Saturday, February 2, 2013
2012 was the most expensive election in the "history of the world," and advocate says it's all the U.S. Supreme Court's fault.
During a recent news conference at the state Capitol, Lisa Graves, executive director of the Madison-based Center for Media and Democracy, made an astonishing claim. “This past election, in 2012, was the most expensive election in U.S. history,” Graves said. “In fact, it was the most expensive election in the history of the world.” She later pointed to articles that backed this up, at least in terms of total amount. The Jan. 22 event, before a mostly empty room, highlighted a new report tracking spending in the 2012 elections, the first since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling in Citizens United. That ruling, which equated money with speech and barred government from restricting “independent” spending on political campaigns, opened two …
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Speaker of the Assembly Robin Vos, R-Rochester, talks about the state's budget surplus, the decrease in unemployment and the Legislature's continued focus on jobs.
There has been some positive news coming out of state government that will directly impact the people of the 63rd Assembly District as well as other area districts. I’m happy to say that these developments show that our reforms are working for Wisconsin. The goal is now to continue to move Wisconsin forward by putting taxpayers first. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau recently announced that the state has a projected $484 million surplus heading into the next budget cycle. That’s even after we put away money in consecutive years into the state’s rainy day fund. It’s good news on many fronts. We have funded the essential services of our state while holding the line on taxes. The surplus also means that we budgeted wisely and taxpayers can …
Monday, January 21, 2013
What's blocking Wisconsin from implementing new, tougher laws against drunken driving? It could be "the dollar factor."
Mark Grapentine is a seasoned observer of state politics. He was an aide to then-state Rep. Scott Walker and a policy adviser to then-Gov. Tommy Thompson. For the past decade, he’s been a lobbyist for the Wisconsin Medical Society. In this capacity, he’s pushed for tougher state drunken driving laws — and noticed that, despite an absence of pushback, these laws have stayed mostly the same. “It has been interesting to watch how there has been a lack of progress in an area where there seems to be a tremendous amount of agreement on the need to do something,” Grapentine says. Wisconsin remains the only state where first-offense drunken driving is not a crime, although the civil penalties include license suspension and substantial fines. Two …
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Republican lieutenant governor says Wisconsin is "in better shape today than we were before, and we're not done yet."
With a collective sigh of relief, we can now look back at the time since Governor Walker and I took office, and size up the accomplishments of the last two years. Although we've seen things unprecedented and unpredictable, our experiences have made us stronger. We have a lot to be proud of. Our successes give us new perspective, though, and through the lens of a state pursuing economic competitiveness, we see we have a lot of room to grow in our future. Despite the rampant wrong turns from our federal government, Wisconsin is finally on the path to prosperity. We inherited a $3.6 billion budget deficit that has been balanced without raising taxes. After seeing nearly 150,000 jobs lost under the last three years of the previous …
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Gov. Scott Walker looks at the upcoming legislative session as lawmakers return to work.
Each week, Gov. Scott Walker delivers a weekly radio address. The following is the transcript from the address titled A Look Ahead. Hi I’m Scott Walker. Two years ago, Wisconsin was facing a $3.6 billion budget deficit and the state had an unemployment rate of 7.5 percent. Today, Wisconsin has a $341 million surplus and we set money aside in the rainy day fund for the first time in two consecutive years. The unemployment rate is 6.7 percent. In 2010, a mere 10 percent of employers surveyed said the state was headed in the right direction. Chief Executive Magazine ranked Wisconsin as the 41st state for business rankings. In 2012, 94 percent said Wisconsin was headed in the right direction. Chief Executive Magazine moved our ranking up to…
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Sen. Ron Johnson is Wisconsin's Republican senator in Washington, D.C. This commentary is taken from his weekly e-newsletter to constituents.
Although I strongly prefer extension of current tax rates for all Americans, I supported the compromise bill that protects 99% of Wisconsinites from an income tax increase, limits the death tax, and prevents a dramatic increase in milk prices. It is by no means a perfect piece of legislation. The revenue raised by this legislation will equal approximately 7% of projected deficits. It is now time for President Obama and his Democrat colleagues to show the American public their plan to close the other 93% of the deficit. Our nation's debt now stands at $16.4 trillion, and has reached its statutory limit. We blew through the $2.1 trillion increase in the debt ceiling granted in August 2011 in only 17 months. This is clearly unsustainable, and…
Monday, December 31, 2012
Thanks for reading. Catch ya on the flip-side.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
But WAIT! I have more I want to say!!
Last week I learned that, as of New Year's Day, I will no longer be writing for Patch. It was a disappointing phone call which I am sure my friend and boss lady, Heather Asiyanbi, was not looking forward to making. I’m fairly certain she was expecting an emotional meltdown of some kind or at least a slew of swear-jar-worthy vocabulary. Surprisingly, however, I was able to maintain some sense of decorum. I have written since I was a teen – high school paper, copious amount of letters to the editor of various newspapers, my personal blogs and a little writing for the Gateway paper as well. I considered it a hobby while gaining experience with a dash of cathartic release. Writing for da’ Patch was my first real paid writing gig. I had …
Friday, December 28, 2012
Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester, is the Assembly representative for the 63rd District, which includes the Villages of Mount Pleasant and Sturtevant. Vos is also the speaker-elect for the upcoming Legislative session.
Last session, I listened as my Democratic colleagues in the state Assembly repeatedly chided fellow Republicans and me for pursuing an aggressive agenda that included budget reforms and incentives for job growth. Such an “extreme” agenda, I was assured, would be punished by the voters in November. As recently as October, I joined Minority Leader Peter Barca at a pre-election forum where he predicted that Assembly Democrats would increase their ranks to at least 44 seats. Of course, this was far from the case when the votes were tallied. Instead of being “punished” by the voters, the Assembly Republican majority increased from 59 to 60 seats. After a “wave” election year in 2010 that saw 25 new Republicans elected in the Assembly, this …
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Gov. Scott Walker delivers a Christmas message for this week's radio address.
Each week, Gov. Scott Walker delivers a weekly radio address. The following is the transcript from his address on Thursday, titled Holiday Message. Hi, I’m Scott Walker. My wife Tonette and I would like to take a moment to wish you and your loved ones peace and happiness this holiday season. As we get ready to celebrate Christmas with our sons, Matt and Alex, we pray for a new year filled with faith, hope, and prosperity. This joyful season can be a time to remember as well as a time to hope for the future. It is also a time to be grateful for the past year and for our loved ones. We hope that in the midst of the hustle and bustle, and in light of the recent tragedy, everyone will take the opportunity to cherish the family around them…
anita
6:04 pm on Tuesday, February 5, 2013
I am a progressive liberal, and yes, you are right! NO money should be shoveled into anyone's campaign. None. There was/and still is an outcry. Where have you been? more ›