and Republicans agreed to in December, and will keep the government running for 30 days while both sides can negotiate a common-sense, long-term solution.

No way, say Republicans.

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South Dakota

South Dakota Bill Would Require Women To Get Pre-Abortion Counseling

Jillian Rayfield | February 22, 2011, 1:26PM

Another abortion bill up for vote in the South Dakota House of Representatives would require women to obtain consent from their doctors before having an abortion, after the doctor determines that the decision is "voluntary, uncoerced, and informed."

The bill would also require women to attend counseling sessions at a "pregnancy help center" before the doctor can give his consent, and to schedule the appointment at least 72 hours after that consultation.

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Gretchen Carlson

Fox's Carlson To Muslim Cleric: Have You Committed Acts Of Terrorism? (VIDEO)

Andrew Jones | February 22, 2011, 12:48PM

Memo to any Muslim cleric being interviewed by Gretchen Carlson: Prepare to be asked if you are associated with terrorism.

On Fox and Friends this morning, the co-host had a contentious interview with Anjem Choudary, the head of the controversial UK-based Islamic group Al-Muhajiroun, who is planning a March 3 protest outside the White House to call for the establishment of Sharia law in America. And it reached a boiling point when Carlson asked Choudary if, given his background, he would even qualify for entry into the United States.

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2012 elections

Poll: Obama Barely Leads Trump In 2012 Match-Ups

Jon Terbush | February 22, 2011, 12:42PM

Donald Trump and President Barack Obama

Donald Trump could conceivably fire Obama.

That's the weak position Obama finds himself in heading into the 2012 election, according to a Newsweek/Daily Beast poll of likely voters released today that shows the President tied or barely ahead of his potential GOP challengers to his reelection bid.

Obama and Mike Huckabee are tied at 46% apiece in the poll, while Mitt Romney trailed Obama by a slim two-point margin, 49% to 47%. And yes, eccentric real estate tycoon and reality TV host Donald Trump also trailed Obama by just two points, 43% to 41%. That's well within the poll's 3.5% margin of error.

Obama did, however, hold a decent edge on Sarah Palin, leading her 51 to 40%.

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John Thune

Thune Will Not Run For President

Brian Beutler | February 22, 2011, 12:11PM

Sen. John Thune (R-SD)

An early favorite bites the dust. "[A]t this time, I feel that I am best positioned to fight for America's future here in the trenches of the United States Senate," reads a statement from John Thune (R-SD) who was once thought to be considering a run for the presidency in 2012.

You can read his entire statement below the fold.

This will come as particularly disappointing news to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who had encouraged him to run, and to New York Times columnist David Brooks, who shortly after President Obama was elected gushed "he is tall (6 feet 4 inches), tanned (in a prairie, sun-chapped sort of way) and handsome (John McCain jokes that if he had Thune's face he'd be president right now). If you wanted a Republican with the same general body type and athletic grace as Barack Obama, you'd pick Thune."

Thune was always going to have a tough time in the GOP primary field, particularly vis-a-vis his 2008 vote for TARP.

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Government Shutdown

Huckabee: Government Shutdown Won't Be Too Bad (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | February 22, 2011, 12:05PM

Fmr. Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee (R)

Likely Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee says that a government shutdown might be inevitable -- and that, really, won't be so bad for needy Americans.

"It's a very different environment this time. It think first of all, a lot of the things that were shut down were automated --like Social Security checks and Veterans checks -- so it's not going to be as draconian, if it does happen," Huckabee said on CBS. "But there has to be at some point a reckoning with reality."

"I think it could happen. And maybe it has to," he added. "Because sometime, either now or later, the government's going to shut down, either from bankruptcy in the future, or from a targeted effect to try to get someone's attention that we're overspending and not managing at all."

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Indiana

Report: Indiana Democrats Flee State To Shut Down Union-Busting Proposal

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 22, 2011, 12:03PM

Indiana Statehouse

This post has been updated.

Illinois is about to become the state of refuge for another band of legislative Democrats fleeing their home state to shut down a union-busting proposal.

The Indianapolis Star reports that Democratic members of the state House are heading out of state to prevent the Republican majority from moving forward on a bill "that would bar unions and companies from negotiating a contract that requires non-union members to kick-in fees for representation."

In scenes reminiscent of those in Wisconsin, the Indiana Democrats are using the legislature's quorum rules to stop the GOP, despite being outgunned in the legislature and in the governor's mansion, where potential 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitch Daniels currently resides.

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Social Security

OMB Director Lew: Social Security Isn't The Problem

Brian Beutler | February 22, 2011, 10:47AM

Jack Lew, Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

White House budget director Jack Lew writes some pretty strong stuff, just as the administration prepares to scuffle with the GOP over Social Security.

"Social Security does not cause our deficits," he writes in a USA Today op-ed. "According to the most recent report of the independent Social Security Trustees, the trust fund is currently in surplus and growing. Even though Social Security began collecting less in taxes than it paid in benefits in 2010, the trust fund will continue to accrue interest and grow until 2025, and will have adequate resources to pay full benefits for the next 26 years."

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Wisconsin Protests

Scott Walker: If Dems Don't Come Home, The Layoff Notices Are Coming (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 22, 2011, 10:41AM

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI)

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has laid down an ultimatum to the 14 state Senate Democrats who've gone AWOL to stop Walker's union-busting budget from going forward: come home, vote on a budget or I'll start laying off state workers. Like, next week.

From an interview with WISC-TV in Madison on Tuesday morning:

If Walker's bill is passed, the governor said benefit and wage reforms would prevent the layoffs of 1,500 state government employees. If the bill is not passed by the end of the week, and the state is unable to restructure its debt -- something Walker said would save $165 million -- he warned more public employees could be laid off and services cut.

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Michele Bachmann

Michele Bachmann: Glenn Beck Can Solve Our Financial Problems

Jillian Rayfield | February 22, 2011, 10:21AM

Talk Show Host Glenn Beck and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN)

In a speech in Spartanburg, South Carolina on Saturday, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) offered some solutions to the country's financial woes, saying, "We can't put the so called social issues on the back burner while we are solving our economic challenges because the family is the solution to those challenges."

Bachmann offered that when it comes to entitlement reform, "I think if we give Glenn Beck the numbers, he can solve this."

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Wisconsin Protests

AFL-CIO Launches First TV Ad In WI Labor Fight (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 22, 2011, 10:21AM

On the back of a new union poll suggesting the Wisconsin public is ready to stand with the protesters gathered in and around the Capitol in Madison, a coalition of unions is going on air in the Badger State with an ad calling on the public to do just that.

As Greg Sargent first reported, the AFL-CIO, National Education Association, American Federation of Teachers and others are paying for the spot, which features a Racine, WI firefighter urging Gov. Scott Walker (R) not to ban collective bargaining for teachers, nurses and other unionized state employees.

"They're simply asking that you not take away their rights," the firefighter says.

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Manufacturing

Sherrod Brown: Obama Is Disappointing On Manufacturing

Brian Beutler | February 22, 2011, 9:36AM

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH)

President Obama will arrive in Cleveland Tuesday for a series of small business events with entrepreneurs and members of his own cabinet.

But the Democratic senator from that state is unhappy with Obama's performance on this score thus far -- particularly when it comes to promoting manufacturing. And he's taking his critique public.

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CA-36

Poll: In Race To Replace Harman, Progressives Say They Have The Edge

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 22, 2011, 8:59AM

California Secretary of State Debra Bowen and LA City Councilwoman Janice Hahn

A new poll from the Progressive Change Campaign Committee shows voters in the southern California district soon to be vacated by Rep. Jane Harman (D) are ready to support a candidate who's going to protect traditional entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare.

PCCC is national political group best known for its efforts to push the Democratic Party and its leaders to the left on issues like entitlements, taxes and military spending.

Harman is leaving Congress later this month to take a job leading a Washington think tank. Her departure will trigger a special election in the Los Angeles district Harman represents.

Several Democratic candidates have emerged to take Harman's seat, but two well-known candidates are seen as the front-runners: California Secretary of State Debra Bowen and Los Angeles Councilwoman Janice Hahn. The PCCC poll shows Bowen ahead by four points, but also includes a "significant undecided" vote that PCCC says suggests the race is "wide open."

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Scott Walker

Poll: Walker's Anti-Union Stance Turning Off Wisconsin Voters

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 21, 2011, 5:20PM

This post has been updated.

Union supporters in Wisconsin are pointing to a new poll they say shows support for Gov. Scott Walker (R) is straining under the weight of the thousands of protesters gathered in and around the state capitol in Madison.

The poll of Wisconsin voters, conducted by Democratic pollster GQR Research for the AFL-CIO between Feb. 16 and 20, shows public feelings toward the union supporters versus the Republican governor are vastly different.

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Wisconsin Protests

Wisconsin Legislature Shuts Down Comment Line After Too Many Complaints

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 21, 2011, 5:18PM

Demonstrators inside the Wisconsin state Capitol, February 16, 2011.

The protesters amassed outside the state capitol in Madison, WI and their supporters across the country have succeeded in getting state Republicans to back down on at least one front: the toll-free Legislative Hotline that the legislature has kept open 24 hours a day for more than 20 years.

After a flood of calls that legislative staff tell TPM came from "unions and other non-profits," the legislature's Sergeant at Arms ordered the number disconnected Friday, a move that according to sources could save the state quite a bit of money as the protests against Gov. Scott Walker's (R) union-busting budget plan rage.

One union source said he didn't know about the call flooding, but he said that Republicans have another think coming if they believe taking down a phone number will silence the frustrated union supporters with their eyes on Madison this week.

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Wisconsin

Star Packer Charles Woodson Supports Wisconsin Unions

Eric Lach | February 21, 2011, 5:11PM

Green Bay Packers cornerback Charles Woodson today became the most prominent member of the Super Bowl-winning team to come out in support of the public employees in Wisconsin currently protesting against Gov. Scott Walker's proposal to strip many of the them of their collective bargaining rights.

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Mike Huckabee

Huckabee: Haley Barbour's Record On Race Issues Is "Impeccable"

Melissa Jeltsen | February 21, 2011, 4:38PM

Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS)

In the past few months, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour -- a potential Republican presidential candidate -- praised the notorious pro-segregationist Citizen Councils that operated in his youth and refused to denounce efforts in his state to create a license plate honoring Ku Klux Klan founder Nathan Bedford Forrest. But according to former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR), who may also be posturing for a presidential run, Barbour's record on race issues is "impeccable."

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Wisconsin Protests

For Nervous AWOL Dems In WI, The Pressure's Off...For Now

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 21, 2011, 3:05PM

State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI)

In a pair of new AP reports, state Sen. Jon Erpenbach's (D) fears that the GOP would make an end-runn the AWOL Democrats and destroy collective bargaining rights for millions of state workers law appear to have been alleviated. Republican Senate leader Scott Fitzgerald said the majority won't end collective bargaining while the Democrats are in town -- highlighting a potential weakness in Walker's GOP coalition.

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Wisconsin Protests

AWOL WI Dem: GOP May End Collective Bargaining Without Us

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 21, 2011, 12:56PM

State Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-WI)

UPDATE: State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R) told the AP that he did not plan to hold a stand-alone vote tomorrow on collective bargaining, despite the fears of the Democrats in exile.

Senate Democrats in the Wisconsin legislature up and left town last week for one reason: to stop the Republican majority from passing Gov. Scott Walker's (R) proposed scheme to end collective bargaining for state worker benefits.

Now, one of the Democrats who hightailed it out of the Badger State worries the Republicans could go ahead and kill the collective bargaining anyway.

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Wisconsin Protests

Wisconsin GOP Senate Leader: No Compromise

Eric Lach | February 21, 2011, 12:23PM

Wisconsin State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R)

When asked by NPR today whether there was any room for compromise on Gov. Scott Walker's proposal to strip most state government workers of their collective bargaining rights, State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R) said no.

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Wisconsin Protests

Walker Rejects Moderate GOPer's Plan To Break WI Impasse (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 21, 2011, 11:58AM

Well, that was quick -- no sooner did a moderate Republican suggest a way to preserve collective bargaining rights for state workers in Wisconsin then did Gov. Scott Walker (R) dismiss it entirely.

In an interview on MSNBC's Daily Rundown this morning, Walker told host Chuck Todd that there was no way he'd sign on to the plan being floated by state Sen. Dale Schultz (R) to kill collective bargaining for state worker benefits now -- but reinstate it in 2013. Walker suggested he'd veto such a scheme, but added that "it will never get to me" thanks to overwhelming GOP support for eliminating collective bargaining. (Democrats and union leaders are reportedly also opposed to the plan, as they are to any bill that touches collective bargaining for worker benefits.)

Walker said that any rumors that some in his party may be ready to break to the union demands and get the AWOL state Democrats back in Madison are greatly exaggerated.

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Wisconsin Protests

Scott Walker: I'm Not A Union-Buster... But I Really Dislike Unions (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 21, 2011, 10:59AM

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI)

Unions in Wisconsin have dug in over the past week for one reason: Gov. Scott Walker (R), they say, is hell bent on breaking them. Organized state workers say that the ultimate goal of Walker's state budget plan is to strip them of the power to join together and demand better benefits and pay from their employers -- not to balance the budget. In a pair of new interviews, Walker refutes that charge -- but also makes it clear that he does not see unions as much of a good thing.

"Wisconsin has the strongest civil service system in the country," Walker told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos when asked to refute the union buster charge. "We had it long before collective bargaining rights. The rights that workers have in this state are not based on their contracts, they're based on that law, which again is the strongest in the country."

Walker said rights to file employee grievances, merit-based hiring and other guarantees will not be touched by his proposal. Charges that he's a union-buster, he said, miss the mark.

"You can say anything the midst of the debate," he said.

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Wisconsin Protests

Too Little, Too Late? Moderate GOP Floats Plan To Break WI Impasse

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 21, 2011, 10:02AM

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI)

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) may be drawing a hard line on collective bargaining with thousands of his state's union workers, but there are signs that some state Republicans are willing to bend as the governing crisis deepens and accede to the Democrats' demand that unions be allowed to negotiate benefits for their workers.

What's not clear is if the Republican opposition to Walker's anti-collective bargaining stance is enough to bring the state Senate Democrats back and get the legislature back on track.

The Wall Street Journal reports that one moderate Republican, state Sen. Dale Schultz, has proposed changing the budget proposal supported by Walker slightly but fundamentally: instead of losing their collective bargaining rights in perpetuity, as the governor wants, they would only lose the right to negotiate for benefits through 2013.

Schultz' chief of staff sounded positively Democratic when discussing the proposal with the Journal.

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Afghanistan

Rumsfeld: Obama Can Win The War On Terror By Emulating Bush (VIDEO)

Jon Terbush | February 21, 2011, 9:53AM

According to Donald Rumsfeld, the Bush administration handled the "War On Terror" just fine, as proven by the fact that President Obama is now such a big fan of their work.

Appearing on CNN with Candy Crowley, Rumsfeld noted that Obama -- despite criticizing Bush on the campaign trail -- has perpetuated several highly contentious Bush-era policies since taking office.

"They have now switched from campaign mode," Rumsfeld said. "They are keeping Guantanamo Bay, they are keeping indefinite detention, they are keeping military commissions. So obviously they have come to the conclusion that it's easier to campaign than it is to govern."

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Wisconsin Protests

Police Union Official Pulls Down Anti-Walker Press Release After News Coverage

Eric Kleefeld | February 20, 2011, 11:49PM

Demonstrators outside the Wisconsin state Capitol, February 16, 2011.

Tracy Fuller, the head of the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Association, has pulled down the statement that he posted online, in which he regretted the endorsement that the Wisconsin Troopers Association -- of which he is a member, but is not officially qualified to speak on its behalf -- had given to Gov. Scott Walker (R).

"I am in no position to speak for the Troopers Association on any issue, other than just being -- I am a member, that's the truth. Because the reason that I am a member, and I'll give you this piece of information, the Troopers' Association does a lot of beneficial things in this state."

The local CBS affiliatein Madison, Channel 3000, had reported Fuller's statement constituted a repudiation of the endorsement by the organization itself; and we here at TPM picked up on the story. In fact, the two organizations, the WLEA and Troopers Association, are different groups with overlapping memberships -- the WLEA also includes state Capitol Police, University of Wisconsin police, Department of Transportation field agents, and dispatchers for the State Patrol and Capitol Police.

The snafu and Fuller's quick decision to pull down the statement is a further sign of the tensions in organized labor in Wisconsin and the rapid pace of events in the unfolding crisis. Divisions within Fuller's union are due to Walker having exempted the State Patrol but not other WLEA members from his budget proposal to remove most collective bargaining rights and place other heavy restrictions on public employee unions.

"There are many intertwinements of the two organizations," Fuller told TPM in a subsequent interview Sunday night. "But the decision about what candidates it supported and all that, the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Association doesn't ever support, has never endorsed a candidate, ever. The Trooper's Association commonly does that. They do lots of things that are politically connected."

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Wisconsin Protests

Labor Pains In Wisconsin: Teachers Union Calls For Return To Work

Eric Kleefeld | February 20, 2011, 7:49PM

Demonstrators inside the Wisconsin state Capitol, February 18, 2011.

Tensions remained high in Wisconsin on Sunday as Gov. Scott Walker (R) remained in a standoff with state public employees unions and Democratic legislators over a proposal that would not only require greater employee contributions to state benefits packages but also strip state employees of most of their collective bargaining and union rights.

In one development, the President of the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Association, who is also a member of the Wisconsin Trooper's Association, created a stir by issuing a statement repudiating the Trooper's Association's endorsement of Governor Walker. While the two groups are not formally affiliated, they have overlapping memberships. The Trooper's Association's members are also members of the WLEA, while the WLEA is also made up many other law enforcement officers. Fuller's statement prompted a press report from the local CBS affiliate in Madison which incorrectly suggested that the WLEA itself had repudiated an earlier endorsement -- a report picked up by TPM. In response, Fuller pulled his statement from the union web site.

In another development, the head of the state's largest teachers union called upon teachers -- many of whom have called in sick over the past week and shut down schools throughout the state -- to return to work this week. "It's time for educators to be back in the classroom with the students," Wisconsin Education Association Council president Mary Bell told reports in a teleconference, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports. However, Bell has also said that teachers who have the day off for President's Day should come to Madison to continue the protests against Republican Gov. Scott Walker's budget plan.

"We are speaking about Monday and Tuesday," Bell added. "I have no idea where things will be next week. But we are saying it is time for educators to be back in the classroom with their students. And it will be a continuing of the actions in Madison in communities around the state and we will continue to speak with our members and we will continue to advocate with legislators and whatever comes next will be determined by the actions we see."

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