Opinion

Beyond personal considerations, structural changes in Congress make life tough for any House Speaker. Since the turmoil of the 1968 election, which included the assassination of Democratic presidential contender Sen. Robert Kennedy, both parties have embraced state primary elections to nominate their candidates.

Despite the complaints of Ryan's Republican naysayers, I'm not at all sure how likely it is that his successor, in Wisconsin's 1st CD or the speakership, will be a better representative of the conservative movement or a stronger spokesperson for conservative ideas and policies.

Ryan was the most important Republican in Washington from 2009 to 2016. He now seems like a throwback from a bygone era.

Republicans and conservatives are losing at the ballot box in Wisconsin and nationally.

In October, 1973 Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox. Richardson refused and resigned. Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus similarly refused and was forced out. Finally, Solicitor General Robert Bork agreed to fire Cox. A few days later the Nixon administration ordered a worldwide military alert of U.S. forces, including nuclear weapons.

Last week former Wisconsinite David Keene, editor at large for the conservative Washington Times, enthusiastically endorsed Wisconsin GOP Governor Scott Walker’s reelection. Keene, “a stalwart on the right,” was president of the National Rifle Association from 2011 – 2013.

GOP Senator Ron Johnson voted as a rubber stamp, approving all of Trump’s Cabinet nominees. Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin acted to carefully vet Trump’s nominees, often when it was clear that the White House had not done so.

This is the text of a speech delivered by veteran Wisconsin politico Bill Kraus upon acceptance on April 4 of the first Lifetime Achievement Award for Civic Leadership from the Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service. WIPPS celebrated its 10th anniversary with an event in Wausau.

And why the company may get away with it.

59 cities rank higher. New data may have lessons for state policymakers.

Does he face an unstoppable “blue wave”? Maybe.

City of Milwaukee report on Foxconn’s history is eye opening. Why didn’t state do its due diligence?

Destined for greatness, so many said. Why didn’t he realize it?

A dozen or more Democratic candidates? It’s beyond the Republicans’ wildest dreams.

Nice guy gets tough, or just worried about GOP lawmakers reaction to police chief search?

That’s the message on Supreme Court race, treasurer referendum. Was message received?

And why Attorney General Schimel didn’t warn him it was folly.

Screnock’s defeat suggests they want integrity, not a Supreme Court bought by special interests.

NAEP results show notable progress in Chicago, but discouraging results here.

Ryan’s sudden retirement announcement removes the second of Wisconsin’s hulking conservative figures of the last decade from the political battlefield in a period of months after Priebus’ ignominious ouster from the White House.

The situation involving Rep. Dale Kooyenga provides a valuable reminder about the importance of the First Amendment, and the heavy price that must be paid when the government abridges that important right.

The appearance of bias can be just as damaging to the integrity of the judicial process as actual bias. Wisconsinites should demand a recusal rule with teeth to maintain confidence in our legal system.

On the Daily Standard Podcast, Adam Keiper and Stephen White join to discuss his recent article The Pope's Mess, a review of Ross Douthat's book about Pope Francis. Later, Andrew Egger and Jim Swift discuss the battle royale inside the West Wing to replace Hope Hicks, and host Charlie Sykes provides an update on Gov. Scott Walker's special election folly.

On the Daily Standard Podcast, Sykes speaks with Weekly Standard senior writer Michael Warren discusses the latest with the Mueller investigation, the latest from the White House and the Wisconsin Supreme Court election.

Buchanan’s animus toward the “democracy worshippers of the West” is something he has been nursing for years, but in a recent column, he made his position explicit, along with his admiration for authoritarian strong men like Hungary’s Viktor Orbán. “The title the Ayatollah bestowed upon us, ‘The Great Satan,’ is not altogether undeserved,” he wrote.

On Charlie Sykes' Daily Standard Podcast, Weekly Standard Editor-in-Chief Stephen F. Hayes and senior writer John McCormack talk about Speaker Paul Ryan's retirement announcement, and what it means for the House GOP.

Government agencies should always be cognizant of their duties under transparency laws. But these duties gain extra import when government holds information that can help protect public health and safety.

Surely, had Kooyenga had to do it all over again, he wouldn’t have moved Madison protester Donald Johnson’s sign. But paying someone $30,000 as a salve for hurt feelings is absurd, especially now that the public has to write the check. Johnson’s brief moment of discomfort is worth an apology, and nothing more.

Crute claims his campaign is serious, but a common rule of thumb is that if a candidate has to declare their candidacy isn’t a gimmick, there is an overwhelming reason to believe it is.

It is time we once again recognize that our politicians can't keep us safe from the actions of people who want to do us harm. Elected officials rarely deserve either the credit they seek or the blame they wish to elude.

Just a year ago, a potential primary for House Speaker Paul Ryan’s seat in Congress seemed like an embarrassment of riches for Republicans. As speculation spread about how long Ryan could continue in his thankless job as speaker, at least a half-dozen plausible names bubbled up as possible successors if Ryan were to step down.

If Ryan and Republicans see big losses coming, they should go down fighting while they can.

There is a surprising level of grave-dancing from a party that just a year ago lost a presidential race to one of the most absurd candidates to ever run for the nation’s highest office.

April elections comprise an entirely different electorate than the state typically sees in the fall, and the campaigns don't remotely resemble the intensity and spending of November elections.

An altered line-item veto wouldn’t be a panacea for solving government overspending. But exposing earmarks was a good idea in the 1990s and still is now.

Ronald Reagan used to remark how “freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” For Wisconsin conservatives, the saying should be “Walker’s bold conservative reforms are never more than one liberal-majority state Supreme Court away from extinction.”

You don’t go to San Francisco, to Nancy Pelosi’s backyard, groveling for cash without promising to be a social justice warrior in robes. Dallet has San Francisco values; Screnock played the tuba in the University of Wisconsin-Madison marching band.

Walker’s family-friendly tax cuts will fail to buy votes.

Do I really think the Second Amendment will be repealed? Not any time soon. But just talking and writing about it whenever we can is important.

Paul Ryan isn’t just a failure as a political leader; he squandered his chance to be a great one.

2018 might be the perfect year for Barrett: a competent, calm political professional who won’t excite the far-right base.

For sure, Uber represents change. But once again we're reminded that change isn't always for the better.

Wisconsin's chief law enforcement officer, Attorney General Brad Schimel, appeared on a right-wing talk show and made a preposterous claim: Donald Trump wouldn't have taken Wisconsin and U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson wouldn't have won re-election last November if the state's voter ID law hadn't been in effect.

One of the wonders of today's political world is the stranglehold that so-called payday and automobile-title lenders have on our political leaders.

Wisconsin's voters may have just signaled that holding your head high consists of more than approving sleazy advertising, especially when it comes to hoping to serve on the state's highest court. Whether the state's powerful business lobby got that signal is yet to be determined.

Moving the cenotaph and adding an explanatory plaque seems like a reasonable compromise. But it's perfectly understandable why descendants of those whose lives were permanently altered during and for years after that war would rather it just go away.

When Donald Trump and the Republican Congress passed, by one vote, the so-called "tax reform" act in late December, drastically slashing taxes paid by big corporations and rich Americans, several pundits predicted that in short order these same "reformers" would come looking to make big changes to Social Security and Medicare.

We're now at about 450 days in office and if you take just a quick look, that swamp seems to have filled with more muck and even larger scary creatures than were there before the Donald and his entourage came to town.

Just when you think the United States will join most of the rest of the civilized world and outlaw the death penalty, along comes Donald Trump.

The more I see those nasty television attack ads that are paid for by Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the more I wonder how the many leaders of the state's business community, most of them dues-paying members of WMC, are able in good conscience to stomach them.

Our acquaintances on the Left are not the only ones exposing their bilious natures today at the retirement of Paul Ryan from public life. Too many of my fellow conservatives are bidding good riddance to what they call a RINO — a Republican in name only. Most of whom never bothered to run for elective office or made much of a difference if they did.

Hey Mark Pocan, does your offer to hire Andrew McCabe still stand?

Let’s all play the blame game after Tuesday’s crushing defeat. Because there’s plenty to go around.

The outgoing speaker's district will be in play this November.

Ryan must be clear: Any attempt by the president to quash the investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller is an attack on the rule of law. The House speaker should throw his support behind legislation to protect Mueller.

The Democratic gubernatorial primary winner will face a hard-working successful incumbent who takes nothing for granted and is likely to prove a far tougher opponent than they expect.

We don’t need to rely on Russian bots to fill our email and news feeds with false history. The Republican Party and the Trump administration have that well in hand, demonstrated by a selective and probably ineffective airstrike on Syria April 13 that closed with Trump reviving Bush’s false claim at the end of the Iraq war: “Mission Accomplished.”

Dallet’s main appeal was competence, experience and social values but in a form moderates also found appealing. Putting absolutism in ideology first is not as smart as listening to the electorate.

The media attempt to make Macron a laughingstock backfired bigtime when he addressed a joint session of Congress Wednesday morning and in impeccable English carved out a place for himself as the true leader of the West.

Wisconsin is pretty well convinced that Ryan quit over fear of Democrats—and there is much truth there. No politician gives up power without a push. Whether the hostility toward Ryan transfers to any GOP substitute, or if it will diminish now that Ryan is gone—thereby may hang the future of Wisconsin politics.

This election has turned from a contest of nationwide excitement to a more realistically important struggle with echoes across the nation – can a district designed to stay Republican flip to the Democrats?

Sensing a momentous wave, candidates around the country have intensified reaching out.

How would you like it if you did not have an elected representative for nearly a year?

Instead of fully funding and supporting public education that supports and nurtures kids with a variety of needs, we’ve hamstrung teachers and thrown enormous sums of money into turning schools into jails.

With strong anti-Trump sentiment and Democratic enthusiasm voters can effect change. They were able to carry their message into the Court and with continued determination can do the same in the fall elections.

Barbara Bush was not a politician but had the first ingredient required—an ability to connect with people. That is what makes us all feel sad upon hearing about her death.

This is no surprise. But it does, nonetheless, add to the growing narrative about the fate which will unfold this fall for the Republican Party.

It’s time our president stop tacitly abdicating U.S. foreign policy to Putin and instead start pushing the Russian leader to take concrete steps to end the fighting in Ukraine, including those under the Minsk agreements, the path agreed to by all sides.

We don’t need a hyper-partisan pseudo-premier holding authority over the priorities of Congress.

Last week Governor Walker said he is willing to send our Wisconsin National Guard to the Mexican border. That is not what they signed up for. They are willing to be activated in cases of a state or national emergency, not political stunts.

As Wisconsin contemplates granting the City of Racine a diversion of Great Lakes water to supply the Foxconn project with the bulk of a requested seven million gallons from Lake Michigan daily, I suggest you her 2006 opinion and analysis of Great Lakes water management, goals and diversions--an opinion not widely reported by media or widely distributed at the time.

Big business group wants to buy another high court justice, as WMC has admitted.

The Wisconsin DNR, having been intentionally directed more than seven years ago by right-wing Republican Gov. Scott Walker to operate with an altered, corrosive "chamber of commerce mentality," just issued for the proposed, massive Foxconn plant four complex air pollution permits only eight days after the public's comment period had closed.

The same day Baldwin sent the fundraising email about being a “climate champion,” much of her state was getting hit with more snow despite “spring” being nearly a month old, according to the calendar.

The question we should be asking is why Republican leaders are punishing their colleagues for promoting real conservative, free-market ideas.

Possibly aiming to become the Buffalo Bills of Wisconsin politics, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett is considering a fourth run for governor.

RightWisconsin Editor James Wigderson appeared on the Steve Scaffidi show to explain the election results, including the decision by the voters to keep the state treasurer’s office.

While Ryan can point to many accomplishments in his career, his party’s failure to reform entitlements will probably have the biggest impact on future generations.

We have to believe that something has happened to the drinking water after seeing the results of the state treasurer referendum. The position is basically dormant except for a constitutional requirement that we elect someone to hold the office.

He is one of the best things to happen to Washington in years, this Wisconsin Republican who has been pragmatic, principled, prudent, caring, honest, knowledgeable, calm, compromising and innovative.

He was civil, well-informed, polite, and firm, the opposite of a table-pounding, demagogic extremist, and that probably just aggravated his critics on the left even more.

A bill described by opponents as an assault on free speech, democracy, and on our constitutionally protected rights passed the Legislature, barring the state from contracting with companies that participate in an economic boycott of a repressive, apartheid government, Israel.

Just about everywhere you look shows Phillips' birth date as Feb. 18, 1924. That includes decades of articles and candidate profiles in the Journal Sentinel archives, Wisconsin Historical Society records, the Wisconsin Blue Book, City of Milwaukee employment records and other sources. Oddly, Wikipedia is the exception; it says 1923. And there's this: Vel Phillips' official State of Wisconsin birth record says Feb. 18, 1923.

He lashes out in frustration after Judge Dallet's high court victory, afraid a blue wave is heading his way.

Shortsighted politicians don’t take notice of the tremendous cumulative effect of tax cuts. But hardworking Americans see the changes adding up every day.

Republicans blocked bill that prevented big box retailers shifting taxes to homeowners.

As Ryan leaves I suspect he will spend a lot of time connecting with his family but also time dreaming of what could be, especially when it comes to fighting poverty and creating upward mobility. He changed a great deal in office and can continue to produce change out of office. I’ve seen his vision, tenacity, kindness, listening skills and decency first-hand.

Wisconsin needs a cultural revolution, one that fosters taking risks and thinking like an entrepreneur. If we wait for others to do it we lose ground in a rapidly changing world.

Congress must step up now to challenge Trump’s decision to launch unauthorized military strikes against Syria.

The speaker’s facilitating of Trump and Trumpism represented a failure of courage and leadership that has now ended a once promising career.

Phillips briefly served as one of the first African-American women chief executives of any state in the nation.

As the Department of Natural Resources turns 50, it’s appropriate to take note of the remarkable environmental and conservation progress since its birth, while remaining mindful of the need for enlightened governance and balance between the use of our natural assets and their preservation.

If we can afford $4.5 billion for Foxconn, we can afford $50 million a year for our rural communities.

Let's face it, we have to be warned about so many "dangers" today that we as a society have come to just ignore the vast majority of them.

For the Freedom Caucus, it is seen as a victory in their mission: pursuing the conservative cause as they alone define it. For the left, it is seen as another sign that there is a solid chance they will take back control of the House — and maybe even the Senate — in the next election.

Hire back the DNR scientists and inspectors and let them do their work.

Wisconsin must invest in DNR staff and scientists to oversee water quality. We must hire back the scientists and inspectors, let them do their work, and allow them to speak freely about their findings.

The UW System wasn’t created to solely train our workforce, but to "serve and stimulate society” and “extend knowledge and its application beyond the boundaries of its campus.”

As governor, I will support 12 weeks of universal paid leave for new parents and improved access to high-quality child care.

Easy access for criminals through our southern states has to stop, and that’s why I stand firmly by both President Trump and Gov. Walker in support of sending National Guard troops to our southern border.

And, as the mid-term elections rapidly approach and Democratic voters around the country appear to be highly-motivated and active, the GOP could be facing a political tsunami in trying to maintain its majority.

Gerrymandering denies us the most fundamental right that Americans have spent centuries fighting and dying for, and it’s time for this undemocratic practice to become a relic of the past.

Judge candidates for governor on how they’d address Wisconsin’s economic chasm.

There appears to be nothing bad that Trump could do that would, in Ryan’s mind, outweigh the benefits of the GOP tax cuts. That is moral myopia.

On April 3, nine communities in Wisconsin voted by overwhelming margins for a referendum that calls for a constitutional amendment declaring that corporations aren’t persons and money isn’t speech.

We deserve to be optimistic. We deserve to feel hope. But we must also take caution against complacency.

Our tax cuts are exactly what Wisconsin families need.

In "Two Minutes with Mitch" radio personality Mitch Henck gives his two cents after federal agents raided the office of President Donald Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen.

In "Two Minutes with Mitch" radio personality Mitch Henck says Tuesday's Wisconsin Supreme Court race between Rebecca Dallet and Michael Screnock could be a test of a blue wave for Democrats in the November 2018 midterm election.

In "Two Minutes with Mitch" radio personality Mitch Henck gives his two cents about the connections among President Donald Trump, his lawyer Michael Cohen and Fox News host Sean Hannity.

In "Two Minutes with Mitch" radio personality Mitch Henck gives his analysis after Rebecca Dallet's Wisconsin Supreme Court election win over Michael Screnock.

With a stubborn refusal to do anything about major cost drivers for the district – namely, pension and healthcare spending – MPS is staring down a $38 million deficit in the next year. That number balloons to nearly $200 million just a few years down the road.

When a leader such as Ruben Anthony, president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Madison, recently visited to update us on Urban League programs and to pitch a grant request, I paused and wondered. How does he persevere in the era of “Make America Great Again” — cynical code for rampant racial discrimination?

There is tension between a news organization’s desire for a high volume of stories against the need to invest much more time and energy in fewer high-value ones. Finding new business models to support this high-quality journalism is essential, and success stories have been few so far.

In the wake of the high court race, widely viewed as a referendum on Walker and fellow Republicans in the Legislature, Democrats are exultant that the worm may finally have turned.

The authors used two major national surveys from before the election, and combined them with deep-dive measures of racist and sexist attitudes and dissatisfaction with personal economic conditions. They concluded, “We find that while economic considerations were an important part of the story, racial attitudes and sexism were much more strongly related to support for Trump.”

Fixing our tax code is a major part of what I came to Washington to do: pass reforms that will create an economic climate where more Americans have the chance to realize the American Idea.

It is exceedingly difficult to label as racists the nearly 20 million white blue-collar workers who switched to vote for the first candidate who pretended to care about them. For they previously voted not just once, but twice, for Barack Obama.

Wisconsin officials are expected to approve the Foxconn diversion in the coming weeks. Great Lakes advocates, already furious that environmental requirements have been waived, feel that Racine’s application may be straying from the compact’s original intent.

The column below reflects the views of the author, and these opinions are neither endorsed nor supported by WisOpinion.com. “Being able to shadow officers during...

Here at UW, our efforts to combat sexual harassment began before the issue made headlines and I assure you they will continue. I am encouraged by the momentum we are seeing and deeply appreciate the efforts of the students, staff and faculty who are committed to helping our campus move forward on this issue.

If the high-water mark of Republican power came on the day last December that congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump celebrated the passage of the tax bill on the White House lawn, House Speaker Paul Ryan’s retirement announcement is a clear sign that Republican clout is receding.

Without further details, evidence and thought, this current plan and its rationale deserve a failing grade.

It’s time we Republicans stop feeling sorry for ourselves and fight back! As Republicans, we’ve come too far to just let it all go.

When an honorable man voluntarily leaves office, regardless of the political party, it is a loss for America. Paul Ryan’s departure is an enormous loss for America.

Our bold reforms are responsible for transitioning over 25,000 people off food stamps in Wisconsin – transferring people from government dependence to true independence through the dignity that’s born from work.

Wisconsin is working. We don’t want to turn back. Together, let’s keep moving Wisconsin forward.

It’s certainly ironic that someone who is working feverishly to destroy America’s wetlands has himself created a vast ethical swamp.

House members from Wisconsin average 16 years in office, nearly double the national average.

Dallet vs Screnock a rerun of Kloppenburg vs Prosser for Supreme Court in 2011?

He's experienced a wave election before, but that time it helped him.

Wisconsin is a better place for everyone when everyone does well. Unfortunately, while the wealthiest have seen their incomes skyrocket in recent decades, incomes have remained the same for the middle class and those who struggle to make ends meet. For Wisconsin families, it’s becoming harder to make it to the middle class and stay there.

Stand by for the next civil war among Republicans.

The people of southwest Wisconsin deserve a representative who is not hyper partisan and looks out for them, regardless of party.

Wauwatosa is embarking on a controversial plan to use a Tax Incremental Financing District to give the developer of the planned Mayfair Hotel over $13 million in direct subsidies.

Negotiations to end the Korean War would mean a discussion of how to withdraw some or all U.S. troops in South Korea; removing the threat to the U.S. of North Korea's ICBMs; guaranteeing a status of peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula; provisions for the security of Japan vis a vis North Korea, and accommodating the needs of China. The talks, if successful, will the stage for a future re-unification of Korea. This is the goal.

The solution isn’t to ban autonomous vehicles long-term over a tragic death, but continue to test and improve upon their design and technology while adapting the transportation infrastructure so that others in the future may live.

While constituencies on both sides of the political divide often bristle at any talk of, “criminal justice reform,” I believe there’s achievable consensus when focusing on “outcome-based criminal justice reform.”

Throughout her life and with her recent death at 94, Vel Phillips was recognized for achieving many “firsts” as an African American and woman. A champion of civil rights and social justice, Vel Phillips’s life offers a unique and timely look at the intersection of race and gender.

Throughout April we recognize National Donate Life month. It is a perfect time to register to become an organ donor and share that decision with loved ones.

He must remember that he was the reluctant speaker, who now wants to get out while the getting is good. He should leave with modesty, grace and the usual warning not to let the door hit him in his hindquarters.

Not all blame should lay with Driver herself. The job of Milwaukee superintendent is, quite simply, hamstrung from pursuing most meaningful reform by a school board that is beholden to the interests of the teachers union. Expectations for big, bold reforms that could improve the academic outcomes for Milwaukee’s students weren’t all that likely from Driver, or anyone in that position.

The best word to describe the 2017 NAEP for Wisconsin is stagnation.

The forthcoming implosion of Mr. Ryan’s party, and his imminent retreat to Wisconsin, illustrates the danger of hidebound ideological overconfidence.

It’s a sobering reality. Although we can deter school violence, we cannot prevent it entirely. Even so, we must take all reasonable measures to shield children from the physical harm that can befall them in the sanctity of schools.

What’s the Democrats’ response to his call for responsible government?

Discrimination in housing still an issue in metro Milwaukee.

Rebecca Dallet's Supreme Court win over Michael Screnock has been held up by Democrats as a sign Republicans are in trouble as the November elections approach. Gov. Scott Walker has warned of a potential "blue wave" and has called on fellow Republicans to highlight the positive things they've done for the state to help fend it off.

Gov. Scott Walker recently signed bills overhauling state welfare programs as Republicans in Washington, D.C. made an election-year push on welfare reform. Jensen & Chvala, the WisOpinion Insiders, debate the reasons behind the GOP efforts. Sponsored by Michael Best Strategies and the Wisconsin Counties Association.

As schools prepare to apply for grants and the nation remembers Columbine, WisOpinion Insiders Jensen & Chvala debate the Republicans' election-year school safety package. Sponsored by Michael Best Strategies and the Wisconsin Counties Association.

The Insiders, Chvala & Jensen, debate whether Gov. Scott Walker and majority Republicans did enough in the legislative session to prepare for the coming election storm. Sponsored by the Wisconsin Counties Association and Michael Best Strategies.

The Insiders, Chvala & Jensen, reflect on a rarity in politics -- agreement in the Legislature on a big issue in an election year: juvenile justice reform. Sponsored by Michael Best Strategies and the Wisconsin Counties Association.