MILWAUKEE - This 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.

Listen Now – Episode #483
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Looks Ahead to Statewide Bounce Back in radio address.

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today delivered the Democratic Radio Address reflecting on the one year anniversary of his first statewide Public Health Emergency declaration on COVID-19 and his plan to ensure Wisconsin bounces back and better.

Audio file of Radio Address.

Hey, everyone. Governor Tony Evers here.

One year ago, on March 12th, I declared our first statewide Public Health Emergency for COVID-19.

At that time there was still so many unknowns. Not only in the nature of the virus itself, but what it would mean for our families, workers and businesses, and our communities.

We never could have known the tragedy it would bring to the families and loved ones of more than 6,500 Wisconsinites who died this year.

As we keep those lost in our hearts and on our minds, we now see light at the end of the tunnel.
Our vaccination program continues to expand and grow, and more than one million Wisconsinites have received their first dose and another more than 600,000 have completed their vaccine series.

And Wisconsin continues to be a national and regional leader in getting vaccines in arms.

As we see the road to recovery ahead of us and with federal relief funds on the way, it’s time for Wisconsin’s bounce back.

But we can’t just bounce back to the way things were before, we need to look forward and beyond the pandemic to build the future we want for our state.

That’s what my Badger Bounceback budget is all about.

Whether it’s investing in broadband to help businesses grow, students learn, and communities connect, expanding BadgerCare to ensure more Wisconsinites have healthcare coverage, or investing in our kids and schools, and the UW System and Technical Colleges to ensure we are building the next generation of innovators and leaders, there is obviously much work ahead of us.

Let’s get this done and let’s bounce back better. Take care, Wisconsin. Thank you.

Wimberger claims false, Genrich, city staff, poll workers should be applauded for free and fair election in Green Bay.

GREEN BAY - Senator Eric Wimberger recently cited a “report” that included false claims about the handling of the November election by City of Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich, the city’s staff, and poll workers. As an attorney and a public official, Wimberger has a duty to speak truthfully, act ethically, and defend democracy. Instead, he is trying to undermine the people’s confidence in the election results in order to rile up his base and damage Genrich politically by citing false claims.

There is no evidence of any kind that anyone who was a part of administering the election did anything unethical, improper, or illegal. Wimberger’s insinuations are reckless, irresponsible, and dangerous. Furthermore, they are demeaning to the city employees and poll workers who took a degree of risk in order to ensure that every citizen had the opportunity to vote during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Genrich, the city’s staff, and the poll workers should be applauded for their efforts on election day. The process of freely and fairly electing government officials was carried out in a non-partisan and transparent way.

Jarrett Brown
Green Bay, Wisconsin

Woman, lifelong proud feminist, comments on where contemporary feminism seems to be going.

GREEN BAY, WI - This post might be particularly interesting to fellow Democrats. It’s part of the reason I’ve chosen to no longer be a member of my local chapter, the Democratic Party of Brown County Wisconsin .

I am proud to have been part of the women’s movement throughout my lifetime. A movement that won women the rights to vote, have credit cards, not be legally raped by their husbands, use birth control and generally be considered people instead of property, among other things.

As a result, issues such as basic inequality, sexual discrimination, the epidemic of domestic violence, sexual harassment, and sexual abuse are now being addressed much differently and many freedoms have been won that had been denied to generations of women before mine.

However, I’m concerned about where contemporary feminism is going, and whether I can be part of it anymore. I’ve gotten old, but I’m still as passionately angry as ever about women being denied abortions, or treated like a piece of meat by lecherous bosses, or beaten up in their homes by husbands. I know what it feels like to have a loaded gun held to my head by an abusive husband, to be propositioned at work, denied a promotion solely because I was a woman. I have suffered my share of inappropriate comments and innuendoes from the opposite sex.

Regardless, I have always considered myself a survivor rather than a victim. I refuse to just assume I need protection from any person who doesn’t have a vagina. Being on guard and becoming enraged at every slight a man makes isn’t the most conducive way to effect change. And often, it turns the offender into he victim.

Outrage is easy to channel, hard to bottle up and at epidemic levels in so many areas of society that it’s difficult to take a step in today’s world without causing controversy. Moral certainty and intolerance are the vices that drag us into the worst of humanity’s sins. They do not provide the path towards a better future. Generalization is the mistake we make every time we set about changing the world by making enemies of those we feel have offended or insulted us in any way, or simply don’t agree with us.

Over the past few years mainstream feminism, like other forms of identity politics, has become obsessed with victimhood, in what I consider a seriously disempowering way. It has begun to feel like a religion, with its own strict rules about what women are permitted to say, do and think. And just as important, about what men are permitted to say or do, or behave.

In this world, a compliment, or a rude joke is harassment. A pat on the back is sexual assault. Asking someone out for a drink is abuse. Let me be clear: A violation of these rules may be unpleasant, but is NOT traumatic. Suggesting otherwise only diminishes the experience of those women who have indeed, suffered trauma.

For me, being a feminist has always meant supporting women’s freedom to be whoever they want to be, regardless of whether anyone else approves or not. I have come to believe that identity politics, taken to its extremes, is essentially divisive. The emphasis is on difference – what separates us from one another, not what unites us. Why would any confident, strong, capable woman want her identity wrapped up in being a victim?

In the highly competitive race for ultimate victimhood, contemporary feminism is already fractured along lines of class, race, sexual orientation, disability, and more. Women have become so enraged with the oppression they experience that they can’t hear anything but the muffled sound of their voices trying to escape from the victim blanket they have wrapped themselves so tightly in.

So, my advice is to stop raging. Solutions are not found when we are incensed. Instead of living in expectation of the next slight, try imagining that the vast majority of men want the same thing. The dream of a world more female shaped will only be realized using predominantly feminine qualities, such as reason, patience, endurance and emotional sensitivity. For that we need to be calm, rational and ready to listen, not in a state of rage. And, not by assuming the role of victim.

Laura Kiefert
Green Bay Progressive

MADISON - This week, Republicans in the State Legislature introduced a bill, as they have before, to call for a Convention of the States, which is often referred to as an “Article V” way to amend the U.S. Constitution.

It’s a bad idea, for several reasons, which I outlined in testimony that I emailed to the Assembly Committee on the Constitution and Ethics:

Wisconsin GOP’s Misguided Move on Amending the Constitution

This week, we noted that Rebecca Kleefisch has been tossing a lot of money around to candidates here, as she prepares to run for governor. You can read about that here:

Former Lt. Gov’s New PAC Doled Out $121K to the State GOP, Legislative Candidates

And we’re continuing to meet with our partners in the Wisconsin Voting Rights Coalition to call attention to the nasty voter suppression bills that some GOP legislators are circulating. The Cap Times published my article on this, as you can see:

Matthew Rothschild: Say no to voter suppression bills

I hope you enjoy the nice weather this weekend!

Best,

Matt Rothschild
Executive Director
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MILWAUKEE - 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.

Listen Now – Episode #482
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MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today delivered the Democratic Radio Address on the American Rescue Plan and how it will provide much needed relief to Wisconsin's small businesses, workers, families, and schools.

Audio file of Radio Address.

Hi everyone, Governor Tony Evers here.

Recently, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Rescue Plan.

This is a new COVID-19 relief package that has broad support across Wisconsin because in addition to providing critical funding to continue to ramp up our vaccine distribution, this plan supports our small businesses with a $50 billion investment to help them keep their doors open and lights on. It also supports our workers and families with $1,400 relief assistance for individuals and it supports our communities with $350 billion going to state and local governments.

It also helps our kids by providing $130 billion to our schools and universities so that our kids and educators can learn and teach safely.

From Wisconsin small businesses and workers to our kids and schools, this federal assistance is needed by Wisconsinites in every corner of the state.

The American Rescue Plan, coupled with our Badger Bounceback agenda, will help make sure our communities and our state can get through this pandemic then bounce back and better than before. So, let’s get this done, folks.

Thank you.

MADISON - This week, some GOP members of the State Legislature have been circulating a raft of ugly voter suppression bills. Here’s what we posted on them:

Say No to Voter Suppression Bills

I hope you’ll contact your legislators and urge them not to back these anti-democracy bills!

For our part, we’re doing all we can to oppose them. I’ve written op-eds for the Cap Times, the Wisconsin Examiner, and Urban Milwaukee about them, and I’ve been interviewed on WORT and the Devil’s Advocates. Plus, we’re working with our partners in the Wisconsin Voting Rights Coalition to get the word out.

This week, we also filed four formal complaints with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission when we discovered that the following committees accepted donations from corporations in excess of the $12,000 statutory limit:

-- Republican Assembly Campaign Committee
-- Committee to Elect a Republican Senate
-- Assembly Democratic Campaign Committee
-- Democratic Party of Wisconsin.

Here’s our report on that:

Legislative Campaign Committees, State Party Accept Excessive Contributions

And if you want to find out which corporations gave the most to the legislative campaign committees and political parties in Wisconsin, we dug that out for you, too:

State Parties, Legislative Campaign Committees Accepted $1.6M in Corporate Contributions in 2020

As you can see, It’s been a busy week for us!

I hope you have a nice weekend.

Best,

Matt Rothschild
Executive Director
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P.S. The Big Share online day of giving kicks off this year at 6:00PM, Monday, March 1, and goes through midnight on March 2! Please show your support for our good work by giving online here during those hours. Note that your gift may be doubled with matching funds from our Board of Directors when you give between the hours of 10:00-11:00AM on Tuesday, Please share The Big Share opportunity with your friends and colleagues! Learn more here--The Big Share. Thanks!

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers Thursday delivered the Democratic Radio Address on Public Schools Week and his plan to invest in public education to ensure that every kid in Wisconsin has access to high-quality, public education from early childhood to K-12, to Wisconsin’s universities and technical colleges.

Audio file of radio address.

Hi everyone, Governor Tony Evers here.

The COVID-19 pandemic have affected all of us this past year—it’s affected how we live, learn, work, and communicate.

Nobody knows that better than our kids, parents, and educators who seemingly overnight had to adapt to learning and teaching from their kitchen tables over a thing called Zoom.

I know it hasn’t been easy, but as we celebrate Public Schools Week this week, I wanted to take a moment to say thank you.

As they always do, our educators have gone above and beyond to make sure our kids get the best education possible.

Because they believe, as I do, that what’s best for our kids is what’s best for our state.

And at the end of the day, we know if we’re going to bounce back from COVID-19, then we have to start by making sure our kids are better off than when we started this pandemic.

That’s why my 2021-2023 budget proposal puts our kids first by restoring our commitment to two-thirds funding for our schools, investing $709 million in special education reimbursement, fully funding sparsity aid for our most rural schools, and investing more than $50 million in student mental health resources.

Every kid in our state should have access to high-quality, public education from early childhood to our university and technical college systems. And we have work to do to make that happen.

So, happy Public Schools Week, Wisconsin. Let’s get this done for our kids, for our schools, and for our state’s future. 

Thank you.

MILWAUKEE - Sen. 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 politicians 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.

Listen Now – Episode #481
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