Wisconsin Democrats Offer A Badger State Focused Agenda

Madison, Wis. -- The Democratic Party of Wisconsin’s state convention is putting a spotlight on Ron Johnson’s failure to represent the Badger state as he continues to vote against his constituents best interests.

“Ron Johnson is the most vulnerable Senator in the country because he has continuously put his self-interests ahead of the needs of Wisconsinites,” Democratic Party of Wisconsin Senate Communications Advisor Philip Shulman said. “As Wisconsin families were struggling to pay their bills, Johnson voted against critical COVID relief in the American Rescue Plan. And now he’s working overtime to kill the US Innovation and Competition Act -- legislation that would invest in the state’s communities and create good paying jobs while holding China accountable for their unjust cybersecurity and economic practices. Wisconsinites are more than ready to deny Johnson another six years of his self-serving agenda.”

Background:

• Johnson is just one of a handful of senators opposing the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, which would allocate billions of dollars for the manufacturing sector and technical training, an investment Wisconsin could use to create good paying jobs and support local economies, as well as hold China accountable for their unfair cybersecurity and economic practices and.
  • Johnson voted against, blocked the passage of, and just yesterday said "I'd personally like to see the bill killed.”
• Johnson voted against the American Rescue Plan, standing against much needed support for small businesses, aid for Wisconsinites struggling to pay their bills due to the pandemic, and bolstering communities fighting to rebuild their economies.
• Johnson has repeatedly tried to strip health care coverage from roughly 185,000 Wisconsinites and take away critical protections for nearly 900,000 Wisconsinites with pre-existing conditions.
• Johnson cast the deciding vote on the GOP’s 2017 tax bill—which drove up the deficit by nearly $2 trillion in exchange for billions in tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy and giant corporations—and he even fought to amend the bill to include a special tax break for companies like the one he owned.

WASHINGTON, DC - For someone who says he wants to drain the swamp, Rep. Mike Gallagher is knee-deep in the mud after violating House ethics rules by reimbursing his official Congressional staffer for non-travel-related campaign expenses.

Between August 2019 and December 2020, the likely WI GOP candidate for governor reimbursed a staffer for $1,147 in campaign expenses.

Gallagher's campaign reimbursed the aide for $243 in catering expenses at The Capitol Hill Club, a GOP dining establishment that serves the “nation’s most influential people.” The reimbursement also included $278 for meeting expenses at The Brig, a Washington, D.C. beer garden.

Congressional staffers are forbidden from making contributions to their bosses’ campaigns, even if promptly reimbursed. The Gallagher campaign’s suspicious spending is nothing new for the GOP. In 2019, Republican Rep. Bill Huizenga of Michigan was exposed for similar payments from staff.

Gallagher is “all talk and just a typical Washington politician,” said Elena Kuhn, a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokeswoman. “Gallagher must explain to Wisconsinites why his taxpayer-funded congressional staff are focused on illegally footing the bill for meals at exclusive D.C. political clubs.”

Read more about Rep. Gallagher’s shady ethics violations below: 

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bice: U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher says staffer erred by picking up $565 in campaign expenses

Oops.

U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher has been all about draining the swamp and changing the way members of Congress do business. 

But the Allouez Republican's campaign may have violated a longstanding House ethics rule by reimbursing his chief of staff for covering various non-travel-related expenses — including catering, meeting and shipping costs — between August 2019 and December 2020. In all, the Gallagher aide paid for and was later reimbursed for $1,147 in expenses by the Gallagher campaign, including $565 in campaign costs unrelated to travel. 

That's pretty small change, but congressional staffers are generally forbidden from making contributions to the campaigns of their boss, even if the staffers are promptly reimbursed. 

Other members of Congress, including former Republican Rep. Jimmy Duncan of Tennessee and Republican Rep. Bill Huizenga of Michigan, have come under fire for similar payments from staff.

Told of the payments, Elena Kuhn, spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said they show Gallagher is "all talk and just a typical Washington politician."

"Gallagher must explain to Wisconsinites why his taxpayer-funded congressional staff are focused on illegally footing the bill for meals at exclusive D.C. political clubs,” Kuhn said. 

Jordan Dunn, a spokesman for Gallagher, acknowledged the mistake.

"Upon realizing that a small number of campaign outlays were made by a staff member in error and reimbursed by the campaign, actions were taken to correct the matter immediately," Dunn said. "This was inadvertent and steps have been taken to ensure that these errors do not occur again."

Federal election records show that Gallagher's campaign reimbursed Taylor Andreae after he paid $243 for catering expenses at The Capitol Hill Club and $278 for meeting expenses at The Brig on Dec. 17, 2020. Andreae has been Gallagher's top congressional aide since November 2018. 

The Capitol Hill Club is a GOP dining establishment that counts the “nation’s most influential people” as its members, according to The Associated Press. The Brig is a Washington, D.C., beer garden that serves Bavarian fare and offers German and local drafts. 

Andreae was also reimbursed after picking up $44 for mailing expenses at FedEx, and an Uber and a cab ride earlier in the year. 

Gallagher officials said those reimbursements were made in error and steps were taken to make sure they did not recur. For example, once Gallagher officials were told of the Capitol Hill Club charge, the campaign updated the credit card on file so Andreae would not be charged in the future.

Andreae was also reimbursed $582 for travel costs by the Gallagher campaign during late 2019. Gallagher said it believes those payments are permissible under House ethics rules.

Ron Johnson Makes Clear He Will Continue to Do What’s Best for Himself, Not Wisconsin.

Madison, Wis. -- At Thursday’s Milwaukee Press Club event, a combative Ron Johnson lashed out at reporters and doubled down on his anti-Wisconsin legislative agenda. Johnson made clear that he will continue to use his perch in the Senate to serve himself and not the Wisconsinites he was elected to represent.

“Ron Johnson has become a creature of Washington. At every step, he does what’s best for him, and ignores the Wisconsinites he was elected to represent,” Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler said. “As Wisconsinites work to recover from the pandemic, Johnson continues to vote against legislation that would help the state’s families and economy.”

Key Takeaways:

• Johnson kicked off the event by reiterating his desire to kill the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, which would allocate billions of dollars for the manufacturing sector and technical training, an investment Wisconsin could use to create good paying jobs and support local communities, as well as hold China accountable for their unfair cyber security and economic practices.
• Johnson doubled down on his opposition to the COVID-19 relief Wisconsinites received that helped them pay their bills and put food on the table during the worst days of the pandemic.
• Johnson stood by his previous comments falsely stating masks are ineffective in combating the spread of COVID-19, as well as arguing against the need for Wisconsinites to get vaccinated.
• Johnson made it clear he is going to continue playing political games with the much needed infrastructure bill that would fix Wisconsin’s roads and bridges, provide broadband to rural communities, and get Wisconsinites back to work.

Every single Republican member of Congress voted against the American Rescue Plan (ARP), and voters noticed.

Even Conservatives Criticize Robin Vos. “The Robin Vos’s of the party are the ones killing democracy.”

MADISON, Wis. -- On MSNBC yesterday, conservative commentators Charlie Sykes and Michael Steele had a few words for Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and his democracy-killing investigation into the 2020 election. Just days after the Associated Press reported Wisconsin only saw 27 possible cases of voter fraud out of 3 million votes (a rate of about 0.0009%), Vos announced he was leading an investigation into the 2020 election, with no regard for the cost to taxpayers.

Sykes and Steele went after Vos for damaging our democracy and undermining confidence in our elections, all to get attention and rile up his base. Bulwark editor Charlie Sykes said of Vos, “He thinks he needs to throw some chum to the base, and that’s what he’s doing. [...] This is one of those cases where guys like Robin Vos know exactly what happened here, and yet he’s going to feed the beast.”

Sykes also took aim at Republican-led state legislatures across the country, including Wisconsin, who are passing voter suppression laws under the guise of integrity. Wisconsin Republicans recently passed several laws limiting absentee voting, sparking backlash from the disability community, and have introduced at least fourteen bills overall seeking to undermine voter rights.

Sykes said, “That is what Republican politics is all about - passing legislation under the assumption that the election was stolen. [...] The damage this has done to our confidence in American democracy is profound and it’s going to be very long lasting.” MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace added, “The Robin Vos’s of the party are the ones killing democracy.”

Former RNC Chairman Michael Steele called Vos’s pursuit of the Big Lie and his investigation a “political machination to get Democrats” rather than an actual policy goal.

In addition to attacks from conservatives, Vos was also roundly criticized in the Washington Post by analyst Philip Bump, who said, “This is the wrong approach for uprooting the false belief that the November election was tainted in any significant way by fraud, or that elections in general were fraudulent. In fact, all it will do is reinforce those concerns, making them harder to address in the future.”

Watch the full clip from MSNBC here.

Journal Sentinel: “Vos said he didn't know how much the taxpayer-funded investigation would cost.”

MADISON, Wis. -- Just days after the Associated Press reported Wisconsin only saw 27 possible cases of voter fraud out of 3 million votes (a rate of about 0.0009%), Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos announced he was leading an investigation into the 2020 election, with no regard for the cost to taxpayers.

Wisconsin Republicans are following the lead of Republicans in states like Florida and Arizona, who are also wasting everyone’s time and money by authorizing sham investigations into the results of the presidential election. A recount, a report from Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security, and countless rulings by conservative-majority courts in Wisconsin proved that the 2020 Wisconsin election was secure time and again.

“Republicans won’t fund health care, schools, or infrastructure, but they will authorize funds to desperately try and prove conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. What a ridiculous waste of the legislature’s time and money,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin Rapid Response Director Kayla Anderson. “This fishing expedition won’t teach us anything we don’t already know - the 2020 election was secure, and Joe Biden is our legitimately elected president, period. Wisconsinites do not want Republicans to waste their money on this ‘investigation’ - they want the state legislature to finally expand BadgerCare and work with Governor Evers to make sure Wisconsin bounces back.”

“Continued state investments and the American Jobs Plan are needed to spur transformational change and create more opportunity for everyone.”

MADISON, Wis. -- In a joint op-ed, Governors Evers and Whitmer urged Congress to pass President Biden’s American Jobs Plan to help Wisconsin and Michigan bounce back from the pandemic. While both governors have made historic state investments in infrastructure, additional federal support will help Wisconsin and Michigan reach their full potential.

Gov. Evers has made infrastructure a top priority of his administration - investing the largest amount in transportation infrastructure in a generation, and the largest amount in broadband in state history. And as part of the historic American Rescue Plan signed into law by President Biden earlier this year, Gov. Evers has secured $100 million in federal funding to award grants for expanding broadband internet access across Wisconsin.

But those investments are just the beginning. The American Jobs Plan will invest more in families, small businesses, workers, and communities and give Wisconsin the opportunity to bounce back even better than before the pandemic.

Read the governors’ op-ed below.

Newsweek: State Infrastructure Will Grow Stronger With American Jobs Plan

Fixing the damn roads. It's a promise we both made to both Michigan and Wisconsin when we were running for governor in 2018 and one that we're already working to fulfill with increased funding and innovation in our states. But years of neglect means fixing our roads and other outdated infrastructure can't happen overnight and it can't happen without serious federal support. As we work to bounce back from this pandemic, continued state investments and the American Jobs Plan are needed to spur transformational change and create more opportunity for everyone.

Over the past two years, both Michigan and Wisconsin have prioritized infrastructure. Wisconsin's 2019-21 budget included the largest investment in transportation infrastructure in a generation: $465 million for road projects. During the pandemic, hundreds of projects have moved forward—some even under budget and ahead of schedule. In Michigan, a new $3.5 billion road bonding plan is supporting investments in 122 major new projects across the state—without an increase at the pump. This investment will create thousands of good-paying construction jobs, keep drivers safe and save Michigan money in the long run.

And we're not just focusing on roads and bridges. In Wisconsin, the second budget in a row includes what will be the state's largest-ever broadband investment. In Michigan, the second budget in a row includes the largest investment in K-12 education in state history without raising taxes. And both states are taking critical action to rebuild and protect drinking water infrastructure, including the removal of lead service lines to make sure every family has clean, safe water at their tap, a goal replicated at the national level by the American Jobs Plan. We're also making sure investments are spread across our states, improving opportunity regardless of who you are or your zip code.

The progress we're already making is helping connect our communities and create greater economic opportunities in our states. But these projects are just the beginning. If we're serious about bouncing back from this pandemic, it's never been more important for us to make real investments in our future. Investing in infrastructure primes economic growth by connecting families and businesses virtually and physically with the rest of the world, and will help create good-paying jobs for American workers.

That's why it's time to pass the American Jobs Plan. We've made tremendous progress in our states, but transformational change is going to require a partnership with the federal government. The American Jobs Plan will put Americans back to work and lay the foundation to strengthen our economy and compete at a global scale.

This isn't only about creating new opportunity in Michigan and Wisconsin. Here's what the American Jobs Plan would mean across the country: 20,000 miles of highways and roads will be updated, failing bridges will be repaired or replaced and long-overdue upgrades to ports, airports and transit systems will finally happen. The plan commits to eliminating all lead pipes and service lines and bringing reliable broadband to every American, including 35 million rural Americans who currently lack access.

In Wisconsin and Michigan, we're proving every day that progress on infrastructure is possible, even during an unprecedented pandemic and in states with governors and legislatures from different parties. We can't afford to slow down now. Our continued investments, coupled with the American Jobs Plan, will give our families, workers, small businesses and communities the tools they need to come back from this pandemic stronger than ever before. Let's make sure we don't miss this opportunity.

Gallagher voted against the bipartisan commission solely for the sake of politics, say Dems.

MADISON, Wis. -- Last week, John Nichols, associate editor of the Cap Times, wrote a scathing op-ed on Rep. Mike Gallagher’s cowardly decision to vote against a bipartisan commission to investigate the deadly January 6th insurrection.

No matter how he tries to spin it, Gallagher voted against the bipartisan commission solely for the sake of politics. Republicans fear the commission will draw more attention to their role in instigating the violence and spreading lies about democracy, as well as anger Donald Trump and his base. And as Gallagher is rumored to be seeking higher office, he’s abandoned all sense of political courage in the hopes of cozying up to GOP leaders and donors - and avoiding the same fate as Liz Cheney.

Read Nichols’ op-ed below.

The Nation: Amid All the GOP’s Profiles in Political Cowardice, None Is More Stark Than That of Mike Gallagher

When House impeachment managers made the case for convicting former president Donald Trump on charges of inciting the January 6 insurrection, some of the most compelling arguments came from Republicans.

[...]

The star of the montage, and of a presentation by another manager, Texas Representative Joaquin Castro, was Wisconsin Representative Mike Gallagher, an ambitious young Republican who on January 6 used social media and a dramatic cable news appearance to speak directly to Trump. “Mr. President. You have got to stop this. You are the only person who can call this off. Call it off,” the congressman declared, in a video posted from his Capitol Hill office. “The election is over. Call it off. This is bigger than you. It is bigger than any member of Congress. It is about the United States of America, which is more important than any politician.” Later, Gallagher appeared on CNN, called the rioting “insane,” compared it to violence he’d seen in Iraq, and announced that “the President needs to call it off.”

Gallagher’s profile rose in the aftermath of the January 6 attack, as he told of how he had barricaded his House office and taken a Marine sword from the wall because “it seemed the most practical weapon with which I could defend myself, if it came to that.” Editorials hailed him for what was seen as a politically courageous rebuke to his own party’s president. Talk about Gallagher as a gubernatorial prospect, or a possible successor to US Senator Ron Johnson—should the conspiracy-theory peddling Republican choose to stand down in 2022—amplified in Wisconsin and nationally.

Here, it seemed, was a strong, sensible Republican with the political courage to stand up to Trump and steer the Republican Party away from the Big Lie.

Yet, four months after the attack, as the time nears for decisions about seeking higher office, Gallagher’s political courage has failed him.

On Wednesday, when the House voted on setting up a national commission to investigate the January 6 violence, dozens of Republicans joined Democrats in supporting the move.

[...]

Yet Gallagher opposed creating the commission, in a failure of political nerve that led “Never Trump” conservative commentator Charlie Sykes, a fellow Wisconsinite, to observe, “One-time rising stars continue to debase themselves.… Cowardice is contagious.”

For Gallagher, the vote for the commission should have been easy. He rejected the Big Lie on January 6 when, after calling out Trump, he voted to certify Electoral College results that made Joe Biden the nation’s 46th president. In the days that followed, as he was accepting accolades for his statements on the day of the attack, Gallagher supported calls for censuring Trump. “Let’s be candid,” he declared. “President Donald Trump bears responsibility for the tragic events of Jan. 6.” Gallagher did not support impeachment, arguing in a long and somewhat tortured statement that “it will simply feed a cycle of enmity and polarization, which is already spiraling further out of control, chilling speech and silencing debate. We must break that cycle, whatever the cost to our own careers and however unsatisfying to our own sense of anger and outrage.”

To address that enmity, Gallagher argued in that January statement, members of Congress needed to stop playing “fruitless games” and recognize, “It is a time for honesty.”

[...]

In January, Gallagher acknowledged that truth-seeking was necessary.

By May, things had changed. After the dismissal of Cheney made it clear that Trump and the Big Liars retained influence over who might rise or fall in the GOP, the politically ambitious representative voted to block a bipartisan inquiry.

If Mike Gallagher wants to know why the American people do not trust members of Congress, he need look no further than his own mirror.

Chippewa Nation representatives visit Capitol to celebrate relationships and cultures, and honor the past and the history of the land we live on.

MADISON - Today, President John Johnson Sr. of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa delivered the 17th State of the Tribes Address in the Wisconsin State Capitol. The address highlighted several issues that are important to the tribes in Wisconsin but also to the state overall. Senator Melissa Agard (D-Madison) released this statement following the address:

“Today the Wisconsin State Legislature had the privilege to welcome Wisconsin’s First Nations to the Capitol for the annual State of the Tribes Address. We honor our sovereign tribes as intergovernmental partners but also recognize that we occupy their land.

“The speech today highlighted many important topics: honoring and recognizing treaties, addressing systemic racism, and our natural resources. We must acknowledge that our Indigenous tribes were the first residents of our state and nation. Our Indigenous population has a deep history in the land that is now known as Wisconsin and has contributed greatly to the success of our state.

“We must learn from our state’s history and mistakes, in order to better move forward with compassion and service to others. Communication and understanding are vital in our ability to work together to create change and solutions that lift up members of our tribal nations, and all Wisconsinites. When Wisconsin’s tribal members do better, we all do better.

“Today, we celebrate relationships and cultures, and we recognize voices who have too often gone unheard. We must honor the past and the history of the land we live on–  and build the way towards our shared future.

“Although the State of the Tribes looked different this year with limited public access, I want to thank President John Johnson Sr. of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa for his powerful words. Additionally, I want to thank all those who were able to join us today to share their voices and to light the path forward for a better future.”

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/high-voltage-lines-farms-s5.jpg“Here is my bottom line: our state's economic recovery cannot wait, and Wisconsinites cannot afford for you to play politics.”