I hope Seventh District Ald. Steve King is enjoying his 15 minutes of infamy. Actually, he may be mayoral material.
Young Steven is afflicted with the twin curses of liberal white guilt and the herd mentality. The maladies are often cojoined like Barack Obama and Chicago-style politics.
By way of apology, Ald. King explained that the far southwest Madison district he represents is the "whitest part of Madison." (Oh, I wish I were in the land of Dixie ...)
The issue before the Common Council Tuesday night was a resolution calling upon the elected sheriff of Dane County to quit cooperating with federal law enforcement when an illegal immigrant is deposited into his jail.
The addled alder told the scribblers he was initially wary about supporting the resolution but changed his mind after seeing the public support it got Tuesday. Opponents, he said, have been "cowards sitting at home e-mailing us." [WSJ: Council to sheriff: Stop reporting foreign jail inmates to ICE]
Nothing like calling your constituents "cowards" to make a name for yourself, alder.
Former Ald. Dorothy Borchardt took the first-time alder to the woodshed in an e-mail on which I was copied Wednesday:
Alder King-
You missed us at the meeting last night? Ask for reconsideration and we will be at the next meeting. Didn't know you needed to see us. Many of us don't believe that it is the duty of constituents to attend council meeting. You were elected to do that. If you are active in your district and have shared the resolution with them you know what your constituents support. They want safe neighborhoods and harboring illegals, that are criminals, is not the way to accomplish that.
We expect our elected officials to base their votes on what is best for their district and the City of Madison. Not to pass a sound good resolution based on pressure from special interest groups within two weeks of being introduced by title only and less then one week after being available for the public to read.
I am a strong supporter of the Madison Police Department but believe they should be looking over their policy of ignoring the issue and allowing illegals to continue to break the law without any consequences.
Maybe that is one of the reasons the problem continues to grow. To keep doing the same thing in the same way and expect a different outcome is insane.
Let me know if you are willing to ask for reconsideration and I'll make sure you meet the "cowards."
Nothing like calling your constituents cowards to get the approval of Progressive Dane's Madame Brenda, who says:
Most of the alders won't say this, so I'll say it for them. Almost all of them work full-time or near full-time and then work their "part-time" job of being a council member ... They do work, and they work hard, and they take a lot of [expletive deleted] for [sic; from?] ignorant people -- its [it's] part of the job to suck it up, try to educate people and let the rest roll off your back. And their "part-time" jobs often call for them to give up time with family, skip important life events and do several other seemingly impossible feats.
"Ignorant people?" And you thought "cowards" was bad.
Our elected city council members' job is to "educate people?" How about listening to them, for a change. Or is that an "impossible feat."
Here's the difference, Brenda, as you well know: the alders are paid $7,545 a year to sit in those chairs. They asked for the job and it is their taxpayer-paid job to represent their constituents, not to do policy based on readings from the audience applause meter left over from the Ted Mack amateur hour. (All my cultural references are at least 40 years old.)
Ald. Borchardt and I learned long ago that the big government supplicants always show up en masse to plead their case from the microphone. Taxpayers, on the other hand, are preoccupied with running their small businesses and raising their families to pay the taxes that your supplicants soak up. Government is something they pay for but does not provide their primary sustenance. The "activists" on the other hand look to government first.
Could Madame Brenda be half sane?
Along with the Madison Chamber of Commerce, we have left the local government playing field uncontested for too long. Madame Brenda taunts: "I'm not too sad to see the right being slactivists. ... You snooze, you lose."
Slack-tivisits! Exactly! This is what happens when we leave the playing field to the leftists. We lose! We need to get in their faces, into their ears, into their e-mail in boxes ....
Tea partiers, Republicans, business people, moms and dads! Make your way to Room 201 of the City-county Building on Martin Luther Drive. That is the chamber of the Madison Common Council and the Dane County Board of Supervisors. Select a favorite parking spot, tune up your vocal chords, and be prepared to wait. Do it a couple of times and I assure you, they won't ignore your next e-mail.
Still time to make your voices heard
Meanwhile, as WISC-TV3 reports,
A Dane County task force on immigration is moving forward with finalizing its recommendations.
Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney said he supports some of the 11 recommendations, but not the one calling for his agency to stop contacting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials for inmates who don't have identification.
Mahoney said even if the Dane County Board approves the recommendations, he will continue to contact Immigration and Customs Enforcement because it's a public safety issue and he will continue to look out for the safety of the other inmates and the community.
Let your county board supervisor know that you support the sheriff. (See Support your local sheriff). Use this e-mail address to tell your elected supe that your support the sheriff's policy of notifying Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the safety of the public.
In particular, you should contact the two county board members on the Task force. One of them is Diane Hesselbein, who is running to succeed Spencer Black and voted with the 5-2 Task Force majority to handcuff the sheriff. The other is Melanie Hampton, whose day job is with the Madison police department. She voted with Sheriff Mahoney on the task force.
I'll let you know when the reccs hit the floor of the County Board. Let's rent buses.
The politics of transparency
Do we detect a pattern here? The White House is still digging out from the mess it created when it tried to bribe Joe Sestak to refrain from challenging its preferred Democrat in the Pennsylvania senate race, Arlen Specter.
In exchange for dropping out of the Democrat(ic) primary in Colorado, The Denver Post is reporting:e
U.S. Senate candidate Andrew Romanoff said publicly for the first time Wednesday that a White House deputy discussed three specific jobs that "might be available" if Romanoff dropped a primary challenge to a fellow Democrat, Sen. Michael Bennet.
Romanoff, responding to increased pressure from national media and Republicans attacking the Obama White House, released an e-mail sent to him Sept. 11, 2009, by administration deputy chief of staff Jim Messina describing two possible jobs with the U.S. Agency for International Development, affiliated with the State Department, and one with the U.S. Trade Development Agency.
Here in Wisconsin:
- Except for a renegade former Republican, the Democrats' field for Dave Obey's congressional seat in northwest Wisconsin cleared itself rather magically in favor of the annointed one, State Sen. Julie Lassa.
- I have asked Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton's office what federal job was she promised in return for doing a volte face and dropping out of the Dems' gubernatorial primary in favor of Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett. We'll post her response when it comes, if it does.
Today's lesson in liberal situational ethics
The Capital Times (surprise surprise) backs a recall effort against Juneau County District Attorney Scott Southworth, a Republican. But my old alma mater puts on the fig leaf of non-partisanship, however transparent:
Officials should not be recalled simply for the purpose of achieving a partisan result that was denied at the previous election. However, when an official has gone off the deep end, it is entirely appropriate to recall that official and choose a more reasonable replacement.
The CT claims that it opposed efforts to recall Tommy Thompson as it did Russ Feingold. There was never an effort to recall Tommy Thompson. And when a group of citizens began a drive to recall Chuck Chvala, The Capital Times opposed it. Chuck Chvala, who was accused of multiple felonies, including taking monetary bribes. So, let's just cut to the chase: The Capital Times supports recalling conservatives and Republicans but opposes recalling liberals and Democrats. Got it?
Welcome back
Welcome back to the blogosphere Deb Jordahl, a lovely lady, a lively writer, and a logical thinker. She scripts Above the Belt. Bookmark it.
Dammit, I said, BOOKMARK IT!
Well, what are you waiting for?
Don't make me come over there.
