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Wisconsin Supreme Court’s horrible ruling on absentee voting
On Friday afternoon the Wisconsin Supreme Court made a really bad decision. It refused to extend a stay on a ridiculous circuit court decision not only on the use of drop boxes through the April 5 elections in Wisconsin, but also on the ability of people to get assistance in the delivery of their absentee ballots […]
Super PAC backing Kleefisch for governor got $200K from Liz Uihlein
Billionaire GOP megadonor Elizabeth Uihlein contributed $200,000 last October to a Republican super PAC that’s backing former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch for governor. Uihlein and her husband, Richard, of Lake Forest, Ill., founded Uline, a shipping supply company, and are among the leading contributors to GOP and conservative state and federal candidates and causes in the country. Freedom Wisconsin […]
Wisconsin Republican floats way to nullify elections
In the waning hours of 2021, a Republican legislator in Wisconsin named Timothy Ramthun wasn’t chilling champagne or relaxing with his family.No, he was still scheming to subvert our democracy. Ramthun, who in November introduced a resolution to rescind Wisconsin’s Electoral Colleges votes that were certified on Jan. 6, introduced a bill on Dec. 30 […]
Michael Gableman, ugly offspring of Spiro Agnew and Joe McCarthy
If you missed Michael Gableman’s testimony at the Wisconsin Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections on Wednesday, you’re a better person for it.Because you would not have enjoyed seeing this bully in action. Trust me.He was a toxic blend of Spiro Agnew and Joe McCarthy.He went after the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s longtime Capitol reporter, Patrick […]
Stop the GOP re-rigging of our maps
On Wednesday, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu unveiled the new maps they’ve cooked up to keep themselves in power for another 10 years. And the new maps look a lot like the old maps from 2011, when the Republicans engaged in one of the worst gerrymanders in modern American history. […]
Vos, LeMahieu Ready to Rig the Maps Again
On Sept. 23, Speaker Robin Vos and Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu introduced a resolution that makes clear they want to rig the maps again the upcoming redistricting. In Assembly Joint Resolution 80, they spelled out their criteria for drawing the maps. One of those emphasized their intent to “retain as much as possible the core of […]
Vos kisses Trump’s ring
In a disgusting display of cowardice and obsequiousness, Speaker Robin Vos felt it necessary to bow down to Donald Trump and to kiss his ring (or somewhere south of that). This is the same Robin Vos whom Trump had slammed back in June as a liar and a fake leader who was “working hard to […]
Dems seek public hearing on Fair Maps bills
The Democratic co-authors of the bills to ban gerrymandering in Wisconsin have requested a public hearing on them. Sen. Jeff Smith and Rep. Deb Andraca introduced their bills ( Senate Bill 389 and Assembly Bill 395) back on May 17. On August 5, they sent a letter to the chair of the Senate Committee on Government Operations, Sen. […]
GOP accepts four times more in corporate contributions than Dems
Two Republican legislative campaign committees and the state GOP accepted nearly four times more in corporate contributions than their Democratic counterparts during the first half of 2021.The state Republican Party, Republican Assembly Campaign Committee, and Committee to Elect a Republican Senate accepted a total of $471,550 in corporate contributions between January and June, according to recently […]
Overcoming authoritarianism
Our democracy is in real trouble. And I’m not even talking about some of the usual things I discuss, like big and dark money in our politics, or like gerrymandering or like economic inequality. Teddy Roosevelt said 100 years ago, “We cannot have real political democracy unless we have something approaching economic democracy.” But we’re […]
Wisconsin’s high court shouldn’t let Vos and LeMahieu cut in line
The Wisconsin Supreme Court is once again on the receiving end of an extraordinary request from the leaders of the Wisconsin Legislature. This time, the plea is for the high court to circumvent the normal judicial process and dive headlong into a redistricting-related legal challenge. But the case isn’t about new maps: with the Census […]
Vos isn’t rightwing enough?
Here’s the news flash: Robin Vos isn’t rightwing enough for some in his own caucus. At the recent state Republican Party convention, a few delegates offered a resolution to strip Vos of his Speakership.The motion didn’t pass, but it echoed the grumbling from far right legislators that Vos hasn’t hyped the Big Lie at sufficient […]