HAN1035_recall_talk Transcript 

- Now, to ongoing recall news. The governor and lieutenant governor will not challenge any recall signatures. Both claim the process does not allow them enough time to do so. They're not alone. This week the Government Accountability Board, the agency in charge of validating the recall election, said it expects to seek more time to inspect and validate petitions. Graeae Brzezinski is the communications director for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. He's joined in Milwaukee by the president of the National Tea Party Express, Amy Kramer, who's in the state this weekend organizing a Tea Party bus tour across the state in support of Scott Walker. And welcome to both of you. 

- Thanks for having us.

- Howdy.

- Amy Kramer, first to you. Your national group and others are busy in support of Governor Walker but neither the governor nor the lieutenant governor will challenge any signatures on the recall paper setting these overwhelming numbers. What kind of message does this send to their supporters? 

- Well, you know, I think that there have been, you know, a million signatures collected. He didn't have the time, he got an extension, there were 10 days to verify the signatures. He got an extension, but it's pretty much impossible to verify a million plus signatures in 20 days. So now it goes to the Government Accountability Board but at the end of the day, you know, we're gonna stand on principle. The governor's gonna stand on principle, and that's what this is about. There was a recall last summer and it was defeated. And so, you know, I feel confident and I think that his office and the lieutenant governor they feel confident in standing on these principles and will go through this process. It's just unfortunate that the voters have to do this. And it's unfortunate, he's not able to do the business of the people because they're being sidetracked with this recall.

- Graeae Brzezinski, let me go to you. What do you think is going on with the governor and lieutenant governor not challenging signatures?

- Well, there's gonna be an election and Scott Walker's been rejected but I just think it's shocking that this governor would embrace these out of state corporate interest extremists, like the Tea Party, people withdrawals from Confederate states who don't know anything about our traditions of good government, don't know anything about what's going on here in the state, and they wanna make working men and women crawl in their belly like dogs for their wages. And they're coming in with this corporate money to medal in our elections, and I think it's shocking that Scott Walker would show such a lack of judgment by embracing these groups to come in and medal with our elections when he hasn't challenged a single petition, not one. He had more time than was statutorily required, he has more money than God, 12 million bucks, that was supposed to be all for challenging these petitions. He wasn't able to do one and now he doesn't have the courage of his convictions, now he's bringing in these groups from Texas and Alabama.

- He didn't bring us [inaudible], Graeae.

- Let me finish. He's bringing in these groups... He's incorporating these groups challenges into his own challenge. And these are not people that share our values. These are people who aren't even from here. I don't even know where they're from, they're coming in with corporate money. And it's disgusting.

- Amy Kramer, who...

- It shows a lack of principle.

- Let me get, Graeae...

- First of all I have to tell you that [inaudible] it's not corporate money. We are, I mean, we're funded by the grassroots by people across this country and people here right here in Wisconsin...

- Graeae: Get out of our state.

- We're standing here with the Tea Party Group.

- Graeae: Get outta Wisconsin.

- In the state because they have asked us to be here.

- Graeae: Get outta Wisconsin.

- For us to support them.

- Graeae, I'd like to interrupt you from saying that kind of thing. We did invite Amy Kramer to be on our air.

- Graeae: Sure, of course.

- But I think what Grahame's talking about Amy is this verify the recall group which has been cited in the governor and lieutenant governor's papers saying that they will not individually challenge any of these signatures, but they would like the Government Accountability Board to look at the verify, the recall groups which are Tea Party groups in Wisconsin. And then with some connections to out of state groups however the Government Accountability Board has said that they cannot do that. Statutorily, in fact, they said in a letter to lawmakers that, "We appreciate the recent events in Wisconsin that they have inspired more citizens on all sides of the political spectrum become involved in the process. Wisconsin's statutes however, only authorized challenges by the officeholder subject to a recall. The Board is obligated to follow these statutes that have been in place for decades." So Amy Kramer, how disappointed are the Wisconsin Tea Party groups that their exhaustive work as they call it to Verify the recall cannot by law, According to the Government Accountability Board, be used. 

- You know, at the end of the day, what it comes down to is fair elections. And that's what the people want. And we are coming to an election and we're gonna go through this process, but it is about standing on principle and not backing down from that principle. The thing is, the politicians are usually recalled for malfeasance or nonfeasance. And here you have a governor that is committed to doing what he ran on, what he campaigned on. That's balancing the budget, reigning in the spending and putting people back to work. And now he's being recalled because you don't agree with his policies. The people of Wisconsin elected him for a four-year term. And here we are into the first year and he's being recalled and he can't do the business of the people.

- Graeae, let go to you.

- It's simply not right.

- Graeae, the...

- They don't wanna follow the rules. They don't wanna follow the rule of law, but let's talk about Scott Walker's record. He did not balance the budget. We have a bigger structural deficit than when Scott Walker came into office, mainly because he gave a $2.6 billion tax cut to billionaires. Malfeasance-- he's in the middle of a criminal corruption probe where he may get charged for crimes. He didn't put people back to work. Wisconsin has lost jobs for six months in a row and we're probably gonna be losing jobs for seven months in a row. We've never led the nation to job loss states like Illinois and Minnesota next to us are gaining jobs while Wisconsin is losing jobs.

- Graeae.

- But let's, we all know that Scott Walker lied. Let's talk about the process. He didn't challenge...

- Can I ask you about...

- A single petition.

- This process, right. I wanna ask you about this Verify the Recall

- But let me say their own challenge the verify the recall challenges fall 170,000 signatures short if stopping a recall election even if you use their own crazy numbers which aren't even worthy of a sixth grade math class, even if you use their own crazy numbers they don't even challenge enough votes that would stop a recall. Verified by their own. They verified the recall should the recall should take place and folks from Texas or wherever these people are from wanna come and medal in our elections, go fine but at least follow the rules, follow our Wisconsin rules. If you're gonna come here with Coke brothers money and medal in our state and try to screw teachers out of their pensions or whatever you're trying to do at least follow our rules that we developed here in Wisconsin over the ages.

- Let me just say that the verify the recall group says, according to their analysis which you say is incomplete, you know, the recall people are some 6,000 signature short of what's needed. And I know Graeae that you...

- 170,000 signature short. They are. 

- You dispute their analysis, but Amy Kramer, the true the vote organization out of Texas is reporting that 14,000 volunteers in 49 states helped run this analysis. Why should partisans working presumably on their home computers be trusted in this process in Wisconsin? 

- Well, at the end of the day, it goes back to standing on principle which is what I've mentioned. A number of times we want fair and balanced elections. And there have already been, I believe 10 to 20% of signatures that have been, you know, proven to be  not legitimate signatures. And so why is it that we can't have fair and balanced elections? What are people afraid of here? You know, I mean, we had a recall last summer the recall was defeated and the threat there was, you know rolling back the legislation that the governor and the Senate had enacted, the legislature had enacted. I mean, what is everyone afraid of here? It comes back to standing on principle. We're gonna go through it, but what is wrong with fair and balanced elections? I mean, that's something that as Americans we should all have. It's not just about the people of Wisconsin. It's about America. 

- Graeae Brzezinski I'm gonna let you respond to that.

- I don't know how to respond. This was moon man language. If you want fair and balanced elections, let's have an election.  If you wanna talk about principle,  what the law requires there's gonna be an election. I don't understand the math, I guess in Wisconsin we used to have a good education system where they taught you math in school. And when you get to 460,000, which is what the governor had to challenge, then you could possibly stop the recall. They didn't even get to within 170,000 of that.

- Very very quickly, Graeae. First to you, and then to you, Amy Kramer what is your confidence level in the Government Accountability Board and its ability to manage this recall election first Graeae? 

- Well, I gotta tell you, these groups like these Texas groups and whatever have meddled with our election process and the Government Accountability Board's been pretty accommodating. Scott Walker has basically gotten everything he's asked for from the Government Accountability Board but at the end of the day, the signature total the movement against Scott Walker is so vast that it can't be stopped.

- All right, Amy Kramer

- I think the government is trying to do their best job and so we'll see what they do.

- Amy Kramer, what is your Tea Party's confidence in the Government Accountability Board.

- I mean, we feel pretty confident that, you know this is gonna, I mean, the election's gonna happen and it's gonna be defeated. Scott Walker was elected for a four year term. That's what he should complete.  And you know, it goes back to he's attacking Scott Walker's record. Look, I mean, he has a net positive of 28,000 jobs since he took office. And he's doing the work of the people. The people elected somebody to represent them, somebody not special interests that's beholden to the unions. And that's really what this comes down to about union power.

- I've got time to hold, Amy Kramer and Graeae Brzezinski, thanks very much for joining us.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.