Posted on Wednesday, 30th November 2005 by Patrick Dorwin
John Gard 
laments that he my not be able to stop the automatic gas tax hike from being repealed. He said this at a fund raiser sponsored by the powerful Wisconsin Road Builders lobby.
Charlie Sykes read this from an email alert that the Road Builders put out this morning, telling their members to contact their legislators. Go here to learn now to contact your legislators and CALL TODAY! Hopefully Charlie will post this letter later today.
John Gard is a SELL OUT, he no longer even attempts to act like the Conservative he ran as!
UPDATE: Gard Response
John Gard called Sykes to give his view. My opinion is unchanged, Gard has become an ineffective leader, as Charlie said, he has “gone native” and should step down. His past history speaks for it’s self, John Gard is not a Conservative.
Update
Coming out of the break after John Gard spoke with him, Charlie said that he “wanted to give John Gard a chance to explain himself… I’m not sure it helped that much.” I agree!
Hilarious Update
Mark Belling just made a crack about John Gard’s whiny call to Charlie Sykes. Not a good day for Speaker Gard 
UPDATE: More Audio
Mark Belling finally got John Gard on the show, Gard said he will not support ending the automatically gas tax hike. Listen to the audio, Belling didn’t pull his punches.
Listen to Belling and Gard. This is a great exchange.
Woah! Belling told Gard he was Owned by the the road builders! Gard is still going on about his pet road project in Peshtigo.
Belling is right on! 98% of Conservatives are appalled by our Speakers actions!
Even Belling’s traffic guy John Wyatt is razzing Gard, he said Gard should put “C’mon Mark” on a bumper sticker
Posted in Home | Comments (47)
November 30th, 2005 at 12:23 pm
Just listened to Gard… Is he blaming Milwaukee for Peshtigo’s woes? Justifying inaction by saying he’s representing Peshtigo and doesn’t think they should be subsidizing Milwaukee/Marquette Interchange?
I’ll try to keep this short:
Milwaukee is the economic engine of the state.
If we believe that good infrastructure is good for the economy, then isn’t the Marquette X-change integral to the state’s economy?
He doesn’t mean to whine??? Well, he is.
November 30th, 2005 at 12:51 pm
Gard is not a conservative. He never has been. Someone should find a link to the Milwaukee Magazine article where he proudly proclaims his success in securing projects (Pork) for his district. His district is heavily subsidized by Madison and property taxes throughout Southeastern Wisconsin are higher because of people like John Gard.
November 30th, 2005 at 1:08 pm
Now that I have heard Gard’s explanation I am even more offended. Peshtigo pays for Milwaukee??? Prove it! He should compare Waukesha’s bus system to Milwaukee’s and then pick the most inefficient one.
Just go to the DPI web site and see how much state aid is sent to the Peshtigo School District. Also, get on their web site and take a tour of their posh and I believe relatively brand new school buildings.
Taxpayers in SouthEastern Wisconsin pay for these things. Gard is a big supporter of private school vouchers. The money to support that program and Peshtigo comes from taxpayers throughout Waukesha County (plus any other community who gets slammed by the school formula). Conservatives please wake up!!! In the 33rd vote for Perry. He has promised to stand up and demand a vote on TABOR.
November 30th, 2005 at 1:21 pm
wow, did you feel that tremor in the force, RR and I are on the same side of an issue, on the subject of Gard I would have to say he is spot on.
now I have to go lie down lol.
November 30th, 2005 at 1:32 pm
John Gard a RINO, this is old news. What next you going to report that the only time he goes to his second home of Peshtigo is to campaign. Everyone in his home district know’s this it’s just there’s this idea up here that no matter how bad a Republican official is you attack and destroy anyone who has nerve to actually point it out, just ask Terry McCormick.
November 30th, 2005 at 5:39 pm
The day just got worse for Gard – he bombed even worse against the more-hostile Belling. The only thing that went right for him was that he waited until after WISN cut power for the night (now, you did get the interview on Western Digital, right Patrick
)
November 30th, 2005 at 5:41 pm
LOL I posted it as you were typing your comment, check it out up there ^
November 30th, 2005 at 5:42 pm
Should’ve known you’d be on top of it. I wonder if Gard’s going to jump off that bridge he won Green Bay, or perhaps lie in the 141 expressway right-of-way and wait for a grader to run him over, or maybe wander the 45 expressway project north of Oshkosh, or one of the other host of projects he porked out of the budget for northeast Wisconsin, or maybe drink some ethanol-laced gas.
November 30th, 2005 at 5:47 pm
BTW, I KNEW I forgot something when putting together my blogroll. Sorry about that; I fixed it.
November 30th, 2005 at 5:56 pm
you could make tacos with Gard now belling turned him shredded pork lol
November 30th, 2005 at 6:09 pm
I thought it was ground pork with Charlie taking care of the shredding
November 30th, 2005 at 6:11 pm
Do we want this guy representing Wisconsin in Washington??
‘I support pork first’ is his statement. No tax cut if it impacts my special interest. Now we know that he was a big phoney on TABOR.
November 30th, 2005 at 6:12 pm
Correction
the above is not a direct quote of Gard just my interpretation of his response. I apologize and retract for Mr. Gard if I mistakenly presented this as a direct quote.
November 30th, 2005 at 8:28 pm
RRFan-
In the 33rd vote for Perry? Are you serious? He was the one at the forum who said he only supported TABOR in concept, but not the actual TABOR bill! He’s a school administrator and career government employee. The only thing keeping him from having a RINO label is the fact that we was a Marine, which is admirable but does nothing to position him as a fiscal conservative.
There are two other acknowledged fiscal conservatives in the race, and a vote for either Marlow or Fullerton is far better for taxpayers.
November 30th, 2005 at 10:29 pm
If John Gard is a RINO, what does that make Mark Belling, he gave $300 to DEMOCRAT Mark Meyer two weeks before the 2000 elections in a race that could have given the GOP control of the state Senate. According to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, Belling has never given a dime to a single GOP candidate for office, but he’s willing to support a Democrat in a crucial election for Wisconsin conservatives.
November 30th, 2005 at 11:04 pm
Real Con,
Out of respect for BB, I will restrict comments to the topic at hand on this blog. Better to have a debate on the 33rd someplace else.
November 30th, 2005 at 11:21 pm
Listening to this audio put me in a bad mood the whole night. Im sick and tired of the shell games and the excuses. WHERE IS TABOR! WHERE IS THE REPEAL OF THIS RIDICULOUS GAS TAX INCREASE! Gard has truly gone native. I never thought him to be worse than Schultz but hes proved me wrong. Hes a phony.
November 30th, 2005 at 11:22 pm
I am in the district that John Gard is from, and I am very disappointed with his stand on this issue. He is a democrat in republican clothes. He is only a republican because it is convenient for him.
Bob from Appleton
November 30th, 2005 at 11:23 pm
Listening to this audio put me in a bad mood the whole night. Im sick and tired of the shell games and the excuses. WHERE IS TABOR! WHERE IS THE REPEAL OF THIS RIDICULOUS GAS TAX INCREASE! Gard has truly gone native. I never thought him to be worse than Schultz but hes proved me wrong. Hes a phony. He will be the next victim of the taxpayer’s revolt.
Its time to throw Gard under the bus!
November 30th, 2005 at 11:34 pm
I agree with left by distgruntled.con when are we going to get tabor!!! I also agree with Mr. Beling let the gas tax be part of a state referendum, and see if the state really wants it the way that John Gard believes that it is. I thing that Mr. Gard might as well work for the road construction party!!!! I believe that this is taxation without representation??? Please explain to me how this is any different?? I drive in your district every week for my job, but I do not understand how you can justify a 4 lane highway north of Green Bay???? What do you think all of us have unlimited money for taxes??? I may need to look at democrats, because you are not a true republican!!!!!
Bob from Appleton
November 30th, 2005 at 11:45 pm
Hey Bob from Appleton, how do justify a guy who gave $300 to a Democrat and whose election guaranteed that Chuck Chvala would still be running the state senate acting as the judge and jury or who is and isn’t a Republican?
Gard may be a RINO or a sell-out, but Belling is a traitor who helped keep Chuck Chvala as Majority Leader.
December 1st, 2005 at 12:15 am
Gard was awful on Charlie’s show, and even worse on Belling. We must purge the party of RINO’s like Gard and Schultz!
I hope Sykes pounds away on this tomorrow…
December 1st, 2005 at 8:55 am
Tired of the Act
Gard was only too happy to use Belling to attack Senate Republicans as RINOS. Now that Belling has shined the light on Mr. Gard you feel Belling is not qualified? I am tired of the act also and I always warned Republicans when you go on the attack calling fellow Republicans RINOs then look out: What comes around goes around. I bet Panzer is loving seeing John Gard exposed.
REPUBLICANS Keep your promises, Bring TABOR to the floor, repeal the gas tax, and end pork barrel spending. Then we can be rid of all this RINO stuff.
December 1st, 2005 at 9:32 am
I come from North East Wisconsin. My problem is why is John Gard on Milwaulkee radio and doesn’t take time to come up north and visit studios in the congressional district he wants to represent?
I do not know of him ever showing up on Green Bay’s talk station WTAQ to talk with Jerry Bater or Bill LeMaye. I do not know of him having ever shown up at the Brown County Tax Payers Meetings, the Suamico Tax Payers, Howards Citizens for Responsible Governement or citizens or taxpayers organizations meetings. He only attends Republican Party gatherings where his speechs are limited to just enough time for soundbites and no questions.
There was an old joke up here that if you wanted to hear Gards opinion all you had to do was ask Scott Jensen.
Since I can never talk to Gard I have to base my views on him from the less than favorable views I get from other Republican assemblymen like Frank Lasee, Terry McCorrmick, Greg Underheim and Karl VanRoy
He’s no better than Mary Panser it’s just there is no Paul Ryan willing to stand up to him. Instead leaders in the Republican Party refuse to critisize anyone who says they are a Republican. The only exception seems to be when a Frank Lasee or Paul Jaden shows interest in running against an incumbant RINO Republican governor or a Frank Lasee or Terry McCorrmick shows interest in Running against a RINO speaker seeking a higher office.
At the end one has to ask why someone as conservative as Frank Lasee is more welcome at Green Party events than Republican Party events?
December 1st, 2005 at 6:36 pm
John Gard only knows life from the capitol where he has been since he was 21 ish when he started as a staffer. He has never held a real working mans job. They learn early to follow the money.
Everyone should take a look at his fund raising reports. Road builders and more road builders. And dont forget the beer distributors who were just granted rights over the small micro brew houses in the last month.
All the while , the important stuff sits.
This guy has got to go.
KW
December 1st, 2005 at 10:29 pm
Still waiting for someone to explain to me why Mark Belling isn’t a RINO or a sell-out or a liberal for his $300 contribution two weeks before the 2000 elections which helped Democrat Mark Meyer defeat his Republican opponent and ensure that Chuck Chvala would stay as the Senate Majority Leader.
Or is Belling immune from criticism because he has a microphone and a radio show?
December 1st, 2005 at 10:53 pm
How the hell should we know why Belling gave money to a Democrat? Call him up on his radio show and ask him.
December 2nd, 2005 at 6:03 pm
I’m not asking WHY Belling gave Meyer money (who cares?) I’m asking why the same people who call John Gard a RINO aren’t calling Belling one.
You may disagree with Gard on the gas tax, but at least he never helped get a Democrat elected to the state senate.
Three days and counting…is anyone who reads this blog going to answer the question instead of just polishing Belling’s shoes for him?
December 2nd, 2005 at 6:45 pm
One of the great things about Belling is that he will give Republicans just as much grief (if not more) as he gives the Dems. He’s a conservative, and will rightfully skewer RINO idiots like Gard, Schultz or Lesee.
December 2nd, 2005 at 7:17 pm
“Tired of the act” the fact that Belling donated money to a Democrat is a snoozer for me, I don’t care if he did. Belling or anyone else if free to donate to anyone they choose. Belling went to UW LaCrosse (Meyer’s district), maybe they are friends?
And do you think $300 was enough to “ensure that Chuck Chvala would stay as the Senate Majority Leader.”
December 2nd, 2005 at 7:30 pm
Patrick, my point is not that it’s not Belling’s “right” to donate to Meyer — it is. BUt I think it is ironic that the guy most likely to label any conservative who doesn’t agree with him as a RINO is a guy whose only recorded donations to political candidates are to Democrats.
$300 to Mark Meyer is $300 more than Belling has ever given to a single Republican.
I’ll repeat the question – if Gard is a RINO for opposing indexing, why isn’t Belling a RINO for giving money to a Democrat in the middle of an incredibly close election?
December 2nd, 2005 at 8:25 pm
“I’ll repeat the question – if Gard is a RINO for opposing indexing, why isn’t Belling a RINO for giving money to a Democrat in the middle of an incredibly close election? ”
IIRC, Belling isn’t even a member of the Republican Party.
And he is right on the money for calling out frauds like Gard (and Schultz) when he’s voting against the wishes of the vast majority of Republicans.
At this point, I could care less whether the Republicans keep their majority. In fact, we could use a good cleansing. The party leadership has done nothing to deserve anything but scorn and ridicule from the grassroots.
December 2nd, 2005 at 8:27 pm
Gard is not a RINO because of one issue, for the past two years he has talked the conservative talk, but on tax issues, he has sold us out. He talks big about TABOR, where is it? He talks about small government, but accepts increase after increase. He says he will vote to repeal the gas indexing, but only if “poison pill” amendments that raise tax dollars from other sources are added, the reason is, he says we need to continue funding road construction at an ever increasing rate. This is not the stance of a conservative.
If he wants to be a wishy-washy Republican, fine, but don’t claim to be something you are not… A Conservative!
December 2nd, 2005 at 8:40 pm
I have never heard Belling claim to be a member of the Republican party.
I’m not, never have been and never will be a member of the Republican party either. I am a Conservative, I usually vote Republican, but I will not limit my self to voting for a RINO simply because they are the only Republican on the ballot.
In an earlier post you stated:
Don’t bet on that! With the growing frustration with Republicans in leadership positions, would it surprise anyone to learn that people are apathetic enough to simply not vote? That is what I fear and want to avoid before it is to late.
December 3rd, 2005 at 12:12 am
Just so I’m clear – you can give money to the campaign of a liberal Democrat and still be a solid conservative (Mark Belling), but if you’ve spent the last decade or more creating and growing a GOP majority in the Assembly, but happen to also support indexing, you’re a RINO (John Gard)?
That makes perfect sense — glad we cleared that up.
It’s just funny that you can’t even entertain the notion that Belling might be a hypocrite.
December 3rd, 2005 at 10:10 am
Tired,
Let me clear this up.
Liberals can use racial slurs without drawing a protest; conservatives cannot.
Belling used a derogatory term for an illegal immigrant once on the radio. He apologized for using the term a few days afterward. A swarm of protestors threatened to boycott WISN and companies that advertise on WISN. He was suspended for a week and the protestors, not satisfied, still urged to get him fired. The Milwaukee County Board, who shell out big bucks on advertisements for their bloated bus system, threatened to stop buying advertisements on WISN. To this day, liberal groups are still working on ways to get him fired.
In contrast, team McGee, father and son, have used derogatory terms all the time on the radio and in public conversations against blacks, whites, homosexuals, and even threatened to punch a local politician. Neither of them have apologized and no liberal group has ever threatened to boycott their station.
A liberal from Madison has equated Belling to a Nazi. He has not apologized not drawn any protest from liberal groups.
Do you get the picture?
You also stated:
“but if you’ve spent the last decade or more creating and growing a GOP majority in the Assembly, but happen to also support indexing, you’re a RINO (John Gard)?”
Exactly! What is the point of creating a Republican majority if the Republicans aren’t going to do anything that their conservative constituents want?
Are conservatives happy with the last budget? No. Were they begging for more ethanol legislation? No. Did they want breweries in Wisconsin to have to sell through distributors who had a state-imposed monopoly in their region? No.Did they want a simple taxpayer bill of rights? Yes. Did the Republicans deliver it? No.
John Gard is a RINO. That statement is true no matter who says it. Is Belling a RINO? I don’t believe so but if you do and if you want to prove it to us, call his radio show and ask why he donated to a Democrat. You say you don’t care but the reason is important. I don’t go about criticizing people for what they did without at least attempting to understand the reasons why they did it.
December 3rd, 2005 at 10:32 am
There’s never been any secret about it: Belling gave money to Mark Meyer because they were college buddies.
But his reason is immaterial. He — the self-appointed judge on jury on who is and is not a conservative in Wisconsin — finanically supported a liberal Democrat.
Let’s turn this around, what if Sue Jeskewitz gave $300 to a Democrat running for office in an incredibly close race against a Democrat? Belling would lose his mind. You know it, I know it.
I’m sick of the double standard. Either all conservatives and republicans should be held to the same standards, or all the people throwing out RINO allegations and calling people sell-outs and whores should knock it off because they can’t be taken seriously.
If Gard is a RINO, so is Belling.
I think Owen at Boots & Sabers analysis of the Gard situation is for more reasoned and accurate (not to mentioned based on actual facts) than the knee-jerk “burn him at the stake” reactions of Belling and many of the people who have posted in this thread.
December 4th, 2005 at 4:31 pm
Gard is Gard and for who he is (a man who has never had any other job other than making a living from spending our tax dollars), I would never support the guy. We need people in Madison with life experiences outside of politics. Gard is a perfect example of someone created by a corrupt system. Who can forget the fundraisers Gard held with the affected special interests groups while the budget bill was being debated? Belling did not expose anything that I did not already know about Gard. He is a big SPENDER attempting to cloak himself as a conservative. He was apparently OK with Belling and Sykes authority to label Panzer as a RINO. So he should be prepared for the same treatment by the same people. I do not call Republicans RINOs nor do I generally support attacking Republicans. Gard is an exception because he has no qualms about attacking fellow Republicans or jumping in bed with people who label Republicans as RINOs. If Gard had brought TABOR to a vote in the Assembly at least we would have a TABOR bill to debate and a voting record to judge people by. Gard did not want a vote on TABOR probably because he could sink Panzer by not having a vote and you can be sure his special interest friends will demand exemptions for themselves in any TABOR bill. We pay a gas tax 10 cents a gallon higher than Minnesota. Why?? Well it is because these lifetime legislators like Gard can have a big pot of money for pork barrel politics. Nothing is better to hold office than continuing to bring home the bacon for your district or the special interests that support you. Who cares about Belling? He was never elected to anything. Gard was elected and wants to win election to a higher office. If pork barrel politics disgust you, you can not vote for Gard. We would be better off with a Democrat in office because then we could hope for a real conservative to rise up and take the office at a future date.
December 4th, 2005 at 7:37 pm
Gard raised sales tax in Milwaukee for Miller Park. He raised sales taxes in Green Bay for Lambeau Field. He raised gas taxes in 1997 to pay for extra road construction projects. He refuses to bring TABOR to a vote. And he refuses to bring either the “Gas Tax Holiday” or “automatic indexing” proposals up, unless certain conditions are met.
When did Peshtigo go native and elect this guy!?
December 4th, 2005 at 9:13 pm
Interesting that all you guys want to do is attack Gard instead of actually answering my question.
If Gard gave $300 to a Democrat you guys with be rounding up the lynch mob. Belling does it and you act like it never happened.
Sad, but all too predictable.
December 4th, 2005 at 9:22 pm
Tired of the act, no one cares what private citizen Mark Belling does with his money but you.
Public official John Gard refuses to end this taxation without representation that has cost Wisconsin taxpayer $3.2 billion since 1985. He is also standing in the way of other things that the huge majority of Conservatives, and even most Liberals want (TABOR, ending the archaic minimum mark up law, etc, etc…). You are the only one that can’t seem to tell the difference.
December 5th, 2005 at 11:53 am
“Interesting that all you guys want to do is attack Gard instead of actually answering my question.
If Gard gave $300 to a Democrat you guys with be rounding up the lynch mob. Belling does it and you act like it never happened.”
Seriously, what is the deal with you and Belling? He (and Sykes) have done more for the conservatives than Gard will ever do. If you have some other evidence that Belling is a RINO and has done more than give some money to a buddy running for office, I’d love to hear it.
Belling can be criticized for many things (I think he’s kind of a brown noser for the bad play of Brett Favre, for example), but he certainly has been loyal to conservative causes. And that means he must take Republicans to task when they turn their backs on their constituents.
December 5th, 2005 at 8:03 pm
Patrick, Belling is a public figure. He can and should be held accountable for his actions when they contradict the standards to which he holds other public figures.
Tired of tired, there is no “deal” with me and Belling. I think the guy is a blowhard and hypocrite, that’s all. He demands 100% conservative purity from everyone but himself.
Sykes is about discussing issues and having a debate, Belling is about shouting and people and hearing his own voice. The only similarity between the two is that they both have radio shows.
December 5th, 2005 at 8:08 pm
Then why do you listen?
December 6th, 2005 at 10:07 pm
Honestly, I rarely do. I only paid attention to him on this issue because indexing is something I care a lot about. I generally prefer to listen on-line to Vicki McKenna on WIBA in Madison. She’s smart, funny and actually lets her guests answer questions and engage in a debate, unlike Belling.
January 23rd, 2007 at 1:20 pm
[...] Revisions/extensions – Patrick once again fills an important function by archiving the Belling knockout of Gard [...]
May 12th, 2010 at 2:13 pm
[...] announced today that he has garnered the support of RINO sell-out John Gard, who was once Speaker of the State Assembly before losing twice to the crazy socialist Steve [...]