The Recombobulation Minute

This week Wisconsin Republican lawmakers called on Mayor Cavalier Johnson to urge Police Chief Jeffrey Norman to “temporarily reorganize MPD to allow for the maximum amount of available sworn officers to be assigned to our streets.” The Mayor’s office pushed back and  said “We thank the state legislators for offering their opinions on police staffing. What they neglect to acknowledge is that crime in Milwaukee is down considerably when compared to the same time as last year.”

Mayor Johnson cited double-digit, year-to-date decreases in robberies, arsons, aggravated assaults, vehicle thefts, carjackings and non-fatal shootings.

While Milwaukee certainly has its challenges, is this another dog whistle? 

It’s also worth noting that the Milwaukee Police Association is in ongoing negotiations with the city on their union contract. With the city of Milwaukee budget process coming up there is always attention on how much the city invests in law enforcement versus how much they spend on preventative measures  like the Office of Violence Prevention.

Find all of Dan’s work at The Recombobulation Area. Subscribe to The Recombobulation Area’s podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, and see more the Civic Media website.

With Gov. Tony Evers choosing not to run for a third term, that means we’re going to have the first open race for governor in 16 years. 

We already know who some of the candidates will be. On the Democratic side, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez launched her campaign and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said he’s running. On the Republican side, Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann and southeastern Wisconsin business execurtive Bill Berrien are running. Many more are expected to join the race. 

And it’s not just governor that will have an open race. We could see all open races for Attorney General, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State and State Treasurer, too. 

Couple that with what’s happening in the state legislature, no longer under gerrymandered maps, the year 2026 is going to bring a rather unique moment for voters in Wisconsin to determine the path forward on a fresh new era for the state. I know some can be wary of change, but let’s embrace this as the real opportunity that it is. 

Find all of Dan’s work at The Recombobulation Area. Subscribe to The Recombobulation Area’s podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, and see more the Civic Media website.

After weeks of speculation, Gov. Tony Evers has finally made his decision: He is not running for a third term.

Evers has had an accomplished career as a dedicated public servant for five decades and has been a terrific governor for the state of Wisconsin these last six-plus, and we should be grateful for his time in office. It’s been a job well done. 

But all things must pass. In making this decision to step aside and not seek another term, Tony Evers is doing what he has done time and time again. He’s doing the right thing. 

And perhaps in making this decision, Gov. Evers can be the one to turn the tide on the Democratic Party’s unwillingness to pass the torch to the next generation. In his own unassuming way, the mild-mannered former science teacher who became Wisconsin’s governor can be an example to Democrats across the nation.

Because we know what happens in Wisconsin politics often has ramifications that reach well beyond the state’s borders. This is an important decision, this is the right decision, and it’s one I think is going to resonate nationally. 

Find all of Dan’s work at The Recombobulation Area. Subscribe to The Recombobulation Area’s podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, and see more the Civic Media website.

In February of 2024, Gov. Tony Evers signed new maps for the Wisconsin State Legislature into law, putting an end to one of the most extreme partisan gerrymanders anywhere in the country. While that was a momentous achievement for democracy in the state, that wasn’t the end of the story. 

Since then, for more than a year, fair maps advocates and pro-democracy activists have been looking to take the next step and propose a new plan for independent redistricting in Wisconsin that would be here for the long haul. It’s a compelling, well-constructed plan that would take the job of drawing maps away from the politicians who run for office on those very maps. 

In this new feature story, I take a closer look inside this citizen-led, grassroots effort as it goes from the idea phase to being presented to the public. Because we absolutely need a long-term solution for redistricting reform in Wisconsin, so we don’t end up seeing either political party gerrymander Wisconsin’s maps ever again.

Find all of Dan’s work at The Recombobulation Area. Subscribe to The Recombobulation Area’s podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, and see more the Civic Media website.

In a chaotic and somewhat discombobulating end to the process, Wisconsin lawmakers passed a state budget and Gov. Tony Evers signed it into law at about 1:30 a.m. on July 3. 

What made this budget different from the others signed in this era of divided government — with a Democratic governor and a Republican-controlled legislature — is that Democratic votes were needed to pass the budget in the State Senate. 

Part of the reason that was made possible is because of new, fairer maps. Last November, Senate Democrats flipped four seats, shrinking the Republican majority to just an 18 to 15 margin. Now, candidates are already lining up to take this the rest of the way and flip the chamber. Democrat Jenna Jacobson, who currently serves in the Assembly, is now running for Senate, challenging Republican Howard Marklein in the 17th District in southwestern Wisconsin. If Democrats can flip that district and one more seat, they could control the State Senate for the first time in more than 15 years. That would be a big deal for state politics in Wisconsin. 

Find all of Dan’s work at The Recombobulation Area. Subscribe to The Recombobulation Area’s podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, and see more the Civic Media website.

Ever since I launched The Recombobulation Area, I have written an in depth breakdown of every new edition of the Marquette University Law School Poll. The newest poll asks about a range of topics — whether Tony Evers should run for a third term, where people stand on Donald Trump’s economic policies, and a host of issues relating to the state budget. 

The poll paints a picture of a polarized Wisconsin. Many people are very dug in to their partisan camps, which is perhaps to be expected in the most evenly-divided state in the nation.

But there are a number of issues polled that do have the support of more than two thirds of Wisconsin voters. Those include: extending Medicaid coverage for new moms, legalizing marijuana, making major increases in state aid for special education, providing mental health services in schools, allowing citizen-led ballot initiatives, and banning cell phones in schools.

What do most of these issues have in common? They are policies being advanced by Democrats in Wisconsin.  

Find all of Dan’s work at The Recombobulation Area. Subscribe to The Recombobulation Area’s podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, and see more the Civic Media website.

For the last few months, Gov. Tony Evers has said repeatedly that he would make a decision about whether or not to run for a third term after the state budget process is completed. In a recent opinion column at The Recombobulation Area, I made the argument that the decision the  Evers should make should be to NOT seek a third tern as Wisconsin’s governor.

This argument is not one of ideological differences or policy disagreements. Tony Evers has been a good governor and has served the state well. This more has to do with Evers’ age — he’ll be 75 years old in November 2026 — and about how the Democratic Party has had a massive, inescapable problem in its unwillingness to pass the torch to the next generation.

Tony Evers needs to do what so many other Democrats have struggled so mightily to do and step aside when the time is right. And after Joe Biden’s catastrophic 2024, this is a conversation we need to be having, and we need to be having it now. Democrats can’t keep repeating the same mistakes over and over. It’s time to do things differently.

Find all of Dan’s work at The Recombobulation Area. Subscribe to The Recombobulation Area’s podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, and see more the Civic Media website.

In discussions over the so-called “big beautiful bill” backed by Donald Trump that’s making its way through Congress, none other than Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson has emerged as the most prominent Republican critic of the bill, saying at a recent Milwaukee Press Club event that it is “not even close to adequate.” Johnson has said he wants spending cuts to go even further, including making cuts to Medicaid. 

But Johnson’s position as a critic of this bill makes him especially influential in these negotiations. But let’s not forget the last time he was in a similar position. In 2017, he was a critic of the Trump tax cut bill, but what he fought for was a tax break for certain types of businesses, perhaps not coincidentally, the business owned by his largest donors, Dick and Liz Uihlein, co-owners of the Wisconsin-based Uline company. In 2018 alone, the Uihleins received more than $200 million in tax breaks because of this bill. 

So as the big beautiful bill is negotiated in the Senate, let’s not forget this piece of recent history, and continue to question what Ron Johnson’s endgame might be with his public criticism.

Johnson’s position as a critic of this bill makes him one of the most influential members of Congress when it comes to negotiating this legislation. But unlike some other critics of the bill, who don’t like that it cuts Medicaid, Johnson has said that it doesn’t cut spending enough, pointing to issues with the national debt.

But that criticism has a problem, too. In 2017, Johnson was the face of GOP opposition to the Trump tax bill, but he then negotiated a larger tax break for certain types of businesses — including his biggest donors — and that bill has massively increased the debt.

Find all of Dan’s work at The Recombobulation Area. Subscribe to The Recombobulation Area’s podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, and see more the Civic Media website.

I’m Dan Shafer. Let’s recombobulate.

We are in a rare moment right now in Wisconsin politics. Why, you ask? Well, it’s because we are not actively in the middle of a campaign cycle. It’s been more than six weeks now since any of us have seen a campaign ad. It’s been pretty nice, hasn’t it?

This moment we’re in is as close as we’re going to get to a political offseason here in Wisconsin. And we need to take advantage of this moment by taking action to improve our democracy. That means taking steps to address money in politics, cleaning up some issues with election administration, and creating a long-term plan for nonpartisan redistricting.

In some cases, we can’t make these kinds of changes in the middle of the campaign. So we need to be thinking about what we can do now. There’s a lot both parties can agree on here, too. So let’s make some moves this offseason, Wisconsin. Seize this moment to make a better, stronger, more inclusive democracy.

Find all of Dan’s work at The Recombobulation Area. Subscribe to The Recombobulation Area’s podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, and see more the Civic Media website.

I’m Dan Shafer. Let’s recombobulate.

The biggest thing that happens in Wisconsin’s state government every two years is the state budget, and last week at the state capitol, Republican lawmakers took a step forward in the process, by voting out more than 600 measures from Governor Tony Evers’ proposal. This is now the fourth budget proposal that Evers has put forward, and each one has been met with a similar familiar fate. 

Even as this has become the custom, it doesn’t have to be this way. Republicans could honestly engage with this budget and debate it on its merits. There are good, smart proposals here on everything from health care to education to child care to environmental protection. And if there are items here they disagree on, make the case! Have the debate! 

By voting everything out and starting from scratch, they are letting down the people of Wisconsin they are elected to represent by refusing to have this debate on a very basic level. We should expect better. 

By voting everything out and starting from scratch on their own, they are doing themselves a political disservice by continuing to adopt these stubborn, obstructionist tactics, and more importantly, they are letting down the people of Wisconsin they are elected to represent by refusing to have this conversation on a very basic level. We should expect better.

Find all of Dan’s work at The Recombobulation Area. Subscribe to The Recombobulation Area’s podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, and see more the Civic Media website.