MILWAUKEE - Sen. Ron Johnson gushed bizarre conspiracy theories during a closely followed Senate hearing on the Capital insurrection, bringing national shame to himself and the Badger State he purports to represent. Is our senior senator off his rocker, or is he making a cynical ploy for the voters of wannabe authoritarian Donald Trump?

State Representative Supreme Moore-Omokunde joins us to discuss a new dump of voter suppression bills by legislative Republicans. Has the GOP given up on democracy and majority rule? Claire details the on-going racial inequity in the distribution of COVID vaccines nationally and in Wisconsin. Do politicians have the courage to insist on a just vaccine distribution or is it more business as usual?

A new unemployment bill with a poison pill moves in the Legislature and the fight for a $15/hour minimum wage takes center stage in Congressional COVID relief.

Listen Now – Episode #481
Download Mp3
Press Clips

MADISON - I really liked Gov. Evers’s budget, and the way he talked about it, as I explain here:

Praise for Governor Evers’s Budget

If you liked it too, please write to your legislators and let them know the parts of his budget that are most important to you. Here’s some info on how you contact your legislators:

https://www.wisdc.org/get-involved/contact-your-legislator

Over the past few days, we’ve been busy following some money trails. One involves those bogus GOP “electors” who tried to present themselves as the real Wisconsin electors to the Electoral College. Here are the donations they’ve given to candidates in Wisconsin:

Accused GOP Electors Contributed Nearly $14K to State Candidates

And in a story that we broke at the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, Scott Fitzgerald, while he was Majority Leader in the State Senate, reached a settlement with the Wisconsin Ethics Committee for taking in contributions above the legal limit. And another campaign committee that he ran for Wisconsin candidates also had violations that it settled:

Fitzgerald Cited for Campaign Violation But Doesn't Pay Penalty

We also updated all the spending by PACs in last year’s elections. Here’s a handy little table of the spenders, from biggest to smallest:

Independent Expenditure Totals Fall 2020

As you can see, we’ve been keeping tabs!

I hope you find this information useful, and enjoy the warmer weather this weekend.

Best,

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

P.S. Donating is easy. Just click here. Or donate the old-fashioned way by sending a check to us at 203 S. Paterson St, Suite 100, Madison WI 53703. We really appreciate it!

MILWAUKEE - We discuss the bold two year state budget released this week by Governor Evers which includes major healthcare proposals like a BadgerCare Public Option, Climate reforms, and other major progressive policies. Does the Governor’s move towards the progressive wing of the Democratic Party show the power of public mobilization and organizing? We review Sen. QAnon Ron Johnson’s shameful week denying the armed insurrection on January 6. Is our wayward Senator hell bent on making himself a national laughing stock? Switching to the Biden Administration, we discuss a very important opportunity for progressives to pass an increase in the minimum wage to $15 in the next COVID relief bill. Finally, a new study released Thursday found the U.S. lost a whole year of life expectancy in 2020.

Listen Now – Episode #480
Download Mp3
Press Clips

We must have a strong sense of community and watch out for our neighbors to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, says Madison area Senator. Wear a mask to keep our communities safe and schools open.

MADISON - This past year has been tumultuous to say the least. We’ve missed out on time spent with friends and family, community events, festivals, and other social gatherings. It’s been difficult and challenging, but we have been resilient. While the vaccine offers a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel, we still must work together to avoid more preventable deaths from COVID-19.

That’s the key. Working together as a team to continue wearing masks and social distancing to curb the spread of this virus.

For the last year, Governor Evers and the Department of Health Services have listened to the advice of health and science experts to pragmatically and calmly guide our state through this public health crisis.

What was he met with? Constant Republican obstruction and lawsuits to undermine those efforts. Think about that for a second. Republicans sued the Governor over something that has been scientifically proven to save lives. All while having no plan of their own to protect the health and wellbeing of Wisconsinites.

We need to be on the same team when it comes to fighting this virus. But at the end of the day, we have to ask, what team are the Republicans playing for?

Almost a full year later and the Republican led legislature is pushing for legislation that prioritizes political interests rather than protect communities from the virus. Over 6,000 Wisconsinites have died, there’s a more contagious variant of the virus in the state and yet Republicans are fixated on eliminating a safety measure that could save lives.

Their actions will only prolong this crisis and lead to more preventable deaths.

Here in Wisconsin, we have a strong sense of community and watching out for our neighbors and this moment is a call to action. Now more than ever, we can and must wear a mask to keep our communities, schools and businesses a safe place to be and to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

Let’s all do our part to beat this. Mask up, Wisconsin.

****

Jon Erpenbach represents the 27th Senate District which covers Sauk, Dane, Iowa, Columbia and Green County.

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers Thursday delivered the Democratic Radio Address on his Badger Bounceback plan to help families, businesses, and the state bounce back and better from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Audio file of radio address.

Hello, Wisconsin. Governor Tony Evers here.

Right now Wisconsin is at a critical point in time. With COVID-19 affecting our state and the world, we have to face the problems this pandemic has brought to the forefront and not only put this virus behind us, but get beyond the pandemic so that we can move our state forward.

That is what my 2021-23 biennial budget proposal is all about. It provides the blueprint to ensure our state can bounce back and better than before.

And that starts by making unprecedented investments in the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation to help support our small businesses and economic development in our state.

Our Badger Bounceback plan makes a larger state investment into the WEDC than in the past three budgets combined. We’re putting $200 million into helping small businesses affected by the pandemic--including helping them retain and rehire the jobs they’ve lost. And we’re investing $100 million into a venture capital program to jumpstart innovation and startups in Wisconsin.

I was also proud today to sign AB 2 into law which will provide about $450 million in tax relief for Wisconsin businesses and $30 million in relief for Wisconsin’s low-income families.

After the year we’ve been through, we aren’t going to apologize for wanting more for each other—for our neighbors, for our kids, our parents and grandparents, and our state’s future.

Our Badger Bounceback agenda has bold solutions to address the urgent crisis we face, while investing in the future we want to build for our state, and many of our proposals have bipartisan support!

Let’s go forward together, let’s bounce back together, and let’s get this done. Thank you.

MADISON - Next Tuesday, we have an election for state school superintendent, and we’ve examined the money that’s been flowing into the race.

Here’s our report on the biggest individual contributors to the candidates:

Top Contributors in 2021 to the Candidates for State School Superintendent

And here’s our report on the special interest groups that are throwing around in that contest and in the special elections:

Special Interest Group Spending Tops $300K in Spring Races

This week, we also came up with a final tally on the record-breaking amount of money that was spent in the legislative races here in Wisconsin last year:

2020 Legislative Races Cost Record-Smashing $53.9M+

Today, my colleague Beverly Speer and I met with State Sen. Melissa Agard (formerly Sargent) to work on bills to limit this big money in our politics and to empower everyday Wisconsinites.

We all need to have an equal voice in our democracy!

Best,

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

*****

P.S. I hope you’ll support the urgent work we do here for a full democracy. Donating is easy. Just click here.
Or donate the old-fashioned way by sending a check to us at
203 S Paterson St, Ste 100, Madison WI 53703. We really appreciate it!

MADISON - Gov. Tony Evers today delivered the Democratic Radio Address on his announcement that his 2021-23 biennial budget will include major investments in childcare for kids and families and in caregiving for aging and older adults and individuals with disabilities to help support Wisconsin families and caregivers, and ensure high-quality care for Wisconsin's most vulnerable residents.

Audio file of radio address. 

Hi everyone, Governor Tony Evers here.

This past week I announced my 2021-2023 budget proposal will include hundreds of millions in investments supporting Wisconsin's kids, families, and caregivers.

Caring for our loved ones—from our kids to aging and older adults—should be affordable and accessible to every family, whether it’s having childcare so you can go to work or taking care of your kid, parent, or grandparent.

Even before the pandemic laid bare the issues we face as a state, we knew lack of access and affordability in the systems we use to support the people we care about was a major hurdle for families.

That's why I announced that my budget will build on the work of our Task Force on Caregiving by investing more than $600 million in Wisconsin's long-term care infrastructure, the direct care workforce, and family caregivers—to ensure that all Wisconsinites who depend on caregivers have access to affordable, quality care that allows them to live in dignity and respect, and that the folks providing that care are supported. 

And to ensure that every Wisconsin kid is taken care of, I am proposing directing $140 million over the biennium toward a new program to continue to address quality, affordability, and access, as well as equity within the childcare industry.

Investing in childcare, and caregiving and long-term care is as much a moral issue as it is an economic one. 

We have to do more to make sure families have quality, affordable childcare, that we're strengthening out caregiving workforce, and investing in long-term care, as these areas will be critical to our state's economic recovery. 

Thank you.

MILWAUKEE - During the tenth anniversary of Act 10, we consider its legacy, what it says about the ruthlessness of modern conservatism, and the continuing ramifications of historic protests it sparked. We dig into a number of major state and federal issues, including the latest attacks on the mask mandate, a bill in Congress that would supercharge the ACA, and Governor Evers pre-budget announcements on BadgerCare Expansion, Marijuana Legalization, and Prescription Drug reform. Do these initiatives bode well for a more progressive state budget? We look at some huge federal issues in the heady early days of the Biden Administration, including COVID relief, impeachment, and protecting the housing rights of the LGBTQ community.

Finally we raise concerns about the wave of anti-Asian violence in the U.S. sparked by right-wing rhetoric, and a rogue ICE which is flaunting President Biden’s executive orders and continues to follow Trump’s immoral deportation policies.

Listen Now – Episode #479
Download Mp3
Press Clips

Rhinelander, WI - I am supporting Sheila Briggs for WI State Superintendent because she has plentiful experience at various levels of 4K-12 education. Throughout her career, she has taken up the challenge of working with equity in the forefront often in an environment that is resistant to change.

Sheila helped develop Wisconsin's Educator Effectiveness program that I, as a teacher in Tennessee, am jealous of. I’m evaluated off of a standardized rubric and student test scores including students I don’t even teach. I wish I were evaluated by a program, like Wisconsin’s, that treats educators as professionals.

Furthermore, Sheila’s skills and humility will enable her to continue connecting and growing leaders amongst WI’s students and educators in her work to support all students, their families, and communities across the state.

As a teacher’s kid, I swore I would never be a teacher myself. I was dismayed by the realities of a system that seemed to work for so few. After two summers working on Sheila’s teams at the Department of Public Instruction, I have hope for the future of education. Wisconsin deserves a State Superintendent, like Sheila Briggs, that is flexible, practical, and an unapologetic champion for social justice. Join me in supporting Sheila on February 16th.

Lindsey Lieck, Rhinelander

MILWAUKEE - Progressives have more influence in the Joe Biden’s Washington than we have had since the 1960s, but are we prepared to translate our outside power into the governing power we need to win bold reform? In this special edition of Battleground Wisconsin, we discuss how the progressive movement must evolve to meet our moment with two national organizing strategists, George Goehl, the Director of People’s Action and Bree Carlson, the Deputy Director of People’s Action.

Listen Now – Episode #478
Download Mp3
Press Clips