Evan McMorris-Santoro at Talking Points Memo recently sat down with Indiana House Democratic Leader (and DLCC Board of Directors member) Pat Bauer, who urged national Democrats to stand up for core Democratic values in budget negotiations with Republicans.

We urge you to read the full article, but here's a quick excerpt of Leader Bauer's analysis:

"You're talking about the heart of the Democratic party," Bauer said, referring to those who rely on government entitlements. "We need clear differences between Republicans and Democrats."

Bauer said Obama should end the wars in Afghanistan, Libya and Iraq along with calling for new taxes on the rich if he wants to close the budget hole. Entitlement programs -- especially Social Security -- should be off the table entirely. That will help Democrats draw a contrast with Republicans on the campaign trail next year.

"[It would show] we know where we're at," Bauer said, and would paint a picture of "greedy Republicans" bent on paying for tax cuts for the rich on the backs of those who rely on government support.

The full article is available at Talking Points Memo.

While GOP Governor Branstad has pushed for the elimination of free preschool education for young Iowans, it appears he will be unsuccessful in doing so due to Democratic resistance in the statehouse. Currently preschool is available to any child signed up by their parents free of charge, yet Branstad is intent on cutting the $90 million dollar a year program in half while charging parents for the education.

The extra cost Branstad wants to place on these parents’ budgets is unaffordable to many:

Many parents say they couldn't afford to pay. A family of four making over $67,000 would receive no state aid. Part time preschool can cost over $400 a month.

"We know and research has shown us that early intervention is prevention. That's what preschool does," says Early Childhood Program Administrator Susie Guest of Des Moines Public Schools.

The ability to obtain a free education at such a young age presents tremendous value while providing equal opportunity across Iowa for young children regardless of socioeconomic status. While Branstad may try to slash preschool again next session, the ability to obtain a quality, cost-free education is temporarily secure.

This Democratic victory was quickly vindicated by a Chicago preschool study, reported by the Washington Post, that tracked various children throughout its study of the effects of early education:

Better jobs, less drug abuse and fewer arrests are among advantages found in the study that tracked more than 1,000 low-income, mostly black Chicago kids for up to 25 years.

Among these Chicago children tracked by the study was Michael Washington, now a 31-year-old heating and air-conditioning contractor, who was able to attend preschool for a year. Washington clearly observed and reaped the benefits of being enrolled in the education system earlier than many of his peers in an impoverished West Side community, as the Post goes on to explain:

Washington got good grades in elementary and high school, and attended two years of college at Chicago State University. Unlike other kids he knew from the neighborhood who didn’t attend preschool, he says he never tried drugs and was never arrested.

Exposing children to preschool and early learning seems to build intellectual and social skills motivating students to take on the real world later in life. The true value in attending preschool is quantified by lead researcher Arthur Reynolds of the University of Minnesota, who explained to the Post:

The average cost per child for 18 months of preschool in 2011 is $9,000, but Reynolds’ cost-benefit analysis suggests that leads to at least $90,000 in benefits per child in terms of increased earnings, tax revenue, less criminal behavior, reduced mental health costs and other measures, he said.

Studies like this demonstrate the importance in exposing our children to organized education while they are still young, as the values and lessons they gain as early as preschool resonate later on in their lives to an enormous degree.

Adam is a participant in the summer 2011 Klindt/Dye internship program.

Not long ago, the DLCC released our first television ad in Wisconsin, urging residents to demand that Republican state Senator Luther Olsen stop his support of Gov. Scott Walker’s radical, anti-worker agenda.

Today, our ad is catching fire all over the country.

The ad itself – and Sen. Olsen’s betrayal of working families – has been showcased on MSNBC’s Last Word, with Lawrence O’Donnell:

The Washington Post’s Greg Sargent and Chris Cillizza both featured the new DLCC ad, as well.

Sargent, who’s been all over the Wisconsin budget story from the beginning, wanted to know why the ad uses Luther Olsen in District 14 (rather than, say, Dan Kapanke or Randy Hopper) to make our point:

The DLCC specifically chose Olsen because he had previously criticized Walker's proposal before voting for it.

Meanwhile, both Talking Points Memo’s Eric Kleefeld and Huffington Post’s Sam Stein sought to read the tea leaves of what our ad could mean for the future.

All this attention sure feels great, but that’s not why we’re running ads like this.

We’re doing it because Wisconsin residents need to be reminded of the important issues at stake. And while progressives may have the energy advantage, and the public opinion advantage, and the advantage of just being right – Republicans are pouring everything they have into opposing us.

Politico reports that GOP attack ads are going to start targeting members of the Wisconsin 14 – starting with Sen. Jim Holperin (D).

And Karl Rove’s shady American Crossroads GPS – which raised and spent more than $70 million in secret donations in 2010 – is launching a national ad campaign attacking teachers and President Obama. And the centerpiece of Rove’s ad? He’s peddling the outrageous lie that teachers don’t care at all about their students.

That’s the classic Karl Rove playbook. People liked and respected John Kerry’s military service in 2004 – so out came the swift-boat smears. Right now, people like and respect teachers – so Rove is doing everything he can to tear them down.

That’s the sort of dishonesty our ad is up against – and we haven’t even mentioned a certain billionaire you might remember from a recent prank call.

But we’re not backing down.

So please click here to donate $14 to help keep our ad and others like it on the air for as long as possible.

And once again, here’s the new DLCC ad that’s kicking up such a storm:

On Tuesday, DLCC Chair and Iowa Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal issued a call. 

“I stand with Democratic state legislators in Wisconsin and all across the country who refuse to allow Republicans to devastate the livelihoods of hardworking people by balancing state budgets on the backs of those who can least afford it. I call on Democratic leaders everywhere, at every level, to join me in supporting the fourteen Wisconsin Senators who stand between the GOP and the gutting of workers’ rights in that state.  Using state budgets to execute cynical political attacks against working families is a brand of politics Democrats cannot tolerate.”

Sen. Gronstal’s words clearly resonated within the progressive legislative community. Today, Huffington Post’s Amanda Terkel reports:

More than 270 state legislators from 44 states and two territories have signed a letter standing with the Democratic state senators in Wisconsin, who left the state to prevent their Republican colleagues from pushing through a controversial budget repair bill.

The “Wisconsin 14” are entering their second week in self-imposed exile, away from their homes and families, but resolute in their commitment to preventing Wisconsin Republicans from hurting working families. This support from their colleagues around the country is greatly appreciated.

But some legislators are doing more than just expressing their support. Other Democrats are taking drastic measures to halt radical right-wing agendas in their states. We’ve told you about the Indiana House Democrats, who were compelled to leave their legislative session to prevent Gov. Mitch Daniels and his GOP accomplices from gutting education and damaging middle-class families.

In the dawn hours of this very morning, Iowa House Democrats ended a marathon committee meeting in which they spent 15 hours fighting to change a bill designed to eviscerate workers’ rights. A party-line vote ended their efforts in defeat, and this anti-worker legislation is on its way to the House floor.

But working families in Iowa can still look to their state Senate for recourse. Sen. Gronstal spoke to a state paper about the bill’s problems, as well as its likely fate.

“It’s ending the ability for public employees to bargain,” he said. “Without binding arbitration public employees have no power in the relationship. We’re not going to take away – for thousands of employees – that power. It’s dead in the Senate.”

Democratic state legislators know that budget cuts shouldn’t be a knife in the back of working families.

Onward.

Early childhood education, especially preschool and kindergarten, are critical for putting children on the path to educational success. And that’s more than just our opinion; it’s also the conclusion of a huge volume of educational research.

But that’s exactly why Democratic leaders in two states, Iowa and New Hampshire, are fighting pitched battles to save early childhood education from Republican leaders who seem determined to abolish these programs.

First, in Iowa, Democratic Senate Majority Leader (and DLCC Chairman) Mike Gronstal is working to save his state’s universal preschool program, which the Republican-controlled Iowa House just voted to eliminate. And according to Leader Gronstal, preschool has the votes in his chamber:

Democrats hold 26 votes in the 50-member Senate. That thin majority is enough to block legislation aimed at ending state funding for preschool for all 4-year-olds.

Gronstal vowed to make major changes to the bill in the Senate.

"We're going to make a decision as to whether we're going to take up that piece of legislation or whether we're going to start a piece of legislation on our own," Gronstal said.

But keeping his own caucus united is just one key to saving universal preschool in Iowa. Gronstal still must negotiate with the GOP-controlled House and the Governor, who is vested with line-item veto power in Iowa.

Meanwhile in New Hampshire, a united Democratic legislative caucus and outraged New Hampshire parents successfully scuttled a Republican plan to abolish universal kindergarten in the state:

Local legislators like Dover Democratic Rep. Peter Schmidt, had spoken out against the bill. Schmidt noted recently there would be a loss of jobs if the bill were passed.

"To pass this bill would be unwise and unwarranted," he said. "It would have no benefit for the public."

Democrats may be badly outnumbered in the state legislature, but when it comes to education, they clearly have the public on their side.

But the fight over New Hampshire schools isn’t over. Republican leaders are still pushing separate legislation that would strike technology, art, health, and foreign language education from state requirements. House Democratic Leader Terie Norelli is leading the opposition to that bill:

One such bill is HB39, which seeks to cut education funding, remove such core subjects as arts, world language, health and technology education from the state curriculum and weakens math and English language arts standards.

Although HB39 is currently in "limbo," according to Jones and has yet to be scheduled for an executive session following its initial hearing, it has been the topic of recent conference calls House Democratic Leader Terie Norelli conducted with media.

Norelli denounced it as a "dangerous bill for New Hampshire."

At a recent hearing on this bill, a massive crowd of angry parents and teachers spoke out against the GOP plan, raising hopes that Democrats will be successful once again in saving another key piece of the state’s education system.

All fifty states are dealing with a tough economy and tough budget choices. But when award-winning teachers are getting laid off in the middle of Teacher Appreciation Week, as they are in Indiana, that’s a pretty unmistakable sign that state budget cuts have gone too far:

Honorees at a Statehouse ceremony recognizing Indiana teachers Thursday included two who face losing their jobs following $300 million in state education spending cuts. (…)

[Jackie] Macal, 24, an English teacher at Batchelor Middle School, was one of six people recognized by state Superintendent Tony Bennett as part of Teacher Appreciation Week. The honor was a high point but comes at a troubling time for Macal, whose job at the middle school was her first full-time teaching position.

Gaylene Hayden, one of 150 teachers who received layoff notices from Tippecanoe school district in Lafayette, sat at the ceremony with her husband, Jason, who also lost his job with an automated payroll company last week.

Indiana was the site of one of the messier budget battles in the country, as the Democratic-controlled State House (led by Speaker and DLCC Board Member Pat Bauer) fought to save as much of Indiana’s public school system as possible from budget cuts demanded by the Republican Governor and State Senate.

Even with the narrow Democratic advantage in the State House to keep the Republicans in check, the Indiana State Teachers Association predicts that 5,000 to 7,000 teachers and support staff will be laid off statewide because of the cuts. Had the Republicans had free-rein to pass whatever budget they wanted, the situation would be much, much worse.

Sadly, the Republican strategy of cutting education will do long-term damage to our economy and society. Good schools are one of the most important keys to long-term business development and job creation. And of course, a good education is a key determinant of every individual child’s future.

Legislators and state budget officials got some good news recently. According to reports last week, average state and local tax revenues rose last quarter, reversing the downward trend caused by the financial crisis and recession:

State and local tax revenues rose last quarter for the first time in five quarters, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau. That means state money managers could be getting some much-needed breathing room — a conclusion supported by a separate Bloomberg News account showing that the 15 most populous states are predicting a 3.9-percent increase in their tax revenues in the coming fiscal year.

The revenue increases reported by the Census Bureau on Tuesday (March 30) were driven by property and corporate income tax collections, which rose 5.8 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively, in the last three months of 2009, compared with the same period a year ago. The other two primary sources of state and local revenue, individual income and sales tax collections, declined by 4.7 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively.

The increased revenue, while extremely welcome, doesn’t mean states are out of the woods yet. Most states relied heavily on federal funds in the economic stimulus program to maintain essential services like health, education, police, and fire protection. As that one-time funding runs out, states will face higher deficits. It’s still unclear whether additional federal help will be made available soon.

Kansas’ Republican State House Speaker is currently the lead attorney in a lawsuit against the state government. But what’s fishy is that the case revolves around the state budget – the same state budget Speaker O’Neal was intimately involved in writing:

O’Neal represents 17 professional groups, including the Kansas Bankers Association and Kansas Association of Realtors, challenging a 2009 legislative decision to take money from the funds of professional regulatory bodies. The groups’ members pay dues that support the regulatory agencies.

Democrats contend it is a conflict of interest. (…)

“Using his position as House speaker to drum up business for his law firm … I don’t see how he can reconcile it,” said House Minority Leader Paul Davis, a Lawrence Democrat.

While O’Neil voted against the particular funds transfer at issue here, we have no idea what went on behind the scenes or what sort of back-room deals were involved. So Kansas voters have no idea if their Republican leader secretly helped engineer this legislation just so he could turn around and sue the State of Kansas.

All we know for certain is that the Republican House Speaker, instead of representing his constituents, is representing the banking industry and 16 other trade groups as they literally try to pry money away from Kansas taxpayers in this lawsuit.

Every time it looks like Arizona’s Republican-controlled legislature has finally hit rock-bottom, they find a way to sink even lower. But really, closing a state budget deficit by stealing from the dead? We never thought they’d sink that low… until they did:

According to her will, a 2003 donation of nearly $250,000 was given to the Arizona Department of Parks on behalf of Asta Forest.

"She wanted to give this money so that other people could enjoy the state parks and all they have to offer," Essenburg said Monday.

While parks officials considered what to do with her donation, Arizona's budget deficit climbed.

But last month, when the state Legislature met to cut cash from the budget, $213,000 was taken away from the Arizona State Parks donation fund. (…) That money included most of Forest's donation.

We’re not unsympathetic to lawmakers’ dilemma in Arizona. The state is facing a severe deficit brought on by the recession, and no one will be particularly happy to see their services cut or their taxes raised.

But this just isn’t right.

South Carolina Republicans are now on-record saying they can’t be trusted with power. That’s our interpretation, anyway, of a new proposal by the state’s Republican legislative leaders to make across-the-board budget cuts automatic when times are tough – without any input or on-the-record votes by the legislature:

To deal with future budget shortages, the state's top legislators want across-the-board cuts to come quicker as they propose automatic cuts when revenues fall a certain percentage.

Currently, only a budget oversight board led by Gov. Mark Sanford can decide to cut the state's spending when it gets a report that revenues are 4 percent shy of expectations. Lawmakers want the cuts to come automatically when the state's revenues are 2 percent short.

Even the most uncompromising anti-tax voter should be outraged by this proposal. We elect our leaders to make tough choices, not to run away from them. And the reason we want elected officials making the tough decision to cut services or raise taxes is so we the people can hold them accountable for their actions.

Writing the budget is the most basic responsibility of every legislature in America – the power of the purse. If Republicans really want across-the-board spending cuts, they should at least have the backbone to vote for them, on the record. But South Carolina Republicans are too afraid to do their jobs in tough times, and now they want someone else to do it for them.