As a Wisconsin Election Takes A Fishy Turn, is the Tea Turning Toxic?
Thursday, April 07, 2011
Wisconsin state workers protest proposed cuts to benefits. (Getty)
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MoreI think independent voters have seen enough to know they're uncomfortable. I think democratic voters are mobilized. And I think that's a microcosm of what's going on in many places around the country.
What had been a low-profile state Supreme Court election in Wisconsin yesterday drew national attention as it appeared to be an early indicator of impending toxic blowback from the Tea Party’s hard-line politics.
Surprise!
Progressive challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg appeared yesterday to have pulled off a surprise victory over incumbent conservative justice David Prosser. Prosser, who had expected an easy win, initially looked to have lost by 204 votes, largely as a result of high voter turnout by Wisconsinites angry about Governor Scott Walker’s battle with state unions.
Surprise Again!
Now the tables are turned. In what the Washington Post called a "stunning twist," a County clerk announced Thursday that she had forgotten to record 14,000 votes, which gave Prosser the lead by 7,500 votes. Clerk Kathy Nickolaus (R) of heavily Republican Waukesha County said that she had inadvertently failed to import and save information into the database, omitting the votes. Nickolaus previously worked under Prosser in the Assembly GOP Caucus years ago when Prosser was Assembly Minority Leader.