Assembly in Session Today to Create Press Releases, Deal with “Gadgets”

The futile effort of trying to override Governor Doyle’s vetoes is on a special calendar for the State Assembly today. No, there aren’t any bills to deal with the ethical issues of the legislature. Just a bunch of bills the Governor has vetoed (rightfully so), and the GOP want to generate a few press releases right before the election. Ho hum.

One funny thing that did occur, however, was when I stood up to ask which anonymous Republican member of the assembly objected to funding for a position in the Dane County District Attorney’s office. While I was speaking, my cell phone went off. Dumb.

But State Rep. Carol Owens, one of the more conservative members of the GOP caucus, saw it as an opportunity to bash me. Carol, ah, doesn’t apparently like “gay” people. And to her, I’m one big homo. Carol won’t even ride the elevator with me. Too bad for Carol.

But she demanded an apology for the ringing of the cell phone, and asked that it be taken away from me while I’m on the floor. As she ranted and raved, I went to her desk and gave her my cell phone. Problem solved? Nope, instead she asked the Sergeants’ office staff to come and get the “gadget” from her desk. Gadget. You know you’re out of touch with your constituents and for that matter the 21st century, when a cell phone is a “gadget”. I have to wonder what she calls her computer.

Addendum: A few hours later GOP Rep. Phil Montgomery's cell phone went off on the Assembly floor. Owens was silent on the ringing of the gadget. At the very end of session, so did Democratic Rep. Jim Kreuser. Again, nothing from Owens.

Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive...

I’m guessing State Representative Judy Krawczyk (R-Green Bay) never met Sir Walter Scott. Scott would have warned her that when you start to lie and spin the truth, it often can come back to bite you in the rump.

Krawczyk’s behind must be aching.

First, she gets exposed by Carrie Lynch for all sorts of deception. Then, Paul Soglin piles on.

Now, a constituent of hers in Green Bay contacted me and sent a copy of a letter she sent on her vote to kill SB-1, the Ethics Reform Bill. Why did she oppose reform? Well, according to Krawczyk she “supports” SB-1.

“I am glad that you contacted me. I can explain why I voted the way I did when Rep. Pocan made a procedural effort to bring Senate Bill 1 to the Assembly floor for a vote (in addition to what you read in the paper)…

The night that Rep. Pocan made a procedural effort to bring Senate Bill 1 to the Assembly floor for a vote, there were four additional new amendments that had been added to the legislation. I wanted to find out how those four amendments would affect what I considered to be good legislation. There had been no hearing on those four new amendments, there was no time and little information to go on so I voted no to the motion to pull SB 1 out of the Rules Committee.”

First off, Judy I am submitting your name to the Burlington Liars Club. I think you have a real shot at the cup this year.

Second, I’m not sure what “four” amendments she is referring to that would have changed the bill. I had no amendments. In committee four amendments passed, but that was back on March 2. I pulled the bill on May 2. Two months had passed since then. Further, those were all Republican amendments. There were also four other amendments introduced in late April (a week prior to my motion) by Republicans McCormick and Albers, but they both support the bill. They had not been added yet to the bill. Besides, what kind of crock of **** can you try and sell your constituency that this process is any different than every other bill we see. Amendments come on the floor and you vote on them. That is the process. So the only amendments added to the legislation were done in committee two months earlier. No time Judy?

Besides, Krawczyk voted NOT to bring the bill to a floor vote in the closed GOP Assembly Caucus and voted against amending three other “ethics” bills on May 2nd with the original version of SB-1. That’s strikes one, two, three and four.

Oh my. If there weren’t so many inconsistencies I would just guess a backbencher didn’t understand the process despite being here for three terms. But the letter intentionally tries to deceive her constituents.

Shame on you Judy. My guess is the citizens of Green Bay are a whole lot smarter than you give them credit for. Maybe they’ll tell you that at their doors this fall. You may want to get a new excuse. Or better yet, a new job.

Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce Not A Credible Voice for Wisconsin Business

If you really want to know how little Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the state's big business special interest lobby, is in touch with real business issues in Wisconsin, one only needs to read this blog from former Madison Mayor Paul Soglin from May 10th.

Businesses in Wisconsin care about health care, not every right wing tax break that WMC can cook up. That's what their members say. Too bad WMC doesn't listen.

Sorry for the delayed posting, but it is so good I really wanted to link my blog to it.

Thanks Paul.

Doyle: Fighting for Wisconsin’s Consumers

Governor Jim Doyle today announced he was sending a delegation to inspect Canadian pharmacies used on the state’s drug savings website.

You may remember that the federal government threatened to sue Governor Doyle when he announced his website www.drugsavings.wi.gov, a site that assists Wisconsin consumers in buying medical drugs for the best possible prices which included buying them from Canada. The Bush administration tried to block Governors and states from directing consumers to Canadian pharmacies. Instead, they wanted consumers to continue to support their big benefactors, big pharmaceutical companies.

Doyle stood up to the federal government and went ahead with his plans to help Wisconsin’s consumers and seniors.

Back in February of 2004, Representatives Frank Boyle (D-Superior) and I urged Doyle to include links to Canadian pharmacies to the Wisconsin website and linked our own legislative websites to a site linking Canadian companies, defying the Bush administration as well. He did.

One of the complaints against Doyle from Republicans in Wisconsin was that there was no guarantee of the “quality” of Canadian drugs. Please. Suddenly we’re afraid of the “third world” country of Canada? Are we going to ban “Labatts” beer as well? Canadian bacon?

Well, today’s announcement kills that criticism completely.

Thank you Governor Doyle for standing up for Wisconsin’s seniors and consumers once again.

Blog to Become Political June 1

For those of you who like to follow my blog - whether you love it or hate it (Jenna that's for you) - make sure you bookmark it as markpocan.blogspot.com.

As of June 1, I will unlink the blog to my state website so that I can get political - talking about campaigns, electoral politics and the like.

I'll still keep you posted on state issues. But I will do it from my personal computer and not have it linked to my state web page. That way there are no "ethical" issues. Not that ethics seems to bother most Republican legislators...

So remember, markpocan.blogspot.com.

And watch for new developments come June 1. I promise to be anything but boring.

Ethics Update - Cancelled Training

Just weeks after the Republican majority in the State Assembly killed SB-1, the Ethics Reform Bill, and their own bill to require all state employees to take ethics training (see Friday's post), the legally required ethics training for legislative employees that was slated for this week has been cancelled by the Assembly Chief Clerk.

Yup, cancelled without a new date scheduled.

I take it back. The GOP is not tone deaf. They are unable to hear anything that even sounds of ethics or reform.

Ethics Reform Review: Winners and Losers

As ethics reform officially dies this legislative session after the GOP majority once again ignored calls to place SB-1, the Ethics Reform Bill, on the Extraordinary calendar of this week, let me recap who won and lost on the issue.

So who are the winners and losers? Well besides the public being the biggest loser, as the legislative majority decides “business as usual” is the best approach, here are some of the players and how they fared:

Winners:

Governor Jim Doyle - While the GOP tries to bash Governor Doyle every chance they get, going after his strength (a history of clean government from his tenure as Attorney General to present), they fail in their spin on ethics reform. The Governor has repeatedly called for the legislature to take up SB-1, has said he’d sign the bill and has actively advocated for it. Congressman Mark Green has been, well, silent.

While some push for the Governor to call a special session, it is unlikely that will happen as he has previously called the legislature in for a special session and been ignored. The GOP has steadfastly said it will not allow a vote on SB-1. Further, if backed too far into a corner, the word we hear is that the Republicans will pass a water downed version gutting the enforcement mechanism, thus killing real reform but giving them a vote in their pocket on “reform”. The best way to get real reform is to get rid of the problem legislators this fall.

The State Senate - With a huge bipartisan vote of 28-5, the State Senate passed SB-1. Good job.

Senator Mike Ellis - While I’ve had my battles with Ellis before, there is no question that he has been firm in keeping his bill, SB-1, in a strong form that would provide meaningful reform. Ellis doesn’t care what the Assembly Republican leadership thinks; he wants real reform.

Assembly Democrats - With unanimous support for pulling SB-1, Assembly Democrats proved that the Democratic Party is the party of reform. Democrats voted four times on SB-1, showing their strong effort to see this bill become law.

Good Government Groups - Groups like the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, Common Cause, and the League of Women Voters have been steadfast supporters of real reform. Their unified support for SB-1 has helped to provide a stronger voice for real reform. And, due to their hard work, I think they will see a real bill pass next session after some legislators lose their jobs over SB-1.

Losers

The Public - The “business-as-usual” approach of legislative Republicans means no real reform will be in sight in 2006, with a strong likelihood that the practices by legislative leaders that occurred under Scott Jensen will continue by the GOP in the Wisconsin legislature. Once again, the GOP chooses the special interests over the public.

Assembly Republicans - A whole lot of Republican incumbents are going to have to explain why they killed ethics reform at the same time their legislative leadership was being sentenced to jail and prison. My guess is that at least a half a dozen GOP legislators lose this fall just on reform, largely due to their lack of passing a real reform bill. Good riddance.

And, the five GOP members that did vote with Democrats to allow SB-1 up for a vote may have a hard time too. How is it that they voted against letting the bill come to a vote in closed caucus, then voted for debate on the floor, then voted THREE times against the bill as it was amended to other “ethics” bills? Fool me once, shame on you…fool me twice, go find another job.

Speaker John Gard - One of the final acts of Gard’s tenure as speaker was to kill ethics reform. No wonder he’s getting his behind kicked by one of his Democrat opponents. Advice to Gard: You might want to see if there’s a Wal-Mart near Peshtigo hiring next January.


Final thought: The very best way to send a message on the need for real ethics reform is by sending messages to legislators who think everything is fine just the way it is in Madison. November could be a bad month for a lot of incumbent legislators.

Ethics Takes Another Hit at the State Capitol

Read this.

Can you imagine a more tone deaf group than the Republican Assembly leadership and members?

Do as I say, not as I do.

Yikes.

For the record, I think Roth Judd is a very able and talented public servant. The problem is - hence my strong support for SB-1 - every time the State Ethics Board wants to do an investigation into lawmaker wrongdoing, they have to go to the Joint Finance Committee to get funding. The legislature doesn’t give them enough funding to independently do their jobs. The result? The director has to come hat-in-hand to get funding from the very group he may need to investigate. That’s ridiculous.

The current way the Ethics Board is funded makes it hard for truly independent investigations to occur. I commend Judd on the job he has done with the odd situation and limited resources he has had. But continuing the current way ethics is enforced in Wisconsin makes Judd less able to be as independent and aggressive as necessary. And that is the tragedy we have with the current structure.

By the way, Republican Assembly and Senate leadership once again ignored requests by the Governor, legislative Democrats and good government groups to take up SB-1 during the Extraordinary Session we had this week.

Tone deaf.


UPDATE: Read Friday's Capital Times editorial....Gard fights against ethics.

Hero of the Week

Congressperson Gwen Moore. You go girl!

Once again, I am awed by her courageousness.

What to Expect from the Wisconsin Legislature This Week

Both the State Senate and the State Assembly are in this week each for a single day of action.

The State Senate needs to approve the changed date for the Death Penalty advisory referendum, which passed the State Assembly after Speaker John Gard sent three GOP legislators home to skip out on the vote. Expect a lot of fireworks on the Senate floor on this issue.

Also, the State Assembly is in to approve a few state employee contracts and allegedly a piece or two of non-controversial legislation. However, given what happened with the death penalty bill, one might expect an agitated body regardless of what’s on the agenda.

The only thing we do know is that the sooner the legislature rests completely, the less damage that can occur. After a session of attempts at banning birth control, allowing pharmacists to refuse to fill prescriptions, allowing hidden guns, banning stem cell research and letting eight-year-olds hunt, we certainly can only do better by not working.

If we actually did our jobs, the agendas this week would be slated with the Ethics Reform Bill (SB-1), health care proposals and other bills that actually help people.

Instead, this continually dysfunctional legislature can only pass politically-charge legislation with the intent to influence the fall elections. In other words, the legislative goal of the GOP majority is to get re-elected so that we can pass more bills that get us re-elected, rather than bills that actually help Wisconsin’s working families.

Hasn’t the public had enough yet?

Funniest Press Releases from the End of Session Last Week

By “funniest” I mean laughing at, not with….And the winners are:

Third Place – State Representative Debi Towns (R-Janesville) put out a release last Friday saying that she opposes the death penalty, but voted FOR an advisory referendum so she could hear from the people. Ah, she was for it, before she was against it? Wearing two pockets, eh Debi? Not sure if that is too believable however. We'll see what your constituents think this November.

Second Place – State Representative Sue Jeskowitz (R-Menomonee Falls) put out a release last Friday titled “Ethics & Elections Reforms Pass in Assembly”. Yup, the same week that Assembly Republicans killed SB-1, THE ETHICS REFORM BILL, she took credit for the Assembly passing a couple of minor “ethics” bills. I like Sue a lot, but you have to admit that was a stretch even for a Republican.

WINNER – State Senator Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) sent a letter to Michael Rosen, Governor Doyle’s appointment to the Wisconsin Technical College System State Board, praising his credentials. She even said she “looked forward to working with” him in the future. That was April 27th. On May 4th, she votes AGAINST his confirmation in the State Senate. So did Alberta even read the letter she put out in April? Or was that a staff signature? Inquiring minds want to know...why her staff didn't put the letter in her bill file because she looked, ah, stupid. Sorry.

Who needs the Daily Show when you have the Wisconsin legislature?

Ethics Takes Second Hit in Wisconsin

Two days after Assembly Republicans killed ethics reform they created a new way to raise buckets of special interest dollars for the fall elections.

A move to end the legislative session earlier was voted on by party lines Thursday, opening the door to accept special interest monies from lobbyists for the fall elections. The original calendar had a floor period in December that would have banned donations from lobbyists for the fall.

Immediately after that vote, the Republicans put an “ethical” show on by passing a ban on contributions directly from lobbyists.

So two days after the Republicans killed ethics reform and offered their own “package” of reform – a couple of extra reporting periods in odd years for campaign finance reports and making legislative employees who take leaves to pay for their own health insurance – they further dismantled ethics by creating a new way to take in tons of special interest cash.

You can’t take a lobbyist’s personal check, but you can take pocketfuls of checks from their clients, handed to you by a lobbyist. Seriously.

Ah, ethics reform……

State Assembly Debating Ethics Reform

The State Assembly is currently debating ethics reform on the floor of the State Assembly.

So far, only Rep. Terri McCormick has joined Democrats in speaking for pulling SB-1 to be placed on the Assembly calendar.

If the pulling motion passes, the bill will be up for a vote today. If not, for all essential purposes, ethics reform is dead.


UPDATE: At 5:35 pm, the motion FAILED on a vote of 45-51. The GOP killed ethics reform.

NEW UPDATE: Frank Lasee just switched his vote to NO, so it failed 44-52.

EVEN NEWER UPDATE: Al Ott flipped too....45-51. Damn, don't these people know what they're doing?

Ethics Reform Up For A Vote Tomorrow

SB-1, the Ethics Reform Bill in the Wisconsin Legislature, will be pulled from committee tomorrow in the State Assembly. State Representatives Joe Parisi (D-Madison), Sondy Pope-Roberts (D-Verona) and I will be leading the charge for Assembly reformers.

Republican Assembly leadership does not want the bill to become law. We hear they may seriously weaken the bill if it is actually pulled for a vote of the State Assembly. If Assembly Republicans fail to pull the bill from committee, many of them will have a hard time explaining to their constituents this fall why they killed ethics and election reform.

Watch here for details as they happen tomorrow. If I have time, I will blog from the Assembly floor like I did last week.