J.B., I believe it's appropriate for each state to do what's best for its residents. It's interesting to know what MO or PA are doing, but not relevant to Wisconsin.

It is known that the $26 million is being taken from Wisconsin's share of the mortgage settlement because tax revenues were underestimated by the Walker administration. It may not be illegal but I believe it is unethical to make people who already suffering suffer more because of poor budgeting skills. Perhaps Americans for Prosperity could help fill that budget hole instead.

Didn't 'poor budgeting skills' play a pretty big part in creating the mortgage crisis?

So, in short, the Governor is wrong for not using the money wisely and Jason is wrong for not chastising all that deserve chastising.

@Bren
We can both agree that the housing crisis has, and since the market appears to have faltered last month, still plagues the economy. Since the health of the economy dictates tax revenues, shouldn't the state as a whole be compensated (while at a smaller rate) along with those directly affected by the poor business practices of the mortgage companies. Sure we could tax the rich or evil corporate businesses; however, that would then punish them for the sins of those offering mortgages, wouldn't it?

Don't get me wrong, I am not really in favor of any of this. I am of the belief of Cow and think the entire lawsuit was a crock.

I own a small business and if I give my employee say $2k for a conference and then find out he/she did not attend the conference but took the money to pay a credit card bill would be construed stealing in my book. This employee would be terminated. So if the federal government allocates this money to help citizens that are "on the brink" and then the money is used to balance the budget it is stealing in my book. I dislike the fact that walker continues to turn his back on the citizens of this state and some people continue to put him on a pedestal. Maybe one day when your ship is sinking and Walker passes by with a glass of scotch in hand while sucking up to his lobbyists in the Koch Bros boat you will realize what Walker is and that is a thief and a fraud. All of this money should go to the familes...period.

Perhaps it's just me, but isn't the state budget paid for by the citizens of Wisconsin? As JB Mentioned, the housing crisis affected everyone in the state, so it isn't 'stealing' to use a portion of the settlement to benefit the citizens of Wisconsin...

Wrong as usual Dung. It was shady business practices on Wall Street that pricked the bubble, and excessive incomes that lead to the bubble in the first place. We know how blaming it on "those people" is pleasing to some.

But the fact of the matter is Walker is spending this money in a way that lets his buddies at AIG and elsewhere who caused this problem in the first place, off the hook.

While in the meantime, you all respond to the dog whistle and blame the unions. What else is new?

J.B., no, I wouldn't take issue with the entire state being compensated. I do take issue with the Walker administration's incompetence in not being able to balance the budget despite draconian cuts, and then glomming onto part of the mortgage settlement to fix the error.

This administration is not about helping Wisconsin and all about promoting the ALEC agenda. On MSNBC last night, someone on Twitter referred to Scott Walker as R-Koch, and that's pretty close to the mark.

Can anyone here explain to me how "those hit with foreclosure" were at all damaged by deceptive and/or unethical mortgage tactics? By all reasonable assessments, such people actually received a benefit in that they were allowed to live beyond their actual fiscal means for a short period of time.

But to say that these people were somehow damaged - that would be like saying a person that just won the power ball is being damaged because of the heavy tax burden they'll now have, isn't it?

All of the mortgage settlement money should go to the state to restitute the taxpaying public for the money we expended to bail these people out via the quasi-nationalization of Fannie, Freddie, Sallie, Ginnie, AIG, etc.

@Bren -

So why weren't you upset at your boy Doyle? After all, his budget shortfall was over $6.8B - and that was after even larger 'draconian' cuts to education and Medicaid than Walker's, in addition to spending a huge one time federal stimulus check! Just think about that for a second.

By all levels of comparison, Walker is doing absolutely fantastic with the budget. But, I guess that you would have preferred the lay-offs of tens of thousands of state and local employees, as Quinn has had and is continuing to do in Illinois.

Just one question for you Bren - why are you so opposed to people being able to keep their jobs with the state / local governemnts? Are you anti-job or something?

@JRH...If you were in law school and came up with that defense, your wouldn't pass the class. You need to prove how the state suffered; i.e. the taxpayers of Wisconsin. Whereas, the victims of fraudulent and sloppy foreclosure victimized those unable to keep their properties. I don't argue that fraudulent loans were made and those responsible are yet to be held accountable. That being said, instead of using $30 million to pour into the state's treasury, the governor and attorney general should show good faith and use all the money as it was intended, relief of the foreclosure victims.

@Lyle -

Those people are receiving a massive windfall by being allowed to stay in homes that they technically can't afford. It completely undermines those of us that didn't get in over our heads, but rather did it right, doesn't it?

In essence, you blame greed driven behavior for causing the mess, but are now wanting to reward greed, albeit on a smaller individual scale - does that make any sense?

And yes, all federal taxpayers were damaged in that Fannie, Freddie, Sallie, Ginnie, AIG, etc., have yet to repay a penny of their bailouts to the federal government. In fact, the GSEs continue to hemorrhage our tax dollars, don’t they? Ergo, that money rightfully belongs to all federal taxpayers and would be best allocated by going into the state treasury.

And again, you still haven't shown me how anyone that was deceived by shady mortgage practices was in fact damaged - they didn't lose their down payment because they never had one, they didn't lose any equity because prices have been falling, etc - so where's the damage???

If anything, they received cheap rent on 'luxury' accommodations for a short, or extended, period of time. If they can no longer afford to pay, they get kicked-out - that's what happens when you get in over your head. It's actually pretty simple and elementary math, isn't it?

Come on - you know I'm right on this, but the liberal inside of you just can't admit it, can you?
:-)

@JRH...Your are making a critical error in your premises. You are assuming that all those who went through foreclosure did so because of taking on mortgages that were beyond their means. Many people lost their homes because of the loss of employment and were not in McMansions. That was only in some cases but didn't represent the majority of those who lost their homes in Wisconsin. Therefore, the state taxpayer was hurt, no preponderance evidence there. Also, the governor seriously underestimated revenues and now he's scrabbling to make up the budget deficit. He has painted himself into a corner and now has to come up with $260 million without raising taxes. He's going to have to cut more and from where? The well is dry and services will inevitably suffer.

@Lyle
I bought my house in 2006, near the height of the housing market. I was offered one of those adjustable rate, 5yr arm loans. So I did a 30sec internet search and found what my payments could be throughout the length of loan and opted to take the 30yr fixed. I only had 10% down and like a good boy I pay my PMI. I even, by pure accident, went to a bank that did not sell my loan to Frannie or Freddie. Now 2012, my home value lost 40k to 50k and I have practically no equity. Without equity, I am unable to refinance my 5.8% rate down to a 4% (or whatever it is at now). However, I can still make my payments comfortably. Having spoken with the bank they told me I was SOL because I could make my payment, my loan was not sold to F or F and I don't have enough equity. Now people who were incapable of doing their homework get millions to live in homes they never could have afforded. All the while more of my income goes to the banks rather then into the economy, because as long as we prop up home owners that can't actually pay for the houses they live in the market will never come back.

In short, yes the states economy has suffered. I as a tax payer have suffered because people who could not afford, took out home loans. Good guys always finish last, right. That's the Democratic way. Go Donkeys.

Lyle -

I'm working under the premise that those that either lost or are losing their homes due to unemployment, and through no other fault of their own, were probably not the victims of the shady practices that are of issue in the lawsuit, are they?

And those that legitimately were probably constitute a very small number of the overall foreclosures occurring, as most of those people would typically have a savings upon which they could rely until they found new employment, had sufficient equity in the home and decent credit to effectively refinance, and/or would gladly take on two or more part time jobs just to get by until their employment situations improved.

Mr. Hoffa, state jobs are being taken off the payroll, and Politifact Wisconsin states as "true" that Scott Walker's cut to education was the largest in our state's history.

If the financial industry had had a leg to stand on legally, they would not have settled. This settlement probably represents a fraction of the amount they should really be paying.

I don't know how poltifact came up with that one, but a look at my local school district's budget shows that we had much bigger cuts in state aid during Doyle's administration.

I'd post a link to the budget documents that support my claim, but that will have to wait until Monday--it is bookmarked on my work computer. I have posted it before on Patch...

The government let the housing crisis happen. Its that simple. We've been told we have regulations to protect us, but those regulators were asleep at the wheel (kind) or fixated on porn at work (crazy, but remember this headline?

The Securities and Exchange Commission is the sheriff of the financial industry, looking for crimes such as Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme, but a new government report obtained by ABC News has concluded that some senior employees spent hours on the agency's computers looking at sites such as naughty.com, skankwire and youporn as the financial crisis was unfolding.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/sec-pornography-employees-spent-hours-surfing-porn-sites/story?id=10452544#.T0kJaHk92-Y

Now you want to trust these people with our health care?

The smaller government it the less it can *((( up.

That voting meme has already been debunked. The legislature can do this kind of voting if the other side does not object.

Regarding throwing more good money after bad in mortgage support programs....

A mortgage modification program aimed at saving homeowners from foreclosure has failed because regulators are "afraid to rein in or impose penalties on the mortgage servicers" whose record "has been nothing short of abysmal," the program's watchdog told Congress Wednesday.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2011-01-27-fed27_ST_N.htm

So our political idiots in Washington expand the program.

@Bren -

Remember those tens of thousands of pink slips that Walker was preparing if the BRB hadn't successfully passed? All of those people would have lost their jobs, just as they did and continue to do in Illinois. Instead, they are still working today.

Look closer at the Politifact assessment, Bren - the only way Falk's statement was true was because of "some districts, due to existing union contracts and other reasons, were not able to benefit from the health insurance changes." How is it Walker's fault that those local districts saw fit to cow-tow to union demands instead of placing the best interests of the children first and foremost while representing their taxpaying constituency as a whole?

And you still haven't shown me how exactly those people that were deceived by shady mortgage practices were at all damaged. However, I've shown you how every federal tax paying citizen was in fact damaged by the bailouts that have yet to be repaid, and the GSEs that continue to bleed taxpayer's dollars because of the broken promises made by such people. I though you were all about concrete proof, so please provide some links showing how people that purchased unaffordable homes were in fact damaged by shady mortgage practices.

Try again Bren.

Mr. Hoffa, if Politifact rates something overall "true" that's good enough for me (there will always be certain exceptions).

I believe others responding before me have described predatory lending practices here. There was never any disagreement with you that taxpayer bailouts are a terrible business with a signficant cost (taking money from other programs, etc.). But as you know, not taking action would have caused more devastation.

@Alfred Kell..."Democrats steal from everyone"? I guess it was the Democrats on Wall Street that brought us to the brink of another Great Depression. How about toning down a bit and deal with some supportable facts.

Facts? Facts? Yeah right.

He probably believes cavemen rode around on dinosaurs.

@Lyle -

Wasn't it those very same Wall Street people that gave record campaign contributions to Obama back in 2008? If they weren't Democrats, then they sure had me fooled!

@JRH...One of the problems with our political system is that every candidate is for sale. I hold no illusions of the ties between Wall Street and the Belt Way. The plutocrats in power contribute to both sides so they always win. Obama is no better or worse than the other political whores.

@Lyle: OMG, did you really say that outloud?
;)

@Craig....If course I said it and I meant it. Why is that so surprising? Do you think I'm so partisan that I can't speak the truth when questioned. To me this is pretty cut and dried; money buys influence and access. This is a non-partisan issue.

Absolutely. Special interests' impact on our government causes havoc.

Lyle: I was just kidding you. I know you aren't the type to be blind to the truth. It is why you are respected by most people here on Patch. You may even be responsible for me inching a little toward the center. ;-)

@Craig
Fight the dark side, don't be fooled by a pretty face.

@J.B. -

What you ask of Craig is difficult - did you see what Lyle looked like back in the '70's with his full fringed suede outfit?

Move over Shane54 is all I've got to say :-)

LOL...no worries JB.....
No vuvuzelas for me, I can't even spell it correctly :-P

Lyle, You finally hit it right, it was Democrats on Wall Street that were the culprits, just look at their voting records, along with hedge fund managers for some unknown reason they mostly tend to vote Democrat, wonder whY.

Obama is no better or worse than the other political whores.

Lyle is coming over to the Force

So, if SOME members of any group have questionable motives or are "wrong-doers"... that means ALL members of any group have questionable motives and are "wrong-doers"?

I never had a fringe suede outfit. Never had a lesiure suit. I was too young to remember the beatnicks protesting 'Nam.
I guess I am lucky. A lot of guys didn't come back, or came back different.

@Cow
Never poke a guy when he is in the middle of a good dream. Just let him sleep.

So I guess it's not a good time to ask him how he's going to spin the new school calendar into an anti-Walker rant?

Steve, I heard on NPR last year about bonuses for getting people to sign mortgages with higher interest rates, first-time homebuyers and minorities. A widow trying to refinance her home being told she would save money and ended up with a higher monthly payment which she couldn't afford. People rely on professionals to help with these complex financial transactions, not to betray and rip them off but that's what happened in many instances (among others).

What would you suggest for the unemployed, if you don't agree with what is happening now? I know someone who is unemployed (not in my field) and has been out of work for more than a year. Wrong age, too much experience, not enough experience.

bren kind of like teachers eh?
We expect them to be professionals also.... but we have a minority of teachers giving the profession a bad taste in our mouths....

Cynthia, I'll resist your vilification of teachers. I have tremendous respect for them and the work they do.

@Bren -

Cynthia did not vilify all teachers - she only correctly and accurately pointed out that there are a small minority of teachers in the state that did and continue to give the profession as a whole a proverbial 'black eye' when it comes to their exercise of professionalism.

Such as the teachers that coordinated and falsely called in sick en mass, causing schools to close for nearly a week, so that said teachers could instead go to Madison to protest. How is that 'putting the children first?' There is nothing 'respectable' about such behavior, period. They could have just as easily protested to their hearts' content after work and/or on the weekend.

And there are many more examples.

But don't go trying to put words into Cynthia's keyboard that she never typed - that's just not very nice Bren.

I would hope that my mortgage broker got a bonus when I bought a hose two years ago. I was smart enough to know that I could afford it and that the interest rate was steady. Again no one forced anyone to sign an ARM or pay an interest only loan.

When you are paid to sit at home a lot will lose motivation to go out and look or create work. If we were to cut the timeline for unemployment my money is on more hiring, more small business opening and more job creation. Increasing the pressure increases the motivation. Exactly why welfare, food stamps, and free health care are all failing.

@Steve....You forgot that in order for small business to establish and grow that there needs to be consumer demand. With so many unemployed a good many of the people had nothing to spend beyond necessities. Demand drives employment and employment drives demand. Your explanation is just to simplistic. You have left out many important variables. Also, unemployment insurance avoids the devaluation of the goods and services available, thus putting a foundation on the existing economy and not allowing it to devalue too much. During the Great Depression all products and services devalued by as much as 80%. A loaf of bread that sold for a quarter before the Depression dropped to a nickle a loaf. Unemployment isn't just for the unemployed but also a subsidy to business.

I started my business in 2008, as the economy was crashing. It has been 100% cash funded all started with $600 from a Bush stimulus check. Every singe year has been a record and every singe month compared to year prior has also been a record.

We live in the world of the internet, you can find a customer anywhere worldwide these days. You can generate demand with a new product, new idea just as I did. Not everyone is a risk taker and I am happy for that.

I guarantee you that 100% of my past and future customers are not on UI. Being paid to sit at home generates income for those that provide the messily necessities. Most business out there do not create a product or service for this.

The more I spend as a business the more demand that puts on business I purchase from. The more demand they have the more they purchase from other business and employ or keep employed to handle that demand.

Paying someone to sit at home for 99 weeks stops this spending cold. Same with restrictions and higher taxes on business already still alive or growing.

When you over complicate something decisions are never made and progress is never generated.

bren.... do you have a comprehension problem? Ya know if you worked on that you might have a different view.........

How many teachers recently have been in the media for drugs or sexual assault on our children? Do you think those actions are 'professional'? Do you support them?

BTW I meet every year with the administration of my kids schools..... the teachers that excel and do awesome get recognition, card, gift certificate from us.... and the lousy ones...... well I let the admin know... how else will they improve?

BTW, thanks Hoffa for speaking up for me and correcting brens inability to read and comprehend.............

@C. Sanders -

I believe Jason prefers the pages of the Daily Kos for his 'truth.'

good catch. And a rare moment of unconscious honesty on the part of the author.

Is there any such thing as "socio-economic discrimination" ?

@Elizabeth Hennigan...Absolutely, there is socioeconomic discrimination. It is most often manifested with blaming the poor or disadvantaged groups for their own plight. It is an important element of class warfare. However, it works in both directions and the poor blame the wealthy for their plight and lack of concern. Many of the middle class feel that they are discriminated against because they are not poor enough to qualify for special programs designed for the poor, but they are also discriminated by the wealthy by the wealthy taking unfair advantages of the system because of their influence of wealth. Just like the wealthy pay less of their available wealth. Most middle income people pay income tax and the wealthy are taxed primarily on capital gains. Currently the maximum capital gains tax is 15%. The people hardest hit are the ones EARNING less than $250 k and more than $50 k.

Spot on assessment red!

For some reason or another, which is simply beyond me, most people only want to use the 'moral hazard' argument against Wall Street, as opposed to also using it against non-righteous sub prime borrowers. How did these non-righteous sub-primers become the proverbial 'victims' that we're all supposed to now feel sorry for now? The true victim is the federal taxpaying citizen that had their credit used to bail these people out once already.

If anything, they are just as guilty as Wall Street, if not more so - if they never would have breached their promises, the house of cards never would have collapsed, but instead had become solidified.

@red -- Is not this settlement in part to address the victims of 'robo-signing'?

"In spring 2010 news stories begin to emerge detailing erroneous foreclosures and evictions, including banks variously foreclosing on homes which were paid for without a mortgage, accidentally foreclosing on the wrong home, and providing fraudulent documentation in courts." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_United_States_foreclosure_crisis

The other father in question was there, but we sat on opposite ends of the bleachers - each of us engaged in conversations with other parents. During the shuffle of leaving I did not run into him again. I don't like confrontations, so I left gymnastics much more relaxed than I did last week...until it was time to get my daughter ready for her first sleepover birthday party...
...What do the conservatives on this blog feel about Kleefisch and the practice of "ghost-voting"? Is it not hypocritical?

I dont think Ghost voting should be allowed.

I think it is hypocritical that only some people are called out for it when it is acknowledged it is common place.

No surprise that TMJ4 only concentrated on one incident though.

jason have you actually read the full information on the ghost voting? The history of trying to stop the practice but dems said no.................

It's not just a Republican or a dem action...... both sides admit it's common....

Walker, government appointees, hmmm, check out today's Journal's article about Chris Abele's staff and their pay raises and how much they exceed those of Walker's. People in glass house should not throw bricks, remember that old saying!

Perhaps red lights over the "Open for Business" signs would help...

No one should be able to cast a ballot for anyone else, Democrat, Republican or Communist - plus the fact that the policy is against their own rules and is also a reverse of their own new stricter Voter ID laws...
...Like I stated in my blog, if my wife went to go cast my ballot on election day because I was at home watching the kids, or "too busy" working or taking a dump or whatever it is these elected officials claim they were doing instead of doing their job, the volunteers at the polls would not let my own spouse cast a ballot in my name even though she knows exactly how I would vote.
Remember, "One person, one vote." ~ but I guess that only applies to the regular electorate, not the elected.

@Jason -

So when can we expect you to start recalling the Democratic representatives?

You do want to be consistent, don't you?

Jason I do not disagree with any of that. AT ALL. My point is that we should be mad that it happens, not that Joel Kleefisch got "caught" doing something that both sides say is commonplace.

I, like most WI citizens, are for one person one vote. Are you not?

@CowDung....It must be a valid form of ID and as far as I know that eliminates an expired drivers license.

According to the GAB website, a person with both an expired license and a Social Security number is permitted to register and vote.

...and with absentee voters, they do not check for expiration dates after the initial ID has been submitted.

@CowDung....Thanks for clarifying about the GAB ruling on invalid drivers license. That may help a number of seniors.

Including me, when I finally have to give up driving. According to what you've said, I should be able to keep my old driver's license and still use it to vote, assuming I don't change addresses. I was under the impression that one would have to replaced the DL with a State Photo ID and have to show a birth certificate to obtain that.

@Sally -- For two reasons. First of all, the DMV is difficult for some people to get to during working hours, especially for those who have no drivers licenses and have no transportation other than public or reliance on friends or family. Second, the requirement to show a birth certificate before getting the State ID, makes it expensive and impossible for some older Americans who were born out of state and in areas where birth certificates simply weren't issued.

My elderly mother no longer has a valid driver's license (her old one wouldn't be accepted for voting), she does not drink, fly, or intend to apply for employment. She can cash checks at the small bank branch within her senior community without showing ID.

The intent is not so much to disenfranchise as to discourage people from voting by making it a lot of trouble.

Sorry Randy, maybe some effort on your part to help yur mother obtain the identification would be honorable as with others in the same predicament. I do not believe that it is that difficult for someone who really wants to vote and is desirous of insuring that only he or she really casts their own vote will make the effort to obtain the appropriate identification. Disenfranchisement truly exists when someone steals the vote of a citizen by voting illegally in their stead. It happened to a boyfriend of our daughter when he appeared at the voting station only to be told that he had already voted and of course he hadn't so yes fraud in voting does truly exist.

@Richard -- I just answered Sally's question, which I since note was probably rhetorical. I think you and she choose not to understand the objection.

No offense Randy, but what if her bank closes? What will she do then? I would hope you would help her obtain an ID?

Our daughter wants a fishing licence....... HOLY COW....... Have to get her a State ID first....... People against voter ID and want to use the ID excuse need to shut up and realize that ID's are used in many ways....... Not getting your kids an ID before you boot them out of the house to support themselves is irresponsible and you are a crappy parent.

Also randy, you are a crappy son for not helping your mother .............

Randy is a big government liberal, what do you expect? He would rather have the gubmint take care of him mother than himself.

@Cynthia -- you have no idea what all I do to help my mother, and your remark is out of line. It isn't me putting an 88 year old woman in chronic pain through an unnecessary wait inline at the DMV in addition to all the places she has to go.

And if that branch bank would close, we'd find some other way of supplying her with cash, because she's pretty much house-bound except for doctor's appointments. She still votes absentee, though.

@Randy: I have a good idea of what you are dealing with, and I do not envy your situation at all. If you take her to Washington County DMV in the morning, there is hardly anyone there.

@Craig -- Which I would do, if it turns out she's not 'confined' to a facility according to the definition required to let her vote absentee without having to present that new form of ID. However, she might decide that the forty-five minute car ride would be too painful to make it worthwhile, and there would go another voter who really had the right, since she's legally registered in that precinct already.

Randy, you have a legitimate issue then. Years ago, when people registered to vote- a cop would come to your home to verify that you lived there and were who you claimed to be. Much has changed.
When my dad was dying of cancer, the last time he left the house was to cast his vote. He looked nothing like his ID, I wonder how that would work today.

@Craig -- A police office came to the house? That must have been before my day. I just went over to the Town Hall the day after I turned 21 (it was that long ago) submitted the documentation required of me -- no pictures, I don't think -- and registered. I've been voting there ever since.

It's this extra requirement of submitting a birth certificate again, when the citizenship issue was established long ago for most people, that bothers me. My mother still looks like the photo on her now invalid driver's license, which would have been good for another few years.

Is her license invalid or expired? According to their website, the GAB allows people to register and vote with an expired ID and a social security number. I also believe that with absentee ballots, you only have to submit the ID initially and become a 'permanent absentee' voter.

@CowDung -- It became invalid because of health issues.

Invalid as a driver's license, but it should still be valid for ID purposes, shouldn't it?

@Stormy Weather -- she has a purse-load of ID, including her old drivers license, just none that would allow her to vote. Man, you wonder how we ever functioned without photo ID in the past. Because they absolutely can't identify you unless that ID required a birth certificate to acquire!

Randy - All the time that you spend blogging about this issue, could be better spent figuring out how you are going to help "Your Mother" get an ID to vote. The majority of the people in Wisconsin believe in voter ID. If you can't figure out a way to assist your own mother, then I guess you don't want her to vote to count.

@Stormy Weather -- Trust me, I spend a great deal of time worrying about how to help my mother, and I don't appreciate Conservatives pretending they're fixing a non-existent problem making life anymore difficult for her or me. We have enough problems.

The problem isn't necessarily non-existent, Randy...

...perhaps if we didn't have partisan groups actively registering voters, the perceived need for voter ID wouldn't be so strong.

@CowDung -- Registering and voting are two different issues. I could support documentation for registering. But please tell me how many times an imposter has been prosecuted for voting in a legally registered voter's place?

How many times an imposter has been prosecuted for voting in a legally registered voter's place? Probably none. Before there were voter ID laws, there was no way of knowing if the voter was an imposter or not. I'm not sure if there's even a way to know if the voter registration is for a real person...

Randy - To be honest, many of us "Conservatives" don't appreciate all the foot stomping, tantrum throwing liberal teachers who walked out of our schools last year, or the sloppy liberal whiners who left their trash inside and outside the capital last year. Wisconsin "IS" moving forward - Voter ID is here, so I suggest you get used to it! I probably show my driver's license at least a few times a week. I can't walk into a single high school in Racine without showing my ID, I can't write a check, open an account, etc. without showing an ID. Your mother is a "Rare" exception to the majority of Wisconsin voters. Suck it up and help her get an ID! Or... Or you can sit back and do nothing... It really is that simple!

@Stormy Weather -- This has nothing to do with the Budget Repair Bill and the protests. It has to do with the deliberate attempt to make the exercising of a precious right more difficult for some people.

My mother is not as rare as you think. And what about the other people in her boat who don't have family to assist them? I don't intend to sit back and do nothing, because, frankly, I don't intend to let people like you chip away at our rights.

Randy, I don't intend to stand still and let people like you chip away at my rights and disenfranchise my vote! Now, I would believe that your mother is on social security and if so when I had to sign up for social security I was required to present a birth certificate or certified copy thereof, was your mother excused from that requirement? Also, when I applied to become a census worker before I could take the test I had to produce a birth certificate and a photo ID, now come on Randy, your excuses re voter ID are so weak as to be nonsense. I'm sure there are seniors like me that would be more than willing to help someone obtain the necessary documentation to have proper ID to register to vote.

Alfred, WOW. Neither side is right to do it. Both sides should stop. That said, TMJ4"s attach of Kleefisch is laughable. The outrage is within the Dems because their cigarettes for votes/sandwiches forvotes/vote early, vote often/etc. campaigns while still not impossible, will be more difficult. Voter ID is widely supported and has been needed for a long time. Why would ANYONE not want integrity in the process (wait, dont answer that!)

Wisconsin's Voter ID Law is an overstep because it goes too far - You know it, I know it, my grandma knows it and Scott Walker knows it; that it is designed to keep certain people from voting.
Plus let's mention the fact that JB Van Hollen prosecuted 14 total cases of voter fraud in the 2008 Presidential election, seven of which were ex-felons still on papers who thought they could vote. This voter ID law would have stopped 7 people from casting a fraudulent vote - and at a cost of $6-7 million to implement the law, we are spending $1 MILLION per fraudulent vote. Now that is a lot of wasted $ just to make sure black people and poor people don't get the opportunity to vote. Can you say, "poll tax"?

Voting should be easier than getting a permit to carry a concealed weapon, but...

jason... which 'certain' people are you meaning?

also jason........ should 3 union leaders be voting in WI because they are staying in a hotel in WI?

That's 3 WI voters that were disenfranchised.....

There is an investigation going on right now ..... will be interesting ....

Who exactly are those 'certain people' Jason? Don't older people (the examples that seem to be most often given around here) tend to vote republican? Certainly, the GOP wouldn't be targeting them for voter suppression...

The fact of the matter Jason, is that we really don't know how much fraud is happening. When we have partisan groups that are empowered to register voters, it makes sense to take steps to be sure that the identity of the actual voter matches up with the identity claimed by the registration.

This is the best you can come up with Jason? Keeping poor and black people from voting? I'm sorry you think they are too stupid to figure out how to use their ID. Sad.

You're in the very small minority that thinks it goes too far and you continue to run these weak arguments. By the way you need an ID to get a concealed carry license.....

@Cynthia --'Those' people who are perceived to be more likely to vote Democratic. Cutting into Dem funding and the Voter ID are all about handing over Wisconsin to the GOP Presidential candidate this year. You know it, I know it, and we all know it.

And so what if it makes it more difficult for a few non-driving seniors to vote? It's worth it to keep those welfare types from turning out in great numbers.

Maybe Jason is referring to "Them People"?

I still want to know who 'those' people are? What make's them different? Most elderly I know still vote Republican... I know of some poor minority's that also vote Republican.... Who are 'those' people? Why is there a difference on just how they vote and not their race or economic status? Are you saying that elderly and poor that are Republican are smart enough to have an ID? They see the benefit and responsibility of having an ID? Why are only dems considered 'those' people? Who is disenfranchising who?

@Cynthia -- I think the GOP is willing to lose a few conservative 'altekochers' in return for discouraging quite a few students and the sort of people who don't drive and who change addresses frequently. Intelligence has nothing to do with it.

well randy.... guess you don't remember being a kid........ the first thing you wanted (at 15) was a driving permit.... then at 16 we wanted our drivers license... and that was before you even had to show an ID to get a job.... now a days you need ID for many many things....... You telling me those 'students' don't want to buy alcohol, go on spring break, open a bank account, got a job, none of them smoke, they never wanted to go fishing or hunting, they don't get married, have kids, enroll their kids in school, get a load, buy a car, buy a house, go to the dr., hospital, or get prescriptions, receive unemployment, receive SS, apply for welfare? ..... Heck if more laws pass like in IL the elderly and poor won't even be able to do housework.............

Think about it, we are entering a world that will be mandatory ID on you at all times thanks to our Government.........

Maybe I should be more happy with poor that don't have ID, that means they are not sucking up tax payer dollars on welfare........
Fighting against the lazy to get an ID is ignorant.....

@Cynthia -- My first driver's license didn't have my photo on it. I don't think I had to prove my citizenship either.

@Cynthia -- Ah, yes, 'lazy'. There's another code word for the sort of people you don't want voting. I'm afraid you're too transparent.

randy sorry no offense but was that a license for a horse and buggy? I received my first license in 1980 in WI and it was a picture.... Now my temps were paper, but the ID was a photo up in a little part of the Northwoods...

Also I don't care if you are lazy....... just don't blame me or live on excuses...... excuses are like ***holes, everyone has one and they usually stink..... time to start solving problems instead of making excuses and being 'the problem'

If 70% of WI is for Voter ID... why are you against democracy? Just because you are in the 30% makes the 70% invalid? See that's the problem...... you raise a tantrum when you are the minority... if you don't like it move to an anarchist country were you can do whatever you want with not laws... but remember... there also is no one to protect you...

No one has to do what you want, when you want it.. A conservative was elected... you think they are going to pass only liberal policy? Gov. Walker and the Republicans have done bills for both party's... time to realize you lost in Nov. 2010 and it's time WI moves FORWARD and does something about the path WI was on. Tell me again what do you have against a budget that balances and does not leave debt for your children to handle? Do you have children randy? Will you get them an ID so they can enjoy themselves with what only an ID can provide? You can have all the money in the world but you won't be on a plane without ID. Won't be married w/o it either.

If you still have that ID time to update it and stop driving illegally Randy.

Transplant students. Well at least they admit they need these illegal votes.

Cynthia: My first DL was in 1981, it was a paper card with no photo. I know this because it was easy to alter the birthdate on them back then with a standard typewriter. I used it to buy beer and was busted by the liquor store owner who had a local high school yearbook. :-P

@Cynthia -- 1968, because I wasn't in a hurry to drive.

I am not in favor of 'democracy' when it applies to Constitutionally protected rights that the majority might not be in favor of, such as minority voting in 1950s Mississippi. They had some inventive ways of stopping that too.

Yes, I have a son with a driver's license, and a grandson who is nowhere near ready for them. But they were born around here, with easily obtainable birth certificates that we have kept careful track of. Other people aren't so lucky.

You make too many assumptions about me, Cynthia.

Craig, when we were underage we just went to the bar owned by the Sheriff......... =P

LOL....To think we had only lapbelts and no airbags, who wore a seatbelt? Rode bikes without helmets. Skateboards without knee pads. And if you screwed up- a friend's dad kicked you in the ass.
No wonder kids didn't lip off back then.

I just had this talk with our youngest...... along with In my 47 years I have never swore in front of my parents not because they smacked me around if I would have, but because we learned respect and (we were scared of "when your father gets home....)

We also talked this morning on our way to school about how Tech schools offer classes in their HS because kids these days grow up unskilled because they rely to much on electronic 'toys' and lack the skills needed for a job. He laughs when I tell him how we used to play with sticks and rocks or take walks through the woods.... We were hardly ever in the house... I started working at age 14 and could repair things around the house... worse thing I can remember is having Dad on the roof turning the TV antenna and yelling about if the channel was good or not...... "Sing or something so I know you are there...... Good picture yet?? Talk to me.... " Oh how I love cable...........

Please leave the personal attacks/comments out of this Alfred. They do nothing for your credibility, and they really aren't very nice.

@Alfred Kell
I am a conservative and while I may not be a 'Mortgage free, no debt, pay all bills Conservative.' as you stated in you personal attack on another blog; I am a stay at home dad. Do you wish to throw the same slander my way? Or are you angry at liberal stay at home dads?

Cow is right, you are hurting your own and the rest of the conservative credibility.have never seen a liberal defend a conservative against personal attacks.

@Cow
I get tired of defending liberals against conservatives who are not able to make arguments of conservative thought.

I will point out though that you never see liberals respond in the same manner when one of their own attacks a conservatives.

Cowdung is right, however, nicely done sir..

@J.B. Schmidt -- I guess you missed me going to bat for Hoffa against someone who couldn't even see that they were on the same side yesterday. And for Noelle Lorraine last week. I really hate this tendency to stoop to the personal level.

JB:

I think that 'stand up' guys do exist on the other side as well. Randy and Lyle seem to be the type that would stand up in defense of conservatives in that type of situation...

I stand corrected. I apologize Randy.

Liberals make this personal by attacking our freedoms, and confiscating our liberties and property. I will not apologize to people who live half truths and use nefarious methods of confusing people, they are evil and should be treated as such.

[cont’d]

ASSEMBLY RULE 76. Voting.

76(5) Only the members present in the assembly chamber may vote.

75(6) During a roll call vote, any member may raise the point of order that a member appears to be absent from the chamber but is shown as voting according to the roll call display boards. If the presiding officer rules the point of order "well taken", the vote of the absent member may not be recorded.

ASSEMBLY RULE 95. Definitions.

95(6) ASSEMBLY CHAMBER: The entire area west of the easternmost doors of the assembly, including the visitor's galleries, lobbies, offices of the speaker, majority leader, and minority leader, and hallways.

[cont’d]

Nowhere do the Assembly Rules expressly permit voting by proxy. Instead, the Rules appear prohibit such practices, wherein:

1) the Assembly Rules (i.e. Rule 76(6)) expressly provide for an objection process for any vote made by an “absent” Rep, with the objection requiring that the absent vote to be not recorded; and

2) the Assembly Rules (i.e., Rule 76(2)) recognize the availability of “voice vote” in lieu of machine vote, which would typically only work if the Rep was actually PRESENT at his/her assigned position within the Chamber.

So, YES, let’s strengthen the Assembly Rules to better ensure the voting accountability of the elected State Representatives. Let’s either prohibit voting by proxy or require that any agreements between Reps voting in absentia for one another be made of written and public record.

I could not upload the Assembly Rules PDF to your blog. So, here's the link:

https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2011/related/rules/assembly/9/81