Citizen Action Weekend E Newsletter; May 5th – 7th
May 5th-7th
Citizen Action calls for Gov. Evers to use strongest in the nation veto to bring Speaker Vos and the Republican leadership to negotiate.
Wisconsin Republicans denied healthcare to tens of thousands of low-wage workers this Tuesday. Once again, Speaker Vos and the gerrymandered Legislative leaders ignored the opinions of 75% of Wisconsinites and removed BadgerCare Expansion from the governor’s budget along with 545 other proposals from Governor Tony Evers.
But it’s not over yet. Governor Evers holds the nation’s most-powerful veto pen. He can adjust this imbalance of power.
Will you join us in asking him to use his veto strategically to force the Republicans to negotiate?
Click HERE to write a message directly to Governor Evers.
Wielding his veto pen, Gov. Evers can cross out line items in the budget. He can veto Republican priorities, forcing them to negotiate and close the dangerous healthcare coverage gap.
When Republicans abuse their power and distort democracy, regular people get hurt. We need to remind Gov. Evers that we are asking him to stand up to these bullies. If he doesn’t, working people will pay the price–sometimes with their lives.
Watch Thursday evening’s Citizen Action member meeting to discuss what we are asking and ways to get involved.
How you can take action in support of our state budget priorities like expanding BadgerCare!
- Click HERE to write a message directly to Governor Evers.
- Call the Governor’s office at (608) 266-1212. Ask him to use the power of his veto pen to force the Republicans to negotiate.
- Call your State Legislators. Ask Republican legislators to vote against the budget if it does not include BadgerCare expansion. Ask Democratic legislators to support the Gov. Evers veto strategy.
- Attend a Citizen Action media conference next week in La Crosse (Tuesday), Eau Claire (Wednesday), Wausau (Thursday), or Green Bay (Friday). Contact a regional co-op organizer for details in your area.
- RSVP for Citizen Action’s weekly phone bank calling targeted voters in key state legislative districts every Monday, 3pm – 5pm
- Canvass with a Citizen Action organizer in one of our regions starting Monday, May 15th. Contact your region’s co-op organizer.
- Join a Citizen Action Organizing Cooperative and get active in our regions.
Citizen Action Driftless Organizing Co-op efforts in the Spring Election pay off with swearing in of Khadijah Islam.
We worked really hard to help Khadijah Islam get elected to the Holmen School Board. Last Thursday it paid off when she and the board voted (unanimously) to defeat a book banning attempt. While the complaining parent cited the use of swear words, it was clear it was the LGBTQ+ relationship that she was trying to ban. Prior to the vote Khadijah said “”Words have power but stories have power too. If you think this is a story about how to use the f word you should read it again. This is a powerful story about LGBTQ+ representation and what a healthy stable relationship can look like. I am so glad this story exists and I would hate to see it lost because some people are offended by the language.“
Thank you to all the Driftless volunteers that helped knock doors for Khadijah!
Attend state budget meeting with State Rep. Steve Doyle, Tuesday, May 23rd
Please join us for a Budget/Legislative Priority DIscussion with Representative Steve Doyle from the 94th District. It will be Tuesday, May 23rd at the Holmen Public Library.
We will be joined by Citizen Action executive director, Robert Kraig, to discuss our state budget strategy to encourage Gov. Evers to use his strongest in the nation veto to strategically force Republicans to negotiate key state budget priorities.
Send Gov Evers a message in support.
State Representative Stave Doyle will also join us to discuss his legislative priorities and his insight in how our voices can help win key items in the state budget.
Thank you and please feel free to reach out to me! Kristie Tweed, Driftless Region Co-Op Organizer; 608-317-1331 or [email protected]
Attend state budget virtual meeting with State Rep. Darrin Madison, Thursday, May 25th, 6pm
Citizen Action in the News
Citizen Action member and Tomahawk, Wisconsin resident Peggy McDowell’s story of having to divorce to make herself BadgerCare eligible first told at the Joint Finance Committee last week continues to draw attention. See the news story from a Wausau TV Station, re-aired in Eau Claire and other markets, and the story on Public Radio
Citizen Action is part of a campaign to make We Energies a publicly-owned utility. We Energies is the biggest utility in Wisconsin and among the worst in the country in blocking action on climate change and charging low income people of color discriminatory utility rates. Read and listen to the article from WUWM Radio here.
Citizen Actions Robert Kraig was on the Jeff Santos Show to discuss Biden’s immigration policy. Watch the interview here (Robert’s segment begins at the 17 minute mark on video)
Citizen Action’s Robert Kraig was on the Earl Ingram Show to respond in real time to the GOP’s removal of BadgerCare Expansion and the other top priorities from the budget, and their authoritarian shared revenue plan. Listen to the full hour here. The Earl Ingram show is broadcast statewide on the growing Civic Media Network. Robert appears weekly in the 10 AM Hour.
“The people’s priorities vs. the strongest gerrymander” Battleground Wisconsin Podcast
We discuss Speaker Vos and the gerrymandered Legislature’s removal of 545 items from Governor Tony Evers’ budget. Citizen Action is calling for Evers to use his powerful veto for leverage against Vos and the Republican leadership to force them to negotiate. We expose the outrageous Republican shared revenue ransom note from GOP leadership that attacks local democracy and forces a tough on crime budgeting stance in exchange for allowing Milwaukee to tax itself. During the recording of the show it was announced that Gov. Evers will veto the authoritarian plan.
We welcome Leaders Igniting Transformation (LIT) co-executive director Cendi Tena to discuss how the Republican’s shared revenue plan forces Milwaukee Public Schools to put police officers in MPS schools, in direct opposition to a local Board decision a few years ago to remove police officers from schools after a long and well organized community effort.
We close with a series of racist incidents across the state that demand discussion: including; Dane County Board Supervisors threatened with racist verbal attacks; a racist video from a UW-Madison student the same week Vos calls for defunding Diversity offices in the UW System; and a Wausau band teacher uses racial slurs against a Hmong student. So much for the post-racial society claimed by Republicans.
Listen to the show!
TAKE ACTION: Write a message to Governor Evers asking him to use his veto to strategically force the Republicans to negotiate.
RSVP for Citizen Action’s Weekly Phone Bank in support of BadgerCare in the State Budget, Starts Monday, May 15th, 3pm-5pm.
Sign LIT petition against Republican shared revenue plan that forces police in Milwaukee Public Schools.
Social media post of the week
