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Democracy, Community and Government

Government must be responsive to the needs and will of the people while respecting rights of minorities.

Government must respect, protect and support freedom of expression, strict separation of government and religion, individuals' privacy, constitutional rights of criminal suspects and the rehabilitated, all other rights under the Bill of Rights, and equal protection of the law for all.

We are committed to equality of rights and opportunities for individuals regardless of race, color, actual or perceived gender, marital or domestic partner status, age, occupation, national origin, disability, physical appearance, living arrangements, sexual orientation, and political or religious preference.

We are committed to the principle that women and men are equal.

We oppose racial and ethnic profiling.

All governments must respect the sovereignty of and abide by treaties with Native American nations.

We encourage initiatives to involve and empower citizens in civic affairs.

All governments must comply with open meetings and public record laws.  Public records should be available through the Internet.

The Internet must be affordably available to all citizens without unwarranted intrusion on privacy.

Free libraries with access to uncensored information must be adequately supported.

We oppose consolidation of media ownership.

We support free media time for candidate debate. The Fairness Doctrine should be
re-instituted.

We call for full public financing of all election campaigns, reform of campaign finance laws to lessen the influence of money on public policy, and programs to enhance election participation by all citizens.  We oppose measures that make voting more difficult.
 
We reject voting systems that do not leave a verifiable hardcopy record of votes.

We support improvements in government efficiency but hold government accountable for outsourcing.  We oppose abuse of limited term employment.

We oppose taxes or legislation imposed under the guise of gubernatorial partial veto, and support a state constitutional amendment assuring that the Legislature approves all taxes and laws.

Government must deal effectively with crime, terrorism, and their causes, while protecting constitutional rights.

We oppose the death penalty.

We support adequate funding for law enforcement.  

We support efforts to reduce the nation's crime rate.  Education and jobs with decent wages are more effective and economical than imprisonment in dealing with crime.

We support equitable sentencing standards, judges' authority to modify sentences, and alternatives to incarceration.

Minor marijuana offenses should be processed as local ordinance violations.

We support the right to hunt.

We support reasonable firearm regulations to protect the safety of citizens and law enforcement officers.  These include requiring safety locks on guns and background checks on all gun purchasers.  We support Wisconsin's concealed carry ban.

We advocate strengthening consumer protection laws and returning enforcement authority to the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

We support accurate labeling of food products, including "organic" foods.

Usurious lending should be prohibited.

State revenue sharing should continue.  The state must honor its obligation to fund two thirds of school districts' expenses. 

Federal and state governments must fully fund mandated programs. 

We support the Social Security system, with inflation indexing, but oppose its privatization, and object to misusing its Trust Fund to hide federal deficits.

We support the arts as essential for the spiritual, intellectual and economic health of our communities.

Our wealth should be measured not only by the GNP, but also by broad measures of well being such as the United Nations' Human Development Index.