Right Wing Radio on Tommy Thompson

Walker trying to finish the job on Milwaukee County transit?

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported today on the desperate state of the Milwaukee County Transit system. We've seen this kind of report nearly every year over the last 5-8 years. Each year the problems have become progressively worse. However there is no mystery as to what brought us to this situation. Milwaukee County's transit wounds were largely self inflicted by the political opportunist that now resides in the governor's mansion.

Nearly every year that Scott Walker was Milwaukee County Executive he cut transit routes and increased fares. Over the years endless studies have shown that this failed policy both reduces ridership and long term revenue. But we didn't need to read studies because we saw it happening in real time on Walker's watch. While transit numbers were growing all over the country and in other parts of the state, they were shrinking at a record pace in Milwaukee County.

The only thing that kept the Milwaukee County Transit system from completely collapsing during the final years of the Walker administration was the federal stimulus money. The very same stimulus that Walker once pretended to reject. Classic Walker: attack the federal stimulus to benefit yourself politically while at the same time taking the money and postponing your total transit disaster.

If you had any doubts about Scott Walker's actual transit indifference while he was Milwaukee County Executive, those doubts should surely be resolved by now. We saw his pattern, we saw the results and now we see his $6.8 million cut in state aid. The survival of Milwaukee County transit no longer helps further Walker's political ambitions so apparently he is resolved to help finish the job that he started years ago.

Don't Venture into Oklahoma Territory

There is no doubt that Wisconsin must increase its share of venture capital dollars. The big question is exactly how we will accomplish that goal. Recently the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel put its unquestioning seal of approval on what is known as a "Fund of Funds" approach. Curiously missing from their endorsement was any mention of how to best safeguard public investment if that is the approach that we in fact use.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel endorsement simply says that the "fund of funds" approach has "...worked well elsewhere". It would have been nice if they at least offered one quick case study. Given their lack of detail, I looked for other states that have used similar approaches. One state that I found clearly stood out to me and unfortunately it was not in a good way.

The State of Oklahoma established the Oklahoma Capital Investment Board (OCIB) in the late 1980's. It borrows money that it then invests in private venture capital funds. Here are some of the reported problems that I've found with their system and I certainly hope Wisconsin is not planning on repeating any of them:

• In 2006 a state audit was done of the Oklahoma Capital Investment Board and it "found $31 million in debt and more questions than there are answers". It also found that the OCIB had $26 million in other unfunded commitments. In fact the agency has a long record of carrying debt during most of its existence. A state auditor also identified other areas of concern including a lack of transparency and no real way to track performance.
• Just last week a bipartisan group of lawmakers criticized the OCIB on several levels. Including the fact that too many dollars were being invested in companies and corporations outside of state's borders. Legislators also accused the OCIB of not even being fully transparent with them much less with the public.
• During the same hearing one Republican legislator actually questioned whether OCIB was even operating legally because although it was originally created as a public entity and received public funding, it was later made private and still received public funding. This privatization reportedly added to the many transparency problems that were already present.
  

While I was researching this Oklahoma example, I also discovered another curious pattern. There seems to be a lot of free movement between the OCIB itself and private venture capital firms that deal directly with the board, contract with it, and profit from it. In my view it seems that such an arrangement could cause conflict questions. In fact it appears that some have already suggested as much.

If Wisconsin continues to pursue the "Fund of Funds" route, I certainly hope that we don't fall into the same kind of dysfunctional pattern that exists in Oklahoma. And I certainly hope that no one involved in that state's venture capital strategy is trying to influence our debate here.

This should be fun...

During the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, please let me know if you see any photos like this: Or...If you happen across any videos like this:

UPDATE from One Wisconsin Now

Thanks.

Keep Your Eye on Kanavas

This fighting between the Tommy Thompson camp and Club for Growth/Mark Neumann is certainly entertaining from my perspective. So I would certainly like it to keep going for as long as possible. At the same time I suggest that we keep an eye on other legitimate candidates like former state Senator Ted Kanavas (R-Brookfield). I have to imagine that he benefits from an escalating war between the two (perceived) frontrunners.

Here are my reasons for wanting to keep an eye on Kanavas:

The top two guys are apparently going to do his dirty work for him, blasting each other for months.

He is from the heart of the deepest red county in the state and that has to count for something in a Republican primary.

He's got to have some cred with the Republican Party and the establishment after being a state senator for about a decade.

We know that the Walker cult hates Mark Nuemann and they don't have much love for Tommy either. So where else are they going to go?

The sugar daddy arm of the Republican Party, WMC has rated him as being 100% in their pocket.

While the other two have been preparing to fight each other, Kanavas has been busy doing things like guest hosting Mark Belling's radio show (free air time).

During the straw poll at the Republican Party convention, they voted for Herman Cain for President and they voted for Kanavas for U.S. Senate. So he might have some of the nut crowd secured.

Now don't mistake this for being a prediction of who is going to actually win the Republican primary next year. Sorry, I don't make those kinds of predictions. But it is a simple reminder that Tommy and Mark Neumann are not the only credible candidates to watch.

So go ahead and fully enjoy the Tommy/Neumann/CFG cage match but just don't forget to keep an extra eye on Kanavas and any other credible candidates that emerge.

Back by Popular Demand: Tommy and the Microchips

I'm still wondering if this is a problem...One of many.

UPDATE: Yep,and here comes the first right wing attack ad

Don't go for the Walker head fake

Scott Walker is one of the least popular governors in the nation and he recently lost two of his rubber stamps in the state senate. In fact he could lose even more in the coming year. But most importantly, Scott Walker will face a recall next year and he knows it. So it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that the words "bipartisan" and "cooperation" are being overused by him so much lately. His use of words like this are completely hollow and as always it is more about his own political future.

State Representative Mark Pocan took some of the words right out of my mouth in his recent column for The Progressive. In it he advises us, "Don't Buy Walker's 'Bipartisanship' ". Representative Pocan accurately describes Walker's new rhetoric as doublespeak. He reminds us of just a few things that Walker has actually done that totally betrays the new vocabulary.

Back in February, he divulged a ploy to try to trick Democrats into returning to Wisconsin to vote on his bill. In March he described Democratic calls to negotiate as “ridiculous.” When he testified under oath before Congress, he even said bipartisanship at times was “not so good.”

There is a painfully long list of ways that Scott Walker has acted like a dictator since his regime took over the state. But we can and should look even further back at his long pattern of nasty, destructive and self serving actions often accompanied by happy sounding words.

• Remember the time when he vetoed the entire Milwaukee County Budget? He certainly wasn't concerned about "cooperation" when he took that drastic action. It was all a gimmick to boost his right wing cred. It was not about the betterment of Milwaukee County, it was not about the budget, it certainly was not an example of cooperation or bipartisanship. As usual it was all about Scott.
  
• For his entire time as Milwaukee County Executive he refused to "cooperate" on $91.5 million in long idle federal transit funds. He may have repeatedly talked about reaching an agreement for the use of the funds but his actual unwillingness allowed no real movement. In fact the money sat unused even as the Milwaukee County Transit system fell apart on his watch. His politically motivated stalling also blocked the City of Milwaukee from being able to move forward on its own transit agenda. Eventually Mayor Barrett and others (not including Walker) helped broker a deal. After the deal was made the Milwaukee County Board Chairman said that he was disappointed that Walker's "...inability to negotiate a compromise reduced the county's share by more than $9 million..."

I'm convinced that it is simply in Scott Walker's political DNA to wear a happy face just long enough to stab you in the back. He has consistently shown that it is all about him and he will do anything to achieve his own political ambition. In fact you can even trace this kind of dirty dealing back as far as his college days.

• As he was running for student government president at Marquette University he declared that he would "rather take the high road and see where that leads me" while at the very same time he was found to have violated campaign rules. [Marquette Tribune, "Walker admits violating campaign rules at YMCA", 2/24/88]
  
• During the same campaign the campus paper described Scott Walker as being "unfit" for office. During his interview with the paper he refused to smear his opponent but behind the scenes his campaign was busy circulating materials filled with what the paper described as "character assassination". While Walker smiled in the paper's face his campaign was busy throwing away armfuls of their publication. [Marquette Tribune, "Revision - Walker unfit", 2/24/88]
  

The bottom line here is that Scott Walker is still the same deceptive self interested person that he was back then. He may smile in your face and use happy words but you can never trust him. Hopefully legislators and others will not be taken in by Walker's new vocabulary. He certainly hasn't earned the bipartisan "merit badge" so why in the world would you loan him yours?

Don't go for the Walker head fake.

Keep Your Perspective, Keep Your Focus

Last week I read Wispolitics' Friday Report including its list of whose stock is allegedly rising and falling. Reading it you would have never known that Democrats had just taken two Republican seats in historic recall elections. Dems almost took others seats, even though they were in mostly Republican districts. Although those races were not won, there was a significant surge of votes for Democrats. (see HERE and HERE)

Admittedly I wanted to see Democrats take back the state Senate as much as anyone. So they came up one win short of that goal, but that does not eliminate everything that has been accomplished. Since when is Scott Walker's loss of two seats in the state Senate a win for him? Since when is a surge in votes for Democrats in traditionally conservative districts a win for Republicans? Since when is a massive statewide movement of fully engaged Democrats, progressives and workers a win for the right wing? Republicans losing 100% of their recall efforts is a victory? Give me a break.

There is still much more work to do as we move into next year and we can't allow ourselves to get distracted by pundits or by Monday morning quarterbacks. We need to keep our perspective as we reflect on what has happened thus far and we need to keep our focus on the work that still remains.

Open Record Obstruction: What is Alberta Hiding?

One Wisconsin Now was recently forced to file an open records lawsuit against state Senator Alberta Darling because she was stonewalling them on a request that they made to her office. They requested communications between her office and various elements of the private school industry. Only after they actually filed their lawsuit did Darling finally acknowledge their request and produce the records. In fact she produced the records so quickly that you have to wonder what the real hold up was in the first place.

The records that Darling finally produced gave us a strong idea as to why she was apparently trying to delay the release. The emails that OWN obtained clearly show that she was coordinating with private school industry lobbyists. In fact it appears that Darling was preparing to deliver several items on their legislative agenda.

Specifically Darling was communicating with the lobbyist for the school privatization industry organization, the American Federation for Children. This is the same organization that is currently spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to support Darling in her recall election.

Today the Democratic Party of Wisconsin (DPW) filed a complaint against Darling. One key part of the multifaceted complaint includes even more open record obstruction by Darling. They filed an open records request seeking communications between Alberta Darling and several right wing special interest groups. In fact some of those same groups are currently under investigation by the Milwaukee County DA's office for questionable activities involving the recall elections. Is this why Alberta is obstructing the DPW open records request?

I can can certainly empathize with both OWN and with DPW because Alberta Darling's office has also obstructed an open records request that I filed back in April. At that time I requested emails that she received from local officials regarding the budget repair bill. I further narrowed my request by including a limited time frame.

Darling's office first responded to my request nearly a full month after I first made it. They suggested that I narrow my request even further. Because I wanted to make the process as easy as possible I agreed to the suggested changes within 2 days. That was in mid-May and I didn't receive the requested records or even a status of my request until Tuesday, August 5th (one week before her recall election). As if this obstruction wasn't bad enough, now Darling wants me to pay hundreds of dollars for the honor of obtaining those public records that may be useless at this point.

In my view there is a clear pattern of open record obstruction by Alberta Darling. Three examples including mine have surfaced in only the past few days. I can only wonder how many other cases will surface before next Tuesday? But perhaps the most important question is, what exactly is Alberta Darling trying to hide in the first place?

UPDATE: I literally just asked "how many other cases will surface" and then I noticed this from the Shepherd Express.

Out of touch Alberta Strikes Again

Here she goes again. Alberta Darling once again showing that she is completely out of touch with most Wisconsinites. Last week she declared that a person making $250,000 a year is not rich. She is trying to perform some damage control now but the fact is that she said exactly what she meant. Darling has been unbelievably wealthy for a very long time and she has become completely detached from the real lives of most Wisconsinites.

Darling's latest Statement of Economic Interest form shows that she owns stock in nearly 200 different companies. The value of most of those individual holdings are between $5,000 and $50,000. There are also a handful of companies in which she owns more than a $50,000 interest. Her SEI also lists the longtime beach front condo in Florida that she has owned for some time. In fact, the Capital Times once ran a story about out-of-touch very wealthy legislators and in it they listed Darling and her beach front property (pictured above). [Capital Times, 6/14/94] In addition her River Hills home is assessed at approximately $800,000.

But we don't have to only rely on Alberta Darling's personal wealth and recent comment to prove that she is out of touch. We can also look at other telling comments and actions over the years. Here are only a handful in no particular order:

• When Texas Governor George W. Bush was beginning his run for president he came to a Wisconsin fundraiser. Alberta Darling was quoted at the fundraiser saying, "Hallelujah...I'm so excited" about the prospect of a Bush presidency. We all know how that turned out for most of us. [Capital Times, 7/22/99]
• Then there was the time that she failed to come back from her London vacation to vote on important legislation during a special session of the legislature. People were not amused nor were they very happy with her. [Capital Times, 6/16/94]
  
• In 1995 Alberta Darling declared, "I consider Phillip Morris a good corporate citizen." Need I say more? [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 7/15/95]
• Darling's love for powerful special interests was just as strong a number of years later when she said, "In many cases, lobbyists perform a valid role, which is to educate on issues. Many of the lobbyists are very professional about it. They give information..." [AP, "Lobbying groups spend record for six months of the year", 8/8/99]
• Then of course there is her comment earlier this year that this train wreck of a state budget was "the best budget ever!" Obviously she has no regard whatsoever for the extreme damage that it does to education, health care and the average Wisconsinite.
  

So there have been many Alberta Darling "out-of-touch moments" over the years. The most recent one is only the latest and hopefully the events of the next week will mercifully make it the last.

What is your favorite Alberta out-of-touch moment?

Hopper's real union "dialogue" was with Cass

Wispolitics cited the following quote from state Senator Randy Hopper in its Friday report to subscribers. Xoff picked up on it right away. After watching Hopper on Mike Gousha's UpFront program it appears that the quote came from that interview.

"When it came to having dialogue with leaders of the union they knew exactly where I stood because for the last two years I worked extremely hard to work across the aisle and have developed a relationship with those people. They are upset for losing their collective bargaining benefits, but it is important to help drive this state forward". - Sen. Randy Hopper, R-Fond du Lac

The quote is certainly jarring when you compare his words to his actual record and the actual reality of what has transpired this year. Just like Scott Walker, Randy Hopper never campaigned on trying to wipe out unions forever in Wisconsin. During his alleged "dialogue" with leaders of unions I am fairly certain that he never mentioned taking away all of their most fundamental rights in the workplace. It is not real "dialogue" when you talk to people and the whole time you are hiding the fact that you plan on "dropping a bomb" on them. No wonder union leaders and state employees in his district are so angry with him. He was dishonest, he shut them out and he was not and still isn't listening to them.

In fact, I've obtained yet another Randy Hopper email and I think that it really speaks to Hopper's phoniness when he suggests that he ever had a real "dialogue" with union leaders in the first place. The email also reveals what he really thinks about some of those union leaders when he is not actually talking directly to them.

On December 28, 2010 a union leader sends Hopper an invite to a local union meeting. They are hoping that Hopper will come to answer questions about his vote against the union contracts late last year. They also were anticipating that Scott Walker was probably going to do some "stupid things" to "screw over" state workers. So they also wanted to know what position Hopper was going to take when that time came.

You can argue about the appropriateness of the the guy's language because it was clear that he was probably very frustrated and angry and wanted some answers for his members. But the one thing that you can't say is that this guy was being a phony. Some may consider his tone harsh but it was also very clear, very honest and very direct. We might call it very open "dialogue", to use the word accurately.

After Hopper's staffer received the direct and very honest email he forwarded it to his boss. I don't have a copy of the actual reply from Senator Hopper to this union leader but I do have the email where Hopper forwards it to his alleged girlfriend Valerie Cass. Somehow I don't think that his actual response to the union official was the same as what he said to Cass. Here was his real unvarnished opinion in that email:

"Check this out then ask yourself how someone like this is elevated to lead? Wow what an idiot" -Randy Hopper to Valerie Cass in 12/28/10 Email

Again the union leader was certainly upfront and brutally honest about what he thought. You may not like what he said or how he said it but it was brutally honest "dialogue". Randy Hopper on the other hand proceeded to forward the guy's email to his alleged girlfriend. By the way, how many other constituent emails was he sending to her and is that even appropriate? In any case, Hopper proceeded to not only send that email to her but then went on to call the union official names behind his back and indict the workers that elected him to his position. Sorry Randy but that is NOT "dialogue". In fact it is much closer to the definition of phony.

Alberta Then and Alberta Now

Alberta Then

"Darling said she would be a better coalition-builder and admitted to wanting to help 'lost children' and 'unemployed populations'..." [Milwaukee Journal, 3/27/1990]

Alberta Now

And we all know that nothing helps "lost children" and "unemployed populations" quite like taking away their health care...

...cutting $800 million in funding for their education
...raising tuition and putting college further out of reach
...or by drastically cutting state aid to technical colleges

Politifact continues to rate as "barely tolerable"

The "Politifact" experiment at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has been panned on almost a regular basis since it began. Most of the time their critiques are so random and arbitrary and the focus is so misplaced or at best scattered. The classic example of this that still stands out to me is when they didn't dispute a single FACT in a Tom Barrett ad last year, but they didn't like the presentation of the graphics in the ad. So even though the claims in the ad were completely factual, they rated it a "pants on fire".

The other extreme is when they test a statement that isn't even in dispute as if they are just itching to give the person a "true" rating. We all know that the sky is blue and that is obviously not in dispute, so why waste our time?

As if people weren't getting annoyed enough with the arbitrary and random ratings of "Politifact" before now, the outfit has randomly changed its rating system. Somehow I'm not surprised. I noticed today that some things that were declared "barely true" a day ago have now suddenly become "mostly false". How is that even logically possible? What changed besides their whims?

One recent item that randomly changed from "barely true" to "mostly false" is the fact that Randy Hopper paid net state income taxes only once over a 9 or 10 year stretch. Sorry folks but that is a fact that not even he disputed in the news report cited in the ad [Fond du Lac Reporter, 10/24/08]. He obviously disagreed with the conclusion that was made based on that fact but he didn't dispute the fact itself. In fact it doesn't even seem that "Politifact" disputes these facts as it includes some of the following in its very subjective rating:

"...from 1998 through 2007, Hopper’s five businesses had no state income tax liability; and that from 1997 through 2007, Hopper personally had a liability in just one year..."

"Hopper, who didn’t dispute the facts in the 2008 newspaper article..."

"The records indicate that over a decade, Hopper’s businesses had no state income tax liability and he owed taxes personally in only one year."

So what gives? Where is the falsehood in saying that he didn't pay those taxes if he didn't and if both Hopper and "Politifact" know that he didn't? As has become typical, they appear to be upset not at the literal facts but at what they personally perceive to be the impression left by the ad. In fact they say as much in their conclusion. So the basic and literal facts of the ad are correct and no one disputes them, but "Politifact" doesn't like the "impression" that they imagine is left behind, so that makes the entire ad "barely true"...or excuse me..."mostly false".

OK I think I've got it now...and I rate this "Politifact" experiment as "barely tolerable".

Hopper Coached Cass on Scoring State Job

In March we learned that state Senator Randy Hopper (R-Unknown) left his wife and filed for divorce last year. According to his wife he had taken up with 20-something Republican operative Valerie Cass. It didn't take long for additional reports to surface showing that this girlfriend was hired by the Walker administration under questionable circumstances and at a questionable pay rate.

Some have wondered if Randy Hopper played a role in getting his girlfriend the taxpayer funded job. A number of newly obtained emails now provide a closer view of some of his involvement.

Based on a November 30th email Hopper and Cass wasted no time in trying to score a state job for her. In that email Hopper forwards a press release to her that announces Keith Gilkes as Walker's chief of staff. In that forwarded email he also advises her that she "might want to congratulate him if you call or email this afternoon."

At 1:25pm on December 28th Cass sends Hopper an apparent draft of an email to Keith Gilkes. In the draft email Cass mentions that she enjoyed talking to Gilkes a few weeks ago and that she is excited about the changes at the Department of Commerce. At 1:57 pm Hopper responds to her draft email and suggests that she add that she is excited to be a part of it. At 2:27 on the same day Cass sends the actual email to Keith Gilkes. The final version to him includes a version of the Hopper suggested comment.

Hopper's coaching of girlfriend Valerie Cass certainly didn't hurt as she was eventually hired by the Walker administration on February 7th.

Randy Hopper is a member of a full-time state legislature and as such he receives a very generous paycheck and outstanding benefits. In fact I'm fairly certain that many of his constituents only wish that they could enjoy such security. Yet apparently he finds it acceptable to use state time coaching his girlfriend on how to successfully score a generous state paycheck of her own. One would think that Randy Hopper would be more concerned about doing the people's work on a Tuesday afternoon. But that would mean that Randy Hopper was in office to actually represent the people of his district in the first place.

Related: "I Google you"

Who is Randal Bertrand Hopper really working for?

Harsdorf Hypocrisy: "Frankenstein Veto" Edition

Even though former Republican Governor Tommy Thompson was the king of what is known as the "Frankenstein Veto" GOP legislators never really cared much about it until a Democrat became governor. Leading the sneering at Governor Doyle at the time was current state Senator Sheila Harsdorf (R-Walker's Pocket). [The Capital Times, “GOP has no veto credibility”, 8/10/07]

The Progressive recently highlighted Scott Walker's use of the "Frankenstein Veto" in the latest budget. In that example Walker crossed out 116 consecutive words and then drastically altered the meaning of the subsequent clause. Sheila Harsdorf was so quick to issue press releases, write letters and perform other PR stunts when a Democrat was governor, so I am waiting for something similar now.

Perhaps Harsdorf is fearful of criticizing Scott Walker but she should "recall" that it wasn't long ago when the people of Wisconsin voted overwhelmingly to end the "Frankenstein Veto" practice. A majority of Wisconsinites also disapprove of Scott Walker and his radical agenda. So if she doesn't take a stand now, when will she? It makes you wonder about her real motivations when she attacked Governor Doyle.

Flip-Flopping an Entire Political Philosophy

Recently the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel determined that Senator Alberta Darling flip-flopped on the issue of continuing to pay Milwaukee police after being fired from the job. If they are going to start monitoring Darling on doing that kind of thing, they are going to have a very busy summer.

Alberta Darling has not only been on both sides of several specific issues but she has more importantly performed a full flip-flop of her entire political philosophy. At one time she was legitimately viewed as a moderate Republican but that has not been true for some time. If there was any doubt about the surrendering of her "moderate" credentials one doesn't have to look very far. Right wing extremism has been in overreaching overdrive all year and Alberta Darling has been more than willing to enable and even advocate for it.

Following the most extreme elements of her party, Alberta Darling voted to defund Planned Parenthood's family planning services. They had this collective right wing knee jerk as if the funding were going toward abortions. However state law already prohibits such funds from being used for abortions and they know it. It was nothing more than a naked attack based on extreme ideology. Planned Parenthood has used such funds for services like providing contraceptive supplies, pregnancy testing, screening for cervical cancer and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases. Yet Alberta Darling, a former board member of Planned Parenthood, has now taken up an irrational and extreme position opposing such important services. [Milwaukee Journal, 10/18/90]

Consider some of the following to get an even better view of how far Darling has gone on women's health issues:

• When she first won a seat in the Assembly the headlines read, "Pro-choicer wins special election in the 10th". It went on to describe how her first campaign was greatly aided by groups like NARAL. [Abortion Report, 4/6/90]
• After her first win in the Assembly, Darling reaffirmed that her abortion rights stance was "very clear...very strong". [Milwaukee Journal, 6/17/90]
  
• In 1996 Alberta Darling actually declared that the Republican Party had put the ultra-conservative abortion issue behind them. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 8/11/96]
  

This year Alberta Darling also voted to allow people to carry concealed guns just about anywhere that they want to bring them. That vote is also quite divergent from the old Alberta Darling. Shortly after starting her political career she commented on how her district supported gun control. A few years later she actually proposed legislation regulating certain kinds of handguns. During that time she commented that it was a public safety issue and that those kinds of handguns should be regulated like automobile ownership. [Milwaukee Journal, 1/14/91 and 4/12/94]

So while it is perfectly appropriate to take a look at Alberta Darling's more specific political flip-flops, we also should be looking at the fact that she has flip-flopped her entire political philosophy. Sorry, but she is not even close to being the same person that her district first elected. These are all sad signs that her many years as a career politician have caused her to grow completely out-of-touch not only with her district but also with her(former)self.

Wanted: More Republicans with an "Empire State of Mind"

Friday evening the State of New York became the 6th state to take a strong stand for marriage equality. After a long debate the measure passed the state Senate by a vote of 33 to 29. Obviously this is a huge development because the state is not only the third largest in population but it also doesn't have a residency requirement for obtaining a marriage license. The fact that New York City is widely considered the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement just adds to the relevance of what happened last night.

All but one of the Democrats in the New York Senate were joined by 4 courageous Republicans in standing for equality. So obviously this legislation could not have passed without the help of moderate and even some fair-minded (real) conservative Republicans.

• One key example is that of Republican Senator Stephen Saland. Two years ago he voted against a similar bill but on Friday finally had a change of heart. He said that it was "a vote of conscience" and affirmed that he knew that he was now "doing the right thing".
  
• Fellow Republican Senator Mark Grisanti said that he could not, "...deny a person, a human being, a taxpayer...the same rights that I have with my wife."

Even though the New York Senate only provided 4 Republican votes, there was an extensive bipartisan coalition that helped bring about Friday night's result. Once again unions proved to be a critical ally to the LGBT community as they helped mobilize support for the effort. But credit also should be given to individual Republican donors/supporters and key corporations who also joined the coalition very early.

UPDATE 1: This is a must-read from the New York Times. It gives many of the behind-the-scenes details that brought about this victory for equality.

UPDATE 2: I'm clearly on the same page with Emily.

Sorry Tommy but it's about more than health care reform

Tommy Thompson is apparently trying to do some damage control after being repeatedly hit from the right wing of the Republican Party. It seems that his primary objective is to reinvent history regarding his support for President Obama's health care reforms. Even if we let Tommy completely revise history on that point, there are many other reasons for the attacks that he is getting from the extreme right wing.

It seems that there has always been some kind of consternation with Tommy, his advisers and the radical wing of the party. Unfortunately for all of us, those right wing radicals are now running everything (into the ground). So what makes Tommy think that he will be accepted by these radicals now that they are finally running everything?

Again, Tommy's current defense focuses primarily on his ever changing view of health care reform. But there are many other reasons that the radical right wing overlords are not fond of him. For example, they lost their collective minds when big business was asked to pay their fair share through combined reporting. But Governor Doyle was certainly not the first Wisconsin Governor to push this policy. Thompson unsuccessfully attempted combined reporting in both 1993 and once again in 1999. He practically has combined reporting as bookends at both ends of his time as governor. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Tax change that infuriates business, 12 years in making, isn't a surprise", 2/18/99]

You don't even have to stop at health care reform and combined reporting when you are counting the ways that the current Republican establishment disregards/derides Tommy Thompson. Many of them would probably cite run away spending and the lack of sufficiently extreme positions on social issues.

It is clear that Tommy loves the speculative attention that he gets whenever he talks about running for an open seat in Wisconsin. Even if he were serious this time, sadly the Republican Party of Wisconsin has gone completely off the deep end. This new extreme brand of Republican and Tommy's actual record will never mix well. Sorry Tommy, this longstanding problem is not going to be remedied by simply spinning your position on health care reform. It is about so much more than that one issue.

That was then this is now: Open Meetings Edition

2007

"Access to open meetings and public records is an essential component of effective citizen oversight of the workings of our democratic government. Raising awareness, sharing information, and promoting compliance with open meetings and public records law is part of the ongoing mission of the Department of Justice." - J.B. Van Hollen, [Capital Times, September 12, 2007]

2009

"As the state's chief law enforcement officer, I am deeply committed to promoting compliance with Wisconsin's open meetings and public records laws." - J.B. Van Hollen, [Capital Times, March 16, 2009]

2010

"Nothing captures the essence of American democracy better than 'government of the people, by the people, for the people,' and a citizen's access to public records and meetings of governmental bodies is a vital aspect of this principle. That is why, as your attorney general, I am deeply committed to promoting understanding of, and compliance with, Wisconsin's open meetings and public records laws. Educating the public and public employees on these laws is one of the most important parts of that goal." - J.B. Van Hollen, [Capital Times, August 29, 2010]

2011

"Even by the low standard that Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen sets for himself when representing the interests of the people of Wisconsin, his move to try to eviscerate the state's open meetings law is unacceptable...If Van Hollen gets his way, Wisconsin's open meetings law would ultimately be rendered meaningless — as would the promise of open and honest governance that the legislators of the 1970s outlined and embraced for themselves and for all branches and units of government in Wisconsin. Van Hollen may not be the ablest lawyer. But he is no fool. He knows that he is attacking the underpinnings of the open meetings law." - Capital Times Editorial, [Capital Times, May 31, 2011]