Burke Smart Enough to Know Better

From WisPolitics...

-- Former state Sen. Brian Burke was sentenced today to six months in jail after pleading guilty in October to one felony count of misconduct in office and one misdemeanor count of obstructing an officer.

Dane County Judge William Foust said Burke can serve the term in Milwaukee, near his home, and he is scheduled to begin serving in the next 60 days. He will have work-release privileges. Foust also ordered $75,000 in restitution, which he said could be paid by Burke's campaign fund, and fined Burke an additional $2,500. Foust did not include probation as part of the sentence.
__________________________

Perhaps the Citizens for Responsible Government should shift gears; rather than circulate recall papers on Madison Mayor Dave, CRG should begin an effort against Judge Foust.

Burke wins a work release conviction, near his home, is allowed to pay restitution from his illegally solicited and collected campaign account, and oh, ouch, must pay a $2,500 fine -- of which is likely half of what Burke collected as a monthly retainer while recently lobbying his former colleagues.

This is justice? The guy knowingly and intentionally violated his Oath of Office. Burke systematically cheated. This is the most punishment Foust could impose?

No probation? No 10,000 hours of community service?

But hey, Mrs. Burke says;

My husband is not the evil person some critics make him out to be. We have already suffered more over the last years, and will suffer more in the future, than many criminals who come before you every day. ... All I can ask of the sentence you impose is that it takes into account the whole picture and not only the one that has been advanced by Brian's most severe critics. Brian plead guilty for a number of reasons. A key one was his decision that this needed to end to let our family slip into whatever obscurity we can find to build a new future.

Look, no one would suggest that 5 years in a super max prison is an appropriate sentence; but make the guy bleed a little --

* 90 days, no work release.
** 1 year of home detention, monitored with an ankle bracelet (bracelet tenure must include at least one beach season).
*** Restitution paid with personal funds.
**** Community service for 4 years, or equal to a single term in either the WI State Senate or the office of Attorney General for which Burke aspired.
***** And TV/radio public service announcements broadcast in Milwaukee ADI, extolling the importance of filing state and federal tax returns (sqaushing any populist apeal he might invite)
****** Oh, and one last thing, community service can include lobbying his colleagues to pass legislation to keep convicted felons from holding a lobby license.

Success in Iraq Defined - Sorta

So this is the White House's "major policy announcement," adding a "3rd track" and "8 pillars" to the war plan?

As Yogi Berra would say, It's deja-vu all over again....

Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Bush: Iraq 'vital' to U.S. security
President vows to stand firm in address from Army post

President Bush sought to reclaim a public mandate for his Iraq policy Tuesday, telling the American people the war is "vital" to their security and that insurgents there share "the same murderous ideology" as the 9/11 hijackers.

Bush asked for patience with the U.S. strategy, which he described as two-pronged -- with a military component to combat the insurgency and a political effort to build "the institutions of a free society."

"Our strategy can be summed up this way -- as the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down," he said.

Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Bush: U.S. to stay in Iraq till war is won

As we fight the enemy in Iraq, every man and woman who volunteers to defend our nation deserves an unwavering commitment to the mission and a clear strategy for victory," Bush said as he opened his address at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

The plan calls for pursuing three tracks: political, security and economic. The tracks are broken down into eight pillars, including defeating terrorists and neutralizing the insurgency; helping Iraq strengthen its economy; and increasing international support for Iraq.

Dems, GOP fight to Draw on Tainted Money

A compelling story, even if factually inaccurate, can be more
emotionally compelling than a dry recitation of the truth.

GOP Strategist Frank Luntz

Can any Republican operative argue this DeLay thing is not a compelling story?

It was recently reported that Delay met with Republican U.S. Senators:

The officials who described DeLay's brief remarks noted that the session, a regularly scheduled weekly lunch, was held under rules of secrecy...

When embattled Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum made statements implying Democrats were behind the Delay vendetta (which they are), the content of the secret meeting was exposed -- counterattack.

But hey, I defer to my favorite Republican, and future Presidential candidate, Newt Gingrich;

"DeLay's problem isn't with the Democrats; DeLay's problem is with the country."

Frank and Newt should get on the same page, after working so closely on the 1994 Contract With America.

The result of this most compelling story is the issue of Who do you trust more, the Republican X or the Democrat Jim Doyle is being taken off the table for 2006.

He said, She said issues don't carry elections.

I suspect with every campaign issue topic, the underlying emotional response will be, Oh yea, do you trust him to do as he says and not be bought-off?

The water, and credibility, is muddy for all candidates - Democrats and Republicans.

Illinois donations to candidates panned
Activist cites investigations of donors, firms
By Steve Walters

Madison - Wisconsin's three candidates for governor have accepted $22,513 from Illinois executives who are charged with crimes or under investigation or whose companies have been investigated - donations that should be returned, the head of a campaign watchdog group said Monday.

Mike McCabe, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, said his group computed that total because Illinois has had major corruption scandals involving campaign cash, and Illinois is a major source of donations for Wisconsin candidates.

The Stink of Tainted Money

Having served as a field director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, I have a good idea of what is being debated behind conference room doors.

It's a lot of this;

Republican strategist Frank Luntz reminded a group of House members Thursday, "You owe (DeLay) your majority. He's where he is today because he sacrificed himself to gain those extra seats."

Luntz said, "You dance with the one that brought you," adding that making refunds is "ridiculous."

Frank is a friend. When he launched his consulting business back in 1992, we brought him in for State Party training sessions with our legislative incumbents and challengers.

The honor roll from that class of 1992 included current Reps. Kreibich, Owens, and Ward, past Reps. Cliff Otte, Lorraine Seratti, Bob Zuchowski, Bonnie Ladwig and John Dobyns. Former St. Senator Gary Drzewiecki delivered a huge upset over incumbent Jerry Van Sistine. St. Sen. Lazich was a member of that Assembly class to deliver the first net gain for Republicans in over 8 years.

Even Congressman and current gubernatorial candidate Mark Green arrived to state politics that year.

Many of those names attended our candidate training sessions. And among the campaign communication lessons Luntz bestowed upon the class of 1992 was;

You think emotions are more revelatory than the intellect for predicting these decisions? 80 percent of our life is emotion, and only 20 percent is intellect. I am much more interested in how you feel than how you think. I can change how you think, but how you feel is something deeper and stronger, and it's something that's inside you. How you think is on the outside, how you feel is on the inside, so that's what I need to understand.

So I find it curious that Luntz, who consults the NRCC, would advise Republican members against returning DeLay contributions, or as an alternative, donate the amount received to hurricane victims, or school programs, or local charity; anything to get the stink of bad money off the suits of a GOP Congress.

The DeLay story has legs. Or, the emotional appeal for Democrats to exploit is just too sexy to avoid.

Other GOP operatives say it is not a forgone conclusion that DeLay's indictment will taint Republicans next year. Back in April, a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll found that 38% had an unfavorable opinion about DeLay. But nearly as many, 35%, had never heard of him or had no opinion of the then-majority leader.

Those numbers are already sliding against us.

DeLay needs to be completely exonerated - and soon - to rescue the slim GOP majority and Members like Mark Green who are seeking higher office by spending monies at least partially provided by an indicted colleague.

Good Op-Ed, Dutch

But as you know, good theater is good politics...

Steve Baas

...According to Doyle, the purpose is to demand that these executives "justify making enormous profits in the wake of a national tragedy." Yet these five companies' current average profit margin is 8.15 percent, ranging from 6.28 percent for BP America to 10.41 percent for Exxon Mobil, according to Standard & Poor's.

...Wisconsin's gas tax adds 32 cents to every gallon of gas sold. At the current statewide average price of about $2.25 a gallon, that's a state Transportation Fund profit of 14 percent on every dollar you paid for gas. Subpoena the Department of Transportation!

...The Public Service Commission has consistently approved rate increases necessary to maintain Wisconsin utilities' profit margins between 12 percent and 13 percent.

...In the ultimate example of the through-the-looking- glass absurdity of these subpoenas, the state's Minimum Markup Law requires gas retailers to add up to a 9.18 percent profit to the cost of their product. Any scofflaw service station trying to give motorists a bargain by selling below this minimum markup is subject to prosecution and fines from the state Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection.

Top Gun Shot Down

At least Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham didn't enlist his colleagues to punch back, blame the media, recruit surrogates for cozy testimonials, put the institution through a long costly trial...

He's gone, as he should be. And, he's going to jail, as he should.

But, I was in his office the day he was sworn in - the guest of a buddy who was starting as Duke's new Legislative Director.

It is tradition for Members to host an office reception upon coming to Capitol Hill and I was eager to meet a real life war hero.

So this dereliction to his Oath of Office is so disappointing.

Guess President Eisenhower was right:

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist

The political obit of Duke Cunningham

...Cunningham said he had asked his lawyers to notify U.S. Attorney Carol Lam of his intention to plead guilty so that he could begin serving his prison term.

"The citizens who elected Mr. Cunningham assumed that he would do his best for them," Lam said in a statement. "Instead, he did the worst thing an elected official can do -- he enriched himself through his position, and violated the trust of those who put him there."

...Cunningham, a member of the intelligence committee and the Appropriations subcommittee on defense, sold his home to Wade in November 2003 for $1,675,000. Wade then sold the home eight months later for $975,000 for a loss of $700,000.

The transaction sparked an FBI investigation into the relationship between Cunningham and Wade.

News reports subsequently revealed that Cunningham had been living rent-free in Washington, DC, on a 42-foot yacht named the Duke Stir that was owned by Wade. MZM received approximately $40 million in government contracts in 2003.

Hard to believe this is the same guy:

In 1966, at the age of 25, Cunningham joined the U.S. Navy and became one of the most highly decorated pilots in the Vietnam War. As the first fighter ace of the war, Cunningham was nominated for the Medal of Honor, received the Navy Cross, two Silver Stars, fifteen Air Medals, the Purple Heart, and several other decorations.

Duke's experience in Vietnam and his background as an educator prepared him well to train fighter pilots at the Navy Fighter Weapons School -- the famed "Top Gun" program at Miramar Naval Air Station. As Commanding Officer of the elite Navy Adversary Squadron, Cunningham flew Russian tactics and formations against America's best combat fighter pilots. Many of his real-life experiences as a Navy aviator and fighter pilot instructor were depicted in the popular movie "Top Gun."

Where Have You Gone, Joe DiMaggio...?

- Duke was presented with a personalized Wheaties® box featuring his photo A longtime supporter of science, Congressman Cunningham was presented with a personalized Wheaties® box featuring his photograph and Champion of Science stats.


From Vietnam War jet fighter ace, to US Congresssman.
From a Wheaties box, to thumb prints and a mug shot.

Cunningham Pleads Guilty to Fraud, Tax Evasion & Accepting Bribes

Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham tearfully expressed regret for his behavior as he announced his resignation from Congress today. Cunningham pled guilty in federal court to fraud, admitted accepting bribes and committing tax evasion.

The Republican of California will be sentenced on February 27 and could receive ten years in prison

.

The McCain Factor

From David Broder

No one outside the administration has been more adamant or outspoken in arguing that there is no substitute for victory in Iraq than has McCain, the Naval Academy graduate and survivor of years in a North Vietnamese prison camp.

But there is nothing nuanced about his position on the Iraq war. In speeches on and off the Senate floor and in countless television interviews, McCain has argued that it was right to remove Saddam Hussein and that the United States and its allies must remain in Iraq until conditions are created for a stable, secure Iraqi government.

...he argued that the consequences of leaving Iraq prematurely would be a factional or religious struggle within that country that could lead to a radical Islamic regime destabilizing the Middle East and threatening more terrorist attacks.

...The misjudgments, McCain said, have continued down to the present...

My sense is John McCain captures the underlying attitudes of most baby-boomers; Vietnam haunts this generation and as we are taught, history has a way of repeating itself.

Yet, it has been McCain, and not President Bush, who has walked Boomers through their fears to the point where Democrats and Independents support Republican McCain for President.

And McCain opposes withdrawal and has consistently called for more American troops in Iraq.

Politics is a funny thing. The Democrat Party calls for immediate withdrawal and denounces the President for lying, yet their Party's voters support McCain for President. And on my side of the partisan divide, Republicans question whether McCain is conservative enough, just for having opposed George W. for the nomination in 2000.

McCain owns credibility on this issue that not even another Vietnam War vet, John Kerry, can touch. Credibility andconsistency are not traits associated with the modern Democrat Party.

I side with McCain, the Bush Administrationn made gigantic mistakes in the conduct of this War, beginning with a failed intelligence that might have prevented 9/11 (read former FBI Director Louis Freeh).

And, why even peddle the issue of WMDs in Iraq when, among the many justifiable reasons to invade Iraq, WMDs represented the weakest of all provable options?

Another warning sign has been the revolving door of generals and commanders retiring or being reassigned, rather than go public with their disagreements with Rummy on issues of troop deployment.

Democrats are too busy courting the Vietnam-generation/Boomer vote with 1960s rhetoric that Bush Lied to understandd that their Party voters are more reasonable than that.

And McCain will pick them off and regroup the Reagan Democrats into a landslide victory in 2008 -- if, if, he can win the GOP nomination first.

Not All Hollywood is Whacked

Catching-up on weekend reading;

I have never read a James Ellroy novel. For the most part, reading fiction is not my thing. I did see the movie adaptation of his book, L.A. Confidential. And until now, I guess I did not realize that L.A. was first a book.

Whatever. It was a good movie, so when I saw this Q & A with the writer in my National Journal, I expected another Michael Moore-Attacks-Republicans piece.

Ohhh, but this Hollywood writer is no such creature...

Why do you think most cops are conservatives?

Because they know that crime is individual moral default on a epidemic basis, and it needs to be solved, impeded, interdicted, and suppressed on that basis.

And because cops daily come up against crimes for which there are no justifications.

And it's their mandate to enact justice in the moment, and it becomes the overwhelming fact in their lives.

...I'm the son of a murdered mother and, frankly, I'm vindictive. And I want to see evil punished.

But you've also been critical of some on the Right

...I said there was a rabble out there: abortion-clinic bombers, anti-capitalist paint-throwers, the Klan, the militias, militant homosexuals.

I said these people had to be impeded, interdicted and suppressed in order to maintain a lawful society.

The audience didn't know how to react because I was attacking lunatic fringe groups on both the Left and the Right and wrapping them up with one big bow and saying, Stop these people.

People on the Left and the Right have an obligation to disavow the kooks on their own side.

Everyone should take note of Peggy Noonan's behavior. She's charming, reasonable, and she knows how to be conciliatory without giving up her soul.

************

...You have on the one hand esprit de corps and the need to maintain order, which is often prosaic, occasionally violent, and often has to do with the curtailing of crime committed by minority members, juxtaposed against big social issues like the historical injustices shown to blacks in this country.

When you see something like the out-of-context beating of Rodney King, the drama of it holds much greater weight than the reality of good cops doing their job.

...If you look at the entire Rodney King incident in context and in real time, you see that Rodney King had two companions in the car, both of them black. They submitted willingly and were led out of the frame.

Rodney King charged several times and was thrown down and got up again and again, took a Taser from Sergeant Stacy Koon, kept on coming and finally took the 56 blows from batons that, absent context and in slow motion, look terrible.

In full-blown context it looks like nothing but a justified response to a suspect who would not submit.

I think most people not schooled in the street and the realities of police work think the cops are supposed to engage dangerous suspects in something like one-on-one fights like you might see on television, and of course it doesn't work that way.

Did you ever receive any rough treatment at the hands of the police?

...I thought I could outrun the cops. I was mistaken. Two patrol units come in, throw me down on somebody's lawn, and kick my ass with beavertail saps. I got some bruises but no lasting damage.

A rather amused middle-aged sergeant picked me up, dusted me off, smiled at me and said, "Okay, kid, why did we kick your ass?"

And I said, "Well, because I stole the booze."

He says, "Nah, kid, think that over." So I thought about it for about ten seconds and I said, Because I ran? And he said, "Yeah." And guess what: I never ran again, and I never got my ass kicked again.

And it was instructive. There was a civil contract between the police and street tools like me. This was my first painful lesson in it, and I learned. And it's a good story 39 years later.

The Market

Burger giant rejects shake-up
McDonald's rebuffs financier's proposal to boost stock value

Mickey D's

Whew, Greenspan announces his retirement and the icons of business are turning upside down.

GM post

What all this really says is, it is pretty tough to get PO'ed at the Exxons, BPs and other oil companies when so much of Joe-average retirement pensions and 401ks are locked into the market and the giants' future profitability.

What Were They Thinking?

As a fan of both kinds of music, Country and Western, last night’s CMAs were a huge bust.

The quickest way to kill your longevity in Country Music is to begin the cross-over into Pop music; which is what happened as the CMAs were moved from Nashville to New York City.

Oh, it was a miserable show, reaching a crescendo as Dolly Parton and Elton John sang a duet; John Lennon’s classic Imagine. Certain songs should never, ever, be covered. Imagine is one of those songs.

The performances looked like skits pulled from Saturday Night Live; first, we’ll pair Dolly with Elton, they can wear each other’s clothes. Then, we’ll get New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano to say something patriotic. Oh, and then, let’s give the gazillionaire New York Mayor national exposure to show-off Times Square (some guy named Garth is grandstanding there).

Why stop with Pop Music, Mr. Network Execs? Why not reach for the young, African-American gangsta audience? We’ll introduce three white be-yotches, Faith Hill, Martina McBride and Gretchen Wilson with 50-cent, Snoop D-O-Double G, and Eminem. The song; Black-Eyed Peas, My Hump (with Lady Lumps).

C’mon, if country fans wanted their music diluted, Kenny Rogers would still be on the charts with those sugar-coated Lionel Ritchie songs. Get back to Nashville. Give us real C&W fans more of George Strait and Allan Jackson and less of Nora Jones and Bon Jovi.

Dems on Film

Dems on Film, They're More than a Party , Dems on Film;
Dems on Film, Two Years Later, Dems on Film;
Dems on Film, Get it Together, Dems on Film;
Dems on Films, What ya doing, Dems on Film;

The RNC has reached beyond the usual hyper-verbiage fundraising spams to produce a video that is long past due.

It's no Duran-Duran video, but it does illustrate more than anything else what is wrong with the Democrats; Democrats have no clarity of purpose.

It has been too easy for too long for Republicans to simply point to the votes and quotes of Democrats and exploit their inconsistencies. Heck, we won both Houses of Congress and the White House doing just that. The weak image of Democrats at the federal level has cost them races at the state and local level. The Republican majorities in the Wisconsin Legislature is small proof of that.

The Baggage of DC

Of the former Members of Congress now serving as a governor, none, zero, have a favorability rating above 50% -- must be tough to govern under those burdensome laws and tricky parlor games Congress is noted for.

With a Right Track vs. Wrong Direction poll question weighted 2 to 1 on Wrong Direction, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker has an opportunity to exploit both Washington DC and Madison's leadership.

The good news for Congressman Mark Green is, that each of the 6 ex-Members are now serving as governor, having won their initial elections.

In either case, it is clear Republican governors, and particularly, former Members, need to keep their ex-colleagues in Congress true to Republican principles of federalism and states' rights.

Mr. Smith goes to Washington and back

Jon Corzine (D-NJ), who won his congressional seat in 2000, is just the ninth governor since 1900 to come directly from the U.S. Senate, according to a Stateline.org analysis

Before Corzine, Murkowski (R-AK) and Kempthorne (R-ID) was former California Gov. Pete Wilson (R), who led the Golden State from 1991 to 1999 after leaving the U.S. Senate. But before that, you have to look back to 1957, when Texas Gov. Price Daniel (D) was elected after serving in the U.S. Senate

Currently, eight of the nation's 50 governors traded Capitol Hill for their state Capitols -- the most at one time since the start of the 20th century.

Six current governors came directly from the U.S. House of Representatives: Bob Riley (R) of Alabama, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D), Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher (R), Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich (R), Maine Gov. John Baldacci (D) and South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R).

Several congressmen appear willing to take those risks and are declared or likely 2006 gubernatorial candidates in Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma and Wisconsin

.

Could GM Go Broke?

The world of high finance befuddles me. Could GM really crash and burn? What's next, McDonald's?

Banc Of America Raises General Motors' Bankruptcy Risk
Dow Jones Newswires

Banc of America raised its 2-year bankruptcy risk for General Motors (GM.NYS) to 40% from 30%, following the automaker's disclosure late Wednesday of errors in recognizing some supplier credits.

Analyst Ron Tadross also cut his stock price target to $16 from $18.

"It could get worse, especially considering the stress in the supply base and widespread nature of revising contracted prices," Tadross said.

He reiterated his sell rating, "due to a $3,500 per unit competitive disadvantage, increasing evidence that hidden liabilities exceed hidden assets, the likelihood suppliers will balk at investing with GM and our belief existing liquidity may only be enough to get through a bankruptcy reorganization

The Best Thing About Washington DC

When I was in college at American University, on this day I would ride my roommate's bike out to Arlington National Cemetery.

I never got close enough to see President Reagan laying the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, but the chill of Taps rolling around the grounds of the cemetery overwhelmed me with both pride and sorrow.

From our rowhouse on 17th and U Street, NW, I would ride around the White House onto Constitution Avenue and through the grounds of the Vietnam War Memorial. There, I would stop for a moment at The Wall. Rough-looking, forty-something, BDU-wearing vets with their boonie hats would gather to march across Memorial Bridge, into the cemetery grounds; a fair amount of wheelchairs mixed in.

I also had to stop and look back over The Mall from the Lincoln Memorial. Just what is it about that one simple statement, I Have A Dream. I dare you to stand on the steps at Lincoln's feet, and not feel something larger than yourself.

As I crossed the river the tour buses were stacked in formation. Stepping-off those buses were white-haired guys wearing hats. Blue garrison caps. With gold piping. What the history books illustrated with black and white photos was now walking past me in full color.

License plates from Pennsylvania, Kentucky, South Carolina, every state, spoke to the greatness and sanctity of sacrifice. How America sent these now old men to fight in faraway places --Verdun, Anzio, Bastogne -- and here they were, back, living their lives, paying their taxes, walking their dogs.

Except for those that are not back.

We spend a lot of emotion honoring the dead soldiers. As we should. Those stark white headstones are the blocks that build the real life manifestations of concepts; concepts of freedom, liberty, dignity.

Today, I fly my flag to honor the living vets.

Living among the monuments of Washington, DC served as a daily reminder of our rights and freedom. But standing in front of those monuments were living, breathing witnesses to the cost of freedom.

Are the United Auto Workers Really United?

UAW Local 95 Cuts Retirees' Health Care

I won’t pretend to be educated on the politics of the UAW, but I have to ask; how can a union negotiate away benefits of their retired union brothers and sisters without so much as giving the retirees the right to vote on the same package active workers voted on?

Something seems violently un-American about UAW Local 95’s actions.

(From Wednesday)

Hourly workers at General Motors in Janesville are voting today on an agreement that would require union employees and retirees to pay a greater share of their medical bills.

Mike Sheridan, president of Local 95, said only active workers are eligible to vote

(From Thursday)

Hourly workers at General Motors in Janesville overwhelming approved an agreement Wednesday that would require union employees and retirees to pay more for their medical bills.

GM hourly retirees would pay a maximum of $752 per family each year for health care, or $370 annually for an individual, plus co-payments for prescription drugs, the UAW has said.

GM is the largest private provider of health care in the United States, providing coverage for about 750,000 active hourly workers, retirees, spouses and family members. It expects to spend $5.6 billion on health care this year.

"GM has far more problems than health care," Dohner said. "We've done our part to help out, and now it's up to GM to deliver on the rest of it."

Sheridan, who represents Janesville in the Wisconsin Assembly, said one aspect of that is pushing state and federal government to move to some sort of universal health care.

Falk's Gift; 2010 Redistricting Numbers

The best thing about Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk’s Dem primary challenge to incumbent Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager is the pending county-by-county, ward-by-ward election results.

In other words, the best predictor of future election results is past election results.

With a genuinely competitive Republican primary for Governor occurring alongside a somewhat competitive Democrat primary for Attorney General, political operatives will have new data to crunch for future campaign efforts.

This is fun stuff; stuff campaign junkies live for.

In September 2006, Democrats will vote for the Democrats, Republicans for the Republicans; each Party unable to cross-over and vote in the other’s Primary.

All you Republicans that entertained the idea of voting for Democrat Lautenschlager in hopes of pulling her through her primary where either GOPer Bucher or Van Hollen would wax her -- nah-ah – once you pull a Democrat primary lever you can’t come back and vote in the GOP primary for either Green or Walker.

Likewise, you Democrats. Thought you would jump over and vote for Scott Walker, believing he’s more vulnerable to Democrat Governor Jim Doyle in the general election based on a tenuous hold in Milwaukee County as the county executive? Then give-up your voice in the marquee Democrat AG match-up.

September 2006 will establish new Party base votes that will not only be scrutinized up-and-down future ballot races, but, will also serve as a powerful tool as we approach another decennial redistricting effort.

As the Republican Assembly Caucus staffer for redistricting in 1990, the GOP Primary for Governor in 1986 and the Democrat Primary for U.S. Senate in 1988 were the base that 99 assembly district boundaries and 33 state senate boundaries were drawn from.

4 years later, the GOP would control both houses and the governor’s office. And we nearly had Democrat Attorney General Jim Doyle’s number as well (see yesterday's post).

No Elvis, No GI Blues

I almost dragged my wife on date-night to see this movie, Jarhead.

After some surfing, I thank Uncle Sam for Froggy

After the capture of Saddam, I became anti-American occupation of Iraq on grounds that Bush acted on bad intelligence and current military strategy swims against history’s truths of military occupation, reconstruction and fervent religious cultures.

But g-darn it, liberal Hollywood keeps selling me this crap that the very same men and women who serve and protect my right to disagree with my government, are guilty of committing various crimes against humanity.

I'd like to see a pro-U.S.A. movie that is not about hockey or the space program.

Guess we’ll just make a bowl of popcorn and watch Black Hawk Down again.

Dog Bites Man in NJ and VA

At every off year election, the MSM hold-out New Jersey and Virginia as some sort of political indicator of the health of the White House.

Today, the MSM measures the Bush White House political future as falling; given a Democrat has captured the governor’s office in both NJ and VA.

Funny how both states are traditionally Democrat states that receive their dominate news from the left-leaning Washington DC (#8) and New York (#1) DMAs.

In Virginia, the lieutenant governor rode the back of a Democrat state with a term-limited popular Democrat governor to victory. In NJ, now-Governor Corzine enjoyed a vote history already predisposed to Democrats and having spent more than $60 million of his own stash in previously winning his U.S. Senate seat.

In comparison, only Scott McCallum and Al Gore could squander the overwhelming popularity voters wanted to bestow upon them from their former top guns – Tommy and Bill.

In Virginia, only two Republicans, George Allen and Jim Gilmore, have held the governor’s office in the past 20 years.

In New Jersey, the only way a Republican wins is when corruption inflicts the Democrat, which was the means for Christie Todd’s election – she nearly lost her reelection 4 years later to Democrat Jim McGreevy, who went on the win and resign the governor’s office after giving his gay lover a state ghost job – much to the dismay of McGreevy’s wife.

So, “stinging” is not the adjective I would use, as the New York Times did, in describing yesterday’s loses for Republicans.

IL Pension Perks

Oooh, that'll leave a mark...

Bear Stearns

A second public pension fund in Illinois is taking back a hefty sum of cash it invested with Bear Stearns & Co…

Closer to home, P. Nicholas Hurtgen, a former senior managing director in Bear's Chicago office, is facing criminal charges in an alleged kickback scheme involving suburban hospital construction. He has pleaded not guilty.

Hurtgen, Bear and several other people and companies have surfaced on a federal subpoena seeking records from TRS about "finder's fees" paid to consultants. Neither Hurtgen nor Bear have been accused of any wrongdoing.

Three people, however, have been charged with using those fees as part of an alleged kickback scheme.

Last Biz to Leave, Hit the Lights REDUX

Charlie has only a slightly better batting average than Mark Belling in predicting races that are not in his immediate backyard, yet his insight into issues that will impact races is dead-on.

His radio show serves as a giant town hall meeting (as are blogs) so his ability to ID issues presents itself. However, some issues are not really issues until seen in their entirty, and here is where Charlie is deeply insightful.

On their own, Med-mal, product liabilty, or zealous litigation are not sexy campaign issues, like, say, TABOR. But replace the or with an and, and now we have the governing character of the Doyle Administration.

Charlie Sykes
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 9, 2005, 7:32 a.m.
FLASHBACK: SLEEPER ISSUE

Back in August, I wrote this:
Expect the Legislature to address the problem this fall, with a package of bills addressing the court decisions on malpractice, product liability, and punitive damages.

That, in turn, will force to Doyle to choose between his buddies in the trial lawyer lobby and the state's business community. It's likely he's already made the choice.

"This could be the issue," says one insider, "that causes business to finalize its divorce from this governor."

It would take only one major company, ala Kimberly-Clark, announcing that it is leaving to transform the political landscape and the 2006 campaign.

Wagner Should be Running, Not Talking

1994 GOP Attorney General candidate turned radio host Jeff Wagner shows why he shoulda stuck to being a candidate and not a pundit;

At the end of the day, I'm not really convinced that Falk will ultimately get into the AG's race. While she doesn't have to give up her County Executive position to run, she still has a lot to lose.
Saturday, Nov 5th, 2005

Falk signaled her intentions Sunday to statewide media. By the end of the day on Monday, Falk had already formally announced her campaign in the state's largest media markets.

I have a library of names of candidates from across the country that, had they won, would have proved to be the best public servants for their states.

Here in Wisconsin, Jeff Wagner ranks right-up there next to Tim Michels in the What Shoulda Been category.

The story of Jeff Wagner, Fighting Crime First, is beginning to fade somewhat, but I was there and I can tell you -- 1994 being the year it was for Republicans -- had Wagner not been averse to fundraising, and the GOP not so driven achieve a record landslide for Tommy against Chuck Chvala, Jim Doyle would have been a Clinton appointee in 1995, not a two-term AG.

And Scott McCallum? The same fate would have greeted him after Attorney General Jeff Wagner announced (like Falk) that he would challenge his Party's incumbent for governor in 2002.

Today, Republican Governor Wagner would be answering the questions of a Lautenschlager v. Falk primary.

Wonder if he would answer the same way, having beat an incumbent/interim governor, as he did yesterday, as a radio dude?

Peg Runs with a Spiteful Vengeance

Falk to say she's a candidate
Dane County executive to challenge attorney general Lautenschlager

What if incumbent AG Peg Lautenschlager turns-away Kathleen Falk in the Dem primary next September?

Unlikely, sure. But that result would nearly quarantee either Republican, Paul Bucher or J.B. Van Hollen, becomes Wisconsin's new Attorney General in November 2006.

Soon after Falk collects the clip file on her statewide announcement for AG, expect the next round of news stories to include the push and pull of getting Lautenschlager to give way to Falk and retreat from office. Peg can't escape the question and off-the-record Democrats will provoke her at every stop.

Probably won't happen until about March, after the next WECF reports are due, and Governor Doyle finally calls ex-DOA pal Marc Marotta to broker a job for the embattled former U.S. Attorney and soon-to-be ex-attorney general.

April Post

IL Establishment Picks Their Horse

Chicago Tribune
Topinka tells GOP: I'll run for governor

IL Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka

She's pro-choice and pro-gay marriage, but Illinois Republicans are so hungry to beat Dem Governor Rod Blago, they'll look past her RHINO credentials.

Question remains, will the other 4 conservatives bow to the White House, RGA, RNC, and former governor Jim Edgar, and leave the March, 2006 primary.

And here's the sneak preview of the annointed lieutenant governor candidate, running mate to Topinka;


Douglas L. Whitley
President/Chief Executive Officer
Illinois State Chamber of Commerce

Peg Gets No Love

Falk urged to run for attorney general
Group of Assembly Democrats thinks she is more electable than Lautenschlager

Having suffered through Republican cannibalism of pretend governor, Scott McCallum, this is the stuff that is fatal.

And it is orchestrated. And it is by design.

From Democrat operative Xoff

When Governor Doyle's top lieutenant in the legislature, Assembly Democrat Leader Jim Kreuser, serves this one up for the public buffet --

The office is too important to risk losing to the Republicans in
2006.

Letter signed by 10 Democrats, including
Assembly Minority Leader Jim Kreuser (D-Kenosha) and
Assistant Minority Leader Jon Richards (D-Milwaukee)

It speaks to how rapidly the ice is melting around the AG's feet.

And then the clever phrase reaffirming the move among Dems to replace the AG --

"This is certainly consistent with what Kathleen has been hearing as she's been out and about, and people have been encouraging her to run for attorney general," (Falk spokesperson) Mulliken said.

And if the stake could be pounded deeper into the heart of the AG, her liberal base just received word that fellow liberal Mark Pocan is signaling that Falk is the preferred candidate --

Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Madison), who signed the letter, said Democrats saw recent poll numbers showing tepid support for Lautenschlager. "Peg has been a good attorney general, but we're just not sure she's electable," Pocan said.

And it doesn't seem that long ago that Peg ran a very competitive race for Congress in Republican territory against long-time GOP incumbent Tim (Tom) (Tim) (Tom) Petri.

Another Sherman Screw-up

Green Bay's Mike Sherman's complete lack of judgement of talent has raised itself again. 3rd round pick Joey Thomas - not traded, but cut. Cut amidst a 1-6 season; cut amidst a total lack of depth among the d-backs. And worse yet, Ahmad Carroll is still there.

Cornerback Joey Thomas barely knew Mike McKenzie when the two were together in Green Bay, but he'll get a much better chance to get to know him now.

The New Orleans Saints were granted the rights to Thomas on Thursday afternoon after putting in a waiver claim on the second-year player, who was released Wednesday by the Packers.

What did Sherman see that no one else saw in -- Akili Smith, Tim Couch...and (Add your Packer/Sherman bust here).

Good Riddance Bud, Welcome Back Robin!

I will be in the stands on Opening Day, my first visit to Miller Park, and my first Brewer game since Bud Selig duped the taxpayers into filling his pockets.

Paul Molitor - 3B
Robin Yount - SS
Jim Gantner - 2B
Cecil Cooper -1B
Charlie Moore - C

What an infield!!!

Yount played his entire 20-year major-league career with the Brewers,debuting in 1974 as an 18-year-old shortstop. He immediately was dubbed “The Kid,” a moniker he carried throughout his career.

Yount played 2,856 games with the Brewers, batting .285 with 251 home runs and 1,406 runs batted in. He remains No. 1 on the club’s all-time list in games played, home runs, RBI, at-bats (11,008), hits (3,142), runs scored (1,632), doubles (613) and triples (126).

On Jan. 5, 1999, Yount was elected to the Hall of Fame on the first ballot.

The World Needs Giants Part III

I am late arriving to the blog tributes of Rosa Parks. But it is always the same, a rush to write, and then in reflection, everyone blew the same note.

As I surfed all the tributes, I found a comment of hers that struck me like a splash of water;

I did not get on the bus to get arrested. I got on the bus to go home.

To me, Rosa Parks was a manifestation of the existence of a Divine Being. God made an appearance on that day in Montgomery, Alabama, 1955. By inspiring one person to make a grand gesture, He spoke to the conscience of millions of people.

Left to her own, Rosa Parks would have sat there, arrived home, made dinner and gone to bed. The wheels of segregation would have creaked and wobbled and continued. Yet, nothing so egregious, so repugnant, can live on. God knows who can carry the weight. God knows who can change the culture.

So I honor Rosa Parks as a giant alongside previous posts of giants Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul.

The power of an individual, when inspired by something greater than themselves, is indomitable.

Vrakas for Wisconsin 2010

New Waukesha County Exec Dan Vrakas

If fomer State Rep. Dan Vrakas has a high degree of success serving in local government (arguably the toughest level of governance) during the next 4 years, expect him to return as governor in 2010...absent a Walker or a Green already presiding there.

He just kinda looks like a govenor, eh?

Among those delivering remarks, former County Clerk Pat Madden urged Vrakas to remember that taxpayers chose him because of his pledge to run county government with "fiscal responsibility."

Another speaker, county Supervisor Walter Kolb of the Town of Waukesha, echoed a similar theme, recounting a message that voters sent on election day.

"They want conservative government that's very careful with their money," Kolb said.

Why We Need Conservative Judges

Fan who took ball from Favre pleads innocent

Innocent? Innocent?!?!

Lock-up this dumb-ass for conviction of, of being a dumb-ass.

I wonder if Madison attorney Steve Hurley happened to be at the game in Cincinnati and found himself a new client while in town.

DISCLAIMER: This is satire. The following conversation probably never took place.

Hurley to Gall: Say nothing. We can beat this.
Gall to Hurley: How? Fox has me on video?
Hurley to Gall: We plea bargain, just like those ex-Wisconsin Democrat state senators.

Gregory Gall, 31, of Cincinnati, is accused of resisting arrest, trespass and disorderly conduct while intoxicated. He was released on his own recognize following his appearance in Municipal Court.

Owner shoots intruder

You see where this is leading...

The homeowner fails to fully load his weapon, leaving his future vulnerable to the whims of a dirt-bag with a pro-bono attorney -- who happens to hate the NRA and the Second Amendment.

DISCLAIMER: Anyone who crashes through my ceiling that is not either a roofer or a dancing girl will never get the opportunity to call an attorney, or receive their day in court.

Officer to Free Will: Why did you unload a full clip into the perp?
Free Will to Officer: I was scared.
Officer to Free Will: Why did you reload?
Free Will to Officer: I was really scared.

A Janesville homeowner shot and critically wounded a man that police say broke into the attic through a roof vent and then crashed into the living room through the ceiling Monday night.

Davis said Rainiero, his wife and three children were asleep when Rainiero woke at 11:24 p.m. to the sound of Prochaska crashing through the living room ceiling and falling 8 feet to the floor.

From a range of several feet, Rainiero fired one shot from the small handgun, and the bullet struck Prochaska in the back, Davis said.

Davis said Prochaska was not armed and was not carrying burglary tools.

No Bling Here

In the not too distant future another #4 -- Brett Favre -- will retire to his lawnmower in Mississippi. And 20 years from now, we'll wistfully recall his playing days, like many of us do for the good ole days of the Bucks.

Remember Sidney Moncrief? And those kelly green, light green, forest green, red, and white uniforms from the mid 1980s with the horizontal stripes down the side?

The NBA was so less jive back then, even lanky white kids like me fit in, sorta.

The current Bucks unis have always sucked. Face it, the visage of a male deer becomes menacing only in deer camp after 15 Pabsts.

The beauty in that nickname/logo was personified by the down-home loopiness of Bango and his church-bazaar sewn costume. I can still hear Eddie Doucette call it from the ole MECCA; Moncrief drives the lane, ham and cheese in the toaster....BANGO!

What a player!

Reform Something, Anything

WI State Journal Opinion

Every staffer, every incumbent, and every campaign operative (some who have been appointed to the Elections Board) have known for 20+ years both the WSEB and the Ethics Board have existed as paper tigers with candy corn teeth.

There is no perfect solution and no righteous path to political Nirvana, but politicians need to be saved from themselves, and this is a step in the right direction;

Key to all of their criminal cases was an apparent lack of fear of being caught. None seemed to think the state Ethics or Elections boards would go after him -- and for good reason. Top lawmakers, after all, have long enjoyed significant control over these very agencies that, in theory, should police the politicians.

Senate Bill 1 would give the boards a burst of independence. It would combine them into more powerful and nonpartisan Government Accountability Board with an in-house investigator who could trigger civil and criminal cases.

The Incumbent Party II

Crossing the Beams

Funny how wearing two hats -- lobbyist and strategic advisor -- never occurred in a corrupt state like Illinois (yea, right), but is common practice in Wisconsin.

It's all about getting close to the man in power. If one were to lay Tommy Thompson's campaign finance reports alongside those of Jim Doyle's, the number of overlapping donors would shock grassroots Republicans -- the ones currently busting their humps for either Mark Green or Scott Walker.

Under questioning by the prosecution, Cook said he had never simultaneously
acted as an adviser to and lobbied a public official. He also never asked a
vendor for a cut of a contract he helped obtain.

"Is that something that legitimate lobbyists ever do?" asked Assistant U.S. Atty. Zachary Fardon.

"I've never heard it before," Cook said.