The self-importance of being Darling+*

[iwishiwas]

There was a fairly large crowd outside protesting--West Bend WI--at the Fairgrounds. Walker's poodles closed off testimony at 6pm.


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/12/966415/-The-self-importance-of-being-Darling

Tue Apr 12, 2011 at 08:02 PM PDT
The self-importance of being Darling+*

by MouseNoMoreFollow

Maybe Wisconsin State Senator Alberta Darling (R-swanky, rich Milwaukee suburb that I'm too lazy to look up right now) has lost her "filter". She actually admitted that she doesn't listen at budget hearings because "the silent majority" already gave their opinion on Walker's budget proposal last November, at the polls. Of course Walker didn't actually propose his budget until last month, but that's not germane to Ms. Darling, who is either incredibly stupid, or incredibly arrogant, or perhaps both, to have allowed herself to say stuff like this in public, on the record. More evidence of her arrogance is her admission that she purposely scheduled the public hearings on the budget during the day time, when most people are working. This may have been the GOP's attempt to suppress attendance but it might not have worked. (I've seen varying accounts of the attendance so if anyone knows the official total of people who signed in please comment.) The article quoted says that more than 270 people signed up to speak.

I've never met Alberta Darling, but I do remember seeing her near the state Capitol in late February during the daily demonstrations: she was being escorted from (somewhere) to the Capitol by 8 uniformed police officers from various police forces. I wonder how many cops (or state troopers) were guarding the hearing yesterday. Did anyone from DKos attend?


Originally posted to MouseNoMore on Tue Apr 12, 2011 at 08:02 PM PDT.

[midnight]

1. "State Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) has faced tough elections during her 21 years in the

Legislature, but nothing compares to the recall campaign she’s facing right now."

“I’m a fighter,” said Darling, 66. “I respect the right of the voters to recall, but in the end, I hope everyone remembers my record and that I’m trying to protect the taxpayers.”

In the middle of her fifth term in the Senate, Darling has just opened a campaign headquarters at 311 W. Silver Spring Drive in Glendale. She plans to soon open a second office in Menomonee Falls in the sprawling 8th District, which also includes Whitefish Bay, Shorewood and Fox Point.http://whitefishbay.patch.com/articles/darling-in-the-fight-of-her-political-career

[iwishiwas]

2. GOOD, I see she had to open an office to ward off the recall.......

http://whitefishbay.patch.com/articles/recall-effort-attracts-more-than-union-workers


..............Just three-and-a-half miles away from the recall headquarters, Darling supporters are working to fend off the challenge. They opened an office at 311 W. Silver Spring Drive, a former florist shop, Ziarletti fiori di Mari. Volunteers, including nearly a dozen Republican college students, have been staffing phone banks this weekend.

The Darling campaign would not allow Patch to interview those who were volunteering on her behalf.

However, Andrew Davis, Darling's campaign manager, did speak about the efforts to recall the senator.

“We believe we have an opportunity to stop this recall,” he said. “We are taking this very seriously and are trying to get our message out.”

The message is that the Republicans won the November election, winning not only the governor’s seat but also both houses of the Legislature. The Democrats had controlled all three before the election. The change of power was a message that the voters endorsed the Republican call for putting the state’s fiscal house in order and growing the economy, Davis said.

Keith Schmitz, a Shorewood activist supporting the recall, disagrees.

“The Republicans won the election based on a promise to create jobs,” Schmitz said. “They were not elected to enact every right-wing fantasy. This legislation has nothing to do with creating jobs. They never campaigned on end collective bargaining. It’s a blatant bait and switch.”