Leadership, Messaging, Views on News • December 4th, 2009

Blasting away at the DNR

by Chris Lato

Whoa. The wrath of the Men (and Women) in Orange is swift and fierce.

It was a dismal deer hunting season, not only anecdotally but also based on the raw numbers. Now, when one of the most powerful politicians in the state is calling for your head, the need to manage the environment versus the need to keep license/tourism revenue flowing in is coming to a head, politically speaking.

This is not some tiny corner-office government operation here. We’re talking a multi-billion dollar industry that impacts the economy at the local and state levels. With more than 638-thousand gun licenses sold this year, this is a loud constituency that will not be ignored.

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Leadership, Messaging, Strategic Blueprints, Views on News • October 20th, 2009

Obama vs. Fox

by Chris Lato

The White House has an ax to grind with Fox News. The question is whether this is really a wise battle to be engaging in.

On the one hand, we have Jacob Weisberg calling Fox News un-American and heavily biased. So sayeth the author of ‘The Bush Tragedy.’

On the other hand, William Murchison with the Dallas Morning News argues President Obama has an ‘enemies fetish’ and Ruth Marcus at the Washington Post says picking this fight is ‘dumb.’  

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Leadership, Messaging, Strategic Blueprints, Views on News • October 15th, 2009

Just wonderin’

by Chris Lato

President Obama is discussing sending $13 billion in checks to seniors to make up for the decline in the cost of living adjustment for Social Security. Increases are pegged to inflation, there hasn’t been inflation, and basically, it amounts to a $250 check.

Also, there is no plan at this point to pay for it.

Isn’t there a reason why the rate is tied to the cost of living and inflation?

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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, 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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Global Concerns, Leadership, Messaging, Views on News • June 10th, 2009

Budget blues

by Chris Lato

Once again, I waited far too long between posts – keeping very busy on the business side, which is always a good thing.

But reading today’s Journal Sentinel inspired/disheartened me.

The following comes directly from the article:

Both houses agree on taxing oil company revenue, but they differ on how to structure the tax. Doyle and Senate Democrats want to bar the oil companies from passing the tax on at the pump, but the oil industry is threatening to sue over that provision on the ground that it would violate constitutional protections on commerce.

Some Assembly Democrats said they didn’t want to wind up paying interest and legal fees on a case they were likely to lose. (emphasis added)

Wait what?

So, the Legislature and governor want to enact a tax that they know will get them sued, and some legislators even admit they will likely lose in court…but they still want to go ahead and run up a taxpayer tab.  Just how big is that state deficit again?

So, what is this, other than a feel-good shell game? (Get it? ‘Shell’ game!) I guess we’re expected to take comfort from the knowledge that Wisconsin is trying to punish Big Bad Oil, no matter how fruitless and expensive.

And, if we actually did win a lawsuit, it would mean higher prices at the gas pumps. Assuming this actually survived a legal challenge, does anyone honestly believe the cost to oil companies somehow wouldn’t be passed along to us? In the meantime, I wonder which law firms will benefit from the suit…

Another bit from the article that caught my eye:

The state budget faces a record $6.6 billion shortfall over two years. To close that gap, Democrats plan to cut state agencies and aid to local governments, spend federal economic stimulus cash and raise taxes and fees by about $1 billion a year. (emphasis added)

The budget is still in flux right now and the amount of that hike may well change. Still, just a little something to keep in mind next year when politicians are out looking for your vote, and they claim to be fiscally conservative types who oppose tax and fee increases - as they have been known to claim whether it’s true or not.

Give ‘em a little truth test - ask for detail on how they voted on the budget back in ’09.

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Leadership, Messaging, Speeches, Views on News • February 25th, 2009

Fact-checking

by Chris Lato

One thing that you can count on is that when given a big stage to speak from, most politicians find it mighty hard to avoid using some creativity in their facts, figures and versions of history.  So, while President Obama knows how to deliver a speech, and every reasonable American should be pulling for him to succeed, it’s always good to do a bit of fact-checking.  

Bottom line: last night’s address to Congress and the nation not detail-heavy. In fact, some may have been disappointed by the lack of detail, but all that comes later. Obama was doing nothing new in that sense. And these deep economic problems won’t be solved overnight, no matter how much some want to believe that all our president has to do is wave a magic wand and our national nightmare is over.

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Leadership, Messaging, Views on News • January 15th, 2009

Assessing the Bush 43 years

by Chris Lato

With Barack Obama’s inauguration right around the corner, columnists are conducting their assessments of our departing president. Some assessments are positive. Some are mixed at best. Others are consistent and unsparing in their relentless criticism.

I consider this after recently seeing ‘Frost/Nixon,’ an excellent movie that offers echoes of the current Bush administration and how the media sees these two presidents and works to ‘take them down.’

As the critiques continue to pile up, context is key. Certain writers and media outlets will simply never give Bush an ounce of credit for anything. In that sense, they discredit themselves almost instantly.

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Messaging, Views on News, public relations • January 9th, 2009

Is MPS keeping a gay-friendly school in the closet?

by Chris Lato

The PR folks at the Milwaukee Public School district had best brace themselves for a potential firestorm.

Although it was first reported by U.S. News and World Report a few weeks ago, only now is the story inexplicably starting to surface: the MPS board has approved what is apparently the first gay-friendly middle school in the nation.

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