Battleground Wisconsin

We debrief a new judicial ruling this week finding abortion legal again in Wisconsin. To the surprise of few, Wisconsin GOP Legislative leaders propose another scheme to abolish the Wisconsin Elections Commission, giving election administration oversight to Republican Legislative leaders hellbent on power and total control in the name of financial elites. Meanwhile, the Wisconsin fake electors acknowledged their actions were unlawful and were used in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election. We discuss the importance of membership in Citizen Action, as we are preparing to win in 2024 by talking directly to voters all over the state.

Republicans struggle to find a serious challenger to Sen Tammy Baldwin in 2024, as California millionaire banker Eric Hovde announces his campaign this week. Gov. Evers rightly vetoes a GOP bill that would ban gender affirming medical care for minors.

We discuss Citizen Action’s upcoming 3rd Congressional District Candidate Forum on Sunday, December 17th, at 6pm. We encourage our listeners in the district to RSVP today!

We welcome State Representative Supreme Moore Omokunde to discuss his co-sponsorship of the BadgerCare Public Option and groundbreaking new climate legislation he is working on that will help set the agenda for the 2024 state legislative elections. With the prospect of new legislative maps, Rep. Moore’s climate agenda helps provide an unparalleled opportunity for new ideas to be in play in the next Legislature.

We discuss a new lawsuit brought by state employee unions seeking to overturn Act 10, on the heels of new data revealing Wisconsin teacher pay has lagged inflation for 15 years according to a Wisconsin Policy Forum report.

As the Supreme Court starts a historic redistricting case, the 2025 election has begun as former AG Brad Schimel enters the race. We invite our listeners from Western Wisconsin to RSVP and attend Citizen Action’s 3rd Congressional District Candidate Virtual Forum on Sunday, December 17th, 6pm.

We welcome Mark Rice, Wisconsin Transformational Justice Campaign Coordinator at WISDOM, to discuss WISDOM’s organizing and legislative agenda on criminal justice reform in Wisconsin. Wisconsin continues to trail the nation and surrounding states in lowering our incarceration rates while state facilities are grossly understaffed resulting in inhumane conditions for people in the facilities.

This week we have a special report where Robert interviews two Wisconsin elected officials who are demonstrating the courage to lead. First, we have an interview with Congressman Mark Pocan to discuss his thoughtful and nuanced stance on the Gaza War that defends the humanity and rights of both Israelis and Palestinians, opposes collective punishment, and recognizes the magnitude of the crimes committed by Hamas on October 7. Robert talks with Mark about the situation on the ground, what is needed to preserve human life and to finally land a permanent political settlement of the conflict.

Second, we interview State Senator Chris Larson, who has fought for months to get a better deal for the public from the Milwaukee Brewers. The one sided half billion dollar subsidy passed the Senate after a massive full court lobbying campaign, but not without a fight.

Robert gives us the latest on the BadgerCare Public Option bill, the only comprehensive bill this session to address the health care cost and access crisis. Priscilla discuses the importance of calling state legislators and urging them to co-sponsor. Listeners are encouraged to join us every Monday, 5-7pm, making calls to Wisconsin voters and getting them to call their state legislators in support. Attend upcoming media events in Eau Claire on 11/17, 11am, at the Chippewa Valley Free Clinic and in La Crosse on 11/20, 9:30am, at St. Clare Health Mission.

On the union front, we talk about the significance of UW Health nurses’ union's latest action to improve patient safety and why their organizing fight is critical to reforming the healthcare system. We also celebrate the end of the actors' strike this week.

We welcome Mark Rice, Wisconsin Transformational Justice Campaign Coordinator at WISDOM, to discuss WISDOM’s organizing and legislative agenda on criminal justice reform in Wisconsin. Wisconsin continues to trail the nation and surrounding states in lowering our incarceration rates while state facilities are grossly understaffed resulting in inhumane conditions for people in the facilities.

Robert gives us the latest on the effort to get a better deal in the Brewers’ effort to get a public subsidy. Finally, we debrief the implications from Tuesday’s national election results as we are now one year away from a huge presidential election. We look at the latest polling, including a new MU Law poll that clearly shows the gerrymandered state legislature is very unpopular and vulnerable in the 2024 election. We encourage you to donate to our voter contact effort to win state legislative seats in 2024.

We discuss the passing of healthcare activist Ady Barkan, who turned his fight against ALS into a crusade to break the monopoly power of the corporate insurance giants that are failing millions of Americans.

We explain the importance of the introduction of the BadgerCare Public Option bill in the state legislature, and discuss our news conference at the Green Bay Labor Council with lead legislative author Representative Kristina Shelton. The bill is the only one dealing with the skyrocketing cost of health care in this Legislative Session, as the GOP continues to introduce culture war issues that do nothing to improve the lives of average Wisconsinites. In a related development, a new national report finds that nearly 7 in 10 U.S. adults say they receive medical bills they cannot afford and many are skipping needed medical care.

The huge Brewers stadium subsidy bill is pulled from the floor, delaying action on the bill. What does it mean that even with a full court press by the unified corporate elite, Governor Evers, and Robin Vos, there are not enough votes in the Senate to pass it. While too many state politicians have been busy trying to ram through $546 million to a billionaire, the City of Waupun takes a rare step to invest public funds in child care after the GOP blocks all state action to address the access crisis.

We close by reviewing news the Public Service Commission will be announcing electric rate increases this week, as We Energies says it will accelerate plans to stop burning coal and reaffirms an Oak Creek plant shutdown.

We open with a somber discussion of yet another mass shooting in America where 18 people died and over 13 were wounded, bringing America’s mass shooting total to a staggering 558 this year.

Robert updates us on this week’s state Senate hearing the $546 million public subsidy for the Brewers’ owner. Currently there are NOT the votes to pass the Assembly bill in the Senate, unless enough Democrats change their votes.

Switching to allies who are showing how to use their power, we celebrate the UAW’s tentative agreement with Ford and wish more Wisconsin Democrats would be as strategic and willing to fight for what is right, even when others tell them it is not possible.

We invite our listeners to join us for next Tuesday’s BadgerCare Public Option media event at the Greater Green Bay Labor Council, at Noon, with the lead sponsor State Representative Kristina Shelton. Priscilla educates us about volunteer phone calls we started making to voters this week in support of the bill and urging people to call their state legislators and tell them to co-sponsor the legislation.

Finally, Robert also updates our listeners on local climate action planning in Wisconsin and why it is so important to advancing climate justice.

We unpack the bipartisan Assembly vote to rubber stamp a $565 million giveaway to the ultrarich owner of the Milwaukee Brewers. Given the unpopularity of the massive private subsidy, what does this say about the state of democracy in Wisconsin. A new statewide poll from Public Policy Polling shows 55% voters oppose the stadium deal. Citizen Action and other major advocacy organizations released a letter to state legislators and Governor Evers in opposition to the current stadium plan. Improvements can be made in the state senate if they hear from you (800) 362-9472.

Next we discuss the imploding impeachment of the WEC’s Meagan Wolfe by Legislative Republicans. While continuing to defame Wolfe, Republicans conceded in legal filings they lack grounds to oust her from her position. Also this week, the Senate Republican leader proposed scrapping Gov. Evers’ child care plan and replacing it with a shocking $2 billion tax cut and child care credit that mostly helps wealthier households.

Priscilla reports on her attendance at the media release of a new report from BLOC chronicling how Wisconsin’s criminal legal system, including over-policing and mass incarceration, is robbing people of their right to participate in democracy.

We close with a preview of the new BadgerCare Public Option bill set to be released in the state legislature, and circulating for co-sponsors. Priscilla tells us about volunteer phone calls to voters in support of the BadgerCare Public Option next Monday, October 23rd, 5-7pm. We need you! Sign up here! Take action and sign a petition urging your state legislators to co-sponsor the BadgerCare Public Option bill. Attend our BadgerCare Public Option media conference, Tuesday, October 31, Greater Green Bay Labor Council, at Noon (more regional events will be announced in the future). And, call your state legislators at (800) 362-9472 and ask them to co-sponsor the bill.

After reflecting on the tragic and horrifying war in Gaza and Israel, we dig into the latest news on the GOP threat to impeach Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz before she rules on a single case. Will the opposition of two former GOP State Supreme Court Justices who were advising Assembly Speaker Robin Vos deter him from pursuing an illegal impeachment? Next, we turn to the on-going drama over the massive public subsidy sought by the ultra-rich owner of the Milwaukee Brewers. State Senator Chris Larson joins us to tell us about pressure Gov. Evers’ office is applying to Legislative Democrats to support Robin Vos’ stadium plan. We welcome State Representative Francesca Hong to hear about her experience at the Assembly “public hearing” on the GOP stadium plan last week in West Allis. We also have an in depth conversation about Representative Hong’s new legislation directing school boards to provide instruction on Hmong Americans and Asian Americans in our public schools. Representative Hong talks passionately about her personal experience growing up in a state where many people she encounters don’t know her history and culture, showing the critical importance of the bi-partisan legislation.

We dive into how the Speaker McCarthy crash and burn this week was part of a 50 year road built by corporate America and the Republican Party. We also turn our attention to Wisconsin and the public hearing on the shameful Assembly Brewer Stadium financing plan that leaves the public footing the bill. We review the continuing threat to democracy surrounding the Legislative Republican’s effort to impeach the Wisconsin Elections Commission’s administrator Megan Wolfe and not confirming Evers’ appointee Joseph Czarneski to the commission. Robert educates us and encourages turnout to an important We Energies public hearing in Milwaukee next week to tackle the unfair energy burden many Wisconsin residents face. Priscilla reviews the news from California that the late U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein will be replaced by Laphonza Butler. We put the appointment in historical context and discuss its implications.