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2/22/2008
Sit-in was a paid political performance
Representative Tom Nelson’s budget sit-in stunt was, as FoxPolitics has said here before, an attention-grabber, void of reform; and now we learn the budget Nelson said he was so anxious to have settled was worth just about $36,350 to the State Representative from Kaukauna.
For while the legislature was passing Governor Doyle’s $3 billion tax hike, Nelson was hauling in over $36,000 in campaign contributions. Certainly the good Representative wasn’t alone; the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign singled out the top ten assembly fundraisers in 2007, the year the budget bill was deliberated for ten months. Nelson was the 8th highest fundraiser in the Assembly.
Northeast Wisconsin is well-represented in the 2007 top ten lists from both legislative houses. Senator Dave Hansen (Dem., Green Bay) raised more than 29 of his 32 fellow senators on the way to piling up $113,070 in contributions in 2007. (Raising $251,560, the top fundraiser in the Senate was Senator Alberta Darling, Rep., River Hills. Darling is facing a strong challenge for her seat from Rep. Sheldon Wasserman, Dem., Milwaukee.)
Hansen is up for re-election in 2008 and both he and Nelson will very likely see meaningful Republican opposition.
In the Assembly, Karl Van Roy (Rep., Green Bay) raised $25,591; up there, but not in the Assembly’s top 10.
Note that neither Senator Hansen nor Representative Nelson have committed to restoring trust in government as sponsors of the Harsdorf/Gottlieb legislation that would limit fundraising during budget deliberations (SB 25 and AB 61).
Note that none of the state senators or representatives sponsoring SB25 and AB 61, are included amongst the top 10 fundraisers of their respective houses. Of course, what the numbers don’t tell us is whether a senator is up for re-election (all representatives, of course, are up for re-election), or how safe a legislator’s district is.
The sponsors of SB 25 and AB 61 are listed below. All but four of the sponsors SB 25 and AB 61 are Republicans. Senator Harsdorf, $42,947 Senator Leibham, $25,847 Senator Lehman, $12,705 (Dem.) Senator A. Lasee, $9,855 Senator Cowles, $2,950 Senator Olsen, $1,000
Representative Van Roy, $25,591 Representative Mary Williams, $15,463 Representative Bies, $10,010 Representative Black, $8,233 (Dem.) Representative Albers, $7,975 Representative Hahn, $6,615 Representative Pocan, $5,714 (Dem.) Representative Gottlieb, $4,212 Representative Kaufert, $2,146 Representative Jeskewitz, $1,000 Representative Townsend, $434 Representative Ott, $100 Representative Travis, $0 (Dem.)
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| 2009 |
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• The Lawton-Bader files
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• Is Rep. Nelson a political hack?
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• TODAY - hearing on Campaign Finance Reform
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• Important votes Tuesday, including Appleton Common Council
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• State programs to cut? - Volume II
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• Make cuts only AFTER you're elected....
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• Rep. Steve Kagen joining me on Jerry Bader Show today
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• Speaker Huebsch: Governor turns down Federal Aid?
• Mark Rahmlow: "We're Broke."
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• Leadership on smoking ban? Not Hanna
• Rep. Van Roy speaks out about smear ads
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• Losing the Hastert seat is NOT a trend and NOT curtians for the GOP
• First suggestion for 'slashing' programs
• Big money-saver for municipalities
• More one time fixes. Nuts.
• Any chances???
• I'm doing the Jerry Bader Show, today, the 11th
• Representative Frank Lasee: Final Waltz of the Season
• Guest Blog: It's not the county's business to be in the nursing home business
• Yup, Hillary won Texas and Ohio
• Gableman/Butler race featured - and it isn't pretty
• Lies from Planned Parenthood and NARAL
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• The Troha sentencing, Doyle and that $200K
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• Lots of ideas. No money.
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