Posted on 04/08/2011 3:33:04 PM PDT by SmithL
Madison, Wis. (AP) -- When a little-known liberal challenged a conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, the once-sleepy race suddenly looked like a backdoor way for Gov. Scott Walker's opponents to sink his agenda.
Then a clerk discovered 14,000 unrecorded votes that vaulted the incumbent into the lead. Experts said the results represented a draw for the governor: He didn't lose, but the slim margin means he didn't win big, either. And the close contest could help ensure Walker's opponents stay energized for the next round.
The outcome also improves the odds that Walker's collective bargaining law would survive a legal challenge before the high court. Yet Prosser's lead, if it holds, does not amount to a clear public endorsement of the governor's policy.
The conservative "didn't win by the margin everyone expected him to win by," said University of Wisconsin-Green Bay political science professor Michael Kraft. "If I were Walker, I wouldn't be saying everything is just dandy and people love me."
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Absolutely these were counted votes. They just didn’t add them to the newspaper totals.
I’m not worried about the recalls. Most of the Pubbies are in very safe districts that went for Prosser. There is only 1, or possibly 2, that are of any concern and the right is truly energized and MAD.
On the other hand, there are at least 2 Dem Senators that are in very iffy districts. It’d be nice to ick off a couple of those while holding our own.
Nope, that was the elections that proved the endorsement of him.
If the AP calls it “mixed results”, you can be sure it was a resounding Conservative victory.
BS, once all the votes were included, it yielded a clear winner.
All AP had to do was check FR on election night. Many Freepers said there was something odd about the vote totals for Waukesha Co. They were too low.
Isn't that funny. When it looked like Prosser was going to be defeated, the AP told us it was a strong repudiation of Walker's policies. What does the guy have to do to win?
Why shouldn’t Prosser’s lead hold? If they can recount Frankin’s votes a thousand times to make him win; they should be able to let Prosser’s votes which are honest votes stand.
It shows the MSM still has an awful lot of power to swing an election if they can find an opening to do so. And the imbroglio in Madison gave them that opening. Walker was almost universally portrayed as the bad guy trying to take away “rights”. I mean, they foia’d Walker’s emails just to see what percentage favored his policy. How often did they do something like that to Doyle? And they dug long and deep and hard to come up with that DUI idiot Walker appointed to the $81,000 job -which was incredibly stupid on his part. Amazingly, though, that’s all they could find.But it didn’t matter. They harped on the story like his whole admin was corrupt. Yeah, we have Fox and bloggers, but when the MSM decides to destroy someone, they have a lot of ammunition to use. Of course, the fact Prosser actually (so far)won, is in itself amazing. Sadly, the MSM isn’t going to offer him kudos for surviving their onslaught.
I’m more concerned about the campaign than the outcome of the votes. The way the rhetoric has been running, I’m wondering if there’s any upper limit to what they think they’re entitled to do to try and win.
Support for your argument comes from Badger Blogger who put the following analysis together. Makes sense to me.
analysis by http://badgerblogger.com/
Comparing the senators being targeted for recall, versus the results of the Prosser/Kloppenburg election.
Republicans being targeted:
-Sen. Alberta Darling — The 8th district takes in parts of Waukesha, Washington, Ozaukee and Milwaukee counties. While the Milwaukee county portion (the upper East side) is strongly Democratic, Ozaukee went 72%, Washington went 76% and Waukesha went 73% for Prosser. The Democrats are fighting hard for this seat, but I see Darling as safe.
-Sen. Robert Cowles — The 2nd District takes in parts of Shawno, Oconto, Outagamie, Waupaca and Brown counties, and all went for Prosser in the 60% range.
-Sen. Glenn Grothman — The 20th District takes in southern Sheboygan and most of Washington & Ozaukee counties, this is probably the safest Republican district in the state. I laughed when I heard there was a recall in this district that averaged about 70% for Prosser.
-Sen. Sheila Harsdorf — The 10th District is the Western-most district in the state. Her Burnett, Polk & St. Croix district all went to Prosser in the low 50% range.
-Sen. Mary Lazich — The 28th District hits the Southwestern corner of Milwaukee (Franklin area), southern Waukesha and Northwestern Walworth counties. Walworth & Waukesha both went strongly for Prosser and Franklin also went 65% for Prosser.
-Sen. Dan Kapanke — The 32nd District covers La Crosse, Vernon, Crawford & part of Monroe. This district did go to Kloppenburg, but Kapanke himself seems pretty popular. If we lose one, this may be it.
-Sen. Randy Hopper — The 18th district is Fond du Lac & Winnebago counties, both firmly in the Prosser camp.
-Sen. Luther Olsen — The 19th District, Outagamie & Winnebago counties, both mid 50% range for Prosser.
Democrats being targeted:
-Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller — Dane & Colombia county, safely Democratic.
-Sen. Jim Holperin — The 12th District is a strongly Republican area, Holperin’s election is considered a fluke and if a recall takes place, Holperin is gone.
-Sen. Dave Hansen — The 30th district covers the Eastern sides of Marinette, Oconto & Brown Counties, all went for Prosser in the 55% range. Another Fleebagger that can be picked off.
-Sen. Robert Wirch — The 22nd District covers Kenosha & Western Racine counties. This is a 50-50 district and can go either way.
The way I see it, one Republican may be in danger, but three Democrats are clearly in trouble and if the elections are held, and I believe they will be, are going to be real trouble for these Democrats, if the GOP has decent challengers.
Any time you can beat the Dems, Commies, and other thugs without taking up arms, it is a good thing.
Hahahaaa..! Spin doesn’t get any lamer than this.
The Democrat scum threw everything but the kitchen sink at Prosser and Walker and still got their sorry asses handed to them. All that union money, flushed down the toilet forever... It makes me smile and laugh.
Walker now knows that the civilized public has his back.
1/2 of 1% might not qualify as a clear winner, but I'll take the win nonetheless.
Precisely! If the communist had won, the Ass Press would have called it a "resounding defeat" for Walker.
This is not journalism. This is editorialism.
WTF with the AssPress, anyways?
If Prosser became a liberal, the AssPress might be slightly nicer.
Slightly.
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