Paul Soglin: Waxing America

Belling and the Small Business Times of Milwaukee - Bring Your Own Knife

This final day of the week, and the last blogging day of the month is flush with topics for commentary, but working its way to the top is the neverending rant from Milwaukee right-wing radio gossip, Mark Belling. 

Belling, for the uninitiated, chooses to feud with the Small Business Times (SBT) over the 'correct' way to comment on what is wrong with Milwaukee's business climate. Belling claims he knows it all.

For an accurate description of the third chapter see, see the latest response from SBT executive editor, Steve Jagler. Standing up against what's wrong for Milwaukee: Part III:

These are bright people sounding the alarms about the issues our region faces and offering their suggestions for progress. And SBT was happy, proud and able to serve as the conduit of their thoughts...As for Belling, I am compelled here to quote the great Mark Twain: "It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." (ed note: see Mark Belling: Milwaukee's White American)

Unlike my buddy Ed Garvey who asks in his blog, fightingbob.com, "Is this a private fight, or can anyone join?" I am just going to muscle my way alongside Jalger and take another free poke at punch-drunk Belling.

First my relationship with Jagler. We disagree on a lot from school choice to taxation. Jagler is what I would call a Tommy Thompson Republican, a good companion at dinner or a ballgame, but not a reliable vote in the legislature.

Jagler and I do agree on one two things that separate us from Belling. Criticism of Milwaukee's, or Wisconsin's business climate should not be for the purpose of laying blame or 'scoring idealogical points.' Instead, analysis must be from the perspective of quality, where we attempt to learn, to plan, and to make necessary improvements.

People will not be candid, and will not participate in changing structures and institutions in a poisoned environment that lacks trust.

Jagler's motives are easy to figure. He is trying to improve Milwaukee.

Belling's are just as easy to figure. Belling is focused on right-wing ideological purity. That means drive out the RINOS. He will drive them out of the legislature and the business community.

That is why Belling not only attacks Jagler, but also Milwukee 7 (M7), healthcare providers like Aurora, and Republicans who might work for a budget compromise.

The other possible subjects for today were:

• Thursday's brewer game provided more documentation to get rid of manager Yost.
• Wednesday' Wisconsin state Journal story on taxes.
• More of the McClellan - Bush-Iraq story.
• Why the price of gasoline may be about to drop.
• Is Yost gone yet?

 

Scott McClellan: A John Dean Moment, Not A Democrat

Tuesday night I watched the first of the Bush Administration talking heads, including some 'expert' from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, respond to Scott McClellan's  "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception."

The former White House press secretary was quickly assaulted with a limited and dull collection of bromides:

• If he was so concerned about these matters, he had the obligation to speak up at the time.
• He betrayed the White House.
• He sounds like a Democrat.

From  Bush apologist Frances Townsend, on CNN we got "Scott never did that on any of these issues as best I can remember or as best as I know from any of my White House colleagues."

From the White House,  the AP reports,"Scott, we now know, is disgruntled about his experience at the White House," said current White House press secretary Dana Perino, a former deputy to McClellan."

As for Secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice (also AP), we are told her response was, "Those who were skeptical should have spoken up at the time and argued against U.N. sanctions such as the oil-for-food program, she said."

None of these and the myriad of other replies addresses one fundamental point - no one will take on McClellan head on and deny the truth of his allegations.

The notion that he sounds like a Democrat, must bring a smile to the lips of John Dean. The Watergate Era staffer to Richard Nixon, and author of Blind Ambition,  faced a similar, though somewhat more demanding, crisis.

Both men knew that eventually history would catch up with them (also see Stanley Kutler's  The Wars of Watergate ) and their presidents.

Faced with the ugly lies and the disapproval of their colleagues, both Dean and McClellan chose the truth, the temporary label as turncoat, and the long-term contentment of honesty.

That is not a Democratic quality, I hope.

Los Angeles Times Looks At Madison, Crime, and Homeless

As the morning's temperatures cracked 40 degrees, Tuesday's Los Angeles Times greeted readers with:

Madison, Wisconsin, casts a cold eye on its homeless

- In the college city known for its liberal values, the transient population comes under suspicion in two unsolved slayings. It's causing some soul-searching.

P.J. Hufftutter brought an accurate assessment of the situation at a time when less reasonable accountings of a difficult criminal and social challenge are nationally recounted.

The article reports the three highly visible, downtown related unsolved homicides and the tensions we face in confronting the task of tending to,  and yet, regulating homeless living.

• Distinctions need to be made between homeless families seeking shelter, homeless individuals seeking shelter, and homeless individuals not seeking shelter.  The latter are mostly men, many are veterans and a very significant number have drug and alcohol related problems.
• The right to speak to someone on the street and ask for money is constitutionally protected but it can be regulated as to type of behavior and in some instances, place.
• It is often ignored, but Madison has an ordinance that prohibits panhandling in the street right of way.  That means cars cannot be approached from curbs or medians.
• It is likely that a handful of drifters are responsible for as much as 50%, or more, of the public safety calls to Peace Park and the surrounding area.
• For those who are concerned about the homeless, I would recommend working directly with Porchlight, Madison Urban Ministry, Interfaith Hospitality Network, and other organizations rather than a do-it-yourself approach.

 

 .

Looking for Excuses on 'Hospital Tax' - WMC Blows It

The Capital Times took a look at the continuing Assembly opposition to the 'hospital tax' on Wednesday. The intrigue requires a scorecard, a calendar and a referee.  Here is the quick and dirty:

• February, 2007 word gets out that Governor Doyle is contemplating a 'hospital tax.'
• In the spring the 'hospital tax' is proposed. It will make Wisconsin eligible for an additional $420 million of federal dollars.
• Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) immediately opposes the measure.
• Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA) also opposes the measure but was prepared to support the measure if assurances were sufficient that funds would be used for health, not general purpose revenues.
• By fall a number of health care providers which probably includes Humana, Aurora, and Meriter support the measure.
• In October WHA supports the measure.
• By winter, WMC changes to neutral.
• March 6, 2008, the health care providers having taken the day, WMC now supports the proposal.
• April: Governor Doyle indicates that the 'hospital tax' should be part of the budget repair bill.
• May: Budget repair bill is adopted, Republicans in Assembly continue their opposition despite the support from WMC and WHA.

May 21, 2008:  The blame game as reported in The Capital Times:Assembly GOP says no to hospital tax. It is noted that:

• Doyle hadn't even announced the details of the plan in February of 2007 when Donna Sollenberger, former CEO of UW Hospital and Clinics who was on the board of the Hospital Association at the time, announced, "Ultimately, what you're saying is you're going to tax sick people."

  It was a rhetorical shot that took on a life of its own, published in the group's newsletter and then adopted by the state's largest business lobby, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce. (emphasis added)

• In October the Hospital Association changed course. And Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, which as a rule fiercely opposes any taxes, came out in favor of the hospital tax this past March.

  "It's a very unusual instance where we come out on that side of the tax issue," said WMC spokesman Jim Pugh.

• "By the time they had it figured out," he said, "they had the Assembly Republicans sitting out on the end of the branch and they were sawing it off."

  Eric Borgerding, senior vice president of the Hospital Association and a lobbyist for the group, bristles at the suggestion that the group made a mistake...But he concedes that his group's initial opposition may have had unintended consequences.

The key to all of this is that WMC and subsequently WHA saw two things - Governor Doyle and the word tax. They immediately said 'No.'

Here is what my sources tell me: In the Spring of 2007 WMC immediately responded without knowing the details and the substance of the proposal. Consequently, the backpedaling by WMC.

Throughout the chaos, it became difficult for anyone, especially for WMC to  move the extreme right wing Republicans in the Assembly, to get sufficient conservative support for the measure.

It will be a key 'wedge' issue in the fall elections and will significantly contribute to Democratic control of the Assembly. 

from The Capital Times:

Here's how the tax plan would work:

The state would levy a 0.7 percent assessment on hospital revenues, amounting to slightly more than $200 million a year. The state would use the money to increase Medicaid rates to hospitals, which hospital officials have long complained are insufficient to cover the cost of providing care. Because the federal government provides states with matching funds for Medicaid costs, federal funds would flow to the state, about $1.40 on the dollar for the hospitals, for a $150 million a year gain. The state would garner about $62 million a year in reimbursements for Medicaid expenditures.

 

Update: May 29, 2008: I tried to edit this post with strikes, but it was too cumbersome. Consequently, I have deleted sections and rewritten others after several sources filled me in on the role of the WHA.  The bottom line is this: Initially Wisconsin hospital were reticent ot support the hospital tax because the state was often using segregated funds for general purpose revenues.  They did not trust the state.  After meetings with the Doyle Administration, they were more comfortable with the proposal.  Then came the support.

McCain Should Be "Sick At Heart." No friend of war or peace.

As he simultaneously attempts to distance himself from the George W. Bush's Iraq policies and his own troublesome relationship with veterans, Republican Party presidential nominee John McCain, tells us that he is "sick at heart by the many mistakes made by civilian and military commanders and the terrible price we have paid..."

He should be.

As a witness to the Vietnam War debacle, McCain should not have bullied his Congressional colleagues into supporting a war built on lies and a lust for making the oil barons billions.

McCain knew that loyal Americans should have carefully scrutinized the shoddy claims of Rumsfeld and Chaney, and their puppet, Bush. McCain's own experiences in the Vietnam War obviously were not sufficient to empower him with the judgment to make military decisions.

Now al Queda, once trapped in the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan, flourishes in Iraq, the greater Middle East,  and North Africa. McCain is on the defensive with veterans who expect the federal government to modestly assist in their college pursuits and furtherer workforce development. As the Wall Street Journal reported, McCain has the most preposterous reason for opposing the legislation. He is concerned that the bill would decrease the number of noncommissioned officers who would leave the military to further their education.

Barack Obama, younger and supposedly more inexpereinced, clearly can be trusted.

McCain is no friend of war or peace.

Cubs, White Sox Top Divisions; New York Laggards

As the major league baseball season approaches the one third mark, I take delight in noting the positions of the two Chicago and two New York teams. Gloating is bad manners and bad form, not to mention bad taste, but we are talking about the dismal performance of the Yankees in particular.

Impossible to resist.

As we enter Memorial Day, the White Sox with a modest payroll of $121 million  lead the American League Central while the Cubbies are tied with St. Louis with respective payrolls of $118.4 million and $100 million.

The fun really begins in the National East. The Mets ($137.8 million) are  two games under .500 and 5 1/2 games behind the league leading Florida Marlins who shelled out $22 million for a collective of misfits, having traded away one of the finest young stars in the game, Miguel Cabrera, during  the off season, to the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers have a salary in excess of  $137 million and are in last place.

The New York glee does not stop in Flushing Meadows but extends to the Bronx. Checking in at .500 and five games behind the Tampa Bay Rays are the Yankees. The Yankees are presently shelling out $209 million for a mediocre season while the Tampa Bay crew is sharing $44 million, or less than one quarter of the Yankee booty.

It is a long summer. Experience shows up in July and August, and deep pockets can always acquire additional players before the trading deadline. For now, I enjoy the season and look forward to Andy Sonnanstine's seventh win (salary $395,000)  while Andy Pettitte and Carl Pavano (the later on the DL) combine for four wins and $55 million. O.K. That is not fair. Let's throw in Kyle Farnsworth with a salary of $17 million, almost as large as the Marlins.

Glenn Beck, Hannity, and Charlie Sykes Will Give Hagee-McCain Equal Time

Barack Obama had a billy goat in his closet in the form of the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, but it hardly compares to the jackal in John McCain's home, the Reverend John Hagee.

Those who watch Fox News, Glenn Beck, Hannity, or listen to right wing Milwaukee talk radio with Charlie Sykes and Mark Belling, may not know of Hagee. Hagee is the man who said that Adolph Hitler and the Holocaust had been part of God's plan to drive the Jews to Palestine to form the state of Israel.

How is God going to bring them back to the land? The answer is fishers and hunters. A hunter is someone who comes with a gun and forces you. Hitler was a hunter. That will be offensive to some people. Well, dear heart, be offended: I didn’t write it. Jeremiah wrote it. It was the truth and it is the truth. How did it happen? Because God allowed it to happen. Why did it happen? Because God said, ‘My top priority for the Jewish people is to get them to come back to the land of Israel.’

For the past two months right wing ranters, lead by Fox, the network that claims to be 'fair and balanced,' devoted thousands of hours to repeat broadcasts of the Reverend Wright and links to Barack Obama.

The explanation for focusing so much time on Obama and Wright and not on McCain and Hagee is right wing bias, not racial bias.

Now just convince Rev. Wright and those who suspect white racism that is the case.

Isthmus Peels Back The WMC Onion

In a front page story not yet available online, Isthmus the Madison weekly newspaper offers this query:

Bad for Business? WMC is winning elections, but hurting the state's image.

As the sunlight pours in, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) begins to wilt. When the story becomes available on line, I will post again and link, but here are some observations from WMC's chief lobbyist, Jim Buchen (That would be James for the rest of you.):

"'I think it's kind of laughable in the sense that you have Paul Soglin and Dave Zweifel trying to define what's in the best interest of the business community...Buchen dismisses these critics as people who want "higher taxes..."

The funny thing is that when I was in office as mayor of Madison, our per capita spending was below the average of the major Wisconsin cities.  We accomplished that despite the fact that WMC was successful in shifting taxes from businesses in a manner that drove up residential property taxes.

When WMC spends its millions on 'issue ads,' the source of the money is never disclosed. Rumor has it that as Wisconsin corporations shy away from opening their wallets, the money is coming in directly from national chains such as Wal-mart, Home Depot, and multi-nationals or lobbying organization that are their fronts:

Soglin believes much of the money comes from shadowy national groups seeking to remake the nation's courts along right-wing lines.

Asked where WMC, gets the money it uses to run these ads, Buchen declines to be specific, "it comes from business," he says, "That's all I'm going to say."

Buchen does not claim that even half of the money comes from Wisconsin.

Wisconsin businesses may or may not be putting money into these issue ads.

WMC has the right to run the ads.

We have every right to out the companies that approve the airing of these ads and their contents. The board of directors of WMC are responsible.

We are going to make sure that every Wisconsin consumer knows if thier health care provider, their food provider, or anyone else that enjoys their shopping dollar is paying to go after Justice Louis Butler, Governor Jim Doyle, Chief Justice Shirley Abrahmson, or Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk when she ran for Attorney General.

Kathleen Falk will be serving Johnsonville Brats at the Brat Fest this Memorial day weekend. We just want her and her friends to know that she is far more generous to Johnsonville than they were to her.

 

Musser is loss for all of WI; Republicans prefer purity

As I journey around the state (over 2500 miles this year), I find that moderate Republicans are becoming extinct. Part serious, partly joking, I say to Republican business leaders, and fellow Democrats:

As political winds shift, there is emerging a new cadre of Wisconsinites who are disenfranchised. It is not women, people of color, or the poor. It is moderate Republican business leaders. They are committed to infrastructure investment, fair taxation, and especially workforce development and public education. They are generally upper middle class, middle age, white male business leaders. They are not comfortable with Russ Decker and the Senate Democrats; they are just as estranged from Mike Huebsch and the Republican leadership in the Assembly.

Now comes word that Terry Musser, of Jackson County, a moderate Republican, and even rarer, a man with a sense of humor in the legislature, is leaving office. From The Capital Times:  Rep. Musser 'fed up,' will not seek re-election      

Musser told John Colbert of WIBA radio that he is "fed up" with Capitol politics, which Musser said have become more "nasty, vicious and petty..."

...When signing the bill into law earlier this year, Gov. Jim Doyle singled out Musser for praise, to which Musser quipped, "Don't remind my caucus."...

...Musser has been a champion for veterans' rights and chaired the Assembly Committee on Veterans and Military Affairs.

I don't know Musser personally but I really like the guy. Seems that he would be a great companion at a ball game or just sitting around chatting, even though our politics are about 50% out of kilter.

Too bad there are so many Assembly Republicans who have a zero kilter tolerance.

Huebsch Losing Control of Republican Assembly, Errant Nass

In the past two weeks  Republican Assembly Speaker Michael Huebsch (West Salem) took two body blows from know-nothings in his own party. First his hand-picked  thug designated to trash the University of Wisconsin System, Stephen Nass (Whitewater), turned on him when the Speaker negotiated a budget agreement with the Senate Democrats and Governor James Doyle in less than a week, rather than an eon.

Nass, who received quality committee appointments from Huebsch, who hoped to quiet the billy goat, lashed out, as reported in the  Sauk Prarie Eagle:

"Sen. Decker has criticized big business for using accounting gimmicks, but his fake morality regarding economics doesn't apply to state government," fumed Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, in a press release. "However, I am more shocked that Speaker Mike Huebsch would again sell out the Republican principles on taxation and government spending."

Then came the Republican Convention last weekend, and a broadside, as reported by Boots and Sabers, Congressman Sensenbrenner Hits Speaker Huebsch For Budget Repair Bill:

Unfortunately, Speaker Huebsch decided to push it [the budget repair bill] through the Assembly.

You have to love it. Huebsch who tried to shore up his right flank by saying , "No," when Wisconsin Manufactures and Commerce (WMC) agreed with the health care industry that the 'hospital tax' was worthwhile since it would bring  $420 million of new federal funds to Wisconsin.

All of this means that the math does not compute for Huebsch's future.  If the Democrats gain control of the Assembly, he is out. If the Republicans retain control of the Assembly, it will only be with more Nass clones, so he is out.

Which proves that the extreme right wing of the Republican Party is so disconnected from reality that they make the Weather Underground of the late 1960's look like mah jong playing grandmothers.

.