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Indhold leveret af Brian Wooldridge. Alt podcastindhold inklusive episoder, grafik og podcastbeskrivelser uploades og leveres direkte af Brian Wooldridge eller deres podcastplatformspartner. Hvis du mener, at nogen bruger dit ophavsretligt beskyttede værk uden din tilladelse, kan du følge processen beskrevet her https://da.player.fm/legal.
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Data-powered Innovation Jam
1 The red and blue pills of Virtual Twins 40:51
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40:51Knock, knock, Neo. Think Agents are a thing of the future? Look again at the iconic movie, The Matrix—they've been hiding in plain sight. In the first episode of 2025, hosts Ron Tolido, Weiwei Feng, and Robert Engels venture down the digital rabbit hole of Virtual Twins with Morgan Zimmerman, CEO of NETVIBES at Dassault Systèmes. It’s a fascinating world where physical science meets data science, a world of both red and blue pills. Virtual Twins take the concept of Digital Twins to the next level, transforming static representations of products, devices, and systems into living, breathing "Dream Theaters" of simulations, predictions, and what-if scenarios. Fueled by AI and immersive technology, they don’t just capture life—they reimagine it. But what happens when Virtual Twins evolve to encompass entire organizations and industries? Imagine bending not just spoons, but entire realities. The Matrix has you—are you ready to see how deep the twin-powered innovation goes? You're in The Matrix ! Tune into our latest Data-powered Innovation Jam podcast episode now! Timestamps: 00:35 – Ron and Robert dive into the iconic world of The Matrix , drawing parallels to digital innovation. 04:55 – Morgan shares insights into Dassault Systèmes' legacy and the evolution of Virtual Twins. 10:00 – Exploring the connection between ontologies and their applications in the real world. 20:03 – How Digital Twins, Virtual Twins, and the Metaverse are transforming real-world use cases. 36:15 – Redefining interaction with the digital world in ways that feel natural yet futuristic. Connect with our guest Morgan Zimmermann and our hosts Ron Tolido , Robert Engels , and Weiwei Feng on LinkedIn.…
Battleground Wisconsin
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Indhold leveret af Brian Wooldridge. Alt podcastindhold inklusive episoder, grafik og podcastbeskrivelser uploades og leveres direkte af Brian Wooldridge eller deres podcastplatformspartner. Hvis du mener, at nogen bruger dit ophavsretligt beskyttede værk uden din tilladelse, kan du følge processen beskrevet her https://da.player.fm/legal.
Battleground Wisconsin is Citizen Action of Wisconsin’s weekly podcast that features the latest political news from the front lines in the embattled state of Wisconsin. The show features: · Robert Kraig, Executive Director, Citizen Action of Wisconsin · Matt Brusky, Deputy Director, Citizen Action of Wisconsin . Claire Zautke, Health Care for All Director
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523 episoder
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Manage series 18620
Indhold leveret af Brian Wooldridge. Alt podcastindhold inklusive episoder, grafik og podcastbeskrivelser uploades og leveres direkte af Brian Wooldridge eller deres podcastplatformspartner. Hvis du mener, at nogen bruger dit ophavsretligt beskyttede værk uden din tilladelse, kan du følge processen beskrevet her https://da.player.fm/legal.
Battleground Wisconsin is Citizen Action of Wisconsin’s weekly podcast that features the latest political news from the front lines in the embattled state of Wisconsin. The show features: · Robert Kraig, Executive Director, Citizen Action of Wisconsin · Matt Brusky, Deputy Director, Citizen Action of Wisconsin . Claire Zautke, Health Care for All Director
…
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523 episoder
Alle episoder
×1 The health of mothers, children and democracy 54:01
54:01
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54:01We continue to highlight that Boss Vos is blocking bi-partisan health care for children and mothers for the first year of the child’s life and is creating a wedge among Republican Legislators. Is this a foot in the door to more legislative independence from the powerful “boss” of the Assembly? We think it is an important fight that must be won or there will be more futility in the upcoming state budget and next legislative session despite new maps. We urge our listeners to call their state representatives immediately, especially Republicans. We preview the upcoming state budget battle on public education funding by revealing new data finding Wisconsin again has the widest disparity in US between Black and White reading scores following over a decade of state budgets failing to properly fund public schools, including the last state budget that gave away a historic increase to failed voucher schools. We encourage our listeners to sign up for an upcoming Citizen Acton lobby day at the state Capitol on March 4th. We highlight the mainstream media taking the bait on a fake Susan Crawford scandal hook, line, and sinker, with Wisconsin Public Radio’s awful headline leading the pack of poor coverage. We encourage our listeners to attend our An Evening with Susan Crawford, February 13th, 6pm and hear directly from the candidate. We review and try to provide context to Trump’s continued chaos this week, including ramping up ICE raids, Trump’s flagrantly illegal order to freeze all in-direct federal social spending causes confusion and pain. We discuss our appreciation for the leadership many state and local leaders have shown standing up to Trump actions during the first couple of weeks, including Wisconsin Democrats proposing legislation to forbid state and local officials from cooperating with mass deportation. The leadership of state and local progressives will be vital to continue making progress on the issues and values we care about as the federal government descends into dysfunction on these critical priorities.…
1 The State of the State in Trump’s America 49:55
49:55
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49:55Welcome to Trump’s America. We review the first 72 hours of manic action by the Trump Regime. We commend the moral courage of the pastor that stood up to Trump on behalf of the most vulnerable among us: “was anyone going to say anything.” Trump illegally impounds IRA and IIJA money, causing massive confusion. Meanwhile popular and essential healthcare and green infrastructure projects are put on the chopping block to fund massive new tax cuts for billionaires and the most profitable corporations. However, time remains for public response to popular issues to make a difference. We discuss Governor Tony Evers’ State of the State speech on Wednesday evening, highlighting key priorities including; increased investments in K-12/tech colleges and universities, state funding to fill in expiring federal child care funding; new climate jobs and apprenticeships; and reigning in prescription drug costs. But while the Governor signaled support for many key priorities, what does it mean that he started the speech praising a decade and a half of Republican initiated tax cuts? Will the Governor raise the revenue needed to sustainably fund public schools, child care, health care, shared revenue, and the many other underfunded state priorities? We close highlighting Boss Robin Vos’ effort to kill a bi-partisan Medicaid deal to expand access to healthcare for postpartum moms and their infants! We encourage our listeners to contact their state legislators to support the bi-partisan deal. Contact your legislators today.…
1 Susan Crawford for State Supreme Court 54:09
54:09
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54:09We announce Citizen Action of Wisconsin’s endorsement of State Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford. Robert discusses the stakes of the race for Wisconsin, the difficulty for voters in assessing Supreme Court candidates, and the way ad campaigns degrade public understanding and democratic decision making. Robert debriefs Biden’s historically significant farewell address, which includes stark warning about the rising oligarchy and climate crisis. We also review the accomplishments of the Biden Administration as we hurdle towards a dangerous period in American history, Meanwhile, Senator Ron Johnson embarrassed himself on NPR, denying climate change and calling for conditioning California disaster relief to environmentally unhinged MAGA demands. Wisconsin breaks ACA enrollment record, as a new report says 1/3 of rural children depend on Medicaid for healthcare and warns Medicaid cuts planned by MAGA Republicans for fund massive new tax cuts for billionaires would harm the communities they claim to represent. Finally, we discuss the loss of a true Wisconsin legend, Bob Uecker, who was the voice of the Milwaukee Brewers for over half a century, and became a national celebrity.…
We open reflecting on the horrific climate generated fires burning in Los Angeles as we record the show. The scale of the fires is unprecedented, yet they are already being politicized by Donald Trump as families are being evacuated, a likely preview of future presidential efforts to divide us when we need unity to make it through such horror and pain. In Wisconsin, we can see how the AI revolution is threatening the climate. Microsoft Data Center will be Wisconsin’s largest energy user, consuming more energy than all the houses and apartments in Milwaukee combined. Can we do this, and a second data center in Port Washington, and meet the climate emergency? We review the latest massive health system merger in Wisconsin that will surely continue to drive up healthcare costs. The state budget battle has begun. This week Speaker Vos took a shot at reasserting total control of the Legislature and the budget process, as he has for the last three state budgets. Vos threatened to do nothing to increase public school funding if he didn’t first get massive tax cuts for the wealthy and large corporations. Will the Governor or other state legislators stand up to Vos’ threats? We preview the 2025 Spring election as nomination papers are submitted and a new Voter ID constitutional amendment passes the Senate and heads to the Assembly for certain placement on the the April 2025 ballot We close by highlighting the great work of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB), which finalized a new rule so Medical debt will no longer appear on credit reports for all Americans. The effort was part of a broader final push on anti-trust by the Biden Administration.…
Welcome back! We head into 2025 with our eyes wide open and ready to organize for the future Wisconsin communities need. We begin with a discussion of the tragic violence in New Orleans on New Years Eve. Robert offers some insights on MU pollster Charles Franklin and former MJS journalist Craig Gilbert’s discussion on polling lessons from the 2024 election. Will Wisconsin remain the ultimate battleground state? We remind our listeners of some important 2025 Spring Elections. Candidate nomination papers are due on January 7th. We preview the potential political and organizing opportunities in early 2025. On the federal level, what will become of Speaker Johnson and what the turmoil in the House around his pending Speakership tells us about the House and organizing opportunities for the progressive movement. What should we expect in Trump’s first 24 hours? On the state level, we lay out critical state budget opportunities for progressives on public education and health and child care. Robert highlights a new report demonstrating that climate change is warming Wisconsin winters. The report found more days above freezing in the last decade, which creates a ripple effect throughout Wisconsin. Also, how is conference realignment in college sports damaging the climate?…
We open with a discussion of the latest horrific school shooting, this time, it’s in our backyard. We also discuss the significance of the latest Enbridge oil pipeline spill, Attorney General Josh Kaul announces a $1.7 million settlement with a sleazy Milwaukee landlord, and we preview next year’s state budget fight. We welcome Danny Akenson, a field organizer with GROWW to hear more about their community organizing in Western Wisconsin and their recent victory against corporate farms (CAFOs).…
We start with discussion of the murder of the CEO of UnitedHealth. We talk about at the immediate public response, connect to the unaddressed healthcare crisis, and the proliferation of guns in America. In Wisconsin, we focus on the upcoming state budget battle and how Gov. Tony Evers has real power in the budget because it is the only bill that Republicans and the governor have to agree on, pass and sign in the next two years. We talk about the new opportunities that exist with 37 new state legislators and closer partisan margins in both the Senate and Assembly. We are joined by Citizen Action member Jill Sexter from Wausau who organized a candlelight vigil outside of Wausau City Council to bring awareness to the fact that an unhoused man, Garrick Dixon, who tragically died in one of Wausau’s parks due to exposure last month. We close by highlighting the excellent and successful community organizing in western Wisconsin by Grassroots Organizing Western Wisconsin (GROWW) that led to a huge win in Pierce County resulting in restrictions on large corporate farms in The town of Maiden Rock, Wisconsin.…
As we prepare for Trump 2.0 Robert and Matt project some of the most important federal and Wisconsin battles of early 2025. From collective bargaining rights to health care to climate change, there will be a number of pivotal battles that we can win if enough good progressives get off the sidelines and get directlly involved. Plus, what are the implications of the big Act 10 court decision? And what is going on with the seeming division between WEAC and the Wisconsin Democratic Party in the Department of Public Instruction race?…
1 Thanksgiving Special Interviews 1:12:41
1:12:41
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1:12:41Before we welcome our two guests, Matt and Robert discuss the state of Wisconsin’s long term revenue crisis. This week we learned that Wisconsinites pay less of their income in taxes than ever in the history of the state and Wisconsin is 35th in the nation in taxation. It may look bleak for pub;ic education with State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos promising sweeping tax cuts and Governor Tony Evers promoting the plunging tax rate that produced a decade of under funding for our schools, universities, and municipalities, and no new major investments in vital needs such as child care and home care. The public is tired of this race to the bottom, where Wisconsin copies the revenue policies of deep red states, and fails our kids, working people, and long term economic prosperity. Chris Gooding joins us to discuss the adjunct faculty union organizing drive at Marquette University where over 70% are signed on union authorization cards. MU is shamefully violating both workers rights and Catholic social teachings, claiming religious exemption from recognizing the adjunct faculty union. We take a deep dive with CUB’s Tom Content on the We Energies rate increases approved by the Public Service Commission (PSC) and the capture of Wisconsin’s regulatory agency by the big for profit utilities. What can be done to restore government in the public interest? Listen to the show. March on Marquette’s Campus in support of Union – We will be doing a march on Friday, December 6th at noon. Any sympathetic community members are encouraged to attend. Starting location TBD (we have to hold a meeting on Monday about the action first). https://ucwwisconsin.org/ Citizen Utility Board Wisconsin…
Following a discussion of Trump’s selections for agency appointments and the recent spate of new union organizing in Wisconsin, we dive into a discussion with two guests on immediate climate organizing opportunities progressives should be engaged in now. Former Citizen Action organizer, Kevin Kane, now with Green Homeowners United, joins us to highlight where we are in Wisconsin with the Inflation Reduction Act and ARPA implementation and what opportunities exist for organizing in Wisconsin. Kevin also strongly encourages homeowners to immediately take advantage of available federal resources. We close the show welcoming Citizen Action member and former Wausau alderman, Tom Killian, to discuss two Open Records workshops this Saturday, November 23rd in Wausau that are open to the public. One workshop, led by Bill Lueters, will provide residents and grassroots groups with insights into obtaining records from the government. The second session features Stephan Lester, who will provide information from public records about dioxin and pentachlorophenol contamination in the Thomas Street neighborhood on Wausau’s southwest side that were acquired through years of citizen research.…
Senator Chris Larson joins us to commemorate the life of a major figure in Democratic politics who passed this week, former State Representative and Judge Fred Kessler. Fred was one of the great political organizers of his generation, and left behind a legacy of young progressive leaders he mentored and helped elect to office. We next turn to a deep dive into rural organizing with leaders of Grassroots Organizing Western Wisconsin (GROWW). Joining us are Executive Director Jenelle Ludwig Krauss and Organizing Director Bill Hogseth. We discuss a deeper organizing approach to reaching rural voters, and the crisis in affordable housing in rural Wisconsin. What are the implications for the path forward from the 2024 election?…
With heavy hearts, we remember Milwaukee leader Jonathan Brostoff, who tragically passed away this week. We debrief the 2024 Election, looking at the results from the presidential, U.S. Senate and State Legislative elections. What does it all mean and where do we go from here? We discuss the reality that rural Wisconsin and most of rural America is continuing its realignment with the Republican Party. We are joined by People’s Action Rural Strategist, Kellon Patey, who lives in southeast Ohio, to discuss the pressing need for progressive organizations and donors to seriously invest in long term, permanent organizing and community building in rural places.…
We discuss the final stretch of the voting phase of the 2024 election. It all comes down to people like our listeners talking to other voters and helping them make meaning of this election. Sign up to volunteer from home on phones or join us on the doors. We discuss yet another healthcare merger as minnows, Black River Memorial Hospital and the Krohn Clinic, merge in an effort to survive all the bigger fish in the pond. Marge Rogenbuck from Lincoln County, Wisconsin joins us to discuss conservative Board Members efforts to privatize the public county nursing home. Marge is a lifelong Lincoln County resident and had both her parents stay at Pine Crest. She tells us why she joined “People For Pine Crest” and is fighting back to protect a vital and excellent public institution in her community. We close with a very special guest, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. He is jointed by Milwaukee County Sustainability Director Grant Helle, and Citizen Action Climate Coordinator Kat Klawes, to discuss the incredible new federal investments making it possible for cities, counties, and school districts to address the climate change emergency. As you will see, climate change is on the ballot on November 5th!…
1 2024 Election ignores climate & healthcare crisis 54:42
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54:42Early voting is now underway, as Trump/Vance and Harris/Walz crisscross Wisconsin and the other battleground states. The first day of Wisconsin early voting saw record turnout of over 100,000 voters this Tuesday. What does it mean for the same day vote? We encourage our listeners to volunteer in Citizen Action’s final voter contact activities on phones and doors talking directly to targeted voters we need to win. Are you with us? In spite of two “thousand year event” hurricanes less than two weeks apart, and the warmest September on record, the climate change issue is the worst casualty of the 2024 election season. Are voters not interested, or are politicians refusing to talk about it? The second most ignored issue in the 2024 election is the current hospital and health system crisis ripping a hole in our health care safety net. We discuss how the hospital closure crisis in Eau Claire is also shocking the Madison hospital system, and the latest mega hospital chain merger of Marshfield Clinic Health System & Sanford Health. We close by welcoming Milwaukee Area Technical College educator Luz Sosa to discuss the discrimination Latinos are experiencing at MATC and how it connects to Act 10 and the gerrymandered Legislature’s chronic under funding of public education.…
With less than 3 weekends left before this historic election, the presidential and U.S. senate race in Wisconsin is tied. What does it all mean? Early voting starts next Tuesday and we continue to encourage our listeners to get out and talk to voters on the doors and by phone to close the deal and overcome the toxic ads demonizing our immigrant and trans neighbors and friends. We also give our unsolicited advice on what Kamala Harris and Tammy Baldwin need to do to win in Wisconsin. We follow up on a recent Public Service Commission (PSC) public hearing where the PSC tried to ban the media from covering the hearing and the lousy representation of PSC members even attending the public hearing reveals utility capture and their utter failure to represent the public interest. We continue to sound the alarm bells about the need for hospital and health system regulation, as Ascension continues its downward spiral. The latest news is that Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers in Milwaukee has switched maternity hospitals from Ascension’s premier Milwaukee hospital to an Aurora hospital. Robert closes with hope that the Biden Administration will follow through the President’s threat this week to cut off Israeli military aid in 30 days if Gaza aid flow does not radically improve. Is Biden finally going to have some backbone?…
1 Hurricane of lies: No truth in America, just winning 51:00
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51:00We discuss another climate charged hurricane hitting Florida. We question whether this epic month of hurricanes will lead to a climate reckoning in America, as climate change conspiracy theories and their politicians seem to be successfully altering the debate by shifting attention from systemic causes to convenient scapegoats that play well on social media and play into established conspiracy theories and MAGA ideology. We reflect on how this directly impacts everyone in Wisconsin. Robert tells more about the details and significance of Kamala Harris’ new Medicare plan to provide long-term care in the home, plus vision and dental coverage. What else should she do to capitalize on the public’s desire for accessible and affordable care – whether that is health care, home care , or child care. We debrief last week’s We Energies PSC public hearings where Citizen Action members testified against outrageous rate increases and supported ZERO rate increases until there is a 2% of income rate cap for utilities. Wausau mayor Diny goes national for his removal of voter drop boxes, as the public descended upon this week’s city council meeting protesting the drop box removal. Billionaire Elon Musk drops millions into trashy ads for Trump in Wisconsin. Fight back, talk to voters with Citizen Action every Tuesday and Thursday at 5pm and knock doors with us. Contact matt.brusky@citizenactionwi.org…
Hurricane Helene was worse than anyone thought. We discuss the damage in North Carolina and encourage support for their relief organizing in rural North Carolina devastated by the climate change fueled storm. We talk about this week’s Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) hearings on We Energies’ outrageous rate hikes. We review their failure to make the green renewable energy transition and and their latest fossil fuel scheme to bilk ratepayers and the public at large. We urge freezing rates until the PSC imposed a 2% of income rate cap in the state for all utilities. Learn more about the 2% rate cap and sign our petition in support. We discuss the latest MU Law Poll showing the presidential horserace unchanged. However, Tammy Baldwin’s U.S. Senate lead is growing, continuing her history of out performing the top of the ticket. We review new research showing Wisconsin would gain $1.7 billion in federal funds if the Legislature accepted available federal funds that could be used to provide health insurance coverage to tens of thousands of families through Medicaid—and to improve reimbursement rates for hospitals, clinics, doctors, and other providers. We welcome Tim Hennigan, a staff attorney at ABC For Health, to discuss an upcoming Medical Debt Symposium, the morning of Thursday, October 17th in Milwaukee. We discuss how medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy and how Wisconsin’s hospitals are destroying the financial lives of their own patients for profit.…
1 Learning from Hurricanes, hospital closures, and the Milwaukee Domes 52:55
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52:55We discuss the significance of another modest hurricane intensifying in the Gulf of Mexico into a monster storm imperiling 5 southern states. What is the role of climate change? We take a deep dive into the polling paradox of presidential elections. Polls consume the media and voters attention, along with junk ads that pollute discourse, yet they reveal little and fail repeatedly to capture reality. The Wausau mayor removes ballot drop box and charges are filed against him as two northern Wisconsin towns are sued by the DOJ for voting rights violations. What are the consequences of the GOP big lie on voter fraud? Healthcare and BadgerCare become a big issue in Legislative races and we remind our listeners it is now 6 months since devastating hospital and clinic closures and NO help has been offered for the Eau Claire/Chippewa area, leaving the region reeling and public health badly damaged. We are joined by Milwaukee County Supervisor Juan Miguel Martinez to discuss a new plan for Milwaukee’s iconic Mitchell Park Domes and how their critical connection to the improved health and safety of a community and neighborhood.…
We discuss the Organizing Revival, launched by Citizen Action with our national partners earlier this year, which is investing in improving permanent organizing capacity in every corner of the country. Leaders from 9 Midwestern states converged in Milwaukee last week to strategize on this critical power building initiative. Next, Robert encourages your attendance at next Wednesday’s statewide virtual Healthcare Action Meeting, where the group is engaged in a deep strategic analysis of the health care industry. We laud the effort of state and national advocates who urged Congress this week to raise the corporate tax rate and ensure those who make over $400,000 annually “pay their fair share” to fund critical investments such as child care, and care for the elderly and those with disabilities. On the other end we call out the International President of the Teamsters who used the crutch of internal polling to sit out this historic presidential election. The Teamsters’ Black Caucus and Teamsters Wisconsin Council took a more proactive stance, supporting pro-labor candidate Kamala Harris. In other news, RFK Jr is trying to get off Wisconsin ballots days before they begin to be mailed. Why is he spending so much money on this? Robert also highlights two Issues (immigration and abortion) where the politics have dramatically shifted over the past two decades. Which will have the biggest impact in the 2024 Election?…
Who won the Presidential debate and why? How epic was Trump’s failure on healthcare? And does any of it matter? It may but not for the reasons many pundits think. The biggest impact may be exciting the volunteer base that will get out the vote and win over swing voters. Where you jazzed up by the debate? If so, help make it happen! Sign up to volunteer with Citizen Action today. Wisconsin now has 136 school referendums in 2024, an indictment of the state funding formula and last state budget deal. We talk about how it has become a defining issue in the state Legislative elections. Robert previews upcoming PSC hearings to get public input on We Energies’ proposed rate increases in Racine on October 1st and Milwaukee on October 3rd. We preview our new statewide campaign to cap utility bills at 2% of the rate payer’s income. Congressional Democrats, civil rights leaders call for changes in the Senate filibuster. Trump wants to put Sen. Ron Johnson in charge of education policy in Wisconsin and again threatens political opponents with retribution, including jail.…
We are two months away from the November 5th election and campaigns are charging full speed ahead. Robert debriefs Tim Walz’s speech at LaborFest in Milwaukee this Monday and we discuss how Walz’s governing record in Minnesota can be a blueprint for Wisconsin Democrats, including a BadgerCare Public Option, paid family leave, a child tax credit, and affordable child care. We encourage our listeners to make next Tuesday a Day of Democracy by joining us for a 5pm – 7:45pm phone bank for Vinnie Miresse, a progressive state legislative candidate in Stevens Point and watch the Presidential debate after the phone bank We review the fallout from a disgusting Republican ad that falsely blames Senator Tammy Baldwin for the killing of 6 Waukesha parade goers in 2021, re-traumatizing Waukesha residents. The ad was condemned by the Waukesha mayor. President Biden announced almost $600M for Dairyland Power Cooperative clean energy projects. It’s one of 16 rural electric cooperatives receiving a total of $7.3 billion for renewable energy projects funded by the Inflation Reduction Act. We talk about how the battle for the State Legislature this November is about taking on powerful private interests like CAFO operators and school privatizers.…
Happy Labor Day Weekend. We discuss the significance of Labor Day, the surging support for unions, particularly among young people, and the critical need to restore democracy at work by passing the Protect the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. We encourage all our listeners to attend an organized labor event near you, including Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz at Milwaukee’s Labor Fest this Monday. We update the developing crisis in Wisconsin’s monopolistic hospital and health systems. A new Eau Claire Leader Telegram article where a local doctor declares: “I don’t think it’s an understatement to say the HSHS closure and Prevea closure caused a medical crisis in the Chippewa Valley. I certainly see that when it comes to behavioral health each week.” We decry the failure of leaders to step up and address the brewing crisis that will surely engulf the rest of the state, starting with the increasingly troubled Ascension hospitals in southeast Wisconsin, HSHS hospitals in Green Bay, and down the road Marshfield Clinics if their latest merger does not work out. We welcome newly Citizen Action endorsed state legislative candidate Angelina Cruz to the show to discuss her campaign for a Racine-area State Assembly District 62 and how her background as an educator and union leader have prepared her for the Legislature…
Citizen Action unveils more state legislative candidate endorsements and welcomes two of the newly endorsed candidates to the show, State Representative Jodi Emerson, who is running for reelection in a new more competitive district in the Chippewa Valley and Karen Kirsch who is running in Assembly District 7, a suburban Milwaukee district. We encourage our listeners to volunteer for a statewide phone bank for Yee Leng Xiong,next Tuesday, 8/27 at 5pm. We rip this week’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s coverage of the appointment of a new CEO of a merged Froedtert ThedaCare Health and his un-fact checked claims that the merger will reduce costs. We comment on Tony Evers’ “jazzed as hell”’ DNC roll call speech, Trump outspending Harris on TV in swing states, and why Democrats are worlds apart from the GOP on addressing climate change.…
We debrief big progressive wins in important and highly watched state legislative primary elections and with the overwhelming victory by Vote NO. We welcome Citizen Action endorsed candidates, Tara Johnson and Christian Phelps, who won important primary victories on Tuesday, to the show to discuss the significance of their primary wins and why they won. Inflation is now under 3%, what is the significance and when will “the Fed” lower interest rates. As the presidential campaign heads into the Democratic Convention next week, Robert tells us what he likes about the initial ads being run by Kamala Harris’ campaign , including embracing a federal ban on price gouging.…
Before turning to the big political news, we challenge our listeners to get active talking to voters this weekend. This primary is critical to electing movement progressives to the state legislature and defeating the 2 damaging constitutional amendment questions on the primary ballot next Tuesday, August 13th. We have 6 phone banks the final 4 days of the election where you can call from home and door canvass opportunities in areas we have organizers. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was selected this week by Kamala Harris as her Vice Presidential running mate. We analyze the pick and discuss the choice of Eau Claire to stage an early rally for the pair. As the new Democratic ticket takes off, Trump is caught red handed with fingerprints all over Project 2025, We close with a dissection of latest MU Law Poll, where the presidential race in Wisconsin is tied, Senator Baldwin is still up 5 points, and the Republican State Legislature remains wildly unpopular, with an approval rating at an abysmal 33%!…
We discuss Donald Trump’s racist and false claim that Vice President Kamala Harris only recently identified as Black. Will the ex-president’s race-politics backfire or play to his advantage with his angry MAGA base? Why would the Trump campaign put him in front of a conference of Black journalists, who were bound to ask him insightful and challenging questions? In more substantive developments, President Biden ratchets up his calls for Supreme Court reform, and Kamala Harris takes up the issue on the campaign trail. Is the Executive Branch finally ready to perform its Constitutional role of checking and balancing a runaway court? As Biden/Harris administration officials descend upon Battleground Wisconsin, Green Homeowners United’s Kevin Kane joins us to educate us on why Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm is visiting Milwaukee on Friday and how it relates to fighting climate change and creating good union jobs. We discuss why Kamala Harris will campaign with her new running mate in Eau Claire next week and how the Harris bump in Wisconsin provides greater optimism for Democrats in the state legislature this November. We shout out the great organizers at the Wisconsin Progressive Education Network (WPEN) conference this week highlighting the failed public school funding formula and the need to organize the power to win a much better state budget.…
In a sudden reset, President Biden steps aside and Vice President Kamala Harris immediately consolidates overwhelming support. We discuss the implications for Election 2024 and the possible policy agenda of the new Democratic standard bearer; including, medical debt, rent inflation caps, climate change, and the War in Gaza. Meanwhile, Benjamin Netanyahu throws gasoline on the situation in a speech to a joint session of Congress. We discuss the critical August 13th State Legislative primary elections and strongly encourage progressives to get off the sidelines and talk to voters with Citizen Action. Next Tuesday, at 5pm we will be making calls for Tara Johnson in Assembly District 96, a chance to flip a GOP seat to a progressive champion. Robert tells us about a media event we organized this week in Green Bay with State Representative Kristina Shelton in support of developing state legislation addressing the consolidation of the hospital industry, skyrocketing consumer costs, and the closures of important hospitals and clinics in Wisconsin. We close by acknowledging the avalanche of local school funding referendums that are being scheduled to make up for the state’s failure to properly fund public education. The same state budget lavished private voucher schools with their largest increase in 30 years…
Robert joins us while on vacation and tells us about his adventures hiking the Ice Age Trail in Wisconsin this week. We review the disastrous RNC in Milwaukee that has seen a Milwaukee man shot by out of state police who were outside of the RNC’s security perimeter. In addition, there is a brewing economic backlash as many area businesses say the event was oversold as locals flee downtown and the city for the week and convention goers mostly stay in confined area and attend selected venues. We talk about President Biden’s announcement that he will introduce legislation to cap rent increases to 5% per year, cancel medical debt, and rein in the U.S. Supreme Court. While mostly done out of political desperation, the elevation of these three significant issues is an important step for progressive organizers and our movement. We review news this week from the dangerous, cutthroat and largely unregulated world of hospital and health system competition that UW Health is starting a $900 million expansion of its hospital and clinic footprint in pursuit of profits and market control. Attend our Hospital cost and closure training on Thursday, July 25th, 6pm to hear about efforts to fight back. Citizen Action Southeast Coop Organizer, Brandon Williford, and Milwaukee County Supervisor Juan Miguel Martinez join us to discuss a wellness workshop that they are hosting at Mitchell Park with many other organizations next Tuesday, July 23rd, 3-7pm.…
Citizen Action just launched our volunteer field campaign in support of our progressive candidates and “no votes” on damaging state constitutional amendments. We discuss the pivotal State Legislative primary races and the influence activists can have on electoral outcomes. Our week of calls demonstrated a real thirst among voters we talked to for progressive candidates. JOIN US on the phones next Tuesday, July 16th, 5pm, for our next primary candidate, Amillia Heredia (Assembly District 11; City of Milwaukee). We discuss news this week that the Marshfield Clinic Health System intends to combine with South Dakota-based Sanford Health. We discuss how this further consolidation of monopolistic health systems will drive up costs and lead to more closures. We critique Milwaukee Journal Sentinel coverage that reported Marshfield Clinic PR as news coverage. We also review the Eau Claire area community assessment released this week that found a serious lack of access to health care, particularly mental health services. Robert also educates us on how Medicare’s crazy payment system is helping create monopolies in health care.…
On this special 4th of July edition of Battleground Wisconsin, Robert Kraig has a bracing interview with former federal prosecutor Dennis Aftergut on the Supreme Court's judicial coup against American democracy. Aftergut, who has argued cases before the California and U.S. Supreme Court, digs into the shocking immunity decision, the gutting of federal regulatory authority built up since the New Deal, and the decisions on abortion and guns. He concludes that democracy and basic freedom is on the ballot because of the excesses of a right-wing authoritarian Supreme Court.…
1 Hot Summer Primaries in the State Legislature 47:46
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47:46With the launch of the presidential debates this week, the fall election is in full gear nationally and in Wisconsin! We discuss Citizen Action’s newly announced state legislative candidate endorsements. We focus on some key Democratic Primary elections we think our listeners should know about and get involved in helping progressive Democrats win! We review the new MU Law Poll where much is unchanged in the swing state.…
Senator Chris Larson joins us to discuss the current financial reporting crisis at Milwaukee Public Schools and the direct link to nearly two decades of under-funding from the state and the lack of serious investment in democracy's most important priority, educating all of Wisconsin’s children. We discuss how the opponents of public education are cynically using the situation to gut public education and democratically elected school boards. We review new research showing a majority of Americans want to forgive medical debt. We look at the connection between escalating medical costs and the current monopolistic health systems running roughshod over local communities. We talk about the shameful scheme by the Mayo monopoly to get $1 million more from the city of Eau Claire, as they suffer through an epic healthcare crisis Mayo helped create. Ascension healthcare workers are speaking out about the serious health risks posed by the data meltdown. We discuss why it speaks to the need for real regulation of hospitals and health systems in Wisconsin.…
We continue our look at the deeper systemic issues afflicting Wisconsin government and politics. We discuss the financial reporting problems with Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS). Why did the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) not inform the elected school board of the reporting issues? The ACLU WI says Wisconsin prisons and Department of Corrections (DOC) are breaking the law and are asking a court to order them to set up a program for women in prison to keep physical custody of their children. Wisconsin Supreme Court suspends fake elector co-conspirator Jim Troupis from the Judicial Commission. We close with a look at the stark difference between Trump and Biden on “law and order” and weaponizing the Justice Department. Does it even matter with voters yet to decide who to vote for or whether to vote at all? Finally, what are the prospects for Biden’s latest Gaza gambit?…
We welcome David Liners, executive director of WISDOM, to discuss the stunning news that the Waupun prison warden and eight other staff were charged this week with crimes over multiple inmate deaths. Our discussion focuses on how this isn’t just a story about a bad warden and staff, this is a bad system that needs to be overhauled. We look at the role of Governor Evers and the Department of Corrections in addressing both the current charges at Waupun and the systemic crisis of failing to address mass incarceration in the state, despite a commitment from Governor Evers to cut the prison population in half when he initially ran for office. We discuss immediate solutions the Governor could do today to help and state legislative solutions you need to discuss with candidates running for office. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul finally filed charges this week against 3 Republican leaders who masterminded the 2020 election fake electors scheme. We close with a discussion of how Ascension’s medical records crisis, the ending of the HSHS/Prevea Recovery Task Force in Eau Claire and a new Hospital workforce shortage are more strong reasons why our state legislative hospital regulation bills are desperately needed.…
Robert joins us from New Mexico where he was at a People’s Action leadership retreat and a well deserved vacation to hike and bike in New Mexico. Yet another Walker-appointee refuses to leave office when their term expires, this time a Green Bay area bank CEO on the UW Board of Regents. What does this say about the GOP attitude towards democracy and power, and how progressives must respond? A blockbuster federal report reveals Medicare Advantage’s $64 billion in supplemental benefits slush fund for the big insurance industry, without democratic accountability. What are the broader implications of the increasingly monopolistic system in search of profits and market share at all costs? Turning to Wisconsin, Robert and Matt layout why news the for-profit OakLeaf is planning to staff a new Eau Claire area hospital is further evidence the system is not healthy and needs state regulation that protects the health of communities against the abuses of the healthcare industry money grab. The announcement of a new public transit Rideshare program to try to fill unplanned transportation gaps in people accessing healthcare in between Chippewa Falls and Eau Claire further reveals the complete failure of our system and the need for our new hospital accountability legislation we announced with State Senator Jeff Smith earlier this month. Next week is Bike Week! Citizen Action Northwest Coop Organizer, Jeremy Gragert, joins us to discuss the Week’s growth, importance and connection to sustainable and reliable public mass transit and fighting climate change.…
1 Fighting Hospital Costs and Closures 23:10
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23:10We review the launch of a new statewide campaign for Hospital and Health system accountability. Big hospital chains have used their lobbying and political clout to excuse themselves from public oversight, with disastrous results for patients and communities. In their ceaseless quest for revenue, thy have made health care unaffordable, and created an unstable system which is leading to closures and the elimination of critical services across the state. We will discuss new legislation being drafted by State Senator Jeff Smith to reassert public oversight over the hospital industry.…
1 Protect Public Health, Stabilize Wisconsin Hospitals 49:44
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49:44We take a dive into the deepening crisis in the Wisconsin hospital system. Neither political party is talking about the fundamental cause, the insatiable appetite by the hospital industry for windfall profits? Will state leaders step up to the challenge? So far, the indications are not positive, as the Governor and the Legislature are in gridlock, and the Department of Health Services refuses to launch an investigation into the sudden and unplanned closure of 2 major hospitals and 90 clinics in Western Wisconsin. We make the direct connection between sky high hospital prices in Wisconsin and the deregulation of hospitals. A new Rand report makes our case, as it finds health plans pay an astounding 318% more than Medicare for the same services in Wisconsin. We discuss the poor leadership, and the terrible example set for students by top officials in the UW system on the student Gaza War protests, and their failure to nurture free speech and deeper dialogue that challenges us to think deeper about the crisis. Instead, leaders put students safety at risk by unleashing the police on Madison encampment. In case you forgot about Donald, this week Trump took timeout from his hush money trial to shake down oil barons for $1 billion to win his election and kill Biden’s climate breakthroughs. Will Big Oil ante up and bankroll Trump's election and his legal defense?…
We discuss President Biden’s visit to Wisconsin for the 4th time this year on Wednesday and his highlighting the difference of his successful economic policies which passed Congress including Infrastructure, CHIPS and Inflation Reduction Acts. Wisconsin is clearly ground zero for the presidential election and important U.S. Senate seat held by Tammy Baldwin. Wisconsin Democrats announced this week that they will commit $7 million to TV ads in 5 key state Senate races. We talk about why. Wisconsin still remains the only state where no criminal charges have been filed of the five states where fake electors signed papers fraudulently asserting they were the duly qualified electors. Why? We unpack the racist House Republican scheme this week to determine immigrants are not people in scam to not count them in the next census. We laud Law Forward for calling on the US Attorney to investigate GOP operatives for racist voter suppression texts to Souls to the Polls. We continue to call for Wisconsin lawmakers to get serious about the developing healthcare system crisis, as another for-profit company announces new cancer clinics Western Wisconsin to take advantage of some of the profitable parts of the collapsed Hospital Sister Health System in the region.…
1 Organizing people, the only solution 55:28
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55:28In Mt. Horeb this week guns, death, and middle school kids in lockdown. We reflect. We recap Tuesday’s 40th Anniversary event in Eau Claire. Thanks to everyone who attended one of the 5 celebrations of our proud history. As always, we are inspired by our members around Wisconsin and their commitment to building a just multiracial democracy. Please consider joining Citizen Action Today! You are needed. We update state legislative candidate announcements and remind you to reach out to people you think should run. We dissect the systemic implications of Marshfield Medical Center in Rice Lake, which paused its labor and delivery services this week. In other hospital monopoly news, Bellin and Gundersen Healthcare merge into the soulless profit seeking Emplify Health, further disconnecting it from its primary mission of meeting community healthcare needs. A Dane County court overturns the PSC decision that allowed people to lease their solar energy system. Will the big fossil fuel utilities be permitted to block the renewable energy revolution? We praise the organizing by voting rights advocates who continue their push for removing fraudulent fake elector Bob Spindell from Wisconsin’s elections commission. We take a deeper dive into the Gaza Protests that hit the UW system and campuses across the country. What do they reveal about the power of organizing and the reality of who runs the modern UW System and other major American universities?…
We preview the final 40th Anniversary event next Tuesday, April 30th, 6pm, in Eau Claire. Robert reminds connects our 40th birthday to the abuses of the large hospital monopolies who recently ripped a huge hole in the health care safety net in their craven pursuit of profit. We talk about the new report showing among the fastest rising in the nation rents in Wisconsin and Milwaukee. We look at the racist plan to “wreak havoc” on voting rights group Souls to the Polls by the new executive director of the Wisconsin Republican Party. Wisconsin’s sleepy environmental regulators abandon rules on nitrates pollution and a Republican state legislator on the powerful Joint Finance Committee anonymously blocks opioid treatment money. What does this say about the anti-democracy state Legislature’s failure to lead on these and other critical issues. We continue to encourage progressive candidates to see the generational opportunity the fairer maps provide the progressive movement. Trump is headed back to Wisconsin next week between trial dates as the Arizona AG indicts Trump’s fake electors and Trump campaign co-conspirators. That is now 4 states who have taken action, why is Wisconsin letting the election subverters get off scott free?. Robert and Matt have a bull session on the Chicago Bears’ unveiling of a $4.2 billion public shakedown on top of White Sox demand for $2 billion. What Wisconsin can teach Illinois about subsidizing billionaires?…
In a potential preview of November, MAGAite Steven Campbell refuses to step down following losing his Green Bay City Council election, even after losing the recount he paid for. Trump has been encouraging his acolytes to seek fraud claims everywhere, laying the groundwork for his future claims of a stolen election in the fall. We talk about the decision of Supreme Court Justice Ann Walsh Bradley to step down, setting up another epic Supreme Court election next April that will determine the balance of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the future of abortion rights and democracy in the Badger State. Also as nomination papers drop, we urge movement progressives to run in state legislative races. Meanwhile, the bitter fruits of right-rule continued in Wisconsin. We discuss the staggering implications of a new report revealing that nearly 40% of Wisconsin teachers left the profession after 6 years, a direct result of Act 10 and the GOP assault on public education. Meanwhile on the energy front, renewable energy laggard We Energies proposes another outrageous 15% rate hike as Southeast Wisconsin residents protest the increase. Finally a new MU Law Poll has U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin over 50% and leading Eric Hovde.…
1 Workers, unions, and the public interest 49:24
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49:24We discuss the WIsconsin Voters approval of 60% of Spring 2024 Election school referendums and the analysis done by the Wisconsin Policy Forum of referendum performance over the last couple of decades. Robert reviews the latest MAGA efforts to recall Robin Vos and its implications for the Republican Party and the institutions that support it. We talk about the Arizona Supreme Court’s stunning abortion decision. What are the implications for healthcare and Trump’s and Hovde’s abortion election season tap dance? Inflation is higher than expected, what does it mean for the economy and election? We welcome Laura Dresser, Associate Director, of the High Road Strategy Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Peter Rickman, president, Milwaukee Area Service and Hospitality Workers Union to discuss the findings and key policy and organizing implications of a new High Road Center report, “From Community Benefits, to Collective Bargaining, and Back.”…
1 Spring Election, Sarah Godlewski, free home weatherizations, and flowers 48:23
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48:23We debrief this week’s Spring General Election. We look at the implications of the high ‘Uninstructed Vote” in the Democratic Presidential primary. Will it put additional pressure on President Biden to change course on the unfolding humanitarian travesty in Gaza? We also dig into the central role that strong voter support for public education played in local elections throughout the state, local election success stories and disappointments. With the Spring Elections now behind us, we turn to the critical task of recruiting progressive candidates for state legislative elections. We remind our listeners that our 40th Anniversary event in Wausau is next Thursday, April 11th, 5:30pm and encourage listeners to join Robert and Matt in celebrating 40 years of powerful organizing. We welcome Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski to discuss the continued attacks on her office and the structures that support our democracy. Secretary of State Godlewski also talks about the importance of public education and why she barnstormed the state supporting many of the 90 public school referendums on the ballot this Spring. Citizen Action Climate Coordinator Kat Klawes joins us to discuss an opportunity for our listeners to take action in support of a FREE weatherization program being considered by the Wisconsin Public Service Commission to implement important climate components of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act passed by Democrats in Congress in 2022. Sign petition in support of FREE weatherization of Wisconsin homes. https://www.greenhomeownersunited.com/ira2024en…
1 The Terror Blueprint for Trump's 2nd Term 46:23
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46:23On this special edition of the podcast, Robert Kraig interviews Anne Nelson, the author of the critically-acclaimed Shadow Network and one of the top experts on the right-wing movement to end democracy. During the conversation, Nelson explains the origins of the powerful right-wing infrastructure backing Donald Trump. She also provides listernes with a review of Project 2025, the 900 page blueprint for the next GOP president which would guarantee runaway climate change, and end American democracy as we know it.…
We preview our 40th Anniversary celebration in Green Bay this Thursday evening at the Greater Green Bay Labor Council. If you live in the Northeast, our Battleground Wisconsin panel will be there. We would love to see you. We next dig into the seemingly sleepy Spring elections, which feature many great candidates who can be the future progressive leaders of Wisconsin if all of us get them over the finish line. We encourage you to volunteer with us in these critical local races where a few extra phone calls or door knocks can make the difference. We discuss the human made disaster in the Eau Claire healthcare crisis and how our leaders are not offering any real solutions that get to the root of the problem. Is the sudden closure of two major hospitals and 90 clinics a proverbial canary in the coal mine for the rest of Wisconsin? We talk about how five Brewers executives gave maximum donations to Robin Vos just two weeks after passing half a billion in public funding for the team’s wealthy west coast owner. We dive into how our obsession with “means testing” of safety net programs amounts to a social service version of voter suppression, denying needy people basic services and supports. We help shed light on a new survey of 2022 candidates that shows how economic populism helped candidates win in rural and small town America. Robert also comments on a new In These Times Magazine article by friend of the podcast Alex Han on how our institutions have failed to protect democracy. Can unions and movement organizations can take up the fight?…
We review Citizen Action of Wisconsin’s 40th anniversary events in Milwaukee and La Crosse this week and preview the third event in Green Bay next Thursday evening. President Biden’s new budget was released and includes increased taxes on the wealthy and corporations to fund our nation’s vital priorities and a historic investment in reducing child poverty. We encourage Governor Tony Evers and Legislative Democrats to follow the President’s lead and introduce their own visionary progressive tax plan to properly fund public education, health care and child care. We call out the latest China bashing with an effort to go after TikTok for sin being committed by American tech corporations and right-wing billionaires. In Wisconsin, the state Senate ends its session by firing Evers appointees, approving terrible constitutional amendments, and failing to fix the counting of absentee ballots, creating fertile grounds for conspiracy theories to flourish. We encourage our listeners to help us talk to the 2 remaining Democrats in the State Legislature to co-sponsor the BadgerCare Public Option bill. We mention the Republican state senator who joined Democrats in voting against a toxic transgender sports bill after listening and hearing the deep harm the bill would do to the kids. We hope this kind of listening and being open to change or persuasion will return to state government. We also reveal big businesses’ lobbying effort to block the DNR’s ability to permit factory farms in Wisconsin.…
1 40 years of Citizen Action Wisconsin 40:46
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40:46We reflect on the 13 year history of the Battleground Wisconsin Podcast and how it is an important piece of Citizen Action’s history that is at the heart of our 40th Anniversary events that start next week. We are celebrating on Monday, March 11th, 6pm in Milwaukee and Wednesday, March 13th, 5:30pm in LaCrosse. We thank State Representative Kristina Shelton for her years of public service in the state legislature. She is a unique progressive voice and we need more like her. We remind our listeners that the next 2 months will determine who is running for the many new seats in the Legislature, a generational opportunity for progressives to reshape governance in the state. It is up to all of us if we will seize it! Following Super Tuesday and with Thursday night’s State of the State, the general election has commenced this week. Biden vs. Trump II is upon us.…
On a special edition of Battleground Wisconsin, Matt is away on a field trip to North Carolina, and our producer, Brian, has a speaking role for the first time in our 13 year history. Robert and Brian dig into the latest Trump-McConnell packed U.S. Supreme Court political intervention on the presidential immunity case. Will it replace America's founding axiom that nobody is above the law with a 21st Century version of the Divine Right of Kings? We also look deeply at the results of the Michigan Presidential Primary across the freshwater pond. Does it mean that Biden is losing the election on the thorns of the Gaza dilemma? Turning to state news, Governor Evers unveils a rapid response plan for the rash of hospital and clinic closures in the Chippewa Valley. Does it get to the heart of the problem with commodified and profit-centric healthcare, or is it putting bandages on an infected wound?…
1 Generational opportunity for progressives 47:55
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47:55New polling from a very trusted source finds the top public economic concern is the high cost of health care and crippling medical bills. What does this mean for the 2024 elections? We also urge the Governor to call a special session on accepting federal Medicaid money and expanding access to healthcare for small businesses and more workers through the BadgerCare Public Option bill already supported by most Democrats. We review the controversy and the implications of the new state legislative maps signed by Governor Evers earlier this week. What should progressives be focusing on? In other legislative developments, the much discussed regressive tax cut package to disproportionately benefit higher income people is on the Governor’s desk. Will he veto? We renew our call for progressive tax package from the Governor and Democrats that forces greedy corporations and the rich to pay their fair share. California banker and billionaire Eric Hovde is set to challenge U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin and a Wisconsin fake elector and GOP leader tells ‘60 Minutes’ he was afraid of Trump supporters. We discuss the implications of each.…
We do a deep dive on the redistricting drama, where Robin Vos has adopted Governor Evers’ position and Democrats are divided. Is Governor Evers falling into a trap that could provide a pretext for intervention by Trump appointed Federal Judges, as Mark Pocan warns? Why do many believe Evers will sign maps most Democrats in the Legislature oppose? Why are some good government groups urging Evers to side with Vos? Robert and Matt break some inside news on what may be really going on in this consequential Capital intrigue. We pan the latest regressive Legislative Republican tax cut. Is a tax cut skewed to wealthier Wisconsinites worth further defunding public education, healthcare, child care, and other vital public priorities. In better news, we celebrate news that President Biden’s policy to help the IRS collect revenue has resulted in $851 billion in back taxes from the ultra-wealthy. Back home, we discuss next Tuesday’s Spring Primary Election and encourage our listeners to get educated and vote. We highlight especially pivotal elections for Green Bay City Council. Speaking of Titletown, Green Bay area Congressman Mike Gallagher is not running for re-election. What does this say about him and more importantly what does it tell us about the Party of Trump? Finally, we offer hardy congratulations to the workers at Planned Parenthood Wisconsin who successfully organized with the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals with an overwhelming victory.…
We debrief the new MU Law Poll which has Biden and Trump locked in a statistical dead heat in the battle for Wisconsin's all important Presidential Electors. What does the poll's finding that there are very few undecided voters 10 months ahead of the election mean for the outcome? What are the implications of the historically strong public interest in 3rd Party candidates? Also, in the more immediate term, early voting in 2024 Spring Primary has started and Citizen Action just announced are pre-primary endorsements. Meanwhile the never ending drama continues on the national scene. As Trump implodes, the GOP opposes its own draconian board security bill, the House tries but fails to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas, while Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher takes heat for voting against the bogus articles of impeachment. We discuss the Supreme Court oral arguments on 14th Amendment bar on Trump’s candidacy which has removed him from the ballot in CO and ME. Will the Trump Supreme Court renig on claimed commitment to strict construction of the Constitution to save Trump? Dr. Michael Rosen joins us to talk about the predatory for-profit Arizona College of Nursing's effort to locate in Milwaukee and an organized effort to stop it. Listeners are encouraged to attend a public hearing in Milwaukee next Monday at 1pm.…
1 Reviving our sick democracy will improve our health 47:20
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47:20The national media is touting a Child Care Tax Credit that passed the House of Representatives Wednesday, but long time child poverty advocate Gwen Moore and Mark Pocan voted no. Why were the champions of President Biden’s Child Tax Credit against this bill? What does the bill have to do with more big tax breaks for self-dealing corporations? Next we dissect the details of the latest state Legislative GOP tax cut for the wealthy, where taxpayers with incomes under $100,000 (59.6% of all fillers) would receive only 26.4% of the cut and taxpayers with incomes of $100,000 or more (40.4% of filers) would receive 73.6% of the cut! Gov. Evers rightly vetoes the latest GOP Legislative maps, as Republicans press Janet Protasiewicz to recuse herself from the challenge to the state’s Congressional maps. Robert tells us more about a Calumet Co. Judge ruling that factory farms may not avoid DNR permits and the GOP pushing constitutional amendment to ban preferences for historically marginalized groups. We look at Wisconsin Republican efforts to support TX Governor Greg Abbott’s nullification of federal immigration law. Finally we discuss some real solutions to the sudden and dangerous closure of major hospitals and clinics in Chippewa Valley.…
1 Gerrymandering is bad for your health 51:58
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51:58We discuss the end of the traditional Republican Party and the reality of the new Party of Trump. Exhibit one is that every Wisconsin Republican House of Representative member voted to shut down the federal government rather than full their constitutional duties to maintain the full faith and credit of the U.S. Also, we are witnessing the inevitable end of the GOP presidential primary with Nicky Haley’s campaign beaten again in New Hampshire and on fumes while Trump promises retribution to all his opponents and threatens to blacklist any supporters of Haley. Vice President Kamala Harris was in Waukesha and President Biden in Superior this week. Democrats clearly see Wisconsin as central to Biden’s re-election, so expect to see the President and other top administration officials here often. We dissect the sudden and unplanned closure of a large hospital and clinic system in the Chippewa Valley and Governor Evers’ immediate call for Medicaid expansion to stabilize rural hospitals and clinics. Robert debriefs Governor Evers’ State of the State speech, and assesses the major policy proposals he advanced heading into a critical election year. We discuss Speaker Vos’ failed attempt to bate Governor Evers and Legislative Democrats into a bad deal on new legislative maps. Meanwhile, Assembly Republicans again block the impeachment of Election head Meagan Wolf by their even crazier faction. Question, would one sentence of support from their strong man leader Donald Trump change their position? We talk about the new world in Wisconsin politics with the impending Legislative maps, where we likely have the first fair election for control of the Legislature in over a decade. How does this new democratic world shape what the Governor and Legislative Democrats should be supporting for the remainder of the legislative session? We also take a deeper dive into the Congressional maps lawsuit. A Stanford University expert advising the plaintiffs says Wisconsin Congressional maps are the most partisan slanted in the U.S.…
We discuss the latest state Senate Republicans power grab, their firing of Evers appointee and solar power advocate Tyler Huebner from the Public Service Commission, the state agency that regulates utilities. Was the sacking of Huebner motivated by his support for easing the energy burden on low income homeowners and renters? Were the big for-profit utilities behind it? Less than a week after the worst-in-the nation medical marijuana bill was introduced by Republican leaders, it was killed by GOP leaders. Does this mean they have given up on this as a way to protect vulnerable incumbents from fair maps? Meanwhile the Wisconsin Supreme Court received 7 maps last Friday and the Elias Law Group asked the justices to reconsider the state’s congressional map ahead of the 2024 election. Matt gives his assessment of which versions he likes best. Robert reviews the Iowa Caucuses, where that former reality show and wannabe dictator Donald Trump demolished his competition. While the national media gave its audience a heavy dose of horse race analysis, treating politics like a sporting event, they all but ignored the plucky climate protesters effectively disrupting events of all the major candidates. What is the civic responsibility of corporate media further undermining democracy? We also look at Trump’s on-going fomenting of violence against his opponents and intimidating opposition in his own party. Is this part of the fascist playbook?We encourage listeners to attend a public hearing next Monday at 1:30pm on the predatory for-profit Arizona nursing school and our Healthcare Action Meeting, next Wednesday, January 24th, 7pm. The virtual health care meeting will develop plans to talk with state legislators about the need to schedule a public hearing for the BadgerCare Public Option bill. RSVP for our healthcare meeting. Kate Felton joins us to discuss a shameful GOP bill that would require local hearings and resolutions on proposed refugee resettlement plans. We unpack the racist appeals to bigots that Republicans are willing to do in their ceaseless pursuit of power.…
We discuss a new report finding lower-income Wisconsinites pay a much higher proportion of their incomes in taxes than the wealthy. What does it say about the current priorities of Republicans and Democrats, and the latest state budget? We urge Governor Evers and Legislative Democrats to fight for progressive taxation in the next state budget both to fund vital services and boost the real earnings of working class Wisconsinites. We talk about the weaknesses of the past state budget coming home to roost, as Milwaukee Public Schools announce they are headed to a referendum to raise property taxes just to cover basic operations. Meanwhile, this week Legislative Republicans introduced the nation’s worst medical marijuana bill and pushed legislation criminalizing homelessness. Sen. Tammy Baldwin joins other U.S. Senators challenging Amazon’s abusive labor practices. In global headlines, we learned this week that 2023 was the warmest year in over 100,000 years. However, there was some progress in the United States. We discuss where we are and what needs to happen soon on the biggest issue in human history. Dr. Michael Rosen joins us to discuss the predatory, for-profit Arizona College of Nursing’s pursuit of a location in Milwaukee. Nurses and educators are organizing to stop Arizona College of Nursing before it starts.…
Welcome to 2024 where our pivotal battleground state elections will again take center stage. We jump in and dissect this week’s news the GOP Legislative leadership asks the Wisconsin Supreme Court to reconsider their redistricting decision; a new court ruling allows clerks to correct minor errors on absentee ballots; and a brewery owner sues to remove Trump from the Wisconsin ballot under the 14th Amendment. In a revealing and shameless display of voter suppression and encouragement of drain brain, the GOP leaders introduce a bill encouraging UW students to not vote in Wisconsin. Legislative Republicans to potential long term residents, “We don’t want you here. Go home!” Robert does his best to fill in details on the policy positions of Senator Tammy Baldwin’s likely opponent, multimillionaire businessman and perennial candidate Eric Hovde. In climate news Wisconsin trails badly on solar adoption. Will Governor Evers use the huge investments offered by the Biden Administration to close the gap with neighboring states? Also, Insulin prices plunge for Wisconsinites due to a little known provision of President Biden’s American Rescue Plan. We close with a discussion of a new labor organizing drive by over 100 workers at Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin and encourage the organization’s board of directors to recognize the union and move forward with a more powerful organization prepared to deliver on its critical mission.…
Following President Biden’s visit to Milwaukee this week we discuss if he can turn around his 2024 chances? We talk about the politics and the stakes, how the President’s reelection prospects are impacted by the war in Gaza, a possible bad deal on immigration, and this week’s 14th Amendment decision in Colorado. We debrief Citizen Action’s 3rd CD Candidate Forum this week and encourage people to listen to the replay and fill out our survey. Big union news this week with the TruStage workers union settling their contract after a long dispute and we review the Amazon case before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which has major implications for misclassified independent contractors and corporate skirting of employment responsibilities. Finally, we discuss State Senator Brad Pfaff signing on as a co-sponsor of the BadgerCare Public Option, the health care cost impact of a ThedaCare and Froedtert merger.…
1 Secretary of State Godlewski calls for Robert Spindell to go! 42:48
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42:48We welcome Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski to discuss her call for Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu to remove Wisconsin Election Commissioner and disgraced Trump fake elector Robert Spindell from his position of authority over our election process. She encourages our listeners to call LeMahieu and their state legislators and urge them to replace Spindell. The Secretary also tells us why she opposes Robin Vos’ scheme to replace the Wisconsin Election Commission with a process where the Secretary of State runs elections under the full control of the gerrymandered legislature. We also review the latest culture war battle initiatives by the Wisconsin GOP, the drive by Speaker Vos to eliminate the UW System’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusions Programs. At first the UW Board of Regents held firm against Vos’s threats, but then caved. We discuss how this effort by Republicans and the Biden impeachment in the U.S. House reveals that our democracy remains in a grave state of peril heading into the pivotal 2024 elections. We also remind listeners to attend our 3rd Congressional District Candidate Forum this Sunday, December 17th, at 6pm. RSVP here. We close with Citizen Action Northeast Co-op organizer Natalie Hoffman to tell us about a climate victory in Green Bay last week and a holiday social the Coop is hosting next Tuesday evening in Green Bay.…
1 Looking to 2024, while 2020 still looms 51:37
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51:37We debrief a new judicial ruling this week finding abortion legal again in Wisconsin. To the surprise of few, Wisconsin GOP Legislative leaders propose another scheme to abolish the Wisconsin Elections Commission, giving election administration oversight to Republican Legislative leaders hellbent on power and total control in the name of financial elites. Meanwhile, the Wisconsin fake electors acknowledged their actions were unlawful and were used in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election. We discuss the importance of membership in Citizen Action, as we are preparing to win in 2024 by talking directly to voters all over the state. Republicans struggle to find a serious challenger to Sen Tammy Baldwin in 2024, as California millionaire banker Eric Hovde announces his campaign this week. Gov. Evers rightly vetoes a GOP bill that would ban gender affirming medical care for minors. We discuss Citizen Action’s upcoming 3rd Congressional District Candidate Forum on Sunday, December 17th, at 6pm. We encourage our listeners in the district to RSVP today!…
1 A Supreme Interview with Representative Moore Omokunde 38:56
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38:56We welcome State Representative Supreme Moore Omokunde to discuss his co-sponsorship of the BadgerCare Public Option and groundbreaking new climate legislation he is working on that will help set the agenda for the 2024 state legislative elections. With the prospect of new legislative maps, Rep. Moore’s climate agenda helps provide an unparalleled opportunity for new ideas to be in play in the next Legislature. We discuss a new lawsuit brought by state employee unions seeking to overturn Act 10, on the heels of new data revealing Wisconsin teacher pay has lagged inflation for 15 years according to a Wisconsin Policy Forum report. As the Supreme Court starts a historic redistricting case, the 2025 election has begun as former AG Brad Schimel enters the race. We invite our listeners from Western Wisconsin to RSVP and attend Citizen Action’s 3rd Congressional District Candidate Virtual Forum on Sunday, December 17th, 6pm.…
1 A free & independent media in Wausau & Wisconsin 47:58
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47:58We start with a major threat to the 1st Amendment in the Northwoods that has made national news. Shereen Siewert, the editor and publisher of the Wausau Pilot and Review, joins us to discuss how her newspaper is being bullied through a bogus lawsuit by state senator Cory Tomczyk. The paper broke a story on a public incident where the Senator shouted an anti-gay slur at a young person who was testifying in favor of equity and inclusion at a public hearing. The lawsuit, which is costing the small newspaper hundreds of thousands of dollars, is clearly an effort to suppress free and independent media. President Biden visited Milwaukee on Tuesday on the one year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act. We discuss what the historic legislation means for Wisconsin and the country, and what remains to be done. We update the hostage taking by Major League Baseball (MLB) and the billionaire Brewers owner. It was revealed this week that owner Mark Attanasio spent more than half a million the last 6 months, more than any other group lobbying the state legislature. We evaluate the latest threat by Boss Vos and Republican leaders to threaten the impeachment of Janet Protasiewicz if she doesn’t recuse from redistricting cases. Who is really abusing power? Finally, Robert asks if the huge Biden investment in rural broadband will be handled well by the Evers Administration, or will it be yet another unaccountable infusion of money into the telecom industry?…
In this week’s episode we welcome new In These Times magazine executive director Alex Han to discuss the vital role of independent progressive media, and the cutting edge journalism the historic magazine provides. We encourage our listeners to read and support In These Times. Priscilla Bort joins us from the Wisconsin Public Education Network Summer Conference to announce the 2nd Movement Politics Academy, which trains tomorrow’s movement leaders to run for office. We dive into the hypocrisy of Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Annette Ziegler’s media tour the past week, where she whined about changes to the court that will bring more transparency and accountability. Apparently the end of the lawless reign of right-wing politicians in robes acting as a super-legislature is too much for the disgraced Chief Justice to endure. Resident economist, Dr. Micheal Rosen, returns to the show to talk about the state of the American economy, public perception of the economy, and who benefits when the Federal Reserve increases interest rates.…
We discuss the Wisconsin flavor to the historic Trump indictment this week where the role of fake electors is central. We talk about the decades-long work that military sexual trauma survivors have done and what it all means in terms of President Biden's new Executive Order updating the Military Justice Code. We welcome State Representative Kristina Shelton to discuss the introduction of her BadgerCare Public Option bill expanding access to affordable healthcare for Wisconsinites and her attendance at the ALEC convention last week. We are also joined by Teamsters Local 662 Business Agent, Dan Boley to discuss the strike at Leinenkugels, how it is part of a broader national anti-union effort by Molson Coors, and how the Teamsters Local 662 will be calling for a boycott of Molson Coors products. Janet Protasiewicz is sworn in this week! We discuss whether it will be a new era of a progressive Wisconsin Supreme Court, as Law Forward immediately files a critically important gerrymandering case. Minnesota marijuana legalization has begun, leaving Wisconsin a weed revenue island. MAGA Rep. Van Orden bullies kids at the Capitol and Sen. Tammy Baldwin still has no serious GOP opponent.…
The hot union summer continued this week with the historic and game changing Teamsters victory over UPS (and their Wall Street backers). The breakthrough is part of an upsurge in labor activism across the nation. What does it mean and where will it lead? We dig in with a great Wisconsin example, an in-depth interview with Will Roberts from the TruStage workers union to discuss their intense battle for a fair contract. They have a major rally and march this Saturday, July 29th starting at 9 AM in Madison. During this hot week, we ask what’s up with the climate justice agenda in Wisconsin? Following a state budget that saw the removal of Governor Evers’ top climate items by Legislative Republicans and a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story this week detailing how a year after its creation, the state’s Office of Environmental Justice remains largely dormant. What’s next in the fight to head off a climate cataclysm and create family supporting jobs? The Federal Reserve Bank increases rates again this week and shortly following the largest increase in voucher funding a conservative Christian foundation buys the Cardinal Stritch University campus where a new voucher school seems likely.…
1 Public Schools Unite Us: Special guest WI Public Education Network’s Heather DuBois Bourenane 51:19
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51:19We welcome Wisconsin Public Education Network’s Heather DuBois Bourenan to discuss public education in Wisconsin following a state budget that saw the largest expansion of private voucher schools as part of a “deal” that blindsided supporters of public education. Former President Trump revealed this eek he is a target of the special counsel’s Jan. 6 investigation, as multiple Wisconsin election officials are interviewed by federal investigators. Meanwhile, MAGA Republican lawmakers introduce another sham bill to add watermarks to absentee ballots that drives right-wing conspiracies about stolen elections. We speculate whether the Michigan AG’s prosecution of fake electors in their state will get Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul off the fence and reconsider prosecuting the Wisconsin fake electors who tried to steal our votes in 2020. We also review the Wisconsin Policy Forum’s new report trumpeting over $1 Billion in tax cuts in the state budget, however we highlight its failure to point out the only large BIPOC majority city in Wisconsin gets a huge tax increase with a regressive sales tax increase.…
This week we discuss the ongoing fallout of the disastrous State Budget and the GOP immediate shift to a renewed culture war offensive. We are joined by State Representative Supreme Moore Omokunde for the entire show and in the final segment by Minocqua Brewing Co. owner Kirk Bangstad. We start with the painful vote Milwaukee Common Council was forced to take this week to raise a regressive sales tax (without control over how it is spent) and the fallout from the GOP refusal to adequately fund special education. Next we discuss a series of new culture war attacks launched this week in Wisconsin, all warning signs of the rising tide of right-wing authoritarianism. First, the Waukesha School Board fired 1st Grade teacher Melissa Temple Wednesday evening for trying to include Dolly Parton's popular song on inclusion Rainbowland and then speaking out against the principal's censorship. Next we look at a new bill introduced in the Legislature to ban Trans Women from participating in women's high school and college sports. Finally, we bring Kirk Bandsad into the program to discuss an attempt to close his popular Minocqua Brewing Company because local officials disagree with his political views.…
1 Budget Autopsy & Model for a New Progressive Politics 50:36
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50:36In this week’s episode we assess the budget debacle and offer an inspiring model for a brighter political future. In the first half of the show, we assess the damages from the GOP State Budget, signed into law Wednesday by Governor Evers with a series of partial vetoes. Did Evers use the magic of his veto pen to fix a deeply irresponsible and damaging budget? Or did the Governor lose the budget battle by not mobilizing public opinion against the gerrymandered Legislature’s most unpopular and damaging decisions, and acceding to closed door concessionary bargaining? In the second half of the show we turn to an emerging model in neighboring Illinois on how to build a bolder and more progressive cadre of Democratic elected officials. Robert interviews one of the prime orchestrators of the leftward turn in Illinois politics, State Senator Robert Peters (D-Chicago). They sat down for an in-depth discussion of what Wisconsin can learn from Illinois during the People’s Action National Convention in Washington, DC.…
1 Standing up to Wisconsin’s billionaire bullies 47:52
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47:52The Canadian Wildfires have wafted back into Wisconsin this week making climate change up close and personal. It also reinforces our recent success in helping the Milwaukee Common Council to pass the groundbreaking Milwaukee Climate and Economic plan to fight climate change! The new MU Law Poll dropped yesterday and it predictably sets up the battleground status of Wisconsin for the 2024 election. It also demonstrates the increased political leverage Governor Tony Evers has with a strong approval rating and how it demands he implement it in the current state budget fight with the authoritarian and gerrymandered Legislature. The budget is at a critical juncture this week as it passed the State Senate on Wednesday and included an obscene tax cut for the wealthy. Robert previews his op-ed in the Wisconsin Examiner on Governor Evers’ need to deploy his vast veto powers to force the Legislature to negotiate over BadgerCare Expansion. We welcome Dan Shafer from The Recombobulation Area (recombobulationarea.substack.com) to discuss the importance of independent media and its vital role in exposing billionaire Mark Antansio’s effort to get $300 million in taxpayer dollars for his team that is worth over $1.2 billion. We look at the monopolistic structure of MLB which results in accounting rules and tax laws that enable billionaire owners to mislead the public about their finances and then pressure cities like Milwaukee to subsidize their significant profits.…
We are joined by State Representative Kristina Shelton to discuss the state budget battle in Madison and why she voted in “radical solidarity” against the structurally racist Shared Revenue-Education deal. In more positive news, we look beyond the state budget and discuss Rep. Shelton’s vitally important BadgerCare Public Option bill that will be reintroduced in the Legislature later this year and should be the centerpiece of the Democratic Party’s 2024 election agenda. In a major breakthrough for climate change and racial economic equity, the Milwaukee Climate and Economic Equity Plan passed the City Council this week and will be signed by the mayor on Friday. We discuss the potential to spread the transformational planning to other Wisconsin cities. We close with a discussion of the growing rift within the Wisconsin Supreme Court's conservative wing and the opportunity it presents the new Court for a more democratic and transparent Supreme Court.…
We discuss the Shared Revenue “compromise” between Governor Evers and the leaders of the Gerrymandered Legislature and dissect how it is more of a capitulation than an agreement between co-equal branches of government. We are joined by Sen. Chris Larson who voted against the bill and Amy Mizialko the president of Milwaukee Teachers Education Association to talk about why the deal is terrible for public education. We call on Gov. Evers’ to listen to the people and reconsider this historic growth of scarce public funding for unaccountable private voucher schools which can discriminate and cherry pick their students. President Mizialko urges our listeners on behalf of educators and parents across the state to call Gov. Evers at 608-266-1212 to ask him to reconsider. We close with a review of the historic Milwaukee Climate and Economic Equity plan public hearing at Milwaukee Common Council Wednesday as the city charts a course to cut greenhouse emissions almost in half by 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2050 in a way that dramatically reduces race-based economic inequality…
1 Fight for our lights, lives, and our planet 48:02
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48:02We comment on the wildfires choking skies across Canada and America and their direct connection to climate change. The dangerous air should teach us all about what it really feels like every day for billions on the planet. We update the state budget drama and encourage you to join Citizen Action organizers and members making calls in support of expanding BadgerCare in the state budget (every Monday, 3-5pm). Also this week, State Senate Republicans voted to put hurdles in front of unemployment benefits while the MAGA wing forced GOP state legislators to block the meningitis vaccine requirement for students. Wednesday June 14th is a BIG day in Milwaukee for advancing climate justice and an equitable economy. Robert tells us about a City Council Finance Committee public hearing for the Milwaukee City/County Climate Equity Task Force Recommendations, a bold proposal to meet the climate crisis in a way that dramatically improves racial economic equity. Finally, Citizen Action North Side Rising organizer Keviea Guiden joins us to talk about two (2) PSC public hearings in Milwaukee on Wednesday, June 14th to support creating a progressive payment plan for low income households that would cap utility costs at 6% of household income.…
We discuss the federal “debt deal” that passed the House on Wednesday, setting up its passage by the Senate just ahead of the June 5th default deadline. Did President Biden effectively diffuse a figurative terrorist bomb, or did he get taking to the cleaners? Did Speaker McCarthy and the MAGA Republicans get their way, or lose their nerve, and release their figurative hostage (the American economy)? We dig into some of the most notable details, including SNAP work requirements and the resumption of student loan payments, and discuss the Republican Party’s full embrace of “minority rule” in America and its parallel in Wisconsin politics. Robert tells us about an exciting new broad coalition calling for Gov. Evers to use his strong veto power to block GOP attacks on BadgerCare and Unemployment Insurance. Will this extend to using his Budget Veto as leverage to achieve finally achieve BadgerCare Expansion? We celebrate the start of Pride Month in June and reflect on why the month and celebrations like Milwaukee PrideFest are so important at this moment right-wing billionaires and MAGA politicians are fueling a new wave of anti LGBTQIA+ hate. We discuss an outstanding article in In These Times that reminds us “you can’t organize alone.” We encourage you to get active in democracy and join a Citizen Action Organizing Co-op in June!…
We dive into the precarious “Debt Crisis” drama in Washington. How did the GOP and the media turn it into a debate on “spending,”when Republican Presidents are the ones that ran up the national debt with tax breaks for the ultra wealthy benefactors? Why doesn’t President Biden inject the billionaires tax into the debate? Is the President being outmaneuvered or does he hold the top cards? We analyze the role of outsourcing in the closure of Master Lock in Milwaukee and loss of 330 good union jobs from Milwaukee's African American community. We then discuss the strike by CUNA Mutual (TruStage) workers over the outsourcing of 1200 union jobs in Madison over the years. The panel autopsies the latest in the state shared revenue debate. Is avoiding a referendum the bottom line for Milwaukee City and County Officials? Do Democrats, local leaders, and GOP Senators really have to accept Vos’ demands or the shared revenue bill will be killed? We reflect on the three year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder at the hands of police and call for a re-commitment investing in what makes us safe. Finally we perform an after action review of Ron DeSantis’ disastrous announcement for President.…
We discuss the shared revenue plan rammed through the State Assembly late on Wednesday by Speaker Vos. The plan harms Milwaukee by providing less shared revenue than other cities and towns, and contains poison pills opposed by Milwaukee voters and leaders. Now that Vos has called the Governor's bluff, we call on Gov. Evers to wield his veto power if the Senate does not dramatically improve the bill. We are joined by freshman State Representative Darrin Madison, a rising star in progressive politics, to give us a report from the trenches and discuss Speaker Vos’ “hostage taking” of Milwaukee. We also return to the looming unwinding of Medicaid in Wisconsin. 309,000 Wisconsinites will likely lose healthcare coverage and 49,000 will end up uninsured and the gerrymandered Legislature says nothing about it and continues to block BadgerCare Expansion. Finally, we ask why the hell is a Waukesha 1st grade teacher who spoke out when the school district banned 'Rainbowland' being terminated by their superintendent, James Sebert, and why are 4 GOP State Legislators defending his authoritarian conduct?…
We discuss our state budget veto campaign that went on a statewide media tour this week in La Crosse, Eau Claire, Wausau, and Green Bay to support Gov. Evers using his strongest in the nation veto pen to drag the Speaker Vos and GOP leadership to the negotiating table. Our panel reviews the latest on the “debt ceiling” debate in Washington, D.C. where House MAGA Republicans attempt to hold the country hostage, threatening default which would result in catastrophic cuts to critical programs and services. This Thursday, Title 42 is lifted. We discuss the challenges and what’s next for refugees coming to America. We are disgusted by the verdict in the Wauwatosa “protestor list” trial, where a federal jury cleared the WPD of all charges. We salute activists who immediately protested the flawed decision and call for legislation addressing the situation. FDA advisers voted unanimously this week in support of over-the-counter birth-control pills. We close by welcoming Kyle Johnson & Keisha Robinson from Black Leaders Organizing for Communities (BLOC) to discuss their community organizing and the new podcast they are about to launch.…
1 Special interview with Transformational Justice Campaign Coordinator Mark Rice 12:42
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12:42We welcome Mark Rice, Wisconsin Transformational Justice Campaign Coordinator at WISDOM, to discuss WISDOM’s organizing and legislative agenda on criminal justice reform in Wisconsin. Wisconsin continues to trail the nation and surrounding states in lowering our incarceration rates while state facilities are grossly understaffed resulting in inhumane conditions for people in the facilities.…
1 Special Reports feat: U.S. Congressman Mark Pocan & State Senator Chris Larson 52:15
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52:15This week we have a special report where Robert interviews two Wisconsin elected officials who are demonstrating the courage to lead. First, we have an interview with Congressman Mark Pocan to discuss his thoughtful and nuanced stance on the Gaza War that defends the humanity and rights of both Israelis and Palestinians, opposes collective punishment, and recognizes the magnitude of the crimes committed by Hamas on October 7. Robert talks with Mark about the situation on the ground, what is needed to preserve human life and to finally land a permanent political settlement of the conflict. Second, we interview State Senator Chris Larson, who has fought for months to get a better deal for the public from the Milwaukee Brewers. The one sided half billion dollar subsidy passed the Senate after a massive full court lobbying campaign, but not without a fight.…
1 “The Wisconsin we need” Battleground Wisconsin Podcast 38:42
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38:42Robert gives us the latest on the BadgerCare Public Option bill, the only comprehensive bill this session to address the health care cost and access crisis. Priscilla discuses the importance of calling state legislators and urging them to co-sponsor. Listeners are encouraged to join us every Monday, 5-7pm, making calls to Wisconsin voters and getting them to call their state legislators in support. Attend upcoming media events in Eau Claire on 11/17, 11am, at the Chippewa Valley Free Clinic and in La Crosse on 11/20, 9:30am, at St. Clare Health Mission. On the union front, we talk about the significance of UW Health nurses’ union's latest action to improve patient safety and why their organizing fight is critical to reforming the healthcare system. We also celebrate the end of the actors' strike this week. We welcome Mark Rice, Wisconsin Transformational Justice Campaign Coordinator at WISDOM, to discuss WISDOM’s organizing and legislative agenda on criminal justice reform in Wisconsin. Wisconsin continues to trail the nation and surrounding states in lowering our incarceration rates while state facilities are grossly understaffed resulting in inhumane conditions for people in the facilities. Robert gives us the latest on the effort to get a better deal in the Brewers’ effort to get a public subsidy. Finally, we debrief the implications from Tuesday’s national election results as we are now one year away from a huge presidential election. We look at the latest polling, including a new MU Law poll that clearly shows the gerrymandered state legislature is very unpopular and vulnerable in the 2024 election. We encourage you to donate to our voter contact effort to win state legislative seats in 2024.…
We discuss the passing of healthcare activist Ady Barkan, who turned his fight against ALS into a crusade to break the monopoly power of the corporate insurance giants that are failing millions of Americans. We explain the importance of the introduction of the BadgerCare Public Option bill in the state legislature, and discuss our news conference at the Green Bay Labor Council with lead legislative author Representative Kristina Shelton. The bill is the only one dealing with the skyrocketing cost of health care in this Legislative Session, as the GOP continues to introduce culture war issues that do nothing to improve the lives of average Wisconsinites. In a related development, a new national report finds that nearly 7 in 10 U.S. adults say they receive medical bills they cannot afford and many are skipping needed medical care. The huge Brewers stadium subsidy bill is pulled from the floor, delaying action on the bill. What does it mean that even with a full court press by the unified corporate elite, Governor Evers, and Robin Vos, there are not enough votes in the Senate to pass it. While too many state politicians have been busy trying to ram through $546 million to a billionaire, the City of Waupun takes a rare step to invest public funds in child care after the GOP blocks all state action to address the access crisis. We close by reviewing news the Public Service Commission will be announcing electric rate increases this week, as We Energies says it will accelerate plans to stop burning coal and reaffirms an Oak Creek plant shutdown.…
We open with a somber discussion of yet another mass shooting in America where 18 people died and over 13 were wounded, bringing America’s mass shooting total to a staggering 558 this year. Robert updates us on this week’s state Senate hearing the $546 million public subsidy for the Brewers’ owner. Currently there are NOT the votes to pass the Assembly bill in the Senate, unless enough Democrats change their votes. Switching to allies who are showing how to use their power, we celebrate the UAW’s tentative agreement with Ford and wish more Wisconsin Democrats would be as strategic and willing to fight for what is right, even when others tell them it is not possible. We invite our listeners to join us for next Tuesday’s BadgerCare Public Option media event at the Greater Green Bay Labor Council, at Noon, with the lead sponsor State Representative Kristina Shelton. Priscilla educates us about volunteer phone calls we started making to voters this week in support of the bill and urging people to call their state legislators and tell them to co-sponsor the legislation. Finally, Robert also updates our listeners on local climate action planning in Wisconsin and why it is so important to advancing climate justice.…
We unpack the bipartisan Assembly vote to rubber stamp a $565 million giveaway to the ultrarich owner of the Milwaukee Brewers. Given the unpopularity of the massive private subsidy, what does this say about the state of democracy in Wisconsin. A new statewide poll from Public Policy Polling shows 55% voters oppose the stadium deal. Citizen Action and other major advocacy organizations released a letter to state legislators and Governor Evers in opposition to the current stadium plan. Improvements can be made in the state senate if they hear from you (800) 362-9472. Next we discuss the imploding impeachment of the WEC’s Meagan Wolfe by Legislative Republicans. While continuing to defame Wolfe, Republicans conceded in legal filings they lack grounds to oust her from her position. Also this week, the Senate Republican leader proposed scrapping Gov. Evers’ child care plan and replacing it with a shocking $2 billion tax cut and child care credit that mostly helps wealthier households. Priscilla reports on her attendance at the media release of a new report from BLOC chronicling how Wisconsin’s criminal legal system, including over-policing and mass incarceration, is robbing people of their right to participate in democracy. We close with a preview of the new BadgerCare Public Option bill set to be released in the state legislature, and circulating for co-sponsors. Priscilla tells us about volunteer phone calls to voters in support of the BadgerCare Public Option next Monday, October 23rd, 5-7pm. We need you! Sign up here! Take action and sign a petition urging your state legislators to co-sponsor the BadgerCare Public Option bill. Attend our BadgerCare Public Option media conference, Tuesday, October 31, Greater Green Bay Labor Council, at Noon (more regional events will be announced in the future). And, call your state legislators at (800) 362-9472 and ask them to co-sponsor the bill.…
After reflecting on the tragic and horrifying war in Gaza and Israel, we dig into the latest news on the GOP threat to impeach Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz before she rules on a single case. Will the opposition of two former GOP State Supreme Court Justices who were advising Assembly Speaker Robin Vos deter him from pursuing an illegal impeachment? Next, we turn to the on-going drama over the massive public subsidy sought by the ultra-rich owner of the Milwaukee Brewers. State Senator Chris Larson joins us to tell us about pressure Gov. Evers’ office is applying to Legislative Democrats to support Robin Vos’ stadium plan. We welcome State Representative Francesca Hong to hear about her experience at the Assembly “public hearing” on the GOP stadium plan last week in West Allis. We also have an in depth conversation about Representative Hong’s new legislation directing school boards to provide instruction on Hmong Americans and Asian Americans in our public schools. Representative Hong talks passionately about her personal experience growing up in a state where many people she encounters don’t know her history and culture, showing the critical importance of the bi-partisan legislation.…
We dive into how the Speaker McCarthy crash and burn this week was part of a 50 year road built by corporate America and the Republican Party. We also turn our attention to Wisconsin and the public hearing on the shameful Assembly Brewer Stadium financing plan that leaves the public footing the bill. We review the continuing threat to democracy surrounding the Legislative Republican’s effort to impeach the Wisconsin Elections Commission’s administrator Megan Wolfe and not confirming Evers’ appointee Joseph Czarneski to the commission. Robert educates us and encourages turnout to an important We Energies public hearing in Milwaukee next week to tackle the unfair energy burden many Wisconsin residents face. Priscilla reviews the news from California that the late U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein will be replaced by Laphonza Butler. We put the appointment in historical context and discuss its implications.…
1 Special Interview with Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski 50:45
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50:45We welcome Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski to discuss the functions of the SOS office and the MAGA Republican attacks on her appointment and the office. Are their smears another example of the fraying of democratic norms? We review Boss Vos’ continued disingenuous and deceptive push for an Iowa-style redistricting scheme. What does this say about his threat to impeach Justice Janet? We discuss the historic UAW strike which came to Wisconsin this week as President Joe Biden took Priscilla’s advice from last week’s show, becoming the first President to join a union picket line. Is this fight a landmark in the fight to restore the right to form unions and the tattered American middle class?…
The gerrymandered GOP Legislature continued to force its extreme and unpopular agenda down the throats of Wisconsinites. This week the groundless impeachment drive continued with a cynical embrace of a fake nonpartisan redistricting plan, yet another refusal to address the growing child care crisis, and an escalation of attacks on the UW System’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs. To top it all off, Speaker Vos announced the worst possible Brewer stadium public funding plan, which once again sticks it to Milwaukee. We close with a discussion of the UAW strike and the false tension between good union jobs and fighting runaway climate change, Chicago’s breakthrough on the minimum wage, and President Biden’s executive order creating the Climate Corps that was stripped from his legislative plans by wannabe third party presidential candidate Sen. Joe Manchin.…
1 Who will fight for the public interest, instead of a billionaire 51:26
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51:26Huge news from Planned Parenthood on Thursday morning, they are announcing the resumption of abortions in the state. We welcome national baseball stadium expert Neil deMause, from Field of Schemes, to discuss the on-going conspiracy of billionaire baseball owners to grab public money they don’t need. We discuss lessons for Wisconsin political leaders about the critical role they play in fighting and supporting the public interest instead of well connected ultra rich owners. Robert updates the political situation in Madison, and we discusses the important role teachers unions are playing in opposing a Nevada plan to give away public money for Las Vegas MLB stadium. House leader McCarthy formally pursues a quixotic impeachment of President Biden as the MAGA wing threatens to shut down the government and overthrow McCarthy. All of Wisconsin’s Republican members of Congress supported the impeachment scheme. Meanwhile Senator Tammy Baldwin was busy actually leading, visiting rural Wisconsin talking to voters about the issues they care about. Wisconsin Republicans continue to struggle to find an opponent for Baldwin other than arsonist David Clarke who this week is busy setting the national Republican Party on metaphorical fire. The Republicans in Wisconsin continue to work to funnel more money to the rich, while Donal Trump proposed a huge new corporate tax cut on top of the largest corporate tax giveaway in American history contained in the first Trump tax package.…
We start with the GOP threat to lawlessly impeach Justice Janet Protasiewicz in a desperate attempt to hold on to gerrymandered maps. Will the latest Republican attack on democracy succeed? We dig into the latest GOP attempt to secure massive tax cuts for the wealthy, and freeze them in place with a constitutional amendment. Meanwhile, new GOP child care bills show their inability to address major social problems due to their anti-government absolutism. We review the latest MAGA Republican power play in Georgia, the RICCO indictments by the State Attorney General of social justice advocates opposing the building of the giant Cop City police training complex. Finally, we have a news maker interview with award-winning sportswriter Dave Zirin, the sports editor of The Nation Magazine. Dave discusses the public shakedown by the Brewers to get over half a billion dollars in public money for stadium repairs, without anything in return for the public benefit. Zirin explains how what is happening here is part of an orchestrated effort by Major League Baseball and other major professional sports leagues to extract significant public dollars with few or no concessions. Ziren reminds us that community organizing is the secret to cutting a much better deal with teams that center on protecting the public’s interest, not the windfall profits of billionaire owners.…
1 Special Interview with Dave Zirin on public money for billionaire’s stadium. 13:32
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13:32Dave Zirin, the sports editor of The Nation Magazine and an award winning journalist, joins the show to discuss the current effort by the owner of the Brewers to get half a billion dollars in public money for stadium repairs with nothing in return other than the privilege to have the team stay in Wisconsin. Zirin explains how what is happening here is part of an orchestrated effort by Major League Baseball and other major professional sports leagues to extract significant public dollars with few or no concessions. Dave notes that the leagues and teams have stopped even trying to seriously argue that the huge investments are good for states and municipalities. Instead, teams try to cut sweetheart deals with politicians and move quickly with little public debate. Zirin lays out how community organizing is the secret to cutting a much better deal with teams that protect the public’s interest.…
1 ReThink Brewers Ownership: A push for public equity 52:09
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52:09We welcome economist Dr. Michael Rosen to discuss ReThinking Brewers ownership and demanding public equity in the team in exchange for public tax revenue. Another climate change-induced category 4 hurricane hits Florida and yet another week of tragic shootings on college campuses. We talk about the response from the University of North Carolina student newspaper. In Wisconsin, Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Dallet writes an excellent letter to Justice Ziegler exposing her scheme to create a media firestorm and overturn another democratic election.…
We welcome Milwaukee Teachers Education Association President Amy Mizialko back to the show to talk about the devastating news about a huge expansion of a private religious voucher school the former Cardinal Stritch University campus. The school’s owner said the expansion is the direct result of the historic increase in voucher school funding from the terrible shared revenue deal negotiated by Governor Evers. Is this the beginning of a massive expansion of unaccountable and discriminatory voucher schools? We debrief the circus-like Republican Presidential debate which hit Milwaukee Wednesday. What does the “debate” say about the current state of the party and who stood out? Next, we assess the news that Republicans filed motions in an attempt to force recently elected Supreme Court justice Justice Protasiewicz to recuse from the gerrymandering case. Does this latest power grab have a chance to succeed? Following last week’s appearance by Wausau Pilot and Review publisher & editor Shereen Siewert on the Battleground Wisconsin Podcast, Legislative Democrats proposed anti-SLAPP lawsuit legislation on Wednesday. Priscilla reminds us that this week was the 3 year anniversary of the Jacob Blake shooting in Kenosha, only a month following the wrongful arrest of an innocent black man by Kenosha Police with his family at an Applebees.…
1 The people’s priorities vs. the strongest gerrymander 49:46
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49:46We discuss Speaker Vos and the gerrymandered Legislature’s removal of 545 items from Governor Tony Evers’ budget. Citizen Action is calling for Evers to use his powerful veto for leverage against Vos and the Republican leadership to force them to negotiate. We expose the outrageous Republican shared revenue ransom note from GOP leadership that attacks local democracy and forces a tough on crime budgeting stance in exchange for allowing Milwaukee to tax itself. During the recording of the show it was announced that Gov. Evers will veto the authoritarian plan. We welcome Leaders Igniting Transformation (LIT) co-executive director Cendi Tena to discuss how the Republican’s shared revenue plan forces Milwaukee Public Schools to put police officers in MPS schools, in direct opposition to a local Board decision a few years ago to remove police officers from schools after a long and well organized community effort. We close with a series of racist incidents across the state that demand discussion: including; Dane County Board Supervisors threatened with racist verbal attacks; a racist video from a UW-Madison student the same week Vos calls for defunding Diversity offices in the UW System; and a Wausau band teacher uses racial slurs against a Hmong student. So much for the post-racial society claimed by Republicans.…
We welcome new regular panelist Priscilla Bort, Citizen Action’s Movement Politics Director. Priscilla shares more about herself with our listeners. The panel dives into the state budget battle brewing that will consume the Capital for the next few months. Robert reports back on the final Joint Finance Committee (JFC) public hearing held in Minocqua where Republicans again pretended to listen to the public. Now the real action begins as JFC takes votes on the budget. Priscilla tells us about Governor Evers’ plan in the budget to ensure all Wisconsin students eat for free while in our schools. We highlight Rep. Kristina Shelton’s relentless support for the proposal and her leadership in the Assembly and beyond. We call out the latest GOP bills targeting social safety net programs that passed the Assembly early this week. Robert highlights AB 148 which would impose costly and antiquated barriers on access to health care. The panel discusses the dangerous debt limit fiasco and Rep. Van Orden’s decision to back Speaker McCarthy’s scheme to make Trump tax cuts for the rich permanent, make draconian cuts to critical programs, and reverse climate change and health care affordability advances. Priscilla updates us on the Republican effort to legally harass former Racine alderman John Tate II, in wake of the quick dismissal of the bogus partisan charges. We expose the Milwaukee Police Association’s effort to fight legally over the new City of Milwaukee video release policy which improves transparency for victims’ families and the public to which the police are supposed to be accountable.…
1 420: Wisconsin’s illusive freedom & lost $165 million a year 51:10
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51:10Happy 420 Day (the annual day of action for Marijuana legalization). Unfortunately, in Wisconsin this freedom remains elusive and is costing the state $165 million in revenue. We recap Tax Day this Tuesday where Citizen Action released a new report from Americans for Tax Fairness which shows that when billionaires and corporations dodge taxes, American families pay the price in threats to critical social supports such as Medicare, Medicaid, and food assistance. Congress needs to pass President Biden’s wealth tax and reject the House GOP’s push for making permanent the Trump tax cut. We welcome Joe Evica, the chief steward of the union at CUNA Mutual in Madison (OPEIU Local 39), to discuss a strike vote their members took on Wednesday and the media event they will have on Monday, April 24th at 6pm at the South Central Federation of Labor in Madison. If you live in Dane County, the union urges you to attend the event to show community support. The Milwaukee Common Council unanimously voted this week to demand the giant hospital chain Ascension re-open the birthing and delivery unit at St Francis Hospital in Milwaukee and called on them to stop disinvesting from the City. We discuss a Green New Deal Resolution to be reintroduced in Congress and its critical importance to dealing with the climate crisis and creating family supporting union jobs for everyone across Wisconsin. Robert also attended an event with mayors and Governor Evers to tout the opportunity of federal money for climate change from Inflation Reduction Act, Infrastructure Law. We also received more news this week exposing the increasing Mississipification of Wisconsin by the GOP, as new data revealed the state is now in bottom 10 for public college funding. Finally, craven Republicans continue their ugly smear campaign against long time Racine criminal justice and police reformer John Tate II…
We continue to debrief the historic Supreme Court election, including Ron Johnson urging the Republican Party to reduce its reliance on advertising and invest in a ground game and college students voting. We welcome Attorney Matt O’Neill, who represented the Janet Protasiewicz campaign, to discuss the campaign’s successful effort to remove from broadcast a false and trashy ad by the WMC. Matt provides his perspective on the ads and the challenges judicial elections face in the current campaign environment. We discuss Judge Kacsmaryk’s ruling on mifepristone and how Big Pharma enabled these judges. In Wisconsin, Legislative Republicans want to arm school staff and scheme up new barriers and requirements designed to kick people off needed benefits like health care and unemployment insurance.…
We debrief the smashing victory for democracy in the pivotal Wisconsin Supreme Court race, the most important election in the U.S. of 2023. The resulting shift in the Supreme Court presents progressives in Wisconsin with significant organizing opportunities, including recruiting, training, and electing a new generation of reform leaders. Robert updates us on Congressman Bryan Steil’s attempted intervention into the prosecution of Donald Trump by the New York City District Attorney. Has Steil joined the MAGA wing of the GOP? Robert tells us about a new study finding 40% of Milwaukeans work in low paying jobs that fail to meet their basic needs. And finally, what does the back and forth over Senator-elect Dan Knodl’s statement of openness during the campaign to impeach Janet Protasiewicz say about the norms of the new GOP super-majority in the State Senate. Is any state official safe from retribution at the hands of the anti-Democratic super-majority?…
We preview the home stretch of the critical Supreme Court race heading into the final weekend. It’s time for progressive leaders and activists to volunteer and Get Out The Vote for Janet Protasiewicz! SIGN UP NOW >> https://bit.ly/CAWGOTV2023 We review the closing week of the campaign, including an ugly and false Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) smear against Judge Protasiewicz which is further traumatizing a rape victim. Is there any ethical limit that the Wisconsin corporate lobby will not transgress in its relentless pursuit of a Supreme Court that will always rule in their favor? We discuss the opportunity mayor candidate Brandon Johnson presents the City of Chicago for a new direction of leadership, including public safety. We close the show talking about Bernie Sanders and Democratic U.S. Senators confronting founder and billionaire former CEO Howard Schultz on union busting in a headline grabbing Senate Hearing. Will the heroic sacrifices of Starbucks workers turn the tide for labor, or is there more we need to do?…
We discuss the economic “double talk” in D.C. that rationalizes bailing out the banks (and ultra-wealthy) and not the people. Just this week, the Fed tempered their projected interest rate hikes, which were resisted by banks and their allies because of the threat to banks who have placed risky bets on low interest rates. The Fed and the banks show no such concern for unemployment, the real victims of rate hikes. We review Sen. Tammy Baldwin epic cross examination of Moderna’s CEO for their outrageous COVID vaccine price hike. Will this give Senator Baldwin a great re-election issue? We also raise the alarm bills on 300,000 low income Wisconsinites who will be kicked off BadgerCare as COVID public health emergency ends April 1. Meanwhile, Congressman Bryan Steil focuses on Donald Trump’s legal defense in an outrageous letter to the NYC DA which shows that Trump still commands the GOP. At the other side of the Capital, The TikTok sideshow continues in D.C. Is there any limit to the bipartisan China-bating? Meanwhile in Wisconsin, we review the latest State Supreme Court Election news and talk about report that Illinois took in $36.1 million in cannabis tax revenues last year from Wisconsin residents. Robert debriefs a few GOP “tough on crime bills” that are intended to stoke the issue and look tough while doing absolutely nothing to improve public safety.…
1 Medicare under attack: Special Interview with U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan 49:21
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49:21We have a special interview with U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan to discuss his fight against the Big Health Insurance take over Medicare. These profit hungry corporate behemoths are running multi-million dollar campaign falsely promoting Medicare Advantage programs as Medicare, duping seniors into inferior coverage and bilking the federal government. In reality, these programs are rife with abuse, and threaten the long term existence of Medicare. We review the historic bailout of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and the role of incomplete financial reform following the Great Recession, dangerous bank deregulation in the Trump years supported by Republicans and conservative Democrats. Should wealthy Tech Industry players who claim to be Libertarians get a bailout from the government? We review Tuesday’s bankruptcy of Diamond Sports/Bally Sports Network and its potential impact on the Milwaukee Brewers’ financial stability. We make the obvious connection to the sudden demand of the Brewer’s owner for a massive state tax giveaway. China hysteria continues in the U.S. with a move to force the sale of Tik Tok to a U.S. company. But is Tik Tok data really less secure than the other big tech monopolies? Also, we reveal conservative Wisconsin Congress members Glenn Grothman and Derrick Van Orden’s shameful and hypocritical effort to force people in need of food assistance to regularly report to the government that they are working in order to receive food. Congresswoman Gwen Moore fights back on behalf of needy families.…
We welcome Sarah Godlewski to the show to discuss the “Rally for Our Rights” events across Wisconsin she is organizing with PPAWI, Citizen Action and other progressive allies to highlight the critical importance of abortion rights in the Supreme Court election. This week the WMC dropped $3.2 million into a disgusting crime ad targeting Janet Protasiewicz that was topped by another shameful attack ad attempting to terrify voters that Janet will “take away parental rights and impose trans ideology on our kids.” We review Legislative news that Speaker Vos will kill Governor Evers’ bad idea to subsidize stadium improvements for the Milwaukee Brewers and an outrageous effort by Republicans to weaken our vaccine requirements for children in Wisconsin. We also continue to sound the alarm bell on the brewing cold war with China. We discuss Fahreed Zakaria’s comments on CNN declaring that this Tuesday’s Congressional committee hearing of the new House select committee on China was like being transported back to the 1950s, as members of both parties tried to outdo one another in their denunciations of China.…
1 Kids Forward: Standing with Community 48:45
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48:45We welcome Michelle Mackey, the Executive Director of Kids Forward, to discuss their transition to an anti-racist policy center. We ask her what parts of Governor Evers’ state budget can make the biggest impact for equity. We also review the supreme hypocrisy of Dan Kelly refusal to commit to recusing himself from cases involving his wealthy campaign donors. Finally, we have a full serving of Robin Vos' hypocrisy, including his assertion that there is no money available for the state’s most pressing budget priorities when at the same time he proposes giving away more state revenue in the form of massive new tax cuts for the wealthy.…
1 Spring Primary Election: The good & the ugly 49:10
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49:10We debrief the Spring Primary Election, which saw historic voter turnout and a decisive victory by Judge Janet Protasiewicz. We take a deep dive into this first phase of the critical Supreme Court race, including the big money expended on scorched earth TV ads on behalf of three of the four candidates. Despite its short term success, did the messages set Democrats up for failure by reinforcing right-wing values on public safety, and damaging the multiracial progressive coalition needed to address mass incarceration and structural racism in the criminal justice system? We also call attention to the important reelection race of Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich, and call on progressives to get off the sidelines and volunteer in the general election. Next, we discuss Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s call for the Biden Administration to rein in dangerous short-term health plans that are permitted by Trump era policies to violate the minimum standards for health coverage set by the Affordable Care Act. Robert tells us about a sleazy campaign by big health insurance corporations to destroy Medicare by privatizing it. Finally, we sound the alarm bells over the threat to health coverage posed by the unwinding of the COVID public emergency.…
1 Primary Election, state budget, & subsidizing rich team owners 50:53
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50:53It’s Get Out The Vote weekend for next Tuesday’s critical Spring Primary Election. Governor Evers delivered his budget speech on Wednesday evening, launching the legislative phase of the budget battle. We discuss the highlights and shortcomings of the governor’s plan. We welcome back our in-house economist, Dr. Micheal Rosen, to discuss the misguided decision to include $290 million for the owners of the Milwaukee Brewers in the governor’s budget. We close the show with Citizen Action Northeast Co-op Organizer Natalie Hoffman discussing our door canvass this Saturday at Noon in Green Bay for Mayor Eric Genrich and our endorsed Supreme Court candidates. Please join the hundreds of small donors who have contributed to Citizen Action’s Supreme Court Action Fund supporting our deep canvas field program talking directly to voters. https://bit.ly/3YYidjd Natalie also previews upcoming budget meetings Citizen Action's Northeast Co-op is hosting with State Representatives Lee Snodgrass and Kristina Shelton.…
1 Piercing the ballooning cold war with China 47:12
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47:12We debrief President Biden’s State of the Union speech. Does Biden progressive economic agenda represent a break with recent Democratic Presidents? We preview Governor Tony Evers’ plan to increase state shared revenue in his state budget he will release next week. We encourage him to follow Biden's lead, and include forcing the ultrarich to pay their fair share. We welcome Citizen Action Northcentral Co-op organizer Joel Lewis to discuss thedoor canvass in Wausau this Sunday from 10am - 2pm at the Labor Temple. We also discuss the City of Wausau Climate Action planning process. We close the show by welcoming back Tobita Chow from Justice is Global to talk about the balloon kerfuffle and how too many American politicians are fixin’ for a dangerous Cold War with China that will unleash more anti-Asian hate.…
1 Brewing up Democracy at State Supreme Court 48:34
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48:34Robert is away from the show this week so we are joined by long time show producer, Brian Wooldridge, to get his perspective on producing over a decade of Battleground Wisconsin Podcasts. We discuss Citizen Action’s release of state survey data this week that found 59% of Wisconsinites experienced at least one health care affordability burden over the last year and 39% struggled to pay the resulting bills. This survey data makes clear the intense need to expand BadgerCare in the next State Budget. We welcome new Citizen Action Driftless Co-op organizer Kristie Tweed to introduce herself and invite listeners to the Driftless Co-op Meet and Greet on Feb. 15th at 5:30pm in La Crosse. We also speak with Pio from Delta Beer Lab in Madison to thank them for a major donation to our election work and to promote Delta Beer Lab’s monthly fundraising for groups, including the Wisconsin Conservation Voters in February.…
1 Supremely important economic battles progressives must win 49:21
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49:21We discuss Citizen Action’s duel endorsement of Judge Janet Protasiewicz and Judge Everett Mitchell as we head towards the critical February 21st Supreme Court Primary Election. After debriefing Governor Evers’ State of the State speech and the Republicans' cynical response, we welcome back our in-house economist Dr. Micheal Rosen to discuss Republicans' scheme to create a phony “debt crisis” and what President Biden and Democrats need to do to win the fight. We also talk with Dr. Rosen about Legislative Republican’s shameful and destructive pursuit of large state tax cuts for the wealthy and expose Speaker Vos’ bad idea to increase the sales tax 1% to pay for shared revenue to state municipalities.…
Wisconsin Republicans are taking to the courts to disrupt democracy. First Robin Vos sued the January 6th Committee in an attempt to duck a subpoena asking him to speak about Donald Trump’s latest attempt to overturn the 2020 election result in Wisconsin. Then the Wisconsin GOP sued the City of Milwaukee for seeking the resources necessary for everyone to have an opportunity to vote in November. Where does the GOP plot against democracy end? Mandela Barnes pushes back against racist and false ads running against him and goes on the offensive this week as TV news largely ignores the story while its owners get rich from millions of dollars in trashy, racist dark money ads. Does the so-called Fourth Estate feel any obligation to educate voters about the real issues or is it just another corporate profit center? We discuss the state of the Democratic Party in rural Wisconsin heading into the critical 2022 election with State Senator Jeff Smith and State Assembly candidate Jayne Swiggum. They talk about the challenges and opportunities for progressives to succeed in rural Wisconsin where Trump found success.…
1 Fighting racist Republican election ads one voter at a time 48:23
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48:23We welcome Citizen Action Movement Politics Director Priscilla Bort back as a guest panelist. We discuss the push back against the onslaught of racist Republican ads against Mandela Barnes. Citizen Action’s “deep canvass” election program is one of the most effective counters for combating lies. We urge listeners to donate and/or volunteer to this pivotal program. Trump-backed millionaire authoritarian Tim Michels wants to end parole, even if it violates state law, and Republican state senate candidate Dave Estenson is the subject of a Department of Justice investigation into his sexual harassment of women. In an ominous sign, every Wisconsin House Republican votes against bi-partisan bill preventing the overturning of elections. We close with our special interview with Wisconsin Examiner journalist Henry Redman to discuss whether the billions of dollars invested in broadband are actually going to cover unserved areas of Wisconsin.…
We shed light on the misleading media coverage of the latest MU Law Poll, which finds both the Governors and U.S. Senate races are a dead heat. Did the TV saturation of radicalized attacks on Mandela Barnes influence any specific subset of voters? We applaud Sarah Godlewski’s new PAC to expose Sen. Johnson on abortion and support 6 women candidates running for important state legislative seat. Robert reviews new campaign contribution data that reveals Corporate America as the real power behind MAGA and the assault on democracy. We welcome UW Health nurse Shari Signer to discuss this week’s narrowly avoided strike, the next steps for the nurses, and their role in helping inspire a rebirth of labor organizing. New data reveals the lowest child poverty rate in America ever measured thanks to President Biden’s policies, especially the Child Tax Credit. Will Democrats in the Senate make it permanent? We close with Matt ranting again against the un-elected Federal Reserve Bank.…
Please join us for a special interview with Sulma Arias, the new Executive Director of People’s Action, Citizen Action’s national organizing network. In that in-depth interview, Robert and Sulma dig into the crisis in American democracy and the role grassroots organizing must play in recreating a sense of community and shared purpose.…
We welcome Citizen Action’s Movement Politics Director, Priscilla Bort, to discuss our Fall election program which centers on grassroots conversations with pivotal voters. Our first phone night had a great turnout, and this weekend we launch our general election door deep canvass in Milwaukee and Green Bay Saturday morning. Our panel reviews President Biden’s visit to Milwaukee Laborfest and his continued call-out of MAGA Republicans who are imperiling American democracy. MAGA millionaire Tim Michels demonstrated his anti-democratic Trump instincts by calling for pitchforks and torches. We close with a special interview with Sulma Arias, the new Executive Director of People’s Action, Citizen Action’s national organizing network. In that in-depth interview, Robert and Sulma dig into the crisis in American democracy and the role grassroots organizing must play in recreating a sense of community and shared purpose.…
Happy Labor Day Weekend to all our listeners. We hope you get out and participate in your area’s Labor Day events. In this episode, we take stock in the resurgence of labor organizing in America as new Gallup Polling shows 71% support unions, the highest since 1965! Will it lead to a rebuilding of the depleted ranks of organized labor, shifting power in a progressive direction, or is more structural reform needed to restore the right to form unions? The end of summer means the November Election is just around the corner. Behind in the polls, Ron Johnson goes on the attack while getting help from some Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporters who distort public perceptions in the name of balanced coverage. In the real scandal fest that is the MAGA wing of the GOP, it is revealed that Tim Michaels’ Foundation Gave to Anti-Abortion and Anti-LGBTQIA+ groups. We also review the latest attacks on our democracy, including the shameful end of Vos and Gableman’s sham election review and his crusade to imprison elected officials and mayors who push for access to voting. The Democrats seem to be surging in the polls. What does it mean for the prospects of building a true governing majority in the second half of President Biden’s first term?…
1 Biden forgives student loans & UW Health nurses prepare to strike for a union 47:21
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47:21We discuss President Biden’s announcement that he will use his presidential powers to cancel $10,000 in student loans for those making less than $125,000 and $20,000 for those who were low enough income to qualify for Pell Grants. Robert discusses how this benefits all middle class students and is especially targeted to the most financially challenged, including BIPOC students with very high student debts. We talk about the vote of over 2,000 UW Health nurses to authorize a 3 day strike in September to demand recognition of their union from hospital administrators. We review a new report finding public employees are leaving the sector at the highest rate in decades. Robert previews our “How to talk about the Inflation Reduction Act” training this Thursday at 6pm (WATCH recording of event at citizenactionwi.org) This week Citizen Action announced 32 new candidate endorsements for the November 8th election and discuss why it is so important for everyone to volunteer this fall to elect Mandela Barnes to take the next steps in passing a bold progressive agenda.…
1 Historic primary election & Congress Finally Goes Big 49:24
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49:24We debrief the seismic shifts in Wisconsin politics reflected in this week’s primary election, which saw a 40 year turnout high, and perhaps a permanent shift in the balance of power in the Wisconsin GOP. On the Democratic side, progressives continued to gain ground in primaries (including democratic socialists, and U.S. Senate nominee Mandela Barnes became a great hope for staving off a red wave in Wisconsin and nationally in 2022. Does Wisconsin hold the key to saving American democracy? At the same time, the Inflation Reduction Act, the historically bold climate, health care, and tax reform bill expected cleared the Senate Sunday and is expected to pass the House on Friday. It reflects Democrats making the most progress in 50 years possible given the current composition of Congress (with some very unfortunate but necessary concessions to Senators Manchin and Sinema).…
We welcome Darrin Madison, Citizen Action's endorsed candidate for State Assembly District 10, to discuss his important primary election on August 9th and his vision for structural change in Wisconsin. Our panel reviews Ron Johnson’s odd week. He floated the idea of making Social Security and Medicare vulnerable to cuts or cancellation if not passed by Congress annually and flip-flopped twice on marriage equality. Is this good politics, or is Johnson now completely out of touch with Wisconsin voters? We update progress on President Biden's domestic agenda, major advances on climate, health care costs, and tax fairness. The bill, which is called the Inflation Reduction Act, faces one remaining conservative Democratic hurdle, now that Manchin is on board, Kyrsten Sinema demands protecting a particularly sleazy tax break for the rich in return for her support. Since our last show, Sarah Godlewski dropped out of the U.S. Senate primary election, clearing the path for Mandela Barnes’ primary election victory. We also discuss what the overwhelming defeat of anti-Abortion forces in Kansas portend for the midterms?…
1 Special Interview with Angelito Tenorio 49:47
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49:47We welcome Citizen Action’s endorsed candidate for State Treasurer, Angelito Tenorio, to talk about his grassroots campaign to win the primary election on August 9th. We discuss the huge news this week that Tom Nelson and Alex Lasry ended their campaigns for Senate and endorsed Mandela Barnes, leaving two viable candidates and a new dynamic to the race. In other huge news, is there really a Manchin deal on climate, health care, and corporate taxes which brings President Biden's domestic agenda back from the dead? The new Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 may pass as early as next week. But is the national media right it is a done deal or is the other obstructionist Sen. Kirsten Sinema waiting in the wings. Robert educates us on the significance of the Climate and Equity Resolution for the Milwaukee Public Schools.…
1 Sara Rodriguez: The best Rx for Lt. Governor 49:11
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49:11We interview State Representative Sara Rodriguez, Citizen Action’s endorsed candidate for Lt. Governor in the fast approaching August 9th primary election. Sara tells us about her background in healthcare as a nurse and administrator and why she is the best running mate for Tony Evers. We also welcome new Citizen Action Movement Politics Director, Priscilla Bort, who shares her vision for electing a new generation of diverse movement leaders in Wisconsin. Our panel discusses Donald Trump’s call to Speaker Robin Vos pressuring him to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Wisconsin in light of the WI Supreme Court’s outrageous ban on ballot drop boxes. Is Trump still trying to win the 2020 election, or is this really about his rumored run in 2024? A new national MU Law poll finds voter support plummeting for the U.S. Supreme Court, but the Hobbs decision has not closed the enthusiasm gap between Republican and Democratic voters. How can Democrats excite our disengaged and demoralized base? In other election news, Bernie Sanders endorses Mandela Barnes while Tim Michels doubles down on hypocrisy with his new criticism of the Fox con deal which netted his firm hundreds of millions of public dollars that could have been used to provide opportunities for working class Wisconsinites.…
1 Unelected Federal Reserve uses workers as the hammer against inflation 46:54
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46:54We discuss the implications of a new Billionaires Report Citizen Action released this week with Americans for Tax Fairness. The report shows how the nation’s billionaires are pumping tens of millions of dollars into the 2022 midterm elections, mostly backing Republican candidates for Congress who will cut taxes for the ultra-rich and the corporations they own. The panel talks about the unelected Federal Reserve’s policies to tamp down inflation. Is this Wall Street-dominated body using class warfare to address the economic issues caused by the ultra rich and our dysfunctional Congress? In yet another bombshell from the January 6th Committee, evidence mounts that that Trump personally orchestrated the attack on the Capitol. Does this mean our timid Attorney General will bring charges? We also review a horrendous Wisconsin Supreme Court session, and announce Citizen Action’s endorsement of Sara Rodriguez for Lt. Governor and Angelito Tenorio for State Treasurer.…
1 Corporate media undermines democracy 49:19
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49:19We discuss the corrosive election coverage by corporate media giant Gannett and its paper the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which punishes candidates for being honest and authentic about controversial issues, such as the role of structural racism in American history. Will the endless media thirst for click bait, and the shameless racial division fomented by GOP candidates and campaign operatives, harm the electoral prospects of the U.S. Senate Democratic Primary front runner Mandela Barnes? Is there a chance Congress could finally pass a Budget Reconciliation bill this summer which contains elements of President Biden’s stalled domestic agenda? We talk about the apparent deal Senate Democrats made this week on prescription drug price negotiations that could mean a final bill is just around the corner. We discuss the anticipation for this Friday’s historic January 6th Investigation testimony from former White House Counsel Patrick Cipollone. Will it be Donald Trump’s John Dean moment? In Wisconsin, the Supreme Court deals a significant blow to open records and one of the Republicans running for Governor debate going after legal emergency contraception.…
We discuss a post Roe America and its connection to the insurrection. Governor Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul go on the offensive and file lawsuit challenging Wisconsin's 1849 law banning abortions, calling it unenforceable. We review the historic and eye-popping details of Tuesday’s January 6th hearing testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, a key staffer to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial board called for the defeat of Ron Johnson following his connection to the January 6th insurrection. The State Supreme Court says a Walker appointed DNR appointee can stay indefinitely and disgraced Michael Gableman sued for the 4th time for failing to keep public records. We discuss how election coverage isw dominated by horse race and faux scandal media. Finally, we urge you to get involved and volunteer with Citizen Action to make calls for Mandela Barnes for U.S. Senate every Wednesday, 5-8pm.…
We debrief Citizen Action’s Brew Fest featuring Mandela Barnes and great beverages. Thanks to everyone who attended, if you couldn’t we would love your donation in support. We review the significant news that Sen. Ron Johnson tried to transmit Wisconsin’s fake electoral votes to Vice President Mike Pence on January 6th and his pathetic response when confronted by the Capitol media which is garnering national shame. We discuss the new MU Law Poll which finds Mandela Barnes is leading the U.S. Senate democratic primary and in the general election and Democrats are surprisingly strong given the terrible national headwinds Democrats face this fall. We take a look at what authoritarian conservative rule looks like this week as we wait for the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Roe v Wade. In Madison, Legislative Republicans gavel the rights of Wisconsin women back to 1849, Kenosha County Board has Sheriff tackle, handcuff, and arrest for speaking at a public meeting, and a MKE exurban school district rejects a book on Japanese internment as not balanced enough…
1 Gerrymandered Legislature off the rails in first week 47:13
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47:13We are joined by State Senator Jeff Smith to discuss the first week of the gerrymandered State Legislature. Seeking to influence the State Supreme Court race, the session opened by Republicans placing on the Spring ballot a cynical political referendum asking voter opinion on a BadgerCare work requirement and a constitutional amendment on cash bail. The top priority of this illegitimate Legislature appears to be more tax giveaways for the ultra rich. Sen. Smith tells us why he is leading the charge to oppose the Republican attack on Wisconsin's progressive income tax. We also talk about state budget strategy,rural broadband, and the deepening bi-partisan public concern over PFAS in our water. Eau Claire City Council member and Citizen Action Organizing Director Kate Felton joins us to discuss her effort to organize local leaders in Western Wisconsin to fight for desperately needed increases in state shared revenue to municipalities during the upcoming state budget fight.…
We are joined by Tobita Chow, the director of Justice is Global to discuss the new House committee aimed at the Chinese government and has Republicans warning of a “New Cold War”. We discuss why a cold war is disastrous to progressive governing and unnecessarily stokes anti-Chinese hate in America. We debrief Citizen Action’s excellent State Supreme Court progressive candidate forum Wednesday night. We encourage you to watch and vote on what Citizen Action should do in the election. We talk about the newly unveiled Republican agenda in Congress and the State Legislature to provide tax cuts and tax avoidance for the wealthy while declaring no legislative pathway on very popular issues like legalized marijuana. We also review disgraced Wisconsin Election Commissioner Robert Spindell bragging about suppressing voters.…
This week host Matt Brusky is on vacation, and we have as a special guest panelist State Senator Chris Larson. Chris and Robert Kraig dig into the latest revelations from the January 6th Committee documents which putt more of Senator Ron Johnson's fingerprints on the insurrection; the constitutional impasse in the House over the next Speaker, Trump's obsession with overturning the results in Wisconsin, and the Big Lie views of the two conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates. We then take a deep dive into weather governing in the public interest is possible with a hopelessly gerrymandered Legislature, including the prospects for BadgerCare Expansion, adequate revenue for schools and local government, and whether we can fend off a flat tax which raises taxes for most, slashes them from the ultra wealthy, and would create a permanent revenue hole that will defund our schools and other core public services. Can such a damaging tax policy be averted?…
1 St. Francis Nurses Stand Up & Fight Corporate Healthcare 47:42
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47:42We welcome Connie Smith, president of the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses & Health Professionals and Jamie Lucas, executive director, to discuss Ascension’s profit-maximizing closure of St. Francis Hospital’s Labor and Delivery unit, creating a new healthcare desert for women and their families on Milwaukee’s south side. We discuss the economic forces driving Ascension’s decision, and the leverage public mobilization and protest, and elected officials willing to speak out, can create to back them down. We also evaluated the effectiveness of Democrats in the recent Congressional “Lame Duck” session; Was it irresponsible to not deal with the debt limit through reconciliation and other filibuster proof progressive priorities or did Democratic leaders do the best that was possible with a bad hand? We talk about a new article Robert wrote for Barn Raiser debriefing Wisconsin’s 2022 election. Robert urges us to spend less time on punditry and more on deeper conversations with voters. We look ahead to the huge opportunity the 2023 Supreme Court Election for us to talk to more voters and win.…
We start by reflecting on some rare good news from Washington, the historic signing this week by President Biden of the Baldwin-Collins marriage equality bill, the Respect for Marriage Act. We then turn to the storm clouds looming over the next two years, the Party of Trump’s dysfunction on a spending bill needed to keep the Federal Government open. Is this a harbinger of things once the GOP takes control of the House of Representatives? Next, we welcome Dr. Micheal Rosen to discuss the Federal Reserve Board’s decision to raise interest rates, likely imperiling economic gains made by workers the last few years. Is there a better way to reduce inflation? Michael also predicts the winner of Sunday’s World Cup Final, debriefs the tournament, and says goodbye to a “greatest generation” of players likely appearing in their last World Cup.…
We discuss the political implications of Sen. Raphael Warnock’s win in Georgia. What are the new opportunities that a larger Senate majority present? We talk about President Biden’s push to move the first Democratic Presidential primary to South Carolina in 2024. Does it create a more equitable process? What does it say about whether Biden will run for a second term? SCOTUS takes up the Independent Legislature theory and it’s unclear where a majority of the court will land on this controversial case that would put another dagger into democracy. In Wisconsin, the special election for Senate District 8 now has 4 Republicans and 1 Democrat in the race. Is the seat vacated by Alberta Darling in play? We discuss the news this week that Milwaukee and Dane County are being subpoenaed in the DOJ’s false electors investigation against Trump. Robert has some reflections on President Biden’s support for organized labor and we congratulate Citizen Action president Mark Thomsen for winning the Wisconsin Trial Lawyer of the Year award. If you need healthcare coverage by January 1, 2023, don’t forget to sign up on Healthcare.gov by December 15th…
We discuss growing tensions within the illegitimate Republican Legislature between the old Scott Walker and Trumpist factions. Speaker Vos finally testifies on Trump’s efforts to overturn the Wisconsin 2020 election, becoming the last witness to be interviewed by the historic January 6th Committee. Meanwhile the Wisconsin Election Commission deadlocks and blocks (for now) MAGA Republican Representative Janel Brandtjen’s scheme to acquire personal data of every Wisconsin voter. We talk about the entry of conservative celebrity judge Jennifer Dorow into the 2023 WI Supreme Court election – who surprisingly agrees with Mandela Barnes that Wisconsin’s cash bail system is broken and not keeping us safe. Senator Baldwin successfully passes historic marriage equality legislation, achieving a huge progressive bipartisan win. We close by discussing the proposed Albertsons-Kroger grocery mega merger and the Biden Administration’s intervention into a rail workers strike.…
We are thankful for our listeners this holiday season. We appreciate your support for over a decade. This week the gerrymandered leaders of the State Legislature said they wanted to cut taxes for the wealthy, including Republican Senate Majority Leader Devon LeMahieu calling for a regressive flat tax that economists found will cut taxes for the top 3% and raise taxes for everyone making $25,000 – $300,000. This gerrymandered legislature must be stopped! We are calling on you this week to donate to our newly launched 2023 Supreme Court Action Fund to win the historically important election that will determine if we can overturn the gerrymandered election maps choking democracy in Wisconsin. DONATE NOW to our Supreme Court Action Fund >> https://bit.ly/3Ov2ZOF Every dollar donated goes directly to support our “deep canvass” field program talking directly to important spring election voters.…
As the 2022 election results continue to come in, the voters deliver a split decision. We continue our analysis of the election and what it portends for governing and the future of democracy. We look at why inflation didn’t kill Democrats in the election and how Biden’s policies played a role in midterm success, even if not fully understood by pollsters and the media. We celebrate Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s masterful effort to shepherd a bi-partisan Same sex marriage codification through the U.S. Senate, protecting marriage rights for millions of Americans from Trumpist judges. In Wisconsin, we preview 2023’s state budget battle between the winner of the popular vote, Governor Tony Evers, and an illegitimate gerrymandered Legislature. In addition, we assess the developing civil war between MAGA election denier Rep. Janel Brandtjen and Speaker Robin Vos, who expelled Brandtjen from the Assembly GOP caucus. We close by previewing the pivotal 2023 Supreme Court Election next April. Citizen Action is hosting a Supreme Court candidate forum featuring the progressive candidates on Wednesday, January 11th, 7pm.…
We unflinchingly evaluate the 2022 election in Wisconsin, both the good and the bad. We celebrate the high turnout and overall surprisingly strong performance of Democrats in Wisconsin and nationally, from the Governor Tony Evers victory to a possible Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate. We also don’t hide our deep disappointment in the close loss of Mandela Barnes and the despair of the gerrymandered state legislature. We close by looking forward to the Spring 2023 Supreme Court election where reversing the historically undemocratic Legislative gerrymander and removing voter suppression rules will be on the ballot.…
We discuss the new MU Poll which shows the election is tied and all about turnout! Poll demonstrates that GOTV field programs will decide the election and you need to volunteer! If you can’t volunteer, please DONATE to support our GOTV door and phone canvass. President Biden makes impassioned comments Wednesday about the threat to democracy. Why is the Wisconsin mainstream media ignoring Tim Michels’ Trumpian comments that if he is elected governor, no Republican will lose in Wisconsin? How does it relate to his position on decertifying the 2020 election, or abolishing the WEC? Also Michael’s construction company has no Black people in management, super majority white and male. Citizen Action releases a hard hitting Ron Johnson video that uses his own words to reveal who he supports. We encourage you to watch & share video. Robert educates us on the Affordable Care Act open enrollment period beginning this week and what changes open up health care coverage to more people. We update the effort to stop We Energies outrageous 13%+ rate hike and their inadequate effort to transition to renewable energy.…
We discuss the razor tight Wisconsin election, and ask listeners to challenge themselves to do at least one phone or door shift by November 8th. See our list of GOTV opportunities this weekend (below). We dig into new polling showing combining climate change and the rising cost of living is a great electoral argument. Why are the Democrats not talking about renewable energy and energy efficiency as solutions to inflation? We welcome Antonio Butts, the Executive Director of Walnut Way, for an interview on the new ME Energies coalition against We Energies' massive rate hike request, and his organization's intervention in the rate case now pending before the Public Service Commission (PSC). We close the show with our in-house economist Dr. Michael Rosen to review newly released Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau data showing Tim Michels' flat tax only benefits the richest 3% of Wisconsin residents, while actually raising taxes on everyone else.…
We discuss how self-interested billionaires are dominating the critical U.S. Senate contest, reflecting on the news that Diane Hendricks has so far given $16 million and Richard Uihlein $20 million to pro-Johnson Super PAC. The dark money group is running trashy and racist ads against Mandela Barnes. Similar ads by the WI GOP and other dark money groups have prompted the NAACP to file an FCC complaint over the racist ads and call on Broadcast corporations to refuse to air them. With billionaires setting agenda for voters, does Wisconsin still really have one person one vote? Meanwhile in the equally toxic Governor’s race, Tim Michels flip flops on abortion as he schemes to break up DNR and Milwaukee Public Schools. We discuss a proposed merger in the grocery industry that will only make higher food prices worse and Robert debriefs a rally last week against a proposed We Energies rate increase and the energy burden it places on low income families, especially communities of color. We close with progressive economist, Dr. Michael Rosen, to discuss a likely Federal Reserve rate increase. Will the move spark a recession on the backs of the most vulnerable workers, particularly African- Americans? We dig into other potential other options available to President Biden, at a time when Congress has abdicated its responsibility to make economic policy.…
1 Special Interview with Aaron Richardson for State Treasurer 48:42
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48:42We debrief Thursday night’s final U.S. Senate debate with Robert who attended in person. Next, we bat around the latest MU Law Poll. Does it show a pathway to victory for Mandela within the control of grassroots activists and volunteers? We discuss the significance of the expected Federal Reserve interest rate hike. Is slowing down the economy and spurring layoffs the way to heal the economy? Robert educates us on the We Energies’ rate hike and how their corporate power is hurting low income people of color and sabotaging the transition to clean renewable energy. We encourage listeners to attend a Milwaukee rally against the WE Energies rate hike this Saturday, 10/15, at Noon. We close with a special interview with Citizen Action’s endorsed State Treasurer candidate, Aaron Richardson, to talk about his campaign.…
We discuss Trump-backed millionaire Tim Michels’ self-dealing flat tax scheme that would further undermine the revenue needed for education, health are, and a climate transition, and force working and middle class folks to pay more while the super rich get yet another tax giveaway. Ron Johnson continues to deny Jan. 6th was an armed insurrection, as Wisconsin Democrats work to make the November Election a referendum on the right to an abortion. Robert tells us the deep history and structural causes of for-profit utility foot dragging on climate change, and a new Sierra Club Report gives Wisconsin utilities D and F grades on clean energy. We close with an interview of Citizen Action North Central Organizing Coop member Don Dunphy, who has been working for two and a half years for our “deep canvass” program following his retirement as the Lincoln County District Attorney. Don tells us why talking to important voters this year is “the most important job of his life” and why it is important our listeners should donate to expand the canvass and volunteer with Citizen Action talking to voters who will decide the election.…
1 Eau Claire water: A victory for community organizing 47:09
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47:09We have a special interview this week with Eau Claire City Council member Andrew Wethmann about a California water company’s failed scheme to get access to city water. It was a victory for community organizing and local democracy and a cautionary note about the threat of big water companies cutting secret days to steal our water resources. Speaking of conspiracies against democracy, we reflect on the first two public hearings by the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th attack on the United States Capitol: What are the revelations so far and is there any political impact? Disgraced Michael Gableman faces discipline after ‘misogynistic’ comments in court last Friday. Robert tells us if a Congressional Budget Reconciliation deal is back on life support in Washington, offering a glimmer of hope that the critical climate, health care, and tax fairness elements of the Biden domestic agenda can be enacted this summer. We open the show with a reminder to our listeners to attend our Brew Fest Fundraiser, presented by the UAW, next Wednesday, June 22nd at 6pm in Milwaukee.…
1 Citizen Action endorses Mandela Barnes for U.S. Senate 50:30
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50:30We welcome Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes, Citizen Action’s newly endorsed candidate for U.S. Senate, to discuss his historic campaign and why Citizen Action endorsed in the hotly contested primary to take on Mega MAGA Senator Ron Johnson. We debrief our 3rd Congressional District Candidate Forum, which featured the 4 Democratic candidates running to replace Ron Kind in one of the nation’s most important House elections this Fall. Watch the forum for yourself and tell us if you think there is a candidate Citizen Action should endorse. Robin Vos appointed a new Wisconsin Election Commissioner (WEC), what does it mean? Will an insurrectionist lead the WEC? Meanwhile, the disgraced Michael Gabelman is forced to testify in court on Friday about his habitual shredding of public records. The Wisconsin Supreme Court finally rules against the WMC’s disturbing effort to block employer COVID outbreak data, and the shameful propaganda statement/dissent of Justice Zeigler and 2 other right wing justices. Are these actual legal arguments or Fox News propaganda masquerading as jurisprudence? We close the show discussing the liberal backlash against criminal justice reform in the San Francisco District Attorney recall earlier this week. What does it mean for BLM and the George Floyd moment when real reform seemed possible?…
1 Policing police and school libraries 48:28
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48:28We welcome guest panelist Isiah Holmes, an award-winning journalist from the Wisconsin Examiner, for an extended conversation focused on recent revelations on police accountability and mounting book censorship. We discuss the news that no charges will be filed against Police Officer Joseph Mensah in the fatal shooting of Jay Anderson. This came despite a botched investigation that led Judge Yamahiro to conclude that major mistakes were made in the investigation. We also dive into Isiah’s article that looked into a coordinated and shameful witch hunt by Republican state legislators to ban supposedly "objectionable" books in school libraries. We close with a well-organized Republican National Committee scheme to recruit and train armies of poll workers to disrupt elections from inside the process and cause chaos at Democratic-leaning precincts, setting up frivolous grounds for overturning the will of the voters. The strategy is live in Battleground Michigan, is Battleground Wisconsin next?…
1 Special Report - Kate Beaton on California Company Wanting Eau Claire Water 8:12
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8:12Special Report - Eau Claire city council member Kate Beaton discusses a California company’s effort to grab access to Eau Claire City water. Has the looting of Wisconsin’s water resources begun, or can an engaged public push back?
We welcome State Representative Supreme Moore Omokunde as a guest panelist for a serious discussion of the proliferation of guns and lack of political courage to do anything real about it. With our government ground to a standstill on everything that matters to voters, can democracy survive? We break some news, as Rep. Moore Omokunde gives us a preview of a a game changing Climate and Jobs package to be released next month. Can it get Wisconsin on a course to meet the climate crisis and finally begin to address the twin evils of income inequality and racial inequality? Next, we talk about the surprising resignation of Republican Dean Knudson’s from the Wisconsin Election Commission for lack of GOP support for free and fair elections. Will it lead to MAGA control of Wisconsin election apparatus? We close with Eau Claire city council member Kate Beaton to discuss a California company’s effort to grab access to Eau Claire City water. Has the looting of Wisconsin’s water resources begun, or can an engaged public push back?…
What is the potential impact of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law after 6 months? Can it, as Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich proposed on a media call hosted by Citizen Action this week, fund an expansion of Amtrak to the City of Champions? What do this week's Pennsylvania primaries portend for WI? Are the insurrectionists and the progressive populists on the rise? We talk about the latest COVID spike and new data showing Pro Trump counties continue to suffer double the COVID death rates of pro-Biden counties, while President Biden continues to be quiet on the continued failure to obtain the COVID vaccine patent waiver needed to vaccinate the global south. New NPR polling finds 2/3rds of Americans oppose overturning Roe v. Wade, but does it mean anything politically? Why are Milwaukee leaders shifting blame for the shootings after the Bucks game last week by demonizing youth for the decision of adults to allow an unprecedented proliferation of guns. Also this week, who is behind the baby formula shortage? (Hint, it's not Joe Biden).…
We take stock on this week's horrific milestone of 1 million U.S. COVID deaths, so far. What does it say about the country and what does it portend for the future? Primary elections have started across the country and we look at the role of Donald Trump in the elections. What does it mean for the prospects for American democracy? Robert discusses lessons for Wisconsin learned from Lt. Governor John Fetterman’s U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania. Does Fetterman offer a blueprint for WI Senate candidates, or not? We discuss the strange role of health care in the 2022 elections. In addition to the now life and death abortion issue, Ron Johnson keeps flip flopping on ACA repeal, and passing a death sentence for Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. What is going on, and does health care offer a pathway for Democratic victory in November? We close with a teaser on exciting new climate and structural racism legislation that will be introduced in early June in Wisconsin.…
We discuss the latest shock to American democracy, the SCOTUS leak of a draft majority opinion overturning Roe V Wade, with Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin’s Courtney Hayward. We explore the politics andthe implications for Wisconsin. Are there ways we can fight back effectively? Yet another judge orders Assembly Republicans to prevent the destruction of records in ex Supreme Court Justice Gableman's sham election review. Next we talk about the policy implication of a new Wisconsin poll showing that public opinion of policing remains largely unchanged over the last decade, despite the largest protest movement in American history. Where do we go from here? Finally, Citizen Action organizer Barbara Cerda joins us to invite listeners to a Southeast Wisconsin Organizing Coop 2022 Election party celebrating Spring election victories and planning for the Fall elections on Wednesday, May 11th, 5:30pm in Milwaukee.…
1 Special - Tobita Chow on anti-China rhetoric 16:12
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16:12We have a fantastic conversation with Justice is Global’s Tobita Chow to discuss an American Prospect article denying that anti-China ads tap into anti-Asian sentiments in the American public. Are there Democratic arguments that can inadvertently spread hate and aid the Republicans?
We have a fantastic conversation with Justice is Global’s Tobita Chow to discuss an American Prospect article denying that anti-China ads tap into anti-Asian sentiments in the American public. Are there Democratic party arguments that can inadvertently spread hate and aid the Republicans? We discuss the new Marquette Law poll. Is there any shakeup in Wisconsin politics in this critical election year? Meanwhile, the Trumpification of the Wisconsin Republican Party continues. In These Times Magazine's Hannah Faris joins us to discuss the historic union organizing at Starbucks in Wisconsin and throughout the country. Is the labor movement making a comeback?…
We assess the damage of the State Supreme Court redistricting bombshell, imposing a radical gerrymander for WI Assembly and Senate districts for at least 2022, and perhaps until 2032. What are the implications for democracy, racial equity, and the progressive movement? Robert educates us on Governor Evers’ newly unveiled clean energy plan, the first serious move on climate in Wisconsin history. A Tax Day report on Wisconsin’s billionaires finds that their wealth grew by 50% or $19.7 billion in the two short years since the COVID pandemic began. Is the politics finally aligned for making Billionaires pay their fair share in taxes, through President Biden's proposed Billionaires tax or other means? We welcome award winning Wisconsin Examiner journalist Isiah Holmes to talk about a new report quantifying that shocking percentages of Wisconsin’s Black and Hispanic renters are behind in their rent payment and at risk of eviction. Why is this happening, and what can be done?…
We say goodbye to panelist Claire Zautke who is leaving Citizen Action to join Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson’s new administration in a senior policy position. The panel discusses the GOP effort to stop Governor Evers Administration from using the state’s energy efficiency program to lower carbon emissions, showing yet again how dangerous conservative ideology is for the future of humanity. The public wants to respond to the climate crisis, but will Democrats finally be effective at holding them accountable at the ballot box? We take a deep dive into Wisconsin’s new Congressional maps and compare their competitiveness over the last two decades and the role the urban/rural divide plays in the expansion of “safe seats.” Citizen Action Driftless Cooperative organizer Ben Wilson joins us to promote a La Crosse Earth Day event next Friday. We close by welcoming Justice Global’s Tobita Chow to discuss his In These Times Magazine editorial on the war in Ukraine. We also dig into U.S. Senate Candidate Alex Lasry’s anti-China ad. Are Democratic politicos urging China-bashing as a political strategy in 2022?…
We debrief the Spring Election, including the right wing’s effort to take over local schools boards on shameful culture war conspiracies and the watershed election of Milwaukee's first Black mayor. The panel takes stock in the historic U.S. Senate vote confirming the first Black woman, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, to the Supreme Court. Disgraced former judge Michael Gableman shamefully speaks at Trump's Florida resort and is praised by the insurrectionist ex-president. How can Republicans continue the pretense that Gableman is leading an impartial and objective investigation? Claire educates us on the important health care policy behind the big Barack Obama/Joe Biden media event at the White House this week. A Citizen Action member from our North Central Wisconsin Organizing Co-op directly impacted by unaffordable health insurance costs gets a trip to the White House to see the Obama-Biden event. We discuss critical Biden agenda items that still need to be addressed before November 2022. Finally, the panel discusses the implications of new reports tying COVID-19 deaths to poverty, plus the latest Ron Johnson follies.…
1 Interview with Eau Claire School Board President Tim Nordin 12:35
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12:35We have an exclusive interview with Eau Claire school board president Tim Nordin about the right wing attacks on school board members, and the death threat against him that is making national and international news. And make sure to vote April 5th!
1 Defending democracy, defeating violence 50:07
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50:07Speaker Vos is found in contempt of court for failing to turn over records related to his sham 2020 election “investigation.” Will the political boss of the State Assembly comply with the court order to comply with Wisconsin’s open records laws? We have an exclusive interview with Eau Claire school board president Tim Nordin about the right wing attacks on school board members, and the death threat against him that is making national and international news. Claire tells us why COVID boosters were authorized for Americans 50+ while the world continues to wait for a World Trade Organization waiver to allow the production of affordable COVID vaccines. We call out Congressional inaction on expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies that could impact the healthcare of 14 million Americans weeks before the critical November elections. Can the Democrats summon the unity to fulfill their campaign promises to make health care more affordable and to prevent a political catastrophe at the polls? We close discussing Sen. Baldwin’s fight to protect Kohl’s workers from the looming threat of vulture capitalists seeking to dismantle a profitable company.…
We discuss this historic week where the U.S. Supreme Court surprisingly reversed Wisconsin’s redistricting maps in its scandalous shadow docket. What is going on and where do we go from here? Next, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson appeared before the U.S. Senate for ground-breaking confirmation hearing and faces shameful tactics from the Trump wing of the GOP. Will she survive the awful politics of the U.S. Senate? The panel reviews the Congressional Progressive Caucus’ new blueprint for executive action that includes 55 different items President Biden can implement without Congress. In Wisconsin, Speaker Vos hints that his GOP sham investigation may end soon. Will former President Trump let him get away with it? The Affordable Care Act (ACA) turns 12 this week and early voting has started for the April 5th Spring Election..…
1 Investigating January 6 Insurrectionists 47:29
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47:29Our panel discusses Speaker Robin Vos’ meeting with conservative conspiracy theorists who are urging illegal decertification of the 2020 presidential election. Will Trump be returned to power via midterm coup? The Wisconsin Election Commission does not pursue charges against Wisconsin's fake electors. What does it mean? We review the implications of Gannett closing its West Milwaukee printing plant where it prints the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and numerous other Wisconsin newspapers. Is there any future for corporate-owned newspapers? Finally, the progressive firebrand brewer Kirk Bangstad from the Minocqua Brewing Super PAC joins us to talk about the PAC’s lawsuit alleging U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson and U.S. Reps. Scott Fitzgerald and Tom Tiffany are barred from holding public office by the post Civil War 14th Amendment. Will they suffer the fate of confederate leaders?…
From the conservative leaning WI Supreme Court making up the new “least changes” redistricting criterion to the Republican attempt to funnel public dollars to private schools, it seems the Sith Lords of the WI GOP are embarrassing the dark side…again! We delve into the new political maps for Wisconsin and give some political insider perspective of the new districts pros and cons. Our eye-rolling won’t stop with the newly released "Gablegate" records showing Gableman’s massive spending of public money on himself, while continuing to drive his big-lie partisan election review into the toilet. And the hits keep rolling as we call out RoJo’s past pro-Putin support and how he continues to show his unworthiness to be in office (don’t forget to Vote Nov 8th!). Speaking of terrible leadership…did you hear about the one where a bunch of white people who don’t live in Milwaukee want to dismantle the multi-racial Milwaukee School district? Join us as we try to find the punchline.…
1 Pathbreaking BadgerCare Public Option Bill Unveiled 52:06
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52:06Public option, what? A sweeping BadgerCare Public Option Bill was announced this week in the Legislature, which does more than any bill introduced in over a decade to make health care more affordable and accessible in Wisconsin. We hit on the top details of the BadgerCare Public Option Bill and why it’s so important that legislation like this gets a fair hearing. In the weird and dangerous news of the week, disgraced ex-judge Michael Gableman is back in our chatter-box telling an Assembly committee that he was joining the circus. Okay maybe not, but he did give a clownish performance that spewed anti-democracy propaganda and bizarre conspiracy theories. Will Gableman succeed in nullifying Biden’s 2020 victory in Wisconsin and selling Donald Trump’s Big Lie? We also cover the latest Marquette Law School Poll and wonder, despite the media hoopla, if we really learned anything all that valuable. We wrap it up this week with a quick yap about the stellar pick of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson by President Biden for the US Supreme Court. Go Badgers!…
We open the show with immediate reactions to the full scale invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin, and the odd split on the conflict in the Trump-era GOP. Is the backing of Putin by Tucker Carlson, Donald Trump himself, and others the new normal in Republican foreign policy? We welcome new WEAC president Peggy Wirtz-Olsen for her first interview on Battleground Wisconsin to dig into what is behind the record number of teachers who want to leave their profession. Is conservative scapegoating of schools and educators making the professional unlivable? Turning to the State Legislature, we evaluate a series of historically bad bills that gut public education, expand a separate private education system, and break up Milwaukee Public Schools without any consultation from the parents and school board members of Milwaukee. Claire updates us on Senate Republican attacks on BadgerCare by GOP legislators. Congresswoman Gwen Moore, and community and labor leaders continued a push for Build Back Better and the jobs it will create this week with a media event. Finally we close by encouraging our listeners to attend a Solidarity Rally @ Noon Saturday in support of UAW Oshkosh Co. workers’ effort to land the USPS truck contract, and introduce Sulma Arieas, the new Executive Director of People’s Action.…
We welcome Courtney Hayward and Tanya Atkinson from Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin to the show to talk about the impending threat to reproductive healthcare in Wisconsin. In addition to the looming threat to Roe v. Wade by a lawless right-wing Supreme Court, the State Legislature introduced a Texas style ban, which could end reproductive freedom even if Roe is not overturned. Next, Ben Wilson, Citizen Action Driftless Coop Organizer, joins us to urge you to attend the virtual, In The Wash: A Virtual Workshop About Wisconsin Water Quality, where you can learn how to help protect Wisconsin water. We discuss Republican state legislative attacks on BadgerCare and public education, Robert raises concerns about an anti-Asian hate bill in the legislature targeting the UW System, and we shout out state Sen. Jeff Smith for speaking truth telecom corporate conspiracy against universal broadband in Wisconsin.…
We expose a series of GOP bills that will take lifesaving health care away from thousands of Wisconsin working families in the middle of a pandemic to appease the big business demand for poverty wage workers. We welcome Wisconsin Election Commission commissioner Mark Thomsen to discuss his experience fighting to protect democratic and fair elections and his call to all of us to speak out against the right wing assault on democracy. Citizen Action Organizing Director, Kate Beaton, joins us to talk about the critical role organizing plays in creating the the transformative changes we are seeking. Kate calls on listeners to join a Citizen Action Organizing Cooperative near you.…
1 Wisconsin is key to fraudulent Trump electors 45:12
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45:12We discuss what’s next for the Build Back Better agenda and breaking news on Citizen Action’s upcoming Congressional Week of Action. The panel talks about a bombshell New York Times report that Wisconsin was at the epicenter of the plot to send fake electors, a key piece of Donald Trump’s insurrection plot. In the Legislature this week Republicans introduced a series of bills to rig future elections, while Senate Minority Leader Janet Bewley announced her retirement. We close with an interview of Marina Dimitrijevic, Citizen Actions’ newly endorsed candidate for Milwaukee Mayor.…
1 Investigating Wisconsin’s fake electors 45:04
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45:04We welcome State Senator Chris Larson for an extensive conversation about revelations he and Rep. Brostoff dug up this week about the direct role of Wisconsin Congressman Scott Fitzgerald in sending forged Trump electors to Congress. Will Fitzgerald and his conspirators in the Wisconsin GOP be investigated by Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul? The panel also comments on the big news that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer will retire this year, setting off speculation about the nomination of the first African American woman on the high court. We also discuss the continued fight for the Build Back Better agenda, Vice President Kamala Harris’ visit to Milwaukee to promote federal infrastructure money for lead pipes, and the smear campaign of corporate Democrats targeting President Biden’s Chief of Staff Ron Klein for daring to empower the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.…
1 The Cause of Democracy: 1 year into the Biden Administration 47:46
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47:46Our panel reflects on the 1 year anniversary of the Biden Administration, taking stock of his governing successes and failures trying to manage a global pandemic, economic disruption, and an on-going right-wing insurrection. We review the record COVID case rates in Wisconsin last week, as the City of Milwaukee passes a new mask ordinance and Ron Johnson holds a Washington, DC event packed with medical quacks and other vaccine deniers. We welcome Shawn Phetteplace from Wisconsin’s Main Street Alliance to discuss the latest effort by Legislative Republicans to cut worker unemployment Insurance, access to healthcare, and food stamps in the name of putting people back to work. Shawn tells us what policy changes would actually help small businesses and workers in Wisconsin.…
Wisconsin hits a record number of COVID hospitalizations as Legislative Republicans push bills to undermine public health precautions and efforts to distribute free N95 masks finally pick up. Next, our panel dives into a discussion of the 2022 elections. Finally, Senator Ron Johnson announced his bid for reelection, and many are surprised when Wisconsin’s longest serving Governor, Tommy Thompson, floated another run. Will Johnson win a 3rd term in the Senate and Thompson a 5th term in the Governor mansion? President Biden makes a big public push for voting rights leading into MLK Jr. Day with a fiery speech in Georgia. Can he and the Democrats make it happen or will he again be undermined by Senators Manchin and Sinema (and their big corporate backers pulling the strings) In Wisconsin, Legislative Republicans continue their nationally coordinated effort to rewrite the 2020 election and pull apart democratic institutions, making a legislative maneuver to end secure ballot drop boxes and to allow partisan politicians to nullify elections when they don’t like the results. We ask the question, does anyone trust Speaker Robin Vos’ promise that the Legislature will not name Wisconsin electors in 2024? We close with an interview of Citizen Action Field Director Zoe Roberts on Citizen Action’s volunteer Tuesday night phone banks, which are calling critical swing voters in key legislative districts.…
Welcome to 2022, as COVID rages through Wisconsin and the country, we discuss escalating infection and hospitalization rates, as our deranged U.S. Senator draws national ridicule (again) for his bizarre comments on the vaccine and religion. Our panel talks about the ongoing tragedy of the stalled TRIPS vaccination waiver at the WTO, which is putting Big Pharma windfall profits over vaccinating the world. Is Ron Kind one of the Democrats siding with Big Pharma against public health and safety? We reflect on the 1 year anniversary of the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and President Biden’s blistering critique of Trump and the Republicans for their conspiracy against democracy. Congressional Democrats look to finally pass a voting right bill, can they get through the objections of Senator Manchin and Sinema? Meanwhile, Wisconsin Republicans introduce a bill to nullify elections, and continue to double down on their sham election investigation. Green Bay mayor Eric Genrich is pushing back and asking a judge to punish disgraced election investigator Michael Gableman for his bullying and lies.…
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.…
1 Robin Vos shamelessly blames hospitals for bed shortage 46:00
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46:00We 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.…
This week the panel digs into the unprecedented partisanship of the COVID pandemic, which is driving another major surge and threatens (AGAIN) to overwhelm Wisconsin hospitals. We also discuss the shocking new numbers that living in a red county dramatically increases your chances of death. Next we delve into the growing GOP conspiracy to undermine the basic mechanisms of democracy, and guarantee domination of Congress, the Legislature, and a Trump victory in 2024. Next we discuss another threat from the right wing takeover, the likely end of Roe vs. Wade. Finally we recognize the eventful career of State Senator Jon Erpenbach, who announced his retirement earlier this week.…
1 Most undercovered story of 2021: The failure to get a COVID vaccine patent waiver 46:41
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46:41We review our discussion with Senator Tammy Baldwin and Congressman Mark Pocan at our fundraiser Wednesday evening. In the process, we get critical inside information on the big Build Back Better Act debate in Congress. Sachin Chheda, director of the Fair Elections Project and a Citizen Action member, joins us to review the hyper-partisan Wisconsin Supreme Court decision giving legal cover to Republican rigged election maps. Will we be stuck with the Scott Walker districts for another 10 years? Our panel then talks about the COVID spike in infections, hospitalization rates and deaths in Wisconsin, ahead of the likely arrival of the latest COVID variant. We are joined by Ben Levenson, from our national network People’s Action, to discuss whether President Biden and America are really fighting for a COVID vaccine patent waiver. The waiver is critically needed to produce enough vaccine to immunize the entire world, saving millions of lives and stopping the production of even more threatening variants.…
We welcome State Representative Greta Neubauer to discuss 22 new climate bills she and other Legislators unveiled this week. The bills provide a series of doable next stop policies to start the state on the path to seriously addressing the climate crisis. We debrief the Citizen Action of Wisconsin’s U.S. Senate candidate forum, one of the first major forums of the hotly contested Democratic primary. Did the leading contenders commit on the major issues that matter to progressive primary voters? We preview our Annual Virtual Fundraiser on Wednesday, December 1st at 5:30pm, featuring Senator Tammy Baldwin and Congressman Mark Pocan. Both lawmakers will discuss the emergence of progressive power and influence in Congress. GOP Gubernatorial front runner Rebecca Kleefisch to take election administration away from the state agency in charge, and Robin Vos and the radical right Legislature continue their insidious assault on our democratic institutions. We close with an update on the Build Back Better legislation, following President Biden’s historic signing of the Infrastructure bill this Monday.…
1 In These Times, progressives have the solutions 45:12
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45:12Our panel discusses the alarming rise in COVID cases in Wisconsin as kids begin to get vaccinated. Why is this pandemic continuing into a third year with no end in sight? We discuss Ron Johnson's shocking call for the Republican Legislature to take over the state’s election commission and run federal elections, and Judge Michael Gableman’s shameful testimony in a legislative hearing this week? Are there no limits to what the hard right GOP will do to undermine democracy? We express our deep concern that the Kyle Rittenhouse trial is not going well as the whole world (again) watches Wisconsin in horror. Finally we have an in-depth conversation with In These Times magazine publisher Joel Bleifuss about new research which shows why centrist Democrats are losing working-class voters and how the party’s progressive left has the popular bread-and-butter solutions to our electoral challenges…
We welcome Wisconsin State AFL-CIO president Stephanie Bloomingdale to discuss the wave of strikes, and the willingness of workers to take on their exploitative corporate employers. Next the panel digs into the end game in passing the long delayed Build Back Better bill. Is Manchinema finally relenting on behalf of their corporate bosses? The media is making apocalyptic predictions for 2022 because of the loss in the Virginia Gubernatorial contest. What happened, and is the sky really falling on the Biden presidency? And what does the failed school board recall in Mequon mean for the GOP's new parent backlash tactics? Finally, we check in on the progress of the "big lie" in Wisconsin, with the GOP witch hunt targeting the Wisconsin Election Commission’s administrator and bi-partisan board. Does it even matter what the facts are? (spoiler alert, no)…
1 U.S. Senate Candidate Interview with Mandela Barnes 48:58
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48:58Our panel discusses President Biden’s push this week for a deal with Congressional Democrats on Build Back Better, while Sens. Sinema and Manchin continue to oppose popular policies on behalf of their corporate bosses. We review the devastating cuts to Biden's new plan demanded by Manchin and Sinema and whether the Progressive Caucus will support the deal or push for more negotiations. We interview Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes on his campaign for the U.S. Senate, in our continuing series of discussions with Democratic candidates. RSVP to the Citizen Action’s 2022 U.S. Senate Candidate Online Forum with top candidates on Tuesday, November 16th, from 6:00 - 8:00 pm.…
We discuss breaking deals and compromises in the historic Build Back Better negotiations in Congress. Will the Democrats be able to bring their two rogue Senators into line, or do their corporate paymasters want to sink reform? Is a smaller version of Build Back Better still worth having? Next, we discuss Wednesday’s failed U.S. Senate vote on the Freedom to Vote Act, Senator Manchin's slimmed down version of electoral reform. Does the GOP use of the fillibuster to block even debating the bill mean Democrats can finally do away with the Jim Crow and slavery era relic? Back in the Badger State, Republicans release outrageously gerrymandered maps. Will Governor Evers step up and veto them? A national report ranks Wisconsin the state with the worst Black incarceration, and if things could not get even worse, the Senate GOP passes a pro-child labor bill. We close the show with a look at the GOP’s national school board strategy to bully and remove school board members who stand up for public health, and GOP gubernatorial frontrunner Rebecca Kleefisch's role. TAKE ACTION: plan to testify at Legislative hearing on maps >>> https://bit.ly/30HJ36t…
1 Labor strikes back against corporate America 45:44
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45:44We talk about the latest COVID surge in Wisconsin and update the status of the stalled Build Back Better plan in Congress. Will the new alliance between moderate and progressive Democrats produce generational reform, or will it crash and burn, dooming the Biden presidency? Rebecca Lynch joins us as a guest panelist to take a deep dive into the resurgence of organized labor fighting back across the country against corporate greed and pandemic profterring on the backs of workers. We close by checking in on the election investigation circus train which left the tracks weeks ago, making Wisconsn a national spectacle.…
We welcome back former panelist Rebecca Lynch to the show to fill in for Claire who is on vacation. The panel updates the latest on Build Back Better legislation in Congress, including next steps now that Speaker Pelosi has delayed a vote in the House until the end of the month. Michael Gableman issued subpoenas in his phony election investigation to 5 Democratic cities this week, and he shamefully admitted he does not understand how elections work. This week 4 years ago Donald Trump and Scott Walker broke ground at the Fox con. We welcome U.S. Senate candidate Steven Olikara to discuss his campaign in our continuing effort to interview Democratic candidates willing to challenge Ron Johnson.…
Our panel updates us on the titanic Congressional battle to overcome a handful of Corporate Democrats standing in the way of the most sweeping reform in half a century, President Biden's Build Back Better Act. We then welcome Kirk Bangstad, the founder of Minocqua Brewing SuperPAC, to discuss their emerging plan to file federal lawsuits against school districts that don’t protect kids and educators from COVID. Finally, for two full segments we have Alex Lasry, Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, to discuss his campaign and the kind of Senator he hopes to become.…
We update the grim surge of COVID in Wisconsin that has state health officials pleading for mask use and vaccinations while the Milwaukee Teachers Education Association and some local elected officials called for indoor mask mandates. We discuss the internal Democratic Party battle against corporate Democrats who oppose the Build Back Better Act. We have two public events next week in Milwaukee and Eau Claire to support Congressional action on the president's entire physical and human infrastructure agenda. We are joined by Fair Elections Project director Sachin Chheda to review the latest legal maneuvering on redistricting Federal court and the State Supreme Court. We close with Republican efforts to promote the “Big Lie” in Wisconsin. Disgraced right-wing judge Michael Gableman, who is leading the State Assembly's 2020 election fake-investigation, attempted this week to shift the burden of proof to local clerks to prove they committed no crimes or election fraud.…
We discuss the escalating and human-made COVID pandemic here in Wisconsin and across the country. New state data shows that in August the unvaccinated are 11 times more likely to die. Robert highlights a new In These Times Magazine story revealing the US is not really pushing a COVID vaccine patent waiver at WTO, despite an official policy earlier this year. We discuss the Gableman/Vos election probe, which is getting national news in an embarrassing Arizona kind of way. Next, the panel updates the latest developments in Congress on the Build Back Better agenda. Finally, we welcome U.S. Senate Candidate Tom Nelson, the County Executive of Outagamie County, in our continuing series of interviews with Democratic U.S. Senate candidates. We learn more about his views on Medicare For All and other progressive issues.…
We reflect on the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and the destructive 20 year “war on terror” that ensued. Our panel discusses the cost of the war and the American “police state” that followed. We update the latest situation in Congress with the effort to pass the historic $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package. We close with Wisconsin’s concerning COVID surge that finds over 1000 people in state hospitals for the first time since January as students head back to school.…
We are joined by Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin president and CEO, Tanya Atkinson, to discuss the U.S. Supreme Court court’s midnight assault on Roe v. Wade, which rendered abortion illegal in the second largest state and may reach Wisconsin in 2022. We head into Labor Day Weekend with guest Laura Dresser, the lead researcher for the Center On Wisconsin Strategies (COWS) on their annual State of Working Wisconsin report released this week. Our panel also discusses WEAC’s call for vaccine and mask mandates in Wisconsin schools in the face of a wave of violence against educators and public health leaders by anti-mask and anti-vax protesters. Finally the empire is striking back in Congress, as a united corporate America unleashes a massive lobbying and advertising blitz against President Biden’s visionary Build Back Better agenda. Can the newly united Democrats stand up to the pressure?…
1 Dr. Jill Battino’s Rx for the U.S. Senate 47:01
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47:01Our panel provides perspective on the big week in the U.S. House with Democrats agreeing to move forward on President Biden’s infrastructure and budget reconciliation bills next month. We update the surging Delta COVID variant in Wisconsin and the nation and our collective response to the pandemic, including Sen. Johnson pushes Ivermectin and vaccine conspiracies while local officials look for help on infrastructure. We congratulate the Colectivo workers who won their union this week, the largest union of coffee workers in America. We welcome Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Jill Battino and discuss her serious and smart healthcare proposals as part of our continuing series of interviews with the U.S. Senate candidates.…
We welcome the Fair Elections Project's Sachin Chheda to discuss the breaking news on redistricting. The 2020 census data has just arrived from DC, the lawsuits have begun, and a new Harvard report ranks Wisconsin the least democratic state in the nation, classifying it a “democracy desert”. Our panel also talks about worsening COVID infection and hospitalization rates, and the controversy over the Biden Administration's decision to authorize a third dose when big Pharma is still denying it to most of the world. Robert updates us on the dramatic and historically significant Congressional battle over the President’s Build Back Better agenda.…
This week we take on huge issues: the threatening new scientific consensus on the faster than expected warming of the climate; the biggest social legislation since the New Deal advances in the Senate; and the COVID pandemic escalates at an alarming rate among the right-wing anti-vaxers. We also touch on the escalating threat to democracy, the retirement of Wisconsin Congressman Ron Kind, and the latest on America's worst Senator, Wisconsin's own Ron Johnson.…
1 U.S. Senate Candidate Interview with Sarah Godlewski 48:43
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48:43This week we welcome yet another U.S. Senate candidate, State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski, to discuss her primary campaign. This is our second in a series of interviews with the crowded field of Democratic candidates vying to face off against incumbent Senator and Trump sycophant Ron Johnson. Our panel also talks about the explosion of COVID and the return of masking for some businesses and local governments, while the Legislative Republicans move this week to bar the UW System from enacting COVID safety rules, endangering young people, university staff, and the communities in which they live. We also look at the eviction crisis, the important role of movement leaders like U.S. Rep. Cori Bush cutting through traditional political gridlock, and the hard path ahead to real structural reform.…
We discuss this week’s apparent breakthrough in the U.S. Senate on a $1 trillion bi-partisan infrastructure bill. What’s in it, and is it really on track? We then evaluate the progressives’ two track strategy on infrastructure, and the threat from moderate Senator Kyrsten Sinema to derail the entire Biden Build Back Better agenda. In the state Legislature the Wisconsin Manufactures and Commerce reveals their hand behind this week’s failed GOP effort to cut UI for workers with a veto override vote. Q Anon caucus member and Election Committee chair Rep. Janel Brandtjen embraces conspiracy theories and the “Big Lie” as she launches an Arizona-style fishing expedition of the 2020 election in Wisconsin. We review the CDC’s new recommendation for indoor masking where infection rates remain high and Sen. Johnson’s incorrect statement calling it a mandate and saying the CDC should stop making recommendations to end the spread of COVID. Finally, we celebrate Medicare and Medicaid’s 56th birthdays on Friday and Sen. Baldwin calls for rejecting Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy plan.…
1 Infastructure Endgames, Filibusters & U.S. Senate candidate Chris Larson 46:34
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46:34We 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.…
1 Building the political movement we need 47:15
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47:15We debrief our disappointment with the state budget and the Democrats embrace of regressive and permanent state tax cuts. We look at the role we all play in creating the progressive political future we want to see in Wisconsin and that Governor Evers is only one (admittedly important) player in the Democratic Party universe we seek to change. Citizen Action’s Movement Politics Director, JoAnna Bautch, joins us to discuss the new Movement Politics Academy she is launching this October for people who are considering running for office to pursue structural change in their community and our state. We review major federal news that Senate Democrats have agreed to a $3.5 trillion budget package that includes significant climate, child poverty, healthcare, and education investments. Claire also provides the details of Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s new legislation to expand Medicaid in the 12 states currently refusing to accept federal money.…
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.…
We discuss the disastrous Republican State Budget that cleared the Legislature this week. After digging into the budget's many failings, we ask: why did 7 Democrats vote yes? We continue our call for the Governor to veto the state budget, although the signs are not promising. Next we turn to the looming presence of Donald Trump on Republican politics, and the panic he engendered this week among Wisconsin Republicans. It got so bad that State Senator Chris Kapenga bowed to him in a "dear leader" letter worthy of the most authoritarian leaders in the world, drawing national ridicule. Meanwhile U.S. Sen Ron Johnson's reckless anti-science crusade which reached new lows this week. Robert tells us about the launch of an “End Child Poverty” campaign with news events in Eau Claire, Milwaukee, Appleton and Wausau, next week. We close with a special guest, Angela Lang, Executive Director of Black Leaders Organizing for Communities (BLOC) to discuss their campaign to induce Gov. Evers to call for an Executive Commission on safety and policing.…
We discuss Citizen Action’s call for Governor Tony Evers’ to veto the partisan GOP State Budget that completely fails Wisconsin. Also this week: Legislative Republicans ram through voter suppression bills; slash state aid to cities that cut police funding; and eliminate yet another business tax, threatening local revenue. Meanwhile, the State Senate passes an author-less legislative scheme to keep the 2011 gerrymandered maps for 2022 elections. Next, the panel reviews the threatening trend of Walker appointees staying on key boards and committees after their terms expire. We close with discussion of this week’s failed U.S. Senate vote on For the People Act and ask the key question on the minds of all democracy-loving people: what’s now?…
The panel learns the news that the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the latest attempt overturn the ACA just as we are beginning to tape this week's episode. Listen to our immediate reactions and analysis. After digging into the ACA decision, our panel reviews the dreary final week of the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee state budget process, including terrible healthcare decisions and the rejection of bipartisan criminal justice reform compromises. The state's 5 largest school districts tell Republican leaders they're halting 2021-22 school year planning because of funding uncertainty caused by the draconian state budget cuts to education. Meanwhile Assembly Republicans find time to to target trangendered teens, passing legislation banning transgender athletes from competing in women's sports. We close with a look at the increasing power of the QAnon caucus within Assembly Republicans, including a new push to bring the Arizona vote audit to Wisconsin as part of a plot to declare Donald Trump President. Is Robin Vos losing control of his caucus to the even more radical right?…
New blockbuster ProPublica research finds the wealthiest Americans pay a true tax rate of only 3.4%. Is America finally ready for a wealth tax? Next, the panel asks on the big question of the day: Can U.S. Senate Democrats get their act together and pass pass bills to protect American democracy? As infrastructure talks with Republicans stall, the only bi-partisanship Congress can muster is behind a nationalist anti-China agenda. Meanwhile horrendous racial disparities in health care access and vaccination access continue despite all the of the lip-service payed to health equity. Does any level of government have the courage to intervene? In the WI Legislature, Republicans look to delay local redistricting a year; and to give back federal Unemployment Insurance money. Meanwhile, a revised estimate of Legislative Republican's cuts to schools finds it will cost the state $2.3 billion in federal revenue. We close the show by welcoming Peter Rickman from the Milwaukee Area Hospitality and Service Workers union (MASH) to discuss the Justice for Janitors contract campaign launching next Tuesday, June 15th at 3pm in Milwaukee’s Zeidler Park.…
1 Republicans embrace anti-vaxxers & the "Big Lie" 45:17
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45:17We discuss Legislative Republican’s scheming with their corporate patrons such as Wisconsin Manufactures and Commerce (WMC) to gin up a fake “worker shortage” to punish the unemployed. Does Robin Vos really believe Wisconsinites are lazy and irresponsible or is he just trying to exploit the working class? In a clear effort to mobilize a 2022 off-year election base of anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theorists, Legislative Republicans are supporting bills to make anti-vaxxers a protected category and pumping life into the “Big Lie” with bogus “Arizona style” voter fraud investigations into the 2020 election. Meanwhile new data from the Wisconsin Election Commission demonstrates minuscule voter fraud in Wisconsin elections, most of it generated by Jim-Crow still disenfranchisement of released prisoners. We close with a discussion on the centrality of the Senate filibuster in the success of the Biden agenda, addressing the nation’s major challenges and needs, and the survival of democracy itself.…
1 This is not that, This is the Battleground Wisconsin Podcast 45:19
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45:19We welcome Citizen Action’s Movement Politics Director, JoAnna Bautch, to discuss Citizen Action's new podcast, This is NOT that, which premiered this week on the 1st anniversary of George Floyd's murder. The panel reviews the BadgerCare legislative Special Session that came and went quickly due to Republican intransigance. Depite refusing even to debate BadgerCare, legislative Republicans found time to attack transgendered kids and to threaten massive cuts to public school funding. Robert discusses the latest exodus of teachers in Wisconsin. Meanwhile, America's premature reopoining threatens million with pre-existing conditions and suppressed immunity. Who sounded the "all clear" siren in the middle of a global pandemic? Chris Larson enters an already crowded U.S. Senate race to take on distraced WI Senator Ron Johnson. The GOP snipes at another U.S. Senate candiate, State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski. Why is Godlewski their early target in a multicandidate field? National Democrats and mainline pundits increasingly agree that the GOP is a threat to democracy itself. But are the Democrats unified enough to stop them? We close by welcoming Citizen Action's Driftless Organizing Co-op organizer, Ben Wilson, to discuss the proposed expansion of the Roth Feeder Pig II Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) in rural Crawford County. Will corporate agriculture win again over the health and prosperity of our rural communities?…
1 Evers calls BadgerCare Special Session 45:42
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45:42Our panel discusses Gov. Tony Evers’ declaring a special legislative session on BadgerCare Expansion with Shawn Phetteplace of the Main Street Alliance of Wisconsin. We also deconstruct a Republican state legislative effort to remove $300/weekly federal Unemployment Insurance benefits and completely cut-off the self-employed and gig workers. Citizen Action’s Movement Politics Director JoAnna Bautch joins us to announce the launch of a new Citizen Action podcast called This, Is Not That, featuring JoAnna, Citizen Action Climate and Equity Director Rafael Smith, and rising journalistic star Isiah Holmes from the Wisconsin Examiner. We close with a discussion of the CDC’s mass mask confusion created by publicly declaring that fully-vaccinated Americans need not wear masks indoors or outdoors, without revising public policy guidance for businesses and employers. What is the CDC’s motive? Will at lead to a resurgence of COVID infections?…
Our panel discusses Senator Ron Johnson’s continued anti-vaccination lies while the county struggles with slowing vaccination rates. How many will die because of Johnson’s political ambitions and loyalty to the ex President? We update the state budget battle following Republican’s action in the Joint Finance Committee to strip hundreds of popular items. We also review the latest rash of terrible GOP bills on everything from school vouchers to more attacks on the voting process being pushed through the Legislature and certain to be vetoed by Governor Evers. Vital Federal pandemic recovery money will start to roll out to states and local governments as Wisconsin discovers our share will be $700 million less. Legislative Republicans are also preparing to impose more Unemployment Insurance barriers to acquiring vitally needed benefits, following other red state Governor’s blaming the unemployed, while a new conservative report pushes privatization of Wisconsin’s unemployment system in the wake of pandemic dysfunction at the agency. What could go wrong? We close by encouraging our listeners to attend the Fair Maps Rally at the State Capitol next Monday, May 17th at Noon.…
We discuss the partisan vote in Wisconsin Joint Finance Committee which removed 280 publicly popular items from their state budget, including BadgerCare Expansion. Does this end the budget fight or is it really just getting started? Our panel talks about a Federal court ruling this week invalidating the CDC’s eviction moratorium. What is this Trump-appointed judge thinking? We also dig into why the green transition will largely exclude people of color and women if it does not include fundamental structural reform or our economic system. We welcome Tobita Chow from People’s Action to discuss President Biden’s bold move to suspend the patents of Big Pharma corporations to get generic COVID vaccines to the rest of the world. Is this the end or just the beginning of the fight with Big Pharma to prioritize lives over profits during the worst global pandemic in a century?…
Our panel discusses President Biden’s American Family Plan which makes historic investments in paid leave, child care, and tax fairness, but misses an opportunity on prescription drug affordability. Senator Tammy Baldwin and other progressive U.S. Senators are urging President Biden to approve a COVID vaccine patent waiver so all counties can have access to COVID vaccines, while QAnon Ron Johnson spent the week disputing the effectiveness of masks in slowing the spread of COVID. We welcome Eric March from Wisconsin Cannabis Activists Network (WI CAN) to talk about marijuana reform organizing at the local level in Wisconsin. We close with organizer Karen Kirsch from the Citizen Action Healthcare for All Organizing Coop who joins us to discuss her new weekly facebook live talk show which focuses on healthcare policy, focusing on Medicare For All. The show debuts next Wednesday, May 5th, 7pm – 8pm.…
We welcome JoAnna Bautch, Citizen Action’s Movement Politics Director, as a guest panelist. The panel responds to the guilty verdict in the Derrick Chauvin trial and puts it in perspective. We discuss the police reform recommendations from Wisconsin’s Legislative racial disparities task force which was set up by House Speaker Robin Vos to avoid taking meaningful action. The Fox con continues, with a scaled back version that is still a terrible deal for Wisconsin. Switching to the national scene, we have a great conversation on the growing bipartisan anti-China politicization in American politics with Tobita Chow, the Director of People’s Action’s Justice is Global project. We also review Citizen Action’s Climate Equity Week of Action, putting a focus on major Green New Deal opportunities at the federal, state and local level.…
1 Structural racism demands structural solutions now 45:01
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45:01We discuss the Daunte Wright murder by Brooklyn Center police, the announcement that Jacob Blake’s shooter will face no consequences, and a state Department of Public Instruction finding that the Burlington school district is a hostile environment for Black students. We analyze the Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause in the face of a new COVID variant wave. The destructive course of the right-wing Legislature continued this week, as they plowed forward with regressive COVID relief and election bills certain to be vetoed. The U.S. Senate race heated up this week with the entrance of Citizen Action Organizing Co-op member and State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski as QAnon Ron Johnson prepares to share the stage with a right winger who believes the Jan. 6 riot was ‘staged’. We close with exciting news that the Milwaukee City/County Climate Task Force made bold proposals for use of American Rescue Act money to begin climate conversion, create good jobs and dramatically reduce racial inequality.…
We review the huge victory for public education in the Department of Public Instruction race, and the immediate threat by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos to take it out on our schools. We discuss the shockingly successful GOP effort to take down progressive school board members who follow the science and our educators by only supporting the safe reopening of schools. Is this a new Republican wedge issues for moderate voters they will uses in 2022 in state and federal races? Claire educates us on the Biden Administration’s decision to permanently end health-care denying work requirements to receive Medicaid. We talk about the COVID variants taking off with big spikes in 5 states (and counting), and the GOP use of the fraudulent vaccine passports issues to increase vaccine hesitancy, threatening to further delay heard immunity. Robert discusses Trump’s outrageous scamming of his own supporters, and its copycats in the Republican Party. We close by welcoming Hannah Faris from In These Times magazine to talk about the launch of a new rural focused reporting project called, “the Wisconsin Idea.” The project is a collaboration with People’s Action and Citizen Action of Wisconsin.…
1 Building 21st Century Infrastructure 45:37
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45:37We dive into the exciting details of President Biden’s historic Build Back Better plan released Wednesday. Will it pass? Does it go far enough? Back in Wisconsin politics, we discuss next Tuesday’s Spring General Election and encourage listeners to volunteer this weekend for Jill Underly and local endorsed candidates. The panel evaluates the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s 4-3 decision to overturn Gov. Evers’ mask mandate. Is there a valid legal argument or are right-wing justices acting like politicians in robes.? Claire updates us on this week’s Citizen Action Healthcare Week of Action focused on important state budget priorities. We also shine a light on Legislative Republican’s sham hearings peddling conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.…
We look at Sen. Ron Johnson’s lockstep alignment with Trump’s Q’Anon base, and his new found national infamy among moderates and progressives. Has he gone off the deep end or is this smart politics in Trump’s GOP? We discuss next week’s important Healthcare Week of Action focusing on critical healthcare priorities in the state budget. Claire details the events and your opportunity to get involved, including talking to your state legislators. We expose the Legislative Republican effort to downplay the importance of COVID-19 vaccination at a time when health officials are trying to get as many people as possible vaccinated. We close by welcoming Mike Browne, Deputy Director of A Better Wisconsin Together (ABWT) to discuss how two of their identical open records requests to GOP state legislators produce vastly different results, and what is says about transparency in Wisconsin government.…
1 “Avoiding target fixation on the filibuster…so we don't crash” 45:07
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45:07We weigh in on two national issues, first the horrific shootings in Georgia that appears to be yet another hate crime against the AAPI community, and the looming battle over the Senate filibuster and the future of the Democratic agenda. We discuss Speaker Vos’s declaration this week that the Legislation will reject the very popular plan to accept available federal money to expand BadgerCare, turning down $1.6 billion dollars supercharged by the rescue package, denying health care to the working poor during and pandemic. Is Vos serious with dozens of potentially vulnerable Republican state legislators weigh their fate heading into redistricting or it a bluff? Vos also plays scrooge yet again, declaring the Assembly is not willing to suspend a one week waiting period for unemployment benefits despite 100% federal funding in the rescue package. In yet another embarrassment, Legislative Republicans shamefully “honor” racist demagogue Rush Limbaugh while refusing to honor Black History Month. In other news, Foxconn, the white elephant of Racine County, says they might make electric cars… or maybe a monorail. Will they ever make anything that Donald Trump and Scott Walker promised in return for billions of state money?…
1 Biden Just Made it Harder for GOP to Turn Down BadgerCare Expansion 45:49
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45:49This week we discuss the historic passage of the American Rescue Plan, universal GOP opposition, and its implications in Wisconsin. In addition to the massive aid it provides to working people, the new law puts an extra $1.6 billion dollars on the table if Wisconsin finally passes BadgerCare Expansion. Will Legislative Republicans still stand in the way? After reviewing major new agenda items that are moving in the next stage of Biden's reform agenda such as labor law reform, voting rights, and a massive green infrastructure plan, we have an exclusive interview with Wausau Mayor (and Citizen Action member) Katie Rosenberg on the city's exciting new guaranteed income pilot program.…
This week the U.S. House passed a landmark voting rights bill, which will could set up the first major filibuster fight in the U.S. Senate. Are progressive Democrats ready for this fight and similar battles on the $15 minimum wage, immigration reform, climate transformation, a major jobs and infrastructure bill, and other key pieces of Biden’s agenda? Will centrist Democratic Senators yield to majority rule by ending the filibuster, or will they block the progressive reform Democrats promised voters? QAnon Ron Johnson appears ready to lead the Senate Republican charge to block COVID relief for Americans, and the FBI shoots down his embarrassing theories about the Capital insurrection. We also preview the upcoming congressional fight for serious labor law reform which starts next week in the House. We close by welcoming State Representative Kristina Shelton and State Representative Francesca Hong’s chief of staff, Nada Elmikashfi, to discuss the new Economic Justice Bill of Rights for All Wisconsinites that was introduced this week.…
1 Ron Johnson & Legislative Republicans embrace conspiracy and voter suppression 44:39
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44:39Sen. 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 politician 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.…
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.…
1 Ruthlessness: The 10th Anniversary of Act 10 54:51
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54:51During 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.…
1 Making Change in Washington. Can Progressives Co-Govern with Biden? 45:46
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45:46Progressive 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.…
1 Wisconsin Republicans fight for anti-maskers 54:08
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54:08We discuss the horrific vote by Senate Republicans to cancel the state health emergency and the mask mandate while also nixing COVID-19 relief. The panel welcomes State Senator Chris Larson to talk about Tuesday’s Senate vote and the policy atrocities taking place at the State Capital. Is there any rationale for the actions of the majority at all, or our we witnessing reckless disregard for human life? We close with a scouting report on President Biden’s new executive orders this week on climate and healthcare. Do they signal a bold new progressive direction for our national government?…
1 46th President looks to future; Wauwatosa Police look to stone age 54:54
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54:54We discuss the historic inaugural week of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and Biden's flurry of executive orders and an exciting new immigration bill. We look behind the organizing that resulted in changes to the Wisconsin COVID vaccination plan to include teachers, grocery workers, meat packers, and prisoners at the top of the list. A new COVID strain is spreading as Wisconsin reopens schools and the state does nothing. We welcome Minocqua Brewing Company SuperPAC owner Kirk Bangstad to discuss their campaign against Sen. Ron Johnson and Rep. Tom Tiffany for supporting for overturning the 2020 presidential election. Wisconsin Examiner journalist, Isiah Holmes, joins us to discuss his excellent reporting on Wauwatosa Police targeting protestors. We close with Markasa Tucker from the African-American Roundtable to discuss the Milwaukee Common Council reversing course and approving a federal grant for more police officers.…
We discuss President Trump’s latest impeachment, shocking new details of his failed insurrection, and the Wisconsin Republicans who are aiding and abetting the violent overthrow of American democracy. We welcome Citizen Action Climate & Equity Director Rafael Smith to discuss a groundbreaking opportunity to pass a large New Deal-style green jobs program (Jobs for Economic Recovery Act) in the first 100 days of the Biden Administration and how you can get involved in making it a reality. The legislation, which has major traction the Senate and House, will put millions of jobless Americans back to work, dramatically improve racial equity and expand opportunity for depressed rural areas. We also dig into Governor Evers’ State of the State speech and new fissures in the Republican state legislature that resulted in Senate Republicans splitting from the Assembly by cutting a deal with the Governor on COVID-19 relief.…
We give our reactions and initial analysis of the unprecedented Trump insurrection at Congress. What does it mean for American democracy? We dig into how the shocking events at the Capital lay bare our white supremacist society. Insurrectionists were largely allowed to enter and leave Congress with little resistance and few arrests after sowing chaos in their effort to execute a right-wing coup. We welcome Lauren Jacobs, the Executive Director of the Partnership for Working Families, to discuss the real power behind the insurrection and how the progressive movement’s response and commitment to multiracial organizing around our values of caring for everyone can be an anecdote to Trumpism.…
1 Will Gov. Evers’ budget invest in green jobs 46:07
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46:07We review Congress’ inadequate COVID relief bill that was immediately trolled by Trump, calling it a disgrace and demanding $2000 relief checks he has previously opposed. The Fox con has now cost the state $1.4 billion for nothing aside from a failing real estate project. We ask the question what could the state leaders have done with $1.4 billion to invest in the creation of new green jobs throughout the state. Guest panelist Rafael Smith discusses what needs to be in Gov. Evers’ next state budget to make real advancements in creating a green economy that addresses historic racial inequality and heads off a climate catastrophe. We close by welcoming In These Times magazine fellow Alice Herman to discuss her feature story about how the toll of COVID 19 on healthcare workers, and the lack of employer or government concern, is prompting many to take labor actions and to seek to form unions.…
We check in on the federal COVID-19 debate in Congress. After months of failure, are the nation’s lawmakers about to deliver meaningful relief? Claire presents new research quantifying the deep financial hardship the pandemic has inflicted on American families and why the failure of political leadership is so devastating. The Electoral College declared Joe Biden the winner this week as all legal options for the snake oil salesman-in-chief have now closed. That didn’t stop Sen. Ron Johnson from embarrassing himself this week with his sham hearing on the election. We talk about disturbing news that the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association emailed a document to thousands of law enforcement agencies comparing Black Lives Matter activists to terrorists. Also the City of Milwaukee Common Council is prepared to turn down federal money for more police officers.…
1 Trump enablers scheme & sue to overturn election 45:05
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45:05We review a surreal week that saw Texas and 17 states sue Wisconsin and other states where Trump lost narrowly to overturn the election. In Wisconsin, Rep. Tussler, the chairman of the Assembly Elections committee, is holding a sham hearing Friday, and has already said he is willing to defy the will of the voters. We talk about the issues the do-nothing-good Wisconsin Legislature and US Senate are ignoring, especially COVID 19 , and laud Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes’ broad Climate Task Force plan which was released this Wednesday. Will its provisions make it into Governor Evers’ state budget? Finally, we welcome Shawn Phetteplace, Wisconsin State Manager of the Main Street Alliance, to discuss the budget priorities of small business owners.…
We discuss the adolescent and divisive COVID-19 legislation introduced by Robin Vos and Assembly Republicans that cuts funding for school districts and fails to address the historic pandemic bludgeoning Wisconsin families. We review Trump’s illegitimate lawsuit which seeks to change the rules of the game after the election and throw out hundreds of thousands of legal ballots in Milwaukee and Dane County. We kick off the State Budget fight that commences with Governor Tony Evers’ budget that he must present early next year. We discuss our top budget priorities, including a BadgerCare Public Option, Pharma Reform, and Green New Deal initiatives, and encourage our listeners to contact the Governor. Become a Citizen Action member and attend our Annual membership meeting this Saturday, December 5th, 10am – Noon.…
On a special Thanksgiving edition of Battleground Wisconsin we dig into the question of how Joe Biden can govern effectively in the face of a Republican Party whose base is supercharged and will do everything to undermine his administration. First we talk with Rick Perlstein, the author of 4 major books on the rise of the radical right, including the recently released Reaganland, about the prospects for passing progressive reform when 73 million American believe a dangerous and counterfactual ideology. Next, John Nichols joins the conversation to discuss what we can learn about Biden's strategy from his early cabinet picks. Is this a group that can move progressive policy on the pandemic, economic reconstruction, structural racism, and the climate threat, or is it more of the same from establishment Democrats?…
1 Trump & Republicans Attack Wisconsin Election Workers 47:29
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47:29We have a special interview with Wisconsin Election Commissioner (WEC) Mark Thomsen about Trump and the GOP’s baseless accusations that every Wisconsin election clerk conducted illegal election activities. Wednesday evening, Republican WEC commissioners asserted, with no evidence, that Milwaukee and Dane County would illegally restrict access to GOP recount 2observers. Commissioner Dean Knudson said he was willing to throw out all absentee ballots requested online through WEC, which if it happened would likely swing the election to Trump. Our panel also discusses the escalating COVID-19 crisis in Wisconsin, including Governor Evers’ extension of the mask mandate and his new COVID-19 legislation. We welcome Racine Education Association president Angelina Cruz to discuss the very strong letter WEAC leaders sent to Gov. Evers and DHS Secretary designee Andrea Palm asking for clear state standards on in-person schooling. We also talk about other local elected officials who are receiving threats for proposing local health measures that would slow the spread of the pandemic.…
As COVID-19 surges dangerously out of control, we look forward to national and state course corrections. Next, we discuss the prospects for national healthcare reform in the coming Biden/Harris Administration. We evaluate Gov. Evers’ new COVID-19 Executive Orders, as health care workers and hospitals are on the brink. We preview the 2021-22 state budget process and the importance of pushing to include BadgerCare Public Option and other structural reforms in Governor Evers’ next two year budget.…
We review this week’s historic election that saw huge turnout nationally, including Wisconsin. We discuss how the blue wave this year was met by an almost equal red wave resulting in some disappointing results down ballot based on expectations buoyed by failed polling and the Trump campaign’s ability to expand its base. We shout out Milwaukee and other cities where Black and Brown communities successfully organized and turned out in large numbers putting Biden over the top. We analyze significant progressive gains in the Milwaukee suburbs that resulted in 2 new state assembly members and some heartbreaking narrow defeats for Emily Siegrist and few other state legislative candidates. The panel previews healthcare reform in a Biden Administration that must contend with a likely GOP U.S. Senate. We close with a call to action to get serious about combating COVID-19 outbreak in Wisconsin and America.…
We discuss the big election and the prospect of making major Democratic gains in the State Legislature. Next, we dissect Assembly Speaker Robin Vos’ 11th hour turnaround on addressing the raging COVID-10 pandemic. Has he finally been persuaded by science, or is he desperately fighting for his political life? In a Battleground Wisconsin exclusive, we release a shocking voice mail of a disgruntled parent left for a union leader which perfectly reflects the hatred and disrespect of public employees fomenting by radical right politicians. Finally we delve into what progressives are organizing for protecting the vote on election day and post-election challenges to the vote count and majority rule from from Trump, radical right judges, and the State Legislature. Subbing for Claire Zautke on the panel this week is Citizen Action Movement Politics Director JoAnna Bautch.…
We welcome documentary filmmakers, Susan Peters and Jim Cricchi, who will be debuting their outstanding film “Can You Here Us Now?” next week on Wednesday at 6pm. The film looks at the ways that years of one-party rule in Wisconsin have reshaped democracy in a state once known for its progressive history. We also talk with State Assembly candidate August Schutz who is running the gerrymandered 62nd District in Racine County. We discuss the shocking COVID-19 numbers in the state and our failed response from Republican leaders like Ron Johnson who asserts we are flattening the curve and State Representative Joe Sanfilippo who said the government has no role in helping deal with the pandemic. We released a report this week finding Wisconsin billionaires are getting richer during the pandemic. Also early voting has started in Wisconsin with long lines in many cities as the state prepares for potential militia activity on Election Day.…
Another week, another set of record COVID-19 infections, deaths, and hospitalizations in Wisconsin. Will the do-nothing Republican Legislature start doing its job at this moment of great perril, or is undermining Govenor Evers all they care about? We discuss the Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Amy Coney Barrett, who has been the most evasive Supreme Court nominee in modern history. She would not even commit on the right to birth control, or that climate change is a threat, let alone Roe v. Wade and the Affordable Care Act. Robert talks about the civil rights violations by Wauwatosa Police in their outrageous and discriminatory response to peaceful protesters. Finally, we are joined by State Assembly candidates Kriss Marion and Shaun Murphy-Lopez who are challenging Republican incumbents in the “driftless” region of the state.…
We discuss the continued failure to control the COVID-19 outbreak in Wisconsin, including the deliberate Republican state legislative effort to undermine any state response. We debrief the new MU Law Poll and the VP debate. Yet another police officer will have no charges brought against them for the killing of a Black teen in Wauwatosa. We close the show by welcoming State Assembly candidates Jacob Malinowski and Jessica Katzenmeyer to discuss their suburban Milwaukee campaigns.…
We debrief the presidential “debate” this week, discuss the potential of a Trump strategy to use the state legislature to overturn electors and appoint new electors that support Trump, and sound the alarm on the deepening COVID-19 crisis throughout Wisconsin. We are joined by Kristin Lyerly and Kathy Hinkfuss who are running for State Assembly in the Green Bay area. Both are healthcare professionals who are running outstanding campaigns to win in gerrymandered districts.…
We discuss the grossly insufficient indictment brought against only one of the Louisville police officers who killed Breonna Taylor. We welcome Citizen Action president Mark Thomsen to educate our listeners about new state legislation (LRB-6434/2) providing a blanket COVID-19 liability shield for businesses and how you can fight it. We continue our interviews with state legislative candidates talking with Deb Andraca and Sara Rodriguez who are making serious challenges to GOP assembly members in the Milwaukee suburbs. They tell us why these Republican gerrymandered districts are changing and ready to elect Democrats this year.…
1 COVID-19 and the Sickness of Democracy 45:54
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45:54We discuss Wisconsin’s rapidly rising COVID-19 infection rate supercharged by the ill-conceived reopening of colleges and K-12 schools. We talk about the role of individual responsibility in containing the pandemic in the face of the worst national and state response in the developed world. Claire reviews a large national survey released this week finding the uninsured rate rose just before the country was hit by the coronovirus. We look at the huge opportunity Democratic State Assembly candidates have at winning seats previously thought safe for Republicans due to rigged district lines. What does winning these races have to do with creating fair maps? We welcome Citizen Action co-op member Emily Berge, who is a candidate for State Assembly in District 68 in the greater Eau Claire area, to discuss her campaign and what she is hearing on the ground.…
Our panel discusses this week’s revelation that Trump knew the coronavirus was ‘deadly stuff’ in February and lied about it to the American people. Next we dig into the explosion of positive COVID tests on Wisconsin university campuses. What are the ramifications? Finally, we kick off post Labor Day campaign season with two Citizen Action co-op members who are running for State Assembly in western Wisconsin: Sarah Yacoub (District 30) and Kim Butler (District 28).…
We discuss the electoral politics of the Kenosha controversy and the push for meaningful action against structural racism with our regular panel and special guests Supreme Moore Omokunde and State Rep. David Bowen. How are the events of the last two weeks playing in the presidential election? Will they finally prompt action by the Legislature? We take a deep dive into the Trump Administration’s newly announced evictions moratorium. It is a rare humanitarian act from a callus administration or something else? We close with a discussion of the Wisconsin Department of Health Service's new policy of suppressing public information on COVID-19 outbreaks in schools. What are the dangers? Why is a Democratic administration withholding vital public health information?…
1 Will a Biden Administration (if elected) be Progressive? 1:16:45
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1:16:45We are on tape from last week's from the Democratic National Convention, in our long planned counter programming to the proto-fascist Republican National Convention. Will not be able to comment on the latest racist atrocity in Kenosha until next week (our latest statements are at citizenactionwi.org). For this week's program, on radio row at the Democratic National Convention we taped 4 interviews about a central question for the future of racial justice, economic equality, and the future of the planet: will a future Biden Administration, if we can elect him, be boldly progressive? The alliance between Biden and Bernie Sanders on policy is a great sign, but there are huge challenges to making this alliance between moderates and progressives really happen after the election. We ask two moderates and two progressives for their views. We start the moderates, leading off with Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, whose storied political career in state and national politics has made him a very well informed player within the Democratic Party. Next we talk to Jason Ray, the Secretary of the Democratic National Committee, who knows the inner workings of the party as well as anyone. Then, we talk to two progressives with national reputations. John Nichols the National Affairs Correspondent for The Nation, and one of the most prolific writers in the entire progressive media and a large following in his native Wisconsin. Finally George Goehl, Executive Director of People's Action (Citizen Action's national network), bats clean up on our powerhouse panel. George is one of the most respected and strategic progressives organizers in the country.…
1 Milwaukee’s Digital National Convention 45:10
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45:10We discuss this week’s all digital DNC Convention – what worked and what didn’t? We break news about a legal effort by Legislative Republicans to remove Attorney General Josh Kaul from an important voting rights lawsuit involving Citizen Action. Again the Republican Legislature thinks it is the only true governing body in Wisconsin! Next we discuss the importance of the 100th year anniversary of the 19th Amendment. We close with Citizen Action Northeast WI co-op member Emily Tseffos, who joins us to talk about the effort to organize #SaveUSPS events across Wisconsin this Friday and Saturday. This is a critical fight both for this election and for the future health of American democracy.…
We lead with the historic selection of Kamala Harris as Joe Biden’s Vice Presidential candidate, the first African American women to ever appear on a major party ticket. Will it help Biden win in November? Is there any progressive unrest about the choice? We review Wisconsin’s partisan primary election this Tuesday, where progressives and many candidates of color swept a series of closely contested primaries. We focus in on Citizen Action co-op member Kristina Shelton’s huge victory in Green Bay and Citizen Action organizer Supreme Moore Omokunde’s win in Milwaukee. We discuss the latest MU Law Poll and a new WEAC Region 7’s “Report Card” grading the opening plans of school districts in southeastern Wisconsin. Is your school district opening safely? Finally, we are joined by Citizen Action co-op member and state legislative candidate Emily Siegrist, to discuss her race and the rising prospects of Democratic pick ups in the previously deep red Milwaukee suburbs.…
We discuss the potential for a new COVID-19 relief package in Congress and the GOP conspiracy to get Kanye West on the presidential ballot in Wisconsin. Could it influence the outcome in November? We welcome Citizen Action endorsed State Representative candidates Supreme Moore-Omokunde and JoAnna Bautch to discuss their campaigns and next week’s important primary election on Tuesday, August 11th. Will they shake up the Democratic Party in Madison? We encourage you to volunteer with a candidate to help get out the vote. We close the show with Voces de la Frontera’s Christine Neumann-Ortiz and Mario Ramirez discussing their Friday 11am rally in support of fired Strauss workers in Franklin, and the importance of their statewide organizing campaign fighting for the rights of all “essential” workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.…
We discuss President Trump’s disturbing pronouncement that the 2020 election should be delayed because mail-in ballots will make it inaccurate and fraudulent. Trump’s statement comes on the heels of a cratering economy and complete absence of Republican leadership on extending desperately needed COVID relief. We celebrate the extension of the moratorium on utility shutoffs last week and thank the leadership of Citizen Action’s new North Side Rising organizing co-op. We welcome progressive State Assembly candidates Kristina Shelton and Josefine Jaynes to discuss their August 11th primary elections.…
The panel digs into the uncontrolled spread of COVID-19 in Wisconsin, now one of the worst 19 states in the country in containing the virus. How bad is it? What is the State Legislature, the Evers Administration, and local governments doing about it? As the federal cut-off of pandemic unemployment benefits looms, the panel discusses dissension in the ranks of the GOP, and the likely inadequate proposal they will make to the Democrats. We also look at the immense economic impact being inflicted on working Americans, and the disproportionate impact on communities of color. Will right-wing conservatives in The Senate and the White House get their act together, or will they unleash a historic wave of utility cut offs, hunger, evictions, and foreclosures?…
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to surge, and Wisconsin state government is at a standstill, Wisconsin municipalities are stepping up with new mask ordinances. Citizen Action holds news events around the state to call attention to the damage inaction in Washington is doing to the economic well being of working families. Without urgent action by the middle of next week, the unemployed will be cut-off of enhanced unemployment assistance, and we are already facing a wave of utility cut-offs, evictions, and foreclosures. As corporate leaders and their political puppets demand the reopening of schools, we welcome Ben Ward from the MTEA (the Milwaukee teacher’s union) to discuss whether it is even possible to have in-person classed safely when the pandemic continues to rage. We also talk with Voces de la Frontera’s Christine Nuemann-Ortiz and Mario Ramirez about their follow up meeting with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services concerning the outrageous decision to withhold the COVID-19 infection numbers of businesses.…
We discuss the latest Wisconsin Supreme court ruling upholding most of the Lame Duck power grab. The panel than moves to the deadly Wisconsin COVID-19 surge, and the movement towards mask mandates at the local level. Will Governor Evers pursue a state mask order? We tee-off on the troubling decision of the Wisconsin Department Health to withhold the names of businesses with multiple COVID-19 cases. Are they caving to Republican corporate interests? On a more positive note, we look at the bold New Deal-style jobs initiatives highlighted by U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin on a statewide townhall hosted by Citizen Action. Could it be used to protect family incomes, and jump start a green climate transition that also dramatically reduced racial inequality? We also discuss the looming July 25th cut-off of enhanced unemployment benefits, which would leave the unemployed and work-share participants high and dry. We close with an analysis of the just announced Biden-Sanders platform comprises aimed at party unification. Does it signal a new progressive-moderate alliance within the Democratic Party?…
1 Judges, Billionaires, and Pandemic Chaos 46:34
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46:34The panel digs into the racist federal appeals court ruling restricting Wisconsin early voting, and risking a dangerous replay of the infamous pandemic primary. Citizen Action is a lead plaintiff in the case. We discuss a new report co-released by Citizen Action of Wisconsin on how 8 Wisconsin billionaires have made an economic killing from the pandemic. The pandemic continues to accelerate, confounding Donald Trump and the GOP by refusing to go away on its own. We point out some of the hotspots and controversies around the Badger State. We look at the rising pressure for Congress and the President to extend coronavirus economic relief, and to make bold new investments in publicly-subsidized jobs and a green transition. We report back on a major news event Citizen Action led in La Crosse this week to put pressure on the feds to act. Finally, we look at the latest Wisconsin racial justice protest developments, and unveil the latest round of Citizen Action legislative endorsements.…
We discuss the BLM movement that continues full steam ahead. We process the political response to the events in Madison this week, the latest outrageous statements by Supreme Court Chief Justice Patience Roggensack, and right-wing politicians and media outlets. We question whether any elected leaders are proposing the necessary structural reforms to move the ball on racial equity, as Wisconsin is a national leader on many major indicators of racial inequality. We also talk about how the COVID-19 pandemic spinning out of control in the south and west, and some disturbing indicators in Wisconsin. We close with a review of the new MU Law poll showing a growing lead for Biden, and vast differences between whites and black and brown people on policing.…
1 Fighting for anti-racist communities 46:40
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46:40As America celebrates emancipation on Juneteenth Day 2020, our panel discusses the state and local responses to the Black Lives Matter movement, including the Milwaukee Common Council’s proposal to cut the police budget by 10% and Milwaukee Public School board’s move to remove police from the schools. We are also joined by State Representative Jonathan Brostoff to discuss shocking racism from elected officials and businesses in Menomonee Falls this week. Finally, we discuss two critical SCOTUS rulings, both major defeats for President Trump, on LGBTQ+ and immigrants’ rights. Do these surprising rulings throw cold water on the right’s plan to legislate through conservative judges?…
We welcome Mark Thomsen, the attorney for Milwaukee Bucks player Sterling Brown, to discuss critical lessons from Sterling Brown’s legal case against the Milwaukee Police and what they teach us about police reform. In addition, we discuss the Wisconsin Election Commission’s unanimous decision to send absentee ballot application to 2.7 million Wisconsin registered voters.…
Citizen Action’s JoAnna Bautch and Rafael Smith join the show to discuss the national uprising sparked by George Floyd’s murder. We talk about the inspiring outpouring of social action in communities across Wisconsin, led by young people, calling for police accountability, fundamental criminal justice reform, and racial justice, We also talk about initial stepping stone policies to structural reform such as shifting resources away from the publicly funded oppression of marginalized minority communities and investing in a just, anti-racist, and humane system of public safety.…
1 Podcast Special Edition: The New Union Organizing 25:11
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25:11In this special extra edition of Battleground Wisconsin, Citizen Action's Robert Kraig interviews Peter Rickman on a new worker organizing campaign with a special pandemic focus. The approach, focused on Milwaukee city government, uses the powerful methodology of sectoral bargaining to open union rights to essential workers. This will help control the spread of COVID-19, improve public safety, and create desperately needed living wage jobs for many currently low-wage workers. Rickman is the President of MIlwaukee Area Service and Hospitality Workers (MASH)…
We welcome Tobita Chow, director of Justice Is Global, a special project of People’s Action, to discuss the dangerous effort shift public attention away from the disastrous pandemic response by scapegoat China, risking a dangerous military competition between the two most powerful nations on earth. This cynical divide-and-conquer politics is sparking a wave of racial hatred aimed at Asian Americans. We talk about how our success requires embracing principles of anti-racist solidarity and international cooperation. We also review the latest COVID-19 news, including huge delays in unemployment insurance claims.…
1 Expand BadgerCare & free COVID-19 testing and treatment 44:41
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44:41We discuss the latest pandemic developments, including: a major study finds that 36,000 lives could have been saved if the US implemented mandatory social distancing earlier; Governor Evers’ moves over $1 billion in federal money to ramp up testing and tracing; and the state is now a patchwork of COVID-19 policies with some counties and municipalities lifting Safer at Home restrictions early. Robert briefs us on U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s new bill guaranteeing free COVID 19 testing and treatment to everyone in America by dramatically expanding Medicare. Next, we look at what is being done to expand voting opportunities in Wisconsin this fall. We close with a look at the growing strength of progressive talk radio in Wisconsin.…
We review this week’s lawless and partisan Supreme Court decision overturning Governor Tony Evers’ Safer at Home order and throwing Wisconsin into chaos. We discuss how local governments and their health departments are responding to protect people in their communities and why pressure must now be placed on Republican state legislators to fix their public health disaster. We talk about the new Marquette Law Poll which finds the presidential race in Wisconsin within the margin of error, and partisanship trumping facts in public perception of the pandemic. We also thank Citizen Action co-op member Tricia Zunker for running a strong race in the 7th Congressional District special election and out performing the district in the face of a massive infusion of right-wing cash for her opponent.…
We discuss the damage the coronavirus is reaping, largely unmitigated by the federal government’s response, and the mounting reactionary/corporate pressure on state and local government to court disaster by prematurely scuttling social distancing. We review the shameful Wisconsin Supreme Court public hearing this week in the Vos-Fitzgerald lawsuit against Gov. Evers’ Stay at Home order. The tone and irrationality of the right-wing majority again embarrassed Wisconsin nationally, and revealed to the world a cabal of unethical politicians in robes masquerading as judges. We welcome Citizen Action co-op member Tricia Zunker to talk about her May 12th special election for the 7th Congressional District in Northern Wisconsin. We close with Citizen Action Northcentral WI Co-op steering committee chair Don Dunphy, to discuss the Citizen Action grassroots campaign for Zunker, and the importance of joining a regional co-op to build progressive power.…
We review the latest Wisconsin coronavirus news, including the GOP lawsuit seeking to overturn the Governor’s Stay at Home order. Do the Republicans really have a case? The panel welcomes Up North News reporter Jonathon Sadowski to dig into the significant outbreak of COVID-19 in Brown County meat plants, the lax response from the corporate owners and county health officials, and Trump’s order to reopen infected packing plants nationwide. Supreme Court justice Dan Kelly announces he will unrecuse himself on the voter file purge case, and rule despite being fired by the voters. We also encourage everyone to request their absentee ballots for the primary and general elections, and if you live in the district the May 12th special election in the 7th Congressional District. “Update: JBS in Green Bay announced it is resuming testing of its workers after we recorded this episode.”…
The GOP war on public health continues in Wisconsin with Republican legislative leaders appealing to the right-wing Wisconsin Supreme Court to overturn the Governor’s stay at home order and inciting dangerous protests at the state capitol scheduled for Friday. We welcome attorney Mark Thomsen, who specializes in medical malpractice and nursing home neglect, to discuss Speaker Vos’s repugnant amendment to COVID-19 relief legislation which could make it impossible to sue for any kind of nursing home abuse. The amendment was shamefully introduced on behalf of the WI Hospital Association, WI Medical Society, and WI Assisted Living Association. We close with a look at this fall’s state legislative elections and why they are so important to the healthy and prosperity of Wisconsin.…
1 What leadership looks like in a pandemic 46:05
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46:05We welcome State Representatives Marisabel Cabrera and Jonathan Brostoff to discuss their courageous votes against the very weak COVID-19 relief that clear the Legislature this week. Republicans in the Legislature blocked efforts to include free testing and treatment, a vital step we must take to contain the pandemic, address racial inequality, and open up the economy. The inadequate legislation was signed by Gov. Evers, who had tried to secure a mandate that health insurance companies not charge co-pays or co-insurance fees for COVID 19 treatment. The plan also fails to limit cancellation of health coverage during the pandemic, which will increase the ranks of the uninsured. It also leaves in place insurance deductibles for testing, creating a dangerous barrier to finding out who in Wisconsin is infected.…
In this week's episode we dig into the scandalous pandemic primary forced on Wisconsin voters by a conservative establishment that will stop at nothing to win. The panel also talks about the double gut punch Wisconsin progressives felt with the exodus of Bernie Sanders from the presidential contest. We close with a discussion of the next big big battle in Madison, the fight for a meaningful state response to the COVID-19 pandemic.…
1 COVID-19 sickens Wisconsin democracy 44:30
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44:30Remaining safer at home, the panel discuss COVID-19 and Citizen Action’s call for free treatment and other critical health care emergency actions needed to contain the pandemic. We dig into dysfunctional political situation in Wisconsin that is careening into a dangerous and anti-democratic election on April 7th. We urge listeners to get their absentee ballots in immediately and encourage everyone to remind friends, family and social networks to do the same. Finally, we dive into a conversation about healthcare workers being fired for speaking out about lack of proper gear and unsafe conditions.…
We discuss the latest COVID-19 pandemic news, including this week’s Congressional action. Is the $2 trillion relief package the biggest corporate giveaway in American history, or vital help for working Americans and small businesses in a time of dire need? We welcome Susannah Dyen from Caring Across Generations to talk about the Texas Lt. Governor’s comments that grandparents would be willing to die to preserve America’s economy. We close with the latest on the troubled April 7th spring election, including changes to election procedures imposed by a federal judge and growing opposition to holding this election during a state lockdown.…
1 Wisconsin Republicans oppose COVID-19 relief 42:43
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42:43Practicing social distancing, our panel joins us this week from separate locations. We discuss the rapidly evolving Covid-19 virus pandemic and the political response. We call out Sen. Ron Johnson and 4 Wisconsin Republicans Congressmen for voting against the bipartison coronavirus recovery bill over their opposition to paid sick days for workers. We also dig into the impact the pandemic is having on the April 7th election. Should the elections be postponed? We encourage everyone to request an absentee ballot at myvote.wi.gov. The panel closes with a discussion of a Wisconsin Public Radio story on how the major Democratic candidates for president have run to the left of Gov. Tony Evers and State Legislative Democrats.…
Our panel discuses of the coronavirus pandemic, which has resulted in the declaration of a state of emergency by Governor Evers, cancelled in person classes at many universities, and resulted in the suspension of the NBA season. We focus on the dysfunctional response from the Trump Administration to the outbreak, including the lack of testing, its cost to patients, and the president's error riddle and xenophobic speech to the naton. We welcome Lynn Quincy, director of the Healthcare Value Hub, to talk about a new study conducted in partnership with Citizen Action that shows a majority of Wisconsinites across party lines are concerned about the high cost of healthcare. avoid needed care due to cost, and support fundamental reform. We discuss the latest news in the Democratic presidential primary after another big week for Joe Biden and yet another attempt to purge Wisconsin's voter roles by the right.…
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