Robert Levy, Chairman, CATO Institute
“How Twelve Supreme Court Cases Radically Expanded Government and Eroded Freedom”
February 18, 2009, 12:00
Milwaukee Athletic Club
To RSVP, send $20.00 to Federalist Society, c/o Dan Kelly, Suite 17000, North Water Street, Milwaukee, WI 53202 or email lwaldron@reinhartlaw.com. $25.00 for those without reservations.
The Milwaukee Federalist Society: http://fswi.blogspot.com
Congressman John Carter (R-TX) yesterday introduced H.R. 735. This would add new Internal Revenue Code § 7529 to prohibit the IRS from charging penalties and interest on back taxes.
Here is the text of proposed new § 7529:
Any individual who is a citizen of the United States and who writes ‘Rangel Rule’ on the top of the first page of the return of tax imposed by chapter 1 [i.e. Form 1040] for any taxable year shall be exempt from any requirement to pay interest, and from any penalty, addition to tax, or additional amount, with respect to such return.
That rule may come in handy for a number of people in the new cabinet. People have to pay their taxes, including high ranking members of Congress who write the tax law and Cabinet Secretaries who enforce the law. In addition to the Treasury Secretary not paying his taxes, now we find that Tom Daschle, the nominee for the Health and Human Services Secretary saw fit to not pay over $50,000 of income taxes on limo transportation provided by his lobbying/consulting firm.
h/t Taxprof.blog
For those of you who attended our January Happy Hour and heard Scott Walker encourage us all to contribute to sources outside normal conservative circles, a recent Community Columnist for the Journal Sentinel caught my eye.
Kathy Banaszak recently wrote about the need to speak out regarding pro-life issues. She notes the positive influence President Bush played in this important debate and the real challenges which lay ahead during the Obama Administration, especially when considering his support for the Freedom of Choice Act (“FOCA”).
While I don’t think Kathy attended our recent happy hour (although she’s more than welcome to attend in the future!), she clearly serves as a perfect example of Scott’s call to champion conservative positions, even in not-so-friendly venues.
Editorial in today’s Wall Street Journal: Raiders of the Lost Taxpayer; A Tax Break for Tinseltown:
The House version of the stimulus already includes a bonus depreciation that lets businesses immediately write off 50% of their 2009 capital expenditures. But the Senate bill expands the definition of “qualifying property” — specifically to include “certain motion picture film or videotape.” Hollywood moguls like Steven Spielberg, David Geffen and George Lucas were among the biggest backers of President Obama’s candidacy, and it looks as though Democrats have found a way to return the favor.
So let’s see: Democrats object to cutting the U.S. 35% corporate tax rate — which is higher than in all of Europe, undermines economic growth and discourages job creation — for all companies on grounds that it favors the rich and powerful. But Democrats will carve out tax loopholes for businesses they like and that write them campaign checks.
h/t Taxprof.blog
For the last eight years, critics of the Bush Administration would often contend that the U.S. government acted unilaterally abroad and that its policies made the nation a pariah rather than a beacon of hope and prosperity. Perhaps that is why it is so surprising that in the Bush retirement years, Congress is fully fanning the flames of protectionism. Foreign producers are to be punished simply because they are, well, foreign. The same holds for foreign consumers.
I remember first reading about the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act in high school and wondering what it would have been like to live in such a time; clearly, we would never engage in such destructive and counter-productive behavior again. Alas, it seems that my morbid curiosity may soon be satisfied as even the ever-optimistic economist Russ Roberts is starting to lose his faith in our ability to turn things around. Just one week ago, Russ offered an Obama speech that many of us would have readily embraced.
On a positive note, at least we will be able to track the progress of the stimulus spending. It is highly encouraging to know that there will be “an unprecedented effort to root out waste, inefficiency, and unnecessary spending in our government.” If only we’d known all along that we needed to spend another trillion dollars before government had the incentive and ability to spend our money wisely!
That is roughly the percentage of the “stimulus” package which will actually “stimulate” the economy. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Democratic-proposed stimulus package coming out of the House includes roughly $90 billion worth of projects that can reasonably be considered worthy of funding to stimulate the economy. In fact, they note that “by our estimate only $90 billion out of $825 billion, or about 12 cents of every $1, is for something that can plausibly be considered a growth stimulus.”
Among other things, “there’s $1 billion for Amtrak, the federal railroad that hasn’t turned a profit in 40 years; $2 billion for child-care subsidies; $50 million for that great engine of job creation, the National Endowment for the Arts; $400 million for global-warming research and another $2.4 billion for carbon-capture demonstration projects. There’s even $650 million on top of the billions already doled out to pay for digital TV conversion coupons.”
Attempting to further summarize the laundry list of requests simply does not do it justice, so please check out the full article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123310466514522309.html
(Thanks for the heads-up Mr. Guenther.)
We recently added a new link to the site, The Hispanic Conservative. The site includes great information and many links. However, most importantly, the site serves as the place where you can find some of the best local conservative commentary from Aaron Rodriguez. His articles are well researched and often focus on the hot topic for the week.
His last two articles have focused on Scott Walker and the treatment he is receiving from certain state officials and the media. I encourage you to take a look. He was even kind enough to mention our group in one of his articles.
CYP is more than just a blog. We do neat things, too. Please join us for these free opportunities to taste some wine and meet people.
Wine Tasting
Please join your 220 fellow Conservative Young Professionals for free wine, cheese, fellowship and even some Lakefront beer for those who prefer malted beverages at Blatz Market and Liquor in the old Blatz Brewery on Juneau and Broadway. Join us any time from 6 to 8 pm but, don’t wait too long!
Wines for Tasting
Once Bitten Riesling
Cuvaison Chardonnay
Artesa Pinot Noir
Rosenblum Cabernet Savignon
Beer
Various Lakefront Brews
Wednesday, January 28th from 6 to 8pm
Blatz Market and Liquor in the old Blatz Brewery on Juneau and Broadway
1211 N Broadway, Milwaukee, WI
Google Map
Call: 414-277-0777
Book Club
For young professionals, physical book clubs are more and more challenging to attend, our book club will be online and accessible whenever you have the time. Here is this months topic:
Are you tired of liberals always having an easy answer for everything? Join the discussion about Jonah Goldberg’s book “Liberal Fascism” at our Facebook group on the left.
Have an idea? Want to get involved with planning events. Let us know at Communications@milwaukeeconservatives.com
Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen
The Attorney General has been mentioned as a possible gubernatorial candidate in 2010. J.B. has an impressive resume and has already proven he is capable of winning a statewide race, in a tough year for Republicans no less. In fact, he was the only Republican candidate nationwide in 2006 to win a statewide seat previously held by a Democrat. Prior to wrestling away the AG’s office from Democratic control, he served as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin. He began his legal career in Northern Wisconsin as an assistant state public defender, an assistant U.S. Attorney, and District Attorney in Ashland and Bayfield counties.
As Attorney General, J.B. has delivered on his campaign promise to restore confidence in an office that many felt had been abused after 16 years of Democratic control. Having spent a summer working for the Attorney General as his law clerk, I can say with confidence that he makes decisions based on the clearly defined powers of the office. This was often not the approach taken by his predecessor. He has even been willing to step up to those within his own party when asked to issue opinions which were clearly outside the scope of the proper role of the Attorney General. In addition, while the backlog at the state’s crime labs has not been completely eliminated, the Attorney General has encouraged real change. For example, in 2007 the Milwaukee Crime Lab worked over 1000 cases, a 97% increase over the previous year.
The real question the Attorney General will have to ask himself is whether he should continue his work at the Department of Justice or make a run at governor.
I had a great conversation at the Scott Walker Happy Hour this past Thursday with a new resident of Milwaukee. You see, he grew up in the Oconomowoc area and was used to having the option of voting for conservative candidates. Now I realize that many times he only had the option of voting for conservative candidates when voting in Waukesha County, but he was not prepared for what he realized upon entering the voting booth this past fall. After moving into a downtown condo, he was disappointed to find out that the only conservative candidate he was able to vote for was Sen. McCain. That was it. Not a single conservative candidate for any other state or local office.
After this discussion, I followed-up on our conversation and did a little research. Sure enough, this past election cycle did not offer many options for Milwaukee County conservatives. Both Lena Taylor (4th) and Spencer Coggs (6th) ran unopposed for their respective State Senate seats. The picture was even worse with respect to State Assembly races. The 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th State Assembly districts offered only one option for voters, a liberal Democrat. Corrine Wiesmueller ran a tough campaign in the 7th against Peggy Krusick, earning 38% of the vote. David Nickel offered conservatives an alternative in the 15th, receiving 39% of the vote against Tony Staskunas. Finally, Yash Wadhwa ran against Sandy Pasch in the Northshore 22nd, garnering 33% of the vote. Conservatives Leah Vukmir (14th), Mark Honadel (24th) and Jeff Stone (82nd) all won their respective Milwaukee County Assembly seats.
Overall, in 18 Milwaukee County Assembly races, four conservatives won in conservative districts. That leaves 14 other districts. Of those 14, only three Democrats faced opposition. The other 11 Democrats simply had to worry about primary opposition. After winning their respective primaries, they were able to sit back and watch.
I realize that those 11 districts would not in any way be friendly to conservatives. However, with the revitalization of downtown through condominium projects and many other areas within the city of Milwaukee and its suburbs, it is time that conservatives start having some options on election day. By not having any real options, many simply choose to stay home. This is even more apparent in non-presidential elections. By offering conservatives a reason to go to the polls, those at the top of the ticket can benefit from increased turnout in traditionally liberal areas. I’m sure the conservative candidate for Governor and Attorney General in 2010 would appreciate increased support from Milwaukee County.
Howard Dean adopted the “50 state strategy” for the Democratic Party and the results are obvious. The Democratic Party was able to compete in traditionally conservative states like North Carolina, Virginia, Nevada and even Georgia. Why can’t the same approach be used in Wisconsin at the state level?
Having worked for the state GOP, in the process working alongside local county officials, the task of finding good conservative candidates for State Assembly and Senate races is not easy, particularly when the chances of success are low. Therefore my comments in no way should be construed as a criticism of party officials. At the end of the day, they often face difficult decisions regarding resource allocation. If a conservative candidate in a 50/50 district is facing a tough opponent, it is only logical that finite dollars be allocated to such a race. To re-direct those dollars to a 60/30 Milwaukee County district simply is not wise.
It is for these reasons that Conservative Young Professionals have a role to play. Now this role is in no way formal. We are not a PAC. However, we can use our networking organization to encourage fellow conservative young professionals to get involved. Many of our members already live in or are in the process of moving to downtown Milwaukee. I encourage any of you that live in Milwaukee to look at who your state legislator is. Does he or she represent the conservative values you believe in? If not, do you want to have an option come 2010?
The chances of success are low; however, at some point these legislators need to be challenged and forced to defend their liberal approach to governance. If you personally aren’t able to make the commitment, start thinking of friends that might be willing to take up the challenge of defending conservative policies. In the process, other conservatives will be encouraged and hopefully become active. Candidates for statewide office and GOP party officials in the process benefit from an increase in conservative activity in a traditionally liberal county.
It is a challenge worth contemplating.