Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Was Petak the Canary in the TEA Party Mine?

Good ol' George Petak.  (And we'll get to Hopper, too.)

Sixteen years ago, former state Sen. George Petak, R-Racine, voted on one issue that lost him his job. He voted yes, to allow Racine County to become a part of the Brewers stadium sales tax district in 1995. Enough local residents were outraged that he was recalled.

Establishment Republicans tell us that Petak was recalled because the Democrats wanted to control the Senate, so they engineered his downfall following his vote.

Conservatives, on the other hand, were not too pleased with spending $450 million for a playground.  Perhaps Petak was the (very) early first victim of the "less Gummint" movement.  Maybe he wasn't; but the antipathy to Big Gummint Republicans continues.  See, e.g., the difficulty that "Stick-It-To-'Em" Thompson has whenever he seeks another elected office.

As to Hopper:  it wasn't the divorce.

It was his abuse of office:  getting the babe a job with the State.  Actual Conservatives don't like that stuff.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

you mean cons. like Scott Walker? What'd he ever do to stop Miller Park, which makes Tommy B's Trolley seem like spare change.

BTW, no one represents me, or my neighbors, or anyone on the Stadium Tax-whatever-we-feel-like-as-long-as-we-want-board. The Selig tribe's, and a certain junk bond whiz's concerns always seem to be assuaged though....

jimspice said...

"...abuse of office..."

I wish you'd post on stuff like this, stuff almost anyone can agree with, more often. NO ONE like waste, abuse, graft, inefficiency, pay-for-play, deceit, closed doors, etc. I promise to agree with you when you call out my side if you'd agree to call out your own more often.

Dad29 said...

Generally, Jim, if I know about it, I post it, although it has to be germane. (Not East Noplace, Montana.)