So Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus is out with a plan for a "new" version of the party. It includes greater "outreach" efforts toward minorities, women and young voters--and changing the perception that it is the "party of the rich". Some party members are probably relieved to hear that Priebus is recommending procedural changes--rather than dramatic dogmatic shifts in policy or platform. The last thing we needed was a choice between Democrats and "Democrats Lite" from now on.
The full report came up two pages shy of 100--so to reach that nice round figure, can I suggest a couple more items?
Page 99--Get more conservatives involved in local politics. I know Tip O'neill was a Democrat, but he was absolutely correct when he said "All politics is local". Give people a reason to vote for conservatives EVERY election cycle. If you favor small government and limited spending, who are your candidates this year for Oshkosh Common Council or School Board? Or for the past couple of election cycles? By forfeiting the real "grass roots level" of government to liberal, the GOP is only making it harder to win races higher up on the ballot. Experience gained by seeking these smaller offices--and the recognition built by serving at that level--gives Democrats an advantage as politicians try to move up the totem pole. It also creates a system of giving--as donors who support small time campaigns tend to move right along with "their man" or "their woman" to the next race.
Page 100--Be patient. American politics--like the weather--is cyclical. Ask Democrats what they were thinking following the elections of 1984 or the old time GOP folks what it must have been like in 1964. Those involved in the political process lose touch with the "regular voter" who isn't nearly as hardcore in their political beliefs. Opinion--and voting patterns--swing wildly. And often times, the actual person running--and their appeal--is more important that the message they convey. So Republicans just need to wait for the political pendulum to swing back in their favor--along with a crop of new candidates not perceived as out of touch and wishy-washy on the issues.
Democrats have sown the seeds of their own downfall already. Huge entitlement program expansions that will saddle the economic recovery and place further stress on individual budgets will provide strong talking points for Conservative candidates for years to come. And since voters usually consider their wallets--and their job security--first when they head to the ballot box, staying on point about economic issues will score points in future elections. Even the most hardcore Democrats like Bill Maher are starting to say "just how much are we going to ask people to pay?"
The GOP doesn't so much need to roll out "version 2.0" in the next couple of years--it just needs to recommit to being party "Number 1".
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Monday, March 18, 2013
A Championship Experience
Later today we will find out the final attendance numbers for the WIAA Girls Basketball Tournament. This was the first time the tourney was held outside of Madison--at the Resch Center in Green Bay. I saw on Saturday morning that Deb Hauser--who oversees hoops for the WIAA--was talking about increased attendance over last year BEFORE the championship games on Saturday.
There are two likely reasons for that. One--given the walking distance from the Resch Center to the Bay Park Square Mall, all of those kids riding the fan buses to Madison likely actually went into the arena--instead of making a beeline for State Street as they had been doing for decades. And two--it was a whole lot easier for fans to access this tournament than it was in the past.
Attendees of girls tournament took a not-so-crowded four-lane expressway into Green Bay--got off on a clearly-marked exit--and took a six-lane, two-way road to a large surface parking lot that could accommodate every single car within easy walking distance of the arena. Cheapskates could also find free on-street parking for several surrounding blocks. And once their game was done, those same fans got right back onto those high-capacity streets to head directly back to the expressway. Those looking for a meal had several restaurants and sports bars within walking distance of the facility--or dozens more--with free parking--just minutes away by car.
Compare that to the experience attendees of the Boys State Tournament had the week before. They had to deal with backups and bottlenecks on the over-filled Beltline Highway before deciding which of the six non-convenient exits to take to the Kohl Center. That was followed by navigating the narrow, two lane, one-way streets in Madison to find all of the more-expensive parking ramps near the arena are already full--and nobody can tell you where to go to actually find a place to park. The surrounding streets are also lined with cars belonging to UW students--leaving fans to walk for miles from other parking facilities where they had to pay by the hour. And when those games were done, they got to enjoy sitting in traffic on the crowded one-ways to get back to the crowded Beltline in hopes of eventually getting home.
So let's hope that this weekend saw record attendance for the girls tourney--so that the WIAA makes that the long-term home of the event--and perhaps sees that boys fans deserve the same Championship Experience.
There are two likely reasons for that. One--given the walking distance from the Resch Center to the Bay Park Square Mall, all of those kids riding the fan buses to Madison likely actually went into the arena--instead of making a beeline for State Street as they had been doing for decades. And two--it was a whole lot easier for fans to access this tournament than it was in the past.
Attendees of girls tournament took a not-so-crowded four-lane expressway into Green Bay--got off on a clearly-marked exit--and took a six-lane, two-way road to a large surface parking lot that could accommodate every single car within easy walking distance of the arena. Cheapskates could also find free on-street parking for several surrounding blocks. And once their game was done, those same fans got right back onto those high-capacity streets to head directly back to the expressway. Those looking for a meal had several restaurants and sports bars within walking distance of the facility--or dozens more--with free parking--just minutes away by car.
Compare that to the experience attendees of the Boys State Tournament had the week before. They had to deal with backups and bottlenecks on the over-filled Beltline Highway before deciding which of the six non-convenient exits to take to the Kohl Center. That was followed by navigating the narrow, two lane, one-way streets in Madison to find all of the more-expensive parking ramps near the arena are already full--and nobody can tell you where to go to actually find a place to park. The surrounding streets are also lined with cars belonging to UW students--leaving fans to walk for miles from other parking facilities where they had to pay by the hour. And when those games were done, they got to enjoy sitting in traffic on the crowded one-ways to get back to the crowded Beltline in hopes of eventually getting home.
So let's hope that this weekend saw record attendance for the girls tourney--so that the WIAA makes that the long-term home of the event--and perhaps sees that boys fans deserve the same Championship Experience.
Friday, March 15, 2013
How NOT To Protest
The folks at Wisconsin Family Action may want to reconsider their approach to protesting events featuring "drag queens" from now on. You likely heard from the anti-homosexual group on various media outlets--including WOSH--about how they were "offended" that a public institution like UW Fox Valley would present a show featuring gay men dressed up like women and pass it off as "educational fare" for students.
However, as is often the case in situations like this, WFA's high-profile opposition to the drag show did not result in the show being cancelled or people staying away in droves to avoid having their morality offended. Instead, THE EXACT OPPOSITE happened--with MORE PEOPLE attending the event than if Family Action had just kept its mouth shut.
Until the press releases started arriving in reporters' email inboxes, the drag show had sold about 50-tickets. A whole 50-people were going to "support" this "art form" by putting down good money to watch men pretend to be women. But after we gave Family Action what they wanted--their 60-seconds in the spotlight--the show became a cause celebre--with none other than alternative press sex advice columnist Dan Savage (warning--link will likely offend you) stepping in to buy ALL of the remaining tickets to the show and giving them out for free.
So in an effort to prevent people from being exposed to "entertainment" that may "offend them", Wisconsin Family Action only succeeded in exposing MORE people to it. Did WFA expect the "upstanding people of the Fox Valley" to turn out with pitchforks and torches to drive the drag queens out of town? Did they think that the people attending the show would have to walk through throngs of protesters hurling epithets at them? Did WFA want death threats sent to UW Fox officials to derail the show? Was there any chance that Family Action supporters were going to sit in the audience and continually interrupt the show by yelling and chanting? (Obviously this wasn't going to happen, because there is no Anti-Gay Entertainment Union that I know of to organize such efforts.)
Wisconsin Family Action would have been much better off to sit on their hands--allow the drag show to attract its pathetic handful of attendees--lose the University Student Fund a bunch of money and THEN denounce the event to anyone willing to listen. In protesting as in comedy--timing is everything.
However, as is often the case in situations like this, WFA's high-profile opposition to the drag show did not result in the show being cancelled or people staying away in droves to avoid having their morality offended. Instead, THE EXACT OPPOSITE happened--with MORE PEOPLE attending the event than if Family Action had just kept its mouth shut.
Until the press releases started arriving in reporters' email inboxes, the drag show had sold about 50-tickets. A whole 50-people were going to "support" this "art form" by putting down good money to watch men pretend to be women. But after we gave Family Action what they wanted--their 60-seconds in the spotlight--the show became a cause celebre--with none other than alternative press sex advice columnist Dan Savage (warning--link will likely offend you) stepping in to buy ALL of the remaining tickets to the show and giving them out for free.
So in an effort to prevent people from being exposed to "entertainment" that may "offend them", Wisconsin Family Action only succeeded in exposing MORE people to it. Did WFA expect the "upstanding people of the Fox Valley" to turn out with pitchforks and torches to drive the drag queens out of town? Did they think that the people attending the show would have to walk through throngs of protesters hurling epithets at them? Did WFA want death threats sent to UW Fox officials to derail the show? Was there any chance that Family Action supporters were going to sit in the audience and continually interrupt the show by yelling and chanting? (Obviously this wasn't going to happen, because there is no Anti-Gay Entertainment Union that I know of to organize such efforts.)
Wisconsin Family Action would have been much better off to sit on their hands--allow the drag show to attract its pathetic handful of attendees--lose the University Student Fund a bunch of money and THEN denounce the event to anyone willing to listen. In protesting as in comedy--timing is everything.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
How Helpless Are We?
As we continue to "find out what's in" the Affordable Care Act, even the most staunch supporters of the measure are finding more and more to dislike. The latest concern is that the application form for federally subsidized health coverage will be "too hard" for people to fill out.
The printed copy of the application is a "whopping" 15-pages--while the on-line process includes an "excruciating" 21 questions. It's difficulty rating matches that of filling out your income taxes--which is ironic, since the vast majority of those who will benefit from the ObamaCare vouchers will be among the 47-percent of Americans that pay NO FEDERAL INCOME TAXES.
But folks like those at the advocacy group Families USA fear that having such an "arduous" application process will cause people to give up--leaving them still without health care coverage. I'm sure Families USA would prefer that the application process be a single question:
Would you like free health care?
Yes
Please circle your choice.
Of course, the form would have to be printed in 53 different languages because we can't expect someone to know English. And it would probably be too "demanding" to require everyone to go to a government office or the mailbox to get one--so Health and Human Services should hire tens of thousands of people to comb the streets and to go door-to-door to make sure that not only does everyone get an application literally put into their hands, but that they also fill it out and return it to the proper agency--just like the Census Bureau had to do to make sure "everyone got counted" back in 2010.
Perhaps people like Families USA and all of the other bleeding hearts who believe that requiring the slightest bit of effort to receive entitlement benefits is "unfair"--as well as those who find answering 21 questions "too hard"--should consider the words of entrepreneur Ryan Blair:
"If it is important to you, you will find a way. If not, you will find an excuse."
I guess a 21 question process will be the way we find out just how "important" Affordable Health Care is to everyone.
The printed copy of the application is a "whopping" 15-pages--while the on-line process includes an "excruciating" 21 questions. It's difficulty rating matches that of filling out your income taxes--which is ironic, since the vast majority of those who will benefit from the ObamaCare vouchers will be among the 47-percent of Americans that pay NO FEDERAL INCOME TAXES.
But folks like those at the advocacy group Families USA fear that having such an "arduous" application process will cause people to give up--leaving them still without health care coverage. I'm sure Families USA would prefer that the application process be a single question:
Would you like free health care?
Yes
Please circle your choice.
Of course, the form would have to be printed in 53 different languages because we can't expect someone to know English. And it would probably be too "demanding" to require everyone to go to a government office or the mailbox to get one--so Health and Human Services should hire tens of thousands of people to comb the streets and to go door-to-door to make sure that not only does everyone get an application literally put into their hands, but that they also fill it out and return it to the proper agency--just like the Census Bureau had to do to make sure "everyone got counted" back in 2010.
Perhaps people like Families USA and all of the other bleeding hearts who believe that requiring the slightest bit of effort to receive entitlement benefits is "unfair"--as well as those who find answering 21 questions "too hard"--should consider the words of entrepreneur Ryan Blair:
"If it is important to you, you will find a way. If not, you will find an excuse."
I guess a 21 question process will be the way we find out just how "important" Affordable Health Care is to everyone.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
What Happens When Both Sides Are Right
Here's an interesting hypothesis to consider today: the budget stalemate in Washington is due to the fact that both sides are right. I came up with this postulate after checking out an infographic on CNNMoney.com yesterday breaking down the percentage of taxes paid by income class.
The graphic shows that since 1986 (just before George HW Bush promised "Read my lips, no new taxes) the top 10% of income earners have paid an ever increasing share of the TOTAL amount of income taxes collected by the federal government--less than 55% in '86 to the current level of nearly 71% in 2010. During that same period, the percentage of taxes paid by the rest of us--the bottom 90% has shrunk from just over 45% in the mid-Eighties to less than 30% now.
Those figures would appear to give credence to Paul Ryan and the Conservatives arguments that the rich already pay enough in taxes. Mitt Romney is also vindicated with affirmation of his 47% paying NO federal income tax. But the same report gives ammunition to Liberals like President Obama and Harry Reid by pointing out that the percentage increase in taxes paid by the rich is due to much larger jumps in income for the top 10% than the rest of us--and that when you look at taxes paid as a whole (income, property and sales) the top 10 pay about 40-percent of their income--while the middle class pay about 35%.
Armed with numbers that support their particular budget stances, the two sides see no reason to back down from their respective positions. They can go to their core bases or appear on Fox News or MSNBC, toss out their numbers and get the viewers at home nodding "yes" and agreeing with their stance.
So it looks like the real question voters will need to consider for the foreseeable future is do we want fewer people paying more--or more people paying less?
The graphic shows that since 1986 (just before George HW Bush promised "Read my lips, no new taxes) the top 10% of income earners have paid an ever increasing share of the TOTAL amount of income taxes collected by the federal government--less than 55% in '86 to the current level of nearly 71% in 2010. During that same period, the percentage of taxes paid by the rest of us--the bottom 90% has shrunk from just over 45% in the mid-Eighties to less than 30% now.
Those figures would appear to give credence to Paul Ryan and the Conservatives arguments that the rich already pay enough in taxes. Mitt Romney is also vindicated with affirmation of his 47% paying NO federal income tax. But the same report gives ammunition to Liberals like President Obama and Harry Reid by pointing out that the percentage increase in taxes paid by the rich is due to much larger jumps in income for the top 10% than the rest of us--and that when you look at taxes paid as a whole (income, property and sales) the top 10 pay about 40-percent of their income--while the middle class pay about 35%.
Armed with numbers that support their particular budget stances, the two sides see no reason to back down from their respective positions. They can go to their core bases or appear on Fox News or MSNBC, toss out their numbers and get the viewers at home nodding "yes" and agreeing with their stance.
So it looks like the real question voters will need to consider for the foreseeable future is do we want fewer people paying more--or more people paying less?
Monday, March 11, 2013
They're Old And They Don't Care
I return from our annual sojurn to my parent's place in Florida and the tours of the retirement communities with a new motto for those of Medicare age: "They're old and they don't care".
In some ways, this way of living is cute and fun. Take for instance, watching a 90-something, little old lady dance the night away--okay, the early evening away--rocking out to every song played by a 50's and 60's cover band. She's having fun, she's staying active, and she don't give a rat's behind if you think it looks goofy.
Sometimes that attitude can be annoying. Like when one of them butts ahead of you in line at the gift shop. Or when you've been waiting for five minutes at the counter in the bakery and when the worker asks "Who's next?" the older woman who walked in ten seconds ago just start yelling out her order. Or when you're playing as a single on a very nice golf course and the two foursomes of younger guys on their buddies trip have let you play through but the foursome of oldsters who can barely walk from their carts to the greens REFUSE TO LET YOU PLAY THROUGH, EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE FOUR HOLES OPEN AHEAD OF THEM--and you keep rolling your drives right up behind them on every hole for TEN HOLES!! And on a couple of holes you actually reach the back tee boxes before they get off the ladies!!!
And then there are times being oblivious to the rest of world is downright dangerous. Like the retirement community residents who insist on driving in the very center of two lane roads--even when on-coming traffic is forced to veer into front yards to avoid collisions. Or when they blow right through stops signs at intersections at five miles an hour in their personalized golf carts--forcing you to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting them with your rental car. Or when the old fart in the supermarket literally forced my wife to run for her life when he started backing out of his parking spot without looking and continued to back out with her just inches from the back bumper yelling at him to stop and look (plus countless profanities). Or when the old guy nearly ran over a shopper leaving the same store a few minutes later in the marked crosswalk.
(All of these experiences reminded me of one of my favorite episodes of "South Park" Gray Dawn where the residents of South Park try to take away the drivers licenses of all the old people following a rash of fatal crashes related to old drivers and the AARP sends in their army to place the city under seige).
After witnessing all of these incidents, my wife would always ask: "Why did they do that?" and my reply would always be the same: "Because they are old and they don't care". Ironically, it's the same answer I've been giving for years when asked about why there has been such opposition to plans to fix the solvency issues facing Medicare and Social Security.
In some ways, this way of living is cute and fun. Take for instance, watching a 90-something, little old lady dance the night away--okay, the early evening away--rocking out to every song played by a 50's and 60's cover band. She's having fun, she's staying active, and she don't give a rat's behind if you think it looks goofy.
Sometimes that attitude can be annoying. Like when one of them butts ahead of you in line at the gift shop. Or when you've been waiting for five minutes at the counter in the bakery and when the worker asks "Who's next?" the older woman who walked in ten seconds ago just start yelling out her order. Or when you're playing as a single on a very nice golf course and the two foursomes of younger guys on their buddies trip have let you play through but the foursome of oldsters who can barely walk from their carts to the greens REFUSE TO LET YOU PLAY THROUGH, EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE FOUR HOLES OPEN AHEAD OF THEM--and you keep rolling your drives right up behind them on every hole for TEN HOLES!! And on a couple of holes you actually reach the back tee boxes before they get off the ladies!!!
And then there are times being oblivious to the rest of world is downright dangerous. Like the retirement community residents who insist on driving in the very center of two lane roads--even when on-coming traffic is forced to veer into front yards to avoid collisions. Or when they blow right through stops signs at intersections at five miles an hour in their personalized golf carts--forcing you to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting them with your rental car. Or when the old fart in the supermarket literally forced my wife to run for her life when he started backing out of his parking spot without looking and continued to back out with her just inches from the back bumper yelling at him to stop and look (plus countless profanities). Or when the old guy nearly ran over a shopper leaving the same store a few minutes later in the marked crosswalk.
(All of these experiences reminded me of one of my favorite episodes of "South Park" Gray Dawn where the residents of South Park try to take away the drivers licenses of all the old people following a rash of fatal crashes related to old drivers and the AARP sends in their army to place the city under seige).
After witnessing all of these incidents, my wife would always ask: "Why did they do that?" and my reply would always be the same: "Because they are old and they don't care". Ironically, it's the same answer I've been giving for years when asked about why there has been such opposition to plans to fix the solvency issues facing Medicare and Social Security.
Friday, March 1, 2013
Vacation Mode
Much is made every year about how Americans don't use all of their vacation time. I would counter that we do actually take all of that time off--we just do it at work.
I'm off for the winter vacation to see my folks down in Florida tomorrow--but I will readily admit that I was in Vacation Mode a week ago. It's not hard to look out the window and see snow for the umpteenth time this month and not think about being on the golf course instead--or on the rides at Disney--or even sitting on the lanai doing a crossword puzzle.
Then you have the time wasted telling everyone about your upcoming trip. "Sorry, Jim, I can't attend that meeting next week--I'm on vacation." "Oh, were are you going?" "Florida, we're going to........"
And then you have the websites with the 30-day extended forecasts--so you start checking out the weather for the days you are going to be there a month before you even leave. And then you're checking the Weather Channel app every couple of hours to see if they have added rain to any of the days or if they have raised the high temperatures. And then you start looking for places to eat when your on the road so you can try something different for a change.
Then you find reasons to get out of the office earlier to "take care of some things that need to be done before we leave". You know, important stuff like getting new swim trunks or picking up Claratin D so that my ears aren't plugged up all week after the flight.
And of course, you don't return to full productivity the day after you get back. You need to "ease yourself back into the routine." Plus, you have to tell everybody why you are so tan--and about all of the cool, fun things you did, and show them all of the pictures you posted to Facebook, and how you are "responsible" for bringing some of that warmer weather back with you. And don't forget about all of the "things you need to take care of now that you are back"--like getting cold medicine for the inevitable illness you get every time you travel or getting the mail that was put on hold all week.
So while we Americans may not take all of the "official" vacation time to which we are entitled--believe me, we are still taking all of that time "off".
I'm off for the winter vacation to see my folks down in Florida tomorrow--but I will readily admit that I was in Vacation Mode a week ago. It's not hard to look out the window and see snow for the umpteenth time this month and not think about being on the golf course instead--or on the rides at Disney--or even sitting on the lanai doing a crossword puzzle.
Then you have the time wasted telling everyone about your upcoming trip. "Sorry, Jim, I can't attend that meeting next week--I'm on vacation." "Oh, were are you going?" "Florida, we're going to........"
And then you have the websites with the 30-day extended forecasts--so you start checking out the weather for the days you are going to be there a month before you even leave. And then you're checking the Weather Channel app every couple of hours to see if they have added rain to any of the days or if they have raised the high temperatures. And then you start looking for places to eat when your on the road so you can try something different for a change.
Then you find reasons to get out of the office earlier to "take care of some things that need to be done before we leave". You know, important stuff like getting new swim trunks or picking up Claratin D so that my ears aren't plugged up all week after the flight.
And of course, you don't return to full productivity the day after you get back. You need to "ease yourself back into the routine." Plus, you have to tell everybody why you are so tan--and about all of the cool, fun things you did, and show them all of the pictures you posted to Facebook, and how you are "responsible" for bringing some of that warmer weather back with you. And don't forget about all of the "things you need to take care of now that you are back"--like getting cold medicine for the inevitable illness you get every time you travel or getting the mail that was put on hold all week.
So while we Americans may not take all of the "official" vacation time to which we are entitled--believe me, we are still taking all of that time "off".
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