Political Heat

Republicans call potential candidate "out-of-touch," overlooking their own party's foibles The Republican Party of Wisconsin is trying to depict a potential candidate for governor as “out of touch” with the middle class. They’re wrong, and need to look at their own party's actions before making such assumptions. Mary Burke, a member of the Madison school board and former Doyle administration cabinet appointee, is the daughter of Trek Bicycle founder Richard Burke. As reported by the Journal Sentinel, Burke has paid more than $500,000 in taxes over the past five years -- a figure that puts her in the top one percent of income earners in the state. But the assessment that Burke is somehow “out-of-touch” with the middle class is hypocritical, especially coming from the GOP, and also full of errors about Burke's character. Since Gov. Scott Walker came to power, Republicans have passed several pieces of draconian legislation that have impeded the ability...

Gov. Walker once again places blame for dismal numbers somewhere else, but not himself Gov. Scott Walker is retreating on his pledge to create 250,000 jobs in Wisconsin before his first (and hopefully only) term is out. But he’s not doing it by altering his pledge, or even acknowledging that he couldn’t reach it. Rather, he’s counting on you to forget about it altogether, hoping you won’t be smart enough to remember that he once said 250,000 was his base goal : I’ve said all along that 250,000 is my floor, not my ceiling. I think it’s at least 250,000 jobs... That was then-candidate Scott Walker in 2010. But now, Gov. Walker is singing a different tune : [Walker] has less than a year and a half to create nearly 170,000 jobs to keep that pledge. On Monday in Merrill, he carefully backed away from the specific number. “ My goal wasn’t so much to hit a magic number as much as it was, in the four years before I took office, when I was campaigning, I saw that we lost ov...

Walker administration tries to spin the numbers, but can't hide behind what's in plain sight The Department of Workforce Development released its latest numbers on jobs in the state , using the frequently-touted quarterly census of employment that the Gov. Walker administration favors. But even though the numbers came from the survey Walker likes best, the numbers do little to inspire confidence in his performance as a job creator . From March 2012 to March 2013, Wisconsin gained a dismal 24,124 private sector jobs . That amounts to just a little over 2,000 per month, far short of what Walker needs to get on average in order to reach his pledge of 250,000 jobs in his first term. To put it in perspective: in 2011, Wisconsin’s first quarter had a yearly gain (from March 2010 to March 2011) of 41,350 private sector jobs. The following year, the March 2011 to March 2012 growth was 39,757 jobs. From that 2011 figure to the preliminary numbers released by the Walker admini...

Women deserve equal pay for equal work, but under Walker Wisconsin has gone backwards If Democrats were to take back political control of the state of Wisconsin, what would they do? Wisconsinites aren’t happy with Gov. Scott Walker -- his approval ratings, which have recently dipped below 50 percent , convey that the people are starting to see his agenda doesn’t match their wants or needs. But where do Democrats stand? What would they do differently if given the chance, if they were successful in booting Walker out and taking back the legislature in 2014? A lot of people ask that question, but far too often they can’t come up with a concrete answer. That’s a problem, and it needs to be addressed. In part one of my five part series, “What would Wisconsin Dems do?”, I examined the Democratic Party of Wisconsin’s views on the minimum wage . Today, I’d like to look at another item the DPW addressed at their state convention this year, which has a direct impact on women: reinsta...

Bolstering the minimum wage an easy way to fix Wisconsin's economic worries If Democrats were to take back political control of Wisconsin, what would they do? The question is perplexing to many across the Badger state. The Democratic Party too often comes across as simply “anti-Scott Walker,” as nothing more than an oppositional party to a governor who has a clear vision of what he wants to do. While it’s true that the party is trying its hardest to diffuse the disaster that is the “Gov. Walker era” by opposing his most egregious of policies, it’s inaccurate to say that the Democrats don’t have a platform of their own to stand on. In order to dispel the errant belief that the Dems have nothing to offer, I offer for your reading pleasure five important ideas the Wisconsin Democrats are proposing, based off of the resolutions they passed at their last convention this summer. These ideas are beneficial for the average Wisconsinite, creating a more hospitable state for our ci...

Earned media from primary election could create a positive narrative I’ve previously spoken on the idea that the Wisconsin Democratic Party doesn’t need a candidate to run against Gov. Scott Walker quite yet. What I wrote in June -- which was just one full year after the gubernatorial recall election of 2012 -- was simple: [T]here’s something more important that Democrats need to consider, before even picking a candidate...and that’s their message. What do Democrats stand for? What do they want the people of Wisconsin to think of when they hear the party’s name? ... Wisconsin Democrats need to hone their message. They need to point out why Walker’s plans will hurt the people overall, but at the same time explain what they’d do different. When that message is crafted and perfected, then a candidate who espouses that message should be considered. I stand by that sentiment, but that doesn’t mean we can’t talk strategy. We can talk openly about who the candidate should be, ...

Police begin to target those who document and watch events of the rotunda The latest developments from the saga at the Capitol rotunda has the police there making new threats to observers of the sing along , a step that’s designed to thwart not just those who take part, but also those who have watched as well as the police cuffed peaceful demonstrators at the command of the Walker administration. People who have no connection to the event are being treated as though they are part of it . For instance, this video shows a young woman, who is above the singers, recording them on her own electronic device, being told by Capitol police that she, too, was subject to arrest: Casual observers weren’t the only ones given this sort of treatment -- indeed, Assemblywoman Sondy Pope, a Democrat from Middleton, was also told that she was considered a participant of the sing along by Capitol police, even though she was observing quietly two floors above the singers : Officer Andrew Hyat...

Groups of people frequenting the Capitol building shouldn't have to justify their presence there In the week and a half since Solidarity Sing Along participants have witnessed the beefed-up enforcement of the Capitol building’s unfair permitting rules, a lot of people have asked the question: why don’t they just get a permit? It would seem to be an easy solution. No one has said they would be denied permission to use the grounds for their sing alongs, and they could protest the Scott Walker administration in a legal, permissible way. But should the freedom to speak your mind , to express your grievances, and to address your representatives really come with the requirement of asking for permission to do so first? The rules for the Capitol building are far too restrictive, and much worse extremely vague. For instance, if an “unlawful assembly” takes place, Capitol police have the right to arrest citizens who aren’t taking part in the demonstration at all, who may be there ...