-- Rae Vogeler of the Rae Vogeler for U.S. Senate campaign
for more information, visit my web site at www.VoteRae.org

]]> Democracy http://voterae.org/blog/index.php?itemid=87 Tue, 31 Oct 2006 18:00:34 -0800 http://voterae.org/blog/index.php?itemid=86

-- Rae Vogeler of the Rae Vogeler for U.S. Senate campaign
for more information, visit my web site at www.VoteRae.org

]]> General http://voterae.org/blog/index.php?itemid=86 Tue, 31 Oct 2006 17:55:39 -0800 http://voterae.org/blog/index.php?itemid=85
In just the last two weeks, Herb declined three opportunities to debate me. He didn't attend the Burlington "Candidates' Forum" or the Loyal "Meet the Candidates Forum." And he sent Walzak to the Milwaukee "Mideast Policy Candidate Forum" instead of attending himself.

I was at all three events. I have repeatedly challenged Kohl to debate.The people of Wisconsin deserve to see and hear from all of the candidates. Herb Kohl believes he can avoid discussing the issues in front of the voters. He believes his money entitles him to buy the election. This is a job, and he needs to interview. He needs to answer people's questions and concerns.

Three of the four candidates for U.S. Senate: myself, Republican Robert Lorge and Independent Ben Glatzel have agreed to attend a U.S. Senate debate this coming Thursday sponsored by the Milwaukee Area Technical College. Herb Kohl hasn't responded yet.

Senator Kohl, don't you believe the people of Wisconsin have a right to hear why you voted for the Iraq War and against bringing the troops home? Don't you want to explain to them why you voted for $1.3 trillion in tax cuts for the wealthy while the rest of us have to tighten our belts? Why don't you come and debate me at MATC? What are you afraid of?

-- Rae Vogeler of the Rae Vogeler for U.S. Senate campaign
for more information, visit my web site at www.VoteRae.org

]]> Democracy http://voterae.org/blog/index.php?itemid=85 Mon, 30 Oct 2006 22:37:02 -0800 http://voterae.org/blog/index.php?itemid=84 Ben Masel officially endorsed my campaign for U.S. Senate on WORT radio in Madison. Masel earned over 14% (51,000+) votes in the primary.

And Libertarian write-in candidate for U.S. Senate, David Redick has announced his support of my campaign's stance on key issues.

-- Rae Vogeler of the Rae Vogeler for U.S. Senate campaign
for more information, visit my web site at www.VoteRae.org

]]> General http://voterae.org/blog/index.php?itemid=84 Mon, 30 Oct 2006 19:13:20 -0800 http://voterae.org/blog/index.php?itemid=83 Click to view

If you like it ... please share it with friends!

-- Rae Vogeler of the Rae Vogeler for U.S. Senate campaign
for more information, visit my web site at www.VoteRae.org

]]> General http://voterae.org/blog/index.php?itemid=83 Fri, 27 Oct 2006 17:13:38 -0700 http://voterae.org/blog/index.php?itemid=82 Lake Mills Leader, Cambridge News and Deerfield Independent newspapers have just endorsed my campaign, saying I am "a thoughtful progressive in the same mold as three of the individuals who have occupied this particular seat in the United States Senate. We're specifically talking about Robert "Fighting Bob" La Follette Sr., his son Robert M. La Follette Jr. and William Proxmire. Unlike Kohl, who is nobody's senator but his own, they were giants in the U.S. Senate who always put the public's interest first." Click here to read the endorsement.

-- Rae Vogeler of the Rae Vogeler for U.S. Senate campaign
for more information, visit my web site at www.VoteRae.org

]]> General http://voterae.org/blog/index.php?itemid=82 Thu, 26 Oct 2006 19:58:36 -0700 http://voterae.org/blog/index.php?itemid=81
The interview can viewed clicking here.

-- Rae Vogeler of the Rae Vogeler for U.S. Senate campaign
for more information, visit my web site at www.VoteRae.org

]]> General http://voterae.org/blog/index.php?itemid=81 Thu, 26 Oct 2006 17:26:41 -0700 http://voterae.org/blog/index.php?itemid=80 Isthmus to some of the issues I have been raising in my U.S. Senate campaign.

I've taken Kohl to task for supporting Bush's bankruptcy bill. But Walzak says I'm "not telling the entire story." According to Walzak, Kohl supported the bill because "too many people were declaring bankruptcy to avoid paying their debts." To paraphrase the movie Casablanca, I'm shocked, SHOCKED, to discover people are declaring bankruptcy to get out of debt. Who would have thought?Accumulated medical bills have been the leading cause of bankruptcy in this country. But it's obviously irresponsible of people to get sick and expect medical treatment. The bankruptcy bill has made it far harder for these 'lazy' people to get out from under their debt burden. Thankfully, responsible people can expect to be treated better. Under Bush's bill, If you run up more than two million dollars of debt, you can still declare bankruptcy under the old rules. That way, you can get out from under the burden of paying back wages and benefits to the employees of your failed business ... while still hanging on to the family yacht.

I've criticized Kohl for supporting the Iraq war and Bush's 'stay the course' policies. Kohl recently voted against a Democratic resolution to bring the troops home. Walzak objects that Kohl "voted against bringing the troops home because the resolution called for a quick withdrawal." That clarifies things immensely. Kohl obviously supports bringing the troops home ... as long as we leave them in Iraq.

As for Kohl supporting the Patriot Act? Kohl voted for the act "because it required law enforcement agencies to share information." We can all sleep better at night knowing that law enforcement agencies will freely share information gained by searching our homes, businesses and Internet and phone records. Surely that's something that's worth giving up our privacy rights and civil liberties for?

Lastly, "Walzak scoffs at the notion that Kohl's millions bought him a Senate seat. 'It's more then the money,' he says. 'Kohl's history as a successful business owner and using his own finances for charitable causes - that's what's earned his support."' So ... it's not the $5 million of his own money that he spends each election cycle. It's the millions he rakes in and the millions he spends buying the public 'gifts' like the Kohl's Center.

I stand corrected. Kohl's Senate seat has nothing to do with his money!

Strangely, Walzak didn't respond to my charge that Kohl is out of touch with average Wisconsinites. I wonder why?

-- Rae Vogeler of the Rae Vogeler for U.S. Senate campaign
for more information, visit my web site at www.VoteRae.org

]]> General http://voterae.org/blog/index.php?itemid=80 Thu, 26 Oct 2006 16:32:47 -0700 http://voterae.org/blog/index.php?itemid=79
Our government is a millionaires' club that caters to the rich.

In fact, it's made up of the rich. The annual salary of a senator in 2006 was $165,200. Fifty U.S. Senators are millionaires. And it’s not just the Republicans who are wealthy. At least 18 of these millionaires are Democrats. In fact, the top five on the list are Democrats (John Kerry, Herb Kohl, John Rockfeller, Jon Corzine and Dianne Feinstein, in order).

It's the same story in the U.S. House of Representatives. 123 of the 435 members of the House are millionaires, or almost 30%.How can these people claim to represent the American population when less than 1% of the rest of us are millionaires? There is no way they can appreciate the day in and day out struggles faced by most of us. These people are rich and powerful and do not know what it’s like to have to make ends meet like we do. They don’t have to worry about paying their bills, providing for their families, and what will happen if they lose their job. They don’t have to worry about the quality of the public school system or paying skyrocketing tuition rates. They don’t have to worry about their kids going off to war. (In fact, Congress keeps sending other people’s children off to die and be maimed.) These elected officials are out of touch with the rest of us who stand to lose everything if a family member falls seriously ill.

The wealthy in government represent their own monied interests – the interests of the rich and the corporations. It’s clear from their voting records, and Herb Kohl, Wisconsin's millionaire senator, is part and parcel of part of this. Their priorities are not our priorities. Their interests are not our interests. This is very clear when you look at what they’ve done over the years

• They’ve voted tax cuts for the rich, from which they benefit.


• They’ve voted for endless war, which helps defense contractors and war profiteers.


• They’ve voted huge cuts on social spending - which hurts most Americans, except them – cuts on education, health care, jobs, and the very safety net that most of us rely on.


• They cut $50 billion dollars for student loans, while funding $57 billion in tax breaks for millionaires. Those who us who do go to college, come out tens of thousands of dollars in debt.


• Why do millionaires get more money while the rest of us pay more?


• Why is it that corporations paid 33% of taxes in the 1940s but pay just 7% today?


• And why is it that for those of us who work; our payroll taxes have increased 25% since 1980?


• Why do politicians spend $2 billion dollars a week in Iraq killing people, when we could be spending this money at home for our children and our families?


• Why do they allow contractors to make thousand dollars a day in Iraq, when people at home are unemployed?

Because government is run by the rich and powerful, and serves the needs of the rich and powerful.

Look, the facts are simple. Each and every day, the majority of us are getting stepped on by the wealthy people who control our government and our economy. In a couple of weeks, they're going to give us a chance to vote on which foot they'll use to step on us.

Isn't it time we got their foot off of our necks?

Isn't it time we gave them the boot?

Now's your chance to put a millionaire in the unemployment line! Herb Kohl has been all but invisible as Wisconsin's senator! He hasn't been your Senator, he's been his own Senator: he's spent $25 million dollars of his own money buying his senate seat in the last three elections.

Now Kohl faces a Republican opponent, Robert Lorge, who isn't even endorsed by the Republican Party! Lorge has no chance of winning this election.

If you have been unhappy with Kohl's 'Republican-lite' politics, NOW IS YOUR CHANCE!

If you who have been afraid of splitting the vote and having a Republican be elected, THIS IS YOUR TIME.

THE REPUBLICAN IS NO THREAT! VOTE IN YOUR OWN INTERESTS! DON'T VOTE FROM YOUR FEARS!

Put a REAL voice for working people in Washington!

Vote for Rae Vogeler for U.S. Senate.

-- Rae Vogeler of the Rae Vogeler for U.S. Senate campaign
for more information, visit my web site at www.VoteRae.org

]]> Democracy http://voterae.org/blog/index.php?itemid=79 Thu, 19 Oct 2006 20:26:18 -0700 http://voterae.org/blog/index.php?itemid=78
I have just a few thoughts:

• It's not cheaper: Prison costs are expensive (about $25,000 per year per inmate) - amounting to $750,000 to $1,000,000 per life sentence. The death penalty, on average, costs an additional $2 million per execution.



• It's not fair: 34% of those who have been executed have been African-American, while 58% have been white. However, blacks constitute only about 12% of the U.S. population, so they are executed at a much higher rate. Racism is especially evident when you look at the race of the victims of crime. You are much more likely to receive the death penalty if the person you murdered was white than if the person you murdered was black. You are also much more likely to receive the death penalty if you are poor than if you are rich.



• It's not mistake-proof: Over 120 people have been released from death row after they were exonerated. For every 8 executions carried out, there has been one person formerly death on row who is now deemed innocent.



• It's not effective: According to a Peter Hart Research Poll of police chiefs around the country, the officers named such measures as reducing drug abuse, a better economy, and controlling guns as more important than the death penalty in reducing violent crime. A national poll of police chiefs in 1995 also found that the majority of police chiefs do not believe that the death penalty is an effective law enforcement tool.

It's not civilized: Vote against the referendum on the death penalty!

-- Rae Vogeler of the Rae Vogeler for U.S. Senate campaign
for more information, visit my web site at www.VoteRae.org

]]> Civil Liberties http://voterae.org/blog/index.php?itemid=78 Tue, 17 Oct 2006 21:41:28 -0700