Minnesota Independent

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser. Photo: WisPolitics.com

GOP clerk’s ‘human error’ corrected, swings Wisconsin Supreme Court election

By Staff Report | 04.08.11 | 10:53 am

Talk of a Republican-backed recount of a tightly contested Wisconsin Supreme Court election has been put on hold for now following the revelation that more than 14,000 votes from the strongly Republican Milwaukee suburb of Brookfield were left out of initial vote counts. The Brookfield votes have taken Republican incumbent State Supreme Court Justice David Prosser from a nearly 300-vote deficit to a 7,582-vote lead over his challenger, Democratic Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg.

Protesters inside the Wisconsin Capitol. Photo: Emily Mills

Wisconsin labor video roundup: Tony Schultz and Stephen King

By John Tomasic | 03.15.11 | 1:21 pm

The hundred-thousand-plus crowd that filled downtown Madison, Wisconsin, this weekend is being touted as an answer to the Tea Party rallies that cropped up around the country last year. The pro-labor Madison crowds were larger than any of the Tea Party rallies last year, including the one hosted by Fox personality Glenn Beck in Washington on 12 September 2009.

A sign protesting Gov. Scott Walker's "budget repair bill" in Madison. Photo: Atrover, Flickr

Breaking: Live video from Wisconsin

By Kyle Daly | 03.10.11 | 12:11 pm

Word from Wisconsin late last night is that Senate Republicans were able to strip the state’s infamous collective bargaining bill of certain fiscal details. The move allowed them to pass the bill with or without absent Senate Democrats. The legislature has now barred all press from the floor of the Capitol building. For the latest from Madison, The Uptake has streaming video from outside the Capitol.

Bachmann: Wisconsin Republicans are like Lincoln, Reagan

By Andy Birkey | 02.28.11 | 9:50 am

Rep. Michele Bachmann told radio host Mark Levin on Friday evening that in facing protests by labor supporters Gov. Scott Walker and Wisconsin Republicans are like President Abraham Lincoln, who fought the Confederacy, and President Reagan, who contended with the Soviet Union. But contrary to Bachmann’s assertion, Lincoln had more in common with the 14 Democrats who left the state to avoid a vote on the GOP bill to cut collective bargaining for Wisconsin workers: In 1840, he jumped out a window to avoid a vote on a bill he didn’t like.

Screengrab from Pawlenty's new commercial. Image: YouTube

Pawlenty’s new Hollywood trailer: Standing with Scott

By Andy Birkey | 02.24.11 | 11:20 am

Presumed 2012 presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty released a new highly produced video called “Stand With Scott” on Thursday. The video throws support behind Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and attacks the motives of protesters voicing opposition to the Republican’s plan to curtail bargaining rights for the state’s public employees.

Pawlenty calls Wisconsin Democrats ‘ninnies’

By Andy Birkey | 02.24.11 | 9:33 am

Tim Pawlenty slammed Wisconsin Democrats on Wednesday for leaving the state to prevent the passage of a bill that would curtail collective bargaining rights for the state’s public employees. Pawlenty called them “ninnies” who “skedaddled,” and he said the controversy is not “Fantasy Island” but “Alice in Wonderland.”

Protesters in Madison, Wis., on Feb. 19 want to see Gov. Scott Walker's budget bill killed. Photo: Marnie Gamble Henderson

Minnesotans react to Wisconsin labor protests

By Andy Birkey | 02.22.11 | 9:28 am

As protests in Wisconsin continue over a proposed scaling back of collective bargaining for the state’s public employees, Minnesota’s elected leaders are weighing in on both sides. Reps. Keith Ellison and Tim Walz have sent their support, while Gov. Mark Dayton said that curtailing workers rights would not happen in Minnesota. Potential presidential contenders Tim Pawlenty and Rep. Michele Bachmann have sided with Wisconsin’s Republican governor, Scott Walker.

Marchers in Madison, Feb. 17, 2011. Photo: Rob Chandanais, Flickr

Bachmann criticizes Obama for siding with Wisconsin public workers

By Andy Birkey | 02.18.11 | 3:18 pm

In a Friday afternoon interview with Fox News, Rep. Michele Bachmann took on the White House for siding with tens of thousands Wisconsinites who are protesting a proposed repeal of bargaining rights for the state’s public employees. Bachmann called President Obama’s support “shocking” and said the protests remind her of those in Greece last year. She also said teachers who called in sick to protest are doing it “so they can make more money.”

Pawlenty praises court decision ruling health care reform unconstitutional

By Andy Birkey | 01.31.11 | 5:01 pm

A Florida judge ruled the entire Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act unconstitutional on Monday in a case filed by 26 states, almost all of which have Republican governors. U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson, a Reagan appointee expected to rule against health care reform, said the individual health insurance mandate which goes into effect in 2014 is unconstitutional, and because it’s integral to the entire statute the whole thing should be thrown out. Pawlenty said he was proud to be a part of the lawsuit.

Wisconsin GOPer dons boxing gloves in campaign against attack victim

By Paul Schmelzer | 08.31.10 | 12:06 pm

Politics can be bruising, metaphorically speaking, but the Republican candidate for governor in Wisconsin may have taken the imagery a bit far in a new ad: Donning boxing gloves, he…