Battleground Wisconsin

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 includ...

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 slammin...

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 Susanna...

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...

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, Ci...

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 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 discu...

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...

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 Democrati...

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. W...

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. Fin...

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 r...

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...

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 w...

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 lis...

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...

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 Borosa...

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 seat...

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 B...

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 S...

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 electio...

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.