Battleground Wisconsin

We lead off with Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos' dangerously ignorant statements about climate change this week. Is the right-wing of the Republican Party the greatest threat to the survival of humanity? Next we are joined by Citizen Action’s Healthcare Director Claire Zautke to discuss a new Georgetown study finding that Trump's sabotage of the ACA is forcing many children off health care coverage in Wisconsin and nationally. We look at new legislation for marijuana decriminalization in Wisconsin, and new research that finds Wisconsin again has the worst gap in academic achievement between black and white students. Finally ex-Congressman Sean “Duffman” Duffy puts his foot in his mouth again, this time shamelessly questioning a decorated Army veteran's loyalty to country in an effort to circle the wagons around Donald Trump.

We discuss this week’s impeachment news, including the storming of a closed hearing by right-wing Members of Congressmen. Foxconn announced this week that their highly touted “innovation centers” in Wisconsin cities will not happen any time soon. Gov. Evers’ special session on guns is immediately rejected by Sen. Fitzgerald and other Republicans, who plan not to hold any debate or hearings. Also Chicago educators are on strike joining autoworkers in taking direct action against economic injustice, and yet another MU Law School poll is released, with interesting results. We also welcome Citizen Action co-op member and Eau Claire County Board Supervisor Zoe Roberts to discuss the Eau Claire City Council passage of a resolution officially recognizing November 14-20 as Transgender Awareness Week and November 20th as Transgender Day of Remembrance.

We discuss this week’s surprising House of Representatives vote where 129 House Republican members voted to rebuke Trump on Syria and will it lead to more movement for the impeachment of Trump. Robert and Karen Kirsch dive into a deeper discussion of impeachment. We also talk about the new state GOP effort to restrict Governor Evers’ veto power and to remove as many as 234,000 voters from Wisconsin’s voter roles.

We discuss the latest power grab by Speaker Vos which would allow an unlimited number of veto override votes in the Assembly. Even more shameful is Vos’ petty maneuver to pair the motion with an unrelated disability accommodation that will allow Rep. Jimmy Anderson to participate in Assembly business. In a positive development, Governor Evers signed an Executive Order this week declaring Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Wisconsin. Next, we review a very bad week for Sen. Ron Johnson who ineptly attempted to walk back his damning comments about Trump’s actions in Ukraine, making himself a national spectacle. Also, Trump’s trade war sends American manufacturing into a recession, Milwaukee residents demand answers about police cooperation with ICE, and prescription drug actions target Rep. Sensenbrenner.

We discuss President Trump’s new “Protecting Medicare from Socialist Destruction” health plan announced Thursday. We dig into Trump’s health care record, and what to expect in the impeachment debate. We also discuss Congressman Ron Kind’s impeachment position, Trump Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue’s shocking attack on small dairy farmers during a visit Wisconsin, and the latest developments in the Democratic presidential primary.

After discussing our national emergency with President Trump, we welcome Wisconsin Examiner journalist, Isiah Holmes, to discuss his investigation into local police department’s cooperation with ICE, including Wauwatosa and Milwaukee. New Citizen Action Driftless Co-op Organizer Ben Wilson joins us to talk about next week’s launch event of the new driftless organizing co-op.

Working Families Party’s Rebecca Lynch leads our discussion on the controversial Working Families Party endorsement of Elizabeth Warren. Then we welcome UAW Local 722’s Steve Frisque, live from a Wisconsin picket line to talk about the GM strike. We weigh-in on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s bold new prescription drug plan. Will Trump follow-through on his campaign promises and support it, or will he again cave to Big Pharma? Finally we discuss vaping illnesses and the push to legalize and regulate THC in Wisconsin, and Friday’s international climate strike which is coming to many Wisconsin cities.

We talk about the continued lame duck session fallout, including Wisconsin not being among the two dozen states reaching a tentative settlement agreement against opioid seller Purdue Pharma. We also discuss the party of Trump’s alignment behind right-winger Tom Tiffany in the CD 7 special election, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel slamming Speaker Vos and Rep. Nygren for charging open records requesters exorbitant fees, and the Foxconing of UW-Madison. We review new NPR/Marist presidential primary polling and preview Thursday’s debate. We welcome Citizen Action co-op member State Representative Jodi Emerson to discuss her first year as a state legislator.

We discuss the surprise announcement that Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner is retiring after 40 years in Congress, setting off CD 5 candidate speculation. We take stock of his fractious legacy. The panel reviews the new MU Law Poll which continues to reveal a vulnerable President Trump and plenty of opportunity for Democratic presidential candidates in 2020. We talk about a new The Hill article which includes Sauk County on a list of the 10 bellwether counties that will determine the 2020 election. Citizen Action is building a new organizing co-op this fall and winter in the region. We discuss an open records request by citizen-activist Sheila Plotkin revealing overwhelming public opposition to the GOP’s lame duck session last year, which was entirely ignored by the gerrymandered GOP majority.

We review the big news that Rep. Sean Duffy is resigning from Congress, sparking widespread speculation about the election to replace him. Guest panelist Claire Zautke and Robert discuss comments by Congressman Pocan about healthcare in the 2020 election. We also talk about the fallout of the GOP’s lame duck power grab from Attorney General Josh Kaul and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s unfair slamming of the new progressive newspaper, Wisconsin Examiner. Finally we welcome Citizen Action co-op member Tricia Zunker, president of the Wausau School Board, to discuss her work to retire Native mascot imagery from Wisconsin public schools.

Guest panelists Claire Zautke, Citizen Action’s healthcare director, tells us about this week’s national day of action to lower prescription drug costs. We also discuss Gov. Tony Evers’ creation of a new office to help achieve his goal of 100% carbon-free electricity by 2050, as well as new data showing Wisconsin’s life expectancy is plummeting, especially for African Americans. We welcome Susannah Dyen from Caring Across Generations to discuss building a national movement to make caregiving a respected profession that it is properly compensated.

The panel talks about Boss Vos’ stubborn unwillingness to accommodate State Rep. Jimmy Anderson, a legislator with a disability. We discuss the news that state leaders met with Foxconn officials this week in the wake of reports that taxpayers will pay $172,000 – $290,000 per job, if there are any. Governor Evers floats the idea of a special session on gun violence and pays a visit to the heart of right-wing political darkness, WMC. Clean Wisconsin and other environmental groups sue EPA over Trump’s retrograde coal power rule, and we discuss the presidential candidacy of Sen. Kamala Harris.

We discuss the growing death toll of white supremacist terrorism, last week’s mass shootings, and the tepid response from Wisconsin GOP leaders. State Senator Jon Erpenbach joins us to talk about this week’s introduction of legislation to expand BadgerCare. A new study says Foxconn jobs will cost state us $170,000 – $290,000 per job, or an astounding 6 to 10 times the national average. Finally, Citizen Action co-op organizer Noah Reif tells us about door canvassing this Saturday at 10 am in Black River Falls and next Saturday in Menominee.

Wisconsin Fair Election Project Director Sachin Chheda joins us to discuss new state legislation for fair legislative maps and the possibility GOP leadership could attempt to dodge Gov. Evers to gerrymander Wisconsin again. We also talk about Speaker Vos refusing to make accommodations for Rep. Jimmy Anderson to participate in committee meetings and Gov. Evers looks to protect water from nitrates. We also review the latest Democratic presidential news and Robert takes a first look at Kamala Harris’ new healthcare plan released this week.

We discuss Donald Trump and his campaign doubling down on racist, white nationalist appeals this week. Wisconsin Congressman Sean Duffy says Trump’s tweets were not racist and denies calling four congresswomen anti-American. We are joined by Citizen Action member and State Representative Amanda Stuck who announced this week she is running for Congress. Citizen Action’s Kevin Kane stops by to discuss the new member organizing co-op we are organizing in the “Driftless” area of Wisconsin and how you can get involved in an initial campaign to get area utilities to accept federal funds to to create energy efficiency jobs in the region upgrading homes at no cost to residents.

We welcome Citizen Action co-op member Mireya Sigala-Valadez to discuss the Lights for Liberty national day of action event she is helping organize in Eau Claire where people will gather in solidarity to end refugee camps and to protest the inhumane treatment of refugees. Co-op member and State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski gives her take on the signed state budget and organizes us to fill out her new student loan surveys. We discuss the Texas lawsuit to end the Affordable Care Act and what state legislators are preparing to do to in response. Gov. Evers says Foxconn will only create 1,500 jobs. The 2020 Presidential Election heats up in Wisconsin this week with candidate visits and Trump fundraiser.

We analyze Gov. Evers’ big budget decision. How did he use his veto pen, and what prompted his decision not to engage in budget brinkmanship? We also discuss next week’s start of oral arguments in the Texas lawsuit to destroy the Affordable Care Act. Finally we give a scouting report on how Democratic presidential candidates are positioning themselves on Medicare for All.

We discuss the new Supreme Court decision to rubber stamp partisan gerrymandering and its link to the bad budget that just cleared the State Legislature. We game out the potential next steps for Governor Evers in the budget drama. Next, we talk about Trump’s effort to redefine poverty in a way that will remove a million people from important social services. Finally, we analyze the first Democratic presidential debate and take a closer look at Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign.

We discuss Trump’s made for Fox TV campaign kick-off event in the wake of his trumped up fight with Iran. Will Trump decide that releasing the dogs of war is to his political advantage? Next, we dig into the critical state budget votes scheduled for next week, the growing right wing opposition to the GOP budget, and the options available to Governor Evers should a terrible budget reach his desk. We preview next Monday’s BadgerCare Expansion statewide Day of Action (see details below). Finally, the panel dives into the Elizabeth Warren/Bernie Sanders dynamic in the Democratic primary election, looks ahead to the first Democratic presidential “debate,” and discusses Beto O'Rourke's LBJ like ascent from political unknown to presidential contender.

This week we do a deep dive with State Senator Chris Larson on the GOP budget endgame. Does Robin Vos really expect Governor Evers to capitulate to their short sighted and immoral budget, or does he have a hidden agenda in mind? Next we welcome State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski to discuss the fiscal insanity of the GOP budget that is taking shape, and her work to address the student debt crisis. Finally, we dig into the latest Foxconn low lights, and progress on Medicare for All.