Brew City Brawler's Blog Post: GOP insider admits budget repair is about hobbling Dems

The Brawler has been somewhat surprised that the remarks in Sunday's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel from Steve King, a member of the national GOP's executive committee from Wisconsin, have not received more attention than they have.
Because, rather than regurgitating platitudes about balancing the budget or giving people the right not to join a union (and instead be free riders -- "moochers," in Charlie Sykes' parlance), King gets to what the union busting provisions are all about.
Beating up on labor and beating up on the Democratic Party.

Get the rest of the story here!

The Brawler is commenting on what we knew all along. This isn't about budgets, but about hamstringing the Democratic party be defunding on of its stringest contributors. It won't work and here's why...

If the union does not collect the money directly, it won't matter. The individuals who just got smacked by Governor Walker's "Budget Defraud Bill" and by the Stalin-esque tactics of the Republicans in the Senate and the Assembly are not going to forget. Barack Obama's campaign made grassroots, individual funding viable and successful. Expect that those same machines will show up here in Wisconsin and Scott Walker will be completing his employment application at Koch Industries. At least there there will be a little bit of honesty... Walker's paycheck will be signed by David Koch directly instead being hidden as a campaign contribution!

Perspective: Earthquakes in Japan and Madison

Over the last four weeks, we here in Wisconsin have been consumed with the events in Madison. A Governor who is stripping union privileges from state workers, Senators on the run and a populous bitterly divided and fighting amongst themselves over political issues.



USGS map showing the ground shake this morning.

 Then, this morning, off the coast of Honshu, Japan, a massive earthquake struck. Estimates of the dead are just coming in and the videos of the quake(s) (there have been dozens in the last few days) are terrifying even form this distance.

Christchurch, New Zealand and Queensland, Australia and hundreds of other places in the world are battling the planet itself. Then of course there are true political battles. Libyans are dying for freedom, Egypt is still looking for its new identity, and Tunisia, where it all started, is giving all that it has to help the Libyans who are coming over their border.

Maybe, when we argue about these things that are important in our lives, we can bear this in mind. Before we look at our neighbor or brother or co-worker, we should look at the ground and say, "I stand on solid ground, the same ground you share. For that, I respect you. Now, let's talk."

Peace in the United States is rarely broken. On a September morning, almost 10 years ago, 3,000 people died in a horrible attack. We rightfully cried. We were outraged. We still wince at the thought. There are and should be mourned.

As a matter of perspective, approximately 19,629 people have died in Afghanistan and 900,338 in Iraq since 2001. * Each person was someone's child, father, sister, brother, lover. Not all of them were innocent, but I guarantee, most of them were! 

I know the I will continue to write about the politics of our state and country. I know that at times I will lose my perspective. I also hope that in the end, I will remember what is really important: the love of family and friends and dying with the knowledge that I left the world a happier, nicer place.

Here's One to Watch: AJR 8: Power to the Governor?

Assembly Joint Resolution 8 Has Potential for Power Grab

Allows Declaration of Emergency that might be Questionable

Article IV, Section 34 of the Wisconsin Constitution  allows for the 'continuity of government' in case of enemy attack. This resolution proposed by the Assembly would modify the language to allow for natural or man-made disasters of emergencies.

"[Article IV] Section 34. The legislature, in order to ensure continuity
of state and local governmental operations in periods of emergency
resulting from enemy action in the form of an attack a severe or prolonged,
natural or human−caused, occurrence that threatens life, health, or the
security of the state, shall (1) forthwith provide for prompt and temporary
succession to the powers and duties of public offices, of whatever nature
and whether filled by election or appointment, the incumbents of which
may become unavailable for carrying on the powers and duties of such
offices, and (2) adopt such other measures as may be necessary and proper
for attaining the objectives of this section." AJR-8

Obviously, I am not a Constitutional lawyer but this change seems to open a gateway for the declaration of emergencies that might allow for the replacement of elected officials, a declaration of a state of emergency or Lord knows what else.

The language leaves some significant questions unanswered:

• Who decides what is severe or prolonged?
• What is meant by threatening life, health or security of the state?
• Which of the powers enacted in the rest of the Constitution will be activated under the continuity of government clause, such as the militia clause, Section 29?

Just last night, hundreds of protesters stormed into the Capital building and set into occupation. For four weeks, there have been thousands of protesters in and around the Capital. If this clause had been in place, would Governor Walker have been able to declare this an "occurrence" that warranted the activation of this clause? Could he have used it to replace the Democratic Senators, as their actions and those of their supporters might constitute a threat to the "security of the state?"

Before this goes to a vote of the people, many of whom are ready to cede power to the ruling Republican majority, these questions need to be answered.

A Case for Democratic Budget Balancing

In my lifetime, (I am approximately middle aged), there has been one President who balanced the budget, Bill Clinton; there have been two Presidents who entered into war, both Bushes; there was one President who spent enormous amounts on defense without a war, Reagan; and there was one President who was just nice, Carter. I don't remember LBJ or Nixon, except as History Channel specials. This is a highly subjective over-simplification but it's where my memory starts.

I have always thought that Democrats seemed better at balancing the budget than Republicans.

I decided to put this idea to the test tonight. I decided to look for the facts (that's what this blog is about). Below is a link to the document I would have written had someone else not already done it. This article was written by Dr. Stephen Bloch of Adelphi University.

For those of you who can't bear to slog through a scholarly article, although easy to read and well written, let me summarize:

First, the information is derived from the Department of the Treasury. Dr. Bloch explains everything he did and why.

The last Democrat to show a budget deficit was LBJ. The last Republican was George W. Bush.

The largest deficits in history are all under Republicans, that includes FDR during World War II and the Great Depression.

Personal observations: Democratic economic principles allow the "little guy" to get off the ground. Witness the stellar economy under Clinton. The dot-com economy was bound to collapse under its own weight, but the Clinton administration policies made it possible for business people who are not established to get a start. It helps that Al Gore invented the Internet! :)

Republican/Conservative principles do exactly what the name says: they conserve the status quo. This means that those who are already successful will continue to be successful, but those who are trying to get a foothold will have a harder time.

One example is the idea that under Democrats, the Federal Government will provide more small business grants than under a Republican administration. This helps start-ups to get off the ground.

The "tax and spend" concept might make good bumper stickers or talk radio, but if you tax and spend on the right things, the economy gets better. The rest is simple: More people making more money pay more taxes therefore less deficit.

What does all of this mean for today... As the economy improves, the tax rolls will expand. Leaving taxation levels alone will go most of the way to solving the country's debt problems. Then we need to plug the heinous gaps in our spending, foremost of which is the wars that we are cleaning up, which at one point cost the US taxpayer $1 billion per week each!

Click here to read Dr. Bloch's article: U.S. Federal Deficits and Presidents Stephen Bloch.

Dr. Bloch's personal page at Adelphi University is here.

I would like to thank Dr. Bloch for his hard work and for showing all of his sources and methodology. 

Gov. Walker and the Cult of Insincerity: Collective Bargaining in Wisconsin

And in another shocking (not really) display of do as I tell you to not as I say, Governor Walker commended the Green Bay school district for passing a contract that handled all of the Governor's concerns without needing a dictate from Madison.

"They've recognized it's much better to have control of your own destiny. It's much better to have a handle on that so they protect jobs, they can prevent massive layoffs and they can ultimately protect the kids," Walker said.                                               Green Bay Press Gazette, March 10, 2011

It is touching and heartwarming for the Governor to recognize that people can actually govern themselves. Isn't that a Conservative plank? Local self-governance, self-determination, no overlords from afar?


How much less fighting screaming and anger would there be if the Governor had simply asked the unions for what he wanted and made it clear what the consequences would be? It would appear that Green Bay was able to figure it. No wonder Green Bay is the only city in the state with a national champion this year. Green Bay people are smarter (obviously, I live in Green Bay!)


According to the article in the Green Bay Press Gazette today, the contract "suspends" collective bargaining rights for the two year term of the contract. Suspension rather than outright elimination would seem to be an excellent way to solve what is in truth a temporary problem, the budget deficit.



Governor Walker is using his (temporary) power in Madison to permanently strip collective bargaining away from public sector employees. Meanwhile, there is very little serious evidence that the "benefits" that unionized public employees get have anything to do with the deficit in Wisconsin.

All of this is more perplexing since there was no deficit (according to the Legislative fiscal Bureau) until after Governor Walker extended tax cuts to businesses in his first few weeks.

Collective bargaining is not technically a right, but it is a privilege that workers spent years earning. Some people lost their lives to create unions and earn those rights.  Governor Walker, one of those dreaded 'career politicians', has never actually held a significant job since dropping out of Marquette University.

I agree with Governor Walker, people should control their own destinies. Madison, Washington, no one should decide the fate of the people of Wisconsin but the people of  Wisconsin.

The American Mistress

"Patriotism made me do it!"
"I did it all for you, America!" 

"ATLANTA – Newt Gingrich says his passionate hard work for his country contributed to his marital infidelity. In an interview posted Wednesday by The Christian Broadcasting Network, Gingrich — who recently converted to Catholicism — said he had sought God's forgiveness for mistakes in his past."                                                                                                  AP, March 9, 2011

Newt Gingrich joins the ranks of...

Jimmy Swaggart: "I have sinned against You, my Lord, and I would ask that Your precious blood would wash and cleanse every stain until it is in the seas of God's forgiveness."

Bill Clinton: "I'm going to say this again: I did not have sexual relations with that woman..."

 Gingrich actually said that he committed adultery because he was working so hard for America.

He also announced today that there is another spot open in the Republican hopefuls field to take Barack Obama's job.

Scott Walker's Latest "Not My Fault": The Emails

The New Smartest Guys 
in the Room?

Lest anyone think that tonight's actions by the Senate happened in a vacuum, a close reading of the emails between the Governor's staff and the Senate Democrats shows how calculated this move has been.

By releasing these emails, the governor can point to all of the effort he and his staff went to to compromise with the rogue Democrats.

However (you knew there had to be a however), the emails show little or no effort to actually change anything. From March 3 to March 8, the actual terms that the Governor's office is willing to compromise on don't actually change much.

March 3:

• Remove CPI clause
• Length of collective bargaining agreemnts
• Time frame for initial ceritification of collective bargaining agreements
• A change in the definition of 'workplace safety'
• Guidlines for changes to the Medical Assistance program

March 8:

• Remove CPI clause
• Allow some economic issues to be negotiated, none of them responsive to the Democrats emails and requests
• A change in the definition of 'workplace safety'
• Time frame for initial ceritification of collecitve bargaining agreemnts
• Length of collective bargaining agreements
• Guidelines for changes to the Medical Assistance program
• Allow collective bargaining for UW Hospital Clinics Authority (this was an item recommended by the Joint Fiscal Committee before the email exchange)

Another item worth noting is that it seems that the emails from the Governor's office are in response to a complete different conversation. The Democrats write that they would like "X" and the governor responds with "blue."

There must be missing emails. There appears to be a great deal of missing conversation here. In the five days covered by these emails, there seem to be gaps in the progression of the conversation. In particular, there is a great deal of activity on the 3rd, one from the 6th and then the 8th. It seems odd that there are no emails in between. In fact, the first email from the Democrats to the Governor's office was written on February 28th with no recorded response until the 3rd of March. With something this controversial and important, one would expect a quicker response.

The most important thing to note about the emails and their very well-timed release is that Governor Walker can now say, "Well, I tried. Look at these emails... I really tried." 

This action and the related actions in the Assembly will be the focus of the recall votes and future elections.

Ronald Reagan and Scott Walker

Ronald Reagan on the importance of political compromise(in his own words)
An American Life (his autobiography) | 8/7/03 | Ronald Reagan

Posted on 08/07/2003 2:05:04 PM PDT by Diddle E. Squat
"When I began entering into the give and take of legislative bargaining in Sacramento, a lot of the most radical conservatives who had supported me during the election didn't like it.
"Compromise" was a dirty word to them and they wouldn't face the fact that we couldn't get all of what we wanted today. They wanted all or nothing and they wanted it all at once. If you don't get it all, some said, don't take anything.
"I'd learned while negotiating union contracts that you seldom got everything you asked for. And I agreed with FDR, who said in 1933: 'I have no expectations of making a hit every time I come to bat. What I seek is the highest possible batting average.'
"If you got seventy-five or eighty percent of what you were asking for, I say, you take it and fight for the rest later, and that's what I told these radical conservatives who never got used to it.  http://goo.gl/Lu3XZ

Scott Walker is not a Reagan Republican.

Walker, Republicans Bypass Dems and Bully the System

Well, they did it.

Scott Walker and the Republicans in the Senate have stripped away all of bargaining rights of public workers, without the Democrats being in the chamber.

In a sleaze tactic more worthy of Stalinist Russia than a broad-shouldered Mid-Western state, the Republicans separated out the collective bargaining clauses of the "budget repair bill," held a private meeting to discuss the bill, called the Senate into session and passed this newly chopped up bill.

After weeks of protests, wrangling and millions of dollars spent on trying to sway elected officials, the Republican majority in the Senate simply ignored the spirit of the Wisconsin Constitution and rammed through the most contentious part of this bill.

So what does it mean?

A. We are in a new era of politics where the majority party will ramrod anything through without regard to public sentiment or respect for the body they have been honored with.

B. Politically motivated bills will be passed at all costs. In this case, most probably the careers of the Senators who passed this bill.

C. Legal loopholes should and will become the target of the majority party's ire. Getting loopholes like this one and the "anonymous filibuster" in the US Senate closed should become American priority one.

Our elected officials are elected from different parties so that they can find a middle path in the differing philosophies of our nation. This act makes it clear that there will be no tolerance for that in Scott Walker's Wisconsin.

Letter to the Editor: Fueling Fear!

Fear fuels high gas prices  Photo: Micov

Dear Editor,

Gas prices have jumped to $3.50 a gallon. Fifteen cents per gallon increase in one week.

Why?

Is there enough oil in the world? So far.

Did all of the oil tankers break down? Not that anyone knows of.

Are all of the refineries closed? Nope.

So, why has gas prices risen so fast?

Oil speculators have forced the price up because they are afraid that changes in Libya might affect access to oil. Think about that for a minute: Because a bunch of money changers are "scared," we are paying $1.00 plus per gallon more this year than last year. They claim to be scared that access to oil might be restricted. In truth, it looks more like an excuse to raise oil prices. (Nine out of the top 20 companies with highest earnings are oil and gas companies).

The Saudi government has already said that they will make up the difference, no problem. In fact, in order to avoid problems, some of the Saudi princes are talking to their citizens to try to make the changes in the government that are toppling nearby regimes.

With this in mind, I propose that we begin paying our bills using the same logic.

When the gas credit card bill arrives, write them a letter indicating that since you are afraid that your car might break down in the near future, you can only pay 80% of the bill. After you pump gas at the station, go in and tell the attendant that because you might have a medical bill to pay when you get home, you can only pay $2.00 per gallon.

While I am not normally a "government should take it over" kind of guy, this is an area of the US economy that the government should regulate. Oil and gas prices that Americans can pay should be set by the government, either a special committee in Congress or the whole Congress. Changes of more than 10% from the original price should require a vote in Congress.

We do this with food indirectly, through subsidies and supply control. With something that can wreck the entire economy in weeks, this is something that we need to take out of the hands of speculators who are apparently emotional enough to need medication.

We need to pay our bills based on future fears and see if that is a satisfactory excuse for the companies that using that excuse with us.

Sincerely,

Robert Peryea
Green Bay, WI

Recess! Bullying on the Playground? - The Truth about Recess Appointments

It seems every time Congress goes on recess, the President makes a recess appointment or several. And every time, his opponents cry foul. "Unconstitutional," "illegal," "impeach him," "cheating." The truth about recess appointments is very different from what the TV and radio pundits would like you to believe. A simple search of recess appointments and President Obama makes it clear that this is a constant source of controversy. Search further back and it is easy to find kick back for every President who has ever made a recess appointment.

So here is a bit of truth:

- Recess appointments are constitutional.

Article II, Section 2: "The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session."

The Constitution allows the President to appoint people while Senate is in recess. It does not require that he ask their permission and does not call for any special circumstances.

- Every President has made recess appointments.


George Washington made recess appointments (His didn't turn out so well. The man tried to commit suicide and ended up resigning.)

Conservatives may be surprised to know that Ronald Reagan made more recess appointments than any other President in history (243 according to USAToday, 4/5/2007).

- Some recess appointments remain famous.



John Rutledge, whose appoint

didn't turn out well



George Washington, used his
recess appointment power
 to appoint John Rutledge





George Washington appointed John Rutledge as Supreme Court Chief Justice (He's the one that went nuts!) Dwight Eisenhower appointed William J. Brennan to the Supreme Court. George W. Bush appointed William Pryor and Charles Pickering to the US courts of appeals.



Recess appointments are legal and have been used by nearly every President to avoid having to sit through the Senate's arduous interview processes. Also, because of the Senate's parliamentary rules which allow the minority to filibuster, to hold up anything on the floor, it can be very difficult for the President to be able move nominees through.





The Search for Employment in America

There is a constant theme in America today: We need more jobs, find us more jobs, the stimulus was supposed to create jobs, JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!

Well, here's an observation from my little corner of the world: People don't want to work!

I know of a company that pays reasonably well for its area, has a great local reputation and the job is relatively prestigious for a service industry position. The number of viable candidates for this position: 0! That's right, zero. Most of the applicants have terrible work histories, no experience or a very unreliable background.

What people really want is to continue to collect their unemployment checks until their old job in their old field comes back. Newsflash: That ain't gonna happen! Buggy whip makers had to find something else to do and so should you.

A lot is made of the fact that America has lost thousands of manufacturing jobs overseas. So what! First it was the Japanese, then the robots and computers, now it's the Chinese and the Indians. Let 'em have the manufacturing jobs. Go back to school, learn computer design or entrepreneurship or alternative energy science or anything with a future.

I hear you saying it: But this is what my daddy did and his daddy before him. This is what I want to do?

Really? And what about his daddy or his daddy... chances are somewhere along the line one of your ancestors decided to stop scraping a bare existence out of someone else's soil and went and found a new skill.

America has the opportunity to be the world leader... not by going backward to the industries that made the 20th Century- "the American Century,"  but forward into  the 21st Century. We don't need to do the building, other people will do it for us. What we need to do is tell them what to build. No one in the world is better than Americans at innovation and invention.

What are the keys to a Great American Future?

1) Education. If we can get back to educating our students, we will be better able to dominate world business. This includes making college more affordable and more worthwhile. (See my blog posting on philosophy in school.)

2) Reasonable, Restricted Accountability in Business: Government in the US should make sure that the businesses that are perceived by the world to be American companies are leading the world in human rights, environmental responsibility and fiscal transparency.

3) Industry Oversight Organizations: Groups assembled by different industries to oversee the conduct of companies in their industry. A little bit of self-control would be wonderful.

4) Taxation with a Purpose: The endless cry that taxes are too high misses the point. Americans are willing to pay for what they get, but governments (local, state & federal) need to show people in a clear and simple way, where their money is going. Justify what you take and we will care less that you take it.

5) Predictable Policies Toward Business: Every time a new party takes over they begin to dismantle the stuff that the previous governments put in, regardless of whether they are working or not. Kill the things that don't work and try new things. Stagnation is worse than confusion, but not much.

These are just the beginning of ideas to move America into the 21st century.