Battleground Wisconsin

We are thankful for our listeners this holiday season. We appreciate your support for over a decade. This week the gerrymandered leaders of the State Legislature said they wanted to cut taxes for the wealthy, including Republican Senate Majority Leader Devon LeMahieu calling for a regressive flat tax that economists found will cut taxes for the top 3% and raise taxes for everyone making $25,000 – $300,000. This gerrymandered legislature must be stopped! We are calling on you this week to donate to our newly launched 2023 Supreme Court Action Fund to win the historically important election that will determine if we can overturn the gerrymandered election maps choking democracy in Wisconsin. DONATE NOW to our Supreme Court Action Fund >> https://bit.ly/3Ov2ZOF Every dollar donated goes directly to support our “deep canvass” field program talking directly to important spring election voters.

As the 2022 election results continue to come in, the voters deliver a split decision. We continue our analysis of the election and what it portends for governing and the future of democracy. We look at why inflation didn’t kill Democrats in the election and how Biden’s policies played a role in midterm success, even if not fully understood by pollsters and the media. We celebrate Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s masterful effort to shepherd a bi-partisan Same sex marriage codification through the U.S. Senate, protecting marriage rights for millions of Americans from Trumpist judges. In Wisconsin, we preview 2023’s state budget battle between the winner of the popular vote, Governor Tony Evers, and an illegitimate gerrymandered Legislature. In addition, we assess the developing civil war between MAGA election denier Rep. Janel Brandtjen and Speaker Robin Vos, who expelled Brandtjen from the Assembly GOP caucus. We close by previewing the pivotal 2023 Supreme Court Election next April. Citizen Action is hosting a Supreme

We unflinchingly evaluate the 2022 election in Wisconsin, both the good and the bad. We celebrate the high turnout and overall surprisingly strong performance of Democrats in Wisconsin and nationally, from the Governor Tony Evers victory to a possible Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate. We also don’t hide our deep disappointment in the close loss of Mandela Barnes and the despair of the gerrymandered state legislature. We close by looking forward to the Spring 2023 Supreme Court election where reversing the historically undemocratic Legislative gerrymander and removing voter suppression rules will be on the ballot.

We discuss the new MU Poll which shows the election is tied and all about turnout! Poll demonstrates that GOTV field programs will decide the election and you need to volunteer! If you can’t volunteer, please DONATE to support our GOTV door and phone canvass. President Biden makes impassioned comments Wednesday about the threat to democracy. Why is the Wisconsin mainstream media ignoring Tim Michels’ Trumpian comments that if he is elected governor, no Republican will lose in Wisconsin? How does it relate to his position on decertifying the 2020 election, or abolishing the WEC? Also Michael’s construction company has no Black people in management, super majority white and male. Citizen Action releases a hard hitting Ron Johnson video that uses his own words to reveal who he supports. We encourage you to watch & share video. Robert educates us on the Affordable Care Act open enrollment period beginning this week and what changes open up health care coverage to more people. We update the effort to stop We Energ

We discuss the razor tight Wisconsin election, and ask listeners to challenge themselves to do at least one phone or door shift by November 8th. See our list of GOTV opportunities this weekend (below). We dig into new polling showing combining climate change and the rising cost of living is a great electoral argument. Why are the Democrats not talking about renewable energy and energy efficiency as solutions to inflation? We welcome Antonio Butts, the Executive Director of Walnut Way, for an interview on the new ME Energies coalition against We Energies' massive rate hike request, and his organization's intervention in the rate case now pending before the Public Service Commission (PSC). We close the show with our in-house economist Dr. Michael Rosen to review newly released Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau data showing Tim Michels' flat tax only benefits the richest 3% of Wisconsin residents, while actually raising taxes on everyone else.

We discuss how self-interested billionaires are dominating the critical U.S. Senate contest, reflecting on the news that Diane Hendricks has so far given $16 million and Richard Uihlein $20 million to pro-Johnson Super PAC. The dark money group is running trashy and racist ads against Mandela Barnes. Similar ads by the WI GOP and other dark money groups have prompted the NAACP to file an FCC complaint over the racist ads and call on Broadcast corporations to refuse to air them. With billionaires setting agenda for voters, does Wisconsin still really have one person one vote? Meanwhile in the equally toxic Governor’s race, Tim Michels flip flops on abortion as he schemes to break up DNR and Milwaukee Public Schools. We discuss a proposed merger in the grocery industry that will only make higher food prices worse and Robert debriefs a rally last week against a proposed We Energies rate increase and the energy burden it places on low income families, especially communities of color. We close with progressive eco

We debrief Thursday night’s final U.S. Senate debate with Robert who attended in person. Next, we bat around the latest MU Law Poll. Does it show a pathway to victory for Mandela within the control of grassroots activists and volunteers? We discuss the significance of the expected Federal Reserve interest rate hike. Is slowing down the economy and spurring layoffs the way to heal the economy? Robert educates us on the We Energies’ rate hike and how their corporate power is hurting low income people of color and sabotaging the transition to clean renewable energy. We encourage listeners to attend a Milwaukee rally against the WE Energies rate hike this Saturday, 10/15, at Noon. We close with a special interview with Citizen Action’s endorsed State Treasurer candidate, Aaron Richardson, to talk about his campaign.

We discuss Trump-backed millionaire Tim Michels’ self-dealing flat tax scheme that would further undermine the revenue needed for education, health are, and a climate transition, and force working and middle class folks to pay more while the super rich get yet another tax giveaway. Ron Johnson continues to deny Jan. 6th was an armed insurrection, as Wisconsin Democrats work to make the November Election a referendum on the right to an abortion. Robert tells us the deep history and structural causes of for-profit utility foot dragging on climate change, and a new Sierra Club Report gives Wisconsin utilities D and F grades on clean energy. We close with an interview of Citizen Action North Central Organizing Coop member Don Dunphy, who has been working for two and a half years for our “deep canvass” program following his retirement as the Lincoln County District Attorney. Don tells us why talking to important voters this year is “the most important job of his life” and why it is important our listeners should

Wisconsin Republicans are taking to the courts to disrupt democracy. First Robin Vos sued the January 6th Committee in an attempt to duck a subpoena asking him to speak about Donald Trump’s latest attempt to overturn the 2020 election result in Wisconsin. Then the Wisconsin GOP sued the City of Milwaukee for seeking the resources necessary for everyone to have an opportunity to vote in November. Where does the GOP plot against democracy end? Mandela Barnes pushes back against racist and false ads running against him and goes on the offensive this week as TV news largely ignores the story while its owners get rich from millions of dollars in trashy, racist dark money ads. Does the so-called Fourth Estate feel any obligation to educate voters about the real issues or is it just another corporate profit center? We discuss the state of the Democratic Party in rural Wisconsin heading into the critical 2022 election with State Senator Jeff Smith and State Assembly candidate Jayne Swiggum. They talk about the chall

We welcome Citizen Action Movement Politics Director Priscilla Bort back as a guest panelist. We discuss the push back against the onslaught of racist Republican ads against Mandela Barnes. Citizen Action’s “deep canvass” election program is one of the most effective counters for combating lies. We urge listeners to donate and/or volunteer to this pivotal program. Trump-backed millionaire authoritarian Tim Michels wants to end parole, even if it violates state law, and Republican state senate candidate Dave Estenson is the subject of a Department of Justice investigation into his sexual harassment of women. In an ominous sign, every Wisconsin House Republican votes against bi-partisan bill preventing the overturning of elections. We close with our special interview with Wisconsin Examiner journalist Henry Redman to discuss whether the billions of dollars invested in broadband are actually going to cover unserved areas of Wisconsin.

We shed light on the misleading media coverage of the latest MU Law Poll, which finds both the Governors and U.S. Senate races are a dead heat. Did the TV saturation of radicalized attacks on Mandela Barnes influence any specific subset of voters? We applaud Sarah Godlewski’s new PAC to expose Sen. Johnson on abortion and support 6 women candidates running for important state legislative seat. Robert reviews new campaign contribution data that reveals Corporate America as the real power behind MAGA and the assault on democracy. We welcome UW Health nurse Shari Signer to discuss this week’s narrowly avoided strike, the next steps for the nurses, and their role in helping inspire a rebirth of labor organizing. New data reveals the lowest child poverty rate in America ever measured thanks to President Biden’s policies, especially the Child Tax Credit. Will Democrats in the Senate make it permanent? We close with Matt ranting again against the un-elected Federal Reserve Bank.

Please join us for a special interview with Sulma Arias, the new Executive Director of People’s Action, Citizen Action’s national organizing network. In that in-depth interview, Robert and Sulma dig into the crisis in American democracy and the role grassroots organizing must play in recreating a sense of community and shared purpose.

We welcome Citizen Action’s Movement Politics Director, Priscilla Bort, to discuss our Fall election program which centers on grassroots conversations with pivotal voters. Our first phone night had a great turnout, and this weekend we launch our general election door deep canvass in Milwaukee and Green Bay Saturday morning. Our panel reviews President Biden’s visit to Milwaukee Laborfest and his continued call-out of MAGA Republicans who are imperiling American democracy. MAGA millionaire Tim Michels demonstrated his anti-democratic Trump instincts by calling for pitchforks and torches. We close with a special interview with Sulma Arias, the new Executive Director of People’s Action, Citizen Action’s national organizing network. In that in-depth interview, Robert and Sulma dig into the crisis in American democracy and the role grassroots organizing must play in recreating a sense of community and shared purpose.

Happy Labor Day Weekend to all our listeners. We hope you get out and participate in your area’s Labor Day events. In this episode, we take stock in the resurgence of labor organizing in America as new Gallup Polling shows 71% support unions, the highest since 1965! Will it lead to a rebuilding of the depleted ranks of organized labor, shifting power in a progressive direction, or is more structural reform needed to restore the right to form unions? The end of summer means the November Election is just around the corner. Behind in the polls, Ron Johnson goes on the attack while getting help from some Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporters who distort public perceptions in the name of balanced coverage. In the real scandal fest that is the MAGA wing of the GOP, it is revealed that Tim Michaels’ Foundation Gave to Anti-Abortion and Anti-LGBTQIA+ groups. We also review the latest attacks on our democracy, including the shameful end of Vos and Gableman’s sham election review and his crusade to imprison elected offi

We discuss President Biden’s announcement that he will use his presidential powers to cancel $10,000 in student loans for those making less than $125,000 and $20,000 for those who were low enough income to qualify for Pell Grants. Robert discusses how this benefits all middle class students and is especially targeted to the most financially challenged, including BIPOC students with very high student debts. We talk about the vote of over 2,000 UW Health nurses to authorize a 3 day strike in September to demand recognition of their union from hospital administrators. We review a new report finding public employees are leaving the sector at the highest rate in decades. Robert previews our “How to talk about the Inflation Reduction Act” training this Thursday at 6pm (WATCH recording of event at citizenactionwi.org) This week Citizen Action announced 32 new candidate endorsements for the November 8th election and discuss why it is so important for everyone to volunteer this fall to elect Mandela Barnes to take the

We debrief the seismic shifts in Wisconsin politics reflected in this week’s primary election, which saw a 40 year turnout high, and perhaps a permanent shift in the balance of power in the Wisconsin GOP. On the Democratic side, progressives continued to gain ground in primaries (including democratic socialists, and U.S. Senate nominee Mandela Barnes became a great hope for staving off a red wave in Wisconsin and nationally in 2022. Does Wisconsin hold the key to saving American democracy? At the same time, the Inflation Reduction Act, the historically bold climate, health care, and tax reform bill expected cleared the Senate Sunday and is expected to pass the House on Friday. It reflects Democrats making the most progress in 50 years possible given the current composition of Congress (with some very unfortunate but necessary concessions to Senators Manchin and Sinema).

We welcome Darrin Madison, Citizen Action's endorsed candidate for State Assembly District 10, to discuss his important primary election on August 9th and his vision for structural change in Wisconsin. Our panel reviews Ron Johnson’s odd week. He floated the idea of making Social Security and Medicare vulnerable to cuts or cancellation if not passed by Congress annually and flip-flopped twice on marriage equality. Is this good politics, or is Johnson now completely out of touch with Wisconsin voters? We update progress on President Biden's domestic agenda, major advances on climate, health care costs, and tax fairness. The bill, which is called the Inflation Reduction Act, faces one remaining conservative Democratic hurdle, now that Manchin is on board, Kyrsten Sinema demands protecting a particularly sleazy tax break for the rich in return for her support. Since our last show, Sarah Godlewski dropped out of the U.S. Senate primary election, clearing the path for Mandela Barnes’ primary election victory. We a

We welcome Citizen Action’s endorsed candidate for State Treasurer, Angelito Tenorio, to talk about his grassroots campaign to win the primary election on August 9th. We discuss the huge news this week that Tom Nelson and Alex Lasry ended their campaigns for Senate and endorsed Mandela Barnes, leaving two viable candidates and a new dynamic to the race. In other huge news, is there really a Manchin deal on climate, health care, and corporate taxes which brings President Biden's domestic agenda back from the dead? The new Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 may pass as early as next week. But is the national media right it is a done deal or is the other obstructionist Sen. Kirsten Sinema waiting in the wings. Robert educates us on the significance of the Climate and Equity Resolution for the Milwaukee Public Schools.

We interview State Representative Sara Rodriguez, Citizen Action’s endorsed candidate for Lt. Governor in the fast approaching August 9th primary election. Sara tells us about her background in healthcare as a nurse and administrator and why she is the best running mate for Tony Evers. We also welcome new Citizen Action Movement Politics Director, Priscilla Bort, who shares her vision for electing a new generation of diverse movement leaders in Wisconsin. Our panel discusses Donald Trump’s call to Speaker Robin Vos pressuring him to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Wisconsin in light of the WI Supreme Court’s outrageous ban on ballot drop boxes. Is Trump still trying to win the 2020 election, or is this really about his rumored run in 2024? A new national MU Law poll finds voter support plummeting for the U.S. Supreme Court, but the Hobbs decision has not closed the enthusiasm gap between Republican and Democratic voters. How can Democrats excite our disengaged and demoralized base? In other electio

We discuss the implications of a new Billionaires Report Citizen Action released this week with Americans for Tax Fairness. The report shows how the nation’s billionaires are pumping tens of millions of dollars into the 2022 midterm elections, mostly backing Republican candidates for Congress who will cut taxes for the ultra-rich and the corporations they own. The panel talks about the unelected Federal Reserve’s policies to tamp down inflation. Is this Wall Street-dominated body using class warfare to address the economic issues caused by the ultra rich and our dysfunctional Congress? In yet another bombshell from the January 6th Committee, evidence mounts that that Trump personally orchestrated the attack on the Capitol. Does this mean our timid Attorney General will bring charges? We also review a horrendous Wisconsin Supreme Court session, and announce Citizen Action’s endorsement of Sara Rodriguez for Lt. Governor and Angelito Tenorio for Secretary Treasurer.