Leave it to the #1 Republican mud slinger and dirty politician to smear Democrats veterans for ‘cutting and running’:

“Like too many Democrats it strikes me they are ready to give the green light to go to war, but when it gets tough, they fall back of that party’s old platform of cutting and running. They may be with you for the first few bullets but they won’t be there for the last tough battles” – Karl Rove Jun 13 2006

Of course, this is why American citizens are sick and tired of politicians.

People like Karl Rove – who receieved deferment after deferment during Vietnam, who works for a man who’s military service during Vietnam is questionable, who works with a Vice President who received more than 5 deferments during Vietnam – question the service records and honor of men like Max Cleland, John Murtha, and John Kerry – all of whom served in Vietnam with valor and distinction and are Democrats.

I don’t think the media loves anything more than when the President takes a ‘surprise’ visit to Iraq. They just can’t talk enough about how he was supposed to have meetings all day at Camp David, but *poof*, he just up and made a surprise visit to Iraq in the middle of the night without anyone but the kool kids press corps knowing!

I had a conversation with some Republican pals over the weekend and one of them asked me what it was going to take for me, as a Democrat, to declare victory in Iraq. I didn’t have an absolute answer to that question, but one sign of impending victory will be the day when our leaders aren’t forced to sneak into Iraq in the middle of the night under a blackout.

The fact that we’re still forced to make ‘surprise’ visits to Iraq and Afghanistan says alot about how successful we’ve been in securing those two countries.

It’s time for more “liberal media” fun! Check out the difference in coverage from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel between the state’s two party conventions.

The Democratic Party convention in La Crosse last weekend gets whopping 300 words about Sen. Kohl and his stance on Iraq:

Democratic U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl on Saturday blasted President Bush for his execution of the war in Iraq but said he does not support setting a deadline to withdraw troops, as Wisconsin’s other senator, Democrat Russ Feingold, has advocated – jsonline.com

Then there’s an article about double in size that touches on the Governor’s stem cell portion of his speech on Friday night to the convention, but doesn’t actually report on anything about the convention itself. Then there’s the fact that half the article is about Doyle’s Republican opponent Mark Green.

In a clear reference to his GOP challenger, U.S. Rep. Mark Green of Green Bay, Doyle drew sharp contrasts between his record and that of Republicans who run the federal government, saying voters in November will chose between “Wisconsin values and Washington values.”jsonline.com

Compare and contrast that to these two articles from last month’s GOP state convention in Appleton:

Party rallies behind Green

GOP issues a wake-up call

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for in-depth coverage of the GOP state convention in the state’s biggest newspaper, but the disparity between their coverage of the Democratic state convention and the GOP state convention is appaling.

The one thing that jumps out to me at this year’s Democratic Party of Wisconsin convention is the sheer number of people here and the energy they all seem to have brought along with them to La Crosse.

Everyone is eager and excited about the prospects Democrats have come this November. They’re just as eager to talk about not only the failings of the current administration and Congress, but the things that Democrats would do differently if we retake the Assembly and Senate in Wisconsin this fall and retake control of Congress in Washington DC as well.

Beyond the political aspects of the convention, we’ve had a good time at the more social events as well. Bringing Emerson along was a good idea and has been a lot of fun. Nothing starts a conversation like having a cute one year old who is just learning to walk. Jenny made the point that if I ever decide to office, we should time it so that we have another 1 year old trotting around :)

The speakers today have been pretty good. Rep. Ron Kind is an exciting speaker and Gov. Joe Manchin from W. Virginia also has a nice story to tell about this history. A nice “down home” speaker.

The other thing that amazes me about this years convention is the fact that we’re on schedule. If you’ve ever been to an event where multiple politicians have a chance to speak, you know what a big deal this is!

Next year, the convention is in Milwaukee, and it’s going to be a huge one. I plan on joining the planning committee for that and take some of the good ideas I’ve seen here and apply them to next years convention. It’s going to be pretty exciting since all the potential Presidential candidates will be speaking.

So that’s some thoughts from the convention floor at this years Wisconsin Democratic convention. Sorry if my writing seems a bit start and stop today, but it’s hard to keep a train of thought going when you’re getting stopped by someone you know every 5 minutes :)

Off for the Wisconsin Democratic convention this weekend. may have some updates from the convention itself throughout the festivities. A lot of people really don’t know what happens at these things, and I think it’s a good idea to open up some of the inner workings of the Party.

Have a nice weekend!

In case you haven’t heard it blasted over the media airwaves yet this morning, after three years we finally killed al-Zarqawi, and good ridance to someone who likely killed hundreds of US soldiers and thousands of Iraqi citizens.

I’ve always been cautious thought about over-jubilation in Iraq though, especially when it’s coming from the mouth of our President. Remember that when we rolled into Baghdad it was all going to turn around. Then when we captured Saddam, it was all going to turn around. Then when we transferred sovereignty to the Iraqi’s, it was all supposed to turn around. When they voted, it was all supposed to turn around. And so on and so forth…

While killing the leader of terrorist forces in Iraq is a win for the good guys, it’s not the objective, and I don’t think it will turn it around anymore than capturing Saddam did.

While the Presidents advisors are hoping this will translate into an uptick in his job approval rating (Yay! We’re up to 35%!), it is also going to cause an uptick in reprisals which will translate into more dead, wounded, and maimed soldiers and citizens in Iraq.

If you’re in Milwaukee County and have ever been looking for a time to become a card carrying member of the Democratic Party, tonight is the night!

I’m Co-Chairing the Milwaukee County Democrats Spring/Summer Fundraiser tonight at Kenadee’s on Milwaukee St, and wanted to say that now is a great time to become an official member of the Democratic Party as the 2006 races heat up over the summer. It’s a nice chance to meet other Democrats and candidates from the Milwaukee area in a social setting, as well as supporting politics on a local level, since all the money we raise tonite stays in Milwaukee County.

The party starts at 5:30pm and the cost is $25 at the door, and that includes a 1 year membership to the Democratic Party. Hope to see you there!

And some politicians wonder why American’s consider them ‘out of touch’ with the issues that affect average citizens…

Two thirds of the Federal government just spent at least an entire day of their already short work year (they just got back from another week recess for Memorial Day) working to solve the ‘problem’ that no one outside the fringes of the ultra right cares about: stopping “the gays” from getting married and having equal rights to things like health care, death benefits, and insurance.

Dear Mr. President and Senate Republicans: We’re still paying $3.00 for a gallon of gasoline here in Milwaukee – how about devoting some of your non-vacation time to solving that?

Does anyone else think that there are more important issues for the United States Senate and the President to consider right now than a dean on arrival constitutional amendment to ban same sex marriage?

Of course there is, which is what makes this kowtowing to the religous right all the more obvious, ridiculous, and despicable.

I have to wonder how those voters on the extreme right that this move is aimed at feel about it only coming up once every two years, right before an election. Their extreme policies are pushed out of sight for the majority of the time, and then bang, right before an election, the gay marriage amendment gets trotted out again by conservative politicians hoping to entice those voters to come to the polls yet again.

It’s pretty obvious that this ban will never even get close to passing, because as time goes on, more and more American’s oppose anti-gay laws, and legislation like this.

The Republican controlled government should be dealing with the issues that are really affecting American citizens today, not politicizing an issue like this just so they can stay in power a few more years and not get anything accomplished.