Doh! After Killing State Funding for State Parks, Republican Lasee now begging for money, or lose $37 million in District Tourism Revenue.

If the Republican guardians of taxpayer money keep making ideologically driven "small government" spending cuts, they're going to find themselves in the same place State Sen. Frank Lasee (la-say) found himself in recently. He's behind the eight ball with his constituents and business interests, who are hopping mad about the possible impact of losing tourism cash, $37 million to be exact.

Republicans went merrily along with Scott Walker's bizarre attack on our state parks, defunding them completely, and relying only on entrance fees. That hasn't worked anywhere in the country, and now, Lasee is finding out why. But Lasee does mirror conservative voters statewide who hate to see the poor using their tax dollars to enjoy life just a little:

An "I told you so" is in order Frank, as you grovel for money to save Eagle Tower:

Peninsula State Park located near Fish Creek in Door County is one of Wisconsin’s greatest treasures. visited by approximately 1 million visitors annually drawing tourists to Door County and surrounding communities.

The park’s crowning jewel is Eagle Tower, a 76 foot observation deck located atop Eagle Bluff. 

I'm hoping Lasee succeeds in getting Eagle Tower rehabilitated, but I also hope he and his legislative plundering pirates decide to return public funding to the parks. Fat chance:

On May 20th the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources closed Eagle Tower following an engineering report that highlighted minor structural deficiencies. 

Over the past several weeks my office has heard from many constituents and business owners concerned about the DNR’s closure of Eagle Tower and future plans for this historic site. With an economic impact to the local community that totals nearly $37 million, it is essential that all park attractions at Peninsula remain open to the public. 

The DNR has not yet made a final decision on the future of Eagle Tower – their initial indications have been negative. To encourage the department to repair or replace Eagle Tower and to show community support, I have scheduled a public listening session I fully support the rehabilitation or, if necessary, replacement of Eagle Tower so that future generations may enjoy this historic site and share in the grandeur of Wisconsin’s State Parks. 

Having Eagle Tower closed is unacceptable.  With your help we can convince the DNR that Eagle Tower is an irreplaceable local treasure.

Too Many Laws on the Books by Big Government Politicians? You're talking about "small" Government Republicans, right?

I never did have enough time to look up the number of laws our small government Republicans passed in the last 3 and a half short years.

So imagine how thankful I was when I got this clueless reminder from Republican State Sen. Frank Lasee bragging about the last two years. Again, we're talking small government types here:

Funny, current Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner was measuring success by how many laws they could repeal. Isn't it fun having it both ways and not being called out for it? Until now. 

Republican's betray Farmer's!

I've blogged about it before, here, here, here, but it bears repeating; Republicans are using the votes of independent farmers, when in fact, they are their biggest enemy.

With the introduction of pet legislation from State Sen. Frank Lasee, a farmer's property rights are about to take a hit, not to mention the possible loss of their livelihood and home. Finally finding a frivolous lawsuit (aren't they all?) he likes, Lasee would expose farmers to lawsuits, all for just making some money and leasing their land to the owners of a wind turbines.

Republican State Sen. Lasee can't prove Wind Farms Harm Health, so now he Demands Proponents Prove No Harm!

Republicans hate wind energy. The fact that it's free...they hate that. The one time cost of the turbines and connection to the grid is really all that's involved. Very little maintenance is required. It doesn't pollute, which over the long term save lives and reduces health care costs.

To their chagrin, Republicans have seen many of their arguments against wind energy fall flat on its "bird and­ bat deaths, the cost (which are now declining), and disrupting the appearance of natural landscapes (which I like)." -How Science Works
ass;

Proving the Negative-From the department of "How dumb do they think we are?" Sen. Frank Lasee (la'-say) now wants to reverse the burden of proof from opponents, to proponents of wind energy. Since there's no substantive proof wind turbines cause harm with inaudible low frequency sound (infrasound), he wants supporters of the job creating wind industry to prove his unprovable allegations are wrong.

Recent Testing: Currently, setbacks for wind turbines must be 1,250 ft. or greater. That's about a quarter of a mile. Recent testing was done and here's what happened:

WindWatch: The recently released sound study conducted at the Shirley Wind Farm in eastern Wisconsin did verify that sound levels in a home 1,280 feet away from one turbine could have caused the illnesses reported by the family that lived there. Two homes that were further away from the turbines (3,300 feet and 7,100 feet away) had limited or no low-frequency or infrasound detected by the sound tests.

3,300 ft. is over a half mile,which might be a compromise distance for both sides of the issue.

People who live near a highway or busy street may have trouble sleeping, which can lead to other health problems like irritability, anxiety, concentration and dizziness.

Beyond the skyline water based wind farms is another solution. If Frank Lasee really cared for his constituents, why not propose a bill instituting the latest noise canceling technology:

To solve this sound issue, new wind-power technology employs sound-dampening systems. Engineers are hoping that these newer systems -- which can block or cancel out multiple sound frequencies -- will reduce any sound-related problems associated with wind farm communities [source: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft].

The truth is this isn't about the health affects, it's about a politically rigid ideology of the right, doing just what they say government shouldn't be doing; picking winners and losers.  

Job Killer/Republican State Sen. Frank Lasee, Picks Winners (Big Oil) and Losers (Wind Energy).

It’s funny how Republican hypocrites are so nonchalant about their own flip-flopped positions.

How many times have we heard, "Regulations kill jobs. Frivolous lawsuits kill jobs."

Shamelessly, Sen. Frank Lasee has decided to flip-flop on the issue and use regulation and lawsuits to discourage wind development in Wisconsin. “Open for Business…If We Like You!” could be our new slogan. Can’t you just feel the uncertainty?

WPR: People who claim that wind turbines make them sick would be able to sue wind developers under a proposal introduced by a Republican state senator. Senator Frank Lasee's (la'-say) bill would allow families that claim to be physically or economically affected by wind turbines to sue the companies that own them and property owners hosting them.

I love the way Lasee tries so hard to defuse the pathetic turnaround he'd like no one to notice: 

"This is, unfortunately, a partisan issue. The Democrats don't seem to care because it's wind about any people they're harming, and we have some of the Republicans who support business at the cost of people and I think that's wrong."

Thank you Frank for admitting what your party is all about. Honesty is so refreshing, and so unexpected. Trying to kill wind energy is nothing new for Lasee, who seems hell bent on telling businesses nationwide they can't be certain of anything here:

Chris Kunkle represents the American Wind Energy Association in Wisconsin. He says Lasee's bill is par for the course.

"This is just another attempt from Senator Lasee to install a level of uncertainty across the industry. It's another piece of his ongoing hostility towards an industry that creates manufacturing, construction, operation and maintenance jobs all around the state."

Could it be that businesses aren't enamored with Walker’s ambiguous offer to help?  

Lazy Government Trough Feeder, Sen. Frank Lasee, proposes “I don’t want to work” amendment to the Constitution.

Republicans love to propose bills that they know, hell everyone knows, will straightjacket government’s ability to manage itself. And if government became even more dysfunctional, well, Republicans can always say they told you so. Plus, they don’t have to work so hard.

As an average citizens, I can’t imagine a more irresponsible proposal that basically negates our representative form of government.

Badgerherald: A proposed amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution would require legislators to poll the electorate for popular support on tax increases, rather than just achieve legislative approval.

The amendment (from) Sen. Frank Lasee, calls for state legislators to use state referendums for tax and major spending increases ... would not make raising taxes impossible and said local voters in the past have voted to spend more money and raise taxes 50 percent of the time.

Not “impossible?” That’s a comfort.

Jay Heck, executive director of the non-partisan watchdog group Common Cause Wisconsin, called Lasee’s amendment “ill-advised” and “irresponsible.”“If all we’re going to do is have a referendum every time someone wants to raise some revenue, then we don’t need elected officials,” Heck said. “We might as well disband the Legislature, because they are elected to make those decisions.”

Heck nailed it with this comment.

Heck accused Lasee of grandstanding, saying the amendment is an attempt to gain public favor by saying legislators should not have the power to make important decisions. He added voters have the power to determine whether these politicians should remain in office at election time.

Rep. Kelda Roys characterized the measure as one that could paralyze local communities and as an example of “extremely bad governance.” Roys cited Colorado’s similar experience with taxpayer protection laws, the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

Lazy Republican Sen. Lasee wants Expensive Voter Referendums to Make Decisions for Him.

Direct democracy through voter referendum can be expensive, frequent government and subject us to the tyranny of the majority. It' the latest brain belch from Sen. Frank Lasee. What’s the point of electing these freeloaders if they're going to make us do all the work? The dumb picture to the right is another nifty sell job by Lasee. According to Frank:

Next week I will introduce the Taxpayer Protection Amendment to give taxpayers relief from the continual upward taxation spiral. The amendment requires the state to ask voters before increasing taxes or large spending increases. If government officials think the government needs more money, they will have to make their case to the people and get approval through referendum. The amendment applies to all kinds of spending: state, counties, cities, towns, villages and schools.

Can you imagine the logjam of projects waiting for voter referendums, along with an endless barrage of radio and TV ads pummeling the public with negative special interest spin?

These empty GOP schemes to block responsible budgeting and lock in tax cuts have never made any sense. And if Republicans expect to compare government spending to family budgets, then have them come up with one family that has ruled out ever increasing their incoming revenue. Anyone?  

Dumbest Proposed Law of the Week

While the Governor has basically replaced civil service employees with political appointments, czars, the following legislation should get his attention. Courtesy of Sen. Frank Lasee:

“Stop Bureaucrat Law-like Rules.” 

Law-like? Is that like Stephen Colbert's "truthiness?"


Lasee wants partisan lawmakers to approve every damn rule made by agency heads. Think about that. The Post Crescent did and offered a few possible problems:

For one thing, there are such a plethora of rules and regulations that no Legislature would have time to give them ample consideration.

The second argument against is political. There is danger in giving all rule-making authority to a body that has partisan aspirations, where bloc voting is the rule and the merits of a particular proposal are secondary to party affiliation.

I've got a feeling Frank Lasee knew something like the above would happen, that's why he wants to make it law.

 

The Crazy World of Sen. Frank Lasee!! Now he wants to go to Washington, D.C.

I knew Frank Lasee when he was in the Assembly. He played my conservative foil for a few hours on WIBA and I got a chance to beat up on him relentlessly. What I found out; that when they left the station, they were energized thinking they beat me up.

He was extreme then, but at least conversational. That was then, this is now. I've been getting his email newsletter for awhile, even featured a few of them here, but just as a reminder I thought it would be good to reflect back. Why?

State Sen. Frank Lasee, R-De Pere, said he is moving toward making an official announcement later this month about plans to run for the U.S. Senate seat. "It's likely that I'll be running for the U.S. Senate," he said.

Here's a quick summary of his bizarro past:

This is a picture story from many of his newsletters:

Sen. Frank Lasee denounces voter protests as "tantrums." Seems to Prefer complacent "well adjusted, responsible" Society.

This picture was part of Sen. Frank Lasee's newsletter: