October 20, 2011

Who should sign the petition to recall Scott Walker?

After writing the previous post, I've framed this question. Don't answer at all if you think no one should sign the petition.

A Wisconsinite should sign the recall Walker petition if he or she...
Prefers a different governor, without regard for how the actual election will go.
Opposes Walker and believes it's likely that the recall opponent will win.
Wants Wisconsin to go through the exercise of examining Walker's performance as governor.
Likes Walker and wants to set up an opportunity for him to campaign and acquire a new mandate.
Thinks a recall election will have a good effect framing issues and opinions for the fall elections.
  
pollcode.com free polls 

Do you think Wisconsinites should sign the petition?
Yes.
No, and that's why I didn't vote in the poll above.
No, but I still picked the best option in the poll about.
  
pollcode.com free polls 

Answering these polls, did you engage in any trickery?
No. I was completely honest.
Yes. I tried to bamboozle Walker opponents into doing what would hurt their interests.
Yes. I tried to bamboozle Walker fans into doing what would hurt their interests.
  
pollcode.com free polls 

39 comments:

traditionalguy said...

No comment. This is an internal Wisconsin issue.

MadisonMan said...

So far, everyone is completely honest! 5 for 5!

ndspinelli said...

J should sign it, along w/ Carol Herman. That might help invalidate the petition. Send copies to LA and the Betty Ford Clinic.

Sal said...

Wisconsinite sounds like a rock. I think it should be Wisconsinoid or Wisconsiner. Wisconsinette for the ladies.

MadisonMan said...

So I voted that a Wisconsinite should sign the petition if he (or she) opposes Walker and thinks the opponent will win. I don't think I fall in that category, so even though I've said in the past that I'll sign anything to get it on a ballot -- normally related to signing petitions for local races or referenda -- that suggests I should not sign the petition. We'll see, when push comes to shove, what happens.

Will the opponent even be known when the signing petition is circulated? Or does one only become known after the required signatures are collected? Kind of a Catch-22 in my opinion if you're signing the petition without knowing who's running against him.

coketown said...

I think Mickey Mouse, Betty Crocker, and Abraham Lincoln should, and probably will, sign the petition.

But I was still completely honest in answering the questions, and didn't vote in the first poll.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

You have to sign the petition to know who's running..

Its the Pelosian Theory of Politics all over again.

edutcher said...

4, 3, and 1.

Can't believe Althousians are so honest.

Gratifying, but, considering we're such a droll bunch...

ndspinelli said...

J should sign it, along w/ Carol Herman. That might help invalidate the petition.

No, that will just mean the franchise is only available to the institutionalized insane.

Coketown said...

I think Mickey Mouse, Betty Crocker, and Abraham Lincoln should, and probably will, sign the petition.

You must know the Rathke brothers and Andy Stern quite well.

Mogget said...

Needs one more question, just to make sure we're being honest about being honest...

Bill said...

Althouse, the poll questions here are asinine, and you know it. Your readers are almost all conservative, including yourself, so you already know how they're going to answer the polls.

What a crock...just like your ability to teach.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Ironically it is honesty that bamboozles Walker opponents into doing what would hurt their interests.

kristinintexas said...

Look! 30 people can't follow directions! :)

traditionalguy said...

To Bamboozle is a verb we seldom see used.

Would Mitt Romney's latest promises be a good example?

Ann Althouse said...

"Althouse, the poll questions here are asinine, and you know it. Your readers are almost all conservative, including yourself, so you already know how they're going to answer the polls."

What's wrong with the questions? They frame options in a way that explains the problem, quite apart from how the answers come in. All web polls have the problem that they are only answered by the people who come to that website. I like the poll format for writing, because I like listing options and I think making it a poll is sometimes a cool presentation, as opposed to, say, a bullet-point list. Don't you see that? I mean, obviously (obvious to me anyway), the last poll is mostly telling a joke. The question "were you just lying?" is not a way to smoke out the liars, just a way to say, there could be lying.

Anyway, if you think the Althouse poll takers are too conservative, link to this poll from a liberal site and get some liberals over here to answer it.

And since you've offered an opinion about my capacity as a teacher, I'll add that you don't do well on my tests. I'm trying to sharpen you up, but you want to be dull. It's your choice. This blog is an elective.

SecondComingOfBast said...

The third poll question was silly, but I answered it anyway. No way would I vote in the first one, because I don't want to encourage this kind of bullshit chicanery by Democrats and unions. Progressives can't handle defeat and what's gone on in Wisconsin up to this time might just be a small sample of what is to come is the Democrats lose in '12.

Thorley Winston said...

I don’t think that Wisconsin voters should recall Governor Walker. If they really insist on having recall elections whenever they disagree with an elected officials policies or votes, they should just shorten the term of office to two years and be done with it. Otherwise, barring an impeachable offense or resignation, the appropriate mechanism for replacing an elected official is the next regularly scheduled election.

Anonymous said...

Is this poll related to the "conspiracy" that Althouse referred to last month...politicians acting one way in order to affect a certain outcome? Republicans secretly hoping that there is a recall of Walker, just so they can pummel the Dems in a forced runoff?

Ann Althouse said...

"To Bamboozle is a verb we seldom see used. "

It's nicely featured on the first page of the author's not to "Life of Pi," one of my favorite books, which I happened also to quote yesterday, in a comments thread.

(Search inside the book at the link for "bamboozle.")

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I lied.. but it was an honest lie.

Ann Althouse said...

Author's note (not "not").

Anonymous said...

Option Z: do you think people in Wisconsin are seriously deranged from eating all that dairy?

Yes.

wv: thables. fables for the lispy.

edutcher said...

Lem said...

I lied.. but it was an honest lie.

Those are the best kind.

Ann Althouse said...

"Is this poll related to the "conspiracy" that Althouse referred to last month...politicians acting one way in order to affect a certain outcome? Republicans secretly hoping that there is a recall of Walker, just so they can pummel the Dems in a forced runoff?"

No. That was something else. Thanks for remembering!

Anonymous said...

"To Bamboozle is a verb we seldom see used."

I've heard Malcom X and Barry Soetoro use this word multiple times.

traditionalguy said...

If Politics is war by another means, and war tactics are the art of deception, then we all need to sharpen up considerably.

The public is to a point that they admire anyone who tells it to them straight, even if he is the opposition's man. Remember how much everyone respected Feingold.

That alone has gotten Walker this far.

MaggotAtBroad&Wall said...

Referenda are anti-republic and pro-democratic (just to be clear, I intentionally used lower case 'r' and 'd' to signify forms of government - not political party).

As Plato wrote 2500 years ago, pure democracies are unsustainable because they're effectively mob rule.

I'm not opposed to referenda per se, but the threshhold to get an initiative on the ballot needs to be extraordinarily high to ensure they are only used for truly exceptional and extraordinary measures.

Wisonsin's thresshold is too low. Look at the mess California's absurdly low criteria for getting referenda on the ballot has led to.

alan markus said...

Here's a new poll idea:

If you had access to a searchable data base (ie., by name and address) of who signed the recall petitions, would you:

a) Look for people you know? (i.e., look up your child's teacher)

b) Use such information in a negative way? (i.e., boycott their employer)

c) Not look at all?


This isn't far-fetched. Saw this "chat" over at The Isthmus yesterday:
Recall Petition Signatures - Public Info or Secret Ballot?

Kevin said...

"No comment. This is an internal Wisconsin issue."

Tell that to the national labor unions...

gerry said...

Wisconsinite sounds like a rock

Doesn't Wisconsinite make Superman weak?

Kevin said...

"This isn't far-fetched. Saw this "chat" over at The Isthmus yesterday:
Recall Petition Signatures - Public Info or Secret Ballot?"

Considering how people who've contributed to anti-gay marriage campaigns in California have been harassed, turnabout is fair play. Time for the Right to adopt Alinsky tactics as well...

ndspinelli said...

Chris is obviously not a sycophant student. He/she may want to consider a career other than law. There aren't many Atticus Finch out there, Chris. But..maybe you can be one. Vegas has the odds @ 25k-1

Tyrone Slothrop said...

I lied when I answered the first poll.

I lied when I answered the second poll.

I told the truth when I answered the third poll.

Everything in this comment is a lie.

Kylos said...

I only lied on one poll. Can you guess which one?

ndspinelli said...

I lied when I lied about lying.

Kylos said...

(That's actually the truth. I never lie about lying.)

Alex said...

Walker lied about union busting, so he needs to go. Remember in WI, we're all big Marxists.

Writ Small said...

People who believe in their heart of hearts that Walker has so abrogated his responsibilities as governor that it warrants his removal should sign.

Why is the right answer not an option?

Beldar said...

A clever exercise in the Socratic Method, Professor Althouse. Bravo.

Roger J. said...

Hmm:
All thebans are liars...."