Fighting Bob
People's Legislature here we come
A little history: Our first People's Legislature was held in a snow shower, but 1,200 showed up to demand public financing of elections and more. Our second featured the wonderful spirit Doris "Grannie D" Haddock. Grannie D had us cheering, clapping, and there were a few tears as well. At the time she was 98 and still giving it her all. And her "all" was a lot.
Our third was in the early stages of the uprising over Walker's perfidy. We focused on the gap between those who have too much power and those who should have more power.
So here comes number 4! Some say it will be a smaller crowd because it is on a work day. I say everyday is a work day when taking on the Koch brothers, Walker and Fitzgeralds. We have to complete the circle, and to do that we must join arms and go for it! Will you attend a session on a work day? All I can say is we had that day available and we keep our fingers crossed that you will be there at noon on Wednesday. You stood in rain and snow, knocked on thousands of doors, froze your buns at demonstrations...let's finish the job!
How about the John Doe? Deja vue!
Marquette Poll: As we predicted, the "new" Marquette poll is cited for all sorts of things. Walker is ahead, people support the photo I.D. bill, etc...Rarely if ever do reporters mention that this is not a "new" Marquette poll. It is their first poll ever! And is it Marquette or the Bradley Foundation feeding the beast?
You can bet that the next one will whitewash the Walker administration on the John Doe.
Our third was in the early stages of the uprising over Walker's perfidy. We focused on the gap between those who have too much power and those who should have more power.
So here comes number 4! Some say it will be a smaller crowd because it is on a work day. I say everyday is a work day when taking on the Koch brothers, Walker and Fitzgeralds. We have to complete the circle, and to do that we must join arms and go for it! Will you attend a session on a work day? All I can say is we had that day available and we keep our fingers crossed that you will be there at noon on Wednesday. You stood in rain and snow, knocked on thousands of doors, froze your buns at demonstrations...let's finish the job!
How about the John Doe? Deja vue!
Marquette Poll: As we predicted, the "new" Marquette poll is cited for all sorts of things. Walker is ahead, people support the photo I.D. bill, etc...Rarely if ever do reporters mention that this is not a "new" Marquette poll. It is their first poll ever! And is it Marquette or the Bradley Foundation feeding the beast?
You can bet that the next one will whitewash the Walker administration on the John Doe.
The costs of redistricting
Everybody knows what big money is doing to political campaigns, candidates, and politics itself. Most people don’t seem to like it. But five of the big nine on the Supreme Court do, and no one else counts.
Everyone also knows and dislikes the reconfirmation of the McLuhan premise that the medium is the message and that the campaign medium is TV commercials. Quick, simple/simplistic, pervasive. Most people don’t like this either, except, of course, the TV station owners and the producers and purveyors of commercials whose livelihood is dependent on or greatly enhanced by this phenomenon.
There is little or nothing that can be done about the flood of money masquerading as free speech or the popularity and power of TV as a medium.
There is another democracy destroying phenomenon, however, that is working below the radar of public notice that is doing as much or even more to diminish our democracy and the people we elect to run it.
It’s called redistricting. Redistricting determines which voters will get to vote for which candidates.
The rules are that each district will have the same number of voters, racial minorities will be given a chance at representation, the physical districts will be compact, and something called community of interest, which is vaguely defined, will be respected.
Competitiveness, if any, is not a criterion. If it happens, it will be inadvertently.
The hidden criterion is non-competitiveness. Given the high cost of campaigning and the fact that the burden of raising the necessary money needed to compete has fallen on the legislative leaders who have the blue chips in this mostly white chip game, non-competitiveness is more than a criterion. It’s an objective.
When one party controls the legislature and the executive office, that party will create as many safe seats for their candidates as the courts (who are charged with enforcing the aforementioned rules) will allow.
When power is split within the legislature, collusion raises its ugly head. Party leaders scratch each others' backs in pursuit of safe seats for both. This has been most visible at the congressional level in Wisconsin. After the 2000 census, the 1st and 2nd districts, which had been competitive, were rearranged in ways to make one safer for a Democrat and the other for a Republican. After the 2010 census, collusion led to a 3rd district which was more Democratic and the neighboring 7th district which became more friendly for the Republicans.
This is a diverse country, but we do tend to cluster. Ethnically, economically, racially, and politically. This makes reducing the number of districts which are truly competitive possible. In a few areas it is inevitable. But should it be an objective? I don’t think so.
The consequence of conceding or advancing party preferences is that we are elevating the importance of primary elections and making more general elections irrelevant. Fewer people vote in primaries, and those who do vote are usually more partisan and predictable. The less committed, less rabid voters tend to wait till November. This is too late in too many places. The November results are more and more a foregone conclusion in legislative races.
Redistricting in the hands of the incumbents has filled a lot of safe seats with too many unambitious ideologues who are interested less in governing than in staying in office.
This diminishes an honorable trade which attracts superior people into the Congress and legislatures we have come to love to hate.
The route back to putting problems not political advantage on the top of the priority lists of those elected to represent us starts with competitive general elections.
Everyone also knows and dislikes the reconfirmation of the McLuhan premise that the medium is the message and that the campaign medium is TV commercials. Quick, simple/simplistic, pervasive. Most people don’t like this either, except, of course, the TV station owners and the producers and purveyors of commercials whose livelihood is dependent on or greatly enhanced by this phenomenon.
There is little or nothing that can be done about the flood of money masquerading as free speech or the popularity and power of TV as a medium.
There is another democracy destroying phenomenon, however, that is working below the radar of public notice that is doing as much or even more to diminish our democracy and the people we elect to run it.
It’s called redistricting. Redistricting determines which voters will get to vote for which candidates.
The rules are that each district will have the same number of voters, racial minorities will be given a chance at representation, the physical districts will be compact, and something called community of interest, which is vaguely defined, will be respected.
Competitiveness, if any, is not a criterion. If it happens, it will be inadvertently.
The hidden criterion is non-competitiveness. Given the high cost of campaigning and the fact that the burden of raising the necessary money needed to compete has fallen on the legislative leaders who have the blue chips in this mostly white chip game, non-competitiveness is more than a criterion. It’s an objective.
When one party controls the legislature and the executive office, that party will create as many safe seats for their candidates as the courts (who are charged with enforcing the aforementioned rules) will allow.
When power is split within the legislature, collusion raises its ugly head. Party leaders scratch each others' backs in pursuit of safe seats for both. This has been most visible at the congressional level in Wisconsin. After the 2000 census, the 1st and 2nd districts, which had been competitive, were rearranged in ways to make one safer for a Democrat and the other for a Republican. After the 2010 census, collusion led to a 3rd district which was more Democratic and the neighboring 7th district which became more friendly for the Republicans.
This is a diverse country, but we do tend to cluster. Ethnically, economically, racially, and politically. This makes reducing the number of districts which are truly competitive possible. In a few areas it is inevitable. But should it be an objective? I don’t think so.
The consequence of conceding or advancing party preferences is that we are elevating the importance of primary elections and making more general elections irrelevant. Fewer people vote in primaries, and those who do vote are usually more partisan and predictable. The less committed, less rabid voters tend to wait till November. This is too late in too many places. The November results are more and more a foregone conclusion in legislative races.
Redistricting in the hands of the incumbents has filled a lot of safe seats with too many unambitious ideologues who are interested less in governing than in staying in office.
This diminishes an honorable trade which attracts superior people into the Congress and legislatures we have come to love to hate.
The route back to putting problems not political advantage on the top of the priority lists of those elected to represent us starts with competitive general elections.
People's Legislature
I have had only positive responses to the suggestion that we demand a wide-open Democratic primary to select the Democratic candidate for governor; then demand that the nominee refuses all PAC money, all corporate money, all union money, and all out-of-state money. The focus is then on Walker and his pals the Koch brothers who are trying to purchase the entire state government. They can't spread the lie that "big labor" is competing with their check-books.
I think our gamble is paying off. I have talked with a number of Fighting Bob folks, potential candidates, people on the street, and others, and all are enthused about Wednesday's session of the People's Legislature (noon until it ends--but we're shooting for ending at 4:00). We need your voices and your input. I urge you to join the crusade.
If we give hope to the thousands who signed recall petitions we can truly recapture our state.
We are planning candidate forums and debates to provide media opportunities as well as the chance to engage the million who signed the recall petetions.
I think our gamble is paying off. I have talked with a number of Fighting Bob folks, potential candidates, people on the street, and others, and all are enthused about Wednesday's session of the People's Legislature (noon until it ends--but we're shooting for ending at 4:00). We need your voices and your input. I urge you to join the crusade.
If we give hope to the thousands who signed recall petitions we can truly recapture our state.
We are planning candidate forums and debates to provide media opportunities as well as the chance to engage the million who signed the recall petetions.
Grand Old Projection
Walker and his backers obsess over imagined dirty tricks as they flood the state with the real thing.
No rush to judgment
MJS reports that Scott Walker declined to answer a question about whether he or his attorney had been contacted by investigators in the John Doe proceeding. Two staffers who worked for Walker when he was Milwaukee County executive have been charged with illegally doing political work while being paid by taxpayers.
The law firm of Steven Biskupic, former U.S. attorney, has been paid $110,000 by Walker's campaign over past year. Stay tuned.
The law firm of Steven Biskupic, former U.S. attorney, has been paid $110,000 by Walker's campaign over past year. Stay tuned.
First some <b>bad news</b>
Our friend Joe Gruber suffered a stroke soon after arriving back in Mississippi to reclaim his condo (destroyed by hurricane).
Keep your fingers crossed. I have walked more picket lines with Joe than I could count. If there was trouble, you would always find Joe there. On Valentine's Day a year ago, Ellen Bravo asked us to picket Walker's plan to gut family leave. We did and the next day the uprising began in earnest.
We love you Joe. See you on the golf course soon.
--------------
Standing on the Capitol steps Wednesday evening to protest the proposed mining bill, I was freezing-- but the hundreds of opponents of the iron ore open pit mine were freezing as well and that made it seem warmer. Patti Loew, no longer constrained by public TV rules against active participation, was the MC and she was great. Mike McCabe, Glen Reynolds and George Meyer all stood in the damp cold night urging common sense in the Legislature.
What is odd is this: Walker speaks for the mining companies and others who stand to make a fortune if the mine is approved. Who speaks for the air and water? Whose idea was this? The notion that Wisconsin should give away our state to a Florida company that promises jobs is loopy. While Mitt Romney claims that corporations are people, what would happen if half-way through the Florida corporation collapses?
Johnny Paycheck sang it for us years ago. You can take this job and shove it...Change "job" to "jobs."
Keep your fingers crossed. I have walked more picket lines with Joe than I could count. If there was trouble, you would always find Joe there. On Valentine's Day a year ago, Ellen Bravo asked us to picket Walker's plan to gut family leave. We did and the next day the uprising began in earnest.
We love you Joe. See you on the golf course soon.
--------------
Standing on the Capitol steps Wednesday evening to protest the proposed mining bill, I was freezing-- but the hundreds of opponents of the iron ore open pit mine were freezing as well and that made it seem warmer. Patti Loew, no longer constrained by public TV rules against active participation, was the MC and she was great. Mike McCabe, Glen Reynolds and George Meyer all stood in the damp cold night urging common sense in the Legislature.
What is odd is this: Walker speaks for the mining companies and others who stand to make a fortune if the mine is approved. Who speaks for the air and water? Whose idea was this? The notion that Wisconsin should give away our state to a Florida company that promises jobs is loopy. While Mitt Romney claims that corporations are people, what would happen if half-way through the Florida corporation collapses?
Johnny Paycheck sang it for us years ago. You can take this job and shove it...Change "job" to "jobs."
Gaining momentum
The People's Legislative Session, Wednesday, February 1 is taking shape. While some have complained that we are meeting on a work day, we really had no choice. So, I agree it would have been better on a weekend but we are where we are.
At least four potential candidates have said they will be there. Only time will tell if all of them will be there. Some have asked us to "stream" the proceedings and we are working on that--it's a good idea. We will have to pass the bucket again. So, while there has been some criticism, there is growing enthusiasm for the concept.
How about the Walker team setting up an alternative e-mail system 25 feet from the County Exec's office when Walker occupied that office? Once again, using employees of the state and local governments to work on politics! Won't they ever learn?
And Tommy Thompson is now worth $13 million? Whoa Nelly. He says he is "lucky and happy," and I am not surprised. Like Newt, he claims that he was not a lobbyist although he worked with one at Akin Gump, one of the biggest lobbying firms in Washington. Corruption everywhere.
John Nichols, Mike McCabe, Ruth Conniff and Nino Amato will be at the People's Legislature. We have no way to predict turnout, but I think we will not be lonely. See you on Wednesday at noon.
At least four potential candidates have said they will be there. Only time will tell if all of them will be there. Some have asked us to "stream" the proceedings and we are working on that--it's a good idea. We will have to pass the bucket again. So, while there has been some criticism, there is growing enthusiasm for the concept.
How about the Walker team setting up an alternative e-mail system 25 feet from the County Exec's office when Walker occupied that office? Once again, using employees of the state and local governments to work on politics! Won't they ever learn?
And Tommy Thompson is now worth $13 million? Whoa Nelly. He says he is "lucky and happy," and I am not surprised. Like Newt, he claims that he was not a lobbyist although he worked with one at Akin Gump, one of the biggest lobbying firms in Washington. Corruption everywhere.
John Nichols, Mike McCabe, Ruth Conniff and Nino Amato will be at the People's Legislature. We have no way to predict turnout, but I think we will not be lonely. See you on Wednesday at noon.
People's Legislature
Wednesday, February 1, we will convene around noon, Alliant Exhibition area (free parking), introduce anyone who wishes to be a potential candidate to oppose Walker, decide on forums to be held statewide, hear the latest from Mike McCabe on out-of-state funding for Walker, and on the Citizens United amendment.
Ruth Conniff will co-chair with me; John Nichols will speak, and, who knows, we might make some history when it comes to money in politics.
Need your input--look forward to seeing you on Wednesday.
Ruth Conniff will co-chair with me; John Nichols will speak, and, who knows, we might make some history when it comes to money in politics.
Need your input--look forward to seeing you on Wednesday.
Bankers are not bad people!
C'mon folks. Listen to Daddy Mitt. "Bankers are not bad people---just overwhelmed," he said. Really. He said that, and, of course, we all agree. There are some bad, some good bankers, but overwelmed? Heck, there are even bad lawyers. There are even a few bad judges! OK, I have gone to far!
Bad bankers, bad judges, bad lawyers--how about bad pollsters? Headline in JS: GOVERNOR'S JOB RATING UP IN NEW MARQUETTE POLL. What? Marquette has never had a poll so PolitiFact might say JS has "pants on fire" when they write "new Marquette poll" when there has never been an "old Marquette poll." Ah, yes, the unholy alliance strikes again.
Whose poll is it if it is not Marquette's? Did JS ask or are they part of the deal? Recall we have been flashing the yellow caution light about UW-Madison's Pol Sci prof Charles Franklin. He was part of the UW-Madison partnership with extreme right-wing Bradley Foundation's WPRI. Bradley would pay Franklin and his fellow poli sci profs and Franklin would lend the UW's good name to polls. WPRI would give final approval to the wording, timing, subject matter and they agreed to spin results with MJS! In fact, MJS would get the information ahead of all other media. Tsk, tsk, and whoa Nelly. Who conducted this "new Marquette poll"? Why none other than Dr. Franklin: this is the first of a series being conducted by Charles Franklin, co-founder of pollster.com and a visiting professor at Marquette on leave from UW-Madison. Because he is on leave, he will argue that neither he nor Marquette are covered by the Open Records law that tripped him when the WPRI deal was exposed by FightingBob.com.
Franklin can influence the decisions of Democrats thinking about challenging Walker. If they believe Franklin they might conclude that Walker is getting a Gingrich-like surge.
I think that we should know who is paying Franklin or his new corporate entity. What are the questions, who gets to decide? Who spins? Is Franklin back to the old deal with MJS? Looks like it if you read the story today.
My advice: Pay no attention to Franklin's polls and Marquette--old, new or waiting to be cooked.
Bad bankers, bad judges, bad lawyers--how about bad pollsters? Headline in JS: GOVERNOR'S JOB RATING UP IN NEW MARQUETTE POLL. What? Marquette has never had a poll so PolitiFact might say JS has "pants on fire" when they write "new Marquette poll" when there has never been an "old Marquette poll." Ah, yes, the unholy alliance strikes again.
Whose poll is it if it is not Marquette's? Did JS ask or are they part of the deal? Recall we have been flashing the yellow caution light about UW-Madison's Pol Sci prof Charles Franklin. He was part of the UW-Madison partnership with extreme right-wing Bradley Foundation's WPRI. Bradley would pay Franklin and his fellow poli sci profs and Franklin would lend the UW's good name to polls. WPRI would give final approval to the wording, timing, subject matter and they agreed to spin results with MJS! In fact, MJS would get the information ahead of all other media. Tsk, tsk, and whoa Nelly. Who conducted this "new Marquette poll"? Why none other than Dr. Franklin: this is the first of a series being conducted by Charles Franklin, co-founder of pollster.com and a visiting professor at Marquette on leave from UW-Madison. Because he is on leave, he will argue that neither he nor Marquette are covered by the Open Records law that tripped him when the WPRI deal was exposed by FightingBob.com.
Franklin can influence the decisions of Democrats thinking about challenging Walker. If they believe Franklin they might conclude that Walker is getting a Gingrich-like surge.
I think that we should know who is paying Franklin or his new corporate entity. What are the questions, who gets to decide? Who spins? Is Franklin back to the old deal with MJS? Looks like it if you read the story today.
My advice: Pay no attention to Franklin's polls and Marquette--old, new or waiting to be cooked.
Less is more
Democrats have to make Walker's money the issue.
Note to Newt
Newt Gingrich is missing a good deal. Gingrich is yelled at by Mitt Romney for the $1.6 million he got from Freddie Mac. Romney says Newt was lobbying. Newt says he was a historian!
Well, Newt the historian got "chump change" compared to the money paid to Tommy Thompson since he left the position of the Bush appointment as Secretary of Health and Human Services seven years ago. Like Newt, he denies that he lobbied. Yah, sure Tommy. Tommy said, "I have made a few shekels" since leaving office. I admit to not knowing the value of the shekel, so let me convert to dollars. Tommy made at least $8.5 million since 2005, and that is at the low end.
Again, that makes Newt look like a cheap date. Like Newt, the firms that paid Tommy millions hired him as a "strategic adviser"--never a lobbyist. If you believe that, call me. I have a deal for you.
I ran against Tommy in 1998 and we got along despite some very questionable moves TT made. Even the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on the insider deals with Bear Stearns and others like big tobacco. While not attacking him for his intelligence, the notion of anyone paying Tommy millions of dollars for "strategic advice" is nutso.
Well, Newt the historian got "chump change" compared to the money paid to Tommy Thompson since he left the position of the Bush appointment as Secretary of Health and Human Services seven years ago. Like Newt, he denies that he lobbied. Yah, sure Tommy. Tommy said, "I have made a few shekels" since leaving office. I admit to not knowing the value of the shekel, so let me convert to dollars. Tommy made at least $8.5 million since 2005, and that is at the low end.
Again, that makes Newt look like a cheap date. Like Newt, the firms that paid Tommy millions hired him as a "strategic adviser"--never a lobbyist. If you believe that, call me. I have a deal for you.
I ran against Tommy in 1998 and we got along despite some very questionable moves TT made. Even the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on the insider deals with Bear Stearns and others like big tobacco. While not attacking him for his intelligence, the notion of anyone paying Tommy millions of dollars for "strategic advice" is nutso.
It beats fiction
Tonight is the second anniversary of an important exchange between Barack Obama, "truth teller," and thin-skinned Justice Sam Alito Jr., not exactly a truth teller, more of a right-wing ideologue. You remember when the president criticized the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United with the Justices sitting a few feet away, and Alito mouthed a response "not true" while shaking his head. Obama, more the scholar than Alito, said the Court had "reversed a century of law" and would open the floodgates for special interests...to spend without limit in our elections.
Which side are you on? I can guess, but guess work is not needed. Headline in NY Times: "Super PAC for Gingrich To Get $5 million Infusion." A casino owner in Las Vegas gave him $5 million during the South Carolina primary and now jumps in to help Newt in Florida with another $5 million. Was the money helpful? It "provided a major boost to Gingrich in South Carolina," says NYT.
What's that you said, Justice Alito? "Not true"? With all due respect sir, I don't think you were correct in your finger-wag at Obama. (OK not a finger wag--a head shake.) As for the president, his comments were seriously under-stated. Citizens United is a disaster not just wrong.
Look at Wisconsin, Justice Alito. CASH POURING INTO WALKER COFFERS. Walker raised $12 million in one year; $4,5 million in five weeks. Where does it come from, Justice Alito, the good fairy?
I predict Walker will have raised more than all Democrats who have run for governor of Wisconsin in modern history--combined. Koch Brothers, Uihlein family business in Illinois. Perry Homes in Houston and on and on.
To add insult to injury, Scott Fitzgerald attributes this money to Walker's successful programs. (I am not kidding.) He said that on the day the UW-Milwaukee released a report showing a disaster in Black employment in Milwaukee; lowest ever, and more African-American men are incarcerated every month than were employed by year's end. Does that grab you Scott one and Scott two? Only 44.7 percent of working-age black males were employed in 2010.
February 1. A week from tomorrow we convene the People's Legislature at the Alliant Center to figure out how candidates can emerge to oppose Walker and to agree on the key issues that must be addressed. We need your ideas asap. We know Feburary 1 is a work day, but time is flying by and this date was open.
Let us know via email if you plan to attend. Thanks. See you there.
Which side are you on? I can guess, but guess work is not needed. Headline in NY Times: "Super PAC for Gingrich To Get $5 million Infusion." A casino owner in Las Vegas gave him $5 million during the South Carolina primary and now jumps in to help Newt in Florida with another $5 million. Was the money helpful? It "provided a major boost to Gingrich in South Carolina," says NYT.
What's that you said, Justice Alito? "Not true"? With all due respect sir, I don't think you were correct in your finger-wag at Obama. (OK not a finger wag--a head shake.) As for the president, his comments were seriously under-stated. Citizens United is a disaster not just wrong.
Look at Wisconsin, Justice Alito. CASH POURING INTO WALKER COFFERS. Walker raised $12 million in one year; $4,5 million in five weeks. Where does it come from, Justice Alito, the good fairy?
I predict Walker will have raised more than all Democrats who have run for governor of Wisconsin in modern history--combined. Koch Brothers, Uihlein family business in Illinois. Perry Homes in Houston and on and on.
To add insult to injury, Scott Fitzgerald attributes this money to Walker's successful programs. (I am not kidding.) He said that on the day the UW-Milwaukee released a report showing a disaster in Black employment in Milwaukee; lowest ever, and more African-American men are incarcerated every month than were employed by year's end. Does that grab you Scott one and Scott two? Only 44.7 percent of working-age black males were employed in 2010.
February 1. A week from tomorrow we convene the People's Legislature at the Alliant Center to figure out how candidates can emerge to oppose Walker and to agree on the key issues that must be addressed. We need your ideas asap. We know Feburary 1 is a work day, but time is flying by and this date was open.
Let us know via email if you plan to attend. Thanks. See you there.
Up in the air
Something immense has happened on Wisconsin's political landscape, but what it is at this point is mostly unknown.
The People's Legislature to Reconvene: 2/1/12
Fighting Bob Friends:
We have had three sessions of The People’s Legislature, and now is time to call for the most important one we have held:
February 1st at the Alliant Energy Center Exhibition Halls, the People’s Legislature will reconvene. The agenda? Discuss a process for naming a candidate to oppose Scott Walker and to list the key issues that must be addressed.
This session will not be an endorsement. Rather, it will try to develop a road to a wide-open primary. Let the people decide who should run—we will focus on the issues and the process.
This open meeting will go from Noon to 4:00pm. I plan to chair; Mike McCabe will keynote; other speakers to be announced.
Can you make it? We have to continue the uprising.
Everyone thinking of running or supporting a candidate is welcome.
No speeches on behalf of any candidate: only speaking to the process of how to select the best person. This is a grassroots movement and we are all part of it.
We will ask you to contribute a few bucks as we always do.
Best Regards,
Ed Garvey
We have had three sessions of The People’s Legislature, and now is time to call for the most important one we have held:
February 1st at the Alliant Energy Center Exhibition Halls, the People’s Legislature will reconvene. The agenda? Discuss a process for naming a candidate to oppose Scott Walker and to list the key issues that must be addressed.
This session will not be an endorsement. Rather, it will try to develop a road to a wide-open primary. Let the people decide who should run—we will focus on the issues and the process.
This open meeting will go from Noon to 4:00pm. I plan to chair; Mike McCabe will keynote; other speakers to be announced.
Can you make it? We have to continue the uprising.
Everyone thinking of running or supporting a candidate is welcome.
No speeches on behalf of any candidate: only speaking to the process of how to select the best person. This is a grassroots movement and we are all part of it.
We will ask you to contribute a few bucks as we always do.
Best Regards,
Ed Garvey
Got our hands full
Hit the pause button, sit back and make a list of top issues the country must deal with. Imagine giving or writing the State of the Union speech this week.
Issue number 1 in my book is the need to find leaders people will trust. Not many around these days. Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Barack Obama... The lack of trust starts with the sad state of our corrupt political system. In order to pay the high cost of running for office (consultants, TV spots, staff) candidates must hone their begging skills. It matters not if a person understands the state budget, but it does matter if he or she can twist arms for money. I get 50 or more money requests from legislators per year and I am tired of it. Hitting up people who support you for money is absurd.
If you are a billionaire, that problem is solved, but there are not many billionaires who will seek office and some of them are not interested in the commonweal. They want more not less for themselves. They do not seem to care about homeless people struggling to keep their noses above the water line, so back to ground zero.
Issue number 2: health care as a right of every citizen. Period. The excuses for not adopting single-payer health care are pathetic.
Issue number 3: Unfair taxes make cynics of all of us, so we must adopt a fair tax system if we expect the middle-class to trust the system.
Issue number 4: Reduce military spending, stop the rush to war.
Issue number 5: Deal with the sad state of education in America. We need to pay teachers more not less, we must make college and tech school free. We cannot afford millions of uneducated young people out of work.
Final issue for a Monday morning: Find iron-clad solutions to climate change.
That's it for the moment. Share your thoughts, please.
Issue number 1 in my book is the need to find leaders people will trust. Not many around these days. Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Barack Obama... The lack of trust starts with the sad state of our corrupt political system. In order to pay the high cost of running for office (consultants, TV spots, staff) candidates must hone their begging skills. It matters not if a person understands the state budget, but it does matter if he or she can twist arms for money. I get 50 or more money requests from legislators per year and I am tired of it. Hitting up people who support you for money is absurd.
If you are a billionaire, that problem is solved, but there are not many billionaires who will seek office and some of them are not interested in the commonweal. They want more not less for themselves. They do not seem to care about homeless people struggling to keep their noses above the water line, so back to ground zero.
Issue number 2: health care as a right of every citizen. Period. The excuses for not adopting single-payer health care are pathetic.
Issue number 3: Unfair taxes make cynics of all of us, so we must adopt a fair tax system if we expect the middle-class to trust the system.
Issue number 4: Reduce military spending, stop the rush to war.
Issue number 5: Deal with the sad state of education in America. We need to pay teachers more not less, we must make college and tech school free. We cannot afford millions of uneducated young people out of work.
Final issue for a Monday morning: Find iron-clad solutions to climate change.
That's it for the moment. Share your thoughts, please.
The rise of Newt
The Palmetto state, South Carolina, has discovered a vein of gold with Newt Ginrich. South Carolina loves cockfighting as sport and has finally discovered Newt, the biggest rooster of all, who will get down and dirty. The Tea Party GOP has found Newt after its chronic rejection of all its previous candidates. The question is, will it last in the Tea Party's ongoing quest to find the perfect, right-wing corporate candidate? No one seems to have the purity demanded by the party of hate.
Newt is at peace in his cathedral of hatred. The eloquent organmaster is professional at striking the discordant themes of resentment, grievance, anger and hatred as he softly plays the cathedral pipe organ. He plays his audience like a fiddle, using openly hateful statements as well as the more subtle code words of bigotry that warm the cockles of hardened GOP hearts.
Newt has also become the redemption poster boy by admitting that he has sinned again and again, promising a future life of virtue after each transgression. This is music to the ears of the religious rightwing faithful who are in love with redemption stories. How many times can one person go to the redemption well? Howard Fineman has noted that the eloquent wordmeister can "go from Judas to Jesus in one sentence." Newt has achieved the status of a Cardinal (not St. Louis) in the Tea Party GOP Church of Deception. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Newt has risen from the dead again. This resurrection insures that the "GOP reality show" will continue for some time.
Newt is at peace in his cathedral of hatred. The eloquent organmaster is professional at striking the discordant themes of resentment, grievance, anger and hatred as he softly plays the cathedral pipe organ. He plays his audience like a fiddle, using openly hateful statements as well as the more subtle code words of bigotry that warm the cockles of hardened GOP hearts.
Newt has also become the redemption poster boy by admitting that he has sinned again and again, promising a future life of virtue after each transgression. This is music to the ears of the religious rightwing faithful who are in love with redemption stories. How many times can one person go to the redemption well? Howard Fineman has noted that the eloquent wordmeister can "go from Judas to Jesus in one sentence." Newt has achieved the status of a Cardinal (not St. Louis) in the Tea Party GOP Church of Deception. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Newt has risen from the dead again. This resurrection insures that the "GOP reality show" will continue for some time.
Poor Mittens
Watching the GOP primary is like standing on the deck of the Titanic and watching it slip under water. Romney claims Gingrich is joining the "far left" (I guess that is us!) in attacking the free enterprise system. Is he nuts? His problem is not a coalition of Newt and Fighting Bob attacking free enterprise, whatever that means, his problem is that he won't release his tax returns and I will bet $10,000 dollars--oops!--that he won't release all the schedules if he does release his taxes at all. My bet is that in some years he paid no taxes, and, as Mike Papantonio said, even more interesting is what he did with his millions parked in the Cayman Islands. The tax dodgers don't put the money in a bank; they invest with other tax dodgers with all that pre-tax money. Don't you wonder who might be investors with Mittens? I do.
I think Romney is done. Sure, he can hold on for now but all the momentum is flowing away from him. A loss in Florida and it is bye-bye Mittens.
Lessons to be learned. As we proceed with plans to have an open primary to select Walker's opponent, we must ask the candidates to release their income tax records immediately. I did when I ran for Senate and governor. Did I like it? Do I like root canals? No, but it is essential information.
What are the credentials that qualify each candidate for the governor's job? No surprises, please.
Question to ponder: Is Obama too nice to win a debate with nasty Gngrich?
I think Romney is done. Sure, he can hold on for now but all the momentum is flowing away from him. A loss in Florida and it is bye-bye Mittens.
Lessons to be learned. As we proceed with plans to have an open primary to select Walker's opponent, we must ask the candidates to release their income tax records immediately. I did when I ran for Senate and governor. Did I like it? Do I like root canals? No, but it is essential information.
What are the credentials that qualify each candidate for the governor's job? No surprises, please.
Question to ponder: Is Obama too nice to win a debate with nasty Gngrich?
Yellow dollars of Texas
Rather than facing his fears in Wisconsin, Scott Walker, Texas (money) Ranger, runs away and cashes in.
Open records open minds
Last night, Charles Franklin, a professor at the UW-Madison, appeared on Wisconsin Public Televison's Here and Now. While the MJS reported last week that Franklin is on sabbatical at Marquette Law School, Here and Now identified him as a "visiting professor" at Marquette. Which is it, and does it matter? Well, if he is on sabbatical and is being paid by UW I would argue that his polling information is a public record. Possibly he came to the same conclusion so someone switched it from sabbatical to visiting professor. I wonder who is paying him? I don't know, but will ask and report to you. Wisconsin voters should have all the information they can get. Time for Marquette to open the books.
One thing is for certain: He is polling on issues and likely Democratic candidates for governor. He will influence the campaign because he will be the "expert" the media relies on.
In my view his information will go from conservative Marquette to their pal Walker. Is that fair? Nope. Why won't so-called PolitiFact find out? Too busy investigating the small stuff. No time for the big stuff.
One thing is for certain: He is polling on issues and likely Democratic candidates for governor. He will influence the campaign because he will be the "expert" the media relies on.
In my view his information will go from conservative Marquette to their pal Walker. Is that fair? Nope. Why won't so-called PolitiFact find out? Too busy investigating the small stuff. No time for the big stuff.
Good thoughts
Lots of good thoughts have been coming in to FightingBob.com. This is not a private fight--so jump in!
One letter worth noting said this was not a Democratic Party victory--it was a victory for all Badgers--Democrats, Republicans, progressives and independents who love this "special place" called Wisconsin. (And yes, Fighting Bob Fest has helped.)
So it is a mistake, the letter writer argued, to leave it up to the Democrats to select Walker's opponent in the election next summer. Involve everyone because Wisconsin belongs to all of us not just Democrats.
Making the point, there are not 1.1 million Democrats in the party. Not even close. Several full moons ago, state party chair Jeff Newbauer said "the Democratic Party is not a membership-based organization." What is it then? Well, some would say it is an entity whose primary function is to raise money for Democrats, inform the members of breaking news, etc. One thing is for certain: Mike Tate and his staff cannot beat Walker without help from independents, unhappy Republicans, progressives, Greens, Socialists and Libertarians. The Democratic Party and the big players in Democratic elections have reverted to form. They are reacting now as if we did not have a recall. If you put your ear to the ground the discussion in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel is all about pushing candidates for the primary: everyone is back in line, who will get labor's nod, who looks good to pollsters, etc. I say nonsense!
Walker says he plans to aggressively fund raise around the country. No kidding! He will have 20-50 million dollars! The shame of being the object of an AIG founder's home party in New York on recall election day for a fundraiser says all you need to persuade your family to vote for the alternative candidate.
Some have urged a People's Legislature to open the selection process and to maintain the momentum from the recall. I think that makes great sense. As I see it, it would be open to anyone a.) willing to run who would focus on the top 10 issues we would have on the agenda, b.) agree to a strict limit on fund raising, and c.) participate in 7-10 forums on issues to be held all over the state. Why? To publicize in the media what we are "for" not just against.
You know what? This might not work but it has a chance because of the enormous number of enthused petitioners! And because everyone knows, our political system is broken and we have a golden opportunity to fix it.
Another regular letter writer challenged me to remind people that when Barbara Lawton and I ran for governor and lieutenant governor we limited contributions to $100. The writer suggested that I failed in my attempt. Correct you are, but Walker ain't Tommy Thompson, no one had been recalled...yes, it might fail but a strategy to try to keep within sight of Walker and the Koch boys is a sure loser.
Your thoughts please.
Some very bright, talented, and articulate people have indicated they might run. Well, lets help! Meanwhile, demand that Marquette Law School volunteer to open up to the public the polling operation run by UW-Madison poli sci professor Charles Franklin. It is just too convenient that Franklin is on sabbatical and he is using his state-paid position to reside at Marquette Law School to conduct polling! C'mon! Open up!
One letter worth noting said this was not a Democratic Party victory--it was a victory for all Badgers--Democrats, Republicans, progressives and independents who love this "special place" called Wisconsin. (And yes, Fighting Bob Fest has helped.)
So it is a mistake, the letter writer argued, to leave it up to the Democrats to select Walker's opponent in the election next summer. Involve everyone because Wisconsin belongs to all of us not just Democrats.
Making the point, there are not 1.1 million Democrats in the party. Not even close. Several full moons ago, state party chair Jeff Newbauer said "the Democratic Party is not a membership-based organization." What is it then? Well, some would say it is an entity whose primary function is to raise money for Democrats, inform the members of breaking news, etc. One thing is for certain: Mike Tate and his staff cannot beat Walker without help from independents, unhappy Republicans, progressives, Greens, Socialists and Libertarians. The Democratic Party and the big players in Democratic elections have reverted to form. They are reacting now as if we did not have a recall. If you put your ear to the ground the discussion in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel is all about pushing candidates for the primary: everyone is back in line, who will get labor's nod, who looks good to pollsters, etc. I say nonsense!
Walker says he plans to aggressively fund raise around the country. No kidding! He will have 20-50 million dollars! The shame of being the object of an AIG founder's home party in New York on recall election day for a fundraiser says all you need to persuade your family to vote for the alternative candidate.
Some have urged a People's Legislature to open the selection process and to maintain the momentum from the recall. I think that makes great sense. As I see it, it would be open to anyone a.) willing to run who would focus on the top 10 issues we would have on the agenda, b.) agree to a strict limit on fund raising, and c.) participate in 7-10 forums on issues to be held all over the state. Why? To publicize in the media what we are "for" not just against.
You know what? This might not work but it has a chance because of the enormous number of enthused petitioners! And because everyone knows, our political system is broken and we have a golden opportunity to fix it.
Another regular letter writer challenged me to remind people that when Barbara Lawton and I ran for governor and lieutenant governor we limited contributions to $100. The writer suggested that I failed in my attempt. Correct you are, but Walker ain't Tommy Thompson, no one had been recalled...yes, it might fail but a strategy to try to keep within sight of Walker and the Koch boys is a sure loser.
Your thoughts please.
Some very bright, talented, and articulate people have indicated they might run. Well, lets help! Meanwhile, demand that Marquette Law School volunteer to open up to the public the polling operation run by UW-Madison poli sci professor Charles Franklin. It is just too convenient that Franklin is on sabbatical and he is using his state-paid position to reside at Marquette Law School to conduct polling! C'mon! Open up!