Garthwaite/Doyle/Greater Wisconsin Committee Ads - "Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire" Lies

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Politifact.com are calling Jim Doyle's Greater Wisconsin Committee attack ads "Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire" lies. Thus far, the shadowy attack group has spent over $200,000 in negative attacks to save their friend, incumbent Phil Garthwaite.



Here is their story:

Group says Wisconsin Republican Assembly candidates want to privatize Social Security
Pants on Fire!
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Campaign literature distributed by the Greater Wisconsin committee against a Wisconsin state Assembly candidate (back)

Campaign literature distributed by the Greater Wisconsin committee against a Wisconsin state Assembly candidate (front)

Worried about the future of Social Security? A liberal Wisconsin group is betting you are -- or that it can make you worried before election day.

The Greater Wisconsin Committee and its Greater Wisconsin Political Fund are using mailers and radio ads to target Republican candidates in key 2010 races for the Wisconsin Assembly. Democrats outnumber Republicans there, 56-42.

The central theme of the attacks: The GOP Assembly candidates, like their Washington counterparts, want to privatize Social Security.

Yes, Social Security, that venerable federal program -- one the state Assembly has no control over.

The wording of the attacks varies, but the claims are all similar to this one against Republican Travis Tranel, who is challenging Rep. Phil Garthwaite, D-Dickeyville.

"Travis Tranel," a mail piece says, "sides with those who want to privatize Social Security -- and risk our retirements on Wall Street."

Lest anyone miss the point, the flier includes a man -- presumably a fat-cat Wall Street banker or investor -- lighting his cigar with a Social Security card that’s been set aflame.

There’s also an image of a magnifying glass inviting readers to "check the facts."

Why, thank you. We will.

Asked to elaborate on her organization’s claims, Greater Wisconsin Committee executive director Michelle McGrorty offered two main points:

* In the group’s view, "A Roadmap for America’s Future" -- U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan’s plan to tackle the federal debt and deficits, and make significant changes to taxes, Medicare and Social Security -- would privatize Social Security.

* Ryan, a Janesville Republican, has ties to the state GOP Assembly candidates targeted by the group.


At PolitiFact Wisconsin, this is familiar ground.

We gave Pants on Fire ratings to claims that GOP congressional candidates backed privatizing Social Security, when Democrats provided no proof beyond a sliced-and-diced statement and a two-word answer taken out of context.

Now state Assembly candidates? This could get good.

Let’s start with Ryan’s "Roadmap," a plan that has helped put Ryan on the political map, but one that does not have universal support among the GOP leadership in Washington.

PolitiFact National examined the roadmap in August 2010, after President Barack Obama alluded to it in saying GOP leaders are backing privatization plans that would tie Social Security benefits "to the whims of Wall Street traders and the ups and downs of the stock market."

If adopted, Ryan’s plan would enable workers under 55 to, voluntarily, invest a portion of their Social Security taxes in funds managed by the government. As Politifact National noted: "That's a far cry from privatizing the entirety of Social Security."

So, the Greater Wisconsin Committee is starting off on the wrong road with its claim about the roadmap.

As for the ties to Ryan, this is old-fashioned guilt by association ... and there ain’t much association, at least when it comes to the Social Security issue.

* Tranel, a Cuba City dairy farmer, is making his second attempt to unseat Garthwaite, a second-term Assembly Democrat. The mail piece that claims he "sides with those who want to privatize Social Security" says its proof is a newspaper article. In the article, Tranel expresses admiration for Ryan -- but there’s no mention of Social Security.

* Dennis Clinard, a retired U.S. Army master sergeant from Cataract, is seeking to unseat first-term Rep. Mark Radcliffe, D-Black River Falls. A flier says "Washington politicians who wants (sic) to privatize Social Security are the fund-raising muscle behind" Clinard’s campaign. The proof listed in the flier is Ryan’s appearance at a fundraiser for Clinard. It took in $7,250, according to a state GOP official, or about 15 percent of the $46,357 Clinard’s campaign has raised in 2010.

* Howard Marklein, a Wilson Creek accountant, is running for an open seat against Mineral Point Democrat John Simonson, a retired University of Wisconsin-Platteville economics professor. A mail piece says Marklein is "backed by Washington, D.C., politicians who want to privatize Social Security." McGrorty said the proof is a picture of Ryan and Marklein on Marklein’s campaign website.


We could go on.

A GWC radio ad says some tea party candidates want to eliminate Social Security and "we have one right here, this guy Jack Cummings." Cummings, an Endeavor farmer, is challenging first-term Rep. Fred Clark, D-Baraboo. McGrorty’s defense: The ad talks about a number of issues and doesn’t say that Cummings wants to eliminate Social Security.

Hmmm .... "We have one right here."

(Senate Democrat Ted Zigmunt of Francis Creek also uses a flier to accuse his Republican opponent, Andre Jacque, of supporting privatization of Social Security. A campaign aide cited Jacque’s endorsement by the Republican Liberty Caucus, but no statement Jacque has made about Social Security.)

How do the targeted candidates respond to all of this?

Brian Pleva, a spokesman for the Wisconsin Republican Assembly Campaign Committee, said none of them supports -- or has made statements in support of -- privatizing or eliminating Social Security.

Why would they? They’re not running for Congress.

In any case, we could not find any such statements. And the Greater Wisconsin Committee could not provide any.

Indeed, on two of the fliers, one of the check-our-facts citations is a report by the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington. The report predicts cuts in Social Security benefits would result from Ryan’s plan, but that doesn’t address the question of privatization, and the report doesn’t mention the targeted candidates.

If you’re sensing a theme here, so are we.

In targeting Republicans in races that could shift the balance of power in the state Assembly, the Greater Wisconsin Committee is taking a page from the national Democratic playbook -- and misusing it. To play to fears of seniors and others, the group labels a proposal from U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, as privatizing Social Security.

Even if the plan did privatize Social Security (in our view it does not), the group has offered no evidence that the GOP Assembly candidates back it. The "proof" cited borders on absurd: One candidate praised Ryan, one got his picture taken with him and a third had Ryan appear at his campaign fundraiser. Is that cigar still burning?

If not, we need a light, because the ruling is Pants on Fire.

State Journal Endorsement of Walker Contains Harsh Criticisim of Legislative Dems

From the October 10th edition of the Wisconsin State Journal:

Job creation and fixing the state's crippling budget mess must be the top priorities for Wisconsin's next governor.

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker is the best choice to tackle these difficult tasks.

The State Journal endorses Walker for governor.

Under Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, the state has lurched from one budget crisis to another for years now — long before the recession ever began.

Chronic budget deficits have distracted Wisconsin leaders from thinking big and devising bold strategies for competitive advantage in the knowledge-based, global economy.

Did the Democrats in control of state government adopt comprehensive school finance reform with incentives to boost performance?

Nope. Just a big favor for the teachers union: repeal of a pay-raise cap without accountability for better results.

Have the Democrats given Wisconsin a modern and more competitive tax structure?

Nope. Wisconsin's property and personal income tax burdens — especially on the middle class — still rank among the nation's worst.

What about a Commerce Department with laser-like focus on encouraging private business and job growth?

Nope. Five Commerce secretaries in seven years under Doyle with only one out of every 10 Commerce workers focused on business development.

Walker's record as county executive suggests he's much more likely than his Democratic opponent, Tom Barrett, to prioritize private-sector job creation and control spending to fix the budget.

Walker has consistently proposed county budgets that hold down property taxes while seeking efficiencies in county services. He's made tough decisions during tight times, such as trying to close swimming pools with high costs and low attendance. He's pared back county board spending with vetoes.

Since his election in 2002, Walker has made a huge personal sacrifice by giving back $370,000 of his salary to county taxpayers.

Walker's pledge to stop a modern, high-speed passenger train — one that's already paid for — is disturbing. So is Walker's excessive pandering to social conservatives on issues such as embryonic stem-cell research and abortion.

But Walker is no extremist. The Republican has been repeatedly re-elected in a hugely-Democratic county.

In another election year, we could support Barrett, a likeable and seasoned leader with high character and some interesting ideas.

But not this election. This fall's decision is about jobs and the economy.

Walker is the best choice for getting Wisconsin back on track financially and competing for more good-paying jobs.

96

Have you heard Rep. Garthwaite's latest radio ad where he boasts about his bipartisanship?

It's pretty misleading so allow us to state the facts and let you make up your mind.

Out of a total 576 votes on proposals on the Assembly Floor, Garthwaite only split from his party 22 times.

That's 22 bipartisan votes out of 576, giving Garthwaite a partisanship rating of 96%.

Does that seem like bipartisanship to you?

***In case you're interested, the only significant vote of those 22 took place when he broke with the party line against a statewide smoking ban.

Unemployment up as Election Nears

Unemployment is up to 10.1% according to Gallup but perhaps more significantly, under employment or those working part time but looking for full time work is nearing 20%. This could explain the sharp, 24% rise in food stamp use in Wisconsin over the past year. Clearly things aren't going the right way.

Wisconsin specific unemployment figures won't be revealed until the end of next week. While I expect the Doyle Administration to do everything it can to soften the blow, I don't think they will be able to cushion the impact of rising unemployment enough to save the Democrats this November. Unlike states that have taken steps to improve their economic climate, Wisconsin's Democrat controlled government has made things much worse. Just look at the tax increases that Phil Garthwaite and the Democrat majority voted for over the last two years:

Phone Tax - $107 million
Utility Tax - $18 million
Garbage Collection Tax - $69 million
Gas Tax Increase - $224 million (failed to pass the Senate despite Garthwaite's efforts to pass it into law).
Nursing Home Tax - $71 million
Hospital Patient Tax - $1.1 billion
Meat Tax - TBA
Capital Gains - $242.5
Large Employer Tax - $215 million
New Income Tax Bracket for Small Businesses and "rich people" - 1% income tax increase
E-commerce Tax - $11 million
Forced Property Tax Hike - $1.5 Billion

Look at this list and then think about the top claim Garthwaite makes in his campaign literature: lower taxes. Phil Garthwaite voted for each of the tax increases listed above. That's not rhetoric, that's a fact.

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Would you Give a Soldier Half of a Bullet Proof Vest?

Rep. Garthwaite spends a lot of time praising our Veterans and that's a good thing. He frequently mentions his support for them in his campaign literature and radio ads. That's also a good thing. We hope that all of our politicians, no matter their party, would fight for the men and women who lay their lives on the line to protect our country.

Unfortunately, a review of the two most important Veterans issues confronting the legislature over the last two years reveals that Rep. Garthwaite doesn't always vote the way he talks.

1. The Wisconsin G.I. Bill

In 2005, the then Republican controlled legislature created the the Wisconsin G.I. Bill to assist our Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with receiving a tuition free education at one of the University of Wisconsin or technical college schools.

In 2008, Rep. Garthwaite and many other Assembly Democrats (as well as Republicans) campaigned on the program as an example of their continued support for our Veterans. Once the Democrats were reelected and took control of the State Assembly away from the GOP, however, they jumped on board a Doyle proposal to gut the program.

Rep. Garthwaite voted along with the Democrat majority on this. If he claims that he opposed gutting the Wisconsin G.I. Bill but had to do so to pass a balanced budget, which he will likely do, he is not being truthful.

This amendment to the budget would have stopped the program from being gutted. The amendment died on a 49-49 vote. Garthwaite's vote killed it. Had he truly wanted to save this program, all he had to do was switch his vote and the program would still exist as intended today.

After the budget passed GOP Rep. Kevin Petersen, a 25 year Navy Veteran, introduced legislation to restore the benefit.

The Democrats first ignored the proposal, then stole it, and finally introduced their own plan to restore half of the benefit. Half!

This was the height of political hypocrisy:

Step 1. Run for reelection on a popular Veterans program.
Step 2. Gut the program.
Step 3. Restore half the program.
Step 4. Pat yourself on the back.
Step 5. Run for reelection for restoring half of a program that you gutted in the first place.

I hope that even Democrat readers of this blog can agree that this sort of politics stinks.

2. The Veterans Trust Fund

Unless something is done soon, Wisconsin's Veterans Trust Fund will go bankrupt in 2013.

The Trust Fund is responsible for:

* The Wisconsin Veterans Homes
* The Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemeteries
* The Wisconsin Veterans Museum
* The Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs veterans benefits and services programs -- Home Loans, Personal Loans, Education Grants, Assistance to Needy Veterans and Military Families, and more.

In 2009, the Department of Veterans Affairs made several suggestions, and later pleas to the legislature to solve this problem.

Not only did Rep. Garthwaite and the Democrat majorities ignore these pleas, they actually tried to make things worse.

The Doyle administration proposed a 5% raid on the fund and suggested levying a $170/month tax on nursing home patients in the state's veterans homes.

Outcries from Veterans' groups and the GOP eventually killed these proposals that would have made things worse but Rep. Garthwaite and the Democrat majorities did nothing to make things better.

Republicans made an effort to resolve this issue. Democrats ignored it.

Descide for Yourself

If you care one iota about the way you are represented in Madison, follow these directions and watch Rep. Phil Garthwaite in action, "working" for you.

Click here to go to Wisconsin Eye

Scroll down a ways to:

04.15.10 | Wisconsin State Assembly Floor Session (Part 4/4)

Click on the Watch Link. Fast forward to 19:36.

Ask yourself, is this how you want Southwest, WI to be represented?

In case you missed it...

Readers of this blog are well aware of Rep. Garthwaite's violent outburst on the floor of the Assembly last year when he screamed at businesses to take their jobs out of Wisconsin if they don't agree with his liberal, anti-jobs policies.

Readers may not have seen Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist Patrick McIlheran's column on the subject.

Here it is for your reading pleasure:

'Reform' that helps no one

I think McIlheran nails it here:

Nor do they (Democrat lawmakers) show the least comprehension of why all this might spook employers. Entrepreneurs fret about hiring a malcontent who will drag them into court over random dissatisfactions, but state Rep. Phil Garthwaite (D-Dickeyville) was denouncing as bigots any employer who might flee such jeopardy, saying in Assembly debate, "Good. Get your ass back down to the South. I don't want you here."

Democrats fear Midwestern meltdown

Politico reveals some rough news for Wisconsin Democrats.

Remember when Phil Garthwaite Increased the Price of the Platteville Police Station by $80,000 in a Single Vote?

As the election approaches, Rep. Phil Garthwaite is running from his record faster than his Madison-Milwaukee high speed rail project is pulling dollars away from Grant County’s infrastructure.

It’s our job to remind him of the poor decisions he’s made over the last two years and the negative impact they are having on our community.

Take the prevailing wage for instance.

Back in 1931 a group of progressive (mostly progressive Republican) Congressman enacted the Davis-Bacon Act creating the first national prevailing wage law. At the time their goal was simple - stop minority workers, mainly southern blacks, from competing with white construction unions.

Over the years prevailing wage laws have evolved. Although they still have the presumably unintended consequence of reducing the number of government construction contracts awarded to minority and women owned firms, this is no longer their primary intent. Today prevailing wage laws are enforced in many states to keep small businesses from underbidding large union shops for public construction contracts. They also dramatically increase costs for Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer.

During the last state budget, Rep. Garthwaite was the deciding vote in favor of a law change that has mandated the use of a much expanded prevailing wage, increasing the costs of public projects statewide by millions of dollars and taking away work from countless struggling non-union construction firms. He was given four opportunities to amend this provision of the budget. He voted not once, not twice, not three times, but four times to keep these prevailing wage changes in the budget.

These four votes along with a fifth, his deciding vote in favor of the state budget, had immediate negative consequences on Grant County. The cost of Platteville’s new police station, for instance, immediately increased by $80,000. Consider that and then think about all the other public construction projects taking place in Grant County. Think about the increased costs to the taxpayer, not to mention the jobs lost by small local firms as larger regional firms stepped in to take over the prevailing wage work. The costs on Grant County have been substantial.

Executive Director of the Platteville Area Industrial Development Corporation, George Krueger, said it best in his July 15, 2009 column in the Platteville Journal:

“The State of Wisconsin budget passed recently. It is anti-business, anti-capitol, and anti-development. A big negative impact on economic development is the prevailing wage policy that was passed as part of the budget.”

PAIDC Director Krueger went on to explain that Garthwaite’s vote increased the costs of the Holmen St. project in Platteville by 43% even as they used the exact same contractor to do the exact same work.

How about that for government waste and abuse of power? Garthwaite passed a law that forced a contractor to charge Platteville 43% more for a project and made the city pay. It would be laughable if it weren’t true.

Krueger also explained the state is now applying the prevailing wage to many private projects. It’s not just the taxpayer that is on the hook for increased costs. Private developers are too and that means even less development and fewer jobs.

Take a moment to think about all the projects that aren’t getting done now because the legislature increased costs so dramatically in the middle of a recession. Think about all the jobs lost in Grant County.

Talk to a small local contractor. Chances are they’ve lost out on a bid to a larger regional firm because of this law. Think again about all the jobs lost in Grant County.

Think about those jobs that we should have but don’t. Then think about the fact that our very own Representative Phil Garthwaite is responsible.



Scans of Krueger's Column:

Politicians say the Darnedest Things

"I don't ever profess to be the brightest bulb on the tree."

Phil Garthwaite
Floor of the State Assembly
2-18-08

Politicians say the Darnedest Things

When asked if he would support a 500% increase in the beer tax Rep. Garthwaite replied:

"Yah, I could support that."

Citation: Southwest Alliance for Tobacco Prevention (SATP)/ N.E.W. Grant County (Wellness Coalition) Forum and WGLR Radio - 8/8/08

Politicians say the Darnedest Things

"First and foremost, socialized medicine isn't scaring anybody anymore."

Phil Garthwaite
League of Women Voters Candidate Forum
Platteville, WI
July 23rd, 2008

It's Tranel vs. Garthwaite

http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=295794

Politicians say the Darnedest Things

"The dumbest thing in my opinion that happened was when the state legislature got it in their heads that they were going to be the protector of Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer."


Phil Garthwaite
League of Women Voters Candidate Forum
Platteville, WI
July 23rd, 2008

2010 not looking like 2008 for Grant County Democrats

I received this in an email from the Grant County Democratic Party last night:

We need to have a good turnout of volunteers at the Dairy Days Parade in Platteville this Saturday, Sept 11. Democratic candidate for governor Tom Barrett plans to walk the parade and it would be great to have a lot of Democrats to walk with him, Phil Garthwaite and Carol Beals. Just to give you a sense of what the "other side" is doing, Travis Tranel had 32 walkers at last weekend's parades!!!

It looks like the army of Democrat volunteers created by the Obama machine has not reestablished itself. On the other hand, one of Garthwaite's opponents Travis Tranel gathered 32 volunteers to walk in his parades. One can almost sence the distress in the author's voice as they added each exclamation point to the end of that sentence.

I urge the author to relax with a pint of Potosi and visit unnecessaryquotes.com. Demagoguery doesn’t mandate quotation marks.

2009-10 Session Recap - Garthwaite on Schools

For years Assembly Democrats, especially rural Democrats like Rep. Garthwaite, have been promising to reform school funding in Wisconsin. They claimed that Wisconsin’s system of equalizing aid was broken and that they would fix it at the first opportunity.

Two years ago the Democrats were given that opportunity when the voters of Wisconsin granted them exclusive control over all three branches of Wisconsin’s government. Let’s see how Rep. Garthwaite and the Democrats did.

Class: School Funding Reform

Grade: F

Despite countless promises made in debates and on campaign literature, Rep. Garthwaite failed to pass meaningful school funding reform. One might assume that he and other Democrats tried to work on this vitally important issue but that they were block by Governor Doyle, outside special interests, or simply ran out of time. One would be wrong.

Rep. Garthwaite didn’t even introduce a bill to begin debate on this subject. He didn’t even try.

Class: Union Payback

Grade: A

After gaining complete control of state government, it’s no surprise that Rep. Garthwaite and the Democrats moved quickly to reward their greatest campaign supporter, the teachers’ union WEAC.

Rep. Garthwaite supported three major gifts for WEAC as part of the state budget.

1. Repeal of the Qualified Economic Offer – QEO

For years the union’s top priority has been to repeal the QEO. The QEO was a state law that guaranteed teachers a 3.8% compensation increase each year. If a local union got into a lengthy arbitration dispute with a school district, the district could invoke the QEO as a ceiling and resolve the dispute. This rarely happened and teachers usually received much, much higher total compensation. Thus Wisconsin remains ranked as the 4th highest taxing state when it comes to property taxes according to the non-partisan Tax Foundation.

Sit back for a moment and try to imagine a private sector worker in this economy complaining about a 3.8% minimum raise? Most people are losing hours, seeing their salaries cut, or losing their jobs altogether. Not only do WEAC members have 100% guaranteed job security but they also had guaranteed raises of 3.8%. That wasn’t enough for them so they had the law repealed.

In future years look for large property tax increases or the cutting of school programs as the increased costs of teachers’ salaries and benefit packages continue to outpace funding thanks to this repeal.

2. Find ways to increase property taxes to pad WEAC’s pockets

The best tool Wisconsin’s citizens have to keep property taxes down is called the revenue cap. The legislature put the revenue cap in place to keep local school districts from increasing property taxes by double digit percentages year after year.

The union’s second greatest priority has been to eliminate or weaken the revenue cap to feed its large appetite for higher property taxes.

In the 2009-10 state budget, Rep. Garthwaite voted to exempt several school expenses from the revenue cap. The affect will be visible in December when your property taxes go up by a bit more than they have in past years.

3. Give the union more power in arbitration

Unions exist to seek the best wages and benefits they can for their members by collectively bargaining (and to get Democrats elected to public office). This is all fine and dandy on an open and level playing field but that playing field no longer exists in Wisconsin thanks to sneaky changes that Rep. Garthwaite helped tuck into the state budget.

State law now prohibits an arbiter from considering local economic conditions first when negotiating contract disputes. School districts facing declining revenues due to high unemployment and declining property values (like most in Grant County) can’t go to the union and say, “Hey, we just can’t afford to give you a 6% raise and free Viagra this year because our community is hurting and they can’t afford it.”

This change will cause cuts to core educational services and property tax increases in the communities that can least afford them.

Rural School Funding

Grade: F

Rep. Garthwaite let the Milwaukee Democrats walk all over rural Wisconsin when it came to school funding.

He voted for a budget that cut state aid to many rural districts by as much as 15% but only hit Milwaukee with a 0.5% cut.

As a result, Southwest Wisconsin school districts are raising property taxes by record amounts:

Mineral Point – 24.4%
Lancaster – 8.3%
Schullsburg – 19.8%
Platteville – 7.4%
River Valley – 15.5%
Darlington – 22.4%

In contrast, what is Garthwaite’s school budget doing to the taxpayers in Democrat Milwaukee? Not much. They’re only seeing a 2.5% increase on their bills.

Assembly Democrat Campaign Efforts Take Major Blow

For months the Assembly Democrats have been touting Dana Schultz as their best hope to pick up an Assembly seat this fall and possibly to hold off the coming Republican wave that could switch party control of the legislature. Last week, her campaign hit a brick wall when the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel revealed what she really thinks of her would-be rural constituents.

In a blog she wrote while running the Milwaukee chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Schultz referred to the rural Wisconsinites from her hometown stating:

"I know all about the huntin, fishin, snowmobilin, country music beltin, beer drinkin, working class, gossipin, people who attend christian church every sunday and are racist, sexist, and homophobic, but more just ignorant because of lack of exposure." She wrote that she understands rural brain drain: "Why would people go back to face fatter and less educated Ann Colture's?"

Her blog goes on and on displaying an attitude towards rural Wisconsin that is all too common amongst the Democrat establishment.

These revelations about her core beliefs should be enough to end her chances at representing the rural 87th district. If they are not, I'm sure that more damning evidence of her animosity toward rural, working class people will come out of her work as the head of Milwaukee's SDS.

If you're unfamiliar with it, SDS is a Marxist organization bent on the "revolutionary transformation" of American culture and ending capitalism because it is the root cause of "racism and white supremacy,... patriarchy, heterosexism and transphobia, authoritarianism and imperialism."

If the best candidate the Democrats can come up with is a Marxist that thinks that the people she hopes to represent are racist, sexist, homophobic, and ignorant then they are in for a rude awakening this November.

In their own words...

(Democrat) State Rep. Peggy Krusick says she is running for re-election based on her “independent track record,” which includes voting against “an unaffordable $65 billion tax-and-spend state budget that raised our taxes, fees, car insurance and utility bills and more.” She said she is focusing on “ensuring that taxpayer dollars are well spent, jobs and quality education.”

- The Milwaukee Sheppard Express

We understand if you don't want to take our word for it when we tell you about all the tax increases Rep. Garthwaite supported over the last two years.

Now you don't have to. Just read what the Democrats themselves are saying about their budget.

Milwaukee's far-left weekly newspaper The Shepard Express printed a story about Democrat Representative Peggy Krusick's primary race earlier this week.

Like Garthwaite, Krusick claims to be a moderate Democrat who votes her district.

Unlike Garthwaite, Krusick actually is a moderate Democrat and surprisingly does vote the way she talks.

Krusick votes consistently pro-life and as you can see above she opposed the last state budget because it so dramatically increased costs on Wisconsin's families. Otherwise she is pretty much a party line Democrat with enough honesty to call the budget what it was - "an unaffordable $65 billion tax-and-spend state budget that raised our taxes, fees, car insurance and utility bills and more."

Krusick's purposeful honesty stands in contrast with a bout of unintentional honesty that came from Democrat State Senator Jim Holperin earlier this year when he said, "We Democrats authorized all kinds of new taxes in the recently adopted state budget...You know the Governor's got enough little tax and fee hikes in that budget of his to sink a good sized battleship."

It took an open records request to get that out of Holperin. It's nice to see at least one Democrat, Krusick, openly calling out the Democrats and their budget.

Phil Garthwaite Fact Check

With the campaign season upon us you might find the following flier from Rep. Garthwaite on your door.


Let’s take a few moments to analyze his claims and citations.

Garthwaite Claim 1: Passed legislation to help workers who have lost their jobs. – 2009 WI Act 2

Fact: This statement is partially true but rather misleading. 2009 WI Act 2 was a massive government bailout bill dubbed the Wisconsin Stimulus by the Democrats.

Some provisions of the bill probably did help a select group of laid off union workers, however, many of those jobs may have been ironically lost because of the massive tax hikes on employers that Garthwaite supported in the bill.

Act 2 included the now notorious Combined Reporting tax on large employers that do business in multiple states. This $215 million tax increase has directly caused countless layoffs in Wisconsin. For instance, just days after announcing that the new tax would hit them for a whopping $25 million, Harley Davidson laid off 400 employees. The Wisconsin icon later announced the closing of two Wisconsin plants and is now seriously considering leaving the state all together.

Act 2 included other tax increases including the $1.1 billion Sick Tax on hospital and clinic visits, an $11 million I-Pod Tax, new taxes on online purchases, and a tax on Wisconsin companies that design custom software in-house.

Act 2 also used several sources of taxpayer dollars to bailout government and increase spending. To do this, the legislature raided the Conservation, Petroleum Inspection, Recycling, Environmental Management, and Universal Service funds.
Rep. Garthwaite supported all of these tax increases and fund raids.

On the flip side, Act 2 included some small job creation initiatives including an expansion of Wisconsin’s Angel Investment program and the creation of a Research and Development tax credit. In order to save money, however, the legislature pushed off the start date for these job creation programs for at least one year and in some cases more.

Act 2 also included several grants targeted at individual union locals for worker re-training. Republican critics argued that these grants were nothing more than payback to Democrat campaign supporters, however, Democrats like Garthwaite claimed that the grants would help workers find jobs. I believe this is what Garthwaite is referring to in this flier.

Moreover, Garthwaite could argue that Act 2 and the tax increases it contained were necessary to balance the budget as required under state law and to protect the jobs of public sector workers.

For another opinion on Act 2 see Reason Magazine’s write up on it.

Or see this column from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Garthwaite Claim 2: Authored and passed powerful job creation measures to grow Wisconsin’s businesses. – 2009 WI Act 266

Fact: This statement is slightly true. Rep. Garthwaite authored and passed a bill, however, it was not powerful nor will it grow Wisconsin’s businesses.

Here is the Wisconsin Legislative Council’s description of Act 266.

As you can see, Rep. Garthwaite’s bill increased the number of Enterprise Development Zones in Wisconsin from 10 to 12. Sounds helpful to business right?
Wrong.

At the time of its passing, Wisconsin’s lack-luster Department of Commerce had only approved two enterprise development zones. They only had plans to designate two more this year. None of them are in Grant County and all of them are in urban and suburban areas.

All Rep. Garthwaite’s Act 266 did was give him an excuse to write a press release and to put a line on a lit piece. This is exactly the sort of politics as usual garbage that should make people fed up with their elected officials. Here is a clear case of our State Representative trying to pull the wool over our eyes but I think the voters of Grant County are smart enough to know that one do-nothing jobs bill doesn’t make up for nearly $5 billion in job killing tax increases.

Furthermore, to show what a partisan he is, Rep. Garthwaite rejected a Republican amendment to his bill that would have mandated that these zones be created in rural areas like say…Grant County.

Garthwaite Claim 3: Passed important bills to bolster our local rural businesses. – 2009 WI Act 295 and 2009 WI Act 169.

Fact: This claim is true, but perhaps a bit of an exaggeration.

WI Act 295 helps food processing plants expand and modernize. The bill enjoyed wide bi-partisan support and passed overwhelmingly. It will have a small but positive effect on businesses in several rural communities in Wisconsin. Act 169 regulates honey. This might have a negligible impact on a handful of honey producers in Southwest Wisconsin…might…

Garthwaite Claim 4: Bumped the reconstruction of Hwy 61 up to 2011

Fact: This is probably accurate.

This was the Democrat leadership’s piece of pork for Mr. Garthwaite. They are probably counting on it getting him through a tough reelection bid this November. While, the HWY 61 project had been scheduled to happen long before Garthwaite was elected, it might not have happened as soon as next year. Assembly Democrats placed it in the budget along with dozens of other pork projects for other areas of the state. Here are some articles about all those projects that went along with this one:

Slice Sneaky Earmarks from the Budget – Wisconsin State Journal

Budget Includes Millions in Earmarks – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Recycling Bins in the State Budget? – WLUK-TV

At the end of the day, this small but very important project will probably get done a couple years sooner due to the last state budget. At the same time, taxpayers in Grant County will be paying millions for similar projects (and recycling bins) for other parts of Wisconsin – and that is not to mention the $3.5 billion in higher taxes that passed in the same bill.

Garthwaite Claim 5: Found and authored funding for various road projects across SW Wisconsin. NO CITATION

Fact: This is completely false.

Notice how there is no citation for this claim. That is because it is 100% false. Rep. Garthwaite did not author or find funding for various road projects in SW WI. He is making that up.

The only things that come close to backing up this claim are the handful of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act road projects conducted across Wisconsin.

While the state legislature, Rep. Garthwaite included, did approve some Federal Stimulus funded projects, Rep. Garthwaite did not find or author them and they did not take place across Southwest, WI. Nearly all of these funds were devoted to urban areas near Madison, Milwaukee, Beloit, Janesville, Racine, or Kenosha.

This claim is bogus.

Garthwaite Claim 6: Secured important federal funds to help rural critical access hospitals cover their MA costs and reduce cost-shifting onto the average family.

Fact: This statement is partially true and partially false.

Rep. Garthwaite supported a bill to secure increased federal funding for rural hospitals, however, those funds were used to plug a hole that he created in the first place.

During debate on the state budget, Rep. Garthwaite voted against amendments to protect rural hospitals from cuts. As a result of his vote, these hospitals faced a devastating $10 million hole in their budgets.

To try to correct his error, Rep. Garthwaite supported a $10 million tax increase on the patients of rural hospitals. It seems counterintuitive but this tax increase eventually ended up helping the rural hospitals. Through a little bit of clever accounting, the state has been able to temporarily leverage increased federal reimbursement for Medical Assistance programs through the higher revenues brought in by the tax.

Rep. Garthwaite voted to let the state skim a large portion of these dollars from rural hospitals, however, the hospitals still make out ok. They have been able to offset Rep. Garthwaite’s $10 million cut and hope to set aside a couple million dollars to improve doctor recruitment. This should work out well for another year or two until the Feds catch on to the scheme and Wisconsin’s rural residents are left with a higher tax and nothing to show for it.

As to the part about cost-shifting, Rep. Garthwaite is referring to the so-called Hidden Health Care Tax. The Hidden Health Care Tax is the higher prices private payers are charged to offset the losses doctors and hospitals take on some Medicare and Medical Assistance patients. When the government under-reimburses hospitals, everyone else must pick up the tab. Garthwaite’s argument in this case is weak at best since the federal dollars he speaks of were used to fill a hole he created in the first place and not to increase existing government reimbursement rates.

Phil’s Priorities

Priority 1: Cutting waste wherever possible and holding the line on taxes.

Fact: Phil’s real priority is increasing government spending as much as possible and increasing taxes as needed to pay for it.

In the last two years Rep. Garthwaite has supported the stimulus and Government and Public Employee Union bailouts. He voted to increase spending by 10% in the middle of a recession and voted in favor of nearly $5 billion in tax increases to pay for it. He has clearly demonstrated that cutting waste and holding the line on taxes are the reverse of his priorities. Frankly, I’m shocked that he has the audacity to put such a bold faced lie on a flyer.

Priority 2: Supporting and growing small businesses that create jobs here in our community.

Fact: I believe Phil that this is one of his priorities, however, his means of achieving it are backwards.

Last year Phil voted to create a new, higher income tax bracket for successful small businesses. How does that help them? Phil voted to raise property taxes by $1.5 billion. How does that help small business owners? Phil voted against the Jobs Now Tax Credit, which would have cut taxes on small businesses that hired people in the middle of the recession. How did that help small businesses?

The fact is that Rep. Garthwaite might talk about helping rural businesses but he votes squarely against them.

Priority 3: Speaking up for family farms and providing them with the tools they need.

Fact: Rep. Garthwaite supported legalizing raw milk, limiting the development of farm land, and tax credits for some Ag. related industries, however, he also supported several laws that would have devastated family farms.

Rep. Garthwaite supported AB 844, a bill to allow the DNR to strip farmers of their high capacity wells, and he supported a global warming bill that the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation said would hurt farmers because, “the majority of provisions, if implemented, will lead to higher fuel, fertilizer, and electricity costs.” Thankfully neither bill passed into law.

It’s clear that family farms are one of Rep. Garthwaite’s priorities. They’re just not as high of a priority as the causes of liberal environmental special interests.

Priority 4: Protecting our local institutions so they can continue to provide important and valuable services.

Fact: This is so vague as to be meaningless.

Priority 5: Putting partisan politics aside and reaching across the aisle to focus on the real issues.

Fact: Aside from the smoking ban, Rep. Garthwaite voted lock step with Jim Doyle and the Democrat majorities in Madison. He did not hold public hearings on Republican bills in the committee he chairs. When Republicans introduced more than 130 amendments to the state budget, did he cross the aisle even on one? No. Rep. Garthwaite was the definition of a partisan. He couldn’t find common ground with the other party on anything. On the issue of partisanship, his voting record speaks for itself. Rep. Garthwaite voted with the liberal wing of the Democrat party 99.9/100 times during the last session.