MILWAUKEE - We discuss President Biden’s announcement that he will use his presidential powers to cancel $10,000 in student loans for those making less than $125,000 and $20,000 for those who were low enough income to qualify for Pell Grants. Robert discusses how this benefits all middle class students and is especially targeted to the most financially challenged, including BIPOC students with very high student debts. We talk about the vote of over 2,000 UW Health nurses to authorize a 3 day strike in September to demand recognition of their union from hospital administrators. We review a new report finding public employees are leaving the sector at the highest rate in decades. Robert previews our “How to talk about the Inflation Reduction Act” training this Thursday at 6pm (WATCH recording of event below.) This week Citizen Action announced 32 new candidate endorsements for the November 8th election and discuss why it is so important for everyone to volunteer this fall to elect Mandela Barnes to take the next steps in passing a bold progressive agenda.

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MADISON - I was honored to be invited to give a talk to some faith leaders in Wisconsin earlier this week who are working boldly on the issue of racial equity.

So I discussed some ideas I’d sketched out in my book, “12 Ways to Save Democracy in Wisconsin,” and I also examined the anti-democracy movement in our state and in our country. Here’s the text of my talk:

The Tall Tasks Before Us

Also this week I weighed in on Speaker Robin Vos’s decision to finally fire Michael Gableman. Here’s what I said about that:

Vos’s Tardy Heave Ho of Gableman

And our research team uncovered the names of the big Wisconsin donors to two groups that are throwing a lot of money around in the tightening race for governor:

Gubernatorial Electioneering Groups Get Nearly $2M from Wisconsin Contributors

For a comprehensive and up-to-date list on candidate and outside spending, please go here:

Campaign 2022 Updates

I hope you find this information useful.

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’d like to support the urgent work we’re doing, please do so by sending us a tax-deductible gift today. It’s easy: Just click here and donate by credit card or PayPal. Or send your donation in the old-fashioned way by making your check out to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and mailing it in to us at 203 S. Paterson St, Suite 100, Madison WI 53703. Thanks for supporting us!

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

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