In Wisconsin, Progressives Against Progress
In January of this year, public-sector unions in Wisconsin began the process of “interviewing” candidates to run in a recall election against Republican governor Scott Walker. It was Walker who one...
View ArticleJeremy Lin and the Element of Surprise
Upon first consideration, you might not think that Jeremy Lin, Bon Iver, and Rick Santorum have anything in common. Certainly you won’t find them in the same hot tub any time soon.But each of the...
View ArticleUnions Versus Jobs in Wisconsin
Yesterday’s UnionWatch reminded us how odd it is that public and private unions routinely demonstrate “solidarity,” since they often have conflicting goals. An ongoing case in Wisconsin offers up a...
View ArticleIn Wisconsin, Justice Isn’t Sufficiently Blind
Remember last year in Wisconsin, when a single Dane County judge overturned Governor Scott Walker’s collective-bargaining law that had passed through both houses of the legislature and been signed by...
View ArticleObama Versus the Supremes on Photo ID
Nearly a decade ago, I regularly carpooled to work with my left-of-center neighbor, who had just emigrated from Indiana to Wisconsin. One election day, we decided to hit the polling place before work...
View ArticleDon’t Do It for the Kids
In the most recent WI Magazine, I bemoan those politicians who eschew presidential runs to be closer to their families:And while “do it for the kids” is an aphorism in politics, more and more...
View ArticleThe Anti--Scott Walker Air War Begins
In Brian Bolduc’s excellent piece yesterday, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker estimates unions will spend $70 to $80 million to defeat him in the upcoming recall election. That spending spigot is...
View ArticleBadger State Brawl
Over the past year, Wisconsin has produced more than its share of Republican heroes. Governor Scott Walker faced down public-employee unions, and faces a well-funded recall attempt as a result. Newly...
View ArticleMilwaukee Mayor Enters Recall Race Against Walker
Friday afternoons are usually when politicians dump news on the public that they don’t want covered, yet late last Friday, Democratic Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett announced he would be entering the...
View ArticleWisconsin Endorses Romney
With Wisconsin having presented Rick Santorum with a generous helping of its dairy air, Santorum now begins the “Sixth Sense” portion of the campaign, in which he’s the only one that doesn’t know his...
View ArticleThe Recall Walker Fashion Show
Last night in Milwaukee, all of Wisconsin governor Scott Walker’s four potential Democratic recall challengers appeared at a forum hosted by a group of local unions. The forum had all the subtlety of...
View ArticleWis. Recall’s Original Supporters Never Saw This Coming
For over a year, the potential recall of Wisconsin governor Scott Walker has been the canvas on which all other state politics have been painted. The recall seeps its way into all other political...
View ArticleCity of Madison Thanks the Occupy Movement
When hundreds of thousands of protesters descended on Wisconsin’s capitol last year to protest Governor Scott Walker’s collective-bargaining changes, it furthered the city’s reputation as a top-tier...
View ArticleThat’s Debatable
I will be representing National Review tonight at 8:00 p.m. EST on a panel asking questions of the Wisconsin Republican U.S. Senate candidates during their first formal debate. (It is the seat being...
View ArticlePoll: Scott Walker Opens Up Lead on Opponents
Ever wonder what it takes to sanitize a Daily Kos post of all the snark and pompous windbaggery? We found out today, when their very own poll showed Wisconsin governor Scott Walker opening up a lead...
View ArticleKathleen Falk’s Fading Hopes
In A Case of Identity, Sherlock Holmes quotes an old Persian saying: “There is danger for him who taketh the tiger cub, and danger also for whoso snatches a delusion from a woman.”In the recall race...
View ArticleThe Most Special Special Interest
When news broke earlier this week that Wisconsin governor Scott Walker had raised an astounding $13.2 million this year in order to stave off a public-union-instigated recall attempt, all the usual...
View ArticleRyan: Obama’s ‘Julia’ is ‘Creepy’
Back in his Wisconsin district today to hold a series of listening sessions, House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan commented on President Obama’s latest campaign mascot, a hypothetical woman whom...
View ArticleIt’s Recall Primary Day in Wisconsin
If you’ve watched an old silent movie, you’re familiar with how verbal ideas are conveyed; an actor mouths some words, and some text flashes on the screen to translate what they said. But in the early...
View ArticleBarrett Wins Dem Recall Primary: Will Take on Scott Walker
Last night was a big election day in Wisconsin. Or, as it has come to be known to Dairy State residents, “Tuesday.” Recall day in Wisconsin yesterday began with a woman trying to run her husband over...
View ArticlePoll: Walker Up Early in Wisconsin Recall Election
In the first poll taken since Tuesday’s Wisconsin recall primary election, Governor Scott Walker holds a 5 percent lead over his Democratic challenger, Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett. The Rasmussen poll,...
View ArticleRe: Question for Scott Walker Recall Fans
Veronique: First of all, happy birthday!Secondly, the question of how Scott Walker recall enthusiasts would balance the budget is a pretty live issue in the state right now. Back in early April, John...
View ArticleWisconsin Democrats Retreating -- but in What Direction?
Former U.S. Marine major general Oliver Prince Smith is famous for his line, “Retreat, hell! We’re not retreating, we’re just advancing in a different direction.” But with major Democratic money...
View ArticleDesperate Times Call for Desperate TV Ads
Remember the time when the Wisconsin recall election was about union rights, and solidarity, and how Governor Scott Walker’s eradication of public-sector collective bargaining was something Hitler...
View ArticleThe Wisconsin Democrats’ Conventional Gamble
The unprecedented nature of the Wisconsin gubernatorial recall has forced both election regulators and campaigns into situations where they are making decisions on the fly. But one of the weirdest...
View ArticleReason-Rupe Poll: Walker Up 50--42, Public Supports Agenda
Okay, let’s get the big, dumb number out of the way. As Dan told you earlier, according to a new Reason-Rupe poll out today, Scott Walker leads Tom Barrett among likely voters in the Wisconsin recall...
View ArticlePoll: Walker Leads Wisconsin Recall by Seven Points
According to a poll released today by Marquette University, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker leads challenger Tom Barrett 52 percent to 45 percent among likely voters in next week’s much-anticipated...
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Kleefisch's Challenge
Caledonia, Wis. --- The 4,000 Wisconsin tea-party activists rallying at Gorney Park this morning were a “red” crowd. But on stage, Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch was working blue.Kleefisch, who...
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Walker Blasts Democrats’ ‘Crap’ Attacks
Fitchburg, Wis. --- Governor Scott Walkervisited the Madison suburb of Fitchburg tonight, ending a long day that saw earlier stops in the Green Bay and Milwaukee. Before a crowd of about 50 volunteers,...
View ArticleThe Second Battle of Wisconsin
Manitowoc, Wis.--- Last year, thousands of people passed by the front doors of Madison’s Bartell community theater on their way to the Wisconsin capitol to protest the state’s...
View ArticleBarrett Supporters Head for the Gutter
When he began his campaign to stave off a recall election, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker knew he was going to face some tough criticism. But he couldn’t have imagined the depths to which his...
View ArticleMeet the Man Who Could Win the Recall for Scott Walker
Three weeks ago, a poll by the Democratic Public Policy Polling firm showed Wisconsin governor Scott Walker leading his Democratic recall election opponent, Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett, by a familiar...
View ArticleWhy Walker Won
In early March of 2011, Forbes columnist Rick Ungar called Wisconsin governor Scott Walker’s plan to scale back public-sector collective-bargaining power “one of the great political miscalculations of...
View ArticleScott Walker Hits the Big Apple
Following his recall election victory a month ago, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker has toured the country, instructing states on how to get their fiscal houses in order. Today, he makes a stop at the...
View ArticleNew Campaign Strategy: Pretending to Be Gay
Pandering by politicians is as old as the act of casting ballots itself. Who can forget daughter-of-Illinois Hillary Clinton’s sudden adoption of a southern accent during her presidential campaign? Who...
View ArticleIs America Ready for Paul Ryan?
When I interviewed Congressman Paul Ryan last May, I asked him if he had seen the HBO comedy series Veep. “It’s the show where the running joke is that the vice president never really gets to do...
View ArticleRyan Unlikely to Lose His House Seat
Over the coming days, you’re likely to hear all about how “purple” Paul Ryan’s home congressional district is. In past presidential races, Wisconsin’s blue-collar first congressional district was a...
View ArticleRomney’s Glorious Flip
January of 2012 seems so long ago. Jeremy Lin was still being mistaken for the Knicks’ ball boy. Wisconsin governor Scott Walker appeared to be on the political ropes. McKayla was still occasionally...
View ArticleRomney Didn’t Just Concede Florida
One of the most ubiquitous Democratic talking points in the wake of Mitt Romney’s selection of Paul Ryan as his running mate is that somehow Romney just “lost” the key swing state of Florida....
View ArticleNo Question about Ryan’s Motives
Perhaps the easiest and cheapest strategy in modern politics is to question your opposition’s motives. It’s a timesaver, as you really don’t have to learn what your opponent is proposing at all; you...
View ArticlePaul Ryan: No Stranger to the Role of Longshot
As Republican conventioneers in Tampa wait to nominate Representative Paul Ryan as their vice-presidential candidate, it is instructive to look back at Ryan’s early years to give delegates a sense of...
View ArticleTomorrow Isn’t Ryan’s First Convention Speech
As the nation waits to hear from vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan tomorrow night, this actually isn't the first time he's spoken at the convention. Here's Ryan on September 1, 2004, giving an...
View ArticlePaul Ryan’s Youth Appeal
When Paul Ryan admitted being a fan of the far-left rap-metal band Rage against the Machine, it immediately made him the target of derision. Maureen Dowd mocked his “iPod full of heavy metal jams”; the...
View ArticleMore Importantly, Why Did the Janesville Plant Close?
Following Paul Ryan’s invocation last night of the Janesville, Wisconsin General motors plant closing, much of the political chatter today has been about when the plant closed. Was it closed in 2008,...
View ArticleIn Wisconsin, the Eternal Protest
It has been almost four months since Wisconsin governor Scott Walker won his recall election, which was prompted by a year-and-a-half-long battle with public-employee unions. Since Walker’s victory on...
View ArticleCounty Judge Strikes Down Portions of Walker’s Collective-Bargaining Law
The list of people who support Wisconsin governor Scott Walker’s law limiting the ability of public-sector unions to collectively bargain is fairly long. It includes the governor himself, the...
View ArticleThe Unlikely Swing State
When Wisconsin residents awoke on the morning of November 5, 2008, the news that Barack Obama had won the state by 14 percentage points had to be a bit of a shock. In the two previous presidential...
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Obama's Closing Argument in Madison
The landscape of Madison, Wis., is replete with picturesque backdrops President Barack Obama could have used for his final pre-election rally today. The towering state capitol has provided the nation...
View ArticleYour New Government-Spending Mascot
For all the talk we've recently heard about public-sector benefits in Wisconsin and other states, the Illinois government employee-pension system is a complete disaster. Illinois currently has the most...
View ArticleUnion-Led Violence Breaks Out in Lansing
I just spoke with David Fladeboe of Americans for Prosperity, who was working security outside the tent cut down by pro-union protesters outside the Michigan statehouse today. (Fladeboe can be seen in...
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