Waffle Watch
Feigning Conservative Principles and Bipartisanship
 Democrat State Representative Wasserman (AKA "the Waffle Man") has reportedly been knocking on doors in the 8th State Senate District posing as a fiercely independent fiscal conservative. But Wasserman, an OBGYN from Mequon, is really a classic liberal hiding his views in hopes of unseating State Senator Alberta Darling in November.
Taxpayers in this South Eastern Wisconsin district --- which includes parts of Washington, Ozaukee, Milwaukee, and Waukesha counties --- should know the truth about Wasserman, something they're not likely to get from the Doctor himself. On his campaign website, Wasserman says he wants to put people first, stating, "Madison 'politics as usual' must end." But last week Wasserman and his new best friends in the Democrat Senate were caught playing an appalling political game, using Senator Darling's health as a football. The Senate Democrat campaign literature touts Wasserman as a hard working, well funded challenger and falsely states: "Citing health problems, Darling recently admitted that she would be unable to knock on any doors this cycle." Darling, a breast cancer survivor of seven years, was shocked by the memo which was widely circulated among Madison lobbyists this month in an effort to divert campaign funds away from Darling to Wasserman. The good news is that Senator Darling is in excellent health. She takes Pilates classes and even trained for a triathlon last summer. Wasserman's initial response to the malicious attack on Darling was to blame Darling and suggest that she should have refuted the bogus rumors about her health sooner. Apparently Wasserman had known about the rumors for weeks because they first surfaced in a Milwaukee Magazine article in which Wasserman was directly quoted. Senator Darling on the other hand was never interviewed for the article and became aware of the rumor only after Wasserman's campaign team distributed the fallacious literature. Of course, Wasserman denied having prior knowledge about the campaign literature and said he had no part in spreading the rumors about Darling's health, but this isn't the first time Wasserman has been linked to false advertising in campaign literature. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Sheldon Wasserman distributed literature during the 1996 campaign claiming he had been named the "legislator of the year" by the Wisconsin Association of School Boards (WASB). The reality is that the WASB never named Wasserman legislator of the year in 1996 or before. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/11/96)
"Wasserman said Thursday that he had just received the letter and was surprised by what he said was an honest, unintentional mistake," regarding a letter he received from the Wisconsin Association of School Board's Executive Director, Ken Cole, informing Wasserman that "To the best of my knowledge, the WASB has not selected a legislator of the year in any year in the past couple of decades. I should clarify, also, that the WASB does not endorse candidates for political office." (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/11/96)
As for his voting record on fiscal issues, Wasserman is a walking contradiction, held together by the usual platitudes and protestations of a liberal hiding in a conservative district. When Wasserman isn't using parliamentary tricks to escape the heat, or voting against something after he votes for it, he's been known to favor tax increases and oppose tax breaks. Even his colleagues in the Medical Society can't count on him when it comes to medical malpractice reform.
Here are just a few examples of Wasserman's long and dismal fiscal record:
- Wasserman has consistently opposed Health Savings Accounts, saying he supports universal health care instead.
- Voted against an amendment to limit government spending.
- He voted to increase the state gas tax by 2.9 cent per gallon or $137 million a year.
- Wasserman voted YES on a measure to increase pensions for thousands of retired public employees.
- Wasserman voted to cap non-economic damages in medical malpractice suits saying, "This bill is clean, simple and does the job." Wasserman then voted against over-riding the Governor's veto of the bill.
So if you're looking for more of the usual liberal smear tactics and big government spending, then Sheldon Wasserman is your guy. Perhaps his years of medical practice have surgically removed his conscience.
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As controversy surrounds the worldwide running of the Olympic torch, protestors seem to have the wrong issue in mind. Sure, China has a horrid record of human rights abuses. But doesn't that pale in comparison to the real killer. That is - shouldn't we be protesting the carbon emissions from the Olympic torch itself.
By now, the routine is predictable: A citizen organization like Club for Growth speaks out about important issues before an election to educate the public (when most people are paying attention), the candidate most sympathetic to the group's position wins the election, and the media and the good government groups howl about the need to do away with our First Amendment rights. 