Ron Kind's Birthday Celebration
Monday, May 12th
5:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M.
La Crosse Yacht Club Details to follow

LCDP General Party Meeting
Monday, May 19, 2008
7:00 to 9:00 P.M.
Ho Chunk Nation 3 Rivers House
724 Main St.
La Crosse
Speaker: Tara Johson, 32nd State Senate District Candidate

LCDP Office Grand Opening
Thursday, May 29th
127 S. 6th St.
La Crosse
 

Democratic Party of Wisconsin State Convention
June 13-14, 2008
Stevens Point Holiday Inn & Convention Center
Stevens Point
(see details below)

LCDP General Party Meeting
Monday, June 16, 2008
7:00 to 9:00 P.M.
Ho Chunk Nation 3 Rivers House
724 Main St.
La Crosse
Speaker: Cheryl Hancock, (94th Assembly)

by Jacob Heilbrunn
via the Huffington Post

Speaking Monday at a fascinating on-the- record session on U.S.-Russia relations at the Nixon Center, former Reagan administration official Robert McFarlane declared that McCain's first year as president would be "neocon redux." McFarlane, who was Reagan's national security advisor and who supports McCain's candidacy, emphasized that he wasn't speaking as a member of McCain's team, but as a practical realist and private citizen. His remarks were uttered in a calm tone, and all the more blistering for it. McFarlane pointed out that Ronald Reagan was dealing with a declining Soviet Union and from a position of strength, while McCain would be dealing with a resurgent Russia, one that it would be foolish to heedlessly antagonize. According to McFarlane, "the youngsters" would run foreign policy the first year and then likely be "fired" by the second after they mess up.

My ears perked up when I heard this assessment because it confirms what I've been hearing elsewhere: while Henry Kissinger, Brent Scowcroft, and other realist elders are consulted by McCain, his heart is with the younger neocons, the "beavers," in the words of one McCain supporter, who draft the speeches and get the grunt work done. As Fareed Zakaria points out in the Washington Post today, the result is disastrous recommendations such as threatening to expel Russia from the G-8. In the aftermath of the Iraq debacle, the U.S. needs allies, not enemies. But the neocons don't see it that way.

The gap -- and it is fundamental -- in the GOP today is generational. The elderly realists haven't groomed anyone to replace them. The neocons have. Hence neocon redux. When someone of McFarlane's stature offers the assessment that the neocons are in charge, then it's pretty much official. The longer the election campaign goes on, the clearer it becomes that the neocons aren't back. They never went away.

John McCain and Bush's torture powers

by Glenn Greenwald, via Salon.com

An article by The New York Times's Mark Mazzetti this morning discloses a letter (.pdf) from the Justice Department to Congress which asserts "that American intelligence operatives attempting to thwart terrorist attacks can legally use interrogation methods that might otherwise be prohibited under international law." In other words, even after all of the dramatic anti-torture laws and other decrees, the Bush administration insists that American interrogators have the right to use methods that are widely considered violations of the Geneva Conventions if we decide that doing so might help "thwart terrorist attacks."

There are two reasons, and two reasons only, that the Bush administration is able to claim this power: John McCain and the Military Commissions Act. In September, 2006, McCain made a melodramatic display -- with great media fanfare -- of insisting that the MCA require compliance with the Geneva Conventions for all detainees. But while the MCA purports to require that, it also vested sole and unchallenged discretion in the President to determine what does and does not constitute a violation of the Conventions. After parading around as the righteous opponent of torture, McCain nonetheless endorsed and voted for the MCA, almost single-handedly ensuring its passage. That law pretends to compel compliance with the Conventions, while simultaneously vesting the President with the power to violate them -- precisely the power that the President is invoking here to proclaim that we have the right to use these methods. As Columbia Law Professor Michael Dorf wrote at the time:

Americans following the news coverage of the debate about how to treat captives in the ongoing military conflicts could be forgiven for believing that the bill recently passed by Congress, the Military Commissions Act ("MCA"), was a compromise between a White House seeking far-reaching powers, and Senators seeking to restrain the Executive. After all, prior to reaching an agreement with the President, four prominent Republican Senators -- Susan Collins, Lindsey Graham, John McCain, and John Warner -- had drawn a line in the sand, refusing to go along with a measure that would have redefined the Geneva Conventions' references to "outrages upon personal dignity" and "humiliating and degrading treatment." No doubt many Americans believe that because these four courageous Senators stood on moral principle, the bill that emerged, and which President Bush will certainly sign, reflects a careful balance between liberty and security.

Yet if that is what Americans believe, they are sorely mistaken. On nearly every issue, the MCA gives the White House everything it sought. It immunizes government officials for past war crimes; it cuts the United States off from its obligations under the Geneva Conventions; and it all but eliminates access to civilian courts for non- citizens -- including permanent residents whose children are citizens -- that the government, in its nearly unreviewable discretion, determines to be unlawful enemy combatants.

Destroying the protections of the Geneva Conventions while pretending to preserve them was accomplished by Section 6(a)(3) of the MCA which provides: INTERPRETATION BY THE PRESIDENT - (A) As provided by the Constitution and this section, the President has the authority for the United States to interpret the meaning and application of the Geneva Conventions . . . . Paragraph (C) provides that such decisions "shall be authoritative" under U.S. law. McCain supported the MCA knowing that the President retained virtually unfettered discretion to decree that the interrogation methods we were using that are widely considered in the civilized world to be torture could continue. That's John McCain -- and his Principled Maverickism and alleged torture opposition -- in a nutshell. He continuously preens as some sort of independent moralizer only to use that status to endorse and enable that which he claims to oppose. In Great American Hypocrites, I wrote about his numerous deceitful maneuvers to legalize torture as follows: The mirage-like nature of McCain's alleged convictions can be seen most clearly, and most depressingly, with his public posturing over the issue of torture. Time and again, McCain has made a dramatic showing of standing firm against the use of torture by the United States only to reveal that his so-called principles are confined to the realm of rhetoric and theater, but never action that follows through on that rhetoric.

In 2005, McCain led the effort in the Senate to pass the Detainee Treatment Act (DTA), which made the use of torture illegal. While claiming that he had succeeded in passing a categorical ban on torture, however, McCain meekly accepted two White House maneuvers that diluted his legislation to the point of meaningless: (1) the torture ban expressly applied only to the U.S. military, but not to the intelligence community, which was exempt, thus ensuring that the C.I.A.-the principal torture agent for the United States-could continue to torture legally; and (2) after signing the DTA into law, which passed the Senate by a vote of 90- 9, President Bush issued one of his first controversial "signing statements" in which he, in essence, declared that, as President, he had the power to disregard even the limited prohibitions on torture imposed by McCain's law.

McCain never once objected to Bush's open, explicit defiance of his cherished anti-torture legislation, preferring to bask in the media's glory while choosing to ignore the fact that his legislative accomplishment would amount to nothing. Put another way, McCain opted for the political rewards of grandstanding on the issue while knowing that he had accomplished little, if anything, in the way of actually promoting his "principles."

A virtual repeat of that sleight-of-hand occurred in 2006, when McCain first pretended to lead opposition to the Military Commissions Act (MCA), only thereafter to endorse this most radical, torture-enabling legislation, almost single-handedly ensuring its passage. After insisting that compelled adherence to the anti-torture ban of the Geneva Conventions was a nonnegotiable item for him, McCain ultimately blessed the MCA despite the fact that it left it to the President to determine, in his sole discretion, which interrogation methods did or did not comply with the Conventions' provisions.

Thus, once again, McCain created a self- image as a principled torture opponent with one hand, and with the other, ensured a legal framework that would not merely fail to ban, but would actively enable, the President's ability to continue using interrogation methods widely considered to be torture. Indeed, by casting himself as the Supreme Arbiter of torture morality, McCain's support for this torture-enabling law became Bush and Cheney's most potent instrument for legalizing the very interrogation methods that McCain, for so long, flamboyantly claimed to oppose.

And then this year, McCain voted to oppose a ban on waterboarding, claiming that it was unnecessary given that waterboarding is already considered illegal by the Bush administration -- an assertion about which he later admitted he had no real knowledge and which is, in any event, simply untrue.

Dear Wisconsin Democrat,

With much attention being rightly paid right now to the Democratic Presidential contests in various states, we cannot forget that Wisconsin will once again be a battleground as we edge closer to November. No state was closer in the past two presidential contests than Wisconsin, and with no statewide candidates up for reelection this year, combined with our desire to increase our majority in the State Senate and retake the State Assembly, it's critically important that our party do everything possible early on so that we can be successful this election.

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is already leading the way and has started to implement an exciting new program that empowers local Democrats and gives Progressives from Marinette to Monroe the ability to easily reach out to their neighbors in their own communities - igniting a powerful grassroots network of activists that will lead us to victory this November.

By getting involved in the Neighborhood Leader program, you make the commitment to contact just 25 people in your area, three times between now and Election Day about our slate of Democratic candidates and the issues that matter most to your community and our state.

As a Neighborhood Leader, you will get targeted lists of people in your community, as well as literature for you to personalize and distribute. You'll also have a wide variety of online tools at your disposal to help communicate with your neighbors as you see fit.

This program will be instrumental in an enormous ground game that will carry Democrats to victory this November.

Over a thousand Progressives like you have already signed up as Neighborhood Leaders across the state. If you interested in helping us move our State and Country forward, please contact Jeremy Slaughter with the DPW at (608) 255-5172 or jeremys@wisdems.org or sign up online to be a Neighborhood Leader at http://www.wisdems.org/ht/d/DoSurvey/i/11 41425.

Thanks again for all that you do.

With high hopes,

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin State Convention will take place on June 13-14, 2008 at the Holiday Inn and Convention Center in Stevens Point.

DNC Members Election

This year at the State Convention, we will be electing Wisconsin's Democratic National Committee members. Wisconsin has two male and two female Committee Members, which are elected by the delegates to State Convention.

To run for a DNC position, please submit the Candidate Intent Form by Friday, May 23, 2008 at 5:00pm. The form is available on the DPW's State Convention webpage (link below).

State Convention Delegates

To be a Delegate, you must also be a current party member. To request a membership form please send an email to: laxdems@yahoo.com. If you have questions about your membership status please contact Fabio Burgos or Kris Troyanek.

If you are interested in becoming a Delegate or Alternate to State Convention, please contact Fabio Burgos. Delegate lists are due by Friday, May 23, 2008 at 5:00pm.

The La Crosse County list is as follows:

Congressman Ron Kind
Representative Jennifer Shilling
Fabio Burgos
Vicki Burke
Barb Clark
Graham Clumpner
Rachael Collins
Leandra Dahlin
Katherine Dellenbach
Casey Giltner
Betty Hammond
Cheryl Hancock
Sharon Hampson
Chris Kahlow
Loren Kannenberg
Karri Kline
Tara Johnson
John Medinger
Pablo Ruiz
Jan Slaght
Kris Troyanek
JD Wine
Marcia Wine
Margaret Wood
Hank Zumach

If your name is not on this list you must contact Fabio Burgos at 792-0878 or Email:fburgos@laxdems.com to make sure that you are on the delegate list.

Pre-Registration for Convention

Registration fees are $20 before May 30, 2008, or $30 at the door. A pre- registration form can be found at the DPW website or picked up at the April General Party meeting.

Platform and Resolutions

The 2008 Democratic Party of Wisconsin Platform will be voted on this June.

Resolutions to the State Convention must:

The La Crosse County Democratic Party Office is now OPEN at 127 S. 6th St. Please stop by to check it out and to volunteer. The office is much bigger than the last 2 election cycles and will be a great asset in a presidential year.

We know one of these three men will be out of a job in January, 2009. The other two: Dan Kapanke in the Wisconsin State Senate and Mike Huebsch in the Wisconsin Assembly deserve to be out of their jobs as well. They are the personification of George W. Bush and John McCain's far right-wing agenda in Wisconsin.

The way to restore La Crosse to its rightful designation as a "blue" county is to get involved. The LCDP needs volunteers now for party building and 2008 election preparation. In Tara Johnson (the 32nd Senate District) and Cheryl Hancock (the 94th Assembly District), we will have excellent candidates. Growth of our local party will make it possible for these candidates to have success. We need both volunteers and increased membership in order to fund a campaign office. Keep in mind that neither the National Democratic Party nor the State Democratic Party have funded our campaign office thus far and in this election cycle the funds may come late. and support our local candidates we need increased membership, funding and volunteers.

We have several standing committees/projects. To volunteer generally please contact Marcia Wine at 783-0172 or mrswineiii@charter.net

To assist in newsletter preparation please contact Pablo Ruiz at 738-8251 or pablomruiz3@yahoo.com

To assist in list development/voter targeting, please contact Fabio Burgos at 792-0878 or fburgos@laxdems.com

We also need assistance in graphic design, and event planning. 2008 is not just a presidential election year. We need a special effort in '08, particularly in the 94th Assembly District and in the 32nd State Senate District.

While much of the national media is hyperventilating about the Democratic nomination process, the bottom line is that we will have a talented, strong candidate no matter who wins the nomination.

The fact that a presidential nominee has not been chosen yet should not stop anyone from getting involved. The La Crosse Democratic Party Office is OPEN and we are lucky to have excellent candidates to back in Ron Kind, Jennifer Shilling, Tara Johnson and Cheryl Hancock. Please stop by the office at 127 S. 6th St.

I firmly believe that we will do something very special this November in electing Democrats to the state legislature and helping putting a Democrat in the White House. While it's a lot of work, it's also very fun and rewarding. Please join in that effort. Even an hour every week will go a long way towards reclaiming our county and our country from the right-wing.

THANK YOUS & KUDOS

First and foremost all of our area representatives and candidates deserve our thanks for their work and support in getting the La Crosse Democratic Party office off the ground: Congressman Ron Kind, Representative Jennifer Shilling, Tara Johnson and Cheryl Hancock. If you see any of them be sure to thank them personally for being great Democrats.

Congratulations to LCDP Vice-Chair JD Wine and UW-L College Dems Co-Chair Graham Clumpner for winning spots as Obama Delegates to the 2008 National Convention in Denver at the 3rd Congressional District Caucus on May 4th.

Overall thanks go to the UW-L College Dems who did great work in helping the 3rd Congressional District Democrats set up the National Convention Caucus on May 4th. The College Dems have done amazing work this spring and we definitely look forward to a great fall on campus. Best of luck to all College Dems in their finals this week.

Thanks to Rod Rusch and Jan Slaght for storing LCDP materials since the 2006 elections and for their help in moving them to our new office. Also thanks to the following people who either provided vehicles or helped in the move: Graham Clumper, Kat Dellenbach, Casey Giltner, Andrew Londre, Katie Naessens, Mike Parker, Brad Smith, Kris Troyanek (and her sister), Matt Ullsvik & JD Wine.

Please renew your memberships!! If you have not done so, you can find our 08 membership form at laxdems.com. (Left side of front page).

Our goal is to push party membership over 400 people. Please check our website at laxdems.com, which has a membership form or email laxdems.com if you cannot come to our future party meetings.

Membership rates, effective October 1, 2006, as established by the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, are as follows:

Students, Senior Citizens: $10.00
General: $25.00
Pairs (two memberships): $35.00
Activist (up to three): $45.00
Family(includes all family members: $75.00
Supporter: $120.00
Friend: $240.00
Patron: $600.00
Investor: $1200.00
Benefactor $2400.00
 

Half of the above membership dues go to the State party, with the exception of the Family membership, where $45.00 of $75.00 goes to the local party. Those who join at the higher levels of membership ($120.00 and above) should remember that only $50.00 of those memberships will stay with the local party.

If your intention is to become a new member or renew your membership with the Democratic Party and you want more of your contribution to go to the Local County Party, please consider joining at the single $25 or $75 Family membership level and making additional contributions to the county party directly.

Tara Johnson, Democratic candidate for the 32nd Senate District, is an energetic, compassionate, and experienced candidate. She has the professional, community and elected experience to truly represent the people of this district.

Tara received her B.A. from Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin. She spent many years working for United Way, before coming to the La Crosse Area United Way in 1993.

Because becoming involved in and working to strengthen her community is important to Tara, she has been an active member of the Rotary Club of La Crosse, serving as secretary and on the Board of Directors. She has served as a board member and executive committee member of the United Fund for the Arts and Humanities, the Women's Fund of the La Crosse Community Foundation, and the La Crosse Public Education Fund. She is a member of the La Crosse Chamber of Commerce Leadership Program.

Tara's elected experience on the La Crosse County Board of Supervisors has proven her ability to make a difference. Elected in 2000, she again assumed leadership roles on the board. She is the current Second Vice Chair. She serves on the Economic Development Fund Committee and as Co-Chair of the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee. Other responsibilities include an appointment by Governor Doyle to the Mississippi River Regional Planning Commission, Coulee CAP Board of Directors, Law Enforcement Center Addition Committee, the Governors Tobacco Advisory Commission, and Healthy Wisconsin Leadership Institute graduate.

It is, however, Tara's leadership as chair of Health and Human Services for several years that has given her knowledge of the most vulnerable in our district. She will truly be our representative in the State Senate. In the weeks and months ahead Tara will present her vision for the 32nd Senate District and the State of Wisconsin. Join Tara at our May meeting and support her on this journey to take back the 32nd Senate seat.