Shelly Moore: Not running against Harsdorf out of frustration or anger
May 13, 2011 at 8:04 am in River Falls Journal
During a one-on-one interview, 10th Senate District Democratic candidate Shelly Moore said she views her candidacy in the recall election against Sheila Harsdorf as expanding what she does in the classroom. Moore, who teaches English/Drama at Ellsworth High School, said she will reach out to 10th District constituents whose voices are no longer being heard. Continue Reading
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“While a Democrat, Moore said her views and those of her constituents come first. As an example, she described herself as “very pro-gun,†a position not usually taken by Democrats. She also called herself a “fiscal conservative.— Why do all Democrats campaign to the right to get elected and then take a sharp left once elected? Why did you, Ms. Moore, scrub the content of you in regards to your actions on the WEAC board? “name calling against her by Republicans began Tuesday, May 3″ yes, but you and the democrats have been after Mrs. Harsdorf for over a decade. Politics are ugly, if you do not have the skin thick enough to be called what the Democrats have called Mrs. Harsdorff, you in for a rude awakening. How about a gather a few hundred people and go picket on your property, send threats of violence, all actions that have never been condemned by the Democrats or the WEAC. Do not throw stones in a glass house, and you are not above the people you associate with.
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Mr. Knox, I basically agree with you regarding the money in politics. The Dems like to bring the Koch brothers into the conversation while conveniently ignoring the money George Soros infuses into progressive politics and his reach into mainstream media.
If Walker didn’t disclose “how far right he is”, did Obama disclose “how far left” he is? Now two misleading candidates don’t balance things out. But it is an indication of the battle going on in this country: the battle between big or small government. The “center” for each of those views are very dissimilar even if they overlap a little.
I really don’t believe Ms Moore is being honest either. Why didn’t she run in the last election against Ms Harsdorf, or wait for the next normal election cycle?
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It seems the loudest voices that have been heard since Feb are angry and frustrated. All this because the public employee unions want to keep their “I’m special” status quo.
I don’t understand why having to vote each year to keep a union or requiring people to send in union dues (instead of the local government unit having to deduct from your paycheck and pay for the accounting methods and check writing) is so unreasonable. If I want to belong to a group, I write the dues check and send it.
A local school board member told me the district could save over half a million dollars if they could shop for health care rather than be forced to buy it through WEA.
This recall is being financed by MTI, Inc (Madison Teachers), the Democrat party and out-of-state interests. These people have already cost the taxpayers of WI $7.800.000 in security costs for the Madison protests, $270,00 in damage repair for the capitol building, a yet unknown cost for the Kloppenburg recount (which was NOT required: she had the CHOICE to ask for a recount or graciously admit Prosser won), and now we get to pay for a special election because Ms Moore isn’t angry but thinks we “aren’t being heard.”
Ms Moore, if you weren’t getting out-of-district money would you pay for this with your own money and money only from people in this district?
Hear this Ms Moore: we need to quit spending money and this recall is COSTING us money.
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Ms. Riley,
I realize your golden egg may be broken, but understand some of us in the private sector are tired of being held hostage by public unions. Even FDR was against collective bargaining for public employee unions. What is it, 26 states also outlaw/restrict collective bargaining for public unions (I think Mass. just joined the list) and there doesn’t seem to be a shortage of public employees in those states.
Yes, we all hear your disrespectful words, disrupting protests, costly occupation of the capitol ($7.8 million for security, $280,000 for repairs), intimidation of businesses to support unions, and importation of paid protesters and recall signature gatherers.
There is a blogger in Madison who daily documented the protests and occupation better than any mainstream media. Unfortunately her blog, http://www.althouse.blogspot.com is having goggle-related problems and the archives aren’t currently available. Hopefully that is corrected soon and you and others can enjoy neutral video and photo coverage of the protest circus, street-corner doctors handing out medical excuses to “sick” (but not striking!) public employees, and the most disgusting disrespectful language shouted at a 14-year-old speaker at the tax day rally.
Governor Walker, Senator Harsdorf and all Republicans got their hands dirty trying to straighten out the Doyle budget problems. Restricting collective bargaining may not impact the state budget, but it is VERY important and necessary at the local level to control costs.
If you aren’t being compensated for your government job, quit! Go find a better paying job in the private sector or start your own business.
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FYI: if you visit the Althouse blog, just be warned she respects freedom of speech.
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Ms. Riley,
I find it hard to understand vague language. I do not know what “LTE”is, but I can assume it is “limited term employment”, in other words a part-time or seasonal job? I’ve never had a part-time or seasonal job that came with benefits and overtime, so the public and private job sectors are similar-paycheck only, be responsible for your own golden egg.
I don’t know what “disrespectful words” I’ve used “again, and again, and again.” I can only think of one word that might offend liberals; calling the Senators who fled the state and held up the state’s business for weeks “fleebaggers.” I have no respect for the 14, and if anyone in the private sector had pulled that stunt he/she would have been fired. Be specific, please.
“I love my public sector job and will fight for the right to keep it and to be fairly compensated…”
I’m struck by the “right” to a public sector job you believe you have. Real world check: private sector employees don’t have a “right” to their job, they have to continually contribute productive labor to a business that allows that business to make enough return to afford the employee. I had no “right” to my job when my employer closed the doors 6 years ago, neither did those who had been there long enough to qualify as “tenured.”
Who is the public sector employer? The taxpayer…who just happens to be running short of money. BTW, restricting public employee collective bargaining to wages only will likely SAVE public employee jobs by avoiding layoffs.
“Fairly compensated” is subjective. Asking teachers to contribute to health insurance and pensions at rates still lower than most private sector employees is hardly unfair.
Congratulations on being self-employed to some degree for the last 15 years. And actually my suggesting public employees quit if they don’t feel well compensated and start there own business has a lot to do with public employees. As the taxpaying pool of workers/businesses shrink (due to retirement or business closing/moving out of state) there are more demands on the remaining taxpayers to pay those promised public union retirement benefits, and business owners become a prime target to supply those funds. The best way to feel the pain of paying for public employee benefits is to be self-employed.
NO
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When you compare your benefits to the private sector, you will find your benefits are above average. Particularly pension and medical benefits now and in retirement.
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Mr. Knox,
A few of the education problems:
state mandates, federal mandates, tenure, parents who abdicate their parental responsibilities to teachers, school districts and teachers who teach progressive ideologies (students in both HS and college reported being “taught” about the evils of Walker and the devastating loss of collective bargaining and being encouraged to protest.)
Best thing that could happen for education is to eliminate federal intrusion, cut state mandates, allow vouchers and school choice.
From a WSJ opinion piece by Stephen Moore (We’ve Become A Nation of Takers, Not Makers) comparing government and private:
Where are the productivity gains in government? Consider a core function of state and local governments: schools. Over the period 1970-2005, school spending per pupil, adjusted for inflation, doubled, while standardized achievement test scores were flat. Over roughly that same time period, public-school employment doubled per student, according to a study by researchers at the University of Washington. That is what economists call negative productivity.
But education is an industry where we measure performance backwards: We gauge school performance not by outputs, but by inputs. If quality falls, we say we didn’t pay teachers enough or we need smaller class sizes or newer schools. If education had undergone the same productivity revolution that manufacturing has, we would have half as many educators, smaller school budgets, and higher graduation rates and test scores.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704050204576219073867182108.html
I voted Democrat until Fall, 2010 when it was obvious people who would deal with the spending problem were willing to step up, accept abuse, and put their political futures on the line.
I was told at the last school district labor negotiation a board member asked the teacher reps if they would accept a pay freeze given the difficult economic problems of the district residents. They said, “NO”.
I spoke with the spouse of my state representative and was told there was a steady stream of teachers at my representatives’ office during the protests. When my rep told the teachers it was restricted collective bargaining or lay-offs, without exception the teachers responded, “that’s okay, I have tenure.”
Much to think about.
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Over 60% of property taxes go to schools and they want more. Despite pouring more and more money into education, scores haven’t increased. The system IS broken and should be overhauled.
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Mr. Knox,
I guess I don’t assume someone will lie when asked a direct question about how things were going at the capitol during the protest and if my rep was getting feedback from public employees. I believe in trust but verify….and the more someone feels a need to lie the less respect and confidence I have for him/her. I honestly believe my rep and spouse would have enjoyed telling about a teacher walking in with a plan for dealing with the budget problems (other than raise taxes.)
I really think education would benefit from competition for students, and district boundaries are barriers to that competition. State, and now federal, mandates are often mentioned by teachers and school boards as barriers to local control and methods of teaching.
Imagine if a teacher taught a class knowing that he/she had to produce an educated student otherwise that student will leave that school and go to a school that does educate. There probably will be less time spent on social justice issues (parental responsibility for the most part), and maybe the teachers who spent class time discussing collective bargaining instead of their subject would have thought twice (it happened!).
Taxpayers are told by school districts/teachers we need new buildings, we need new technology, we need fewer students/class (so we need new classrooms)….for what? Students who aren’t testing much higher than 40 years ago.
It seems once a year we hear how US students are falling below their world peers in math and science, yet cost/pupil is so much greater in the US.
I’ve talked with school board members over the years, and my spouse loved analyzing the school district balance sheet. There is a lot of frustration in pouring more money into a system that isn’t reflected in smarter kids.
The kick in the pants comes from teachers who work 9 months, have a fit about paying more for benefits (and even then that percentage is less than the private sector), and can’t accept the same restrictions on collective bargaining 26 other states have. It’s too much.
Education needs reform, start with getting the politicians out of it, especially at the federal level. I would love to carry on a conversation with you because I get the feeling you are in the education system and have an interesting viewpoint of the good and bad of it. Unfortunately this break in the weather has me working 15-18 hours a day right now, and I won’t be able to spend time on the computer. I wish there was a forum not dependent on a news story we could identify and discuss the problems. take care
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g s
Yes, much to discuss and these forums aren’t really the best place for it. Perhaps a cup of coffee on a rainy day sometime. I’m in the phone book. I appreciate some of what you’ve said and I do take that into consideration when I evaluate my own stances.
I hope that you are open to changing your mind about what you think that teachers think. Yes, I am one. So often people project what they think our arguments are onto us or take an opinion from one person and believe all in that group buy into it. Silliness. Most of us don’t eat apples either.
Take care!
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drop the salaries on the phd’s that sit on their bums doing nothing and just collect their cash for being the one with more college time in ………they contribute NOTHING to our kids education yet they make crazy salaries. Almost as crazy as our full time fire chief , in charge of a volunteer fire department and raking in close to 6 figures with benefits calculated in there. What , are we that stupid in RF?
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Danimal, I have to try hard to follow your logic, and when there isn’t any logic to follow it ends up just being sad.
I wish you would get a sense of curiosity about life, and when you do, you may find a need for truth.
Paul Ryan’s plan is so offensive to the weak because he is being honest about the problems facing this country. If you are over age 55, nothing will change. If you are under age 55, Mr. Ryan is warning you that YOU will have to take more responsibility for YOUR future, that today’s programs will not have the needed money, mainly because there are fewer people contributing.
You need to ask yourself if you want to run your own life, or let someone else make your own decisions. Freedom or socialism? You sound like a socialist, and given the personal stories of the common-man socialist, I feel very sorry for you.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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repeating lies doesn’t make them correct. Oil companies do not get subsidies, they get the same IRS treatment other companies get, the right to use accelerated depreciation.
“sustainable/green” energy is not economically viable and could not exist without government mandated regulations and true subsidies. Each windmill you see generating “green” energy got the company a $1,000,000 check from the federal government. And then there are the associated costs you don’t see. Do you know how many birds and bats are killed by each windmill? Do you know how much concrete is needed to anchor one of those in the ground? Do you know how far the ice flings off blades, jeopardizing anything in the area? Do you know how many gallons of oil each turbine holds, and how destructive the oil leaks can be?
Do your research.
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danimal,
once again your facts are incorrect. There were several democrats who also voted to allow oil companies to keep their accelerated depreciation, and 2 republican senators who voted to remove that accounting method.
How do you like Microsoft? They made more profit than any single oil company. Why aren’t you screaming for their “subsidies” (as you like to call legal accounting methods) to be taken away.
Oh, GE also made more money than the oil companies, but a nifty accounting method allowed them to apply a loss from one division to the whole company so they paid even less income tax.
BTW: oil companies make about 2 CENTS profit/gallon of gas sold, ALL taxes paid on each gallon are about 45 cents.
Are you aware Castro said about 15 months ago that socialism DOESN’T work? And then he privatized part of the government services.
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So instead you run someone who says”I think it’d be fun to work in a bank,” she said. “I’ve thought about going to law school, and I applied for a job with the Minnesota Arts Board.” Tells you how much she is concerned with Western WI. You have someone that has never been out of the classroom since kindergarten. Please tell me what she knows about me, the private sector tax paying citizen who has suppoerted her her entire life? In the same article “Everything she’s applied for since getting her layoff notice has been outside the field of teaching” and there is not one private sector employer that will hire her, because she does not have the skills to hack it outside of government. One more form the article “Her salary without benefits is less than $50,000, and she can’t increase her pay with any more education credits” while the rest of us get paid on our merits, she gets paid on how much continuing education she can achieve. not what her outcomes are. Here is the link to the article. http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/120042569.html
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Ms Riley,
What you seem to be saying is you aren’t capable of running your own life. “I want someone who supports the middle class and needy…”
Ms Harsdorf has supported the middle class, by keeping property taxes down. One of the business magazines just move Wisconsin up in it’s rankings of business friendly states. Jobs allow people to take care of themselves.
I’d like to expand my business and hire, but the increasing government regulations and looming tax increases make it worthless for me.
I’m so glad my parents taught me how to be responsible for myself!
Hot debate. What do you think?
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danimal,
I run a one-person business, no government money, contribute probably too much as a percentage of net income.
Low property taxes help me, a very small independent business, as much as the big guy. But you also have to understand, the greater the risk a person takes, the greater the reward has to be.
Do you know that on a % of income basis, Republicans tend to contribute more (to the common good) than Democrats?
You don’t say how you contribute to the “common good”.
When you’re on your side of the wall, how are you going to live? I can understand reusing leaves for TP, solar ovens and handpumping water as in the old days, but how are your going to get your computer?
Do you know Goggle had a greater return on investment than any oil company in the first quarter? Did your parents have a retirement plan, which is based on big business MAKING money?
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High property taxes encourage people to move to other states…just check into New York or New Jersey. Both states have lost revenue because people moved, and when taxes are lowered (among other things by reigning in PE collective bargaining) people move back, increasing revenue and then taxes.
Public employee collective bargaining is not a Constitutional right. They are a statutory (law) right, and like any law can be changed, eliminated or expanded.
Raise taxes to keep greedy PE union members from paying their fair share of health and pension benefits…I’ll just take my wine, and cheese, and move to a state where people are independent enough and smart enough to take care of them self.
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What will you say when Sheila wins?
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Politics as usaul!!
This excerpt from the story says it all: “..Moore said her views and those of her constituents come first.”
I noticed HER views were mentioned before those of her constuituents. Frankly why do HER views matter anyway. Isn’t it the views of the voting populace that they are elected to represent, that are really important?
If 60% of the constituents have a specific view, I would expect the representative to consider that and ONLY that when they vote. The representatives view is insignificant in the grand scheme of things if they are truly representing their constutuents!
So apparently, we already have insight into exactly what Moore considers most important…HER agenda!
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I love how people want to tax the rich to death and get government services for free. Of course the rich are defined as people who make more than you. You want your taxes cut, but don’t want services cut. Until you win the lottery then you want the poor taxed heavier and cuts for the rich.
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Danimal, have you even read the Ryan Plan? Where do you get these numbers, do you pull them out of thin air? And in regards to declined coverages and procedures, Medicare declines more procedures than all other insurance companies combined. Check out the AMA yearly study, medicare refuses payment for .55% of all requests, much higher than the next closest insurance provider. Ryan is offering a voucher program, here is your money, find a program that works for you, the individual, not the government. If you want a cadillac plan, you pay more out of pocket. It is a way for the government to accuretly budget for this program. Then again, common sense was lost on you a long time ago. Raise taxes on the rich, please do. When taxes are higher on the rich, the poor actually have some skin in the game because they have to shoulder a larger portion. The dirty little secret of lowered tax rates is that the rich end up paying a larger portion of the pie, hence the reason in 2009 51% of income returns had ZERO federal income tax liability. Can you please tell me what you consider rich? Lets talk about oil welfare, as you call it. The Dems are talking about $4billion in subs, though only $750 million of that is specific to oil and gas. Where as the remaining $3.25 billion is money used by business across all industry to depreciate equipment and other deductions. You call them subsidies, but the US gov is not sending them a check, they are allowing those companies to keep what they have earned by using such credits. Lets just say that the $4 billion is taken off the table and the US gov gets that money, how long will that run our government? About 11 hours. Yes, the whole dollar profits of oil companies are impressive, but when you use percentages (the best way to compare business’ across multiple industries, apples to apples) they are far below average. They make approx. 6-7% profit, Apple makes double. Are you calling for these other companies to pay thier fair share? Lets talk about energy consumption and comparisions. As of 2009, 78.4% of our energy consumption comes from oil, gas, natural gas and coal while “green” energy accounts for 3.86%. This includes, wind, solar, hydro and geo. President Obama wants us to receive 85% of our energy from renewables in 25 years. Those renewables have been around for 50 plus years, and cannot even crack 4% of our energy usage yet we are subsidizing the heck out of ineffecient modes of energy that cost double, triple or more of current methods. Do not get me wrong, I hope that some one smarter than me finds that silver bullet while working out of his garage and brings the next great energy source to market, but current “green” energy sources are not condusive to the lifestyle we enjoy.
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Danimal, I came across this story about exploding watermelons, and for some reason thought you may enjoy it. It’s happening in an exemplary “common good” society.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13421374
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I suppose that’s where they’re hiding excess weapons grade plutonium.
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