Archive for August, 2009

Branding Politix, Leadership, Messaging, Strategic Blueprints, Views on News • August 17th, 2009

Doyle’s decision

by Chris Lato


From a political junkie’s perspective, the news about Gov. Doyle is seismic. It blows all the current conventional wisdom out of the water and makes this anybody’s race (with a definite advantage for the GOP).

And yet, Gov. Doyle’s announcement that he will not seek a third term is not necessarily cheery news for the state in the short term. The governor is leaving Wisconsin in worse shape than he found it. There’s no joy or gloating in that statement. We have deep problems that need a fresh perspective ASAP.

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Leadership, Views on News • August 12th, 2009

The gold rush, 2009-style

by Chris Lato


If there’s a theme that ties these different bits of news together, it’s that money does, indeed, grow on trees these days.

In New York, for example, they’re giving out ‘free money.’ Well, it’s actually ‘stimulus’ money but it might as well be free, right?

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Leadership, Messaging, Views on News • August 6th, 2009

Cal Thomas nails it

by Chris Lato


There’s little I can add to this. The cliché goes that the devil is in the details, and yet we don’t even have details to consider yet in the headlong rush for healthcare reform. The central idea to date is, “Healthcare reform has to happen NOW.”

Meanwhile, President Obama’s poll numbers are taking a hit and the spin machine is whirling feverishly. One particularly stark example: House leader Nancy Pelosi claiming that healthcare town hell protestors are ‘carrying swastikas.’

So, oppose what the government is proposing and you are a neo-Nazi? Hmm.

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Grass Roots Organization, Messaging, Strategic Blueprints, Views on News • August 5th, 2009

Those pesky constituents…

by Chris Lato


For U.S. Rep. Steve Kagen, the heat is on. And Rep. Kagen, who’s been known to step in it from time to time, is lashing back at what he feels is a conspiracy organized by Big Insurance.

“I couldn’t have organized it better,” Kagen said. No kidding - and it wasn’t for a lack of trying.

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Leadership, Strategic Blueprints, Views on News • August 4th, 2009

The trains from Spain

by Chris Lato

A 47-million dollar, no-bid contract for trains from Spain gets the approval of the Joint Finance Committee. Even legislative Democrat leaders are expressing some misgivings over the way the Doyle administration handled this one - yet are doing little to actually challenge it.

Republicans like Rep. Robin Vos are sounding off, but it doesn’t matter much. The die is cast, the deal is done.

All this in the face of evidence that the state originally planned to do a competitive bidding process, then decided it was too much bother. Also, other companies had expressed interest in the project.

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