Will W.O.W. Counties Turn Blue?

By any measure, the W.O.W. counties are very Republican. For example, in November's election, Germantown voters will see no Democratic challenger to either State Senator Alberta Darling (R-Mesozoic) or State Representative (and Ozaukee Patriots member) Dan Knodl (R-Bronze Age).

In the 2012 presidential election, the three counties gave Mitt Romney the three largest margins in the state (Washington 70%, Waukesha 67%, and Ozaukee 65%). At a combined 67.8% Romney vote, if W.O.W. was a separate state, only Wyoming (69% Romney) and Utah (73% Romney) would have given the GOP candidate a larger margin of victory.

Despite being deep red, the W.O.W. counties are very important to the hopes of statewide Democratic office holders. With a total population of 616,000, W.O.W. is home to a hefty 10.7% of Wisconsinites. There are more people in these three counties than in Madison-centered Dane (516,000). And W.O.W. residents are very politically engaged. We vote. In the 2012 presidential race, our votes constituted a full 12.3% of state-wide turn-out. And in the 2014 gubernatorial election, our voters were an even greater percentage of the Wisconsin total (13.1%). Statewide Democratic candidates ignore these vote-rich counties at their own peril.

However, I tend to be an optimist. The low percentage of W.O.W. Democratic voters is a real opportunity for large Democratic gains through strong outreach efforts. After all, a swing of just 16.1% of 2012 voters from Republican to Democratic would have made the Milwaukee suburbs a tie. In the stronger Democratic year 2008, it would have only taken a 13.1% swing.

Already, one in three W.O.W. voters select Democrats for President. In sheer numbers, Waukesha County is the third most Democratic County in the state, behind only Dane and Milwaukee. And several demographic trends and GOP policy directions are making it likely that the W.O.W. counties will start moving from deep red through fuchsia to full-on blue.

Older, more conservative people are dying-out. Based on 2012 election results, it is clear that young people vote Democratic. Exit polls below show a strong correlation between age and the way we vote:  

                 Age                % Obama Vote

               18-29                     60

               30-44                     52

               45-64                     47

               over 65                  44

Current polls for the Clinton-Trump race show a similar clear correlation. Trump has twice as much support from those over 65 (49%) as from those 18 to 29 (24%). Assuming one's politics do not change over time, this bodes badly for GOP W.O.W. domination in the future. Cranky old GOP-leaning geezers are dying-off and being replaced with far more more progressive youth.

W.O.W. is becoming more ethnically diverse. The Democratic Party continues to be the party of economic opportunity for all Americans. The Party has become a home for voters belonging to fast-growing ethnic minority groups. For example, President Obama garnered 93% of African-American vote, 71% of Hispanic vote, and 73% of Asian-American vote. With the unapologetic racism spouted from the current GOP nominee, Republicans will continue to drive away minority voters.

Like the rest of the country, W.O.W. counties are gradually becoming more ethnically diverse. Just between 2010 and 2014, census surveys show that the number of people reporting as "white alone, not Hispanic or Latino" dropped from 92.3% in the three counties to 91.2%.

Elimination of Milwaukee's residency requirement. In 2013, MPS eliminated the requirement that district teachers live in Milwaukee. Last week, the State Supreme Court ruled against the city requiring other city employees to live in Milwaukee. This will no doubt result in an influx of Democratic-leaning workers and their spouses moving into the surrounding W.O.W. suburbs. Prior to 2013, about 6% of all Milwaukee households had workers covered by the requirements. Four years after ending their own residency requirements, 28.5% of Cleveland's workers had moved to the burbs.

Increasingly Extreme Republican Policies. Over the last several years, Republicans have embraced increasingly extreme and unpopular positions. Republicans at the national level defend the Citizens United decision and fight common-sense gun regulation. At the state level, GOP politicians are busily taking away voting rights and reproductive rights. They are tireless in their war on public education and the environment. And nothing exemplifies the GOP shift to the nutty right more than the party's 2016 presidential nominee.

People are getting fed-up. Nationally, the GOP has a favorable/unfavorable average of 30%/59% vs 45%/46% for Democrats. In Wisconsin, Scott Walker's job approval is in the toilet at 39%. Many voters are re-examining their party affiliation and leanings. And the Republicans are certainly losing independent support.

Yes, the W.O.W. counties are still very red. However, inexorable demographic shifts and unwise GOP policies will gradually put Washington, Ozaukee, and Waukesha Counties into play for the Democrats. Even before that distant day, the counties will become less overwhelmingly red. As progressives, we need to do everything possible to help that process along.

Ron Johnson Again Protects the Right of Terrorists to Buy Guns

Once again, Ron Johnson has defended the right of terrorists to purchase weapons capable of slaughtering huge numbers of innocent Americans. In two Monday Senate votes, the soon-to-be-former Senator from Wisconsin once again refused to do a single thing to stop the recent spate of mass gun murders. 

In the early evening votes, the Republican majority (including our own Ron Johnson) defeated amendments that would have made background checks mandatory and would have kept terrorists from purchasing guns.  

Today is not the first time that Johnson has protected the right of terrorists and criminals to buy mass-murder weapons. In December 2015, he voted against an attachment that also would have closed the gun-show background check loophole. He voted against one that also would have kept terrorists on watch lists from buying assault weapons. These were similar to the Senate bills introduced today.  

Not content to just do nothing, Johnson has criticized his responsible colleagues who are willing to incur the wrath of the gun lobby. Last week on Icky Vicki, Johnson called Senate attempts to enact sensible gun laws "Nonsense". He told the GOP radio propagandist, "We have to quit distracting the American public with these nonsense debates — and that’s what these are — these nonsense debates about gun control."

Instead, Johnson disingenuously claims that the problem is not guns, but "Islamic terrorism". I guess Ron chooses to ignore the vast majority of mass gun murders that are not carried-out by Muslims. In Johnson's mind, horrible killings such as Sandy Hook, Columbine, Charleston, or Oak Creek do not need to be addressed.

Johnson's blaming of mass-shootings on everything except easy availability of guns is not new. In a 2012 Fox discussion following the mass killing of Colorado movie-goers, he stated, "This isn’t an issue about guns. This is really an issue about sick, demented individuals. "

Johnson is only half right. The real problem is "terrorists" or "sick, demented individuals" armed with easily-available rapid-fire human-killing machines. Personally, I would rather take my chances with "terrorists" and "sick individuals" armed with shotguns, baseball bats, and switchblades than with AR-15's.

Johnson won't even try to keep guns out of the hands of the criminally insane. In a 2013 post-Aurora interview, he said, "You simply can’t keep these weapons out of the hands of sick, demented individuals who want to do harm. And when you try and do it, you restrict our freedom.”

Following the awful 2012 murder of children and teachers at Sandy Hook, Johnson had a chance to close the gun-show background check loophole. He voted against it. He had a chance to ban high-capacity ammo-feeders. He voted against it. He had a chance to re-institute the highly effective assault weapons ban. He voted against it. In fact, Johnson signed-on to a letter with 13 of the most extreme GOP Senators threatening to filibuster any attempts at even the laxest, most common sense gun laws.

Johnson's blind obedience to the the gun lobby has even affected his votes in other areas. For example, he claims that one of the reasons for his refusal to consider President Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court is that "Judge Merrick (Garland) is hostile to your Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.” This is the exact language that the NRA has been using in it's opposition to filling the Court vacancy.

Ron Johnson feels that there should be no controls on firearms at all. He consistently votes against even the most modest and rational gun laws, calling them "nonsense". He makes-up reasons that guns are not the real problem in gun-caused deaths. He comes-up with any excuse for his own shameful inaction. Johnson's refusal to act keep Americans safer in our malls, churches, schools, and streets disqualifies him from a second term.

Has Jim Sensenbrenner Earned a Twentieth Term ?

Jim Sensenbrenner has been on the taxpayer dole his entire working life. He was elected to the state Assembly in 1969, the year he graduated from law school. He served in the Wisconsin legislature until 1979, when he was elected to the US Congress-where he has sat ever since.

The year that our Congressman took his current job, the USSR invaded Afghanistan. Jimmy Carter was President. Kramer vs. Kramer was a box office hit. Magic Johnson met Larry Bird in the NCAA basketball finals. And one of the top albums was Saturday Night Fever. Our world and country have drastically changed in all that time, but Jim Sensenbrenner still occupies our Congressional seat.

What are Sensenbrenner's main accomplishments during his 38 years in office? Has he earned the right to yet another term? If you Google "Jim Sensenbrenner", one of the most frequent news stories related to our Congressman is an extreme pot-calling-the-kettle-black instance of Mr. Sensenbrenner stating that our current first lady has "a big butt".

Our Congressman calls himself a "veteran of the climate wars." He has finally acknowledged that the earth is, indeed, warming, but still fights any attempt to do anything about it. Recently, he voted against our military doing anything to prepare for climate change or acting to improve sustainability.

Jim Sensenbrenner is a senior Republican in the House. He and his party have succeeded in making this the most do-nothing Congress in US history. It is not as though there is nothing to do. Sensenbrenner and his cronies have done nothing on immigration, nothing on infrastructure, nothing on sensible gun safety, nothing on increasing the minimum wage, nothing on shoring-up Medicare and Social Security, nothing on jobs- well, you get the picture.

Instead, Sensenbrenner believes that the House has more important things to do than to attend to America's pressing needs. During a 2013 town hall meeting, one of Sensenbrenner's constituents remarked that so far, he has voted a ridiculous 46 times to repeal Obamacare. Jim immediately interrupted, saying, “and I would vote 46 more times to eliminate Obamacare.” To date, he has voted over 50 times to allow insurance companies to deny you medical coverage. Over 50 times to overturn an established and wildly successful law that helps his constituents.

And not satisfied with 13 Benghazi hearings, 50 briefings, and 25,000 pages of documents, Sensenbrenner voted to waste even more taxpayer money on Trey Goudy's ridiculously partisan and failed witch hunt.

As another example of how he ignores the needs of constituents in order to further a political agenda, our Congressman has consistently voted for every version of Paul Ryan's Ayn-Randian Roadmap to Prosperity manifesto. Through his votes, he has endorsed the privatization of Social Security and turning Medicare into a discount coupon scheme. Through his votes, he has favored the drastic slashing of the Pell Grant program, which allows millions of students to attend college.

The current Congress' ineffectiveness at governing should alone be sufficient reason to replace them all. However, Sensenbrenner and his pals have gone way beyond ineffectiveness. At the very least, we should expect that the people we elect to govern should keep the government actually open. Sensenbrenner has not even met these minimal expectations.

In one of the most senseless and inane Congressional actions in decades, House Republicans shut down the Government in 2013 for a total of 16 days. Right in the middle of this disgraceful event was our own Jim Sensenbrenner. He and 79 if his politically extreme comrades sent a letter to House leadership, encouraging them to close our Government in a vain attempt to end health care for millions of Americans. After Congressional leaders finally hammered-out an agreement to re-open the government, Sensenbrenner bizarrely voted with the minority to keep it closed. 

Sensenbrenner puts his party over his country. He has come-out in support of the most unqualified and dangerous presidential candidate in recent history. One of the few speakers to invoke Trump's name at the Wisconsin GOP convention, Sensenbrenner stated, "Donald Trump has won our nomination fair and square." In a convention interview, he expressed his views on the race, "I hope it's not Hillary Clinton. If Donald Trump is the only alternative, I hope it will be Donald Trump."

Want a politician to blame for a Florida ISIS sympathizer on FBI radar getting access to an efficient human-slaughtering weapon? Look no further than Jim Sensenbrenner. In 2011, he voted down an amendment that would have stopped terrorists on the no-fly list from buying guns. He has shown no support for a similar bill , the Denying Firearms and Dangerous Explosives to Terrorists Act, currently languishing in the House.

The electorate of the 5th District has had plenty of time to evaluate the long political career of Jim Sensenbrenner. From his participation in the heinous government shut-down to being a senior member of the least productive Congress in history, his record is an abysmal one. He has consistently voted against the interests of his constituents on issues such as gutting Medicare and privatizing Social Security. He has defended the right of terrorists to buy assault weapons. Sensenbrenner's performance in office has not earned him another term.

Republicans Want to Lower Your Income

One of the most consistent core Republican principles is the importance of lowering your income. From destroying unions, to making the minimum wage irrelevant, to fighting new overtime rules, the Trump-Party politicians who pretend to represent you are leading the charge to limit your take-home pay.

The latest affront to the income of Wisconsinites has come from our own Senator, Ron Johnson. In May, President Obama announced updated overtime rules that will raise the income level below which "salaried" workers must be paid time-and-a-half. When introduced in the 70's, the law covered 62% of salaried workers. With no adjustment for years, the percentage of covered workers has fallen to 7%.

The updated rule will give an estimated 80,000 Wisconsinites a well-deserved pay increase. The response by our two US Senate candidates makes the difference between the two parties crystal clear. Russ Feingold says that the change is long overdue. In contrast, Ron Johnson is totally against it. His office stated that he is working on ways to block the rule and that he "will seek additional opportunities to prevent its implementation".

House Speaker Ryan has also vowed to keep money out of your hands. Speaking-out against the new overtime rules, he warned, "We are committed to fighting this rule and the many others that would be an absolute disaster for our economy."

But this is not the first time that the Trump-Party-majority in the US Congress has sought to repress the pay of working Americans. Under Speaker Boehner, a minimum wage increase was never allowed a floor vote. It was filibustered every time it reached the Senate. Paul Ryan has consistently spoken-out against any increase. And Ron Johnson goes even farther, saying that there should be no federal minimum wage at all !

So short of executive orders by the President, there is little chance of Washington politicians doing anything to increase your paycheck. Any action must be taken at the state or local level. A 2015 study revealed that Wisconsin's middle class shrank more than that of any other state over the 2000-2013 period. During that time, the proportion of state households considered middle-class dropped from 54.6% to 48.9%. About 220,000 Wisconsin families fell out of the middle-class.

Surely, our state politicians would do something about that. Surely, they would do everything possible to get more money into the hands of Wisconsin workers and to rebuild our middle class, right? Wrong ! Rather than enact laws to put more cash in our pockets, our Trump-Party governor and corrupt legislature have done everything possible to lower the paychecks of working Wisconsinites. Everything possible to shove even more people out of the middle class.

Twenty nine states have instituted minimum wages higher than the current federal standard. Wisconsin is not one of them. Like many Trump-Party extremists, Walker doesn't even think that there should be a minimum. In a 2014 interview, he said that a minimum wage "doesn't serve a purpose". In another interview, he called a minimum wage "a lame idea". And the entrenched legislature Trumpites have kept all minimum wage proposals bottled up in committee for years.

Not content to keep low-end workers down, state GOP politicians have kept the middle class down, too. Hidden in the last state budget was a repeal of much of Wisconsin's Prevailing Wage law. The statute was designed to ensure high-quality work by well-trained workers on public projects. However, according to Rep. Dan Knodl (Trump-Party, Germantown), the repeal didn't go far enough. In a press conference he said, "The road to full repeal is the road that I've been on." and "...it (repeal) will drive down the wage."

And another success for the Wisconsin Trump-Party was the infliction of Right-to-Freeload on state workers. A 2014 study found that workers in the then-24 RTF states made16% less than those in states where workers pay their fair share of union representation. Implementation of RTF doesn't just affect union workers, either. Weaker union representation drives-down salaries for everyone. By jamming this law through in an emergency session, Trump-Party legislators have payed-off corporate donors like WMC at the expense of the rest of us.

At both the national and state levels, Republican office holders are working tirelessly to hold-down the wages of those they claim to represent. Through tactics like preventing minimum wage increases, weakening unions, and working against updated overtime rules, the GOP is systematically destroying the American middle class. One must ask the question-why are these politicians purposely and systematically working to hurt their own constituents? Just who do they really represent?

Wisconsin's Wasted Economic Opportunities

Over the last six years, Wisconsin has been blessed with many good opportunities for economic growth. Taking maximum advantage of these would have led to a much stronger recovery than we have actually experienced. Unfortunately, Scott Walker and his compliant GOP legislature have bungled many of the growth drivers handed to them. Let's look at a few of these economic growth opportunities.
 

1. Proximity of Wisconsin to two huge metro areas. Chicago and Twin Cities are the 3rd and 16th largest metro areas of the US. These huge nearby population centers should provide great opportunities for Wisconsin's economy. However, rather than building regional cooperation, Walker has insisted on bashing our neighboring states. He has in tried in vain to poach their companies. Where we should have strong growth through regional cooperation, we have petty and non-productive rivalries.

2. The Kenosha casino proposal. A new casino in Kenosha would have drawn high-rollers from the Chicago metro area (see #1). An estimated 10,600 direct and indirect jobs would have been created by the $800 million project. However, after being told by Iowa conservatives that casino approval would hurt his Iowa Caucus chances, Walker decided that Wisconsin does not need these jobs.

3. World class university system. Both UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee are prestigious R-1 research universities. Schools like these act as catalysts for high technology companies and are major assets for their home states. Unfortunately, instead of supporting these gems, Walker has recently declared war on them. Thanks to gross underfunding, packing the Regents with sycophants, and petty attacks on tenure, many of the best and brightest faculty are leaving for greener pastures.

4. High speed rail. Over $800 million in stimulus funds would have permitted high speed rail connections between Twin Cities and Chicago, tying us closer to those metro areas (see #1 above). Instead, Walker rejected the plan, forfeiting over 4,000 construction jobs and 50 permanent rail jobs (and 150 jobs at Talgo). Walker's partisan abandonment of the plan also unnecessarily cost us tens of millions to renege on contracts and to make needed repairs to the Hiawatha line.

5. Higher take-home pay accelerating our economy. Wage increases result in a ripple effect of high economic growth. Walker and his pet legislature have instead focused on keeping state wages down. Through Act 10, cuts to prevailing wage laws, enactment of Right-to-Freeload, and refusal to raise the state minimum wage, Wisconsin salaries have been kept woefully suppressed during the recovery. Only WMC is happy.

6. State efforts to attract and keep companies. An effective state Commerce Department should act to attract good jobs to the state through infrastructure improvements, tax incentives, and assistance. However, Walker dissolved the Commerce Dept., replacing it with the scandal-ridden WEDC. This shit-stain on clean government has lost track of loans, handed-out incentives to companies leaving the state, and acted as a taxpayer-funded hog feeding trough for Walker campaign donors.

7. Growth opportunities in renewable energy. Surrounding Midwestern states are experiencing big jumps in renewable energy capacity, along with the high-paying jobs that accompany them. But GOP regulatory uncertainty has led to no additional Wisconsin wind capacity in the last five years. While California had the Terminator, we have the Turbine-Hater. Government-approved fees on solar installations have led our state to lag all neighboring states in home solar growth. One industry analyst calls Wisconsin "an island of renewable-energy stagnation amid a sea of growth.” 
 

Wisconsin has been handed many recent opportunities for growth. However, our governor has managed to squander each of those opportunities through gross incompetence, ideological biases, and petty squabbles. This has caused Wisconsin's economy to badly lag those of our neighbors. During a 2012 CPAC speech in DC, Walker likened himself to the Chief Operating Officer of Wisconsin. An actual company COO with such a poor financial record would be swiftly fired by the Board of Directors.