Scott Walker has had the advantage of being Wisconsin’s governor during the third-longest national economic expansion in U.S. history. While Wisconsin’s economy has lagged behind the national average during his time as governor, there still has been state revenue growth in each state budget. Yet even with these increases, Gov. Walker has slashed funding for higher education and K-12 education.
If Wisconsin has more money, why haven’t we increased investment in educational opportunity? The answer is simple. For Gov. Walker and Republicans, it is a bigger priority to direct those state resources to tax cuts for the wealthy.
Wisconsin’s budget has become increasingly strained by the governor’s so-called “Manufacturing and Agriculture Tax Credit”. When it was abruptly slipped into the 2011 budget, the credit was forecast to cost $128 million each year when fully phased in by 2016-’17. However, state estimates show that the credit cost has more than doubled. This tax giveaway is now expected to balloon to $334 million a year by 2018-’19. In addition to cuts made to public schools and higher education, 148 school districts have voted to raise their own property taxes by nearly $630 million to avoid harmful cuts to educational programs since 2011. The state resources being diverted to this credit have also resulted in the governor actually borrowing $209 million the last three years from future taxpayers—just to keep the budget in the black.
There have been huge consequences and costs associated with this credit. It would be one thing if the hundreds of millions spent on this giveaway had resulted in successful job creation. But they have not. Under Gov. Walker, Wisconsin dropped from 12,009 manufacturing jobs gained in 2010 to 3,776 manufacturing jobs lost in 2016.
Which brings us to Foxconn, and what it means for Wisconsin’s future.
Since becoming Governor, Scott Walker has desperately tried to define himself as the pro-jobs governor. His efforts have, of course, been a gigantic failure. Currently, Walker’s track record includes: an unfulfilled pledge to create 250,000 jobs by the end of his first term; a mining bill which promised thousands of jobs but created zero; anti-worker reforms; and more reckless tax credits aimed at drawing new business.
These failures have led our frantic governor to double-down on a costly economic trickle-down fantasy: his proposal to offer the most expensive state taxpayer-funded subsidy to a foreign company in U.S. history. It is important to note that because slashing taxes for the wealthy and corporations is now the operating principle of the Wisconsin Republican Party, Foxconn’s billionaire owner will now owe basically nothing in taxes. Therefore, he will be receiving up to $3 billion in tax credits as a cash payment from Wisconsin taxpayers.
Before the 2017-’19 budget is signed—and before the legislature approved $3 billion in taxpayer-funded incentives—Wisconsin faces a $1 billion deficit in the 2019-’21 budget. With economic growth projections being lowered for the next few years, state growth will likely slow as well.
Walker has left the state fiscally unprepared for slower economic times. Now he is betting it all on the Foxconn package, which, under the best-case scenario, would not break even for a quarter-century. And knowing Walker’s and Foxconn’s history of “overpromising and underperforming,” this best case is not likely to happen.
The opportunity cost of not investing in transportation, the future education of our children and further incentivizing entrepreneurship is very real. Just like public school and university cuts paid for massive tax cuts the past few years, you can assume that taxpayer funding for Foxconn will come at the expense of these programs once again.
Gordon Hintz serves in the Wisconsin State Assembly as the representative for the 54th District.
John 8:77When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "Let any one of you who is withoutsin be the first to throw a stone at her."
That did not stop Jimmy Wigderson over at RightWisconsin from standing in front of his glass house and throwing stones. The Right Wing is up in arms that Gordon Hintz is in line for the Assembly minority leader position.
Despite the character flaws of both major party candidates for president in 2016, character should matter when a political party chooses a leader. By choosing Hintz, the Assembly Democrats are also choosing to ignore their own stated principles as well as expected standards of conduct of elected officials.
If the Democratic Party will not hold its own accountable, then that responsibility falls to the Republican Party. It is not a failure of the two-party system to hold the Democrats accountable for the bad choices in leadership they make, but a responsibility of serious elected representatives to hold the leadership of both parties to a higher standard.
If Hintz’s constituents lack the judgment to choose good representation, that does not excuse the Democrats from their obligation to choose good leaders, nor does it excuse Republicans like Steineke from holding the Democrats accountable for their choices.
Kramer’s style may not endear him to Madison liberals; it does represent the conservative nature of Waukesha County. As majority leader, Kramer can lend some much-needed spine to Republican leadership who are hoping to coast through the next elections without offending anyone. If Kramer wins, it will be good for Waukesha as well. Being represented by legislators in leadership is good for a community.
Madison – As the Joint Finance Committee prepares to
finalize the state budget, Representative Gordon Hintz (D- Oshkosh) called on
the JFC Co-chairs to leave changes on behalf of the predatory “Rent-to-Own”
industry out of the legislation.
In the previous 2013-15 state budget, Governor Walker
included a provision exempting the rent-to-own industry from the Wisconsin
Consumer Act, a change that would prohibit crucial disclosure and legal
protections for consumers. However, the Joint Finance Committee removed the
provision from the budget with a bipartisan vote. A search on the state’s “Eye
on Lobbying” website shows that Jeffrey Lebakken, President of the Wisconsin
Rental Dealers Association, retained four lobbyists in the middle of the current
budget process whose efforts are directed toward “Development, drafting, or
introduction of a proposal relating to regulation of the rent-to-own
industry”. However, no such proposal has
been introduced as a standalone bill.
“Let’s be clear,” said Rep. Hintz, “Rent-to-own companies
can and do already operate legally in Wisconsin. But now this predatory
industry wants to eliminate requirements to disclose their APRs to consumers or
comply with other pesky transparency hassles under the Wisconsin Consumer
Act. Rent-to-own lenders are a common
pervasive presence in low-income communities nationwide; they target the young
and financially inexperienced, and even undermine our service men and women in
the United States Military.”
The State Court of Appeals and federal district court have
ruled that “rent-to-own” transactions are the same as any other transactions
where property is purchased over time and a finance charged is involved. As
such, they are governed by the Wisconsin Consumer Act. In a 2012 hearing, rent-to-own industry
representatives testified that 38 stores existed in Wisconsin and estimated
that changes in transparency requirements would expand the presence of
rent-to-own stores in our state to over 300 locations.
“More disclosure means better personal decision making,”
said Rep. Hintz. “By exempting rent-to-own from the Consumer Act, these
businesses can profit from our citizens’ ignorance and indebtedness. Democrats and Republicans have demonstrated willingness
in the past to stand together against predatory businesses that profit from
confusion and deception. Recognizing the
moral and financial responsibility to our neighbors should continue to be a
bipartisan principle.”
Claim:
Foxconn will invest $10 billion in constructing a new plant in Wisconsin
· Foxconn has not invested $10 billion
over the last five years on all of its factories combined.
· The more Foxconn spends on
infrastructure, the less likely it will be adding actual human jobs as the
significant infrastructure spending would be for automation. Foxconn has
rapidly moved towards automation in recent years replacing 60,000 workers in
2016 with robots.
· In the past year, Foxconn has pledged
investments of $5 billion investment in India; $3.65 billion in Kunshan, China
and $8.8 billion in Guangzhou, China. Including the pledge of $10 billion in
Wisconsin, Foxconn has pledged $27.5 billion in this year alone. This would be
more than they have spent over the past 23 years.
Claim:
Foxconn will create 13,000 jobs
· Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou made no
reference to the number of jobs the facility would create.
· And in a news release, Foxconn was
notably more measured than Governor Walker was, using the word
"potential" in saying the plant would "create 3,000 jobs with
the potential to grow to 13,000 new jobs."
· President Trump used the same word,
saying 3,000 jobs would be created "at a minimum, with the potential for
up to 13,000 jobs in the very near future."
· The company has said the plant would
employ 3,000 workers at the beginning but the state's agreement in principle
with Foxconn has no minimum jobs requirement.
· If Foxconn spends $10 billion, the
only way to make it economically viable is to keep the numbers of workers low
and lean on automation to enhance productivity. If the LCD factory happens, it
will be either labor intensive or highly automated. It will not be both.
Claim:
Foxconn jobs will pay an average $53,900 a year
· Foxconn has told the state that plant
salaries would start at $41,600.
· Of the 13,000 “potential” jobs, 75% of
the jobs would be hourly operators and techs, presumably starting at $41,600,
which would make the median wage at Foxconn $41,600.
· However, any job paying $30,000 or
more would qualify for the state incentives. A $30,000 job at Foxconn would
mean that given the state 17% subsidy, Foxconn would be paying a little more
than $12 per hour.
Claim:
Foxconn has to create jobs to get the cash payments
· Under the Foxconn bill, the company
could get up to $1.35 billion in cash for making the full investment in the
plant and robots — even if the market changes and the company is forced to
abandon the plant.
Claim: It
will take 25 years to recoup state taxpayer investment
· According to the LFB, under the best
case scenario, it would take 25 years to recoup the $2.85 million of taxpayer
investment assuming:
o The company invests $10 billion.
o 10,200 construction workers and suppliers
earning an average of $59,600 per year during the four year construction period
(2018-2021).
o 13,000 direct jobs at an average of $53,875
per year are in place and filled by calendar year 2021. This includes 1,040
jobs in place and filled by June of 2017.
o 22,000 indirect jobs averaging $51,000 per
year are in place and filled by calendar year 2021.
o If Foxconn falls short of job targets but
still invests $10 billion (think robots) the pay back date could be closer to
2075.
Claim:
Wisconsin will develop a supply chain for the LCD panels produced at Foxconn
· Creating an entire supply chain
requires the kind of low-skill assembly line jobs that Apple now offshores to
countries like China for compensation well below minimum pay in the U.S.
· As a result, it is unclear whether the
company will even source its LCD panels from the Wisconsin factory. There are
hundreds of parts that go into LCD panel production. It is unrealistic to have
a supply chain by definition in the United States in 2017 and beyond.
The shiny object in front of lawmakers’ eyes when talking
about the Foxconn proposal is the potential of new jobs. “13,000 direct jobs! Another 22,000 indirect jobs!”
All of these claims ignore the reality in 2017 Wisconsin
faces. If the jobs do materialize, where will the workers come from?
The important statistic when considering the availability of
labor is the “prime working age” population, which economists classify as
people between 25 and 54 years old. Wisconsin had 105,000 fewer prime working
age people in 2015 than it did in 2010. Some of the sharpest decreases occurred
in Jefferson, Kenosha, Ozaukee, Racine, Walworth, Washington and Waukesha
counties. As the state with the 15th oldest population in the U.S., Wisconsin’s
prime working age population is expected to continue to shrink through 2040 to
just 33% of its total population. This
is down from 41% in 2010.
Looking at 2016 census estimates for Racine and Kenosha
counties, Racine lost 6,709 (8.3%) of its prime working age population in just
the past 6 years. Kenosha lost 2,998 (4.3%) since 2010. So the very region being counted on to fill
as many as 35,000 jobs has a smaller number of working aged people, and that
number is continuing to decrease.
Wisconsin’s current and future demographic challenge is not
new, but considerations for how the state will address this challenge and
manage the consequences do not seem to be at the forefront of the Governor’s
current decision-making.
In addition to the lost workforce due to the retirements of
baby boomers, more than 27,000 people left Wisconsin between 2010 and 2014,
according to a study from the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance (WISTAX). According
to Todd Berry, WISTAX president, Wisconsin lost people “at a faster rate than
we should, and this means not only are we not going to grow the workforce,
we’re going to see a shrinking workforce if we keep that up.”
If you build it, will they come?
Wisconsin is not alone in facing a labor shortage. Both
Illinois and Michigan face shrinking working age populations, while Minnesota
and Iowa expect small increases through 2040.
Nationwide, there are more than 1 million unfilled manufacturing jobs
and there is high demand for skilled labor.
Workers choose where they want to work. Advocates for Foxconn have referenced both
Silicon Valley and North Dakota’s oil boom as examples for Wisconsin’s
hopes. However, Silicon Valley succeeded
primarily because of the open immigration policies of the U.S. and the
importance the world’s best and brightest immigrants have played in the tech
business. Wisconsin share of foreign-born Wisconsin residents stood at 4.8% in
2015, well below the U.S. percentage of 13.5% for the same year. And the
average wage during the oil boom in 2012 in North Dakota for oil field workers
was $112,462, while entry level rig workers averaged about $66,000 a year,
according to Rigzone, an industry information provider and job website.
It remains unclear what the actual job range will be or what
the specific pay for those jobs at Foxconn will be beyond the unverified
average annual pay of $53,000. With a
significant labor shortage in Wisconsin and neighboring states, will that level
of compensation be enough to recruit as many as 13,000 people (not to mention
22,000 more) from around the U.S. to move to southeastern Wisconsin as our
existing working age resident population declines? It seems unlikely. The need to increase compensation will drive
up labor costs and result in a larger and faster push to automate the Foxconn
plant. The result? Far fewer jobs, and a much higher cost to the taxpayer.
Lawmakers should not let the shine blind this reality.
Rep. Gordon Hintz (D-Oshkosh) represents the 54th District
in the Wisconsin State Assembly and is a member of the Legislature’s
budget-writing Joint Committee on Finance.
MADISON – As the state budget impasse between the Republican
Senate and Republican Assembly continues, Rep. Gordon Hintz (D-Oshkosh) offered
five budget tips for legislative Republicans to help pass a responsible budget.
1. Pass a
long-term transportation funding solution to address the ongoing
shortfall. As long as transportation
funding relies on increased borrowing or delayed projects, budgets will remain
difficult. If you continue borrowing, more transportation revenue is spent
paying off debt and interest. Plus important building projects in the UW System
will be cut in order to manage total state debt. If you raid the general fund to pay for
roads, that funding comes at the expense of other state investments like K-12
public education. If you continue to delay projects, those cost increase, the
state spends more on maintenance, and the problem will get worse for the
2019-21 budget. You increased fees to fund our state parks so it is hard to
understand what is different here. Just fix it.
2. Fund your most
important priorities first. If funding K-12 education is truly the most
important investment, then start there and pay for Wisconsin’s public schools
first. This might mean you don’t have
enough money to repeal the state forestry mill tax for $180 million or fund the
Governor’s increased school levy credit at the full amount. But if putting
dollars in classrooms around the state is really a priority, then there should
not be a disagreement.
3. Don’t create
new spending programs when you are unable or unwilling to fund existing ones.
If you are struggling to fund K-12 education or the UW System’s existing
programs, don’t create new ongoing expenses like expanded taxpayer supported
private school vouchers for kids that are already going to private school. And reconsider the new $3 million already
approved for a new redundant public policy school of conservative thought.
4. Don’t phase in
tax cuts you won’t be able to pay for in the future. The manufacturing and
agriculture tax credit was passed in the 2011 budget at the last minute, with
zero public hearing or input. It was supposed to be gradually phased in
starting in 2013 before reaching a total annual cost of $128 million in 2017
when fully implemented. The cost of the credit in the current 2015-17 budget is
$517.4 million. Despite modest growth in state revenue, programs were cut in
order to pay for the credit, such as the $250 million cut to the UW
System. It is now expected to cost
$320.2 million in FY2018 and $334 million in FY2019. Don’t make this mistake
again. Before you consider proposals
such as repealing the personal property tax, make sure you can pay for it in
the future. Since the Governor’s proposed budget spends $366 million more than
the revenue collected, it is unlikely that the state will be able to cover the
local revenue loss in future budgets without cutting other state programs.
5. Don’t use
one-time money to pay for ongoing expenses. Spending one-time money from an
existing fund balance or transferring money from a segregated account to cover
ongoing general fund expenses creates future imbalances. It is irresponsible to use one-time money
during a period of modest economic growth. Raiding the state veterans nursing
home fund to pay for ongoing veterans trust fund programs creates future
imbalances. When balances run out, the state general fund will have to cover
the cost.
MADISON – Late last Friday afternoon, Governor Walker’s
Department of Workforce Development released new data showing that Wisconsin
has once again lost thousands of manufacturing jobs. According to the data, Wisconsin added just
11,590 private sector jobs in 2016 with a growth rate of 0.5%.
Those numbers mark the slowest job growth of any year since
Governor Walker took office. The dramatic dip in manufacturing job creation
comes at nearly the same time the so-called Manufacturing and Agriculture Tax
Credit is now fully phased in, at a projected cost of almost $300 million this
year. By the end of the next budget, the credit is projected to have cost the
state a total of $1.4 billion over six years.
Despite its misleading name, the credit does not require that a single
job be created. Three out of four
individuals who claim the giveaway as income tax are millionaires.
“These latest jobs numbers once again confirm that Governor
Walker has been a miserable failure at fulfilling his promises to create jobs,”
said Rep. Gordon Hintz (D-Oshkosh), a member of the budget-writing Joint
Finance Committee. “The fact that the Governor waited until late afternoon
before a holiday weekend to release the jobs numbers says it all. Not only is the state growing jobs an anemic
0.5% rate, Wisconsin continues to place 50th among 50 states in startup
activity, with the distance between Wisconsin and the next-lowest states
widening even more from 2016 and 2015. Meanwhile, the Governor continues to
give away hundreds of millions of dollars in a no-strings-attached tax credit
to the wealthiest in our state, at the expense of public schools, tech schools,
and the UW System.”
Since the credit has been fully phased in, Wisconsin has
lost manufacturing jobs over 12 months in every quarter the Bureau of Labor
Statistics has released jobs data. Recent data from the state’s non-partisan
Legislative Fiscal Bureau revealed the top 11 claimants of the credit all make
$30 million or more per year, and as a group are projected to receive a
whopping $22 million in 2017 alone.
Because there is no job creation requirement, claimants can actually
take money from the credit and outsource jobs, or even invest in automation to
replace actual jobs.
The tax measure was included in the 2011 budget during a
last-minute motion on the last day before the Joint Finance Committee passed
the budget. As a result, there was no
public hearing, input, testimony, or consideration of the impact of the
decision when it was passed.
At the time of passage, the credit was estimated to cost
$128 million annually when fully phased in by 2016-17. However, the credit is projected to actually
end up costing $299 million in 2016-17, and is expected to balloon in cost to
$334 million by 2018-19. By the end of
the 2017-19 budget, the credit will have cost $800 million more than was
originally forecasted when it was passed in 2011.
It is time for a check in as the Fall election cycle starts to really kick in.
The first thing, that we need to understand is this election cycle is not like any other election cycle in our history. The Trump Phenomona is something that, while was created by the electeds in the GOP party and we should have seen coming, no one did.
Simple case in point. At one point this ended a presidential run:
while this gained Mr. Trump more and more supporters:
The first thing we need to do is never start a sentence with the word "Historically".
* The committee not only recommends
a stronger rebuttal to the basic Republican argument, but to proactively identify and present a different
argument. Two plus years later we are still waiting for that argument.
* A common point of contention is that the party and our candidates have delivered a
flawed message based upon the actions of Governor Walker. Essentially the critical view of that message
has been, “Governor Walker is bad for Wisconsin and we aren’t him.” Find me an instance where Mary Burke or most candidates running criticized Scott Walker in the last race? Martha Laning, our current state chair ran an ad with the theme "Republicans have great ideas" while running for an Assembly seat.
* To understand the crux of the issue of Rural Wisconsin, we sought out and
reviewed qualitative academic studies done in Wisconsin. Yoo Hoo, they are not that hard to find, go talk to the people in rural Wisconsin. Looking at them through academic studies? really?
* We need the conversation at the rural gas station in the morning to shift from the bad things that
government is doing to a discussion about how government is working to enhance rural lives. If you really think that rural Wisconsin 2016 is the same as life in Mayberry in the Andy Griffith show then you really really need to get out and talk to people. WOW.
* The 72 County Strategy, much like Howard Dean’s original plan, is not about winning all 72 counties, 'Nuff said!
Now the recommendations:
* Do not be afraid of primaries, hold the internal party units to the constraints of party rules and
understand we do not control the decisions of outside forces. The party has compeletely ignored this recommendation as when Jimmy Anderson announced a run against Robb Kahl(who later dropped out), Gordon Hintz became unhinged. In Madison, Progressive Jacob Wischmeier, decided to challenge Lisa Subeck in a PRIMARY, and the Democratic party challenged his signatures. We also see where Myron Bucholz has challenged Ron Kind and Mandela Barnes has challenged Lena Taylor and yet both were denied the VAN and shut down by the party.
* When possible, hire campaign staff who have a background in rural organizing or if possible give
those staffers additional time to shorten the learning curve. Great idea I look forward to that actually happening.
* Look for opportunities to build new relationships with community groups that have similar
progressive interests to the Democratic Party to create a larger base of support. With the aggressiveness that local party leaders have against anyone who questions them, the complete lack of outreach or interest in people with Democratic ideals who have yet to join the party and the lack of interest in engaging with the million Wisconsinites who signed the recall of our Governor, shows me that relationship building and increasing support is not even remotely in their plans(but it sounds really good).
Despite the current electoral status of Wisconsin, history shows us that we not only have a road forward
but the path to a new progressive era is entirely possible. We heed the advice of the late Congressman
Robert Kastenmeier on this topic:
"Don't give up the ship...there are better days ahead." Apparently wishing so, while on the same path as previous elections, will make it so.
Now the things they ommitted!
* Leadership: Not a word about how much leadership has let the party down. Mike Tate was in charge for 6 years and in that time, the Democratic Party lost seats in almost every election and went from having control of the Governor's office, the Assembly and Senate to being so far in the minority that they are no longer relevant in any debate. In the whole time Mr. Tate was ahead of the party, it seems as though he was able to work mostly on advancing his own career. Mike Tate allowed union busting Chris Abele prime speaking spots at Democratic dinners and in turn Chris Abele then hired Mike to help run his campaign against Democratic Senator Chris Larson. Quid pro quo at its finest. Then Mr. Tate did not just hekp Chris Abele win the election, he smeared Chris Larson, his old friend, often. When you have someone in charge who will turn on his friends and allies for a few pences, then you can expect to have an organization with no ethics. Heck even Rick Nielsen had more loyalty to the Party then Mike Tate. * Party Insiders: After the Democratic convention, and after Bernie sanders won he Wisconsin Primary handily, Kristen Hansen unleashed a series of tweets@KHansen1724 aimed at Senator Sanders and his supporters:
- Can we get hair and makeup into this Sanders event? Thanks. - There's only 1 Democrat running for POTUS - @HillaryClinton. I'm done pretending this is a primary. It's a hostile takeover. #fightback - Things I am no longer doing: pretending the Dem race isn't over, being nice to Bernie Bros, nod and smile at misogynists. #emancipation - You know why we have superdelegates? Because people who are NOT Democrats and don't give a shit about the party can run AS Dems and fuck us. - Dear Sen Sanders: I will not let you destroy our party. You were never with us: 'It will be a contested convention' Ok
I am not sure if that is the new inclusive message that the party is looking to send to win elections or not but there was no apology and she was so proud of these tweets that she has them still up. *Democratic Party of WI: The current state of the party shows major signals that even more dire election results are ahead. If you pull up the WISDEMS website under the "Our Candidates" tab, you see a picture of Senator Russ Feingold and no one else. Apparently no one explained to them that the 's' after candidate, means plural = more than one. We have important races all over the state, local and nationa,l and the WISDEMS are only aware of Senator Feingold. Secondly go to the "news" section and what do we see there? Under the latest from our party section: The Latest from Our Party
November 24, 2015
Democratic Weekly Radio Address: "Happy Thanksgiving"
I
For those of you scoring at home, it is currently July 18,2016. I guess nothing that is newsworthy has happened since last Thanksgiving.
The Political Establishment in WI: Tune into a Sunday political TV show and who do you see? The same people week after week, Bloggers David Blaska, and Christian Schneider, For some un beknownest reason, Joe Zepecki and Sachin Cheda, etc... All on, talking like this is a similar election to the one before and the one before, etc... All bringing nothing to the table but the same ole drivel.
Against this backdrop, I attended a forum on building the Democratic bench recently, whichThe Progressivemagazine co-sponsored, along with Emerge Wisconsin, New Leaders Council and Wisconsin Progress — three groups that are doing the hard work recruiting and training candidates to try to take back citizen control of our government.These groups’ efforts are unimpeachable. They are in the trenches trying to get smart progressives to consider public service, and they are supporting their campaigns and achieving some victories.
Actually these groups efforts are fine but hardly unimpechable. As entrenched political organizations, while they do some good, they really have just become employment factories for political lifers.
For instance, Scott Spector was running Wisconsin Progress unril Senator Tammy Baldwin called upon him to be her chief of staff. Which will be a nice job for him for a couple years before he founds a political consultancy/lobbyist firm where he will go and make quadruple his salary now.
As Matt Taibbi recently pointed out, with the political lifers, winning is secondary to continual employment. A Former head of the local Jefferson County Democratic party disliked a Democratic candidate running in Assembly District 38 because 10 years prior he had a messy divorce (with no actual charges filed against him and he ended up with full custody of his children). The head of the JeffDems at the time was able to get this candidates blackballed from various fundraisers and from any help at all within the party. He ended up putting up a good race but slightly losing. The irony here is that the woman who was upset with him and got him blackballed, actually had charges AGAINST her for Domestic Violence but felt the need to be judge jury and executioner, all be herself. Now we have Representative Joel Kleefisch who has bills written to stop all stem cell research, while the former head of the JEFFDEMS is now in charge of one of these unimpeachable groups.
Their main focus is raise lots of money, and only talk to Democratic Voters. Which is a terrible way to bring more people into the party and has not led to many election victories.
Then Ms. Coniff saw the only way out of the Democratic funk was by Hail Mary's" - 1. Getting someone charismatic to run for Governor and 2. Win the lawsuit against redistricting. and hoping new districts would be much more fair.
That is the self defeatist, lets look at historical attitude that we are so used to seeing, and one that will help us continue our landslide.
Now that we have acknowledged much of the problems, let's look at some solutions.
Unlike the bloodsuckers of the political consulting world, that have consulted us right into the minority(I am looking at you Nation Consulting), I am giving election advice for free.
Some can be run this election cycle yet and some needs to be systemic changes. Here are 9 observations, bits of advice that could be used to take our State back.
1. Go on the offensive at all times! Quick, name all of the times you can think of that Scott Walker or the WISGOP have apologized? When calling protesters ISIS(no)? When Bob Gannon was writing racist press releases and flipped off the Democrats on the Assembly floor(no)? There is not a time that the WISGOP will ever apologize.
2. Have each others backs at ALL times. Yes, Gordon Hintz flipped out when someone decided to run for the seat that he felt Robb Kahl owned(Kahl ended up not running again), but when Hintz went unhinged, he tried to throw most of his base under the bus. That is not what having your back means. Hintz did not have a word to say about anyone else who had primaries and in his rants did not say a bad word about the GOP only the Dem base(most of which had nothing to do with the situation).
3. Update the website: There has unexplicably been a picture of Russ Feingold on the front page of the Democratic Party of Wiscosnin website for months now. There should be a page you can go to and find not only your Assembly Rep, but your State Senator and if it is a Republican, who on the Democratic Party is running in your area, with a picture, a short bio and a link to their website. If there is a primary then all candidates running should get the same treatment.
Finally, tell stories(more on this later). I would send someone with a video camera to drive around Wisconsin and tell us stories of what is really happening, not the "Its Working" crap we get from the GOP.
4 Stop Talking about all of the races you plan on LOSING! How many times have you seen one of the rare appearances by someone from the Dem Party asked about the upcoming elections and they talk about the bare minimum that we could maybe possibly win. Case in point:
Democratic Leader Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse, highlighted three seats as pickup opportunities for her party: Senate District 18, an open seat; Senate District 12, now represented by Tom Tiffany, R-Hazelhurst, and Senate District 10, represented by Sheila Harsdorf, R-River Falls.
Democrats would need to win all three to wrest control of the Senate — something Shilling isn’t willing to pledge.
“I always like to under-promise and over-deliver,” Shilling said. “This is a several-election-term plan that we want to implement.
I'm Sorry Jen, when have you over delivered? Maybe when you start talking about all of the races that we are GOING to win, That will help build up some momemntum and enthusiasm from places that normally do not vote Democratic? Who wants a quarterback that goes into the season saying "I can see us maybe winning three games?"
5. Stop letting the Republicans get away with their extremist, incompetent ideology!Scott Walker, spent $7 Million dollars in about three months campaigning to the most right wing of his base and ended up with 0.0% support. One of the straws that broke the Right wing camels back, was because he actually said that walling off Canada was a "legitimate issue". I have yet to hear a Wisconsin Democrat bring that up.
For example, look at Chris Larson's recent run for Milwaukee County Executive, or anytime he is in the news actually), he get referred to every time by the right wing echo chamber as "sticky fingers" Larson. Why would the Democratic party not take advantage and bring up the Canadian wall every single time the get asked about Scott Walker? Almost every GOP member running for office this time has statements/actions in their past that equate the Canadian Wall and yet the Dems never call them out.
6. Fire Nation Consulting from all inner workings of the party. I know that candidates are free to hire whoever they want. I also know that candidates are strongly encouraged who to hire and who not to hire. Over the years, they have been very strong advocates for their bank accounts and not much else. Just stop it with them. If they want to volunteer on campaigns fine, but in terms of sending them ANY money from anyone with D behind their name....just stop!
7. Stop the Madison/Milwaukee V the rest of the state debate. As someone who grew up on a small family farm and has lived in Milwaukee and Madison, I am confused as to which issues matter to Madison/Milwaukee and not to rural areas and vice versa. People in WI want much of the same things, a good education for their chidlren, opportunity, healthcare, a family supporting job, a chance to go on a vacation a year and have a house and a car that works. There is some nuance between different areas and people on their main issues but in the end we all want the same things.
8. Do not fear the Republicans but watch what they are doing and learn. They have more money than the Democrats and while they govern horribly, they do win elections. In the recall elections, I knew it was over when the Walker campaign stopped campaigning on issues and focused on the recall itself. The last couple months, their ads were strictly focused on - "while me dont like Scott Walker, we do not think he should be recalled". We did not even need to see their internal polling, it was obvious his internal polling showed that as the biggest issue. In the meantime, the Democrats responded with calling Scott Walker a rockstar. The results speak for themselves.
The Donald easily won his primary because he ran as anti-establishment. People are sick of the same people doing the same things over and over and also being perceived as above the law. Senator Sanders also made huge inroads running against the estbalishment. Look at how they campaigned here, Senator Sanders, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, had open speeches all over the state, while Hillary Clinton had private events where people in the inside could get in and take selfies for their facebook page. Its great for them, but she also got creamed on election day. Think about that.
9. Do Not Be Afraid of Progressive Populism. Actually, Progressive Populism is the ONLY thing that will beat Scott Walker in the next election. It has nothing really to do with charisma(although that does help). People in Wisconsin, did not take to Senator Sanders (and he won handily here) because of his sparkiling personality, award winning smile and ability to tell jokes. Senator Sanders won here because he was saying what the people in WI have been desperate to hear. Ms. Coniff pointed it out in her article, but did not recognize it for what it was.
But what do you say to young people who are willing to devote their time to local community service when, at the state level, there appears to be very little infrastructure to bolster the opposition against a right-wing juggernaut? I asked the panelists at the forum this question, and they looked pained. But then they started talking about some of their favorite candidates, and about the dedication of these young teachers, farmers and community activists to local issues. Most get involved in public work by running for nonpartisan offices, and at the very local level, they make common cause with their neighbors — including conservatives — on doing what’s best for their communities. It occurred to me that if we can bring that community spirit up the chain to higher office, it would fix a lot of what has been going wrong in our state.
What do you say to young people willing to devote their time? This:
Tell them that you understand that the Government, the economy is not working for them. That you recognize that the scale is tilted heavily against them and that is not the American ideal. Tell them that we have to stop letting Wall St and multi national corporations purchase our politicians. Tell them everything Senator Sanders had to tell them because he reached them. Not only did he reach them, he transcended the urban and rural areas(see point 7) and won 71/72 counties.
Last week the story came out that someone named Jimmy Anderson had decided in our Democratic Republic that he would like to give back to society by running for office. That is the definition of citizen legislator really is any citizen can run.
He of course new nothing about Jimmy Anderson but what he read in the paper and still classified him as "far left" and vowed to spend all of his time not trying to win back the Assembly, but knocking doors for Robb Kahl in Monona.
While loyalty is a good trait, sometimes it is best to actually get the facts before spouting off in the media. See the person he was so willing to sacrifice the state to keep in office, is not running for re-election.
Unfortunately it was funny when Emily Litella has to say it, but not so much when someone who claims to be an elected leader does the same . Count this up as just another stumble in a myriad of Democratic stumbles over the last 6 years.
I am still waiting for Hintz's public apology for his unprofessional behavior and blaming half the base for one person wanting to serve his community.
Maybe next time Gordon Hintz can make headlines maybe trying to protect jobs, or public education instead.
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One last note to this story, while Hintz and the Democrats were as usual bumbling the story, our friend Kevin Binversie and Right Wisconsin were typically getting it completely wrong.
Binversie writes that the "Wisconsin Left" is punishing the "moderate". It amazes me that someone who spends their whole life in politics would need this explained to them but NO ONE PURGED Robb Kahl. NO ONE PUNISHED Robb Kahl at all. Robb Kahl had every right to run for re-election if he so chose. Jimmy Anderson has every right to run for his seat if he so chooses. The Primary is not until August. No one but Robb Kahl and Jimmy Anderson have had a chance to weigh in at all.
People who follow politics, know that an incumbent has a strong chance of being elected and the person who spends the most wins in the 90% of the time. Kahl had both of those major advantages going for him along with name recognition as being the former Governor of Monona, WI. I do not think many pundits around the state gave Mr. Anderson much of a chance of being successful at all in "purging" Mr. Kahl.
If the good folks at Right Wisconsin would like to hire me to consult with them about how our Government works, I gladly will. Even for a discount since I feel its important they understand that if they want to write daily about politics.
This is such a distraction," said Rep. Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh. "Think about this. Hopefully all 35 of us (Democrats in the Assembly) are going to come out strongly for Robb. Every dollar and every door that we do for our colleague is another dollar and another door that we’re not doing in a Republican district that we can win. When we pick up a seat or two fewer in the fall, I’m going to think about these so-called progressive hypocrites that went after this unnecessary seat to make themselves happy or to high-five their friends at the co-op."
The vision of 35 sitting assembly reps doing doors in a Democratic Stronghold to make sure their buddy gets reelected while letting reps such as Scott Krug, Andre Jacque and Robin Vos skate free, while passing a whole different group of young progressives doing doors for their candidate would explain everything you need to know about the end of the Wisconsin idea.
However as we say here, there is more....there is always more.
It seems as if Robb Kahl is not the only Democratic incumbent to have someone challenge them in a primary. For instance, Representative Sondy Pope has TWO challengers. Luke Joseph and Dale Yurs.
Yet Mr. Hintz expects Sondy Pope to spend her time helping Robb Kahl(who probably has a zero percent chance of being beaten) get reelected. Despite the best effort of the Solidarity singers and your local coop to hijack the election.
So the question you have to ask is why is Robb Kahl untouchable but Sondy Pope should be left to twist in the wind? Is it because she is a woman? Or does he not want to work with someone who tragically lost his ability to walk? Or maybe there are other reasons he is not telling us.
Maybe the best thing to do is contact Gordon Hintz and ask him to explain and tell him he owes the people of the Democratic party an apology!
If you want to know why the Democratic Party has went from controlling the legislature and the Governors office to being irrelevant in the state, I can sum it up in two words.
I am actually referring to his latest hot headed rant.
It seems that someone has decided that they want to perform their civic duty in America and run for office. Apparently, they did not get the permission of Mr. Hintz and it does not sit well with him.
This is such a distraction," said Rep. Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh. "Think about this. Hopefully all 35 of us (Democrats in the Assembly) are going to come out strongly for Robb. Every dollar and every door that we do for our colleague is another dollar and another door that we’re not doing in a Republican district that we can win. When we pick up a seat or two fewer in the fall, I’m going to think about these so-called progressive hypocrites that went after this unnecessary seat to make themselves happy or to high-five their friends at the co-op."
Let's take a look at this statement:
There are 35(out of 99 seats) in the assembly that are democrats, That means they have lost 64 seats to Republicans. I am not sure how many doors and dollars they have spent trying to win some of the 64 Republican seats but it is not working.
* "Progressive Hypocrites" like the vast majority of elected Democratic elected officials who came out strong for Hillary Clinton despite her poor record on Human rights and middle class job?
* He has managed so far to completely rip on the part of the Democratic base that belongs to Co-Ops. Now we know why they voted for Nader.
There is more:
Hintz, who has served in the Assembly since 2007, called Anderson's move shortsighted. He also noted that Anderson's campaign is staffed by current and former members of the League of Conservation Voters and Fair Wisconsin, groups that have endorsed Republicans as recently as 2014.
Hintz said he generally has mixed feelings about primary challenges in safe districts, adding that it's not enough for the incumbent to have voted with the party. Kahl, he said, has been a team player who works to get Democrats elected throughout the state.That's the kind of attitude progressives should want in a candidate, Hintz argued. "I'm in the business of trying to elect more Democrats, not trying to increase the size of the Solidarity Singers," Hintz said.
* As for the working to get more Democrats elected, see above. there are 35/99. They are not working that hard.
* So now Mr. Hintz has made fun of the Solidarity Singers. The only people who Hintz seems not have ripped on as part of the Democratic base are a few lobbyists.
But wait there is so much more:, Robb Kahl jumps in:
The incumbent, Kahl, hasn't decided whether he'll seek re-election — but he talks like a candidate looking toward a future campaign. Kahl said the delay is more personal than anything — he and his family are moving to a new home and haven't had much time to discuss it together. He said he'll make his decision known within the next few weeks out of courtesy to anyone else who might be considering a run.
The deadline to turn in signatures is June 1. It is the end of APril, if Mr, Kahl decides to not run and lets us know that "in a few weeks" who can turn it around in a few days?
In response to Anderson's suggestions that Kahl isn't representing the interests of his party or his constituents, Kahl challenged him to point to a vote demonstrating that. Anderson cited a 2013 bill that prohibits people from trafficking food stamp benefits. The measure, signed into law by Walker in July 2013,passed the Assembly on a bipartisan 73-24 vote. Kahl was one of 13 Democrats to support it. He also cited a bill that would have made it easier for private, out-of-state companies to buy municipal water systems. That bill passed the Assembly on a voice vote, which means no roll call was taken. The Senate did not take it up.
Challenge offered and Challenge accepted. Unfortunately there is more:
"He (Anderson), like a lot of, frankly, extremists on the far end of the spectrum, cannot seem to get past this fascination or obsession with Scott Walker," Kahl said.
So true, except for the fact that our schools have been devastated, major companies have closed down, we have record debt, hundreds of thousands of workers have taken majkor pay cuts, and we have given millions to donors via the scam of WEDC, Except for that one would hardly know that Scott Walker was Governor. Move along nothing to see here.
"This whole fascination with whether or not I’ve been a Democrat since birth is frankly nauseating, and the voters are sick of it, too," Kahl said. "My journey here has not been a straight line, but I also do not apologize for that fact ... I think the majority of voters in this state don’t simply live by this strict ideology of politics that is really only being dictated to us by the extremists on both sides."
"People like Jimmy Anderson don’t understand that reality," Kahl said. "It’s clear he just wants to come out and take this hard stance on the far end of the spectrum. That’s his prerogative, but I can assure you, if he is elected, the people of the 47th will not be served, because he will get nothing done."
Nobody works as hard as the current group of Dems, I mean without them we would not have been able to give the billionaire Bucks owners 500 million dollars of our money to build a new arena. When you have a solid record like the current Wisdems, it makes sense that you would speculate as to how hard others would work. '
Also nothing drives up turnout on election day like sitting legislators rip[ping on their base.
Besides the person who these two are skewering for wanting to be involved in our democracy?
Jimmie Anderson:
Anderson said his desire to serve in public office stems from personal tragedy. In 2010, he and his family were hit by a drunk driver in California. The crash left Anderson paralyzed from the chest down and killed his parents and younger brother. A California native, Anderson and his wife decided to stay in Dane County after finishing their law and veterinary degrees in Madison. He founded a nonprofit, Drive Clear, aimed at preventing drunk driving and helping its victims. With that organization established, Anderson started looking for his next move. Having benefited from the highly politicized Affordable Care Act in the treatment of his injuries, Anderson was inspired to run for office. The provision of the law prohibiting health insurance policies from placing lifetime limits on most benefits kicked in just as Anderson had learned he was close to reaching his plan's lifetime limit. "It was a wake-up call," he said. "I had been kind of cynical about politics, and it made me realize I needed to do something."
The nerve of Mr. Anderson surviving a horrible tragedy and wanting to give back to the public with his life that has been forever changed.
Gordon Hintz owes Mr. Anderson and the Democratic base an apology. He owes it immediately and publicly.
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