David Clarke

Days after Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke appeared on an anti-government radio program where he said he would never, even if ordered by a "legislatively passed law," take away someone's guns, interviewed Justice Patience Roggensack on a radio program he was guest-hosting, where they both sang the praises of following the "rule of law" and not undermining "legislatively passed law."   

In her interview, Roggensack said that if Fallone is elected he would "chip away" at the powers of the other two branches of government and then, in bidding Roggensack farewell, Clarke echoed her sentiments and said that if she doesn't retain her seat, liberals will be able to block a "legislatively passed law" from going into effect:

"We can't give liberals the opportunity to flip this court. Right now the court is 4-3... 'rule of law' judges... I'm not going to call them conservatives, they're 'rule of law.'  And... they're waiting for this opportunity, if they can flip this court, they know they can probably get at Act 10 a little bit more and they know for sure they can block this voter ID... dually legislatively passed law... so, again: April election, let's not fall asleep and let's make sure we can get Justice Roggensack across the finish line so she can retain her seat."

"Apparently this partisan hack has pulled his head out of his ass once again to say something stupid. The next time little boy Weishan says something intelligent or accurate will be the first.  This is the same idiot who recently diminished the danger of law enforcement work several weeks before one of my officers lost his life in the line of duty.  He would do Milwaukee County good by crawling back into his hole.” -- Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, after Supervisor John Weishan questioned Clarke providing more security for a Romney-Ryan rally than he did for President Obama.

For most politicians, this would be a career-ender.  For Clarke, it's just another in a series of outrages.   Why is that?

Bruce Murphy wonders why the Journal Sentinel treats David Clarke with kid gloves.

I wonder why every word he utters and every word he writes on a piece of paper is deemed newsworthy?  He's in the paper every day lately, complaining about something. 

He may talk himself into running for county exec in the spring. He's not electable, especially in the current climate, but certainly could pollute the atmosphere.

Bruce Murphy wonders why the Journal Sentinel treats David Clarke with kid gloves.

I wonder why every word he utters and every word he writes on a piece of paper is deemed newsworthy?  He's in the paper every day lately, complaining about something. 

Bruce Murphy of Milwaukee Magazine on the Abele-Clarke budget battle we wrote about recently:  

 "This is a fascinating dispute pitting a champion verbal pugilist like Clarke against a political neophyte like Abele, yet Clarke is so far getting the worst of it. An unruffled Abele is simply letting the attacks roll off him citing facts and analysis, while an angry Clarke huffs and puffs away."  

Murphy's take here.

Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke tells an Assembly committee a horror story about a gun violator who got a slap on the wrist. It turns out he got the facts all wrong, as Dan Bice points out. So does Clarke apologize or say he made a mistake? Of course not.

Instead, Clarke blasted the judge [who handled the case and knew the facts] for challenging his legislative remarks.

"[Judge Jeffrey] Kremers wants me to be intimidated by him because he wears a robe to work. I have news for him; I'm not," Clarke said. "If Kremers has a problem with anything I said at a public hearing, he should man-up and come see me about it.

David Clarke in an interview posted Oct. 15 on Third Coast Digest:

Bonus Question: Will you run again for Milwaukee Mayor or seek the County Executive position, depending on the outcome of the gubernatorial race?

“I learned a long time ago to take life one day at a time. My only goal is to get re-elected sheriff and continue serving the people of Milwaukee County in this capacity.”

David Clarke on Nov. 2, two months before his new term as sheriff would start:

Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr., fresh from his solid victory to a third term as the county’s top cop, said Tuesday he’ll now take a hard look at running for county executive....“There are some things in my favor” in a run for county executive, Clarke said.

Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, a Republican in Democratic clothing, is facing a primary challenge from Chris Moews (pronounced Mays), a Milwaukee police lieutenant who's actually a Democrat.

And since there's a big GOP primary, which means Democrats might actually decide who gets the nomination, Clarke, although still the favorite, is a little worried.

His campaign's strategy is an interesting one;  Trying to make Moews seem like he's not really a Democrat, or not Democratic enough, at least.   Talk about the pot calling ...

If you believe that truth will out, sooner or later, Dan Bice's column on Sunday should reaffirm your faith.

Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke is exposed as the egomaniacal, profanity-spewing tyrant he has been been behind closed doors all along, while posing for holy pictures in public.

The revelation, of Clarke's abusive, two-hour tirade against a deputy who happens to be a union officer, gives the public a rare glimpse of the real David Clarke. It is not a pretty picture.

Let's diclose that I have a personal interest, having run Clarke's first campaign for sheriff in 2002. Of all the campaigns I worked on in 20 years as a consultant, that is the one I regret the most. Clarke completely misrepresented himself to me -- lied about who he was and what he was all about, in other words -- and I swallowed it.

I recall introducing Clarke to a number of union leaders, and the presentations he'd make to them, displaying the management books he'd been reading and talking about how he wanted to "change the culture" in the sheriff's department, from a quasi-military operation with a strict chain of command to one that empowered the front-line workers to make decisions.