[media-credit name=’MATTHEW KUTZ/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]When it was revealed in late November that a third-grade teacher in Madison had assigned her students to send letters opposing the U.S. war in Iraq to a bevy of legislators and officials, U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Wis., was none too happy.

Green, who is running for state governor in 2006, sent a letter to the principal at Frank Allis Elementary School demanding the assignment be rescinded, saying students should have the freedom to formulate their own opinions on such issues.

For Green, the homework assignment was just another example of the warped values inherent in a city he now refers to as "Planet Madison."

The gubernatorial hopeful ventured into the heart of that "planet" Tuesday, promoting his campaign and outlining his stances on a number of issues before a gathering of the College Republicans.

"On what planet would it be OK to use students as political pawns?" Green asked of the assignment, which the school canceled amid the controversy. "Planet Madison. And it would be entirely humorous except — the bad news is — Planet Madison is running the state."

Green assailed Planet Madison's top political official, Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, on numerous fronts: the state's tax burden, the governor's transfer of money out of the transportation fund in the state budget and repeated vetoes of voter-ID legislation.

The congressman was particularly critical of the vetoes, which have derailed bills that would require voters in Wisconsin to present a state-issued identification card when voting. Republicans in the Legislature, along with some Democrats, have insisted the measure would be the best way to deter fraudulent votes in state elections.

In making his case for why voter ID should pass across the partisan aisle, Green noted that former Democratic President Jimmy Carter supports the measure.

Turning away from Doyle, Green reserved strong criticism when discussing the recently suspended Bible-study ban at the University of Wisconsin Eau-Claire, a policy Green furiously opposed throughout the last month. The rule, which prohibited resident assistants at the school from leading Bible studies in their dorm rooms, stripped the students of the freedom of speech, Green said.

"We have a university system that says it cannot stop professors who have been convicted of crimes from continuing to collect their salaries, [nor] stop Ward Churchill … from spewing his anti-American message on university facilities, but if you study the Bible in your dorm room, they're going to come down on you like a ton of bricks," he said in reference to other controversial UW decisions in the last year.

Despite the controversy, Green voiced support for additional funding for the UW System, which took a $250 million hit in Doyle's first biennial budget. Although not assigning sole culpability for the university's financial woes to Doyle, Green did pledge to increase accessibility to a university that has raised tuition steeply during the last few years.

"I'd like to be known as the governor who rescues the UW System," he said. "I will spend money on the UW System. It's worth it."

Green is vying with Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker for the Republican gubernatorial nomination. The winner of the September primary will square off in the general election against Doyle, who will hold a major campaign kick-off event today at 5 p.m. at the Madison Concourse Hotel.

In an interview, Green, who represents the northeastern corner of Wisconsin in Congress, expressed confidence with his chances in the race. Although he has been a chief supporter of many of President George W. Bush's policies, Green said he is not worried about the possibility that the president's approval ratings — which currently sit at the lowest point of Bush's administration — will hurt his campaign.

"I've never believed in coattails," Green said. "This state is a state of, historically, ticket splitters. Any electorate that can send at the same time Tommy Thompson and Russ Feingold to resounding victories is a state where people look into individual races."

Green has come under criticism, however, for taking high-profile positions on issues like the Bible-study ban, which has led to accusations that the congressman is merely grandstanding in preparation for the election.

Green, a UW-Eau Claire alum, denied the theory.

"The question is: would I be doing this if I weren't running for governor? Absolutely," Green said. "I really care passionately about this. My kids go [to UW-Eau Claire]."

J.B. Van Hollen, former U.S. attorney for Wisconsin's western district, also appeared at Tuesday's meeting to promote his campaign for the state attorney general office. He is competing with Waukesha County District Attorney Paul Bucher for the Republican nomination, opposite either incumbent Democrat Peg Lautenschlager or Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk.

Calling himself the most conservative candidate in the race, Van Hollen blasted his Democratic opponents for a lack of dedication to criminal prosecutions.

"That's the area where our current attorney general has done next to nothing," he said. "She's grandstanded. She's gone to Hayward to prosecute the Chai Vang case. … She has done things that make it look like she is interested on the criminal side of the aisle, but she has done nothing substantive to help law enforcement in this state."

Lautenschlager, however, has consistently pointed to a number of actions and settlements against businesses for consumer and environmental infractions to defend her term as attorney general.