Author Archives: dave cieslewicz

Any fellow Democrats out there have this experience? You hear a ding on your cell phone. You think it might be a friend. And it is, in fact, someone posing as a friend. “Hi, Dave. This is Ron Smith. I’m running for an obscure House seat in rural Oregon. A Democrat hasn’t won here inContinue reading “The Act Blue Blues”

I’m still in mourning over the whole Graham Platner thing. Last week, Maine Gov. Janet Mills dropped out of the Democratic primary to take on the squishy, spineless Republican Sen. Susan Collins. That makes Platner the presumptive nominee in November. God help us. Collins is the annual winner of the Senate’s Talks a Good GameContinue reading “We Can Still Mess This Up”

Yesterday was another tough one for American democracy. At least five of seven Indiana State Senators, who had the courage to defy Donald Trump over his demand that they gerrymander the state to his liking, lost their primaries to Trump yes men. This is bad on at least two levels, but possibly not so badContinue reading “Indiana Still Wants Him”

In support of last week’s Supreme Court decision on the Voting Rights Act, I’m tempted to run the image below and just drop the mic. The red area above is Louisiana’s Sixth Congressional District and the one that was struck down by the Court. It is the very definition of a gerrymander, which was aContinue reading “Voting Rights Ruling Could Help Dems”

Last week the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ran a fawning piece on Democratic gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong. The big news in that glowing profile was that the paper had obtained a copy of a memo written by a consultant for presumptive Republican nominee Tom Tiffany. In that memo the consultants tell their client that Hong isContinue reading “Who Leaked the Hong Memo?”

The hard-left is demanding that we not work or spend money today. So, I’d work overtime if I had a job. As it is, I’m counting writing today’s blog as work, which it is unless you define work as gainful employment. And I’m going to spend my brains out. It won’t matter one way orContinue reading “Buy Stuff Today”

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog questioning why Wisconsin has a sales tax exemption for data centers. At the time I thought maybe the state was forgoing as much as a $100 million in taxes. It turns out it’s much more. A recent Legislative Fiscal Bureau analysis estimates that it’s more like $2Continue reading “The Data Center Tax Ripoff Conspiracy”

Alan Dershowitz needs attention. That’s why the Harvard law school professor and one-time liberal icon announced last week on the opinion page of the Wall Street Journal that he had forsaken the Democratic Party to become a registered Republican. Let’s leave aside the central question of why anybody cares anymore and pretend that we do.Continue reading “See Ya, Alan. I’m Still a Dem.”

Hardly a week goes by when the Madison school district doesn’t demonstrate its contempt for its own taxpayers. Shortly after those taxpayers voted to pony up a record $607 million in school spending increases, the district blew $100,000 on a new marketing campaign including a new MMSD logo — to add insult to injury thatContinue reading “Let MTI Protest on its Own Time”

Last week I posted a blog about the state teachers union’s early endorsement of Sen. Kelda Roys in the Democratic primary to be held in August. Roys responded to that post, which was, in part, critical of both her and WEAC. I hope readers will join me in appreciating the time she took to doContinue reading “Roys Responds to WEAC Post”