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Trump Claim of Voter Fraud False PDF Print E-mail
News - Articles for Nation & World
Written by League Women Voters WI, Andrea Kaminski   
Friday, 27 January 2017 14:10

donald-trumpPresident Trump has ordered an investigation into illegal voting, but there is no need for an investigation into a non-existent problem says the non-partisan League of Women Voters (LWV). League also endorses "A Wisconsin Budget for All".


MADISON - The President has ordered an investigation into illegal voting, while offering no credible evidence of voter fraud. In this statement, LWV-US President Chris Carson says there is “no need for an investigation into a non-existent problem." Indeed, a comprehensive, national study of potential voting fraud cases from 2000 through 2014 found only 31 credible (but not proven) cases out of more than one billion votes cast.

voter-us-electionsWhile some have questioned the President’s authority to order such an investigation, election law expert Rick Hasen noted that President Obama did something similar following the 2012 election when he set up a commission to look into such election issues as long lines at the polls and how to expand access to voting and increase participation in elections. Read the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin’s 2014 testimony to the National Commission on Voting Rights. 

At a listening session this week some Wisconsin state lawmakers got an earful from Sheboygan-area constituents opposing the many voting restrictions enacted in recent years.

Last week we said the League has endorsed A Wisconsin Budget for All, which calls on lawmakers to reject pressure by special interests and craft a budget to help our communities thrive. They could start by ending the Manufacturing and Agriculture Tax Credit, a loophole created in 2011. Wisconsin businesses can get this credit whether they add or subtract jobs in our state. Only 0.3  percent of Wisconsin tax filers have received the credit, with nearly 89 percent of the tax savings going to individuals earning more than $1 million. A new report from the legislature’s nonpartisan budget office estimates this tax credit, which went in full effect just last year, will have cost the state more than $1.4 billion by the end of the next budget. This is money that could -- and should -- be spent to boost the common good.

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Learn more about the League of Women Voters Wisconsin.

Last Updated on Friday, 27 January 2017 15:48
 
A Farewell Letter from President Obama PDF Print E-mail
News - Articles for Nation & World
Written by The White House   
Saturday, 21 January 2017 10:45

obama-whAmerica is not the project of any one person. The single most powerful word in our democracy is the word 'We.' 'We the People.' 'We shall overcome.' Yes, we can. I'll be right there with you.

Last Updated on Saturday, 21 January 2017 11:44
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New Education Secretary Choice One of the Wealthiest PDF Print E-mail
News - Articles for Nation & World
Written by Democratic Party of Wisconsin   
Thursday, 19 January 2017 16:06

betsy-devosMeet Betsy DeVos, Donald Trump's Anti-Public Education, Influence Peddling Billionaire.


MADISON - President-Elect Donald Trump's choice for Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, faces the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee this evening. Trump's potential cabinet is shaping up to be one of the wealthiest in recent memory, his first 17 appointments have a net worth of more than a third of America, and DeVos is no exception.  

DeVos presents a clear danger to public schools as she has spent her career and fortune fighting to privatize public education and gut investments in public schools. Her national advocacy group, American Federation for Children, has funneled millions of dollars into campaigns around the country for the sole purpose of promoting unaccountable private voucher schools - including $5 million spent on Wisconsin elections since 2010. [1] [2] [3]

DeVos helped bankroll the Donors Trust, a fund in Alexandria, Virginia which specializes in covering the tracks of conservative philanthropists and was recently exposed for funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars to Project Veritas. 

"We've seen first hand in Wisconsin how much damage can be imposed by someone like DeVos who has no experience with public education and an ideological axe to grind," Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesman Brandon Weathersby said on Tuesday. "Betsy DeVos has no business being considered for the position of Secretary of Education. She has spent her entire career and large sums of fortune to privatize public education and gut investments into public schools."

Background

1) Donors Trust Was Funded By A Bevy Of Conservative Backers Including The Koch Brothers. “Donors Trust is not the source of the money it hands out. Some 200 right-of-center funders who've given at least $10,000 fill the group's coffers. Charities bankrolled by Charles and David Koch, the DeVoses, and the Bradleys, among other conservative benefactors, have given to Donors Trust. And other recipients of Donors Trust money include the Heritage Foundation, Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform, the NRA's Freedom Action Foundation, the Cato Institute, the American Enterprise Institute, the Federalist Society, and the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, chaired (PDF) by none other than David Koch.” [MotherJones.com, 2/5/13]

2) Donors Trust Was Considered The “Dark-Money ATM Of The Right.” “Yet unlike its nearest counterpart on the progressive side, the Tides Foundation, a bogeyman of Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly, Donors Trust has mostly avoided any real scrutiny. It is the dark-money ATM of the right.” [MotherJones.com, 2/5/13]
3) James O’Keefe’s Group, Project Veritas, Was Given Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars In Funding From Donors Trust. “According to tax records obtained by PRWatch.org, an investigative watchdog group run by the Center for Media and Democracy, in recent years hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to Project Veritas have come through a fund in Alexandria, Virginia, called Donors Trust, which specializes in hiding the money trails of conservative philanthropists. In its promotional materials, Donors Trust says that it will ‘keep your charitable giving private, especially gifts funding sensitive or controversial issues.’” [The New Yorker5/30/16]

 
President Obama's Farewell Address to the American People PDF Print E-mail
News - Articles for Nation & World
Written by GBP Staff   
Wednesday, 11 January 2017 14:14

obama-farewell-addressThe President stepped beyond the daily give and take of elections, policies, and the news cycle to rekindle our faith in the American democratic system of government. It was a call to all of us citizens to take up our burden of citizenship.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 11 January 2017 15:07
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Did Wisconsin Republicans Vote To Gut Congressional Ethics? PDF Print E-mail
News - Articles for Nation & World
Written by Democratic Party of Wisconsin, Brandon Weathersby   
Wednesday, 04 January 2017 10:18

paul-ryanThe Office of Congressional Ethics, created in 2008 after a series of scandals involving members of Congress, was designed to ensure accountability and transparency. Washington Republicans want it gone on Day 1.


MADISON - In a late night, private conference vote, Speaker Paul Ryan and Congressional Republicans voted to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics, the independent watchdog organization that oversees the behavior and actions of and investigates criminal conduct by members of Congress.

martha-laning"In November's election, the voters made it clear that they wanted to end corruption and drain big money from our nation's politics. Instead of listening to the will of the people, Republicans decided their very first move would be to remove incredibly important oversight of their actions in Congress," Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Martha Laning on Tuesday. "This isn't draining the swamp. This is adding more sludge to a swamp already filled with influence from wealthy special interests and huge corporations."

The Office of Congressional Ethics, created in 2008 after a series of scandals involving members of Congress, is designed to ensure accountability and transparency in the U.S. Congress, and without it, members of Congress lack proper oversight.

"The American people are fed up with being sold promises to end corruption, only to see lawmakers do the exact opposite once they get into office. So, the question facing many Wisconsinites today is if any of our state's Republican lawmakers voted to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics," said Laning. "Wisconsinites deserve to know if Rep. Duffy, Rep. Sensenbrenner, Rep. Grothman, or Rep. Gallagher feel that they should not be accountable to their constituents and voted to remove important oversight of Congress."

 
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