Spirit Day (10.15.15)

On October 15th, 2015, Americans across the country will be showing their support for LGBT youth by taking a stand against bullying. Elephant We Ignore is an official participant with GLAAD's #SpiritDay campaign, and will be wearing purple in solidarity with those who live in fear of being judged for who they are.

As Republicans, we are proud to support the civil liberties and humanity of all Americans.

How to be involved:

• Wear Purple! (clothes/social media)
• Reach out
• Listen

Just showing purple can make someone who needs support feel a little more accepted.

The Slippery Slope of Marriage

We are on a slippery slope regarding our understanding of marriage. Some think it is predefined. Others think it’s defined by consensus. Neither is correct.

When the state regulates marriage, it is not affirming love, reproductive ability, or anything else. The government recognizes certain partnerships for a lot of boring reasons that have to do with taxes.

Government involvement wasn’t required to conceive any Americans; it’s also not required to marry any of us. We have that freedom. Marriage and government recognition are different.

Our government bureaucracy issues us a lot of paper in order to document our status. Driver’s licenses, social security cards, and death certificates are issued upon qualification. No sovereign state has ever given birth to a child, yet each state provides a certificate of live birth. This piece of paper does not give a child life; it’s legal proof of citizenship and parental relationship. Similarly, a marriage certificate is legal proof of an existing relationship for the protection of assets. A marriage isn’t a piece of paper, and a piece of paper is certainly not a marriage.

Can You Marry Your Dog?

The Supreme Court has ruled 5-4 that marriage between two people of the same sex is a constitutionally guaranteed right. Opponents of the marriage ruling presented several slippery slope scenarios: “What about polygamy? What about incest? What about my dog? Can I marry my dog?” The more depraved the concocted scenario, the more resolute the dissenting side became in their opposition. They might be surprised to learn that marriage is a “personal expression” protected by the 1^st Amendment.

So, in fact, someone can marry a beloved animal. They can marry ten! They can marry a wall or a ferris wheel. They can even marry themselves. While none of these personal expressions are illegal, none are legally recognized. Marriage between consenting adults who qualify for state recognition (including same-sex couples) must be recognized.

(Note for those doomsayers: No form of marriage permits a criminal act. Age of consent laws are still applicable. Laws that ban sexual activity with animals remain on the books. Bigamy, not to be confused with polygamy, continues to be unlawful.)

A Piece of Paper

While acknowledging that marriage has evolved over centuries, the Supreme Court granted gay and lesbian married couples access to a piece of paper that represents legal protections; the individuals in the committed relationship already defined their marriage without the help of government.

Currently, most state marriage contracts are limited to two non-blood relatives, which are usually more distantly related than first cousins, bound in exclusivity, as is the case in Wisconsin. Children cannot enter into a legal contract without parental consent. Animals and inanimate objects have no legal contractual rights, so they are precluded from marriage contracts. Unless a state decides to offer plural marriage contracts for polygamist couples, legally recognized polygamy is a moot point. This limits state recognition to be between two consenting non-related adults.

Lesbian and gay couples won equal access to legal recognition, not marriage itself (the expression of marriage was always available). Some dissenters genuinely think government will force churches to perform same-sex weddings or face consequences. The 1^st Amendment  expressly prohibits this.

The Not So Conservative Response

Prominent conservative presidential contenders looked stubbornly foolish in the aftermath of the marriage ruling, while others tempered their response with resigned calls for respect. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) called for the Justices to undergo retention elections, a strategy likely to further increase the politicization of the judiciary. Former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR) argued for state defiance of the federal court ruling, a failed strategy previously employed to prevent integration of public schools following the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education court decision.

Gov. Scott Walker’s (R-WI) proposal to introduce a federal constitutional amendment defining marriage as between “one man and one woman” is the most ham-handed option, violating the 1^st Amendment. The 1^st Amendment reads in part, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech [...].” Yet conservative Walker wants Congress to radically change the law in respect to religion.

In order for Walker to impose his definition of marriage on our constitution, he must ignore American Presbyterians who recognize marriages between same-sex couples. More pressingly, Walker would need to repeal the amendment he intends to protect.

Walker called the court ruling a “grave mistake”. When the growing majority of Americans support marriage equality, Walker has doubled down in opposition. Politically, this issue might bury him.

No wonder these politicians are paranoid the government is intruding on Americans’ lives! They misunderstand the role of law is a means to protect rights. The equal protections clause in the 14^th Amendment guides state government behavior, not the whims of those who play gatekeeper of the societal norms.

It appears these outspoken candidates, along with the majority of Americans, have slid into the trap of believing these court rulings are about more than just a piece of a paper that protects property and familial rights. People make the marriage; government recognizes their commitment. These conservatives don’t understand either. Do you?

(Also published at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Purple Wisconsin)

Pilgrims, Poets, & Presidents

Republicans and conservatives gathered earlier this month in La Crosse, WI to hold the annual Republican Party of Wisconsin (RPW) State Convention.

On the eve of the convention, the first family welcomed Wisconsin GOP pilgrims seeking political catharsis. During the governor’s reception, Scott Walker led an awkward conga line which included state representatives and party faithful. In a way, this clumsy dance was symbolic of the real goal of the convention: get Republicans in line behind the governor, regardless of how ridiculous everyone looks.

Canned vs. Fresh Ideas

At the main event, Walker delivered his canned speech from a small stage surrounded by an enamored crowd. The governor wore approachable rolled sleeves in front of his supportive backdrop, setting up a folksy photo-op. Walker sounded precise, cadenced, and rehearsed, describing accomplishments like his role in passing Right-to-Work (legislation he reluctantly supported after calling the initiative to pass the bill a “distraction”). Interestingly, Walker’s 2015 achievement needed to be force-fed to him by the Republican legislature only a few months prior. Now Walker has rewritten Wisconsin history. The narrative became his; supporters clapped.

In contrast, Wisconsin 8^th District Congressman Reid Ribble reached the podium and asked the crowd to ponder something simple: “Why did you come?” Ribble went on to describe a meeting of Republican members of Congress where one of the guest speakers, Arthur C. Brooks of the American Enterprise Institute, listed three visionary principles that Republicans must take to heart in order to be successful in the future:

1.     (Republicans) must stop fighting against things, and start fighting for people.

The GOP gets stuck on selling their own policy rather than listening to people, then developing solutions. Too often, Republicans refuse to address pleas for help, sweeping them aside as another way government might intrude on people’s lives. “No” is a conservative response to most new and existing government assistance. To regular citizens, “no” is not a vision that makes their lives better; it’s a dismissal of their concerns.

2.     Republicans need to go where they’re not invited.

This should be common sense for a group attempting to grow its tent. Republicans tend to wait for diversity to come to them. At a certain point, Republican outreach requires the party members to actually reach out.

3.     Do not fight for people who like you. Fight for people who need you.

Ribble urged the WI GOP convention-goers to put aside partisan politics and start caring about the individual. He said, “You want to win in 2016? You start to view life through a different prism. [...] It’s not about being red, and it’s not about being blue; it’s not (in many cases) [...] about being right. It’s about caring for people.”

Is connecting with potential voters a core principle or a hassle? Is the Republican Party ready to actually do the work of continuous outreach, or will outreach continue to be a campaign checklist item performed for a few weeks of each election cycle?

O Captain! Where Art Thou?

Walt Whitman wrote O Captain! My Captain! in response to the death of Abraham Lincoln, a father of the original Republican Party. The three-stanza poem expressed sorrow and exultation for a man with noble ideals who was cut down too soon. A man who understood that reaching out and helping others was part of being a Republican. Lincoln was a captain.

Today, the modern-day GOP remains without a true captain. The Republican National Committee (RNC) leadership talks about increasing the party’s racial and gender diversity, yet they’re oblivious to their insular homogeny (see the 2015 “Your America” Calendar reference, which has since been taken down from the RNC’s website).

Pockets of minorities and union workers who live in strong blue areas are written off as automatic Democratic voters. Republicans need to go beyond their comfort zones, go where they’re not invited, and listen. This is how Democrats have been successful earning the majority of minority votes.

Walker has proven himself to be an unworthy skipper, acting as a windsock rather than a captain. When not leading a conga line, Walker follows where the opportunistic winds blow (and claims credit for passing bills like Right to Work).

As 2016 approaches, Ribble’s speech reminds us that the GOP is a grand vessel left in decay with no one worthy at the helm. We have no one worthy to be president. We are a party adrift. O captain! Where art thou?

(Also published at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Purple Wisconsin)

When Life Matters

Wisconsin Republican legislators introduced a bill that would ban abortions 20 weeks after fertilization, an effort to narrow the window of when life can be legally terminated. According to supporters of the bill, this is the point in human development that pain can be felt. (9 out of 10 abortions are performed within 12 weeks – most are performed before 9 weeks.) Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) has vowed to approve such legislation, a move that wins points with social conservatives in Iowa, site of the first presidential battleground.

This bill is dishonest in its very mission, finding a backdoor around Roe v. Wade when Republicans should confront it head on. Instead of leading on the basic fundamentals of human rights, they have missed an opportunity to protect lives. I think 20 weeks is too late. In this case, half steps are tactical missteps.

Life matters from the beginning until the end.

 
Hypocritical Oath

The Republican Party needs to do more than simply adjust messaging; they need to adjust their attitudes toward the value of all stages of life.

GOP inconsistency begins early. The initial conservative reaction to food stamp programs, a life sustaining measure, is disgust. Select Wisconsin conservatives have shown their disdain by drafting legislation that would restrict certain types of food purchases for citizens on food stamps, requiring increased government involvement and oversight (hardly a fiscally conservative stance that does nothing to reduce waste). “Beggars can’t be choosers” is the default mentality of the conservative wing of the Republican Party; all the while those in need struggle to get by.

To be fair, Wisconsin state Republicans seem to genuinely care about providing quality education and health care to citizens, though Gov. Walker’s $127 million cuts proposed to K-12 education shows cost aversion outweighs long-term investment. Cutting programs that provide a net-positive contribution to society is shortsighted. Republicans are saving for the next quarter, not investing for retirement.

When conservatives aren’t displaying indifference toward quality of life, they’re perceived to callously disregard the value of individuals.

According to Pew Research, Republican support for capital punishment remains steady at 77%, contrasted by only 40% support from Democrats. How can a group hold the sanctity of life in one hand and flip the execution switch with the other?

Democrats are hardly innocent, being a party for social justice, yet resigned to allow humans to be aborted. There is a detestable pride that accompanies the majority of pro-choice Democrats in their efforts to deprive a fetal human’s right to life.

For both parties, parsing exactly when life has value, and when the public good trumps that value, is not pro-life or pro-choice; it’s pro-convenience.

The majority of Democrats have proven a willingness to postpone the moment human rights matter (preferably after the birth certificate is stamped). Wisconsin Republicans are hypocrites for proposing legislation that reduces the time frame for abortion instead of ending the practice outright.

In the absence of boldness and clarity of vision, people will die as they wait to be born.

(Also published at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Purple Wisconsin)

The Court of Public Opinion

Did you notice some justices’ skepticism today over the impact of their ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, the case deciding the fate of same-sex marriage bans? Chief Justice John Roberts voiced his concern over a ruling in the plaintiffs’ favor, saying, “I mean, closing of debate can close minds, and it will have a consequence on how this new institution is accepted.”

Timing v. Prudence

What if the U.S. Supreme Court didn’t wait a century to end Jim Crow? Schools would have been integrated; violators of civil rights would have been brought to justice. The fact that it took roughly 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation to end Jim Crow is proof that patience on the subject of rights is no virtue.

In hindsight, every moment an American citizen is forced to live under illegal and unjust laws is unconscionable. We certainly could wait for the same-sex marriage debate to drag on for a few more decades, or we can right the wrong immediately.

Does Roberts' comment reveal a crack in our nation’s defense of individual rights? Popularity is not necessary to ensure equality. When the equal right to marry was denied as a result of public referendum in the various states, it was the role of the courts to step in, regardless of public opinion.

Yet public opinion is inextricably tethered to the heart of this issue. And the justices appear cognizant of this reality.

“People feel very differently about something if they have a chance to vote on it, than if it's imposed on them by the courts,” Roberts offered. Is he trying to avoid a situation like the aftermath of Roe v. Wade that galvanized the pro-life movement, leading to a cultural civil war still alive today? Is Roberts more concerned about potential cultural stress than the immediate and just relief of the ignored?

Jury is Out

For the pro-LGBT community, the result of this court battle seems like it should be crystal clear: marriage equality is a 14th Amendment guaranteed right (Equal Protections Clause). While nothing seems to be guaranteed (including guaranteed rights), there is optimism among advocates that the time for LGBT equality has come. The question remains whether the justices agree the timing is right. The jury is still out.

(Also published at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Purple Wisconsin)

An Un-American Democracy

Democracy is a threat to our country.

Professor of economics at George Mason University and nationally syndicated columnist Walter E. Williams stated, “The ideal way to organize human conduct is to create a system that maximizes personal liberty for all. Liberty and democracy are not synonymous and most often are opposites.”

Williams, a laissez-faire capitalist, takes strong libertarian positions on issues such as eliminating the minimum wage, affirmative action, and the Federal Reserve (opinions I do not share). Nevertheless, as far as articulating the contradictory nature of liberty and democracy, Williams is on point.

We Were Warned

Democracy wasn’t always a celebrated ideal. In its pure form, a slight majority can eliminate the rights and privileges of a minority by voting them away. Pure democracy is mob rule. American revolutionaries avoided this system, preferring the more equitable republican system of government.

James Madison wrote in the Federalist Papers that a republican system protects the rights of the minority through representative government while democracy solidifies majority power by any means possible. Alexander Hamilton said of American governmental structure: “We are now forming a Republican form of government. Real liberty is not found in the extremes of democracy, but in moderate governments. If we incline too much to democracy, we shall soon shoot into a monarchy, or some other form of dictatorship.”

The founders were right, yet modern politicians use pure democracy to their benefit. These opportunists rely on the mob. Some are even running for president.

We the Mob

“We the People”, borrowed from the opening line in the U.S. Constitution, is a popular slogan used by right-wing politicians. It is used by states’ rights (mob rule) ideologues to claim a popular consensus rather the original intent of the phrase: liberty and justice for all. Liberty is an inconvenient concept to people who want to force their ideas on others. It’s much easier to convince a mob to turn on the minority.

Mob rule ideologues rely on the human desire to align with the pack, not the outcast. Pack mentality is primal, uncivilized. Mob rule conservatives have harnessed the notion of “We the People” as an excuse to illegally block individual rights (most recently, LGBT rights). Pure democracy in action.

(Full disclosure: I am Vice President of the Log Cabin Republicans of Wisconsin, a pro-LGBT group.)

The entire premise of mob rule trumping civil rights is based on democracy. “We the People” voted, so we get our way, right? -- WRONG. Unfortunately, most Republican presidential candidates celebrate pure democracy, abandoning their republican ideals in return for popularity. Most notably, Texas Senator and presidential candidate Ted Cruz (a states’ rights conservative first, Republican second) has chosen the wrong side in the debate on same-sex marriage: The mob.

Cruz made this statement following the Supreme Court’s decision allowing lower court rulings on same-sex marriage to stand: “This is judicial activism at its worst. The Constitution entrusts state legislatures, elected by the People, to define marriage consistent with the values and mores of their citizens.” Cruz’s immediate response was to propose legislation (S. 2024) limiting marriage to be between a “man and a woman”. Apparently the 1^st Amendment slipped the constitutional lawyer’s mind (“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof [...]”).

Marriage is a right. The Supreme Court has already ruled in Loving v. Virginia (the landmark 1967 case that struck bans on interracial marriage), “The freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men” (emphasis mine). Every individual’s right to marry is protected from Cruz’s aggression. Minority rights are never subject to popular vote.

The Face of Democracy

The states’ rights conservative movement has long embraced pure democracy. National Organization for Marriage (aligned with conservatives Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee) and the equally harmful Wisconsin Family Action (WFA) make a daily effort to chip away at the rights of the LGBT community.

WFA President Julaine Appling said of Wisconsin’s overturned marriage ban, “The people of Wisconsin voted to protect the definition of marriage. One liberal judge overturned the will of the people [...]”. That IS the purpose of the judiciary. Constitutional rights aren’t intended to be stripped by democratic means. In a republic, rights are guaranteed to even the smallest minority.

Republic for Which We Stand

We the people are individuals with God-given rights. To hell with democracy! It’s time to remember the ideal America was founded on: Republicanism.

(Also published at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Purple Wisconsin)

The RNC is at it again

We'll keep this very short. If the Republican National Committee (RNC) and Chairman Reince Priebus have decided they will be endorsing Christian theology in official party publications by claiming "He is Risen", it's time to reclaim our party.

A better way to wish people a happy Easter who celebrate the holiday is to say "Happy Easter". This isn't rocket science.

MLK Day of Service (2015)

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is: 'What are you doing for others?'" 

-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Help with your own act of service. Find a Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service event in your area.

‪#‎BeBold‬

The Unofficial Party

The major two-party system in American politics has existed since our nation’s infancy. 

While President John Adams warned against the dueling party system as “the greatest political evil under our Constitution”, it is a pillar of our republic. Today, Democrats and Republicans account for the majority of modern-day political party affiliations.

The two parties don’t need to be enemies, rather complementary civic partners. Though the opposing camps differ on policy decisions, both support the individual citizens of our country with their unique visions. However, Republicans and Democrats have dealt with a hidden opponent – an unofficial group that parasitically attached to both parties over the past 100 years, yet never represented the ideals of either host.

Who is this shadowy “unofficial party” slipping between political tents?

Exposing State’s Rights

The unofficial group I’m talking about has a single goal: promoting the interests of the majority regardless of individual constitutional rights. With this mentality, popular opinion is sacred, minority rights are expendable, and the State is king.

These popular majority supporters point to the 10th Amendment as their justification to supersede others’ rights. Though the 10^th Amendment guarantees the states powers that are not reserved for the Federal government, it does not invalidate individual rights.

Following the American Civil War, nearly every constitutional amendment beginning at Reconstruction is systematically ignored by Southern voters in what appears to be a desperate attempt to pretend the Confederates never lost. (Reconstruction Amendments 13, 14, and 15 respectively abolished slavery, ensured equal protections of citizens of each state in the union, and prohibited suffrage restrictions on the basis of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.) Unsurprisingly, the Southern states continued to infringe on African-American equal protections and voting rights well into the 20^th century. And this illegal restriction of rights endured in the South for over 150 years behind the passionate defense of a single group: The state’s rights conservatives.

Don’t confuse limited government conservatism and state’s rights conservatives. The two are very different. Limited government conservatives focus on reducing the size and scope of government to its most efficient scale. State’s rights conservatives rely on the power of the state to push forward the will of the majority. Really, state’s rights advocates are just big-government conservatives who want to centralize unquestioned majority power at the state.

State’s rights conservatives seem to believe the 10^th Amendment absolves states from their obligation to respect each citizen’s constitutional rights. Their ideas don’t belong in either party -- and they know it. It’s why these conservatives are transients, seeking a home wherever they will be accepted (deriding the establishment party along the way). State’s rights conservatives give good conservatives a bad name.

The Great Conservative Migration

Today, Republicans are regarded as the conservative party, but it wasn’t always this way. The Republican National Committee (RNC) began as a progressive anti-slavery movement prior to the American Civil War. Being Republican meant supporting civil rights, economic freedom, and social justice. Republicans favored racial equality while the Democratic Party remained conflicted between its conservative wing in the former Confederate South and the liberals residing in Northeast.

The Klu Klux Klan (KKK) and Jim Crow segregationists of the early 20^th century are often associated with Southern Democrats. In fact, Southern conservative Democrats, in an effort to protect their ability to keep segregation legal and counter the liberal Democratic support of the civil rights movement, briefly split during the 1948 presidential campaign, forming the Democratic State’s Rights Party (AKA “Dixiecrat” Party). “State’s rights” was their motto, yet these were not Democratic ideals.

As the civil rights movement progressed into the 1960s, liberal Democrats pressed for anti-discrimination legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which offered protections based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. State’s rights conservatives revolted. Opportunistic Republicans, a desperate minority party in 1964, sought to expand their tent. They implemented a scheme to pull Southern white conservatives to the GOP, an action dubbed the “Southern Strategy”. It was successful and the state’s rights movement had a new home in the GOP.

Rise of the Un-Republicans

50 years ago, RNC leadership turned on the Republican values of civil rights and racial equality in order to build a winning political coalition. In a way, they sold their soul to win national elections. Party leadership began to embrace more conservative state’s rights principles and the un-Republican movement began to grow within the RNC. The Southern Strategy was executed flawlessly, helping swing Presidents Nixon (1968) and Reagan (1980) into office with the newfound support of the conservative south. The change of white southern conservative support brought Republican victories, yet may have changed the RNC’s political philosophy forever.

In the most recent civil rights discussion of same-sex marriage, a strange parallel has surfaced with how state’s rights conservatives responded to the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision in 1954. The courts ruled that segregation based on race in public schools violated the 14^th Amendment rights of students facing discrimination. State’s rights conservatives howled that judicial activists were supplanting their state sovereignty with federal mandates. Conservative politicians like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) now claim that the Federal courts are full of judicial activists disregarding the “will of the people” who voted to oppose marriage equality. Potential conservative presidential contender, former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL), called the marriage rulings “disappointing”, claiming states should be able to decide on these matters.

In a typical state’s rights maneuver, these conservatives have ignored the 14^th Amendment equal protections of gay and lesbian couples in favor of their popular majority. Although conservatives typically support religious freedom, they deny it to American Presbyterians who recognize same-sex marriage. Would conservatives allow their religious freedoms to be subject to popular vote? -- No chance!

The RNC seems to agree with Sen. Cruz and Gov. Bush, and now includes the un-Republican state’s rights sentiment in their official national platform, though the courts are ruling against the state bans on marriage equality at rapid pace (37 states and counting). Apparently, many conservatives don’t care about constitutional amendments added after the Confederate South fell. Are the RNC leadership and politicians with similar positions on state’s rights (including Sen. Ted Cruz, Gov. Jeb Bush, Gov. Mike Huckabee, Gov. Rick Perry, Sen. Rick Santorum, etc...) just Dixiecrats in Republicans’ clothes?

The real RINOs

The RNC now touts their values as “conservative” rather than Republican. Candidates don’t run as Republicans, they run from the label. This was the case with Wisconsin 6^th District Congressman Glenn Grothman, who in the 2014 election proudly displayed political advertisements claiming he is fighting for “conservative values”. Grothman subsequently beat his moderate challenger. Republicanism, in large part, was eschewed in favor of conservatism. Conservatives want to elect “true” conservatives into office, not Republicans. While Republicans cheer a massive blow to Democrats by claiming majorities in both houses of Congress, this wasn’t their victory; it was the conservatives’ -- the usurpers of the Republican Party.

Today, conservatives claim to be the base of the RNC. Yet how can the framework of Republican values such as individual liberty and limited government be built on a political base bent on its destruction? State’s rights conservatives favor popular majority enforced by a powerful State, while Republicans protect the minority from majority will. These positions are polar opposites.

Though state’s rights conservatives have been a part of the Republican Party for decades, their values never really belonged. Conservatives were frustrated with liberals when they were misfits in the Democratic Party. Now conservatives are frustrated with moderate Republicans who better represent the GOP’s founding mission. The irony isn’t lost when the most un-Republican conservative groups refer to moderate Republicans as RINOs (“Republicans-in-name-only”).

Crashing the Party

The Republican Party correctly seeks to be more inclusive. Unfortunately, the RNC has only been successful at including groups whose mission is to extinguish Republican ideals. At this point, RNC leadership has strayed so far from the original party line, they have forgotten what being a Republican is all about: Individual civil rights that are NEVER subject to popular vote. Have Republicans allowed themselves to be kicked out of their own tent?

If only the RNC had not implemented the Southern Strategy, Republicans might still be the party of civil rights. If state’s rights conservatives had not infected the party founded to stop them, Republicans would be fighting for minority rights, not majority comfort and supremacy.

Real Republicans recognize the party’s cancer. The growing state’s rights conservative movement has mutated the Republican message from empowering individuals to overpowering them. Until Republican voters realize their party has been unofficially taken over by the mentality the GOP was founded to thwart, Republicanism is lost.


(Also published at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Purple Wisconsin)

Resolve to Be Bold

"Each person must live their life as a model for others."
Rosa Parks

This year resolve to be bold. Happy New Year!

Invisible Privilege

I’m a married, white, middle-class Republican male. I am the stereotype people point to when they describe privilege, a concept dismissed by conservative America. Yet I am here to tell other Republicans and conservatives: Privilege is real.

When conservatives hear the term “privilege” in reference to white Americans, some lash out with disbelief and mockery. “If anyone happens to find my white privilege anywhere, let me know – I sure as hell haven’t ever seen it”, a notable conservative meme proclaimed as it was shared through social media.

Privilege isn’t necessarily undeserved superior treatment; it’s the ability to enjoy trust within the community without having to earn it. The benefit of the doubt is a powerful form of privilege that can only be noticed once it’s gone.

Privilege Exchange Rate

I recently traveled to China on business, joined by a colleague on his first visit. We are both white males, yet my travel companion stands out in the crowd. Local citizens flocked to capture a glimpse and snap pictures of his towering 6’ 5” frame, blonde hair and blue eyes. While I expected a reaction from the local crowd, I wasn’t prepared for a very new experience: the benefit of the doubt I have always enjoyed vanished.

As we traversed rural areas, suspicious eyes followed our movements. What did they think we were doing? The simple task of checking our bags at the airport became more complex than others experienced. We had to go to a manager’s station when everyone else was allowed to breeze by. The added difficulty wasn’t insurmountable, but it was noticeable. My colleague faced even more obstacles. When our flight was cancelled, we waited in a long line with all the passengers. Several people attempted to cut in front of my colleague, no one else. Each passenger received a refund except for my friend; he alone was denied.

Throughout our time in China, he was never injured, but he was mistreated.

I returned to the U.S. with a newfound empathy for people who are treated differently because of their appearance. I could recognize my privilege now that I had gone without. Before, the subtle double standard was invisible. Now, the numerous slights I didn’t have to endure were glaringly obvious. This was the moment I realized that privilege wasn’t about a specific race or class; it was about which group enjoyed prominent standing in the culture.

Privilege of Prominence

Back in the U.S., my privilege is restored, but I’m not taking it for granted. I can shop without watchful eyes following my every move. I can feel secure the police won’t pull me over for no reason. I can go about my day relatively carefree. For many Americans this would seem like normal treatment. Why would anyone be suspected of wrongdoing if they were innocent?

Being automatically suspected of wrongdoing is the very issue that members of the black community have raised. White people are typically afforded the benefit of the doubt (or at least the benefit of restraint). The black community, in large part, is not. African-American boys receive two-thirds of reported school suspensions nationwide, and black youth account for 26% of juvenile arrests, 44% of detentions, and 58% of state prison incarcerations. “Every single child 13 or 14 years old sentenced to life without parole for a non-homicide has been a person of color,” according to Bryan Stevenson of the Equal Justice Initiative. Do black youths strike the community with criminal activity more frequently, or does the justice system strike black youths with greater might?

#PrivilegeMatters

The black community is attempting to make their voices heard. Following the separate police-involved deaths of unarmed citizens, Michael Brown (Ferguson, MO) and Eric Garner (Staten Island, NY), matters of race and privilege have surfaced. In both incidences where the deceased was black, separate grand juries refused to indict the white police officers involved.

Immediately, the public began to take sides along ideological lines. Many conservatives backed the police officers involved, attacking the character of the dead men and blaming them for provoking the incident. Brown and Garner supporters responded with protests of their own, denouncing the deaths as an example of excessive use of force by the police. The protesters argued that shoplifting and selling untaxed cigarettes, respectively, should never escalate to a lethal response (and wouldn’t if the suspects were afforded the benefit of restraint).

Riots ensued in Ferguson, fanning the narrative voiced by conservatives that police acted accordingly in crime-ridden, out of control areas. In the community protests dating back to the 2012 acquittal of George Zimmerman in the death of unarmed teen Trayvon Martin, a slogan was born: #BlackLivesMatter, which was subsequently ridiculed by the ideological right who called the movement “racist” for elevating the lives of perceived criminals above others.

Within days of the Ferguson riots, opposition to the now two year old #BlackLivesMatter movement was created when the slogan #AllLivesMatter was launched by conservative activists as a way to support police officers who put their lives on the line to protect the public. Rather than join together to listen and help raise awareness, these conservatives countered. This only escalated the grievance within the black community, which in turn added to the perception that all opposition to the #BlackLivesMatter movement was proof of white privilege or further racial ignorance.

Privilege of Visibility

All lives DO matter. The black community is trying to bring public attention to their struggle of getting by without privilege. They are not trying to advocate for more restraint than anyone else receives, they do not feel they receive the minimum reasonable amount of respect. They are seeking to have their concerns heard, not refuted by people who cannot see the privilege that prominence affords.

Political parties have privilege blindness as well. The Republican National Committee (RNC) recently released their 2015 calendar titled “Your America”, which features scenes depicting their vision of what matters to Republicans. Embarrassingly, not a single non-white person was pictured. Does the RNC envision America without people of color? Sometimes it’s a privilege just to be visible.

Having privilege is not shameful; however we cannot assume everyone else enjoys the same treatment. Some people are mistreated, mistrusted, or worse. But these issues will never be resolved when many Americans cannot see a problem exists. Equal treatment of others is only achievable when we can see what privilege looks like; then afford others the same privilege.

(Also published at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Purple Wisconsin)

RNC Calendar: "Your" America...

The Republican National Committee (RNC) just launched a new 2015 calendar titled "Your America". This RNC dedication to their vision of our party features photos of "what the American Dream means to supporters across the country — whether that’s a serene view of our lands’ natural beauty or your grandchildren waving the American flag for their very first time." Unfortunately, yet unsurprisingly, not a single person featured was non-white...

The RNC seeks to broaden their tent, but it appears their vision may be too limited to achieve any meaningful growth. At this rate, they deserve to lose your vote. Unless your family is about trucks, puppies, and being Caucasian, this calendar is a daily reminder that the RNC has failed.

Workers of Wisconsin, Unite!

Another labor clash is developing in Wisconsin, pitting the same cast of characters against each other in a battle over labor rights. Pro-union activists are holding their ground against the encroachment by conservatives who seek right-to-work legislation. The goal of right-to-work is to allow the choice of joining a union (closed shop workplaces compel union membership). Both sides are entrenched, but these opponents aren’t fighting for workers, they’re fighting for their own self-interest.

If the focus of the organized labor debate is the worker, both sides have failed. Parties on both sides of the issue aren’t representing ALL workers; each side unifies to protect their interests and crush their opponents’.

United Against Closed Shop Unions

As the wounds from Act 10 begin to scar over, conservative activist group Wisconsin Right to Work is rekindling the idea that Wisconsin should become a right-to-work, open shop state. “Wisconsin's public employees have already demonstrated their strong desire for their right to choose as evidenced by the sharp decline in enrollment in the teacher's unions since the passage of Gov. Walker's [Act 10],” said Lorri Pickens, executive director of Wisconsin Right to Work (Journal Sentinel).

While Governor Scott Walker has little appetite to duke it out with pro-union supporters, calling it “not part of his agenda” and a “distraction”, he may be drafted by the far-right conservatives he heavily relied on during his reelection campaign. His voter base may flaunt the $2 billion savings or the ability to replace ineffective teachers that resulted from the Act 10 reforms as justification for taking the anti-union movement further. Walker may not have any choice but to go along.

Anti-union conservatives view the labor movement as economic saboteurs headed by corrupt union bosses who stuff their over-sized pockets with workers’ hard-earned money, all while hindering profitability along the way. Dues are compelled by force in exchange for biased representation. Closed shop environments are said to stifle initiative, inhibit modernization, and reward sloth, a deadly combination for profitability. “They're trying to sneak in any way they can," said South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley of unions trying to establish in her state. “My job is to make sure I keep kicking them out.”

A lighter tone with similar result is set in the Wisconsin State Legislature. “The benefits to Wisconsin are pretty simple, and the statistics are very clear: If we pass legislation like right to work, we’re going to see an increase in the number of jobs available, and I fully expect to see an increase in incomes,” said Republican State Rep. Chris Kapenga, who announced he will introduce a right-to-work bill.

Workers of Wisconsin, unite against the closed shop union!

United for Strong Unions

It wasn’t always this way. In 1952, Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower said: “Today in America unions have a secure place in our industrial life. Only a handful of unreconstructed reactionaries harbor the ugly thought of breaking unions. Only a fool would try to deprive working men and women of the right to join the union of their choice.”

Wisconsin has a noble legacy as the first state to grant collective bargaining rights to public-sector unions (NY Times). Walker began his history of fighting unions when he proposed right-to-work legislation in 1993 as a freshman in the State Legislature (Journal Sentinel). Prior to this year’s election, Walker’s campaign quipped on social media: “Big Government Union Bosses said they have "a score to settle" with Scott”, which was followed by a call to donate. Opposition to unions results in a big payday for conservative candidates. As conservatives contend that the labor movement is diametrically opposed to Republican ideas, unions are used as the Boogeyman to incite fear in a right-leaning electorate--fear used to funnel money into campaign coffers.

Union-bashing is red meat for a conservative voting base. The Republican National Committee (RNC) glaringly declined to recognize Labor Day 2014, a slap in the face to people who work hard for a living. Republican candidates, in an effort to appease these anti-union conservatives, have played to the fool and ignored the union worker and the labor movement’s contributions to the workplace.

Union leaders, members, and supporters can see that conservatives aim to remove the labor movement from business. “Wisconsin is powered by our middle class — by the nurses, steel workers, teachers and construction workers who help shape our future, keep us safe and drive our economy. Right-to-work would roll back the clock on workers' rights and take Wisconsin in the wrong direction,” Wisconsin AFL-CIO president Phil Neuenfeldt said (Journal Sentinel). In an effort to protect collective bargaining rights, union advocates are threatening to protest to keep unionized workplaces closed and insulated from the crumbling affects of reduced membership.

United for Workers’ Choice

Anti-union conservatives want to promote the choice of workers to become union members, but would prefer they do not unionize. And pro-union advocates want to promote the choice of workers to unionize, and encourage them to do so. It seems odd that two groups arguing for workers’ rights are so bent on limiting the laborer’s choice, relying on coercion to either prevent or compel union membership. Compulsion is no choice at all.

The decision to join a union belongs to workers. If the pro & anti-union groups really want to advocate for the workers’ rights, they’ll support the right of a worker to join a union or abstain. Workers of Wisconsin, unite for choice!

(Also published at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Purple Wisconsin)