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June 16, 2010
Volume 4, Number 24
In This Issue:
1) No Speech For You
2) What's Wrong with
This Question?
3) Democrat Convention
Highlights
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No Speech For You
 Last weekend, candidate for governor Mark Neumann held a press conference outside the Democratic state convention in Middleton.
Some conservatives questioned why Neumann would spend time at the other party’s convention when he could be out talking to voters who might actually consider supporting him.
Still others applauded Neumann for going into the lion’s den with nothing more than his wit to protect him.
We won’t take a position on the merit of his appearance at the Democrat’s convention. We do, however, take issue with what he said to reporters.
Seven minutes into his nine minute press conference, Neumann was asked what he thought about the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United. The court ruled that government can’t ban political spending by corporations during elections.
(Watch the exchange here)
Neumann's response? “I think they should shut down every outside source of information in this campaign except the candidates themselves…”
He went on to say, “Now whether that’s not constitutional so we obviously can’t do that. But if Mark Neumann got to have what he wished, that’s what would happen, sir.”
In other words, Mark Neumann would like stop organizations like the Club for Growth from advocating on behalf of the principles we hold dear: principles that include the right to free speech and assembly, and the right to petition our government for a redress of grievances.
Neumann’s position on corporate speech raises serious questions about what legislation he might sign as Governor to get around the Supreme’s court decision.
What's Wrong with This Question?
 Racine County voters this fall will answer the following referendum question:
“Should any new tax to support transit or rail services, such as a sales tax or local vehicle registration fee, be permitted in any part of Racine County?”
There’s a good chance voters in Kenosha County will get to answer the same question, and supporters of the KRM commuter train don’t like it. The Legislative Committee heard an hour and a half of testimony from both sides last night but decided to delay further action due to time constraints.
According to the Kenosha News, some KRM supporters said, “November would be too soon as much still needs to be hammered out about the proposal.”
That’s funny. KRM supporters have been trying to ram this boondoggle down our throats for 10 years but they’re still not ready to make their case to the voters?
If the referendum must go through, Supervisor Terry Rose has suggested language he likes better:
“Shall the state of Wisconsin grant Kenosha County the authority to provide property tax relief by levying a county sales and use tax to be used to remove transit from the property tax levy?”
With all due respect to Supervisor Rose, this is the oldest bait-and-switch in the history of taxation. Wisconsin’s big general fund taxes --- sales and income taxes--- were initially sold with the story that they’d generate revenue to “provide property tax relief.” Wisconsin’s sales tax was enacted in 1962 exclusively for that purpose, or so they said back then.
Another pesky detail is that mass transit in Kenosha is run by the city and funded by the city. Levying a county-wide sales tax would be a highly questionable way to “relieve” that tax burden even if, against all odds, it were the true intention.
The bottom line is that government will find a way to spend whatever money it has and more. The original ballot question is the right one to ask.
Democrat Convention Highlights
 As befits a political party needing a series of miracles this November, turnout for last weekend’s Democratic state convention was almost 40 percent less than for the GOP convention last month.
And bless Democrat Chairman Mike Tate: By way of introducing the Assembly Speaker, the state party chairman inadvertently—we think—commiserated with legislative leaders who had to cope with “Barack Obama’s economic disaster.” If the Republicans have a secret weapon, Tate may be it. In addition to the Obama gaffe, Tate felt a need to go on at great length with a radio reporter, explaining that Tom Barrett really, really had no difficulty deciding to run for governor, really is fully into the campaign, really can’t wait to take over state government and show what he can do. No, really!
Meanwhile, the decisive, fully into-it candidate who couldn’t wait to get into the race told delegates he is a “pragmatist” able to work with Republicans who, by the way, are eager to gut state government programs.
Perhaps he can get Republicans to appreciate the pragmatic aspects of his $95-million, four-mile streetcar line, or higher water rates for industries suffering in the recession, or the pragmatism of cutting the police in a town beset by violent crime, or clinging to the pretense that voter fraud isn't a problem in Milwaukee.
As for Barrett’s pledge to cut at least $1.1 billion annually from state spending, we have to ask, compared to what? For as far back as we can remember, government spending that gets fatter every year has been accompanied by howling about government budget cuts. This sounds like a recipe for more of the same, and Barrett’s pledge not to increase taxes in his first budget does nothing to suggest otherwise.
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