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Gov. Jim Doyle (D, WI) announced today that he will sign legislation repealing Wisconsin's automatic annual gas tax increase, which has been determined by inflation. "Gas prices have taken a significant toll on every family budget in Wisconsin," Doyle said in a written statement. "Consumers need relief from high gas prices, and citizens have a right to expect their representatives will take an up or down vote - in the light of day - before ever raising their taxes. I simply do not believe it is appropriate to raise taxes every year automatically, without elected officials having to stand up...

December 12, 2005--Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle leads two potential Republican challengers in his bid for re-election. Fifty-six percent (56%) of the state's voters approve of the way Doyle has performed his role as Governor.Doyle leads Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker by 11 percentage points 48% to 37%.The incumbent also leads Congressman Mark Green by six, 45% to 39%. Rasmussen Reports will begin coverage of the primary match-up early in 2006.Crosstabs and other information is available for Premium Members.Wisconsin Democrats are evenly divided as to whether they would prefer Senator Russ Feingold or Senator Hillary Clinton as their party's Presidential nominee...

It may have colorful lights, a train chugging underneath it and hundreds of ornaments, but the “Capitol Holiday Tree” is causing a stir among those who work at the Capitol. The 35-foot Balsam fir has had the moniker since 1985, but 46 state legislators, mostly Republicans, wrote and signed a letter to Gov. Jim Doyle requesting the tree’s name be changed to the “Wisconsin State Christmas Tree.” State Rep. Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford, said he spearheaded the effort with Rep. Terry Moulton, R-Chippewa Falls, adding the tree’s name should truly reflect the season. “It’s not an Easter tree, it’s not a...

State wants FDA to release 'morning after' pill Gov. Jim Doyle (D, WI) has authorized the state to sue the federal Food and Drug Administration for delaying approval of over-the-counter sales of Plan B, the so-called "morning-after pill."The "FDA's postponements in making a decision is the result of politics, not science, and negatively impacts the health of women," Doyle wrote in a letter Wednesday to Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager. Lautenschlager wrote Doyle last week asking for permission to file suit. Kelda Helen Roys, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin, applauded the governor's move. "His authorization recognizes that women's health should...

Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle Vetoes Bill That Would Cap Malpractice Lawsuit Awards Gov. Jim Doyle vetoed legislation that would have capped the amount of money medical malpractice victims could win in court for their pain and suffering, an issue that has been a political flash point in states across the country. (AP Photo/Darren Hauck) Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle speaks during a news conference Thursday, Dec. 1, 2005, in Milwaukee, before executives from the world's five largest oil companies were scheduled to appear at a state administrative hearing on increases in gas and oil profits this year. Republican lawmakers drafted the...

Jim Doyle's critics are again attacking the Democratic governor's ties to a top adviser to the Forest County Potawatomi after the administration approved a gambling compact some say was a sweetheart deal for the tribe. But Doyle said this week that former Democratic Gov. Martin Schreiber never lobbied him directly on the compact, which he said is a good deal for the state. He dismissed suggestions that his close relationship with Schreiber posed a conflict of interest. "People negotiate things with the state who know people in public office," Doyle said. Questions about Schreiber's influence with the governor were first...

They'll be chillin' like pie fillin' at the Capitol under a new order by the governor. Gov. Jim Doyle figuratively donned Jimmy Carter's warm sweater on Monday and ordered state government to turn down the heat.Doyle wants the thermostats in every state building, from the Capitol to the cattle barns on the UW-Platteville campus, reduced to a bracing 68 degrees. His executive order "directs state agencies to take the same common sense steps as Wisconsin families" to save energy. If he takes a tip from my mean husband, poor Lt. Gov. Barb Lawton's going to be stacking firewood in the...

Of all the revelations – and there have been many – in our series of articles on the relationship between politics and gaming in the Forest County Potawatomi Community, perhaps nothing is more shocking than the lie told by Gov. Jim Doyle about former Gov. Martin Schreiber’s role in negotiating the tribe’s gaming compacts. That’s not to say there haven’t been other appalling disclosures. There have been. Putting $7.2 million in the tribe’s politics/government account – a 75 percent increase – is startling. It is also outrageous to learn the tribe has paid out more than $1.2 million to Quinn...

(AP) MADISON One year before Election Day, Gov. Jim Doyle holds double-digit leads against both of his Republican rivals and close to two-thirds of those surveyed approve of his performance as Wisconsin's chief executive, a new poll shows. Spokesmen for Doyle's Republican challengers -- U.S. Rep. Mark Green of Green Bay and Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker -- said the poll was out of line with others that show a lower approval rating for the governor. Pollsters for the Wisconsin Public Radio/St. Norbert College survey cautioned almost a fourth of those surveyed favored other candidates or were unsure of who...

OVER THE TOP by Timothy Rollins, Editor and Publisher First of Two Parts October 31, 2005 Once again, Democrat Governor Jim Doyle of Wisconsin (right) has gone over the top in his decision to veto - for the third time - legislation requiring photo ID for voting at the polls. Despite addressing past flaws in earlier versions of similar bills submitted by the Republican-controlled legislature that deservedly died a quick death over failure to have sufficient safeguards, the fact that Doyle was quick at the trigger to veto this latest version only serves to reinforce in the minds of many...

(Joins senators to push feds) WASHINGTON - Gov. Jim Doyle joined Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid Monday in calling for a federal investigation into price gouging following Hurricane Katrina. "Somebody made off with 60 cents a gallon for gas in the wake of Katrina," Doyle said at a Capitol Hill news conference. "I want to know, who made off with that money, and when you figure out who made off with that money, let's have them give it back to the American people." Doyle's call followed a letter he and seven other Democratic governors sent to President Bush and congressional...

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Wisconsin's governor vetoed a bill Friday that would have allowed health care workers to opt out of a half-dozen procedures, including withdrawing a person's feeding tube and using embryonic stem cells, on religious or moral grounds. The "conscience clause" also would have protected medical workers against punishment from their bosses or state regulators if they refused to refer people elsewhere to get the procedures. "Because it puts a doctor's political views ahead of the best interests of patients, this legislation ought to be called the 'unconscionable clause,'" Gov. Jim Doyle said in a statement. "It is...

The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Legislature voted to ban human cloning, but Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle vowed to veto the measure. After two days of debate, the Senate voted 21-12 Wednesday to prevent reproductive cloning, or creating babies using existing human cells. The Assembly passed the ban in June. The legislation also would bar therapeutic cloning, which relies on the use of embryonic tissue and produces genetically identical stem cells that can develop into any other type of cell in the body. Embryos are destroyed in the process. Wisconsin Right-To-Life, an anti-abortion group, plans a call-in campaign to persuade the governor to...

MADISON - Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle's top aide had hundreds of used hypodermic needles delivered to Assembly Speaker John Gard's Capitol office on behalf of a woman protesting the legislator's stance on stem cell research. Gard's staff immediately called police about Liz Kastner of Fish Creek, who said she asked the governor earlier in July to deliver the needles to Gard for publicity, according to police reports. Investigators warned her not to do it again. She told police her daughter, Isabel, suffers from diabetes. She was angry at Gard, R-Peshtigo, because the Assembly passed a bill that bans therapeutic cloning,...

Doyle Extremely Vulnerable Walker has Commanding lead in Primary First Comprehensive Poll Results Give Walker Boost Heading into Republican Convention [Wauwatosa, Wisc] The most recent poll in the Wisconsin Governor's race shows that incumbent Governor Jim Doyle (D) is more vulnerable now than former Governor Scott McCallum (R) ever was and that Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Scott Walker has a commanding lead in the Republican Primary. The survey yields many positive results for Scott Walker's campaign for Governor, said Brian Tringali, of the nationally-respected polling firm the Tarrance Group. First, the sitting Governor is among one of the most vulnerable in...

After the ongoing debacle in Milwaukee's past election in November, when for the second straight presidential cycle more than 30% of the voters registered at the polls and instigated a federal investigation into fraud, one would assume that adding a requirement for photo identification would be seen as a reasonable response. The only one who appears to reject that notion in Wisconsin is the Democratic governor, Jim Doyle, who threatened to veto the bill passed by the legislature today: Wisconsin lawmakers passed a bill Wednesday that would require voters to provide a driver's license or other government-issued photo identification before...

Wis. Gov. Vows Veto on Voter ID Bill MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Wisconsin lawmakers passed a bill Wednesday that would require voters to provide a driver's license or other government-issued photo identification before casting a ballot. Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle said he would veto the measure. If the bill becomes law, Wisconsin would join South Carolina with the toughest requirements for voter identification in the country, said Jennie Drage Bowser, who tracks state election laws at the National Conference of State Legislatures. Indiana lawmakers Tuesday passed a similar voter identification bill, and Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels has said he will...

MILWAUKEE (AP) On one of his last visits to Wisconsin, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry made its job situation seem bleak. He says the state's lost more than 67-thousand manufacturing jobs since his opponent President Bush took office in 2001. But Democratic Governor Jim Doyle has been saying Wisconsin leads the Midwest in job growth. Both are correct, but political observers say politics plays a role in how they're using the numbers. State Republican Party spokesman Chris Lato says if Doyle runs down Wisconsin's economy he's running down his own job performance. Terry Ludeman, a state labor economist, says the...

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Gov. Jim Doyle signed first-of-its-kind legislation Friday that requires students to get tested for HIV if teachers think they were exposed to contaminated blood. Privacy advocates say the law infringes on students' medical privacy and could lead to discrimination against gays. Simon Davies, director of Privacy International, called the law "a wild exaggeration" of HIV fears. "It's appalling," Davies said. "My first reaction was it can play to the worst ignorance and bigotry of people." Republican Sen. Carol Roessler introduced the bill after a student at an Oshkosh alternative school cut his hand on a window...

NARAL Pro-Choice America Announces Endorsement of Kerry; Plan for Aggressive Campaign Effort Includes TV Ads, Online Campaign 3/30/2004 1:47:00 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: National Desk, Political Reporter Contact: David Seldin of NARAL Pro-Choice America, 202-973-3032, Web: http://www.ProChoiceAmerica.org WASHINGTON, March 30 /U.S. Newswire/ -- NARAL Pro-Choice America, the leading national advocate for personal privacy and a woman's right to choose, today announced its endorsement of John Kerry for President of the United States and unveiled its aggressive plan to protect the future of choice by defeating George W. Bush. The pro-choice group will work to activate pro-choice voters in key states...