Since Hillary Clinton dropped out of the race, much has been diaried regarding party unity and winning over her most diehard supporters. Some of these supporters have not taken Hillary's direction and advice on backing Barack and have actually formed rogue groups like P.U.M.A.. Side note, if you can stomach clicking the link, I got a chuckle out of P.U.M.A.'s delegate switch counter and the number needed at the convention for HRC to get the nomination. It stands at 160 delegated away. But I digress...

Quinnipiac University/Wall Street Journal/ Washingtonpost.Com have released a new batch of polls today in some important states.  Like many recent polls, Obama seems to have bled some of his support this month.  

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/...

COLORADO: McCain 46% - Obama 44%
MICHIGAN: Obama 46% - McCain 42%
MINNESOTA: Obama 46% - McCain 44%
WISCONSIN: Obama 50% McCain 39%

Every State. Every race. Right here.

This is number 26 in a planned series of 50 entries between now and November, looking at each of the 50 states in terms of every race on that state's ticket--Presidential, Gubernatorial, Senate, House, State legislatures--the whole sixpack! Special attention paid to identifying and promoting the most important contests per state.

Today, put on your cheesehead hat, open a can of Milwaukee’s Best and prepare to visit some very friendly territory for Democrats.  Wisconsin, THIS IS YOUR 50-State Diary!!!

This story caught by Mark Nickolas over at Political Base deserves a lot more attention than it has received.  It turns out that not only is McCain getting killed by the traditional media, his advertising campaigns just aren't working, either.  Voters seem to be immune to the appeals of an angry, befuddled septuagenarian looking to preside over Bush's 3rd term.

In some ways, much of Kathy Kelly's adult life has been a walk against war. So it was completely in character for her to be walking through Milwaukee Monday, on a 450-mile trek to St. Paul and the Republican national convention.

Kelly, (left) a high school and community college teacher, has repeatedly risked her life and her freedom as an advocate for non-violence.  She is now affiliated with Voices for Creative Nonviolence, based in her hometown of Chicago, which organized Witness Against War now making its way across Wisconsin.

I'm watching the local news right now and thought you'd like to know that here in Wisconsin, voters are saying that the economy is, of course, the more important issue over the war.

Even Bush is sick of the Iraq fiasco...he has been mumbling about pulling out troops and about a "time horizon"...yes, "HORIZON," not a timeline, for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. Don't know about you, but I have never heard anyone talk about "time horizons" before. Makes me think of an event horizon around a black hole...which is an ominous comparison.

Remember, though, Bush's shifting to withdrawal is not by any choice of his. The Iraq government has told him in no uncertain terms that we have outlived our welcome and they do not want us there permanently.

Last night, doing fair duty for the local Dems in northwestern Wisconsin, I met the local Obama field officer, Kevin, from the San Antonio, Texas, area.  Friendly, enterprising, looking for people to help with the campaign, he is just out of the Army and working hard.  I asked if he were an Obama Fellow, and it turned out that he was hired by the campaign after having been a one-man whirlwind for Obama in a neglected, rural part of Texas, during its March primaries.

Today’s impossible prices for oil have finally forced America to ask the essential question: "Where’s the Plan?"

We’re in a situation where every business, every homeowner, every retiree, every local and state government, and every U.S. citizen is being forced to live under ‘crisis planning’ – which is a recipe for failure.

On a national level, stumbling from crisis to crisis — from Iraq to Katrina to the current energy crisis - is not a plan to govern.

To become an energy independent nation, the first step we must take is to develop a plan.  We must develop this plan together, out in the open – not behind closed doors.

"People say, 'Why do you keep doing it?  Why do you want to stand outside of some fundraiser with a sign?  What's the point?'" a Milwaukee activist said at a recent meeting at Peace Action-Wisconsin.

There are a lot of reasons.  Some are personal. Some do it to take a stand, bear witness, confront a politician.

And every now and then something happens to make you think that it might actually be having an impact and making a difference.

Ask members of the Milwaukee Impeachment Committee about their recent experience with John Conyers.

Glen Brower, Democratic candidate for Wisconsin State Assembly in the 21st Assembly district has gained enough valid signatures to appear on the fall ballot to take on entrenched Republican Mark Honadel.

Glen has raised over $20,000 in just a few short weeks, he has been endorsed by SEIU and Progressive Majority Wisconsin, and he has gained the support of Rep. Jon Richards (D-Milwaukee)

http://glenbrower.com/...

Donate to Glen today and help bring real change to the South Shore!

Update: I think the decision reflects the reality that you can win on the merits (intent) but still lose on procedure. The U.S. gov has $100,000s and two federal agencies at its disposal; a family in northern Wisconsin not so much, except their service to the country.

via mal contends - In a unanimous opinion (07-1546) a three-member panel for the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has affirmed the controversial conviction on fraud of Wisconsin Navy veteran, Keith Roberts.

The Roberts family is planning on filing a motion for an en banc hearing, a hearing before the full appellate court.

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July. Jacob saw his first real fireworks display and loved it at first. We were watching from the 12th floor of a building right on the waterfront, so it was spectacular. Unfortunately, he was coming down with a fever and by the end was pretty unhappy. He is fine again now.

This was a big week, both locally where my friend qualified for the ballot for NYC's Sept. 9th primary election, and nationally where Obama's surge continued even as the Democrats once again showed less spine than we would like them to. More below.

I need some advice, fellow Kossacks.

I am pretty new to this politics game...I am 20 and I've never been able to vote for President before (I was 17 in 2004...yeah, I'm pretty bitter about that still) and I haven't had any real experience in working on a campaign aside from the neighborhood canvassing I did this February in Milwaukee, WI for the Obama campaign.

Anyway, I have received some news tonight that has left me disappointed and looking for some advice.

The old "swing states" have swung, it appears.

Rasmussen. 7/8. MoE 4.5%. (6/5 numbers in parentheses)

In May, McCain led, 47% to 43%. That was the largest polling gap in the state since Rasmussen's first poll in February...until now, of course.

Kerry won Wisconsin 50-49, and Gore won the state by less than a point, 5,000 votes. It's rather impressive to see any candidate enjoying a double-digit lead in Wisconsin.

With trends like these in critical states such as Wisconsin, it certainly seems that the momentum has favored Obama strongly since the departure of Hillary Clinton. When it comes directly down to Obama vs. McCain, apparently the choice is pretty clear.

AP reports that John McCain

...resisted being dragged into a discussion Wednesday about insurance companies that cover Viagra but not birth control products.

"I certainly do not want to discuss that issue," the presidential candidate said when a reporter asked him about it on his campaign bus, the "Straight Talk Express."

Learning from his example, I have no comment on the location of McCain's town meeting in Hudson, Wisconsin on Friday to discuss women's issues.  The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:

The meeting will be held at J&L Steel Erectors, a woman-owned business.

Wonder what will come up.

It is happening again.  Those who remember the tumultuous weeks and months after the Goodridge decision in Massachusetts will know exactly what I mean by "1913 law".  Our homophobic governor, Mitt Romney  decided to suddenly start enforcing an obscure law that had been forgotten for decades and was likely passed to limit interacial marriage.  That law prohibits out-of-state couples from marrying in MA when it is illegal for them to do so in their own states.  Bigots in the MA legislature could not ban interracial marriage here, so they blocked desperate couples from less tolerant states from doing so.

Now a similarly obscure law from 1915 is being invoked in WI to threaten loving same-sex couples with huge fines and jail time just for getting married out of state.