I'll assure you George that Grassroots North Shore is certainly more grassroots than the Koch funded, astroturf T-Parties. We have no paid party operatives like Americans for Prosperity.

Yeah, well that's your opinion. I'm of the opinion you've been given a way to contact Senator Darling and you can either use it or not. There's no law stating that any politician has to follow a particular method of communicating with their constituents. Just because you don't care for it doesn't mean it's not right.
Try contacting Herb Kohl sometime and see how you like that.

Again, this all makes no sense unless this is just a group of people who are used to getting their way and when they don't they gather to complain about it. If you're not happy with it, vote against her in the recall election and then make sure whomever runs against her follows your particular parameters for maintaining contact with you in the event they win. If not, I fully expect to see you complaining about them as well.

I, too, have emailed Senator Darling a number of times. In return, I received two impersonal "form letter" replies that clearly showed that my emails had not even been read. I wrote to Herb Kohl twice in the last two months and received an answer to my question within 48 hours *both* times. Senator Darling isn't particularily informative on her website or blog either, as I have been checking both of them. While there may not be a law as to how they communicate, they do need to be responsive to their entire constituency, not just those who share her opinion. She is not, so she is facing a recall election.

So why don't you call and set up an appointment to see her as suggested by Mr. Potts if you're not happy with her email replies?

You don't like her email replies, you apparently aren't familiar with or don't care to participate in her call-in town hall meetings and I'm guessing you're not going to call in for an appointment to see her. Unless she's willing to meet your standards for how an elected official should communicate with their constituency, she's got to go.

BTW, I've written to Herb myself. No reply first time, 2nd time I got a canned response that had nothing to do with what I wrote to him about.

Unlike you, I don't take that personally and assume that because I didn't get what I thought was an acceptable response, he needs to be the target of a recall effort that attempts to override to votes of the majority. I'll just do what I did last time around. Vote for someone else.

As usual Bob you don't know what you are talking about. Herb Kohl's office provides excellent constituent service and any assertion that it doesn't is pure BS.

Throughout this budget crisis Alberta's phone mail box has been full for long periods of time. She definitely is acting like she is under siege. You know Truman said about if you can't stand the heat.

Keith,

I related exactly what happened when I contacted his office. I think I probably have a better handle on what I experienced than you would, frankly. If you want to define that as excellent service, fine, but it makes you a little less than believable when you and the rest of the self-important, self-serving my-way-or-the-highway types whine about Darling doing basically the same thing.

Robert,

I'm not the one complaining about not being able to contact Darling. Mr. Potts gave those that were a suggested method of doing so. I wondered if any had. There's hardly anything contradictory about that.

You're trying to defend actions that make no sense in light of the fact that there's going to be a recall election in which all of those who don't like her can vote against her. The only logical explanation for this group meeting outside Darling's office at this point is that that's not good enough for them. They're impatient and apparently used to getting their way and when they don't they show up and complain about it.

The word on the street is that you are a paid Union thug, Robert. Any comments on this. You seem to quickly leave conversations once this is brought up or people with logical and concise arguments start to beat you in the debate.

Really Charlie, a "paid union thug"? LMAO that you guys still use those silly terms. What does that make you, a non-union thug? chuckle chuckle

Most if you are unpaid corporatist toadies.

What do you have against retired teachers, pc?

Its called unfunded pension liability. What'd you have against private sector tax payers?

Uh, nothing Anthony. I happen to be one of 'em [private sector tax payer].

I have contacted AD with via a few avenues. I received a canned reply. I believe she is afraid to meet with a group that may disagree with her, because she won't have a script to reference. AD has been bought, along with a number of other state republicans, by special interests. When the budget kicks in, and begins to impact your friends and family, maybe you'll wonder who those special interests are who stole your state to advance their agenda.

Constantly? Hardly Charlie. As one of the main organizers of the recall effort you can trust I am checking her facebook, twitter and website regularly (as I am sure or her staff is checking mine) and that is nonsense. She only updates her facebook with things links to articles every few days. Her twitter announces when she will be on Charlie Sykes or Fox N Friends.

Her website has told vols to await a special announcement after easter weekend--we here we are well after Easter and nothing. She is not only out of touch with her constituents but she is out of touch with reality. It is 2011--there is no reason she or a staffer can't send replies to every email (even if canned responses) update her facebook a few times a day and the same for twitter.

At some point you will run out of excuses to support her. When that time comes--let me know. Our group is all inclusive.

Whether she updates a facebook page or twitter or whatever constantly is immaterial. I'm about the same age as Darling and, to be honest, most people my age could give a flying you-know-what about facebook or twitter in terms of something to be used religiously as a serious form of communication. If we're going to start basing whether or not a politician is doing their job on how frequently they update stuff on the internet, then we've wandered pretty far afield, I think.

If I really had a pressing issue to discus with Darling, I'd take Potts' advice above and, to be honest, I wouldn't necessarily expect to get an appointment that's convenient for me. I think some of us have become too accustomed to getting what we want, when we want, in the form we want, thanks to this medium, and have come to expect that anyone we contact in this day in age needs to accommodate our desires in a time frame of our choosing, or we take it as a personal insult and a sign that they're not doing their job.

@ Bob McBride II...Over the years I have found that when dealing with elected officials that rarely do you get immediate direct contact with the elected representative. Normally it's with a staff member that the dialogue is with until the such time as the staffer and the elected official decide that it merits closer attention. I'm probably not as critical of elected representatives when they don't immediately get back to me since I know how their offices operate.

My main point in this post is to warn Senator Darling that since she is under intense scrutiny that she needs to have her staff step it up to meet the new demands being placed on her. If she is uncomfortable with the techno-world, then she needs staff that are not. The staff are there to provide a permeable cushion so that she can concentrate on her duties. Her failure is that she hasn't stopped doing business as usual; thus, giving the impression that she is out of touch.

Lyle,

The people that don't like her aren't going to be swayed by a sudden uptick on her (or her staff's) usage of social media. They're also the same people who think she should stop doing what they refer to as "business as usual".

Those who support her for the most part aren't concerned about whether or not she's responsive to a bunch of folks who think an email campaign is going to sway her POV or are particularly upset that she hasn't stopped doing "business as usual". I think sometimes you guys on the other side don't realize that there are, in fact, a significant number of people who don't think she's doing a horrible job, support her support of the Walker agenda and don't want her to change simply because those who were in the minority last election cycle think their desires trump those of the folks who were in the majority.

The fact that there are people out there who place an emphasis on appearances and impressions doesn't mean that those in office should cater to those superficial desires. They're there to participate daily in the governing process, not put on a show for their constituents or coddle them so that they feel they're important. The need for touchy-feely feel-good "everyone is special" affirmation stuff should really stop the minute folks leave the comfy warmth of their parents home and start bumping into the hard corners of the real world.

@Bob McBride II... C'mon Bob you have advocated changing to meet prevailing conditions in your past posts. You have indicated that since we are in such fiscal trouble that it requires change to address the so called crisis. Now your backing away from the necessity of change when it comes to Senator Darling. It's a different world now and it's very "plugged in". Even ole codgers like me are now plugged in. I don't think it is an unreasonable expectation to think that Alberta should step her game up.

Lyle,

Seriously, I can't get too excited about Darling not tweeting or updating a Facebook page. If folks are going to hold that against her, then so be it. Frankly, it says more about them than it does her.

BTW, since it looks like you're now officially a blogger here, I'd just suggest for your own interest you google "bloggers" and "Ariana Huffington" and "lawsuit". You might find some fascinating reading, particularly since AOL has her out front on this push to get people to provide free content for a money-making enterprise - something they've gotten themselves into a jam over in the past.

@Bob McBride II... Yeah, I'm with you on the tweet and facebook. In many ways it's just silly and doesn't' mean anything. Look at John McCain and his tweeting.

I am aware of Ariana Huffington and those issues. I blog to get more ideas out there and try to get people to think. I'm not interested in making money off of it, but I also don't want to get caught up in some of the screwy things that go on. Thanks for the concern and I will certainly watch to make sure I'm not going to get stung.

Wow, really... name calling is the best argument you can make? I have tried to contact Senator Darling weekly by phone and email for the past 6 weeks and I have been to her MF office several times when it is suppose to be staffed with no one there. I have had enough of her and her weekly lies coming to my mailbox in her desperate attempt to retain her job.

yup, #1, that's all he's got. Talk about thuggery.

@George Mitchell... I bet she would immediately respond to you since you are a major contributor. I'm sure you and your wife both have enough juice to pick up the phone and be put right through to the governor also. For all reading this, Mr. Mitchell is in a league of his own.

and that is a problem? What's wrong with working your entire life as a public servant? I'm genuinely curious.

So I was right. You're unwilling to try what Mr Potts has suggested, you took personally the fact that you didn't get the kind of answer you thought you should get and you're "unhappy" with her performance in office so, despite the wishes of the majority last election cycle, you think your concerns trump all.

While it may be your "right" to participate in the recall, if everyone did as you do we'd have an endless cycle of recalls and elections.

Frankly, I think that's the way it's probably going to be from now on. Your side has made it very clear that it's no longer willing to concede or accept the results of an election that doesn't swing in its favor. Recalls, recounts, collective temper tantrums....whatever it takes....it's your way or the highway.

Alberta Darling is a coward. She hides behind big $ and doesn't listen to voters. She used to be a moderate. She forgot her way...

#1 son,

There are polls that show most Americans don't agree with Obama's health care bill. I don't see massive recall campaigns being launched against him or members of Congress who approved of that bill. That's because most rational people realize that a part of our governing process involves people being in office at any particular time who don't support everything they do and that their opportunity to change that comes at regular, designated election times.

One side, the left, has now decided that that's not good enough for them anymore. They want what they want now and they're not going to wait until the next election cycle. They're not going to accept elections that they've lost by insurmountable margins, so they're going to delay the implementation of the results of such elections by embarking on frivolous recounts. They're going to delay the process of government by running away and hiding. They're going to throw temper tantrums, en masse, in Madison and elsewhere. In other words, they're going to adopt the collective personality of a petulant child and the rest of us are just going to have to put up with it, or respond in kind.

Personally, I prefer the former option, but that doesn't mean I'm going to sit on the sidelines and not call them out on it when I see it. It also doesn't mean it isn't going to backfire on them at some point in the future. Petulant children tend to push and push until someone, finally, says "Enough!"

@Bob McBride II...
Bob,
The recall movement was prompted in large part by getting the "bomb" dropped on us by Governor Walker's Budget Repair Bill and the fact that the legislature did not slow the process down and hold public hearings to get public input. In particular, Senator Darling as the co-chair of the Joint Finance Committee, rushed the process and "rubber stamped" Walker's bill. There has been and should be consequences when such significant legislation does not follow the long established precedents. It is not the case of impatient petulant children, but a natural reaction when legislated rights are stripped away without sufficient warning.

Lyle, there was no bomb involved. There's nothing in Walker's BRB that even comes close to being a bomb, even if one were to assume that a person of average intelligence couldn't look at Walker's record and anticipate that he was willing to do whatever it takes to bring the budget in line.

I'm sorry, Lyle, but it's just not the case. We've had actions taken on a national level that dwarf the modifications desired by Walker with no comparable response by those who didn't and still don't agree with those actions - and that goes for both this administration and those before it.

This entire process - the protests, the running and hiding, the recalls, the hysterical overstatement of the consequences of the BRB, the recount and, now, this kind of absolutely pointless activity - is right of out of the union/'60s generation playbook of hyped up sky-is-falling rhetoric and political theater coupled with "me" generation values. It's, frankly, sickening, Lyle.

@ Bob... It was a bomb and never once did he mention it during the campaign. He confirmed that when he talked to the faux Dick Koch. Everyone knew he would take draconian action, but know one outside his inner circle knew what he was going to do. What you are equating intelligence to is clairvoyance. He didn't have to do this to get the budget in line and that statement is an error on your part.
What are you a Generation X and Reaganite?

Lyle, it's a matter of perspective. Your side has taken one item out of the equation and blown it way out of proportion at the behest of the unions who stand to lose clout if the collective bargaining agreement is brought up-to-date. I'm sorry, but that's really all it is. Anyone who has had any dealings with unions (as I and many others have) can see it as plain as day. It's SOP when either they're attempting to gain footage where they've had none in the past, or attempting to maintain a stranglehold on an organization so that they can continue to collect dues and wield power for political and financial gain. Same game as always and I KNOW you know it.

The stripping of collective bargaining was a cheap political ploy by a cheap politician to put the GOP in permanent dominance of our political process. That means your lives will be run by corporations.

@The prosser-cuter... If it is as you say "the liberal playbook", then you have to understand that it was learned directly from the Tea Party Playbook. How dare anyone question one of the Republican legislators about rushing the BRB through without constituent input. The right wants to be able to speak out on any wingnut issue or idea but you want to limit the lefties' right to speak out on substantive issues. Some system, huh!

Rushing through the BRB? Constituents had 3 weeks to give their input while the Dem Senators were in Illinois avoiding debate of the bill.

Dung, that's the point. You are so smart!

@Jory... Glad to see you posting again. Like I've said before, "money talks and BS walks". Democrats and Republicans both do it. My point is if you want to be guaranteed to get face or voice time, you have to be a $$$ contributor. Money is the mother's milk of politics and "free speech".

The only thing the Dems are restricting in Mass. is the collective bargaining over healthcare benefits,, it'll be off the table because of rising costs.

MPS superintendent was dealt a losing hand. He was no more than in office and the rug was pulled out from under him. He's a pragmatist and knows how this game is played.

Wrong. I have gotten letters from both sides of the aisle that looked like there was thought that went into the reply. One time my daughter applied and got a scholarship to study in Europe in connection with the Congress. Rather than cranking out a form letter to introduce her, Cong. Tom Barrett's office called up and interviewed Giselle and asked her to come down and get it from Tom.

Where were you for the 3 weeks that the Dems were in Illinois? That was the time when the bill was supposed to be debated. Unfortunately, debate is a lot more difficult when the opposition party isn't present to express their opinions...

How do you figure the 'paid less for more work' part? Asking teachers to contribute to their pensions doesn't seem all that unreasonable and is very unlikely to result in them having more work...

...and you probably didn't feel the need to recall anyone when Doyle's budget repair bill was pushed though in less than 24 hours back in 2009.

http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2011/feb/23/scott-walker/wisconsin-gov-scott-walker-says-democratic-senator/

@CowDung...What debate? That's precisely why the "fleebag -14" left in the first place. Contacting our representatives did absolutely nothing. It did buy enough time for everyone to look over the bill and then the recall efforts began. What Doyle and the Democratic controlled legislature was wrong also. I will not try to defend that because it's indefensible.

It was indefensible, but there was no efforts to recall anyone because of it. What makes Darling and Walker so different?

What debate? Exactly the point. The Dems left the state instead of debating the bill on the floor of the senate...

What makes them different This radical and immoral budget. Recall them all!

The "radical and immoral" budget proposal has yet to be debated in session or passed. Doesn't that make the recall effort a bit premature?

Exactly, Anthony

Anything to back that up, or is it pure rumor. The GOP is so good when it comes to the truth. Weapons of Mass Destruction anyone?

@Jory... It's not just an MPS problem or a Shorewood problem; the problem is persistent everywhere. I am part of the leading edge of the "baby boom" and I had to attend double sessions, share desks, etc. It isn't easy to teach big classes or for the students to attend such. Of all the things you posted over the last couple of months, your lifeskill classes make sense to me. I taught my kids to avoid easy credit and they will not take it. We've been credit card free for going on 8 years and in our family, if we don't have the cash in hand, we don't need it. When the car breaks and needs repairs; it's the bus, bicycle or walk until we have the money. Life is good :)!

What facebook? O just the facebook of this group.

Posted by SEIU on twitter. (The orginal poster)

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=127739507303928&oid=211717032190627&comments

So whats your call now Haus. Though you may not be a Union member you are funded by them. And all this talk about big money. SEIU and AFL-CIO rank in the top 10 in the Nation of donors ever year. Would you like me to post the Recall finance reports that show this effort is NOT grassroots. That the leader of the recall is an Obama staffer. That the NATIONAL AFL-CIO just called my house and asked me to conduct a survey, they left their number you can have that too.

@Anthony...post the recall finance reports along with the name of Obama's staffer, I want to check this out.

You have a choice in what you do in life, thats the key to this BRB, Choice. Obama just gutted funding and pay for the troops. Trying being a Marine. Take your sob story down the road.

@Anthony...Where are you getting this tripe? Obama gutted funding and pay for troops? Whose kool-aid have you been drinking. I want to see your sources.

The Kool Aid is that super conservative biast paper the Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/06/AR2011010603628.html

By the way we agree, the washington post is tripe. OWNED

A supporter who refers to the derelict 14 has the Fab 14. AWOL is known as treason in another government entity.

Your fears are unfounded.

As a teacher, I was given a choice about what plan I wanted. I chose a worse plan so I could get less taken out. Have you seen studies on the preventative costs of people on cadillac plans vs. people with bad insurance?I am sincerely asking because I don't know where to find those studies.

What makes you say that districts will get the choice to appropriately compensate the best teachers (not necessarily the brightest) and what makes you say that they will effectively take advantage of that? The only way that would fly is in a privatized system. How much money will it cost the district to assess teacher performance; you can't do it based on test score. Actually, help me understand how a superintendent/principal could possibly assess for better teachers? Effective teachers do more than teach the subject at hand, they develop life skills as Jory stated, develop anti-bullying programs, promote self-confidence, etc.

Some kids learn quicker and easier than others. For example, does a teacher with an entire class above grade level in all areas but is filled with high IQs deserve more money than the teacher who finally got his kids to perform at grade level but his class is filled with kids who happen to have low IQs? Please understand, I would love to see this BRB help schools, but I have yet to hear from Walker or any author of this bill about how schools will honestly benefit from this.

@ike...If you hadn't figured it our already, it's not about the students, schools, teachers or anything else; it's about the power of the public unions. The strategy is to strip the unions of power and those all important union dues. My wife belongs to AFSME and she has had her problems with the union, but in general it has proved to be effective for her and the other social workers in her local. However, just like the teachers' union, they are big contributors to the Democrats. This is what it's all about, cut off the money to the Democrats. With purchased media time so important in this day and age, cutting the money supply cuts the Democrats ability to get their message out. The Republicans are attempting to stack the deck.

If you are looking to see how this BRB helps schools, take a look at this article about the Shorewood budget proposal...

"The greatest cost savings are found within provisions from the budget repair bill, including a 5.8 percent contribution from employees to their pensions and an estimated 1 percent salary cap. Those moves bring the district about $737,794."

http://shorewood.patch.com/articles/referendum-passage-sparks-an-optimistic-budget-proposal-from-school-officials

Lyle--

This isn't something that started when Walker came into office. The public unions have been long abusing their collective bargaining power--to the point of unsustainability (if that is indeed a word). When the rest of the world is having to take salary cuts/freezes, pay more for healthcare, layoffs, etc., the public unions are crying about people trying to take away their free Viagra benefit.

Perhaps if the unions were more willing to make some real concessions when budgets are tight, or keep benefits more in line with what is in the private sector, politicians wouldn't feel the need to limit collective bargaining...

@CowDung...You're making a mistake of lumping all public employees unions together. Don't confuse teachers' unions with the others. Plenty of sacrifices have been made over the last six years. Certain state employees were getting laid off and wages cut or frozen. You have to be careful not to overstate, just as those supporting the unions shouldn't overstate the situation.

I wouldn't want to be accused of 'villifying' teachers by singling out their union...

@CowDung...LOL All of a sudden you're turning PC on me. I can't handle that, it's too inconsistent. Only us lefties have that privilege. Get back on your side of the aisle and don't cross over again.

Ike,

As a teacher you may want to actually try and figure out a way that teachers can be evaluated, because of all the things that are going to be continually pushed for, this is high on the list. If teachers and administrators, instead of saying that it can't be done, would instead attempt to formulate a feasible method of doing so, they're less apt to end up with something completely disagreeable and ineffective.

Trust me, teaching is not the only profession in which there are no direct quantifiers (dollars, scores, points, etc) where performance is regularly evaluated. You yourself I'm sure could identify a good versus a bad teacher. Obviously you are using some sort of criteria when you do so. What the education field needs to do is incorporate those criteria that into an evaluative process.

Again, better you have some input into that yourself than rely on outsiders to do it for you. It will be done, one way or the other.

Since the proposed collective bargaining restrictions in the BRB are targeting benefits, the 'overpaid teacher' argument shouldn't apply.

I don't think that your private sector pension contribution example really applies--paying a percentage of one's salary into a retirement fund isn't really an issue of getting promotions or working harder. People in the private sector contribute to their 401(k) plans because that is how we save for retirement--if we don't contribute, we go hungry when Social Security goes bankrupt...

If unions actually showed restraint, they wouldn't have been filing lawsuits over the loss of their free Viagra benefit in Milwaukee.

I do find it interesting that in Shorewood, after 20 months of negotiations things gone done very quickly once the BRB was proposed...

I understand that paying a percentage is not about working more. My point was that you can choose what you contribute. You can chose to work harder for more money (in many cases). Teachers are denied that right, which they understand and accept because they have unions to make sure they are not taken advantage of. Everyone accepted the proposed percentage change, but without a voice, no one can stop that percentage from progressively getting worse. If unions are eliminated, teachers (actually all state employees) deserve a guarantee from the government regarding their benefits, salaries, work schedules, etc.

@The prosser-cuter...What happens to the kids in the meantime?

PC these guys have no interest in something as wonderful as the Free Market.

@Anthony... The free market doesn't work for everything. Read Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations.

@Anthony... OK, what are the other sources? I looked at this link and I don't see anything out of the ordinary there. Where is the union money?

@Joe Pererlin...time to come out of the garage and get some fresh air. You think we have problems now, privatizing government services is a nightmare. It creates more problems than it solves.

@George Mitchell...LOL at you. #1 son is asking a legitimate question. How come the developing nations are moving away from private schools to public schools? What you continually cite is right wing kool-aid. How much is the Bradley Foundation promising now in grant money? I know you look to Walker for some big paydays.

Here is what I know.. most of you republicans don't know squat. You all make claims about who the liberals are and what the liberals are not that it has anything to do with the article but it is all you have left to argue about. Not only that, I can tell you that you are wrong. It isn't even hard to prove it. I am not a paid staffer, never have been and never will be. I challenge each and every one of you to prove I am a "union thug". What do you want after that? My birth cirtificate? You all just run your mouths off and make fools of yourselves about hippies, drum beaters, retired teachers and a bunch other completely false statements. This past couple of weeks has shown nationally just how moronic the republicans can be about mistruths. It all adds up to name calling and I don't tend to pay much attention to people who can't make an intelligent arguement past that. This amounts to pretty much 95% of this thread. So.. you all continue to claim you know something and I'll just sit back and laugh at your ignorance. Word on the street.... like that sounds like it comes from a legitimate source huh Charlie? C'mon boys.. you need some new material..

@#1 son... You have to be careful that you don't get sucked in by some of the regulars that are often on these posts. You need to know that George Mitchell is up to his eyeballs with Wisconsin School Choice along with his wife. He's also a right wing wog and a large contributor to Republicans, including Scott Walker. If you follow along you'll get to know whose who. Good luck.

How should we grade the performance of the 84 teachers, in the Madison district, that turned in fake medical excuses, with intent to defraud the taxpayer? How about the lame performance of the school administration in response to this attempted theft? This kind of stuff does wonders for my confidence in the education establishment!

Whatever Ike: I guess since we are not allowed to debate opinions in your world I can't tell you that I believe your opinion that teachers don't need incentives to get better is just plain wrong. I find it to be so important as with my experience with unions, they breed mediocrity. There is no incentive for anyone to do more than the minimum. We may be better than some other states, but you can't tell me the bar can't be raised. You can't tell me that continuous improvement isn't important. Unions hold back high performers and reward and protect the poor performers. I believe any system where everyone is basically paid the same, or is paid based on seniority rather than individual performance is just plain wrong.

This is very valuable information, thank you. You have changed all of my opinions!!! Great debate, thanks! I wish I could help you understand my point, but I can't explain it any more clearly. You know my opinion and I know yours, now what?

Why do you want me to read this? Was it for this quote... "You strip out, what, over $900 million in education? Are we still competitive with India and China? In my budget-balancing brain I don't see how that's even remotely possible. To educate well costs money" Either which way, I find his comments interesting but based on opinion. What exactly do you want me to get out of this?