The song the Dropkick Murphys don't want WI unionbusters to play

Job-killer Scott Walker isn't the only anti-worker, anti-middle-class politician getting recalled in Wisconsin on June 5. Four of his cronies in the state Senate are also being challenged. One of those cronies is the Senate Majority Leader, Scott Fitzgerald, who pushed through Walker's union-busting bill last year in violation of the state's Open Meetings Law.

Fitzgerald's brother Jeff is equally odious. He's the brain-dead Speaker of the House. We'll let Blogging Blue explain why he's brain dead:

...the Republican Party of Wisconsin held their convention Green Bay, Wisconsin this weekend. During the RPW Convention, former State Rep. and Speaker of the State Assembly Jeff Fitzgerald took the stage to speak, and as Fitzgerald took to the stage he did so using the song “Shipping Up To Boston” by the Dropkick Murphys. 

Lost on Fitzgerald (who strikes me as more of a Perry Cuomo or Barry Manilow fan) and apparently his staff was the fact that the Dropkick Murphys are staunch supporters of labor unions and were strong supporters of the folks who protested the assault on public employee unions by Gov. Walker and Republicans like Jeff Fitzgerald.

The Dropkick Murphys, who actually wrote and recorded a song in support of the Wisconsin protests, were not pleased. They posted a message on their Facebook page:

...The stupidity and irony of this is laughable. A Wisconsin Republican U.S. Senate candidate – and crony of anti-Union Governor Scott Walker – using a Dropkick Murphys song as an intro is like a white supremacist coming out to gangsta rap! 

Fitzgerald: if you and your staff can’t even figure out your music you might wanna give up on the politics!!!!! 

We stand beside our Union and Labor brothers and sisters and their families in Wisconsin and all over the U.S!
–DKM

All of you Dropkick Murphy fans may be interested to know they're appearing with the Boston Pops on "Red Sox Night" on May 24 (we suspect one or two of our brothers and sisters from Local 25 may just be in attendance).

WI recall: What it all means

Spin doctors are working overtime on the Wisconsin recalls, as a pickup of two Democratic state Senate seats can be interpreted differently.

Here's a way to look at it:

We gained real ground in Wisconsin. Teamster-endorsed candidates were competitive in almost every district -- districts that voted for Republicans during a Democratic landslide.

And we started a movement that depends on people power, not corporate money. More than 1 million voters were contacted, more than 125,000 doors were knocked on and 12,000 people volunteered for the recalls.

We still need to protect the two courageous Democratic state senators who left the state to prevent a vote on Koch whore Gov. Scott Walker's agenda to destroy the middle class. State Sens. Robert Wirch and Jim Holperin stand for recall on Tuesday, Aug. 16.
Here are some observations from the tweetosphere:

@jasonlblair:

Dear Republicans: If you go to Vegas with $6000 and come home with $4000, you didn't take the casinos.

@USWPolitical:

Rs keep 4 seats, Ds take 2. Not enough to #FliptheSenate, but a strong effort from WI working families.

@wisocialworker:

RT@wi_defender: Walker won these 6 districts by AVERAGE of 13 points 9 months ago and Wisconsin voters FLIPPED 2 of them

@JohnB2:

Two seats & Dale Schultz not a lockstep vote, not bad.

@dan_ps:

Big congrats to #wiunion for the #wirecall of Hopper and Kapanke. #GOP pols now know they might lose their jobs for attacking middle class.

@BWDIII:

If Pasch loses because of the mysterious business in Waukesha, there needs to be more protests.

@jkfecke:

The Wisconsin Senate now has a pro-union majority. That's what winning two seats did.

@W_Cooksey

How much did Koch brothers spend? Oh yeah they hid that amount.

Today's Teamster News 08.08.11

Democrats ready to wage state Senate recall war in Wisconsin  Washington Post   ...After months of partisan turmoil solved not all that much in Washington, the political world will turn its attention to Wisconsin this week in search of some clarity...
Walker, Ryan absent in run up to recalls  Politico   ...Wisconsin's two most polarizing Republican figures are largely absent from the action in the run-up to the recalls...
Kasich looking to privatization to cut costs, raise cash  Springfield News-Sun   ...Shifting at least five prisons to private ownership and operation is just one of Gov. John Kasich’s privatization efforts designed to cut government costs and generate cash...
Florida Governor Scott gets to work on his own problems  News-Press.com   ...Gone are the brusque tea party talking points, replaced by folksy reminiscences about family, his Navy days and business realities learned selling doughnuts and cleaning phone booths...
Snyder recall efforts retooled  Lansing State Journal   ...Tom Bryant, communication director for the Committee to Recall Rick Snyder, said the group now is retooling the effort for a new Sept. 29 deadline to get it on a February ballot...
Second Recession in U.S. Could Be Worse Than First  New York Times   ...the economy is much weaker than it was at the outset of the last recession in December 2007, with most major measures of economic health — including jobs, incomes, output and industrial production — worse today than they were back then...

Today's Teamster News 08.06.11

Prosecutors examine bribery claims in Wisconsin recall race  Reuters   ...Milwaukee prosecutors have launched two investigations into voter bribery accusations in Wisconsin involving a hotly contested upcoming recall election...
$30M spent in Wisconsin recall elections  USA Today   ...Voters on Tuesday will go to the polls to keep or boot out six Republican state senators, in a recall election that could have serious implications for the 2012 campaign...
Errors, typos plague Wisconsin recall elections  Beloit Daily News   ...Robocall errors and targeted mailing typos are beginning to litter Wisconsin’s recall campaign landscape in the closing days of the race. While Democrats and Republicans say they’ve made innocent mistakes in reaching out to the electorate, some fear democracy could pay the ultimate price...
Ohio’s Kasich Readies for Spending Cuts If Faltering Economy Clips Revenue  Bloomberg News ...Ohio Governor John Kasich stands ready to cut state spending if revenue slows as the economy sputters following what the former congressman called the “chaos” surrounding the debt-ceiling debate in Washington...
Slightly fewer people hate Rick Scott now  Miami New Times   ...Now 35 percent of Floridians approve of the way he's handling his job. That's up from only 29 percent in May. That makes Rick Scott probably the only politician in America who's happy with a 35 percent approval rating...
Survey: Snyder’s approval rating drops along with consumer confidence  Michigan Messenger   ...The most recent spring/summer version, which wrapped up in July, puts his approval rating at 31.5 percent...

VIDEO: New WI recall ad on Olsen's ethics problem

Wisconsin state Sen. Lex Luther Olsen was caught on tape laughing about a bill he authored that allegedly enriches his wife.  In Wisconsin, that's not allowed. (The enriching your wife part.) Here's a brand-new campaign ad about Olsen's ethics issue.

Olsen is defending his Senate seat because he voted for Koch whore Gov. Scott Walker's  radical attacks on Wisconsin's middle class. He faces Rep. Fred Clark in the Aug. 9 recall election.