MADISON - The Aug. 9 primaries delivered several messages, including Speaker Vos calling Michael Gableman “an embarrassment to our state.” That was rich! I tried to sort it all out here:

The Messages of August 9

In the arena of money in politics, there were also mixed messages.

One the one hand, Republicans are the main beneficiaries of the change they made to our campaign finance law that allows political parties and campaign committees to accept donations from corporations, as this posting notes:

GOP Collects 3x More Than Dems in Corporate Contributions

But on the other hand, our research team discovered that the Democratic Party of Wisconsin is playing the money game much better than its counterpart:

State Dems Have Almost 30x the $$ as the Wisconsin Republican Party

Here at the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, we believe the super wealthy, whether Democratic or Republican, shouldn’t be able to dominate our politics.

Instead, we believe that we all should have an equal voice, and we’ll continue to campaign for that crucial reform!

I hope you have a nice weekend.

Best,

Matt Rothschild
Executive Director
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P.S. If you’d like to support the urgent work we’re doing in defense of our democracy, please send us a tax-deductible donation. It’s easy. Just click here and pay by credit card or PayPal. Or you can mail a gift in the old-fashioned way. Write your check out to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and send it to us at 203 S. Paterson St, Suite 100, Madison WI 53703.

Like Dr. Frankenstein, Robin Vos created a political monstrosity that wound up turning on its creator, says Dem Chair.

I am glad that Speaker Vos is finally listening to the people of Wisconsin and putting an end to this senseless waste of taxpayer funds, says Agard.

Matt Rothschild talks about money in politics.

MILWAUKEE - 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?

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Republicans on the Wisconsin Elections Commission refused to refer Harry Wait of Racine County, who admitted that he had fraudulently ordered absentee ballots, for criminal charges.

MILWAUKEE - We 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.

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Michael Gableman illegally deleted records during his sham of an investigation because he was finding no evidence of widespread fraud in Wisconsin’s election, says Agard

MADISON - This morning, I was invited to speak outside the Dane County Courthouse about why District Attorney Ismael Ozanne should investigate Wisconsin’s 10 false electors. Here’s what I said:

Wisconsin’s False Electors Must Be Held Accountable

I was joined by Mel Barnes of Law Forward, the Reverend Greg Lewis of Souls to the Polls, and Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway. We all stressed that our votes should matter. Pretty basic!

But that’s lost on many Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature, who’ve been trying hard to erect barriers to the exercise of our freedom to vote. I testified at a hearing last week where this was really obvious. Here’s my testimony:

Tossing Ballots for the Pettiest Reasons

Meanwhile, our busy staff continues to track all the money in our statewide and legislative races in Wisconsin. If you want to know about the outside spenders, as well as the donors to candidates, just click here:

Campaign 2022 Updates

I hope you this is useful for you.

Best,

Matt Rothschild
Executive Director
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

P.S. If you appreciate the urgent work we’re doing in defense of our democracy here, please send us a tax-deductible donation. Just click here to pay by credit card or PayPal. Or you can send a check in the old-fashioned way. Make it out to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and send it to us at 203 S. Paterson St, Suite 100, Madison WI 53703. Thanks!

MILWAUKEE - We 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.

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