2011 is over.  What a year it was.

In spite of many challenges - past and present, Wisconsinites saw a vast improvement in the way Wisconsin does business and we witnessed a true return to fiscal responsibility.  (Gone is the malaise of the past years - of economical mismanagement, budget shell games,  higher taxes and fees,  and running private businesses out of town - thanks, Governor Doyle!!!)   With the election of Scott Walker, the state is much better off - and will continue to improve with each passing year.  Sadly,  the same cannot be said for the nation as a whole.

The chant of "hope and change" has been exposed for the empty rhetoric it always was.  Now, most people are "hoping" for real "change" with their opportunity in November to show President Obama the exit door.  Obama's poll numbers continue to  plummet - as they should -  and his list of positive accomplishments is nil.  People realize that Obama has played a major role in destroying  the economy, and he has been at the helm when national unemployment levels have risen to 9% and beyond for months.  Obama has turned a deaf ear to military commanders regarding national security.  (One recent example is the fact that by leaving Iraq too soon, the country will fall back into chaos (already happening)).   Aside from being the Apologizer-In-Chief when it comes to bashing America, Obama never fails to blame former President Bush for his own shortcomings.  

One thing that Obama cannot "blame Bush" for is Obamacare.  Obama alone is responsible for this massive government power grab - which the majority of Americans do not want.  All Obamacare will do is make the lives of more Americans more expensive and challenging, as well as hurting private businesses in the process.  And yet, while many Americans are out of work, private businesses are struggling, foreclosures on homes are a fairly normal occurrence, what is Barry doing?  Taking $4 million dollar vacations to Hawaii at the expense of the taxpayers.  (Maybe he'll cut back on his golf game with an election coming up... ) Think Obama really "feels our pain?"  At least Bill Clinton pretended to!  Obama doesn't even bother.  The arrogance of this President is simply incredible.  

With the upcoming political landscape, elections, and challenges our country faces, I now offer:

 MY TOP TEN POLITICAL HOPES FOR 2012

10)  The ability to recall elected officials simply because one doesn't agree with the legislation they pass should be disallowed.  There must be real legitimate reasons in place for allowing citizens to recall any elected official - the main one being criminal behavior while in office.  Others could be personal misconduct while in office,  which may not be outright criminal, but could be defined as personal behavior issues.  Political officials should conduct themselves with a level of decorum at all times and follow the rules.  If they don't, they should be allowed to be recalled if the public deems so.  Recalls should not be allowed simply because a minority of voters isn't happy with the resultsof an election.

9)  The Capitol in Madison must not continue to be Comedy Central.  If protesters wish to camp out in the Capitol, they must adhere to all the rules and pick up after themselves.  They should not harass visiting school groups and bring them in to their "sing-alongs" for a dose of leftie indoctrination.  They need to abide by the rules of not defacing the Capitol with signs, camping out, littering,  destroying the surrounding lawn area, and interfering with visitors and employees.  Otherwise, fines or possible jail time should be enforced.

8)  The Tea Party must continue to be strong.  True conservatism is on the uprise (thanks, in a large part, to the presidency of Barack Obama) and is well-represented by the Tea Party.  The Tea Party and its supporters should continue to play a major role in present and future politics.

7)  RINO's in all aspects of government must be voted out of office.  We don't need any more Olympia Snowes, Susan Collins, or Dale Schultzs.  So what if they ran as Republicans.  They are not.  They are Democrats and in essence, have lied to the people who voted them as their representative.  They need to go.  Anyone who runs as a Republican/conservative MUST live up to Republican/conservative values and vote accordingly.

6)  No more "reaching across the aisle."  Republicans and conservatives have vastly different views and beliefs than their liberal/Democrat counterparts.  Liberalism in this country only serves to perpetuate dependency upon government, grow  government, and establish less personal freedoms than ever before.  Why do we need a bunch of elite liberals who feel they know best dictating our lives, weakening national security, and insisting taxes go up to pay for every pet social cause known to man and then some?  Liberalism need to go.  The "feel good" touchy-feely aspects of liberalism are grounded in nonsense.  We've already tipped the country too far left under Obama - it needs to right itself - and SOON!  We do not need to, nor should we,  "reach across the aisle" and work hand-in-hand with socialists who wish to remake the country as they see fit.

5)  Republicans take back the Senate and add more seats in the House in Washington, D.C.  This is a very promising aspect - with several Dems seeing the writing on the wall and not wishing to run again.  An early Christmas present for Americans everywhere came when Congressman Barney Frank announced he would not seek re-election.  (Don't let the door hit you on your rear end, Barney on your way out!  Good riddance!)   Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson has announced he will not seek re-election (he probably wouldn't win anyhow, after caving and voting for Obamacare after getting a few perks for his vote...).  Wisconsin's own Herb Kohl is finally retiring, after many years of doing nothing.  Missouri's Claire McCaskill is running, but her prospects are shaky at best.   North Dakota's Kent Conrad will be gone, and North Dakota is a pretty solid Republican state.  Virginia's Democrat Jim Webb, who won his seat in 2006 with just 0.6% of the vote, is not seeking re-election either.  Republican prospects are looking pretty good across the entire country.

4)  The Governor Scott Walker recall petition signature efforts fall short of the required 540,000- plus signatures.  Right now, recall groups say they have 504,000 signatures.  Still short by 36,000 - just to reach the required amount.   (Remember when they were saying they'd have no problem getting 600,000 to 700,000  "just to be sure?").  They have until January 15th to turn in their petitions.  What's key here is the validity of ALL the signatures they have collected so far.   We have witnessed the Government Accountability Board giving the nod to fake names, an AOK to signing petitions frequently, and allowing underage people and out-of-staters to participate.  It's an easy conclusion that many signatures on the petitions are just garbage.  Will they even reach - honestly - the required amount? 

And let's not forget  the reprehensible and tasteless behaviors of many of the anti-Walker crowd (death threats, physical intimidation, terrorizing Walkers family in their home in Wauwatosa, targeting Walker's children on Facebook, etc.).  Guess there are no boundaries when such hatred for one individual runs so deep.  (Isn't it ironic that such behaviors come from the so-called "open-minded, compassionate crowd?").  In liberal-land, it is AOK for the Democrats, unionistas, and lefties to use any methods imaginable to attain their goals. Hopefully the votes of the majority of Wisconsinites that elected Walker will not be "disenfranchised" and the recall efforts will fall short.

3)  The recall efforts fail in regards to four Republican legislators.  Why in the world are these politicians up for recall?   They have done nothing wrong.   They simply voted for legislation that the minority did not like.     

2)  The principals and beliefs on which the country was founded upon are no longer ignored or sneered at by the Democrats.    We must not disregard the Constitution.  We should not forget what our nation was founded upon.  The values and beliefs of several hundred years ago cannot be allowed to be cast aside by the few socialists in charge right now.  We are not a nation of "moochers."  We should not be touting "entitlements" and "government handouts" as a means to live.  Dependency upon the government should not be encouraged - especially by our own government!  That is despicable in itself.  Rather, we must promote a return to self-respect, self-reliance, personal responsibility, and hard work.  When did we ever get to the point where many in our country feel that someone else "owes" them something for doing little or nothing?  That because someone has more, they had to take it from someone else (which is not true to begin with).  Isn't that just absurd?  Yet, the President of the United States and many of his socialist followers seem to think they can make people belief such nonsense.  They want the masses to believe that  the government is the solution to all our problems - and the government must grow bigger!  By growing bigger, the government will tell us all how to live our lives and provide for us.  Does anyone REALLY want that?

1)  President Barack Obama MUST not be re-elected this year. 

The following e-mail was sent on to me from a friend. 

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As we approach the end of President Obama's third year in office, I think this needs to be passed around so that everyone is aware of what he has accomplished so far:

Thank you to all my fellow citizens who helped make this possible by voting for this inexperienced, ideological radical, unaccomplished shell of a candidate.   Please wake up to the FACTS. 

Oh, wait - I know!!!  IT'S BUSH'S FAULT!!!

Wisconsin finally has a governor- Scott Walker - whom we can be proud of.  For the first time in many years, the state budget has been balanced - honestly.  No shell games.  No robbing from one fund to pay for another.  No accounting gimmicks, making it appear that the budget was "balanced" only to learn later that it wasn't and the state was deep in the red.  (Thanks Governor Doyle!)  In addition, our second amendment rights have actually been upheld - allowing citizens to carry guns if they chose to.  We also have the long overdue safeguard against voter fraud in place - yes, Voter ID has become a reality which so many of us wished for.   And the "car-speed" rail train, destined to soak taxpayers for years to come,  was derailed - exactly as Walker promised.  Taxes did not increase, and in many cases taxes went down.  Thousands did not lose their jobs in an effort to "balance the budget."  Private companies are finally finding an accepting, positive business climate in Wisconsin, rather than thinking of fleeing  the state due to excess rules, regulations, taxes, and fees.  Governor Walker clearly has brought back Wisconsin from the brink of disaster and the malaise of the Doyle years.

Walker has been a refreshing, energizing change for our state.  A true leader in every way.   Walker has done exactly what he promised.  No double-speak, lies, or misleading the people.  We got who we voted for.  Walker has stood firm in the face of reprehensible behaviors on the part of unionista's and the anti-Walker crowds, many whom are crying that their taxpayer-funded entitlements are being curtailed.  To get our house in fiscal order, the taxpayers of Wisconsin cannot keep paying for the premium health care, retirements, and pensions of government employees.  To do so is simply not sustainable.  Common sense and reality are finally prevailing.

The fact is, the majority of Wisconsin voters elected Walker.  Yet our votes at this time sure don't seem to matter, as the anti-Walker crowd wants to "disenfranchise" the many who elected our governor.  Guess that "disenfranchising" is OK when one doesn't like it that a Republican/conservative was elected and is enacting legislation that a minority don't approve of.  What blatant hypocrisy - but the left is famous for it.

So now the latest ploy in the anti-Walker campaign comes to fruition.

The long, drawn-out, John Doe investigation has finally reached somewhat of a conclusion.  The media, who kept tantalizing the public with allusions that Walker and Walker co-horts were going down with what seemed to be a never-ending "John Doe" investigation, finally reported the story.  Turns out that "Walker appointees" - Timothy Russell and Kevin Kavanaugh - were charged with embezzling more than $80,000.00.  The money was supposed to go to military veterans and their families. Only one key point in this story has been glossed over or ignored by the media:  the fact (yes, FACT) that County Executive Scott Walker AND his chief of staff - Tom Nardelli - were the two men who brought this criminal activity to the attention of the Milwaukee District Attorney - John Chisholm - in the first place. 

This bears repeating:  County Executive Scott Walker and his Chief of Staff Tom Nardelli helped set the whole "John Doe" investigation in motion! 

Yet, the media sure seems reluctant to mention this very important fact.  Why?  Aren't journalists supposed to report the who, what, why, where, when, and how for a story?  Why are they dragging their feet - or ignoring - the fact that Walker and Nardelli helped launch the John Doe investigation to begin with?  Does the media think this is somehow not newsworthy?  Imagine for one moment if there was a role reversal. Let's say that Jim Doyle had been the Milwaukee County Executive who started an investigation into bookkeeping concerns regarding Operation Freedom.  Doyle goes on to become governor.  After many months go by, the Milwaukee District Attorney discovers the embezzlement of funds meant to go to military families.  Now, does anyone honestly think the news media would not have printed large headines regarding how Doyle played a key role in initiating the investigation in the first place?  They would have tripped all over themselves to gush about what a hero Doyle was for bringing these two corrupt individuals to justice.  The whole case would have been presented as a big politic boost for Doyle.  Can the same be said for the way the media is treating Scott Walker? 

What is also puzzling is the fact that when employees are caught embezzling funds (like Russell and Kavanaugh appear to have been doing), the employer is usually blameless and left out of the picture.  In many cases, the employer (in this case, Walker)  is usually portrayed sympathetically as a victim (and rightly so) - having been taken advantage of by the criminal activities of their employees who they hired and trusted.  So why the over-use of the "Walker" name when reporting on this story to begin with?  It's as though the media, by dropping Walker's name in with Russell and Kavanaugh at every opportunity, hopes people think "guilt by association," when this could not be further from the truth.

Bias in the media?  An anti-Walker slant?  Most definitely.  Pay attention.  Realize what the media is trying to do.  Scott Walker - as County Executive  - questioned where funds were going after his chief of staff, Tom Nardelli, brought concerns about bookkeeping issues regarding Operation Freedom,  to Walker's attention.  Walker and Nardelli then asked the District Attorney to look into the situation.  Shouldn't Walker be given some credit for doing so?  Guess not, as the media has an anti-Walker template that they have to abide by.  Sigh. 

At least WE can get the word out.  Governor Walker is one of the best governors this state has ever had.  Walker is a man of real character, honesty, beliefs, and faith.  Walker is truly looking out for the people of Wisconsin.  This recent "John Doe" investigation is yet another example of Walker doing the right thing.  We must not allow him to be recalled by the misguided few who are only looking out for themselves, at the expense of all the taxpayers.

Walker deserves accolades for helping to initiate the "John Doe" investigation that eventually ended with the arrests of Tim Russell and Kevin Kavanaugh.  He must not be  thrown under the bus with these two men as though he conspired with them to rob military veterans of funding.  That is not true, it never was, and the media should cease and desist in their obvious desire to smear Walker.  

Spin can only go so far.  In this case, spin is all the media has. 

Listed below are explanations for some of the most common political buzzwords.  Look for them to be used frequently in the upcoming election campaigns:

(*Thanks to my cousin, a Milwaukee police officer, for e-mailing me this list!  I love the last line...)

Gosh, tons of Scott Walker recall petitions – with billions (or is it millions?  the numbers keep going up) of signatures (many of them soon to be weeded out as duplicates, invalid, fraudulent, from out-of-state, signed by Mickey Mouse, Adolph Hitler, or people known as “X”,  from the grave, or stolen from people who had no intention of signing such garbage) were dumped at the Capitol in Madison today. 

The recall process is on!

Doesn’t matter that Governor Walker is one of the best – if not THE best – governor this state has ever had. Named  “Governor of the Year.” Highlighted by Nick Shultz in USA Today who wrote an article devoted to the many accomplishments and staunch leadership abilities of the governor . Governor Walker has turned this state around – made it fiscally sound, without raising taxes forcing anyone to lose a job. Incredible. And for this – a recall effort??? In the future, other governors will find themselves emulating Governor Walker if they wish to save their states from fiscal ruin.  Why in the world would anyone - with an ounce of common sense or level of sanity - want to recall Scott Walker?

This brings me to a letter I read on the Opinion page of the Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel (Monday, 1/16/21). The writer deserves applause for summing up the Walker recall efforts and Walkers accomplishments.

NO HONOR IN RECALL EFFORT

If the liberals were still in charge, they’d jack up taxes and “stay the course” former Governor Jim Doyle set us on. You know, the course that put us $3.6 billion in debt. Governor Scott Walker has had the courage to make the tough but necessary calls to fix the problems he inherited. The Republicans, in less than one year in office, set an unprecedented example by fixing the fiscal train wreck Doyle left us.

The recall attempts seem more about defending the failed status quo rather than fixing or even acknowledging the problems. Handing the keys back to the Democrats will return Wisconsin into the downward spiral of reckless government spending, tax hikes, lucrative union relations in government, a hostile business climate and a general disregard for the taxpayer. Why should the private sector not only carry the burden of the recession but the lofty union costs, too?

So here we are again, facing another attempt in which liberals attempt to sleaze their way back into power by trying to recall Walker and other Republicans. There’s no legitimacy, respect, righteousness nor honor in the cause to recall Walker. The recall process was intended for removing politicians guilty of corruption and criminal acts. But shameless bullies, the recall supporters, are abusing the process because they simply disagree with Walker’s policies.

-          Donny Burke,   Oshkosh, WI

Bravo, Mr. Burke. I’d also like to add what the recall effort is really about. The Democrats and Obama in Washington D.C. and the federal government need the unions. The unions provide big $$$ to their political coffers – via forced union dues from members who have no choice whether or not they even want to belong to a union. Governor Walker has curtailed this practice – nipping it in the bud. Giving people a choice – the freedom to decide whether or not they want to belong to a union in the first place. The freedom to decide whether or not they want union dues automatically deducted from their paychecks – to go to the union leaders who in turn can give it back to the Democrats. Very simple. Connect the dots. Think President Obama and unions all over the country aren’t focused on Wisconsin at this very moment? Think again. 

Also, one big question people need to ask themselves – is the State of Wisconsin better off today – after a year of Governor Scott Walker – than the Doyle years?   If you don’t answer “yes” – you aren’t being honest.

Following Obama's clunker State of the Union Campaign Speech the night before, Governor Scott Walker's  State of the State speech was a breath of fresh air and inspiration.

While President Obama simply dusted off his tired rhetoric from last year, bloviating for an hour and a half promoting class envy and the need to make more people reliant on the government, Governor Walker was the polar opposite. 

"We are turning things around.  We are heading in the right direction."  - Governor Walker (1/25/12)

Unlike President Obama, Governor Walker had some real accomplishments to discuss. 

   -  after three years of 150,000 job losses, the state helped create thousands of jobs this year and the states unemployment rate is the lowest it has been since 2008

   -  under Walker's leadership, the state balanced a $3.6 billion dollar budget deficit while avoiding mass layoffs and billion dollar tax increases.   

   -  for the first time in years, many  K-12 property tax rates are down

   -   the private business climate in the state has improved to the point where 94% of job creators believe Wisconsin is headed in the right direction.  (Two years ago, only 10% of job creators thought the same thing.)

   -  added $1.2 billion dollars to Medicaid and expanded Familycare

   -  developed the "Waste, Fraud, and Abuse Elimination Task Force" to protect taxpayer dollars and make sure taxpayer monies are being spent wisely

   -  added focus on improving schools and ensuring that children have access to a great education

For each of the key points mentioned above, Governor Walker had numerous examples which you can read at:  http://www.walker.wi.gov/Default.aspx?Page=d00003d4-91e4-4aeb-a13a-9f097ca9adcd

I was able to listen to Walker's speech on the radio, meaning I did not have the added luxury of witnessing the disruptive and obnoxious behavior of the anti-Walker crowd in the Capitol rotunda (who are so concerned about ""civility"  - wink wink).  Several of those who simply couldn't abide by the rules while Walker was speaking had to be led away and arrested.  One person shouted out "liar" during Walker's speech and I couldn't help but laugh.  The absurdity of it all is simply amazing.  I wonder how many of the anti-Walker folks truly realize how many people are turned off by their childish antics, boorish behavior, and tantrums.  It's getting old, folks, especially since more and more people are beginning to notice how Walker's reforms ARE working!!!

In closing, here are Governor Walker's State of the State final remarks:

"Moving forward I believe that the spirit of Wisconsin will help us improve the state of our economy, the state of our budget, the state of our schools, and - ultimately - the spirit of Wisconsin will help us all improve the lives of each and every citizen in our great state.

Now is the time for action.   Now is the time to get our state working again.  Now is the time to move Wisconsin forward."