It's bad enough that the Republicans in Wisconsin have managed to float two referenda for this ballot that are mostly just intended to bring out conservative voters. And it's horrific enough that they've managed to word the marriage amendment so that it opens the door to removing rights that people in the state already enjoy.

But now one of the principal proponents of the death penalty amendment seems to be saying that you shouldn't believe what the amendmen says - Heck, we don't really mean what we say about DNA - we're just trying to slip it in and hoped that false assurances would help. According to an article in Sunday's Wisconsin State Journal:

Sen. Alan Lasee, R-De Pere, the referendum's lead sponsor, cautioned against reading too much into the resolution's wording.

Lasee said the ballot question with its DNA clause is meant to poll voters on a general concept -- how would they feel about the death penalty if safeguards could be built in to avoid convicting innocent people? It has never been his intent to limit the death penalty to convictions involving DNA evidence, he said.

Please remember when you go to the polls on Sept. 7 that even the proponents of the bill are now saying that it is a sham intended to pull the wool over your eyes and get you to vote for the death penalty in very limited circumstances - which they will then use as a wedge to get a wider death penalty implemented.

Vote No on the death penalty amendment. We've lived without it in Wisconsin for a long time. We can keep on living without it just fine, thank you.