Political Heat

But Clarke disregards murder rates in his home county, which mirrors Chicago's numbers There should be no doubting about whether Chicago experienced a surge in violence this year. More than 750 murders took place in the Windy City this year, attributable to a rise in gang violence. Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, not one to miss an opportunity to peddle his right-wing views on guns, blames Chicago’s rise on their restrictive laws. “It’s time Democrat (sic) ghetto hellholes like Chicago pay attention to what’s happening in their pro-gun controlled cities instead of learning the hard way that criminals don’t care what laws are on the books,” Clarke wrote . Yikes. There is, of course, some glaring problems with Clarke’s assertions – namely, that it isn’t Chicago’s gun laws that are at fault. In truth, Chicago’s notorious gun restrictions have been watered down substantially over the past five years. And similar assertions by Donald Trump – who said Chicago has th...

Democratic legislator recognizes that, on the issues, Wisconsin citizens support progressive values Melissa Sargent, a Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Assembly representing parts of Madison, recently wrote a poignant op-ed that was published in the Capital Times. It provided great insight into what progressives need to stand for in the aftermath of the 2016 election season. Her essay included reasoned arguments in favor of pushing for progressive policies, and (dare I say?) sounded very... ... gubernatorial . “People support strong progressive values and legislation,” Sargent wrote, giving examples to back her case: ”Progressives support public education and Republicans cut from it," Sargent wrote, singling out how the GOP gutted over a billion dollars from schools. Public education is clearly a priority for most Wisconsinites, and progressives are leading the charge on providing it the funding it needs statewide, Sargent points out. On gun policy, Sargent ...

Nobody's opinion is better than anyone else's on the basis of geographical location If you don’t count Texas, Hillary Clinton defeated Donald Trump by more than 3.6 million votes in the popular vote totals for president last month. That statistic is misleading, though, because of course Texas voters count. Every single voter who cast a ballot in the state of Texas is a citizen of the United States, and discounting their preferences is a stupid way to make sense of, or otherwise qualifying, the results of an election. So, too, is discounting the worth of “blue” states votes that went for Clinton. But conservative sites like the Daily Mail and Drudge Report are peddling the idea that, if you don’t count New York and California, Trump won the popular vote by more than three million votes. FINAL TALLY: Trump won by 3 MILLION votes outside California, New York... https://t.co/3eVKo4rr3a — DRUDGE REPORT (@DRUDGE_REPORT) December 21, 2016 All of the voters in those two...

Walker’s so-called “focus” on jobs, and “trickle down” economics slowed the state’s performance President-elect Donald Trump came to Wisconsin earlier this week as part of his “thank you tour” across the country. Trump was greeted by U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, and Gov. Scott Walker, and presented by these three with Green Bay Packers jerseys, probably dooming any remaining chances that the green-and-gold had of making the playoffs this year. What can I say, I’m a bit superstitious when it comes to football. Trump did his part in thanking his Wisconsin hosts, through the only medium he seems comfortable using: Twitter. Thank you Wisconsin! My Administration will be focused on three very important words: jobs, jobs, jobs! Watch: https://t.co/vatXZb3oM2 pic.twitter.com/87TyY7CG0X — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 14, 2016 “Thank you Wisconsin!” Trump wrote . “My Administration will be focused on three very important words: jobs, jo...

Kremer wants guns in campuses, but evidence shows concealed carry doesn't make state safer State Rep. Jesse Kremer (R-Kewaskum) really wants guns to be allowed in college classrooms. Current policy at university campuses across the state allows students to carry weapons to classes and about campus itself. But universities are granted discretion on whether concealed carry within buildings will be tolerated. Many have opted to place signs outside of their buildings stating that no concealed weapons would be allowed indoors. This is the right of the universities to do. But Kremer wants to change that. Last year, he introduced a bill that would have done away with the right of campuses to discourage concealed carry inside their buildings, but the bill went nowhere. He intends to submit the bill again this year to an even more conservative state legislature. He defended his position in a forum recently in Madison. From the Daily Cardinal : Kremer argues students might face...

State would have created 55,000 100,000+ (see update) additional jobs if it had kept pace with US average UPDATE : I'm not a statistician by nature, but I do like to look at numbers from time to time. Still, when I mix up the numbers, I'll admit to it -- and Jake made sure to correct me . See why the state is actually 100,000 or more jobs behind at Jake's Economic TA Funhouse (and thanks for the catch!) Scott Walker made a very ambitious claim more than six years ago during his first campaign for governor. He claimed that, if elected, his policies would create 250,000 private sector jobs in his first term in office . It’s important to remember a promise like that because Walker was elected, in large part, because of it. At the time his critics lambasted him for pulling the number out of thin air . Walker chose the number specifically because it had been done in the past, but his six-point plan didn’t explain specifically how he had arrived at the number for himsel...

The law is meant to give every candidate assurances of a sound and fair election After attending the Christmas tree lighting at the state Capitol, Scott Walker spoke to reporters on the need to change the recount process in Wisconsin. “It’s certainly something to look at,” Walker told reporters . Here we go again. Walker has, in the past, spoken on the need to change the John Doe law and the Government Accountability Board (though only after he received what he deemed as unfavorable treatment from those respective institutions). Not that’s it’s news to anyone who pays enough attention, but when Walker (or any of his surrogates) says “let’s change something,” it’s expected that his Republican-run legislature will go after it on command. The bells are ringing, and it’s only a matter of time before GOP legislators react to Walker’s recent calls for changing the recount. On that issue, Walker added to his comments above , “To me, it seems like a recount is most valuabl...