UP: Campaign and ethics reform. Don't get your hopes up, but a state Senate committee this week approved three bills, paving the way for full Senate consideration. The bills would provide for increased public financing of state Supreme Court campaigns, mandatory judicial disclosure of potential conflicts and controls on politically charged "issue ads." And the Senate passed a one-year ban on legislators taking jobs as lobbyists. But beware: Past reform measures have sailed through the Senate and died in the Assembly.
DOWN: Tommy Thompson. Wisconsin's former governor once again puts his foot in his mouth. At last week's debate for Republican presidential candidates, Thompson said employers should be allowed to fire gay workers; he later apologized, saying he misheard the question. A few weeks earlier, Thompson had to apologize for saying he thought earning money was "part of the Jewish tradition."