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Naturally after Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker managed to survive his recall election this Tuesday evening, Fox just had to bring in former half-term governor and failed vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin to weigh in for her perspective.

Palin told Fox's Greta Van Susteren that Walkers' win showed that "responsible austerity measures" and and reigning in the size of government, have proven effective. I'm not sure what's so "effective" about firing teachers and making classroom sizes larger and busting unions as an excuse to give your corporate buddies tax breaks, but that's their talking points and they're sticking to them. Palin also called the union leadership in Wisconsin "thugs" and said maybe they're the ones who need to be "recalled and replaced." I guess Palin believes they were acting without the support of their membership, because otherwise I'm not sure just who she thinks is going to be doing that "recalling and replacing."

Palin also went after President Obama for failing to campaign in the state and used the win by the Republicans as proof that "his goose is cooked" for the general election, ignoring the fact that the exit polling there showed the state would still support President Obama's reelection in the state by a margin of 52-43 percent over former Gov. Mitt Romney.

We're going to have a lot of hand wringing over whether President Obama showing up there would have made any difference in this recall election. I don't think it would have made a bit of difference unless we had some parity with the amount of money poured into the state. Sadly what this recall proves is that when you've got millionaires and billionaires willing to pour what's pocket change for some of them into buying an election and there's nothing to counter it on the other side, along with voter disenfranchisement, and dirty tricks, that all of us have a huge uphill battle facing us in the age of post Citizens United.

This was a big loss for labor unions in America since this recall election will be looked at as a model to further bust unions and push for more right to work for less laws and Palin won't be the only one out there ready to rub salt in that wound. It's shameful that she can talk like this and at the same time talk about her and her husband's former union membership as though she has an ounce of respect for the labor movement. Anyone who plays the divide and conquer game with unions and their elected leaders doesn't understand that the members are the unions and when you go after the people they elected to represent them, you're going after the members as well. Neither exists in a vacuum.

h/t Media Matters

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I'm not sure what impact this had on the recall election this Tuesday night in Wisconsin, but I agree with state Sen. Lena Taylor that those responsible ought to be held to account for this voter suppression tactic. Maybe if we had a few more people going to jail for pulling these type of stunts, they'd be less likely to do it in the first place. It's shameful that Republicans have proven themselves once again willing to do whatever is necessary to suppress voter turnout in order to make sure they win elections.

Wisconsin State Senator: investigations and prosecutions needed for voter suppression:

Investigations and criminal prosecutions are needed for election fraud in Tuesday night's gubernatorial election, Wisconsin State Senator Lena Taylor said. Taylor wrote to the state's Government Accountability Board, arguing that "It is imperative that your agency uphold the law and criminally prosecute any person that is engaged in voter suppression and disenfranchisement tactics." Robocalls have been made to citizens in Wisconsin misleadingly telling them that they needn't vote if they already signed the petition to recall Governor Scott Walker. "It is my understanding that a reporter did call and find out that that call did come from the Republican Party,"

Taylor said, speaking on The Ed Show. "I'm looking forward to the GAB doing an investigation, and I think the Attorney General also should have done and should be doing an investigation of anyone who is attempting to intimidate or to give misinformation to voters in order to suppress votes."Taylor said that the robocalls were an obvious attempt to reverse the momentum that the pro-recall side has made. "They know that the momentum is with [Milwaukee Democratic Mayor]Tom Barrett and they’re determined to cheat and do whatever they can,” she said. “I will characterize this robo-call, frankly, as a disgusting tactic. A fear tactic."

IMHO anyone engaging in this sort of activity ought to be facing some severe criminal penalties and looking at some real jail time for doing it. I'm no expert on Wisconsin law and do not know what the punishment is if they can prove who was making these calls. I was glad to see the state Senator call for the matter to be looked into. I'm sick to death of this type of tactic being allowed to go on and I hope sincerely that Ed Schultz follows up on it so what happened receives some further scrutiny than just the coverage on his show this Tuesday evening.

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Nothing like seeing a Republican vow to do their best to make sure all of the voters of her state still have to worry about being thrown off of the voting rolls even if they don't belong there, as GOP AG Pam Bondi promised to do on Megyn Kelly's show on Fox this Tuesday:

AG Pam Bondi Promises Florida Will ‘Keep Fighting’ For Voter Purge:

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News’ Megyn Kelly on Tuesday that the state would “keep fighting” for its right to purge noncitizens from the state’s voter rolls, even though the efforts have removed legitimate voters from the rolls.

“I think every American should find it very frustrating and troubling that [the feds] don’t want to work with our state to insure that the proper people vote,” Bondi said.

The Justice Department told Florida last week that their voter list purge is illegal. Florida is supposed to respond by Wednesday.

Bondi went on to blame their latest tactics on asking the federal government for a list from Homeland Security and it not being made available to them, instead of the list they used to purge the voters off of the rolls. I'll be curious to find out if that statement is true, just what information they were asking for and why it was denied and why the state thought that justified their actions in response. It doesn't change the fact that they instead decided to start purging voters from their rolls that they knew full well were probably legal voters and why the Republicans would have an interest in doing so.

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Credit: Citizens for Tax Justice

On Monday, the Associated Press gave Mitt Romney great headline. Summing up recent analyses comparing how President Obama and his challenger would fare under their own tax plans, the AP reported "Obama win could cost Romney $5M in personal taxes." Rather than declaring "Romney would cut his own tax bill in half," the AP instead seemed to suggest Governor Romney and his ilk would be the target of punitive taxes in a second Obama term. Even more glaring, Romney's plan to eliminate the estate tax was omitted altogether. And with just that one change, President Romney's heirs could theoretically pocket an $80 million windfall from the United States Treasury; a revenue hole that would have to be filled by all other American taxpayers.

The AP's Connie Cass reviewed studies by the conservative Tax Foundation and the more liberal Citizens for Tax Justice. She concluded:

Compared with what they owed in April, both men would be dinged in 2013 under Obama's proposal, along with other wealthy taxpayers. They could expect savings under Romney, depending on which tax breaks the former Massachusetts governor decides to oppose.

Among other changes to the tax code, President Obama wants to let the top tax rate for earners of $250,000 to return to its Clinton-era level of 39.6 percent and implement the Buffett Rule, guaranteeing millionaires pay a minimum 30 percent effective tax rate. (Obama would also end the "carried interest exemption" that allows Mitt Romney and other similar financiers to pay under 15 percent to Uncle Sam each year.) In contrast, Romney would not only make the Bush tax cuts permanent, but deliver a 20 percent across-the-board tax cut. Upper income taxpayers would not only see their rate slashed to 28 percent, but would benefit by the elimination of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). As Cass rightly points out, "To help offset the government's losses from lower rates, Romney says he would end some tax breaks. But he hasn't said which ones, so it's impossible to calculate the effect."

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Continuing their ongoing disdain for working families, Verizon announced May 30 that it would be laying off more than 600 workers in New England and New Jersey, despite making record profits. The layoffs also come at a time when customer complaints in the affected areas are on the rise and the quality of service is declining.

New Jersey will lose 382 wireline technician positions, while the New England area is slated to lose 306. The proposed layoffs could go into effect as early as September.

The cutbacks threaten not only basic upkeep and improvement of the company’s wireline service, but future build-out of Verizon FiOS – the only all-fiber optic commercial network in America – putting needed investment in high-speed broadband at risk, says Boston IBEW Local 2222 Business Manager Myles Calvey:

"FiOS jobs are wireline jobs and by cutting its existing work force, Verizon is putting big paydays for its top executives above building a world-class telecommunications infrastructure."

Calvey represents more than 6,800 Verizon employees in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

This comes on the heels of anti-union activities by Verizon that led to a strike in 2011:

Negotiations between the telecommunications giant and the IBEW and CWA on a new contract remain deadlocked, with Verizon putting the same package of givebacks on the table, including eliminating the company’s pension plan, giving management more leeway to outsource jobs and dramatically increasing health care premiums and deductibles.

As a result, more than 45,000 workers from New England to Virginia struck for nearly two weeks last August to protest the company’s draconian cutback demands.

At the same time Verizon is cutting its work force, the company’s wireless division continues to lobby for its proposed monopoly with Comcast and Time Warner – a deal which would end competition, raise prices and discontinue the development of a high-speed Internet infrastructure.

In January, Verizon Wireless announced plans to purchase $3.6 billion worth of spectrum from a consortium of top cable providers including Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks and Cox. If approved by the Federal Communications Commission, the telecommunications giant would begin offering “quad” play – combined video, Internet, voice, and wireless service.

The media was trying to turn this into a battle of surrogates for Obama and Clinton, but I think it was just plain old bare-knuckles politics:

In an upset, U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell has defeated fellow incumbent U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman in the Democratic primary for the 9th Congressional District.

Rothman conceded shortly after 10:30 p.m.

"The voters have made their choice and we respect their choice," Rothman said at a Fort Lee hotel. He added it was a "tremendous honor” to serve in the ninth district and probably will not run for public office again.

The two men found themselves facing off after redistricting, which put Rothman in a heavily Republican district and Pascrell in a district that more closely resembled the one Rothman had represented than his own. Rather than run an uphill battle against a Republican incumbent, Rothman chose to move to Englewood and run against Pascrell.

Rothman and Pascrell spent the race trying to outdo each others’ liberal credentials and high profile endorsements, with Pascrell showing off former president Bill Clinton’s support while Rothman signaled President Obama favors his candidacy, although not officially.

Pascrell hit Rothman for moving instead of running against conservative Rep. Scott Garrett (R-5th Dist.), while

Rothman attacked Pascrell for opposing partial birth abortion and voting to build a border fence with Mexico, among other things.

Rothman was considered to have an advantage in the race because the majority of Democrats in the district were used to voting for him

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A Republican candidate and law enforcement officer in California is promising to "take Linda Sanchez out" in a campaign ad against the incumbent Democratic representative that features an animated machine gun.

In the 5-minute commercial posted to YouTube on Monday, a machine is seen blasting away at a wall to reveal the message, "Jorge Robles for Congress: Take Linda Sanchez Out of Office."

The ad goes on to declare that Rep. Linda Sanchez is a "hot mess" because she has not paid off her student loans and "has problems budgeting her lifestyle."

It concludes with the animation of a machine gun again firing at a wall with Sanchez's name on it.

Robles campaign manager Robert Davis pointed to the candidate's job as a state parole agent as an explanation for the violent imagery.

"Mr. Robles is in law enforcement, if you’re not aware of that, so I think it’s his way of just kind of sending our message," Davis told Politicker. "We’re going after Linda Sanchez, not in the way that portrays it to be if you’re thinking like that."

Sanchez is in a three-way race with Robles and Republican accountant Benjamin Campos in the heavily-Democratic 38th District. The primary is being held on Tuesday, but because of the top-two primary format, Sanchez will almost certainly face one of the Republicans again in November.

Last year, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) was shot in Arizona after former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) put her on a "target list" that included an image of crosshairs over the congresswoman's district.

Robles did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.

Oops! This slipup by Mike Huckabee accidentally reveals the truth about our favorite non-news channel. In this clip, he declares that the nation would think Barack Obama was doing just fine if it weren't for Fox News. Boy howdy, I'll bet he feels like a weight has lifted from his shoulders after that confession.

Raw Story:

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee (R) had an oops moment on his radio show Monday, and this one’s going to leave a mark.Speaking about America’s media landscape in general, Huckabee suggested that without Fox News acting as a counterweight to “mainstream media,” most Americans “will assume that Obama really is just doing a great job and he just can’t get those crazy Republicans to help him out.”

Why yes, Pastor Huckabee. That happens to be the truth, right there, falling out of your mouth without so much as a second thought. Not only that, but without Fox News, our population would be smarter, more well-informed, and less prone to extreme, ridiculous thoughts about birth certificates and such.

Thanks for clearing that up!

So I looked at the exit polling data, and a substantial number of Wisconsinites (60 percent, according to MSNBC) seem to have voted for Walker because they thought this recall election was an abuse of the recall process. That they thought recalls should only be used for "high crimes and misdemeanors", not political differences. (You know, like the pending indictments in the John Doe investigation?)

And of course the lesson Democrats will take from this election is that they need to act more like Republicans.

The tentative silver lining in this is that the Dems seem to have won one of the four state senate races, giving them a razor-thin edge in controlling the senate - and thus, depriving Scott Walker of his previous rubber stamp:

RACINE — In a crucial election that swings control of the state Senate to the Democrats, Racine County appeared to have ousted current state Sen. Van Wanggaard Tuesday.

Former state Sen. John Lehman, D-Racine led state incumbent Republican Sen. Van Wanggaard, with 36,255 votes to Wanggaard's 35,476 votes, according to unofficial results with all precincts reporting.

Three Republicans won state Senate races Tuesday in Wisconsin, but with Lehman winning Racine County, the Democrats will take control of the Senate and gain the 17-16 majority.

Lehman declared victory shortly before 1 a.m.

“First of all, this victory is solely dedicated to all the hardworking volunteers who have put us over the top tonight," he stated in a news release. "Tonight, the citizens of Racine County voted for checks and balances in our state legislature. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the state senate.”

Around 12:50 a.m., Justin Phillips, Wanggaard’s campaign manager, released a statement saying, “We owe it to all of Senator Wanggaard’s supporters and the voters of Wisconsin to thoroughly examine the election and its results and act accordingly once we have all of the information.”

Some of the delay came from absentee ballots. More than an hour after polls had closed in Racine, and as late as 11:30 p.m. in Mount Pleasant, election workers were still entering stacks of absentee ballots.

But (you knew there was a "but") their regular legislative session has already ended for the year:

Though taking control of the Senate is a huge moral victory for the Democrats, they won't be able to do much with it, at least for a while. The Legislature isn't scheduled to convene again until January, and Democrats will have to defend their majority in November's elections.

But Democrats will be able to block any Republican legislation should Walker call for a special session of the Legislature. And if the Democrats maintain their majority, it would make life politically difficult for Walker for the first time; his fellow Republicans have controlled both the state Assembly and Senate since he took office in January 2011.

French Girl in Seattle: Lest we forget, today is the 68th anniversary of D-Day. This week is also the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Midway, as one vet remembers.

Mad Kane: Americans’ pain is the GOP’s gain - a limerick ode to Republican schadenfreude.

Echidne of the Snakes: When it comes to America’s “debt indulgence,” David Brooks believes George W. Bush wasn’t the problem and Scott Walker is the answer.

Timothy Noah: Today’s Republicans get apoplectic when the working poor pay no income taxes. But when it’s the rich, not so much.

Speaking of which, your quote of the day: “The best anti-poverty, the best pro-family, the best job creation measure to come out of Congress." (Ronald Reagan, on the Earned Income Tax Credit)

Guest blogging Mike's Blog Round Up today is Jon Perr from Perrspectives. Send your tips, recommendations, comments and angst to mbru AT crooksandliars DOT com.