Blogging Blue

Scott Walker promised to veto a countywide referendum for a 1-cent increase in the local sales tax, a measure that was approved by the County Board, and boy did he deliver! Now it’s well-established Scott Walker has made a point during his tenure in office not to raise taxes, but it’s worth noting he resolution Walker vetoed wasn’t a tax increase; it simply called for a citizens’ referendum to be held on February 19, 2008 - which coincides with the state’s presidential primary election - on whether or not to increase Milwaukee County’s sales tax. Half the estimated $120 million raised from the 1-cent increase would go toward property tax relief, with the rest to be used to pay for parks, transit and police and fire protection.

So in vetoing a proposal for a referendum, Scott Walker’s basically thumbed his nose at the citizens of Milwaukee County, in essence sending the message that he knows what’s best for the people of Milwaukee County and that they can’t be trusted to make decisions for themselves. Whether the referendum had passed or failed, at least the citizens of Milwaukee County would have had a say in the decision, and it’s shameful that Scott Walker took away their ability to choose for themselves. What’s really ironic is that for all their criticisms of how liberals favor a “nanny state” that interferes in the day to day lives of people, conservatives are no better, as Scott Walker has just shown.

Willie Hines, the Common Council President, was quick to respond to Walker’s veto, saying:

“The rallying cry for the Founding Fathers of our nation gave words to an inspired and visionary movement: ‘No taxation without representation.’ Scott Walker’s rallying cry, on the other hand, appears short on inspiration and void of vision. Based on the action he took yesterday in vetoing a sales tax referendum, I can only conclude that his own personal rallying cry must be: ‘No taxation. Period.’ “

I think Willie Hines pretty much hit the nail on the head.

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Could it be possible? Is the love affair between the MJS and Scott Walker slowly coming to an end? I’m not sure, but a recent article by Dan Bice doesn’t paint the rosiest re-election picture for Boy Wonder. Here’s the skinny from Bice’s article:

A new poll commissioned by Progressive Majority Wisconsin, a liberal interest group, finds that Walker’s re-election numbers have dropped dramatically in the past three years.

According to the survey, 43% of county residents say they are likely to vote for Walker in next spring’s election. That’s down from 64% in January 2004.

By contrast, nearly two out of five respondents said they would be inclined to vote for somebody besides Walker. That figure was only 22% back in early 2004.

Now obviously I don’t put a lot of stock in polls this early in the game, so I’m not ready to count Boy Wonder out, but this just underscores a trend I’ve been noticing since before Pat Jursik was elected to the 8th District Supervisor’s seat, beating a self-avowed Scott Walker crony in Chris Kujawa. If a more liberal candidate like Jursik can win in a district that leans towards conservative candidates, that can’t be a good sign for Walker’s county-wide popularity. I’m willing to bet this trend is only going to get worse for Walker as the field of opponents begins to flesh out, because if his popularity’s sagging without a viable opponent, I’d be curious to see what happens to his numbers once one (or more) opponents start to rally troops to their side.

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I’m amused to no end by reports that Idaho Republican Senator Larry Craig was arrested June 11 at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport by a plainclothes police officer investigating complaints of lewd behavior in an airport men’s room. Now obviously Senator Craig has denied he was attempting to engage in any homosexual behavior in that bathroom, despite police assertions that he was acting in a manner consistent with such activity, but quite frankly, I’m not surprised. How many times have we seen Republicans paint themselves as the “party of family values,” only to go into full-fledged spin mode once one of their own gets caught doing something naughty? Already Senator Craig has resigned his position within the Romney for President campaign, and there’s speculation he may be pressured to resign his Senate seat in advance of the 2008 elections (he’d be up for re-election) because the GOP doesn’t want another sex-related scandal (see Mark Foley in 2006) that they’d have to spin during an election year.

What’s really interesting about Senator Craig’s case is the fact that his voting record in recent years has earned him top ratings from social conservative groups such as the American Family Association, Concerned Women for America and the Family Research Council. Then again, that shouldn’t be surprising, given my belief that the folks that rail the most against homosexuality are usually the same folks who’ve got some sexuality-related issues of their own that they haven’t yet resolved.

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Last month I wrote about the case of Michael Monyelle, a convicted sex offender who authorities were trying to have committed indefinitely under Wisconsin’s Chapter 980 sexual predator laws. The offense that led to the action to commit Mr. Monyelle indefinitely? He had thoughts and fantasies about children, as opposed to actually taking actions against them. Just last week, a jury in Waukesha County branded Mr. Monyelle a sexual predator, meaning he now faces indefinite secure commitment for treatment.

Gretchen Schuldt over at Milwaukee Rising thinks it’s a slippery slope, arguing, “the ability to lock people up for thinking bad thoughts when they have done nothing criminal — anybody can be pushed through it. That is a far larger danger than Michae Monyelle has proven thus far to be.” While I’m inclined to agree with Gretchen on many levels, I think it’s important to remember Michael Monyelle isn’t a man who’s never committed any crimes; he’s a twice convicted child sex offender who’s now admitted - while still on parole - that’s he’s having thoughts and fantasies about children.

Now at the risk of losing my Liberal Club membership card, I think prosecutors were absolutely justified in seeking a Chapter 980 commitment against Michael Monyelle. He’s proven twice that he’s capable of committing sex crimes against children, and for him to admit to his parole agent that he’s having fantasies about children - thoughts that included sexual imaginings about children he saw on television and thoughts about abducting and sexually assaulting children he encountered in public. This is a dangerous guy, and if he’s having thoughts like those, it’s obvious sex offender treatment in the community isn’t working. I absolutely think authorities did the right thing - in this situation.

Obviously I don’t believe this kind of action should be taken against anyone who has illegal or improper thoughts - which is what I believe most folks are worried will start to happen - but in the case of sex offenders who have a record of committing sex crimes, serious thought needs to be given to protecting the community.

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Anyone up for a little infighting?

So I was surfing across the internet when I came across the little nugget I linked to above. Apparently lawmakers in Florida want to hold their Democratic presidential primary on January 29, 2007, which doesn’t seem noteworthy, except for the fact that rules enacted by the Democratic Party say say states cannot hold their primary contests before February 5, 2007. The only exceptions to the rule are Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. Despite that rule, Florida lawmakers went ahead and passed a law setting its primary date for January 29. The rules enacted by the Democratic Party state a violation of their calendar triggers some pretty serious sanctions - the Democratic congressional delegation and DNC members from Florida will lose their votes for the nominee at next year’s national convention in Denver. And the Rules and Bylaws Committee will decide whether to strip Florida of anywhere from half to all of its 185 other delegates to the convention.

What’s most disconcerting about all this is the potential for a showdown between the DNC and said Floridians at the national convention.

Sen. Bill Nelson told reporters in a conference call Friday that he’ll lead the delegates to Denver whether or not the DNC plans to let them in.

“We are quite concerned that Florida Democrats are going to lose their right to vote,” Nelson said. “And of all states, we have the sensitivity of this because of what we have gone through.”

Now most folks will agree that the 2008 election is a chance for Democrats to continue to make gains and pick up not only more seats in the House and Senate, but to also win the White House as well. The last thing the Democrats need is for infighting at the national convention to choose the Democratic presidential nominee. In my opinion, this situation has all the makings of an absolute clusterfuck, and I just hope it gets resolved without boiling over to the convention in 2008.

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