The latest talking point to trickle down from Fox News to the rest of the GOP is that an up or down vote, also known as reconciliation, on health insurance reform in the Senate is outside the Senate rules. GOPer talking heads have equated using reconciliation with the "nuclear" option -- which, gentle reader, you'll be surprised to learn, is a total lie.

The latest liar to join the fracas is Reince Preibus, chair of the Wisconsin GOP. '"Democrats like Senator Feingold and President Obama have clearly and publicly opposed the use of reconciliation, also know (sic) as the "nuclear option" without equivocation...Democrats' willingness to contradict themselves by changing the rules in the Senate...blah blah blah talking point talking point etc blah.”

Now, now, Reince. Just because Hannity or Rush says something certainly does not make it true.

Competition. The ubiquitous cry of rabid free-marketers, Ayn Randites and conservatives as the answer to all that ills us. Just undo regulation and UNLEASH THE POWAH of the free market and competition! I can hear the bellowing now. Despite the repeated failures of total deregulation (current recession, runaway credit card industry, stock market crashes, etc.), conservatives still beat the “increase competition at any price” drum.

During some downtime between creating super awesome and totally relevant Ayn Rand fanboy videos and posting them on Facebook, Paul Ryan managed to find time to offer up the latest GOP lead-balloon plan for propping up the rich and corporations while selling out the middle class. Ryan’s ‘Roadmap for America’ was brought to the forefront of the debate during the question and answer session between the President and House Republicans. The President even praised Ryan for offering a substantive idea, and though President Obama didn’t say so, I’m sure he was thankful to hear something from the Republicans that didn’t question his citizenship, attempt to incite racially-charged violence or contain a reference to teabagging. A breath of fresh air, if you will.

The U.S. Senate is a serious place, where serious people tackle serious issues in a serious way.

No, seriously.

Consider the most important issue of our time, health insurance reform. Whether you support expanding health insurance to every American, or you support the rights of health insurance companies to take billions while they deny coverage to millions, one thing we can all agree on: let’s at least have a debate, a serious debate, where both sides can offer ideas and solutions.

One Wisconsin Now heard that teabaggers were going to be teabagging their way to the state capitol Monday to convince themselves that members of the state legislature give two flying snorts about whatever gripe these bitters have.

We decided to greet the dozen or so (or in teabagger math "eleventy thousand") with the kickoff of the One Wisconsin Now Sarah Palin "Goin' Nowhere" book tour. Look for upcoming opportunities to take your photo as the cover model of the "American Quitter's" missive.

One might ask Walker to join the 21st century or stop taking benefits on the government teat. Ask him loudly, in fact.

Again, Walker if Milwaukee can give your family health care benefits, so should domestic partners have the same right. In fact, Walker, what makes your wife, or your two kids more worthy of reasonable benefits than a domestic partner in a committed same sex relationship?

Cory Liebmann offers a much more eloquent response to Walker's ridiculousness.

Conservatives, it's time to tear off those ill-fitting suits, the sheer Sarah Palin knock-offs, and get this party started.

Two of Wisconsin’s leading right wing organizations, the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute and the MacIver Institute, are members the State Policy Network, a national group that helps organizations push out anti-public education information and the lunatic corporate pap of Hell’s resident economist, Milton Friedman.

This weekend, SPN began its its annual meeting for its partners like WPRI and MacIver. In addition to an online presentation by Americans (read: Republicans) for Prosperity, the four-day factless-fest will be highlighted by an old fashioned Toga Party, according to an email invitation to the event obtained by Wonkette, one of One Wisconsin Now’s favorite blogs.

There it is on the front page of the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute’s website. Almost 800 words from George Lightbourn about “polling” that concludes Gov. Jim Doyle’s Democratic backers in the state legislature are in peril.

It’s an amazing coincidence. Somehow, the sciency-stuff keeps working out for conservatives in the WPRI-UW Right Wing Propaganda Polling Project. Thankfully, for the Republicans, none of their state legislators voted in favor of Doyle’s fix to the state’s historic $7 billion budget deficit caused by the failed policies of George W. Bush and his GOP allies.

The “Young Gun” filed his latest campaign finance statement and it’s chock full-o-corporatey goodness. Ryan amassed $104,000 in PAC gifts, including 94% from out-of-state PACs.

It’s not surprising, Ryan’s corporate sycophancy extends beyond the Badger State borders, so why wouldn’t his grab-bagging.