Shut Up and Carry a Big Gun

Last Thursday Mark Neumann traveled the state with a big old rifle and a brand new NRA cap to prove that he's the 2nd Amendiest candidate in the race for governor.

Two days later, Neumann shot the First Amendment right in the head. The assault wasn't subtle or unintentional, and it was quite clear from the gleam in his eyes and smile on his face that Neumann was enjoying every minute of the kill.

The open shot came at the Democratic convention in Middleton when a reporter asked Neumann what he thought about the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United. The ruling says government can't ban corporations from spending money in elections.

"I think they should shut down every outside source of information in campaigns except the candidates themselves..."

"Whether that's not constitutional so we obviously can't do that. But if Mark Neumann got to have what he wished, that's what would happen sir."

Here's what the NRA had to say about the Citizens United case and Congress' attempt to shut down outside sources of information in campaigns:

"That kind of arrogant disregard for the free speech of Americans is something the NRA will stand against just as we stand against the erosion of the Second Amendment liberty of all Americans. In the end, each right exists to protect the other."

And in response to the Supreme Court's decision in Wisconsin Right to Life v FEC, NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre said:

"The decision will have a major impact on the NRA's ability to reach the American people with our public policy messages about firearm rights."

Neumann arrogantly disregards lots of things, like the right of disabled people to fish on his lake. When it comes to the NRA, I guess Neumann just signed up for the cool hat.

Moose Lake Revisted

In a recent post, I referenced Milwaukee Journal Sentinel articles regarding Mark Neumann's efforts to stop the DNR from providing public, handicapped access to Moose Lake in Waukesha County.

Neumann would like us to believe that he tried to stop the DNR from purchasing property on Moose Lake simply because he wanted to save the taxpayers’ money. In a recent interview with WTDY Radio in Madison, Neumann tries to discredit the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's account of the events that took place from 2001-2002.

"The people on the lake wanted to provide a public boat launch at no cost to the taxpayers and then charge a small fee for the maintenance and upkeep of the boat launch. So what was going to happen is there was going to be a boat launch there but instead of spending nearly a million dollars of the taxpayers' money on it, people on the lake were going to do it and open it to the public."

The facts support the newspaper's account which said:

"But surrounding homeowners objected to the perceived intrusion in their neighborhood. After first trying unsuccessfully to orchestrate their own purchase of the property, homeowners lobbied state lawmakers to block funding for the project."

Meeting minutes from the Moose Lake Area Association confirm that Neumann and his neighbors wanted to buy the property in order to prevent the public boat launch entirely. They were concerned that a public boat launch would negatively impact their property values and allow the wrong kinds of people to use the lake.

At no time did they express concern for taxpayers. In fact the only potential benefit they saw to the DNR plan was that the DNR would pay for their upkeep!

MLAA FALL MEETING Fall September 19, 2001 Meeting Minutes

Boat Launch – Larry Schmidt and Ray Grosch reported that Greg Jackson has given the DNR an option to buy his property that is effective through January 31, 2002. Larry and Ray approached Greg and told him they would be willing to give him $25,000 more than the DNR price, but have not received a response.

They reported that the DNR plans to develop the land, creating retention ponds, 5 car-boat trailer parking stalls, 1 handicapped stall, and 5 car stalls, adding restrooms, a handicapped access fishing pier and possibly upgrading of the boat launch itself. The launch will be unmanned, and the Town will not police it. Their concerns are:

Ø Additional boats will create an increased safety problem

Ø People coming on the lake do not “take care of” it when they are here

Ø Concern that it may affect property values

What would be good about having the DNR on the lake is that they would help us manage the lake, i.e. help with such things as Watermilfoil treatments.

Larry and Ray proposed that a group of lake residents raise the money needed to purchase the property from Greg Jackson.

• Option 1 – buy and develop the property; maybe put a new house on it.
• Option 2 – Buy and sell to someone else with an easement on the property to allow lake residents access to the boat launch.

A lot of discussion ensued. Mark Neumann and Tim Michelic volunteered to join the committee to work on the creation of a survey to the general membership. This survey would ask how much money each resident would be willing to contribute toward a fund to purchase the property.

The DNR will hold a Informational Meeting at the Merton Town Hall in North Lake onThursday, October 4, 2001 between 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm to explain the proposed project, listen to residents concerns and answer questions. PLEASE ATTEND.

What Else You Can Do: Until the end of January 2002, you can write to the DNR secretary, the Joint Finance Committee, the Governor, and the Natural Resources Board.

DNR Secretary, Darrell Bazzell, and DNR Regional Director, Gloria McCutcheon, can be reached at:
Southeast Region Headquarters
2300 N. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive
PO Box 12436
Milwaukee, WI 53212-0436

Governor, Scott McCallum, can be reached at:
Office of the Governor
115 East, State Capitol
Madison, WI 53702

Joint Finance Committee can be reached at:
Joint Committee on Finance
316 South, State Capitol
Madison, WI 53702

Natural Resources Board, Trygve A. Solberg, Chair, can be reached at:
PO Box 50
Minocqua, WI 54548

Neumann Endorses Barrett

Citing their mutual support for stimulus funds, tax credits and other government subsidies, Republican candidate for Governor Mark Neumann endorsed his Democratic rival at the state Democratic Convention in Middleton.

“My companies have made a killing off of President Obama’s stimulus package. Between the eight thousand dollar homeowner tax credit and the tax credits for solar water heaters, geothermal heat pumps and wind energy systems, the taxpayers have put hundreds of thousands into my homes. Heck, the taxpayers even paid for radio ads to promote my company.”

Neumann said Tom Barrett is the only other candidate in the race who believes that government should pick the winners and losers when it comes to helping businesses succeed.

“Thanks to the policies of Jim Doyle and Barrack Obama, I’m a winner. I know I can count on Tom Barrett to keep those tax credits and subsidies flowing so that my grandchildren will be rich enough to pump millions of dollars into their campaigns someday."

Elmer Fudd for Governor

Gubernatorial candidate Mark Neumann flew around the state today to promote his support for conceal and carry. I'm not sure how he plans to conceal that thing, but he's a dead ringer for Elmer Fudd.

Wonder if that's the same gun he used in 1995 when he blew off the most important vote of his congressional career to go hunting.

Neumann Blames Reagan for Deficit- Praises Clinton for Raising Taxes

During a presentation to the Racine Kiwanis Club in 1996, Republican candidate for Governor Mark Neumann blamed President Ronald Reagan for causing the national budget deficit to balloon. At the same Neumann time credited President Clinton’s 1993 tax hikes for helping to bring the deficit down.

“Reagan and Dole did it, and the Democrats did it! People on both sides of the aisle are willing to do anything to get power in this country, even if means the destruction of our country!”

If the Democrats want to take credit, I don’t care. They raised taxes in 1993 and it brought in more revenue and so the deficit is going down.” (New York Times, November 3, 1996)

Neumann was also critical of the Dole-Kemp Growth Plan which called for reduced spending, requiring the federal budget to be balanced by 2002, and reducing taxes on social security income, capital gains, and individual retired accounts. Many of these same reforms were included in the 1995 Federal Budget Bill, the bill Mark Neumann failed to cast his vote on because he wanted to go hunting.

No one knows how Neumann would have voted on the 1995 budget bill had the vote been scheduled to accommodate his vacation plans. We do know that it didn’t take long for Mark Neumann to join the ranks of “people on both sides of the aisle willing to do anything to get power…”

If you see Congressman Neumann, ask him what he disliked most about Ronald Reagan: his tax cuts or the job growth they created.

Neumann serves up pork to get his way

Former Congressman and alleged pork buster Mark Neumann hasn’t always followed a strict kosher diet. In 1998, Neumann used his powerful position on the House Appropriations Committee to raise the ceiling on taxpayer backed FHA loans. In order to get his way, Neumann accepted an additional $80 million in federal spending.

During the mark up, Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) and Rep. Mark Neumann (R-WI) successfully offered an amendment to increase the ceiling on FHA loans made by the Federal Housing Administration. As part of this amendment, an additional $70 million was added to NSF research and related activities and an additional $10 million was added to VA medical research.

Last week the MacIver Institute reported the Wisconsin comeback of taxpayer backed home loans for would be homeowners who can’t qualify for a regular loan. The report says the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) is partnering with Fannie Mae to help get more unqualified applicants into homes they can’t afford.

As a prolific homebuilder during the big boom and eventual bust, there’s no doubt that Mark Neumann has a special appreciation for taxpayer backed mortgages through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

According to the Heritage Foundation:

Most years, Freddie and Fannie help finance 40% of all U.S. mortgages. In the first quarter of 2008, they handled 80% of the market. If Fannie and Freddie were private entities, they would be considered a monopoly by Department of Justice anti-trust guidelines.

Now WHEDA is doling out more of Neumann’s taxpayer backed loans so people can buy up all the foreclosures that resulted from Neumann’s taxpayer backed loans in the first place.

Who You Know

Two- term congressman and six- time Republican candidate Mark Neumann, wants you to believe that he’s a political outsider, just your average small business owner who works hard and plays by the rules. The truth is that Neumann is an elite political insider, adept at taking advantage of what government has to offer. And Neumann hasn’t limited his advantage taking to helping his businesses thrive.

In 2002, Mark Neumann used his insider connections to keep the Department of Natural Resources from purchasing a two acre property on Moose Lake in Waukesha County. The DNR planned to use the property to provide public access to the lake for fishing and boating. But Neumann didn’t want disabled people and people who didn’t own boats hanging out near his $1.2 million estate, so he decided to do something about it.

First Neumann and a few of his wealthy neighbors tried to the buy the property before the DNR could close the deal. When that failed, Neumann pulled some political strings to block funding for the DNR project.

In August of 2002, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported:

The DNR's plan calls for installation of a new boarding dock, replacement of the existing ramp, installation of a fishing pier, and clearing and grading for a parking lot for five vehicles and trailers, plus five car-only parking spots for the fishing pier.

"We are excited about putting in a shore fishing facility for persons with disabilities and individuals without boats," Dahms said.

Representatives from the Disability Advisory Council and the Wisconsin Chapter of Paralyzed Veterans both support the project.

"The Waukesha County Conservation Alliance is also a strong partner in this project," Dahms said. (Bob Riepenhoff, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, August 4, 2002)

The article went on to say that the fate of the project rested with the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee (JFC). Luckily for Neumann, the JFC was chaired by his old pal and current campaign chairman, John Gard. In December 2002, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel described how Neumann lobbied Gard to put the Moose Lake project on hold.

As with other waterways throughout the state, Moose Lake is open to the public. But private development has consumed so much of the shoreline that the general public has little, if any, access.

Situated west of Chenequa, Moose Lake is surrounded by more than 100 homes valued at $200,000 to $1 million.

Hoping to improve public access to the 81-acre lake, the DNR last year began negotiating to buy the 2-acre parcel, which now includes a private boat launch. Landowner Greg Jackson agreed to sell the property for $645,000.

State officials persuaded Waukesha County to contribute $150,000 toward the purchase price.

But surrounding homeowners objected to the perceived intrusion in their neighborhood. After first trying unsuccessfully to orchestrate their own purchase of the property, homeowners lobbied state lawmakers to block funding for the project.

Among those involved in the lobbying effort was former U.S. Rep. Mark Neumann, who moved to Moose Lake about two years ago. Neumann approached state Rep. John Gard (R-Peshtigo) on behalf of homeowners around the lake, and Gard used his position as co-chairman of the Joint Finance Committee to stall Moose Lake funds. (Scott Williams, Milwaukee Journal, December 19, 2002)

The JFC eventually approved funding to purchase the Moose Lake property, but only after the DNR made several concessions to Neumann and his neighbors.

Neumann rewarded Gard for his efforts with a sizeable contribution to his campaign committee.

Exactly the kind of gesture you'd expect from an outsider.