Fighting Bob
Romney looks panicked
Do we want Newt or Romney to head GOP ticket? Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn! Either will lose to Obama in part because of the vicious attacks going on between the two GOP "leaders." But if forced to choose, I would move to Canada.
Romney appears to be a wealthy bully. If anyone disagrees with him he takes it as an affront. How dare you, Rick Perry, quote or misquote my book to me? How dare you, sir? A duel in the offing? At the Club, one can imagine Mitt betting ten grand on a five-foot putt, but it's hard to imagine a politician thrusting his mit with an all-knowing grin..."Want to put 10 grand on that?" Nope, said Perry who, for one shining moment, appeared rational! Newt? Well, he remains Newt.
Keep it up, fellows.
Another bad campaign finance decision from the Court of Appeals in Chicago. You know it will be bad when it is announced that Judge Diane Sykes wrote the decision. Another Wisconsin Right-To-Life suit; anther victory for the "money is speech" crowd. Decision? Can't cap contributions to organizations engaged in independent spending. Violates First Amendment.
Mike McCabe hit the bullseye--hurts the good guys, but only a little. The system is broken so one more brick won't do much. Only a little.
Romney appears to be a wealthy bully. If anyone disagrees with him he takes it as an affront. How dare you, Rick Perry, quote or misquote my book to me? How dare you, sir? A duel in the offing? At the Club, one can imagine Mitt betting ten grand on a five-foot putt, but it's hard to imagine a politician thrusting his mit with an all-knowing grin..."Want to put 10 grand on that?" Nope, said Perry who, for one shining moment, appeared rational! Newt? Well, he remains Newt.
Keep it up, fellows.
Another bad campaign finance decision from the Court of Appeals in Chicago. You know it will be bad when it is announced that Judge Diane Sykes wrote the decision. Another Wisconsin Right-To-Life suit; anther victory for the "money is speech" crowd. Decision? Can't cap contributions to organizations engaged in independent spending. Violates First Amendment.
Mike McCabe hit the bullseye--hurts the good guys, but only a little. The system is broken so one more brick won't do much. Only a little.
On the take
Takeovers show how GOP plans to steal the next election.
Selig rules for ship of fools
Bud Selig owned a car dealership before his stint as Commissioner of baseball, where he is paid more than $14 million per year. I think the dealership was in Wind Lake, but my memory might be off. He got credit for persuading the Seattle Pilots to move to Milwaukee and that team then became the Brewers.
Bill Veeck, the brilliant and colorful baseball innovator, told me that the Major League owners "check their heads with their hats" when they attend meetings of the owners. Edward Bennett Williams said, "The only thing dumber than the dumbest NFL owner is the smartest baseball owner." Williams was in position to know. He was part owner and full-time president of the Washington Redskins and then bought the Baltimore Orioles.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison recently announced that there would be a Selig Chair in the History department and scholar-Selig would have an office in the Social Science building. Apparentyly the Baseball owners have agreed to pay the UW one million dollars for the chair. A scholar would be recruited to teach the history of baseball. Boy, will that be great or what? (I am not kidding!)
Enter the first real superstar in recent Brewer history: Ryan Braun. He made watching the Brewers a treat and he signed a long-term contract assuring that Brewer fans would be happy for at least a decade.
But in each life some rain must fall. ESPN announced that Braun flunked the growth hormone test and would be suspended for 50 games. What else? Oh, he can't get paid during the suspension. And here is the challenge to the UW Scholar: Word leaked from Selig's office that no player has ever won an appeal no matter how convincingly the lawyers argue. I guess Selig wants to warn players--better not try!
If the banned substance was taken witout intent? No matter--rules are rules. Can Ryan hold a news conference to give his side? Nope! Scholar-Selig has told the parties to remain silent now that the damage has been done by his office. Shame on you, Bud.
Let's see. Braun can't win because no player has ever won; and he cannot be cleared even if he is completely innocent! Braun has the burden of proving his innocence but Selig's rules make that impossible.
Ryan's career may well be over--the Brewer franchise might be history--and Selig will find someone to start lecturing on due process at the UW.
Bill Veeck, the brilliant and colorful baseball innovator, told me that the Major League owners "check their heads with their hats" when they attend meetings of the owners. Edward Bennett Williams said, "The only thing dumber than the dumbest NFL owner is the smartest baseball owner." Williams was in position to know. He was part owner and full-time president of the Washington Redskins and then bought the Baltimore Orioles.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison recently announced that there would be a Selig Chair in the History department and scholar-Selig would have an office in the Social Science building. Apparentyly the Baseball owners have agreed to pay the UW one million dollars for the chair. A scholar would be recruited to teach the history of baseball. Boy, will that be great or what? (I am not kidding!)
Enter the first real superstar in recent Brewer history: Ryan Braun. He made watching the Brewers a treat and he signed a long-term contract assuring that Brewer fans would be happy for at least a decade.
But in each life some rain must fall. ESPN announced that Braun flunked the growth hormone test and would be suspended for 50 games. What else? Oh, he can't get paid during the suspension. And here is the challenge to the UW Scholar: Word leaked from Selig's office that no player has ever won an appeal no matter how convincingly the lawyers argue. I guess Selig wants to warn players--better not try!
If the banned substance was taken witout intent? No matter--rules are rules. Can Ryan hold a news conference to give his side? Nope! Scholar-Selig has told the parties to remain silent now that the damage has been done by his office. Shame on you, Bud.
Let's see. Braun can't win because no player has ever won; and he cannot be cleared even if he is completely innocent! Braun has the burden of proving his innocence but Selig's rules make that impossible.
Ryan's career may well be over--the Brewer franchise might be history--and Selig will find someone to start lecturing on due process at the UW.
The moderates' dilemma
Judging from the ideas being forwarded and the appeals being made by candidates today it is easy to conclude that the moderates are being marginalized at best, ignored at worst.
Candidates who had the problem of being attractive enough to win the primaries, where immoderates and immoderation are disproportionately represented, without poisoning the general election well don’t appear to be worried about that as much anymore.
Those who vote in primaries are no longer regarded as a stepping stone to the general election. They have become the main event.
This is not surprising at the legislative level, where partisan redistricting has made most general elections irrelevant. Statewide and even presidential candidates are behaving as if that is true in their elections as well.
Candidates who were trying to win nominations in primaries where “the base” and the once taken-for-granted yellow dogs (a yellow dog for the uninitiated is a Republican who would vote for a yellow dog before he would vote for a Democrat, and vice versa) had to be careful not to go so far off to the right or left that they couldn’t get back to the middle to win those crucial votes in the general election. They don’t seem to worry about that anymore.
The Republican moderates of an earlier time believed that the public sector had a legitimate role to play in society, but not the lead role. They liked frugality and competence and were mildly libertarian. They were regulation averse but not anarchistic. They were leery of flights of fancy like wars on poverty and they were wary not cavalier about using the military as instruments of policy.
As the battle for power shifted to the primaries, subtleties like these have given way to behavioral issues, polarization, partisanship, my way or no way, and the whole gestalt of the true believers who are more sure of everything than moderates tend to be of anything.
I happen to believe that the moderates are still there and in numbers significant enough to determine election results statewide, and in the few remaining congressional and state legislative districts that are not hard-wired for candidates of one party or the other.
These moderates are, in short, still worth catering to and worrying about. They are not wedded to conservative ideologies. They do not think that any one thing is the whole thing. They adhere to the Ed Koch rule: ”If you agree with me on 9 out of 12 issues, you should vote for me. If you agree with me on all 12, you should see a psychiatrist.” They do not use litmus tests. They do not suffer fools or foolish ideas.
I still think that the biggest political risk is not offending the single-issue zealots or the rabid “base” voter. The biggest risk is chasing away the mild, moderate, more reasoned and reasonable voters in the middle who want nothing more complicated than a government that works and candidates who will use the powers of their offices to achieve that worthy end.
Candidates who had the problem of being attractive enough to win the primaries, where immoderates and immoderation are disproportionately represented, without poisoning the general election well don’t appear to be worried about that as much anymore.
Those who vote in primaries are no longer regarded as a stepping stone to the general election. They have become the main event.
This is not surprising at the legislative level, where partisan redistricting has made most general elections irrelevant. Statewide and even presidential candidates are behaving as if that is true in their elections as well.
Candidates who were trying to win nominations in primaries where “the base” and the once taken-for-granted yellow dogs (a yellow dog for the uninitiated is a Republican who would vote for a yellow dog before he would vote for a Democrat, and vice versa) had to be careful not to go so far off to the right or left that they couldn’t get back to the middle to win those crucial votes in the general election. They don’t seem to worry about that anymore.
The Republican moderates of an earlier time believed that the public sector had a legitimate role to play in society, but not the lead role. They liked frugality and competence and were mildly libertarian. They were regulation averse but not anarchistic. They were leery of flights of fancy like wars on poverty and they were wary not cavalier about using the military as instruments of policy.
As the battle for power shifted to the primaries, subtleties like these have given way to behavioral issues, polarization, partisanship, my way or no way, and the whole gestalt of the true believers who are more sure of everything than moderates tend to be of anything.
I happen to believe that the moderates are still there and in numbers significant enough to determine election results statewide, and in the few remaining congressional and state legislative districts that are not hard-wired for candidates of one party or the other.
These moderates are, in short, still worth catering to and worrying about. They are not wedded to conservative ideologies. They do not think that any one thing is the whole thing. They adhere to the Ed Koch rule: ”If you agree with me on 9 out of 12 issues, you should vote for me. If you agree with me on all 12, you should see a psychiatrist.” They do not use litmus tests. They do not suffer fools or foolish ideas.
I still think that the biggest political risk is not offending the single-issue zealots or the rabid “base” voter. The biggest risk is chasing away the mild, moderate, more reasoned and reasonable voters in the middle who want nothing more complicated than a government that works and candidates who will use the powers of their offices to achieve that worthy end.
The father of welfare to work is back
Tommy is off and walking for the Senate seat now held by Herb Kohl. Tommy wants his right-wing doubters who have not genuflected at his roadside shrine to remember that he killed welfare. Perhaps he could brag that no governor or senator in Wisconsin's history has caused as much pain for so many as TT did with his bumpert-sticker solutions. Welfare to work my duff!
In Grover Norquist language he drowned it in the bathtub. Yup! Killed it dead! Or did he, asks our brain-twister from PolitiFact? Did he or didn't he? No investigation of the poverty levels in post-W-2 Tommyville by JS--after all, who really cares that damned near a million of our citizens in "progressive Wisconsin" qualify for food stamps? Jaysus--tell them to get good paying jobs and stop complaining!
PoliltiFact says the question is, Was he telling the truth when he claimed he ended welfare? Was he really responsible for ending welfare? Well, says one expert, it depends. If you lump all entitlements into the welfare tent then he did not kill welfare because 800,000 poor adults and children still get the equivalent of food stamps now called FoodShare. And some W-2 recipients get $673 a month for community service work. Some get minimum wage jobs.
What is the conclusion of PolitiFact? "Mostly true." What nonsense! Mostly true? Who gives a damn if 800,000 are suffering? Shouldn't they be asking if Tommy's promise to end poverty with W-2 was "pants on fire false" or just telling "what ought to be true"?
Welfare to work to poverty to vouchers to Paul Ryan's end-medicare budget. And this is progress? Thanks, PolitiFact, thanks.
In Grover Norquist language he drowned it in the bathtub. Yup! Killed it dead! Or did he, asks our brain-twister from PolitiFact? Did he or didn't he? No investigation of the poverty levels in post-W-2 Tommyville by JS--after all, who really cares that damned near a million of our citizens in "progressive Wisconsin" qualify for food stamps? Jaysus--tell them to get good paying jobs and stop complaining!
PoliltiFact says the question is, Was he telling the truth when he claimed he ended welfare? Was he really responsible for ending welfare? Well, says one expert, it depends. If you lump all entitlements into the welfare tent then he did not kill welfare because 800,000 poor adults and children still get the equivalent of food stamps now called FoodShare. And some W-2 recipients get $673 a month for community service work. Some get minimum wage jobs.
What is the conclusion of PolitiFact? "Mostly true." What nonsense! Mostly true? Who gives a damn if 800,000 are suffering? Shouldn't they be asking if Tommy's promise to end poverty with W-2 was "pants on fire false" or just telling "what ought to be true"?
Welfare to work to poverty to vouchers to Paul Ryan's end-medicare budget. And this is progress? Thanks, PolitiFact, thanks.
The 1%'s real percentage
Corporate lobbyists complain about the top tax rate even though their wealthy clients don't pay anything close to it.
Zookeeper?
Talk about cruelty to animals! Newt Gingrich "once dreamed of being a zookeeper." So sayeth the Washington Post this morning. Egad! If only the animals could vote!
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Jauch a recall target? MJS reports a group, once involved in the Milwaukee pension scandal that led to Walker's election is exploring recalling State Senator Bob Jauch. A Milwaukee resident threatens to recall Jauch if he does not do more to bring mining to the north. Jauch, in essence, responded, Why me? I want mining in my District, but with adequate environmental protection.
The MJS, fixated as usual on PolitiFact.com, looking for capillaries to attack, or to find "gotcha" moments, seems to accept the mine-owners assertion that at least 700 jobs will be created if the huge iron mine is opened. "Gogebic Taconite of Hurley, says it wants to construct a $1.5 billion mine that would employ 700 workers," MJS tells us. The "Milwaukee recaller" says the mine would bring jobs to people who "desperately need work."
Okay JS, look at the 700 job claim. What wage will be paid? Will the new workers be paid family supporting wages or minimum wage? Will they have fringe benefits? A union? a grievance procedure? Will THEY be Wisconsin taxpayers? When would these jobs start? Is there a term? Oh, I know it would take a lot of digging to find the answers but why not give it a try?
If they are telling a lie, what happens? Nothing, you say? My, My.
PolitiFact is busy, busy, checking how many billionaires paid taxes at 1 percent as Obama discussed in his Teddy Roosevelt speech last week. NO STATS BACK UP BILLIONAIRE TAX CLAIM, they say. C'mon!
----------------
Jauch a recall target? MJS reports a group, once involved in the Milwaukee pension scandal that led to Walker's election is exploring recalling State Senator Bob Jauch. A Milwaukee resident threatens to recall Jauch if he does not do more to bring mining to the north. Jauch, in essence, responded, Why me? I want mining in my District, but with adequate environmental protection.
The MJS, fixated as usual on PolitiFact.com, looking for capillaries to attack, or to find "gotcha" moments, seems to accept the mine-owners assertion that at least 700 jobs will be created if the huge iron mine is opened. "Gogebic Taconite of Hurley, says it wants to construct a $1.5 billion mine that would employ 700 workers," MJS tells us. The "Milwaukee recaller" says the mine would bring jobs to people who "desperately need work."
Okay JS, look at the 700 job claim. What wage will be paid? Will the new workers be paid family supporting wages or minimum wage? Will they have fringe benefits? A union? a grievance procedure? Will THEY be Wisconsin taxpayers? When would these jobs start? Is there a term? Oh, I know it would take a lot of digging to find the answers but why not give it a try?
If they are telling a lie, what happens? Nothing, you say? My, My.
PolitiFact is busy, busy, checking how many billionaires paid taxes at 1 percent as Obama discussed in his Teddy Roosevelt speech last week. NO STATS BACK UP BILLIONAIRE TAX CLAIM, they say. C'mon!
This land is our land?
Woody Guthrie wrote "This land is our land" and we believed him and sang the song with feeling. It was, so to speak, our anthem.
But the mining companies never bought that line. Never. While Justice Roberts, Scalia, Alito and Thomas tell us these entities are "people" they don't act like people or neighbors or friends. Nope! Truth be told, they believe Wisconsin's land, groundwater, surface water, minerals, sand and air belong to them! "This land is their land..." It is their iron, gold and sand, and they have dared Wisconsin to "Just try to stop us." If the DNR tries to limit them they will have DNR eliminated. They got rid of the Public Intervenor. Look out DNR, you are next.
The Koch boys own the Legislature and the governor and then, oh yes, we forgot to mention that they control the Wisconsin Supreme Court so there is no escape! There is no place to seek potection.
They have decided to move quickly before the Walker recall process is finished. They believe they will win when all is said and done but, just in case, they want to pass legislation to give Wisconsin to the bastards before the next election. They will knock out any opponent with campaign cash! (Some say the Koch boys will invest $30 million in the governor's race alone.)
They will do whatever they damned well please with our land! They are placing 30 pieces of silver in a bag labeled "jobs" for our governor.
Here we go! The are calling it "one of the biggest job bills of the session." To meet our argument that the jobs will be primarily short lived, Fitzgerald says that the mine may last for 30 years--creating thousands of new jobs. Catch this whopper: "We're talking about generational jobs that will be there for a long time." And the tooth fairy will remain behind just to make sure All is well!
Tomorrow, the financial emergency legislation that allowed Governor Snyder of Michigan to take over Benton Harbor, Pontiac and other cities, including a threat to take over Detroit, could lead the way for phase two of the Koch-Walker fast-track to fascism.
We must stop this destruction of the middle class!
But the mining companies never bought that line. Never. While Justice Roberts, Scalia, Alito and Thomas tell us these entities are "people" they don't act like people or neighbors or friends. Nope! Truth be told, they believe Wisconsin's land, groundwater, surface water, minerals, sand and air belong to them! "This land is their land..." It is their iron, gold and sand, and they have dared Wisconsin to "Just try to stop us." If the DNR tries to limit them they will have DNR eliminated. They got rid of the Public Intervenor. Look out DNR, you are next.
The Koch boys own the Legislature and the governor and then, oh yes, we forgot to mention that they control the Wisconsin Supreme Court so there is no escape! There is no place to seek potection.
They have decided to move quickly before the Walker recall process is finished. They believe they will win when all is said and done but, just in case, they want to pass legislation to give Wisconsin to the bastards before the next election. They will knock out any opponent with campaign cash! (Some say the Koch boys will invest $30 million in the governor's race alone.)
They will do whatever they damned well please with our land! They are placing 30 pieces of silver in a bag labeled "jobs" for our governor.
Here we go! The are calling it "one of the biggest job bills of the session." To meet our argument that the jobs will be primarily short lived, Fitzgerald says that the mine may last for 30 years--creating thousands of new jobs. Catch this whopper: "We're talking about generational jobs that will be there for a long time." And the tooth fairy will remain behind just to make sure All is well!
Tomorrow, the financial emergency legislation that allowed Governor Snyder of Michigan to take over Benton Harbor, Pontiac and other cities, including a threat to take over Detroit, could lead the way for phase two of the Koch-Walker fast-track to fascism.
We must stop this destruction of the middle class!
Lawyers--own worst enemy
Gov. Walker signed a bill to limit legal fees to three times the actual recovery. Could have been worse. Having fought three firms and the Department of Justice in the tobacco case, I have an idea of what is fair and what is excessive when it comes to legal fees. (It may be like pornography--you know it when you see it.)
In the tobacco case, Governor Tommy Thompson and Attorney General Jim Doyle selected three big law firms in Wisconsin and gave them a gift--a contingent fee agreement with no specific assignment. They were to get 20 percent of the money that would come to Wisconsin under a case litigated in Minnesota. The Minnesota case settled and the three Wisconsin firms were guaranteed $847 million dollars by the state. Whoa Nelly!
On behalf of representatives Frank Boyle and Mary Hubler and Senator Fred Risser my law firm asked the court to set aside the attorney fees as excessive. The lawyers were astonished when Judge Moeser did just that. We cited a Wisconsin Supreme Court case where the court said, "Lawyers deserve good pay because their work is difficult but they are not entitled to fly the black flag of piracy." (Wouldn't you think the Bar Association would develop standards?)
Fast forward to the BP Gulf oil spill cases. Lawyers beat a path to Louisiana to sign up plaintiffs to sue BP. A virtual gold rush was triggered. The steering committee argued last week that 340 lawyers had worked more than 230,000 hours as of the end of the month. How much do these lawyers expect to earn? Billions is the likely answer. Does it make sense that lawyers would make billions of dollars in cases where liability is established?
If the lawyers get hundreds of millions or billions there will be more calls for limits on attorney fees and for good reason. Stay tuned.
In the tobacco case, Governor Tommy Thompson and Attorney General Jim Doyle selected three big law firms in Wisconsin and gave them a gift--a contingent fee agreement with no specific assignment. They were to get 20 percent of the money that would come to Wisconsin under a case litigated in Minnesota. The Minnesota case settled and the three Wisconsin firms were guaranteed $847 million dollars by the state. Whoa Nelly!
On behalf of representatives Frank Boyle and Mary Hubler and Senator Fred Risser my law firm asked the court to set aside the attorney fees as excessive. The lawyers were astonished when Judge Moeser did just that. We cited a Wisconsin Supreme Court case where the court said, "Lawyers deserve good pay because their work is difficult but they are not entitled to fly the black flag of piracy." (Wouldn't you think the Bar Association would develop standards?)
Fast forward to the BP Gulf oil spill cases. Lawyers beat a path to Louisiana to sign up plaintiffs to sue BP. A virtual gold rush was triggered. The steering committee argued last week that 340 lawyers had worked more than 230,000 hours as of the end of the month. How much do these lawyers expect to earn? Billions is the likely answer. Does it make sense that lawyers would make billions of dollars in cases where liability is established?
If the lawyers get hundreds of millions or billions there will be more calls for limits on attorney fees and for good reason. Stay tuned.
Whose house?
The Walker administration's Capitol protest limits violate the Wisconsin constitution.
Vietnam still killing
When wars end, Vietnam in 1975 for instance, it is not like turning off a lamp in your living room with instant results.
We were reminded of that sad truth Monday. More than 100,000 Vietnamese have been killed or injured by land mines or other explosives since the war ended! There have been 42,132 people killed and 62,163 wounded. Whoa Nelly. Can we imagine the deaths in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Bosnia over the next 40 years?
Al Gore gave a terrific speech at the Robert F. Kennedy Foundation dinner I attended in New York on Monday. Good to have him back on the trail. We talked with a number of people about Fighting Bob Fest and several were ready to sign up.
We were reminded of that sad truth Monday. More than 100,000 Vietnamese have been killed or injured by land mines or other explosives since the war ended! There have been 42,132 people killed and 62,163 wounded. Whoa Nelly. Can we imagine the deaths in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Bosnia over the next 40 years?
Al Gore gave a terrific speech at the Robert F. Kennedy Foundation dinner I attended in New York on Monday. Good to have him back on the trail. We talked with a number of people about Fighting Bob Fest and several were ready to sign up.
Madison Alive and Livid!
I could smell my neighbors’ sweat
So could they mine as we jostled
Inside the People’s State Capitol
To defend the workers’ unions so democracy should prevail
I could hear the growing volume of discontent
As we called in one voice that
Workers’ power to negotiate be deemed sacred
So democracy should prevail
I could hear my neighbors’ shouts mingling with my own
To open the ears of arrogant power
That said defiantly: “Let them eat cake!”
As their children’s stomachs rumbled for lack of food
As we insisted that true democracy remain
untouched
by cold,
calculating power
I could feel my neighbor’s warmth
As he reached out with his hand
Embracing mine in solidarity
For one more difficult step we were yet to climb
For he and I and all of us demanded
That democracy should prevail
From the clutches of those determined
To walk blindfolded to the edge of a cliff
So could they mine as we jostled
Inside the People’s State Capitol
To defend the workers’ unions so democracy should prevail
I could hear the growing volume of discontent
As we called in one voice that
Workers’ power to negotiate be deemed sacred
So democracy should prevail
I could hear my neighbors’ shouts mingling with my own
To open the ears of arrogant power
That said defiantly: “Let them eat cake!”
As their children’s stomachs rumbled for lack of food
As we insisted that true democracy remain
untouched
by cold,
calculating power
I could feel my neighbor’s warmth
As he reached out with his hand
Embracing mine in solidarity
For one more difficult step we were yet to climb
For he and I and all of us demanded
That democracy should prevail
From the clutches of those determined
To walk blindfolded to the edge of a cliff
Welcome to your future
Rather than exposing a scandal, the media hysteria and political opportunism over "double dipping" gives a glimpse of the circumstances all retiring workers will face.
Walk of shame?
Yes, Tommy Thompson announced he is walking for U.S. Senate. Not running, walking.
His enthusiasm level is about 3 on a scale of 10 in my view. He looks like a kid about to get a series of shots.
It's not clear why Tommy wants to be in the Senate. The Wisconsin GOP's right-wing train seems to have passed him by, but one suspects that he will do his best to keep up. The Journal Sentinel's Dan Bice pointed out Tommy's hypocrisy over federal stimulus funds in a recent article. Thompson blasted Russ Feingold last year for backing Obama's stimulus package, but when Tommy announced his candidacy last week he did it at a Waukesha company, Weldall Manufacturing, that received $300,000 in federal stimulus funds.
Tommy has to live with these kinds of contradictions. He has spent his entire career in government, and destroying government is now his party's sole mission. He will avoid the microphone and let his TV ads do the talking, but they won't have much to say.
Yawn.
His enthusiasm level is about 3 on a scale of 10 in my view. He looks like a kid about to get a series of shots.
It's not clear why Tommy wants to be in the Senate. The Wisconsin GOP's right-wing train seems to have passed him by, but one suspects that he will do his best to keep up. The Journal Sentinel's Dan Bice pointed out Tommy's hypocrisy over federal stimulus funds in a recent article. Thompson blasted Russ Feingold last year for backing Obama's stimulus package, but when Tommy announced his candidacy last week he did it at a Waukesha company, Weldall Manufacturing, that received $300,000 in federal stimulus funds.
Tommy has to live with these kinds of contradictions. He has spent his entire career in government, and destroying government is now his party's sole mission. He will avoid the microphone and let his TV ads do the talking, but they won't have much to say.
Yawn.
Representative democracy
I know, I know. It isn’t perfect. It never was. There were always representatives who represented something other than the people who elected them. Like money. Or even something purely self serving.
With “advantage” redistricting doing maximum damage, there are more and more “representatives” who represent a segment or two of the electorate and markedly fewer representatives who believe that while they were undeniably elected by a percentage of the voters they represent everyone in the district they were elected to represent.
These untoward trends and developments are naturally exacerbated when the representatives of one party win majorities in both houses and control the executive office as well.
The question then is whether the two main ideas being used to offset these inherent flaws in this imperfect system are really improvements.
The first and most longstanding idea is something called “Initiative and Referendum.” It is on display in various incarnations in various places. It is running amok in California. The ballots are big city phone book size in that state to accommodate all the referendi that are seeking enactment outside of the representative system. “The people,” we are told, are active participants in the process.
If this is true, the people need a short course in consistency. In California, to cite only one of several aberrations, “the people” put a cap on spending on education while mandating smaller class sizes which inevitably require an increase of the education budget.
On closer examination it becomes obvious that this is not “the people” speaking after all. It is the anti-tax anarchists with their money and the education organizations with theirs. Both seem to have won. Unfortunately, California has lost. The best ads and the biggest spending prevail. And the winners are...TV stations and professional campaign organizations.
I concede that as I have pushed the Sisyphean rock of campaign reform up the legislative mountain over the non-dead bodies of recalcitrant Republicans and duplicitous Democrats I have wished for a route around them. I have concluded the initiative and referendum price is too high.
The other, more recent, movement comes out of the Wisconsin winter of our discontent protests of 2011. Its proponents say that government by recall is a way for “the people” to participate more fully in their democracy and also a way around the invincible, insular representatives who are representing their own interests (and the people who fund their campaigns) instead of the voters who elected them and the people they are elected to represent.
Recall number one failed in its objectives to a.) reclaim a majority in the state Senate for the Democrats and b.) punish those Democrats for decamping to Illinois to fully disrupt the process of representative government.
Recall number two is an expensive, time-consuming, distracting effort to remove the governor for his excesses in his use of the extraordinary powers that devolved on him and his office in the 2010 election.
There is a recall number three possibility afoot as well, which would target legislative miscreants of both parties for as yet unnamed sins of commission or omission.
The assertion is that all of this activity will improve representative government. I doubt it. What it will improve, of course, is the economic well being of the same TV stations and professional campaigners who are routinely enriched in California.
To misquote Winston Churchill, “Representative government is the worst possible system except for all those other systems.”
With “advantage” redistricting doing maximum damage, there are more and more “representatives” who represent a segment or two of the electorate and markedly fewer representatives who believe that while they were undeniably elected by a percentage of the voters they represent everyone in the district they were elected to represent.
These untoward trends and developments are naturally exacerbated when the representatives of one party win majorities in both houses and control the executive office as well.
The question then is whether the two main ideas being used to offset these inherent flaws in this imperfect system are really improvements.
The first and most longstanding idea is something called “Initiative and Referendum.” It is on display in various incarnations in various places. It is running amok in California. The ballots are big city phone book size in that state to accommodate all the referendi that are seeking enactment outside of the representative system. “The people,” we are told, are active participants in the process.
If this is true, the people need a short course in consistency. In California, to cite only one of several aberrations, “the people” put a cap on spending on education while mandating smaller class sizes which inevitably require an increase of the education budget.
On closer examination it becomes obvious that this is not “the people” speaking after all. It is the anti-tax anarchists with their money and the education organizations with theirs. Both seem to have won. Unfortunately, California has lost. The best ads and the biggest spending prevail. And the winners are...TV stations and professional campaign organizations.
I concede that as I have pushed the Sisyphean rock of campaign reform up the legislative mountain over the non-dead bodies of recalcitrant Republicans and duplicitous Democrats I have wished for a route around them. I have concluded the initiative and referendum price is too high.
The other, more recent, movement comes out of the Wisconsin winter of our discontent protests of 2011. Its proponents say that government by recall is a way for “the people” to participate more fully in their democracy and also a way around the invincible, insular representatives who are representing their own interests (and the people who fund their campaigns) instead of the voters who elected them and the people they are elected to represent.
Recall number one failed in its objectives to a.) reclaim a majority in the state Senate for the Democrats and b.) punish those Democrats for decamping to Illinois to fully disrupt the process of representative government.
Recall number two is an expensive, time-consuming, distracting effort to remove the governor for his excesses in his use of the extraordinary powers that devolved on him and his office in the 2010 election.
There is a recall number three possibility afoot as well, which would target legislative miscreants of both parties for as yet unnamed sins of commission or omission.
The assertion is that all of this activity will improve representative government. I doubt it. What it will improve, of course, is the economic well being of the same TV stations and professional campaigners who are routinely enriched in California.
To misquote Winston Churchill, “Representative government is the worst possible system except for all those other systems.”
Driving while black or speaking Spanish
Gwen Moore was the first person I ever heard who said it was a hazard "driving while black" in Milwaukee. Turns out she was correct when she first said it years ago and is right today.
Milwaukee police stopped tens of thousands of citizens driving last year--five times as many Hispanics as whites, twice as many blacks as whites. If that is not proof of racial profiling in segregated Milwaukee I don't know what further proof is needed.
The first question is whether the black and Hispanic drivers had more contraband. In other words, is there some justification in stopping more Hispanics and blacks. They did not! So, no, there is not.
Step back a week or so--recall the MJS story on the Bradley Foundation. One item stuck out like a sore thumb. The reporter wrote that Mayor Tom Barrett opted to let the Bradley Foundation recruit the chief of police on Bradley's dime. Imagine that! One way of looking at the thousands of stops is to read the justification by the candidate who was hired by the police and fire commission: Chief Edward Flynn.
He tries to tie the disparity to public safety. Another perspective is to ask the mayor why he permitted the Bradley Foundation to find a new chief. Could it be that Flynn is part of the problem?
Check it out. The law to keep track of profiling was repealed by the Walker-Fitzgerald forces in June so you won't be bothered with stats in the future.
A couple of other thoughts for you. When I was appointed counsel to the inmates at supermax, we learned that no staff spoke Spanish so Hispanic prisoners were not permitted to talk in Spanish on the phone because the staff could not monitor the calls. We learned that there was an overwhelming percentage of blacks in the prison but not one black staff person or guard. Not one. I guess it is not just Milwaukee.
Where is the outrage?
Milwaukee police stopped tens of thousands of citizens driving last year--five times as many Hispanics as whites, twice as many blacks as whites. If that is not proof of racial profiling in segregated Milwaukee I don't know what further proof is needed.
The first question is whether the black and Hispanic drivers had more contraband. In other words, is there some justification in stopping more Hispanics and blacks. They did not! So, no, there is not.
Step back a week or so--recall the MJS story on the Bradley Foundation. One item stuck out like a sore thumb. The reporter wrote that Mayor Tom Barrett opted to let the Bradley Foundation recruit the chief of police on Bradley's dime. Imagine that! One way of looking at the thousands of stops is to read the justification by the candidate who was hired by the police and fire commission: Chief Edward Flynn.
He tries to tie the disparity to public safety. Another perspective is to ask the mayor why he permitted the Bradley Foundation to find a new chief. Could it be that Flynn is part of the problem?
Check it out. The law to keep track of profiling was repealed by the Walker-Fitzgerald forces in June so you won't be bothered with stats in the future.
A couple of other thoughts for you. When I was appointed counsel to the inmates at supermax, we learned that no staff spoke Spanish so Hispanic prisoners were not permitted to talk in Spanish on the phone because the staff could not monitor the calls. We learned that there was an overwhelming percentage of blacks in the prison but not one black staff person or guard. Not one. I guess it is not just Milwaukee.
Where is the outrage?
Textbook case
If what Scott Walker has done is not worthy of a recall election, what is?
A hell of a mess!
Democracy flourishes when there is trust between the governed and the governing class. It breaks down when trust goes out the window. Well, then, we are in trouble because there is precious little trust in Wisconsin.
It is impossible for me to believe that the state of La Follette, Gaylord, Henry Reuse, William T. Evjue, Kastenmier, and many many others has been taken over in a daring daytime kidnapping.
Walker never mentioned, not once, that if elected he would eliminate unions representing nurses, teachers, firefighters, and police. Had he done so, he would have lost big time. So, he hid in the tall grass until he got sworn in and then he dropped the bomb! Walker never mentioned that he would suppress voting by requiring a DMV issued ID card. Walker never hinted that he would lock people out of the Capitol or let them in but charge them for exercising their right to protest! Walker never said he would appoint Scott Fitzgerald's father to head the State Patrol.
Soon he will seek legislation to make Wisconsin a so-called Right-to-Work-state to kill unions in the private sector. Ohio's governor will take the lead on that one, but Walker will be right behind him. Don't believe it? Wait until after the recall is complete.
Walker never told us that he would seek power to take over towns, cities, villages facing economic trouble. Governor Rick Snyder beat him to it by seizing control of Benton Harbor, Michigan, and Mayor Dave Bing of Detroit warns that Snyder will try to take over his city soon. If you follow the teachings of Snyder/Koch/Walker/Kasich trust is gone, and if you put that together with Citizen's United, democracy is almost dead. (Remember the phone call--"Hello David" when Walker thought he was talking to Koch?)
Wisconsin, home of progressive thoughts, pioneers in unemployment compensation, social security, clean government, academic freedom, workers compensation, is now on life support. And that is very sad.
You have no choice. You must get Walker out of office before we lose the rest of the progressive reforms to the Bradley Foundation, Charlie Sykes and Rush Limbaugh.
It is impossible for me to believe that the state of La Follette, Gaylord, Henry Reuse, William T. Evjue, Kastenmier, and many many others has been taken over in a daring daytime kidnapping.
Walker never mentioned, not once, that if elected he would eliminate unions representing nurses, teachers, firefighters, and police. Had he done so, he would have lost big time. So, he hid in the tall grass until he got sworn in and then he dropped the bomb! Walker never mentioned that he would suppress voting by requiring a DMV issued ID card. Walker never hinted that he would lock people out of the Capitol or let them in but charge them for exercising their right to protest! Walker never said he would appoint Scott Fitzgerald's father to head the State Patrol.
Soon he will seek legislation to make Wisconsin a so-called Right-to-Work-state to kill unions in the private sector. Ohio's governor will take the lead on that one, but Walker will be right behind him. Don't believe it? Wait until after the recall is complete.
Walker never told us that he would seek power to take over towns, cities, villages facing economic trouble. Governor Rick Snyder beat him to it by seizing control of Benton Harbor, Michigan, and Mayor Dave Bing of Detroit warns that Snyder will try to take over his city soon. If you follow the teachings of Snyder/Koch/Walker/Kasich trust is gone, and if you put that together with Citizen's United, democracy is almost dead. (Remember the phone call--"Hello David" when Walker thought he was talking to Koch?)
Wisconsin, home of progressive thoughts, pioneers in unemployment compensation, social security, clean government, academic freedom, workers compensation, is now on life support. And that is very sad.
You have no choice. You must get Walker out of office before we lose the rest of the progressive reforms to the Bradley Foundation, Charlie Sykes and Rush Limbaugh.
New no no no no policies
The Koch brothers are living out their daddy's dream of a corporate owned and controlled Wisconsin. They can sit back, write out some checks, and enjoy the chaos they are creating through Scott Walker and his Tonto Fitzgerald. Their ultimate goal: Very large prisons connected by very slow trains and very wide highways.
As of yesterday, if more than four people pause in the rotunda to see the very very Christian tree they are a "group." The new rules put in place require the group to register. If they plan to demonstrate they must get permission. (I am not making this up!) Permission to protest unless you have a permit 72 hours in advance.
Catch this: You may be required to post a bond, buy insurance, pay a fee in advance to accept liability for injuries! And so it goes in the land of Joe McCarthy and Scott Walker.
No negative statements please or you may be asked to leave. We in Wisconsin believe in civility. Proof of bath or shower may be required. From now on, no signs. And, if there is any damage Administration secretary Mike Huebsch (about as bad as they come) may require the groups to pay. Question for you, dear secretary: If four groups are picketing the Capitol will they split the costs? Is service compris or non-compris? Is a seat next to the window more expensive?
No tape on building. That's important because last year the "damage to the Capitol" was estimated at $7.5 million although the real cost was probably about $10.
The killer? Demonstrators will have to pay for extra police assigned by Walker-Huebsch to the demonstrators!
If that ain't enough, if you plan to demonstrate, please bring your own pepper-spray and taser.
This is totally unacceptable! Not just a little off the mark, but the precursor to fascism.
NLRB bye-bye? Twenty years ago, I spoke in Milwaukee to a group of labor lawyers, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) officials and union attorneys. I suggested that it was time to end the NLRB because the board, while trying hard to force management to obey the law, was neutered under Taft-Hartley, Landrum-Griffin and the union-busters many decisions that made clear that the NLRB had become little more than a debating society. Howls came from the audience. "You can't be serious"...but I was.
Union elections can take years if the employer retains some of the nasty union-busting firms. There are law firms that make a mockery out of the law. My favorite recognition case involved laundry workers in New York. The reconition petition filed and then appealed for 11 years! Finally, the court held that the union should be recognized but, said the board, given that none in the original work force were still employed the board could not impose a union on the workers. Eleven years for god's sake! "Start over" was the order.
GOP in Congress are fighting to kill a reform pushed by two members of three sitting on the board. The House had passed a motion to speed up elections! Listening to the "debate" was painful. Truth was the first casualty. It is time for serious reform.
As of yesterday, if more than four people pause in the rotunda to see the very very Christian tree they are a "group." The new rules put in place require the group to register. If they plan to demonstrate they must get permission. (I am not making this up!) Permission to protest unless you have a permit 72 hours in advance.
Catch this: You may be required to post a bond, buy insurance, pay a fee in advance to accept liability for injuries! And so it goes in the land of Joe McCarthy and Scott Walker.
No negative statements please or you may be asked to leave. We in Wisconsin believe in civility. Proof of bath or shower may be required. From now on, no signs. And, if there is any damage Administration secretary Mike Huebsch (about as bad as they come) may require the groups to pay. Question for you, dear secretary: If four groups are picketing the Capitol will they split the costs? Is service compris or non-compris? Is a seat next to the window more expensive?
No tape on building. That's important because last year the "damage to the Capitol" was estimated at $7.5 million although the real cost was probably about $10.
The killer? Demonstrators will have to pay for extra police assigned by Walker-Huebsch to the demonstrators!
If that ain't enough, if you plan to demonstrate, please bring your own pepper-spray and taser.
This is totally unacceptable! Not just a little off the mark, but the precursor to fascism.
NLRB bye-bye? Twenty years ago, I spoke in Milwaukee to a group of labor lawyers, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) officials and union attorneys. I suggested that it was time to end the NLRB because the board, while trying hard to force management to obey the law, was neutered under Taft-Hartley, Landrum-Griffin and the union-busters many decisions that made clear that the NLRB had become little more than a debating society. Howls came from the audience. "You can't be serious"...but I was.
Union elections can take years if the employer retains some of the nasty union-busting firms. There are law firms that make a mockery out of the law. My favorite recognition case involved laundry workers in New York. The reconition petition filed and then appealed for 11 years! Finally, the court held that the union should be recognized but, said the board, given that none in the original work force were still employed the board could not impose a union on the workers. Eleven years for god's sake! "Start over" was the order.
GOP in Congress are fighting to kill a reform pushed by two members of three sitting on the board. The House had passed a motion to speed up elections! Listening to the "debate" was painful. Truth was the first casualty. It is time for serious reform.
Best laid plans...
The Wisconsin Democratic Party had a disastrous election a year ago; lost two House seats, one Senate seat, governor's chair, both houses of the Legislature. But then the uprising occurred and by god the Party, with an infusion of progressives, got back in action.
But two steps forward one step back. Herb Kohl announced that he would not run again (step forward or back?), opening up another expensive election.(When I say expensive, I mean $30-40 million.) A great many of us "assumed" (you know that word--ass of u and me) that Russ would run for Herb's seat in the Senate or, as things developed, that he was a natural to replace Walker; respected, honest, bright, why not?
Well, Russ won't run for either seat so the Dems decided to create a strategy that might work but might not. The idea hatched in the chair of the Party's Madison office was simple. As H.L. Mencken once said, "There is a simple solution to all complex questions--and it is always wrong!"
Here is the plan not discussed outside of the leader's circle: Dems will not allow a primary for Senate or, more importantly, governor, because that would drain their resources. This plan of not having a candidate until the last minute, argued leading Dems, would allow focus to be on Walker not his Democratic opponent. A counter argument is that it is hard to beat someone with no one. The "trust me, the Democratic candidate will be great" doesn't fly very high with those in the progressive wing. Suppose the recall is successful, Walker announces he is running for governor, one Democrat is quickly chosen to run against Walker? How do they stop a Brett Hulsey-like candidate from jumping in?
Where is the victory party? The La Follette open primary plan was to avoid the notion of back room nominations but, hey, these are unusual times!
So, first in the starting gate was Dave Obey, who says he might run but not if there is a primary. Check check. Then Mahlon Mitchell, Kathleen Falk, John Erpenbach, Tom Barrett are pumped but dutifully abide by the strategy of no primary and do not announce. So far so good, the favorites in the gubernatorial horse race are doing as told. But, back slaps soon disappeared as Brett Hulsey put a spot on TV suggesting, according to those who saw it--I have not--that he was the one person who stood up to Walker. If the Party continues on the path of no primary it could find itself with no alternative other than Hulsey. Why? Because he will campaign for months, raise lots of money, and could be leading in the polls while Dems dither. Whoa Nelly!
Time for an audible?
But two steps forward one step back. Herb Kohl announced that he would not run again (step forward or back?), opening up another expensive election.(When I say expensive, I mean $30-40 million.) A great many of us "assumed" (you know that word--ass of u and me) that Russ would run for Herb's seat in the Senate or, as things developed, that he was a natural to replace Walker; respected, honest, bright, why not?
Well, Russ won't run for either seat so the Dems decided to create a strategy that might work but might not. The idea hatched in the chair of the Party's Madison office was simple. As H.L. Mencken once said, "There is a simple solution to all complex questions--and it is always wrong!"
Here is the plan not discussed outside of the leader's circle: Dems will not allow a primary for Senate or, more importantly, governor, because that would drain their resources. This plan of not having a candidate until the last minute, argued leading Dems, would allow focus to be on Walker not his Democratic opponent. A counter argument is that it is hard to beat someone with no one. The "trust me, the Democratic candidate will be great" doesn't fly very high with those in the progressive wing. Suppose the recall is successful, Walker announces he is running for governor, one Democrat is quickly chosen to run against Walker? How do they stop a Brett Hulsey-like candidate from jumping in?
Where is the victory party? The La Follette open primary plan was to avoid the notion of back room nominations but, hey, these are unusual times!
So, first in the starting gate was Dave Obey, who says he might run but not if there is a primary. Check check. Then Mahlon Mitchell, Kathleen Falk, John Erpenbach, Tom Barrett are pumped but dutifully abide by the strategy of no primary and do not announce. So far so good, the favorites in the gubernatorial horse race are doing as told. But, back slaps soon disappeared as Brett Hulsey put a spot on TV suggesting, according to those who saw it--I have not--that he was the one person who stood up to Walker. If the Party continues on the path of no primary it could find itself with no alternative other than Hulsey. Why? Because he will campaign for months, raise lots of money, and could be leading in the polls while Dems dither. Whoa Nelly!
Time for an audible?