Uppity Wisconsin

As the GOP makes clear that it will not let go of its racist foolishness as it plays to its white base, the New York Times reports that "four of the panel’s seven Republicans invoked the 'wise Latina' reference."

Good, this should certainly help the White Party make some inroads into the Latino population.

From one of the good guys, Wisconsin Sen. Herb Kohl, who has the crazy idea that compassion is within the bounds of judicial policymaking, and in echoes of Robert Jackson that the law can afford to be just:

Kohl's Opening Statement on the Supreme Court Confirmation Hearing of Judge Sonia Sotomayor

Judge Sotomayor, let me also extend my welcome to you this morning and to your family. You are to be congratulated on your nomination.

Your nomination is a reflection of who we are as a country and it represents an American success story that we can all be proud of. Your academic and professional accomplishments - as prosecutor, private practitioner, trial judge and appellate judge - are exemplary. And as a judge, you have brought a richness of experience to the bench and to the judiciary which has been an inspiration for so many.

Herb Kohl and Mike Tate speaking at the Democratic Convention.  Tait was just elected the new chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, and is now the youngest state chair in the country.

To borrow a line from Art Kumbalek of the Milwaukee Shepherd Express, "Man, oh Manishevitz, what a world we live in, ain' it?"

We the taxpayers are being called upon to socialize recapitalize, not only the financial markets, but now the auto industry, too. Who's next, the retailers?

Something has to be done to save the more than 3 million workers serving this domestic industry, something we sadly could not accomplish to keep the Janesville, Wis., plant alive.

After he voted against the funding, I emailed him to say thank you -- something I'm afraid we do all too seldom. This is his response:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the war in Iraq. This is a sensitive and critical issue in our country and I am listening to all Wisconsinites on this critical topic.

The President has misused and abused his authority to go to war in Iraq and failed to adequately plan for the post-war situation.

This failure has resulted in the deaths of over 4,000 U.S. troops and many thousands of Iraqis. According to our intelligence community, the war in Iraq has done nothing to stop international terrorism, but instead has turned that country into fertile ground for recruiting violent extremists. The country continues to be plagued by sectarian fighting that shows no signs of letting up in the near future.

Only 26 Senators had the courage today to vote against another $165-billion in war funding for Iraq and Afghanistan.

We should be proud that both Wisconsin Senators, Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold, voted no.

Here's why.  WashPost reports:

Senators stripped the package of all language governing the conduct of the Iraq war or mandating troop withdrawals that had been in a previous version approved by the House.

In other words, a blank check. The roll call was 70-26.  The bill now goes to the House, which refused to pass the funding last week but is expected to cave in now.

These are not easy votes to take, even with two-thirds of the country unhappy with the Iraq war and occupation.

Please contact Senators Kohl and Feingold to thank them.

"We must end that conflict. Iraqis have failed time and time again, we can no longer wait for reason or hope or clarity from the Bush administration. We need to bring our troops home now and only Democrats can lead the way."

As we continue to salute our fallen veterans and those currently serving, and let’s honor the spirit of Memorial Day and Armed Forces Day not just in May but 365 days a year, I wish to note on another matter that last week, the Wisconsin Democratic congressional delegation came through and saved the popular SeniorCare drug program from the Bush administration’s determination to dismantle it.

Senator Herb Kohl had been pushing for an amendment to save SeniorCare for months and he made sure that SeniorCare was part of the emergency spending bill to continue funding the Iraq war, so today we salute Herb Kohl (also a reliable veterans’ advocate) for his resolve and success in saving this vital program for Wisconsin seniors until 2009, when George Bush will be gone.