DISAP-POINT-MENT
fake news friday Another Democrat enters the recall fray and confusion during Tuesday’s primary elections +PAGE 2 University of Wisconsin-Madison
The Badger men fell by one in Iowa City Thursday in their second loss to the Hawkeyes this season. +SPORTS, page 8 Complete campus coverage since 1892
The high price of division
Graphics by Dylan Moriarty
l
dailycardinal.com
Long after the signs were removed, the Capitol lawn was reseeded, and the thousands of protestors departed, the ever-present partisan division and immense rise in lobbyist fundraising born during the spring protests continue to define Wisconsin politics today. Gov. Scott Walker’s collective bargaining limits that inspired massive labor protests at the Capitol also gave both political action committees and labor unions the motivation to spend big to support the ideology that fits their interests. But some state senators say that even before Walker’s divisive budget, money from left and right wing groups created a legislature where lawmakers are so ideologically separated they view each other as detrimental to Wisconsin’s progress. Among Walker’s supporters is Americans for Prosperity, the conservative think tank created by David and Charles Koch, founders of Kansasbased Koch Industries. They began contributing to Wisconsin Republicans in 2005 and spent $400,000 on advertisements supporting Walker’s policies during the Capitol protests. They contribute to Republican politicians that support freemarket policies in more than 30 states. While labor unions have historically contributed to Democrats, 25 labor unions together, including Wisconsin State AFL-CIO and Wisconsin Education Association Council, spent more than $7 million from January to June 2011. That was $5 million more than the first six months of 2009 when the previous budget was introduced. Wisconsin Unions contributed most significantly. Mike McCabe, director of Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, a nonpartisan group that tracks money in state politics, said the amount of money groups gave to candidates was “unprecedented,” and has not been witnessed here. “[The amount of influence outside donors have is] something we haven’t seen in politics,” McCabe said. “It has to do with the fact that Wisconsin has been thrust on the nation’s stage, becoming a pawn on a much larger national chess board.” Political action committees contributed $4.3 million mostly in negative campaign advertisements in the April Supreme Court race between incumbent Justice David Prosser, who Walker supporters favored, and unknown Asst. Attorney
With block party assured, students, police discuss safety By Jeffrey More The Daily Cardinal
As students, residents, city officials and the Madison Police Department concluded that an event on Mifflin Street in May is inevitable, the focus of a Mifflin neighborhood meeting Thursday was part of an initial discussion on how to make the party this year safer. The city hopes to have plans for the party finalized by mid-March. Along with the number of alcohol-related arrests and
citations, last year’s block party was marred by two stabbings, which led Mayor Paul Soglin to threaten that he would cancel the party this year. “[The mayor’s goal] is not to end the event this year,” said Mark Woulf, Madison’s alcohol policy coordinator. “There’s still going to be a large group of people that shows up on Mifflin Street on May 5. That’s the reality.” In previous years, police said they could not set up a controlled environment
around Mifflin Street because the area lining the street is residential private property. “Our charge as police officers is to make the event safe, and what we’ve seen from last year is that it wasn’t,” Lt. David McCaw said. Madison Police said they would make landlords more accountable for violations this year. Police may limit households to 50 people, and if fire marshals find houses that violate the rule, they will contact and
mifflin page 3
Weekend, February 24-26, 2012
How an influx of special interest spending split Wisconsin in two and kept it that way.
STORY BY Rachel Hahn and Samy Moskol
politics page 3
Professor testifies in federal trial on redistricting maps’ impact on Latinos UW-Madison political science professor Ken Mayer testified in the ongoing redistricting lawsuit Thursday that the Latino vote would be significantly diminished under the new state election maps drawn by Republicans. In the federal trial over the constitutionality of the new maps, Mayer said the changes to the 8th and 9th Assembly district boundaries “would simply overwhelm the voting power of the Latino community” by splitting up certain Latino areas in Milwaukee, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Mayer said the districts were “radically reconfigured,” noting that only about half of the current
residents in the 8th district would remain in their district under the new maps. Mayer’s testimony came the day after Republican lawmakers declined the court’s request to redraw the election maps set to take effect in November. The Milwaukee-based Latino rights group Voces de la Frontera filed the lawsuit earlier this month, claiming the maps violate the Voting Rights Act. Republicans claim the maps signed into law last year cannot be altered, because the constitution states legislative voting lines can only be redrawn once every ten years.
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”