Progressive Thinking

MADISON - In the 1990s the late sociologist and senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan coined the phrase “defining deviancy down” to describe the tendency of societies to respond to destructive behaviors by lowering standards for what is permissible.

Today it’s clear the same thing has happened to political representation. Here in Wisconsin, we’ve unquestionably grown more tolerant of political corruption, and the same probably goes for the whole country. All across America, standards for what it means to be represented have been lowered. We still have the habit of calling elected officials our “representatives” even though we are convinced they don’t care what we think, put their own interests ahead of the country’s and are slaves to wealthy donors.

We are considered to be represented even though we have elections for Congress and state legislatures where one party gets the most votes but the other party wins the most seats.

Supermajorities of voters in cities and small rural towns, in Republican and Democratic strongholds alike, have made it clear they think there is too much money in politics. Their “representatives” think there is not enough, and went to work changing the law to allow vastly larger political donations with considerably less donor disclosure.

Voters crossed party boundaries to show support for increasing the minimum wage. Their “representatives” ignored their wishes. Voters cast ballots in favor of Wisconsin accepting federal funds to expand health care coverage. Their “representatives” did the opposite, rejecting the federal money.

They not only disregard what voters want. They actively work to make it harder to vote.

It’s clear the representation that is a central feature of any true republic has been diminished, demeaned and devalued in today’s America. It’s equally clear that supposed representatives will not undertake the restoration of authentic representation. This work will have to be an undertaking of the supposedly represented. Standards for what it means to be represented will have to be raised. Intolerance of corruption and what currently passes for representation will have to grow. And we need to question everything about how the system works, because it obviously isn’t working for most of us at the moment.

With the advanced information technology we now have, why isn’t thereautomatic voter registration? Why do we still have to vote on Tuesdays? Why do we have winner-take-all elections? Why do voters have to choose just one candidate for an office? Why can’t we rank all the candidates in order of preference? Why do we still need primary elections and general elections? In this computer age we could save a lot of money by having instant runoffs.

For that matter, why do we have just one representative in each office? If one candidate gets 55% of the vote and another gets 45%, why pretend the top vote-getter “represents” everyone? Computer technology could easily be put to work in the halls of government to allow both to serve as representatives, with their representation of the voting jurisdiction instantly apportioned according to the percentage of the vote each received. That way, the wishes of all those voters would be reflected in decisions made by governing bodies, not just the wishes of just over half of them.

While we are questioning the system, we also have to question our own habits. Why do we call elected officials our “representatives” if we do not feel they represent us? Why do we call office holders our nation’s or our state’s or our community’s “leaders” when they are supposed to be taking their cues from us? Why don’t we recognize ourselves as the leaders and them as our servants?

Really, why?

MADISON - There was an insightful and thought provoking story in the New York Times the other day by journalist Alec MacGillis about why the poorest parts of the country are inclined to support the politicians who are most hostile to any form of government assistance to the poor.

Democrats may not want to hear it, but MacGillis is speaking directly to them when he says: “The temptation for coastal liberals is to shake their heads over those godforsaken white-working-class provincials who are voting against their own interests. But this reaction misses the complexity of the political dynamic that’s taken hold in these parts of the country. It misdiagnoses the Democratic Party’s growing conundrum with working-class white voters. And it also keeps us from fully grasping what’s going on in communities where conditions have deteriorated to the point where researchers have detected alarming trends in their mortality rates.”

Democrats used to appeal to rural voters but don’t anymore, and this fact makes it next to impossible for them to construct coalitions broad enough to produce governing majorities.

If the Democrats are to avoid going the way of the dinosaur, they have to solve the rural riddle. There are countless clues to be found and just as many potential solutions to be tried. Here are five to start with:

1. Restore home rule. Republicans used to be for local control, now they are controlling the locals. If local communities want to put rules in place to protect their air and water and landscape from sand mining or put limits on high-capacity wells or manure spreading by large-scale animal feedlots, let ’em. Give ’em back control over their schools, their local zoning, their taxation. Let ’em manage their affairs.
2. Keep rural schools open. A local school is a rural community’s bedrock, even to a greater degree than in urban or suburban areas. The rural school is a hub of community activity. Everyone goes to the school play or the high school football game. School district consolidation and school closings have hit many rural communities with the force of a bomb. Anyone who cares about the vitality of rural communities knows that extreme measures need to be taken to keep rural districts viable and their community schools operating.
3. Rethink bypass-happy highway planning. Most every major highway project done any time in recent or distant memory that reaches out into rural areas has featured bypasses of small towns. Think about the impact this has on those communities. Their family-owned cafes and coffee shops and restaurants close. Their main streets die. Shaving a few minutes off your or my travel time can be a death sentence for a small town. Rural communities don’t need multi-lane monstrosities with clover leafs and traffic circles. They need high-quality, well maintained paved roads. Most city folk have no idea how many country roads are still unpaved to this day and how many of the paved ones are rutted and chock full of potholes.
4. Universal access to high-speed Internet and mobile phone service. Look at a map showing which parts of the U.S. have access to broadband. The urban centers do and the rural areas don’t. The telecommunications industry and its apologists in public office often are heard saying that programs are in place to address this disparity. But the fact remains that in 2015 over half of all rural Americans lack access to high-speed Internet. Most can’t get reliable cell phone signals either. How can you start a business and compete in today’s economy without access to these services? High-speed Internet and mobile voice are to the 21st Century what telephones were in the 20th, namely essential communications technologies. Essential technologies that remain out of the reach of most rural people.
5. Stop means testing. Making everyone pay for government programs when only a few end up being eligible to receive the benefits may not be the cause of the growing division and political polarization in American society, but it surely has contributed to the problem and continues to aggravate it. The point MacGillis makes in his article about how many rural voters oppose programs to help what they regard as the “undeserving” poor is an incredibly important point for Democrats to ponder. For decades now the Democrats have ignored the political law of universality: That the most widely supported and successful government programs are ones where everyone pays and everyone benefits. When the Democrats won the hearts of a majority of people in the past, it was because the party had a big hand in creating things that tangibly benefited everyone or at least directly touched every American family. Things like Social Security and Medicare, rural electrification, the GI Bill and the interstate highway system. Today’s Democrats seem to want to means test everything and target assistance to particular constituencies, which makes their programs highly vulnerable to the divide-and-conquer tactics of the Republicans.

Doing these five things would be enormously helpful to rural areas. But today’s GOP won’t do any of them. They won’t do the first four because today’s breed of Republican is philosophically at odds with the measures required to accomplish those aims. In fact, they are moving in the exact opposite direction. And they won’t do the fifth because it is politically advantageous for them to be able to pit the poor against the nearly-poor.

If these five steps are to be taken, it’ll be the Democrats taking them. If enough of them wake up to the need . . . and the opportunity.

Before I get to my thank you notes for Thanksgiving, I wanted to share with you two postings by our research director, Mike Buelow.

He noticed a couple bills that are wending their way through the legislature, and both represent dangers to the children of Wisconsin. But they are backed by powerful interests.

The first one would allow a child of any age to go out hunting. This would overturn the current law, which requires a child to be at least 10 years old. Other aspects of the bill would also increase the chances of something going terribly wrong, but the NRA and some hunting groups support it, as you’ll see here:

Bill would remove age, weapons restrictions in hunting program for children.

The second bill would lower the age limit for kids using utility vehicles, and it would also up the horsepower of ATVs. This bill is backed by Polaris Industries, which manufactures the vehicles. The CEO of Polaris, by the way, has given a lot of money to Walker. See how much by clicking here:

Polaris Industries backs lower age limit for rec vehicles.

So it’s business as usual in Walkerville.

But it doesn’t get me down because I’ve noticed a ton of opposition to this anti-democratic way of governing everywhere I go in Wisconsin.

And I’m thrilled to be working with so many great pro-democracy activists in this state. I thank many of them here:

Thankful on Thanksgiving to advocates for democracy in Wisconsin

I’d like to thank you, too, for reading our postings and for supporting our work. You make it all worthwhile.

Have a nice Thanksgiving!

MADISON, WI – On Christmas Eve 1998, I woke up to find out that my good friend and classmate at Thomas More High School, Jennie, had been killed by a drunk driver the night before. It was a devastating blow to each of her friends and everyone who knew her. It was a horrible, preventable tragedy and something that shaped each of our lives going forward. If I could have done something to bring my friend back, I would have. Unfortunately, stories like this are not uncommon in Wisconsin.

Sadly, seventeen years later, stories like Jennie’s are still happening because Wisconsin’s laws are woefully inadequate in addressing and preventing drunk driving in Wisconsin. With nearly 26% of adults admitting to driving while intoxicated, Wisconsin continues to top the national charts with the highest rate of drunk driving. More alarmingly, first-time OWI offenders are estimated to have driven under the influence at least 80 times before their initial conviction.

The use of ignition interlock devices (IIDs) has shown to be successful in changing offenders’ behavior. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention IIDs reduce drunk driving recidivism by 67%. These devices separate drinking from driving, and are proven effective in stopping drunk driving.

Today, I circulated the Drunk Driving Prevention Act (LRB 3902) for co-sponsorship which would require ignition interlock devices (IIDs) for all first-time OWI offenders. This legislation will catch us up to the modern world, reduce drunk driving, and ensure there will be a clear, personal consequence when someone is convicted of driving under the influence.

This week Sen. Kathleen Vinehout takes a break from the politics of Madison and writes about the joy of being out in the woods – whether deer hunting or simply basking in the beauty of the countryside.

ALMA, WI - Tundra Swans arrived Friday.

These magnificent birds spend a brief time in Buffalo County on their way from the tundra of Canada and Alaska to their wintering grounds on the East Coast.

The brilliant, white birds with a 6 1/2’ wingspan are migrants through our valley. They love the swamps and back waters. And when they gather they are very social.

The swans love to converse. I listened to their excited chatter sitting in my deer blind in the early dawn hours. They sounded like enthusiastic teenagers.

Swans showed up about the same time as dozens of shiny pick-up trucks. Many deer hunters flock to Buffalo County for the nine-day gun hunt.

If you didn’t know these folks weren’t locals, you would know when you met them on the single lane gravel road leading to our farm.

Most locals will at least raise two fingers off the steering wheel, which is the rural driver signal that passes for a friendly wave at someone you don’t know but think you should remember. But these “foreigners” don’t know the signal yet.

Eating, drinking and lodging establishments are full and that is good for the local economy.

Deer hunting lost a bit of its social value this year. The Department of Natural Resources started a new on-line system for registering animals.

Registration often took place at a local convenience store or tavern. Hunters lucky enough to find success in the field take great care to arrange their trophies in the back of the truck before heading to town to register and show off their prize.

There are a few registration stations left – but most deer registration this year happened on-line (www.gamereg.wi.gov) or by phone (844-426-3734). Somehow, logging onto a website did not bring the same satisfaction as gawking neighbors and shirttail relatives crowded around the back of the truck to hear one more story of the hunt.

“My heart was pounding so loud in my ears, I thought the doe could hear it,” said one woman at the Kwik Trip. At least we can still share the story at the local gathering places.

Thanksgiving and deer hunting are social events. The telling of the hunt with good food and a glowing fire in the hearth brings real joy. Friends and relatives we haven’t seen in far too long bring home stories of worlds we can only imagine.

The camaraderie of shared history and experiences strengthen the bonds of friendship and family. And the stories of nature again remind us why we live in Wisconsin.

Every year it seems I learn something new about our farm during deer season. Taking the time to sit in the woods, I see the land and its inhabitants anew.

Big tracks I never noticed in the mud. A deer trail cut though the swamp. Clumps of tall grasses and fallen branches that could be used for the perfect blind. An overgrown trail carved out of the side of the bluff in what must have been a field road of long ago.

And the creatures: seven blue jays and dozens of squirrels; a nuthatch and five different species of woodpeckers. Two bald eagles were looking for breakfast.

As my friend Lisa and I headed back from the woods opening day, she pointed to the night sky over the old granary. “Owls,” she said.

Not just one or two - no it was six owls. The short-eared owls flying and diving were silhouetted in the rose-colored dusk sky.

“In case you woke up this morning hoping that you too might encounter a flock of owls and wondered what to call them,” wrote Jeff of the Chippewa Valley birder group the next morning. “I found they would be a parliament.”

A parliament, I thought. I hope these owls are wiser than our Legislature.

Sending wishes for fun filled Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you in the Wisconsin State Legislature.

MADISON - Do a Google search for the words “Republican presidential debates” and “circus” and you get close to 2 million results. Search for “Republican presidential campaign” and “train wreck” and you get 4 million.

Off the national stage, Republican officials in places like Wisconsin are showing clear signs of worry bordering on panic when it comes to their standing with the public. With good reason. Public approval of the GOP has reached its lowest point in decades. Support for the party hasdropped sharply even among self-described Republican voters.

So far, the Democrats seem content to be the slightly less objectionable alternative. Their strategy largely consists of handing the Republicans plenty of rope and hoping they hang themselves.

There are a lot of reasons why that is a questionable strategy. There is one reason in particular why it is actually a recipe for Republicans winning in spite of themselves. Democrats have lost their mojo in rural areas. They used to know how to appeal to rural voters but evidently have forgotten.

The Democrats have a primarily urban support base that has been whittled down in Wisconsin to not much more than Madison and Milwaukee. The Republicans have a suburban support base. Neither party’s base gets them to 50% in elections, so neither base alone can produce a governing majority. Democrats used to have an urban-rural coalition that produced governing majorities for them, but that alliance has fractured and in its place the Republicans have formed a suburban-rural, rich-poor alliance that has won them control of most statehouses across the country including Wisconsin’s.

Book after book has been written about how the Republicans manufactured this realignment. But it wasn’t just the Republicans’ doing. It had every bit as much to do with what Democrats have made themselves into over the last several decades.

When the Democrats were at the zenith of their power, they were unapologetic economic populists, starting with FDR’s New Deal for the Depression-ravaged masses in the 1930s and continuing right through the 1960s with LBJ’s War on Poverty and Great Society programs. Shortly thereafter, it started to become fashionable for Democrats to describe themselves as socially liberal but economically and fiscally conservative. In practical terms, that meant being for such things as abortion rights, gay rights, gun control and legalization of marijuana while becoming increasingly friendly to Wall Street and royals of global industry. The party has been in decline ever since.

One important reason for the steady erosion of the Democrats’ fortunes is that being socially liberal but economically elitist is exactly the opposite of what most rural people are. They are more socially conservative than your average Democrat, but are feeling vulnerable and exploited and taken advantage of economically.

It is definitely conceivable the Democrats could remain socially progressive and win over enough rural voters to win back statehouses and gain firm control over Congress, but only if they combine lifestyle liberalism with very assertive economic populism. It is not remotely possible to be socially liberal and economically elitist — as they are now — and make any meaningful political inroads in rural areas. Not even if Republicans keep shooting themselves in the foot.

MADISON - The Democrats have been a party in decline for more than 40 years. That’s not to say they haven’t won an occasional battle in that time, but they’ve been losing the war for that long. It’s been a downward spiral ever since the Great Society era drew to a close soon after the dawning of the 1970s.

Forty years of losing argument after argument about which direction the country should head has had a profound cumulative effect. America is more walled off. More locked up. Armed to the teeth. More militaristic, defended to the point of ridiculous overkill. All largely because we are becoming more unequal by the day. That’s what 40 years of trickle-down economics and crony capitalism and deregulation for deregulation’s sake get you.

In its heyday, the Democratic Party was countrypolitan. It isn’t anymore.

Countrypolitan is a slang term most often associated with music. But it can apply to anything — or anyone — that’s a mix of rural (country) and urban (metropolitan). That’s what the Democratic Party used to be decades ago. It is not countrypolitan today and hasn’t been for quite some time now. The Democrats started losing ground when they stopped appealing to people outside the cities.

The Democrats’ decline will continue until they get serious about exploring why rural and suburban people currently are sticking together to support right-wing values and policies, how they could be persuaded to part company, and how rural and urban interests could be reunited.

The Democratic Party has much to gain and little to lose from such exploration. It can’t sink much lower. But lower- and middle-class Americans in both rural and urban areas stand to gain the most. Policies benefiting them don’t stand much of a chance of becoming the law of the land as long as the vast wealth of a few holds policymakers in such an iron grip.

For there to be a chance of commoner-friendly thinking being reflected in government actions, a new coalition of commoners needs to emerge, one that packs enough punch to stagger the reigning political champion — money. Legions of diligent campaign finance reformers are watching helplessly these days as old safeguards against government corruption are stripped away and the floodgates are opened ever wider, allowing more and more money to flood into elections and lobbying. They are powerless to stop political inequality from breeding still more political inequality.

Growing political inequality then produces greater economic inequality and sustained social inequality. And the more government is seen working for just a few at everyone else’s expense, the more the masses despise government. The more government is despised, the easier it is for a wealthy and well-connected few to control.

This vicious cycle is the 99%’s quandary. And the Democratic Party’s.

Preventing our nation from becoming more stratified, more walled off and more fractured depends on breaking the vicious cycle of political and economic inequality. Today’s Democratic Party appears to be at a loss about how to do it or even what to try. Democrats would do well to start by reacquainting themselves with the forgotten countrypolitan formula that worked so well for them from the 1930s through the 1960s.

MADISON - I refuse to be gloomy!

Yeah, I know, we took a big hit on the GAB bill and the campaign finance bill. But I’m hopeful that things will turn around.

And one of the reasons I’m hopeful is that there is tremendous pro-democracy work going on around this state. For example, at the very time that the State Assembly was rubber-stamping these horrendous bills, I was at an inspiring conference in Milwaukee, where 150 pro-democracy and issue activists came together to chart a promising way forward. I write about it here:

Dark day in Madison, sunny dawn in Milwaukee

While I was in Milwaukee, our research director, Mike Buelow, was looking into a recent court decision that will handcuff the ability of the DNR to regulate high-capacity wells, which are siphoning off our water to factory farms. There’s one big factory farm that may benefit the most, as Mike reported here:

Milk Source, a big Walker donor, wins in judge's ruling on wells

Mike Buelow also uncovered all the money that employees of Johnson Controls have been giving Scott Walker, who doled out WEDC loans of almost $2.5 million to the company, which is now laying off workers:

Love triangle:  Johnson Controls, Walker contributions, and WEDC

By the way, I’m going back to Milwaukee tomorrow night to talk about “The Assault on Democracy in Wisconsin, and How We Can Fight Back.” So please come see me if you can.

Here are the details: I’ll be speaking at ATU Hall (Amalgamated Transit Union), 734 N. 26^th St, at 7:00 p.m. this Thursday night, Nov. 19.

And please tell your Milwaukee friends about it, too. It should be fun, and I promise to be hopeful.

A report published by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance (WISTAX) tracks statistics reflecting the economy, education and quality of life in Wisconsin. It's not rocket science, there's a lot of room for improvement.

MADISON - “My son’s grades improved at report card time,” Mari told me. Her son struggled in school for many years. “We had a great teacher conference. He got mostly Bs and Cs – which was an improvement.”

Wisconsin recently got its own report card. Our state also got mostly Bs and Cs. Although in several cases, these scores represent benchmarks that are not improving.

The report published by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance (WISTAX) tracks statistics reflecting the economy, education and quality of life in Wisconsin.

Our focus on education has historically been a great strength of our state. The report card reviewed education through “workforce readiness” and assigned Bs for all benchmarks measured – the only category to receive this consistent high mark.

More students graduate from high school in Wisconsin than any other Midwest state but Iowa. On national tests (NAEP), our students score better in math than every surrounding state but Minnesota. Wisconsin’s average ACT score beat every surrounding state but Minnesota.

Although Wisconsin’s K-12 students perform better than the national average, we lag the US average, and Minnesota and Illinois, in the number of people over age 25 with a bachelor’s degree. We need more people with a college degree.

Higher education improves income. Wisconsin also has an income problem.

The report card gave a D+ to Wisconsin’s average earnings. Wisconsin’s average earnings have been at least 10% behind the US average in 26 of 32 years between 1983 and 2014. We also lag the US per capita income. All neighboring states have higher per capita income.

Wisconsin also has a job growth problem. WISTAX reports a meager 1% growth per year since 2011. The five-year job growth is less than the national average and any surrounding state.

Traditionally, Wisconsin’s unemployment rate tracks about two percentage points below the national rate. Over the past few years that gap has narrowed. The recent Bureau of Labor Statistics September numbers showed Wisconsin’s unemployment rate less than a percentage point below the US average. Less people are filing for unemployment but job growth is anemic.

Measures of quality of life in the WISTAX report card include those without health insurance, safety as measured by violent crime and poverty.

Wisconsin has traditionally led the Midwest in those covered with insurance. Recently, Minnesota and Iowa edged out Wisconsin in health insurance coverage. The 2015 report card pegged the number of those uninsured at a hair over 9% of Wisconsinites.

The violent crime rate in Wisconsin has generally been steady over the past twenty years. Although our neighbor to the west, Minnesota, has both a historically lower rate and more success in sending that low rate even lower.

Fewer Wisconsinites own homes in 2014 than in even 2013. The roughly two-thirds of Wisconsin residents that own homes is better than the national average but lower than every surrounding state except Illinois.

Poverty has been rising in Wisconsin over the past fifteen years. WISTAX used the federal definition of poverty. For example, in 2014 a family of four with an annual income of $23,850 was at the poverty threshold. About 11% of Wisconsin residents earned less than the poverty threshold in 2013. As a percent of the population, Wisconsin has more residents below the poverty threshold than Minnesota and Iowa but fewer than Illinois or Michigan.

The report card covered several other measures but space limits us.

The WISTAX study isn’t nearly as easy to read or understand progress as your child or grandchild’s report card. The measures have changed over the years and letter grades have replaced an earlier “pass/fail” or “plus/minus” system.

Other factors make historical comparisons difficult. For example, when all students take the ACT college entrance exam, Wisconsin’s numbers are sure to drop.

Value can be achieved, however, in pausing to compare. Using benchmarks – both historical and across states – help us reflect on our progress and our continued challenges.

There is a lot of room for improvement in Wisconsin’s report card. Jobs, increasing wages and the number of college graduates are all on the list of challenges.

MADISON - It happened late Friday night.

I was almost all alone in the Wisconsin Senate Gallery. A cop was there, and a page, and occasionally one other person. That was it.

We were the only witnesses, other than the media, to the mugging of democracy that was happening right below us, on the Senate floor.

The Republican senators, with the notable exception of Sen. Rob Cowles, managed to make a horrible campaign finance bill more horrible, and then all of them smashed the Government Accountability Board to bits.

You can read my account here:

The mugging of democracy in Wisconsin

We recently unveiled our “Influence Peddler of the Month.” For November, it’s none other than Americans for Prosperity, which was founded by the Koch Brothers. You can see how that group throws its weight around in Wisconsin by clicking here:

Influence peddler of the month - Americans for Prosperity

And if you’ve got any spare time, please come hear me speak over the next few days about “The Assault on Democracy in Wisconsin, and How to Get Money Out of Politics.” This is where I’ll be:

• Nov. 10: Green Bay, 11:30 a.m., The Village Grille, 801 Hoffman Rd.
• Nov. 11: River Falls at 7:00 p.m. at the public library
• Nov. 12: New Richmond, 7:00 p.m., at Ready Randy’s, 1490 131^st St.
• Nov. 19: Milwaukee, 7:00 p.m., 734 N. 26^th St.

If you know anyone who also might be interested, please share these details with them.

MADISON - Wisconsin was once a state that protected and prioritized its workers.

Under Walker’s Wisconsin we are seeing stagnant wages, a shrinking middle class, and businesses fleeing our state. What’s more, we are one of the bottom 15 states in the nation that have a minimum wage at the federal minimum. Hardworking Wisconsinites are the economic engine for successful local businesses and vibrant communities. The Fight for 15 is the frontline battle for economic justice of our day.

Wisconsin families should not have to choose between paying for housing, putting food on their table, or caring for their family. No one should be working a 40-hour week and still be living in poverty.

For these reasons, I am a co-sponsor of Assembly Bill 264, which would raise our state’s minimum wage to a livable wage of $15. Making sure our Wisconsin neighbors earn a fair day’s pay for an honest day’s work is a win-win for our state as it strengthens our local economy and businesses. My Democratic colleagues and I are committed to working towards a future that invests in our neighbors and creates family-supporting opportunities in our local communities.

Today, I again call on Governor Walker and legislative Republicans to raise the minimum wage in order to support building an economy that works for all of us, not just corporate interests and wealthiest 1%.

It is time to put an end to backroom favors for big dollar donors and special interests and return to our state’s traditional values of prioritizing and rewarding our real profit creators: Wisconsin workers.

Speed and secrecy was the game plan Friday night in Madison as the Senate debated two bills that made significant changes to campaign finance laws and the election and ethics watchdog agency. The bills that finally passed in the wee hours of Saturday morning open the spigot for campaign money and rendered the watchdog toothless and blind.

MADISON - It was Friday night at 5:00 pm.

Most people were leaving work and looking forward to the weekend. Maybe they headed to see friends and family at the fish fry or watch the prep football playoffs.

At that same hour, Senators received details on two very important bills. Legislation that rewrote laws related to elections, campaign finance, lobbying and the ethics of elected officials.

Leaders kept details about changes to the bills secret until the last minute. Details we had not seen; the press had not read; no member of the public had an opportunity to provide comment.

By 7:00 pm, the Senate debate on the two bills began. Final Senate passage happened before the sun came up on Saturday morning. Most Wisconsinites did not hear the debate or see the vote. No TV news cameras observed the Senate. Most reporters had gone home. Senate galleries were mostly empty.

Few realized what happened and Senate Republican leaders wanted it that way.

GOP leaders called an “Extraordinary Session”: extraordinary because the regular fall floor period for final passage of legislation expired the day before.

Senators waited in Madison all week for details of which bills would be up for a vote and how those bills might be amended – changed – before the Senate vote. But, those details didn’t emerge until the sun went down, most of the press had gone home and Wisconsinites were enjoying the start to their week-end.

Big changes were on the way to campaigns and elections. Changes most people would not like – nastier, untruthful campaign ads, shadowy out-of-state groups buying more ads, and less sunlight on campaign donations. A newly created partisan, gridlocked commission would oversee ethics, lobbying and elections. More opportunity for secret deals in the dark.

Democracy needs sunshine. Wisconsin campaign laws should shine light on who donated to whom, when, how much and where that person worked. Groups that want to influence your vote should be required to say where they got their money and how they spent it. Elections must be fair and lobbying transparent.

Laws passed after dark keep voters in the dark. Legislation moving at warp-speed usually means something bad. Friday night in Madison there was certainly enough confusion among Senators about what the bills did and didn’t do which served as a warning that we didn’t know all the answers.

But, slowing things down to get answers and represent voters was not something on the mind of GOP leaders.

It was almost 11:30 pm.

“I didn’t hear a single word about what we’re going to do to help a voter cast a more informed vote,” said Senator Janet Bewley. “But, instead, they [voters] are going to be buffeted by a fire hose of bad information; too many campaign ads, mail, phone calls… This is madness. And it has nothing to do with voters.”

It was now after midnight. The Senate had only begun debating the dismantling of the Government Accountability Board (GAB) – the nonpartisan judges that oversee elections, campaign finance, lobbying and ethics.

Most of the press had gone home. All who remained was a political news service and a single reporter from the local college newspaper.

Supporters of the bill provided no hard evidence to justify dismantling nonpartisan oversight of elections, campaigns and ethics.

Exasperated, the longest serving state legislator in the United States, Senator Fred Risser stood up. He asked the bill’s author, “You just don’t like this agency?”

It was now almost 2:00 AM Saturday morning.

Senator Mark Miller implored the bill’s author. “GAB rose out of the ashes of one of the greatest political scandals our state has faced; created in an equally bipartisan bill. But this bill was created in the dark, brought forth at the last minute. How can we be sure this legislation has the interest of the public at heart?”

When you do not want the world to pay attention to legislation that is not in the public’s best interest, you pass it in the wee hours of Saturday morning.

Speed and secrecy: that was the game plan Friday night in Madison.

MADISON - The answer is asking the right questions.

I distinctly remember a strong independent streak. I remember when there were Republicans who supported abortion rights and Democrats who were anti-abortion. I remember a Republican in a red vest who signed the nation’s first statewide gay rights law more than 30 years ago. I remember a famously frugal Democrat who lampooned wasteful government spending. Now your average politician does whatever wealthy donors want for fear of losing their financial backing and whatever party leaders demand for fear of being punished with a primary election opponent.

How did so many of us come to see teachers as public enemies?Whenever a teacher told my parents I messed up in school, they always took the teacher’s word over mine. Always. Behind every story of a life well lived, there always seems to be the inspiration and guidance of a very special teacher or two. Whatever the war is, if teachers are the enemy, you are fighting for the wrong side.

How come we need so many gates and locks and walls? How’d so many scaredy cats take up residence in the home of the brave?Growing up on the farm, we didn’t have locks on our doors. After landing in Normandy on D-Day and fighting in the Battle of the Bulge and the Battle of Remagen, my dad put down guns and swore he’d never pick one up again. If he heard sounds of trouble in the middle of the night, he’d grab a baseball bat and march into the darkness to restore order. Now we have gated communities with home security systems and video surveillance.

Why have we become so suspicious and fearful of strangers? My mom always had a fresh-baked cake or pie on hand in case someone came calling. Extending hospitality to strangers was a duty. I get why little children are told not to talk to strangers. I don’t get why so many adults think they shouldn’t either.

When and why did we become so quick to judge and eager to condemn others? We’re all human. We all make mistakes. But we grow less and less willing to cut anyone some slack. In his book One Summer: America, 1927 author Bill Bryson wrote there “may never have been another time in the nation’s history when more people disliked more other people from more directions and for less reason.” It’s starting to feel like the 1920s again in that regard.

What happened to neighbors helping neighbors? In my book Blue Jeans in High Places I write about a neighbor who put aside his own work to come to our aid as we struggled to harvest corn in muddy fields, mere weeks after his father hung himself from a rafter in a shed upon learning the bank was foreclosing on the family farm. That kind of manifestation of reverence for the common good seems increasingly hard to find in this age of greed and self-absorption.

How’d we let ourselves get so addicted to entertainment? As our collective hunger to be entertained continues to grow, our thirst for news and knowledge and human interaction is diminishing. For evidence, look no further than the evolution of television programming in America. TV feeds us what we are hungry for. Today’s menu is nothing if not an alarm bell.

What happened to saving for a rainy day, picking up after ourselves and putting things back where we found them? Somewhere along the line, a whole lot of us decided to reject those teachings from our childhood. We want it all, and we want it now. Buy today, pay tomorrow. At the same time, we are growing increasingly disconnected from the land. We don’t see ourselves as guests on this planet, we see ourselves as owners. That arrogance not only threatens Earth, it imperils the human species.

Why and how have so many of us come to feel so helpless in the face of political corruption and economic inequality, and somehow unworthy to be agents of change? Our country has faced impossibly difficult-to-solve problems and mammoth crises many times before, and past generations of Americans consistently rose to the occasion and came up with solutions and brought about a better day. They were less educated than we are, had less money than we do, and had far fewer means of communication. Yet they proved smart enough, showed themselves to be plenty enterprising, and found ways to make their voices heard. Time after time, through the sheer force of will, they made America a better country.

Why not us, why not here, and why not now?

MADISON - When the legislature convenes an extraordinary session, it should be focused on urgent issues that will improve the lives of everyday citizens across Wisconsin.

Yet the Republican plan for their upcoming extraordinary session is to focus not on jobs, middle-class empowerment or any other issues that represent the top priorities of the people of our state, but on allowing more secretive money in politics, enabling more corporate influence over our government and increasing opportunities for political corruption.

Following this week’s announcement that Oscar Mayer is closing its plant in Madison and laying off more than 1,000 workers – and with Wisconsin stalled at 34th in the nation in private-sector job growth, dead last in new business start-ups and with a middle class shrinking faster than any other state – it is imperative that we focus our attention squarely on growing jobs. Republicans must reverse course and call for an extraordinary session to find solutions to Wisconsin’s jobs and lagging middle-class wage crisis instead of padding their campaign coffers.

When I speak to people around my district and across the state, they tell me they believe it is already far too easy for deep-pocketed individuals and wealthy special interests to buy elections in Wisconsin and control the agenda in Madison. I’m sure the public is outraged that Republicans would abuse their power to feather their own nests rather than working to create jobs or grow our economy.

Earlier this year, Assembly Democrats put forward our “15 Bills for 2015,” an Economic Opportunity Agenda designed to help create good-paying jobs, connect workers with available jobs, increase wages and rebuild Wisconsin’s middle class. Unfortunately, Republicans have refused to give any of them a committee vote or even a public hearing. The people of Wisconsin would be far better served by an extraordinary session that includes these bills or any other meaningful economic development initiatives.

While the Senate has passed their harmful campaign finance changes in extraordinary session, the Assembly has yet to act, so there is still time for your advocacy to make a difference. You can find out more about how to contact your legislator by visiting the legislative homepage at http://legis.wisconsin.gov/ or you can call the legislative hotline at 1-800-362-9472.

I strongly urge you to contact your state representatives and make your voices heard. Let the Republicans know these campaign finance proposals are wrong for Wisconsin and that we must instead take immediate bipartisan action to help create jobs and strengthen the finances of hardworking Wisconsin families.

Senate Bill 248 removes the current requirement that a person be arrested or detained for at least twelve hours before they are strip searched. We have a strip search problem in Milwaukee. One attorney I spoke with has 14 cases of unlawful strip searches pending in federal court. Were their "crimes" worthy of this level of humiliation?

MILWAUKEE - Today, Sen. Nikiya Harris Dodd and I held a press conference on Senate Bill 248, which will likely make its way to the Senate Floor soon. I opposed the bill when it was before me in the Senate Judiciary Committee and will continue to shine a light on the practice of strip searching non-violent temporary detainees.

This bill, as you might remember, removes the current requirement that a person be arrested or detained for at least twelve hours before they are strip searched. I absolutely hear what the Wisconsin State Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs Association and the Badger State Sheriffs Association are saying in support of SB-248.

I get that smaller communities have space challenges that make it difficult to hold a person in their own holding room or cell for twelve hours, and I agree that we must keep prisoners and jail staff safe. However, just as the current strip search regulations present challenges for smaller communities, SB-248 would create greater challenges in places like Milwaukee where the current regulations already create a climate full of full of abuse.

There is documented proof that we have a strip search problem in Milwaukee. In June 2013, Devin Raglan was a passenger in a car with two male friends. They were stopped by the police. When a bullet and marijuana were found on the driver, Raglan was also patted down. Next, however, Ragland was forced to drop his pants. An officer felt his testicles through his basketball shorts and when backup officers arrived, one pulled Ragland’s shorts and underwear away.

Ragland was arrested for being a minor with cigarettes—certainly a crime, but a crime worthy of this level of humiliation? I think not.

Ragland’s story is just one of many. A Milwaukee attorney I spoke with has 14 cases of unlawful strip searches pending in federal court. One involves a man who was strip searched in a Milwaukee jail. Officers thought he had drugs in his rectum so they made him attempt to defecate into a box on the floor to evacuate the drugs. I hate to spoil the ending for you, but this man had no drugs.

I understand that law enforcement in smaller and mid-sized communities feel current law is insufficient to protect them. But current law and SB-248 are insufficient to protect Milwaukeeans. I attempted unsuccessfully to amend the bill in committee and will continue to do my best to limit the likelihood you or someone you know may be unnecessarily subjected to this humiliating practice.

Sen. Kathleen Vinehout writes about “Canada Day” in the Capitol. The Canadian General Consul visited with state legislators and shared information about the incredible partnership between Wisconsin and Canada.

MADISON - Did you know a third of everything Wisconsin sells to the world we sell to Canada? And more visitors come to Wisconsin from Canada than any other country?

Wisconsin recently celebrated Canada Day at the Capitol. We welcomed Canadian Consul General Roy Norton. He brought along a host of facts about Wisconsin’s relationship with Canada.

Many of us think the ideal summer vacation is going north – this summer my husband and son enjoyed a canoe trip in Canada. Fortunately, Canadians like to head south. Wisconsin welcomed over 300,000 Canadian visitors who spent $65 million last year.

Even Canadians who don’t venture to the Badger state help our economy. Canada is the largest buyer of Wisconsin products. Our state sells more to Canada than we sell to our next six foreign country markets combined. Wisconsin goods bound for Canada include paper, plastics, beverages (including alcohol), electric motors, engines and motor vehicle parts. Nearly 160,000 Wisconsin jobs depend on trade and investment with Canada.

In return, Wisconsin buys plastic, wood pulp and wood products, fertilizer, natural gas, cereals and live animals from Canada. Surprised by live animals? Spend a day at the World Dairy Expo and you will see the importance of Canadian cattle to Wisconsin. The story of dairy cattle breeding is one of Wisconsin ingenuity perfected by Canada and brought back to us.

Like Wisconsin, Canada has a long environmental history. Back in 1911, while the Wisconsin Legislature passed a host of progressive bills including workers compensation legislation and nonpartisan local elections, the Canadian Parliament created the world’s first national park system. Today Canada has a park system that would cover the landmass of the state of New Mexico.

Usually state lawmakers don’t do much by way of international relations, but a few years ago, my legislative colleagues and I worked to pass the Great Lakes Compact. This international agreement updated protections for our Great Lakes.

The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement added modern concerns including an international approach to controlling invasive species, like Asian Carp, efforts to prevent further loss of habitat and species, and efforts to consider climate change impacts on our shared Great Lakes resources.

Canada continues to do its part worldwide to slow global deforestation. Almost 30% of the world’s boreal – or coniferous- forests are in Canada. The forests absorb carbon dioxide helping to protect our planet from global climate change. Over 90% of forestland is under public stewardship for responsible habitat protection and timber management

Waterways also provide habitat. For nearly thirty years, the U.S and Canada have worked jointly to protect our waterfowl through an agreement known as the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. Over the years, various partners conserved 13 million acres of wetlands and raised over $3 billion for conservation efforts

The Consul General came to Wisconsin with a message of shared democracy, gratitude, friendship and cooperation. But, he also reminded us of what Canada prefers in return.

He reminded us that half of Wisconsin’s gasoline comes from Canadian oil. His country contains the world’s third largest oil reserves. Canada would like to see the Keystone XL pipeline built. Mr. Norton told us the pipeline would take eight 100-car oil trains off the rail tracks every day.

Mr. Norton shared with us the importance of Wisconsin to Canadian railroads. Two major Canadian rail companies traverse Wisconsin every day. The lines run north to the Canadian border and then east and west across the Canadian countryside.

One popular Wisconsin program the Consul General did not like was “Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin”. He referred to this type of program as a barrier or preferences’ and said “Buy Wisconsin discriminates against your best customers. You must remember that Canada does not compete with Wisconsin on labor, health, and environmental standards. We value these as much as you.”

Mr. Norton told the Senators, “I think the ‘Buy Wisconsin’ might be aimed at the other country with a name that starts with ‘C’!”

I do not see Wisconsin stopping promotion of Wisconsin products anytime soon. But I did suggest that a “Buy Canadian” campaign might be successful in the Badger state. And I highly recommend buying Canadian winter gear.

Mr. Norton laughed and said, “Yes, we do know winter.”

When a political crime is committed, politicians should not have special privileges. Exempting politicians from the reach of John Doe investigations, making the GAB partisan and allowing unlimited corporate contributions are not “reforms” to make Wisconsin laws better.

MADISON - For Republicans in office right now, the John Doe 1 and John Doe 2 criminal investigations feel very personal. That’s because they involved their political leader Governor Walker and his former staff and groups that he coordinated campaign activity with. Those are undisputed facts. The reality though is that those investigations were not personal at all. They were not political at all. They were routine action taken against people that were believed to have broken the law. The case was made, by multiple judges, by multiple district attorneys of both parties to take action in these political crime probes.

As a gut reaction to these criminal investigations the Legislature is enacting a set of three bills that will change the rules for every politician forever. District attorney’s in this state have investigated and pursued criminal charges against politicians throughout our history. Recently both Democrats and Republicans were charged and convicted for political criminal activity.

When a political crime is believed to have been committed there should be equal treatment under the law, police, district attorneys and judges. Politicians should not have special privileges.

Exempting politicians from the reach of John Doe investigations, making the Government Accountability Board partisan and allowing unlimited corporate contributions is what the Legislature is enacting into law. It is not political to say that this is a Republican effort; not one Democrat has voted for these changes to the law. These are not “reforms” to make Wisconsin laws better, because if they were they would be bi-partisan. If there were a true interest in reforming the law it would be done with cooperation. People believe we don’t work together on anything, but in reality we do – almost every bill that gets enacted into law has support by both Democrats and Republicans.

It is only bills like these three; the ones that are true partisan agenda items that do not get broad support in the Legislature. Again I would offer I understand the knee jerk reaction to investigations of criminal activity against a leader, I think it is natural to defend someone you follow. But when we change the law, we change it forever. We change it for every politician that will sit on the Senate and Assembly floor in the years that stretch ahead, long after current political leaders are gone. These bills make it easier for political criminals to break the law and harder for district attorney’s to prosecute political crimes. That is simple fact. These bills leave fewer prosecutorial tools in the toolbox, partisan watchdogs rather than non-partisan policing and unlimited corporate contribution made legal.

These changes affect the political and prosecutorial process forever. For more information on any of these bills please contact my office at 608-266-66790 or 888-549-0027 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Sen. Jennifer Shilling talks about Wisconsin’s historical bipartisan commitment to laws that protect citizen access, prevent political corruption and maintain high ethical standards in our government. In recent weeks, Republicans who control the State Legislature in Madison are pushing a package of bills that may bring this commitment to an end.

MADISON - Differences of opinion are inevitable in government. Disagreements between Democrats and Republicans over public investments, funding for schools or the fairness of our tax code are common.

Despite these differences, everyone can agree that an open, transparent and accessible government is essential to our democracy.

Throughout Wisconsin’s history, both Democrats and Republicans have supported laws to protect citizen access, prevent political corruption and maintain high ethical standards.

Unfortunately, this historical bipartisan agreement is nearing an end.

Republicans who control the State Legislature in Madison are pushing a package of bills that severely limit the ability of Wisconsin citizens to have their voices heard and hold elected officials accountable.

These bills follow the recent attempt by Gov. Walker and legislative Republicans to gut Wisconsin’s open record laws. These misguided efforts to limit disclosure of public documents were abandoned only after scores of newspapers, media outlets and citizens responded with overwhelming opposition.

Now, less than three months after the failed attempt to restrict open record access, Republicans are using an end-around tactic to rewrite long-standing campaign finance, ethics and anti-corruption laws.

The first of these bills, Senate Bill 43, was privately signed into law by Gov. Walker on October 23. This law makes it more difficult to prosecute political corruption by exempting politicians from Wisconsin’s John Doe criminal investigation laws.

A second bill completely rewrites Wisconsin’s campaign finance laws allowing corporations to contribute directly to political parties and eliminating important disclosure requirements. The sweeping changes in this bill go beyond the controversial Citizens United Supreme Court decision and will result in even more TV ads, robocalls and special interest attack mailers during campaign season.

Finally, a third Republican proposal dismantles the non-partisan Government Accountability Board which is tasked with overseeing state elections and ethics laws. The Board would be replaced with political appointees using a flawed model that encourages partisan bickering and gridlock rather than actual oversight.

Taken together, these bills make sweeping changes to many long-standing good government protections. This trio of bills is so troubling that one prominent government watchdog group recently called it “a massive, coordinated blitzkrieg on democracy and transparency.”

At a time when students, families and seniors across Wisconsin continue to face serious challenges, we should be focused on strengthening our state’s economy and improving financial security.

These misguided attacks on Wisconsin’s long-standing, bipartisan tradition of open and clean government are a threat to our democratic institutions and will only serve to further polarize Wisconsin’s political environment.

Bipartisan is not nonpartisan. When the Packers play the Vikings, we don’t want each side to appoint half the referees. Sen. Vinehout reflects on the bills in the Legislature that would change Wisconsin’s campaign finance laws, the Government Accountability Board and ‘John Doe’ process.

MADISON - “Just do the right thing,” my doctor told me. We were discussing politics. We just finished reviewing the x-rays of my new hip replacement. My doctor wanted to offer a little advice to my colleagues in the Senate.

“People want you to think of them,” he said. “They don’t want you to make decisions on what’s best for the party – whoever’s in power. They want you to make the best decision for the people.

“The problem,” I told him, “is that the interest groups are pulling the parties further and further apart. They don’t want to compromise. It’s very hard for the leaders of both parties to say ‘No’ to their favorite interest group.”

Republicans are struggling to round up enough votes to pass a bill that dissolves the Government Accountability Board (GAB) and places elections and ethics under the control of boards appointed by political party leaders. Nonpartisan judges now oversee Wisconsin’s elections, ethics and lobbying. Strongly GOP allied groups, like Americans for Prosperity and Wisconsin Manufactures and Commerce are pushing the change.

Conservative groups also support bills that open the door to political jobs in our civil service system, opt political crimes out of ‘John Doe’ criminal investigations and allow unfettered and undisclosed money in campaigns.

Nonpartisan does not mean bipartisan. When the Packers play the Vikings we don’t want half the referees appointed by the Vikings and half by the Packers. They would never agree on what was pass interference. It is the same with elections. We want the calls made by judges in pinstripes, not wearing the colors of the two teams.

‘Do the right thing’ means looking at the facts and acting to fix problems that are identified but not acting to advance one party over the other ‘just because we can’.

Nonpartisan audits did indicate lapses in the GAB’s performance. Seldom is there an audited agency that does not need improvement in performance. Even the best refs make some bad calls.

Wisconsin lived through extraordinary changes in elections in the past few years. The GAB was at the center of effecting these changes. Unprecedented recall elections happened in 2011 and 2012. During this time GAB oversaw a statewide recount; a redrawing of legislative boundaries that ended in court; an on-again, off-again voter ID that also ended in court and the enactment of 31 separate pieces of legislation affected the agency.

Overall, auditors identified a dozen problems in an agency with 154 separate responsibilities. Lawmakers themselves created some of these problems. For example, auditors pointed out the agency did not complete all the administrative rules related to the training of clerks. The GAB responded that the content of the training for clerks kept changing because of 31 new laws. When the GAB asked the legislature and Department of Administration officials for additional staff, they were told, “No”.

Wisconsin has a decentralized election process: 1,853 municipal clerks and 72 county clerks conduct elections. Keeping clerks supported takes time and staff. The GAB used federal grant money to hire staff. The grant is running out. Lawmakers in the majority on the budget writing committee did not extend the positions beyond the current budget – leaving many GAB staff to wonder about their future.

In other controversial legislation, we see a similar pattern: some problems exist, but rather than tweak the law to fix the problems, conservative interest groups are pushing lawmakers to use the opportunity to tilt the system in favor of partisan advantage.

A hundred years of civil service ought to tell us the system should not be disbanded in favor of opening the door to political positions. Wisconsin’s century and a half old “John Doe” process of investigating crimes may need tweaking. But not allowing investigations of political crimes opens the door to corruption. Couple the “John Doe” bill with unfettered, undisclosed money in campaigns – another bill waiting for Senate action- and Wisconsin will return to the big money heydays of the late nineteenth century.

No voter has told me they want that result.

MADISON - Look up the word conservative. Webster’s says the word means “tending or disposed to maintain existing views, conditions, or institutions.”

On today’s American political landscape, the people who best fit that definition are those who describe themselves as progressives or liberals. For quite a few decades now, the ones wearing those largely interchangeable labels have been principally devoted to maintaining the status quo. They’ve focused on keeping the 81-year-old Social Security program and 50-year-old Medicare system safe and sound. They’ve tried (quite unsuccessfully) to protect the worker rights established by the 80-year-old National Labor Relations Act and the 77-year-old Fair Labor Standards Act. They resisted changes to the 1933 Glass-Steagall Actregulating banking, only to see the law gutted in 1999, which they believe caused the collapse of the U.S. economy in 2007 and the ensuing Great Recession. Their calls to restore Glass-Steagall’s protective wall between commercial and investment banking have been ignored ever since.

Contemporary progressive or liberal thinking is firmly rooted in the 20th Century. Over the past several decades, the list of new ideas or policy innovations for the 21st Century coming from the left is a terribly short one. Even the signature Democratic policy reform in recent memory – the Affordable Care Act – was borrowed from the right-wing Heritage Foundation and was known as Romneycare in Massachusetts before it became Obamacare nationally.

This is not to say that self-proclaimed conservatives and progressives have swapped places, with conservative forces becoming the engine of innovation for the 21st Century. If today’s progressives seem stuck in the 20th Century, conservatives of this day and age seem bound and determined to return us to the 19th. They not only are intent on rolling back the New Deal reforms enacted on the heels of the Great Depression, but also are working in places like Wisconsin to demolish century-old laws ranging from civil service protections against cronyism and political patronage to prohibitions against corporate political spending that were inspired by the trauma of the economic depression in the 1890s brought on by the excesses of the Gilded Age.

A big problem in American politics today is the absence of true progressive impulses. We have conservatives who call themselves progressives, and retrogressives who call themselves conservatives. The right is determined to turn the clock all the way back to the 1800s in so many ways, and the onslaught-weary left is willing to settle for keeping us in the 1900s. Missing is a forward-looking vision for what America can and should become in the 21st Century and the drive to get us there.