Article VI of the Constitution specifies that members of Congress (and state legislators) “shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution … .” Moreover, Wisconsin GOP Senator Ron Johnson took the following oath of office: “I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true…
Battleground Wisconsin · COVID vaccine waiver We discuss the partisan vote in Wisconsin Joint Finance Committee which removed 280 publicly popular items from their state budget, including BadgerCare Expansion. Does this end the budget fight or is it really just getting started? Our panel talks about a Federal court ruling this week invalidating the CDC’s eviction moratorium. What is this…
Wisconsin GOP Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has led the Assembly since 2013, and is the outgoing president of the National Conference of State Legislators. He is at the apex of power, but at a crossroad. Does Vos want to continue to play to part of Wisconsin or leave a broader legacy? Healthcare used to be a bipartisan issue in Wisconsin….
Battleground Wisconsin · Historic Investments Our panel discusses President Biden’s American Family Plan which makes historic investments in paid leave, child care, and tax fairness, but misses an opportunity on prescription drug affordability. Senator Tammy Baldwin and other progressive U.S. Senators are urging President Biden to approve a COVID vaccine patent waiver so all counties can have access to COVID…
Battleground Wisconsin · A verdict on America We welcome JoAnna Bautch, Citizen Action’s Movement Politics Director, as a guest panelist. The panel responds to the guilty verdict in the Derrick Chauvin trial and puts it in perspective. We discuss the police reform recommendations from Wisconsin’s Legislative racial disparities task force which was set up by House Speaker Robin Vos to…
Battleground Wisconsin · Structural racism demands structural solutions now We discuss the Daunte Wright murder by Brooklyn Center police, the announcement that Jacob Blake’s shooter will face no consequences, and a state Department of Public Instruction finding that the Burlington school district is a hostile environment for Black students. We analyze the Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause in the…
Wisconsin Democratic Governor Tony Evers inherited a polarized political environment. And, he shares power with a dysfunctional GOP-led legislature, disinterested in addressing long-term costly challenges. The Wisconsin Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers issued a 2020 Report Card for Wisconsin’s infrastructure. The overall GPA is only a C (“mediocre requires attention”). The specifics are damning. Roads earned a…
Friday, April 9th Jill Underly and 21 of 32 Citizen Action endorsed local candidates win this week! Thank you to all the Citizen Action Organizing Co-op members who ran for office or helped endorsed local candidates running for office this Spring. Jill Underly’s victory was a huge win for public education in Wisconsin. We also excited about new progressive mayors…
Battleground Wisconsin · Public schools win in a landslide We review the huge victory for public education in the Department of Public Instruction race, and the immediate threat by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos to take it out on our schools. We discuss the shockingly successful GOP effort to take down progressive school board members who follow the science and our…
There is simultaneous hope and danger in ending the pandemic. Although Wisconsin is in the top tier of vaccinations, the crisis is not over. Cases are up significantly nationally and somewhat in Wisconsin. Moreover, more contagious variants are widespread. Masking remains critical. The American Hospital, Medical and Nurses Associations have said “wearing a face mask” is necessary to stop the…
