How Wisconsin got away from Russ Feingold

Apart from his blinders on campaign finance, Feingold was a very strong civil libertarian, and the one Democrat I proudly voted for this election.

My regret for his loss this cycle will be second only to that of Prop 19.

Marc Ambinder attempts to explain the loss:

Start from the sociological point: beer. Milwaukee. The Tavern League is a huge lobbying force. The Democratic base in the state is compromised of what Ron Brownstein calls "beer track Democrats": blue collar voters, ethnic whites who tolerate government when it helps but recoil from it when it seems intrusive and wasteful. They tend to be older. Sporadic and infrequent Democratic voters in the state come from the university towns like Madison. Wisconsin has had an unusually high rate of young voter participation, a trend that dates back to the mid-90s. People forget that Barack Obama won the state in the primaries, and that Democrats since Michael Dukakis have kept it in the blue column in presidential races. It's hard to argue that voters in Wisconsin are Democrats simply by habit. But at the same time, Democrats took back the state legislature only last year, and Feingold has never been reluctant to admit that he takes positions that are somewhat out of sync with his state. But culturally, he's one of them. Balanced budgets. Gun rights. And a beer drinker. 

Younger college-town Democrats and older habitual Democratic voters are clashing this year on entitlement spending; younger Democrats see the health care reform law and the stimulus package as down payments on their future. Older Democrats see it as a waste of money. This trend plays itself out culturally, too.

Beer-track Democrats tend to be the toughest to turn out this cycle. White men without college degrees have grasped onto economic libertarianism as a way out of the fiscal mess. And younger Democrats simply aren't turning out. 

Feingold has done everything he can to remedy this. Unlike many Democrats, he's run as an unabashed champion of health care, the stimulus, energy reform, and progressive cultural advancement.

[..] Feingold is unafraid to be the avatar of an argument that Wisconsin residents are just going to reject this cycle. Health care isn't popular. The stimulus is considered wasteful. The economy is tough and jobs aren't coming back. The profile of the electorate is much more conservative. Wisconsin has been run mostly by Democrats for eight years. It's not in very good shape. Feingold represents all of that.

True, unfortunately.

It didn't have to be this way. He would have had a fair shot had he de-emphasized the leftism.

I hope his political career isn't over.

Wisconsin designates state microbe

Slashdot:

NYT reports that state legislators in Wisconsin raced against the clock to pass a bill designating Lactococcus lactis as Wisconsin's official state microbe. 'The first time I heard the idea, I thought, I've got more important things to do than spending my time honoring a microbe,' says Gary Hebl, a Democratic state representative who proposed the bill which, he says, would make Wisconsin the first state in the nation to grant such a designation, 'but this microbe is really a very hard worker,' added Hebl, referring to the bacterium supported by the Department of Bacteriology at UW — Madison used to make cheddar, Colby, and Monterey Jack cheese. The proposal faced only one detractor in committee ('the opponent was clearly lactose-intolerant,' says Hebl), and there was no sign of a last-minute campaign from other bacteria, so by evening, the Assembly had approved the measure, 56 to 41. In case there were any doubts about Wisconsin's priorities, a separate bill also awaits consideration in Madison, declaring cheese Wisconsin's state snack.

On, Wisconsin!

Yay Wisconsin!

Via the Dish today, the red marks locations with more bars than grocery stores.

Truly, the state of beer! And my own drink of choice...

Rep Paul Ryan (R-WI) has a daring budget proposal

This was brought up at the presidential Q&A with House Republicans. Ezra explains here. I like the solutions and am in favor of it.

But you have to figure Republicans will be killed at the polls if they seriously coalesced around cutting Medicare this way. Though a serious proposal on the merits (as Obama acknowledged in the Q&A), being politically nonviable it will only serve to keep tea partiers happy and assist Republicans in painting Democrats as not serious about Medicare's insolvency.

Really it's the public that's not serious. Medicare future deficits are unsustainable, but we still aren't willing to tolerate service cuts or tax increases to close the gap.

Feingold feels the heat

That's according to Rasmussen. It'll be interesting if it pans out to be competitive, as this is one race I actually have a say in.

I am not as familiar with Thompson as I should be, so I'll withhold judgment there. But I'll say this about Feingold: despite his blinders on campaign finance, he's still a great civil libertarian and perhaps the very best sitting Democratic senator.

It is difficult for me to envision a scenario in which I don't vote for him. But if so it would be primarily anti-Democrat, not anti-Feingold. I'd put 60 Feingolds in the Senate if I could...

Teen arrested for texting

And so it came to pass:

FEBRUARY 17--A 14-year-old Wisconsin girl who refused to stop texting during a high school math class was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, according to police. The teenager was busted last Wednesday at Wauwatosa East High School after she ignored a teacher's demand that she cease texting. The girl, whose name we have redacted from the below Wauwatosa Police Department report, initially denied having a phone when confronted by a school security officer. However, the phone was located after the girl was frisked by a female cop. The Samsung Cricket, the police report noted, was recovered "from the buttocks area" of the teenager. The student was issued a criminal citation for disorderly conduct, which carried "a bail of $298," and had her phone confiscated. The girl, who was barred from school property for a week, is scheduled for an April 20 court appearance on the misdemeanor rap.