While Trump fails to deliver for frontline Medical Professionals, group will not let his campaign’s dishonest, cherry-picked ads go unanswered.

Washington, DC - As part of its ongoing seven figure per week digital campaign in battleground states, Priorities USA Action is launching digital ads contrasting Donald Trump’s downplaying and mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic with Vice President Joe Biden’s steady leadership, calls to listen to experts, and compassion for those who have been hit hardest by this crisis.

“We will not let the Trump campaign’s dishonest, cherry-picked ad campaign go unanswered. Donald Trump downplayed the threat of the coronavirus and failed to heed expert advice, and now America has lost more lives than any other country in the world,” said Guy Cecil, Chairman of Priorities USA. “Vice President Joe Biden has demonstrated his ability to lead our country through a crisis with steadiness and honesty. America cannot afford another four years of Donald Trump.”

• “You Come First” demonstrates Joe Biden’s compassionate leadership, putting those who have been harmed by the coronavirus first, while Trump continues to focus only on himself.

• “Responsible” demonstrates that in contrast to Trump's failed leadership, Vice President Joe Biden has the experience to provide real solutions during hard times.

• “Real Leadership” and “Joe’s Got Your Back” show that a true leader is honest with the American people and puts them first. While Donald Trump lies and obfuscates, Joe Biden will listen to scientists and public health experts to protect the American people and get the country back on track.

• “Frontliners First” shows that unlike Donald Trump, Joe Biden knows that real leaders take responsibility. With Joe Biden in the White House, frontline workers will get the support they need to do the crucial work that keeps Americans healthy.

The digital ads will run on pre-roll video, social media, and streaming TVs in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Florida, targeted at voters who are likely to be undecided. Priorities has committed $200 million to defeat Donald Trump and has already spent over $11 million on TV and digital ads related to President Trump’s failure to protect the American people during the coronavirus pandemic.

State Democrats move ahead of Republican counterparts with April election.

MADISON, WI -- The spring election that concluded on April 13th with Judge Jill Karofsky defeating Donald Trump's candidate Justice Dan Kelly by more than ten points proved the superior organizing and digital infrastructure of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin (DPW) over their Republican counterpart. Since the victory, the DPW has continued to build their field and digital infrastructure to support the Democrat’s presumptive nominee Vice-President Joe Biden.

See the story below to learn more about the Democratic Party of Wisconsin’s organizing and digital infrastructure.

WI Examiner: Political organizers pivot to a digital campaign
With COVID-19 shutdown, Democrats finds a virtue in necessity
By Erik Gunn 

KEY POINTS:

• When Vice President Mike Pence visited Madison’s GE Healthcare ventilator factory on April 21 to praise company workers and tout the Trump administration’s response to COVID-19, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin offered a rebuttal a couple of days later.
• In a video on its Facebook page, Democratic Party spokesperson Philip Shulman looked at the camera and walked through a point-by-point takedown of President Donald Trump’s claims on his nightly videos about the pandemic.
• Of course, that’s part of Shulman’s job as the voice of the Democratic Party’s Trump rapid response operation in Wisconsin. But a few things stood out. The video wasn’t presented as a 30- or 60-second TV spot. It wasn’t even on TV, just on social media.
• The format is professional yet informal, and the temperature is relatively cool. The format “really allows us to communicate what the facts are and tie it into how it affects people in Wisconsin,” Shulman says. By “connecting all these dots for people,” he hopes to be able to get across the message of “Trump’s failure to Wisconsinites.”
• Shulman says more videos will be rolling out over the 2020 presidential campaign — “sometimes longer videos, sometimes shorter snippets” — and what sets them apart from past efforts is a greater emphasis on hard information and explanation.
• And another thing: For the foreseeable future, with perhaps the exception of direct mail,
• With many people required to stay home, and also intensely concerned about how the disease could affect not just their health and life but their livelihood, “they’re spending a lot more time on the internet and a lot more time on social media platforms,” Shulman says. “It gives us a bigger window to tell a bigger story.”
• That window includes the primary social media platforms — Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, along with Google advertising.
• “There’s a bigger hunger for this information because people have the time,” Shulman says. “This is touching everybody’s lives. There’s no one who’s immune to this.”
• Training — “three years building an armada of people knocking on doors” — switched to how to use Zoom calls to reach out to organize voters and supporters. Volunteers learned how to effectively use text messaging in the place of placards left at people’s screen doors.
• One tactical change was to organize phone banks so that the volunteers calling would be connecting with people in their own community instead of just anyone, he says. “We’re having a higher connection rate and warmer conversations than conventional statewide [campaign] phone conversations.”
• Voting by mail is a particularly resonant issue with voters, organizers have found, and so information about how to do that is welcomed by many who are at the other end of the campaign volunteers’ lines. “People are deeply motivated to vote right now, and they’re trying to balance the urgency of voting with their fear of the pandemic,” says Wikler. “Campaigning about voting from home is a useful service.”
• Shulman says the party’s shift to an all-digital strategy was made easier because it had already built a strong organizing structure that made use of digital tools, and forging “long-standing relationships” dating back to a year before the 2018 “blue wave” election in which Democrats swept the state’s top offices.
• The Supreme Court race was the test that proved the party had made a successful transition, Shulman says.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/elderly-crowd-s5.jpgTrump won 52% of voters age 65 and older nationally in 2016, but his disastrous mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic has made seniors increasingly concerned.

Michigan Congressman will seek the @LPNational’s nomination for president of the United States.

WASHINGTON, DC - Rep. Justin Amash (I-Mich.) announced Tuesday that he has launched an exploratory committee to seek the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination, his strongest indication yet that he will mount a third party White House bid.

Read the developing report here

WASHINGTON, DC - Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will endorse presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden on Tuesday, according to a source familiar.

Clinton, the 2016 Democratic nominee who lost to President Trump, is expected to make the announcement on Tuesday afternoon. She will appear with Biden during a virtual town hall later in the day to discuss the effects of the coronavirus on women.

Read the developing report here

MADISON – Assembly Democratic Leader Gordon Hintz (D-Oshkosh) released the following statement after Senator Janet Bewley (D-Mason) was selected by her colleagues to lead the Senate Democratic Caucus as Minority Leader:

“I congratulate Senator Bewley on being chosen to lead the Senate Democrats. I served with Janet during her time in the Assembly and I admired her tenacity, intelligence, and commitment to her district. She will bring a unique perspective to this position, and will fight tirelessly for our shared values of fairness, opportunity, and community.

“Senator Bewley has some big shoes to fill after Senator Shilling’s distinguished years in leadership, but I am confident she is up to the task based on her experience and integrity. I look forward to working with Senator Bewley and her office in her new role.”

Shilling steps down as Senate Democratic Leader, congratulates Senator Bewley as her replacement.

MADISON, WI – Senator Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse) released the following statement after Senator Janet Bewley (D-Mason) was elected the Senate Democratic Leader:

“It has been an honor to serve in the Senate and I’ve been humbled that my Democratic colleagues put their trust in me to be a leading voice for our caucus and state these past five years. I want to congratulate Senator Bewley and am happy to pass the baton as she takes on this new role. I know that Janet’s strong and pragmatic leadership will provide a smooth transition and lead to success over the coming months. Democrats will continue fighting for Wisconsin families, workers, and the opportunity of a brighter tomorrow.”

In addition to unanimously electing Sen. Janet Bewley as the Senate Democratic Leader, Sen. Janis Ringhand (D-Evansville) was unanimously elected as Assistant Democratic Leader.

Is it any wonder why Trump has continuously rolled over for China, say Wisconsin Dems.

MADISON, WI - A new report Friday shows Trump has continuously rolled over for China, in part, because he owes their national bank $211 million dollars in the coming months.

Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus, Trump has continuously praised Chinese President Xi and his government, taking their word over that of the US Intelligence community. Trump went so far as to send China 18 tons of PPE in February -- equipment that is now desperately needed by frontline workers in Wisconsin and across America.

“Donald Trump is China’s favorite lap dog as he has rolled over for them on everything from the Coronavirus pandemic to a trade deal that hardly changes the playing field for Wisconsin’s farmers, manufacturers, and families. Trump has always put his personal interests ahead of the American people, and it is now clearer than ever he is doing so because of his own financial shortcomings. It is monstrous that as 50,000 Americans lay dead with sadly thousands of more to perish from the coronavirus, Trump is prioritizing his wallet over the health and safety of our country. November can’t come soon enough.”

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/trump-2020-sou-s5.pngWisconsin Republicans are obstructing progress in the fight against Coronavirus as President Trump refuses to mobilize a national testing and contact tracing program.

Wisconsinites blast the administration for putting people at risk. Congressman Mark Pocan, State Senator Dave Hansen, and two women who lost jobs due to coronavirus call out the administration for their failure to properly respond to the pandemic.

MADISON, WI - Yesterday, just over one month after the Trump administration promised there’d be over 27 million tests in the US market by the end of March, Mike Pence badgered Wisconsin with a publicity stunt to distract from Donald Trump's failed COVID-19 response and his refusal to enact a nationwide testing a contact tracing program.

Wisconsinites didn’t let this go unchallenged, blasting the administration for putting people at risk. Congressman Mark Pocan, State Senator Dave Hansen, Madison area nurse Shari Signer, and Susan Berna, who lost both jobs due to coronavirus, called out the administration for their failure to properly respond to the pandemic.

See, in part, what Wisconsinites said about the administration’s response to the Coronavirus pandemic:

WPR: "Shari Signer, an inpatient nurse in Madison, spoke with reporters on the Tuesday call organized by Pocan’s office. She and her husband are both nurses. Signer said she was recently told to keep reusing masks 'until there are visible holes or broken straps on them.' 'I’m expected to wear the same mask from patient room to patient room, despite their isolation, despite their health care conditions,' she said. At the end of the day, she puts the mask in a brown paper bag to be re-worn the next day. 'It is outrageous that health care workers continue to show up for a battle against a deadly virus without the protection, resources and support that we need to safely do our jobs,' she said."

Wisconsin Examiner: “[Senator Dave] Hansen concurred, adding, ‘From reports that the White House was warned as early as November to Trump admitting he knew as early as January about the impending crisis, Trump slow rolled his response to the pandemic that has taken over our lives.’...And [Susan] Berna talked about desperately seeking coverage under the ACA. ‘I feel President Trump has really failed all of us,’ she said, ‘by not allowing the marketplace to be open for a longer period of time so that we could get the insurance not only that we can afford, but that would take care of us if we do catch this horrible virus.’”

The Cap Times: “Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Town of Vermont, goes to the heart of matter when he says, ‘The lack of crucial supplies needed to fight COVID-19 is straining hospitals and putting Wisconsinites and health care workers at risk.’ Pocan speaks an urgent truth when he explains, ‘The federal response has been woefully inadequate to the needs of our state. We need FEMA to step up. Nationwide, we are failing to test people for this deadly virus quick enough. Wisconsin labs are attempting to ramp up capacity and serve the people of our state, but cannot do so without the testing supplies the federal government to provide. States like Wisconsin are doing everything in their power to fight this pandemic, but the federal government’s failures are threatening us all.’

MJS: "U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, a Democrat who represents Madison and the surrounding area, called the federal response to the pandemic 'pathetic.' 'Where the hell is the federal government response for places like Wisconsin?,' Pocan said. 'If we can’t test, we can’t open up. Where the hell are the supplies for the state of Wisconsin and the people who live here?'"

The AP: Pocan, citing a letter his office received from the Federal Emergency Management Agency earlier on Tuesday, said that Wisconsin has received only a fraction of the supplies that Evers has requested. The White House provided a tally that included supplies provided by FEMA as well as what has been purchased from private vendors ‘It's pathetic what they've delivered us in the state of Wisconsin,’ Pocan said.”

NBC News: “Officials have identified seven [now 19] people who appear to have contracted the coronavirus through activities related to the April 7 election in Wisconsin, Milwaukee's health commissioner said, and advocates worry that they could be just the ‘tip of the iceberg.’...Now, Wisconsin Democrats worry that there may be more yet-to-be-reported cases...‘I fear this is just the beginning,’ Democratic state Sen. Dave Hansen told reporters on a conference call Tuesday.” [Senator Hansen went on to discuss the dire need for Trump and the federal government to step up their PPE and testing support for Wisconsin]

Additional Background on testing failure:

On March 28, The Date By Which Giroir Had Promised 27 Million Tests Kits Would Be Made Available, The U.S. Had Conducted Just 801,416 Tests. “March 28 Tests in the United States: 801,416 (2,442 tests per million people. 16.1 percent positive rate.) Tests in South Korea: 387,925 (7,568 tests per million people. 1.5 percent positive rate.) ...Notice, too, that this was the day mentioned by Giroir on which 27 million test kits would be available. To date, fewer than 1 million tests had been conducted.” [Washington Post, 3/31/20]

During The Week Of April 12, “The Number Of Coronavirus Diagnostic Tests Being Completed Every Day Has Plateaued Over The Last Week — At A Number That Falls Far Short Of What Experts Say Is Needed.” “The number of coronavirus diagnostic tests being completed every day has plateaued over the last week — at a number that falls far short of what experts say is needed… Several factors are holding it back:  Supply shortages for key test ingredients, swabs, test kits, and personal protective equipment. Poor coordination: Some labs have excess testing capacity, but aren’t being sent samples from the providers collecting them. Rules about who gets tested: Many states have limited testing to the sickest patients, and caseloads are dropping overall. But clinicians often have discretion as to who they test.” [Axios, 4/17/20]