MADISON - I’m increasingly worried about the state of our democracy in Wisconsin.

All the propaganda about the 2020 elections is serving a sinister purpose, as I explain here:

The Scheme to Sabotage Our Vote in Wisconsin

Please write a letter to the editor of your local paper on this. And I’d be happy to edit it if you’d like. Just email me directly at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

I’d also like to urge you to include the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign on your holiday gift list.

You know how doggedly we’ve been defending democracy here in Wisconsin: on the gerrymandering front, on these anti-voter schemes, on the threat from big and dark money in our politics, and on many other issues, including racism and economic inequality.

So I hope you’ll help us out with a donation (tax-deductible when you itemize) so we can push even harder on these issues in the year ahead.

Thanks for your support, and thanks for defending our democracy!

Best,

Matt Rothschild
Executive Director
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MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers delivered the Democratic Radio Address Thursday highlighting $14 million in grants awarded to movie theaters, summer camps, and minor league sports teams announced earlier this week, as well as $15 million in grants awarded to Destination Marketing Organizations across the state announced last month. These grants are part of the governor's more than $140 million investment to support the recovery of Wisconsin's tourism and entertainment industries from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Audio file of Radio Address.

Hey, folks! Governor Evers here.

It's no secret that our state's tourism industry was one of the first and hardest hit industries of this pandemic.

That's why we prioritized investing more than $200 million of our federal COVID-19 relief dollars into making sure Wisconsin's tourism and entertainment industries had the support and resources they needed to bounce back.

Recently, we awarded $15 million in grants to help 120 local tourism, convention, and event organizations across our state, which are so important to our local communities and our state's economic recovery.

From our largest convention and visitor bureaus in Milwaukee and Wisconsin Dells, to the smallest chambers of commerce in Pepin and Cassville, these funds are a much-needed shot in the arm for our local tourism industries and Wisconsin communities.

I'm also proud this week to have announced more than $14 million in grants awarded to movie theaters, summer camps, and minor league sports teams throughout the state.

These grants, provided to 49 theater companies, 17 minor league teams, and 37 summer camps, will help aid in their continued recovery and to offset losses due to the ongoing health crisis.

This is great news for tourism in Wisconsin, which is an essential part of our state's success.

While we still have a long way to go to put this pandemic behind us, we'll keep working to make sure our tourism industries, small businesses, and our state's economy bounce back even better than we were before this pandemic hit.

Thank you.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/evers-budget-sign-s5.jpgGovernor highlights budget investment of more than $100 million in new, additional funding to help support schools as they recover from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Legislator confident Oshkosh Area School District’s leaders will invest the additional $1.26 million allocation wisely as they focus on the unique needs of our local schools and our kid's education.

OSHKOSH -- Today, Gov. Tony Evers announced $110 million in funding for Wisconsin public schools. In response, Rep. Gordon Hintz (D-Oshkosh) released the following statement:

“Earlier this year, at a time when Wisconsin had record revenues available and faced unprecedented needs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, legislative Republicans chose to put political games before the future of our kids by doing the bare minimum on education funding in the biennial budget. Fortunately, Gov. Evers put millions of dollars back into the state’s general fund through his strategic partial vetoes. Today, Gov. Evers has announced a $110 million investment in new education funding to support Wisconsin’s kids and schools as they continue to recover from the pandemic.

“I am grateful that Governor Evers continues to find ways to provide funding to schools and prioritize our kids. We know this $110 million investment will help our school districts to avoid having to choose between laying off teachers and cutting programs or going to referendum as they come out of the pandemic. There is no more important investment than the future of our kids. Here in the 54th Assembly District, I am confident Oshkosh Area School District’s local leaders will invest the additional $1.26 million allocation very wisely as they focus on meeting the unique needs of our local schools and our kids’ education.”

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/tony-evers-kathy2-s450.pngTo all those gathering today and into this weekend, we wish you a joyful and safe holiday.

MADISON - I feel like I’ve been kicked in the gut, and you probably do, too, so I wanted to share with you my statement on the Rittenhouse verdict:

“This appalling verdict is a green light for white vigilante violence. It is yet another sign that there is no accountability in America, and no respect for the lives of people in the anti-racist camp. Look no further than the closing statement of Rittenhouse’s attorney, Mark Richards, who “I’m glad he shot Rosenbaum.” That is sickening! And so is this verdict. Rittenhouse will become even more of a hero to the far right. And there will be more Rittenhouses to come. The jury has sowed the wind, and the harvest will not be pretty.”

It may be open season on protesters now.

I’m deeply, deeply concerned that we’re headed toward a kind of civil war. Yesterday, while I was driving up to Wautoma to give a talk, I listened to rightwing talk radio, and they were already lionizing Rittenhouse, mocking any anti-racist protester in the vilest terms, and dismissing all liberals as idiots and fools.

And I’m reminded of the recent hideous comment by the audience member at the rightwing Turning Point USA conference who stood up and said, “When do we get to use our guns? How many elections are they going to steal before we kill these people.”

The Rittenhouse verdict is a spur to all those who want to go out and start using their guns against Black Lives Matter protesters or liberals in general, for that matter.

To counteract this threat, we need to be courageous. We need to protest nonviolently against this verdict despite the threats, we need to call out racism wherever we see it, and we need to try to reach two or three people in our lives who don’t always agree with us but are otherwise decent people and try to draw them away from the lures of the far right.

The fate of our democracy depends on us!

Best,

Matt Rothschild
Executive Director
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Unfortunately, the verdict acquitting Kyle Rittenhouse may encourage other misguided individuals fueled by extremist groups and media to perform similar acts.

KAUKAUNA, WI - There is no place for vigilantism in our country. Unfortunately, the verdict acquitting Kyle Rittenhouse sends a different message. It will encourage other misguided individuals fueled by extremist groups and media to perform similar acts.

There is no question that Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum would still be alive had Mr. Rittenhouse not been present in Kenosha. The fact that Kyle Rittenhouse has become a hero to the extreme nationalists in our country is both disheartening and dangerous. This verdict will only empower them.

Regardless of political beliefs, we, as Americans, cannot tolerate violent action by citizens against others exercising their right to assemble.

When a lawful assembly gets out of control, it is the job of law enforcement and other local and state authorities to deal with it in a controlled and trained manner. The idea that any armed individual can insert themselves into a law enforcement scenario is a danger to our citizens, law enforcement, and our National Guard.

— Tom

We need to come together peacefully to help the community of Kenosha heal, say Democrats.

MADISON, Wis. -- Today, the jury delivered a verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial.

Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler released the following statement:

“Today’s verdict—searing, shocking, but painfully unsurprising—has sent a wave of heartbreak and grief through our state and country. If a Black person had done what Kyle Rittenhouse did, it almost goes without saying, they would be far more likely to have been killed by police that night than to be walking free today. This verdict, and the trial and other events that preceded it, are a gut-wrenching illustration of a society with two systems of justice, two ways lives are valued, two sets of rules. A year ago, the movement for Black lives sustained the biggest demonstrations on any topic in the history of our country. Today, far-right and white supremacist militias are cheering and lifting up a teenager—who killed two human beings and almost killed another—as a hero.

“This moment demands that we remake our systems to create a state and a world where none of these events could ever have happened. Where our justice system treats all equally, with both fairness and accountability; where everyone, no matter where they live or the color of their skin, has the safety and security that every human being deserves. Where Anthony Huber and Jason Rosenbaum would still be alive, and Gaige Grosskreutz and Jacob Blake would be uninjured.

“We echo the call for peace and support for Kenosha, a community that has been through unthinkable tragedy. To Republican politicians who are trying to distract and divide Wisconsinites by politicizing a tragedy—the people of Kenosha deserve better.

“In this moment of tremendous tension and pain, we can reimagine what a safe future will look like. We can show up for each other, come together peacefully to help the community of Kenosha heal, and we can honor the victims and their families by calling for accountability, safety, and justice for all; by dismantling systems and cultures of white supremacy and violence; and by building a state where everyone, no exceptions, can thrive.”

It is heartbreaking that Rittenhouse gets to live out the rest of his life with his family and friends, while Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber’s friends and families have to figure out how to go on without them, say progressive activists.

MILWAUKEE - On behalf of our grassroots member activists and staff across the state, Citizen Action of Wisconsin stands in solidarity with the families of victims Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, and survivors Gaige Grosskreutz, Jacob Blake, and the residents of Kenosha seeking justice and peace.

In Wisconsin, we care and show up for each other, no matter who we are or what we look like. We share food, cry, pray, and hold each other up when tragedy strikes. We talk through what we have in common and join together across our differences to come up with solutions to make the world a better place for all of us in Wisconsin and America.  In response to Kyle Rittenhouse being found not guilty on all charges today, Citizen Action of Wisconsin’s Movement Politics Director JoAnna Bautch had the following to say:

“Kyle Rittenhouse crossed state lines to come to Wisconsin with the intent to infiltrate a peaceful protest organized by leaders and residents in Kenosha calling for racial justice. He did not come to help the community.  He waved a gun in the face of people exercising their first amendment rights. He is a white supremacist who came with support from white nationalist groups to incite violence and intimidate Wisconsinites -Black, white, and Brown- to keep us from speaking out. In his attempts to stop people from exercising their rights, he shot and killed two innocent men, and harmed another.”

“Black and Brown people across this country should not be targeted and subjected to excessive brutality and violence and murdered by the very police who our tax dollars fund to protect us and keep our communities safe.  We come together in our communities to spotlight the long-standing economic, racial, and structural oppression perpetuated by certain politicians and public institutions.  They defund our schools, cut public transportation, and block our own tax dollars from coming into our communities to create good family-supporting jobs and access to quality healthcare. They profit from incarcerating our fathers, brothers, and sons. They then try to divide us across race and class by blaming poor people and People of Color for all of us being denied the things we know will make our communities safe and healthy.

“When we come together, as we did in Kenosha and across the state and country last year, we are calling for good family-supporting jobs, access to quality healthcare, fully funded schools, safe streets for our kids to play in, and a healthy future full of opportunity for all of us in Wisconsin. Rittenhouse came to Kenosha last year because he believes that those things are only for certain people. The Judge and Jury of this trial have given permission to anyone who is filled with hate to show up with a gun and murder people just because they are willing to stand up and call for justice and a better way of life.”

“The fact is that Rittenhouse is free after murdering two innocent men and harming a third because of racist ideology. It is heartbreaking that he gets to live out the rest of his life with his family and friends, while Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber’s friends and families have to figure out how to go on without them. The idea that our criminal justice system is so broken as to allow for this to happen is just plain scary. But in the spirit of the civil rights movement, we won’t stop gathering peacefully in our communities, calling for what is right and just, for all of us in Wisconsin.”

OSHKOSH -- In response to Governor Evers’ veto of legislative Republicans’ gerrymandered maps, Rep. Hintz issued the following statement:

“I applaud Governor Evers for vetoing legislative Republicans’ Gerrymander 2.0. For the last decade, our state has suffered the damaging effects of Republicans’ gerrymandered 2011 maps. The maps passed by legislative Republicans last week would make Wisconsin’s gerrymander even worse.

“By vetoing Republicans’ rigged maps, Gov. Evers is putting the people of Wisconsin ahead of partisan politics. Wisconsinites deserve a functioning democracy, and that starts with ensuring the people can choose their elected officials and hold them accountable.”