Progressive Thinking

GREEN BAY - If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. That seems to be the Republican motto when it comes to keeping those pesky Democratic voters from voting. A few years back, they invented the great “voter fraud” epidemic, with no real evidence that it ever existed, to justify a voter ID law in Wisconsin. Since many more poor people, espec ...

GREEN BAY – I have been listening to the “debate” coming out of our nation’s capitol all day on CNN and just can’t help but comment. Today, the Republicans in the House voted to hold the budget of the United States hostage so that they could make a statement about ObamaCare. They would fund the budget but not the implementation of the Affordable C ...

A few months ago Burke wasn't on the radar screen of possible Democratic candidates for governor in 2014, and now she seems to be the hand picked candidate pushed by the party establishment. But having family money and running with the country club set have not been known to buy you love in traditional Democratic circles. GREEN BAY - According t ...

GREEN BAY - Maybe, if you don’t look at it, it will go away? That seems to be the conservative stand on the Affordable Health Care Act, commonly known as ObamaCare. In Washington, the right wing in the House has voted 40 times to kill ObamaCare, while the pressing problems of the nation like job creation and immigration go unanswered. Governor Sc ...

GREEN BAY – The American Legal System boasts that it gives the accused the right to a trial before his or her peers. Unfortunately for justice, it sometimes does not guarantee the same right for the victim. Such was graphically the case in the trial of George Zimmerman last week in Florida for the murder of Trayvon Martin. In case you were vacati ...

Sen. Smith shares his personal story as a small business owner and describes Governor Evers' continued efforts to strengthen Wisconsin's workforce in our post-pandemic recovery. EAU CLAIRE - Long before I entered politics, I worked in the private sector. From an early age, I was needed for my father's business to mop floors, empty trash and even ...

MADISON - I went to Plover this Saturday to give a talk on the grave risk of authoritarianism that we’re facing, and I wanted to share it with you: Overcoming Authoritarianism A few days later, I heard Joe Biden give a tremendous speech on the same subject, and I wrote about that here: Joe Biden’s Great Speech I must have been in the mood for p ...

Sen. Jeff Smith provides an overview of the budget process and what was included in the 2021-23 budget signed by Governor Evers last week. MADISON - Like many households and businesses, the state operates on a budget. We have a biennial budget in Wisconsin, meaning it begins July 1st of each odd numbered year and ends June 30th of the following ...

It’s important that more people get vaccinated to keep moving our state in the right direction. Sen. Smith shares information about the COVID-19 vaccine and where Wisconsinites can get their shot. MADISON, WI - Independence Day is a holiday always filled with many treasured traditions and memorable events. Unfortunately, last year we ...

Sen. Smith reflects on the contributions of immigrants in honor of Immigrant Heritage Month. MADISON - Many Americans are interested in genealogy and learning how their personal heritage has evolved over generations. New technology makes it even easier to trace one’s genealogy, simply by sending in a sample of DNA. While we know that our genetic ...