Paul Soglin: Waxing America

Who's Worse for Wisconsin: Incompetent Walker or Ignorant Johnson?

Chris Walker at Dane101.com poses this question in stark terms:

...who would be worse for Wisconsin, an incompetent leader or an ignorant one? In other words, who is a bigger threat to our state: Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker or Republican senatorial candidate Ron Johnson?

Walker lays out Walker's failures, but at least allows that they were intentional:

Scott Walker’s incompetence leads him to only push the problems under the rug, to let someone other than him deal with it, and to claim victory when he does this.

But with Scott Walker, there is at least some semblance of intent with his actions. He intends to disband government because his beliefs tell him his shortcomings aren’t his own fault, but rather the institutions he works for. A false notion to be sure, but what matters is that he understands his beliefs, and carries them out with this in mind.

With Republican senatorial candidate Ron Johnson, it’s less clear that his intentions are consistent with his worldview. His ignorance on several issues, much less his own personal history, are cause for concern among the voters of Wisconsin, who should consider each of Johnson’s missteps as indicators of how he’d govern as Senator Johnson.

Johnson, an Oshkosh businessman in the plastics industry, has never held elected office himself but believes he would be a good fit in the most important deliberative body this world has ever seen. He’s a staunch conservative, which appeals to many in the state. But Johnson’s inconsistent record on his own life has left many wondering: is he ready to hold such a responsible position within our government?

After listing many of Johnson's recent actions that seem to run counter to his often stated beliefs, especially his efforts to block the Child Victims Act, Chris Walker finds Johnson, on balance, worse, but not by much.

So which would be worse for Wisconsin: an incompetent leader who would destroy the government and the programs that Wisconsin citizens across the state utilize? Or an ignorant fool, who would be a rubber-stamp senator that would take the pro-business, hard-right GOP position without question on every vote? It’s really hard to decide.

...We don’t need incompetence or ignorance leading our state. We have reasonable and reliable candidates seeking election and reelection for governor and senator. These two men (Tom Barrett and Russ Feingold) are more than qualified to hold the positions they are seeking. Their rivals, as we have seen, are just not capable, and are just not committed to the people of Wisconsin.

Indeed.

- Barry Orton

Video of Ron Johnson Opposing Child Victims Act

In case it's been forgottten, early this year Ron Johnson testified on behalf of the Green Bay Diocese Finance Council opposing the Child Victims Act at a Wisconsin Senate hearing because he worried about the bill's financial impact on the employers of child predators. 

Jud Lounsbury has the video and an opinion:

Unbelievably, during his testimony, Johnson asks a jaw-droppingly stupid question:

I think its a valid question to ask if the employer of the perpetrator should also be severely damaged, possibly destroyed, in a legitimate desire for justice?

Well... actually that's not a valid question!   It's an incredibly stupid question!  If the Green Bay Diocese knew that a pedophile priest was in their organization and instead of calling the police, reassigned him to another parrish, of course they should be sued!

Unfortunately, this isn't hypothetical wondering for the Green Bay Diocese.  Their entire leadership has a long, troubling record of reassigning instead of arresting pedophile priests.

It's shameful that Ron Johnson would serve under such an unhonorable group and absolutely disgusting that he would go to the Wisconsin State Senate to defend them and do their bidding. 

Watch for yourself:

 

 

(BTW, love the beard, Ron.  You shouldn't have shaved it for the campaign.)

- Barry Orton

Will Durst on Christine O'Donnell: Throw her in the water...if she doesn't melt or float...

Brilliant Will Durst sends out an email each week with his commentary. It is one of the few missives that I welcome with regularity. This is not on his website, but it can be found in it's entirety at Cagle Cartoons

Here are choice excerpts

She's in the attic

...Christine O’Donnell is a lock for Best Newcomer in the Heavyweight Mocking Division. In less than a week she managed to introduce both witchcraft and masturbation into the national conversation. Sex AND religion. Or at least, variations on the themes...

...To say that her past may harbor some glitches is similar to intimating that David Bowie went through a few ch- ch- changes. O’Donnell doesn’t just have skeletons in her closet, she has the entire bone army from the 7^thVoyage of Sinbad. Makes the Cambodian Killing Fields look like a day care pre school toy box...

...Now the former marketing consultant claims not to be a witch ignoring the simple, trusted, time- tested trial. Throw her in the water. If she doesn’t melt or float, no problem. Of course if she does melt and/ or doesn’t float her chances of getting elected shrink dramatically. Notwithstanding Mel Carnahan who won a Missouri Senate race operating under the handicap of being somewhat deadish. But that was way back in 2000. Voters are more discerning now...

...Founder of The Savior’s Alliance to Lift the Truth, she cites the Bible for her theory that lust in one’s heart constitutes adultery and one can’t practice masturbation without lust, ergo, that too is adultery. Going to disappoint a lot of ones who specifically engage in the former to lessen susceptibility to the latter. Although today, you can’t peruse a print ad much less watch Sesame Street without experiencing a soupcon of lust. S is for soupcon!

 

Mama Grizzly’s protégé apparently forgot about a federal tax lien on her house and has been accused of criminally mismanaging campaign money. By Republicans. Who know a thing or two about criminal mismanagement. She also said she would never EVER lie even if Nazis asked her where Anne Frank was hiding. “God will work it out. She’s in the Attic!” When we can’t lie to Nazis, only Nazis will tell lies.

Ben Manski = Ben Masel? A Voter's Guide

It's easy to understand how voters who are only casual observers of politics could be confused: Ben Manski and Ben Masel: two guys both named Ben, both with last names that start with "Ma" and both running against Democratic party favorites for public office. Neither will spend the kind of money necessary for mass advertising to differentiate themselves. So here's the Waxing America guide to Madison's two political guys named Ben:

Ben Manski, the Green Party candidate in Wisconsin's 77th Assembly District, is running against Democratic Party primary winer Brett Hulsey and Republican Dave Redick. Waxing America guages Manski's chances as 10-1 and Redick's as none. Manski is a product of Madison schools and the UW-Madison, and has been active in a range of causes from Greenpeace to Wisconsin's Environmental Decade, and practices law, specializing in non-profit, coop, and public sector issues.  Helping Manski's chances is the endorsement of Madison's teachers' union, MTI. Not helping is the confusion with Ben Masel.

Ben Masel lost to Tommy Thompson in the Republican primary for Governor in 1990, and ran second to Senator Herb Kohl in the Democratic primary for US Senate in 2006. Masel has already declared his candidacy challenging Senator Herb Kohl in the Democratic primary for US Senate in 2012, and is a frequent poster on DailyKos and a longtime First Amendment and marijuana rights activist.

Both have campaigned at the Westside Community Market, and enjoyed the free coffee and baked goods the Market feeds its vendors, musicians, and political candidates.

Ben Masel, at 55, is considerably older than Ben Manski, 36. Masel is a grandfather, with white hair and beard; Manski has no children and very red hair and beard.

Ben Masel only accepts $1 campaign donations, billing himself as the "Senator you can afford." Ben Manski takes contributions in the usual amounts from most anyone who wishes to donate.

Ben Masel knows that he never will beat Herb Kohl, but has fun trying. Ben Manski actually believes that he could beat Brett Hulsey, and seems to be having some fun trying, but mostly looks and acts serious.

Ben Masel went to San Francisco in the 1967 "Summer of Love" and saw the Grateful Dead play for free in Panhandle Park. No, sorry, that was me.

Ben Masel saw the Grateful Dead play when they were only a few years past their prime. Ben Manski used to play his parents' old Dead records to annoy his friends in high school.  Jerry Garcia died the year Manski could legally drink.

Ben Masel is this guy (but now with beard:                                                            Ben Manski is this guy:

                    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Voters of the Wisconsin 77th AD can vote for Ben Manski or Brett Hulsey or even Dave Redick, but can't vote for Ben Masel this November.

In the September 2012 Democratic primary, all Wisconsin voters will have a chance to vote for Ben Masel for US Senate.  Last time, he pulled in 51,245 votes to Herb Kohl's 308,178, pretty damn good considering that Masel was outspent by a factor approaching infinity.  You never know what could happen if Kohl decides not to run in 2012.

Got it? No longer confused? informed and ready to vote intelligently? Good. Now stop reading blogs and get back to work.

- Barry Orton

Feingold and Barrett Headline Netroots Wisconsin This Saturday

This Saturday's candidate meetup at Netroots Wisconsin 2010 in Madison just got its biggest names: Senator Russ Feingold and candidate for Governor Tom Barrett.

Netroots Wisconsin is a regional version of the big national Netroots Nation face-to-face event.  "The conference is a gathering of bloggers, progressive activists, and others interested in furthering progressive causes using the Internet and New Media." 

Senator Feingold and Mayor Barrett will be joined by First District congressional candidate John Heckenlively, AG hopeful Scott Hassett, and Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, who is not officially a candidate for re-election (yet). Cieslewicz will probably make the worst Cheddarsphere joke.

Netroots Wisconsin's whole day's schedule is here. You can still sign up in advance (and get the lunch) here. You can show up at the door for the same price, but lunch is unlikely to still be included. it's worth it either way.

I'm chairing a roundtable verbosely titled: "Fighting Astroturf-Based Telecom Policy and a Corporate Broadband Future." Joined by Mary Cardona, and Frank Paynter, we'll cover state efforts to deregulate telephone service, cable, and funding for access channels, and Net Neutrality. Blah Blah Blah.

The 3:30 - 5:00 pm "Meet the Candidates" session should draw the biggest crowd, and provide a great opportunity for some candidate dialog with the (oxymoron alert) leading luminaries of the Cheddarsphere. Landing Feingold and Barrett is a coup for the Netroots Wisconsin organizers. Probably some paid professional journalists will attend, possibly creating some of that official "news" as a result.

- Barry Orton

 

Shattered Maple Bat Impales Cub; MLB Ignores Solutions

It's one of those wince-inducing clips:  Promising Cubs rookie Tyler Colvin gets hit with a bat shard while on third base.  The sharp end actually punctured his chest wall, but he still scored before being helped off the field. Colvin's done for the rest of the season, but will be all right.

It looks like there are plenty of options to lower the risks, including Rockbats, developed from research at Madison's Forest Products Lab, but Major League Baseball still has its head in the sand.

(Speaking of heads in the sand regarding sports risks, the issue of serious brain trauma from repeated hits in football, including levels below the pros, isn't going away.)

MLB has pulled the clip from YouTube, but you can see it here.

- Barry Orton

 

Republicans Give Democrats Reprieve

Last Tuesday's successes by the Teabaggers in a number of Republican primaries give the Democratic Party an opportunity to regroup and salvage the November elections. The success in Delaware of Christine O'Donnell, who may give historians pause to reinterpret the Salem Witch Trials, increases the probability that the meandering Democrats can maintain control of Congress.

The key is how the Democrats maximize the potential of the Tea party movement. While it is inevitable that some Teabaggers cannot relate to the party of FDR, the Little Flower, and Will Rogers, it is important that the Democratic Party relate to them.

Very few Teabaggers are racist; their numbers are so smalll as to be inconsequential.

Some Teabaggers are strict libertarians, but they are a minority.

Quite a few Teabaggers want lower taxes, but most of them are victims of the Bush tax breaks for the wealthy.

A lot of Teabaggers want less government, but when it comes to government stepping on our backs, it was brought to us by so -called conservatives who rammed home the so-called Patriot Act - more an intrusion into the privacy of every American than a weapon against terrorism.

Most Teabaggers are angry, and rightfully so. No more or less than the rest of us they are fed lies and deception about how healthcare reform stole from seniors' medicare.  Their tax burden and national debt is as great as the rest of us -- created by Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, a failed economy created by exportation of jobs by businesses that were given Bush tax credits, and a housing crisis fed by a de-regulated financial market. It was the repeal of the Depression Era Glass-Steagall Act (1933) that led to this economic disaster.

Democrats need to go out there and listen to the Teabaggers; the Republicans are not.

 

Madison Will Have A Public Market

This is good news for those who think the Public Market Square should be built concurrently with the train station:

The city of Madison is hiring George Austin, who directed development of the Monona Terrace Convention Center, to guide early planning for the Public Market Square Development District.

The district is a 12-block area on the south side of the Capitol Square with a focus on the two blocks adjacent to the planned new high-speed rail station at 101 East Wilson Street.

Mayor Dave Cieslewicz made the announcement in a letter to members of the Madison City Council on Thursday. Austin, 58, who has been project manager for the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery under a contract with the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), will work under a five-month, $25,000 contract with the city. Austin said Thursday that the WARF project ends in December.

Cieslewicz said the district will include a new Madison Public Market and replacement of the aging Government East parking ramp with a new structure, a bike station, intermodal transit links, and possibly office space and a hotel.

Hiring George Austin sends the message that this project will get built. Kristin Czubkowski has Mayor Dave's letter to the Council explaining why the City did not take the usual RFP route here. There will be criticism, but it's a smart move.

In five years or so, you'll be able to buy local cider, cheese and bread at the Public Market to eat on the train to Milwaukee.

- Barry Orton

UPDATE: Mistress of All Alternate Media Brenda Konkel has the specifics of the criticism here. Brenda believes the hiring violates the City's ordinance (MGO 4.26(4)(b)) regarding when an RFP is not required, because the Ordinance requires City Council approval.

 

77th AD Primary Preliminaries Finally End

Four 77th AD Democratic candidates will be missed this Saturday at the Westside Community Market: Dianne Hesselbein, Fred Wade, John Imes, and Doug Zwank (in order of finish).  Every one of the four would have served with distinction if they had won, and they deserve a huge "thank you" for being willing to put all that time and money into offering themselves as candidates.

Brett Hulsey worked very hard for every vote of his considerable margin, which was far larger than I had predicted.  Now he has to beat back Ben Manski, who will try to beat the very long odds against a third-party candidate.  I had Manski at 10-1 two weeks ago, and wrote then that his best long-shot possibility was "if Hulsey wins the Democratic primary, Manski could attract enough of the supporters of the other four that don't like some part of Hulsey's history to squeak in." So now does that make Manski's odds now better than 10-1?  Nope. Hulsey's margin was big enough, and his campaign professional enough, that he should win going away in November. If I had to bet real money, 10-1 would be fair odds. If a bookie was involved, 12-1. There are no fair odds possible on the Republican candidate, Dave Redick.

(However, as I wrote two weeks ago, if the Republicans take the Assembly, Manski's ability to yell "Bullshit!" loudly and often could be very useful. Hulsey will find much frustration in those circumstances. Ask Spencer Black about the fun years in the Assembly minority.)

- Barry Orton

Russ Feingold Needs Help To Fight Fortunate Son-In-Law's Family Fortune

The method: a "Cheddarbomb." That's a Net-based "moneybomb," Wisconsin-style.

Here's a video with quasi-famous people for your amusement:

Russ Feingold:

Ron Johnson and the extremists want to win this election bad. They want to gut Social Security, roll back health care, and hand over our economy to the Wall Street profiteers who got us into this mess in the first place.

I'm extremely proud of my record and I hope you are too. I've spent the last 18 years protecting and creating jobs in Wisconsin, creating legislation to help our veterans, and helping small businesses grow. And do you know something else I'm proud of? Every election, I've relied on grassroots support - not corporate special interest support - to win in Wisconsin. This race is no different.

This election is in your hands. Don't let Ron Johnson and corporate special interests in Washington take it away.

You know what to do.

- Barry Orton