December 14 Update From The DPW Chair Print
Elections, Elected Officials, Political Parties
Written by Democratic Party of Wisconsin, Martha Laning   
Wednesday, 14 December 2016 14:27

martha-laningDemocratic Party Chair Martha Laning on her latest statewide listening sessions, the State Chairs and Executive Directors meeting in Denver last week, Russian interference in the presidential election, and clips you may have missed but really need to see.


MADISON - The past week has been a very busy one with our Association of State Chairs meeting and several debrief meetings around Wisconsin. The meetings have been very helpful at putting together the pieces of the story as to how this election turned out so differently from what we expected.

Deep Dive Update

We are about half way through the listening sessions with volunteers, party members, candidates, and staff that we are doing across the state. Through the sessions we are gathering a lot of valuable information from activists that will help us plan for the changes we need to make. In addition, this week we are meeting with our nonprofit partners to discuss the campaign and hear their thoughts and opinions. The final phase of informational gathering won’t start until January when the state releases the detailed voting records.  All of this information will be used for our strategic planning in early February.

The Association of State Democratic Chairs (ASDC) meeting

The State Chairs and Executive Directors met in Denver last week. The meeting is an opportunity for the DNC to brief us on research they have pulled together, network with other chairs to learn from each others success and challenges, and finally to set a plan for how to move forward.

There was a lot of discussion about the Democratic National Committee Chair election that is coming up in February.  The ASDC is developing a list of priorities the organization can all agree are important for our next chair to implement in order to create a stronger, more nimble organization that support State Parties. There are currently four announced candidates for the DNC Chairmanship.

I have endorsed Rep. Keith Ellison because of his strong belief that we need to build our party from the grassroots up.  Rep. Ellison has gone out of his way to come to Wisconsin to help us build grassroots activism by speaking at Fighting Bob Fest and community events like our Bus Tour Breakfast in Milwaukee with local elected leaders.  Keith won his first election by turning out brand new voters, he doesn’t just talk about it – he makes it happen.  He puts 200% into everything he does.  There was a concern that Keith would be fulfilling two roles, both as a representative to the US Congress and DNC chair if elected, which many felt was too much.  This week Rep. Ellison announced, that if elected, he would give up his congressional seat. Just another example of how committed he is to the party and an example of how he listens to the concerns of his fellow Democrats. 

Keith has also been endorsed by a wide variety of organizations, legislators and activists like the AFL-CIO, IBEW, United Steelworkers, Senator Tammy Baldwin, Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Representative Gwen Moore, Representative John Lewis, and Representative Mark Pocan.  We have great Democrats running for the DNC Chair and I will be happy to work with any of them. However, I strongly believe in Rep. Ellison’s commitment to building parties from the ground up and I think this election proved just how important that is.  You can learn more about Representative Keith Ellison at keithforDNC.org

The Big Idea

As I am sure many of you saw, it has become quite clear the Russians directly interfered in the presidential election to try and help Donald Trump win. The race is over and it is time for our country to move forward, BUT there absolutely must be a further investigation into Russia's actions. 

I am dismayed by the lack of outcry from the Republican Party, particularly here in Wisconsin, in response to Russia's meddling in our election. The fact Donald Trump has rejected the CIA's findings, and Republican leaders are dismissing the evidence as well, is some of the most unpatriotic nonsense I have ever seen in my life. What's worse, Trump and many of his Republican colleagues are now attacking the CIA, not Russia and what they did.

The integrity of our democracy, and democracies around the world, are at stake as Russia continues to try to undermine free and fair countries. You shouldn't have to be a Democrat or Republican to see there should be strong bipartisan support to look into Russia's actions and punish them for what they have done. I hope Sen. Ron Johnson will realize this isn't a partisan problem, this is an American problem that we all have to work together to solve.

What You May Have Missed But Need To See Now

Bernie Sanders sat down with MSNBC's Chris Hayes in Kenosha to talk about the election and how we forward on as a party. It's very much worth the watch!
Watch the full interview here.

For the 20th straight quarter, Wisconsin Republican's failed agenda has left Wisconsin trailing the national average in private sector job growth. Over 70% of new jobs in Wisconsin are created by small businesses, yet the Republican-led legislature refuses to make the proper investments that would create jobs and boost Wisconsin's economy.
Read more about the GOP's failure here.

Unbelievably Rep. Sean Duffy had the audacity to call Madison undemocratic and a communist community because of the hand recount that took place. What he failed to mention was 47 counties did full hand recounts, and thirteen others did partial hand recounts. 
Read more about Duffy's comments here.

We hope Speaker Ryan, Sen. Johnson, and Rep. Duffy will consider the damage repealing the ACA would have on our country: "In 2009, when Obama took office, about 50 million people were uninsured. The report projects that after repeal, 59 million people will lack coverage by 2019, compared to 29 million if the ACA remains in place."
Read the full article here.

As Sheriff David Clarke neglected his duty to serve Milwaukee, four people died in the prison he oversees since April, and went so far to blame the inmates for their own deaths. This includes an individual who died of dehydration after the water to their cell was shut off. Now, the mothers of the deceased are calling for the Sheriff to resign.
Read more about the call for Sheriff Clarke to resign here.

After years of attacking our University system and slashing hundreds of millions of dollars in funding, for the first time in 40 years UW-Madison has fallen out of the top five for research.
Read more about the need to re-invest in our UW-System.

Last week Senator Jennifer Shilling gave the weekly Democratic radio address. She highlighted the need for working families to have more workplace flexibility so they receive the wages and benefits they need to get ahead. 
You can read and listen to Sen. Shillings address here.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 14 December 2016 14:50