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Big Money Blog

  • Campaign Contributions And The Cable Con

    Democratic Governor Jim Doyle and 74 legislators who approved a controversial bill in 2007 to deregulate the cable industry have received more than $493,000 in campaign contributions since then from special interests that supported the measure.The cable deregulation law, which supporters boasted would increase competition and lower customer bills, was [...]
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    Posted: December 03, 2009, 9:17am EST

  • Fix The Blessed Problem - UPDATE

    Amended campaign finance reports for two mega-fundraising committees were filed on the Government Accountability Board's electronic filing system shortly after the Democracy Campaign posted a blog Monday saying the original year-end 2008 reports known to be erroneous had been on the GAB site for 10 months. [...]
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    Posted: December 02, 2009, 2:00pm EST

  • Fix The Blessed Problem

    I couldn't resist paraphrasing Democratic Representative David Obey's recent reaction to the wildly erroneous information on a federal government website about the jobs created by the federal stimulus program because it reflects our sentiments about the Government Accountability Board's new electronic filing system.Some grossly erroneous campaign finance reports on the' [...]
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    Posted: November 30, 2009, 11:38am EST

  • Approaching Average

    A couple of things in the newspapers caught my eye recently. One was a news story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about how taxes in Wisconsin compare to other states. The other was a commentary by New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman on what has to happen to prevent America's' [...]
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    Posted: November 28, 2009, 8:24pm EST

  • Puppets On The Potomac

    Stunningly outrageous though it was, the state Supreme Court's approval of new judicial ethics rules written by Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce and the Wisconsin Realtors Association allowing judges to rule on cases involving their biggest campaign contributors was hardly an isolated instance of ghostwriting by powerful interests for obedient public [...]
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    Posted: November 16, 2009, 8:55am EST

  • Gableman Found Loophole, Is Free To Molest Another Opponent

    A headline in this morning's print edition of the Wisconsin State Journal says "Judges: Gableman TV ads OK."It's hard to reach that conclusion if you actually read the "Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Recommendation" issued yesterday by the three-judge Judicial Conduct Panel that reviewed the judicial misconduct complaint [...]
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    Posted: November 13, 2009, 9:47am EST

  • Did Reformers Get Help From Above?

    Mike Wittenwyler is an exceptionally bright guy. I'd have no trouble saying Mike is smarter than me, but it would be most unfair to damn him with such faint praise.Several publications have recognized him as a "top lawyer" and "rising star" in his area of expertise, which is political law.' [...]
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    Posted: November 09, 2009, 3:45pm EST

  • Sisyphus Pushes It Over The Top

    I've long since lost count of the number of times the cause of campaign finance reform has been compared to the Myth of Sisyphus. Until yesterday, the storyline aptly applied to the effort to pass the Impartial Justice bill.The legislation had been introduced every session since 1999. On a couple' [...]
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    Posted: November 06, 2009, 9:36am EST

  • . . . So Help Us God

    The Associated Press summed it all up:"The Wisconsin Supreme Court adopted rules Wednesday allowing judges to hearcases involving their biggest campaign contributors, siding with business interests and rejecting calls for changes.Voting 4-3, the court approved rules saying donations by groups and individuals to judges and independent spending to help them" [...]
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    Posted: October 29, 2009, 9:24am EDT

  • Is Stealing Brett Favre Not Enough?

    Minnesota. So close and yet so far. Both Wisconsin and Minnesota have sitting governors who are not running for reelection. Amazingly few here are pondering a bid for the opening and even fewer have actually jumped in the race, while just across the border dozens in both parties as well [...]
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    Posted: October 23, 2009, 11:34am EDT

  • Throwing In The Towel On Civics

    I got to be a fly on the wall at a discussion of Supreme Court elections last night. Two groups of about 10 or 12. One men, the other women.In a scene right out of one of Leno's "Jaywalking" segments, none of the men could name a single member of [...]
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    Posted: October 22, 2009, 3:08pm EDT

  • Old Glory Is So Yesterday

    The U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide a case - Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission - that started as a narrow dispute over whether federal election laws should have applied to a pay-per-view cable TV documentary savaging Hillary Clinton that was to air during the 2008 presidential primary elections.As [...]
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    Posted: October 20, 2009, 9:47am EDT

  • What? There Are Two Parties?

    As we continue to wait for the Democrats who control both Washington and Madison to actually do something about money's paralyzing grip on our politics, my thoughts stray to my father.To dad, politics was simple. He never worked on a political campaign. He belonged to no civic groups. He was [...]
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    Posted: October 13, 2009, 8:48am EDT

  • Clock Keeps Ticking, Justice Keeps Waiting In Jensen Case

    On the right side of our blog's main page above the links, you'll find a clock keeping the time that has passed since former Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen was charged with criminal misconduct in public office for his role in the Capitol caucus scandal. We'll keep it there until the' [...]
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    Posted: September 25, 2009, 9:26am EDT

  • The Increasingly Impersonal Nature Of Being A Person

    Other than house-elves, politicians are about the only ones you'll ever hear refer to themselves in the third person. It's an annoying but fairly uncommon habit, even among the political class. There's even a word for it - illeism - but it's hardly a must-have in one's vocabulary.More common in' [...]
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    Posted: September 22, 2009, 2:24pm EDT

  • How A Court Reporter Made History

    The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30cCitizens United v. Federal Election Commission - Jeffrey Toobinwww.colbertnation.comColbert Report Full EpisodesPolitical HumorHealth Care Protests [...]
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    Posted: September 18, 2009, 9:26am EDT

  • The Word From Colbert Nation

    The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30cThe Word - Let Freedom Ka-Chingwww.colbertnation.comColbert Report Full EpisodesPolitical HumorHealth Care Protests [...]
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    Posted: September 18, 2009, 9:19am EDT

  • Indiana Lawyer Defending Gableman

    As state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman set out to fight off charges of judicial misconduct, either he felt there was not suitable legal representation to be found in Wisconsin or he couldn't find an attorney in the state who would represent him.The technically nonpartisan Gableman has gone into battle' [...]
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    Posted: September 17, 2009, 9:26am EDT

  • What's In The Water In Lake Geneva?

    When Washington and Madison politics threatens to drive you insane, there's a need for some comic relief. Leave it to Lake Geneva.The posh resort community is in a state of anarchy after the mayor attempted a banana republic-style coup, suspending four political opponents from the City Council and attempting to [...]
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    Posted: September 15, 2009, 4:05pm EDT

  • 12 Things Every Democracy Needs

    The following is excerpted from the text of the speech I gave at Saturday's Fighting Bob Fest entitled "A Democracy Worthy of the Name."There are some things no true democracy can do without. Think of these as 12 minimum daily requirements, a basic subsistence diet:1. Free speech2. A free and [...]
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    Posted: September 14, 2009, 10:00am EDT

  • Changes To Records Proposal Hides Information From Public

    Wisconsin judges and district attorneys would no longer have to provide information to the public about the property they own under changes made by Democratic legislators to a bill actually meant to increase public access to certain government documents.The legislative measure was intended to increase public access to Statement of [...]
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    Posted: September 10, 2009, 11:55am EDT

  • An Open Letter To John Roberts

    Dear Chief Justice,As you and your colleagues on the Supreme Court deliberate in the Citizens United case, I have two questions for you. Do corporations, labor unions and other organized special interest groups have too little say in the halls of government? Are their voices not adequately heard in election [...]
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    Posted: September 09, 2009, 1:00pm EDT

  • Why Hell Froze

    The Democracy Campaign issued a most unusual report today, showing that campaign fundraising by Wisconsin legislators in the first half of the year fell to its lowest level since 1999. In fact, after scouring our archives it appears it was utterly unique. I could find no other report documenting a [...]
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    Posted: August 04, 2009, 1:27pm EDT

  • Supremes Ponder Plutocracy

    Not many have noticed, but the U.S. Supreme Court is contemplating the mother of all acts of judicial activism. What started as a narrow case dealing with whether federal election laws should apply to a pay-per-view cable TV production called "Hillary: The Movie" has mushroomed into something much bigger, with [...]
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    Posted: August 03, 2009, 3:28pm EDT

  • Better Together Than Alone

    The Democracy Campaign is a founding member of the Midwest Democracy Network, a regional alliance of groups in five Great Lakes states devoted to achieving economies of scale in the reform community that allow groups to do work collectively and regionally that none of them could likely do alone in [...]
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    Posted: July 22, 2009, 10:15am EDT

  • Better Together Than Alone

    The Democracy Campaign is a founding member of the Midwest Democracy Network, a regional alliance of groups in five Great Lakes states devoted to achieving economies of scale in the reform community that allow groups to do work collectively and regionally that none of them could likely do alone in [...]
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    Posted: July 22, 2009, 10:15am EDT

  • Fundraising Ban Widely Effective, BUT. . .

    A review of campaign finance reports filed so far shows widespread adherence to a rule banning campaign fundraising by members of the Assembly during the state budget process.However, if the reports accurately reflect when the contributions were received, four Assembly representatives violated the ban in effect during legislative action on [...]
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    Posted: July 16, 2009, 7:25am EDT

  • Hard Times For Fat Cats

    Is a recession in the political economy right around the corner? Bill Kraus thinks so.He might end up being right. Bill's a seasoned political veteran who knows the lay of the land in campaigns as well as anyone. If he looks into his crystal ball and sees belt-tightening for the [...]
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    Posted: July 09, 2009, 8:42am EDT

  • A Familiar Dodge

    The tale of missing travel receipts that was told over the weekend by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has a familiar ring to it. What has evidently now become standard operating procedure in at least the upper echelons of the executive branch was once an all-too-common election campaign practice that was [...]
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    Posted: July 07, 2009, 10:38am EDT

  • Why Do Politicians Really Cry?

    "Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."- Mahatma Gandhi [...]
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    Posted: July 02, 2009, 2:38pm EDT

  • GAB To Sue Eight Legislative Candidates For Not Filing Campaign Reports

    A state agency plans to sue four legislators and four unsuccessful legislative candidates claiming they have not filed year-end 2008 campaign finance reports due five months ago.The four legislators are incumbent Democratic Representatives Tamara Grigsby, Annette Williams and Christine Sinicki and Republican Representative Scott Newcomer. The four others, who lost [...]
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    Posted: June 30, 2009, 8:39am EDT

  • Prosser Not Hearing Jensen Appeal

    UPDATE: A spokesman for the Wisconsin Supreme Court notified our office today that Justice David Prosser is not participating in the court's review of former Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen's appeal of lower court rulings that his retrial must be held in Dane County, not his home county of Waukesha as [...]
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    Posted: June 18, 2009, 12:44pm EDT

  • Which Justices Will Decide Jensen's Fate This Time?

    For the second time, the Wisconsin Supreme Court will hear an appeal by Scott Jensen as the surrealistically drawn-out saga of corruption charges against the former Assembly speaker stretches well into its seventh year.Jensen was originally charged in October 2002, and it was back in early 2005 when the high [...]
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    Posted: June 17, 2009, 10:40am EDT

  • 113 Million Reasons Why Not

    The need for health care reform in America is obvious. It's long past time for action, yet Washington has been paralyzed. The fact that 46 million Americans are without health insurance and some 28 million are underinsured has yet to stir the nation's politicians.The fact that insurance costs have played [...]
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    Posted: June 12, 2009, 4:48pm EDT

  • Political Lightening Delays Play

    UPDATE: Shortly after the Democracy Campaign posted a blog about a June 15 mega fundraiser, numerous media reports and editorials condemned the event and prompted Assembly Democratic leaders to postpone it until after the legislature finishes its work on the 2009-11 state budget. [...]
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    Posted: June 10, 2009, 10:36am EDT

  • Assembly Democrats' Fundraiser Appears Out Of Bounds

    If their own rules are followed, one of the Assembly Democrats' biggest fundraisers of the year is going to be void of Assembly Democrats.The June 15 event is at the Wild Rock Golf Club at Wilderness Resort in Wisconsin Dells. Contributors who want to play will pay $1,000 each, or' [...]
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    Posted: June 05, 2009, 7:27am EDT

  • Journalism In Retreat

    My, how things have changed.A white elephant of a computer project, badly bungled by a state agency. The public denied access for four months to records detailing how politicians raised and spent money. The kind of stuff newspapers and other media would have been all over five years ago or, [...]
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    Posted: June 03, 2009, 8:47am EDT

  • Lost In Translation

    Sometimes the right question can be asked, a correct answer can be given, and still there's profound misunderstanding. A line of questioning at Wednesday's public hearing on the Electioneering Disclosure bill closing the "issue ad" loophole provided a vivid illustration.Senator Randy Hopper asked a legislative staff attorney if the bill [...]
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    Posted: May 29, 2009, 9:31am EDT

  • Dem Golf Fundraiser Tees Up Pricey Prizes

    In these tough times families, businesses and even most states are slashing spending, reexamining their needs and eliminating extravagances.But not the Senate Democrats who want to attract a lot of lobbyists to raise a boat load of money at the annual State Senate Democratic Committee golf fundraiser this Friday (May [...]
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    Posted: May 26, 2009, 1:30pm EDT

  • Wisconsin TARP Recipients Spent $144,000+ On Lobbying, Contributions

    Executives at four Wisconsin banks that have gotten nearly $2.4 billion in federal bailout money spent more than $144,000 on lobbying and campaign contributions to Wisconsin legislative candidates and the governor in 2008 when the economy tanked.The biggest spenders were executives at M&I banks. M&I Bank Corporation in Milwaukee also [...]
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    Posted: May 20, 2009, 6:56am EDT

  • In Search Of A Third Way On Elections

    It is a distinct minority, but there are those who believe the best way to deal with disfigured elections for Wisconsin Supreme Court justices is to get rid of them. The elections, that is, not the justices.Despite the fact such a move is politically and practically implausible, as I've blogged' [...]
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    Posted: May 18, 2009, 1:38pm EDT

  • A Smear By Any Other Name

    After issuing our report yesterday on campaign advertising by special interest groups in this spring's elections, we got a fair amount of feedback from people who took sharp exception to our headline characterizing the sponsors of the ads as "smear groups." The report focused primarily on two left-leaning organizations – [...]
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    Posted: April 29, 2009, 3:35pm EDT

  • Worst U.S. Supreme Court Rulings Ever

    1. A person can be property (Dred Scott v. Sanford)2. Property can be a person (Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad)3. "Separate but equal" justification for racial segregation (Plessy v. Ferguson)4. Money is speech (Buckley v. Valeo) [...]
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    Posted: April 24, 2009, 4:04pm EDT

  • The Problem Behind Every Problem

    On Earth Day six years ago, I gave a speech to a small audience on the UW-Madison campus. I wouldn't change a word if I made it again today. If anything, I would attach a greater sense of urgency to the message.I said then that the greatest environmental challenge of' [...]
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    Posted: April 22, 2009, 8:54am EDT

  • A Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound

    To paraphrase Casey Stengel, the secret to responsible gun ownership is to keep those who irrationally fear the president the hell away from those who are undecided.The NRA and other right-wing groups like Dick Armey's FreedomWorks have been whipping gun owners into a sky-is-falling frenzy by spinning a yarn about' [...]
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    Posted: April 21, 2009, 9:10am EDT

  • Shortchanged Again

    Rich interests and their yes-men in the political class are fond of claiming that negative campaigning is good and the more that is spent on elections the better. The logic behind this line of bull is that no-holds-barred, no-expense-spared politicking creates a spectacle that invariably leads to the civic equivalent [...]
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    Posted: April 09, 2009, 8:59am EDT

  • New Reporting System Fails Public Again

    An effort by several candidates to post their latest campaign finance reports on the state Government Accountability Board's new electronic filing system has gotten fouled up again - cheating the public of information it may want to look at before they vote in next Tuesday's election.The latest glitch occurred Monday [...]
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    Posted: April 01, 2009, 12:36pm EDT

  • The Most Offensive AIG Payouts Of All

    Everybody's howling this week about insurance giant AIG's recent payouts to its executives and foreign banks, and with good reason, but payouts the company made over a much longer period – to politicians – have been largely overlooked. But one is surely tied to the other.In the last 20 years [...]
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    Posted: March 19, 2009, 3:58pm EDT

  • Priorities, Priorities. . . .

    Earlier this month the Democracy Campaign released a report showing the state's new electronic reporting system is generating current and past campaign finance reports that are riddled with errors for dozens of candidates and political action committees.The board's staff has yet to publicly respond - or worse yet - address [...]
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    Posted: March 13, 2009, 8:49am EDT

  • Special Interest Control Of Another Court Election, With A Twist

    What do Michael Gableman and Randy Koschnick have in common? A lot. Both grew up in the Milwaukee area. Graduated from the same law school. Became circuit court judges in small rural counties. Virtually indistinguishable judicial philosophies. Same physical build, for crying out loud.Both developed a desire to sit on [...]
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    Posted: March 12, 2009, 10:21am EDT

  • Something's Missing

    One thing you would normally see by now on wisdc.org is a write-up of campaign fundraising and spending shown on year-end reports filed by candidates by the end of January. Last year, we posted our analysis of those end-of-year filings on February 20.In 2007, we were able to put a [...]
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    Posted: March 04, 2009, 11:22am EST

  • Astronauts, Judges And Stupid People

    In our last blog post, I said it was only a matter of time before the Wisconsin State Journal used a federal court ruling that judges can join political parties as evidence that voters can no longer be trusted to decide who sits on Wisconsin's Supreme Court. Nothing if not [...]
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    Posted: March 02, 2009, 1:29pm EST

  • Another Blame-The-Voters Editorial In 3, 2, 1....

    Here's betting the Wisconsin State Journal pounces on the federal court ruling striking down a ban on judges joining political parties as further evidence Wisconsin needs to do away with court elections.Before readers swallow what the State Journal will almost certainly serve up, they really should read the ruling judge's' [...]
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    Posted: February 18, 2009, 1:29pm EST

  • State Agencies Support Special Interest Group Opposed To Closing Tax Loophole

    Two state agencies, parts of the University of Wisconsin System and the state’s technical college system are among the financial sponsors of a special interest lobby group that wants to protect a state business tax loophole and opposes a legislative proposal to require workers’ wage claims be paid ahead of [...]
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    Posted: February 13, 2009, 9:36am EST

  • Election Law Charge Reduced To Fine

    A Republican state representative accused of making false statements in campaign literature last fall has paid a $250 fine on a reduced charge.Representative Dan Knodl of Germantown was originally charged in late October with a violation of state election law that carries a fine of up to $1,000 and up [...]
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    Posted: February 10, 2009, 1:29pm EST

  • Wisconsin Donors Gave Record $3.8 Million To Shadow Groups

    Wisconsin contributors gave a record $3.78 million in the 2007-08 election cycle to unregulated political hit groups that spend most of their money on negative advertising, mailings and other electioneering activities to foul state and federal elections with special interest propaganda, a Wisconsin Democracy Campaign analysis shows. Fundraising and spending [...]
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    Posted: February 09, 2009, 9:16am EST

  • Hard Times

    A week rarely goes by without word of another state newspaper reporter leaving the trade. Our state's not unique . . . it's happening everywhere. NPR just aired an excellent story focusing on the Hartford Courant and what it means to our democracy if newspapers like the Courant go away. [...]
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    Posted: February 05, 2009, 4:10pm EST

  • Two Years and Four Convictions Later Doyle Still Holding Troha Contributions

    Governor Jim Doyle has yet to return any of the more than $100,000 federal prosecutors say was contributed to his campaign in a conspiracy that has seen three businessmen and a county executive convicted and sentenced for giving or getting bribes in connection with landing a proposed Indian casino in [...]
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    Posted: January 20, 2009, 11:36am EST

  • Gallows Humor

    A good laugh from south of the border. . . . [...]
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    Posted: January 06, 2009, 10:04am EST

  • The Enemy Within

    With the shape our country is in, I can't help but think we've been pretty lousy stewards of the rich inheritance we were given by those who came before us. What we are fixing to pass on to my 9-year-old son's generation is not the America I want him to' [...]
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    Posted: December 18, 2008, 1:16pm EST

  • Will Doyle Give The Money Back Now?

    Embattled Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's top campaign fundraiser, adviser and close friend Christopher Kelly made a $10,000 donation to Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle back in June 2006. It was well known at the time that Kelly was under federal investigation. Still, Doyle accepted the contribution. Even after Kelly was indicted [...]
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    Posted: December 17, 2008, 2:51pm EST

  • The Real Scandal

    Wisconsin has been frequently visited by political scandal in recent years, and that's one good reason to take the advice the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel gave the other day and not get too smug about what's happening in Illinois.Besides, the political crime ring that brought federal prosecutors to Illinois Governor Rod [...]
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    Posted: December 15, 2008, 2:29pm EST

  • A No-Tax Pledge That Costs Too Much

    Politicians are fond of saying that taxpayers don't want their money used to pay for political campaigns. Actually, they do.A national bipartisan poll done by two top D.C.-area political polling firms – one that caters almost exclusively to Republicans and corporate interests and the other that works primarily for Democrats,' [...]
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    Posted: December 08, 2008, 11:02am EST

  • Gladstonewalling Justice

    Former state Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen was originally charged with felony misconduct in public office on October 18, 2002. More than six years now have passed – 2,234 days to be exact – and Jensen's legal fate still has not been decided.Jensen went on trial once already and was convicted.' [...]
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    Posted: December 01, 2008, 3:19pm EST

  • Reader's Digest Version Of Law School Forum

    Last Friday, we posted a 56-minute video of the discussion at last week's Justice, Money and Politics forum at the UW Law School. If you don't have an hour to spare to watch the whole thing, you can watch this 7-minute version. [...]
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    Posted: November 26, 2008, 8:31am EST

  • Justice, Money and Politics on YouTube

    Tuesday night's forum at the UW Law School featured state Supreme Court Justices Ann Walsh Bradley and Patrick Crooks, Wisconsin State Journal editorial page editor Scott Milfred and yours truly.' [...]
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    Posted: November 21, 2008, 11:19am EST

  • Spitting Out The Multivitamin

    UW Professor Ken Goldstein is fond of telling anyone who will listen that negative political ads are good for you, going so far as to call them a "multivitamin for the democratic process."If there's even a whiff of aptness in that analogy, then recent elections like Wisconsin's last two state [...]
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    Posted: November 10, 2008, 1:42pm EST

  • The Change We Need?

    If Barack Obama's going to change Washington, this was a strange way to start. [...]
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    Posted: November 07, 2008, 3:07pm EST

  • A Gentler, Bipartisan WMC? Hmmmmmm.

    Some have wondered whether Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce might change its negative electioneering activities after the public drubbing it has taken for its nasty political ads, particularly in the 2007 and 2008 Wisconsin Supreme Court races.Well here's an interesting item. The state's largest business group has sponsored mailings in support [...]
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    Posted: October 28, 2008, 1:18pm EDT

  • What It Means To Be Nonpartisan

    "Nonpartisan, my ass."If I had a nickel for every time I've heard those words over the last 10 years, I'd be a rich man.Who says it depends on whose ox we've gored most recently. As Jason Stein of the Wisconsin State Journal observed back in 2006, it's amazing how partisan [...]
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    Posted: October 28, 2008, 11:15am EDT

  • Democracy Or Republic?

    A letter I received today from a Lake Mills resident touched on a subject that has been debated since the founding of our country and expressed a view I often hear from people who are not fond of the Democracy Campaign's work. The letter started on a positive note, saying' [...]
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    Posted: October 21, 2008, 2:34pm EDT

  • The Swiss Banks Of Wisconsin Politics

    Swiss banks are known the world over as the place to stash ill-gotten gains, keep questionable finances one step ahead of the law or otherwise stockpile riches with no questions asked.So-called "issue ad" groups are their political equivalent.We've been updating the Hijacking Election 2008 section of our web site pretty' [...]
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    Posted: October 15, 2008, 10:58am EDT

  • Too Close To Be Legal?

    State law says independent expenditure groups cannot cooperate or coordinate with political campaigns or candidates they support on outside electioneering activities like mailings, broadcast or newspaper ads and automated phone calls.So is it possible to abide by that law when the candidate is on the board of directors of the [...]
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    Posted: October 02, 2008, 9:20am EDT

  • Bailout Vote Followed The Money

    Lost amidst all of the post-game punditry and Monday-morning quarterbacking following yesterday's vote in the House of Representatives on the financial bailout plan was any mention of the fact that House members from both parties who voted for the bailout have received a lot more money from the finance, insurance' [...]
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    Posted: September 30, 2008, 9:44am EDT

  • One Or The Other

    "We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." – Louis Brandeis, U.S. Supreme Court Justice from 1916 to 1939 [...]
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    Posted: September 29, 2008, 10:21am EDT

  • Who Owns Whom In The Ownership Society

    What's happening on Wall Street and what's about to happen to all of us taxpayers is more than the latest dramatic failure of our government to carry out its proper responsibilities. The extent of the negligence dwarfs even the before and after of Hurricane Katrina, which is really saying something. [...]
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    Posted: September 25, 2008, 12:55pm EDT

  • Our Very Own Katherine Harris

    J.B. Van Hollen seems intent on becoming Katherine Harris. Unlike Harris's Florida, Wisconsin does not allow partisan officials to run our elections. We entrust that task to a politically independent agency under the direction of a nonpartisan board of retired judges.That arrangement is obviously not to the liking of Van' [...]
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    Posted: September 18, 2008, 11:42am EDT

  • Van Hollen's Lawsuit: A Pander Or A Hoax?

    Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen's decision to pick nits in the name of upholding the Orwellian-named federal Help America Vote Act and sue the Government Accountability Board over the way the agency is implementing the state's new computerized voter registration system has been roundly and rightly panned by the media. [...]
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    Posted: September 17, 2008, 8:56am EDT

  • Money For Nothing

    Mike Ivey wrote an excellent piece this week about how Wisconsin is handing out hundreds of millions of dollars in business subsidies every year without bothering to check if they pay off. A 2005 Democracy Campaign review of over 5,100 state Commerce Department grants and subsidized loans found the same [...]
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    Posted: September 04, 2008, 9:08am EDT

  • 'Poisonous Swill'

    Read this from the departing chancellor of Wisconsin's flagship university. He starts by saying "Wisconsin has lost its way." He goes on to say "the hyper-partisan political environment at the state capitol is toxic" and the state's "politics has become a poisonous swill." And he was just getting warmed up. [...]
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    Posted: August 21, 2008, 8:49am EDT

  • Lagging Behind Corrupticut

    A recent New York Times editorial highlighted the fact that Connecticut is the latest state to put in place sweeping campaign finance reforms featuring full public financing of state elections. This is the first year the state that became known as "Corrupticut" is operating under the new system and, as [...]
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    Posted: August 12, 2008, 1:56pm EDT

  • A Shortcut To Redemption

    Just back from a week's vacation in the northwoods. . . . Didn't see much news while I was away, but I did hear that WISC-TV has hired former state Senate leader and convicted felon Chuck Chvala to be a political commentator. WISC's station manager explained his decision to bring [...]
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    Posted: August 11, 2008, 10:20am EDT

  • Keeping The Web Untangled

    A blow was struck today for freedom, innovation and democracy on the Internet. A little over an hour ago, the Federal Communications Commission voted to punish Comcast for violating Net Neutrality and interfering with its customers' right to do what they want on the Internet. While this is a giant leap [...]
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    Posted: August 01, 2008, 1:31pm EDT

  • The Television-Political Complex

    Nearly a half-century ago, America was warned of a symbiotic relationship that put our democratic society at great risk. That threat is with us still, but it has been joined by another symbiosis that poses every bit as much danger to our system of government. The Chicago Tribune today published an [...]
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    Posted: July 28, 2008, 10:59am EDT

  • Blaming The Police For Crime

    In a less politically correct time, people like Bill Lueders were known as newspapermen. Bill's latest column, "For the love of newspapers," caught my eye. It's quite possible that the business model upon which the newspaper industry was built has fallen apart and can't be pieced back together. But Bill [...]
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    Posted: July 18, 2008, 9:11am EDT

  • Money Can't Buy You Love, But...

    . . . apparently $2 million can buy you a favorable court ruling. And $4,900 in campaign contributions to the boss sure seems to help get some obvious professional shortcomings overlooked. Even smaller amounts come in handy when you're trying to buy votes. Oops, not so fast. [...]
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    Posted: July 16, 2008, 8:43am EDT

  • The Umpire Strikes Back

    Epic's Judy Faulkner threw a high hard one. Behind the plate, UW's Howard Schweber ruled it a brushback pitch and issued a stern warning. No one from Epic's dugout came out to protest, but I shouted from the stands that Schweber was out of his mind. The ump wasn't taking it [...]
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    Posted: July 09, 2008, 10:22am EDT

  • The Great Divide

    The latest polling done by a national survey research firm for the Midwest Democracy Network unmistakably shows that Wisconsin residents believe the state is on the wrong track and elected officials can't be trusted to do the right thing. More than anything, the poll shows people want change and they [...]
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    Posted: July 08, 2008, 2:33pm EDT

  • Hating What Made You

    "Good! Your hate has made you powerful. Now fulfill your destiny. . . ." – Emperor Palpatine to young Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars Episode VI. When Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce is challenged to defend its obvious aim to engineer a hostile takeover of the state Supreme Court, WMC's mouthpieces say [...]
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    Posted: July 02, 2008, 1:07pm EDT

  • The Good Professor's Epic Blunder

    After Epic Systems decided to pull its business from any vendor with ties to Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, it was to be expected that someone would proclaim Epic's action un-American or un-something or other. What was unexpected is that such an unthinking view would be expressed by a professor at a [...]
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    Posted: June 30, 2008, 10:01am EDT

  • WMC Gets Blowback On Supreme Court Hijacking

    The efforts of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce to take over Wisconsin's Supreme Court are sending shock waves through the state's business community. Some of the biggest ripples just came from what is not only one of Wisconsin's fastest growing employers but also a pillar in the state's new economy. And [...]
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    Posted: June 27, 2008, 1:13pm EDT

  • Obama Opts Out

    As pretty much everyone knows by now, Barack Obama announced yesterday that he will forego public financing for the general election. What everyone may not know is that it was in response to a Midwest Democracy Network candidate questionnaire that Obama originally committed himself to participating in the public financing [...]
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    Posted: June 20, 2008, 11:44am EDT

  • In Search Of Post-Television Politics

    I grew up knowing "squeaky clean Wisconsin" – a place known from coast to coast as a beacon of clean, open and accountable government. In the span of a single generation, we squandered the glorious inheritance that was passed down to us and our state slowly but surely became a [...]
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    Posted: June 16, 2008, 2:11pm EDT

  • Lesson Learned JUST

    Annette Ziegler became the first state Supreme Court justice in Wisconsin history to be found guilty of judicial misconduct and disciplined by the high court for failing to disclose financial conflicts of interest she had in cases she handled as a circuit court judge and refusing to recuse herself from [...]
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    Posted: June 12, 2008, 11:34am EDT

  • A Prologue To . . . Joystick Justice?

    Our nation's founders didn't see eye to eye about many things, but they all saw how critically important education would be to the American experiment. James Madison's famous words can be recited from memory: "A popular government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to [...]
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    Posted: June 10, 2008, 9:53am EDT

  • 'I Got It, I Got It . . . No, You Take It'

    Investigators did the old Alphonse and Gaston routine with what appeared to be improper phone calls Supreme Court justice-elect Michael Gableman made when he was Ashland County district attorney. So the truth about whether he used his government office for personal political gain will remain buried. Pathetic. [...]
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    Posted: June 04, 2008, 9:42am EDT

  • A Slap On The Wrist

    This afternoon the state Supreme Court finally issued its opinion in the judicial misconduct case involving Justice Annette Ziegler. You can read the opinion here. The court's decision to publicly reprimand Ziegler is disappointing but not at all surprising. The longer this case dragged on, the more likely it became that [...]
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    Posted: May 28, 2008, 4:08pm EDT

  • Nothing In Moderation

    Terry Musser is the latest Republican moderate to leave the Legislature. He told reporters he's going back to the farm. "Cows, I have learned, are a lot more reasonable than many people in this building," he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Having been born and raised on a dairy farm, I [...]
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    Posted: May 22, 2008, 2:52pm EDT

  • A GAAP-Toothed Budget

    Lawmakers were all smiles the other day when they passed what has very loosely been called a budget repair bill. The governor had to be smiling too after he executed a Frankenstein veto on the Legislature's handiwork to reshape it to his liking. (For those who thought the voters had [...]
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    Posted: May 21, 2008, 9:33am EDT

  • Taking The Public's Place

    I've written for years about how our nation's founders must be spinning in their graves knowing how we came to treat corporations as people and gave them the rights of citizens. It's growing increasingly clear the corporations are not content with gaining citizenship status the founders never intended them to [...]
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    Posted: May 15, 2008, 9:25am EDT
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