Free Republic

MADISON, Wis. — The Washington, D.C., attorney representing Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson in her civil rights case against her peers serves on the board of directors of a George Soros-backed judicial group. Robert S. Peck is founder and president of the Center for Constitutional Litigation, which bills itself as “among the most sought-after appellate litigators within the plaintiffs’ bar.” Abrahamson tapped the constitutional law expert to represent her in a civil rights case that aims to save her powerful chief justice position from a voter-backed, state constitutional amendment approved at the polls last week. The amendment allows...

Ahead of a major gathering of Republican presidential hopefuls in New Hampshire later this week, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has put some distance between himself and the rest of the field, leading by 10 points against his nearest competitor in a new poll on the Granite State. Mr. Walker is the top presidential choice for 24 percent of GOP primary voters, according to the poll out Wednesday from the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling. Next was Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas at 14 percent, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky at 12 percent and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush at 10...

The leaders of the Legislature's budget committee on Wednesday abandoned Gov. Scott Walker's plan to strip the state Natural Resources Board and the state Agriculture Board of their policy-making powers. They also removed 13 other pieces of policy from Walker's budget, including one that would exempt research at the University of Wisconsin System from the open records law. Another one that was dropped would have had property assessment duties shifted from most municipalities to counties. In other action, the Joint Finance Committee voted to cut staff for Secretary of State Doug La Follette and reshape how courts are funded. Wednesday's...

High school students in Wisconsin were asked to pretend that they were Muslims for a 10th grade World History writing assignment. Union Grove High School teacher Beth Urban asked students to write a five paragraph essay in which they pretend they are a Muslim male or female in the U.S. "Give three examples of what you do daily for your religion and any struggles you face," Urban instructed. The assignment has some questioning why this is part of a World History class and also if similar assignments were given for other religions. "I wonder if any of the kids who...

A full-page ad ran in the Wisconsin State Journal Tuesday pulling Gov. Walker into the debate over a recent decision to bar workers on a state board from talking about and working on items related to climate change. The decision has received national and international attention. The newspaper ad suggests Gov. Scott Walker’s policies amount to a “war on science” meant to protect the investments of the Koch brothers and other conservative backers. The PAC NextGen Climate Action bought the newspaper ad. The PAC is run by billionaire and Democrat Tom Steyer.

Oh, Look Who’s Suddenly Tied With Hillary… Just About Everybody! D.C. Conventional Wisdom: “Hillary’s unstoppable, Republicans begin with giant disadvantages, Rand Paul is this wacko Libertarian fruitcake, and he could never wiiiii -WHA?”>>>>Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s lead is wilting against leading Republican presidential candidates in three critical swing states, Colorado, Iowa and Virginia, and she finds herself in a close race with U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky in each state, according to a Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll released today. In head-to-head matchups, every Republican candidate effectively ties her in Colorado and almost all Republicans effectively tie...

Two of the country’s most powerful and politically influential labor unions are backing President Obama in the recent court challenge to his 2014 executive action on illegal immigration, saying they support the president’s effort because "undocumented workers" need more workplace protection and their participation helps the U.S. economy. The AFL-CIO and the National Education Association on Monday each filed so-called amicus briefs in a federal appeals court case in which Texas and 26 other states are challenges the president’s 2014 memorandum on illegal immigration. The memorandum essentially expands work authorization and delayed-deportation programs for illegal immigrants. And it provides similar...

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker won the Charleston County Republican Party’s straw poll Saturday as the GOP came together to organize ahead of the 2016 election season.... ....Saturday’s convention was part of the regular business of the party. The straw poll was loosely conducted with about 240 delegates eligible to take part. Presidential hopeful Walker was recently in Charleston where he spoke out against unions and in support of Gov. Nikki Haley. He drew 24 votes or about 10 percent of the total. The next top finishers were: U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, 20 votes; R-Ky., Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., 18 votes;...

A new poll shows New Hampshire Republicans leaning toward Scott Walker over Jeb Bush, with Rand Paul, who announced his candidacy and visited the Granite State this week, in third place. The NH1 poll released Friday shows Walker, the Wisconsin governor, leading Bush, 23 percent to 17 percent – outside the margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Paul, the first-term Kentucky senator, is at 15 percent. The three leaders are the only candidates to register in double figures. The next tier is led by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (9 percent), who entered the race last month,...

NASHVILLE — Before mentioning the National Rifle Association or even firearms at the gun rights group’s annual meeting in Nashville on Friday, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, asked all the men and women in the audience who serve or have served in the armed forces to stand so they could be properly thanked. “Freedom. Endowed by our Creator. Defined by our Constitution, but defended each and every day by the men and women who proudly wear the uniform of these United States,” Walker began. He then asked anyone who is serving or has served in the military to stand...

As a declared presidential candidate, Senator Rand Paul (R., Ky.) should generate even bigger headlines when he addresses black audiences, as he has at Howard University and other venues. When he was executive of mainly Democratic Milwaukee County, Governor Scott Walker (R., Wis.) appealed to black voters; his reelection majorities consistently increased. These and other Republicans should ask black Americans for their votes from now through November 2016. They should do so by challenging blacks to ask themselves an honest question: “What, exactly, have you gained by handing Obama 95 percent of your votes in 2008 and 93 percent in...

Gov. Scott Walker heads to Europe this week on a trade mission featuring private meetings with business and government representatives in Germany, France and Spain, as he ramps up for a likely bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. The most high-profile event on Walker's itinerary comes Tuesday when he's slated to deliver a 15-minute speech titled "Opportunities for bilateral trade and investment" at the Hannover Messe trade show in Germany. That is the world's largest industrial fair, Walker's office said in the documents detailing the trip provided to The Associated Press. Walker's only other event that's open to...

Madison— A federal judge declined Thursday to put an immediate halt on an amendment to the state constitution adopted by voters this week that would allow the members of the Wisconsin Supreme Court to choose the chief justice. The job of chief justice has automatically gone to the most senior member of the Supreme Court for the last 126 years. Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson and her supporters sued to keep her position as the court's leader on Wednesday, a day after voters approved changing how the chief justice is selected. She argues the provision can't go into effect until her...

Full Title: The twisted metamorphosis of Scott Walker’s Wisconsin: How a once-liberal state became a political battlefield How do you explain Wisconsin? Once the home to progressive liberal politics and politicians, such as governors Gaylord Nelson, Patrick Lucey and Anthony Earl, Wisconsin now produces the likes of union-busting Gov. Scott Walker, and a GOP-controlled legislature enacting voter ID, onerous abortion regulations, and anti-union right-to-work rules. The state now even has a polarized and partisan Supreme Court with a constitutional crisis on its hands: Voters have just adopted a ballot initiative that would dislodge Shirley Abrahamson, the court’s liberal chief justice,...

For months, White House hopefuls from both parties have been raising millions in unlimited contributions at upscale fund-raisers from Manhattan to Palm Springs, Calif. — all without officially declaring themselves candidates and becoming subject to federal caps on contributions. Only a few of some 20 would-be presidential candidates have even bothered to set up the exploratory committees that were once a time-tested way to declare interest in the White House — and that set off their own fund-raising restrictions. But two leading campaign finance groups charged on Tuesday that the spread of these unofficial campaigns in recent months was not...

"......Mr. Walker said the Iranians are not coming to the negotiating table “out of the good nature of their hearts trying to push for world peace.” “They’re coming to the table because they were being brought to their knees because of the sanctions from the United States and from our allies particularly in Europe,” he said. “And right at the time when they’re working think about this kind of negotiation. We should have been saying here’s the deal: you take it or if not we’re going to go back to our allies and push for even stronger sanctions because we...

President Barack Obama says his successor in the White House will not call into question the executive branch’s power to cut deals between the United States and other countries, such as the nuclear framework reached last week with Iran. “I am confident that any president who gets elected will be knowledgeable enough about foreign policy and knowledgeable enough about the traditions and precedents of presidential power that they won’t start calling to question the capacity of the executive branch of the United States to enter into agreements with other countries,” Obama said in an interview with NPR’s “Morning Edition” set...

The state Board of Commissioners of Public Lands Tuesday voted to prohibit staff from addressing climate change, even if it's just responding to emails on the subject, according to a Bloomberg news report.State Treasurer Matt Adamczyk, who sits on the board, raised the issue on Tuesday, pointing to climate change work done by the board's exectuve director, Tia Nelson.Nelson, the daughter of Gaylord Nelson, the U.S. senator who founded Earth Day, worked on climate changes issues in 2007 and 2008 after being appointed to a global warming task force by former Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle."It's not part of our sole...

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Racially obsessed USA Today on Friday wrote this headline: “Wisconsin doesn't hide from 'white guys' reputation.” Josh Peter assembled current and former Badger players,  former assistant coaches, and “authorities on the African-American experience” to answer: “Why is the Badgers' roster predominantly white?” When the Final Four is played Saturday in Indianapolis, all five starters for Kentucky, Duke and Michigan State will be African American. Wisconsin's starting lineup, by contrast, includes one African American, forward Nigel Hayes. The average Division I men's basketball team this season includes nine African-American players and four white players, according to data provided by the NCAA....