In This Issue | 1. Doyles Budget Bungle
2. Man of Mystery
3. Iowan Bus Trip
4. Showdown with the
Sheiks
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The Doyle's Budget Bungle
The Bad Times Have Just Begun
 As is custom, Governor Jim Doyle released his budget adjustment vetoes last Friday. His attempt to avoid any scrutiny by the media seems to have worked, as no one in the media has challenged the bogus claims in Doyle’s veto message. Once again, the Teflon Governor has been credited with fixing the budget mess he created, when in fact he has once again expanded and extended Wisconsin’s budget woes.
First, Doyle claims to have "closed" a $3.2 billion deficit when he took office, yet due to Doyle's budget gimmickry and gross mismanagement of state government, the state continues to run a substantial structural deficit of over $800 million. That figure is expected to grow since Doyle’s claim to have "reduced spending" is also a fiction.
All Doyle really did is prop up existing spending by using $270 million in one-time "lapses" to plug the budget hole. This is like paying your monthly phone bill with the $10 birthday check your grandmother still sends you. Next month, you’re going to need to find some new income to fill the hole. Put another way, Doyle once again stole money from various state funds like transportation, to support general fund spending. That hole in the general fund will need to be filled in the next budget, and that means cutting general fund spending, or raising taxes.
Governor Doyle has used $1.25 billion from the transportation fund on other spending, while borrowing money to fund transportation projects. Doyle’s vetoes expand and extend the amount of debt in the transportation fund, which is estimated to be $1 billion on the bonds he used to plug the general fund hole alone. Additionally, he recently vetoed a provision prohibiting future raids on the transportation fund. Doyle's proposed solution to the troubled fund is to raise the gas tax by 7 cents a gallon, creating a permanent slush fund for his pet projects.
Contrary to his claims, Doyle's vetoes did not "reduce spending" by any stretch of the imagination. In fiscal year 2006-07, Wisconsin had $13.3 billion in general purpose appropriations. According to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, Doyle’s budget adjustment bill spends $13.5 billion in 2007-08 and 2008-09 – a healthy increase in each year.
Rest assured Doyle’s "fixed budget" will only get worse given the amount of additional money that will be needed to cover the massively underestimated enrollment in Doyle’s BadgerCare Plus Health Care program.
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Jim Doyle, International Man of Mystery
 We recently noted the propensity of Governor Jim Doyle to head overseas when the work of running the state gets a little complicated.
Now, having soiled our state’s finances with the new budget repair bill, Doyle has hopped a flight north to Canada.
Anyone with questions about how the Governor's budget actually works will have to track him down via moose to ask him. You could say he has become a "conscientious objector" to answering questions about how he has fouled up the state’s financial situation.
As if that isn't enough, Doyle just announced that he will be making a "trade mission" to India this fall. Last fall Doyle visited China. We think it's rather thoughtful of Doyle to visit the places where his higher taxes and increased environmental regulations are driving all of Wisconsin’s jobs. It's almost like he's going to check out the family before he lets them adopt his puppy. So don’t worry, factory workers, all your good Wisconsin jobs will have a cozy home in China or India after Doyle's trip. Maybe the Governor could collect a fee for scoping out new plant locations for Wisconsin companies.
According to WisPolitics, Doyle's office said this will be his fifth trade mission while in office, not counting his recent trip to Great Britain and Ireland. The Governor had planned to lead a trade mission to the British Isles last year but pulled out during budget negotiations; last month's trip included some of the same priorities.
In related news, the Brewers would be undefeated if you don’t count the 24 games they have lost. Doyle actually tries to trim the number of his trips simply by not counting them. Then again, this is the same governor who claims he hasn’t raised taxes, then kindly asks you to ignore all the taxes he’s raised.
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Iowans Bussed in to Protest Coal Plan
 Without any conservative speaker in town to picket last week, Madison’s professional protesting cabal set their sights on a proposed new coal plant in Cassville.
Picketers rallied around a giant inflatable coal plant, which likely took as much electricity to inflate as it takes to run your house for a week. Making their carbon foot even bigger were the dozens of protesters who were bussed in from IOWA. Somehow, all those people were able to get off work for a day to go to a protest.
According to the photos of the event, one of the protestors held a sign saying "No More Coal." Geez, they’re burning it all as fast as they can, but there’s a lot of it out there.
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 When Hillary Clinton breaks down the conference room door to bust up the next OPEC meeting in Vienna Austria, she'll be packing some serious Wisconsin heat. Wisconsin’s very own Congressman, Steve Kagan is sponsoring the Gas Price Relief for Consumers Act.
According to Kagan, the legislation "will subject Arabian oil producers to the same antitrust laws American industries comply with every day. It would also allow the Department of Justice to aggressively investigate both gas price gouging and market manipulation."
It’s about time someone held those Arabian Sheiks to account, and Steve Kagan is the right man for the job. Kagan isn't afraid of anything, not even terrorists. During a 2006 Congressional debate, Kagan vowed, "If a terrorist is on an airplane, I will put my foot down and take him out." Not long after that, Kagan claimed to have rhetorically taken out Presidential aide Karl Rove down in the White House bathroom.
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