Battleground Wisconsin

This week Battleground Wisconsin takes to the road to dig into the question of how progressives can win back the industrial states lost to Donald Trump in 2016. We have a series of interviews of state and national leaders recorded live at the People's Action national convention in Washington, DC. First the iconic progressive leader Heather Booth, the focus of a major documentary film, gives us a road map to progressive victory. Next we talk to Michigan State Representative Lauri Pohutsky, a strong progressive candidate who won a purple district in 2018 with the assistance of Citizen Action's fellow People's Action affiliate, Michigan United. Finally we have an in-depth interview with one of the most respected African American organizers in the country, Ohio Organizing Collaborative Director DaMareo Cooper, who helps us dig into the need to win the industrial Midwest with a unified urban/rural/suburban strategy.

The big con continues with news that Foxconn awarded contracts supposedly reserved for Wisconsin-based companies to firms headquartered in Connecticut and England. We also review the new revelation that EPA staff scientists strongly objected to excluding areas of southeastern Wisconsin where Foxconn is located from stronger smog standards. Ryan Billingham of Wisconsin Conservation Voters joins us to talk about the Republican decision to cut tens of millions of dollars from Gov. Tony Evers' clean water budget, which will leave some Wisconsinites drinking manure water. We welcome Citizen Action co-op member Tricia Zunker to discuss her successful resolution in Marathon County to declare the 2nd Monday in October Indigenous Peoples Day. We close with a deep dive into the Democratic presidential primary candidacy of Beto O’Rourke. (Next Week: Joe Biden; in two weeks, Kamala Harris)

We review the latest state budget news, including Boss Vos and Fitzgerald’s scheme to split the budget into two separate pieces of legislation in an effort to constrain Gov. Evers veto options. We welcome State Representative David Crowley to talk about his new bill to allow automatic voter registration in Wisconsin to make sure more people can participate in our democracy. We also start our new weekly segment discussing the Democratic candidates for president this week with U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren. Avid listener State Senator Chris Larson joins us to tell us why he supports Warren in the primary.

This week we review a large number of right-wing counter assaults on reason and freedom from the Wisconsin Legislature and at the national level. We explore deserted Foxconn buildings, the shocking GOP debrief of their 2018 Wisconsin election debacle. Finally we discuss the latest entry into the crowded Democratic presidential primary, and announce a new feature in which Battleground Wisconsin listeners will have the opportunity to help determine the best progressive candidate.

We discuss Republican leaders’ sudden and desperate Joint Finance Committee vote Thursday that reveals they are losing the public debate on BadgerCare and other important issues in the state budget. We talk about new Citizen Action research demonstrating how expanding Medicaid helps fight opioid epidemic. We welcome State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski who reveals GOP plans to pull the modest expansion of her office in the state budget. We close with a discussion of the new dynamic in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary following the official entry of Joe Biden.

We discuss Governor Tony Evers media conference reacting to Republican leadership’s plan announced Wednesday to remove BadgerCare expansion from the state budget. Evers declared he would “fight like hell” to win and he needed peoples help. We also talk about Gov. Evers’ Thursday meeting with Foxconn executive Terry Gou and May Day here and abroad. We also have special interviews with Robert Borosage, contributing editor of The Nation and Tasha Green, councilwoman from the city of Westland, MI.

We welcome Citizen Action co-op member Emily Siegrist as a guest panelist and to announce her 2020 campaign for state assembly in a suburban Milwaukee district. Emily ran a great grassroots campaign for assembly in 2018 and is preparing to challenge Rep. Knodl again and win. Emily hopes to be joined by a slate of other progressive legislative candidates who run to win in previously Republican seats. We also discuss the Joint Finance Committee public hearings on the state budget wrapping up this week in Green Bay and Foxconn’s requested change in their contract with Wisconsin.

We are joined by state representative Jonathon Brostoff to discuss Gov. Evers’ conclusion that Foxconn is unlikely to hire 13,000 workers and his decision to renegotiate the contract. We review the new UW-Madison study that found accepting Medicaid money would save state residents $100 million a year, on top of savings to the state savings. We also talk about the Trump MAGA rally coming to Green Bay, the Koch Brothers' “astroturf” state budget campaign, and Congressman Sean Duffy dishonestly sneering at the Green New Deal.

In the latest episode of our What the Godlewski does the State Treasurer do? segment, we discuss her state budget request for the resources needed to properly run the office. We also discuss Godlweski's plans to create a state-run retirement public option and opportunities to refinancing student loan debt. We review the week’s news including: Judge Lisa Neubauer concession in the hotly contested Supreme Court race; an Appeals court sides with Governor Evers on appointments; and Sen Tammy Baldwin joins Sen. Bernie Sanders in introducing a new Medicare for All bill with a record 13 co-sponsors. We also review the top issues raised during the first 2 Joint Finance Committee public budget hearings in Janesville and Oak Creek, and debrief the latest MU Law poll finding of 70% support for expanding BadgerCare.

Special Segment - How Senator Bernie Sanders new Medicare for All bill matters!

We review this week’s spring election results which saw new progressive gains in cities and a conservative voter surge behind right-wing Judge Hagedorn. We talk about the historic victory for public schools in Milwaukee and election of young progressive mayors in Green Bay, Oshkosh and Madison. We dissect the disappointing Supreme Court result and its implication for the court and the 2020 elections. We close by previewing the state budget battle which commences with Joint Finance Committee public hearings Friday in Janesville.

In the first half of our show Rebecca Lynch and Robert Kraig discuss the current field of Democratic presidential contenders preparing to challenge Trump in 2020. In the second half of the show, we interview Citizen Action organizer Fabi Maldonado about his courageous effort to challenge Foxconn as a Racine County Supervisor and community leader.

This week we welcome Rebecca back! We discuss why Scott Walker is out touting a constitutional convention and the ramifications of such an event. The panel also discusses some of the bubbling-up 2020 electoral issues such as dumping the Electoral College, high school students fighting climate change, healthcare, student debt relief and much, much more.

We welcome Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes to discuss his first couple of months in the office and the his vision for creating opportunity in Wisconsin over the next few years. In our third installment of Sarah “what the Godlewski does the state treasurer do?” We review her effort to help UW system graduates refinance their student loan debt and GOP State Rep. Michael Schraa failing to honor his promise to sponsor legislation to put some authority and power back into the state treasurer's office. We talk about Congressman Mark Pocan’s threat to sue ICE for records related to Wisconsin arrests last year; GOP Legislative leaders plan to intervene in Planned Parenthood case challenging abortion laws; Wisconsin is now the top 2020 battleground state; and State Sen. Dale Kooyenga says he will consider supporting accepting the federal money to expand BadgerCare.

This week we do a deep dive on the Foxconn mess with two special guests: State Senator Chris Larson and State Rep. Jonathan Brostoff. Will we have a thriving new manufacturing hub in 2 years in Racine County, or an post-industrial ghost town? We also look at advances in civil rights in the Evers budget, including automatic voter registrations and drivers licenses for immigrants.

This week progressive Democrats in Congress introduced the gold standard in healthcare reform, Medicare For All, with an impressive 100+ co-sponsors. We talk about why the bill matters despite its dim prospects for immediate passage. Turning to Wisconsin, we look at the official announcement by Governor Tony Evers that he will include BadgerCare Expansion in his first state budget. Citizen Action members are already fully mobilized to support the Governor, holding news conferences in Appleton and Wausau and hosting 11 watch parties during Thursday night's State Budget Address. Robert educates us on the devastating potential impact of a big push by hospital lobbyists for a "private option" insurance scheme to replace BadgerCare Expansion. We review newly announced state budget provisions, including nonpartisan redistricting, freezing voucher and charter schools, and in-state tuition rates for all — regardless of immigration status. We close the show by exposing a shameful GOP effort to blackball Nicole Safar f

We debrief the Spring Primary elections and discuss the latest news in the important State Supreme Court election on April 2nd. The panel tears apart the junk Koch Brother funded research Republicans unveiled this week in effort to provide cover for their shameful opposition to expanding BadgerCare. We talk about Evers’ new proposal to add $28 million in the budget for women's health care. We close with an in-depth discussion of Amazon’s decision to back out of a deal to build a headquarters in New York City, and how it is dividing Democrats while providing a false narrative to Wisconsin Republicans desperately trying to defend the Foxconn implosion.

We discuss the latest state news including Gov. Evers plan to expand access to dental care for low income people and fixing lead pipes throughout the Wisconsin. We welcome state treasurer and Citizen Action member Sarah Godlewski for the 2nd installment of “What the Godlewski does the state treasurer do? This time Sarah has some shocking news about censorship on climate issues. State Senator Chris Larson joins us to unveil his new package of campaign finance bills to start restoring democracy to our elections.We announce some important political endorsements, including Judge Lisa Neubauer for State Supreme Court and several key local races. We close the show with a discussion of tax cuts, the Colin Kaepernick/Black History Month controversy in the Legislature, and Gov. Evers' refreshing action on to the Paris Climate targets.

We discuss the latest on the Foxconn scandal, including a devastating new investigative report exposing the fraud and lies behind boondoggle of the century. We contrast the political cynicism behind Foxconn with the bold vision for a “Green New Deal” introduced this week by freshman Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Senator Ed Markey, and other progressives. Finally, Trump sides with payday lending loan sharks over working families on the economic edge.

We welcome State Representative Jonathan Brostoff to discuss the predictable implosion of Foxconn’s manufacturing plant in Wisconsin and the implications for Wisconsin and the progressive movement. We also talk about new scandalous and hateful revelations about the bigotry of Scott Walker's handpicked Supreme Court candidate Brian Hagedorn.