Author Archives: maplesdave

A bipartisan group of Wisconsin legislators has introduced a proposal to push both parties toward moderation. It’s a good start. It’s no accident that two of the ten House Republicans who voted to impeach Donald Trump were from Washington State. Washington is one of a few states that has reformed its primary system in aContinue reading “Bipartisan Push For Moderation”

First Alex Lasry discovered that Milwaukee had restaurants. With that out of the way, now he wants to be your United States Senator. Is anybody else tired of billionaires trying to buy Senate seats or governor’s offices? How about the sons of billionaires? Alex Lasry, 33, is barely qualified to be elected to the StateContinue reading “Anybody But The Rich Kid”

Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-South Carolina) is fast becoming one of my favorite political leaders. Now, he’s advising Pres. Joe Biden to make a ground-breaking choice (in more ways than one) for the Supreme Court. It was Clyburn who saved the Biden campaign from oblivion in the South Carolina primary, propelling him to his party’s nomination.Continue reading “Diversity of Experience”

Steve Martin has a tune entitled, “Atheists Don’t Have No Songs.” Neither do moderates. Why is that and can the problem be fixed? My favorite NPR show is Mountain Stage. The eclectic live music show has been on the air for 30 years. It originates in West Virginia with host Larry Grose. I like toContinue reading “The Moderate Troubadour”

Could the Madison City Council steal majorities from national Democrats? This may seem incomprehensible, but the council is about to move further to the left, and that bodes ill for the Democratic brand everywhere. The council has long been liberal, reflecting the progressive politics of a college town, but the current council is widely regardedContinue reading “Seattle, WI”

Over 600,000 acres in Wisconsin have been protected for hikers, bikers, hunters, birders, researchers and more. It happened because Democrats and Republicans worked together. This is another in an occasional series of guest blogs by a distinguished group of contributors. By Spencer Black It’s hard to find rays of sunshine amidst the dark clouds ofContinue reading “Bipartisan Conservation Succeeds”

When considering the impact of radio host Rush Limbaugh, who passed away yesterday, it’s important to check our hypocrisy. For many years Madison had a left-leaning shock jock. He was essentially a liberal Limbaugh. Among many other outrageous statements, he once suggested that a Madison alderwoman be raped in a stairwell. And, yet, when heContinue reading “Limbaugh’s Audience”

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers introduced his second biennial budget yesterday. Is there any strategic thinking that goes on in his office? Evers’ budget was filled with Democratic wish list items, every one of which is surely to be dispatched swiftly by legislative Republicans without so much as a hearing. Legalizing marijuana, increasing the UW budgetContinue reading “The Perplexing Tony Evers”

Boomers, who largely believe in liberal values like free speech, have raised kids who would trample those same values in their zealous pursuit of social justice. Where did we go wrong? It’s playing out in the pages and the news room of the New York Times. In the last few years, Baby Boomer editors andContinue reading “The New Generation Gap”

By Harvey M. Jacobs This is the second in an occasional series on environmental issues from emeritus University of Wisconsin Prof. Harvey Jacobs. The first was titled Searching for a Responsible Localism, and posted on February 2nd. Conservatives complain that liberals never met an issue they didn’t want to regulate.  This complaint applies to issuesContinue reading “Is There Too Much Regulation?”