News
By The People, For The People?
The eyes of the world are focused on Iran where the will of the people is struggling to be heard. Here in Milwaukee the people spoke in favor of a paid sick leave mandate. So what's the difference?
Jun 17th, 2009 by Ted Bobrow
Ubiquitous Obama Adjusts to Evolving Media Universe
While media mavens struggle to figure out how to earn a buck selling the news, the tsunami of changes they face also presents enormous challenges for the folks who make the news. Way back in the last century, when a president wanted to make news he simply walked into the White House Rose Garden and whatever he said was quickly fed to the nation and world via the Associated Press, The New York Times, the major broadcast and cable television networks and a handful of other major media organizations. Occasionally, if the president wanted to speak directly to the public, he would deliver an address to the nation that the networks felt obligated to broadcast live during the post-dinner hours that were quaintly referred to as primetime. But that was then. These days, fewer and fewer people are getting their news from traditional sources. The preponderance of cable news networks, internet news options and the rapid growth of news on demand offered by cellphones and PDAs make it increasingly difficult for our political leaders, not to mention all the others who are competing for our attention, to get their messages out to their desired audiences. What this means is, well, actually we really don’t know yet what this all means. But it certainly means things are changing at an incredibly rapid pace and whatever worked yesterday is out of date before the ink dries on today’s newspapers. There’s a metaphor that has probably outlived its usefulness. Clearly, President Obama has his hands full trying to control the news cycle and get his message out while dealing with a recession, fighting two wars and otherwise running the country. You have to give the guy credit; just this last week or so he managed to announce the nomination of a new Supreme Court Justice, oversee the conditions for GM to declare bankruptcy, ensure that no less than five Congressional committees are moving forward with proposals to reform the nation’s health care system, all before heading off to the Middle East to deliver a speech intended to restart America’s relationship with the world’s Islamic population. Everyone seemed to agree that candidate Obama made remarkable use of the internet during the campaign. But doesn’t that seem a long, long time ago? During his first few months in office, President Obama experimented with a few innovations such as an internet public hearing and distributing his weekly address in video on YouTube. The White House’s efforts to get its message out can sometimes take your breath away. One minute you’ve got NBC News anchor Brian Williams following Obama around for a day winning the president a delicious, fat wet kiss for two nights on the network. Then The New York Times runs a story that gushes about how effectively All The President’s Men (let’s face it, they are mostly men) are working with Congress, especially on health care reform. And you couldn’t turn on a computer the last 24 hours or so without getting invited to […]
Jun 4th, 2009 by Ted Bobrow
Smoke Free Compromise Expected to Pass
The good news is that the Wisconsin legislature is likely to pass a comprehensive bill to prohibit smoking in all workplaces in the state as soon as Wednesday. Yes, that includes all bars and restaurants. The bad news is that the law won’t take effect until July 5, 2010.
May 11th, 2009 by Ted Bobrow
Abrahamson and Evers, Don’t Leave it to Chance
If you’re reading this, you probably know that there is an election in Wisconsin next Tuesday. Turnout for these Spring elections tends to be notoriously low which is never a good thing for democracy. Yet the candidates for the two statewide races present critical differences in experience and philosophy and the choices that voters make will have an enormous impact on Wisconsin’s future. We will select someone to serve on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court for a ten-year term and the state Superintendent of Public Instruction who will guide state oversight of education for the next four years. Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson is a nationally respected jurist who deserves reelection. Her tenure on the court has set a standard for judicial excellence, not only in terms of her decisions but also for her administrative acumen which has expanded openness and efficiency. Her opponent is an unabashed conservative who is asking for your support based on his ideology. This is the third year in a row that the voters are being asked to choose between two very different candidates for a seat on the state’s highest court. Conservatives and business groups have succeeded in the past two, more egregiously last year when Michael Gableman engaged in an ethically challenged, despicable campaign to defeat incumbent Louis Butler. Gableman’s defense to the charges he faces about the distortions in his ads is that the First Amendment protects political advertisements as free speech. It’s not very reassuring when a judge sitting on the Wisconsin Supreme Court claims that the Constitution gives him the right to say anything he wants regardless of its truth or any ethical standard set by a judicial commission. But it shouldn’t be necessary to rehash the elections of the past when discussing Shirley Abrahamson. She has earned your vote. And then there’s the race for Superintendent of Public Instruction between longtime education professional Tony Evers and another ideologue, Rose Fernandez. Evers has served as a teacher and administrator for decades and has helped improve the working relationship between the state and local school districts. Fernandez has no experience in education other than as a supporter for alternatives to public education. She also wants to replace Milwaukee’s elected school board with an appointed board. If you care about public education, especially in Milwaukee, the choice is clear. Vote for Tony Evers. There are also local court and school board elections that deserve your attention. So get out and vote on April 7th. Your vote matters especially during the low turnout Spring election.
Apr 1st, 2009 by Ted Bobrow
The Yin and Yang of Economic Recovery
It was like a week-long stimulus package for political junkies. First, President Obama’s appearance on NBC’s Tonight Show made him the first sitting president to appear on a late night talk show. Not really a historic event of epic proportions but Jay’s ratings spiked and that accounts for something. Then the president’s 60 Minutes interview, his second in two months, provided him with another platform to take his message directly to the American people. This kind of audience isn’t something to be taken lightly but he still wasn’t done. By the time of his Tuesday night primetime news conference, also his second since taking office, even strong supporters were wondering if Obama was risking overexposure. Yet today, Obama is on the internet responding to questions from the public. The president appears to be one of the nation’s greatest sources of renewable energy, outdoing even that tiresome cartoon rabbit as he keeps going and going and going. Drawing on FDR’s successful fireside chat strategy but updating it for the 21st century, Obama seems to combine the legendary communications skills of Ronald Reagan with the policy acumen of Bill Clinton. Clinton was good at appearing at ease and in control of the facts but Obama’s performance is in a class all by itself. He makes mistakes, for sure, but even an East German judge would award him at least a 9.7 given the degree of difficulty. Few people actually understand the intricacies of the financial system, let alone know how to fix it. But we expect our leaders to. We judge them on the critical measures of competence, confidence and commitment, and Obama has earned high grades on all three. During the campaign, Obama was often labeled as a rock star and John McCain tried to make this into a negative. But we want to be infatuated by our leaders as long as they also demonstrate the energy and ability to attend to our needs. Obama’s greatest strength has been his ability to walk this fine line; inspiring while occasionally chastising, showing intelligence without appearing wonkish, and working hard enough to appear focused without appearing to strain under the pressure. I know it’s only been two months but we live in a society with little patience. Some people on the right and the left made up their mind about Obama a long time ago and probably won’t change under almost any eventuality. But the president’s popularity and, to a great extent, his success will depend on the response of the critical mass in the middle. It is way too early to assess the success or failure of the Obama presidency. But on the critical metric of public confidence you have to give the guy credit. He seems in charge, he seems to have a plan and he seems to be up to the challenge. The naysayers are apoplectic about how much debt the federal government is amassing. Well, duh! But Obama has not been blind to this problem and has returned time […]
Mar 26th, 2009 by Ted Bobrow
Could MORE Ordinance mean fewer jobs?
As of this writing, the City of Milwaukee Common Council has yet to hold its full Council meeting on March 25. This will be a hugely important session to many for two reasons – one legislative and one symbolic. Actually, both are symbolic in some ways. First, assuming it passes the Finance & Personnel Committee (which is likely), the Council will take up the emotionally contentious MORE ordinance. Actually, It was originally dubbed MORE – “Milwaukee Opportunities for Restoring Employment” – but now it has a different name: CPO, “Community Participation Ordinance.” Whatever the latest name happens to be, this legislation is the latest incarnation of “Community Benefits,” which was passed for Milwaukee County’s portion of the Park East (still a desert) but was denied for the City’s portion. (Joe Zilber’s “The Brewery,” Gorman affordable housing, etc.) In terms of grassroots activism, there aren’t many who can compete with the MORE/CPO backers. Good Jobs Livable Neighborhoods and MICAH are two big proponents. And alders Hamilton, Wade, Coggs and Kovac are spearheading the Council effort. The Mayor, perhaps trying to atone for his take on paid sick leave, has even vowed to sign it. But, as always, there is one sticking point: prevailing wage. Most of the central city and left-leaning aldermen (and alderwomen) are in support of large development projects receiving City financial assistance (at least $1 million) being required to pay a prevailing wage to all workers. Sounds good, right? But as with most of life, it’s a little more complicated than that. Alone on an island, Pres. Willie Hines – a former roofer and economic specialist for the Milwaukee Urban League – is opposing his central city colleagues, because he’s afraid a “100-percent prevailing wage mandate,” as he calls it, will actually hurt minority developers and push jobs out into the suburbs. He may have a point. Melissa Goins, Kalan Haywood, Carla Cross and other smaller, minority developers – as well as the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Milwaukee Urban League – have also been vocal in their opposition to the prevailing wage mandate. They say that they already pay a “family-sustaining wage,” and that the prevailing wage would give all business to the (mostly white) unions. Smaller and minority companies usually compete on price. They may pay slightly lower wages, but they have skilled workers just like the unions. Naturally, the business community – and large developers – are also against the 100-percent prevailing wage mandate. (Currently these projects pay mostly a prevailing wage anyway. And public works projects are 100 percent prevailing wage.) They say that it’s tough enough to for them to create jobs in this economy, and if the measure passes it will give them even more reason to build out in the suburbs. Idle threat or profound wisdom? No matter whose side you’re on, there will surely be plenty of fireworks at the Council meeting on March 25. It will be the place to be for activists, construction firms, unions, minority-owned developers and […]
Mar 19th, 2009 by Dan Corcoran
More Work To Do
Barack Obama won by applying solid community organizing fundamentals to a national campaign. He built an extremely loyal and disciplined network of staff and volunteers, developed an extraordinarily smart strategy and rode the combination all the way to the White House. Wisely, he is now applying those principles to help ensure that his national agenda gets the grassroots support it needs to succeed. Mobilizing the Obama nation in support of his budget and his agenda is a no-brainer. Developing grassroots organizations to advance real change locally is equally important and shouldn’t be overlooked. Energy? Education? Health care? Jobs? What happens locally matters! It really, really matters! Governor Doyle, very much like President Obama, has seized on the challenging economic environment to include ambitious yet responsible, forward-looking yet, dare I say, necessary reforms in his proposed state budget. And critics, just like the ones opposed to the President’s budget, are complaining that the budget process isn’t the right way to advance a policy agenda. Well, it seems to me that such an argument is the last refuge of a minority party. Disagree with a particular proposal? State your case and make your argument. But the budget process is exactly the right time to ensure government is doing the things it should be doing. We certainly know that obstructionists have used the budget process to block things they oppose. So let the debate begin and let it be public and lively. The state legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance will be in town to hear what you have to say next Wednesday. Is there something in the proposed budget that you love or hate? Here’s an opportunity to be heard. My personal favorite is the proposed ban on smoking in workplaces. It’s about time Wisconsin workers didn’t have to risk their health by showing up on the job. And there’s no doubt that reducing tobacco’s impact will result in real savings in health care costs so don’t tell me this doesn’t belong in the budget. And here in Milwaukee my attention is riveted by the proposed MORE jobs ordinance. This common sense proposal would extend hiring standards to include developers who receive more than $1 million in financial support from the city. In other words, if developers are going to accept handouts from city taxpayers they damn well better be willing to hire a certain percentage of qualified city workers and pay them the prevailing wage appropriate to that job category. The opponents apparently believe in corporate welfare without any strings attached. I like what the New York Post had to say about the AIG mess; “Not So Fast, You Greedy Bastards!” Interestingly, the Common Council is expected to take up the MORE proposal on the same day as the local Joint Finance hearing. So I’ll be rushing to State Fair Park after raising the flag at City Hall. So that’s my two cents for today. By all means, let’s support the President’s national agenda but let’s also show that we care about what […]
Mar 18th, 2009 by Ted Bobrow
