It’s a big day in Wisconsin, a day of uncertain outcome. Not our first big day, not our last, but important just the same. In six senatorial districts across the state, thousands of citizens will cast votes, and those votes will make a difference in our history. No one’s required to vote; we would not…
Politics
Politics
Fortis: The Most Political Redistricting Map in More Than 50 Years
by JOHN ADAMS •
Lou Fortis, Wisconsin publisher, comments on the GOP’s redistricting plan. For anyone still foolish enough to believe that the majority party represents ‘public service,’ ‘giving of oneself,’ or dedication to a ‘greater good,’ set aside those false notions now: The new Republican redistricting map will pack Democrats into a limited number of safe Democratic seats,…
Politics, Press
Recall Elections
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Journal Sentinel recently ran an editorial (“The perpetual campaign”) decrying Wisconsin’s current recall elections. They’re on the wrong side of the issue: these recall elections are a legitimate response to wide-reaching legislation proposed only after the election, restricting freedom of association, on which Gov. Walker did not run, and for which he might have…
Politics, Press
Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism posts state officials’ statements of economic interest online
by JOHN ADAMS •
Knowledge is power, or at least, a way to assure integrity among the powerful. The archive, searchable by party affiliation and district number, is accessible at this link. Available are statements from state legislators, as well as five constitutional officers: governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, treasurer and secretary of state. Via WisconsinWatch.org. Also linked at…
Politics
Viewer’s Digest: GOP Debate in Four Minutes
by JOHN ADAMS •
Liberty, Politics
Eight Steps for Responding to Political Wrongs
by JOHN ADAMS •
There are political decisions of all kinds, but few are truly wrong. Most are simply efficient or inefficient, practical or impractical. There are times, however, when a politician offers a proposal that works a great wrong, and stands against America’s fundamental principles. When a politician takes that course, what is to be done? First, speak…
City, Law, Laws/Regulations, Liberty, Police, Politics, Wisconsin
Wisconsin Assembly Bill 173
by JOHN ADAMS •
Yesterday, Rep. Don Pridemore’s Arizona-syle immigration legislation received a numerical designation: Assembly Bill 173. The full text of the bill is online at the Legislature’s website. The bill has the following initial sponsors: “Representatives Pridemore, Wynn, LeMahieu, Kleefisch, Steineke and Jacque; Cosponsored by Senator Lasee.” One could have expected Wynn to support this measure. His…
Politics, Wisconsin
Sen. Scott Fitzgerald’s Nixonian Plan
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s fuss — but there shouldn’t be surprise — that the WISGOP and Sen. Majority leader Fitzgerald have schemed to run fake Democrats against real Democrats in recall races. Their goal is to force recall primaries, before recall general elections against GOP senators, to buy the GOP candidates an additional month to fund raise, etc.…
Politics
Peers and Politicians
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve often teased about a false nostalgia, the notion that everything was better decades ago. (The contemporary version is a false boosterism, the insistence that everything is wonderful now.) Some things, however, were better generations ago. One was once routinely taught that the fit subjects for criticism were typically peers and politicians. The expression is…
Politics, Wisconsin
WisconsinWatch.org: The Money Trails of Sen. Kohl’s Possible Replacements
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, in connection with MapLight Wisconsin, has a data-rich story on the political contributions to Sen Kohl’s would-be successors. It’s a list of eight politicians: Baldwin, Erpenbach, Feingold, Fitzgerald (Scott), Kind, Neumann, Thompson, Van Hollen. (Although any of them might run, some are much stronger than others. Of the Democrats,…
City, Politics, Press
“Whitewater alderman faces drug charges” – GazetteXtra
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Gazette (Janesville or Walworth County version) fronts a story this morning about criminal charges against one of the members of Whitewater’s Common Council, councilmember Butler of District 2. The print editions offer more detail than the online link, available at http://gazettextra.com/weblogs/latest-news/2011/may/17/whitewater-alderman-faces-drug-charges/. Although other media will run the story, they’ll be chasing it, and have…
Libertarians, Politics
Liberal or Conservative? Neither
by JOHN ADAMS •
Libertarians, Politics
The Libertarian Republicans
by JOHN ADAMS •
There are two GOP presidential candidates with libertarian views: the well-known Ron Paul and the not-so-well-known Gary Johnson. Neither has much of a chance to be the GOP nominee. Really, neither has any chance at all. Still, here’s a profile for each of them, from Reason.Their presence will still shape the race in ways that…
City, Laws/Regulations, Liberty, Politics, Walworth County, Wisconsin
Emily’s Post: ‘Welcome to Wisconsin, Jim Crow’
by JOHN ADAMS •
Emily Mills writes about Assembly Bill 7, sure to become law: This bill is, at its core, a rollback of the right to vote that impacts the most vulnerable and already disenfranchised populations in this state. It spits in the faces of those who’ve come before and fought (and sometimes died) to see this most…