The partial government shutdown

The partial government shutdown, initiated by Trump (beholden to hard-right bomb throwers Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh), is the longest in U.S. history. It would not have happened if departing weak-kneed House Speaker Paul Ryan had not enabled Trump. Now, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has become Trump’s go-to politician, despite his previous opposition to a shutdown. 800,000 federal workers, including over 3,000 Wisconsinites, have been furloughed (no pay) or worse, forced to work without pay. And, taxpayers are no longer receiving essential services.

Citizen Action members help set agenda for health care

Citizen Action members help set agenda for health care, and show growing grassroots power, making tens of thousands of door knocks and phone calls

Statewide: Years of grassroots organizing by Citizen Action of Wisconsin members across the state helped build healthcare into the dominant issue in the 2018 elections. The election results create a mandate for Governor Evers to pursue Medicaid Expansion, a BadgerCare Public Option, Long Term Care Reform, and meaningful action on runaway prescription drug prices.

Citizen Action of Wisconsin members have been working to inject health care into Wisconsin elections for over a decade, and started campaigning on the dominant wedge issue of pre-existing conditions discrimination in the 2012 election cycle, and every election cycle moving forward.

2018 Endorsements

2018 Endorsements

Governor/Lt. Governor
Tony Evers/Mandela Barnes (Citizen Action Organizing Cooperative member)

U.S. Senate
Tammy Baldwin

Attorney General
Josh Kaul

State Treasurer
Sarah Godlewski (Citizen Action Organizing Cooperative member)

U.S. Congress District 1
Randy Bryce

U.S. Congress District 5
Tom Palzewicz

U.S. Congress District 6
Dan Kohl

U.S. Congress District 7
Margaret Engebretson

The following is a list of Citizen Action’s endorsements in State Legislative races. We are very excited that this list of candidates includes 16 Citizen Action Organizing Cooperative members challenging incumbent conservatives!

Senate District 1
Caleb Frostman

Senate District 3
Tim Carpenter

Senate District 5
Julie Henszey (Citizen Action Organizing Cooperative member)

Senate District 9
Kyle Whelton

Senate District 15
Janis Ringhand

Senate District 17
Kriss Marion

Senate District 19
Lee Snodgrass

Senate District 21
Lori Hawkins

Senate District 23
Chris Kapsner

Senate District 25
Janet Bewley

Senate District 27
Jon Erpenbach

Senate District 29
Richard Pulcher

Senate District 31
Jeff Smith (Citizen Action Organizing Cooperative member)

Senator John McCain

The death of Arizona GOP Senator John McCain on Saturday reminds the nation of how low American politics has fallen. Vietnam War hero McCain survived over five harrowing years as a POW. He went on to a distinguished thirty-five year career in Congress: addressing climate change, supporting immigration reform, opposing torture and leading on campaign finance reform, with Wisconsin Democratic Senator Russ Feingold. In 2010, after Feingold lost reelection, McCain on the Senate floor said: “The Senate will be a much poorer place without Russ Feingold in it … . Feingold every day and in every way had the courage of his convictions. I think he is one of the most admirable people I have ever met in my entire life.” There were tears in McCain’s eyes as he spoke.

Assault against the Affordable Care Act

Despite an all-out assault against the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan, the ACA has persisted. Enrollment in ACA private health insurance plans stands at 11.8 million, including over 200,000 Wisconsinites. “A slight dip in sign-ups for ACA plans” (Washington Post). Moreover, Medicaid expansion continues in 31 states, including 15 GOP-led states.

Rise Up Platform

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I. Purpose

This document outlines a bold agenda that a very progressive governor and legislature, the next “Fighting Bob” La Follettes, could achieve in two terms in office–eight years. The visionary reforms contained here are drawn from the ideas of Citizen Action Organizing Co-op members and board members across the state.

This platform was approved by the Citizen Action Board and members at the December 8, 2017 Annual Meeting. Read More

Economically distressed neighborhoods like Sherman Park abandoned

Economically distressed neighborhoods like Sherman Park abandoned by Wisconsin’s bankrupt economic strategy

Milwaukee: A review of reporting by Governor Walker’s jobs agency by Citizen Action of Wisconsin could verify no job creation in or near Milwaukee’s Sherman Park neighborhood, the site of civil unrest over the weekend.

As Citizen Action of Wisconsin documented in its statement Tuesday on the Sherman Park civil unrest, the neighborhood has borne the brunt of the outsourcing and deindustrialization that has taken place since the 1970s.

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), in a Citizen Action review of their database, does claim to have created 483 jobs in the area, but a closer looks reveals these companies do not actually exist in the neighborhood.