Battleground Wisconsin

We analyze Gov. Evers’ big budget decision. How did he use his veto pen, and what prompted his decision not to engage in budget brinkmanship? We also discuss next week’s start of oral arguments in the Texas lawsuit to destroy the Affordable Care Act. Finally we give a scouting report on how Democratic presidential candidates are positioning themselves on Medicare for All.

We discuss the new Supreme Court decision to rubber stamp partisan gerrymandering and its link to the bad budget that just cleared the State Legislature. We game out the potential next steps for Governor Evers in the budget drama. Next, we talk about Trump’s effort to redefine poverty in a way that will remove a million people from important social services. Finally, we analyze the first Democratic presidential debate and take a closer look at Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign.

We discuss Trump’s made for Fox TV campaign kick-off event in the wake of his trumped up fight with Iran. Will Trump decide that releasing the dogs of war is to his political advantage? Next, we dig into the critical state budget votes scheduled for next week, the growing right wing opposition to the GOP budget, and the options available to Governor Evers should a terrible budget reach his desk. We preview next Monday’s BadgerCare Expansion statewide Day of Action (see details below). Finally, the panel dives into the Elizabeth Warren/Bernie Sanders dynamic in the Democratic primary election, looks ahead to the first Democratic presidential “debate,” and discusses Beto O'Rourke's LBJ like ascent from political unknown to presidential contender.

This week we do a deep dive with State Senator Chris Larson on the GOP budget endgame. Does Robin Vos really expect Governor Evers to capitulate to their short sighted and immoral budget, or does he have a hidden agenda in mind? Next we welcome State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski to discuss the fiscal insanity of the GOP budget that is taking shape, and her work to address the student debt crisis. Finally, we dig into the latest Foxconn low lights, and progress on Medicare for All.

This week Battleground Wisconsin takes to the road to dig into the question of how progressives can win back the industrial states lost to Donald Trump in 2016. We have a series of interviews of state and national leaders recorded live at the People's Action national convention in Washington, DC. First the iconic progressive leader Heather Booth, the focus of a major documentary film, gives us a road map to progressive victory. Next we talk to Michigan State Representative Lauri Pohutsky, a strong progressive candidate who won a purple district in 2018 with the assistance of Citizen Action's fellow People's Action affiliate, Michigan United. Finally we have an in-depth interview with one of the most respected African American organizers in the country, Ohio Organizing Collaborative Director DaMareo Cooper, who helps us dig into the need to win the industrial Midwest with a unified urban/rural/suburban strategy.

The big con continues with news that Foxconn awarded contracts supposedly reserved for Wisconsin-based companies to firms headquartered in Connecticut and England. We also review the new revelation that EPA staff scientists strongly objected to excluding areas of southeastern Wisconsin where Foxconn is located from stronger smog standards. Ryan Billingham of Wisconsin Conservation Voters joins us to talk about the Republican decision to cut tens of millions of dollars from Gov. Tony Evers' clean water budget, which will leave some Wisconsinites drinking manure water. We welcome Citizen Action co-op member Tricia Zunker to discuss her successful resolution in Marathon County to declare the 2nd Monday in October Indigenous Peoples Day. We close with a deep dive into the Democratic presidential primary candidacy of Beto O’Rourke. (Next Week: Joe Biden; in two weeks, Kamala Harris)

We review the latest state budget news, including Boss Vos and Fitzgerald’s scheme to split the budget into two separate pieces of legislation in an effort to constrain Gov. Evers veto options. We welcome State Representative David Crowley to talk about his new bill to allow automatic voter registration in Wisconsin to make sure more people can participate in our democracy. We also start our new weekly segment discussing the Democratic candidates for president this week with U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren. Avid listener State Senator Chris Larson joins us to tell us why he supports Warren in the primary.

This week we review a large number of right-wing counter assaults on reason and freedom from the Wisconsin Legislature and at the national level. We explore deserted Foxconn buildings, the shocking GOP debrief of their 2018 Wisconsin election debacle. Finally we discuss the latest entry into the crowded Democratic presidential primary, and announce a new feature in which Battleground Wisconsin listeners will have the opportunity to help determine the best progressive candidate.

We discuss Republican leaders’ sudden and desperate Joint Finance Committee vote Thursday that reveals they are losing the public debate on BadgerCare and other important issues in the state budget. We talk about new Citizen Action research demonstrating how expanding Medicaid helps fight opioid epidemic. We welcome State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski who reveals GOP plans to pull the modest expansion of her office in the state budget. We close with a discussion of the new dynamic in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary following the official entry of Joe Biden.

We discuss Governor Tony Evers media conference reacting to Republican leadership’s plan announced Wednesday to remove BadgerCare expansion from the state budget. Evers declared he would “fight like hell” to win and he needed peoples help. We also talk about Gov. Evers’ Thursday meeting with Foxconn executive Terry Gou and May Day here and abroad. We also have special interviews with Robert Borosage, contributing editor of The Nation and Tasha Green, councilwoman from the city of Westland, MI.