Battleground Wisconsin

We welcome Citizen Action co-op member Emily Siegrist as a guest panelist and to announce her 2020 campaign for state assembly in a suburban Milwaukee district. Emily ran a great grassroots campaign for assembly in 2018 and is preparing to challenge Rep. Knodl again and win. Emily hopes to be joined by a slate of other progressive legislative candidates who run to win in previously Republican seats. We also discuss the Joint Finance Committee public hearings on the state budget wrapping up this week in Green Bay and Foxconn’s requested change in their contract with Wisconsin.

We are joined by state representative Jonathon Brostoff to discuss Gov. Evers’ conclusion that Foxconn is unlikely to hire 13,000 workers and his decision to renegotiate the contract. We review the new UW-Madison study that found accepting Medicaid money would save state residents $100 million a year, on top of savings to the state savings. We also talk about the Trump MAGA rally coming to Green Bay, the Koch Brothers' “astroturf” state budget campaign, and Congressman Sean Duffy dishonestly sneering at the Green New Deal.

In the latest episode of our What the Godlewski does the State Treasurer do? segment, we discuss her state budget request for the resources needed to properly run the office. We also discuss Godlweski's plans to create a state-run retirement public option and opportunities to refinancing student loan debt. We review the week’s news including: Judge Lisa Neubauer concession in the hotly contested Supreme Court race; an Appeals court sides with Governor Evers on appointments; and Sen Tammy Baldwin joins Sen. Bernie Sanders in introducing a new Medicare for All bill with a record 13 co-sponsors. We also review the top issues raised during the first 2 Joint Finance Committee public budget hearings in Janesville and Oak Creek, and debrief the latest MU Law poll finding of 70% support for expanding BadgerCare.

Special Segment - How Senator Bernie Sanders new Medicare for All bill matters!

We review this week’s spring election results which saw new progressive gains in cities and a conservative voter surge behind right-wing Judge Hagedorn. We talk about the historic victory for public schools in Milwaukee and election of young progressive mayors in Green Bay, Oshkosh and Madison. We dissect the disappointing Supreme Court result and its implication for the court and the 2020 elections. We close by previewing the state budget battle which commences with Joint Finance Committee public hearings Friday in Janesville.

In the first half of our show Rebecca Lynch and Robert Kraig discuss the current field of Democratic presidential contenders preparing to challenge Trump in 2020. In the second half of the show, we interview Citizen Action organizer Fabi Maldonado about his courageous effort to challenge Foxconn as a Racine County Supervisor and community leader.

This week we welcome Rebecca back! We discuss why Scott Walker is out touting a constitutional convention and the ramifications of such an event. The panel also discusses some of the bubbling-up 2020 electoral issues such as dumping the Electoral College, high school students fighting climate change, healthcare, student debt relief and much, much more.

We welcome Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes to discuss his first couple of months in the office and the his vision for creating opportunity in Wisconsin over the next few years. In our third installment of Sarah “what the Godlewski does the state treasurer do?” We review her effort to help UW system graduates refinance their student loan debt and GOP State Rep. Michael Schraa failing to honor his promise to sponsor legislation to put some authority and power back into the state treasurer's office. We talk about Congressman Mark Pocan’s threat to sue ICE for records related to Wisconsin arrests last year; GOP Legislative leaders plan to intervene in Planned Parenthood case challenging abortion laws; Wisconsin is now the top 2020 battleground state; and State Sen. Dale Kooyenga says he will consider supporting accepting the federal money to expand BadgerCare.

This week we do a deep dive on the Foxconn mess with two special guests: State Senator Chris Larson and State Rep. Jonathan Brostoff. Will we have a thriving new manufacturing hub in 2 years in Racine County, or an post-industrial ghost town? We also look at advances in civil rights in the Evers budget, including automatic voter registrations and drivers licenses for immigrants.

This week progressive Democrats in Congress introduced the gold standard in healthcare reform, Medicare For All, with an impressive 100+ co-sponsors. We talk about why the bill matters despite its dim prospects for immediate passage. Turning to Wisconsin, we look at the official announcement by Governor Tony Evers that he will include BadgerCare Expansion in his first state budget. Citizen Action members are already fully mobilized to support the Governor, holding news conferences in Appleton and Wausau and hosting 11 watch parties during Thursday night's State Budget Address. Robert educates us on the devastating potential impact of a big push by hospital lobbyists for a "private option" insurance scheme to replace BadgerCare Expansion. We review newly announced state budget provisions, including nonpartisan redistricting, freezing voucher and charter schools, and in-state tuition rates for all — regardless of immigration status. We close the show by exposing a shameful GOP effort to blackball Nicole Safar from Planned Parenthood--a previous guest on Battleground Wisconsin and friend of Citizen Action--from serving in the Department of Health and Human Services.