Email   |  

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin voters have put a dent in their governor’s robust power to rewrite bills, limiting what critics call the “Frankenstein veto.”

Voters easily approved a constitutional amendment Tuesday curbing Gov. Jim Doyle’s ability to stitch together unrelated words and numbers to create laws and spending levels never intended by the Legislature.

With 95 percent of precincts reporting, the change was supported by 71 percent of voters.

But the approved amendment prohibits governors only from crossing out words and numbers to create a new sentence from two or more sentences. They can still cross out words within a sentence to change its meaning, remove individual digits to create new numbers or delete entire sentences from paragraphs.

“The governor still has a strong veto, and he’ll continue using it to protect Wisconsin taxpayers and priorities when the Legislature goes to extremes,” said Jess Erickson, spokeswoman for the Democratic governor.

Wisconsin governors have the unique ability to approve spending bills “in whole or in part” under a 1930 constitutional amendment. Courts have said that gives them broad authority to remake budgets approved by lawmakers.

Lawmakers pushed for the amendment in 2005 after they said Doyle overstepped by rewriting a section of the budget to divert millions of dollars of transportation money to schools.

He crossed out more than 700 words and stitched together others to create one new sentence allowing his administration to transfer $427 million out of the transportation fund. He cobbled together individual digits from five sets of numbers to come up with that figure, a maneuver he said saved public schools from harmful cuts.

Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch, a Republican, called the referendum “a good step forward” that will restore the balance of power between the executive branch and the Legislature.

“Governors should have the ability to have a strong veto pen; but when it got to a point where there were vetoes that were contradicting the wishes of the Legislature, that’s where you began to see some concerns about abuses taking place,” he said. “I’m glad the people passed this.”

The amendment will go into effect when state officials certify the election results. Government Accountability Board spokesman Kyle Richmond said that must happen by May 15 but could come weeks earlier. The timing is important because lawmakers are currently considering a budget repair bill that Doyle could rewrite.

The amendment is the second in recent decades limiting the partial veto power as governors have increasingly used it in creative ways. In 1990, voters banned the so-called “Vanna White veto” after Gov. Tommy Thompson crossed out letters within words to create new ones.

In other election results from Wisconsin, an alderman who ran his re-election campaign from behind bars lost the seat he has held since 2004.

Political consultant Milele A. Coggs was elected Tuesday to a four-year term on the Milwaukee Common Council, defeating Alderman Michael McGee Jr., who has been in prison awaiting trial on charges of election fraud, bribery and extortion.

“It’s hard when you have a candidate who is trying to run a campaign from behind bars,” said LaMonte Harris, an organizer with the McGee campaign. “It’s hard to raise money, it’s hard to get out on those doors on a regular basis so people can know who you are.”

Tuesday: Barack Obama speaks at a rally in Houston after winning the Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary. (AP Photo)

Email   |  

Barack Obama racked up two more victories Tuesday night, defeating Hillary Clinton by a wide margin in the Wisconsin Democratic primary and Hawaii caucuses and proving he can win big in a primary-style election in a state with a small minority population.

Meanwhile, John McCain won both the Wisconsin and Washington Republican presidential primaries, besting longshot rival Mike Huckabee. Washington also held a Democratic primary, but it was merely a beauty contest, awarding no delegates.

Speaking in Texas, where he had already traveled to get a jump on the March 4 race there, Obama briefly mentioned the 17-point victory in a 45-minute speech that was raucously received by the estimated 20,000-strong crowd.

“We just heard we won tonight in Wisconsin,” Obama said to catcalls and applause. “I am grateful to the people of Wisconsin for their friendship, and their support, and their extraordinary civic pride. You know, in Wisconsin when you go to vote it’s five degrees outside. But that has not deterred people from Milwaukee to Green Bay to Eau Claire, all across that state, from casting their ballot and exercising their civic duty.”

Wisconsin offers 74 convention delegates and Hawaii awards 20. It takes 2,025 to win the Democratic nomination. As tallying continued through the night, Obama held 1,316 compared to Clinton with 1,241.

FOX News exit polls showed Obama continued to gain ground among groups that normally favor Clinton. Among women, a demographic group that normally favors Clinton, Obama lost by just 3 points, 51 to 48 percent. While women made up the majority of voters, she lost too badly with the men for this margin to make the difference. Obama won 66 to 32 percent among men, a stronger showing than he normally gets.

Clinton also won among seniors, but young voters made up the vast majority of votes on Tuesday night. Obama won them, 59 percent to Clinton’s 39 percent.

Obama won with voters who make more than $50,000 a year, which is typical for him, but until Tuesday, he wasn’t winning among those making less than $50,000. He got 53 percent of that group compared to Clinton’s 46 percent.

Voters seeking change also went overwhelmingly for Obama, 75 percent to Clinton’s 23 percent. He beat Clinton by 11 points among those who said the economy is the most important issue facing the country, and he won among voters who said their top issues were either the war in Iraq or health care.

While Obama has counted on large black minorities to help him with previous victories, the Wisconsin population is only 6 percent black. Fifty-two percent of white voters said they chose him as their candidate.

Results in leading counties in Wisconsin could offer some insight into the Ohio and Texas contests on March 4, said political analyst Michael Barone, author of the Almanac of American Politics and a FOX News contributor.

Clinton had hoped to carry Brown County, the heavily Catholic and ethnically diverse home to the Green Bay Packers. But Obama was winning that county by more than 10 points. In Milwaukee County, the biggest county in the state, Obama was winning with 64 percent of the vote.

In Dane County, home to Madison, the state capital, and the University of Wisconsin, Obama was leading nearly 2 to 1 over Clinton.

That is “relevant to Ohio, where you’ve got a big university community of Franklin County, Ohio State, relevant in Texas, Travis County, Austin, the University of Texas, a big left-wing vote there,” Barone said.

He also noted that rural counties in the north and west portions of the state, where Clinton was strongest, also did not provide her the margin of victory that would have helped her reduce the widening gap.

The Wisconsin primary is a contest Clinton’s camp has downplayed from the outset, but polls showed the New York senator was at least competitive in the state. The close polling led to some of the sharpest Democratic exchanges in the primary campaign season so far. However, Clinton called Obama around 10:45 p.m. ET to offer her congratulations.

Without acknowledging the Wisconsin defeat, Clinton held an election night rally in Youngstown, Ohio, where she cast the election as an opportunity to address the struggles of working class families and said she represents the choice of experience.

“This is the choice we face, one of us is ready to be a commander-in-chief in a dangerous world,” she said. “I am ready to end this war in Iraq, end this era of cowboy diplomacy. I will restore our leadership and moral authority in the world, without delay, without on-the-job training, from day one.”

Obama’s campaign responded, saying he agrees the race is about choice.

“The choice in this election is between more of the same divisive, say-or-do-anything-to-win politics of the past and real change that we can believe in. That’s the change that Barack Obama offers, and that’s why more and more voters across America are choosing him as our next president,” said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton.

But all the candidates appear to be moving toward the general election in their language.
Speaking in Parma, Ohio, earlier in the day, Clinton argued that she’s the best candidate to go up against McCain in November.

“I’ve been through the Republican attack machine. You know I can take a punch,” she said. “This is going to be another brutal election. They’re not going to give up without a fight, (they’re) going to make it about national security. We need to nominate someone who can credibly, forcefully take them on on national security. I believe I’m better equipped to do that.”

Obama too addressed McCain, saying he is a hero for his service in the Vietnam War, but represents the past.

“When he embraces George Bush’s failed economic policies, when he says that he is willing to send our troops into another 100 years of war in Iraq, then he represents the policies of yesterday. And we want to be the party of tomorrow. And I’m looking forward to having that debate with John McCain,” he said.

Tuesday: John and Cindy McCain greet the crowd
at a rally in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo)

McCain too appeared to be slowly shifting into general election mode, turning his argument toward Obama, whose strategy McCain suggested — without stating directly — is one of substance over style.

“Now comes the hard part and for America, the bigger decision, will we make the right changes to restore people’s trust in their government and meet the great challenges of our time with wisdom, and with faith in the values and ability of Americans for whom no challenge is greater than their resolve, courage or patriotism? Will we do that or will we heed appeals for change that ignore the lessons of history and lack confidence in the intelligence and ideals of free people? I will fight every moment and every day of this campaign to make sure that Americans are not deceived by an eloquent but empty call for change,” he said to applause.

With a win in Wisconsin and Washington, McCain now closer to clinching the Republican presidential nomination. The Arizona senator had 939 delegates as the vote tally continued Tuesday. Wisconsin offered 37 delegates total and the GOP primary in Washington state, where half the convention delegates were being chosen, was awarding 19.

“Thank you, Wisconsin, for bringing us to the point where even a superstitious Navy aviator can claim with confidence and humility that I will be our party’s nominee for president of the United States,” McCain said at an election night rally in Columbus, Ohio.

Huckabee, who says he’s in the race until somebody hits the 1,191 delegates needed to seal the nomination, had 245 delegates before the Tuesday tally while Texas Rep. Ron Paul had 14.

FOX News exit polls showed seven out of 10 voters in the GOP primary in Wisconsin called themselves Republicans, and they went strongly for McCain, 53 percent to Huckabee’s 39 percent. McCain also dominated among veterans, who made up 29 percent of GOP voters on Tuesday. They chose McCain 51 percent compared to 33 percent for Huckabee.

The Arizona senator is still struggling with conservative voters. Among voters who call themselves “very conservative,” just 9 percent of the GOP turnout, 50 percent went for Huckabee and 40 percent went for McCain. Voters who call themselves “conservative” broke evenly at 45 percent for each candidate.

But with recent endorsements from former President George H.W. Bush and former rival Mitt Romney, McCain has moved closer to being able to rally conservatives and lock down the nomination.

For Wisconsin voters, electability was an important factor in their decision. Most of them — 82 percent — said McCain is the guy who can beat the Democratic nominee in November.

McCain also win among all issue groups, including economy voters and Iraq voters. He even won among talk radio listeners. Overall three out of four voters said they would be satisfied if McCain wins the GOP nomination. In fact, two-thirds of Huckabee voters said they would be happy with McCain as their nominee.

For Democrats, Wisconsin and Hawaii were stepping stones, but vital ones. After Super Tuesday’s 22 contests two weeks ago ended in a de facto draw, Obama had racked up eight consecutive victories, notching the latest in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. Tuesday night’s victories made it 10 straight.

In Hawaii, the contest drew record turnout. Clinton sent daughter Chelsea to stump there over the weekend, and Obama’s half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, made daily appearances for his campaign.

Obama’s victory is bad news for Clinton, who wants to jump start her campaign in the March 4 primaries, when delegate-rich Ohio and Texas vote alongside Rhode Island and Vermont.

Email   |  

Arizona Senator John McCain wins handily in Wisconsin while showing stronger support among the Republican Party’s base.

Self-identified Republicans made up more than 7 of 10 voters, and they went for McCain by 22 points - 58 percent to 36 percent for Huckabee.

Conservatives also went for McCain by 4 percentage points, and among those voters who consider themselves somewhat conservative McCain wins 55 percent to Huckabee’s 38 percent.

McCain even wins among frequent conservative talk radio listeners. These voters make up 28 percent of primary participants, and they went for McCain over Huckabee by 20 points.

Again today, the retired naval aviator garners the support of veterans. Vets make up almost one quarter of voters, and they chose McCain over Huckabee by a significant 63 percent to 31 percent.

Voters also clearly think that McCain is the best Republican to defeat the Democratic nominee in November. A solid majority of more than 8 of 10 voters picked McCain.

These results are from the FOX News exit poll conducted Feb. 19, 2008, among 880 primary voters at 35 precinct locations. Voters were questioned as they exited their voting sites.

Email   |  

Barack Obama chalked up another victory Tuesday, in Wisconsin.  He won because not only did he cut into Clinton’s core support groups - but also, in many cases he won them.

Obama won with men, as he usually does, by a very healthy margin — 67 percent to Clinton’s 31 percent.   That’s a bit better than he normally does with male voters.  Among women, a group which often gives Clinton strong support, the vote was split 50-50 for Obama.  Women made up the majority of voters, but Clinton lost too badly among men for this to make the difference.

As usual, Clinton won handily among seniors, but voters under 65 years of age made up the vast majority of voters, and Obama won them, 61 percent to Clinton’s 38 percent.

Obama also won with voters with household incomes more than $50,000 a year, 60 percent to Clinton’s 39 percent.  He usually wins this group, but he doesn’t usually win among those making less than $50,000 and tonight he did, getting 54 percent of that vote compared to Clinton’s 44 percent.

Voters who want change went overwhelmingly for Obama, 77 percent to Clinton’s 22 percent.

Among those who think the economy is the most important issue, Obama beat Clinton by 16 percentage points-57 percent to 41 percent for Clinton.  He also won among voters who say their top concern is the war in Iraq and those who say it’s health care.

Earlier in the primary season, more Democratic voters thought Clinton would be the best commander in chief, but Obama’s now beating her there too… today 51 percent say Obama deserves that title, 47 percent say Clinton does.

Electability also helped Obama tonight.  When asked which candidate is most likely to beat the Republican nominee in November, Obama won easily, 63 percent to Clinton’s 37 percent.

The FOX News exit poll of 1,442 people was taken in 35 precinct primary sites in Wisconsin on Feb. 19, 2008.  Respondents were questioned as they exited their voting sites.

Email   |  

BROOKFIELD, Wis. — John McCain locked up the Republican presidential nomination after a yearlong slog. Now the hard work begins.

Senior aides to the GOP’s likely nominee emerged from a weekend strategy session with McCain in Arizona acknowledging they have a mound of work ahead of them as they seek to turn a slimmed-down primary operation into a general election behemoth. And McCain said the meeting was just the beginning of discussions over the next few weeks to lay the groundwork for the fall race.

“We haven’t secured the nomination,” the Arizona senator reminded reporters traveling with him this week as he campaigned in the Midwest. He seemed to punt every question about the weekend meetings and, in effect, buy time before he has to answer for his general election strategy.

“We need to see what other candidates went through,” McCain added, suggesting his team is studying the transitions of past presidential campaigns for guidance.

While few details are known about how McCain’s team will proceed, he and his advisers clearly view the next few weeks as a critical period. McCain’s expected to reach the 1,191 delegates needed to officially secure the nomination early next month while Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are likely to still be fighting for their party’s nod.

Political analysts say the change in mind-set and mechanics from the primary campaign to general election can be daunting for the candidate as well as the political professionals guiding his course.

“The tasks expand exponentially and, at the same time, you have lots of people coming at you who want roles in the campaign,” said Christopher Arterton, dean of The George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management. “It’s quite a diplomatic task as well as a management task.”

Among the top nuts-and-bolts chores McCain’s team has to tackle:

–Determine precisely how to use George W. Bush. He’s unpopular with the electorate as a whole but rank-and-file Republicans still adore him. He’s a prolific fundraiser and a skilled campaigner who could be a powerful surrogate to turn out the base. “I’d be honored to be anywhere with him under any circumstances,” McCain said repeatedly Monday. But whether that translates into joint campaign events remains to be seen.

–Take over the Republican National Committee, including management of the national nominating convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul. By precedent, the party’s nominee assumes control of the national committee. That body typically engages in the bulk of voter-contact and get-out-the-vote efforts and supplements the campaign’s fundraising and opposition-research. This will be tricky for McCain, who is viewed skeptically by many RNC establishment Republicans.

–Develop a strategy to reach the 270 electoral votes needed. His advisers argue that McCain’s broad ideological appeal could put more states in play for the GOP than in previous elections. But much of the strategy will depend on whether Obama or Clinton wins the Democratic nomination. “We’re not just going to focus on a certain number of states,” McCain says, though the campaign budget and political landscape certainly will factor into whether that’s ultimately the case.

–Energize the fractured GOP behind the candidacy of a man who has a conservative Senate voting record but also a long reputation for bucking the party and working with Democrats. That will require rhetoric and events designed to rev up the GOP base to take on an energized Democratic Party. “We need to unite our party. We’re going to face a tough competitor,” he says daily now. While he’s made progress on this front over the past two weeks, he has much work to do.

–Begin the vice presidential search. “We have not started a process,” McCain said, insisting there was plenty of time to do so. Candidates typically select one person to develop a short list of candidates and begin a thorough vetting of prospects for the ticket. It’s unclear whether McCain’s team would follow that model or use a different method.

–Formulate a tight message. McCain already has started making his general election pitch. He casts Obama and Clinton as big-government, soft-on-security Democrats and argues he alone has the experience necessary to be a wartime commander in chief and to reform Washington. “I don’t expect the themes to change,” McCain has said, but he needs to crystalize his stump speech into a clear and concise theme.

–Bolster the campaign’s fundraising. With the Bush family’s blessings, McCain now can incorporate the Bush dynasty’s vast and deep network of big-time donors into his own loyal money machine. Some Bush backers already have signed on, including Mercer Reynolds in Ohio. McCain’s team also must find ways to encourage small contributors in a year when Democrats hopefuls have far out-raised Republicans.

Among other tasks: create an orderly a surrogate operation to spread the message, establish outreach to coalitions like anti-abortion activists and gun-rights proponents, decide how to handle debates, determine how best to use his Senate platform — and hire more campaign staff to accomplish these and other goals.

Michelle Obama is taking heat for saying in Wisconsin Monday she's proud of her country for the first time in her adult life. (AP Photo)

Email   |  

Barack Obama’s wife, Michelle, is under fire for leaving the impression that she hasn’t been proud of her country until now, when Democrats are beginning to rally around her husband’s campaign.

Speaking in Milwaukee, Wis., on Monday, she said, “People in this country are ready for change and hungry for a different kind of politics and … for the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country because it feels like hope is finally making a comeback.”

Greeted with rousing applause after making the comment in Milwaukee, Obama delivered an amended version of the speech later that day in Madison, Wis.

“For the first time in my adult lifetime, I’m really proud of my country … not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change,” she said. “I have been desperate to see our country moving in that direction and just not feeling so alone in my frustration and disappointment.”

Obama was born in 1964, meaning her adult life began in 1982. Critics quickly seized on the newfound national pride.

“I am proud of my country,” John McCain’s wife, Cindy, said at a campaign stop in Brookfield, Wis., Tuesday. “I don’t know if you heard those words earlier … but I am very proud of my country.”

During a follow up press conference, the Arizona senator was asked if they were responding to Michelle Obama and he deferred to his wife.

McCain responded: “I just wanted to make the statement that I have and always will be proud of my country.”

Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the candidate’s wife wasn’t trying to knock her country, only underscore the meaning behind her husband’s campaign.

“The point is that of course Michelle is proud of her country, which is why she and Barack talk constantly about how their story wouldn’t be possible in any other nation on Earth,” she said. “What she meant is that she’s really proud at this moment because for the first time in a long time, thousands of Americans who’ve never participated in politics before are coming out in record numbers to build a grassroots movement for change.”

But conservative outlets aren’t so ready to let her off the hook.

“Can it really be there has not been a moment during that time when she felt proud of her country?” reads an article in Commentary magazine. “Forget matters like the victory in the Cold War; how about only things that have made liberals proud — all the accomplishments of inclusion? How about the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1991? Or Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s elevation to the Supreme Court?”

The article then says Michelle Obama’s comments suggest “the pseudo-messianic nature of the Obama candidacy is very much a part of the way the Obamas themselves are feeling.”

Weekly Standard Editor Bill Kristol said the comment “was sort of revealing.”

“She was an adult when we won the Cold War without firing a shot. She was an adult for the last 25 years of economic progress, social progress,” he told FOX News. “I think the Democrats have to be careful … they’re running against the status quo … You have to be careful not to let that slide into a kind of indictment of America. Because I don’t think the American people think on the whole that the last 25 years of American history is a narrative of despair and nothing to be proud of.”

Democratic strategist Bob Beckel said Obama “shouldn’t have said it the way she said it” but she gets the benefit of his doubt. He added that she most likely was just referring to the grassroots movement that’s swelled to support her husband, but she needs to be more careful.

“The Obama’s have to recognize they are now front-runners, and everything they say, it’s now open hunting season for people,” he said.

Click here to compare the two videos by Michelle Obama talking about being proud of her country for the first time.

Click here to read the posting on the Commentary Web site.

FOX News’ Mosheh Oinounou and Bonney Kapp contributed to this report.