politics
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Independent Voters Make Wisconsin’s Governor Primary Into A Late-Night Caffeinated Nail‑Biter
(I posted this column as the flash drives in Milwaukee were being transported back to the central count location before being returned to the county courthouse to have results announced.) Close election nights are democracy at its most caffeinated. (Pardon me for that cheap line.) But after the nailbiter of an uber-close precinct-by-precinct count of… Continue reading
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August 9 And The Long Shadow of Richard Nixon
Every year when August 9 rolls around, I find my memory back in the living room of my childhood home in Hancock, Wisconsin, twelve years old, legs crossed on the carpet, watching a president resign. The sun was out, and its beams were falling across the carpet through the south windows, with green drapes hanging.… Continue reading
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Pollsters Blew Michigan By Misreading Independents, Wisconsin Might Be Next
The way independent voters align in Wisconsin’s August 11th primary and in the fall’s midterm election will make or break many a candidate. All we had to do this week was look at Michigan’s U.S. Senate primary to witness the heavy influence of the middle-of-the-road voters who refuse to wear a party jersey in a… Continue reading
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Justice Earl Warren Ruled: Congress Isn’t a Stage, Rand Paul Needs To Pay Heed
Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren would have had a field day with the spectacle of Senator Rand Paul’s interrogation of Dr. Anthony Fauci. Warren was known for his polite discourse and understood and ruled that Congress is not empowered to haul citizens before its committees simply to stage a performance. In Watkins v.… Continue reading
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Isaia Ben-Ami Is Truly Prepared To Start Work On Day One In State Assembly
There’s a particular kind of state legislative candidate who strikes my fancy. Someone who is serious about policymaking. Someone who knows the inside ropes and pulleys that make the machinery of the statehouse work. It takes more than a desire to be elected as a state representative. To be effective, one needs a certain background… Continue reading
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Francesca Hong Fails To Understand History Still Matters, And Some Lines Cannot Be Crossed
I am quite sure that Francesca Hong has cracked a history book. But I must wonder what parts of world history failed to resonate with her. I write that line as it is concerning to me that the leading candidate in the Marquette Law School poll for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination stands next to a… Continue reading
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Democrats Need To Take A Hard Look At Electability In Wisconsin’s Governor’s Race
Wisconsin Democrats face a hard truth on August 11th when they cast ballots for the gubernatorial nominee in November. The resounding fact is that not every candidate who wins a spirited intraparty contest can survive the political climate awaiting them this fall. The state’s electorate has hardened into a rather narrow band of persuadable voters,… Continue reading
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Caffeinated Politics Podcast: Gun Violence And Civic Strain
When the Badge Is Worn — or Carried Democracy’s Guardrails and the Words We Use Two Amendments, One November Ballot Neighbors, Flags, and the Long Arc of Decency Continue reading
Caffeinated Politics 