Political Heat

Governor twice thrice contradicted Gov. Scott Walker isn’t having a great week. 
For starters, he’s been thoroughly rebuffed on the issue of eliminating same-day voter registration. Citing concerns of poll-worker fatigue, Walker said it was necessary to do-away with the decades-old tradition. “[I]t would be much better if registration was done in advance of Election Day, easier for our clerks to handle that,” Walker said. But the clerks took note of Walker’s statement, countering what the governor assumed about their jobs with the reality of the situation: that same-day registration causes no additional headaches for them . [N]early a dozen poll workers who spoke with The Huffington Post all had the same message: Same-day registration is not a problem, and Walker should not eliminate it. “This whole idea that this is somehow a burden on poll workers is just not true, and I can guarantee you it’s not the perception of the vast majority of the people who work at the polls,”...

Reforms include actually making Senators stand on the Senate floor and speak Sen. Harry Reid is signaling that he may change the rules of the Senate regarding the filibuster . While such a move would be drastic, it is nevertheless necessary to improve the function of that chamber, and of Congress overall. Senate Republicans have abused the power of the filibuster. They have taken advantage of a Senate rule that was intended to give minority-party protection, and instead have used it to prevent any action on any bill proposed by the president or his party, which currently controls the chamber. Or, at least they would, if given the right to do so. In the past Congressional term, Republicans have used the filibuster to change the Senate from one of representative democratic rule to that of minority control. That is, instead of allowing the chamber to function as it normally would -- with occasional filibusters on matters of grave concern -- Republicans have wielded the power of th...

Attacks on same-day voter registration a political ploy Be prepared: Scott Walker isn’t done making democracy less accessible to the people. In a speech he gave -- in California of all places -- outlining his plans for Wisconsin with a new, Republican-led legislature, Gov. Walker came out in strong opposition to the Badger State’s 40-year old tradition of same-day voter registration. The practice allows all citizens, not just those who registered days or weeks before, the opportunity to vote. Registration takes just a few minutes, and requires simple proofs of residency within the ward you plan to vote in. Gov. Walker wants to get rid of same-day voter registration Citing the fatigue of volunteer poll workers, Walker stated that “it would be much better if registration was done in advance of Election Day, easier for our clerks to handle that.” Same-day voter registration, though scorned by the right as somehow a “burden,” is perhaps the largest contributing aspect to ou...

An open letter to those advocating Wisconsin's departure from the U.S. This is a response to the secessionist “movement” in Wisconsin, and directly to the petition posted on the White House’s website : We the people of the state of WI wish to withdraw peacefully from the Union. We believe in our rights that were granted to us in the constitution our ancestors wrote, and we also believe that your administration is infringing on those rights. As ratified by the States and authenticated by Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State: “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed” LIVE FREE OR DIE FIGHTING I previously wrote on the subject of the secessionists, who are urging the White House to allow various states to exit the Union, and in doing so are actually defying the Declaration’s intent . I focused more on the overall “movement,” taking a look at the sudden influx of petitions fr...

President Obama won't budge on fiscal cliff President Obama won't back down President Barack Obama is set to stand firm against the Republican Party when it comes to the expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts for the rich. Good. The president ought not budge when it comes to the so-called “fiscal cliff.” Firstly, it’d be irresponsible and reprehensible to allow the Bush tax cuts on the top 1 percent to continue. Those tax cuts, along with two lengthy wars from the previous administration, have cost trillions of dollars. Democrats and Republicans alike recognize that a significant budget crisis is looming. The difference between the two parties, however, is stark. Democrats see that government cuts and adjustments to some programs need to be made, perhaps in some unwanted areas; but they also accept that cuts alone cannot fix this mess. A change in revenue, one that will increase what the U.S. government takes in overall, must take place if we’re going to seriously t...

Obama's re-election victory an example of “ consent of the governed” Several citizens from dozens of states have filed grievances on the White House petition website, requesting to secede from the nation , likely in response to President Barack Obama’s victory last week. Most of the petitions invoke the Declaration of Independence, citing the famous words from Thomas Jefferson , who wrote:
 Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and institute new Government. Those words, brilliant as they are, weren’t intended to thwart the democratic will of the people more than 200 years later. Indeed, the words encourage just the opposite, and the election of Barack Obama to a second term in no way undermines Jefferson’s intent from within the Declaration. Instead, the secessionist sentiments of those fo...

Sen.-elect Baldwin has more Congressional experience than "senior" Sen. Johnson With the election of Tammy Baldwin to the U.S. Senate, Wisconsin now sees an ideological split in their delegation to the upper chamber. Baldwin, a liberal Democrat, joins Ron Johnson, a conservative Republican, who now serves as the Senior Senator from the Badger state. Johnson has taken the role quite seriously -- in fact, a little TOO seriously. In an interview with the Associated Press, Johnson has stated that he hopes Baldwin will take the opportunity to learn a thing-or-two from him : “ Hopefully I can sit down and lay out for her my best understanding of the federal budget because they’re simply the facts,” he said. “Hopefully she’ll agree with what the facts are and work toward common sense solutions.” Johnson also added that he felt the only reason Obama won was because people were apparently just too stupid : Johnson attributed Obama’s win on the heels of those Republican gains...

Barack Obama speaks a simple truth about American democracy Barack Obama, Nov. 6, 2012

Final thoughts on how the races will end up tomorrow night Let’s be honest: a good prediction is what the people want to hear (or in this case, read). The presidential election isn’t a sure thing yet -- but many media are reporting on the odds of an Obama/Romney win. So with that in mind, I want to share my insights. Obama will win 290-300 electoral votes, or more. Swing states Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Florida will swing for Obama. Nevada and Iowa are still too close in my mind, with either candidate in my mind being fully capable of winning both (Nevada's polls actually have Obama likely to win, but I'm still skeptical). New Hampshire is close, too, but will ultimately go for the incumbent. If those states all go as I predict, and Obama keeps Virginia blue, then the president will have a 300+ electoral college vote count. With some of those states being very close, however, the range will be between 290 and 300 for Obama. The popular vote will be within 5 perc...

The incumbent president deserves a second term in office The official endorsement for president from Political Heat goes to Barack Obama. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise; I’ve long-been an Obama supporter, ever since he first announced he’d be running in 2008. Since then, President Obama hasn’t necessarily been my ideal president -- but he has come through on a lot of promises, delivering to America the things she needs as a country in a big way: He spearheaded a stimulus package that, though pricey, helped invigorate the American middle class and improve the economic conditions of our nation; He signed a law to help shrink the gender gap, to one day perhaps close the discrepancies in pay between men and women; He repealed a policy that discriminated against gay and lesbian women serving openly in the military; He enacted a health care law that not only makes it easier for families to afford decent coverage, but prevents companies from denying their clients the be...

Civility and respectful debate are sorely needed in our discourses again We live in interesting times, indeed. Our democracy is in grave danger, and not from any extraneous threat, but rather from elements within our own nation. When people’s decision-making can be altered by the biases of rumor and innuendo -- when a good portion of the populace is easily convinced that the president’s birth was a fabricated event -- we’re in serious trouble. The aforementioned deception mentioned above is but one example of what is wrong with politics today. There are many more similar in nature to it, derived from the extremes of both sides of the political spectrum. Most of us scoff at these laughable assertions, understanding that, with a little bit of research and some common sense, they don’t hold a weight of truth to them. Others among us, however, fail to conceive that what is written in some media, what is portrayed as truth by some but is factually inaccurate when held up to valid scru...

Only one candidate, Barack Obama, understand the necessity of promoting a healthy, prosperous populace The founders of our nation had in mind a government that would be very minimal in scope of its powers. They saw fit, for a time, to enact a national charter that would limit what those elected to serve could obligate the states and the people to do, and if a state disagreed with a certain law, enforcement at the national level would be loose, at best. That government was scrapped after less than a decade. It was replaced by the Constitution. Few remember that the United States started out with the Articles of Confederation. Granting individual states veto powers seemed like a great limit on the national government, but in practice it wasn't feasible. For one, it granted smaller states with smaller populations unreasonably strong powers. In short, it was an anti-democratic, anti-representative ideal of limited federal powers. The document that came replace the Articles most...