In my teenage years I was as addicted to great pop as I was to free jazz, electronic music, and hardcore blues.

In times of crisis what has made America amazing has been the fact that, throughout our history, throughout the more than 200 years of our history, there have been men and women of courage, who stood up and decided it was more important to look out for the future of their children and their grandchildren than their own political futures.

Like many places across the country, Wisconsin lost more than 100,000 jobs from 2008 to 2010. Unemployment during that time topped out at over 9%.

I promised to empower the taxpayer - instead of a handful of big government union bosses.

The people who are making you feel under attack is your union leadership, and they're doing it for politically intense reasons.

Washington, or as I like to call it, 68 square miles surrounded by reality.

I don't think that split government is a good idea. Conventional wisdom in Washington for years has been that divided government is good because of a check and a balance. What I believe happens all too often, regardless of which party is there's gridlock. And I think the better argument is give one party a chance, give them a chance with a House and a Senate and a president. Give them a few years to see what they can do. And if you don't like it, put another party in.