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
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…
Freedom of Speech, Politics
The Impossibility of ‘Opinion-Making’
by JOHN ADAMS •
Someone asked me about opinion-making — whether it’s possible to create and control opinion. The question was about whether a newspaper or website could push a candidate to the front, and thus assure that candidate’s success. I’ve been writing for years, about sundry topics, but I don’t believe in opinion-making. People make up their own…
City, Laws/Regulations, Politics, Wisconsin
A Freshman Legislator’s Unusual Choice
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s an AP story over at Walworth County Today entitled, Rep. Wynn pushes for earlier alcohol sales as a convenience to tailgaters. Rep. Evan Wynn is the freshman assemblyman representing the 43rd Assembly District, a district that includes Whitewater. I’m opposed to most restrictions on alcohol, but it’s easy to see that this is an…
City, Politics
Whither Whitewater’s Democrats?
by JOHN ADAMS •
At a time of large labor protests, the near-victory of a previously-unknown Supreme Court candidate, and the prospect of recall elections against six GOP state senators, can Whitewater’s Democrats have a hard time in 2012? Yes, for at least two reasons. First, successful restrictions on public employees’ collective bargaining rights are meant to reduce unions’…
Government Spending, Politics, University
4.3 Beats 35
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a story over at the Janesville Gazette about the budget for UW-Whitewater: WHITEWATER – Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to slash funding to state universities could drain as much as $4.3 million from UW-Whitewater’s 2011-12 base budget, college administrators estimate. See, Walker plan could cut $4.3 million from UW-W — GazetteXtra. The story comes despite…
Freedom of Speech, Open Government, Politics, Press, Press Release
Tracking the Influence of Money in Politics
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism has issued a press release with good news about new resources to track the influence of money in politics. Here’s the press release, with links to a new tracking website: The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism and MAPLight.org, a nonpartisan nonprofit research organization, today announced a major initiative to…
City, Freedom of Speech, Politics
On Forward Whitewater
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a new political group, Forward Whitewater, recently formed in the city. The organization has its own Facebook page. (Note: I’ve been a libertarian critic of Gov. Walker, but I have no connection to Forward Whitewater.) Here’s the description and mission of the group, from Facebook: Description — Forward Whitewater is a group of citizens…
Law, Politics, Wisconsin
Of JoAnne Kloppenburg
by JOHN ADAMS •
On the Saturday before the April election, JoAnne Kloppenburg visited Whitewater, and I went out to see her. Like most people, I’d never seen her in person, and wanted to hear her talk. (Justice Prosser’s had a more public career, in the legislature and more recently on the court; many people have run into him,…