Big Dog comin’, yo. Big Dog! Greg Sargent:
Former President Bill Clinton has decided to go to Wisconsin to campaign against Scott Walker in the final days of the battle over whether to recall the Wisconsin Governor, a move that could give a boost to the anti-Walker forces in a campaign that will depend heavily on who turns out to vote, a source familiar with Clinton’s plans confirms to me.
As late as yesterday afternoon, it was still not certain whether Clinton would go to Wisconsin. DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, in a meeting with Democrats, seemed to suggest that he was trying to determine whether he would go. But neither the DNC nor Clinton’s camp would confirm whether it was going to happen, and Democrats cautioned that Clinton had not made up his mind.
But now he will go to Wisconsin, the source confirms.
Democrats badly want Clinton to campaign in Wisconsin for Tom Barrett, and had lobbied him heavily for weeks. But Clinton remained undecided until today.
That’s…awful nice of you, Mr. The Dog. Magnanimous, even.
Between DWS stepping it in over the weekend and Bill here finally deigning to drag himself up to the Fox River Valley for some A&W mini corndogs and a Culver’s butterburger or two, I’m convinced that the maximum amount of voter-turning-out firepower may not have have been most judiciously applied in the case of beating the Kochsuckers on Tuesday.
Still, the ramparts are finally being manned. I just hope it’s enough.
On Wisconsin.
Maude
Will he be bringing former porn stars with him?
Mino
Wow, you sure know how to say thank you, don’t you.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Meh, he’s going, and if it’s a question of momentum, enthusiasm and turn-out, maybe a big splashy Clinton visit at the last minute is the right thing. IT worked when he wanted to get even with Lieberman by saving his ass.
Jeff Spender
@Maude:
Oh, Zoroaster, I hope so.
Jennifer
Just highlights again what a shame it was that the Gore campaign didn’t deploy him to campaign even in Arkansas in 2000. A week of campaigning here would have swung the state, and Florida wouldn’t have mattered.
Cato
With ONE BILLION DOLLARS in corporate cash sitting in our warchest, it doesn’t matter WHO you bring in.
Walker will sail to victory…and then he should write a “thank you” note to SCOTUS.
Stuck in the Funhouse
@Maude:
Bill is getting his licks in, before the House wingnuts figure out, it might be a little late, but a ton of fun investigating the Secret Service during the Clenis years. The Horroring!! The Horrering of it all!!
Lolis
@Cato:
It is bizarre and sad you are proud to win that way. We’ll see if you are right. You don’t have the best track record.
eemom
This is pleasant news for a change.
Good Big Doggie.
David Koch
Hopefully, he’ll bring some current porn stars.
Lojasmo
@Cato:
Will you please just ban this cocksucker’s IP already?
Jeff Spender
@Cato:
I’ve been wanting to ask this for a while, but could you explain to me why this is actually a good thing? Don’t you think it’s subversive to the concept of democracy for corporations to be able to buy elections?
What if they turn against you one day?
Ahasuerus
You know, this could just be a rather daring timing strategy on the part of the DNC and WJC. Consider – the election is on Tuesday. Bill parachutes in this weekend and gets one or two days of coverage (this is BIG NEWS when an ex-president gets involved in a local or even statewide race) and before the Wingnut Wurlitzer can formulate a coherent (albeit fraudulent) response BAM! The election is over. Maybe it’s risky, but against an opponent who fights dirty and has a bottomless bucket of cash it might not be a bad strategy. And it might even work.
ETA: Dammit, Jim at comment #3 beat me to it. What he said.
Linda Featheringill
The Democratic Establishment doesn’t seem very concerned about Wisconsin. I’m very concerned. There are a lot of people in a lot of places that really need for the democratic process to win over Big Money.
Am I dreaming?
Cato
@Lojasmo:
I’ve had my IP (and former names) banned repeatedly. You’ll never be rid of me.
@Jeff Spender:
It’s called “freedom of speech”.
Watusie
The BIG news out of Wisconsin today is the smoking gun that proves that Archbishop Dolan is a lying child-rape enabler. Why this isn’t getting more coverage I do not know.
I’ve been puzzled by him leading the charge against sluts and their slutty pill in such an agressive and over-the-top manner. Now I get it – he knew the shit was going to hit the fan eventually and was strategizing about how to get the right on his side to come to his defense.
I suspect that he will soon be joining Bernard Law in retirement inside the walls of the Vatican in order to escape prosecution in this country.
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2012/05/31/492898/catholic-archbishop-railed-against-immorality-of-gay-marriage-but-authorized-20k-to-pay-off-pedophile-priests/
AxelFoley
@Lojasmo:
Seconded.
Stuck in the Funhouse
@Cato:
And still not enough to buy Mitt Romney a brain, courage, nor a heart.
Jeff Spender
@Cato:
That’s not an answer. Seriously, why is it a good thing?
Because, to me, it seems like it places priority over what kinds of speech get to be broadcast.
beltane
@Jeff Spender: Cato will shill for whoever is paying him. No one ever turns against people who are so easily bought.
Zandar
@Lojasmo:
He’s actually kinda funny in a Drunken Colbert kinda way.
@Mino:
His hemming and hawing didn’t exactly help the situation. At the same time I’m glad he’s flying the colors here. I’ll take it in the spirit in which it was given.
shinobi
I bet culver’s was the deciding factor. how about that criminal defense fund though?
jl
I am sure that a lot of the DNC PR fumbling is real, and that goes for DWS.
I am a mere lesser person, but if I were doing talking points in public, I would turn every lame, lazy and stupid ‘meta’ and ‘significance’ and ‘strategy’ and ‘horserace’ question into a combo attack and pep talk. And if the press accused me of not answering their question, I would very civilly inform them that they ask stupid questions, and very civilly request that the press find a means to do its damn job and report out my answer, F you very much.
On the other hand, I think some of the reported drama behind these campaign decisions is staged. If turnout is the key, then timing is key, good plans and appropriate schedule and places for the appearances is key. And dumbass reality show drama that will draw the attention of an idiot and corrupt press is key.
Not sure how much was involved in this Real Big Dawg of National Politicking dilemma was PR BS, but I think some was.
AxelFoley
@Cato:
Which doesn’t apply to someone’s blog, dumbass.
If Cole wanted to, he’d could ban all our asses. We’re only here at his pleasure.
I said AT his pleasure, not FOR, so no one get it twisted.
Jeff Spender
@beltane:
I just want to hear his reasoning. I want a really in-depth answer, not just some crappy “freedom of speech” tripe.
C’mon, Cato. Why is this a good thing?
Linda Featheringill
@Jennifer:
“Just highlights again what a shame it was that the Gore campaign didn’t deploy him to campaign even in Arkansas in 2000. A week of campaigning here would have swung the state, and Florida wouldn’t have mattered.”
You have a point.
Bill used to really enjoy campaigning. I suspect he still does. And when he gets into the Charm Zone, he’s hard to beat. All assistance is appreciated.
Sic ’em Bill!
Cato
@AxelFoley:
I was referring to Citizens United, not me being banned.
Again, ONE…BILLION…DOLLARS on our side, and there’s not a fucking thing you can do about it!
Jeff Spender
@Cato:
What makes you think that they’re on your side, and not just sort of an ally of convenience right now? Do you think that the second you become and inconvenience that they’re not going to throw you under the bus?
Do you think that they care about you?
AxelFoley
@Cato:
Except kick your ass in November, which is where we’re headed. Raise all the money you want, but we are gonna hang our feet up your boy’s ass on Election Day.
Strandedvandal
It’s a good thing because they have the most money on hand right now. Trust me, as soon as it flips, punks like Cato will be whinging up a storm.
jl
And, I remember when the multi million dollar GOP ad campaigns fell down on California some time ago like rain, and turned it into a cratered bombed out wasteland full of stunned zombies staggering around looking for shelter amongst the smoking rubble that used to be civilized life in the Golden State.
When the $$$$$$$$$ barrage lifted, said zombie remnants wandered into the polls and got their revenge and kicked GOP butt.
The Good Book warns against worshiping mammon, for it is a false god.
blueneck
Great! Now if only Bush Jr. would parachute in for Walker…
Linnaeus
@Jeff Spender:
Cato brags about this because he/she is a neofeudal lickspittle.
beltane
@Cato: Please don’t take this the wrong way, but you sound like a man who would gladly pimp out his own young children just for a little pocket change and a pat on the head.
jl
Dr. Evil: Shit. Oh hell, let’s just do what we always do. Hijack some nuclear weapons and hold the world hostage. Yeah? Good! Gentlemen, it has come to my attention that a breakaway Russian Republic called Kreplachistan will be transferring a nuclear warhead to the United Nations in a few days. Here’s the plan. We get the warhead and we hold the world ransom for… ONE MILLION DOLLARS!
Number Two: Don’t you think we should ask for *more* than a million dollars? A million dollars isn’t exactly a lot of money these days. Virtucon alone makes over 9 billion dollars a year!
Dr. Evil: Really? That’s a lot of money… Okay then, we hold the world ransom for… One… Hundred… BILLION DOLLARS!
Cato
@jl:
California is a deep blue liberal state. You can’t compare it to the swing states.
Cato
“Ass kicked in November”? The latest battleground polls out today have this all tied up in Colorado, Ohio, and Florida. This is a big improvement from just a month ago. What changed? Advertising!
And this is BEFORE the barrage of Super PAC ads really gets going!
Mino
@jl: I am actually thankful that Texas doesn’t get that barrage. If I have to live in Republicanland, at least I don’t have to see them every two minutes.
Tho “Demon Sheep” was novel enough.
Cato
This fall? Word has it ALL NFC North games are going to have wall-to-wall ads from pro-Romney Super PACs. That should put the Upper Midwest in our pocket.
Jeff Spender
@Cato:
Please, Cato. I’m giving you a chance to make your case. Let’s look at some facts:
1) You keep bragging about the war chest some rich people put together. For now, they seem to be supporting the candidates you support, but what makes you think that they’re on your side?
2) Why is the infusion of so much cash into democratic elections from very few private hands a good thing? How can this not be seen as subversive or a cabal of the rich buying elections for their own benefit?
3) Please–and I believe this is be most important part–explain why this amounts to freedom of speech. Who’s speech is this? Is it the corporation’s speech (and a corporation probably doesn’t mean just the CEOs and owners, but the workers and laborers at the bottom as well) or is it the rich people’s speech? Why does their speech get priority?
Cato
1) I’m a Republican and Republicans always have more private money than Democrats
2) It’s good because it is freedom of speech
3) Corporations are, legally speaking, people under the 14th Amendment and have the right to free speech
Jeff Spender
@Cato:
Your pocket? It’s not your pocket because it isn’t your money.
It’s their pocket. Just face it.
Cato
Look on the bright side, liberals. If it wasn’t for money in politics Obama wouldn’t have come out for gay marriage. Rich, gay donors made him do it.
jl
BTW, did you people know that California was not always a deep blue state? It used to be a swing state, and before that a reliably GOP state.
You see, it was the home of tolerant forward thinking Republican progressives long ago.
But the GOP made CA a deep blue state in a failed experiment some years ago.
Now I see the GOP is trying the same experiment in other states, and with time, I predict the same results.
Violet
@Cato:
What would you think if that money was being spent to destroy you, just because they can? Free speech and all. Would it still be okay?
Jeff Spender
@Cato:
This is..complete nonsense. What is your proof for this? And it doesn’t even answer the question. What makes you think that they’ll always support the candidates you support? What if they’re positions get really extreme–like raising your taxes for more corporate tax breaks?
You’ve said this before, but it doesn’t answer the question. Freedom of speech is great, but are you saying that all speech is inherently good? So–what if a couple of rich liberals put money into a bunch of superpacs that supported single-payer health care, gay marriage, and socialist economic policies? Is this still freedom of speech? I mean, if they have the money and they blanket a place with advertisements enough that opinion changes against you, it’s all good, right?
But corporations aren’t corporeal and, therefore, logically they can’t speak.
However, people can speak for them, right? So in the end, it’s just people. Maybe a group of people.
beltane
Ah, now I get it. Cato is just a poor man’s rich girl and she’ll do it for a song.
jl
I wonder if that thing is a ‘bot.
I guess either a person who is bought or a ‘bot. Not sure which.
Cato
George Soros and Warren Buffet can spend all the money they want on ads, as can Hollywood leftists and Labor Unions. I don’t care.
Marcellus Shale, Public Dick
i’m glad to see bill clinton head out there.
Linda Featheringill
I’m rather surprised that you guys care for Cato. Maybe you’re nicer people than I am.
gogol's wife
I can’t believe people are trying to reason with Cato.
VidaLoca
@Ahasuerus:
Well, your mouth to God’s ears and all that of course but I’m afraid it will be more of a “meh” than a daring strategy. Our problem here is that we HAVE to get out the marginal, disaffected, demotivated voters because the electorate is evenly divided and the Republicans are highly motivated to turn out to vote for Walker. The Legislature (ie the Republicans) changed the election laws this time around, so that early voting/early registration will end tomorrow night at 5:00 PM: they saw how effectively early voting could be used in the turnout for Obama in 2008. So they curtailed it — but this means that in an important sense Clinton will be coming in AFTER the polls are closed; they won’t re-open until Tuesday.
If he’d come in last weekend we could have had a long weekend to organize GOTV in the aftermath of his visit, and an additional four days to get people to the polls. Now, it will be pretty much of a sideshow.
Jeff Spender
@Cato:
Ah. Apart from the obvious implications of unlimited corporate cash being injected into democratic elections–
–does it occur to you that this might be our attitude as well?
More to the point, your bragging just makes you seem like a clown.
kay
@Watusie:
How perfect is it that they filed bankruptcy to protect church assets and not pay victims, and now THAT bankruptcy proceeding is going to be their undoing?
It wouldn’t have come out if they hadn’t have tried to stiff the victims. Just beautiful.
Cato
I have carry no brief for the Roman Catholic Church, but I don’t see how their behavior is worse than comparable big institutions that get caught covering up crimes (ex. public school teacher perverts have often been bought off and re-assigned to other districts, its called “passing the trash”).
Jeff Spender
@Linda Featheringill:
@gogol’s wife:
Who says I am? I’m just trying to pick his “brain” and get a better sense of how he argues and responds to things. I’m fairly interested in knowing which areas to poke and prod and how to circumvent these kinds of posters.
Apart from the obvious IGNORE, I like to troll them every now and then. These threads are always unique in that people know who Cato is and how he responds and that he’s full of shit.
But I like to use these questioning strategies and take them to threads where people might not know his special kind of commentating.
This is a good way of practicing how to expose them.
Violet
@Cato:
This says all we need to know about Cato. Cato is a wh0re who goes home with the biggest spender.
mainmati
@Cato: First of all, $1 billion is your target; you haven’t reached that yet. Walker is an admitted whore of the Koch Brothers but that doesn’t then mean that everyone in WI loves that and will fall into line and vote to keep him in.
Further, I think it is instructive that your gigantic funding so far has resulted in only a slight polling lead for Walker, if it has had any impact at all and which could easily vanish depending upon voter turnout, which corporate overlords can’t directly influence. So we’ll see.
bemused
@Jeff Spender:
A really in-depth answer from Cato? Stop, you’re killing me…..
Gravenstone
@Jeff Spender: You’re presuming its capable of reason. An argument clearly not supported by the facts on hand.
Jeff Spender
@Gravenstone:
Which is something that constant, persistent questioning and a bit of baiting can expose.
Like I said before, once you start to get them to explain what they say, it all falls apart. And that’s how you short-circuit these kinds of commentators in other threads (see my previous comment).
mainmati
@Lolis: And the actual historical Cato, a Roman Senator famous for his statement Cartago delenda est (“Carthage must be destroyed”), was someone who utterly despised the rich and inherited wealth and who espoused simple virtues and was pretty much a populist. He would probably regard Walker and the Koch Brothers with utter disgust.
Jerzy Russian
Frankly, I never understood the need for this kind of thing. It should be as plain as day that Walker needs to go. The logical thing to do would be to get one’s ass to the poll on the day of the election and vote in such a way to make that happen. If Walker is not
recalled because the people could not be bothered to vote, then those people deserve what they get.
Egg Berry
I am just curious if Can’to is getting paid to be so stupid, or if he does it for fun? Because if he’s not getting paid for this tripe, he’s stupider than I thought.
Patricia Kayden
So the good people of Wisconsin still need cheerleaders to get them out to vote against Walker? Hasn’t he done enough to deserve to be kicked out? So if the recall is unsuccessful, it will be because not enough Dem superstars went to Wisconsin?
I am crossing my fingers/toes that the recall is successful because if it is not, Repubs are going to be emboldened to act crazier than they have already. Glad I’m not in a red state.
jl
” 1) I’m a Republican and Republicans always have more private money than Democrats ”
DougJ Handmaiden of Blog Trixity spoof troll alert.
Michael57
Good news. Bill wouldn’t go if there wasn’t a very good chance the Dems could win. He wouldn’t put his prestige on the line.
Michael57
@mainmati: Exactly right.
El Cid
FWIW, Pelosi on Supremes V. Obamacare:
Omnes Omnibus
@El Cid: Yeah, but what the fuck does she know?
JWL
My overall take on Clinton remains a caustic one. Still, this criticism of Bill The Party Operative is unfair. I say that because his M.O. has long been to parachute-in during the final hours of a many a desperate campaign.
Just such a visit explains why the current Lt. Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, was elected mayor of San Franssco (and in a runoff, at that). Even a decade after that runoff, and the politically ineffectual Gavin Newsom remains a bona fide D Party pretty boy/bigshot..
gbear
Cato is just a dead end loser with nothing going for him in real life. The only way that he can feel proud is to imagine himself as a part of that billion dollars.
What he doesn’t realize is that the owners of that billion dollars would boil him down to get the 30 cents worth of metal from his teeth.
He’s kind of interesting to read because he’s so completely fucking pathetic. No one can be a part of the real world and still be so damned stupid.
gbear
@El Cid: So I wonder which three judges she thinks don’t give a fuck about the constitution?
Elie
@Linda Featheringill:
I am sure knowing what they know now, they would. Who knew then, the distortions to follow? Democrats were playing a different game — he actually believed it was the honorable thing to concede and uphold the system. He didn’t really understand that the system had been breeched by very unscrupulous interests… Gore’s team — whether by his direction or just by their natural inclination — represent the fault line of our civic reality and its transition to the NEW Darwinian, winner take all, steal everything you can and then play contrite later, mentality. Democrats are still slow on this (not that I totally want that different). I DO believe that you do not have to be radical and excessive yourself to address radical excess. You DO however, have to recognize that it exists and influences and shapes what we have…
VidaLoca
So driving home from work tonight I heard on the news that Clinton is coming to Wisconsin this weekend but the itinerary remained TBD. Now in my inbox I find the following:
A little more than 12 hours’ notice. On a weekday. People are going to be taken off of GOTV and put to work in support of this.
Smiling Mortician
@gbear: I’d go with Thomas and Alito. Then I dunno between Roberts and Scalia.
Mitch Guthman
I appreciate that we’re not supposed to say such things here, but you should give Bill Clinton more credit for at least going to Wisconsin and fighting the good fight; unlike a certain president of the United States that I could name.
Egg Berry
@Smiling Mortician: Fat Tony, no question. I’d split between Alito and Roberts.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Smiling Mortician: Court gossip has it that Roberts is concerned about his growing reputation as a partisan hack. I don’t necessarily believe it.
When I typed “court”, I meant reporters who cover the Supreme Court, it occurs to me that it applies just as well to the courtiers of Versailles on the Potomac.
mclaren
So we’re supposed to believe this is going to be like The Wire when people start shouting “Omar coming, yo!” “Yo! Omar strollin’!” “Omar, Omar!” and guys start running pell-mell and dropping stashes out of second-floor windows before he can even get to the door?
Yeah. Right.
Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason
Whew. Glad that’s clarified!
myiq2xu
Aren’t you glad you purged all that evil Clinton influence from the party four years ago?
Damn racists.
Yutsano
@myiq2xu: Hillary will still never be President. Get. Over. It.
Suffern ACE
@myiq2xu:
Yes.
Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn
In case you ain’t heard, Bill had some heart trouble & is now a vegetarian as a result. Get with the times, yo.
Good on him for making this decision. Comparing his stepping in here to how Gore (under)used him in ‘000 misses an important point. The ‘000 election was national. This WI vote is a state matter, & bringing in a big gun from out of state can backfire. (I wrote letters in support of Dean to Dem voters in Iowa before the ‘004 caucuses, & the responses I got back were all, “butt the fuck out, you.”) So there is risk, here, which would only be greater if Obama stepped in as sitting President. (Google “bigfooting.”)
But here, I think Bill made the right call. Guess we’ll see.
xian
@Jeff Spender: please don’t feed the trolls
xian
@jl: i love the idea that troll-lad is banking on the Meg Whitman strategy
David Koch
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