Battleground Wisconsin

We open with a discussion of the latest horrific school shooting, this time, it’s in our backyard. We also discuss the significance of the latest Enbridge oil pipeline spill, Attorney General Josh Kaul announces a $1.7 million settlement with a sleazy Milwaukee landlord, and we preview next year’s state budget fight. We welcome Danny Akenson, a field organizer with GROWW to hear more about their c...

We start with discussion of the murder of the CEO of UnitedHealth. We talk about at the immediate public response, connect to the unaddressed healthcare crisis, and the proliferation of guns in America. In Wisconsin, we focus on the upcoming state budget battle and how Gov. Tony Evers has real power in the budget because it is the only bill that Republicans and the governor have to agree on, pass...

As we prepare for Trump 2.0 Robert and Matt project some of the most important federal and Wisconsin battles of early 2025. From collective bargaining rights to health care to climate change, there will be a number of pivotal battles that we can win if enough good progressives get off the sidelines and get directlly involved. Plus, what are the implications of the big Act 10 court decision? And wh...

Before we welcome our two guests, Matt and Robert discuss the state of Wisconsin’s long term revenue crisis. This week we learned that Wisconsinites pay less of their income in taxes than ever in the history of the state and Wisconsin is 35th in the nation in taxation. It may look bleak for pub;ic education with State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos promising sweeping tax cuts and Governor Tony Evers p...

Following a discussion of Trump’s selections for agency appointments and the recent spate of new union organizing in Wisconsin, we dive into a discussion with two guests on immediate climate organizing opportunities progressives should be engaged in now. Former Citizen Action organizer, Kevin Kane, now with Green Homeowners United, joins us to highlight where we are in Wisconsin with the Inflation...

Senator Chris Larson joins us to commemorate the life of a major figure in Democratic politics who passed this week, former State Representative and Judge Fred Kessler. Fred was one of the great political organizers of his generation, and left behind a legacy of young progressive leaders he mentored and helped elect to office. We next turn to a deep dive into rural organizing with leaders of Grass...

With heavy hearts, we remember Milwaukee leader Jonathan Brostoff, who tragically passed away this week. We debrief the 2024 Election, looking at the results from the presidential, U.S. Senate and State Legislative elections. What does it all mean and where do we go from here? We discuss the reality that rural Wisconsin and most of rural America is continuing its realignment with the Republican Pa...

We discuss the final stretch of the voting phase of the 2024 election. It all comes down to people like our listeners talking to other voters and helping them make meaning of this election. Sign up to volunteer from home on phones or join us on the doors. We discuss yet another healthcare merger as minnows, Black River Memorial Hospital and the Krohn Clinic, merge in an effort to survive all the b...

Early voting is now underway, as Trump/Vance and Harris/Walz crisscross Wisconsin and the other battleground states. The first day of Wisconsin early voting saw record turnout of over 100,000 voters this Tuesday. What does it mean for the same day vote? We encourage our listeners to volunteer in Citizen Action’s final voter contact activities on phones and doors talking directly to targeted voters...

With less than 3 weekends left before this historic election, the presidential and U.S. senate race in Wisconsin is tied. What does it all mean? Early voting starts next Tuesday and we continue to encourage our listeners to get out and talk to voters on the doors and by phone to close the deal and overcome the toxic ads demonizing our immigrant and trans neighbors and friends. We also give our uns...

We discuss another climate charged hurricane hitting Florida. We question whether this epic month of hurricanes will lead to a climate reckoning in America, as climate change conspiracy theories and their politicians seem to be successfully altering the debate by shifting attention from systemic causes to convenient scapegoats that play well on social media and play into established conspiracy the...

Hurricane Helene was worse than anyone thought. We discuss the damage in North Carolina and encourage support for their relief organizing in rural North Carolina devastated by the climate change fueled storm. We talk about this week’s Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) hearings on We Energies’ outrageous rate hikes. We review their failure to make the green renewable energy transition and a...

We discuss the significance of another modest hurricane intensifying in the Gulf of Mexico into a monster storm imperiling 5 southern states. What is the role of climate change? We take a deep dive into the polling paradox of presidential elections. Polls consume the media and voters attention, along with junk ads that pollute discourse, yet they reveal little and fail repeatedly to capture realit...

We discuss the Organizing Revival, launched by Citizen Action with our national partners earlier this year, which is investing in improving permanent organizing capacity in every corner of the country. Leaders from 9 Midwestern states converged in Milwaukee last week to strategize on this critical power building initiative. Next, Robert encourages your attendance at next Wednesday’s statewide virt...

Who won the Presidential debate and why? How epic was Trump’s failure on healthcare? And does any of it matter? It may but not for the reasons many pundits think. The biggest impact may be exciting the volunteer base that will get out the vote and win over swing voters. Where you jazzed up by the debate? If so, help make it happen! Sign up to volunteer with Citizen Action today. Wisconsin now has...

We are two months away from the November 5th election and campaigns are charging full speed ahead. Robert debriefs Tim Walz’s speech at LaborFest in Milwaukee this Monday and we discuss how Walz’s governing record in Minnesota can be a blueprint for Wisconsin Democrats, including a BadgerCare Public Option, paid family leave, a child tax credit, and affordable child care. We encourage our listener...

Happy Labor Day Weekend. We discuss the significance of Labor Day, the surging support for unions, particularly among young people, and the critical need to restore democracy at work by passing the Protect the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. We encourage all our listeners to attend an organized labor event near you, including Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz at Milwaukee’s Labor Fest t...

Citizen Action unveils more state legislative candidate endorsements and welcomes two of the newly endorsed candidates to the show, State Representative Jodi Emerson, who is running for reelection in a new more competitive district in the Chippewa Valley and Karen Kirsch who is running in Assembly District 7, a suburban Milwaukee district. We encourage our listeners to volunteer for a statewide ph...

We debrief big progressive wins in important and highly watched state legislative primary elections and with the overwhelming victory by Vote NO. We welcome Citizen Action endorsed candidates, Tara Johnson and Christian Phelps, who won important primary victories on Tuesday, to the show to discuss the significance of their primary wins and why they won. Inflation is now under 3%, what is the signi...

Before turning to the big political news, we challenge our listeners to get active talking to voters this weekend. This primary is critical to electing movement progressives to the state legislature and defeating the 2 damaging constitutional amendment questions on the primary ballot next Tuesday, August 13th. We have 6 phone banks the final 4 days of the election where you can call from home and...

We discuss Donald Trump’s racist and false claim that Vice President Kamala Harris only recently identified as Black. Will the ex-president’s race-politics backfire or play to his advantage with his angry MAGA base? Why would the Trump campaign put him in front of a conference of Black journalists, who were bound to ask him insightful and challenging questions? In more substantive developments, Pr...

In a sudden reset, President Biden steps aside and Vice President Kamala Harris immediately consolidates overwhelming support. We discuss the implications for Election 2024 and the possible policy agenda of the new Democratic standard bearer; including, medical debt, rent inflation caps, climate change, and the War in Gaza. Meanwhile, Benjamin Netanyahu throws gasoline on the situation in a speech...

Robert joins us while on vacation and tells us about his adventures hiking the Ice Age Trail in Wisconsin this week. We review the disastrous RNC in Milwaukee that has seen a Milwaukee man shot by out of state police who were outside of the RNC’s security perimeter. In addition, there is a brewing economic backlash as many area businesses say the event was oversold as locals flee downtown and the...

Citizen Action just launched our volunteer field campaign in support of our progressive candidates and “no votes” on damaging state constitutional amendments. We discuss the pivotal State Legislative primary races and the influence activists can have on electoral outcomes. Our week of calls demonstrated a real thirst among voters we talked to for progressive candidates. JOIN US on the phones next...

On this special 4th of July edition of Battleground Wisconsin, Robert Kraig has a bracing interview with former federal prosecutor Dennis Aftergut on the Supreme Court's judicial coup against American democracy. Aftergut, who has argued cases before the California and U.S. Supreme Court, digs into the shocking immunity decision, the gutting of federal regulatory authority built up since the New De...