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Republican faithful gear up to defend Walker
Kristyna Wentz-Graff
Cathy Waller, executive director of the Republican Party of Waukesha County, works with field director Ethan Schuh on Friday to prepare a training area at party headquarters in Waukesha. The office is open months earlier than usual because of the recall effort against Gov. Scott Walker.
e-mail print By Bill Glauber of the Journal Sentinel
Jan. 14, 2012 |(1543) COMMENTS
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Kristyna Wentz-Graff
Republican Party volunteer Ann Strakulski of Pewaukee works the desk at Waukesha headquarters, while field director Ethan Schuh takes a call Friday.
Election 2012
Complete coverage of the 2012 spring and fall elections as well as updates on the ongoing recall efforts.
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Waukesha - Martha Ryan puts in 10 hours a week to support Gov. Scott Walker.
She works the front desk at the Waukesha County Republican Party headquarters, answering phones, greeting visitors, and, when they're in stock, handing out lawn signs that say, "Stand with Walker."
Ryan also does a lot of listening.
"People want to vent their frustration," she said. "I tell them, they're preaching to the choir here."
Mainly sidelined for two months as Walker's opponents gathered hundreds of thousands of signatures in hopes of triggering a recall election, the Republican base now appears poised to demonstrate its support for the governor.
On Tuesday in Madison, recall petitions will be filed against Walker, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and four Republican state senators.
Signatures were gathered by Democrats, labor groups and a grass-roots organization called United Wisconsin. They need 540,208 valid signatures to trigger recall elections against Walker and Kleefisch and lesser amounts to force elections against the four state sena tors, including Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau).
Republicans say they're ready to scour the signatures to make sure they're up to snuff. More than 5,000 people have volunteered for the verification effort through a website, a Republican Party spokesman said, while hundreds of others have signed up at county GOP headquarters. Verification will begin once the petitions are made available by the state Government Accountability Board.
"We are putting together this comprehensive statewide effort to assure that Wisconsin electors are not disenfranchised," said Ben Sparks, a GOP spokesman. "This is in response to the repeated allegations of fraud that have permeated this process from day one."
Democrats say, bring it on.
"The Republican narrative that there are vast numbers of fraudulent petitions is a fiction designed to demean the people of Wisconsin who have voiced their opposition to Scott Walker, as well as rig the clock in Walker's favor by creating delay after delay after delay," said Graeme Zielinski, the Democratic Party spokesman. "Scott Walker himself has said this election is inevitable, so just what the Republicans and tea party are doing with these 'verification' efforts defies understanding."
Local Republican leaders say their base is fired up.
Jim Geldreich, Washington County GOP chair, said enthusiasm is strong and volunteer sign-up for the recall verification is "off the charts."
David Karst, Milwaukee County GOP chair, said volunteers are determined to keep Walker in office.
"We had an election (in 2010)," Karst said. "Their voice was heard. Now, we have to go ahead and confirm that vote again. We're in constant campaign mode. The opposition just won't let it go."
Walker supporters are even going out on their own to back the governor, some with homemade baseball caps and signs.
An idea that was triggered among Facebook friends has morphed into a planned pro-Walker rally for Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. at Hart Park in Wauwatosa. Among the scheduled speakers, three Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate: former Gov. Tommy Thompson, former U.S. Rep. Mark Neumann and Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald of Horicon.
Two of the rally's organizers, Paris Procopis and Noelle Lorraine, said the event just evolved over the last few weeks with volunteers pooling resources to get the thing off the ground.
"No one in their right mind will rent the park in the winter, but we feel so passionate about this," Procopis said.
"Effectively, our democracy is in jeopardy if they succeed in removing Walker. It sets the precedent that anytime you don't like someone, you can remove them from office. It will prevent people from being bold," added Procopis, a Republican activist who fell eight signatures short of qualifying for the ballot in 2010 to run against Rep. David Cullen (D-Milwaukee).
The energy to back Walker can now be seen most vividly in Wisconsin's Republican stronghold, Waukesha County. Pro-Walker yard signs are popping up even though a recall election might not take place until summer.
There's also a lot of activity at the county's GOP campaign headquarters, which normally doesn't open until July of a big election year. Volunteers are on the phone contacting voters. Visitors want yard signs, but they're often on back order.
"The passion is going to skyrocket to keep Scott Walker in office," said Keith Best, a member of the Waukesha GOP executive committee.
Cathy Waller, the Waukesha GOP executive director, said new volunteers are signing up every day and energy is high.
"I think it is way beyond what I've seen before," she said of the volunteer activity. "A lot of new folks, new faces." |
