Center Stage, with Milfred and Hands

Madison's congressman says he's progressive and pragmatic. That might sound contradictory to some. But in U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan's case, it actually rings true, given his efforts to befriend and work with colleagues he sharply disagrees with to get things done. The Democrat from rural Dane County tells Milfred and Hands about being flamed on Twitter -- from the left. He tells about his recent visit to his hometown of Kenosha, where the police shooting of Jacob Blake led to mass protests, senseless destruction and two subsequent deaths. Pocan wants to adopt national training standards for police, and he agrees with the State Journal editorial board's push for body cameras on officers. Pocan touts his efforts to support UW-Madison on the House Appropriations Committee. This includes securing money for ag research. A magician in his youth, he has forged an unlikely friendship with another politician who dabbled in magic -- a staunch conservative from Alabama who wants to help farmers, too.

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Milfred and Hands recap the Wisconsin moments and blooper at the Democratic National Convention. The four-day infomercial touting Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden was based in MIlwaukee. But most delegates and media stayed home because of the pandemic. Still, the event was largely successful for the Democrats, given that Biden performed well and all those digital connections came through. Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes couldn't get Biden's name quite right during his national moment in front of the cameras. Gov. Tony Evers was boring -- a trait that's more appreciated than ever given President Donald Trump's chaotic tenure. Gwen Moore had the best rhyme. Tammy Baldwin made the most of her prime-time address, though public television skipped it. 

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Milfred and Hands assess the long list of candidates for the Wisconsin Senate seat representing Madison. They reveal who the State Journal editorial board is endorsing in the race and why. The winner of the Aug. 11 Democratic primary will replace Sen. Fred Risser, who is retiring after more than a half century in office. (No Republicans are seeking the post.) The editorial board interviewed six of the hopefuls for the seat. Our opinionated podcasters play audio clips from those meetings, and talk about the strengths and weaknesses of each contender. 

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Milfred and Hands play and comment on the latest campaign messages from Donald Trump, Joe Biden and a host of special interest groups hoping to influence the Nov. 3 election. Trump's allies go back 30 years to find faults with Biden they hope will re-resonate now. Biden and Democrats are fixating on Trump's failings with the coronavirus pandemic. Curiously, the TV ads have been running in just about every Wisconsin media market except Madison. Trump is behind in the polls, but he was behind in 2016, too, when he squeaked out victory. Our editorial board members reference "Hamilton," Trump's exaggerated baseball career, and Biden's touchy-feely habit that the Democratic nominee oddly embraces in his ad about character. With only 118 days before the November election, the presidential campaign ads are just the beginning of an onslaught targeting the airwaves in our swingiest of swing states.

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Milfred and Hands ask Sheri Carter, Madison's first black female City Council president, about race, police, protesters and what white people in the capital city don't understand about the African American experience here. "The civil rights movement never ended," she says, recalling growing up in Madison with what today would be described as helicopter parents on the South Side. Her parents came here in the 1950s from Louisiana, and her father called Madison "a breath of fresh air" in comparison. But Madison still has stark disparities that Carter wants to address. And in recent weeks, protests over the police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man in Minneapolis, have led large protests on State Street in Madison, late-night looting, the toppling of statues on the Capitol Square, and senseless violence. A strong leader during turbulent times, Carter has a knack for pulling people together. But she has no plans to run for mayor anytime soon (though she dodged a question about Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway.) 

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Milfred and Hands dissect the secret recording someone on Gov. Tony Evers' staff made of what was supposed to be a private phone call between the Democratic governor and top Republican lawmakers about the coronavirus crisis in Wisconsin. The big surprise, now that the call has become public under the state's open records law, wasn't Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald suggesting Evers is out of touch. Nor was it Assembly Speaker Robin Vos citing "immigrant culture" as a factor in the spread of COVID-19. #TapeGate illustrates a much blander yet important reality for state government. And Hands wonders if Roger Stone will get a new tattoo.

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The mayor's apology this week for a video praising the hard work of police didn't seem to please anyone -- especially the activists demanding big change to law enforcement. Milfred and Hands play and discuss the two recorded messages Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway aimed at two very different audiences this week. Crediting front-line cops who are trying to do the right thing while at the same time supporting calls for reform shouldn't be mutually exclusive. But the mayor failed to bridge those two sentiments, which was her mistake. Our political podcasters in the sensible center of Wisconsin politics explore the accusation that Rhodes-Conway is being two-faced.

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Milfred and Hands analyze Joe Parisi's cautious and confusing plan for slowly reopening Dane County's economy. Most of Wisconsin has lifted its COVID-19 restrictions in the wake of a state Supreme Court ruling striking down Gov. Tony Evers' "safer at home" order. Our opinionated podcasters urge Dane County's executive to be more flexible if neighboring counties do fine against the novel coronavirus without strict rules limiting business and public gatherings. They also play audio clips from the Wisconsin State Journal editorial board's recent Zoom meeting with Parisi and his top health advisor, Janel Heinrich. "We're trying to give as much certainty as we can during a very uncertain time," Parisi says. But his "Forward Dane" plan is more complicated and limiting than Evers would have been. 

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Milfred and Hands react to the Wisconsin Supreme Court's 4-3 decision striking down the Evers administration's "safer at home" order. The impact isn't as significant or as dire as you might think, our podcasters agree. Gov. Tony Evers had already loosened his restrictions, and his order was set toexpire in less than two weeks. Yet the immediate lifting of precautions in many counties risks a resurgence of COVID-19 cases. That's especially true where revelers packed a few bars to celebrate the reopening -- without staying 6 feet apart to avoid transmission of the potentially deadly infection. Hands blames the high court for failing to give the state more time to transition. Milfred blames Evers and the Legislature for failing to agree on a path forward.

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Milfred and Hands interview former Madison Landmarks Commission leader Stuart Levitan on the fate of a $125 million development on the Capitol Square. Despite the coronavirus crisis, lots of big projects continue to make their way through the city's elaborate approval process. Urban Land Interests' proposal will require demolishing a historic building -- but one that already was ruined by renovations in the 1970s. Levitan predicts whether ULI's project for a glass and stone tower set back and rising along North Pinckney Street will clear the Landmarks Commission and Madison City Council. Milfred tries to make Levitan cry. Hands describes how Levitan helped inform his cartoon caricature of Madison's quintessential ponytailed liberal.

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