Battleground Wisconsin

Welcome to 2024 where our pivotal battleground state elections will again take center stage. We jump in and dissect this week’s news the GOP Legislative leadership asks the Wisconsin Supreme Court to reconsider their redistricting decision; a new court ruling allows clerks to correct minor errors on absentee ballots; and a brewery owner sues to remove Trump from the Wisconsin ballot under the 14th...

Following President Biden’s visit to Milwaukee this week we discuss if he can turn around his 2024 chances? We talk about the politics and the stakes, how the President’s reelection prospects are impacted by the war in Gaza, a possible bad deal on immigration, and this week’s 14th Amendment decision in Colorado. We debrief Citizen Action’s 3rd CD Candidate Forum this week and encourage people to l...

We welcome Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski to discuss her call for Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu to remove Wisconsin Election Commissioner and disgraced Trump fake elector Robert Spindell from his position of authority over our election process. She encourages our listeners to call LeMahieu and their state legislators and urge them to replace Spindell. The Secretary also tells us why sh...

We debrief a new judicial ruling this week finding abortion legal again in Wisconsin. To the surprise of few, Wisconsin GOP Legislative leaders propose another scheme to abolish the Wisconsin Elections Commission, giving election administration oversight to Republican Legislative leaders hellbent on power and total control in the name of financial elites. Meanwhile, the Wisconsin fake electors ack...

We welcome State Representative Supreme Moore Omokunde to discuss his co-sponsorship of the BadgerCare Public Option and groundbreaking new climate legislation he is working on that will help set the agenda for the 2024 state legislative elections. With the prospect of new legislative maps, Rep. Moore’s climate agenda helps provide an unparalleled opportunity for new ideas to be in play in the nex...

We welcome Mark Rice, Wisconsin Transformational Justice Campaign Coordinator at WISDOM, to discuss WISDOM’s organizing and legislative agenda on criminal justice reform in Wisconsin. Wisconsin continues to trail the nation and surrounding states in lowering our incarceration rates while state facilities are grossly understaffed resulting in inhumane conditions for people in the facilities.

This week we have a special report where Robert interviews two Wisconsin elected officials who are demonstrating the courage to lead. First, we have an interview with Congressman Mark Pocan to discuss his thoughtful and nuanced stance on the Gaza War that defends the humanity and rights of both Israelis and Palestinians, opposes collective punishment, and recognizes the magnitude of the crimes com...

Robert gives us the latest on the BadgerCare Public Option bill, the only comprehensive bill this session to address the health care cost and access crisis. Priscilla discuses the importance of calling state legislators and urging them to co-sponsor. Listeners are encouraged to join us every Monday, 5-7pm, making calls to Wisconsin voters and getting them to call their state legislators in support...

We discuss the passing of healthcare activist Ady Barkan, who turned his fight against ALS into a crusade to break the monopoly power of the corporate insurance giants that are failing millions of Americans. We explain the importance of the introduction of the BadgerCare Public Option bill in the state legislature, and discuss our news conference at the Green Bay Labor Council with lead legislativ...

We open with a somber discussion of yet another mass shooting in America where 18 people died and over 13 were wounded, bringing America’s mass shooting total to a staggering 558 this year. Robert updates us on this week’s state Senate hearing the $546 million public subsidy for the Brewers’ owner. Currently there are NOT the votes to pass the Assembly bill in the Senate, unless enough Democrats c...

We unpack the bipartisan Assembly vote to rubber stamp a $565 million giveaway to the ultrarich owner of the Milwaukee Brewers. Given the unpopularity of the massive private subsidy, what does this say about the state of democracy in Wisconsin. A new statewide poll from Public Policy Polling shows 55% voters oppose the stadium deal. Citizen Action and other major advocacy organizations released a...

After reflecting on the tragic and horrifying war in Gaza and Israel, we dig into the latest news on the GOP threat to impeach Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz before she rules on a single case. Will the opposition of two former GOP State Supreme Court Justices who were advising Assembly Speaker Robin Vos deter him from pursuing an illegal impeachment? Next, we turn to the on-going drama o...

We dive into how the Speaker McCarthy crash and burn this week was part of a 50 year road built by corporate America and the Republican Party. We also turn our attention to Wisconsin and the public hearing on the shameful Assembly Brewer Stadium financing plan that leaves the public footing the bill. We review the continuing threat to democracy surrounding the Legislative Republican’s effort to im...

We welcome Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski to discuss the functions of the SOS office and the MAGA Republican attacks on her appointment and the office. Are their smears another example of the fraying of democratic norms? We review Boss Vos’ continued disingenuous and deceptive push for an Iowa-style redistricting scheme. What does this say about his threat to impeach Justice Janet? We discuss...

The gerrymandered GOP Legislature continued to force its extreme and unpopular agenda down the throats of Wisconsinites. This week the groundless impeachment drive continued with a cynical embrace of a fake nonpartisan redistricting plan, yet another refusal to address the growing child care crisis, and an escalation of attacks on the UW System’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs. To top i...

Huge news from Planned Parenthood on Thursday morning, they are announcing the resumption of abortions in the state. We welcome national baseball stadium expert Neil deMause, from Field of Schemes, to discuss the on-going conspiracy of billionaire baseball owners to grab public money they don’t need. We discuss lessons for Wisconsin political leaders about the critical role they play in fighting a...

We start with the GOP threat to lawlessly impeach Justice Janet Protasiewicz in a desperate attempt to hold on to gerrymandered maps. Will the latest Republican attack on democracy succeed? We dig into the latest GOP attempt to secure massive tax cuts for the wealthy, and freeze them in place with a constitutional amendment. Meanwhile, new GOP child care bills show their inability to address major...

Dave Zirin, the sports editor of The Nation Magazine and an award winning journalist, joins the show to discuss the current effort by the owner of the Brewers to get half a billion dollars in public money for stadium repairs with nothing in return other than the privilege to have the team stay in Wisconsin. Zirin explains how what is happening here is part of an orchestrated effort by Major League...

We welcome economist Dr. Michael Rosen to discuss ReThinking Brewers ownership and demanding public equity in the team in exchange for public tax revenue. Another climate change-induced category 4 hurricane hits Florida and yet another week of tragic shootings on college campuses. We talk about the response from the University of North Carolina student newspaper. In Wisconsin, Supreme Court Justic...

We welcome Milwaukee Teachers Education Association President Amy Mizialko back to the show to talk about the devastating news about a huge expansion of a private religious voucher school the former Cardinal Stritch University campus. The school’s owner said the expansion is the direct result of the historic increase in voucher school funding from the terrible shared revenue deal negotiated by Gov...

We start with a major threat to the 1st Amendment in the Northwoods that has made national news. Shereen Siewert, the editor and publisher of the Wausau Pilot and Review, joins us to discuss how her newspaper is being bullied through a bogus lawsuit by state senator Cory Tomczyk. The paper broke a story on a public incident where the Senator shouted an anti-gay slur at a young person who was testi...

In this week’s episode we welcome new In These Times magazine executive director Alex Han to discuss the vital role of independent progressive media, and the cutting edge journalism the historic magazine provides. We encourage our listeners to read and support In These Times. Priscilla Bort joins us from the Wisconsin Public Education Network Summer Conference to announce the 2nd Movement Politics...

We discuss the Wisconsin flavor to the historic Trump indictment this week where the role of fake electors is central. We talk about the decades-long work that military sexual trauma survivors have done and what it all means in terms of President Biden's new Executive Order updating the Military Justice Code. We welcome State Representative Kristina Shelton to discuss the introduction of her Badge...

The hot union summer continued this week with the historic and game changing Teamsters victory over UPS (and their Wall Street backers). The breakthrough is part of an upsurge in labor activism across the nation. What does it mean and where will it lead? We dig in with a great Wisconsin example, an in-depth interview with Will Roberts from the TruStage workers union to discuss their intense battle...

We welcome Wisconsin Public Education Network’s Heather DuBois Bourenan to discuss public education in Wisconsin following a state budget that saw the largest expansion of private voucher schools as part of a “deal” that blindsided supporters of public education. Former President Trump revealed this eek he is a target of the special counsel’s Jan. 6 investigation, as multiple Wisconsin election of...