Editorial

Milwaukeeans knew Scott Walker would say or do anything to raise his political profile and promote the corporate-right agenda. His tenure as Milwaukee County executive was marred with such antics, which helps explain why he received only 38 percent of the county’s vote last November.

Thanks to a recorded conversation Walker had with a journalist pretending to be right-wing billionaire activist David Koch, now the whole world knows about Walker’s ruthless ambition, his unethical tactics and his sycophantic allegiance to the interests of the rich.

Institutions of higher learning are typically at the cutting edge of forward-thinking and cultural evolution. But not at Marquette University, where progressives complain that backward religious conservatives have a stranglehold on the administration. As a result, they fear the university’s academic standing is moribund.

“Marquette is where faculty go to die,” an unnamed faculty member told a researcher contracted by the university to examine conditions for LGBT people on campus.

After an autumn in which a number of gay youth took their lives and scores of LGBT allies lost their political offices, Congress’ vote to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell” came as a particularly welcome holiday gift. It’s a gift that will keep on giving.

The military ban was rooted in straight men’s homophobic revulsion toward gay sexuality and their contempt for strong women who don’t need them. The ban gave social credence to the most destructive myths about gays and lesbians – that we are mentally and physically unfit, immoral and out-of-control sexual predators.

A recent report from the Cream City Foundation showed Wisconsin in general and Milwaukee in particular lag significantly behind other cities in the region in workplace equality.

CCF compared the scores that regional corporations earned on the Human Rights Campaign’s corporate equality index, which assesses the employment policies, benefits and practices of companies toward their LGBT employees. Wisconsin’s average score of 51 percent fell below the 81 percent achieved by employers in Illinois and the 80 percent obtained by Minnesota employers.

While headlines focus on the union-busting aspect of Gov. Scott Walker’s budget, other items in the bill are also disturbing.

At the same time the governor and his GOP colleagues want to join a federal lawsuit to overturn a national law providing near-universal healthcare coverage, they also want to drop a significant number of people from the state’s Medicaid rolls.

Daniel Hernandez Jr. is not a famous performer, elected official, scientist or business mogul. In fact, before this Good Samaritan helped to save U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ life, he was not a celebrity of any sort. He was a college student doing an internship with Giffords’ office.

Hernandez denies he’s a hero, whatever that means. But he does not deny he’s gay, which makes him a hero to us.

The recent concession of Minnesota gubernatorial challenger Tom Emmer was gratifying. After all, Target Corp.’s donation to a group supporting the anti-gay Emmer led to a national boycott.

Although pro-equality Democrat Mark Dayton’s margin of victory over Emmer was so razor thin that it took more than a month to decide the race, it’s a significant win nonetheless.

In late October, a committee of the Green Bay City Council voted to authorize the city to join forces with Wisconsin Family Action in a lawsuit to overturn the state’s domestic partner registry. No other municipality in the state has considered such an action.

Observers are convinced this attack on LGBT people came in response to a city worker’s request that the council consider domestic partner benefits for its gay and lesbian employees. They also believe the action was ordered by WFA chief Julaine Appling, who’s notorious for such retaliatory behavior.

Ever wish you'd have the opportunity to scream at Sarah Palin?

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The state’s new Republican leadership burst through the gate Jan. 3 with a bizarre legislative agenda that represents a sharp turn away from the job-creation rhetoric spouted by GOP candidates during last fall’s campaign.

Republican lawmakers introduced a flurry of bills that reflected eight years of pent-up conservative anger. From their first hours in power, GOP members signaled that their governing agenda would be set by the lunatic fringe.

When Indianapolis officials appointed LGBT liaisons to their police and fire departments last month, they released a statement touting their action to the public.

“Today’s announcement establishing police and fire liaisons to the LGBT community demonstrates our commitment to service and inclusion,” the statement said. “We look forward to working with the LGBT community, exploring issues involving the LGBT community in police and fire training, and partnering on future projects.”

Editorial boards across the state have rebuked Rebecca Kleefisch, the Republican nominee for Wisconsin lieutenant governor, for refusing to debate Democratic opponent Tom Nelson. Pundits also have taken her to task for avoiding interviews and news conferences.

Debates and personal appearances are all that’s left of the democracy that our founding fathers envisioned. They could not have imagined an age such as ours, when candidates buy political offices through slickly produced, ubiquitously accessed commercials filled with lies and false accusations.