Free Hugs! Love Scott Walker

By Jeff Simpson

By now, everyone around Wisconsin knows that Madison had torrential rains recently and is flooding and in danger of catastrophe if the rains continue.   While this is what climate change looks like, and the anti-science stance of Walker Administration plays a large part in the devastating storms we are experiencing and the damage they cause, that story is for another time. 

Here I want to point out reactions to this devastation.  Starting with Scott Walker himself. 

.@GovWalker says part of coming to these damaged areas is just about giving hugs and “telling them it’s going to be OK.” https://t.co/rxFLdJeZck

— Molly Beck (@MollyBeck) August 23, 2018

Yes the career politician, whose home county is flooded and roads are closed close to where he lives, decides to "tour" Dane County and amidst the wreckage, decides to give out hugs. 

Melissa Sargent, Assembly Rep from the 48th, skipped the hugs and took her family and grabbed a shovel and started sandbagging. 

Chris Taylor, Assembly Rep from the 76th, the same thing:

Mayor, and former candidate for Governor, Paul Soglin, skipped the hugs, and grabbed a vest and helped direct traffic.

Leaders lead, and career politicians talk about giving hugs.  We know that Scott Walker is a political machine, he does not stray off his message, he can strike with dirt and pretend no one can see the stains on him, and will say anything to get elected. 

However, after 8 years in the spotlight, we know that when it comes to actual governing, Scott Walker comes up short.

Every. Single. Time. 

Let's make sure that Scott Walker is able to get a hug in November when he loses and has to go house hunting. 

We need real leaders in Wisconsin again! 

Representative Sargent Deals With NRA Death Threats!

By Jeff Simpson 

A couple months ago, someone posted a threat on Scott Walker's facebook page and the guilty person was immediately called out in the press and charged.   

A Menomonee Falls firefighter has been charged with making online threats against Gov. Scott Walker earlier this month. 
Nicholas Hager, 45, of Lannon was charged with disorderly conduct and using a computer message to threaten injury or harm, according to the criminal complaint filed March 19 in Waukesha County Circuit Court. Both charges are misdemeanors. 
 The post allegedly mentioned taking guns to the governor's home, according to the complaint.
"I suggest we take all our firearms to the governor's mansion and execute the parasite," Hager allegedly wrote. 

A random facebook comment, is call to get the media in Wisconsin scrambling and it also gives cover to Scott Walker to push his latest talking points:

Walker, who is up for a third term in November, made the charge against Democrats on Twitter the night a liberal-backed candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court trounced her conservative opponent. Walker has repeated it many times in the week since, as he also sounds an alarm about Wisconsin being hit by a "blue wave" in November.
"Their rhetoric is increasingly not just liberal, but filled with hatred and anger towards me, towards the president, towards Republicans in general," Walker said on the "Fox and Friends" show broadcast nationwide Monday.

As one would expect, what the right wing accuses the left of doing, they are doing but turn up the vitriol to 11.

However the difference is, do not expect these thugs to be charged, ticketed, questioned, written about in the media or even mentioned by Walker. 

As my friend, Assembly Rep Melissa Sargent found out tonight.  If you have a D tacked on to your last name you are open game and no one cares. 

Rep. Sargent posted that she proudly would accept no money from the terrorist group AKA the NRA.   Then the positive things that the Walker told us the WISGOP stand for, showed up:

Josh Muth Traitor.
You will hang with the rest of your ilk once found GUILTY.
He wants to hang Democrats and we will see today if anyone cares in the press or the police.   next thing you know White Supremacists like Josh Muth, who are empowered by the Donald, will be shooting up a waffle house or blowing themselves up making bombs.  Yet the poor Republicans will continue to play the victim and the reality, as always is something completely different.    

Time to value public education again in Wisconsin

By Melissa Sargent 

Each new school year should be met with celebration. New school clothes and backpacks bring smiles to our students’ faces. I remember loving new art supplies and the smell of freshly sharpened pencils. With three kids in Madison public schools and one on his way to UW-Madison, I’ve witnessed these joyful occasions over and over.

This year, these feelings are tempered with the weight of the cumulative cuts to education at all levels through Scott Walker’s short-sighted and destructive agenda.

From our preschool children through our college graduates, no one has been able to escape the wide-ranging devaluing of both public education and the professionalism of our educators in Wisconsin. The long-term effects of these cuts cannot be overstated.

School districts around the state are barely functioning on current funding levels and many are dependent on local tax referendums — like the one that was just approved by the Madison School Board for the November election. Programs, teachers and other critical staff are being cut to compensate for this lack of funding. Teacher shortages across Wisconsin are forcing the Department of Public Instruction to act quickly to ensure that we simply have enough people to educate our children. At the same time professors are leaving to teach and research at universities in other states where they feel more respected.

We are no longer in the realm of normal budget fluctuations from one administration or party to the next. We are witnessing a dismantling of our public schools. This is a direct attack on our children’s future and the future of Wisconsin.

Budgets are about priorities. In fact, the last biennial budget was the largest in our state’s history, but the GOP prioritized tax giveaways to special interests and out-of-state corporations over fully funding education at all levels.

How is this good for our future prosperity? We need to be building a culture of curiosity and creating lifetime learners. Instead, the GOP is giving money to unaccountable private schools and treating public education as a nuisance rather than the cornerstone of our local communities.

It’s time to go back to the drawing board. The first step is a simple acknowledgement that educating our children, our future leaders, is our No. 1 job. If we are not in the business of providing the best possible education from preschool through college graduation, we will continue to fall behind our neighboring states in this most basic function of government.

We must act boldly. As progressives, we must stand together to restore full funding to our schools. We should also be proposing new, innovative plans. Things like universal pre-K child care, fair funding for our K-12 schools, and debt-free college.

We cannot afford to lose a generation due to the devaluing of public education at all levels by the Republicans. Our kids do not get a second chance at their education.

I am filled with pride to be a graduate of Wisconsin’s public schools and our fabulous University System. I know that they made me who I am today. We can return to that sense of pride and opportunity if we put our minds to it. These are challenging times, but Wisconsinites have never shied away from a challenge. For all of Wisconsin’s families, we need a public education system that provides each child the opportunity to achieve their fullest potential in life — the American Dream.

Law to seize assets cheats Wisconsin seniors

This op-ed from Melissa Sargent appeared in the Cap Times recently:

A long-married, loving couple who live on their fourth-generation family farm has just learned some terrible news — the husband has a terminal illness and must go into long-term care, supplemented by Medicaid. While this family has paid taxes all their lives to help fund Medicaid, they must make a difficult decision. Should the husband and wife get divorced, so that the state of Wisconsin cannot seize their farm after the husband passes away? Yes, this is the reality in Wisconsin since a provision was snuck into the state budget at 3 a.m. with no public testimony.

Gov. Scott Walker’s administration along with his Republican allies in the Legislature got the green light Sept. 18 to allow the state to seize a deceased couples’ joint property to recoup Medicaid expenses.
In other words, if you are a senior citizen receiving Medicaid assistance and you pass away, your living spouse could lose assets that you owned together. In many cases, married couples share ownership over property, real estate, and even businesses. Increasing the state’s ability to take these resources from elderly citizens is simply wrong.

Before Republicans changed the law, the home, vehicle or business of a spouse of a person receiving Medicaid was generally not subject to recovery by the state.

The vast majority of these situations are people who played by the rules and then had something bad happen to them at the end of their lives. We are double-taxing people who by circumstances out of their control ended up in long-term care.

While federal law does require each state to have an estate recovery program to reclaim Medicaid money spent on long-term care, the GOP has decided to triple down on this to earn revenue for the state on the backs of our senior citizens.

I have heard from numerous constituents as well as elder care representatives who have stated that this provision could have drastic, unintended consequences. First, it may leave the remaining spouse destitute. It is in no one’s interest to bankrupt the surviving spouse.

Second, this could lead to elderly couples getting divorced to protect their assets. The Republican Party, which champions family values, should denounce this policy as anti-family and put a stop to it immediately.
Finally, it could become more difficult for children to inherit the family farm, business, or property. These things, which parents have worked for their whole lives in order to give their children a better life, could be gone at the government’s hand.

This policy does not reflect the shared values of Republicans or Democrats in Wisconsin. It is an attack on our most vulnerable citizens when we should be supporting them. I hope that Walker and the Department of Health Services reconsider this cruel policy, which would harm the elderly during the most difficult time in their life. It’s sad to see that the party of "limited government" and "family values" has created this massive government overreach which may well tear families apart.

Providing supportive care with dignity and without the fear of losing everything is the right thing to do.

Melissa Sargent, D-Madison, is a member of the state Assembly.

WISGOP Fears Emerge*

From the Facebook page of State Representative Melissa Sargent, we find that WISGOP is mightily afraid of Emerge Wisconsin.

They have sent this Open Records Request to the elected Emerge Wisconsin alumnae:

I think Sargent said it best:

The GOP must be terrified of women who want their voices heard at all levels of government. 

Of course, the GOP has reason to fear.  With their refusal to allow pay equality, to allow equal rights, their rape culture "humor" and their punitive approach to women's health care, including the ultrasound bill, they have repeatedly crossed the line of acceptability.

*See what I did there?!

For the interest of full disclosure, I do work for Emerge WI, and am damn proud of it.

Representative Melissa Sargent Takes It To WEDC

When I first interviewed then Dane County Supervisor Melissa Sargent two years

ago, I sensed she was a special person. I was interviewing her regarding her being arrested because her sons held up a banner in the Capitol.  I could hear the resolve in her voice, the steel of her will, the thought behind her words and the justice in her decision making.

It was my pleasure to see her run for state assembly last fall.  I thought she would be a wonderful representative.

And as usual, I was correct.

For proof, watch the way Sargent takes it to the WEDC's Reed Hall as he tries to defend their absolute failure.

We Are Ready For A New Day in WI Politics!

By Jeff Simpson

Last week we noted that 13 Assembly democrats gave cover to Robin Vos and the rest of the republicans by voting yes on AB110.   AB 110 is a big government bill where the republicans in this state, have decided to tell the 858,000 Wisconsinites on FoodShare what they can and can not purchase at the grocery store.   While the republicans talking point is that they want all people on FoodShare to "eat healthier", the list of OUTLAWED foods include, ketchup, mustard, honey, wild rice, rye bread, salt and pepper, and the list goes on!  

In reality, it is just the republicans wanting to institute a complete takeover of our state and micromanage our lives.  Their idea of small government means when your an elected republican you do not have to answer to anyone.   However those of us that are not elected officials will have every aspect of our lives controlled from the grocery store, to the library to the doctor's office. 

While the republicans pretended they cared about the poor(at least in their talking points if not their actions), the reality was they set the hook for democrats to bite.  After talking to some who voted for this ridiculous bill, their "reasoning" was they wanted to continue the debate(which is BS we can continue the debate and NOT vote for it) and that they wanted to bring attention to the fact that Foodstamps is a pittance and doesnt come close to feeding hungry families(which IS true).  

However the real reason, which no one will admit too publicly, is they did not want to have to deal with this republican talking point when they run for re-election:

The Democrats want to spend your tax money on the poor eating potato chips and Dorito's! 

 See with the current batch of republicans, it is ONLY about the next election!   However the correct response here, is that Democrats do not believe in controlling your life to the miniscule point of deciding what you buy at the grocery store.   Democrats also like having Frito Lay jobs in Beloit and Poore Brothers jobs in Menomonie.

After minority leader Peter Barca and 12 other democrats took the cowardly way out, it is easy to see why we are in the minority.   Every Democrat knew what the republicans were doing.  It is not hard to realize that Dean Kaufert does not have the people on FoodShare's best interests at heart.   However they jumped on the bandwagon and joined in on the piling on the poor bill.  However, many did not(a few posts from facebook):

Chris Taylor It was my pleasure to vote against that horrible bill Karen!

Mandela Barnes

May 7

Have you ever had a gift card for an out of town restaurant? There's been one on my dresser for three months now. This is what the "healthy eating" food stamp bill does to so many people. The idea isn't so bad, but we need to first increase access to healthy food in many areas where people use food stamps. There has to be access in terms distance, as well as affordability, or else you're simply targeting the poor.

Eric Genrich shared a link.

May 7 near Madison

I didn't run for the state Assembly to scapegoat people who are struggling to put food on the table, so I'm not supporting AB 110, which is a bill that forces unreasonable and counterproductive dietary restrictions on the purchases of FoodShare beneficiaries.

Additionally, and in the words of the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families, "We will be more successful in addressing obesity if we develop and implement policies that improve the nutritional quality of food, improve access to healthy foods in low-income communities, encourage physical activity, and educate our society at large about the high costs of obesity and the importance of a systemic approach to obesity reduction."

Maybe it's asking too much, but I'd like to see the obesity epidemic addressed in a reasonable way, in a way that recognizes the societal nature of the problem, and in a way to applies policies equally to all Wisconsinites.

http://docs.legis.wi.gov/2013/related/amendments/ab110/asa1_ab110.pdf

The point is, we have maxed out our effectivness with the old guard at the helm.  Barca, Mason, Jorgenson, etc... have all served the people very well and will continue to serve the people of WI.  However, internally its time for a change.   The Senate made another up and comer, Chris Larson, their leader and its time for the same to happen in the Assembly.  

While the Democrats lost seats in the last election, strictly due to Gerrymandering, the people of Wisconsin overwhelmingly supported progressives.   They sent many young, progressive, intelligent, talented people to the Assembly and its time to draw upon their expertise and enthusiasm!  

Mr. Barca, it is time to step aside and let the young stars of the party take a more active leadership role.  

Let's give Mandela Barnes, Chris Taylor, Melissa Sargent, Eric Genrich, Dianne Hesselbein and Katrina Shankland(among others), a chance to guide our party into the 21st Century and back to the majority!  

Redistricting Reform

By Jeff Simpson

To absolutely no fanfare, a bunch of freshman legislators got together and authored a redistricting reform bill.

  MADISON) State Representative Robb Kahl (D-Monona) is joining with the 13 other freshman
Democratic Assembly members in authoring a redistricting reform bill. The bill is based on the
highly successful redistricting process used in Iowa.

“I am joining with my colleagues, all of whom have not served previously in the legislature, to
move reform forward,” Kahl stated. “Both parties have erred in not acting to reform the
redistricting process when the opportunity presented itself. As new members, we are committed
from day one to seeing reform put into place.”

The bill, now designated as LRB-0665/1, will require the non-partisan Legislative Reference
Bureau to redraw district boundaries following the census. Unlike the current map that is in
place where one district makes a u-turn around another and communities of interest are split,
districts will be drawn to be compact, equal in population and with boundary lines that do not
look like jigsaw puzzle pieces.

Anyone who has paid attention these last couple of years, knows that there is not a better issue to showcase the republican parties lack of ethics, morals, honesty than the anti-democratic way they redistricted our state last time.

The republican party has decided its better to chose their voters, instead of the voters choosing their representatives.    In the last election(under the new districts), voters turned out overwhelmingly in support of Democratic Candidates, yet the democrats LOST seats!  

This is not only anti-democratic, it has also proven to be incredibly costly for the taxpayers of WI!  

However, I see two problems with this legislation.  The first being because it had bipartisan support and massive support of people, and press, from all over Wisconsin, do not expect it to be on Robin Vos's agenda anytime soon(which is what happens when the legislators choose their voters). 

Secondly, how long if it does pass, do the republicans wait to pass a bill that takes all power away from the legislative fiscal bureau and makes the whole bureau appointees of the Governor?  

Even when this bill dies in committee, it is nice to see some legislators actually going to Madison to LEGISLATE, instead of sitting in their gerrymandered district forever because they are incapable of ever getting a job in the private sector(see - Nass, Steve)



WAOW - Newsline 9, Wausau News, Weather, Sports

Petition to STOP Voucher Schools!

Rep Melissa Sargent has started a petition to STOP Voucher School Expansion!

The petition is here!


Please Sign! 

Melissa Sargent: Another One Of Those Uppity Women!

Even though it's 2012 for the rest of the world, there are still some in Fitzwalkerstan who think it's still 1912. Just ask Melissa Agard Sargent:

For her supporters and detractors alike, Sargent's children loom large. A resident in her district once told her she was a bad mother for campaigning instead of spending time with them. This sentiment is voiced more often than you might think, says Sargent, who cites women's rights as one of her issues, and who started knocking on doors in her campaign for county supervisor with her newborn son slung in a carrier on her chest. No male candidate or elected official has ever been questioned about doing this work instead of staying home with the kids, she notes, which "makes it a fundamentally flawed question.

But then there's this:

But she is driven to public life as well. "I love Wisconsin and care so much about my community. I want to be able to be proud of Wisconsin again," she says.

She says her constituents want elected officials who act with integrity and pursue policies based on middle-class values. These include "decent, solid quality education on all levels, clean air and water, open spaces for recreation, land conservation and resource protection."

Looking to her work in the state Assembly, Sargent says Wisconsin needs jobs that support families and offer health care coverage.

"We need to concentrate on job creation, as [Gov. Scott] Walker says from his throne," she says. "But we are the most job-losing state in the country. We need to invest in small- and medium-size companies, not huge corporations."

I had written about her adventures with the Capitol Police when the protests were going strong in early 2011, but I didn't fully recognize what an amazing person Sargent is.

Read for yourself.

Madison's No Free Speech Zone

On Sunday, March 27th, the Sargent family went to the Capitol Building in Madison to show their support for the working people of Wisconsin.  The two oldest boys had painted a homemade sign which read "Solidarity Forever" and wanted to display it to show their support.

However, an unfortunate chain of events occurred in what otherwise a routine exercise of free speech as shown in two videos. The first one shows two Capitol Police officers speaking to the boys:



After the minute the officer gave the boys to think about their course of action, the police came back and confiscated the sign:



The police then led the family to the station and gave the boys' mother a citation worth $205.50 for having the banner out.

As I mentioned, the family's last name is Sargent. The father is Justin, who is an aide for Senator Chris Larson. The mother is Melissa, who is a small business owner and a Dane County Supervisor. They have four sons, ages 13, 11, 5 and 1.

One or the other of these videos have been going around the Internet already.  I've also seen a third one that includes the trip to the police station.  The comments, as one might suspect, have been running the gamut.  Many are supportive of the family, especially the boys, praising them for their courage.  Others are more snarky, accusing the parents of using their children as pawns.

I will admit I had torn feelings regarding this.  On one hand, it warmed my old heart to know that the youth of this state were recognizing that their futures were in peril and wanted to stand up for themselves.  On the other, I questioned whether the children were there on their own and if not, if the parents had put them up to it.

I've heard similar stories on Twitter, Facebook and the blogs to know that people were getting citations for peacefully exercising their free speech rights. I was also aware that there are many who contend that Scott Walker and his Department of Administration were violating not only a court order regarding access to the Capitol and how they may demonstrate, but even the state and federal Constitutions.

Given these events, I made effort to get in contact with the Sargents. After some emails, I was fortunate enough to speak with Melissa Sargent on the phone.

She told me that her two oldest boys, the ones holding the signs, are studying social sciences in school.  She also said that the boys have been to the Capitol several times in the past six weeks to watch as these historical events unfold. Having seen these events, the boys made their own sign and wanted to go to show their support.  She said that they went to allow the boys this opportunity, as well as to make sure they understood how to do it peacefully and respectfully.

Melissa shared that her business had been hit by taggers who had spray painted "Recall Walker" on the side of her building, and knows how expensive it is to have it cleaned up before getting cited for it, and wanted to make sure her sons knew the right way from the wrong way of protesting.

Melissa told me that she felt that her sons were targeted only because their sign was of a larger size and because they were hanging it over the side of the railing.  She noted that many people were walking around all parts of the Capitol Building with smaller signs and weren't even spoken to by the police, much less cited for anything.

As we discussed how the events unfolded, she shared that the police officer that was speaking during the video was the exemplary of professionalism and has no hard feelings for him.  She added that she has a lot of respect for the officers and recognizes that they are between a rock and a hard place during these times.  She said that she understands that none of this is their fault.  She said that they were simply following orders and doing what they had to do to keep their jobs.  She added that she was also aware that the Department of Administration was to blame and that they were the ones violating the court order and the Constitution.

Melissa credited the police for their professionalism and their understanding of people's feelings for being one of the main contributing factors that these six weeks of protests have been so peaceful and why there has been so few arrests.

Melissa did add that she felt the other officer in the video (the one who took the sign from the boys) was less than professional.  She said he made a condescending remark, accusing her and her husband of "using their kids."  She said that she had to ask him to not speak to her anymore because he was so rude.

I asked her pointedly if she was using her children to make a point. She said that she was not.  She pointed out that her children were following some amazing people throughout American history who stood up to exercise their rights.  Then she said something that I thought summed it up nicely:

"Even though they're not old enough to vote, they still have their voices and they have the right to use their voices in positive ways."

I am fully aware that people on both sides of the aisle will be unfortunately using her boys for their own political purposes.  There will be some on the left that will put the image up there and say how evil Walker and his minions are for wanting to give the boys tickets.  There will be some on the right that will disparage the Sargents for "exploiting" their children.

I think both sides are wrong for doing that.

I also think that this shouldn't even be about the boys in the sense that they are children. Instead, it should be about the boys in the sense that they were the ones caught on tape of yet just another example of how Scott Walker and his administration is willing to go to any extreme they fell necessary to suppress the rights of the people and to further his ideological agenda.

Whether it is trying to strip workers of their rights, trampling our constitutional rights of Freedom of Speech and Freedom to Assemble, denying the right to know what our government is doing and that they are following the law themselves, or any of the other wrongful acts being done by Walker and his Republican allies, it needs to stop.

It has become fully apparent to any but the most devout Walkerites that these actions have absolutely nothing to do with fixing budgets or creating jobs.  It is solely to grab as much power as they can to ride roughshod over the people in order to benefit their special interest friends.

It is also just another example of why the elections on April 5, as well as the recall efforts, are so very important.  It will take a long, long time to clean up the mess that Walker has created in less than three months.  It will only take longer, or even make it impossible, if we don't show Walker and his ilk that the Constitution is still valid and why the phrase "we the people" has as much significance, if not more, as the day it was written.

AFTERWORD: Melissa Sargent said that she is to appear in court on April 8.  When asked, she said that she does not know what they will do that day.  She said that she would need to speak to a lawyer, or even several, before making that decision.  But she added that at the moment we were speaking with each other, her inclination was to fight it.  She said that she does not believe that Mike Huebsch , the Department of Administration and Administrative Code has the authority to override the State or U.S. Constitution.