Disclosure: Authored by Kurt

As I continue my crusade into answers on why four Democrats from Wisconsin did not support the War Supplemental Bill this past week. I have to undercover "fact finding" results.

On a simple search to find out why Congressman Steve Kagen didn't support the War Supplemental Bill. It took less than two minutes to discover that on his website http://kagen.house.gov/, Afghanistan is not an Issue for the Congressman. While this may not be surprising in nature, a trip down memory lane please....

According to Nancy Pelosi last year....

Congress is taking America in a New Direction, putting our troops and veterans first. We are fighting for a landmark plan to establish a 21st Century GI Education bill and a pay raise for our troops that exceeds the President’s request.

I wonder why Iraq is still an issue for the Congressman according to his website. While there is an understanding that both are important, Afghanistan should be on the front burner for him.

Disclosure: Authored by Kurt

As everyone has known for the past few days, Wisconsin's House delegation were split on the War Supplemental Bill 4-4 this past week. There are a few concerns that I have with some of the delegation.

Dems Tammy Baldwin of Madison, Steve Kagen of Appleton, Gwen Moore of Milwaukee joined Obey of Wausau in opposing the president and the measure. In all, 102 Dems voted no, contending money is needed for economic troubles at home.

Maybe it is me but if "money is needed for economic troubles", why is Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin going to Afghanistan to get "first hand account of the military and political situation"? She voted "No" on War Funding, however is going to observe the military operation in Afghanistan. This is like saying she has been to all "57" states....

Nevertheless Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin will be going on a trip to Afghanistan to see our service members and expect them to ensure she is safe at all times. All at the same time telling them, they don't deserve the funding they need to carry out the mission. I bet a trip to Afghanistan for Congresswoman Baldwin isn't cheap and the per diem is great.
Thanks again for the continued support Congresswoman Baldwin!

From the State GOP, a picture of their billboard advertisement on the road leading to their state convention; scheduled for this weekend in Middleton, just northwest of Madison.

Personally, I only see two...alright three questions on the Baldwin-Azar split.

1) Why is this news?  I mean seriously, it's a "divorce," rather common place today.

2) Will the long-rumored "truth" behind Azar's appointment to the PSC (She's there because of Tammy, not because of anything else) finally be admitted?

3) Will we get a press release when the invalid Canadian marriage of Mark Pocan ends someday too?

U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin and her partner of nearly 15 years are separating.

Baldwin, a Madison Democrat and first open lesbian elected to Congress, issued a statement through her office Friday saying she and Lauren Azar are terminating their domestic partnership.

They were among the first to sign up for Wisconsin's domestic partnership registry for same-sex couples last year.

Azar is a member of the Wisconsin Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities. She was appointed by Gov. Jim Doyle in 2007.

The statement said Baldwin and Azar would have no more comment about the private matter.

I'm overall...indifferent on Gay Marriage since 2006.  Oh, I still believe I voted the right way on the Marriage Amendment, since I wouldn't trust State Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abramhamson on deciding the issue on the merits of the law or the Wisconsin Constitution -- which by the way actually states marriage as between "a husband and a wife."  (I'm still waiting for the state left to attack Doyle for his classic "Only an idiot doesn't know what that means" press release.)

As a Catholic, I firmly believe the word "Marriage" means something.  So, while I'm okay with any form of same-sex domestic partnership, could the homosexual community please not sully the word "Marriage" even more?

Lord knows the heteros and divorce attorneys (Face it, the real winners in any successful state with a "Gay Marriage" law are the divorce attorneys.) have done enough damage already to the institution.

The first 56 seconds from the submission by the Brett Davis for Lt. Governor Campaign are sheer genius, regardless of ones ideology given the nature of the Lt. Governor's office in Wisconsin.

Of all the state legislative retirements, either Republican or Democratic, this one hurts the most for me just on an issue basis.  I didn't agree with many of Williams stances, but she had the political courage to get the Milwaukee School Choice Program off the ground when Democrats still controlled the State Assembly in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Williams saw, along with former Governor Tommy Thompson, former Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist, former Milwaukee Public School Superintendent Howard Fuller, the need for a change in the broken system that was educating the children in Wisconsin's largest city.  Her leadership in this area will be missed.

Rep. Annette Polly Williams, an education advocate who penned the landmark legislation that created Wisconsin's school choice program, and the longest-serving woman in the history of Wisconsin's Legislature, announced Saturday that she will not seek re-election in the fall.

Williams, a Milwaukee Democrat who represents the 10th District, has served in the state Assembly for 30 years. Her district, which stretches from Glendale to parts of Milwaukee's central city, has one of the highest percentages of African-Americans in the state.

She established the African American Education Council, an organization designed to give black residents a voice in efforts to reform Milwaukee Public Schools.

She's best known for the voucher program that the Legislature approved in 1990. The legislation made Milwaukee the first city in the country to offer students from low-income homes the chance to attend private schools with their expenses paid by public dollars.

About 21,000 students attended private schools using the vouchers as of September 2009; as of March 2009, Milwaukee's program was the broadest in the country. The program still ignites debate among supporters and opponents.

Williams is 73, so retirement makes sense.  Here's hoping the likely Democrat to replace her picks up her torch in the area of education reform in Milwaukee's schools.

Wow, part of me so wants to say "Suck it Blanchard!" with this news.

The state Supreme Court ruled this morning that former Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen should be re-tried in his home county of Waukesha on felony misconduct in office charges.

Jensen was originally convicted in Dane County, but he won a second trial on appeal. He then cited a state law approved after his conviction in seeking to move his second trial from Dane County to Waukesha County.

A circuit court judge and an appeals court rejected those requests. But the Supreme Court this morning overturned the appeals court decision.

So with this new development; not exactly a changing of fact, but of venue, it's another win for former Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen in his nearly 8(?) year defense in the so-called "Caucus Scandal."

The earlier win was having Captain Ahab the chief prosecutor, Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard, get elected as a State Appeals Court Judge for the Madison area.  That alone increased the likelihood of the case getting dropped by Blanchard's successor, who will be named by Doyle.

Doyle has said in the past, he will not put the Jensen case as a top priority in his selection of the new District Attorney of Dane County.

You have to love the quote from State Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Madison) here.  Of course his business is seeing improvement, isn't his print shop in Madison the one all the state legislative Democrats usually go to in Wisconsin to get their bumper stickers and other campaign needs?

(Could be wrong on that one...)

Wisconsin's battered economy will add a projected 20,000 jobs this year, and soon-to-be-released state tax collections are also expected to show some strength, state officials said.

But there's a limit to these glimmers of good news for a recession-weary state. The jobs growth forecast in the latest state Department of Revenue report is just over one-tenth of the jobs that have been lost since January 2008, meaning a full recovery in employment isn't expected until early 2013.

In the meantime, experts cautioned that there are still plenty of challenges ahead for the state's economy and the state budget, which supports critical services such as schools and health care.

"It's positive but it's not much of a number from a recovery standpoint," David Ward, president of North Star Economics, said of the jobs figure. "This is as slow as I've seen."

The slow improvement is providing some benefits to the state's struggling budget, said Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Madison), a small-businessman and co-chairman of the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee. Pocan said still unreleased state tax figures for April will show some improvement over prior months in state income tax and sales tax collections.

"Overall, it's been a very positive month," said Pocan, who believes the state's economy is finally mending.

April's income tax returns make it a key month for state tax collections - unexpectedly low collections for the same month last year raised the state budget shortfall to more than $6 billion, plunging the Capitol into a crisis. To balance the budget, Democrats who control state government slashed funding for schools and raised taxes on cigarettes and the wealthy.

Now, the state budget is expected to finish its two-year cycle in June 2011 with roughly $30 million in reserves in its main account, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau. That's not even enough to run all of state government for a full day, meaning that almost any hit to the budget could trigger a repair bill and call lawmakers back from recess to enact another painful round of budget cuts or tax increases.

Good to see the Democrats have put the State Senate Committee Chairwoman for the "Economic Development Committee" as their chosen candidate in the 7th Congressional District.  With job growth numbers like that being forecast, it's good to know they when with their strongest player in that department.

(Yes, that's sarcasm.)

Welcome to "Lame Duck Status" Governor Jim Doyle --  a wholly-owned subsidiary of WEAC, about to be replaced by a newer model -- it must really be having an effect on your ego.

Yeah, too bad the only waning effect Jim Doyle won't have is if a properly-run Republican campaign for Governor is able to use him as an anchor to bury Tom Barrett with.  Is there really any issue that Barrett has tried to distance himself from Doyle from since announcing his run last November?

That's going to be something I really need to look at for the next couple of months.

Democrats in charge of the Legislature and the governor's office couldn't pass signature priorities at the end of the legislative session on energy, education and transit, revealing how much outgoing Gov. Jim Doyle's clout has waned.

The death of major pieces of legislation - including a bill meant to curb global warming - also could be attributed to a weak economy, a record budget deficit, a poor political climate and thin majorities in both houses, according to legislators and political observers.

"There is little doubt that this governor, at this stage in his term, is not at the peak of his power," said Democratic political strategist Evan Zeppos. "And not running for re-election further weakens him.

"But when you start with a rocky relationship with the legislative leadership, an election coming and you're dealing with difficult issues, well, it's hard to get business done up there, for any governor."

Other major bills that fell by the wayside would have created or expanded regional transit authorities and allowed people to register to vote online. The transit bill would have allowed the sales tax in Milwaukee County to increase by up to half a cent, to 6.1%.

Doyle and other Democrats said while they didn't get everything they wanted, they made major progress in the two-year legislative session by providing tax credits to businesses that create jobs; expanding access to health care; cracking down on drunken driving; regulating payday loans; and passing a smoking ban that takes effect in July.

Another bill that passed grants the state superintendent of public instruction more power to fix failing schools.

But education reform fell far short of what Doyle and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett wanted. Doyle spent months asking the Legislature to give the mayor the authority to appoint the Milwaukee Public Schools superintendent. But his fellow Democrats rebuffed him, even though Barrett is the leading Democratic candidate for governor.

Many expected Democrats to accomplish more, but they were doing what controlling parties often do. With elections looming in the fall, "to a certain extent, you are playing defense," said Mordecai Lee, a former Democratic legislator and a professor of governmental affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

"It's sort of like in football when you sit on a lead. You want to give the opposition few opportunities to attack," he said.

But Doyle has lost significant power. He can no longer dole out budget favors and has fewer appointments he can give away.

"The power of a governor is that they have both a carrot and a stick, and a lame duck has neither," Lee said.

It's not Doyle's fault alone the Democrats in the legislature completely shot this opportunity.  Word is that Speaker Sheridan and Majority Leader Decker loathe each other, and had no real intent on getting along in the first place.  So, it's always hard when you have sort of personal animosity going on to get a legislative agenda through.

With the legislative session pretty much over other than the clean-up, the focus of each side is now November.  Each side is or has already put together their targeted list of seats in trouble, seats they can capture and on and on (By my math, I've got already 4-5 GOP pick-ups, and 1 likely Dem pick-up in the Assembly; 1-2 GOP pick-ups in the Senate, a possible Dem pick-up), so that has to be taken into account with many of these pieces of legislation.

How many of these bill died because; truthfully, the votes weren't there?  How many of these bills died because of lack of Doyle leadership as well as in-fighting between Assembly and Senate leadership?  How many of these bills died because; for pure political reasons, were not taken up because of how hard a vote it would be to defend come Election Day?

The bigger question voters must look at, will be who will be keeping these ideas alive for the next legislative session, and how determined they will be to make them the law of the Badger State.  That will be more likely to determine who is in the majority in Madison next January.

What is the Wisconsin Legislative equivalent of naming post offices?  Because, unless the Assembly Democrats are really up for a night of quixotic votes (Votes which frankly, I'm hoping for both political and novelty reasons they do take), that's probably what we're up for tonight.

It's not looking good for the "Clean Energy Jobs Act," an overhaul to the state's election laws and legislation to create regional transit authorities.

Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker, D-Weston, sent signals today that none of the three would make it through his chamber this session.

Decker said the election bill was introduced "a little bit late in the process."

"I'd like to see it happen," Decker said. "If it started up a few weeks earlier, I think members could have gotten their arms around it and gotten a better feel for it."

Decker reiterated Republican votes were needed to pass RTA legislation, which has yet to make it out of the Assembly.

"If there's six Republican votes, we'll look at it," Decker said. "I don't believe there's enough Democrats that would support it straight up."

Responding to speculation that he won't get six GOP votes, Decker quipped, "Well, we'll go for seven then."

Meanwhile, state Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, accused Decker and Sen. Jeff Plale of standing in the way of the "Clean Energy Jobs Act," while the Sen Dems shot back the Assembly doesn't have the votes and Black's just trying to cast blame.

Black, D-Madison suggested the Assembly would only take up the bill if the Senate showed some progress on it.

But that looked unlikely. Decker told reporters this afternoon he didn't think the Assembly had the votes to pass the bill anyway and his chamber wouldn't vote on it unless it was first taken up by the special committee set up to handle the legislation.

Plale, a co-chair of the special committee, said he's been rebuffing requests to convene an exec session because the bill doesn't have the votes needed to pass either house.

Other bills being considered on the calendar are pretty mild -- lots of resolutions honoring folks and specialty license plates.  Wisconsin legislative rules state that the final session of the year -- usually held in May -- can only be a time when bills that have passed at least one house of the legislature can be taken up.  So, if nothing gets accomplished tonight, it won't happen this session.

UPDATE: The boys at MacIver Institute say I'm being a bit naive on my hopes for today.  I agree with them; stuff's going to hit the fan today, and it might not be pretty for all sides.