Rage Against the Dying of the Light !

Saturday, Jan.21, 2017 in Madison with 100,000 friends.

Thank You, Guys !

If You Break It, You Own It

People will be beautifully covered !

Congressional Republicans and their leader, Donald Trump, are hell-bent on repealing the Affordable Care Act. Repeal is one of the few consistent messages voiced by GOP over the past seven years. It is one of the few ideological tenets holding their party together. They now have the votes. Repeal will be done. Goodbye to Obamacare.

However, what comes after Repeal is unknown. Republican politicians have painted themselves into a corner by their irrational hatred of everything Obama. They have taken steps for Repeal with no Replacement in sight. Last week, we discussed the slim prospects of House and Senate leadership corralling enough Republican votes alone to pass any sort of Replacement. There are too many anti-government nihilists in the GOP to pass any kind of meaningful Replacement program.

Under almost any scenario, some Democratic votes would be needed to pass a Replacement plan. But, that simply ain't happening. Democrats are not disposed to rescue their right-wing colleagues from their self-imposed and avoidable disaster.

On Tuesday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued a report on the horrendous human and financial costs of ACA Repeal. Repeal will deny coverage to 18 million additional people in the first year, ballooning to 32 million more uninsured people by 2026. Premium costs will skyrocket over the current projections, shooting up 25% more the first year and doubling current projections by 2026.

This certainly doesn't sound like the rosy plan promised us by Donald Trump. He has variously called his secret scheme a "great" plan, a "terrific" plan, and an "unbelievable" plan. In a Sunday interview, he said that his plan would provide "insurance for everybody". He said the people "will be beautifully covered !" 

It also doesn't sound like the rosy plan promised us by Paul Ryan. He has pledged that "no one will be worse-off." During a CNN Town Hall last week, Ryan promised that his replacement will be "something better."

Seeing the slow but inexorable healthcare disaster heading for their party, Republicans are desperate to get Democrats on-board with their awful replacement scheme. They would love to be able to share the blame for huge numbers of new uninsured, ruinous budget deficits, and ballooning premiums. Or in the likely event that no Replacement is actually passed, they would like to be able to accuse "those Democrats" of blocking reform.

In one of his infamous Tweet-storms, Trump pleaded: "It is time for Republicans & Democrats to get together and come up with a healthcare plan that really works- much less expensive and FAR BETTER!"

In a Waukesha Town Hall meeting last Saturday, Congressman Sensenbrenner voiced a similar plea, "Republicans cannot pass a replacement for the ACA on a party line vote, nor do we want to...We do not want it to be a partisan issue." Too bad that Sensenbrenner and his droogs made it a partisan issue long ago by fierce GOP obstruction during initial passage of the law, seven years of single-minded anti-ACA braying, and over 60 party-line votes for repeal.

Democratic Senator Brian Schatz from Hawaii said that his Republican colleagues have approached him to help bail them out-"I think they want a life line because they don't have a plan." Sen. Schatz continued, "They want to be able to claim this is part of a good faith negotiation, but it's simply not.They have no idea what comes next so they want some bipartisan cover for their nonsense behavior."

Republican politicians have rejected our current successful ACA system because of their blind hatred of President Obama. They are calling on Democrats to help bail them out of the mess that they have created for purely partisan reasons. They have broken the system all by themselves. They now own it.

Sensenbrenner Will Raise Taxes on 22,000 Constituents

A few days ago, I received another taxpayer-funded, glossy propaganda letter from Jim Sensenbrenner. As so many other times over the last seven years, our Congressman promised to repeal healthcare for thousands of his constituents.

Sensenbrenner has been an enemy of healthcare for his constituents since the beginning. Just last May, he penned an opinion piece in the Journal Sentinel called "The Bitter Fruits of Obamacare." At a town-hall several years ago, a friend of ours tried to ask him a question, saying,"You've voted over 50 times to repeal the Affordable Care Act and...". Sensenbrenner immediately interrupted, blurting out, "And I would vote another 50 times to repeal it !"

I do not call Sensenbrenner's planned actions "repealing Obamacare" or even "repealing the Affordable Care Act". I prefer "repealing heathcare". Without a comparable and coherent plan to replace current law, the Republican Congress, including Sensenbrenner, will indeed repeal healthcare for millions of Americans.

Sensenbrenner's taxpayer-funded website lists no fewer than 29 anti-healthcare press releases and opinion pieces from his taxpayer-funded office. He has called the legislation that has greatly lowered the uninsured rate in his district a "disaster", "unconstitutional", "bad tasting medicine", and a "train-wreck".

With the ascension of popular-vote loser, Donald Trump to the Presidency, Congressional Republicans like Sensenbrenner have been given the opportunity they have been salivating over for years. They will be able to end healthcare for millions of Americans. This includes repealing healthcare for 25,900 of Ol' Jim's very own constituents who buy their insurance over the Exchange.

Based on estimates of about 85% of Exchange enrollees being eligible for Premium Tax Credits, Jim Sensenbrenner, by his partisan vote for Repeal, will raise taxes on over 22,000 of his District 5 constituents. I know. I am one of them. Based on my 2014 & 2015 returns, my own Federal taxes will be increased by over $10,700 per year.

Often bragging about never raising taxes, Sensenbrenner will vote to eliminate the Premium Tax Credits for more than 190,000 Wisconsin residents. He will burden low and middle-income residents of our state with the loss of $759,000,000/year in Premium Tax Credits.

Republicans are committed to ending the Affordable Care Act. They are committed to ending healthcare for millions of Americans. This bizarre one-track focus is one of the few unifying issues for today's GOP. Ending the program is easy. It will be a promise kept.

However, with all of their Replacement talk, Republicans take us for fools. There is little chance that a comprehensive and meaningful Replacement healthcare plan can be passed by the GOP alone. With 218 votes needed for anything to pass the House, Republicans can only afford to lose 23 of their members. There is no way that so large a group can be convinced to pass any rational healthcare plan. After all, many of the most rabid of GOP politicians believe that the government should be not be involved in healthcare at all.

The odds that Senate Republicans will pass substantive new health reform is even lower. Even if Majority Leader McConnell "goes nuclear" and overturns the 60-vote filibuster threshold, he has only a very slim majority. At 52-48, Republicans can only lose three votes in passing any post-nuclear bill. And based on the political rancor of the last eight years, they will get no help from Democrats.

Repeal will happen. I would place money on it. However, no meaningful Replacement is in sight. But, maybe I am worried over nothing. After all, President-elect Trump has variously promised, a "great" plan, a "terrific" plan, and an "unbelievable" plan. Paul Ryan promised us that Repeal will "leave no one worse off". Should we take them at their word? Probably not.

The way I see it, there will be a definite Repeal, but no substantive Replacement. There will be a large increase in the number of uninsured Americans. There will be a large increase in the number of people who cannot buy insurance at any price. There will be a large tax increase for those of us who count on tax credits to defray the cost of insurance. District 5 voters will have Jim Sensenbrenner to thank.

What Can We Do ?

The Republican Congress is poised to enact the most granny-starving, hate-filled, rights-restricting agenda that this country has ever seen. With G.O.P. control of the White House and both Houses of Congress, what can a patriotic American do to stop this assault?

Perhaps we should take a page from the old Tea-Party playbook. In 2008, Democrats held the Oval Office, the Senate, and the House-a similar position of power in which today's Republicans find themselves. Within weeks of Obama's first inauguration, countless rallies and marches were held, protesting something or other. Members of Congress got an earful at town hall meetings. A perfectly good historical flag was usurped as the movement's symbol.

Over time, the Tea Party was able to intimidate their representatives or, in many cases, to replace them. Demands for ideological purity and punishment for any compromise shifted many surviving politicians (and our entire country) far to the right. The new, more radical, G.O.P. gained first the House, then the Senate, and now the White House.

Just as Republicans found their way out of the wilderness through smart tactics, organization, and mobilization, Democrats can, too. A good guide for progressive activism in the Age of Trump was compiled by a group of former Democratic Congressional staffers. This document is called Indivisible-A Practical Guide for Resisting the Trump Agenda. It focuses on how to effectively put pressure on your members of Congress to influence their policy positions. 

Indivisible discusses tactics such as public events, phone calls, and media opinion pieces. However, the authors put much of their emphasis on personal contact with your politicians. Town hall meetings, in which constituents can directly speak to their elected officials, are seen as especially effective in communicating your opinions.

Typical of Indivisible's practical town hall advice: "Your questions should be sharp and fact-based, ideally including information on the (Member of Congress’s) record, votes they’ve taken, or statements they’ve made. Thematically, they should focus on a limited number of issues to maximize impact. Prepare 5-10 of these questions and hand them out to your group ahead of the meeting."

W.O.W. Counties are represented in the House by Paul Ryan (southern Waukesha), Jim Sensenbrenner (Northern Waukesha, Washington), and Glen Grothman (Ozaukee). Granted, it will be difficult to directly influence this extremist gang. However, maybe the worst of their nefarious plans can be stalled.

Just as the GOP Congress was shamed today into reversing course on weakening the independent Office of Congressional Ethics, public pressure can have an effect on their other policies. For example, maybe they can be shamed into introducing an actual replacement for the Affordable Care Act at the same time that they kill it. With enough push-back, maybe they will drop the crazy idea of turning Medicare into a discount coupon scheme.

How do we find-out about town hall meetings in our districts? Remember-if no one shows up except supporters, our Congressmen will assume that everyone agrees with their actions.

I am not sure whether Glen Grothman holds any town hall meetings at all. His official website offers no clue. He appears to be frightened of his constituents and must be approached in other ways, such as office visits, sit-ins, and mass calls. His Washington office can be reached at (202) 225-2476.

Paul Ryan calls his town halls his "Mobile Office". According to his official website, "Information about the 2017 Mobile Office Tour and schedule will be available on this web page in Spring 2017."

So Paul Ryan will not have any town hall meetings until Spring- well after he has passed much of his cynical granny-starving agenda. However, we should plan to show-up at each and every one that he finally does hold. After all, video of Paul Ryan facing an irate crowd of seniors in his own district can only help to save Medicare and Social Security nationally.

In refreshing contrast, Jim Sensenbrenner holds frequent town halls throughout his district. His website lists the current schedule of 45 sessions, to be held from January 14 through March 19. I personally have attended many past town halls and find them both entertaining and enlightening.

There are many productive things that you can do to let your Republican Congress people know that you do not agree with their agenda of tax cuts for the rich, gruel for seniors, restricted rights for women, and government-sponsored hate for minorities. Much practical advice is contained in the document, Indivisible. Although progressives are currently out-of-power, we can take a lesson from the 2008 Tea Party. There are concrete actions we can take to blunt the very worst of the Trump/GOP agenda.

Votes in the Ring of Fire

After a brief recuperation, this blogger is ready to look at the November presidential election results. Much can be learned from a careful evaluation of the returns, with a focus on the three W.O.W. counties. For our analysis, we used official results reported by the Wisconsin Election Commission.

There were 368,910 presidential votes cast in the W.O.W. Counties. This represents 12.4% of total statewide vote. Waukesha is by far the 800-pound gorilla of the three counties, accounting for 64.4% of W.O.W. vote. Washington is 20.8% of W.O.W. vote, while Ozaukee is only 14.8%.

Trump received 224,747 votes from the W.O.W. area. This was 16.0% of his statewide vote.

Hillary gained 120,246 W.O.W. votes, constituting 8.7 % of her statewide vote.

Washington County went 67.4% for Trump. Waukesha voted 60.0% for Trump, while Ozaukee went 55.8% for Trump. Yet, none of the W.O.W. counties had the dubious achievement of being the most trumpian County in Wisconsin.

Ozaukee County can no longer be considered one of the deepest red counties in the state. Of the 72 counties, fully 39 others gave Trump a higher percentage of their vote.

Waukesha also can't be consisted a citadel of trumpism. Giving Trump 60.0% of its vote, Waukesha is only the 22nd trumpiest county in the state.

My own Washington County, I am ashamed to say, is the 3rd most Trump-loving county in Wisconsin, trailing only low-population Florence (71.5% Trump) and Taylor (69.5%). Still, Washington fell from being the top 2012 Republican vote percentage county to third place. We can now hold our heads a little higher.

The Libertarians were a larger factor this year than in the past. Gary Johnson received 3.7% of the presidential vote in the combined counties. The three gave Johnson an impressive 13,755 votes, far exceeding Johnson's 2012 W.O.W. vote share of 0.5% .

Trump greatly under-performed Romney's 2012 vote share in Waukesha County. Romney got 66.8% vs 60.0% for Trump. In Ozaukee, Romney received 64.6% of the vote vs 55.8 % for Trump. Romney slightly edged Trump in Washington County, 69.5% to 67.4%.

Romney gathered 1,407,966 votes statewide in 2012. This year, Trump got 1,405,284, a drop of 2,700 votes. Obama gathered 1,620,985 votes in 2012 votes in 2012, compared to Hillary's 1,382,536, a dramatic drop of 238,449. It looks like state Republicans held their collective noses and voted for Trump. Wisconsin Democratic voters did not turn-out in numbers similar to 2012, to the detriment of US world standing, your healthcare, your retirement, and our personal freedoms.

The W.O.W. county drop-off between 2012 and 2016 was pretty large. The 2012 turn-out was 378,415 in the three counties. But 2016 turn-out was 9505 fewer votes. And the drop-off was not spread uniformly between the two candidates. Trump got 28,893 fewer votes than Romney. Hillary got 858 fewer votes than Obama.

So, the story in W.O.W. counties is quite different from that of the rest of the state. Here, Trump actually greatly underperformed vs 2012 Romney. Hillary brought-in about as many votes as did the 2012 Obama. If the rest of Wisconsin had reflected the 3-county area with respect to Democratic turn-out and Trump underperformance, Hillary Clinton would have carried the state in a landslide.

Let's compare the presidential election with the next-highest profile one, the senatorial race between Johnson and Russ Feingold. In most years, there are many more votes cast for President than for down-ballot races. This year, there were 897 more W.O.W. votes cast for the Senate race than for President.

Ron Johnson greatly out-polled Trump in W.O.W.-land, gaining 28,021 more votes than the p*ssy-grabber. In contrast, Feingold received 10,477 fewer votes than Hillary Clinton, showing a typical drop-off for the down-ballot race.

The W.O.W. counties cannot be blamed for Donald Trump. Bucking the statewide trend, our Democrats turned-out and voted for Hillary in similar numbers as we did for Obama. Many of our Republicans rejected Trump, either opting for Gary Johnson, or simply not voting. Trump greatly under-performed in Waukesha, Washington, and Ozaukee counties compared to either Mitt Romney in 2012 or Ron Johnson this year.

If we want to find reasons for Hillary losing Wisconsin, and therefore the presidency, we need to look somewhere other than the W.O.W. counties.

Political Winners and Losers of 2016

Each December, the staff at Radio Free W.O.W. selects the Political Winners and Losers of the past year. 2016 has been an incredibly busy year in the political arena. However, the outcomes were so terrible that it was tough coming-up with any winners at all. Here is our try:

Winner- Vladimir Putin. Succeeded where decades of Soviet-era leaders failed. Got his own personal puppet installed as the American President. It is rumored that Trump will make the last stop of his "Thank-You" tour at the Kremlin.

Losers- People who need healthcare. GOP politicians will kill the ACA, gut Medicaid, turn Medicare into a discount coupon scheme, and end support for women's clinics. These successful programs will maybe, possibly, be replaced sometime later by "Something great. Believe me."

Winner-The planet Venus. Once known as the hellishly-hot sister planet of Earth. With ascension of science-denying politicians in the US, Venus will soon become the much cooler sibling.

Loser- Sheriff David Clarke, who was responsible for four recent deaths in his jail. He called for "torches and pitchforks" if Trump lost. However, after the election, he tweeted "These temper tantrums from these radical anarchists must be quelled. There is no legitimate reason to protest the will of the people." (Other than that pesky First Amendment).

Winner- John Glenn. Marine pilot, Mercury astronaut, US Senator, Space Shuttle passenger, American hero. Inspired many American kids (including me) to go into science. A life well-lived.

Losers- The people of Wisconsin, whose State Supreme Court continues to be packed with dark-money favorites like corporatist shill and homophobe, Rebecca Bradley.

Winners-The US Olympic athletes who did us all proud in Rio. Except swimmer Ryan Lochte. He was kind of dickish, causing an unnecessary international incident.

Losers- Indiana taxpayers, who paid $7 million to Carrier to help ship 1,400 jobs to Mexico and footed the bill for the trumpian media circus in Indianapolis.

Winner- Mohammad Ali. Can legitimately be called "the Greatest". Heavyweight boxing champ and US ambassador to the world. Jeopardized his career to protest the Vietnam War, saying "Man, I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong. No Viet Cong ever called me ni****." Another life well-lived.

Loser- Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell. The elderly mutant ninja turtle refused to do his constitutionally-mandated job for almost a year. He allowed no hearings on Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland. Later topped himself by hiding knowledge of Russian interference in our elections from the American people.

Winner, Quote of the Year Award- The Loser of the Presidential popular vote, who, when asked to name his policy advisers, replied, "I’m speaking with myself, number one, because I have a very good brain and I’ve said a lot of things." The runner-up quote, coincidentally, by the same politician, is "I know words. I have the best words."

Losers- Uday and Qusay Bevis and Butthead Trump. The Trump boys have been selected by our staff as the most likely administration members to first end-up in prison on corruption charges.

Winners- The Social Darwinist wing of the Republican Party, headed by Paul Ryan, who succeeded in taking-over the government they hate so much. The group's credos are: "Punish and humiliate the poor.", "School lunches give kids a full stomach but an empty soul.", and "We only like people who don't get sick."

Winner- ChaChi, who went from talentless D-list obscurity to a major speaking gig at the GOP National Convention. He was sadly the most prominent celebrity to support the GOP nominee.

Loser- Perennial loser, Scott Walker, made the list this year after the leak of John Doe evidence to The Guardian. The leak illustrated Walker's pay-for-play ethics and illegal campaign coordination. One damning piece of evidence was a canceled check written by a donor to a dark money group. On the memo line was written "Because Scott Walker asked".

Winners- Writers and Directors of the 2006 film, Idiocracy. Their prescient work predicted a future of anti-intellectualism, rampant commercialism, and little social responsibility. Many have suggested that the movie's dim-witted wrestler-turned-President captures Trump perfectly. "It's got electrolytes!"

Losers- 2012 Obama voters who did not vote this year. In 2012, Romney received 2,682 more Wisconsin votes than Trump did this year. Obama received 238,449 more votes than did Clinton this year. By not voting (or voting for Jill Stein), Democratic-leaning state voters handed Wisconsin (and the Oval Office) to the least qualified candidate in history.

Winners- The Obamas, who for eight years have brought grace, class, and style to the White House. Barack Obama leaves office with a steadily-growing economy, no major scandals, low unemployment, low uninsured rates, an improving environment, and strong US leadership in the world. 

Short Break

I decided to take a short break from this blog to recharge my batteries. Will resume next January. Good luck to all and keep-up the good fight.

                                                                        Paul

A Few Random Thoughts on the Election

We only have four days left before November 8. Our final day of voting comes none too soon. This election seems like it has gone on forever. The Iowa caucus was held on February 1, 2016. Since that time, elections have dominated the news to the exclusion of nearly all else.

We expected a filthy campaign from Trump, and the Republican candidate has exceeded all of our expectations. However, the unhinged GOP leader has also influenced down-ballot candidates with his juvenile name-calling. Our own Ron Johnson has called his opponent "a complete phony". The desperate Johnson has even called Feingold "a swamp creature", promising to "drain the swamp". This promise to destroy protected wetlands is just another example of Johnson's disdain for the environment.

Like most W.O.W. voters, Germantown residents have few choices beyond the top of the ballot. Sure, there are candidates worth voting for in the Presidential, Senate, and 5th District US House races (thank you Mr. Penebaker !) However, there is only one (of course, Republican) candidate for State Senate (Alberta Darling), State Assembly (Knodl), County DA, County Clerk, County Treasurer, and County Registrar of Deeds.

I simply cannot bring myself to vote for any of these local Trump-Party candidates. I know that write-ins no longer count unless registered with the state. However, I am sure that Jesus H. Christ will make a good State Senator. My candidate for Assembly will be Charlemagne Tha God (love that name!). For the other offices, I will write-in Bob Dylan, Dylan Thomas, Thomas Hardy, and cartoon hyena, Hardy Har Har.

Speaking of write-ins, I served as for several years as an election inspector. One late evening, I was working with the Chief Inspector to record the write-in votes. The Chief started cussing up a storm about all these write-ins and how they made a problem for election workers. At that point, I came to one write-in and sheepishly said, "You probably don't want to see this one !" To my surprise, one of my friends had written-in my name for State Assembly!.

Like so many Assembly districts, Germantown's 24th was gerrymandered to give about a 45% Democratic-55% Republican advantage. This has led to the criminal situation of having only 36 Democratic Representatives and 63 Republican ones, despite having more people voting for Democratic candidates in 2012 than Republicans. Unlike the Republican's mythical voter fraud, this is actual election fraud, committed by our GOP legislators and Governor.

One can hardly say that we have no choice for President this year. In addition to Hillary and Sniffy McGropper, we have Libertarian Gary (what is Aleppo?) Johnson and Green Party anti-vaxxer Jill Stein. There are three other candidates, too. The theocratic Constitution Party is again on our ballot, pushing for a Bible-based government. So is the revolutionary socialist Workers World Party. The Delta Party, headed by "Rocky" Roque De La Fuente is on the ballot. This little-known party is for election reform and against an interventionist foreign policy. (Wouldn't it be cool to have a President named Rocky?)

Donald Trump is the most unqualified, psychologically unfit, and intellectually deficient presidential candidate in my lifetime. His defense of and support by a Russian dictator and the KKK alone should rule him out as America's leader. His divisive rhetoric, belief in conspiracy theories, and explosive temper should alarm all voters. After the election, Trump faces trials for fraud and child rape. Hillary used the wrong server for her e-mails.

None of my Republican friends seem to like Donald Trump. However, many are still going to vote for this dangerous man. The anti-Hillary propaganda has been so consistent and shrill that many plan to vote for the worst candidate in my lifetime instead of one of the smartest and best-prepared. The Stockholm syndrome that has turned the GOP into the Party of Trump is the most bizarre and troubling political phenomenon of our time.

Each and every state GOP politician has taken a stand on Trump. That decision will follow them around the rest of their political lives. Scott Walker has come to accept Trump and actively campaigns for him. Ron Johnson embraces Trump and links himself to Trump as "Ron and Don". The weasel Paul Ryan can't bring himself to say Trump's name, but supports "the candidate of my party". Sensenbrenner loves Trump, claiming that "he won fair and square".

The increasingly senile State Sen. Alberta Darling has gone full-on for Trump, heading-up the state Women for Trump organization. In an interview she said, "When you listen to the policy discussions that Trump has, he is on point with what women want." According to Darling, women must want indiscriminate use of nuclear weapons, reneging on our national debt, and abandonment of our NATO allies-all policies that Trump has advocated.

Senator Sunspot

There are many reasons to deny my above-pictured BFF, Ron Johnson, a second term as Wisconsin Senator. For example, he refuses to do his Constitutional duty to keep the Supreme Court functioning. He sent a treasonous letter to the leaders of Iran, advising them to ignore the current US President. He voted to allow domestic terrorists to continue to buy assault rifles. He believes that your Social Security is some kind of criminal "Ponzi scheme".

However, of all of the reasons to fire Ron Johnson on November 8, I personally believe that the most important is his refusal to do anything about global warming. In fact, Johnson frequently denies that human-caused global warming is even happening. The first step in solving a problem is to acknowledge its existence.

As a retired scientist, I find Johnson's utter disregard for science research and the scientific community deeply disturbing. Our political leaders should base policy on facts, rather than on the directives of their deep-pocketed political donors.

Johnson has fought action on global warming since the beginning of his political career. During a 2010 Senate campaign interview, he said, "I absolutely do not believe that the science of man-caused climate is proven, by any stretch of the imagination. Its far more likely that its just sunspot activity..." This statement earned him the early derision of the country and the nickname "Senator Sunspot".

Since that time, Johnson has wasted no opportunity to embarrass Wisconsin by his wrong assertions on global warming. During 2014 Senate hearings on the XL-pipeline, Johnson tried to lecture Columbia climate scientist, James Hansen, on the "facts", insisting that "The science (of global warming) is far from settled."

And Johnson's daffy ideas on global warming continue to this day. In an August 3 talk-radio interview, he was asked about regulations to limit carbon dioxide. Our senator went full-blown tin foil hat, saying "For some reason, liberals and progressives, socialists and communists, want to control everything. They want to control your life... There is an arrogance of power there, they're utopians. They think they can create heaven on earth. And where its failed in the past, those people like Stalin and Chavez and the Castros, the nut-cases in North Korea..."

Somehow, the unhinged Johnson equates limits on greenhouse gasses with dictatorships in Stalinist Russia and North Korea. Is this the guy we want representing us in the Senate?

Just last week, Johnson announced a different path, in which he simply wants to let global warming happen, damn the planet. In a radio interview, he said, “Climate has already changed, always will. I’m just not an alarmist. We will adapt. How many people are moving up toward the Antarctica, or the Arctic? Most people move down to Texas or Florida, where it’s a little bit warmer.” In a JS interview, he went further, saying "Mankind has flourished in warmer temperatures." Sounds like ol' RoJo would like to create hell on earth.

Johnson has certainly been putting his votes where his mouth is. Our Tea-Party Senator has received a meager 4% (out of 100%) lifetime voting score from the League of Conservation Voters. His performance led to a strong 2016 endorsement of his opponent, Russ Feingold, by the same pro-environment group.

In the Senate, Johnson has fought to keep taxpayer subsidies funneling cash to coal, oil, and gas producers. He co-sponsored resolutions condemning EPA rules to limit CO2 emissions from power plants. He signed onto a letter to the Obama administration to protest those rules.

During a debate over the XL-pipeline, the Senate voted on an amendment stating that "human activity is a significant contributor to climate change". Of course, RoJo voted nay, along with 48 of his Republican colleagues. Again, you can't remedy a problem that you do not believe exists. 

Ron Johnson has unwaveringly supported Donald Trump, tying himself to the Orange Groper as "Don and Ron". Trump is certainly an environmental soulmate of Johnson. Trump believes that global warming was an invention of the Chinese, aimed at making the US less competitive. Trump would immediately abrogate the Paris Climate Agreement. He would drastically cut the EPA. The country certainly cannot afford a combined Johnson-Trump assault on the environment.

Ron Johnson clearly does not understand global warming and the science behind it. If he was only expressing his bizarre opinions on the radio, in a bar, or at family gatherings, he would be harmless. Unfortunately, Johnson has real power in the US Senate. He uses that power to obstruct and impede others who are trying to make constructive environmental change. We must end this. Johnson must be sent packing on November 8.

Paul C. Adair