tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135681382010-01-04T13:53:55.952-06:00Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07913783349390359240noreply@blogger.comBlogger328125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13568138.post-91260793505841028952009-12-28T09:52:00.007-06:002009-12-28T15:30:57.518-06:00

When Governor Jim Doyle signed the Impartial Justice bill into law on December 1, a Virginia group called the Center for Competitive Politics all but promised to sue to block the law. CCP's president left no doubt his outfit was shopping for a litigant in Wisconsin even before it got the governor's signature.CCP is indeed behind a lawsuit filed in federal court last Tuesday challenging the

Mike McCabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912421501529725767noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13568138.post-50312421140900248052009-12-21T10:17:00.007-06:002009-12-21T11:35:11.433-06:00

Most every voterIn the whole state of WisconsinLikes Impartial Justice a lot . . .But Right to Life,A powerful big old lobbying group,Does NOT!Right to Life hates Impartial Justice! The whole darn law!Now please don't ask why. Who knows what they saw.It could be their heads aren't screwed on quite right.It could be, perhaps, that their shorts are too tight.But I think that the most likely reason

Mike McCabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912421501529725767noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13568138.post-78337843811921718502009-12-14T15:53:00.004-06:002009-12-14T16:27:03.693-06:00

On October 28, four members of the Wisconsin Supreme Court approved rules written by Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce and the Wisconsin Realtors Association allowing judges in our state to rule on cases involving their biggest campaign supporters. A little more than a month later, one of the four - Justice Patience Roggensack - wrote a newspaper commentary defending the action.Judging from

Mike McCabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912421501529725767noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13568138.post-22347356283941666212009-12-14T14:54:00.002-06:002009-12-14T15:01:29.297-06:00

We could have told Tiger Woods this was coming. Living up to contracts isn't Accenture's strong suit.

Mike McCabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912421501529725767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13568138.post-10408532397380197202009-12-08T10:02:00.003-06:002009-12-08T10:24:31.154-06:00

Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce and the Wisconsin Realtors Association said jump and the majority of Wisconsin Supreme Court justices (namely Prosser, Gableman, Ziegler and Roggensack) jumped. WMC and the Realtors said jump again, and the high court held an "open administrative conference" yesterday to ask how high.Amazing spectacle. The Flexible Four allowed two of the most powerful

Mike McCabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912421501529725767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13568138.post-55692661474810876212009-12-03T09:17:00.003-06:002009-12-04T09:03:51.680-06:00

Democratic Governor Jim Doyle and 74 legislators who approved a controversial bill in 2007 to deregulate the cable industry have received more than $493,000 in campaign contributions since then from special interests that supported the measure.The cable deregulation law, which supporters boasted would increase competition and lower customer bills, was the subject of a Legislative Audit Bureau

Michael Buelowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08922090143706211117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13568138.post-84188088045580251742009-12-02T14:00:00.002-06:002009-12-02T14:10:34.054-06:00

Amended campaign finance reports for two mega-fundraising committees were filed on the Government Accountability Board's electronic filing system shortly after the Democracy Campaign posted a blog Monday saying the original year-end 2008 reports known to be erroneous had been on the GAB site for 10 months.

Michael Buelowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08922090143706211117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13568138.post-25910463248306694692009-11-30T11:38:00.003-06:002009-12-01T09:30:30.528-06:00

I couldn't resist paraphrasing Democratic Representative David Obey's recent reaction to the wildly erroneous information on a federal government website about the jobs created by the federal stimulus program because it reflects our sentiments about the Government Accountability Board's new electronic filing system.Some grossly erroneous campaign finance reports on the board's Campaign Finance

Michael Buelowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08922090143706211117noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13568138.post-39411847914678724112009-11-28T20:24:00.003-06:002009-11-28T21:45:55.492-06:00

A couple of things in the newspapers caught my eye recently. One was a news story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about how taxes in Wisconsin compare to other states. The other was a commentary by New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman on what has to happen to prevent America's decline.The headline over the Journal Sentinel story was "Wisconsin improves its ranking on taxes." Revealing

Mike McCabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912421501529725767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13568138.post-46481129112367241972009-11-16T08:55:00.006-06:002009-11-16T09:27:09.376-06:00

Stunningly outrageous though it was, the state Supreme Court's approval of new judicial ethics rules written by Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce and the Wisconsin Realtors Association allowing judges to rule on cases involving their biggest campaign contributors was hardly an isolated instance of ghostwriting by powerful interests for obedient public officials.This from The New York Times:"In

Mike McCabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912421501529725767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13568138.post-42418658983970321612009-11-13T09:47:00.005-06:002009-11-13T14:34:46.138-06:00

A headline in this morning's print edition of the Wisconsin State Journal says "Judges: Gableman TV ads OK."It's hard to reach that conclusion if you actually read the "Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Recommendation" issued yesterday by the three-judge Judicial Conduct Panel that reviewed the judicial misconduct complaint against state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman.Two of the

Mike McCabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912421501529725767noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13568138.post-70002779069402624322009-11-09T15:45:00.003-06:002009-11-09T16:15:53.007-06:00

Mike Wittenwyler is an exceptionally bright guy. I'd have no trouble saying Mike is smarter than me, but it would be most unfair to damn him with such faint praise.Several publications have recognized him as a "top lawyer" and "rising star" in his area of expertise, which is political law. He teaches the subject at UW Law School. The highest of the high and mighty in this state turn to him for

Mike McCabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912421501529725767noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13568138.post-2404010114649160282009-11-06T09:36:00.003-06:002009-11-06T09:55:09.566-06:00

I've long since lost count of the number of times the cause of campaign finance reform has been compared to the Myth of Sisyphus. Until yesterday, the storyline aptly applied to the effort to pass the Impartial Justice bill.The legislation had been introduced every session since 1999. On a couple of occasions, it was passed in one house but never both.Yesterday the Legislature approved what

Mike McCabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912421501529725767noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13568138.post-71108898940460490422009-10-29T09:24:00.006-05:002009-10-29T10:58:28.994-05:00

The Associated Press summed it all up:"The Wisconsin Supreme Court adopted rules Wednesday allowing judges to hearcases involving their biggest campaign contributors, siding with business interests and rejecting calls for changes.Voting 4-3, the court approved rules saying donations by groups and individuals to judges and independent spending to help them get elected do not by themselves require

Mike McCabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912421501529725767noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13568138.post-68707556392335886742009-10-23T11:34:00.003-05:002009-10-23T11:55:05.276-05:00

Minnesota. So close and yet so far. Both Wisconsin and Minnesota have sitting governors who are not running for reelection. Amazingly few here are pondering a bid for the opening and even fewer have actually jumped in the race, while just across the border dozens in both parties as well as a couple of independents are jockeying for a shot at the state's top office, and nearly 20 candidates

Mike McCabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912421501529725767noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13568138.post-23410745598781849312009-10-22T15:08:00.002-05:002009-10-22T15:42:28.848-05:00

I got to be a fly on the wall at a discussion of Supreme Court elections last night. Two groups of about 10 or 12. One men, the other women.In a scene right out of one of Leno's "Jaywalking" segments, none of the men could name a single member of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. One spoke of "that short lady" (presumably Shirley Abrahamson) in an unsuccessful attempt to jog the memories of his

Mike McCabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912421501529725767noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13568138.post-49742068078935013982009-10-20T09:47:00.004-05:002009-10-21T09:35:29.945-05:00

The U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide a case - Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission - that started as a narrow dispute over whether federal election laws should have applied to a pay-per-view cable TV documentary savaging Hillary Clinton that was to air during the 2008 presidential primary elections.As previously noted, Chief Justice John Roberts expanded the court's review to include

Mike McCabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912421501529725767noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13568138.post-52559169359052990442009-10-13T08:48:00.004-05:002009-10-13T10:25:02.917-05:00

As we continue to wait for the Democrats who control both Washington and Madison to actually do something about money's paralyzing grip on our politics, my thoughts stray to my father.To dad, politics was simple. He never worked on a political campaign. He belonged to no civic groups. He was a dairy farmer, which occupied him from sunup to sundown seven days a week. He had an eighth-grade

Mike McCabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912421501529725767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13568138.post-5422510014426643122009-09-25T09:26:00.003-05:002009-09-25T14:02:01.183-05:00

On the right side of our blog's main page above the links, you'll find a clock keeping the time that has passed since former Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen was charged with criminal misconduct in public office for his role in the Capitol caucus scandal. We'll keep it there until the Jensen case is finally brought to closure one way or the other. It will serve as an ongoing reminder of the vast

Mike McCabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912421501529725767noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13568138.post-34761291848537826502009-09-22T14:24:00.007-05:002009-09-22T16:26:47.319-05:00

Other than house-elves, politicians are about the only ones you'll ever hear refer to themselves in the third person. It's an annoying but fairly uncommon habit, even among the political class. There's even a word for it - illeism - but it's hardly a must-have in one's vocabulary.More common in political-speak is the majestic plural. Nearly every politician nowadays is guilty of this one.

Mike McCabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912421501529725767noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13568138.post-76291281776354082712009-09-18T09:26:00.001-05:002009-09-18T09:33:06.095-05:00

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30cCitizens United v. Federal Election Commission - Jeffrey Toobinwww.colbertnation.comColbert Report Full EpisodesPolitical HumorHealth Care Protests

Mike McCabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912421501529725767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13568138.post-46824796898969890902009-09-18T09:19:00.001-05:002009-09-18T09:24:36.600-05:00

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30cThe Word - Let Freedom Ka-Chingwww.colbertnation.comColbert Report Full EpisodesPolitical HumorHealth Care Protests

Mike McCabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912421501529725767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13568138.post-59746235821193776772009-09-17T09:26:00.004-05:002009-09-17T10:20:49.566-05:00

As state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman set out to fight off charges of judicial misconduct, either he felt there was not suitable legal representation to be found in Wisconsin or he couldn't find an attorney in the state who would represent him.The technically nonpartisan Gableman has gone into battle with James Bopp of the Terre Haute, Indiana law firm Bopp, Coleson and Bostrom as his

Mike McCabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912421501529725767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13568138.post-62296844693422628222009-09-15T16:05:00.002-05:002009-09-15T16:33:34.423-05:00

When Washington and Madison politics threatens to drive you insane, there's a need for some comic relief. Leave it to Lake Geneva.The posh resort community is in a state of anarchy after the mayor attempted a banana republic-style coup, suspending four political opponents from the City Council and attempting to replace them with allies who happened to have been defeated in the last election by -

Mike McCabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912421501529725767noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13568138.post-66615967684179804892009-09-14T10:00:00.004-05:002009-09-17T10:11:09.599-05:00

The following is excerpted from the text of the speech I gave at Saturday's Fighting Bob Fest entitled "A Democracy Worthy of the Name."There are some things no true democracy can do without. Think of these as 12 minimum daily requirements, a basic subsistence diet:1. Free speech2. A free and independent press3. Legitimate elections4. Equal justice under the law5. An ability to distinguish

Mike McCabehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11912421501529725767noreply@blogger.com1