Brrrrrr...it's cold outside...let's talk politics!

I know it is cold out, I can tell because my nose has not thawed since approximately the middle of December, but we have started a new year and our government is now hot to trot to work.  We have Congress pushing off the Debt Ceiling issue for another couple of months, the Senate discussing what to do about the filibuster and our own State Assembly trying to figure out hot they can work as a cohesive group.

All that is going on and what can we, as average citizens do to help promote the Democratic and Progressive ideals?  Well, you can always join a Democratic/Progressive event to show your support and usually have fun doing it.  As the new Co-chair, I feel it is my duty to bring fun to everything that I am involved in...actually, I do that whether I am doing "committee" things or not.  We are lucky to live in a state where there is a lot going on both near and far from our happy little Green County.  Check out the activities below:

Saturday, January 26 - Peaceful protest for those in support of the Bad River Tribe regarding proposed changes in WI mining regulations; 12-1:30 PM at the Wisconsin State Capitol. 

Tuesday, February 5 - County Line Progressives - 6-8 PM at Corner Cafe, Belleville; come early if you'd like to order something to eat and have some social time. This is an issues and action-oriented group for folks in the Belleville, New Glarus, and Monticello communities. For further information, contact Tim Sager at tsager@gmail.com or check their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/County-Line-Progressives/188548701193290?fref=ts

Saturday, February 16 - 5th Annual WI Progressive Grassroots Festival - 9 AM-4 PM at WI Heights High School, 10173 State Hwy 14, Mazomanie. Keynote speakers - Mike McCabe and Lisa Graves, 18 break-out sessions, and the Raging Grannies. Suggested donation - $12, includes lunch. Sponsored by the Wisconsin Grassroots Network which facilitates development and growth of community-based grassroots organizations throughout Wisconsin. Currently over 70 groups are involved to increase government accountability to its citizens. http://www.wisconsingrassroots.net/5th_annual_wisconsin_progressive_grassroots_festival

Tuesday, February 19 - Spring Primary Election

Tuesday, March 5 - Candidate Forum for State Superintendent of Public Instruction position - Tony Evers (incumbent; confirmed) and Don Pridemore (Republican member of State Assembly; not yet confirmed), at the Bridges Restaurant, Darlington. Sponsored by the DPW county parties in SW WI. More details to follow.

Tuesday, April 2 - Spring General Election - an important election for State Superintendent of Public Instruction (statewide), Supreme Court Justice (statewide), and Circuit Court justice (Dane County residents). 

WOW!!!  That is quite a bit, but don't forget that we also have our monthly meetings and we are working to ensure that we have speakers who are knowledgeable and timely for what is happening in Wisconsin.  If you have any suggestions for speakers for upcoming meetings, please let me know.  We always like to get feedback from our members and those who are Friends of Dems.  

Have a great week and thank you for checking us out!

Happy New Year Dems!

Happy New Year to all my fellow Dems and Progressives out there!  This is the first blog post we have had in "a while" thanks to a whole lot of activity in Wisconsin and Green County.  We did what we could to recall Walker and it was within our reach, but there is no use crying over spilled votes.  We, as a county and state, did what we personally felt was right on election day and we have to accept that the people of this state wanted to give Walker the benefit of the doubt.  Now, since the election, we can see that it was a mistake, with the jobs number coming in NO WHERE NEAR what Walker was promising nor are we going to have any state option for the health care option.  So what can we as Democrats and Progressives do now?  We can stick together and move FORWARD as we always do.  We need to gather our fellow Dems and Progressives and discuss what needs to be done in the upcoming months and years to get our state back to a place where progressive thinking is encouraged and where we move toward a goal that everyone can win from.  We have done this in the past and we can do it again.  I love this state and my county and I know that the people within it are good people who want to help others and are not above a little sacrifice to achieve it.  We have a strong history of doing what is best for all, let's get back to that.

And now for some Party business...we have a new executive board:

Phil Fransen - Co-Chair
Sandy Stauffacher - Co-Chair (yours truly)
Keith Steffen - Vice-Chair
Deb Pendray - Treasurer
Kris Wisnefske - Secretary

I would like to personally thank our "outgoing" board for all that they have done to bring the County Party to the place it is at now.  I wouldn't have even considered taking on the role of co-chair had it not been for the opportunity to continue on with the great works and deeds of those who have facilitated before.  I thank Carol Mixdorf, Barb Woodruff, Susan and Tom Porter, Keith Steffen for doing such an amazing job and for leaving the group to us in such an amazing shape.  I look forward to continue working with you all and to working with the rest of those who I have managed to accidentally leave out and who are just as valuable in their contributions to what we do.

I will do my utmost best to keep this blog/site updated and keeping everyone informed of what we are doing as a group and how people can join and interact.  We are a group for the people and we cannot accomplish much without the people.

Thank you and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Sandy Stauffacher

How the Money Trickled Up and the Debt Trickled Down!

From the article "Nine Things The Rich Don't Want You to Know about Taxes," by David Cay Johnston,  Pulitzer Prize winning tax investigative reporter:
" Since 1980, when President Reagan won election promising prosperity through tax cuts, the average income of the vast majority -- the bottom 90 percent of Americans -- has increased a meager $303, or 1 percent. Put another way, for each dollar people in the vast majority made in 1980, in 2008 their income was up to $1.01.
Those at the top did better. The top 1 percent's average income more than doubled to $1.1 million, according to an analysis of tax data by economists Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez. The really rich, the top 10th of 1 percent, each enjoyed almost $4 in 2008 for each dollar in 1980.
The top 300,000 Americans now enjoy almost as much income as the bottom 150 million, the data show. 

The Beginning - Where Wisconsin Stood Up and Said "NO WAY!"

Wisconsin "Budget Repair Bill" Protest from Matt Wisniewski on Vimeo.

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING HELPS THE MIDDLE CLASS

Why is a single category of employees being targeted for a budget deficit they didn't create? Why are politicians waging anti-labor campaigns and ignoring one very simple fact: unions were a major force in building and sustaining the great American middle class. As unions have declined, so has the middle class. Union membership has steadily fallen since 1967, and so too has the middle class's share of national income as the super-rich have taken a larger share of national income than any time since the 1920s. Another thing to think about - when unions are gone, so is a very significant source of funding for progressive political candidates. Do we really want a Corporate America in total control of our country's policies and politicians?

Promises Kept

“Let’s be the generation that

makes future generations

proud of what we did here.”

– President Barack Obama –

From Vice President Joe Biden:

I believe in the power of public service because I've seen what it has done throughout our country's history to combat social and economic injustice. And I am proud to say it's a story that continues in the remarkable progress we've made in the past two years. To tell it, Organizing for America has written Promises Kept.

Take a look at the Promises Kept report of all the work we've done in two years—you can download a copy or have a few sent to you to share with friends.

There's a whole lot to be proud of.

Of course, the big ones come to mind first: historic health insurance reform, which is reining in the insurance companies and helping control the cost of care for millions of Americans; Wall Street reform, which put in place the toughest consumer protections ever; and the end of combat operations in Iraq, which brought more than 100,000 troops home.

And there is so much more you've helped achieve that is right now improving lives across the country:

• We passed the Recovery Act, which saved and created more than 3 million jobs, provided the largest middle-class tax cut in a generation, and made landmark investments in clean energy, infrastructure, and education.
• We made critical investments in General Motors and Chrysler, saving tens of thousands of jobs—and perhaps the companies—and spurring a rebirth of the American car industry.
• We wrote into law student loan reform and credit card reform, which ended the worst abuses of the banking industries and are making lending fair for American families.
• We put two new Supreme Court justices on the bench—Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, who bring rich and diverse experience to the Court.
• We have begun to reset America's relationship with the international community, from the ratification of a new START nuclear arms treaty with Russia to tough new sanctions on Iran to strengthening our long-term partnership with a unified Iraq.
• And we finally repealed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," which was the right thing to do—not only because it makes our military stronger at a time when it needs to be the strongest, but because we are seeking that military might with an abiding sense of justice.

Telling the story of the past two years will be critical to the fights ahead. And it's not just the story of this president or this White House—it's your story.

And it is literally proof that the organizing you do on the ground—the conversations you have with your friends and neighbors—is working.

Now, I'm not going to say the last two years were easy—and I won't tell you the fights ahead are going to get any easier.

But I didn't sign up for a cake walk. And I'm pretty sure you didn't either.

We're here to move our country forward. We're here to lay a new foundation for this country—for our economy, for our politics, and for our children's and grandchildren's futures.

And, as Barack says, what we will be able to accomplish together is in your hands.

It's how hard we all work, and how well we all tell this story.

Take a few minutes to read Promises Kept—and let's keep moving:

Thanks for everything,

Joe

Yikes -- What's Wrong with This Picture??

The political rhetoric this year reminds us of the following joke. How about you?


Did you hear the one about the old man who went to the doctor for his checkup and afterward the doctor came in with some bad news? The doctor said, "You have two serious problems. The first is you have cancer." The patient was surprised because he felt fine. The doctor next told the old man, "You have dementia." 
"Oh good," said the old man, "I thought you were going to tell me I have cancer." 


Doesn't this sound like today's Republicans who have conveniently forgotten how we got into this financial mess?!