The first Presidential Debate is over, with the overwhelming ass-whipping of Donald Trump by his smart and well-prepared opponent. Now the country's political geeks anxiously await next Tuesday's Vice Presidential debate.
Like Trump, Mike Pence is no Brainiac. He had a number of very bad moments during last year's furor over Indiana's "OK to discriminate against gays" law. However, Pence was a talk-radio personality in Indiana and his calm media demeanor is much better than Trump's (he called himself Rush Limbaugh on decaf). And unlike Trump, he is taking the debate seriously, actually preparing for it.
As part of his preparation, Pence is going through mock debates. The person that he chose to stand-in as his opponent, Tim Kaine, is none other than his good friend and soul-mate, Scott Walker.
Tim Kaine graduated with a Harvard Law degree. He has deep political experience as a mayor, governor, senator, and DNC Chair. Selecting Walker to play Kaine is simply bizarre. Intellectually, Scott Walker is to Tim Kaine as Beavis is to Sir Issac Newton.
However, there is a deep bromance between Pence and Walker. In Pence's first Wisconsin trip after the GOP Convention, Pence called Walker the "best governor in America". And the admiration is reciprocal. After Pence became Trump's running mate, Walker gushed, "Mike’s just someone that’s very well respected, certainly amongst governors, Democrat (sic) and Republican alike, highly regarded, and he’d be a great vice president."
During Trump's first post-convention trip to our state, Walker was busy washing his hair. But Mike Pence was welcomed with open arms. Buddies Walker and Pence hang together at the quarterly meetings of the Republican Governors' Association. They are both frequent speakers at far-right "God, guns, and gays" meetings such as CPAC and the NRA National Convention.
There are many parallels between the two with respect to sponsors, ideology, and actions. For example, both Pence and Walker endorsed Ted Cruz over Donald Trump in their states' late GOP primaries.
Due to bumbling incompetence and a far-right agenda, both Walker and Pence are unpopular in their own states, with approval ratings hovering around 40 percent.
Both are wholly-owned employees of the Koch brothers. The two were among the four prospective Presidential candidates invited to a secret January 2015 meeting of Koch donors. Koch money and organizations were integral to the election of both governors.
Neither believes in science. In 2001, Pence said on the House Floor, "... I also believe that someday scientists will come to see that only the theory of intelligent design provides even a remotely rational explanation for the known universe." Walker brought shame to our state when he "punted" on the question of evolution during a trip to the UK.
Walker and Pence are using taxpayer money to push their extremist agenda, acting in concert to sue the federal government. Both Indiana and Wisconsin sued to stop workers from getting a raise through new overtime rules. Both sued to stop new pollution rules pertaining to coal-powered power plants.
Pence and Walker both greatly increased taxpayer funding of for-profit and religious schools through voucher give-a-ways. Pence ended Indiana's use of Common Core state standards, while Walker, pushed by his Tea Party base, is headed that way. Both have attempted to grab power from their independently-elected state Superintendents of Public Schools.
Both have signed some of the county's most restrictive anti-choice laws. Both have signed some of the country's most lax gun laws.
Both are against LGBTQ rights. Walker refused to let the state defend our civil union registry. He has fought against gay marriage much of his career. Pence once stated that gay couples "signaled societal collapse". Scott Walker even defended Pence during the Indiana "OK to discriminate against gays" fiasco. He said the widespread anger was the result of "people who are chronically looking for ways to be upset about things instead of really looking at what it is."
Mike Pence and Scott Walker are like two peas in a political pod. They are owned by the same billionaires, follow the same "God, guns, and gays" ideology, and have same delusions of competence. If you like Scott Walker as Governor, you will love Mike Pence as Vice President.
Paul C. Adair
This week, Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel announced that his office was joining in yet another lawsuit against the federal government. This time, the suit attempts to overturn new workplace regulations that increase the salary threshold at which overtime must be paid to workers.
This is certainly not the first time that Schimel has used your state tax money to fight the federal government (which is ironically supported with your federal taxes). In a series of highly partisan actions, Schimel has consistently used state resources to advance the right-wing agenda of Scott Walker and the state GOP.
No friend of the environment, Schimel has entered Wisconsin into a suit fighting federal regulation of power plant carbon emissions. He is fighting federal regulations that limit ozone-forming pollutants. He has spent state money to limit the ability of the federal government to remedy the pollution of navigable waters.
But Schimel doesn't just limit his actions to the protection of corporate polluters. He has joined in no fewer than three suits attacking the Affordable Care Act. He joined in a suit to allow federally-banned discrimination in schools based on gender identity. He joined a multi-state suit fighting much-needed federal immigration reforms. State suits against the US government almost always require the approval of the governor. Walker has been involved, if not the instigator, in all of these actions.
Schimel's meddling on the national scene isn't limited to fighting the feds. He has supported Texas in their unconstitutional anti-abortion efforts. He has involved Wisconsin in a federal case to protect manufacturers of leaded paint from liability (sound vaguely familiar?).
Where is all of the money coming from to advance this right-wing-corporatist agenda by the Wisconsin Department of Justice? I thought that Wisconsin was broke! At a time when our university system, public schools, and the DNR have undergone drastic cuts, the DOJ keeps getting more and more money. Walker has given the DOJ a hefty 5.2% increase in funding between 2014 and 2017.
In a 2015-17 budget that pulled $250 million from the state university system, Scott Walker somehow found the money to build a new bureaucracy within the DOJ. The new group, called the Solicitor General's Office, was created and funded at $584,500 per year (2017). This staff of five is tasked with representing "the State of Wisconsin in cases on appeal that are of special importance to the State". In reality, this means defending new extremist-GOP laws of questionable constitutionality.
Much of the new funding for the DOJ is being used to defend Walker's and the GOP legislature's extreme agenda. Schimel's recent actions include defending Wisconsin's anti-choice laws, defending new voting restrictions, and defending our unconscionable redistricting maps. He defends the state GOP's union-busting Right-to-Freeload law that was jammed through the legislature in 2015. He defends the constitutionally-questionable "pee-in-a-cup" law requiring drug tests for those on public assistance.
Not content to have a lock on the Governor's office, the State Supreme Court, and both houses of the Legislature, the GOP has sought to punish any remaining moderate office holders. GOP legislative power grabs to minimize elected moderates like Supreme Court Justice Abrahamson, Secretary of State Doug LaFollette, and State Superintendent Tony Evers have all been defended in court by the partisan hack, Schimel.
Acting like Scott Walker's personal legal representative, Schimel has interjected himself in the John Doe illegal campaign-coordination scandal. In August, he submitted a brief to the US Supreme Court, arguing that Walker's Doe case should not be considered by the highest court.
Wisconsin Attorney General, Brad Schimel has taken gross GOP partisanship to an unprecedented level. Hardworking Wisconsin taxpayers are footing the bill for his spree of lawsuits against the federal government. We are funding his expensive courtroom defense of a swarm of indefensibly-partisan state laws. We need an Attorney General whose first obligation is to the people, not his Governor, legislature, and party.
Paul C. Adair
Last week, State Assembly Republicans unveiled their plans for the next legislative session. They call their 16-page manifesto, "Forward-For Wisconsin's Future". The plan is long on photos of politicians posing with workers, but short on substance. The plan is long on flowery PR language, but short on actual policy proposals.
As in past years, the Assembly Republicans are not running on what they really plan to do. They don't mention their intense efforts to stay in power through voter suppression and gerrymandering. They don't mention their continued campaign to lower the wages of Wisconsin workers through banning prevailing wage, instituting Right-to-Freeload, and ending the right to bargain. They don't talk about their relentless push to demolish Wisconsin's once-clean government.
However, last night I received a folder from an anonymous and totally unreliable source. The folder contains what appears to be a set of future bill proposals from the GOP Assembly majority. I can't vouch for their authenticity, but these bills just might be what we see emerging from Madison next legislative session:
AB-231 Relating to: Establishing Emergency City Manager plan. Take control of Milwaukee. Save money by sourcing municipal water from Milwaukee River instead of Lake Michigan.
AB-232 Relating to: Making English the official state language. Requiring all Wisconsin city names to be changed to their Anglicized versions. Germantown will become "Britishtown", Prairie du Chien will become "Dog Prairie", Fond du Lac will become "Melted Cheese Lake".
AB-233 Relating to: Replacing out-dated Capitol "Forward" lady statue with nude statue of generous public benefactor Diane Hendricks. Replace Capitol bust of Bob LaFollette with bust of John Menard.
AB-234 Relating to: Changing the name of the WEDC (called Wee-dik) to the Business, Industry, & Governmental Development Corporation.
AB-235 Relating to: Renaming Badgercare "The Socialist Plot to Destroy Wisconsin Jobs -Care"
AB-236 Relating to: Limiting purchases by Food Stamp recipients to gruel, porridge, moldy bread, and dented cans.
AB-237 Relating to: Compensating for cuts to state university system by requiring all academic staff to participate in annual popcorn and cookie sale fundraisers.
AB-238 Relating to: Tripling the budget of Wisconsin Attorney General, Brad Schimel, so that he can continue to bravely defend Wisconsin against abortion, same-sex marriage, labor unions, minority voters, gun laws, immigrants, healthcare, and federal environmental laws.
AB-239 Relating to: Moving Wisconsin citizens from dependence to independence by ejecting anyone with an income higher than 50% of poverty level from Badgercare program. Those removed to be issued a bottle of aspirin, a field surgical kit, and a copy of Atlas Shrugged.
AB-240 Relating to: Banning the sale of British magazine, The Guardian, in Wisconsin (because Walker asked us to).
AB-241 Relating to: In the spirit of the Wisconsin Right-to-Work law, making payment of Wisconsin state taxes optional.
AB-242 Relating to: Providing ideological balance in the UW system. Require teaching climate stability. History instructors must swear that Ronald Reagan is the greatest president. Geology professors must teach Creationism. Chemistry professors must cover phlogiston.
AB-243 Relating to: Allowing the no-bid sale of Devil's Lake State Park, the Bronze Fonz, and the Giant Shirt.
AB-244 Relating to: Calling for a special legislative session for emergency action on the next (to-be-determined) Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce whim.
AB-245 Relating to: Prohibiting former Supreme Court Chief Justice Abrahamson from purchasing crab, lobster, or shellfish with her taxpayer-funded salary.
AB-246 Relating to: Requiring the successful completion of a civics test as a condition for obtaining a high school diploma. The test to include an essay section on: Ronald Reagan-great President or the greatest President ?
AB-247 Relating to: Establishing a “Wisconsin State Bureau of Rosy Economic News” to let everyone know that “It Really Is Working !”
AB-248 Relating to: Making English the official state language. Requiring all state employees to adopt Anglicized names. For example, Rep. Janel Brandtjen will become Jane Brand, Rep. Andre Jacque will become Andy Jack. Rep. Joel Kleefisch will become Chris Larson.
AB-249 Relating to: Abolishing Badgercare. Replace with common-sense, patient-related reforms. Abolish the food stamp program. Replace with common-sense, hunger-related reforms. Abolish the DNR. Replace with common-sense, mutation-centered reforms.
AB-250 Relating to: Establishing standards for teachers at school-choice voucher schools. Teacher must have graduated from eighth grade, have an audible speaking voice, and be off-paper
AB-251 Relating to: Selling corporate naming rights for Milwaukee, Lake Winnebago, and the University of Wisconsin.
AB-252 Relating to: Requiring a five-day waiting period for abortions. Prohibiting abortions after the first three days of a pregnancy.
AB-253 Relating to: Commending Scott Walker for his tireless 2015-16 efforts to build interstate trade relations with Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.
AB-254 Relating to: Establishing a wall at the Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois borders, to keep out-of-state demonstrators, welfare bums, illegal aliens, and fraudulent voters out of Wisconsin.
Paul C. Adair
By this time in 2012, Romney signs in the W.O.W. counties were sprouting like mushrooms. However, there just does not seem to be similar enthusiasm for Donald Trump this year. Last weekend, we made two journeys through deep-red W.O.W., going from Germantown to Brookfield and from Germantown to Cedarburg. During these drives, we saw a total of five Ro-Jo signs, but only a single Trump sign. This is only anecdotal evidence, but it seems to verify other tales of very low Republican enthusiasm for Vladimir Putin's BFF.
Psychologically quite revealing is a comparison of Hillary yard signs with those of Trump. The design employed by the Democratic ticket uses the same font-size for Clinton and her running-mate, Tim Kaine. Not surprisingly, the font for Mike Pence is 35% smaller than that of his egomaniacal Cheeto running mate
The jury is still out on the effectiveness of campaign yard signs. Many political campaign professionals believe that they are a waste of time and money. However, in a study conducted at Columbia University, campaign yard signs in a set of four different campaigns generated an average 1.7% increase in turnout for the sign-posting campaign. That is not huge, but it could make all the difference in a close race.
Signs for local races may well be more effective than for statewide and national elections. Signs for local candidates get people familiar with your candidate's name. In local races, name recognition is half the battle. Candidates for national and top state offices are already well known.
Democrats in W.O.W. counties are especially hesitant to display yard signs. Many of us have tried, only to have our signs quickly stolen. Such is one of the hazards of living in a red area. However, we should not let a few vandals deter us.
I have heard of a lot of strategies to keep signs from being stolen. Of course, there is the malicious approach, in which the sign is electrified, or is equipped with razor wire, or shards of glass are scattered around it, or bear traps are placed in front of it. Tempting though that might be, you shouldn't try to actually hurt someone. You could go to jail longer than would the sign thief.
No, there are many ways to foil the sign thieves short of causing physical harm. A common method is to print on the sign "If this sign is stolen, I will donate $200 dollars to Hillary's (etc.) campaign.". You don't actually have to do that, but don't feel guilty about lying to a would-be thief.
Another approach that I employ is to allow my dog, Bella, to poop in a circle around my signs. This approach is especially effective in poorly-lit neighborhoods. It may not totally deter the perp, but it will give you some satisfaction of revenge.
Some folks have gone out of the way to actually catch the crook. A strategically-placed trail camera could provide the evidence you need for an arrest. It probably isn't worth buying a camera just for this purpose, but if you already own one, go right ahead and try it.
Yet another effective approach I call -"If you steal us, we multiply". This requires getting a goodly number of signs. If you have one sign stolen, replace it with two. If those are taken, replace them with four. Like the fable of grains of wheat on a chess board, you can't keep this up for very long, but your thief will probably give-up before you do.
Similarly, if you are handy enough to make you own signs, you can make progressively larger and larger signs until the perp gives up. This works up to a point because state law (and many local laws) limit the size of residential yard signs.
However, probably the most effective method is to simply bring-in your signs at dusk. Even the most brazen pilferer will not strike in broad daylight. It is more work for you, but at least you will probably not be robbed.
Campaign yard signs have been shown to have a small, but distinct impact on voter turn-out. As progressives in a deep-red area, we should not be afraid to display support for our candidates. It says to other liberals in your town that they are not alone. It has the added bonus of pissing-off your right-wing nut job neighbor.
Paul C. Adair
There has never been a presidential candidate less qualified to take office than Donald Trump. His absence of relevant experience and knowledge alone should cause voters to reject him. His bombast, childish behavior, and lack of self-control should rule him out. His attempts to divide Americans over racial, ethnic, religious, and gender lines are a clear danger to our country.
Facing Trump is one of the smartest, most qualified presidential candidates that has ever blessed America. Only the most cynically partisan hack could believe that a six-times-bankrupt, three-times-married, know-nothing, Putin-loving, David Duke-hero, reality-show star could be a better president than Secretary Clinton. One such partisan hack is Wisconsin's own Scott Walker.
But it hasn't always been this way. Over the course of five months, Walker has gone from the anybody-but-Trump camp to become just another Trump apologist. How did Walker transition from strongly opposing Trump to being one of his top advocates? Let's explore.
The first indication that Walker was not Trump's biggest fan came when he abandoned his train-wreck of a presidential campaign. Never mentioning Trump by name, Walker stated that he "is being called (by God) to lead by helping to clear the field in this race" and that he wants "a positive, conservative alternative to the current front runner."
Feeling increasingly desperate to stop Trump, Walker endorsed Trump's last realistic rival, Ted Cruz, just a week before Wisconsin's early April primary. This endorsement, together with overwhelming Cruz support from extreme-right radio, gave Trump his last major loss on the way to the nomination.
At the May Wisconsin state GOP convention, Walker gave a thirty minute speech. During that time, he stressed the importance of re-electing Ron Johnson and retaining Ribble's congressional seat. He emphasized the need to add to the GOP majorities in the State Assembly and Senate. But he did not mention then-likely presidential nominee Donald Trump a single time.
In early June, Walker still had not come to fully accept his party's presumptive nominee. After Trump's racist comments about a US judge, Walker wistfully stated "I think for a lot of us, not just Republicans in general, we want to see what he’s going to do between now and the time the convention comes. The sad fact is -- it’s just sad in American that we have such poor choices right now."
In early July, Walker entered into the acceptance phase of his grief when he tweeted: "Last August, I said I'd support the GOP nominee. It's now clear who the RNC delegates will vote to nominate. And he is better than she is." He still had difficulty saying Trump's name, but at least he started to accept the grim reality of Don the Con heading the GOP ticket.
Walker was given a chance to extol the virtues of his party's nominee during a not-prime-time speaking slot at July's Republican National Convention Fear-fest. However, most of his time was devoted to bashing Hillary and to his boasting about taking-on the "big
government union bossesTM" in Wisconsin. During his ten minute speech, he uttered Trump's name a mere five times.
Walker realized what Ted Cruz (who was widely booed by delegates) did not. Snubbing Trump at the national convention would be the end of his still-simmering national ambitions. His speech only gave the bare minimum homage to Trump required to avoid the permanent anger of the racist wing of the party. It is no wonder that Chachi was given a better time-slot than Walker.
However, at least Walker was finally able to utter the name "Donald Trump" without choking. But he still wasn't fully on board. After the convention, Trump traveled to Green Bay to rally his supporters. Walker and the rest of the state GOP nabobs scrambled to find something else to do that day.
But Walker has since come to terms with Trump. He has fully endorsed the orange Cheeto. He is totally on board the crazy-train. At the mid-August Trump rally in West Bend, Walker not only showed-up, but he actually introduced Trump. Walker enthusiastically said, "There are two names that will be on the ballot on November 8. One is Hillary Clinton, the other is Donald Trump. ...(unintelligible rant on Hilary)... There is only one person who's got a track record in the private sector...to truly take-on Washington, and put power in the hands of the American people. To make America great again. That man is the next President of the United States, Donald Trump."
It has taken him a while to arrive here, but Scott Walker has wholeheartedly endorsed the most unqualified presidential candidate in history, just because he has an "R" after his name. He has placed the Republican Party, and his own political future in that party, over our country.
With his recent enthusiastic and self-serving Trump support, Scott Walker owns all that is Trump. He owns all of the hate and fear stoked by Trump. He owns every outrageous racist, xenophobic, and sexist comment uttered by Trump. He owns all of Trump's fascist tendencies. He owns it all.
by Paul C. Adair
