Matt highlights 5 articles on GOP attempts to nullify your vote and play politics with the pandemic.

MADISON - On this first anniversary of the Trump coup attempt, I wanted to flash a light on Wisconsin’s own collaborators. You can read my piece here:

Wisconsin's January 6 Collaborators

This week, I also wrote about a couple bills sponsored by Republican Rep. Timothy Ramthun that are scary, as you’ll see:

Wisconsin Republican Floats Way to Nullify Elections

New GOP Bill Would Dissolve the Wisconsin Elections Commission

Meanwhile, my colleague Mike Buelow, our research director, compiled a powerful report on those who bear some responsibility for the fact that Wisconsin has surpassed the morbid milestone of 10,000 fatalities from COVID:

Playing Lethal Politics with the Pandemic in Wisconsin

And my colleague Iuscely Flores, our racial equity and economic justice advocate, wrote an excellent related piece:

The COVID Crisis in Our Schools

I hope you like these articles.

And I hope you’ll call Senators Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson and press them to pass the federal Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. The U.S. House passed the voting rights legislation in March 2021, and now the U.S. Senate must follow through. Consider using this excellent tool to write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. Passing this legislation is crucial to bolstering our democracy.

Thanks for your concern and your activism.

Best,

Matt Rothschild
Executive Director
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http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/trump-insurgents3-s5.pngGoal of those who attacked the U.S. Capitol continued by Wisconsin Republicans today, says Representative from Oshkosh.

As we begin the new year, we must look forward with a new determination to protect democratic institutions in our state and nation, says Beloit Representative.

BELOIT - State Representative Mark Spreitzer (D-Beloit), the ranking Democratic member of the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections, issued the following statement on the first anniversary of the failed insurrection on behalf of former President Donald Trump on January 6th, 2021:

“As we reflect on the brutal attack on our nation’s Capitol one year ago, it is more clear than ever that we must reject the contempt for democracy we witnessed that day. Even now, we continue to reckon with the images of our Capitol occupied by those seeking to deny the results of a democratic election.

“Disturbingly, the anti-democratic and anti-American ideals that drove the attack on our Capitol have not subsided. Recent polling shows that the barrage of lies that former President Trump and his enablers manufactured have had their intended impact and deeply damaged our republic’s stability.

“In the aftermath of the failed insurrection on January 6th, while the majority of Americans reacted with shock and sadness, some preferred to dodge responsibility and lie about the violence that they instigated. Despite overwhelming evidence demonstrating that our electoral systems are secure, transparent, and fair, the same extremists have continued to lie about the 2020 election. Every day, they continue to use the same rhetoric that led to a mob attempting to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. It has led to a further erosion of trust, wasted tax dollars, and unprecedented threats against local election officials who have administered elections with integrity.

“As we begin the new year, we must look forward with a new determination to protect democratic institutions in our state and nation. I will continue to push back against the lies from those who would undermine our democracy - lies about the 2020 election and about the events of January 6th, 2021. I will continue to work to preserve and expand the democracy that we share.”

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/trump-jan6-attack-s450.pngDemocracy Campaign's Matt Rothschild comments on the current anti-democracy madness in Wisconsin.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/christmas-ski-s5.jpgFrom our family to yours, we send our warmest wishes and wish you a safe and happy holiday.

MADISON - I’m urging you to give a gift this holiday season to defend our democracy.

You know it’s under attack by a militant, white nationalist, and cultish anti-democracy movement.

Here at the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, we’re doing all we can to call out this threat at the national level and especially right here in our state.

We’ve helped lead the way in the battle against gerrymandering. 

We blew the whistle on the anti-voting bills that were introduced.

We’ve been denouncing the Gableman fishing expedition at the top of our lungs.

And we even produced radio ads that ran all across the state to puncture the Big Lie. (One of the ads featured Milwaukee Bucks stars Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez!)

But we can’t keep doing this work without your support.

So, while you’re finishing up your holiday shopping, please send us a donation today so we can redouble our efforts to defend our democracy.

Giving us simple: Just click here.

Or you can send us a gift the old-fashioned way. Write your check and mail it to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign at 203 S. Paterson St., Suite 100, Madison WI 53703.

I look forward to hearing from you, and thanks for your support!

Best,

Matt Rothschild
Executive Director
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P.S. Your donation is tax-deductible when you itemize.

MILWAUKEE - We debrief and look forward following Sunday’s bombshell announcement by West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin that he would not support the president’s signature Build Back Better. Where do we go from here? With a new even more transmissible COVID variant spreading fast, the panel reviews the state of the seemingly endless global pandemic. Wisconsin Assembly Democrats are under new leadership following the election of Greta Neubauer as Minority Leader this week, but Rep. Jimmy Anderson reminds us of how far we have to go when it comes to providing people with disabilities equal opportunities, even in the Democratic Caucus. Wisconsin is in the news, yet again, leading the GOP effort to extinguish democracy. Robert reminds us of the great lengths Republicans in Wisconsin went in November 2020 to try to steal the election for Donald Trump, and what’s ahead in 2022.

Listen Now - Episode #523

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MILWAUKEE - We lead this week with the passing of the latest COVID milestone of over 800,000 deaths. Is this an omen of human toll that awaits us in the coming Omicron surge? There is no doubt that Republican politics are making the pandemic much worse. This week, shamelessly playing to the know-nothing Trump base, Assembly Majority Leader Robin Vos blamed Wisconsin hospitals for the bed shortage because they are requiring their workers to be vaccinated. Next, our panel updates the Build Back Better debate in the U.S. Senate. Is the most sweeping social and economic reform in half a century dead or merely stalled? Also, as the Senate Parliamentarian prepares to strip the immigrant rights provisions of Build back Better, Voces de la Frontera and allies stage a series of protests. In a rare showing of Republican courage and regard for the truth, State Sen. Kathy Bernier makes national news by taking a stand against Robin Vos and his “big lie” henchman, disgraced former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman. In Democratic Party news, State Representative Gordon Hintz announces he will step down as Assembly Minority Leader. Who will replace him and what are the implications for 2022 and beyond? Finally, we shout out the UW-LaCrosse students and community leaders who held a successful event Monday urging serious university action on the climate crisis.

Listen Now - Episode #522
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MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers Thursday delivered the Democratic Radio Address highlighting his nearly $60 million investment into 12 regional projects aimed at developing long-term solutions to Wisconsin's workforce challenges announced earlier this week. These projects will receive up to $59.5 million in grants through the first round of the Workforce Innovation Grant Program.

Audio file of Radio Address

Hey folks, Governor Tony Evers here.

We have great news in Wisconsin as our unemployment rate remains among the lowest in the country and we continue to have high participation in our state's workforce.

While that's something we should celebrate, we also know that Wisconsin faces workforce challenges that existed years before this pandemic hit. And it's time we confront the workforce challenges facing our state head-on.

So, this week, I announced we're investing up to nearly $60 million into 12 regional projects across the state to help find innovative, long-term, and community-based solutions for these challenges.

At the end of the day, we need to find new, creative solutions to keep our talented workers here in Wisconsin, bring new workers to our state, and connect our workers with jobs that are available in our communities.

Whether it's making childcare or transit more accessible so folks can get to work, investing in other workforce attraction and retention strategies, increasing worker skills and training, or developing programs that could help bring more workers into our workforce—we're working to develop cutting-edge ideas to meet the unique workforce needs of regions and communities across our state.

From Kenosha to Eau Claire, and Stevens Point to Door County, these investments will help folks get back to work and ensure our families, communities, and economy continue to recover together.

Thank you.

MADISON - I’m increasingly worried about the state of our democracy in Wisconsin.

All the propaganda about the 2020 elections is serving a sinister purpose, as I explain here:

The Scheme to Sabotage Our Vote in Wisconsin

Please write a letter to the editor of your local paper on this. And I’d be happy to edit it if you’d like. Just email me directly at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

I’d also like to urge you to include the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign on your holiday gift list.

You know how doggedly we’ve been defending democracy here in Wisconsin: on the gerrymandering front, on these anti-voter schemes, on the threat from big and dark money in our politics, and on many other issues, including racism and economic inequality.

So I hope you’ll help us out with a donation (tax-deductible when you itemize) so we can push even harder on these issues in the year ahead.

Thanks for your support, and thanks for defending our democracy!

Best,

Matt Rothschild
Executive Director
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