{"id":1664443,"date":"2022-09-29T11:53:19","date_gmt":"2022-09-29T15:53:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1664443"},"modified":"2022-09-29T11:55:14","modified_gmt":"2022-09-29T15:55:14","slug":"zuckbucks-2-0-democrat-operatives-are-helping-milwaukee-rig-its-2022-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/zuckbucks-2-0-democrat-operatives-are-helping-milwaukee-rig-its-2022-elections\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Zuckbucks 2.0\u2019: Democrat Operatives Are Helping Milwaukee Rig Its 2022\u00a0Elections"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fzuckbucks-2-0-democrat-operatives-are-helping-milwaukee-rig-its-2022-elections%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1664443&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Republican Party of Wisconsin has filed a <a href=\"https:\/\/wisgop.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Summons-and-Complaint.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lawsuit<\/a> challenging the city of Milwaukee\u2019s \u201cMilwaukee Votes 2022\u201d initiative, after an exclusive<a href=\"https:\/\/empowerwisconsin.org\/exclusive-dem-operative-led-city-officials-in-milwaukee-votes-2022-gotv-effort\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> report<\/a> by Empower Wisconsin revealed that Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson asked a Democratic Party operative for help spinning the city\u2019s privately funded get-out-the-vote campaign, which some critics label \u201cZuckbucks 2.0.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Republican Party of Wisconsin is deeply concerned that cities like Milwaukee are working with Democrat operatives and partisan third party groups to get out the vote in a manner designed to tip the scales for Democrats,\u201d Mark Jefferson, executive director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/wisgop.org\/rpw-files-lawsuit-against-city-of-milwaukee-over-partisan-political-operation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">press release<\/a>.\u00a0\u201cGovernment\u2019s role in elections must be to ensure fairness and transparency, not to benefit one party at the expense of another, and we will aggressively fight to ensure that election laws are followed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/empowerwisconsin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/DOC092722-09272022181649.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">text and emails<\/a>\u00a0obtained by state Rep. Janel Brandtjen\u2019s public records request, Johnson and his aide Jeff Fleming ask left-wing operative and political consultant\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationconsulting.com\/sachin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sachin Chheda<\/a>\u00a0for how to respond to questions regarding \u201cMilwaukee Votes 2022,\u201d a door-to-door canvassing get-out-the-vote\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/wisconsinspotlight.com\/zuckerbucks-2-0-in-milwaukee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">campaign<\/a>\u00a0\u201cfunded by the private sector.\u201d Chheda has an extensive history of working for Democratic political campaigns, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, and former Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGetting multiple media requests on where the $$$ is coming from for canvassing and outreach. Do you have an answer?\u201d Fleming texted Chheda on Sept. 12.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"751\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Screenshot-2022-09-28-at-1.30.03-PM-2-751x1024-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-280237\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Screenshot-2022-09-28-at-1.30.03-PM-2-751x1024-1.png 751w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Screenshot-2022-09-28-at-1.30.03-PM-2-220x300-1.png 220w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Screenshot-2022-09-28-at-1.30.03-PM-2-768x1047-1.png 768w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Screenshot-2022-09-28-at-1.30.03-PM-2.png 1094w\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cPrivate donors and foundations,\u201d Chheda responded, before adding that Fleming could also direct reporters\u2019 questions to Melissa Baldauff, another Democratic Party activist (and former communications director for Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers) who is the spokeswoman for Milwaukee Votes 2022, per the records.<\/p>\n<p>But Chheda then changed his mind, texting Fleming, \u201cActually hold on. Can we just sit tight for an hour and then get back to folks?\u201d Fleming\u2019s response was not included in the requested records.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A couple of days later, Chheda texted Johnson himself and asked if there was any update on \u201cwhether you got these questions at the art museum?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Johnson responded:\u00a0<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>Hey, Sachin. Yes they did ask about Milwaukee Votes 2022. I said that it is:<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 nonpartisan\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 an initiative that we spoke about going back to May\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 encourages all voters to be engaged regardless of party\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 Isn\u2019t much different than the activity we see before elections\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2013Just turn on your television and you\u2019ll see private dollars expended to encourage voters.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><\/figure>\n<p>Johnson had originally told reporters that the city was helping with Milwaukee Votes 2022\u2019s get-out-the-vote efforts. He later\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox6now.com\/news\/draft-milwaukees-mayor-backs-door-to-door-election-push\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">walked back<\/a>\u00a0his comments by saying the initiative would be carried out without government support. Texts and email exchanges between Johnson and Chheda suggest otherwise.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWanted to let you guys know we have been approved for a $1 million grant from The Center for Secure and Modern Elections,\u201d Chheda wrote in a Sept. 2 text to Mayor Johnson and his chief of staff Jim Bohl. \u201cThe money is coming to the High Ground Institute to support the nonpartisan Milwaukee Votes 2022 Canvass as we discussed. We should set up a meeting next week to give you guys the full update.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/non-profit\/center-for-secure-and-modern-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Center for Secure and Modern Elections<\/a>\u00a0is a leftist advocacy group created by the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/non-profit\/new-venture-fund\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">New Venture Fund<\/a>, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that promotes radical changes to America\u2019s elections, including automatic voter registration at state agencies. The center is also closely connected to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/10\/12\/the-2020-election-wasnt-stolen-it-was-bought-by-mark-zuckerberg\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the Center for Technology and Civic Life<\/a>, one of two leftist advocacy groups that funneled a $419 million grant from Mark Zuckerberg \u2014 colloquially labeled \u201cZuckBucks\u201d \u2014 to fund the private takeover of government election offices during the 2020 contest. Wisconsin was a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thefga.org\/paper\/the-wisconsin-zuckerbucks-problem\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">key recipient<\/a>\u00a0of Zuckbucks.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Brandtjen, who chairs the Wisconsin Assembly Campaign Finance and Elections Commission, is worried that Milwaukee Votes 2022 is just \u201cZuckbucks 2.0.\u201d She told Empower Wisconsin there is no way to oversee the \u201cnonpartisan\u201d nonprofit groups funding the effort. Her office is filing more open records requests related to communications between the city and the Center for Secure and Modern Elections.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The initial records Brandtjen obtained, revealing Johnson\u2019s communication with Chheda, were incomplete. As such, the Republican Party of Wisconsin also sued the city and mayor\u2019s office on Wednesday for failing to comply with its records request related to Milwaukee Votes 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<p>\n  Victoria Marshall is a staff writer at The Federalist. Her writing has been featured in the New York Post, National Review, and Townhall. She graduated from Hillsdale College in May 2021 with a major in politics and a minor in journalism. Follow her on Twitter @vemrshll.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Republican Party of Wisconsin has filed a lawsuit challenging the city of Milwaukee\u2019s \u201cMilwaukee Votes 2022\u201d initiative, after an exclusive report by Empower Wisconsin revealed that Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1130,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1664443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1664443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1130"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1664443"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1664443\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1664443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1664443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1664443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}