“Critical race theory is ‘nonsense posing as wisdom.’”
Damn! Dave Cieslewicz is just killing it over at his blog. (No wonder the armadillos are dead.) In today’s installment, he deconstructs the faith-based progressive dogma of Critical Race Theory.
Not just a theory in the Emerald City. The governance of our city, county, and public schools adhere to this neo-Marxist “construct” as scientific fact. Teach it, preach it, and legislate it. Common Council could be talking about a liquor license for a quickie mart and some over-educated, elected idiot pulls out his racial micrometer and frets about Equity. Too many of the wrong kids starting fights in the cafeteria? Expel the “racist” police.
We hear that Cieslewicz is thinking of starting his own middle-of-the-road, moderate political party. (No doubt a road-kill armadillo as its mascot.) UPDATE: Dave tells us “Not starting my own party, but I’ve suggested it to others.”
The former mayor of Madison WI is correct. Dane County Democrats need a hostile takeover, root-and-branch reform, or some serious competition. They have gone down the rabbit hole with Progressive Dane. Local Democrats are endorsing the aldermanic candidacies of Nikki Conklin, Brandi Grayson, and Rebecca Kemble — the three horse ladies of Madison’s apocalypse. Scourge of police; enablers of the smashers and burners. (Read & Weep.)
Citizen Cieslewicz:
‘It’s O.K. to reject critical race theory‘ (excerpted)
I still meet most of the liberal litmus tests. I’m pro-choice, pro-labor and pro-environment. … But I start to get off the liberal train at the identity politics station. … I find it both unconvincing and deeply offensive.
The basic idea is that the world is divided into “oppressors” and victims and that none of us control which group we fall into — that’s determined only by our race and gender. So, if you are a Black woman who went to Harvard Law you are a victim. If you are a white guy with a high school education who cleans her office, you are an oppressor.
Once we abandon the idea of individual responsibility, that undermines everything.
Individual actions (and with it personal responsibility) are devalued, if not eliminated. It doesn’t matter what you do, what you think, or what your intentions are. You are not an individual, but a member of a group. …
If all success in life is due only to “privilege” and all failure only to “oppression,” why even try? It’s a form of nihilism. Nothing matters. This undercuts the whole idea of personal initiative.
Once we get rid of the idea of basic fairness and actually endorse discrimination, when does it end? When do we decide that the balance has finally been struck, and who gets to decide?
For extra credit: Florida schools will not teach critical race theory, thanks to Gov. DeSantis.
Blaska’s Bottom Line: Good on you, Dave Cieslewicz (pronounced exactly as spelled). Now let’s hear you call out the crazies by name. Then endorse Paul Skidmore, Sheri Carter, and Charles Myadze for alder. Then run for mayor yourself in 2022. Yeah, we’re that desperate.
Blaska Policy Werkes 
28 responses to “Dave Cieslewicz goes rogue”
Holy moly! Now what is needed is a long series of prominent people in local government, city business, and (especially) Madison academia to find their inner guts and also speak up.
The voters in Madison and Dane Co need a huge wake-up call too.
Rejecting the radical Council candidates in 2 weeks, and electing a sane state Schools Superintendent, would be a good start.
I’m not holding my breath.
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He ought to.
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…and mayor Dave will be called a “White Supremacist, White Privileged, Right Wing, nut job” in 3, 2, 1,…..
I never thought I would miss Davey C.
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“We hear that Cieslewicz is thinking of starting his own middle-of-the-road, moderate political party.”
Are there that many moderates even left in Madison?
Cieslewicz hit most of the right notes, but for me it’s too little, too late. He’s been tone deaf in the past, including when he prioritized a trolley over public safety (more cops). So sorry, not interested.
“I still meet most of the liberal litmus tests. I’m pro-choice, pro-labor and pro-environment.”
I take offense with this. Conservatives care about the environment too. Just because we don’t want to stifle industry, fund wind mills (that by the way kill half million birds each year) & spend billions on a green deal, doesn’t mean we DON’T care.
When I see leftists ditching take-out, their 24-7 social media habit, new expensive phones every year, and in some cases mega mansions, then I’ll listen. When I see them doing more than protesting, and actually doing things to make a REAL difference like cleanups, then I’ll pay attention.
We’re also for labor; we’re just not for labor unions. Difference.
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If Peter had not accepted converts like Paul, there would be no Catholic religion today.
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This is exceptional courage on Mayor Dave’s part.
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Not sure I’d use the term “exceptional.”
What Blaska did standing up in front of the angry crowds at those school board meetings is closer to being exceptional.
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Very true. Many of us change our views and grow as we receive and digest new information. We all get it wrong from time to time and are only human. Understood.
Thing is, for years now Madison has been on this identity politics trajectory, cops have been taking a beating, and people with good sense have been fleeing the city.
Yet just recently Ciesliewicz feels the need to weigh in? Maybe he should have stepped up when it actually counted.
Many moderate thinking people have lost faith in this city, and it’s going to take a heck of a lot more than a few Isthmus articles to motivate residents again and change the trajectory of this city.
If it was just this, that would be one thing, but I recall tone deafness being one of his traits when he was mayor.
Of course people change. We’ll see. Just please don’t expect people to get all “rah-rah” just BECAUSE Dave Ciesliewicz penned a few blog posts.
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Unfortunately, the latest iteration of Madison liberals have stopped their ears to any message couched in moderation. Even St. Paul at his most eloquent couldn’t reach them (see his failure to convert King Agrippa, who famously said, “Almost thou persuadest me to become a Christian.”)
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True, Gary.
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Well said, Mr. or Mrs. Liberty.
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He must not live in Madison anymore. Or he is not taken as a threat and so no “front lawn treatment” from the usual suspects .
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David Blaska wrote, “We hear that Cieslewicz is thinking of starting his own middle-of-the-road, moderate political party.”
In a recent conversation in the comments of Dave Cieslewicz’s Seattle, WI blog post Dave wrote, “I’ve made the point in other forums that Madison needs a new center-left moderate party to counter Progressive Dane.”
My reply was, “If you think a new party is needed then that means the old party is completely lost to the extremists. That’s defeatist, isn’t it?”… “New party? I honestly don’t think Madison Liberals will vote for anything that doesn’t have a (D) for Democrat associated with it, therefore the loud mouthed progressive extremists are going to win every election as long as Liberals don’t forcibly push them out of the Democratic Party. In other words make the extremists create their own “new” party.”
David Blaska wrote, “Good on you, Dave Cieslewicz (pronounced exactly as spelled). Now let’s hear you call out the crazies by name. Then endorse Paul Skidmore, Sheri Carter, and Charles Myadze for alder. Then run for mayor yourself in 2022. Yeah, we’re that desperate.”
I agree.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend. We must unite behind moderate Liberals and moderate Conservatives to rid ourselves of the progressive extremists and moderate Liberals that are supported by moderate Conservatives (and vice-versa) need to fully understand that they need to moderate their political policy goals away from the extremes otherwise recent extremist history will repeat itself and we return to what we have now.
I can’t say this enough; make the extremists create their own “new” party!
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David Blaska wrote, “We hear that Cieslewicz is thinking of starting his own middle-of-the-road, moderate political party.”
In another recent conversation on Dave Cieslewicz’s blog Dave wrote, ” I vote for Democrats, but I’m not a partisan.” and then he immediately follows up that contradictory statement with “I would vote for a moderate Republican given the chance.” I think Dave is lying to himself. On one hand he writes a completely dead ended statement that he votes for Democrats, there is no ambiguity in that statement and there is no where to go from that dead end, he votes for Democrats, period. Then he writes that he is not partisan which directly contradicts his previous statement.
Partisan: a strong supporter of a party, cause, or person. Then he follows up that contradictory statement with yet another contradictory statement that he would vote for a moderate Republican but yet he votes for Democrats and he has clearly stated elsewhere on his blog that “I would like to see the Democrats win more elections”. Either Dave Cieslewicz is politically conflicted or he’s lying to himself. Like so many Madison Liberals, there is no way they could choke down voting for a Republican, even a moderate Republican, they’d probably have to commit hari kari for opposing the Democratic Party hive mind.
It’s really clear to me that the Democratic Party needs to police their party and purge the extremes that are currently in control of their party. I think it’s fair to say that a lot of Democrats, most definitely the extremist, would say the same thing about the Republican Party.
The extremes need to be dragged back to the center, kicking and screaming if necessary.
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Me thinks he will. I never voted for him before, but this time I would. Just one (the first) step up on the ladder of return to reality.
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Okay, all you trying to diminish what Dave Cieslewicz wrote in his blog post are not seeing the big picture, this is a long time Madison prominent Liberal politician that’s sticking his neck out and opening himself up to an onslaught of canceling by the irrational social justice warriors and Cieslewicz knows it. Other than his way out in left field sentence about Donald Trump and Ron Johnson being an “existential threat” this blog post is to be commended and put in the faces of all the Madison area social justice warriors.
Give credit where credit is due and stop trying to diminish the importance of a prominent Madison Liberal saying these things openly by “attacking” the messenger, if it not ad hominem’ish it’s certainly a bit petty. What you’re doing is no better than what the extreme progressives do when they attack the messengers and try to cancel them.
Ok, now let the anti Steve Witherspoon smears begin.
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I re-read what I wrote and don’t see that I or anyone else attacked Cieslewicz personally. What are you seeing specifically that you perceive as an attack?
Given the state of Madison’s politics and the fact that we’ve been on a downward trajectory for years now, I don’t see DC’s epiphany as that big of a gamer changer. And I’m sticking with that. While I see how you might think there’s a bigger picture here, not everyone has to be on board.
Nobody is canceling anyone. Offering thoughts on a public figure on a blog is not canceling. Canceling is when you try to ruin that person’s livelihood, dox them, make their life miserable. I have no intention of doing any of that. Not my style.
But if I can’t express myself on a blog, at a place where I thought free thought was respected, then that’s a sad thing. It’s what I’d expect from progressives & SJWs, not here. Are we not entitled to our own thoughts?
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Liberty,
With all due respect, reread your comments with more of an open critical perspective. Things like “Cieslewicz hit most of the right notes, but for me it’s too little, too late. He’s been tone deaf in the past, including when he prioritized a trolley over public safety (more cops). So sorry, not interested.” fit the bill; you’re completely disregarding him because of other things he’s said or done in the past and that’s prejudiced.
prejudiced: having or showing a dislike or distrust that is derived from prejudice; bigoted.
Dave Cieslewicz should be commended for the overall tone of this anti social justice warrior blog post even if there are specific things within the post, like I mentioned above, that you disagree with. This is the kind of behavior that we want to encourage.
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“Dave Cieslewicz should be commended for the overall tone of this anti social justice warrior blog…”
If you feel strongly, that’s your right to express yourself as you see fit. Just as I have the right to express myself as I see fit within the parameters of the first amendment. But please don’t expect others to feel the same way that you do.
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Liberty wrote, “If you feel strongly, that’s your right to express yourself as you see fit. Just as I have the right to express myself as I see fit within the parameters of the first amendment. But please don’t expect others to feel the same way that you do.”
Fair enough.
Just remember…
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Steve,
“Just because we have the right to say what we want, doesn’t make what we say right.”
True, but it begs the question: Who determines if an opinion is “right” or not “right”? You may not like what I have to say, but maybe someone else does.
Opinions are just that: opinions. What I said about DC is my opinion and I’m entitled to it, just like you’re entitled to not like my opinions.
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Liberty,
You’re beating a dead horse.
Do you or do you not want to encourage behaviors and attitudes that are inline with your ethics and morals? Yes or No.
Do you or do you not want to discourage behaviors and attitudes that are not inline with your ethics and morals? Yes or No.
I choose yes as my answer for both of those questions and I do it every day. I choose to encourage people to stand up for what’s ethically and morally correct regardless of what they have done in the past. I also choose to discourage behaviors that I think are ad hominems or petty. Why do I do these things; because I believe people can change their behaviors and I have no problem being a catalyst to these kind of changes.
You are free to make your own choices.
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Ok so Dave C is at it again, I agree with Liberty, he had his turn as mayor and he was none better than what is in there currently in my opinion. He is still a progressive, with progressive ideals. He is trying to get readership and maybe another chance at running for office again. I don’t trust him from his last term as mayor and why would I trust him again. Sorry he had his turn, it took a primary against an aging hippie to show his grand choo choo and bike roundabout ideas. Times change yes, people change yes but just as I do not want Trump as president again I do not want Dave C Madison mayor again.
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Agreed, Balboa.
Yes, people change to a certain degree, but history is also a good indicator of future behavior. I don’t want DC as mayor, either.
The aging hippie has his faults, but at least he knows how to run a city.
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This gets old, Guys. You both make good, thoughtful posts but you need to stop the endless back and forth or do it on your own blog.
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Exactly. Let’s ease up on the back and forth.
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Agreed. No offense, but it gets tiresome — and frankly, rather boring. Too much like little kids squabbling on the playground (“Did not!” “Did too!”). With little kids, it may be cute; with a never-ending adult “pissing match,” not so much. That’s why I have to take periodic breaks from reading this blog.
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For those who find the exchanges between commenters repelling/tiresome/boring/never-ending:
First; What do you expect from political discussion?
Second; It does not happen very much here and when it does the tone is usually civil and not remotely similar to “kids squabbling on the playground” (Did not!” “Did too!”) nor like a “pissing match” at all.
Third; How about expending energy on some interesting thoughtful contributions of your own instead of kibitzing from the sidelines.
Fourth; Perhaps you’re just a wee bit too sensitive for the rough and tumble world of political blogging.
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