In 2011 and 2012, Wisconsin had two rounds of recall elections, first for state senators over collective bargaining reforms and fleeing the state, and then for Gov. Walker along with more state senators.  While the recall elections are over (for now), the impact of the Left’s overreach is still being felt.  29 judges signed recall petitions and immediately felt the heat for doing so.  Joe Voiland was inspired to run for judge when he saw that his circuit court judge has signed a recall petition.  On Tuesday, Joe resoundingly won his election for Ozaukee County Circuit Court Judge 63%-37%, joining 8 other American Majority trained candidates who won.

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The Wisconsin Conservative Leadership Conference (WCLC) brought together many Tea Party groups, national conservative groups, leaders, and students from across Wisconsin. The 8th annual conference was the largest in its history, with more than 200 people attending to learn how to be active in politics in 2013 and beyond. The Wisconsin Conservative Leadership Coalition hosted the conference.

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American Majority and Founders Intent Sponsor Event to Continue the Work of Breitbart one year after his death

Activists from around the state of Wisconsin will join together in celebrating the life of Andrew Breitbart on Friday, March 1st at the New Berlin Holiday Inn Express in New Berlin, Wisconsin.  The untimely passing of Andrew on March 1, 2012 left a hole in the conservative movement.

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Wisconsin has received a lot of attention for protests, a budget repair bill, recalls, and elections over the past few years. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recently noted that Wisconsin is an almost perfect microcosm of the United States in partisan makeup. So it follows that what works in Wisconsin should work across the United States.  As conservatives in other states look to Wisconsin as a model, it is important that they understand what has worked in Wisconsin.

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The Historic 2011 Wisconsin Recall Elections are over, and the conservatives have withstood an assault from labor unions to maintain a 17-16 majority in the state senate. American Majority was busy preparing the Tea Party and other conservatives for these historic recall elections through training in or near all of the Senate recall districts in April and May. These grassroots individuals really made the difference in responding to the $25 million the Left spent attempting to buy control of the state senate and derail Gov. Scott Walker’s agenda. Moreover, local Tea Party leaders led the recall efforts of two state senators who fled to Illinois to avoid a vote on the Budget Repair bill.

While these two incumbents won re-election last night, the Tea Party told their elected officials loudly and clearly that they will be held accountable and must listen to their constituents. The two challengers were trained by American Majority and successfully knocked off establishment candidates in their primaries before taking the incumbents to the wire last night and rocking the status quo. Another key component of protecting the WI Senate Majority was the work of Media Trackers, which has exposed the Left and the unions over the past 6 months. Media Trackers changed the debate in the final week of the campaign in the “Crown Jewel” senate district by breaking the story on “BBQ For Votes” Bribery. They put a liberal candidate on defense in the final week, and even the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel called them a “Winner” of the recall elections.

Late yesterday afternoon, the Wisconsin Supreme Court weighed in on the Budget Repair Bill (Act 10) and ruled that it did not violate the Open Meetings Law.  Judge Maryann Sumi’s injunction to Act 10 was voided because she exceeded her authority, “invaded” the Legislature’s constitutional powers and erred in stopping the publication and implementation of the collective bargaining law.

Justice David Prosser, who was recently re-elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court following the drawn out recount that cost the state over $520,000, wrote in his concurring opinion:  “[T]he Circuit Court [Judge Sumi] exceeded its authority in prohibiting publication of the 2011 Wisconsin Act 10.  This is not a close question.”  Now Secretary of State Doug LaFollette, who initially delayed publication after the Budget Repair Bill was passed to allow unions time to pass new contracts, is saying he will wait until June 28 before finally publishing Act 10.

Whenever Act 10 does take effect, local governments will have the tools available to balance their budgets.  The many local jurisdictions that passed new union contracts across the state at the behest of the unions will have those recently passed contracts in place until the contract term expires.  At that point, Act 10 would then apply to those public employees as well.

Since the Left and the unions have successfully gotten so many local governments to pass new union contracts, the savings in many areas will not be realized for a few years.  Members of school boards, city councils, and county boards that hastily passed union contracts need to be held accountable for their actions.

We need a new generation of leadership to step forward and run for local office to challenge the elected officials that kowtow to the unions.  Conservatives and Tea Party members are the logical people to fill this void of leadership.  It is time for local governments to serve the taxpayers.  Our communities need conservatives to step forward and run for local office!

Today, the Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) announced their estimate of an additional $636 million of revenue over the next three years due to an increase in the LFB’s projection of Wisconsin tax collections.  If liberals were running the show in Madison, we would likely already be hearing how the money should be spent as if the Governor had just found a treasure chest in the Governor’s Mansion basement with $636 million in it.  Unfortunately, that is not how budgets work.  This new projection is based upon stronger than previously expected income tax numbers.  But again it is an estimate that could easily change as it is very difficult to predict future revenues in an uncertain economy.

We also are seeing a debate taking place over the Voter ID bill in the Legislature at the same time the Wisconsin Supreme Court election recount is continuing in only one remaining county and concealed carry legislation is moving forward.  Politics is very fluid and conservatives must remain vigilant at all times because there is more policy to be made and more elections right around the corner.

Several counties are either increasing or decreasing the size of their County Boards.  What a good reminder that we need to have conservatives representing us at all levels of government.  If you don’t have conservatives representing you on your School Board, Village or City Council, County Board, then you should find your own candidates to run against them next spring and fall.

Is it too early to start talking about 2012 Spring and Fall Elections? No.  It’s not.  In fact, the Left has been active in preparing for 2012 already.  Conservatives and Tea Party members need to  go out and find candidates who will represent them at the local levels.  To prepare you and the candidates you identify for 2012, American Majority Wisconsin will be hosting a Candidate/Campaign Manager/Activist Training on June 11 in Oconomowoc. To register or find out more information about this training, visit here:  http://americanmajority.org/events/candidate-and-activist-training-oconomowoc-wi/ .

The Wisconsin Supreme Court Recount began today in county courthouses across the state.  With Justice David Prosser having a 7,316 vote lead over Challenger Joanne Kloppenburg, many are curious what will happen through this process.

This morning, I observed the Recount Canvass in Ozaukee County to get a feel for what the next few weeks will be like.  There were eleven paid poll workers doing various jobs to confirm the vote totals from the election were accurate.  The recount is a very mundane and painstakingly time consuming process.  For instance, the poll list reconciliation workers counted through the number of people who were given a voting number on Election Day for each city. They tallied up the numbers, which took roughly 25 minutes for the village of Fredonia that had 761 votes cast. When the number was off by 1 voter, they had to go through the poll list again in more detail so the numbers would match.

Poll List Reconciliation Process

This recount is just another example of a waste of taxpayers’ money.  Since November’s election, we have seen liberals waste our hard earned money time and time again.  After the liberal controlled Legislature and former- Governor ran up a massive $3.6 Billion Deficit, the liberals tried to ram through public sector union contracts in the December Lame Duck Session, when they even sprung an Assemblyman from jail.  When Governor Walker introduced the Budget Repair Bill, much attention focused on the waste of taxpayer money to pay for extravagant benefits for many public sector employees.   The leftists protested in the Capitol building for weeks on end, destroying government property and causing extra security costs that our tax dollars will have to pay for.  Fourteen State Senators fled the state to avoid a vote on the Budget Repair Bill, yet were paid for not doing their job.  Many liberal controlled local governments have rammed through union contracts that are favorable to the unions and rip off the Wisconsin taxpayer.  Now, we taxpayers, have to pay for a frivolous recount.  Enough already!

If you think the liberals are wasting our taxpayer dollars, then you should do something about. Contact your elected officials and tell them to stop wasting your money.  Better yet, step up and run for local or state office.  We need conservatives to run against taxpayer wasting liberals and win in order to stop the wasteful spending.  American Majority’s candidate training will help prepare you for your campaign.  If you step up and communicate your views or run for office, you will be able to stop this waste of taxpayer money.

A recount is looming over yesterday’s Wisconsin Supreme Court election.  Currently, Incumbent Justice David Prosser is trailing by 206 votes to Prosecutor Joanne Kloppenburg with 100% of the precincts reporting.   With the momentum from the union protests, this election was one that many thought Kloppenburg would win.  But the Tea Party showed up to the polls again to support their candidate and that is why this election is so close.

There is no rest for the weary.  In addition to the likely recount, we are looking at a summer full of special elections in the State Senate due to the many recalls taking place.  One recall committee had already filed its signatures to the Government Accountability Board (GAB) on Friday.  Another recall committee announced it had enough signatures on Monday.  With many recall committees having volunteers outside of polling locations yesterday, it is likely that a handful or more will file their signatures in the next week.

All of this means that the Tea Party and conservatives need to be prepared and organized for these special elections.  Recall committees will have an advantage of organization due to their use of so many recall volunteers that can easily be turned into campaign volunteers.  In addition, the Left is known for their organizational superiority to the Right.

American Majority is partnering with local Tea Party groups to hold 6 April Activist Trainings around the state of Wisconsin.  Our training blitz begins this Saturday, April 9 when we will hold Activist trainings in St. Croix County and La Crosse, WI and continues on Tuesday, April 12 in Eagle River, WI.

American Majority’s April Training Blitz will equip the Tea Party and conservatives to be organized and effective.   These activist trainings will provide the tools and resources to enable activists to accomplish their political goals.

To learn more about and to register for American Majority’s Activist Trainings in Wisconsin, please visit:  http://americanmajority.org/wisconsin/events/.

Dane County Judge Maryann Sumi has issued another temporary restraining order (TRO) blocking further implementation of the budget repair bill (Act 10), which Governor Scott Walker signed into law on March 11.  See if you can follow me on this legal mess.

Last Monday, the Department of Justice appealed Judge Sumi’s original TRO delaying publication of Act 10.  The appeals court; however, punted on March 24 to the Wisconsin Supreme Court on determining if the TRO was valid.  The Wisconsin Supreme Court, which has one of its Justices up for re-election next Tuesday, would then need to determine if they will take the case.

Then on Friday, March 25, the Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) published Act 10 because they were not enjoined from doing so in Judge Sumi’s original TRO.  On Monday, Department of Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch announced he believed the law took effect Saturday, so the state began charging employees more for their benefits and ended collecting dues on behalf of unions.

Judge Sumi held a hearing yesterday and then ruled that further implementation of the act is enjoined, while stopping short of declaring whether Act 10 is in effect. That will have to wait for the next hearing, which will not take place until Friday.  Judge Sumi also appointed an attorney for Secretary of State Doug La Follette rather than having the Department of Justice represent him. So on Friday, there will be even more attorneys convoluting this mess further.

Did you follow all of that? If you did, then you should probably go to law school. If not, don’t worry, the main points are that the Supreme Court election on Tuesday will be monumental and the Left will stop at nothing to slow down the implementation of Act 10.

Tuesday’s election has Michael Barone questioning whether the Tea Party movement is going through a hangover.  Will the Tea Party show up in mass on Tuesday as they did last November? In a week we’ll know.  With many possible special elections on the horizon this summer, the Tea Party needs to continue its momentum and stay engaged.

What can you do to help? First of all, make sure you vote on Tuesday.  Also, communicate with your friends and family who you will be voting for and why.  Media Trackers has been doing great work in covering the Supreme Court race.  Share their articles with other voters and on Facebook and Twitter.  Get out and help with a campaign to make phone calls or go door to door.  Do all that you can to help your candidate win.  The Tea Party must continue to be heard!

What we are seeing in Wisconsin underscores why local government matters and why we need a new generation of local government leaders.

The Left, particularly the Labor Movement is readjusting its focus to the local level.  Labor already has control of many school boards and other local government bodies across the nation. That’s why there are so many collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) being rushed through and passed at the local level here in Wisconsin.

The Budget Repair Bill, which was signed into law last week, provides local governments with the tools they need to cut spending.  The Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) just released estimates of the savings available to local governments through utilizing the employee contribution component of the bill.  The LFB found the City of Sheboygan, for instance, would save $987,600 just from having the public employees contribute 5.8% to their pensions.  The Milwaukee Public Schools would save over $24 million dollars.

Yet locality after locality, from Chippewa Falls to Madison, are rushing through agreements that preempt the application of the Budget Repair Bill (which is helped by Democratic Secretary of State Doug La Follette’s delay in publishing the law until March 25 to allow local governments more time to pass these measures).  The result of these contracts being rushed through is that local governments will have significant gaps between their expenses and revenues, as state aid will be decreased under the Budget Bill.  Then these governments will be forced to lay off workers or raise property taxes (Gov. Walker’s Budget Bill could limit this option).

The Left even had a bill passed in December 2009 to train teachers how to brain wash children about collective bargaining.  Here is a video discussing how this law will help the Labor Movement in the future:

In places where CBAs are not being rushed through, the unions are going to find candidates of their own to run for local office.  The Left understands that they can control the process if they have ”their” candidates on your local school board, city council, county board, etc.

Conservatives can make a difference if we engage at the local level.  In Wauwautosa, hundreds of taxpayers attended the Common Council meeting and voiced their opinions that new union contracts should not be rushed through.  Their voices were heard and the Common Council voted against a new collective bargaining agreement.  It is amazing what an organized group of taxpayers can accomplish if they coordinate their efforts.

But reforming local government goes beyond attending meetings when a big issue comes up, which I should add is absolutely necessary.  We need a new generation of liberty-minded leaders to run for local office.  We need to replace the elected officials who simply do what the unions tell them to do. We need leaders who will stand up for fiscal responsibility, less government spending, and lower taxes!

It’s hard to believe that protests have now been going on in Madison for 16 days and 14 State Senators have been AWOL for 13 days now.   Here is some of the latest news.  A private citizen is suing one of these Senators to compel the Senator to return to the state Capitol.  The Senate has voted on a resolution to impose a fine for Senators missing two or more days.   Taxpayers continue to pay the salaries of these 14 AWOL Senators and are wondering when this all will end.

Yesterday, Governor Scott Walker continued to show resolve in confronting liberal policies through introducing his Budget Bill.  Governor Walker’s Budget Bill contains bold reforms to address Wisconsin’s $3.6 Billion Deficit.  Wisconsin has been crippled by liberal policies, but that is changing.  While the Budget Bill reduces state aid by roughly $1.25 Billion, the almost $1.5 Billion in savings from the budget repair bill creates a net increase in revenue.

Despite the opportunity for savings, many local governments are backing themselves into a corner where they may have no other option but to lay off many teachers and other local government employees.   School districts across the state are rushing through collective bargaining agreements that continue largess government spending.  When the reduced state aid comes, those local governments will be stuck with significant gaps between expenses and revenue.

Thankfully, some local government leaders, such as Wausau Mayor Jim Tipple, have decided to halt union negotiations until the dust settles with the Budget Repair Bill.  The fact is that the Budget Repair Bill gives local governments tools to be able to reduce their spending.

Conservatives must continue to have their voices heard!  Contact your elected officials about Gov. Walker’s Budget and your local government officials about union negotiations.  The voice of the Wisconsin taxpayers has to be heard.

On Friday, Governor Scott Walker announced his Budget Repair Bill aimed at covering Wisconsin’s deficit of $137 Million for the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2011 and addressing the $3.7 Billion deficit for the two year budget.   Unions and other liberal organizations sounded shocked at the possibility of spending cuts.

The fact remains that cutting government spending isn’t easy.  Almost regardless of what elected officials would try to cut from their government’s budget, there would be strong opposition from those currently benefiting from that government spending.  When I worked on Capitol Hill, a budget was introduced that proposed cutting funding for public television and public radio.  As soon as the hosts on public television and public radio announced the proposed budget cut, our Congressional office received a deluge of calls, e-mails, and letters against the proposed cut in spending.  Ultimately, Congress voted against the spending cut because of the political pressure from constituents to continue to fund public television and radio.

Once a person benefits from government spending, they rely upon it and will be extremely motivated to contact their elected officials if there is even a rumor of cutting that spending.  Almost without fail, there will be stronger political pressure to not cut spending than the political pressure to reduce the spending.  Moreover, government agencies always think their budgets should grow, regardless of the effectiveness or necessity of their programs.  It takes a tremendous amount of courageous and commitment to see a proposed spending cut through to be enacted into law.

Looking around the country, even Democratic Governors in other states are proposing budgets with significant spending cuts.  In New York State, for example, Governor Cuomo, a Democrat, announced a budget with cuts to many government programs.   While some states, such as Illinois, have raised taxes to address their dire fiscal situations, most states see that their bloated budgets must be cut.  The private sector has had to make cuts to employees’ benefits, salaries, etc.  The public sector finally has to face the music.

The Tea Party Movement helped to elect a new wave of conservative leaders throughout our country.   Many taxpayers across the state and nation voted for conservatives due to the liberals wasteful spending and bloated budgets that have created these deficits.

What will the Tea Party do now? Will the Tea Party use their political power to contact their elected officials to support spending cuts? Or will the Tea Party let liberal groups drown out their calls for less spending and limited government?  On Tuesday (Election Day- Don’t forget to vote!), the Joint Finance Committee will hold a hearing regarding the Budget Repair Bill at 10am in Room 412 East of the WI State Capitol.  The left will certainly be organized and will show up with strong numbers in opposition to the spending cuts.  Will conservatives speak up?

Tax season is upon us once again.  You likely have begun receiving your 2010 tax documents (W-2s, 1099s).  In Madison, the legislature is considering tax bills ranging from a tax deduction for hiring new workers to tax forgiveness for two years for new businesses moving to Wisconsin.   Today, Governor Walker signed into law an exemption from income for contributions to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).

As a former tax attorney, I find the recent tax debates in Wisconsin particularly interesting.  One side is arguing that we need to pass a variety of tax deductions and breaks to attract more employers to this state to create jobs.  The other side argues that we will increase our estimated $3 billion deficit if we pass these tax bills because of lost tax revenues.

It is a well-known fact that Wisconsin has high individual income and property taxes.  Wisconsin’s individual income tax rates range from 4.6% to 7.75%.  These rates are a staggering 25% above the national average and rank 11th highest among states which impose an individual income tax, according to the non-partisan Tax Foundation.

Illinois recently made headlines because its legislature passed a bill raising individual income taxes 66%, but even with that rise, the Illinois individual income tax rate is only 5%.  The Packers may have beaten the Bears on Sunday to advance to the Super Bowl, but Wisconsin’s individual income tax rates are still 2.75% higher than Illinois’ rates in the highest tax bracket.   While Wisconsin may have lower corporate tax rates than many other states, the individual income tax rate in Wisconsin is particularly unfriendly to flow through entities (Limited Liability Companies (LLCs), Partnerships, Subchapter S Corporations, etc.) that are taxed at the partner/owner level .

Wisconsin property taxes are 23.6% above the national average.  These property taxes are the 8th worst property tax rates in the entire country.  The combined state and local tax burden in Wisconsin ranks 9th nationally.

Solutions to fix Wisconsin’s state and local tax problems are not easy.  For instance, if you want to reduce your property tax bill, you would need to address the high property taxes with your local school board, city council, county board, area technical college (if you have one), and state government, since all of these entities affect your property taxes.

The complexity of this problem in addressing property taxes is why Wisconsin needs a new generation of liberty-minded leaders to run for state and local office.  We need people to run for school board, city council, county board, state legislature, and other offices to address the high tax issue as well as many other issues stemming from big government.  It all starts with engaged citizens knowing what is happening at the local levels of government.  Attend a school board, city council, or county board meeting.  Follow what’s happening and voice your opinions.  If you do not like what they are doing, then YOU need to run for office and replace them!

The Wisconsin political scene continues to be very busy.   The new Governor and Legislature were sworn in on Monday.   Discussions about redistricting are beginning to circulate.  Also, the Spring Elections filing deadline passed on Tuesday.  Campaign Season is here again.

Some races in Wisconsin will not have a primary, but for those races that have a primary, there is not much time remaining. The field will be narrowed down to the candidates who make the general ballot in just over five weeks.  Since these are nonpartisan elections, the candidates do not have a party label next to their names on the ballots.  There is no guarantee that a conservative will make it to the general election just because of their party affiliation. So it is critical that conservative candidates campaign well in the next few weeks.

Conservatives need to not only make the general ballot, but they need to perform well in the primary.  Perceptions influence voters greatly in elections.  Accordingly, if you barely make the general ballot, the voters are less likely to vote for you in the general election because you will not be viewed as a frontrunner.  Voters want to vote for those who they perceive have the best chance to win.  They want to be a part of the winning team.  Conservatives need to emerge from the primaries as the frontrunners.

To learn how to be a frontrunner, you should attend an American Majority training.  American Majority Wisconsin will be in the LaCrosse area on Saturday and is planning additional Micro-Candidate trainings in other parts of Wisconsin. Come learn how to put yourself in a position to be able to win your election.