Thank You, Reps Gwen Moore and Mark Pocan

Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) filed articles of impeachment against TACO Don for his violation of the War Powers Act.   Even though it wasn't going to go anywhere, it was nice to see someone taking a stand for once.

Sadly, 130 Democratic Congressmen and Congresswomen sold the nation out by refusing to take a stand.  The list of the standouts can be found here.

Fortunately, Wisconsin's own Gwen Moore and Mark Pocan are not on that list.  Thank you to both of them for standing up for Wisconsin and for the United States.

As for those 130 sellouts, they only prove that David Hogg was correct.

US Rep Gwen Moore: Drug Test The 1%

Lyin' Paul Ryan used a drug treatment facility as a backdrop when he rolled out part of his "Better Way" gimmick, which included shaming the poor by making anyone receiving government benefits take a drug test.

Fellow Wisconsin US Representative Gwen Moore (D-WI) took him up on that and said that we should drug test the real takers - the 1% who claim more than $150,000 in tax deductions:

Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI) has had enough of the growing movement to drug test poor people who need government assistance. So on Tuesday, she’s introducing a bill that she says will make things fairer.

Her “Top 1% Accountability Act” would require anyone claiming itemized tax deductions of over $150,000 in a given year to submit a clean drug test. If a filer doesn’t submit a clean test within three months of filing, he won’t be able to take advantage of tax deductions like the mortgage interest deduction or health insurance tax breaks. Instead he would have to make use of the standard deduction.

Her office has calculated that the people impacted will be those who make at least $500,000 a year. “By drug testing those with itemized deductions over $150,000, this bill will level the playing field for drug testing people who are the recipients of social programs,” a memo on her bill notes.

Moore has a personal stake in the fight. “I am a former welfare recipient,” she explained. “I’ve used food stamps, I’ve received Aid for Families with Dependent Children, Medicaid, Head Start for my kids, Title XX daycare [subsidies]. I’m truly grateful for the social safety net.”

It would be fantastic to see the real takers and abusers be held accountable for a change.

Emerge Wisconsin's Woman of the Year - Tammy Baldwin

On Thursday evening, my wife and I had the opportunity to volunteer for and attend

Emerge Wisconsin's event at the Milwaukee County War Memorial Center in which they honored U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin as their 2013 Woman of the Year.

Given the fact that I work for Emerge WI, I have been to a few of their events and thought I knew what to expect.  But Thursday's event was such a success that it blew my mind.

There were hundreds of people in attendance.  They came from all walks of life and from all areas of the state.  I won't go into naming all of the politicians and community leaders who were in attendance because I know that I would miss some.

There were the speeches given by Bethany Ordaz, Emerge Wisconsin Board Chair; State Senator and Emerge alumna Nikiya Harris; Emerge Alumna Melissa Lemke; and Congressman Ron Kind.  There were also some very moving videos of other Emerge alumnae and political and community leaders. 

The most moving and passionate tribute came from Congresswoman Gwen Moore, who did the introduction for Baldwin.  As usual, Moore delivered a passionate and uplifting speech that really got the crowd going.

Baldwin, the recipient of many standing ovations, also gave a very moving speech.    She spoke of how Emerge Wisconsin is changing the social and political environment so that women no longer feel that they are unqualified to run.  She talked about how we are in this together and that no one has been successful doing things all on their own.

On a personal note, I have to say that the highlight of the evening was not the speeches or the videos.  Nor was it seeing so many friends and making many new ones.  Nor was even the fact that Baldwin went out of her way to thank my wife and I for volunteering to help with the event.

The highlight of the evening, for me anyways, was seeing the look on my wife's face as she got to meet one of her heroes.  Not only meet her, but to hug her and have our picture taken with her.   

The fact that Baldwin is such a genuinely nice person just made it all the better for both my wife and myself.

Wisconsin's Fighting 4th!

The Fighting 4th in two parts! 

Congresswoman Moore Speaks Out Against Abele's Power Grab

U.S. Representative Gwen Moore issued the following press release regarding the power grab by Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele:

Today, Congresswoman Gwen Moore (WI-4) released the following statement in opposition to LRB 1340 a proposal from the Wisconsin State Legislature that would enact a 66 percent reduction in the Milwaukee County Board’s budget eliminating funds available for current staff, supervisor salaries and oversight responsibilities and duties. She released the following statement.

"This proposal is not one that the citizens have asked for but rather one that the business community determined was necessary. Many in the community perceive this as either a takeover or a power grab that will ultimately disenfranchise the everyday person.

“The County Board has and continues to be a great forum for civic engagement, helping to groom our future public servants. Our own U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin was once a County Board Supervisor. The County Board is a government body that truly reflects the breadth of diversity within the state of Wisconsin – especially for women and minorities. The many changes delineated in this bill in addition to the reduction of funds will limit opportunities and access for all who seek to be active and engaged in their community. It reduces the Board’s ability to help constituents resolve their problems at the County level.

“Additionally, the proposed cut to the Milwaukee County Board will also make maintaining a system of checks and balances at the County government nearly impossible and would destroy the very concept of local control.

“This proposal by the Wisconsin State Legislature to enact these draconian cuts is misguided and will ultimately render the local County Board incapable of providing necessary services for the people of Milwaukee County. The Milwaukee County Board is more than capable of determining how to reduce the cost of local government and increase efficiency - and we should let them do it.”

What Are You Doing November 14th?

From the inbox, a friendly reminder to Democratic women from Emerge Wisconsin:

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What Are You Doing November 14th?

Many in Wisconsin are working hard to make our first answer to that question "Celebrating Democratic wins across Wisconsin."

If you are a Democratic woman, your second answer should then be "Making sure my application is complete for the Emerge Wisconsin 2013 Class."

Democratic women, there is no time to delay.  If you have EVER thought of running for office, then YOU need to apply to the Emerge Wisconsin 2013 Class today.  

We will give you the tools, the resources and the network to give you the confidence to run and the skills to win. 

Need some extra encouragement?  Check out this video message from Emerge Wisconsin Advisor, Congresswoman Gwen Moore.  She inspires us. We hope she inspires you!

GO TO OUR WEBSITE AND APPLY RIGHT NOW!


For the sake of full disclosure, I do some work for Emerge Wisconsin.

RMS Scott Walker

On April 14, 1912, the RMS Titanic ran into an iceberg. In the early hours of the next day, the Titanic went below the waves forever, taking the lives of 1,517 people with it.  The real tragedy behind the Titanic's sinking is that the whole thing could have been utterly avoidable at so many junctures.

If they hadn't tried to cut corners, they might have used a better grade iron for the rivets. If the company wasn't trying to cut corners, they might have had enough lifeboats on the ship.  If it wasn't for their hubris, they might not have been going too fast or ignored the warnings from other ships that icebergs were in the area. The list goes on and on of things that could have been done differently, done smarter, which could have kept this from happening.

Instead, out of greed, corporate hubris and the overwhelming desire to cater to the upper (richer) passengers, the ship barreled ahead regardless of the dangers, and the completely unnecessary tragedy unfolded.

Ironically, on April 14, 2011, 99 years later, Scott Walker ran into the US Congress.The results to Walker's career and future political aspirations will not be known for a while, but it doesn't look that much better.

Like the fabled ship, RMS Walker went to sail with less that quality ideas, insufficient forethought, but enough hubris to fill ten Titanics.  The results of Walker's folly was utterly predictable and utterly preventable.  However, unlike the horrors of more than 1,500 people losing their lives, on this fateful ego trip, the only lost by Walker was whatever credibility he might have had, much less any chance at a national office.

Now, I admit I did not get to witness the repeated rectal reamings that Walker received, but I have seen some of the YouTube clips and read some of the stories.  So please forgive me if I don't lay them out in the chronological order of their occurrences, but here are some of the more exceptional moments of the day.  In each clip, pay close attention to Walker's expressions has his day just keeps getting worse and worse.

The first one is our own Congresswoman Gwen Moore who lays out the hypocrisy of Walker's claims of there being a fiscal crisis while he is giving money hand over fist to his buddies, the road builders, as well as some of his other lies regarding the budget, including pension plans:



Next up is Representative Bruce Braley (D-IA) who hammers Walker on the hiring of Brian Deschane, the 20-something year old with no college degree, little experience and two DWI who landed an $81,000 a year job due to his lobbyist daddy buying it for him:



Noteworthy from that clip is that Walker claimed that Deschane's hiring was "five steps below" him. Dan Bice of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is quick to point out that this isn't exactly true, since it was Walker's Chief of Staff that was involved in it, at Walker's bidding no doubt.

As fun as those were, they were just the warm ups. The third clip is Representative Gerry Connolly (D-VA) who had to repeatedly redirect Walker's evasive answers until Walker had to finally admit that he did not indeed mention attacking workers' rights during his campaign, contrary to his previous statements:



But it was Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) who took away Walker's bag lunch and ate both of his ham and cheese sammiches in front of him, by cornering the elusive Walker into admitting that his union-busting bill doesn't do one darn thing for correcting the state budget, whatsoever:



The similarities between the Titanic doesn't end with the entirely avoidable collision and eventual sinking of both of these symbols of hubris.

After the sinking of the Titanic, there was an investigation into the cause. The surviving crew members testified, usually in order to point the finger at the deceased officers, or anywhere but themselves.  Likewise, after he was in an environment he controlled instead of the harsh reality of the world, Walker used both of his twitter accounts to blame the media and to blame Governor Jim Doyle or the bipartisanship of the legislature.

There is a huge difference between the Titanic and Walker which is relatively simple to see.

As mentioned above, when the Titanic went down, more than 1,500 people lost their lives.

However, if we don't get the floating piece of hubris known as Walker to go down, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, will suffer for it.

Train Wreck Walker Still On The Wrong Track

In the shuffling madness
Of the locomotive breath
Runs the all-time loser
Headlong to his death.
He feel the pistons scraping--
Steam breaking from his brow--
Thank God, he stole the handle and
The train won't stop going--
No way to slow down

-Jethro Tull "Locomotive Breath"

Talk about slow learners.

Yesterday, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood made it clear to Scott "Train Wreck" Walker that the funding for high speed rail, by federal law, is meant for high speed rail only, and not to reward his magnanimous road builder campaign donors.

Today, U.S. Representative Gwen Moore re-emphasized the point. Even his ally, U.S. Representative Tom Petri told him that it's not going to happen. Republican darling, Paul Ryan, won't climb aboard Walker's Train Wreck Express.

Businessmen in Wisconsin are telling Walker they want HSR to come to Wisconsin so they can remain competitive. Some people have even called Walker's opposition to HSR as "economic treason."

So how does ol' Train Wreck respond to this growing groundswell of support for HSR and the undeniable fact that his oppositional stance is folly?

He responds the same way he always has. He ignores the people and the facts and clings to his irresponsible and irrational ideology. Not only does he not blink before reality, but he stokes the engines on his crazy train and fires off a letter to Secretary LaHood not only continuing to pursue his own vainglorious publicity stunt, but shows himself to be totally delusional. In Walker's eyes, because he and two other fools don't like to have the train, he says that the federal government should just scrap the whole push for a nationwide rail system:

I strongly encourage the federal government to halt all investments in new passenger rail lines and instead devote this funding to state and local road projects. All across the country, in states like Wisconsin, Ohio and Florida, the voters chose new governors who are opposed to diverting transportation funding to passenger rail. I believe it would be unwise for the Obama Administration to ignore the will of the voters.

Too bad for Train Wreck Walker that this isn't the case. New York State's Governor Elect Andrew Cuomo has already put dibs on the funding that should be Wisconsin's. State officials in Illinois, and yes, even Florida, have expressed desire to get that HSR funding.

And for something that no one wants and no one will ride, according to Walker and his acolytes, it sure seems to be doing really well in Minnesota and Illinois. I wonder how Walker will respond to his old buddy, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, when he tells Walker to stop hurting his state's economy with his ideological grandstanding.

I foresee only three real possible outcomes from this. One, Walker will cave to reality and allow the HSR to be built, using some lame excuse to cover his butt. The other option is that he emulates his hero, George W. Bush, and alienates the state from any possible bonhomie with our neighbors for the sake of his misguided ideology. The third is one of the smarter governors, like Cuomo, takes a page from Tom Barrett's playbook and just takes matters into his own hands and gets the feds to walk away from Walker.

The first outcome will only cost him a little political face, which he could easily recover from in short order, and possibly make it play out in his favor. The other two would cost the state any chance of economic recovery in the near future, including hundreds of millions of dollars being squandered and thousands of jobs being lost.

Whether Walker's continued grandstanding is due to political pandering, ideological obstinacy or just plain obtuseness, well, there is a word for that kind of behavior.

And that word is not leadership.