Political Heat

@wisgop touts Walker's job growth over Obama's, even though Obama's rates are better The Republican Party of Wisconsin has a very odd petition they’re hoping you’ll sign. They’re also hoping you’re not one who normally engages in critical thinking , because if you are, you’re likely to get a big laugh out of it. The tweet from @wisgop The Wisconsin Republicans want you to “hold President Obama accountable on jobs!” Yes, with an exclamation point and everything! In a press release detailing how Obama has supposedly failed on creating jobs for the nation, the state Republicans explain it thusly: “As the President visits the Midwest this week, he continues to do what he does best – giving speeches without actually offering a real plan to get our economy back on track. Instead, the national economy continues to see sluggish movement as he refuses to work with Republican leadership ,” said Jesse Dougherty, Press Secretary of the Republican Party of Wisconsin....

Both court order and a description of the Capitol call the rotunda a public space and forum I wanted to share some more thoughts on the unnecessary and highly restrictive practice of suppressing free speech rights being implemented by the Department of Administration, with regards to arrests being made on Solidarity Sing Along participants. Namely, two excerpts -- one from a U.S. District Judge, the other naming the Capitol building a national historical site -- bear significant evidence of malicious and purposeful wrongdoing on the part of the DOA. These excerpts point out the fact that the Capitol, while a place where business is meant to be conducted professionally in some areas, is a public forum and meeting place, especially in the rotunda area, where these singers have met regularly. From the National Park Service :
 The clear demarcation between public and private spaces is central to the development of Post’s scheme for the Capitol interior...More than any other spac...

State statutes demonstrate that lunchtime protesters are acting within the bounds of the law Over the past two days, Capitol Police have cited dozens of fines against Solidarity Sing Along demonstrators . Day one saw a blatant crack-down on the singers. Octogenarians were placed in handcuffs . Peaceful demonstrators were ticketed. And the result? An increase in support for the singers came out in droves. The second day again saw citations, but remarkably more people joining the Sing Along in support of their right to peaceably assemble, even knowing that they could get ticketed themselves. "Like" the Solidarity Sing Along on Facebook The defense of the right to assemble is the most important aspect in this whole thing. Whether you support their message or not, the singers (and everyone else for that matter) have a right to address their lawmakers directly , in a public forum that is architecturally designed to bring people together. There are some who would crit...

June's "jump" merely a rebound of losses sustained in months prior Wisconsin's job numbers for the month of June were released last week (PDF), and on first look they give us something to feel optimistic about for a change. However, they also come with a huge caveat. Preliminary estimates for June show that Wisconsin gained more than 17,500 jobs overall, 13,800 of which came from the private sector alone. Though the Walker administration “urge[s] the public to look at all the economic indicators, including actual job counts” (the QCEW numbers), they were quick to point out the gains as signs of the state economy getting better. “These economic indicators point to a trajectory of economic growth in Wisconsin under Governor Walker’s leadership,” Department of Workforce Development Sec. Reggie Newson said in a press release. Indeed, as the release pointed out, this was the largest May-to-June gain in jobs since 2003, a feat that shouldn’t be ignored. Unfo...

Scott Walker joins legislative Republicans in belittling the intelligence of women in our state Last month, I took a swipe at Republicans in the legislature for insisting that women need to be better educated when it comes to abortions. Lawmakers justified the intrusive act of transvaginal ultrasounds prior to the procedure as a means toward “providing information for women” in Wisconsin : “It’s time for women to know the facts. It’s time for them to know what they’re carrying in their womb and what they’re doing.” Women who seek abortions, however, aren’t as “in-the-dark” as Wisconsin Republicans make it seem. In fact, our state had some pretty stringent rules already in place, before this law was even introduced, that made sure women were given information they needed to know about abortions. Among the steps that women have to take : First, they must receive counseling when they come into a clinic Then, they must wait 24 hours before they can actually have the procedure If...

Partisan cheap shot taken on governor's Twitter account shows his true colors I typically like to stay away from politics on important holidays. It’s important to respect these days as unifying, as anniversaries or recognitions we can all honor together, and that’s why I waited a until tonight before making this post. Earlier, Gov. Scott Walker had a few choice words to say on Twitter about Independence Day . The words he chose to disseminate were harsh and uncalled for, especially on the anniversary of our nation’s birth. To be sure, Walker didn’t spend the whole day as a Twitter “troll.” He had many great things to say about the Fourth of July, too, like how he had enjoyed the many parades he attended, and this one about the reasons our founders fought for independence more than two centuries ago, and why we preserve it to this day: But it wasn’t that tweet that got me riled up. Conservatives and liberals can both agree on the sentiments expressed above, and they don’t...

Compared to his predecessor, and to the rest of the nation, Wisconsin is worse under Walker On job creation, Gov. Scott Walker thinks he’s done a pretty good job. Taking a closer look, it’s clear he needs a better understanding of what letter grades really mean . When asked what letter grade he deserved on creating jobs, Walker said he was doing above average : B-minus, and the reason I say that is, put it in context. My critics hone in on the 250,000 goal by the beginning of 2015. They ignore the fact that when they were in charge just a few years ago, the four years before I took over as governor, when my predecessor’s last term was in place, we lost 133,000 jobs in the state. For someone who complains about what his critics are supposedly ignoring, the governor himself conjures up some pretty selective storytelling . Walker neglects to point out that Wisconsin lost jobs during what can only be described as a global recession . It wasn’t the policies of his predecessor th...