When the University of Wisconsin-Madison Political Science department announced a new polling partnership with the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, one of Wisconsin's most prominent right wing think tanks, we were immediately worried about the credibility of the poll -- and more importantly, the credibility of the UW.

And when through a public records request, we uncovered that the corporate interests at WPRI pressured UW professor Ken Goldstein to alter the presentation of the poll results to more closely reflect a narrow right-wing agenda, our worst fears were realized.

UW's partnership and promotion of this propaganda polling project must end. Today. Can you sign on to the petition demanding an end to the UW-WPRI scheme? We'll deliver the names to the UW Political Science department chair, John Coleman, and UW Chancellor Biddy Martin to make sure our united voices are heard loud and clear.

Sign the petition: http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/uwpolling

One of the more rousing cheers during the State of the Union last night came after President Obama called out the ridiculous ruling from the Supreme Court last week that threw open the door to a new flood of corporate cash into campaigns. The Bush boys, Justices Roberts and Alito, swore up and down during confirmation they weren’t “judicial activists,” wouldn’t “legislate from the bench” and then promptly overturned campaign finance legislation already passed in state after state, and essentially halting efforts in Wisconsin to toughen up existing laws.

The latest Rasmussen poll shows Sen. Russ Feingold with a slight deficit to non-candidate and oft-cited Tommy! Thompson.

Some have raised concerns that Rasmussen words its questions in a way that favors Republicans and conservatives. Not to the level of Strategic Vision's fraudulent polling, by any stretch, but noteworthy, nonetheless.

The failed conservative economic policies of giving endless tax breaks to corporations and the rich finally got a full-throated repudiation last night as voters in Oregon passed a tax increase on the wealthy and corporations to fill that state’s gaping budget hole.

Voters sick and tired of watching corporations get rich while state services and funding for public education are cut endlessly finally stood up and said ‘ENOUGH!’ Despite the typical crying and scare-tactics from corporate interests that somehow paying their fair share will “kill jobs,” Oregonians knew better. Many corporations in Oregon have skirted taxes for years, often paying the minimum tax allowed by Oregon law, ten bucks. Ten dollars – yeah cause that’s paying a fair share for the state services that corporations so willingly use.

The polling project between the UW-Madison Political Science department and the state’s shrillest right-wing, corporate-friendly think tank has turned out to be as suspicious as we first feared.

Documents obtained by One Wisconsin Now through the state’s open records law reveal that political considerations were front and center in the decision making surrounding the polling project and the publication of the poll’s results. The results of the poll showed statewide opposition to private school vouchers, but the press release from both UW and the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute (WPRI) played up figures that showed support for school vouchers in Milwaukee.

According to the email we obtained, in the day before the release of materials on the poll, the head of WPRI pushed to have the statewide opposition to vouchers to be removed and to use the Milwaukee County numbers instead. When UW professor Ken Goldstein pushed back, saying the change would go against standard operating procedure, George Lightbourn of WPRI pushed back even harder, saying:

“I’m not concerned about journalists. I’m concerned about the Scott (sic) Ross types who would enjoy being able to portray WPRI’s own data as showing lack of support for choice. I know it’s a pain in the ass but I’ve been burned a couple of times and I don’t need to be the one holding the gas can.”

Todd Berry, the head of the conservative Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance who must be on the speed dial of every reporter in Wisconsin, wound up in a story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about the IRS plan to begin regulation of paid tax preparers.

Berry blamed the complexity of the tax code this way: "The reason we have to use them is simply that Congress and the Wisconsin Legislature view the tax code as a Christmas tree. They make it unnecessarily complicated."

As is the tradition, a tour through the best and worst of the year.

The Best

The year started off on the high note that was watching the Worst President Ever leaving the White House for the last time, which brought with it another yearly best: the endless video compiliations of the worst Bush moments. YouTube never had it so good. 

Here in Wisconsin, decisive and effective action from Madison earlier this year is leading Wisconsin out of the worst of the Bush recession. Unemployment here has been dropping since June and is lower than the national rate, and despite the worst rhetoric from Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce bashing Wisconsin’s economy, business are opening and relocating here and bringing jobs to the state. 

For sheer entertainment value, President of Teabag-istan Sarah Palin’s descent into madness during 2009 is second to none. Remember when she quit being governor on July 4th weekend? What a patriot! Remember how she doesn’t even ride in that stupid bus on her stupid book tour? Or how she still demands to be called governor and requests English-only reporters? 

Combining two of her most juvenile and irritating hobbies, namely lying and facebooking, she launched the Lie of the Year: Death Panels. And at her no cameras, no cell phones, no media, no nothing event in Milwaukee for Wisconsin Right to Life on November 6, she floated another whopper, suggesting that President Obama and “teh libruls” conspired to move “In God We Trust” from the new dollar coin when in reality it was the previously mentioned Worst President Ever.