Dressing like Abe Lincoln and kissing a baby — it's Scott Walker's challenger for the Republican slot in the recall election.

It's Arthur Kohl-Riggs, whom we encountered at yesterday's Tax Day rally:



You may recognize him from many of the videos Meade and I made during last year's protests, though I didn't identify him by name back then. Here are 2. Here's an article about how he got on the primary ballot and why he's doing it:

Arthur Kohl-Riggs, a scruffy-haired 23-year-old political activist who used to serve pizza at the Children’s Museum in Madison until a few weeks ago, says he is not a "fake Republican."...

He describes himself as a “progressive Republican,” following the political lines of former Wisconsin Sen. Robert "Fighting Bob" La Follette and Abraham Lincoln....

And the reason Kohl-Riggs wants his name on the GOP ballot is because he wants to force Republicans to vote for Gov. Scott Walker in the primary instead of meddling in the Democratic primary, he said.

I find it hard to believe that Walker has to win a primary and become a party nominee. I would have thought he'd be on the recall election ballot as the incumbent. I can see in the state constitution (PDF) that the incumbent is "deemed to have filed for the recall election," and:

For any partisan office, a recall primary shall be held for each political party which is by law entitled to a separate ballot and from which more than one candidate competes for the party’s nomination in the recall election. The person receiving the highest number of votes in the recall primary for each political party shall be that party’s candidate in the recall election. Independent candidates and candidates representing political parties not entitled by law to a separate ballot shall be shown on the ballot for the recall election only.

Here's the relevant statute (PDF):

(e) For any partisan office, a recall primary shall be held for each political party which is entitled to a separate ballot under s. 5.62 (1) (b) or (2) and from which more than one candidate competes for the party’s nomination in the recall election. The primary ballot shall be prepared in accordance with s. 5.62, insofar as applicable. The person receiving the highest number of votes in the recall primary for each political party shall be that party’s candidate in the recall election. Independent candidates shall be shown on the ballot for the recall election only.

I think it's bizarre and maddening that the people of Wisconsin, having voted Walker into a 4-year term of office now must vote again, not just once, but twice. I understand the concern that Walker supporters might try to skew the Democratic primary — though it's not easy to see which way they'd want to skew it — but I think a lot of people are really sick of having to keep voting and revoting to keep what we've already voted for (and sick of having to pay for all of it).