Opinion

Wisconsin Republicans have been on a fast track to the right-wing fringe for a number of years, but recently that process has accelerated.

In 2010, they nominated a candidate for lieutenant governor who compared LGBT relationships to people marrying their furniture or the family dog.

The Republican Party in Wisconsin has been moving further to the political right for decades. But in recent years, the party has been taking the fast track to the fringe.

The culture warriors and other extremists have taken over and largely purged the GOP of real conservatives and traditional Republicans. Although the current Republican establishment uses some of the same words, it has dramatically changed the definitions.

“Nothing about us, without us!” was the rallying cry of the Independent Living movement of the 1960s, which challenged pitying, paternalistic attitudes about people with disabilities and the purely medical model of “curing” and “treating” disabilities.

Fueled by the same civil rights fervor that launched the gay rights movement, the IL movement has made strides toward de-institutionalizing people with disabilities, providing support for their independence and self-determination, and creating a more inclusive society.

When Milwaukee police arrested Jeffrey Dahmer late on July 22, 1991, the revelation of his crimes hit like a shock wave, especially in the city’s gay community.

I covered the story for Wisconsin Light and national gay papers from July 1991 through Dahmer’s trial, which ended in February 1992. My reporting encompassed stories about Dahmer, the victims and the trial, as well as police negligence, racism in the LGBT and wider community, and the intense wave of homophobic reaction that followed the crimes. To read some of the Dahmer case stories, go to www.jamakaya.com.

You don’t have to be a fat cat like Bill Gates to join one of the most admired fraternities around: philanthropists.

Since I work as a fundraiser and am painfully aware of how budget cuts are devastating human services, here’s a personal pitch along with some tips for being a smart, effective donor.

Milwaukee-based Charles Daniels is finally taking the “me” time he deserves following a 19-year career educating, testing, informing and helping the black LGBT community about HIV and AIDS.

Charles “D” is the genius and visionary founder of Charles “D” Productions, Inc., and the Health Institute of Milwaukee. He’s also the creative brain behind the Mr. & Mrs. Mystique National Pageants. It was through his nationally recognized pageants, annual back-to-school giveaways and picnics, “The Queer Program,” numerous barbecues, events at Emerald’s Bar and other special events that he fought  HIV/AIDS in our community in creative ways.

“It was international jihadism that we feared,” said a Norwegian leader about the terrorist bombing and massacre of young liberals in his country. “But what we have now is more painful in terms of a re-evaluation of ourselves.”

What’s true for Norway is equally true for the United States. Our country is more politically fractured than ever. Polarization has been exacerbated by economic collapse and unemployment. And our anything-goes media often fan the flames of unreason and resentment through sensational and inaccurate reporting.

One of the most frequent complaints we hear from Republicans is that their tax burdens are too high. It’s a GOP talking point that turns up in nearly every election, regardless of the actual data or the historical record. So it is certainly no surprise to hear many of the Republicans running in recall elections this summer complaining about their tax burden.

But it might surprise voters in Wisconsin to know that some of the candidates whining about taxes actually pay little to nothing in net income tax to the state.

I have a goofy bulletin board with an image of the notorious slacker Homer Simpson wagging his finger and whining, “Trying is the first step towards failure.”

I thought of Homer immediately when I read that the Obama administration is vacillating over whether to propose a jobs program to get Americans back to work. The president and his advisors are said to be calculating whether Congress could pass a jobs program and, if not, how the failure of such an effort would affect the president’s re-election prospects.

The final two recall elections on Aug.16 are as important as ever. The match-ups pit incumbent state Sen. Bob Wirch, D-Pleasant Prairie, against corporate attorney Jonathan Steitz and Sen. Jim Holprien, D-Conover, against Tea Party leader Kim Simac.

The outcomes of these two races are critical for a number of reasons, including the fact that both Republican challengers are extremists who oppose LGBT equality.

Most people in the LGBT community are well aware of the radical anti-gay agenda that exists at the group Wisconsin Family Action.

The group was a primary force behind the effort to enshrine discrimination in our state constitution in 2006. Its leader Julaine Appling is so far out on the fringe that she even lobbied legislators against something as commonsense as anti-bullying legislation to protect students.

The gay blogosphere has been buzzing in recent days about a candid video posted online that shows the husband of Michele Bachmann sashaying down a hallway with a drag queen’s strut and an audio of him speaking out against gays in a high-pitched, almost lisping voice.

“He’s a flamer,” commented a visitor at Truth Wins Out.