Scott Walker Emails Show Staffers At Work On Illegal Voter Caging

[kpete]

Scott Walker Emails Show Staffers At Work On Illegal Voter Caging
By Susie Madrak February 22, 2014 9:00 am

And you can be sure that, just like Chris Christie, he had "no idea" his staffers were up to such illegal activities!

Emails released this week appear to show Governor Scott Walker's top aides engaging in an illegal scheme to "cage" Wisconsin voters in the weeks ahead of the 2010 gubernatorial election.

Voter caging is an illegal campaign practice used to purge voters from the rolls. Neighborhoods with large minority concentrations are most typically targeted by caging operations.

On page 15,037 of WalkerDocs 1, an email exchange between Walker staffers Kelly Rindfleisch and Nicole Simmons spells it out pretty plainly."If you come this Saturday I can show you how to cage," Simmons writes. "That will be priority on the weekend."

Another email, on page 1,321 of WalkerDocs 2, shows Walker's chief of staff Keith Gilkes ordering Rindfleisch, Fran McLaughlin and Dorothy Moore to bring friends who can help with the caging effort.

Here's a screenshot.

"We need cagers for this Saturday, we will have plenty to get caught up on," he wrote in an email sent Oct. 21, 2010. "Please bring friends that are detail oriented and can put in some solid hours."

Walker's aides were also following news about the voter caging efforts, illustrated on pages 14,565 and 14,936 of WalkerDocs 1. They shared one article in particular: The Milwaukee Courier's Oct. 2, 2010 article titled, "GOP joins with Tea Party in illegal effort to steal election.

"

http://crooksandliars.com/2014/02/scott-walker-emails-show-staffers-work

[IllinoisBirdWatcher]

1. The illegal "meat" from these needs to be more obvious for casual readers...

Voter caging is an illegal campaign practice used to purge voters from the rolls.

• "If you come this Saturday I can show you how to cage," Simmons writes.

• ...Walker's chief of staff Keith Gilkes ordering Rindfleisch, Fran McLaughlin and Dorothy Moore to bring friends who can help with the caging effort.

• "We need cagers for this Saturday, we will have plenty to get caught up on," he wrote.

Too many people read this stuff and just think, "oh, they were campaigning. What's the big deal?" I think we need to keep spelling out the details.

Walker deliberately ran an illegal campaign (and ran it from his government-paid office).

[DURHAM D]

4. Good point.

Here is a pretty good description from wikipedia -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_caging

[Scuba]

21. They weren't campaigning on County time. It was just "silly personal emails". At least that's ....

... what hundreds of bloggers (or one blogger with hundreds of log-ins) posts on the Urinal/Sentinel site.

Wonder how many of those posts are now coming at the expense of State taxpayers.

[Coyotl]

23. Plainly stated: They were removing Democrats from the voter rolls, a felony I believe.

A lot has to be proven to meet a felon bar for this activity, but if they removed just democrats while acting as campaign staff for Walker, that would certainly meet the bar, especially if just one legitimate voter was removed.

[IllinoisBirdWatcher]

24. The easier to prove ILLEGAL activity

was the illegal coordination of this effort between county-paid staff and campaign staff

and the use of an illegal secret network within the county executive office to do so (20 feet from the governor's desk)

and the discovery in the document dump that Walker not only knew of the network (despite his multiple denials over multiple years), but evidently used it himself.

[Nika]

2. This is one activity of the GOP in general that should get much more attention then it actually does

One of the main ways left to the repugs to win elections is to cheat and to take way the right and opportunity to vote from as many Democrats or minorities as possible. The fight on this issue needed to be hotter and more ferocious a battle then it is currently nationally.

I notice the national media have yet to pick this story about Walker and Wisconsin repugs. I wonder if the activities of the Koch brother's lawyers has been geared to suppress the story. It would be nice to see more news media outlets doing as good a job as MSNBC creating heat by throwing more light on these activities of these dangerous people.

[Enthusiast]

12. +1 a whole bunch!

[Gothmog]

3. We need to defeat Walker

Vote caging is illegal and is just further evidence that Walker is unfit to be governor

[DURHAM D]

5. Being guilty of Voter Suppression will not keep you from being Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

Vote suppression in the US revs up

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/09/201191883753799660.html

William Rehnquist Is Unfit to Judge Florida's Recount

http://archive.democrats.com/view.cfm?id=698

[Coyotl]

26. No, but fixing a presidential election might put you on the Supreme Court.

[Triana]

6. If voter caging is illegal and there is evidence of it, why is no one charged? n/t

[sybylla]

8. There isn't evidence of anything.

Just a discussion of it in e-mails. Walker's minions have made plea deals but nothing has touched Walker directly.

These e-mails have been released as part of a deal involving the first John Doe investigation. There is a second John Doe investigation going on now. We shall see if they can manage to nail someone in this.

[IllinoisBirdWatcher]

22. Right. LOL. And "silly" ILLEGAL daily coordinated conference calls...

between government-paid staffers and campaign staffers...

set up by Walker himself according to the Washington Post:

Walker asked for daily call between campaign and official aides, e-mails show

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) instructed a top aide to organize a daily conference call that involved both official and campaign staffers when he was executive of Milwaukee County in 2010, according to documents released publicly for the first time Wednesday that could complicate Walker's future as he eyes another term and a possible run for president.

In April of 2010, Walker's then-chief of staff Thomas Nardelli sent an e-mail from his personal account to both county staff and campaign operatives indicating Walker wanted to begin a morning conference call to review the day's events and improve coordination.

Nothing to see here. Move on...

[El_Johns]

25. Why isn't discussion in emails evidence?

[LiberalAndProud]

19. Evidently, we're still in the investigative stage.

http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/blog/2010/09/one-wisconsin-now-exposes-voter-suppression-plans-between-republican-party-of-wisconsin-americans-fo.html

A coordinated plot by the Republican Party of Wisconsin, Americans for Prosperity-Wisconsin and organizations in the so-called Tea Party movement targeting minority voters and college students in a possibly illegal "voter caging" effort for voter suppression has been uncovered in evidence we have obtained.

Based on what we have heard, the Republican Party of Wisconsin, the Americans for Prosperity-Wisconsin and leading Tea Party organizations are in collusion in an effort to suppress the ability of minorities and university students in Wisconsin to exercise their right to vote this November. We will be providing all of the evidence we have received on this wrongdoing to federal and state authorities so that they can investigate to ensure justice and democracy prevail."

One Wisconsin Now has filed formal requests for investigation with the U.S. Attorney's Office, as well as the Wisconsin Attorney General's Election Integrity Task Force and the Government Accountability Board demanding

[Coyotl]

27. Rigging elections and suppressing the vote may be the causa belle of the second John Doe inquiry.

Which means they probably were trying to keep this secret still.

[Faux pas]

7. Kicking for importance and later perusal

thanks!

[Laxman]

9. I'm "Borrowing" This Item....

for the Scott Walker Crime Digest. This is an interesting item. Linking back to here along with a recommendation and a kick back to the top. Any one item alone may not mean much. However, the list is getting longer and a pattern may be starting to emerge.

[Cha]

10. Thanks again, Laxman, for the Crime Digests of Scott Walker and

Chris Christie.

[Laxman]

14. It's McCrory's Turn Next Cha..

Last edited Sat Feb 22, 2014, 05:51 PM - Edit history (1)

I have a feeling that there's going to be a good list there as well. Only problem with him is that some of his transgressions are actually selling points with the NC electorate! OK chief, I'll get on it right away! (you have to be a certain age to get that reference)

[Cha]

20. I looked it up..

I missed the show. But of course remember the blast from our past.. the Crime Fighter, Dick Tracy!

Yes, get right on that, Laxman..

[Cha]

11. So the Scott Walker goons were worried they wouldn't

win on their own. Just think of all those who voted for walker after the recall petition.. and what exactly has walker done for Wisconsin?

thanks kpete

[Enthusiast]

13. They do not believe in a representative democracy.

Fascism is their thing.

[hue]

15. "They" are actually the Koch Bros. & assoc. who fund & manage Wanker & cronies.

John Doe I was closed because the investigation went way beyond Milw. County-->into at least 4 more counties and included much money from out of state operatives. Poor Milw Co. could not support, in many ways, such a large investigation. The federal government is now leading the new John Doe II investigation.

[Enthusiast]

18. I hope they nail "them".

[Coyotl]

16. They were also fixing elections. That is the issue I want to see evidence on.

Of course, caging is illegally rigging an election.

[hue]

17. Here's Wanker's response to the released e-mails. WI public opinion remains barely affected.

http://www.jrn.com/tmj4/news/Governor-Walker-says-emails-are-old-news-246695841.html

[Coyotl]

28. morning kick