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Jobs top priority of new Dem Legislature
Democratic legislative leaders convened a new session Monday, saying jobs are the top priority. Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker, D-Weston, said his first priority for the new legislative session will be passing a state economic stimulus package emphasizing building roads and bridges. Decker ... <more>
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Doyle: Strong federal stimulus needed to tackle recession
A federal stimulus package focused on "getting people to work" would stem widespread unemployment, Gov. Jim Doyle said as he warned about an upcoming budget plan without "any big new initiatives of any kind." While he is hopeful that a federal stimulus package will provide relief, Doyle cautioned ... <more>
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Walker's guv run taking shape
Milwaukee Co. Exec. Scott Walker says he’ll make a decision on whether to run for guv in 2010 after seeing what Gov. Jim Doyle puts in his 2009-11 state budget. “I think a lot of it’s going to be driven by what the people of the state are saying and thinking in reaction to that,” Walker, a Republi... <more>
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WisPolitics E-Profile: Jim Bender
Republicans, do you think you had a bad night Nov. 4? Jim Bender, communications director for Assembly Minority Leader Jeff Fitzgerald, had one that might top it. In a new WisPolitics E-profile, Bender chooses this election night as the moment in politics that he'd rather forget. After watching re... <more>
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Kind: Deficit spending a necessary evil during crisis
Despite his support for a federal stimulus package to help states dig their way out of their own debts, U.S. Rep. Ron Kind said he remains concerned about the escalating national deficit. “We no longer owe this debt to ourselves. China is the number one purchaser of our debt,” said Kind, who is m... <more>
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Wisconsin Way to release blueprint this week
There are plenty of dusty reports lying around the Capitol that have proposed an overhaul in the state’s tax code and how government is organized. The Wisconsin Way hopes the politically astute group that gathered to produce its report might do better. The group, a collection of some of the top ... <more>
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2009-2011 legislature takes shape
When lawmakers reconvene in early January, both the state Legislature's composition and agenda will look dramatically different than previous terms. Not only have Democrats taken control of both chambers for the first time in more than two decades, but their reward will be to stare down a state-reco... <more>
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Senate leaders talk budget difficulties
Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker says Dems were able to close some components of the “Las Vegas loophole” this session. With his party in control of both houses of the Legislature in the new session that starts in January, he’s hoping they can finish the job. With the state facing a $5.4 billion ... <more>
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New Assembly leaders size up budget deficit
Four years ago, Mike Sheridan was worried about trying to keep the GM plant in Janesville viable while getting ready begin his first term in the state Assembly. Now, he’s still trying to keep the GM plant around. And he’s preparing for his first term as speaker of the Assembly with a $5 billion bu... <more>
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Déjà vu all over again -- Now vs. early '80s
If Democrats want some perspective on the challenges facing them, they could look to former Dem Gov. Tony Earl for some advice. The last time the party had majorities in both houses of the Legislature along with the governor's office -- from 1983 to 1987 -- Earl was the occupant of the East Wing. ... <more>
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Aging faculty, tough budget make UW pay raises problematic
UW-Madison is faced with a problem: the salaries of its faculty and academic staff, already considerably higher than the average salary in Wisconsin, lag behind those of similar universities. But in order to ask for raises, university officials must go to the governor and the Legislature during the ... <more>
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Wineke says Dems will control Assembly
Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Joe Wineke has never been bashful about his side’s chances in an election. But he insists they’re not taking anything for granted this fall. “We’re always worried. We’re Democrats,” Wineke said, though he predicted a very good night for Dems next week. Heading ... <more>
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Ryan warns Dem plans will lengthen recession
GOP Congressman Paul Ryan warned of the bad things congressional Democrats likely will do if they gain wide majorities in Congress and have Barack Obama in the White House. Ryan, R-Janesville, said the race will tighten in its final days, and that his own campaign was going well. But Ryan sounded... <more>
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RPW chair feeling good despite polls
State GOP Chair Reince Priebus says it's not over. With polls showing John McCain trailing Barack Obama in battleground states, in some cases by significant margins, told WisPolitics he sees positive signs in the presidential race that make him believe the Republican nominee has a path to victory.... <more>
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Top Dem pollster Maslin already looking ahead to problematic 2010
Top Dem pollster Paul Maslin says the intrigue of the 2008 presidential race is over, predicting that Barack Obama will coast to a victory where the national margin could reach double digits. But Maslin, who has served as an adviser to presidential, Senate and gubernatorial candidates, says the fas... <more>
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Open DPI office spurs ’09 competition
Suddenly, there's another major state race brewing for early 2009. Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson has been preparing for a challenge from conservatives in her bid for re-election, sparking speculation of a repeat of the past two partisan-ized races that saw conservatives take over t... <more>
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WisPolitics: AG promoted voter integrity action at GOP convo
A week before he filed suit against the Government Accountability Board, Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen promised Wisconsin delegates at the Republican National Convention they'd be hearing much more from the Department of Justice on targeting those who "illegally and illegitimately registered to... <more>
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Green: AIDS in Africa needs more attention
Mark Green says there’s one marked difference between his stint in Africa as the U.S. ambassador to Tanzania and his time working as a volunteer teacher in Kenya 20 years ago. “Ambassadors don’t hitchhike a lot,” Green told WisPolitics this week during a visit home. Green, the former GOP congres... <more>
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Wisconsin AFL-CIO president: '08 election could be 'last chance' for industrial economy
In the eyes of AFL-CIO of Wisconsin President David Newby, there couldn't be any more at stake this fall for unions. “There is a sense that we can win this and that we have to, that this might be our last chance really at getting the kind of economic policies and trade policies in place that are g... <more>
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Political cartoonists explain their craft
Political cartoonists are having a tougher time getting paid well for their work, but they got a boost from dozens of cartoon fans who turned out to hear three top state cartoonists explain their craft. Stuart Carlson, formerly with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Phil Hands, who does cartoons for... <more>