Political Heat

Party changes tone from "opposing bans" to total support The time is right to push for marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples in America. Then again, the time has ALWAYS been right, as it's always been the right thing to do. One of the major political parties is set to recognize this fact . When the Democratic Party convenes its convention in September, recognition of same-sex marriage will be included in its official party platform. The proposed measure, approved unanimously by a 15-member draft committee, will read : We support the full inclusion of all families in the life of our nation, with equal respect, responsibilities, and protections under the law, including the freedom to marry. Government has no business putting barriers in the path of people seeking to care for their family members, particularly in challenging economic times. We support the Respect for Marriage Act and the overturning of the federal so-called Defense of Marriage Act, and oppose discrim...

Drastic move unusual for cooperative, moderate senator Sen. Tim Cullen, a moderate Democrat from Janesville, has decided to dump the party and possibly become a independent legislator. It seems that Cullen was upset that he didn't get named to head any committee within the newly-formed Democratic Senate: Cullen, who was among the 14 Democratic senators who left the state during the historic protests at the Capitol in 2011 but had sought compromise with GOP governor Scott Walker on collective bargaining, said he was insulted by not being named chairman of any Senate committees after the Democrats regain control of that chamber. It was unclear initially what, if any, implication this move would have for the Democratic-controlled Senate, which just took power last week. But Assemblyman Corey Mason, in an online Tweet/Facebook post, mentioned that Cullen would still vote for Sen. Mark Miller (D-Monona) for Majority Leader, indicating that leadership roles, at least when it came to the...

June jobs numbers show us once more that Walker's "reforms" fail to spur growth Wisconsin's June job numbers were released last week (PDF), and the results are strikingly dismal. According to preliminary numbers, the state lost more than 13,200 jobs last month, of which more than 11,700 came from the private sector. The losses are the worst in the nation for the month of June . In all, from the start of the year to present date, Wisconsin has seen a net total of 3,100 jobs created. And while an overall positive growth is good, it's hardly a drop in the bucket when compared to last year's gains of more than 19,000 jobs. If 2012 keeps this pace up, we'll gain only a third of 2011's numbers, most of which came during a different governor's budget . In fact, by the current governor's own numbers, 2012's "gains" merely lessen the blow of the first six months of his own budget. Scott Walker gave tax breaks to the rich and burdened the ...

Restrictions on other rights exist...why not on gun rights? In reading the following, many people are going to accuse me of making a political point out of a tragedy that occurred earlier this morning in Aurora, Colorado. Let those who make that critical point have their say -- but I feel that it's no political matter. There's just as much a moral conjecture to be made, and at this point I'm frankly sick and tired of seeing members of my own generation lash out in (and be victims of) such deplorable and violent acts. I say what I say here not because an opportunity has arisen to do so, but rather because the incident that occurred today needs to prevented from happening tomorrow. A lone gunman let loose a small arsenal of weaponry upon a movie theater today, killing a dozen and injuring scores more. Theatergoers were expecting to see a movie about a masked hero, but instead were victims of a different, real-life masked man who clearly has psychological troubles. That will ...

Shift in power a change that must be defended between now and November State Democrats officially took control of the Wisconsin Senate today , selecting Fred Risser as the Senate President and making various other committee appointments for the remainder of the term. Democrats took control of the Senate after the latest round of recall elections. Though they failed to remove Gov. Scott Walker from office, they were successfu l in removing three Republican senators (two in 2011, and one last month) to gain a 17-16 majority. Additionally, one of the Republican sixteen is Sen. Dale Schultz, a moderate who has been known to vote with Democrats on certain issues as well, such as the collective bargaining bill and the proposed mining bill compromise . The gains in the Senate may be short-lived, however -- in November, half of the "upper house" will be up for grabs once again, meaning that either Democrats or Republicans could hold the chamber by the time it meets again for its nex...

Private organizations should face little interference when it comes to membership criteria The Boy Scouts of America has decided to continue their ban on homosexual Scout leaders and members within their ranks. After a secretive two-year review, the BSA concluded that "[the] policy is absolutely the best policy for the Boy Scouts." An 11-member board determined unanimously that it wouldn't change the organization's longstanding rules regarding gay or lesbian members. Critics lashed out at the decision : The president of the largest U.S. gay-rights group, Chad Griffin of the Human Rights Campaign, depicted the Scouts' decision as "a missed opportunity of colossal proportions." "With the country moving toward inclusion, the leaders of the Boy Scouts of America have instead sent a message to young people that only some of them are valued," he said. "They've chosen to teach division and intolerance." Those are strong arguments of cont...

Multiple votes on repealing health care law (Obamacare) serve no purpose As the father of a four-year old child, I'm accustomed to repetition. When my son asks "why?" more than ten times in a row, or otherwise repeats himself in some way, it can be enough to drive me up the wall. The way I remedy this is I calmly explain that once or twice is enough, that it's not necessary to ask that many times. He usually "gets it" right away. (Oreos are naturally distributed in a celebratory fashion.) Congressional Republicans, on the other hand, can't seem to "get it" at all. Last week, the House of Representatives once again voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act (commonly called "Obamacare"). Knowing that the bill could never survive a Senate vote (much less President Barack Obama's veto pen), House Republicans nevertheless decided to waste your time and tax dollars anyway, citing the need to make a symbolic vote. Such votes do indeed ser...

A redaction -- Democrats were at the event, are on the right path towards fixing things A redaction : It was brought to my attention earlier that Democrats did indeed have a booth at the Jefferson County Fair, within the Commercial building on the fairgrounds. As I stated in my original post, I didn't go out seeking either Party, yet I did notice the Republicans there and missed seeing the Democrats. However, I stated that I didn't see the Dems, and that I was disappointed by the fact that " it seemed as if the Democrats didn't even bother to reach out at all at the Jefferson County Fair ." That statement, as well as others in the original post (kept in its entirety below), was based on a broken assumption: that Democrats hadn't made an effort to outreach within the events at Jefferson County this past weekend. I maintain that in order to make gains, the Democrats need to make greater strides at events like these -- as an average "fair-goer" who wasn...

But control of chamber may be short-lived following elections in the fall Following a lengthy recount of the recall election that had been attempting to remove him from office, GOP Sen. Van Wanggaard finally conceded defeat today after it was clear his opponent, Democrat John Lehman, won by 819 votes. Wanggaard had made charges that the election was riddled with voter fraud. Yet despite what he calls " mountains of evidence ," the Republican senator said that he couldn't make a case within five days from the certification of the recount, and has yet to produce anything substantial to fit his claim . The electoral difference between Wanggaard and Lehman was 1.1 percent, a very close election to be sure. But to put things into perspective, when JoAnne Kloppenburg lost to sitting Justice David Prosser last year, that election was within 0.48 percent. At that time, there was no shortage of conservative voices calling for Kloppenburg to concede the election ( 1 , 2 , 3 ), eve...

Infusion of capital into the economy more likely under tax plans that benefit the bottom 80 percent The debate over tax increases for the wealthy is likely to stir up some strong emotions for many across the country during the remainder of the presidential election year. With President Obama indicating that he's still on board with letting the Bush tax cuts expire for those earning over a quarter of a million dollars (and most of the country supporting his opinion ), opposition to such a plan will be fierce and passionate, even if it's only opposed by a vocal minority. Those that are against Obama's plan make several claims that just don't hold up. They make threats that it's socialism. They contend any tax increase would cripple an already fragile economy. And, perhaps the most ludicrous claim of all, they defend the extremely wealthy as job creators, adding that if we tax the top two percent that we can kiss job creation good-bye. Those claims, however, are roote...

Answer will depend upon what rights define a "substantially similar" relationship to "marriage" An appeals court is requesting that the Wisconsin Supreme Court step in to determine the legality of Domestic Partnerships within the state. At issue is whether the Domestic Partnership Registry conflicts with a Constitutional amendment that was passed in 2006 denying same-sex couples rights of marriage. The amendment reads: Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized in this state. The Domestic Partnership Registry grants couples, both same- and opposite-sex (should the latter choose to enter a Domestic Partnership rather than a marriage), rights that are traditionally associated with marriage , but which may also be given to individuals outside of a committed relationship as well. ...