Is this funny?

Nelson hasn’t been on dat twitta since July. Is social media not an asset when you’re running for County Executive of not-Dane/Milwaukee?

Scott Walker relies on legislative inexperience to consolidate regulatory powers

Scott Walker’s plan to supersede the legislature relies on his ability to present an illusion — bureaucrats controlling state law. Xoff points out Walker conveniently ignores legislative lines of accountability currently in place, and notes legislators are not likely to concede their powers to the governor. But Governor-elect Walker has one advantage in this power grab — the shift in the balance of power to Republicans brought in many first-time legislators.

Interest groups have taken positions on Walker’s announcement on the usual left-right sides (with one obliviously encouraging the state legislature to cede it’s authority) but incoming Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Merrill) appears to be the only legislator to come out in support of Walker’s consolidation of power.

Tiffany’s Christmas Eve press release specifically address the forest product industry and could be a direct response to the Wisconsin Paper Council encouraging Walker’s new “rules” on December 21. The WPC has a website eerily devoid of information but a cursory view of campaign contributions of individual employees shows support of Republicans and right-leaning defeated Democrats/Clean Energy Jobs Act killers Russ Decker and Jeff Plale.

Rep-elect Tiffany ran his 2010 campaign on a substance-light platform, with a “from the north, for the north” campaign slogan, even leaving sections of his website blank. This may win an election in the northern, 35th Assembly district, but in Madison it will work to the advantage of Scott Walker, a shrewd career-politician who has managed to win election after election, despite a clear record of failures when actually governing.

Scott Walker’s power-trip is not surprising given his past. What will be surprising is if veteran legislators in Madison allow it to succeed.

Ron Johnson hires ex-Bachmann staffer and non-Wisconsinite

Fresh off hiring a Virgina lobbyist as chief of staff, Ron Johnson adds a former communication director for crazy Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann to his office. As far as I can tell, working for our  right-to-lightbulb legislation sponsoring neighbor is the closest our new senator’s communication director Mary Vought comes to having ties to Wisconsin.

Johnson did manage to hire a citizen of Wisconsin as his state office director. I suppose it’s tough to convince a Washington insider to move here in December. The current temperature is eleven degrees.

The rest of Johnson’s hires are not accessible via Google search.

Is Ron Johnson making any of these decisions himself? Or is he leaving the hiring to federal employee turned lobbyist turned federal employee Don Kent, assisted by career politician and fundraising buddy Mitch McConnell?

When Russ Feingold first ran for the United States Senate he pledged a staff of mainly people with Wisconsin backgrounds. He kept that promise, because he knew his job was to serve the people of Wisconsin. I don’t know what Ron Johnson thinks his job is.

NRSC attacks on Herb Kohl part of candidate recruitment effort?

I don’t know if I can take 22 and a half more months of this. If you thought the last campaign season was stupid, the NRSC is trying to blow your mind. Fresh off a couple of November attacks on Sen. Herb Kohl that could have only fallen on campaign-weary deaf ears, the NRSC was moaning yesterday that Kohl “refuses to tell Wisconsinites where he stands” on the vote to extend the Bush tax cuts.

Bear in mind:

• GOP senator-elect Ron Johnson won an election by refusing to talk to the media.

• The controversial aspect of extending the Bush tax cuts are the provisions on the “rich” which includes Kohl more so than nearly any other senator.

And the kicker:

• Kohl voted for the package yesterday, saying it “protects the middle-class from tax increases and preserves critical unemployment benefits. It is a reasonable compromise to get past the partisan bickering and support our struggling economy.”

Ultimately Senator Kohl took the Republicans’ preferred position when it came time to vote. What now?

The Republican Party of Wisconsin is blogging with glee over Dem pollsters Public Policy Polling calling Kohl’s seat safe, noting Feingold’s seat was considered solid in 2009. The RPW is forgetting the Republicans actually have to do some governing over the next two years, instead of just campaigning on “NO!” a luxury they had from 2009-10. It’s doubtful Kohl and all his money will go down following the divided-government-mess this 112th Congress will no doubt prove to be.

The NRSC may be doing this premature Kohl-bashing in an attempt to recruit a candidate. It will not be an easy task. The Sconz points out Kohl won by 18 points even during the Republican Revolution of 1994. In 2006 Kohl stomped his competition 2-1. That was admittedly a good year for Democrats, but 2012 will not be the cakewalk Republicans had this year. The 2010 midterms showed voters have a short attention span and are results-oriented, being the party of no won’t cut it this time.

Maybe the NRSC is trying to get a candidate before anyone figures this out?

Scott Walker engages in class warfare–it’s not just for Democrats anymore

Class warfare tactics are no longer the sole realm of Democrats (as if they ever were…).

Scott Walker, poised to make $137,092 as Wisconsin’s next governor, is once again demonizing (spell check wants me to change that to “demoralizing,” how fitting…) public employees as “haves” while taxpayers are “have-nots.” Putting aside the fact that public employees obviously pay taxes, Walker’s rhetoric while attempting to strong-arm state employee contracts from long before he was even elected governor, is disgusting.

Even more disgusting is his statement “You are not going to hear me degrade state and local employees in the public sector,” immediately before degrading state and local employees. How stupid does Walker think we are? Actually, I’ll give him that one, as the state collectively elected him governor last month, despite his awful record as Milwaukee County Executive.

The Democrats attempted some degree of fiscal responsibility by arguing against extending the Bush tax cuts for the highest income bracket (income exceeding $250,000), and were rewarded by accusations of class warfare from the right. Meanwhile Scott Walker accuses public employees, nearly all of whom meet the definition of middle class, of being “haves.”

Sure, they “have” a job. It even pays a living wage. Shouldn’t everybody? The new union contracts aren’t even close to giveaways to state employees, especially when compared to the contracts of Milwaukee County workers under soon-to-be-former County Executive Walker.

Scott Walker has been a public employee since 1993, all the while berating the public employee. Instead of retribution he has been rewarded with promotions. Sad narrative on some Wisconsin voters.

What about personal responsibility, Scott Suder?

State Rep. Scott Suder (R-Abbotsford) is “outraged” by a convict out on early release re-offending. I’m outraged by another hypocritical act from a so-called conservative Republican.

Tragedy of the crime aside (man hits jogger while on heroin), Suder asserts that the offender, Thomas Brinkman, should not have been eligible for early release because;

“Brinkman was a member of a drug ring that was responsible for eleven over-doses including five that ended in fatality. Despite his violent past, the DOC classified Brinkman as “non-violent” making him eligible for early release.”

Selling someone a drug that can kill them is not an act of violence. Buying drugs is a choice, as is selling drugs and consuming drugs. Brinkman didn’t kill the people that overdosed.

From one perspective, the law is on Suder’s side. The Len Bias provision of the federal Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 allows drug dealers to be prosecuted if a customer overdoses. However, if Brinkman was eligible for early release, that law does not classify him as violent.

Conservatives preaching limited government and personal responsibility, while taking these ridiculous anti-drug stances are hypocrites. Not to mention Suder certainly does not support raising taxes to keep offenders like Brinkman locked up.

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Apologies for lack of further research re: Anti-Drug Abuse Act. Time is not on my side at the moment.

Tom Petri: Asian carp vs. health care, Four Loko and limited government

When is it acceptable for the federal government to regulate? When an issue needs to be addressed and no other entity possesses the capability to do so? I’ll assume that to be true while examining the Great Lakes-Asian carp problem.

Tom Petri’s office issued this graphically abhorrent press release today, applauding the House passage of a bill banning the importation of Asian carp into the country. The bill doesn’t address the problem of carp already in the states making their way into the Great Lakes, but it’s a start. Comprehensive action needs to be taken to keep this invasive species out of the Great Lakes, and the federal government needs to be the impetus behind that action. Wisconsin can’t force Illinois to seal off canals (to carp, not traffic) leading to the Great Lakes, and several other states border the lakes, further complicating the matter.

The same principle forces the United States government to take the lead when it comes to health care. I can’t reconcile government action on Asian carp in the Great Lakes with inaction on the health and well-being of millions of citizens. Rep. Petri feels differently, shown in this it’s-a-government-takeover press release following passage of health care reform in March.

I believe in limited government, but I refuse to allow a rigid adherence to the principle harm my fellow citizens. I don’t want Asian carp in the Great Lakes and the only way to keep them out is swift action from the federal government. I don’t want people to die because they can’t get health insurance.

When the recent food safety legislation granting the FDA broader recall power passed the Senate, my immediate reaction (knowing nothing about the substance of the bill) was, “this is more nanny state, anti-pickle bill, anti-raw milk bill, style government.” Admittedly my opinion was colored with an anti-FDA bias brought about by the Four Loko ban. Knowing a little more about the food safety bill, it seems to me perhaps the FDA should have the authority to inspect foreign food service operations if that food is to be imported into the US. Emphasis on perhaps because I don’t have to buy imported food.

I am bothered by the FDA banning alcoholic energy drinks, because the people purchasing them know full well what the effects will be. Of course you should check the label of the food you buy, but is that realistic? Americans have relied on the feds to protect their food supply for a century now. Consumers of Four and Joose know what they are getting into. Where was the conservative outrage on that one?

As Tom Petri says, “With our human ingenuity and know-how, we should be able to outsmart the fish.” We should be able to outsmart the Four too. That hangover is punishment for being dumb.

Thanks for reading this convoluted, partially off-base, not proof read post.

Ron Johnson creates first job…for Virginia lobbyist

As part of Russ Feingold’s first Senate campaign he pledged to hire the majority of his Senate staff “from individuals who are from Wisconsin or have Wisconsin backgrounds.” He kept that pledge, made because his job as senator was to serve the people of Wisconsin.

As recently as August, Ron Johnson attacked Feingold for the crime of using a lobbyist for working-class people in a campaign ad. Yesterday Johnson hired his new chief of staff, Don Kent of Virginia, directly from lobbying firm Navigators Global “where he heads up the Homeland Security practice.” Kent’s job before that was Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security.

Kent went right from working for DHS to selling DHS and Congress on the virtues of clients such as American Defense Systems and Alabama Aircraft Industries. That’s called the “revolving door.” These two clients paid his firm nearly $100,000 in the first half of 2010 alone.

How is Ron Johnson going to make good on his promise to cut federal spending when he hires a chief of staff who has an extensive background in expensive toys for the most bloated part of the federal budget? Johnson will probably go after relatively small programs benefiting the lower class. Among Republican party leaders, with whom Johnson will vote at least 95% of the time, defense spending is sacred, even if the Secretary says “we don’t want it.“

Don’t mistake the tone of this as “lobbyists are evil.” They play a role in our government, sometimes too great in scope,  but most people are only concerned with lobbyists when the lobbyists advocate something they’re against. It’s Ron Johnson’s hypocrisy that really bothers me. That and his chief of staff will have no idea how to pronounce Oconomowoc.