Quote:MADISON — Arthur Kohl-Riggs dresses as Abraham Lincoln and says he is a better representative of the Republican Party than Gov. Scott Walker. Kohl-Riggs is running against Walker in the upcoming gubernatorial recall primary. Kohl-Riggs is one of the placeholder candidates running in the race.

23-year-old Kohl-Riggs made a name for himself as the “Abe Lincoln Protester” during the budget battle. Now, he’s running as a Republican in the recall primary against Walker.

“I’m running as a Republican in the Wisconsin gubernatorial election against Scott Walker because Wisconsin has a long and proud tradition of progressive Republicans. The party was actually founded in Wisconsin as a pro-labor, abolitionist party,” Kohl-Riggs said.

Kohl-Riggs says he’s not a “placeholder,” but says his presence on the ballot should ensure Republicans vote for Walker, and don’t cross over into the Democratic Party.

“I think Walker is the ‘fake Republican.’ He doesn’t instill any of the values of the party of Lincoln. I’m encouraging anyone who my message resonates with to vote for me in the primary,” Kohl-Riggs said.

Walker has called Kohl-Riggs a sideshow. “My opponents are not the people on my ballot. My opponents are the out-of-state union bosses in Washington,” Walker said.

Meanwhile, some top Republicans like state Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald and state Representative Robin Vos have openly talked about Republican voters crossing over into the Democratic primary. “Will some do it? I’m sure some will. It’s an open primary,” Vos said.

That brought harsh criticism from Democratic candidates.

“Let’s be honest about this – it’s disgusting,” Secretary of State Doug LaFollette said.

“They don’t want the same old politics. They’re tired of being told who to vote for,” Kathleen Vinehout said.

Walker says the “placeholders” serve a purpose. “The best thing that happened out of all of that is that all of the elections will be on June 5th. I’ve had so many people tell me that whether they’re Republican or Democrat, there’s real confusion about May 8 and June 5. I think everybody wants the recall election to be on the same day,” Walker said.

There is also a “placeholder” candidate running for governor on the Democratic side. Her name is Gladys Huber. She also served as a placeholder candidate in the Senate recall last summer.

Moonlapse Wrote:OT: Interesting to see where a "progressive republican" would stand on the issues.

Eos Wrote:Where ever he stands to make the most profit, duh.

FrozNlite Wrote:Story of my life for the past year and a half. He was recalled back in January with a submission of just over 1 million recall signatures, coming to roughly twice the amount necessary to force the recall. The election will take place on June 5th and I can't wait to see him kicked out.

Abbeh Wrote:No kidding. My school lost a bunch of amazing professors who ragequit retired due to all of his bullpomegranate. A lot of my classmates are in a panic/upset because they're supposed to graduate soon but the 400 level classes they still need have no one qualified to teach them, and thus may not be offered at all. The remaining professors have no time to deal with the students outside of class because they're constantly tied up trying to maintain the departments and going to meetings and interviewing potential new professors. :\

It hit a lot of my friends' families really, really hard, too. I've never been so thankful for being a non-resident student. x_x

Moonlapse Wrote:What did he do? Cut funding?


On a side note: Texas has Rick Perry and our educational system sucks (except for A&M and Texas Tech <3). I can see why a Republican would cause such problems.

Moonlapse Wrote:What did he do? Cut funding?

Abbeh Wrote:He did a LOT of things, and I admittedly just hung my head and stopped paying attention after a point unless it was in my face or someone posted an article about it on facebook, because ignorance is bliss. So some of the other Wisconsonites might be able to enlighten you more/understand the situation better than me.

I know he took away collective bargaining rights across the state. One of breaking points for my professors was when they all lost their healthcare benefits... Which is one of the main reasons people choose a career in education. There was talk about taking away their retirement funds entirely, as well, which is what rushed one of my advisers to randomly retire over the summer. I don't know if it ever happened, but when you've had a chunk of your paycheck put into that account for the last 30 years, better safe than sorry I guess.

There are now "NO HANDGUNS ALLOWED" signs on all of my school buildings and many stores because carrying a concealed weapon is now completely legal in WI.

The last bit I caught recently was he made it completely legal for employers to pay women significantly less than men, as men take obviously take their jobs more seriously and deserve better pay because some women take time off for childbirth.

Quote:I have some amigos you would LOVE to meet up with.

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