Washington Post reports a warning from Wisconsin on Trump’s failed leadership.

WISCONSIN - The paper industry is vital to Wisconsin’s economy, and the hardworking Wisconsinites who have built this industry were already suffering under Trump’s failed leadership before COVID-19 hit. Now, he’s made things worse by ignoring the severity of the coronavirus pandemic and Wisconsin businesses are getting pummelled as a result. Trump narrowly won the Fox Valley area in 2016, but since taking office his ineffective coronavirus response is repelling voters  from him and other Republican candidates.

KEY POINTS BELOW:

The Washington Post: A warning from Wisconsin

• The massive paper mill has churned relentlessly since it began feeding off the energy of the Wisconsin River more than a century ago, forming the cornerstone of a city's economy and producing glossy paper coveted by publishers during the heyday of U.S. magazines.
• Rapids Mill will finally fall silent at the end of the month. The shutdown, announced June 9, will knock some 900 people out of work and has sent tremors across the region's economy, reaching from the plant's gates through town and deep into the Wisconsin forests that supply wood pulp to make paper.
• The coronavirus is proving to be a decisive Darwinian force in industries from retail to energy to transportation, culling some businesses that might have been weakening for years while giving others a new jolt of life. The swiftness has been stunning, with each closure in turn affecting other businesses and their workers, as has been playing out already around Wisconsin Rapids.
• "It impacts the 900 employees directly in the plant," said Missy Hughes, secretary and CEO of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. "But the important thing to keep in mind is that the plant purchases and processes 25% of the timber coming off of Wisconsin's land. That impacts the haulers who are bringing the wood to the plant, it impacts the loggers who are cutting down the wood, and then it affects the landowners.
• "In Wisconsin, 2.4 million acres of managed forest is owned by counties, and they use the proceeds of the sales to fund their government operations," Hughes said.
• The closure is yet another destabilizing economic event in a state that Donald Trump carried only narrowly in 2016. The mill shutdown will result in the largest permanent layoff in Wisconsin since COVID-19 barreled into the economy, according to layoff notices submitted to the state, shocking a county that Trump carried overwhelmingly with nearly 57% of the vote.
• Known as the Dairy State, Wisconsin is also a paper state. The industry in Wisconsin sells more paper, employs more people and has more paper mills than any other state, according to a 2019 study.
• But the paper market, like everything, has been rocked by the novel coronavirus.
• When it announced the shutdown, the company cited research that found demand for printing paper fell 38% year-over-year in April. The research forecast an even greater plunge to come, with operating rates falling 70% in the second quarter.
• "There is so much capital invested in those mills, it is never easy for a company to walk away from that," said Mencke. "When a company decides to shut something down, it is because it is the best case for the dollars, but it hurts the town and all of these families."
• Many in Wisconsin Rapids can point to where the branches of their family tree are intertwined with the mill. In some cases, multiple family members work there now.
• "It is going to be bad for this town," he said. "It is not just the 900 who work here. It is going to have a trickle-down effect on the whole town."
• Businesses in Wisconsin Rapids, battered by the economic reaction to COVID-19, are already feeling the impact.
• With only a few more paychecks coming, mill workers are forgoing dinners out and aren't hosting catered events. What catering business remained amid the pandemic she saw vanish with the mill closing. "There are smaller graduation parties, not holding 50th-anniversary parties, retirement parties that will not take place," she said.
• She and her husband now work every shift at their restaurant. She can afford to schedule her wait staff shifts on only one or two days a month. The kitchen staff has had furloughs.
• "Am I in danger of losing my business? Absolutely," she said.
• She worries also about the deeper psychological toll the closing will have on the town.
• "It shakes the core of our community," she said. "And you see a negative attitude — 'The town is dying; there is nothing there anymore' — when that is not true."
• The plant closing has infused all aspects of local life — including politics, as the presidential election approaches.
• "Everyone in Wisconsin Rapids is either going to be related to someone who got laid off or will have some kind of close connection to someone who got laid off," said John Blakeman, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. "At a personal level, voters will feel the impact directly or indirectly. That will probably mobilize voters, and it will probably come down to whether they hear the economic message that is meaningful to them and less on identity-based politics."
• From May to June, statewide voter approval for President Donald Trump's handling of the economy fell 4 percentage points to 50%, as voters' view of the direction of the economy turned down sharply, a Marquette Law School poll found.
• The poll also found that a majority of Wisconsin voters disapproved of Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the George Floyd protests. Overall, the June poll found 49% of voters said they would vote for former vice president Joe Biden compared with 41% who supported Trump, Biden's largest margin in Marquette's polling this year.
• Blakeman noted that in the April primary, Wood County had relatively high turnout and that nearly half, or 49%, of voters cast a ballot for a Democratic candidate.

Democrat only needs 1700 write in votes in the August 11th primary to earn a place on the November ballot to challenge career Republican politician Rob Cowles. Cowles is unopposed.

100 Days Out From November Elections, Democratic Party of Wisconsin Electoral Infrastructure Far Superior to Republican Party.

MADISON - Following the 2016 presidential election when Donald Trump became the first Republican to win Wisconsin since 1984, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin committed to breaking down and rebuilding the state party’s infrastructure to help the 2020 presidential nominee take back Wisconsin -- and the White House. Now, the party has partnered with Biden For President and other candidates up and down the ballot to form the Wisconsin Coordinated Campaign -- a unified organizing effort to elect Biden and Democrats in 2020.

To date, the state party’s investments have paid huge dividends with electoral victories up and down the ticket over the past three and half years. In 2018, with Senator Tammy Baldwin and Governor Tony Evers at the top of the ticket, Democrats won every single statewide election for the first time since 1982. They also won an assembly seat once held by Scott Walker in the WOW Counties (Waukesha, Ozake, Washington), and a state senate seat that had been in Republican control for 17 years. And in April of this year -- despite a pandemic where legal actions taken by Trump, the RNC, the Republican Party of Wisconsin (RPW), and conservative justices forced voters to choose between risking their health or forfeiting their vote -- liberal candidate Jill Korofsky, backed by the DPW, defeated the president’s chosen candidate by nearly 11 points.

The early investment the DPW made in communities across the Badger State helped make these victories possible. At the beginning of 2017, the field team began organizing  Neighborhood Action Teams -- local groups of volunteers who organized in their own communities. Now, the DPW and the Wisconsin Coordinated Campaignhelps guide over 250 neighborhood teams working year round talking to voters in their community in the leadup to the 2020 election. As an extension of the field team, these community-based volunteers have been empowered to conduct their own organizing events, recruit new volunteers, and discuss the clear choices facing voters in this year’s elections. These teams have seen great past success --  last November, a year out from the 2020 election, these teams helped knock on 60,000 doors in two and a half days.

But the DPW has also shown its strength and growing base of support through its vastly superior fundraising operation. Last quarter alone, the party raised a record $10 million, while the RPW barely cracked half a million dollars. These funds are being put towards defeating Donald Trump as well as supporting Governor Evers’ Save The Veto Program to help prevent legislative Republicans from building veto-proof majorities ahead of the critical redistricting fight in 2021. Wisconsin’s current maps were deemed unconstitutional by a federal court in 2016.

See this previous memo on how the electoral map has changed for Trump and Wisconsin Republicans since 2016.

In the last 100 days of the campaign cycle, it’s clear that the Democratic Party of Wiconsin has built a dynamic operation with a vastly superior infrastructure to the Republican Party of Wisconsin. As the DPW has partnered with the Biden For President Campaign and other candidates up and down the ballot, the Trump campaign and RPW are falling behind, trying to outrun their abysmal record of disastrous trade wars that crushed Wisconsin’s farmers and manufacturers, a toxic health care agenda that is still trying to  strip millions of Wisconsinites of their care, and their failed response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which they’ve all but dismissed as someone else’s problem.

With Joe Biden leading the 2020 Democratic ticket, Wisconsinites are faced with a clear choice. Instead of propping up the wealthy and powerful, Joe Biden will unite the country and help us Build Back Better by creating millions of good-paying jobs and supporting working families across the Badger State. Wisconsinites remember that Trump and Wisconsin Republicans have failed to keep their promises  over the past three and a half years, and the DPW is committed to ensuring voters hold them accountable come November.

As the number of cases continues to climb each day, Donald Trump continues to deflect responsibility, minimize the threat, and fails to provide an adequate national response.

Washington, DC — Priorities USA Action is releasing an updated version of “Cases” to reflect the worsening coronavirus crisis and hold Donald Trump accountable for his failure to keep Americans safe during a pandemic. The updated ad presents the facts about the Trump administration’s inability to contain the coronavirus — with 1,334,600 Americans falling ill in July. 

As the number of cases continues to climb each day, Donald Trump deflects responsibility, minimizes the threat, and fails to provide the adequate national response that our country desperately needs to slow the spread. “Cases” is running on cable and broadcast in key battleground states. The Trump campaign is currently suing over a similar ad run by Priorities, “Exponential Threat,” which contrasts the rise in case numbers with Donald Trump’s lies about the virus.  

Since March, Priorities USA Action has spent nearly $26 million holding Donald Trump accountable for his failure to protect American lives during the coronavirus crisis. Priorities is committed to investing more than $200 million through the end of the year to defeat Donald Trump and ensure that Joe Biden is the next President of the United States.

“There's no new tone, there's no new Donald Trump, there's just the Donald Trump who’s failing America and making this pandemic significantly worse,” said Chairman of Priorities USA Guy Cecil. “It is no accident that coronavirus cases are skyrocketing. Donald Trump’s deliberate attempt to downplay the threat, stymie basic mitigation efforts, and provide little support to frontline workers has made this crisis demonstrably worse. We need serious, effective leadership more than ever. I’m proud that Priorities is doing everything we can to make sure that Joe Biden is in the White House next year.”

WISCONSIN - Thursday, Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Tommy Kubitschek released the following statement on Donald Trump saying that testing Is 'overrated':

“At every turn since the pandemic began, President Trump has attacked the value of testing when every public health expert agrees that it is essential to addressing this crisis. In Wisconsin this week, we witnessed an all-time high in infection rates as cases here continue to soar. The glaring lack of a national testing program prevents public health officials from keeping our neighbors safe, and Republicans continue to attack any efforts to expand our response. It is clear that Trump refuses to lead in hopes that the virus just disappears, but as long as he ignores his responsibilities and executes this wholly ineffective response, the coronavirus is not going anywhere.”

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/trump-denial-puse-s5.pngOngoing $14 million environmental swing voter program now includes strong contrast ads between Trump and Biden on climate and environment.

Pence visit to Ripon doesn't change record.

WISCONSIN - Vice President Mike Pence visited the Badger State last week to try to salvage the flailing Trump Campaign.

After three and a half years of policies that attacked farmers and manufacturers, Wisconsinites’ health care, and undermined policies that protect working people, followed by a complete failure to address COVID-19, there is little that Trump can do to save face in a state that he has consistently forgotten.

KEY POINTS BELOW:

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Pence argues against socialism in Ripon, Wisconsin, which was central to the founding of the Republican Party

• In a visit Friday to a city central to the founding of the Republican Party, Vice President Mike Pence argued Democrats were turning the country toward socialism, touted a border wall and praised police officers.
• Attendance at Pence's speech was limited to 50 people because of the coronavirus pandemic. Attendees had their temperatures checked as they entered the event, wore face masks and sat in chairs that were 6 feet apart from one another.
• The setup contrasted with the one at the party's state convention, where few wore masks and many spent time close together.
• Pence's visit came just after the United States reported a record 75,600 coronavirus cases Thursday. Nine hundred of them were in Wisconsin.
• Pence touched briefly on the pandemic, contending Trump had dealt with the illness aggressively and was committed to reopening the country.
• "We are meeting this moment with American compassion and American resolve,” he said.
• Biden communications director Kate Bedingfield called Pence's stop an act of "damage control" in a battleground state.
• "As VP Pence attempts to gloss over the Trump administration’s bungled response to the pandemic, the choice for Wisconsin voters could not be more clear," Bedingfield said in a statement. "Instead of propping up the wealthy and powerful, Joe Biden will ensure we reopen safely, get relief to those in need, and help us Build Back Better by creating millions of good-paying jobs and supporting working families across the Badger State."
• Pence's stop is a reminder Wisconsin remains a top target in the presidential race. Trump narrowly won the state in 2016, becoming the first Republican presidential candidate to claim it since Ronald Reagan won reelection in 1984.
• Trump has struggled in recent polls. Biden led Trump 49% to 41% of registered Wisconsin voters in a June survey by Marquette University Law School.

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Ledgeview physician raised $40,234.09, making waves in race for Wisconsin’s 88th.

Fitzgerald is a steadfast supporter of Donald Trump and has promised to be right in line with other Republicans in the House. We need someone who represents the needs all of the Fifth District people.

Brookfield, WI – The retirement of Congressman James Sensenbrenner has put Wisconsin’s Fifth District back in play for the first time in over 40 years.  Democrat Tom Palzewicz will likely be opposed by Republican Scott Fitzgerald in what is a match-up of two clearly distinct approaches to government.

This fall, Fifth District voters will have to make a choice—to continue Donald Trump’s agenda in Washington, or change course with Palzewicz, who supports Joe Biden.  November’s election will be about character even more than ideological views.

NBC News reported on seniors who are pulling away from the Republicans.  The news story featured Jay Copan, 68, who lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.  He is a white male and registered independent in a swing state. Copan has voted Republican in each of the last nine presidential elections. He is the type of voter that Republicans/Fitzgerald should be able to win — and cannot afford to lose. But Copan says he'll vote for Joe Biden this fall.

"At the end of the day I want this to be a better country for my grand kids growing up,” said Copan. “And having a president who's a pathological liar, a sociopath, a narcissist, a misogynist and a bully is not the way I want to leave this country. In spite of my views on the issues, I don't see any way I could support him to be president for another four years because of how he’s behaved."

Fitzgerald’s political views are well documented, and he is the most powerful Republican in state government, but he is also a steadfast supporter of Donald Trump and has promised to be right in line with other Republicans in the House of Representatives.  He aligns with the same Republicans who defended Trump during the impeachment, not on substance but on procedure.

“If you can’t defend the president’s behavior, blame the Democrats,” said Palzewicz. “Republicans accuse us of being radicals, even though their own actions are in direct opposition to Constitutional guidelines, like the simple step of calling witnesses during the Senate trial.  They hide behind the flag and the Constitution, while cutting legislation that denies healthcare to millions, gives tax breaks to the richest people in the country, and in the process, under Trump, have been turning the Unites States into a nation always in crisis.

“Fitzgerald doesn’t concern himself with the needs all of the Fifth District people, his objective is to support Trump.  He supports undermining the FBI, the CIA, the media, and tearing down American institutions, like the CDC and the EPA. He will support removing us from the Paris Climate Accord and  the World Health Organization during a pandemic. Voters have to make a choice. In this election, character does matter!”

Our endorsed candidates share our values: clean water, clean air, accessible public lands, an equitable, safe democracy, and the pursuit of clean energy.

MADISON – Wisconsin Conservation Voters is proud to announce its second wave of endorsements for candidates running for office in the Wisconsin State Legislature.

“Our endorsed candidates share our values: clean water, clean air, accessible public lands, an equitable, safe democracy, and the pursuit of clean energy,” said Executive Director Kerry Schumann. “We’re proud to endorse this most recent slate of candidates who will fight for a brighter, cleaner, more equitable Wisconsin.”

The Wisconsin Conservation Voters Board vets candidates through a questionnaire, a personal interview, and research on each prospective candidate and their campaigns.

Some of the candidates will face a primary challenge on Aug. 11 ahead of the General and Presidential Election on Nov. 3. Those candidates facing a primary are denoted by an asterisk below.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters endorses the following candidates:

Assembly
Kim Delorit Jensen for Assembly District 1
Rep. Marisabel Cabrera for Assembly District 9*
Rep. David Bowen for Assembly District 10
Sara Rodriguez for Assembly District 13
Rep. Evan Goyke for Assembly District 18
Rep. Jonathan Brostoff for Assembly District 19
Rep. Chris Sinicki for Assembly District 20
Emily Siegrist for Assembly District 24
Sarah Yacoub for Assembly District 30
Elizabeth Lochner-Abel for Assembly District 31
Kirk Bangstad for Assembly District 34
Kriss Marion for Assembly District 51
Rep. Gordon Hintz for Assembly District 54
Lee Snodgrass for Assembly District 57
Joel Jacobsen for Assembly District 63
Chris Kapsner for Assembly District 67
Rep. Nick Milroy for Assembly District 73
Rep. Sondy Pope for Assembly District 80*
Kristin Lylery for Assembly District 88
Karl Jaeger for Assembly District 89
Amanda WhiteEagle for Assembly District 92

Senate
Sen. Lena Taylor for Senate District 4
Brad Pfaff for Senate District 32*

“With the future of Gov. Evers’ veto power in jeopardy as well as the future of clean energy policy, clean water policy, and voting rights, this election is one of the most important in the state’s history,” Seth Hoffmeister, Organizing and Political Director, said.

For our entire slate of endorsed candidates and election updates click here.

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Engaging voters to protect Wisconsin's environment.