Views on News • December 23rd, 2010

Odds and ends

by Chris Lato

Team Walker lawyers up. Not necessarily a good sign. As a former Mark Neumann staffer, I have some thoughts on this….but let’s see if all this investigating actually goes somewhere useful before passing judgment.

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Leadership, Views on News • December 22nd, 2010

Is this important?

by Chris Lato

Governor-elect Walker hasn’t named any cabinet secretaries yet, and may not until next week.

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Messaging, Views on News • December 21st, 2010

The end of an era?

by Chris Lato

An interesting re-cap of the tab that the 111^th Congress has run up.

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Views on News • December 20th, 2010

Closing the caucus case

by Chris Lato

The long, long Caucus Scandal saga has finally come to an end. Amazingly, this thing has dragged on for more than eight years. A deal was reached today with former Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen that keeps him out of prison in exchange for a fine and a hefty legal bill.

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Leadership, Views on News • December 16th, 2010

The end of the road

by Chris Lato

Democrats in the Legislature ended their reign this week with a spectacular implosion that has laid bare the rifts and bad blood that flowed freely by early this morning. The battle was ostensibly about state worker contracts, but the underlying drama felt like there was so much more at play.

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Branding Politix, Messaging, Views on News • December 15th, 2010

Contract battle = contact sport

by Chris Lato

So the (for the moment) Democrat-led Legislature is acting after all on the outstanding state labor contracts. Republicans have asked them to hold off for three weeks until they take control of the Governor’s office and the Legislature, saying the size of Wisconsin’s deficit necessitates further negotiation and concessions.  

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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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Views on News • November 16th, 2009

Barrett’s in

by Chris Lato

My gut told me he wouldn’t jump in. So much for the predictive abilities of said gut.

Tom Barrett has his work cut out for him. Already, we are seeing cracks in the façade - such as the ‘will he or won’t he raise taxes?’ question. The difference between the printed remarks and his actual words is revealing.

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Views on News • October 22nd, 2009

No more

by Chris Lato

The news of yet another arrest for State Rep. Jeff Wood is angering, sad and, no pun intended, sobering.

First and foremost, Wood is a clear danger to the general public as he repeatedly gets behind the wheel while (allegedly) under the influence. It is unacceptable behavior from anyone, but in Wood’s case he is accused of breaking the laws he is charged with creating and overseeing as a legislator.

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Leadership, Views on News • October 21st, 2009

NO TXT 4 U

by Chris Lato

I get it. Everyone is pecking away on their iPhones, BlackBerries, and cell phones. It’s the hot, hip new thing that those crazy kids are doing. And people are doing it while driving. For shame.

OK, that’s the premise, but… Is this really needed? Don’t we already have laws on the books addressing distracted driving? With everything going on in Wisconsin, is this really what the Legislature needs to spend hours debating, revising, and focusing on right now? You know, let’s worry instead about focusing on enforcing laws that are already on the books.

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