The platforms created by both the Republican and Democratic Parties last year are excessively wordy campaign advertisements with nothing enduring or permanent to say. Neither is likely to satisfy the strong yearning Americans have for a government that serves them for the benefit of all.

ALTOONA, WI - For one week a year, party platforms are relevant . . . to a few thousand people who are delegates to their party’s convention. More than 300 million other Americans pay them no mind that week or any other. The Sunday morning TV news programs don’t examine them. The radio talk show hosts don’t discuss them. After all the balloons and confetti have dropped and the conventions have broken up, even party insiders stop paying any attention to their own platforms. Candidates don’t follow them. Neither do elected office holders as they conduct the public’s business. Anyone willing to actually read the major party platforms can see why.

Reading the platforms is a painful exercise. They are dreadfully long. Page after page induces the gag reflex. They are excessively wordy campaign advertisements aimed at influencing who knows who. What becomes clear as you plow through them is that there is nothing enduring or permanent about them. They really are scaffolds, not platforms.

The Republican scaffold drones on for nearly 60 pages and in it the party declares itself the “Great Opportunity Party.” It takes repeated swipes at President Obama, insisting that for “the past 8 years America has been led in the wrong direction” but making no acknowledgement that Republicans held a majority of seats in Congress and controlled most of the nation’s statehouses for nearly that entire time.

The authors boast the document “lays out — in clear language — the path to making America great and united again.” It goes on to call for everything from “protection against an electromagnetic pulse” to “confronting Internet tyranny.” There’s a section on Africa that touts “AIDS relief under PEPFAR” without explanation. There is a reference to the “Dodd-Frank law, the Democrats’ legislative Godzilla” with no description of what the law is or does or fails to do. In another whack at Obama, it refers to the “Solyndra debacle” and assumes readers remember what that was.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/student-debt-college-s5.jpgWalker would reinstate failed WEDC loan program that cost the state millions, while nearly 1 million residents continue to struggle with student loan debt. Hansen HELD plan would allow Wisconsin residents to refinance student loans at lower interest rates.

As more information about President Trump and his adviser's connections to Russia come out, state GOP politicians look the other way.

MADISON - American leadership is essential to keeping us safe and keeping our economy growing in the years ahead. It's stunning to see the lack of leadership from Wisconsin's Republican members of Congress as the news of General Michael Flynn's resignation continues to dominate the headlines.

Monday night, National Security Adviser, Gen. Michael Flynn, resigned amid controversy surrounding conversations with the Russian ambassador to the United States and the revelation that he could be a possible blackmail target by the Russian government.

The resignation came after it was revealed that Flynn lied and told the Vice President that he had not discussed the topic of Russian sanctions on a call with the ambassador in late December.

As top Republicans across the nation call for investigations into Russia, Wisconsin Republicans are yet to follow suit or even question what President Trump and top officials in his administration knew and when they knew it.

Speaker Paul Ryan punted on the question of investigations yesterday saying that he would leave that decision to the White House. Senator Ron Johnson's concerns appeared to be outwardly political, saying that the most alarming thing about the news is that people in government agencies aren't loyal to the new administration. And Reps. Gallagher, Duffy, Sensenbrenner and Grothman have closed their eyes and ignored the gravity of the situation, either making no comment altogether or stopping short of calling for an independent investigation.

"In the last eight years, Democrats kept Americans safe at home and abroad. Just three weeks into the Trump Presidency, major national security risks have reared their head and Wisconsin Republicans have chosen their party over the national security of their country every time," Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesman Brandon Weathersby said on Wednesday. "Gen. Flynn's resignation proves that we must know the full extent of the Trump Administration's ties and dealings with Russia. Far too many questions remain unanswered."

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/high-voltage-lines-farms-s5.jpgThis budget is $2.8 billion more than the last budget and is the largest in state history. While Gov. Walker has touted providing needed money for schools, roads, and the UW, some details didn’t make the headlines. The Legislature now begins reviewing the budget and people to need to make their priorities known.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/construction-workers-s5.jpgFor years, people in occupations like the construction trades could get up to 12 weeks of UC wages when laid off seasonally. The rule helped local contractors keep their workforce intact until projects could resume and they were glad to pay for it, but in 2015 the Walker administration ended the practice for what it called cost savings. Sen. Erpenbach is introducing a bill to put it back.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/uwgb-students-s5.jpgGov. Walker talked this week about "working and winning", but his plan is to continue borrowing and raiding Peter to pay Paul. Our priority must be Wisconsin’s roads, schools and jobs. Wisconsinites never have, and never will stop putting in a hard day’s work.