Thursday, October 31, 2013

Ken Slezak for 69th Assembly District


Ken Slezak

This from Ken Slezak, who is the Democratic Candidate for the 69th District:


Every generation tends to believe there is no hope for the next generation. After my father made the decision to close his small rural store in Minnesota, I was lamenting the ending of two generations of family ownership. My dad, a World War II veteran, simply said, “Everything changes.”

Nostalgia is comforting. My wife, Marilynn, and I are now enjoying the fruits of a full life. As a veteran, I remember the good times with my buddies in the Army. I also remember those who never had the opportunity to enjoy a full life. Marilynn remembers the joys of teaching and raising a family, and only occasionally reminds me of the pain of giving birth.

We have an obligation to ensure the next generation has the same opportunity as our generation. God, motherhood and apple pie are nice campaign slogans, but they just aren’t good enough.

Wisconsin consistently provides high-quality workers to the workforce. We must make sure the Wisconsin education system continues to be among the top three nationally. We must ensure affordable, high-quality health care for all our citizens.

Wisconsin is known as the Dairy State, and dairy is still our No. 1 industry. Increasing state funding for rural roads is as important to Wisconsin as our interstate system.

I am not for big government. I am not for no government. I am for good government. Once again, I am ready to serve my friends and neighbors. I hope you’ll vote for me for the 69th Assembly District seat on Nov. 19.

Ken Slezak of Neillsville is the Democratic candidate for the 69th Assembly District.

Ken Slezak is married to Marilynn and has three daughters that they raised together in Wisconsin's 69th Assembly District. He's a veteran of the US Army and owned a small business for over three decades. He enjoys hunting and fishing in the woods and streams of Wisconsin and is a member of American Legion Post 73; Disabled American Veterans Chapter 57, the Neillsville Kiwanis, and St. Mary's Catholic Church in Neillsville. Ken believes that resources like rural roads and water are as vital to our businesses as the interstate and will fight in Madison to protect them. Please vote for Ken Slezak Tuesday, November 19th.

"Like" Ken Slezak facebook page here, Ken's Act Blue page is here!

The last person that the 69th sent to Madison, Republican Scott Suder, ended up trying to give hundreds of thousands of dollars to his friends on his way out of town.  

 Its time that the 69th was actually represented, with honesty and integrity, in Madison and Ken Slezak is THE person to do it! 





Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Waukesha-based Campaigns!


 

By Jeff Simpson

A Democrat threw his hat in the ring to take on Republican Moderate Senator Dale Schultz. 

Madison -- Former state transportation budget director Ernie Wittwer announced Tuesday he is running as a Democrat for the seat held by state Sen. Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center).
His announcement alters the dynamic of the closely watched race. Schultz has not decided whether he will seek re-election and has not ruled out running as an independent if he does run.
Rep. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) is seeking the seat, so Schultz will face a primary challenge if he runs as a Republican.
Schultz has frustrated his fellow Republicans by voting against them on legislation to limit collective bargaining for public workers and to streamline mining regulation.
In a news conference in the state Capitol, Wittwer praised Schultz for taking some courageous votes but said he votes with Republicans the vast majority of the time. Wittwer said he was in the race no matter what Schultz does.
"Dale hasn't made up his mind," Wittwer said. "I'll be running in either case."
 What is interesting about this story is how Schultzs chief of staff, Todd Allbaugh, had to say when asked about this:

He said Wittwer appeared to be "a Dale Schultz Republican," but reserved most of his criticism for Marklein.
"This is a Waukesha-based campaign," he said of Marklein's campaign for a seat on the other side of the state. "Howard Marklein is the tea party candidate, who absolutely is being bought and paid for by the far right wing of the party."

Now we have party bosses in Waukesha trying to decide every race in the state and punishing those who disagree.

Its up to you if that is ok!

 

 


 

God Works in Mysterious Ways


 

By Jeff Simpson

That saying has never been more relevant than current day Wisconsin.  

Apparently, God has been having chats with our very own Scott Walker.    When Scott Walker took the phone call from (who he thought/hoped and prayed was David Koch), Scott Walker opened up like he never has before.  When your talking to your boss, its best to be honest and Scott finally was.  Walker let the fake Koch, know plenty but the biggest gem was that Scott Walker "had thought about" adding violence to what was an incredibly peaceful protest.  

Koch: We’ll back you any way we can. What we were thinking about the crowd was, uh, was planting some troublemakers.
Walker: You know, well, the only problem with that —because we thought about that. The problem—the, my only gut reaction to that is right now the lawmakers I’ve talked to have just completely had it with them, the public is not really fond of this…[explains that planting troublemakers may not work.] My only fear would be if there’s a ruckus caused is that maybe the governor has to settle to solve all these problems…[something about '60s liberals.]…Let ‘em protest all they want…Sooner or later the media stops finding it interesting.
We thought about that but we figured it would not help us politically so we passed. 

Well when planning violence against women and children, Scott Walker turned to the  person most people do in these situations.   Jesus the ultimate violent/political tactition:

 “I looked up and said, ‘I hear you, Lord,’” writes Walker. “God was sending me a clear message to not do things for personal glory or fame. It was a turning point that helped me in future challenges, helped me stay focused on the people I was elected to serve, and reminded me of God’s abundant grace and the paramount need to stay humble.”

Yes dear Servant do not attack women and children for personal glory and fame.....stay your veer humble self, was the message that Jesus sent!  

Hallelujah!  



Yes it is hard for some who is perfect in every way, like Scott Walker to be humble!  Luckily he has a pipeline to God to keep reminding him to be so.  


Let's hope that God calls Scott Walker in a John Denver Oh, God! kind of way and not in a BTK killer fashion!    Maybe its time we take a lesson from 70's Movie and lock all of these politicians who talk to God and have them answer some questions:


The question I want the Scott Walker / Jesus team to answer is:  Why did God direct you to cover up the death of 15 year old Jared Kellner


Tuesday, October 29, 2013

19 Young Activists Changing America

This from Peter Dreier


A vibrant grass-roots progressive movement is winning victories, raising awareness and changing lives in every part of the country, but you might not know that if your main source of information is mainstream media. In the midst of a widening economic divide, a corporate assault on working families’ living standards and the right-wing tea party grip on the Republican Party, millions of Americans are fighting back in their neighborhoods, workplaces and voting booths to challenge the plutocracy and restore democracy.
Many of these efforts have been led by baby boomer veterans of the civil rights, anti-war, women’s rights, consumer safety and environmental movements. But in the past decade, a new generation of activists – born after 1960 – has stepped into leadership. Like the change makers who came before them, these activists know that the radical ideas of one generation are often the common-sense ideas of the next: They are practical idealists.
Who are the young radicals and reformers among us now whose names may not be well-known to the general public, but whose activism is leading the country in a more progressive direction? We have collected a sampling here and would love to hear about other activists you would add to the list.

Who would you put on this list from Wisconsin?   

Activists to Watch

  • Rev. William Barber
  • Aaron Bartley
  • Lucas Benitez
  • Deepak Bhargava
  • Jenn Brown
  • Patricia Castellanos
  • Teresa Cheng
  • Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins
  • Leah Fried and Armando Robles
  • George Goehl
  • Sarita Gupta
  • Brad Lander
  • Kandi Mosset
  • Ai-jen Poo
  • Ethan Rome
  • Angelica Salas
  • Daniel Schlademan

Monday, October 28, 2013

Scott Walker Wins Again!



By Jeff Simpson

Police arrest a man on battery, hate charges:
MADISON, Wis. -
A Janesville man was arrested early Saturday morning for hitting two men who were speaking Hebrew in the 200 block of North Henry Street.
Dylan T. Grall, 23, punched the two men around 2:19 a.m. when he heard them speaking Hebrew, police said. Grall swore at the men and demanded they speak English.
Officials said both men were hit in the face; one fell to the ground and the other had an eye that was nearly swollen shut.
Grall denied hitting the two men but admitted to telling them to speak English, according to a release. Grall told police he thought the men were speaking Spanish. A witness said Grall did attack the two other men.
Grall was arrested on two charges of battery with a hate crime enhancer.
Gee, Andre Jacque, I wonder where he would have gotten such an idea?   God Bless us everyone*

*Everyone meaning every white Christian who votes republican and speaks English.

How does Scott Walker win?  It's all part of his plan:



Outsource Schneider



By Jeff Simpson



The all time paid political hack, and sometimes "writer" at Jsonline, Christian Schneider is at it again.   The author of the Kyle Wood Fiasco(of which he was nominated for the rotten tomato in writing awards) is more of a paid advertiser for all things republican, than a serious writer. 

When the republicans get in trouble with some particularly bad piece of PR(which is regularly), say a prominent figure choked a woman, then Schneider comes to the rescue with a piece of fiction for everyone on the right to quote.

It is so nice for Journal Communications to give him this forum.  

This time his masters sent him out to defend.......Mary Burke!  Mary Burke has been taking some major hots for the fact that her company, Trek Bicycles, has outsourced 99.5% of their manufacturing.    This has cost Wisconsinites, JOBS.

Why do they need Schnieder?  That's simple.  If the evils of outsourcing, and how it has helped drive our economy into the ground, ever becomes a real issue in an election, the republicans would take an unprecedented beating.   They long touted the wonders of outsourcing(cheap labor, no rules, no unions), and have done their best to legislate that outsourcing becomes practically mandatory. 

Here is Schneider drivel:

"Offshoring," on the other hand, means moving jobs overseas, where products can be produced cheaper due to lower labor costs. For the workers whose jobs are moved to India, China or Mexico, offshoring — to use a technical economic term — "sucks."

But as is the case with almost everything in politics, outsourcing and offshoring pit concentrated vs. diffuse benefits. While moving jobs overseas costs identifiable jobs in the short term, it allows companies to make products cheaper, helping them grow and create more jobs right back here in the United States.
 And I thought Paul Ryan was ignorant on economics!   

First off, the wonders of outsourcing has brought us to a $38.6 BILLION trade DEFICIT.  To help Schneider out, let's spell it out:
We have brought in $38,600,000,000 worth of goods than we ship out. 

That is $38,600,000,000 more worth of goods that foreign workers made that we have bought, compared to what foreign countries have bought from American workers.  

What does that mean to you?  Record job losses

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/files/2012/09/manufacturing.jpg


What does that mean to Schneider's bosses?   Pretty much all of the income growth and record profits!

The Polaroid is starting to come into focus.   Let's shake it a little bit more:

Remember this from Schneider:

While moving jobs overseas costs identifiable jobs in the short term, it allows companies to make products cheaper
in 2009 as a result of outsourcing, the Janesville, WI GM plant closed. 

In 2009, the average price of a car was $27,958.
In 2013, the average price of a car was $31, 258(record high).
(Ps: Chris - $31,258 is higher than $27,958)

2300 people unemployed in Janesville.   2300 people whose families had worked at GM for generations, all unemployed.   Now they only have to pay an extra $4000 for car if they want to buy!

These 2300 people who no longer will be building our cars, have spouses, children, bill,s pay taxes for the local school districts, shop at the malls, eat at local restaurants, AND worked hard and built a high quality, affordable product....well at least they used to.

I have no doubt that Schneider can find some CATO based "economist", when they are not busy sticking up for Paul Ryan's austerity budget, about the wonders of outsourcing.  Unfortunately for the rest of us, the real world disagrees. 


I probably expected too much out of someone who gets their business acumen from a reality TV show, but the facts on the ground(as they always do with Chris's column) differ greatly:

 But economists are unanimous that trade, including outsourcing, is hugely beneficial to economic growth at home and abroad."

This is highly misleading for two reasons. First, economists are unanimous in agreeing that trade could have major distributional consequences. And some prominent economists, such as Paul Krugman, have argued that the recent pattern of trade for the United States has had negative distributional consequences for large segment of the U.S. workforce.

The second reason that it is misleading is that economists are unanimous in believing that in the context of below full employment economy, like the one we have seen the last five years, a larger trade deficit implies lower growth and fewer jobs. In this context outsourcing hurts the economy.
Let's hope that Schneider does not get his parenting skills from Keeping up with the Kardashians.

As economist Dean Baker points out, that this is a  bipartisan problem(hence the defending of Mary Burke), not only does outsourcing not work, we have other problems:



At the same time, his trade policy has done little or nothing to expose highly educated professionals like doctors and lawyers to the same competition. This policy has the predicted and actual effect of depressing the wages of less educated workers relative to the most highly paid workers. This policy is exacerbated by maintaining an over-valued dollar, which further depresses the wages of those workers exposed to international competition to the benefit of those who are largely protected.
President Obama has also done nothing to combat the corruption in the corporate governance structure whereby corporate board members are paid hundreds of thousands of thousands a dollars a year to look the other way as top management pillages the company. A policy that subjects less educated workers to the most vigorous possible competition, while maintaining protection for those at the top will redistribute income upward, as we have seen over the last three decades. Both candidates seem to largely support such policies.
 The reality of the situation is, until we start manufacturing in America again we will never have a full recovery, nor will we be the Superpower we once were. 

Americans, not employed by the Bradley Foundation, are starting to get this and its scares the hell out of Chris's bosses!

PS: I do have to give Chris his due though.  He did hit the nail on the head with this line:

(Next up: What "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" teaches us about the Laffer Curve.)

Since the Laffer Curve might be one of the few things (besides Congress) that has less credibility left than Honey Boo Boo




 

Now we know why Scott Walker placed this billboard in the shuttered GM plant grounds.  He felt that he was creating jobs by laying off 2300 fellow Wisconsinites. 









Sunday, October 27, 2013

Feeling Nostalgic


 

By Jeff Simpson

Feeling Nostalgic on A Sunday Morning, so I thought I would re-post this:



As Raw Story reported, a particularly contentious exchange began when state Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, the only Democrat to testify, explained her opposition to the bill by reading letters from her constituents.
“The idea of -- quote -- small government is in direct conflict with big government Republicans sticking their nose in my vagina,” Vinehout read from a letter. “How can we get the conservatives -- mostly men -- to quit blaming women, many times girls, solely for unwanted pregnancies?”
Vinehout then went on to read a correspondence from a rape survivor in her district. The woman argued that supporters of the bill were not thinking about the "emotional toll" that those who had become pregnant through unreported rape may be subjected to when forced to submit to an ultrasound after choosing an abortion. Under the bill, technicians are required to describe the size, location and number of fetuses, as well as identify any viewable internal organs or external features, according to the Associated Press.
Vinehout then admitted that the story was especially powerful to her because she herself had struggled with the results of being sexually assaulted as a teenager.
But the issue extended beyond mandatory ultrasounds and detailed information, Vinehout said. She argued that the bill's new restrictions on abortion providers would work against the ultimate goal of reducing abortions, an objective that Vinehout said both she and her Republicans colleagues sought.
“And if we truly want to make abortion rare, Mr. President, why are we defunding Planned Parenthood?” she said. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) and state Republicans have targeted funds for the women's health provider repeatedly in past years, forcing it to shutter a number of facilities.



Whatever happened to that Senator Vinehout,  hasn't she been in the news lately?


 

Walker's Presidential Hopes Hinge On His Act 10 Charade

Long time readers of Cog Dis are well aware that every decision Scott Walker makes is weighed on its impact of his next political campaign.  The minute Walker took office as Milwaukee County Executive, he started running for governor.  Every action he took was calculated to further his aspirations to be governor.

And even before he was sworn in (and sworn at) as governor, he was already laying out the groundwork for his presidential campaign.  The biggest part of his presidential campaign is Act 10, the union busting law that he had in the works even as he was still campaigning for governor.

In recent days and months, there has been a coordinated effort between Walker's campaign and his supporters to put the "benefits" of Act 10 in the spotlight, even though these claims are easily proven to be false.

One such move is his soon to be released book, which should really be called "Unmitigated."  As parts of the book are being leaked, we find that he is trying to glamorize his decision to drop the Act 10 bomb.  But even in his embellished version, he cannot tell the truth and is called out by friend and foe alike for his unmitigated gall.

The MacIver Institute proves themselves to still be anything but a news service when they made exaggerated claims that Act 10 was supposedly saving taxpayers almost $3 billion dollars.  This is not the first time that MacIver has trotted out their figures.  And each time they do this, their numbers become even more exaggerated.

The first time that they tried to claim that Act 10 was saving taxpayers money, even the pro-Walker Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the corporate media giant, had to point out that these numbers were not to be believed (emphasis mine):
Gov. Scott Walker said Monday that his policies had saved Wisconsin taxpayers more than $1 billion so far - savings largely achieved by the Republican governor and lawmakers repealing most public workers' union bargaining and effectively lowering their compensation.

Much of those savings - more than three-quarters of a billion dollars - could be verified, such as state and local workers picking up more of the tab for their health care and pension. But the figures also included a significant amount of savings for local governments that could not be verified.
I also pointed out that our taxes, like those of many others, actually went up significant amounts. If taxes went down or even just stayed the same, they were due to a drastic drop in property values. In the Milwaukee area, some properties dropped by as much as 30% in value.

The disproving of Walker's claims continued when it was shown that the supposed savings in the Kaukauna School District - the one that Walker held up as a shining example - was a complete and utter lie.  Over a year later, it was shown to be still a lie.

As a side note, it should also be pointed out that Walker's claims of cutting income tax are just as fraudulent as his claims of cutting property taxes.

We already know the real truth behind Act 10.  It has nothing to do with saving taxpayers any money.  It has to do with redirecting the money taken from public sector workers to the bank accounts of the CEOs and the corporations that have supported his previous campaigns and are supporting his current ones - both the one for reelection as governor and the presidential one.

But it's not only the public sector workers who are paying for the greed of Walker's supporters.  It is all Wisconsinites who are feeling the brunt of this folly.  As Walker pulled the money out of circulation, the ramifications on private sector jobs couldn't be any clearer:


Walker's Act 10 not only failed to save any money, it actually cost tens of thousands of Wisconsinites their jobs.  And many more that did manage to keep their jobs saw drastic pay cuts themselves as the economy went back into a downward spiral.  The loss of money from this downward spiral is exponentially larger than the amount of savings that Walker and his allies are fraudulently claiming.

But even has Walker and his extended campaign is rolling out their propaganda of how "wonderful" Act 10 has been, their carefully laid out script has taken a serious blow.

They forgot about a little detail - the Constitution.  The Honorable Juan Colas has now ruled twice that parts of Act 10 are unconstitutional and had to go so far as finding two of Walker's handpicked people to be in contempt of court to get him to start following the law.

And even then, Walker will not do that and has filed petitions in any and every court he can find, asking to get these orders stayed, if not overturned.*

The reason for this is that if Judge Colas' ruling stands, it will knock down the false fronts that Walker and company have erected to disguise the truth of the matter - Act 10 is a greater failure than most people recognize. And when and if the truth of Act 10's failure is revealed, that will be the last nail in the coffin for Walker's presidential hopes.


*If there was any doubt about where the corporate media stands, the article regarding the petitions filed asking the orders to be overturned now has the headline "Van Hollen asks two courts to overturn judge's rulings on Act 10."

However, when the article first appeared, it read that Walker made the requests, as evidenced by this screen capture off of my feedly reader:

click on image to embiggen it
Do you suppose that this was just a Freudian slip or were they finally telling the truth?

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Zerban for Congress!

During his tenure as a US Congressman for the First District in Wisconsin, Paul Ryan has done much.

He drank $350 bottles of wine.  He's introduced a Medicare plan that is more expensive than anything else out there.  He's tried to get Grandma to learn to appreciate cat food as a nutritional, tasty meal.  He's washed empty pans.  He had run - and lost - in a campaign to be Vice President of the United States.  He's made it easier for people to bring in trophy polar bear carcasses to our country.  He's ran in marathons at super human speeds.

About the only thing Paul Ryan hasn't done is represent the people of Wisconsin.

If he is again reelected, we can only expect more of the same from him, with the exception of the a possible run to be the President of the United States.

But there is hope.  There is a man that is willing to not only represent the people of Wisconsin, but to fight for them.

Rob Zerban
That man is a Rob Zerban and even as I write this, he is currently in Southeastern Wisconsin announcing that he is going to take on Paul Ryan in 2014.

For those that read Cog Dis regularly, Zerban should be a familiar name.  He ran against Ryan in the last cycle and damned near beat him then.  In fact, Zerban trounced Ryan in Ryan's hometown of Janesville.  The only thing that saved Ryan's butt that day was the gerrymandered voting districts that gave Ryan the deep red area of Walkersha County.

But unlike some candidates who also lost that year, Zerban did not sit back and just shrug his shoulders.  He did not give up or lose interest.

If anything, he did the opposite.  He got more invested in the district and in state.  Whether it was a labor event, a call for immigration reform or standing up for women's rights, Zerban was there, with his sleeves rolled up and working hard.

I would say that it's a fair statement to say that in the last two yearrs, Rob Zerban has done more for the district than Paul Ryan has done in his entire career as their so-called representative.

It is Zerban's passion for his community, his common sense and very doable solutions to the issues crippling his district and the state and his eagerness to do the right thing that makes me proud to support his candidacy.

You can find Zerban's website here.  He also has a Facebook page.

To be fair, there is another person considering a run against Ryan as well.  That person is Amardeep Kaleka.  Kaleka became known when his father was tragically murdered in the mass shooting at the Sikh temple in Oak Creek.

Kaleka has made some passionate calls for peace and his very motivational.  He seems like a genuinely nice person.

But I'm not sure he would be a good choice as a congressional representative or what his level of investment would be.

When one goes to his website, there is immediately a problem as that there is not the legal disclaimer on who is paying for the website.  But it gets worse.

If one were to sign up for emails at the website, one would get a confirmation email to make sure that it was not spam.  That's where another red flag pops up.  This is what I received both to sign up and to confirm:



Yes, you read that correctly.  The headquarters for Kaleka's headquarters is in California.  I know the Republicans have really fouled things up with their gerrymandering, but the last I checked, there was not one part of the First Congressional District that is in California.

I also have to express some skepticism on Kaleka's motivation for running for office in the first place.  Is he running to make things better for the people in Wisconsin or is he running to raise his own name recognition?  You see, he has this film about UFOs that he is trying to raise money for.  (BTW, skeptics are not impressed with Kaleka's claims.)

Clearly, Rob Zerban stands head and shoulders above the rest in his bid to be the Congressman for the First District.  He is strongly invested in his community, has clear and viable solutions to the problems plaguing his district and the rest of the state and is committed to serving the people he would represent, not the big money special interests that want to maintain the status quo which plainly isn't working.

I am proud to offer my support and endorsement to Rob Zerban.  He is one of the few candidates that I can actually be excited about supporting instead of just because he's not the other guy.

Bipartisanship Bollocks


 

By Jeff Simpson

Time for my rant of the day!

From Madison.com, Mary Burke's political Hero:   Lincoln!

Political role models

It’s no secret that Gov. Scott Walker’s political role model is former President Ronald Reagan, whom he met as a national delegate for Badger Boys State in the 1980s.
In 2011, Walker held up a photo of the Gipper when announcing to fellow Republicans his plan to “change the course of history” and curtail public sector collective bargaining. He later said Reagan’s firing of striking air-traffic controllers was “the first crack in the Berlin Wall and the fall of communism, because from that point forward the Soviets and Communists knew that Ronald Reagan wasn’t a pushover.”
But what about Democratic challenger Mary Burke? The Madison School Board member and former state Commerce secretary and Trek Bicycle executive said this week her political role model is another former Republican president: Abraham Lincoln.
“He was president at an extremely difficult time,” Burke said. “He put holding our union together above all else and he did what was necessary to help keep that. I think a lot about that in Wisconsin. Not that we’re in the same situation, but I think it’s just an example of saying we are at our strongest when we work together, and that’s how we’ll move forward.”

One of my biggest pet peeves, is the false narrative that the media like to push that the crazy has been equal these last few years in Wisconsin.   The false equivalency narrative will go as far to give the republicans wins throughout the state as will the ridiculous gerrymandering of our districts.  This makes it seem as though both parties had major policy disagreements causing the split in Wisconsin.  Had the democrats just realized they lost and worked with republicans, the state would not be so divided! 



I believe to move this state Forward, we do need to work with Republicans.  I also believe that the republicans who serve in Madison are unable to be worked with.  With of course the exception of Dale Schultz, who exemplifies bipartisanship in Wisconsin.  Schultz, wanted to temper down ACT10 so they tricked him to being elsewhere when the vote was taken.  Schultz who when made a point of sitting down to talk with Democrats, had the quickest declared primary opponent in history.  The Republicans sent a very clear message, work with the democrats and you will no longer have a job.  

How many hundreds of amendments have been offered up by the Democrats and have not even been given the courtesy of a vote.  It has been so bad that when Democrats have offered up some amendments to clear up obvious holes in a bill, the republicans have voted it down on party lines, then rewrote the amendments with their names attached and passed them. 

When the people of Wisconsin pushed back against the original voucher school grab, the republicans got together and came up with a "compromise" bill.  In the room for this compromise was numerous lobbyists, and not a single Democrat

Let's not forget, how the Democrats get treated when they want to discuss a bill:


In the latest Wisconsin Budget process, which leaves Wisconsin borrowing more then any Governor in our history and huge structural deficit, the Democrats drafted over 200 amendments to try and bring the budget to the right, and away from the far far right extreme.  Before the session started, Robin Vos visited the Democratic caucus to let them know that any attempt to bring an Amendment to the floor would fail.  Vos let them know in very clear terms that their input was not needed or wanted in passing the budget for all of Wisconsin


The Partisan divide and crazy in this state belongs to one party!  The Wisconsin Republican party. 

To suggest any thing else does a great disservice to the people of Wisconsin and especially to the Democratic elected officials who have worked so hard in Madison, as part of the minority the past three years.

The elected Republican officials in Wisconsin own the divide in Wisconsin.   It was their strategy from the beginning.  Do not forget in a rare moment of Candor, Scott Walker told his boss this:



 So Mary Burke, I would ask you this:  Who in the republican party do you plan on sitting down and compromising with?  Robin Vos? Andre Jacque?  Steve Nass?  Scott Fitzgerald? Senator Howard Marklein?  Wild Bill Kramer?

Or better yet, which elected Democrats do you blame for us not being able to work with the republicans and Scott Walker?  

Lincoln, worked with people who disagreed with him but he also stood for something and did not compromise his values to do so.   He took on a big task and also stood strong with labor!  

 "Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration." Lincoln's First Annual Message to Congress, December 3, 1861.
Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/abrahamlin395631.html#8X8Xt5jCdGVg40H1.99
Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/abrahamlin395631.html#8X8Xt5jCdGVg40H1.99
Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/abrahamlin395631.html#8X8Xt5jCdGVg40H1.99

If you are going to work with modern day republicans in Wisconsin this Lincoln needs to be your role model!