Free Republic

WAUWATOSA, Wis. — A home health-care company contracted with the Milwaukee County Department of Family Care is accusing a local labor union of forging workers’ signatures to collect more money for political activity. Art Beck, a Milwaukee attorney representing Sally Sprenger, owner of Supportive Homecare Options Inc., told Wisconsin Reporter two employees have come forward since April alleging they were signed up to make contributions without their authority. The contributions were for the Committee on Political Education through the Service Employees International Union Healthcare Wisconsin. After reviewing their forms for voluntary COPE deductions, which help fund union causes for political...

During the August 17 airing of NBC-Milwaukee's Sunday Insight on WTMJ, host Charlie Sykes spoke to Michael Bloomberg's unsuccessful involvement in the Milwaukee County Sheriff's race by saying, "Thanks for stopping by Mike, don't let the door hit you on the way out."

John and Scott have commented on the indictment of Gov. Rick Perry. As they note, it fits a pattern of politically motivated indictments of prominent Texas Republicans. The Perry indictment also fits a pattern of harassment via the legal process of prominent Republican governors: Sarah Palin, Scott Walker, Chris Christie, and now Perry. What do these four have in common? Why, they all are (or were) potentially viable candidates for the national office. Invocation of the legal process against Christie may well be warranted. (So too with Bob McDonnell, whom I didn’t include in my list because, although once vaguely...

Slip of the tongue? Yesterday on CNN’s “The Situation Room” Hillary Clinton spoke about what she would do about licensing illegal immigrants when she is president again. Watch:

It may be the nation’s closest-watched governor’s race, and it remains dead even.

FOND DU LAC – 1,259 absentee ballots remain outstanding according to election officials in the 6th Congressional District. Wisconsin Election Watch obtained outstanding absentee ballot data from clerks via their website or on the telephone on Thursday. The Sheboygan Press initially reported on Wednesday that there 1,500 absentee ballots outstanding. The following is an actual count of the outstanding absentee ballots: County Number of Outstanding Absentee Ballots Columbia 68 Dodge 76 Fond du Lac 113 Green Lake 17 Manitowoc 82 Marquette 8 Milwaukee 15 Ozaukee 397 Sheboygan 205 Waushara 10 Winnebago 268 Sources: County Clerks in Columbia, Dodge, Fond du...

There is something of Captain Ahab about Michael Bloomberg these days — the former mayor of New York having adopted the profile of a neurotic and fevered old man whose long and checkered career has not yet managed to sate him, and whose ambition will be truly realized only when, finally, he captures his whale and avenges his bruised ego. Alas, yesterday evening, in Milwaukee, Wis., satisfaction eluded him once again, that Milwaukee County’s Sheriff David Clarke — an outspoken apostle of the right to keep and bear arms, and opponent of all that Bloomberg holds dear — winning his...

APPLETON, WI - Leaders in the Appleton area say they cannot find room for unaccompanied children who've been crossing into the U.S. at the Mexican border. The federal government was hoping to locate up to 400 children in the Fox Valley, as they escape violence in El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. However, the Appleton Post-Crescent says Outagamie County officials are concerned about funding and education for the youngsters. The U.S. Health and Human Services Department said federal money would pay for the shelter itself. The agency has been looking around the country for large shelter facilities within 100 miles of...

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Sentinel Journal has Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke (D) defeating challenger Milwaukee police lieutenant Chris Moews by nearly 5 percent. According to the Sentinel, Clarke garnered 56.8 percent of the vote to Moews' 52.1. This percentage is slightly less than that with which Clarke won in 2000 -- when he beat Moews by six points -- but the August 12 victory comes after Michael Bloomberg dumped $150,000 into the race against Clarke.

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's dollars have been defeated again, this time in Wisconsin. Despite Bloomberg dumping $150,000 into the Democrat primary for Milwaukee County Sheriff on behalf of anti-gun Milwaukee Police Lt. Chris Moews with a goal of defeating pro-self defense incumbent Sheriff David Clarke, Clarke was victorious last night. Clarke defeated Moews 52 percent to 48 percent. The race was called Wednesday morning after results were too close to call Tuesday night. Here are Clarke's remarks from last night, before the race was called this morning.

A third of a percentage point is all that separates Glenn Grothman and Joe Leibham in their GOP congressional primary after the unofficial vote count Wednesday morning in Wisconsin’s Sixth District. Grothman leads Leibham by 215 votes in the Associated Press tally, though the margin is slightly smaller – 213 -- based on a Journal Sentinel review of the returns posted online by each of the 11 counties in the district. A recount, which can be requested by the losing candidate, would seem likely. In AP’s unofficial count, Grothman won 36.17% of the vote, Leibham won 35.84% and Duey Stroebel...

State Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-Campbellsport) outpolled three fellow Republicans in the primary to advance to the general election for the Congressional District. He will face Democrat Mark Harris, the Winnebago County executive, in the Nov. 4 election.

WASHINGTON – National political donors with deep pockets are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a local Wisconsin sheriff’s race that pits gun control groups against the National Rifle Association. On Tuesday, voters in Milwaukee County, Wis. will decide whether they’ll give controversial Sheriff David Clarke Jr. - a staunch supporter of Second Amendment rights known for his outspoken ads -- another term in office or side with his opponent, police lieutenant Chris Moews.

It's the way of politics these days, but pardon us if we yearn for simpler times...like when hundreds of thousands of dollars wasn't spent by outside groups on a sheriff's race in Milwaukee County. A sheriff's race. We've had our differences with Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr., who is up for re-election on Tuesday. As we noted in an editorial back in June, "Whether it's irresponsibly calling on citizens to arm themselves, bombastic talk-radio appearances or his intensely personal feud with County Executive Chris Abele (all the while never acknowledging his own flaws), the sheriff has repeatedly diminished himself before...

Co-written by Robert Sinche Neel Kashkari, the Republican candidate for governor of California, just recounted in The Wall Street Journal his week on the streets of Fresno posing as a homeless man looking for work. At the end of his op-ed, Kashkari lamented that he didn't need a higher minimum wage, paid sick leave or a health care plan. What he needed was a job. And Kashkari made the important point that all those government benefits, especially extended unemployment benefits, are work disincentives that may actually block job creation. To be sure, there are signs that employment in the country...

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's political action committee, Independence USA, has purchased $150,833 in television ads in an effort to defeat Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. and support his opponent, Milwaukee police Lt. Chris Moews. In response to the news of Bloomberg's ads, Clarke said in a statement: "I trust the voters. The voters can't be bought." The ad buys by Bloomberg's PAC come on top of $400,000 in media ads purchased by the Greater Wisconsin Committee to try to beat Clarke, who is seeking his fourth term in Tuesday's Democratic primary election. Also on Friday, Citizens...

As more light shines on the spiders in the leftÂ’s web of political coordination, one question increasingly begs to be asked: Where are the long, secret investigations into liberal organizations in Wisconsin?Prosecutors in the politically charged John Doe investigation have spent years hunting conservatives in their secret probe, devoting more than a year and a half to investigating most of the right-leaning organizations in the Badger State.The probe, launched in early September 2012 by Democrat Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm, has labored under the theory that dozens of conservative groups may have illegally coordinated with Republican Gov. Scott WalkerÂ’s...

An experimental underwater speaker system designed to repel invasive Asian carp is up and running in Genoa, University of Minnesota officials confirmed this week. The announcement is a win for researcher Peter Sorensen and his team from the Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Center, who have been raising funds for the project since April, but at least one local stakeholder is voicing concerns about the project’s impact on the Mississippi River. Mark Clements owns and operates Clements Fishing Barge below Lock and Dam No. 8, where the speakers are installed. He fears the sounds emitted — which researchers say have been...

MADISON, Wis – Wisconsin Reporter has learned the identity of the suspect accused of politically motivated disorderly conduct at last month’s Jefferson County Fair. April Kay Smith, 38, a kindergarten teacher in the Germantown School District, was issued a disorderly conduct citation for tearing up and stomping on several signs on July 9 at the Jefferson County Republican Party booth after the fair had shut down for the night, according to a Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department report obtained by Wisconsin Reporter. The incident report, filed by Jefferson County Deputy Heather Larson, states that Smith and her husband, Andrew Smith, 31,...

SHEBOYGAN – Late Thursday evening, the pre-primary campaign finance reports for Republican candidates in the 6th Congressional District were released. It ended up with Duey Stroebel loaning himself $350,000, and Glenn Grothman holding the lead on total cash raised from July 1st to the 23rd. During the reporting period, Grothman raised $94,931.36 compared to the $76,595.35 raised by Joe Leibham. Duey Stroebel only raised $12,800 during the reporting period but loaned himself $350,000. The Stroebel Campaign currently has $691,939.99 of outstanding loans and debts reported during the campaign cycle so far. When looking at cash on hand, Stroebel has $262,720.05...