Political Heat

This morning Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi issued another order barring the implementation of the controversial anti-union "budget" repair bill. Judge Sumi issued the order due to the manner in which the bill was passed: an open meetings law that requires the public be notified of committee hearings was ignored, and the bill as it stood following that purposeful negligence of the law passed the Senate, all in one evening. Republican leaders, naturally, are furious at the ruling. "Once again, one Dane County judge is doing everything she can to stand in the way of our efforts," Sen. Maj. Leader Scott Fitzgerald said . "This is judicial activism at its worst." His brother, Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald , shared those sentiments, adding that Judge Sumi "wants to keep interjecting herself into the legislative process with no regard to the state constitution." Is Judge Sumi ruling as a judicial activist? Hardly -- her ruling that the law i...

The Republican Party of Dane County (RPDC) produced a satirical press release regarding Judge Maryann Sumi's recent (second) decision to halt the implementation of the anti-union "budget" law. As a bill, the legislation passed without proper notification to the people of Wisconsin; therefore it was in violation of open meetings law. The press release by RPDC made it clear that they didn't fault Judge Sumi's actions: she had to carry through her "leftist" judgment because, after all, she's a lefty judge living in a lefty county: The Republican Party of Dane County recognizes that Judge Sumi is a leftist living in Dane County. Her friends are leftists living in Dane County. Her son is a left wing activist in Dane County. She goes to cocktail parties held by leftists in Dane County. She shops at organic gourmet food shops run by leftists living in Dane County. If she were to enforce the law of Wisconsin and do what was in the best interest of the peop...

The question before everyone earlier today: was the budget law implementable yet? The answer to everyone using their common sense: Not likely. And Judge Maryann Sumi made her earlier judgment even more clear, stating today that the law is not to be implemented at this time . Though it was published on the Legislative Reference Bureau's website last weekend , the controversial law that ends collective bargaining rights for thousands of public workers has not yet been published in the official state newspaper, the Wisconsin State Journal. Until it's published there, officially the law cannot be implemented. A temporary restraining order on Secretary of State Doug La Follette prohibits him from publishing the law in the State Journal until the matter can be further reviewed. But Scott Walker & Co. see it otherwise. Department of Administration head Mike Huebsch began implementing the law this past weekend following it's publication on the LBR's website. That was a co...

The right-wing attack on working Wisconsinites continues on this week at the state Capitol building. This time, it’s about municipal control over extending rights to workers for sick leave. In a puzzling twist, legislative Republicans have shifted their dynamic regarding local rights on the issue. It’s not about local control for Wisconsin’s conservative lawmakers. The longstanding argument that centralized governments (even on the state level) simply want to control your lives is one that should no longer be argued by Republicans in the legislature, given their recent actions on this and other issues related to workers’ rights. The latest assault on working individuals is up for vote soon. Assembly Bill 41is set to be debated upon, with a public hearing scheduled for this Wednesday around 10:30 AM at the Capitol in Madison. The bill would remove the rights of municipalities (PDF) to provide for their employees extended sick days in certain medical circumstances. An ordinance passed i...

Revealed today was the fact that an email from Indiana suggested to Gov. Scott Walker during the Madison protests that he consider using a " false flag " strategy -- wherein Walker would fake a violent act, supposedly from a staged actor pretending to be a protester -- in order to drum up support for his own cause of passing the bill. The problem with the "false flag" scenario isn't so much that the Walker administration was seeking it out or that they ended up implementing it. They weren't and they didn't -- the problem is that they were considering other ideas at least somewhat similar in nature to what this email brought up, ideas that were meant to discredit the protesters through staged actions. Though it was less violent in nature, Walker admitted to a prank caller that he had contemplated putting "troublemakers" in the crowds with the protesters in Madison, hoping that they would stir up animosity to discredit the pro-union crowds. He o...

The following is a piece of satire, not to be taken as a serious piece of opinion. Donald Trump isn't fit to be president of the United States. There are just too many questions surrounding the man's character and whether he'd be a good fit for the presidency. It shouldn't surprise anyone that most of these questions center upon...his hair. I mean, just LOOK at it: doesn't it seem a little...funny looking? It doesn't appear to be real at all. If ever a man had a hair structure that looked like "a piece," it'd be the Donald. That's why I believe, before he starts any consideration for the presidency, we should have Donald Trump's head examined. Of course, Trump could have his own personal "hairdresser" examine his scalp, and then call it a day. But that won't satisfy me and countless others -- I mean, Trump is a billionaire. He could simply pay off anyone to say his hair was legitimately his, to say that he had a full head of ...

On the one year anniversary of Health Care Reform (hereafter referred to HCR) being enacted, our state's newly elected senator, Republican Ron Johnson, wrote an editorial piece for the Wall Street Journal . In it, Johnson described how his own daughter "probably wouldn't have survived in a system where bureaucrats stifle innovation and ration care." With a tagline like that, you could tell where this article was headed. Johnson made several erroneous comments about health reform, including rehashing the baseless claim about death panels. So here is an annotated assessment of some of his comments, for your viewing pleasure (Johnson's quotes in gray, assessments of his rationale in yellow). Today is the first anniversary of the greatest single assault on our freedom in my lifetime: the signing of ObamaCare. Right off the bat, in the first sentence, Johnson screws up big time. It's difficult to understand why Johnson would see HCR as an assault on his freedom, th...

If you called your boss a bad word and threatened them professionally, how much longer would you expect to keep your job? Justice David Prosser, who is seeking re-election to the State Supreme Court, is hoping you’d overlook such an indiscretion. He admitted recently that emails and other justices’ testimonials were accurate in their portrayal of an incident where he had exercised terrible judgment. Prosser had called Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson a “bitch” and threatened to “destroy” her. But according to Prosser, it’s totally justifiable. You see, he was GOADED into calling Abrahamson a “bitch,” and threatened her because SHE made him do it. “I probably overreacted, but I think it was entirely warranted,” Prosser said . He also made no mention of an apology to the Chief Justice, in public or private. To be fair, the incident isn’t indicative of Prosser’s judicial expertise (though there is reason for concern there as well); but it does draw up some important questions about his c...

Earlier this month I made a claim that I can’t stand behind any longer, or at the very least need to amend. I stated that Gov. Scott Walker was misleading when he said that most of the emails he received regarding his budget repair bill were in favor of his position. He also went on to say that a “silent majority” supported his plan, and that he wouldn’t give in because a sizable amount of emails from the people of Wisconsin wanted him to push forward with his agenda. An analysis of the emails his office received – a sampling of nearly 2,000 of the 50,000 that were available – shows that Walker was right, that most of the emails were from supporters (about a 60-30 margin). I would therefore like to retract my statement arguing that Walker was “making up” his assertion on the emails of support he received. That being said, it’s still clear that Walker is ignoring the people of the state. Poll after poll shows that majorities of the Wisconsin people reject his bill, and largely suppo...

The start of military action taken against Libya this past weekend is a bit of a mixed bag. While I consider myself to be a fairly pro-peace, anti-war kind of person, there does come a time when military action becomes justifiable. The events in Libya warrant military action, especially given Moammar Gadhafi’s willingness to use brutal force on his own citizens . The fact that there’s an international cooperative effort to intervene on behalf of the Libyan people demonstrates the shared belief, globally, that action against Gadhafi is justified. What’s troubling to me is that this is another war we’ve decided to involve our already strained military in. With progress in Afghanistan going slowly, and our presence in Iraq still significant, it’s necessary to consider all other options available before involving ourselves in war-like scenarios. The effect of this conflict on our budget isn’t anything to overlook either, at a time where lawmakers in Washington are engulfed in a battle of t...

A University of Wisconsin economist projects that Gov. Scott Walker's proposed budget will lose the state more than 20,000 jobs over the next two years (from Madison.com : An estimated 21,843 jobs will be lost over the next year or two as public agencies and workers are able to spend less in their communities, said Steven Deller, a professor of applied economics who studied the ripple effects of Walker's budget-repair bill and two-year budget proposal. "That's not just a bump in the road," Deller said. "That's a speed bump." This projection comes as sad news, for both the state and Scott Walker. During his campaign and throughout his reign as governor, Walker has maintained he would create more than 250,000 jobs for the state through his radical budget proposals. A loss of 20,000 jobs is definitely a big jump in the wrong direction. However, the goal of 250,000 jobs is also unrealistic -- it would effectively end unemployment completely in our state...

Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi announced today a temporary hold on the anti-union law that was signed last week by Gov. Scott Walker. The hold prevents Secretary of State Doug La Follette from publishing the law, effectively delaying its implementation until certain matters are resolved. At issue is whether Republicans, when steamrolling the bill through the legislature, violated open meetings laws designed to prevent expedited legislation from passing without the people of the state receiving proper notice. Whether the violation of open meetings laws warrants a complete scrapping of the entire anti-union legislation or not is up for a debate, during a court hearing scheduled for early April. However, state Attorney General JB Van Hollen disagrees . The office of the Attorney General announced, almost immediately following the announcement of Judge Sumi, that it would appeal the delay, and that the law should be published on or before March 25, the date La Follette said he wou...

A quick comment on Scott Walker’s fake cops ... Near the underground tunnels where protesters congregated to demonstrate against Walker’s controversial budget bill, a private security officer claimed he was actually a police officer and demanded to see the protesters’ ID’s. When the protesters themselves asked to see his badge, he refused. Officers both on- and off-duty are required to display their badges whenever they make it known that they are indeed officers. This man’s refusal to do so was a clear indication that he wasn’t who he said he was. Scott Walker certainly has the right to hire the help of private security firms -- no one is suggesting otherwise. But when those hired hands act in a thuggish manner, defacing the good name of our state’s law enforcement in the process, a line has been crossed. Whether prompted by Walker to manipulate our state’s officers’ good name or not, our governor should be ashamed of himself, either of knowing this was going to happen or of hiring th...

Earlier this week, I wrote on the need to implement public financing of electoral campaigns . I didn’t provide a framework or an idea of what should be done, but rather discussed why campaign finance reform would be beneficial to the people overall, enhancing voters’ speech rights by making them more equal to donations from large corporate interests and the wealthy elite. In essence, I argued that the problem facing our country wasn’t a free speech issue, but rather an equal speech issue. I want to address an issue that I’ve often heard brought about by several conservatives I talk to. I’ve read assertions over the past year that the Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court was justifiable...because it allowed unions to donate to political causes too, and that the end result would be beneficial to everyone, not just corporate elites. That justification, it seems to me, is worthless for two reasons. First, if unions had the capability to match corporate funding of campaigns,...

Check out an article I wrote for a site called Illuminate Me, about the protests in Madison, what they represent, and where we'll go from here: Protests in the Dairy Land .

Is money “free speech?” It certainly is according to several prominent lawmakers. But the idea of money as speech, that it can carry over the same rights that go along with it, is a foolish assumption to make. “Money as free speech” matters because of election fundraising. The idea behind “money as free speech” is that, in order to voice your satisfaction with a particular candidate, you should be able to contribute as much money as possible towards their election campaign in order to indicate to others your endorsement of that person. In other words, you “speak” your mind through your commitment – and investment – in a particular candidate. To one who is unfamiliar with campaign finance issues, “money as free speech” makes sense when it’s put in those terms. But as a result of that theory, politicians seem to forego their legislative duties, catering to their donors’ wishes rather than their constituents’ concerns. It can also create a problem of an unintended censorship of opinion. A...

A few new updates on the recall efforts in Wisconsin. First, the good news: after only two weekends of canvassing, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin has received nearly half of the signatures needed to initiate a recall on all eight Republican State Senators. Under Wisconsin state law, you need to get 25 percent of the total who voted within each senator's district's race in the previous election. The time frame to do this in is 60 days. The Democrats are on pace to do it in half that time. Now, the mixed news: Daily Kos polling shows that many of the races these GOP Senators would face, if put up against a hypothetical Democrat, are very close. In two of the races, the hypothetical Democrat wins by five percent or more. Three races are within five percent, and the other three have the Republican winning by five percent or more. This is mixed news because, of course, it's way too early to tell what's going to happen in these recall elections, when they do indeed happe...

Yesterday, 85,000-100,000 people swarmed the Capitol building in Madison to show their support for the Wisconsin 14 as well as to show solidarity against the stripping of workers' rights. A law signed by Walker on Friday removes collective bargaining for public service employees, effectively giving workers no say in silly matters like workplace conditions or emergency medical leave, for example. The numbers were impressive -- indeed, the largest protest that Madison has ever seen, including during the Vietnam War years. But I was still curious to find out how, if at all, the Tea Party protests in Madison compared in size. I did a simple search on Google, and read a headline or two. One stated, "Madison Rally Bigger Than Biggest Tea Party Rally." OK, I thought. I already knew that, right? If the Madison rally yesterday was the biggest one that the city had ever seen, it made sense that no Tea Party rally in the city would outsize it. I clicked the link anyway , and my ja...

Today was a genuine day of solidarity. I went to the Capitol today to be there when the 14 Democratic Senators returned from Illinois. The scene was inspiring -- countless thousands, by all estimates the largest number yet , huddled near one another to show their support for these heroes. I stood behind a man from Illinois, who periodically held up his state's flag. At this moment, I didn't find it at all disrespectful -- he had come to show his support for our state's Democratic Senators, for this state's workers who have inspired many across the heartland. But the vast majority of supporters, by my count eight out of every ten, came from Wisconsin, from all corners of the state. To my left was a group of firefighters from Racine. They, too, felt compelled to show their support for those losing their rights, though the bill doesn't affect police offices or firefighters. Their solidarity was thanked on several occasions by several members around us. Walking through ...

Apparently the Secretary of State DOES have an important job! Doug La Follette, the current Wisconsin Secretary of State, is delaying publishing the recent law signed yesterday by Republican Gov. Scott Walker. The bill will remove the rights of public service employees to collectively bargain their contracts. But by delaying the publication of the bill, La Follette stalls it's implementation, at least until March 25. Citing legal challenges to the law made by Dane County Executive Kathleen Faulk and County Board Chair Scott McDonnell, La Follette's delay allows more time for those legal disputes to cultivate, giving the courts the opportunity to determine if the law was passed in an illegal manner. The Senate Republicans passed the bill through questionable means by streamlining it without proper notice. The Republicans' failure to adhere to open meeting laws meant that they violated not only the trust of the people but also the laws meant to protect them from legislation...

Throughout the proceedings of this budget mess, I've heard a lot of criticisms from conservative colleagues of mine (yes, I have conservative friends -- it's only politics, people!) regarding the situation. We argue on a myriad of issues, but one argument I'm growing tired of hearing is the premise that the voters CHOSE these leaders in November, and therefore there isn't room for concern from those on the left in Wisconsin about the end of collective bargaining rights. This point is extended towards their argument against recall elections of Republican legislators. This argument is faulty for many reasons. Firstly: the GOP in Wisconsin NEVER campaigned on removing collective bargaining rights . Independents in particular wanted Walker to compromise on the budget bill, not to ram it through with the stripping of collective bargaining. The people of Wisconsin, therefore, didn't vote for this at all: they voted for candidates that had veiled intentions to remove the...

The major aspect of the budget repair bill -- the stripping of collective bargaining rights for state workers -- is now as good as law. State Senate Republicans stripped all financial parts of Scott Walker's budget repair bill in order to pass the most controversial part: the removal of bargaining rights for state employees. The bill passed tonight 18-1. Here's why this vote was utter bull----. First, Scott Walker included the removal of these rights because it was critical to the budget -- his words, not mine. The actual effect of the removal of bargaining rights would be minimal, if anything. But Walker insisted, time after time, that these rights had to be removed, that it was critical to the budget. It was all about the budget. The budget. The budget. THE BUDGET! Then the Senate Republicans stripped all of the budgetary items from the bill in order to pass the removal of collective bargaining rights. Why is this important? To pass a budget bill, quorum must be met. Fourteen...

On Tuesday night, Republican Congressional Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner and Republican State Sen. Leah Vukmir held a joint town hall meeting at the Wauwatosa Public Library. Unfortunately for those that attended, Sensenbrenner and Vukmir adjourned the meeting early due to the overwhelming presence of opponents of Scott Walker's budget bills. Apparently it was too much to ask of these two representatives to have a meeting where constituents could voice their grievances. Vukmir state that she felt bombarded by the people in attendance. "It is very clear to me that the folks that came last night were there for two reasons, to disrupt and to intimidate," she said. Sensenbrenner echoed those sentiments in a statement released by his office: "It is unfortunate that the same respect given at Congressman Sensenbrenner's Town Hall Meeting in Brookfield Sunday evening wasn't experienced [Tuesday] night." But those that attended the meeting -- actual constituents and o...

Open thread for the Radio Heat show going on tonight. Go to http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ckwalker1984 to listen live.

Who is ultimately responsible for stalling Wisconsin’s state government? Is it the Democratic senators that left the state in order to prevent quorum on an atrocious bill? Or is it the governor himself, who refuses to budge on the issue of collective bargaining rights ? Put into those terms, it seems that both parties share part of the blame for having stalled our government. If Democrats returned home, it could be argued, the bill would be passed, effectively allowing the legislature to send the bill for Walker’s signature, putting government back in motion. But in actuality, the fault DOESN’T rest with Democrats -- it's the governor whose failure to negotiate is slowing down government. Despite the terrible elements of the bills Walker is proposing, Democratic senators have indicated that they’re willing to return to Madison if collective bargaining rights were retained. Walker won’t budget -- it's imperative (at least in his own mind) that these rights be stripped from publ...

Does Gov. Walker really care for the people of this state? In his latest attempt to make "Wisconsin work," Walker takes away hundreds of dollars from poorer Wisconsin families. Scott Walker's budget proposal would eliminate tax credits for low-income families in Wisconsin. The Earned-Income Tax Credit would be lessened significantly, affecting thousands of families in the Badger State. According to Madison.com , a single mother earning $15,000 per year with two children would lose more than $300 per year under Walker's plan. A two-parent household earning just above the poverty level -- or about $30,000 per year -- would lose between $200 and $260 per year in tax credits. The proposal runs in conjunction with Walker's plans to give big business huge tax breaks, more than $140 million overall , which have been attributed to hindering the state's budget mess even more. Walker's budget repair bill called for state workers and public service employees to pay m...

$7 million! That's how much damage protesters caused the Capitol building, according to state officials . The damage is attributed to tape residue that held signs up on the walls. Except...doesn't that figure seem a little...excessive? If you're like me, you're probably wondering: how could all of those signs cause THAT much damage? Especially if what was primarily used was painter's tape, which doesn't do much damage to marble surfaces, if any at all. So when Walker's officials cited the $7 million figure at a court hearing Thursday night, it seems that they may have been making the number up. In fact, the administration has since backed away from that number , having been unable to back it up with any tangible evidence. By how much have they backed off that number? Almost all $7 million of it . So all's fine and dandy then, right? Well, not exactly. As pointed out at Uppity Wisconsin , it's possible that the Walker administration may have committed...

A ruling yesterday creates a compromise for protesters and conservative lawmakers that leaves both sides satisfied with the final outcome. With access to the Capitol being heavily restricted this week, protesters and unions filed suit against Scott Walker, alleging that the restrictions violated Article 1 Section 4 of the Wisconsin Constitution . Walker and Republicans countered that the restrictions ensured safety standards were being kept in place. A judge ruled last night that, though protesters could no longer spend the night there, the Capitol had to be reopened to the public . Former State Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager addressed the protesters last night , telling them, "We've won this battle." The fact that access to the building can be limited after 6:00 PM is, admittedly, saddening. But greater access to the Capitol during the day comes about from this ruling, allowing protesters to have a more direct voice with the legislators who occupy the building. As t...

With the protests at the Capitol coming into their third week, it's important to remember some major themes present within the protest itself. A lot has happened over the past couple of weeks, so it's key that we stay on message and remember what exactly has transpired. People need to be aware of the major issues surrounding the debate, of the governor's attempts to remove workers' rights from those that make this state run. With polls indicating that most are in support of these protesters ( 1 , 2 ), it's clear that Scott Walker is outside the mainstream. Still, for those who are unconvinced -- a sizable number of Wisconsinites, sadly -- here are a few reminders of why you should support the workers who are protesting this ghastly bill... 1. The people of Wisconsin support workers' rights. While polls show that more Wisconsinites agree that state workers should pay more into their pensions and health benefits, an overwhelming majority agree that the right to c...

Wisconsin state Sen. Glenn Grothman was recently followed and shouted upon by protesters at the Capitol building. Grothman had a difficult time getting into the Capitol, not necessarily due to the protesters' interference (the doors were locked per Scott Walker's order). Grothman was followed by about 200 protesters who were shouting "Shame! Shame!" Though very forceful with their rhetoric, they never caused harm to the senator, who himself said that he was never afraid of violence during the event. "I really think if I had had to, I could have walked through the crowd and it would have been okay," Grothman said . Some on the right, however, are pretending that the crowd " mobbed " or " assaulted " Grothman. The idea of the protesters acting violently is wrong: Grothman was never harmed physically, the victim of a shoutfest and not a slugfest. In fact, around three minutes into a video of the incident , you can actually see protesters pr...

It's clear that Scott Walker is greatly concerned with his legacy. Whether he believes that his budget repair bill is the defining moment of conservatism for Wisconsin or he believes himself the heir of Ronald Reagan's philosophical tenets , Walker is sure, in his own mind, that he will be remembered for this moment in our state's history. The funny thing is, I don't think many liberals would tend to disagree with him: he will surely be remembered for his outlandish behavior during a phone conversation with a man he thought was billionaire conservative David Koch, or his insistence that a non-fiscal matter that affects hundreds of thousands of Wisconsin citizens is somehow necessary to solve a budget deficit, or that the "crisis" he's trying to solve is due in large part to tax giveaways he himself created for special interests that supported him. His latest move to close the Capitol building to protesters wanting to enter it, to demonstrate in a peac...