In writing about Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke the other day, I wrapped my column up by noting that “rarely have we ever known less about someone that could legitimately ascend to the governorship.”

I didn’t know the half of it.

On Wednesday, reports surfaced that while Burke had frequently boasted about her successes in leading Trek Bicycle’s European division in the early 1990s, several former executives say she was fired from that position.  Tom Albers, former Trek chief operating officer, said he thought that in Europe, Burke was “under water” and recently suggested that the job was perhaps “too big for her." | Oct. 30, 2014 11:34 a.m.  »Read Full Blog Post(116)

On National Review Online today, I have a piece discussing some of the more specious attacks being lobbed at Gov. Scott Walker over the final two weeks of the campaign.  In it, I reference my Sunday column about the state's bogus budget "deficit," and add some info that I wasn't able to fit into my Journal Sentinel piece:

For instance, Burke has been traversing the state telling voters that Walker’s policies have led to a $1.8 billion deficit. This is demonstrably false; Democrats essentially took a brief one-time revenue downtick and extrapolated it over the course of four years, saying the hiccup would extend to 2017.

But that number assumes state revenues wouldn’t grow a dime in the next four years. Heck, why not stretch it out over eight years and call it a $4 billion deficit? Or Burke could warn voters of the impending $1 trillion deficit due around the corner in 4236. | Oct. 21, 2014  »Read Full Blog Post(24)

When you wake in the morning, is your veto pen not effective enough?  Does having to answer endless questions about John Doe investigations rob you of all your get-up-and-go?  Has all your vigor been outsourced? 

Then perhaps you’re not eating properly.  But there’s a way to fix it, to get you right back on the road to creating jobs.  You just have to eat like a governor.

  | Aug. 20, 2014  »Read Full Blog Post(9)

Democrat Mary Burke has officially been running against Gov. Scott Walker for around eight months now.  This week, however, the race’s starter pistol went off, as Burke began running her first television ad:

The spot is primarily the type of fluff a candidate lays out in their first ad.  Typically, the inaugural spot merely serves as an introduction – a positive look at the candidate as a person.  The hard-hitting stuff will come later. | July 8, 2014  »Read Full Blog Post(25)

In today’s column, I discuss the fact that the specific law prosecutors are charging Gov. Scott Walker with having violated hasn’t actually been constitutional for decades.  In this sense, it is a “zombie” law – it’s dead, but still alive in the statute books.

Naturally, it was difficult to distill four decades of campaign finance law into one 800-word column.  (The U.S. Seventh District Court of Appeals went on for more than 50 pages, and still admitted that its summary was incomplete.)  So for the sake of thoroughness, I thought I would mention a few twists and turns that I had to leave out of my column.

For instance, someone might ask, “How can you talk about the history of campaign finance laws in Wisconsin without mentioning Citizens United, the most notable election law case in decades?” | June 25, 2014  »Read Full Blog Post(9)

Sometimes, the court of public opinion overrules a state’s actual courts.  And in Scott Walker’s case, there is little chance for appeal.

On Thursday morning, hundreds of pages of documents relating to the “John Doe II” investigation of Gov. Scott Walker’s 2012 recall campaign were ordered released.  These documents comprised a number of legal filings by both prosecutors and defendants. But some media and liberal groups picked up on one specific 2013 charge by prosecutors that alleged Walker had been part of a “criminal scheme” to circumvent campaign finance laws.

Immediately, national news outlets and liberal activists ran with the story, nearly breaking the Internet in the process. “Prosecutors: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Part Of 'Criminal Scheme'” read the Huffington Post.  Politico ran with a similar story, adding that “Walker has denied wrongdoing, and no charges have been filed.” Undeterred by facts, Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas tweeted, “As feds close in on Scott Walker, just note: none of this would be happening without the recall elections. #DeferredVictory” | June 19, 2014  »Read Full Blog Post(217)

The recently-released WI Magazine features an article I wrote detailing a novel new public-private partnership that could serve as a model for getting kids excited in engineering and technology careers.  Up in tiny Brillion, Wisconsin, the Ariens manufacturing company has invested around $1.5 million in the town’s local high school to create what they call the “Fab Lab:” a state-of-the-art facility for students to learn how to invent, fabricate, and test new products.  Some of these products have even made their way to the Ariens assembly line.

The program has gotten a whole community excited about science and technology education, and could serve as an example to school districts across the state.

A sample: | April 30, 2014  »Read Full Blog Post(10)

In early January of 1916, New York hotel porter Rudolph Weinkopf felt ill. Weinkopf, who worked as a “hired man” in a boarding house, was sent to the Brooklyn hospital and hours later died of “apoplexy,” the term at the time for a brain hemorrhage.

While Weinkopf’s death likely surprised former co-workers, there was an even greater surprise in store for them. The autopsy uncovered the fact that Rudolph Weinkopf was biologically a female.

Interviewed after the fact, Weinkopf’s colleagues expressed shock. On Jan. 7, the Milwaukee Journal reported Weinkopf “smoked and occasionally took a cocktail, avoided women, but liked to go out with the men, and was regarded as a good fellow.”

“Why she wore the man’s garb is not known,” the paper concluded.

In modern times, however, issues of gender identity and gender expression in everyday life are becoming much more prevalent. More individuals are openly identifying themselves with a gender not of their birth, or with no gender at all. This has prodded some businesses to update their nondiscrimination policies to protect gender identity and expression, as they have figured out that such inclusionary policies are both fair to their employees and good for business.

On Thursday, the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to take up a nondiscrimination resolution that would modernize its legal protections for sexual identity and expression. The proposal would outlaw gender identity and expression discrimination by county government and businesses that have contracts with the county.

The City of Milwaukee already has such a policy in place, having modernized its rules in 2001; the City of Madison and surrounding Dane County passed similar policies years ago. (A full map of gender identity protections being passed around the country – including in conservative strongholds like Utah – can be viewed here.)

The Milwaukee County resolution deserves support. It will ensure that transgender and gender nonconforming individuals will be protected from discrimination, and merely extends the City of Milwaukee’s existing protections to those who do work for the county.

If we acknowledge that discrimination on the basis of sex should be prohibited, it makes sense that similar penalties should be in place for discrimination based on the sex with which one identifies. As the definition of “sex” changes, it makes sense to further clarify nondiscrimination rules to encompass changing cultural standards. Further, in 2012 the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ruled that under Title VII of the federal sex discrimination law, employees nationwide are protected from discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression. Such a rule within Milwaukee County would simply be codifying the EEOC’s decision.

Recently, the debate over the county’s nondiscrimination proposal has moved from the political to the scatological. The primary concerns among its opponents have revolved around public bathroom accommodations that must be made for transgendered people. For instance, should someone who is biologically a man but identifies as a woman be allowed to use a restroom, or vice-versa?

At the risk of being indelicate, let me say that given what goes on in a men’s bathroom, anyone willing to voluntarily enter its confines deserves a medal, not a penalty. (I am not a frequent visitor to ladies’ rooms, so I can only guess that the same goes there.) Further, 17 states and over 100 municipalities in America have passed similar gender identity rules, and there has not been any corresponding increase in restroom public safety incidents. Businesses and governments are figuring this out, without requiring building “special” bathrooms or anything of the like. (Additionally, it appears few people have any problem with gays and lesbians using a restroom intended for their same sex; it seems things get somewhat more perplexing when different clothing is introduced.)

The county resolution isn’t adding any more “special” privileges for those who identify their gender differently. It merely clarifies existing protections for sex and sexual orientation. As noted, cities such as Milwaukee and Madison have had identical employment protections in place for years, and neither has turned into a magical transgender Disneyland. Transgender people are already taking the path of most resistance; these modest changes simply offer them the same basic protections that everyone else enjoys. | April 23, 2014(15)

In my column today, I criticize Mary Burke’s recently released jobs plan, and question why the plan includes some provisions that have absolutely nothing to do with job creation.  Specifically, I mention the talking point that addresses equal pay for women: 

“Further, Burke lobs in crowd pleasers such as demanding ‘equal pay for women,’ using the discredited talking point that women in Wisconsin make 78% as much as men for equal work. (The number doesn't factor in voluntary life choices some women make to raise families, such as working part time or delaying entrance into the workforce.) What this has to do with ‘job creation,’ or what law she would enact to increase that to 100%, is unclear; it is simply liberal paprika meant to season her report to the taste of her progressive allies.”

It is well-known that the “women make 77 cents for every dollar a man makes” is bogus.  For a quick refresher, check out Christina Hoff Summers’ treatment of the issue at The Daily Beast following President Obama’s recitation of the fact in his State of the Union address:  | March 27, 2014  »Read Full Blog Post(28)

Over the weekend, I dissected some of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke’s assertions about Gov. Scott Walker’s financial management.  As is the case with any column about broad budgeting issues, I had to boil down a lot of complex issues into succinct statistics showing growth in this or the drop in that.

So consider this post a lengthy footnote to this week’s column; I’ll stretch out a little and explain some of the numbers more in depth. | Feb. 3, 2014  »Read Full Blog Post(17)

A few weeks ago, in analyzing the state of the Wisconsin gubernatorial race between Republican Scott Walker and Democrat Mary Burke, I wrote that “current polls have shown Walker to be ahead by five to six percentage points.”  I immediately began catching grief from e-mailers who pointed out that the most recent Marquette University poll, conducted in October, showed Walker only up by a scant two percentage points.  (A poll taken by Democratic pollster PPP just weeks before the MU poll had Walker up six.)

The MU poll is widely regarded as the most accurate poll, and for good reason – it has essentially nailed the last three major elections in Wisconsin: the 2012 gubernatorial recall election, and the 2012 statewide races for U.S. Senator and President.

But the Marquette poll is also susceptible to factors that affect every poll; namely, fluctuations in the partisanship of its sample.  This makes reasonable sense; the more Democrats that answer the poll’s question, the worse it will look for Republicans, and vice-versa.  And given that Scott Walker’s numbers have essentially been chiseled in marble since before the recall election, I looked askance at the October MU poll, as it seemed a bit of an anomaly. | Jan. 27, 2014  »Read Full Blog Post(15)

Over the course of the 2011 Wisconsin Capitol protests, plenty of memorable protestors emerged.  There was Segway Boy and the guy who dumped beer on Rep. Robin Vos and the guy who screamed obscenities at a 14-year-old conservative girl and the young woman who chained her neck to a railing in the state Senate.  But while their behavior now belongs to the history books, remnants of the anger in Madison in 2011 are still surfacing, often in strange places.

Take, for example, Google Street View.  A few years ago, Google sent a fleet of cars out to document America by driving its streets and taking panoramic digital photos.  The result is an often eerie three-dimensional look at the country frozen in time.  Some of the cameras picked up some pretty entertaining and disturbing photos simply by being in the right place at the right time.

In June of 2011, the street view car in Madison headed down Cambridge Road, home of the Wisconsin governor's mansion.  At the time, passions against Scott Walker were running high - Supreme Court Justice David Prosser had just won re-election and several state senators were preparing for recall elections.  As the car drove down the road, it caught a woman jogging in the distance: | Jan. 6, 2014  »Read Full Blog Post(32)

Last Wednesday night, I sat at home watching the lowly Washington Wizards play the lowlier Milwaukee Bucks.  During the game, I was texting back and forth with a friend in D.C. who is a die-hard Wizards fan, and when the Bucks pulled ahead late in the game, he told me he was worried his Wizards were going to lose. 

“Don’t worry,” I told him.  “The Bucks are going to blow this.  I guarantee it. It’s what they do.”

Of course, despite forcing overtime, the Bucks blew it.  I’ve seen enough games over the years to know exactly what was going to happen.  It was their 10^th loss in a row and dropped their record to 2-12. | Dec. 5, 2013  »Read Full Blog Post(7)

For decades, the University of Wisconsin-Extension's School for Workers has been seen as a breeding ground for labor activism.  But Extension Chancellor Ray Cross is working to change the reputation and culture of the department.  Here's my story about it in the most recent Wisconsin Interest magazine:

Open publication

While this suggestion will send a good number of Wisconsin Democrats into cardiac arrest, I'll do it anyway.  Many have forgotten that as a presidential candidate, John F. Kennedy had a good bit of trouble with organized labor in Wisconsin.  This wasn't good news for Kennedy, as the Wisconsin primary in 1960 was the first in the nation and Kennedy was under a lot of pressure to prove he was a plausible national candidate.

I wrote about Kennedy and the unions in May of last year:

In September of 1959, telegenic young U.S. senator John F. Kennedy made the third of what would be many trips to Wisconsin to build support for his eventual run for the presidency in 1960. Wisconsin was the first primary in the nation, so Kennedy needed to win the state to show he was a serious player on the national scene. | Nov. 22, 2013  »Read Full Blog Post(13)

I have a piece over at National Review today detailing the new John Doe investigation targeting conservative groups that supported Governor Scott Walker in his 2012 recall election.  Given what I've seen so far, the whole thing reeks of partisanship:

These subpoenas seek to accomplish what campaign-finance reformers have failed at so miserably over the past decade: to expose the names of people who support conservative causes but contribute to third-party groups anonymously. In many cases, conservative donors want to remain anonymous in order to prevent the type of intimidation tactics virulent liberals will use against them. (As the WSJ notes, during Walker’s recall, many businesses that supported Walker were “outed,” and thus subject to boycotts by union sympathizers.)

It appears that investigators are looking into whether these groups provided Walker’s campaign with a “benefit” that should have been reported on Walker’s finance reports, and whether these benefits were improperly coordinated with Walker’s reelection effort. But what constitutes a “benefit” is certainly vague. Any number of actions can affect an election, and few of them ever show up on an official finance report. | Nov. 18, 2013  »Read Full Blog Post(22)

Over at National Review Online, I offered some thoughts on Scott Walker's plan to delay moving 77,500 people from BadgerCare (the state's Medicaid program) to the federal Obamacare exchanges:

Last February, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker announced he would be rejecting Obamacare’s federal Medicaid expansion funds.  Instead, Walker’s budget proposal moved 77,500 adults who were on Medicaid but earned above the poverty line to the federal Obamacare health care exchanges which debuted in October.

It was a neat bit of political jujitsu – for years, Democrats lauded Obamacare, and Walker essentially gave them what they asked for.  Walker then used the money he saved by extending Medicaid coverage (called “BadgerCare” in Wisconsin) to 82,000 childless adults below the poverty line, thus increasing total health coverage in the state without setting up a state exchange or taking Medicaid expansion money, a temptation to which many Republican governors fell prey.

Read the whole thing here. | Nov. 15, 2013(17)

This week's Politico Magazine features a piece in which "Project Runway" stylist Tim Gunn offers his fashion advice to potential 2016 presidential candidates.  Among them, he includes the two largest names in Wisconsin politics.  Here's the advice Gunn offers Governor Scott Walker and Congressman Paul Ryan:

Paul Ryan | Nov. 14, 2013  »Read Full Blog Post(3)

On a purely nonpolitical note, once a week two buddies of mine and I get together and record a podcast where we talk about music.  For the next couple of weeks, we’re going to be debating which single year was the strongest year for music.  (I’ve picked 1984 and am preparing my airtight defense.)

But, of course, 1984 was also a big year for politics, as Ronald Reagan ran for a second term against Walter Mondale.  (And famously won 49 of 50 states, a virtual impossibility these days.)  And during my music research, I found a really cool story in which the two worlds of music and politics intersected during the campaign.

People my age recall vividly that 1984 was the year Bruce Springsteen released “Born in the U.S.A.,” the album that catapulted “The Boss” into superstardom.  The album itself is an abomination – I would hope true Springsteen fans deny that it actually exists, especially compared to the dark genius of its predecessor, “Nebraska.”  In fact, the greatest downside of a Chris Christie for President campaign is that we will be subjected to “Born in the U.S.A.’s” title track ad nauseum. | Nov. 7, 2013  »Read Full Blog Post(15)

Today I reviewed Scott Walker's new book, Unintimidated: A Governor’s Story and a Nation’s Challenge (co-authored with Marc Thiessen), for National Review online.  In the review, I note how difficult it is to write a memoir that makes you seem down to earth, while still hailing your own achievements.  Here's a snippet:

In Unintimidated (due out November 19 and co-written with Marc Thiessen), Walker strives for the delicate balance a rising politician must seek: He has to show readers he is genuine and down-to-earth, and at the same time explain that is was his preternatural personal strength that allowed him to do such extraordinary things.

Much of his fortitude he outsources to God, explaining that the collective-bargaining reform bill and the ensuing union attacks were part of the Lord’s plan. But unfortunately, God is not a Wisconsin voter (or at least we don’t know he is, as the state cannot yet compel its citizens to show a photo ID at the polling place), and Walker faced a steep hill in explaining his proposal to the electorate. Soon after the controversy began, his approval rating dipped to 37 percent. At one point, Time magazine declared him “Dead Man Walker.” | Nov. 1, 2013  »Read Full Blog Post(26)