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Posted by Zach W on March 14, 2010, at 6:44 am

Sunday Open Thread

It’s Sunday, and I’d like to hear what’s on your mind.

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Posted by Zach W on March 14, 2010, at 6:32 am

Walker to appear on “Sly in the Morning” show

From the SEPAC blog comes news Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker will be appearing on WTDY’s Sly in the Morning radio show this Tuesday, March 16th:

Madison area leaders and members should note that radio host Sly will have gubernatorial candidate Walker on his program on Tuesday, 3/16 at 8:35 a.m. to quiz him about his position on state employees, their wages, benefits and outsourcing. This could prove to be a very interesting half hour. Sly indicates he may even accept phone calls during the segment. We strongly encourage you to tune in to WTDY, AM 1670 and listen to Scott Walker talk about your future if elected, and if the opportunity presents itself, call in with your thoughts. You can also listen live online by visiting: http://www.wtdy.com/.

I’m hoping Sly opens up his phone lines for calls from his listeners, because I think it’d be great entertainment to hear Scott Walker take questions from an audience that may not be as friendly as the audience on Chuck Sykes’ show.

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Posted by Zach W on March 13, 2010, at 7:08 am

Evangelical leader challenges Beck

Image courtesy CNN.com

The Reverend Jim Wallis, president of Sojouners, a network of progressive Christians, has called for a boycott of Glenn Beck’s television show after Beck demonized churches that preach economic and social justice. Wallis has also challenged Beck to a public debate, saying that Beck perverted Jesus’ message when he called on Christians last week to leave churches that preach social and economic justice.

“He wants us to leave our churches, but we should leave him,” Wallis says of Beck. “When your political philosophy is to consistently favor the rich over the poor, you don’t want to hear about economic justice.”

According to Rev. Wallis, social and economic justice is at the heart of Jesus’ message, and in Matthew 19:21, Jesus said, “Go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” Sounds a lot like a plan to redistribute wealth, which conservatives have been screaming is socialism at its worst.

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Posted by Zach W on March 13, 2010, at 6:35 am

A few thoughts on WPRI and its latest poll

WPRI has a new poll out showing former governor Tommy! Thompson with a lead over Sen. Russ Feingold in the race for Feingold’s U.S. Senate seat. Shortly after the poll was released, Sen. Feingold’s campaign issued a statement :

As has been widely reported, WPRI is a group with strong Republican ties, most prominently to Tommy Thompson. As the Associated Press reported last week there have been serious questions about WPRI manipulating polling results so the media and voters should think twice about the credibility of WPRI’s polling.

As Xoff notes, WPRI’s poll brings bad news for Republican Senate candidate Terrence Wall, whose name recognition slipped from 69% in a recent Rasmussen poll to only 18% in the WPRI poll. Clearly something’s fishy about those numbers, so it’s hard to put much stock in either poll, given how dramatically different the results are.

Speaking of WPRI, earlier today I came upon a piece (of what I can’t say here) written by Dave Blaska, who argues WPRI is nonpartisan:

Yeah, with a list of commentators that includes Charlie Sykes, George Lightbourne, and Christian Schneider, I can see how Dave Blaska thinks WPRI is “nonpartisan.”

H/T to illy T .

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Posted by Zach W on March 13, 2010, at 6:03 am

“Money and Influence in American Elections” forum on 03/24/10

From my inbox:

Community for Change and the League of Women Voters Wisconsin will sponsor a forum on “Money and Influence in American Elections” on Wednesday, March 24th at 7pm at Gateway Technical College in Racine. The forum will feature special guest speakers, Mike McCabe, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and Andrea Kaminski, Executive Director of the League of Women Voters Wisconsin.

The main topic for conversation will be how the climate of campaign contributions has changed in Wisconsin over the last decade and how it will continue to shape Wisconsin politics in the future. In November of 2000 Wisconsin voters were asked if they supported campaign finance reform that would limit contributions and expenditures and require complete and timely disclosure. Over 90% of the voters answered “yes” in this referendum. Awareness of public sponsored financing of campaigns has gained momentum as voters see the escalating influence of corporations and special interests in political campaigns.

Since 1995, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, a nonpartisan watchdog group and its Executive Director, Mike McCabe have been working for clean, open and honest government. WDC has tracked campaign contributions and votes, and published dozens of reports detailing the intricate dealings of campaign finance in the Capitol.

McCabe has emerged as a preeminent authority on the evolution of campaign contributions and finance in Wisconsin politics. As elections become more and more costly, candidates have fewer choices in looking for big dollars. A proponent of public financing of campaigns, McCabe states: “You’ve got to get at the money in the campaigns. As long as you’ve got races costing $3 million, and you’ve got $32 million races for governor, I think the process is going to belong to a handful of powerful people and a small constellation of extremely wealthy donors”.

The League of Women Voters in Wisconsin is a nonpartisan political organization that promotes informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. As Executive Director, Andrea Kaminski has advocated for strong public financing of campaigns to ensure fair and democratic elections. The League of Women Voters was established in 1920.

This forum is free and open to the public and will also include a question and answer session, it will be held in the Great Lakes Room at the Racine Campus of Gateway Technical College. The Racine Building entrance and parking are located on Pershing east of Main Street.

The public is invited to learn more about the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and the League of Women Voters before and after the event or by going to their websites at: wisdc.org and www.lwvwi.org. For more information, please contact Community for Change at communityforchange@gmail.com

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Posted by Zach W on March 12, 2010, at 7:07 am

Taxes, taxes taxes? Tommy! Tommy! Tommy!

According to new financial projections released earlier this week, the Miller Park stadium sales tax, which former governor (and possible U.S. Senate candidate) Tommy Thompson famously said was a way for the rest of the state to “stick it” to Milwaukee, will sunset sometime between 2016 and 2018, at least two years later than originally thought. The Miller Park stadium sales tax had originally been projected to be retired in 2014, but the recession has taken its toll on sales tax receipts, resulting in the later sunset date for the Miller Park sales tax.

The Miller Park sales tax is an integral part of Tommy “Stick it to ‘em” Thompson’s legacy as governor of Wisconsin, and no doubt his words will come back to haunt him should he enter the 2010 U.S. Senate race here in Wisconsin.

Jason Haas, James Rowen, and Xoff have more.

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Posted by Zach W on March 12, 2010, at 7:04 am

“A lot of people in Washington” is code for lobbyists and special interests

At his birthday celebration in Milwaukee on March 7, 2010, Senator Russ Feingold made it clear “a lot of people in Washington” were pushing former governor Tommy Thompson to throw his hat in the race for Feingold’s U.S. Senate seat, and Feingold noted he’s more interested in what a lot of folks in Wisconsin wanted:

On the heels of Sen. Feingold’s remarks, it should come as a surprise to not a single living soul that Tommy Thompson will be headlining a fundraiser on May 12, with D.C. lobbyists at Barbour, Griffith & Rogers, one of Washington D.C.’s top Republican lobbying firms. The fundraiser is billed as being in support of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, but the fundraiser could be starting point for Thompson to jump into the U.S. Senate race. Before you say, “Zach, you’re crazy…it’s just a GOP fundraiser!” keep in mind the current president of Barbour, Griffith & Rogers is Bob Wood, a former Thompson operative and the same individual who registered websites for Thompson’s burgeoning U.S. Senate campaign.

Coincidence? I think not.

The fact is, Tommy Thompson’s decision to run or not run for Russ Feingold’s seat in the U.S. Senate will be dictated by powerbrokers and lobbyists in Washington D.C., who are more concerned about their own self-interests than they are about what’s best for Wisconsinites. Like him or not, at least Russ Feingold’s not beholden to any special interests except the citizens of the State of Wisconsin, while a Senator Tommy Thompson would be beholden to the powerbrokers and lobbyists who helped get him elected.

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Posted by Zach W on March 12, 2010, at 6:02 am

Walker proposes bigger government

Going against his “small government” grain, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker said yesterday he favors splitting Milwaukee Public Schools into smaller school districts. Speaking at the Marquette University Law School, Walker suggested that the state’s largest school district should be broken up into ten to twelve autonomous districts. Presumably, each of those ten to twelve autonomous school districts would also have their own autonomous school boards, and even if each board has just five members instead of the nine that currently sit on the MPS board, that’s fifty to sixty new elected officials. In addition to all those new elected officials, each new school district would need administrators, including superintendents, which adds up to a lot of new layers of bureaucracy.

I always thought Scott Walker wanted to shrink the size of government, not grow it, so it’s odd to hear him supporting a proposal that would undoubtedly increase the size of government tenfold, and I can’t wait to see the reaction his proposal gets from the rabidly anti-government folks who seem to comprise Walker’s base of support.

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Posted by Zach W on March 11, 2010, at 6:05 am

This is what grassroots is all about…

From the inbox…

On Saturday, March 20, Feingold volunteers will canvass door-to-door in 57 cities and towns across Wisconsin. And we’d love to have you join us.

You don’t need to be an experienced canvasser to participate. The campaign will provide training, literature, walking lists, and pair you up with a canvass partner. The only requirement (in addition to being an enthusiastic supporter of Russ!) is a three-hour time commitment.

Russ has always run grassroots campaigns, fueled by dedicated volunteers like you. It’s because of your continued support that we’re able to go door-to-door so early and often. Thanks in advance for your participation and support.

Click here if you’d like to sign up to join Sen. Feingold’s statewide canvass.

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Posted by Zach W on March 11, 2010, at 6:03 am

Thursday Music – “Synthesizers and Big Hair” Edition

I’ll admit it….I’m a fan of the music of the 1980’s. Synthesizers and big hair are definitely a weakness of mine when it comes to music, so here’s a few of my favorites from the era of big hair and synthesizers.

First up, here’s “Here I Go Again” by Whitesnake:

Next, here’s “West End Girls” by the Pet Shop Boys:

And because it’s one of my all-time favorites (and because I do a great Humpty Hump impression), here’s “The Humpty Dance” by Digital Underground:

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