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Paul Fanlund: Cap Times Idea Fest is back with another outstanding lineup
Cap Times Idea Fest is slated for Sept. 13-14 .

Dave Zweifel: Democrats’ ‘far left’ ideas aren’t so radical after all
To read some of the pundits these days, you’d think that the “far left” Democratic candidates for president are pushing radical, out-of-the-mainstream ideas that will surely lead to the re-election of Donald Trump if the party is foolish enough to nominate them.

Dominique Paul Noth: How far left is too left?
The answer may depend on where you live. Folks in New York City and Los Angeles and perhaps even Chicago seem to relish the ideas that moderate Democrats call extreme. In states like Wisconsin, where the voters may lean Democratic, the successful gerrymandering of a decade has locked the Republicans in legislative power — despite a smart Democratic governor.

Bryan Sabella: 2020 Democrats should avoid getting trapped in a left-wing bubble
The liberal bubble has swollen to levels that threaten to snatch away an exceedingly winnable election against perhaps the most disliked incumbent president in history.

Dan O’Donnell: Evers literally inventing new ways to spend money
To say that Evers is inventing new ways to spend money isn’t just a figure of speech anymore. In the most ludicrous expansion of line-item veto power in recent memory, he circumvented longstanding constitutional norms and $86 million in K-12 education spending to Wisconsin’s biennial budget.

Jim Maas: Back to the quagmire
Deployments which have nothing to do with the security of America or Wisconsin take a toll on our Guard soldiers, their families, employers or their education, even if all survive the fiasco. We call upon Governor Evers to keep our troops at home unless the Wisconsin Legislature recognizes a national emergency which requires the use of Wisconsin’s soldiers.

Chris Walker: Congress must assert its Article I powers above the president
Bipartisan efforts to assert the legislative branch’s war powers is a welcomed start.

Bruce Murphy: A new state progressive publication
Wisconsin Examiner adds to Capitol press corps, with a “people’s” perspective on policies.

Bruce Murphy: Scott Walker’s new job will pay plenty
Non-profit he will run has lots of money. But he can’t run for office.

James Rowen: Walker’s soft landing in the heart of the welfare state
Walker’s announced punt out of Wisconsin politics in 2021 leaves him plenty of time to change his mind – – but he says he’s off to run a youth-oriented right wing foundation in suburban Virginia near DC and turn America’s young people away from socialism.

Owen Robinson: Veto reform is badly needed
Wisconsin’s governor’s veto authority makes him or her too powerful. It was true for Governor Walker. It is true for Governor Evers. It will be true for the next governor. It will be true for the one after that unless we change it.

Andrew S. Petersen: UW System drives Wisconsin’s economy
And returns $23 dollars for every $1 invested. Strong state support pays off.

Dave Cieslewicz: All hope is not (quite) lost
A Wisconsin legal expert talks about gerrymandering.

John Nichols: It was not a dream, it was Wisconsin
Robert M. La Follette died in 1925, having transformed Wisconsin and made it a North Star for the nation. William T. Evjue lived on to 1970. Their legacies have been battered by politicians without conscience, the Scott Walkers and Paul Ryans who used Wisconsin as a springboard for their national ambitions, but they have not been erased.
WisOpinion Poll: Should the state constitution be amended to prevent governors from increasing spending with budget vetoes?
Two GOP lawmakers are circulating a proposed constitutional amendment that would further reign in the guv’s line-item veto authority after Gov. Tony Evers used that power to boost per-pupil state aid by $87 million in the budget. Guvs typically can’t

Jon Erpenbach: State needs equal pay law for women
Wisconsin Republicans repealed Equal Pay Enforcement Act in 2012.

Dan O’Donnell: A costly compromise
The only hope Evers had was a compromise on spending increases. Republicans gave it to him—and then some—even after pledging to stop what they called his out-of-control spending.

Bill Kaplan: Don’t let Trump win in 2020
While the economy may boost Trump’s reelection chances, he also faces barriers.

Gordon Hintz: Republican economics: More money for millionaires, less for schools


Paul Fanlund: Cap Times Idea Fest is back with another outstanding lineup
Cap Times Idea Fest is slated for Sept. 13-14 .

Dave Zweifel: Democrats’ ‘far left’ ideas aren’t so radical after all
To read some of the pundits these days, you’d think that the “far left” Democratic candidates for president are pushing radical, out-of-the-mainstream ideas that will surely lead to the re-election of Donald Trump if the party is foolish enough to nominate them.

Dominique Paul Noth: How far left is too left?
The answer may depend on where you live. Folks in New York City and Los Angeles and perhaps even Chicago seem to relish the ideas that moderate Democrats call extreme. In states like Wisconsin, where the voters may lean Democratic, the successful gerrymandering of a decade has locked the Republicans in legislative power — despite a smart Democratic governor.

Bryan Sabella: 2020 Democrats should avoid getting trapped in a left-wing bubble
The liberal bubble has swollen to levels that threaten to snatch away an exceedingly winnable election against perhaps the most disliked incumbent president in history.

Dan O’Donnell: Evers literally inventing new ways to spend money
To say that Evers is inventing new ways to spend money isn’t just a figure of speech anymore. In the most ludicrous expansion of line-item veto power in recent memory, he circumvented longstanding constitutional norms and $86 million in K-12 education spending to Wisconsin’s biennial budget.

Jim Maas: Back to the quagmire
Deployments which have nothing to do with the security of America or Wisconsin take a toll on our Guard soldiers, their families, employers or their education, even if all survive the fiasco. We call upon Governor Evers to keep our troops at home unless the Wisconsin Legislature recognizes a national emergency which requires the use of Wisconsin’s soldiers.

Chris Walker: Congress must assert its Article I powers above the president
Bipartisan efforts to assert the legislative branch’s war powers is a welcomed start.

Bruce Murphy: A new state progressive publication
Wisconsin Examiner adds to Capitol press corps, with a “people’s” perspective on policies.

Bruce Murphy: Scott Walker’s new job will pay plenty
Non-profit he will run has lots of money. But he can’t run for office.

James Rowen: Walker’s soft landing in the heart of the welfare state
Walker’s announced punt out of Wisconsin politics in 2021 leaves him plenty of time to change his mind – – but he says he’s off to run a youth-oriented right wing foundation in suburban Virginia near DC and turn America’s young people away from socialism.

Owen Robinson: Veto reform is badly needed
Wisconsin’s governor’s veto authority makes him or her too powerful. It was true for Governor Walker. It is true for Governor Evers. It will be true for the next governor. It will be true for the one after that unless we change it.

Andrew S. Petersen: UW System drives Wisconsin’s economy
And returns $23 dollars for every $1 invested. Strong state support pays off.

Dave Cieslewicz: All hope is not (quite) lost
A Wisconsin legal expert talks about gerrymandering.

John Nichols: It was not a dream, it was Wisconsin
Robert M. La Follette died in 1925, having transformed Wisconsin and made it a North Star for the nation. William T. Evjue lived on to 1970. Their legacies have been battered by politicians without conscience, the Scott Walkers and Paul Ryans who used Wisconsin as a springboard for their national ambitions, but they have not been erased.
WisOpinion Poll: Should the state constitution be amended to prevent governors from increasing spending with budget vetoes?
Two GOP lawmakers are circulating a proposed constitutional amendment that would further reign in the guv’s line-item veto authority after Gov. Tony Evers used that power to boost per-pupil state aid by $87 million in the budget. Guvs typically can’t

Jon Erpenbach: State needs equal pay law for women
Wisconsin Republicans repealed Equal Pay Enforcement Act in 2012.

Dan O’Donnell: A costly compromise
The only hope Evers had was a compromise on spending increases. Republicans gave it to him—and then some—even after pledging to stop what they called his out-of-control spending.

Bill Kaplan: Don’t let Trump win in 2020
While the economy may boost Trump’s reelection chances, he also faces barriers.