Political Heat

Walker works to further his own ambitions and to appease his donors; Burke will work to serve out her constituents' wishes and preserve Wisconsin ideals There are two different paths that the citizens of the state of Wisconsin can choose to take come Election Day. One option is to take a path already forged by the sitting governor. Scott Walker’s vision for the state is to appease business interests, with less emphasis on actual constituents. Easing regulations that pollute our waterways or make it more difficult to prosecute workplace discrimination, among other items, seems to be the endorsed M.O. for the Walker administration. But it isn’t just his policies that matter -- how Walker goes about governing is also of importance. His “divide and conquer” strategy is all at once both startling and effective, and it has resulted in an unprecedented era of partisanship that the state has traditionally been unfamiliar with. His poor managerial style is also worth noting. Has...

The allegations against Mary Burke, that she was fired from Trek, are completely unfounded and should be ignored. Why the mainstream media is picking this story up is beyond me, and it's irresponsible journalism in my view. Here's what we know: Gary Ellerman, the man making the claim, was himself fired from Trek. He is a Republican Party operative, and is known for not necessarily playing by the rules -- he was one of several "fake Democrats" to run against legitimate candidates in the 2012 recall elections;  The organization that "reported" the claim, Wisconsin Reporter, is hardly neutral. It is founded in major part by the Franklin Center, which itself has major financial dealings with conservative groups like the Cato Institute, the Heritage Foundation, the Koch brothers, and the NRA;  And Mary Burke's brother, John Burke, the current president of Trek, denies all allegations made against his sister. As the president of the company, who was...

Statistical analysis of crime data exposes crime rise in state during national plateau In 2010, the year before Gov. Scott Walker took office, there were 97 gun related homicides in the state of Wisconsin. This week, according to Wisconsin Public Radio , we’ve already reached that number for the year, with 65 days still remaining in 2014. If we keep up the current pace we should reach 118 gun homicides by the end of the year . What has happened to have made Wisconsin (if it keeps this pace) surpass a 20 percent increase in annual gun-related homicides from 2010 to the present? Funding to police departments fell , in large part due to cuts to localities imposed by the Walker administration : The governor's first budget, passed in 2011, delivered the single largest cut to shared revenue in a decade — $76 million, or 9 percent. Walker also imposed strict limits on local governments' ability to raise property taxes to make up for those cuts. While not saying he is directl...

"Divide and conquer" politics still the go-to strategy for embattled governor Gov. Scott Walker recently talked about the role that the city of Madison will play in the upcoming gubernatorial election: There are a lot of people who love what we've done across the state. There are many people in Madison who are angry and they're going to vote no matter what . We have got to make sure that people who love what we do understand they have to come out just as strong. If they do, we'll win this election. Emphasis added. Describing Madison voters as “angry,” Walker refuses to confront the fact that as governor he’s meant to serve the entire state, not just the “WOW” counties. Rather than do that, however, Walker goes to his trusted strategy of “divide and conquer,” an offensive maneuver to say the least. By making the conversation into “us-versus-them,” Walker hopes to villainize the people of Madison so that the rest of the state targets Dane County instead o...

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial board is downplaying the importance of Scott Walker's promise to create 250,000 jobs during his four years in office: The Walker critics argue you should care about this. But you shouldn't. It's just not that important. Walker's promise was always more rhetoric than reality, a nice sound bite. "A nice sound bite?" That's not what the Journal Sentinel called it when they endorsed Walker in 2010, and it's not the standard Walker placed on himself while running back then, calling the number his "floor," the minimum he would accept. The Journal Sentinel would like you to believe that these pledges didn't matter. They also want you to think that "politicians don't create jobs." But if politicians don't create jobs, then why was it acceptable in 2010 for the Journal Sentinel to endorse Walker in the first place, in part for his jobs promises? It doesn't add up. I w...

Co-chair of national party, at an event featuring Lt. Gov. Kleefisch, makes embarrassing comment about state voters' collective intelligence I’ve asked several times on this blog whether Republicans think we’re stupid . In August, I asked if Scott Walker and state Republicans thought we were dumb for an ad they ran, in which the governor pinned the loss of 133,000 jobs on Jim Doyle rather than the global economic recession that occurred during his tenure: [The ad] catches the attention of its viewers, but it also causes anyone with a critical mind to question: just how gullible, how stupid does Gov. Scott Walker think the average voter is? And when he repeated the line days later, I asked again: does Walker really think we’re stupid? This campaign of lies isn’t just disingenuous -- it’s also relying on the hope that the people of Wisconsin can’t remember the events of the past ten years. Walker is banking on the average voter -- you, me, your Aunt Irene, and so forth --...

A tuition freeze is nice, but Walker won’t address student debt problem On the campaign trail for governor, we often hear so much from candidates that what they really are saying to us doesn’t get the proper attention it deserves. The subject of college loan student debt is one of those issues. Gov. Scott Walker talks a big game about his record on student loans. He frequently cites the fact that he put into place a tuition freeze across the UW system (although he neglects to point out in his first budget there was an 11 percent tuition hike . While a freeze is helpful, it doesn’t fix the problem . It’s like turning off the faucet when you have a clogged up sink. Sure, there’s less water in the basin, but you’ve still got a mess to deal with in the pipes. Tuition freezes are the first step towards fixing the bigger problems associated with the debt crisis. What Walker’s plan for student debt lacks, however, is the next step : finding a way to lower the burden on Wisconsin s...

Latest jobs numbers represent one month of recovery; during other 44 months, Walker’s average rate of growth has been grudgingly slower **Note** When I first wrote this post, the job numbers I calculated for Gov. Walker were too generous. This post has been updated with more accurate data .  We’re less than one month away from an election featuring Gov. Scott Walker, so it should come as no surprise that a jobs report with positive numbers is being scrutinized. While the report shows that Wisconsin gained 8,400 private sector jobs in September, we ought to remain skeptical. These types of reports, after all, are misleading, based on a survey of less than 4 percent of businesses, and are terribly unreliable . But don’t take my word for it: that’s what Gov. Scott Walker and his administration have said in the past about these reports in the months leading up to his recall election. During the last month of the recall campaign, Walker instead cited the state’s quarterly j...

Other claims in videos, including that lower corporate taxes create jobs, are also misleading Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the campaign arm of the Chamber of Commerce-like organization in Wisconsin, is hoping to “educate” the workers of this state . Wisconsin’s Chamber of Commerce (WMC) is urging employers to educate their employees about how government policies affect their employees’ livelihood in an innovative series of animated videos, WMC announced Monday. “We are launching a series of animations that employers can email to their workers or post on their company social media sites to help workers understand the importance of good public policy,” said Kurt R. Bauer, WMC President/CEO. In other words, through a series of whiteboard animations, the WMC is launching a propaganda campaign meant to misinform the typical Wisconsin worker.

A commentary on three items from Friday night’s gubernatorial debate The first gubernatorial debate is past us now, and while many have offered their opinions already on the several topics discussed between Mary Burke and Scott Walker, I figured I should throw my two cents in as well. I’m not going to go line-by-line about the debate, though I certainly could. Burke gave some great answers to questions and held her own against the incumbent Walker. That in itself is a victory, but she did more than just debate well: she offered a concrete vision of what kind of governor she would be should she win election on November 4. Those who had been skeptical of Burke in the past ought to re-examine their concerns with her as a candidate following her performance on Friday night. Despite no huge news-making statements from herself or blows to Walker , Burke was stellar on the debate stage, touting progressive ideals and appealing to voters across the state. While I won’t talk about eve...

Two parents on minimum wage no longer qualify for BadgerCare Gov. Scott Walker's administration stated this week that they determined $7.25 an hour was a livable wage . They cited, among other things, that state "public aid" helps make it so. Two parents working minimum wage jobs earn around $30,160 a year. Before Walker, their family would have indeed qualified for BadgerCare coverage.  But now, because of Walker's health care "reforms" and refusal to accept federal Medicaid funds, they no longer qualify. They're on their own. So the "public aid" that supposedly makes $7.25 a livable wage is, in many cases, gone because of Walker. The minimum wage, even with help from the state, is a challenge to survive on. But shame on both the Department of Workforce Development and on Walker himself for saying aid makes it easier, especially after this very administration took said aid away.

Past comments from the current Lt. Gov. should cause some to question whether she would be a good governor, should Walker pursue the presidency With the recent decision of the Supreme Court to not review appeals on bans of same-sex marriage from Wisconsin and several other states, one has to wonder: does marriage equality matter anymore in state politics, or more specifically in this year's elections? You bet it does. Gov. Scott Walker may not be vocal about his stance on marriage equality anymore, but his Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch has said quite a bit on it in the past . These comments are truly worrisome, and indicate that Kleefisch might not be a responsible leader should she assume the post of governor in the future. While running in 2010, Kleefisch was vocal about the same-sex marriage issue , comparing the practice to that of bestiality and other relationships. “At what point are we going to OK marrying inanimate objects?” Kleefisch once asked rhetoricall...

Appeals court decisions in five states brings equality across the nation closer to reality UPDATE 10:29 AM >>> A couple of reactions from the gubernatorial candidates:   UPDATE 10:10 AM >>> Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell released the following statement after the Supreme Court ruling was issued today: "Based on the Supreme Court’s denial of Cert and advise of the Dane County Corporation Counsel’s office, my office will again be issuing same sex marriage licenses today. Our hours will be the normal 8 to 4pm for licenses." The U.S. Supreme Court today rejected hearing a slew of cases on same-sex marriage , effectively allowing appeals court decisions in several states to become the rule of law. That means in Wisconsin, gay and lesbian couples can now wed. Previously, a week-long period of marriages occurred when Judge Barbara Crabb ruled that denying same-sex couples marriage licenses was a violation of the Equal Protection clause in t...

Fact-checking site misrepresents candidate Mary Burke with its latest rating I have mixed feelings when it comes to PolitiFact , the fact-checking site that makes rulings based on statements made by politicians, pundits, and candidates for office. I’ve cited PolitiFact on this site several times. I’ve also come to understand that, while their articles usually contain a good measure of information in them, reading only their ratings on statements is a good way to remain misinformed on issues . The ratings, in fact, are largely subjective to whoever is making them, and in many cases they ignore the very rating system that they have set up in the first place. The PolitiFact Wisconsin site recently commented on Democratic candidate for governor Mary Burke’s assertion that Wisconsin has “ fallen to dead last in Midwest job growth ” under Gov. Scott Walker. They rated that statement as “False.” And they're wrong.

Let's examine Scott Walker's record, specifically his scandals,  and compare him to Mary Burke. He's sending state workers to political events, a violation of the necessar separation between state and electoral spheres. There was improper coordination between his campaign and third party groups, in an apparent effort to hide campaign cash during his recall. He has consistently hired and promoted political allies, not to mention family members of high-paying donors, over more qualified employees in state government jobs. Finally, let's not forget the secret email router system that linked government workers mere steps from his desk to his 2010 campaign activities, a clear violation of campaign ethics and rules. In spite of all of these scandals, and then some, Gov. Walker has the nerve to call Mary Burke untrustworthy? Burke's biggest "crime" is that she didn't proofread a document. We can't say the same for Walker, who's biggest crime may...

Latest "Video Heat" showcases how much we've struggled to create jobs under Gov. Walker's watch Here's my latest "Video Heat" video, examining the job creation record under current Gov. Scott Walker. With a little more than three months to go until his first term is up, Walker is barely 40 percent of the way towards fulfilling his 2010 jobs pledge. This, and more failures in the video.