Analysis
The Supreme Court’s immense power may pose a danger to its legitimacy
The first Monday in October is the traditional day that the U.S. Supreme Court convenes for its new term. Analysts and soothsayers carefully read the signals and forecast the direction the court will take. This year the scrutiny seems a little more intense, as the court takes up several highly charged cases. Alexander Hamilton famously […]
GOP Legislature’s fall agenda: pummel Evers in a culture war
Wisconsin Republicans set the stage last week for the fall session by painting a clear picture of how governing and campaigning will take shape into 2022, despite partisan elections being more than a year away. While redistricting — drawing new political maps based on the 2020 census — has taken center stage of late, and […]
Citing COVID risk, Democrats on Assembly education committee walk out
As students and teachers begin an uncertain school year, with classrooms open for in-person instruction and the delta variant surging, the Assembly education committee met on Tuesday for a hearing on a bill to improve reading scores and tackle the achievement gap. But just as the hearing got underway, all the Democrats on the committee […]
Kleefisch unveils her nonprofit’s agenda and it reads like a campaign platform
On Tuesday former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, who has been touring the state criticizing actions by Gov. Tony Evers, released an “agenda” for her nonprofit foundation — the “1848 Project.” Her foundation’s advocacy mimics a campaign for office in nearly every way possible, except that she has not publicly declared her intention to run against […]
Speaker Vos caves on new election audit after another scolding
Last Tuesday, Speaker Robin Vos swatted aside a request for an Arizona-style forensic audit of the Wisconsin election that was being initiated by Rep. Janel Brandtjen (R-Menomonee Falls). Vos responded that he was already conducting such an audit and she should take a look at his scope statement if she had any doubts. He also […]
Which party’s vision will be imprinted on the ‘unprecedented’ state budget?
For legislative Republicans, the biennial budget passed by the Legislature this week represents an “historic investment,” while Democrats repeatedly called it a “missed opportunity.” Both sides agreed that the flood of more than $5.3 billion flowing into state coffers this year was a surprise and “unprecedented,” a description that came from the longtime guru of […]
What Democrats want versus what Republicans got in the budget
Republicans’ large advantage in the Legislature — courtesy of their gerrymandered district maps — means that the focus of legislative action is generally all on the GOP. Their leaders control which bills get considered in committee, which gets a public hearing, which comes to the floor and which gets sent to the governor’s desk. If […]
The Legislature is but a stage
As the curtain rose on the opening act of Tuesday’s legislative floor sessions — where predictable, partisan outcomes were a near certain conclusion — Macbeth’s famous words could be applied to the lengthy forthcoming script in the Senate and Assembly: “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon […]
‘The goal is a smear campaign’
On Wednesday, Assembly Republicans held a committee hearing examining the logistics of the November election in Green Bay. The only people the committee invited to testify were individuals backing up the baseless assertion that election fraud had taken place. This “informational hearing” of the Assembly Campaigns and Elections Committee was the second hearing designed to […]
Can Wisconsinites recall Ron Johnson?
The idea of recalling Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) has been floated in recent months by constituents upset with his behavior since last November’s presidential election. However, can he be recalled is a different question than “should we?” Once fairly forgettable, Wisconsin’s senior U.S. senator has kept himself in the news lately: advancing conspiracy theories about […]
Honoring Limbaugh, but not Black History Month
In February, following a global movement to affirm that Black Lives Matter, Republicans rejected a resolution honoring Black History Month because they didn’t like all of the names of people being honored on the resolution. Most notably, the conflict centered on the names of people of color who were killed by police. According to Sen. […]
Evers goes big and bold with his Wisconsin budget
Gov. Tony Evers, in a speech outlining his 2021-23 budget proposal Tuesday night, argued for a renewed vision of a state government that can educate, support and invest in people and businesses across the state — a point of view that echoes President Joe Biden’s plan to “build back better” in his proposed American Rescue […]