Republican Push to Limit HealthCare Hits Wisconsin's Tammy Baldwin

Madison, Wisconsin—An out-of-state organization seeking to repeal ObamaCare to benefit health insurance corporations took out a half-page ad in the Wisconsin State Journal, (Madison, Wisconsin), this week to blast Sen. Tammy Baldwin, (D-Wisconsin), for backing people over insurance companies.

The ad is part of an early multi-state TV blitz in an effort to target Democratic senators up for reelection in 2018, (The Hill). 

One Nation is a massive SuperPac, affiliated with Republican senate SuperPacs and funded heavily by the health insurance industry.

Thirty-three U.S. Senate seats are to be contested in 2018 and the Democratic Party has to defend a whopping 25 of those seats, (Red State).

Republicans think they can flip Wisconsin's first-term Democratic senator, Tammy Baldwin, but they know it's a fight.

Here's their strategy:

Republicans excite their base by repeatedly messaging their healthcare is earned, as opposed to the blacks' healthcare which comes out of your pay-check. [Sure it's crazy, but so is racism.]

Blacks and browns are making your healthcare rates soar, (by some manner too mysterious to note with no mention of, or accountability by health insurance companies): Fucking Obama catered to these people with Obamacare and made your life bad. White folks just don't have a chance. 

This is what One Nation is accomplishing, and they want to reach white swing voters.

This appeal is of course ludicrous. But the idea is to tie every issue to race with the compelling message that some manner of The Other is taking yours and getting paid for it no less.

In Wisconsin, appeals to race work and have for many decades. Whether the race-baiting politicians are natives like Tommy Thompson or transplants like Scott Walker and Donald Trump, the ole-time religion of blaming the black and browns is home-cooking in the Badger State.

The Tammy Baldwin v. Republican 2018 race will offer a leading indicator showing if Democrats have figured out how to prevail on an issue they should own: Healthcare.

Shouldn't be that hard and Baldwin is better than most Dems as witnessed by her defeat of Tommy Thompson in 2012 that saw Baldwin successfully define Thompson as what he is: An opportunistic hack who turned his back on Wisconsin. Baldwin won 51 percent to 45 percent.

The turnout in 2018 will be in the 55-percent range. Republicans have worked hard to suppress that urban vote in Milwaukee.

What's the early prediction on the Baldwin reelection race? There is none, Wisconsin folk are utterly unpredictable.

I'll make one observation that will inform the race.

Baldwin was first elected to Congress in 1998.

Magic 98

In 1998 I worked as a poll worker at the then Gordon Commons on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus at a voting precinct serving the southeast dormitories, (mostly freshmen and sophomores). The city-wide turnout wildly exceeded predictions, and the southeast dorms led even these turn-out numbers.

At the polls we ran out of ballots about 5:00 P.M, as students were coming to vote and being told to come back. I personally sprinted to a polling site at a Dayton Street school about a half-mile away and was told they too were out of ballots and to try the Memorial Union polling site. Sprinted to the Union. I picked up about 100 or so ballots, sprinted back to Gordon Commons and was shaking too much to counter-sign the ballots. Serious fun.

Baldwin defeated one Josephine W. Musser, 52 to 46 percent. It was a race many recall with fond memories. [That same 1998 race saw Sen. Russ Feingold narrowly defeat a rightwing Evangelical Mark Neumann by some 37,000 votes. Neumann blamed the Dane County turnout, so did many in Dane County, especially Madison's Isthmus neighborhoods. Read one homemade sign on an East Dayton Street house months later in the heart of the Isthmus in the spring of 1999: "one neighborhood" beat Mark Neumann. Milwaukee County with all those urban types also gave Feingold electoral breathing room.]

What happened in 1998? Baldwin captured the public imagination who saw in her candidacy the hopes and possibilities of people. It was that vivid. Everyone doing field work saw the same thing, but political consultants didn't see the throngs of people turning out as they did. This phenomenon was electoral magic—something that cannot be explained or predicted.

Twenty years later the 2018 race will feature Baldwin against a Republipuke who will run a campaign asking in effect, 'are you gonna let the niggers win and take your healthcare?'

Rightwing thinks anti-healthcare message is a winner in 2018
U.S. Senate races. Who needs healthcare?

Stem Cells—Thompson, Neumann and Fitz Have to Answer in Radicalized GOP

James A. Thompson

Imagine if the lost decade of 2001-2009 saw a Manhattan Project-size effort funding stem cells—treating Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's, paralysis, Leukemia, blindness; imagination and political will are the only impediments to what stem cells may do in the future.

U.S. Senate candidate, Tommy Thompson, needs to answer to the Wisconsin people on stem cell research, namely Thompson's flip-flopping.

Pioneering scientists like University of Wisconsin-Madison professor, James Thompson, should be supported in the lab as though our families' health and lives depend on it; and not have to wage a political fight against the Republican Party that is steadfastly hostile to the promise of "human embryonic stem cell research, ... a [GOP] position running counter to both scientific and public opinion."

GOP candidates for Senate, Mark Neumann and Scott Fitzgerald, need to explain their extremism on this public-minded research as well.

• Tommy Thompson for Senate
• Mark Neumann for Senate

• Scott Fitzgerald for Senate

As Alan I. Leshner and Dr. Thomson write in their December 3, 2007 column defending embryonic stem cell research, "Standing in the Way of Stem Cell Research":

Efforts to harness the versatility of embryonic stem cells, and alleviate suffering among people with an array of debilitating disorders, began less than 10 years ago. Since then, scientists have continued to pursue embryonic stem cells because of their ability to transform into blood, bone, skin or any other type of cell. The eventual goal is to replace diseased or dysfunctional cells to help people with spinal cord injuries, neurodegenerative disorders, cancer, diabetes, heart disease and other conditions. ...

Federal funding is essential for both adult and embryonic stem cell research, even as promising alternatives are beginning to emerge.

Unfortunately, under the policy President Bush outlined on Aug. 9, 2001, at most 21 stem cell lines derived from embryos before that date are eligible for federal funding. American innovation in the field thus faces inherent limitations. Even more significant, the stigma resulting from the policy surely has discouraged some talented young Americans from pursuing stem cell research.

On this, Wisconsin should listen and be guided by Dr. Thompson, not Tommy Thompson and Republican extremists.

A look at this video [below] of Thompson appears to indicate that Thompson may have lost it.

Scott Walker's TV Spot Front—Applauds White Pride Speech

White and Proud of It

Update: Call to Mark Neumann campaign for comment has not been returned.

With an assist from U.S. Senate candidate, Mark Neumann, a racist at a December event in Kenosha, Wisconsin gives a white pride tirade as Scott Walker's poster woman and other attendees applaud.

This is known is the political business as: An improper vetting. Or arguably, perhaps you have to appeal to racism to work in GOP circles now-a-days.

The U.S. military has more colorful terms for what the Scott Walker campaign has done in using right-wing activist, Kristi LaCroix as a front-woman extolling his virtues in Walker's misleading $ Multi-million TV spots.

The problem with using Ms. LaCroix concerned her attendance at, her own speech, and tacit approval of an event in Kenosha, Wisconsin on December 1, 2011 [audio below], where LaCroix received a hero's welcome as the next incarnation of Sarah Palin. Oops.

Paul I. Tascoupe reports that a subsequent speaker after LaCroix at the Pints and Politics event featured a racist Republican from the audience acclaiming white pride in a three-minute-long tirade. [The following piece has been edited slightly to give Mark Neumann his due. Apparently, Tommy Thompson had the good sense to skip this event.]

Instead of being booed out of the event by LaCroix and the other GOP attendees, the racist speaker received applause, including a note of encouragement and assistance by Wisconsin U.S. Senate candidate, Mark Neumann who helped the racist find the word, "profiling," followed seconds later by Mark Neumann's commitment to "never apologize for the United States of America for any reason ..." to loud applause from the assembled God-fearing, White Americans.

By Paul I. Tascoupe

The woman proclaimed her strong beliefs in “white pride;" said disparaging things about “the "blacks," and called anti-discrimination laws “disgusting” and “ridiculous.”

The proud, white woman continued her proclamations with lines such as:

• “I stood up and I said, ‘Look, I’m white and I’m proud of that.”,
• “I want you to understand that I am tired of the white male, the white conservative males, the white Christian conservative male being at the bottom of the heap.”
• “I’ve seen black groups, black caucus groups, black Congressional groups, black this black that.”

She even goes on to talk about how we were "attacked by Muslim terrorists." [Left unexplained was how this is connected to being "proud" of being "white."

Now I must again say this was -not- Kristi Lacroix's speech, however, not a single person in attendance stood up, gasped, or even attempted to stop this racial onslaught.

Instead the audience erupted in cheers after Neumann talked over the woman's tirade against the "blacks," with encouraging words about the USA. [Not sure how Neumann's direct follow-up was connected to being "proud" of being "white" either, but then again I'm no Republican.]

The following audio clip is from the event, please be warned, this clip has been rated racist.

WELS Church Censors Interview Between Accused Child Porn Possessor and Mark Neumann

Update: Child porn charges filed against church official (MJS).

WELS church communications director, and advisor to the WELS Synodical Council and Conference of Presidents, Joel Hochmuth, [since removed from linked page], has been arrested on child porn charges, WISN reported.

This morning the WELS church scrubbed Hochmuth's interview with prominent WELS member, U.S. candidate Mark Neumann [and member of the WELS Kingdom Workers national Board of Directors (Spring 2011 Newsletter; p.5),] from the WELS site, where the two discussed the "Good Lord," "Christian principles," "abortion," and God's plans for Neumann in politics.

The interview page now reads: "You do not have sufficient privileges to view the requested page. If your user account has access to this page, please log in." [Now replaced with different video.]

This message began appearing after the piece, WELS—Mark Neumann's Church—Comm Director Arrested on Child Porn Charges, was posted here this morning.

The claim of "sufficient privileges" contradicts the site's Technological page reading: "Sign In is not required for http://www.wels.net/, ... ."
 
WELS Board member, Neumann and whole of WELS leadership should condemn Hochmuth and Neumann should use his considerable influence with his church to ax this guy.

WELS should stop covering up, and start speaking up.

Do what Joe Paterno refused to do.
 
I don't care if it's Penn State football, the Catholic Church or WELS, preying on children is flat-out wrong, and silence is acceptance.

Update: WELS—Mark Neumann's Church—Comm Director Arrested on Child Porn Charges

Joel Hochmuth, director of communications
for the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod

Update: Child porn charges filed against church official (MJS)

WISN is reporting Mark Neumann's church's (WELS)communications director, and advisor to the WELS Synodical Council and Conference of Presidents [since removed from linked page], Joel Hochmuth, has been arrested on child porn charges.

Listen to WELS Communication Services Director, Joel Hochmuth, speaking with Mark Neumann [Note: In the last hour after 10:30 A.M., WELS has shut down this link. Seems Neumann is putting some distance between Joel Hochmuth and his campaign.] ... about serving the "Good Lord," "Christian principles," "abortion," and God's plans for Neumann in politics.

WELS is notorious as an extreme right-wing church demanding submission to church doctrine.

See for example, WELS Q and A on fighting Satan, who evidently has just won a round.

No comment yet reported from the Mark Neumann for U.S. Senate campaign, though Neumann as recently as Spring 2011 served on the WELS Kingdom Workers national Board of Directors (Spring 2011 Newsletter; p.5), and is arguably WELS' most famous member 'submitting to Church doctrine.'

Recently, Neumann's biography was inexplicably removed from the WELS website.

Writes Neumann on his religious involvement in politics on the WELS site: "In the Old Testament God directly called leaders. One need only think of Moses. He was living comfortably in Midian, tending his father-in-law's flocks, when God called him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. He became the political and religious leader of Israel. He was not elected. The people were not involved in deciding he should be their leader."

At our particular time in history, God in his wisdom has permitted us to elect our governing officials. It was with this understanding that after much prayer and careful consideration my wife, Sue, and I decided to run for the United States House of Representatives. The Lord's planning was clearly present in our efforts."
From WISN:

A Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod employee was arrested Tuesday on child pornography charges, according to Waukesha police.

Investigators said the FBI Cyber Crimes Task Force provided them with evidence that child pornography was distributed from a home in the 1900 block of Hunter Court. Police searched the home and arrested Joel Hochmuth after they found numerous images of child pornography, according to a police report.

Hochmuth, 52, is the director of communications for the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. He was in the Waukesha County Jail on Tuesday night and was expected in court on Wednesday.

12 News spoke with the group's president, Mark Schroeder, by phone. He said he is hopeful the allegations prove to be a false alarm or a mistake. He said Hochmuth's job does not involve direct contact with children.

See also:

Mark Neumann in His Own Words
Mark Neumann: The Mean Machine
Mark Neumann for Gov. - Please Jesus, Yes!

Mark Neumann Declares Intention to Seek U.S. Senate Seat; the Lord Condemns Campaign

Mark Neumann

"Former congressman Mark Neumann said Monday he would run for the U.S. Senate seat held by retiring U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl," reports Don Walker.

Neumann is giving a little pay-back to the GOP establishment that savaged his 2010 bid for the GOP nomination for governor last September, giving Scott Walker a victory over Neumann.

Neumann offered Walker only a terse endorsement in the general election.

In reaction to the proliferation of religious extremists like Mark Neumann seeking to impose his own, if genuinely held, bigoted dogma as public policy, Bill Keller has a piece in this week in the NYT Magazine, Asking Candidates Tougher Questions About Faith, foreshadowing closer scrutiny of the We-ask-God-to-guide-the-unbelievers sect.

"I do care if religious doctrine becomes an excuse to exclude my fellow citizens from the rights and protections our country promises. And I care a lot if a candidate is going to be a Trojan horse for a sect that believes it has divine instructions on how we should be governed," writes Keller. See also Joanna Brooks' Questions to Ask Mormon Presidential Candidates.

As for Neumann, God wants Neumann to run and has for years, he assures us.

Neumann has repeatedly said that the Wels Church instructs how he would work as an elected public official.

"At our particular time in history, God in his wisdom has permitted us to elect our governing officials. It was with this understanding that after much prayer and careful consideration my wife, Sue, and I decided to run for the United States House of Representatives. The Lord's planning was clearly present in our efforts," writes Neumann in a Wels religious publication, Issue: November 2006 (WELS Forward in Christ).

MAL Contends checked with the Lord this morning after the annoucment and the Lord told me Mark Neumann is a rightwing bigot who is not qualified for public office.

The Lord also instructs that Neumann be defeated in the GOP primary election because, in the words of the Lord: 'Mark Neumann is so crazy, he makes Scott Walker look like a sensible moderate by comparison. I guarantee you Mark Neumann will lose the GOP nomination. Not in this part of multiverse does Neumann win in Wisconsin. I condemn Mark Neumann's bid for the Senate because Neumann is nothing more than a cretin."

If the Lord is not good enough for you, check this out:

Here is Neumann's Wels sect on those lee-bral CoExist t-shirts and bumper stickers. The text captures well the spirit and substance of Neumann's exclusionary approach to all things public:

Featured Question on Mark Neumann's Wels Church on the CoExist sentiment

Question - I am seeing Coexist t-shirts and bumper stickers. (These are bumper stickers that spell out the word “coexist” using symbols from various religions including Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, Wicca, and Christianity – all in an effort to promote religious tolerance.) As a Christian, how should I react to this symbolism, and how can I witness to someone who displays this?

Wels Answer - The popular and often-used "coexist" symbol merits our attention, appraisal, and thoughtful response. The symbol itself was originally a plea for religious tolerance, and today the focus has been somewhat broadened. The symbol is normally used to promote the idea that different religions, value systems, ways of life, and points of view should exist harmoniously and peacefully. This is a plea for tolerance and peaceful coexistence as opposed to open strife, war, and political or social oppression based on differing religious, moral, or ideological convictions.

You ask how Christians should best react to the symbol and to those who display it on their clothing, vehicle, or another personal possession. I believe that the Christian's response will be more complicated and thoughtful than a simple "I like it" or "I don't like it" vote. For example:

First, we do well to ask the people what the symbol means to them and why they display it. Don't assume the worst in regard to their motives. They may or may not have given much thought to displaying it. Or they might be sick and tired of all the bloodshed, oppression, and social or political persecution that has stemmed from differing religious and ethical standards. They may not be expressing approval or disapproval of any of the religions or ideologies represented in the symbol, but they like the idea of mutual courtesy or a peaceful coexistence that has little to do with religious convictions. But sometimes the people who display the symbol knowingly seek more than a peaceful coexistence. They may wrongly believe that all religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism) or all lifestyle choices (homosexuality and lesbianism, pacifism) are equally valid or worthy of our allegiance. We will want to clarify what they do and why they do it.

We also wisely appraise our own kind of "Christian tolerance." Christian tolerance displays a kind and patient treatment of the persons and motives of others even if or when we disagree or reject their false principles and opinions. We seek to treat the people with kindness, even when they embrace error that we hate and despise as poison to their souls. Christian toleration maintains a love for those in error and seeks points of contact that may be used to witness to the truth and against the error.

Then we strive to witness to the other people, reacting to their expressed motives, convictions, and understanding of issues involved. We may warn, encourage, rebuke, commend, and inform or teach -- and sometimes we do all of these things depending on what we have learned from the people. We cannot approve or endorse error or falsehood in religion or morality. We can love and seek the well-being of the people to whom we witness. We can share accurate information to serve souls and enlighten minds. And we can be prepared for a variety of reactions, from appreciation to ridicule, from gratitude to hatred. But we are called on to continue to speak and react by speaking the truth in love.

And if we do not have opportunity to speak with those who display the symbol because they are in moving vehicles or walking in a crowd, we can include them in our prayers and intercessions. We ask God to guide them into the truth centered in Jesus Christ just as he has graciously guided us.

---

See also:

• Mark Neumann's Church: An Unfair Topic?
• Mark Neumann in His Own Words
• Mark Neumann: The Mean Machine

Tammy v. Tommy for U.S. Senate in 2012?

Looks a lot like Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Madison) v. Tommy Thompson (R-Hedgefund) in the Wisconsin general election for U.S. Senate.

The great race featuring two of the most successful and beloved Wisconsin politicians.

This site is still getting lots of Mark Neumann traffic in hits the last several weeks, a predictor that Mark Neumann may be considering a run for the GOP nomination.

But who knows.

Neumann Endorsement Seems a Bit Terse

Here's Mark Neumann's Endorsement PR in its entirity:

WAUKESHA, Wis. - September 14, 2010 - Tonight I am keeping my word and endorsing Scott Walker.

I am sending Scott a copy of my book and hope he will use it as he sees fit.

I wish him the best in the general election.

Walker Wins Pulling Away

Some Democratic strategists are very happy about this result.

We'll see why soon.

Dane County Self-Correcting Optec Scanners Alert Voters to Multi-Party Voting

At least in Dane County, voters who cast votes on more than one party line (negating the ballot) are alerted audibly and immediately by the Optec machine.

Voters then can re-cast another ballot and correct their mistake.

Typically, Dane County is among the highest turn-out counties in the state, leaning significance to those who would make the mistake on Primary Day of casting votes in more than one political party.

Reports from the county indicate that the correctable errors of multi-party primary voting are occurring infrequently, but are definitely occurring and being corrected by voters on the spot.

Walker Is Not a Better GOP Nominee for Dems

What is Joel McNally thinking?

After admitting that Milwaukee media (MJS and talk radio) are in the tank for Scott Walker who is the Milwaukee County executive, McNally says Walker would be the weaker GOP opponent of presumed Democratic nominee Tom Barrett.

2006 General election results for Milwaukee County

Doyle 61.6%
Green 36.7%

If McNally is right, one must presume that Walker would underperform Mark Neumann in Milwaukee County which in 2006 was carried by Gov. Doyle by some 80,000 votes, about half of Doyle's winning margin.

Dane County gave Doyle a 91,000-vote bump in 2006, so again Walker would underperform Mark Neumann in Dane County as well?

Mark Neumann is a right-wing, fully-fledged member of the Tom Reynoldesque religious right, and I'm thinking Walker's arguably libertarian credentials would make him the stronger candidate for the GOP in both Dane County and Milwaukee County.

At least Walker does not have any anti-Catholic baggage to haul around.

But some folks across the political spectrum are sure awfully worried about Mark Neumann being the nominee.

They should not be, unless one believes anti-Catholic, anti-Semitic, anti-choice religious zealotry plays well in the new media landscape much different than what Mark Neumann faced in 1998, his last statewide general election race.

Neumann lost that one in '98 and blamed "one county," Dane, as responsible. I think Neumann had a point there.

Neumann's WELS Church on Jews: Accept Christ or No Heaven for You!

In a March 9, 1997 address to the Madison Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) church [preaches no abortion even in cases of rape, women need to submit to men and gays are to spend eternity in hell], Neumann said his political advisers warned him not to mention his religion in his 1998 run for the Senate against Sen. Russ Feingold.

“When I first ran I had all kinds of consultants telling me not to mention religion. They told me to tone down any discussion we might have. … they did ask me to tone down the concept of religion or values that are taught in our churches and synagogues as being a part of what we were,” said Neumann.

Nice of him to mention synagogues.
---
From Mark Neumann' WELS Church: Did and do Jews go to heaven?

During Old Testament times, did believing Jews go to heaven? How about since our Savior Jesus Christ completed his work of redemption?

Answer:

Salvation, including heavenly citizenship, was always part of the Messianic faith. Believers of all ethnic, cultural, and linguistic groups went to heaven in Old Testament times. This included Jewish believers. The testimony of prominent Jewish believers affirm that they knew about and believed this: David in Psalm 16:11, Asaph in Psalm 73:23-26, Isaiah in Isaiah 26:19, and Daniel in Daniel 12:1-3 are good examples.

The same is equally true during the New Testament era and will be so until the Last Day, at Christ's Second, Final Coming. Believing Jews are citizens of heaven just as believing Gentiles are. The original disciples and apostles were Jewish believers. The New Testament Letter to the Hebrews was addressed to Jewish believers, and Hebrews 12:22-24 affirms that heaven is their eternal home.

If your question is about unbelieving Jews (or unbelievers from any other ethnic group) or followers of Judaism who have rejected Jesus Christ as the Messiah and Savior of mankind, then we must sadly answer that they did not and do not go to heaven. Acts 4:12 affirms that Christ alone is the Savior of mankind. The grief of all believers regarding the loss of unbelieving Jews (Israel) is well expressed by Paul in Romans 9:30-33 and Romans 10:1-13.

On the Pope as the "Anti-Christ" and the "the Jews and Their Lies"

Mark Neumann's rightwing ideology and intolerance is pervasive in his politics, and his rigid religion drives him, so says Neumann, to his credit.

Go to the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) and use Roman Catholic as a search term (upper-right search engine), or gay or Jew.

Some examples from Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS):

- "Our confessional writings from that period, still the official position of our church body today, address the papacy with unmistakable clarity and vigor. Perhaps the dearest statement is in Luther's Smalcald Articles: 'The pope is the real anti-Christ who has raised himself over and set himself against Christ.' "

- We recognize the Pope as the Anti-Christ by his false teachings and by his matching the traits of the Anti-Christ as revealed in Scripture, not by the alleged symbolism of something he wears or carries.

- (Luther) had hoped that the Reformation with its clear preaching of the pure gospel would convert the Jews. Luther himself provides examples from the Talmud in 'On the Jews and Their Lies' (Luther's Works 47:226-228): 'Their Talmud and their rabbis record that it is no sin for a Jew to kill a Gentile, but it is only a sin for him to kill a brother Israelite. Nor is it a sin for a Jew to to break his oath to a Gentile. ... '

- Christians must take care during their lifetimes not to regularly associate with any group or organization that would take their focus off Christ alone as their salvation.

- We must warn the impenitent that homosexuality, like all sins, excludes people from eternal life (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). The church, therefore, must not, bless same-sex marriages or unions, since these are contrary to the will of God. The church must not place into nor retain in the public ministry of the Word people who defend, condone, or persist in words or actions that are contrary to God’s law.

The Reason Why Progressives Want Mark Neumann; It's Not the "Lord's Will," as Neumann Says

- It's Mark Neumann's extremism that comes from Neumann's church, the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) instructing its members in explicitly anti-Catholic, anti-Semitic, anti-choice and anti-gay teachings; hate that does not play well in Wisconsin no matter that Neumann calls his hate "morals," "ethics" and "values". Hate will make Neumann a weak candidate in the general election. -

Neumann's political decision-making process—that in Neumann's own words is directly guided by his religion—micromanages its members' lives in a manner that is exclusionary, bigoted and hateful.

Heartland Hollar had a piece out last May, Neumann's the One, linking to an interview with Christian Life Resources, a religious organization that "subjects itself to the doctrine and practice of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod."

And as the Christian Life Resources interview and another interview, Faith in the Political Arena, make clear, it is Neumann who makes his religion the public basis upon which he seeks public office, specifically citing scripture text as interpreted by his church. So we're supposed to ignore it?

We expose the hate, and come next Tuesday wish for Mark Neumann, a gifted man in many respects, to be the GOP gubernatorial nominee. Wisconsin will not vote hate, progressives believe: Call it "faith."
---
Christian Life Resources Interview
- Clearly Caring Magazine, Sept/Oct 2008, Vol. 28, No. 5

Will you run for office again?

The words of James 4:13-17 are useful tools in planning my life. If it is the Lord's will I would consider it a privilege to run for office again and serve the people if elected.

Was there any portion of God's Word that you leaned on while serving in public office?

The most worn page of my Bible referenced Matthew 6:25-34 where Jesus tells us not to worry. James 1:2-7 also reminded me that trials lead to maturity and that wisdom will be provided to those who do not doubt.

WELS Interview

Asked how he made his decisions in Congress in an interview with the WELS Communication Services Director, Neumann replied, "What we did in our office, and Sue (wife) helped me a lot with this, we established a checklist, so to speak, on any bill that would come before us. And we'd ask ourselves first, 'Is there a moral or ethical reason to a cast a vote in any particular way.' And if there was, it didn't' matter what anybody else said to me, we were going with the morals and ethics first."

[This an edited version of a previously published piece.]

See also:

Mark Neumann in His Own Words
Mark Neumann: The Mean Machine
Mark Neumann for Gov. - Please Jesus, Yes!
Mark Neumann's Church: An Unfair Topic?
Mark Neumann Is Ready, Wisconsin Is Not

Walker Supported Transportation Bill That He Hits Neumann on in New Ad; Even Wrote Letter to Editor

Now, this is fun. Scott Walker caught again in a blatantly hypocritical position.

You read it before: Walker is too slick by half. What a blunder to make on a last-minute attack ad.

Take a closer look at Scott Walker via the Mark Neumann campaign:

WAUKESHA, Wis. - September 8, 2010 - A newspaper article and letter to the editor reveal that Scott Walker supported the transportation bill that he now attacks Mark Neumann for voting in favor of back in 1998.

The bill is at the heart of Walker's last-minute, negative attack ads on TV, radio and direct mail which attempt to link Neumann to Nancy Pelosi for voting to support the same transportation bill that Walker himself supported.

"Scott Walker is attempting to smear Mark Neumann's record as a true fiscal conservative with a desperate, negative attack campaign attempting to link Neumann to Nancy Pelosi," Neumann campaign manager Chip Englander said. "Yet, Scott Walker supported this bill as well. He said it would 'save Milwaukee County taxpayers money.'"

"What Walker calls pork today, in 1998 he said would save money."

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article by Larry Sandler published May 30, 1998

And the state legislators agreed, in a letter saying, "We believe the taxpayers of Milwaukee County will benefit from not being forced to use these transportation funds on a light rail system that would cost hundreds of millions of dollars, or on (special) lanes that would tear up residential and commercial property in Milwaukee County."

The six state legislators, led by Rep. Scott Walker (R-Wauwatosa), said the money would be best spent on such projects as reconstruction of the Marquette Interchange and the Zoo Interchange, and increased support of the Milwaukee County Transit System.

Scott Walker Letter to the editor, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, published June 15, 1998
Scott Walker says: "Transit projects a good use of funds"

. . . Originally, $241 million of federal funds was set aside for use on the East-West Corridor. Specifically, the money could be used for a light rail system along the corridor or for the widening of I-94 to insert car pool and bus lanes…

. . . At that time, a group of Milwaukee County lawmakers objected to both proposals. Fast forward to May 1998. The same Milwaukee County lawmakers -- three Democrats and three Republicans -- applauded the change in the use of the $241 million and asked that the funds be used on local projects, including the reconstruction of the Marquette Interchange, the Zoo Interchange and on expanding support for the Milwaukee County Transit System.

In our opinion, supporting these projects is a better use of the funds and will ultimately save Milwaukee County taxpayers money.

Rep. Scott Walker
R-Wauwatosa

Englander concluded, "Mr. Walker, please take down your negative and hypocritical attack ads and run a positive campaign."

Please click here to read the articles in their entirety:

- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article by Larry Sandler published May 30, 1998
- Scott Walker Letter to the editor, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, published June 15, 1998
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Download the Press Release (PDF)

Effort Begun to Swing Close GOP Gov Race to Mark Neumann

With a divided Wisconsin GOP still dominated by the religious right, an effort is under way by progressives to take advantage of the lack of significant Democratic primaries [the Madison 78th assembly race being an exception] to make Mark Neumann the GOP nominee for governor.

So, look for a significant turn-out of Democratic and progressive voters casting their lot with Mark Neumann next Tuesday.

Mark Neumann has a profoundly, if earnestly held, anti-Catholic, anti-Semitic and anti-gay worldview that would make Neumann a weak general election gubernatorial candidate.

Call it what you will but a close race could very easily be swung to Neumann with a little help from his Democratic and Progressive friends.

See:
Mark Neumann in His Own Words
Mark Neumann: The Mean Machine
Mark Neumann for Gov. - Please Jesus, Yes!
Mark Neumann's Church: An Unfair Topic?
Mark Neumann Is Ready, Wisconsin Is Not

Scott Walker Worried about Neumann

Pre-primary polls are about as reliable as Brett Farve running hard for a needed first down.

And this truism applies emphatically to the Rasmussen polling touted by Mark Neumann in the GOP gubernatorial primary campaign.

What is clear from both the past pro-Scott Walker spots by shadowy independent groups and the new Walker direct mail piece assailing Mark Neumann as comparable to Nancy Pelosi [a bad thing among Republicans], is that Walker is worried about Neumann and the national GOP does not want Neumann as the nominee.

And Walker should be worried. Walker is running in the twenty-first century GOP, not exactly big on the Enlightenment.

And with no big statewide Democratic races, an unknown, perhaps significant number of Democrats may vote in the GOP primary for Neumann, seen as a weaker general election opponent.

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WALKER LAUNCHES NEGATIVE ATTACK AGAINST NEUMANN

As Walker falters in polls, Walker launches smear attempt to compare Neumann to Nancy Pelosi
Neumann Pledge: I will continue positive TV ads & mailers; asks Walker to do the same

WAUKESHA, Wis. - September 5, 2010 - In the wake of a new poll indicating that Mark Neumann is now the strongest candidate in the race for Governor, challenger Scott Walker has launched a negative attack in the form of a direct mail piece that compares Neumann to House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. The piece has surfaced just days before the Sept. 14 primary election.

In response, Neumann has signed a pledge not to run any negative TV attack ads or mailers in the closing days of the primary election campaign, and has asked Walker to do the same. The pledge was hand-delivered to Walker's campaign headquarters this afternoon.

"When I first heard about this mailer I thought it was a joke. Nancy Pelosi? Is he kidding? I was kicked off a Congressional committee for fighting government spending," Neumann stated. "This is the type of last-minute smear campaign that career politicians launch when they are trying to make up lost ground in the closing days of a campaign." Neumann was considered one of the principal architects of the 1998 balanced budget - the first balanced budget in decades.

"The people of Wisconsin want constructive solutions from the candidates for Governor, not desperate last-minute attacks - and I won't stoop to that level," Neumann added. "I ask Scott Walker to join me and sign the pledge not to run negative TV attack ads or mailers in the closing days of this campaign."

The latest Rasmussen poll shows Neumann would beat Tom Barrett, 48 to 44%. It is Rasmussen's 10th poll in this race and the first time the poll has shown Neumann would beat Barrett by a wider margin than Walker. It was also the first poll to show Neumann outperforming Walker with Republicans.

Specifically, the Walker negative attack mail piece singles out one vote from 1998 that 143 Republicans voted for, including Wisconsin Republican Congressmen Tom Petri (Walker endorser) and Scott Klug, along with national conservative leaders like Dick Armey, now a leading Tea Party advocate. Democrats, including Wisconsin's David Obey, voted against it.

Importantly, the bill also ensured that all federal gas tax revenue would be dedicated to transportation projects. As Governor, Neumann has made it clear he will dedicate transportation-related taxes to transportation projects and ban any raids on segregated funds, including the transportation fund. It was not immediately clear whether Walker's negative attack signals a change in his own position on transportation funding.

Would Mark Neumann and Scott Walker Hire Ken Mehlman

Ken Mehlman ran the most hateful, anti-gay project in presidential history in George W. Bush's 2004 reelection campaign.

President Bush's campaign manager in 2004 and a former chairman of the Republican National Committee now says he's gay.

Is being gay a disqualification for working as a GOP operative? Seems unlikely. Mehlman is the latest in a long line of GOP operatives who work against gays during the day, while living a double life.

But GOP Gubernatorial candidate, Mark Neumann, is on record as saying being gay is a disqualification for service in his legislative office.

In a widely reported address to the now-defunct La Crosse Christian Coalition in 1997 during Neumann's campaign for U.S. Senate, Neumann said that he would not hire a person who applied for a position in his legislative office after stating a gay or lesbian orientation.

“If somebody walks in to me and say, ‘I’m a gay person; I want a job in your office.’ I would say, ‘that’s inappropriate’ and they wouldn’t be hired because that would mean they are promoting their agenda. The gay and lesbian lifestyle (is) unacceptable, lest there be any question about that.”

Does this position still hold for Neumann? How about Scott Walker? Where does he stand on banishing gays from employment in a Walker administration?

From the Atlantic:

By Marc Ambinder

Ken Mehlman, President Bush's campaign manager in 2004 and a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, has told family and associates that he is gay.

Mehlman arrived at this conclusion about his identity fairly recently, he said in an interview. He agreed to answer a reporter's questions, he said, because, now in private life, he wants to become an advocate for gay marriage and anticipated that questions would arise about his participation in a late-September fundraiser for the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER), the group that supported the legal challenge to California's ballot initiative against gay marriage, Proposition 8.

"It's taken me 43 years to get comfortable with this part of my life," said Mehlman, now an executive vice-president with the New York City-based private equity firm, KKR. "Everybody has their own path to travel, their own journey, and for me, over the past few months, I've told my family, friends, former colleagues, and current colleagues, and they've been wonderful and supportive. The process has been something that's made me a happier and better person. It's something I wish I had done years ago."

Privately, in off-the-record conversations with this reporter over the years, Mehlman voiced support for civil unions and told of how, in private discussions with senior Republican officials, he beat back efforts to attack same-sex marriage. He insisted, too, that President Bush "was no homophobe." He often wondered why gay voters never formed common cause with Republican opponents of Islamic jihad, which he called "the greatest anti-gay force in the world right now."

Mehlman's leadership positions in the GOP came at a time when the party was stepping up its anti-gay activities -- such as the distribution in West Virginia in 2006 of literature linking homosexuality to atheism, or the less-than-subtle, coded language in the party's platform ("Attempts to redefine marriage in a single state or city could have serious consequences throughout the country..."). Mehlman said at the time that he could not, as an individual Republican, go against the party consensus. He was aware that Karl Rove, President Bush's chief strategic adviser, had been working with Republicans to make sure that anti-gay initiatives and referenda would appear on November ballots in 2004 and 2006 to help Republicans.

Mehlman acknowledges that if he had publicly declared his sexuality sooner, he might have played a role in keeping the party from pushing an anti-gay agenda.

"It's a legitimate question and one I understand," Mehlman said. "I can't change the fact that I wasn't in this place personally when I was in politics, and I genuinely regret that. It was very hard, personally." He asks of those who doubt his sincerity: "If they can't offer support, at least offer understanding."

"What I do regret, and think a lot about, is that one of the things I talked a lot about in politics was how I tried to expand the party into neighborhoods where the message wasn't always heard. I didn't do this in the gay community at all."

He said that he "really wished" he had come to terms with his sexual orientation earlier, "so I could have worked against [the Federal Marriage Amendment]" and "reached out to the gay community in the way I reached out to African Americans."

Tom and Tommy?

The Wisconsin gubernatorial race is wide open, even though the reported Obama backing of Tom Barrett led the heroic Democrat to throw his hat in the ring against two heavyweight Republican contenders.

A Tommy Thompson supporter this weekend described Thompson as a "tremendous bundle of energy," having what appears as a personal inclination to run for governor in 2010. But no official decision is expected until after the holidays and a personal inclination is but one factor among many.

There is growing GOP-muckity-muck sentiment to push aside Mark Neumann [in favor of whom?], a short-sighted move that may not sit well with a guy with razor-sharp, multi-appendaged elbows.

One GOP-leaning blogger in favor of moving out Neumann tries lamely to belittle him for not having finely-tuned field and press operations, as if money and ideology were not the consummate political organization.

Anyway, Thompson and Tom Barrett both culturally fit Wisconsin as does Neumann to a lesser extent.

But will Thompson get in after declared GOP candidate Scott Walker has invested nearly two years in running?

That Tommy is considering a run and is being repeatedly urged is revealing that politicos believe that the too-slick-by-half Walker [an admiring John Nichols calls him the Wisconsin William Buckley] and the ideological Neumann would not fare well against the affable Milwaukee mayor who looks like he belongs in Fondy or Superior downing beers as much as smacking punks in Milwaukee.

See also: One-term Tommy Thompson in 2010 Has Appeal.

The Race for Guv

A few items and observations:

- Anyone who underestimates the appeal of Mark Neumann [and on social policy I like to think that I am his biggest critic] is sorely mistaken. Look for an innovative and unexpected campaign from Neumann.

- Scott Walker is among other problems too slick by half.

- Governor Jim Doyle's campaign is like Rocky II going through a depression, while the audience is impatiently anticipating the dude finally training and getting ready for the big rematch.

Remember what Burgess Meredith says: "What are we waiting for?!" Declare your intentions now, Gov. Doyle. The July-August roll-out prohibition is obsolete.

- I hereby offer my services to any candidate who will stop our veterans in Wisconsin from being royally screwed over by the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General. These bureaucrats and cop-wannabes are not fit to hold a candle to the people who actually serve this country.