MILWAUKEE - We welcome U.S. Senate candidate Chris Larson to the show to discuss his campaign in the crowded Democratic field. This is the first in our series of interviews of the major Democratic candidates to unseat Sen. Ron Johnson. How will Senator Larson differentiate himself from the other candidates? The panel updates listeners on the status of the important bipartisan Infrastructure bill, the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package, and the filibusterer. The White House and many communities are considering a return to mask guidelines and mandates for the vaccinated and unvaccinated alike as the delta variant rampages through the unvaxed population.

Listen Now - Episode #502
Download Mp3
Media Clips

MADISON - There’s a big press conference at the State Capitol on Tuesday, July 27, at 10:30 a.m. in the Assembly Parlor, and you’re invited!

Several elected officials are introducing a crucial package of campaign finance reform bills that would limit big and dark money, require disclosure, and offer Wisconsinites a chance to vote on a nonbinding referendum to overturn Citizens United.

I hope you can make it!

On the subject of campaign finance, we published a list of the biggest donors to Gov. Evers, which you can read here:

Evers Pulls Down Three Dozen $20K Contributions, Another Mil From State Dems

Meanwhile, this week, our colleague Iuscely Flores wrote a couple of terrific pieces.

Her first, on Giannis Antetokounmpo, immigrants, and Republican hypocrisy, you can read here:

Giannis Triumphed, Immigrants Attacked

And her second one, on the need for a $15 an hour minimum wage, is here:

Wisconsinites Need a Living Wage Now!

I hope you like these offerings, and I hope to see you Tuesday!

Best,

Matt Rothschild
Executive Director
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

***

P.S. Please support our urgent work with a tax-deductible donation today. It’s easy: Just click here.

"And holy mackerel, folks, after five long decades, history has been made and the “Bucks in Six” prophecy fulfilled because of our Milwaukee Bucks—our NBA Champions," says Governor.

MILWAUKEE — Gov. Tony Evers today delivered the Democratic Radio Address congratulating the Milwaukee Bucks on their incredible National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals game six win Tuesday evening, securing the NBA Championship. The Bucks came back to win the series after trailing 2-0 in the series, and it is the Bucks’ first NBA Championship title in 50 years since they last won in 1971.

Additionally, the governor also declared today, Thurs., July 22, 2021, as “Bucks in Six” Day in Wisconsin.

Audio file of Radio Address.

Hey, Wisconsin! It’s Governor Tony Evers.

And holy mackerel, folks, after five long decades, history has been made and the “Bucks in Six” prophecy fulfilled because of our Milwaukee Bucks—our NBA Champions.

This is the Bucks’ first NBA finals win in 50 years—a historic and well-deserved win for this team and Milwaukee.

But this victory means more for our state than just a win for the record books.

It’s been a difficult year for all of us, and we’ve faced unprecedented challenges, but we’ve all watched the Bucks and these players—their charm, humor, eccentricity, resilience, and grit—who have been a source of hope, unity, and happiness when we’ve needed it the most.

Tuesday’s victory encapsulates the spirit of this team and the strength, resilience, unity, and pride of these players, the Bucks, the city of Milwaukee, and our state.

Today, Wisconsinites and Bucks fans everywhere celebrate the Bucks’ remarkable season and historic win in the 2021 NBA Finals.

And on behalf of the entire state of Wisconsin, I would just like to say... Bucks in six!

MADISON - I went to Plover this Saturday to give a talk on the grave risk of authoritarianism that we’re facing, and I wanted to share it with you:

Overcoming Authoritarianism

A few days later, I heard Joe Biden give a tremendous speech on the same subject, and I wrote about that here:

Joe Biden’s Great Speech

I must have been in the mood for praising this week because I also hailed Gov. Evers for vetoing that horrible GOP bill on local redistricting. Here’s what I wrote:

Evers Thankfully Vetoes Delay in Local Redistricting

I hope you like this week’s offerings, and have a nice weekend!

Best,

Matt Rothschild
Executive Director
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

***

P.S. Please support our urgent work with a tax-deductible donation. Just click here!

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers delivered the Democratic Radio Address on Thursday highlighting the signing of the 2021-23 budget last week, which included one of the largest tax cuts in Wisconsin state history and the governor’s announcement to provide more than $100 million in new funding for our kids and schools.

Audio file of Radio Address.

Hey, Wisconsin! Governor Tony Evers here.

Last week, I signed the 2021-23 biennial budget. Even before signing this budget, I’d signed into law $2 billion in cumulative tax relief for Wisconsin families and businesses.

But when I ran for governor in 2018, I made a promise to you that I'd cut taxes for Wisconsin’s middle-class families by 10 percent.

Well, last week, I kept that promise and signed a bipartisan budget delivering one of the largest tax cuts in Wisconsin state history. That means I’m newly providing tax relief to more than 1.6 million Wisconsinites across our state.

Now, folks, investing in our schools and cutting taxes are not mutually exclusive—and this budget does some of both.

I’m proud that after years of failing to deliver on their promises, Republicans in the Legislature have decided to join me in restoring our state’s commitment to two-thirds funding for our schools.

This is the first time in two decades that we will finally be hitting that mark.

At the end of the day, vetoing this budget in its entirety would have meant not only jeopardizing these investments, but also causing our kids and our schools to lose $2.3 billion in federal funds when they need it most.

I’ve always said what’s best for our kids is what’s best for our state. That's why I also announced last week when I signed the budget that I’m directing more than $100 million in federal funding to our kids and schools at a critical point in our state’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

This investment is a critical step in supporting our kids and schools and ensuring our state and economy can continue to recover.

This budget leaves much unfinished business, and there is, as always, more work to do.

It’s time to get to work, folks. And I hope you’ll join me.

Thank you.

MILWAUKEE - We continue to discuss the fundamental failings of the Legislature’s State Budget, which at the time of recording, was awaiting Gov. Evers’ action. We look at the latest vaccination rates in Wisconsin and remind listeners that Wisconsin still has low rates of vaccination in many areas and demographics that must be addressed if we are going to put the pandemic beyond us. We educate our listeners about the new federal child tax credit and its importance in reducing poverty and stimulating the economy in every community and discuss Senator QAnon Ron Johnson calling climate change science Bull**it. We review a Wisconsin Examiner story about the Kenosha Police’s friendly attitude towards armed militias during the Jacob Blake protests and how Republicans are trying to make “law and order” the top issue in midterm elections.

Listen Now – Episode #500
Download Mp3
Press Clips

National grassroots volunteer organization to end gerrymandering says Bill would have delayed local-level redistricting.

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Governor Tony Evers vetoed AB 369, a bill that would have delayed until 2023 the implementation of new districts for counties and municipalities. The bill passed the state legislature in a party-line vote last month.

“Governor Evers has taken an important stand against gerrymandering by vetoing AB 369. The maps drawn ten years ago in Wisconsin were among the most gerrymandered in the country -- and we continue to see the effects,” said All On The Line Wisconsin State Director Elizabeth Treviño.

“Keeping the existing maps for another election cycle -- despite new Census data that demonstrates the districts no longer have equal numbers of residents -- would prevent Wisconsinites from having fair representation at the county and municipal levels. The COVID-19 pandemic and 2020 Census data delay should not be used as a pretext to delay redistricting at any level,” Treviño continued.

###

All On The Line
All On The Line is on a mission to end gerrymandering because it contributes to the polarization and dysfunction in our political system. Since launching in 2019, we’ve built a grassroots volunteer organization ahead of the 2021 redistricting process. This work includes launching Redistricting U, a national, in-person training program designed to give individuals the knowledge, skills, and tools to take action on redistricting, a program that is now offered virtually. All On The Line is the grassroots campaign of the National Redistricting Action Fund, a 501(c)(4) affiliate of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee. For more information please visit: https://www.allontheline.org/

Democratic Governors' Association recaps Wisconsin 2021-23 budget press coverage.

WASHINGTON, DC - Yesterday, Gov. Tony Evers signed a budget that will continue to support Wisconsin’s economic recovery. The budget invests an additional $685 million in public education, restoring the state’s funding commitment for the first time in two decades. Additionally, the budget includes one of the largest tax cuts in the state’s history — together with previous reductions, Gov. Evers is cutting middle-class income taxes by 15 percent. The budget also makes critical investments in infrastructure, broadband, and health care services.

Gov. Evers said, “I made a promise when I ran for governor—I promised I would cut taxes for middle-class families by 10  percent. Today, I am keeping my word. This morning, I’m providing more than $2 billion in tax relief and cutting taxes for middle-class families at a time when our economy and families need it most.”

See below for coverage highlights on Evers’ signing of the budget in Wisconsin. 

WBAY: Evers signs state budget with one of largest tax cuts in state history

Gov. Tony Evers has signed the $87 billion state budget passed by the legislature that includes a large tax cut for the middle class.

The governor is making stops across the state, starting with a visit to Cumberland Elementary School in Whitefish Bay where he is signing the 2021-2023 spending plan.

The budget includes a 10 percent tax cut for the middle class and $2 billion in tax relief.

“I made a promise when I ran for governor—I promised I would cut taxes for middle-class families by 10 percent. Today, I am keeping my word,” Gov. Evers said. “This morning, I’m providing more than $2 billion in tax relief and cutting taxes for middle-class families at a time when our economy and families need it most.”

The budget includes $685 million in school spending. Wisconsin will hit the mark of two-thirds funding for schools for the first time in 20 years.

The budget will allow the state to receive $100 million in federal funds for schools and children.

[...]

Wisconsin State Journal: Tony Evers signs Republican-authored state budget with billions in income tax cuts

Gov. Tony Evers on Thursday said he planned to sign the Republican-authored state budget, heralding the more than $2 billion in income tax cuts that it provides and vowing to provide an additional $100 million in federal money for the state's schools on top of what the GOP provided.

The budget will bring down the income tax rate from 6.27% to 5.3% for income between about $24,000 and $263,000 a year for individuals, or between $32,000 and $351,000 for married filers. All told, Republicans say the plan would save taxpayers about $2.7 billion over the two-year period.

Talking to reporters at Cumberland Elementary in Whitefish Bay, Evers said though the GOP budget didn't go far enough in spending on schools, vetoing the budget in full was not an option when thinking about the state's kids.

[...]

Associated Press: Wisconsin Gov. Evers Signs GOP-Written State Budget With $2 Billion Tax Cut

Gov. Tony Evers signed the Republican-written state budget Thursday, enacting a two-year spending plan that includes a $2 billion income tax cut while making 50 partial vetoes.

Evers, a Democrat who is running for reelection next year, cast the tax cut as a bipartisan effort even though the plan was added to the budget by Republican lawmakers.

“I could have vetoed that," Evers said at a signing ceremony at a suburban Milwaukee elementary school. "I made a promise to the taxpayers, to the state we would reduce middle class taxes by 10% and we did 15%. It is a bipartisan effort.”

The average person earning $61,000 a year will see an income tax cut of $488 this tax year and $975 over next two years, state Revenue Secretary Peter Barca said.

[...]

WMTV: Evers signs new budget; touts $2 billion tax cut

Gov. Tony Evers signed the new $87 billion biennial state budget , which will fund the government for the next two years, but not before making some changes first.

Appearing at an elementary school in Whitefish Bay Thursday morning, Evers touted the state’s recovery effort from the coronavirus pandemic, an unemployment rate he described as one of the lowest in the nation, and a $2.9 billion budget surplus before going on to say he will sign the budget bill overall, making some line-item vetoes.

Evers used the announcement to highlight a tax cut that his administration says will cut taxes for middle-class families by 10 percent. The governor recounted promising a tax cut for middle income earners, saying, “Today I’m keeping my word. I’m signing one of the largest tax cuts in history.”

“I made a promise when I ran for governor—I promised I would cut taxes for middle-class families by 10 percent. Today, I am keeping my word,” Evers continued. The Evers Administration estimates the legislation will provide approximately $2 billion in individual income tax relief over the next two years and another $1 billion in savings past that.

[...]

These Republican bills make it harder to vote and need to be stopped.

MADISON - I was away hiking and birdwatching in Wyoming for a week only to return to the circus that has become the Republican Party of Wisconsin.

Robin Vos, after dutifully carrying water for every corporate interest in the state for years now, and after placating his far right base at every step, now finds himself under fire for not being sufficiently rightwing. I discuss that here:

Vos Isn’t Rightwing Enough?!?

I also noticed an excellent report that a couple good groups that we work closely with just put out on an important voting rights issue: the need to give the inmates in Wisconsin jails their opportunity to cast a ballot. You can check out my summary here:

Facilitate Voting for Inmates in Wisconsin Jails

Meanwhile, our research staff uncovered some of the special interests behind a few bills in the legislature.

One was a tax break for – who else? – business:

Special Interests Pushing Hard for $200M Business Tax Cut

Another was to prevent people from suing businesses responsible for PFAS contamination:

WMC Behind GOP Bill to Shield Business from PFAS Lawsuits

And still another was a last minute change by the Milwaukee Police Association on the use-of-force legislation:

GOP Assembly Changes Police Use-of-Force Bill At Contributor’s Behest

As you can see, we follow the money, and it’s not always pretty.

I hope you have a nice holiday weekend, despite all the corruption and the craziness around us.

Best,

Matt Rothschild
Executive Director
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

*****

P.S. And if you like what we do, please send us a tax-deductible donation by clicking here.