Progressive Thinking

As Republicans in Washington move to substitute their own Supreme Court pick under Trump for President Obama's, the very legitimacy of our democratic system is at stake. Stand up for the legitimacy of our Supreme Court.

MIDDLETON, WI - Barack Obama won the 2012 presidential election by approximately 5 million votes. Donald Trump lost the 2016 election by approximately 3 million.

So when Republicans block President Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court for nearly a year in order to install their own pick under Trump, they completely undermine the meaning and weight of the votes all those Americans cast.

And undermining the meaning of our votes undermines not just the legitimacy of President Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court -- but the very legitimacy of our democratic system itself.

Stand for the legitimacy of our Supreme Court and our democracy. Sign the LegitAction petition opposing President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee today.

Real signs are emerging that Republicans won’t be able to move past a filibuster (or eliminate the filibuster itself) if Democrats and Independents draw a line in the sand here. We need to show Democratic and Independent senators that we’ll have their backs if they stand for us.

Thank you for standing up for our democratic legitimacy,

Russ Feingold

“Corporations. Go heavy after them to give. Take Koch’s money. Get on a plane to Vegas and sit down with Sheldon Adelson. Ask for $1m now.” - The Guardian, September 14

MIDDLETON, WI - Nobody benefitted more from Citizens United than the Koch brothers and two Wisconsin Republicans: Governor Scott Walker and Senator Ron Johnson.

This we‌ek, a story published in The Guardian showed just how deep the corruption goes. The story cites multiple instances of pay-for-play governing, straight from Scott Walker's desk. Billionaires and corporations cut checks to dark money groups supporting Republicans, then Governor Walker turned around and pushed for legislation that'd make life easier for these billionaires and their businesses.

After the Supreme Court's lawless Citizens United decision, the Koch brothers set their sights on Wisconsin. The tea party wave in 20‌10 helped them scoop up the governor's mansion, their "model legislator" in Ron Johnson, and a state legislature ready to do their bidding. Through the offices of Scott Walker and Ron Johnson, they've attacked the rights of just about everyone in Wisconsin: public sector employees, women, students, people of color, and many more. They've even attacked the right to vote.

The Kochs chose Wisconsin as their battleground for a reason: We have a long history of progressivism, clean elections, and clean government. They knew that if they could buy politicians here, they could do it anywhere.

Since 2010, the Koch brothers have spent over $4‌4 million in Wisconsin to buy elections for Republicans who'd rig the political system in their favor. Governor Walker and my opponent, Senator Johnson, have repeatedly shown that they'll always side with their billionaire backers over the Wisconsinites they were elected to serve.

But come Nov‌ember, that's going to change. If we work together, we can win this election -- and that's just the beginning. We're going to take our democracy out of the hands of corporations, multimillionaires, and special interest groups and put it where it belongs: Back in the hands of the people.

MIDDLETON, WI - The opioid crisis is a tragedy that ravages our communities, and it should never be a partisan issue. Addiction is a disease that we have to address comprehensively – that means treatment, prevention, and education.

So I am encouraged that leaders like Sen. Tammy Baldwin are fighting for bipartisan solutions that prioritize treatment & recovery, expand access to naloxone, and seek to strengthen monitoring of prescription medications.

What we cannot do is repeat the failures of the war on drugs. We can’t wish the problem away. More of our leaders need to step up to work in a bipartisan manner to provide our communities with the resources that our families truly need in order to reach those afflicted by this crisis. This is a public health emergency and must be treated as such.

MIDDLETON, WI - Women have played an invaluable role in growing and strengthening Wisconsin’s economy; their hard work, dedication and ingenuity have built strong families, businesses and communities. Yet, women still lack the legal protection to guarantee the pay they deserve.

Equal Pay Day marks how far into the year women on average have to work to catch up to men’s earnings from the previous year. Women in Wisconsin still earn only 79 cents for every dollar a man earns, and we clearly have much more work to do to ensure that women and their families have every opportunity to succeed. We not only need equal pay legislation, but we must also raise the minimum wage, guarantee paid family leave, and ensure access to quality, affordable women’s healthcare -- including access to reproductive care.

Unlike my opponent, the incumbent senator, who believes that equal pay legislation does “more harm than good,” I firmly believe that we must do more to ensure that all of Wisconsin’s women are able to fight pay discrimination. All of the hardworking women in Wisconsin and across the country deserve the respect and dignity of their work.