Wisconsin State Journal from Madison, Wisconsin • 15

"Wisconsins Independent voice" STATE JOURNAL EDITORIAL BOARD WILLIAM K. JOHNSTON Publisher JOHN SMALLEY Editor SCOTT MILFRED Editorial page editor PAM WELLS Chief financial officer The views expressed in the editorials are shaped by the board, independent of news coverage decisions elsewhere in the newspaper. OUR OPINION Ugly end to unimpressive session A13 MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2011 Dt was sadly fitting the way the state Legislature stumbled and bumbled its way to closure late last week, fighting for hours on end about something that had been decided more than a year earlier. Surely this Legislature, which wont be meeting again until January, made a strong case for spending less time in the Capitol and not more. From ham-handed Republicans who used their unfettered majority power in questionable ways (what was the Back To Work Wisconsin" special session really all about, anyway?) to minority Democrats who mostly stalled and worked up mock outrage at every turn, the session was unimpressive.

Much of the blame for the lackluster effort has to fall with the Republicans, who control both chambers. But the Democrats surely cant be proud of their performance, either. Agitating for the sake of agitating without re -ally engaging in a useful way is not an effective approach. Witness the ridiculous all-night argument in the Assembly from Tues- Instead of getting big things done for Job creation Republicans and Democrats ended another all-nighter trading Insults over a moot point. day night until Wednesday morning.

Late Tuesday night, Democrat Peggy Krusick of Milwaukee tagged an amendment onto an otherwise noncontroversial bill, and a legislative donnybrook ensued. Krusick argued race should not be a factor to consider in awarding money in the Talent Incentive Program that provides needy college students with grants ranging from $600 to $1,800 a year. Republicans liked the idea and all supported Krusick, who was the lone Democrat in favor. Democrats called Republicans racists for even considering such a heinous idea, and the two sides fought about it for hours. Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, left, and Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald, R-Horicon, cant be happy with the way the latest floor period ended.

The punch line to this bad joke: The state board that issues the grants hasnt considered race as a factor since August 2010, when the policy was changed under Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle. That neither side had the insight to know they were insulting each other all night long over a moot point speaks volumes about this Legislature. Our blacks vs. their blacks Oi Io HI A'J 1 MJJ I -J 4 Hi you think it gives Clarence Thomas a warm, fuzzy feeling to know he is one of Ann Coulters blacks? That is how Coulter put it on Fox News while defending Herman Cain against sexual harassment charges that threatened to engulf his campaign last week.

"Liberals, she said, detest black conservatives, but the truth is, "our blacks are so much better than their blacks. Our blacks Really? Social conservative pundits tend to be astonishingly obtuse when discussing race, (See Exhibit above) so it is good they rarely do so. Last week was an unfortunate exception, as one of their blacks straggled to frame a coherent response to allegations that he harassed female colleagues in the 1990s when he headed the National Restaurant Association. Though accusations of sexual impropriety have beset a bipartisan Whos Who of black and white politicians, the right wing came out in force to argue that people are only questioning Cain because he is a black conservative. This would be the same Cain who not so long ago said racism was no longer a significant obstacle for African-Americans.

This would be the same right wing that is conspicuous by its silence, its hostility or its complicity when the injustice system imposes mass incarceration on young black men, when the number of hate groups in this country spikes to more than a thousand, when the black unemployment rate stands at twice the national average, when the president is called uppity and boy. But they scream in pious racial indignation when Cain is asked questions he doesnt want to answer. A high-tech lynching said blogger Brent Bozell. Racially stereotypical," sniffed Rush Limbaugh. I believe the answer is yes, said Cain himself when asked on Fox if race was the cause of his woes, adding honestly, if hilariously, that he has no evidence whatsoever to back that up.

If you didnt know better, youd think Cain was some hybrid of lynching victim Emmett Till and Kunta Kinte of Roots. Nobody knows de trouble hes seen. The candidate has spoken of how he left the Democratic plantation, the implication being that more blacks should vote Republican. It would seem on the surface to make sense. As a 2008 Gallup Poll proved and simple observation reiterates African-Americans tend to be as conservative as your average Republican on some key moral issues and are more religious than the average Republican, to boot.

So why dont blacks vote Republican? The answer is simple. Black people are not crazy. Being not crazy, they understand a simple truth about conservatives: They have never stood with, or up for, black people. Never. Forget modem controversies like mass incarceration.

Social conservatives, then based largely in the Democratic Party of the early to mid 20th century, opposed the Voting Rights Act. They opposed the Civil Rights Act. They opposed school integration. They opposed the Montgomery Bus Boycott. They opposed a law to crack down on lynching.

These are the people for whom African-Americans are now supposed to vote? To make the argument is to betray a stunning contempt for the intelligence and memory of black voters. In talking about race, conservatives have all the moral authority of a pimp talking about womens rights. Granted, their blacks might disagree. Madison Prep victim of we know better Former Madison School Board member Carol Carstensen and others like her are one reason why good ideas in business or government or, in this case, education, fall by the wayside. Theres too much we know better from the top looking for a perfect solution.

Instead, lets support those in the trenches who want to get something done now. Ready, fire, aim thats how things get done. Madison has a problem. A high percentage of our black students dont graduate. This has to be changed, the sooner the better.

Charter schools like Madison Prep have a record of success elsewhere. People want to give it a shot here, too. Lets do it, and do it now. For those who make the grade and graduate, it will be a huge success. For those who it inspires, it will be beneficial.

For those who see it as competition to the status quo, it might prompt them to work harder to prove their way works, too. For those who want to try another approach, it will be encouraging and offer hope that other changes can occur, too. The worst scenario is to just keep the dialog going, and going, and going and nothing gets done. Theres a problem. Heres something that has worked.

Lets roll. Tom M. Fitzgerald, Madison Find ways to serve all of our students The premise of the Madison Preparatory Academy was that public education in Madison had failed black male students, and a charter school freed of tedium, biases and bureaucracy could improve their academic performance. Supporters of the academy include those at both ends of the sociopo- SEMD YOUR VIEWS We welcome your comments of 200 words or less. Please include your full name, address and phone number for verification.

E-mail: wsjopinemadison.com. No attachments, please. Mail: Letters to the Editor, P.0. Box 8058, Madison, Wl 53708 TO CONTACT EDITORS: Letters Editor: Kris Crary, kcrary madison.com, 608-252-6111. Editorial Page Editor: Scott Milfred, smilfredmadison.com, 608-252-6110.

litical spectrum. Liberals believe bold steps are required to reverse years of ineffective efforts to improve scores that are shockingly lower than those of white students on achievement tests. Conservatives believe public education must be drastically reformed for the benefit of all students. What is emerging is a compromise academy that tries to suit everyones fancy. Superintendent Dan Nerad points out that 90 percent of our African-American students in Madison are poor.

What about the performance of white kids who live in circumstances similar to those of under-performing black kids? I trust there is little difference. Former School Board member Carol Carstensen asked a good ques -tion: What about the approximately 12,000 students of color who remain in our traditional public schools How, exactly, will Madison Prep help them? A corollary question: What about the many thousands of impoverished white students? How, exactly, will Madison Prep help them? Take the best ideas from the academy and aggressively carry them out among all impoverished students in the public schools with an evaluation every five years. Were all in this together. Poverty and ignorance are the problem, not race. Charter schools are interesting, but no panacea.

Richard Seaman, Fitchburg Madison Prep should have union workers The response of Urban League of Greater Madison President Kaleem Caire to the prospect of Madison Prep Academy employing union custodial and food service workers is exactly why many Madisonians have reservations about funding this with public dollars. When asked about union service workers, Caire stated: If the district wants to pick up the full cost of that, go ahead. Undoubtedly, some parents of the students this charter school will target are employed in custodial and food service and would like a union to help them obtain living wages, health care and the ability to retire with dignity. Undoubtedly, some of the students will grow up to count on these professions as their source of income. Do they not deserve the right to bargain for a life with dignity? Wisconsin State Statute 118.40 is clear: Except as provided in par.

(am), the school board of the school district in which a charter school is located shall determine whether or not the charter school is an instrumentality of the school district. If the school board determines that the charter school is an instrumentality of the school district, the school board shall employ all personnel for the charter school. If the school board determines that the charter school is not an instrumentality of the school district, the school board may not employ any personnel for the charter school. Since Madison Prep is a instrumentality of the Madison School District and all their custodial and food service workers are represented by AFSCE Local 60, so should the workers of Madison Prep. TimBirkley, Waunakee, vice president, AFSCME Local 60 Pitts Jr.

writes for the Miami Herald; lpittsmiamiherald.com..