Student's Advocate: Congresswoman Baldwin

Congresswoman Baldwin has taken a unique focus on this US Senate race. Although summer is here and college students are bagging groceries and painting houses to pay the bills, she is working to keep their interest rates low. While the Republican primary has four candidates battling for the parties nomination, Baldwin is running essentially unopposed in the Democrat primary and is able to focus on the issues she wants to address. One such issue is the inevitable rise of student loan interest rates. Rates are set to double from 3.4% to 6.8% this July. It is part of a provision passed in 2007 that temporarily lowered the rates for five years.

Today in Milwaukee at MATC Congresswoman Baldwin continued her tour around Wisconsin colleges about this increase. She was introduced by the state chairmen of the College Democrats and accompanied by a dozen students holding Baldwin 2012 signs. The Congresswomen laid out the issue and explained that she had tried to counter the increase that Congress knew was coming, but a deal could not be made. Her solution is the Buffet Rule. The Buffet Rule raising taxes on the highest tax bracket (roughly those making over $1,000,000 a year). I asked the Congresswoman if that increase would be enough to finance keeping the rates froze at 3.4% and she said that it was, but that was not the only issue at hand. She explained we need tax fairness where the rich are taxed at an equivalent rate to lessen to strain on the middle class.

Here is a clip from the event. I will be posting as much footage as my hard drive allows from events in the future.

Neumann vs. Baldwin

This Thursday Mark Neumann responded to Baldwin's challenge over student loans. Student loan rates are set to double from 3.4% to 6.8% this July and Congresswoman Baldwin is touring schools across the state speaking out against the rise. Mark Neumann went to her congressional office in Madison to address her challenge. He gave the party line response of "conservatives want to cut spending and liberals want to raise taxes". While he did not give a concrete plan on how to freeze current interest rates he did turn and attack Baldwin. Neumann handed out a press release saying that the Congresswomen voted for the legislation that is responsible for the increased rate. It is a sunset bill that had temporarily lowered the rate. A sunset bill is one that has a set termination date. At that set time the bill expires. When asked if he would vote for any temporary sunset type bills in the future he said he would not .

Hovde and the Debt

Eric Hovde announced his economic plan on Tuesday with events in Green Bay and Waunakee. I was able to attend the Waunakee event and recorded his speech (video below). For the most part it was the typical conservative economic message: getting rid of debt, Obamacare etc. His eight point plan is:

1. Defeating the debt and balancing the budget;
2. Reforming America's broken tax code;
3. Deregulating our economy;
4. Reforming the Federal Reserve;
5. Reforming the Financial  Reserve;
6. Repealing and replacing ObamaCare;
7. Achieving true energy independence; and
8. Ending crony capitalism

Press conferences and media stunts are fine but I am looking forward to having a debate between the four republicans in the field. Meanwhile Tammy Baldwin is able to fundraise and build her structure as she runs unopposed. November will sure be interesting.

Rest and Recharge

Rest and Recharge was the theme at the Democrat State Convention this past weekend. Congressmen Kind explained it best when he applauded the work that members of the party put in to the recall process. They did all that could be done, and lost. But now is not the time to mope and give up, he called upon the party to take a little time to rest and recharge, but not too long because November is fast approaching.

The convention was held at the Paper valley Radison in Appleton.  Hundreds of activists spent the weekend socializing, listening to speakers, and recharging. All of the familiar faces were in attendance along with a few new ones. Kind provided the meat and potatoes inspiration that many attendees seemed to need, but the rest of the program contributed their own dish so that at the end of the day everyone felt full and satisfied.

Ed Shultz was a semi-surprise. While he could not speech publicly because of legal constraints. He did receive a cheesehead on stage and tell the party how much he supported them. Mahlon Mitchell was another fresh face whose status is the party is reaching rockstar. Although he lost his bid for LT Governor in the recall effort I expect him to be a favorite subject in the rumor mills whenever a new Democrat champion is needed in an election. His relationship with the Democrat party has just begun.

The real keynote speaker of the night was Congresswoman Baldwin. While her speech was brief it gave every appearance of a full blown US Senate campaign. She spoke out against tax brackets that allowed the wealthy to pay less taxes than the middle class and called on the party die hards to keep fighting into November. Her campaign was in full swing and by far the most organized effort of the convention. Roughly a dozen staffers in Baldwin t-shirts were running around all day prepping for the Congresswoman's speech and hospitality suite afterwards. Her suite was also one of the most successful. With ample amounts of beer and hot food patrons did not leave unsatisfied. Former representative Kagan and the Fire Fighters union also had suites with various adult beverages.

At the end of the night everyone appeared to be following Kind's orders to the letter. The doom and gloom that filled the hall at the beginning of the day subsided as smiles and hope returned to the party. It may have been a blessing to have the convention so soon after the failed recall attempt. The Democrat party did not have the luxury of sulking but must unite once again if they intend re-elected President Obama and elect a new Senator in Tammy Baldwin.

Democratic Party of Wisconsin Convention: What is Next?

Tonight I will be attending the state convention for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. While I was unable to attend the Republican Convention earlier this year, I hope to make that up to you all with some in person interviews. Bear with me as I attempt to do live updates. It will be interesting to see what they plan next after the recall election this past tuesday. While Democrats lost the gubernatorial race, they did win control of the senate for the time being. That may be enough silver lining to push them towards November when Herb Kohl's senate seat is up for grabs.

Neumann and Porkzilla

This past wednesday Mark Neumann held an event at the Obama victory center in Madison. I was able to attend and hear in person his plans for the senate race, and how he plans to tackle the deficit. Most of the contents of his speech came from information already on his website so I won't reiterate that here. However it is worth nothing that he has received a few important endorsements from the Club for Growth, Senator DeMint and Senator Rand Paul. This should go a long way to rebuild bridges he may have burned in 2010 when he ran against Scott Walker.

The most crucial part of event was the unveiling of Porkzilla. Porkzilla is Neumann's latest live pig used to represent out of control spending. His last pig, Mr. Favors, now weighs over 140 pounds and is too heavy to be brought to events.

Walker Wins the Rematch

The results are final, Walker defeated Tom Barrett for the second time. His 53.2-46.3 win is actually larger than his 52.29- 46.52. win in 2010 during the Tea Party avalanche. However Democrats did win a consolation prize in the 21st senate district where John Lehman squeaked out a narrow victory. Barring a recount, they will gain control of the senate. So what now? Walker's large margin will embolden the Republicans while the 21st district win and pain of defeat will make Democrats more motivated, yet hopeful. Obama continues to poll well over Romney state wide, but that lead is shrinking. One thing is sure, Wisconsin will be a key battleground in both the presidential race and US Senate. Stay tuned for analysis on the Senate race as eyes turn away from the recall.