Republican Rep. Sensenbrenner blocks climate change provisions in trade deal.

Because Republicans can’t win over the public with the oil industries irrational argument against climate change, the next best step would be to censor speech specifically addressing climate change. Yes, this is actual government censorship of free speech. Remember?

Bloomberg News: Discussing climate change is out of bounds for workers at a state agency in Wisconsin. So is any work related to climate change—even responding to e-mails about the topic … Wisconsin’s Board of Commissioners of Public Lands overseeing an agency that benefits schools and communities in the state, enacted the staff ban on climate change. 

That’s just the tip of the melting iceberg. 

When it comes to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, our own Republican Rep. James Sensenbrenner is determined to make a really bad trade deal even worse, by making sure we never have to deal with climate change, ever...

NY Times: For Representative F. James Sensenbrenner, there is language promising that no trade deals can compel the United States to address climate change. 

Really, not even to play it safe...you know, just in case? Nope, nothing, nada, zip it.

The Republicans have devised a sneaky way to move wish list lunacy like this into a separate “enforcement” bill on trade:

A separate bill, on customs and trade law enforcement, would move in concert with those (the trade bills) as a catchall for pet provisions.

So Sensenbrenner is happy the devastatingly costly effects of climate change won't be solved anytime soon. 

Obama now being blamed for Walker's failed jobs promise...

Republicans love authoritarian dictators. These are supposedly freedom and liberty loving leaders willing to make unpopular decisions that go against popular opinion in order to fulfill a principled belief. There are two "truths" driving the GOP.

Republicans are infallible. Nothing is ever really their fault. If deregulation of Wall Street caused the Great Recession, blame Bill Clinton for supporting the Republican call to repeal of the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933.

The Infallible Scott Walker: Now that Scott Walker has cut taxes, all the while selling every public asset off, conservative supporters believe he too is infallible. Walker is only limited by Obama's failed economic record.

Here's the tweet that caught my attention:

Here's the story this sad excuse for a twitter troll was referencing: 

Despite Walker's plan to kick butt, attract industry, and add a minimum 250,000 jobs, it was Obama's roaring economy that stopped Walker from carrying out his plan.

The truth is scary: Republican voters will never admit to failure; will never see mistakes; will never recognize pandering bullshit; will never see how addicted they are to freeloading off the work of past generations; will always blame someone else instead; and will let their leaders do whatever they want with little or no blowback.

Like Climate Denial: Instead of playing it safe, just in case 98 percent of the scientists are right, conservative voters would rather take the risk...for everyone. Obama's now failing to control the weather and water condition in California? It's not droughts caused by climate change, it's Obama forcing farmers to cut back:

In your face: Walker strikes a defiant tone on Earth Day with DNR Scientist, Education and Communication Staff Layoff Notices.

Talk about rubbing his contempt for science and the environment in our faces.

If you had any doubts about Scott Walker's disdain has for the citizens and traditions of this state, this should end that:

Raw Story: Thanks to Gov. Scott Walker’s (R-WI) budget cuts, at least 57 employees in Wisconsin’s environmental agency were notified just in time for Wednesday’s Earth Day that they would probably be out of a job.

Journal Sentinel: The DNR's scientific staff conducts research on matters ranging from estimating the size of the state's deer herd to to studying the effects of aquatic invasive species. Work is paid for with state and federal funds.

But we know Walker wants to politicize the DNR for big money like the Koch's:

In an email, a DNR employee circulated her concerns to others in an email asking to "do what I dare not" and contact members of the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee, which took up other DNR funding on Wednesday. "Never mind that I, like most others targeted, are federally funded or funded from (a segregated account) and not general purpose revenue," the employee said. "Thus, this measure will have no effect on the state budget."

Amber Meyer Smith, director of programs and government relations for Clean Wisconsin, told the Journal Sentinel that the cuts were a “terrible idea.” “Any real natural resources protection is based on sound science. The more science you remove from the process, the more politics you add,” she explained.

And isn't that what big government republicans are all about?

Walker, Kleefisch, Johnson, Duffy, Sensenbrenner, Darling, Grothman, Lazich, Kooyenga, Ott, Kramer, Pridemore, Ribble take Koch Brothers Pledge on Energy. Real Leaders?

What “rugged individual” exercising their liberty and freedom would want to run around making pledges to every right wing crazy group that comes along? Kinda blows their cover, doesn’t it?

Here’s part of a great article by Cap Times reporter Steve Elbow:

You’ve no doubt heard about Grover Norquist’s “Taxpayer Protection Pledge.” Well, there’s a new pledge in town, and several Wisconsin conservatives have signed on.

This pledge is called the “No Climate Tax Pledge,” but it might as well be called the “Koch Brothers Protection Pledge” … Signers of the pledge, now numbering 411, promise to "oppose any legislation relating to climate change that includes a net increase in government revenue” — in other words, no legislation on climate change without an equivalent amount of tax cuts. They include one U.S. senator from Wisconsin, three House members, four members of the state Senate, and four members of the Assembly — as well as Gov. Scott Walker and Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch.

The Koch brothers and their oil industry bretheren have been avid Walker backers and supporters of Wisconsin tea party candidates, both for ideological reasons and because of the state's wealth of frac sand. 

The little-known pledge was highlighted Monday with the release of a two-year study by the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University, which documents Charles and David Koch's extensive influencing of politicians, news media, elections and academia through think tanks, lobbyists, non-profits, and oodles of cash.  (Here's a good story from The New Yorker on the report.)

Wisconsin signers of the pledge, all Republicans, are U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, U.S. Reps. Jim Sensenbrenner, Sean Duffy and Reid Ribble, state Sens. Leah Vukmir, Alberta Darling, Glenn Grothman and Mary Lazich, and state Reps. Dale Kooyenga, Don Pridemore, Jim Ott and Bill Kramer.

How bad and embarrassing is our partisan “Red” state now?

Since we're all fond of comparing Wisconsin with Minnesota, a demographically similar state that outperforms Wisconsin on several economic fronts, it merits noting that the only politicians from that state to sign the pledge are retiring U.S. Rep. Michelle Bachmann and Minnesota state Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen.