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You are here: Home / Archives for Politics / Govt

WISGOP convention gives no endorsement for governor

May 22, 2022 By Bob Hague

Wisconsin Republicans fail to make an endorsement for governor. Delegates at the state party convention in Middleton over the weekend opted against endorsing a candidate for the August primary.

Former lieutenant governor Rebecca Kleefisch twice fell short of the 60 percent needed in Saturday’s balloting. Only Kleefisch and state Representative Timothy Ramthun advanced to a second round, with Kleefisch getting 54.6 percent and Ramthun 2.6 percent. The no endorsement option was supported by 42.8 percent.

Business consultant Kevin Nicholson and construction executive Tim Michels each received around three percent on the first ballot.

Delegates did endorse U.S. Senator Ron Johnson.

Also at the state Republican Party convention on Saturday, Assembly Speaker Vos was booed, for saying something at least some delegates did not want to hear.

“I am going to say something that I’m sorry many of you may not want to hear, but we have no ability to decertify the election and go back and nullify it. We do not.” Vos said to scattered booing. That caused state party chair Paul Farrow to step in. “I’m going to ask you to be respectful. We can say no I know you disagree, and I know there’s some of us that disagree on it,” Farrow said.

Vos said the booing shows the state Republican Party is open to “diversity of thought.” State Representative Tim Ramthun, who’s running for governor, is among those pushing to decertify the 2020 results.

Filed Under: News, Politics / Govt

Dane County judge gives Speaker Vos one last chance to avoid contempt in open records lawsuit

May 19, 2022 By Raymond Neupert

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos is getting one last opportunity to prevent a contempt ruling in an open records case.

Attorneys from Vos’s office told Dane County Judge Valerie Bailey-Rihn that they were unable to compel special counsel Mike Gableman to comply with an open records request, something she found unlikely. 

“That’s what you’re telling me is that Mr. Vos, who has the control and responsibility for this contractor, can’t get his own contractor even though he has a contract with them to cooperate with him to just satisfy the court.”

Bailey-Rihn says complying with her order shouldn’t be that hard. 

“It’s not like this is Batman, that you have to send out the Bat-Signal to get somebody to respond. This is a contractor that is in Waukesha with an office and Waukesha where you live”

Vos’s office will have to show the judge they’ve attempted to get records by the next hearing in June. 

Filed Under: Legislature, News, Politics / Govt

Wisconsin House delegation votes on baby formula bills

May 19, 2022 By Bob Hague

The U.S. House on Wednesday approved $28 million in emergency funding to help address the baby formula shortage.

The bill will provide funding for stepped up Food and Drug Administration oversight of formula production and distribution. It passed with only 12 Republican votes, none from Wisconsin Republicans.

The shortage is driven in part by closure of an Abbott Nutrition plant in Michigan after four infants who had formula from the plant were hospitalized with bacterial infections.

Wisconsin’s delegation unanimously backed a bill that would loosen restrictions on types of formula that can be purchased by families on the federal low income WIC program, which relies largely on products produced by Abbott.

Both bills now head to the U-S Senate.

Filed Under: News, Politics / Govt

Nurses group critical of Evers’ veto

May 13, 2022 By Bob Hague

The organization representing Wisconsin nurses is not happy about a veto from Governor Tony Evers. The bill created a separate license for nurse practitioners and other nurses with advanced training. Several physicians groups were opposed.

“I guess what it says is, organized medicine does not want us here in Wisconsin. They do not want us to be able to practice, and take care of patients independently. And I think that’s a very sad state of affairs,” Wisconsin Nurses Association CEO Gina Dennik-Champion said during a Thursday press conference at the Capitol.

Rebecca Gilbertson is a family nurse practitioner and operates a family care clinic in Medford. “I am very disappointed with the governor’s veto, as this does perpetuate physicians groups maintaining power and control over my nursing practice,” Gilbertson said.

Nurses were joined at the Capitol by the legislation’s Senate author, Senator Pat Testin (R-Stevens Point).

Proud to stand with nurses from @wisconsinnurses to register our opposition to Governor Evers’ veto of the APRN bill. This is not a red or blue issue – two dozen states have already passed versions of the APRN modernization act – from Connecticut to Idaho.

— Sen. Patrick Testin (@SenatorTestin) May 12, 2022

“This bill is not going away.” Testin said. “It will come back next session in some form or fashion. And I am hopeful that there will be an administration that will sign this bill into law.”

About 8,000 Wisconsin nurses have advanced degrees.

Filed Under: Health / Medicine, Legislature, News, Politics / Govt

Tiffany lone ‘nay’ from Wisconsin delegation as House approves more Ukraine aid

May 11, 2022 By Bob Hague

All but one member of Wisconsin’s U.S. House delegation voted for an additional $40 billion in U.S. aid to Ukraine.

In a press release following Tuesday’s vote, Seventh District Republican Tom Tiffany said that while he has condemned Russia’s invasion, he couldn’t support the additional money “when working-class Americans are struggling to find baby formula at their local grocery store and their paychecks are being wiped out by record gas prices and the worst inflation in 40 years.”

Third District Democrat Ron Kind said the supplemental aid package will provide Ukraine the resources it needs to defend itself, as well as delivering humanitarian aid.

The House vote was 368-to-57 and the Senate is expected to approve the funding as well. Congress has already provided just over $13.5 billion in aid to Ukraine this year. The supplemental funding will push that total over $50 billion.

Filed Under: News, Politics / Govt

Baldwin: end the filibuster to protect abortion rights

May 10, 2022 By Bob Hague

With the Supreme Court’s conservative majority set to overturn Roe versus Wade, the U.S. Senate will vote this week to protect abortion rights. Wisconsin Democrat Tammy Baldwin notes the vote is likely to fall short, and says Democrats should do more.

“I don’t know that we could get 60 votes, as would be required in the United States Senate, so we would to look at abolishing the filibuster,” she said, insisting that ending the filibuster is achievable .

“The Democrats, if all of us stick together, could do that. And it’s also possible that one or two Republicans might join us.”

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said that Wednesday’s vote to codify abortion rights is about putting Senators on the record. He’s given no indication there will be action on the filibuster.

The Women’s Health Protection Act on which Baldwin is a co-author passed the House of Representatives last September but has not yet passed the Senate.

Republicans in congress are focused on the leaked draft opinion that indicated the court’s conservative majority’s intent to overturn Roe.  “It’s really revealing to me that so many of my Republican colleagues in the Senate chose to criticize the leak, and didn’t really give any attention to the subject matter of the opinion,” Baldwin said.

If Roe is overturned, state legislatures would have control over regulating women’s reproductive choices. Wisconsin’s Republican U.S. Senator Ron Johnson said Friday that he’s comfortable with that, but told reporters he didn’t think Wisconsin’s 19th century abortion law ”will stand for long.”

The law, which prohibits abortion in nearly all cases, would be enforceable once Roe is overturned. Johnson said he thinks “the democratic process in Wisconsin will have something other than the 1849 law.” Republicans who control both chambers of the legislature have not given any indications on altering the law.

 

Filed Under: News, Politics / Govt

Arson attack on Madison pro-life group condemned by Evers

May 10, 2022 By Bob Hague

Governor Tony Evers has a message regarding the weekend arson at to the Madison office of Wisconsin Family Action, apparently by someone angry about the Supreme Court moving to overturn Roe versus Wade

“They should be arrested and put in trial. This is unacceptable.”

Evers commented on Monday, at the same time local and federal law enforcement held a press conference. Madison police said two Molotov cocktails thrown into the office Sunday morning did not ignite, and a separate fire was started. There was also graffiti spray painted outside the building.

“If you’re thinking about doing something like that, I would recommend that you not, it doesn’t look good for your cause. It doesn’t look good for our community,” Chief of Police Shon Barnes said.

“The resolve around that is not violence, is not going to be solved by violence,” Evers said. “So the message is bad, bad mistake. You should be arrested and put in jail.”

Rebecca Kleefisch, one of the Republican candidates running to oppose Evers, also condemned the attack. “I condemn the disgusting and evil attack on Wisconsin Family Action, which is the good guy,” Kleefisch said on WSAU radio.

 

 

Filed Under: News, Politics / Govt

Madison police have no suspects in arson at Wisconsin Family Action, warn against future violence

May 9, 2022 By Raymond Neupert

Madison Police chief Shon Barnes couldn’t share much information about the arson at Wisconsin Family Action over the weekend. 

“I have no indication that this was an inside job, the person who owns the building wasn’t there at the time. And so I don’t know, there’s always going to be conspiracy theories.”

Barnes did confirm that an incendiary device was used to start a fire Sunday morning.

Barnes says violence over free speech is not the answer, despite the increased tension over abortion rights. 

“I can tell you that there’s no there’s no place in Madison or anywhere else for this because it could have gone differently, I think if someone had been there. And if you’re thinking about doing something like that, I would recommend that you not, it doesn’t look good for your cause. It doesn’t look good for our community. And that’s not what we expect.”

There was some fire damage to the inside of one office and some graffiti on the outside of the building.

If you have a tip, call Madison PD Crimestoppers at 608-266-6014.

Filed Under: Crime / Courts, Fires/Accidents/Disasters, News, Politics / Govt

Event at Capitol raises awareness of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Woman and Girls

May 6, 2022 By Bob Hague

Across the U.S. and Canada on Thursday, commemorations took place for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Woman and Girls.

Rachel Fernandez, a member of the Menominee Nation and Wisconsin Women’s Council, helped to organize an event in Madison, with a focus on families and survivors. “Where their stories are coming from, what is happening to them, the aftereffects. There are so many things that are interconnected here,” Fernandez explained. “Our loss, our invisibleness in media.”

Native women and girls face disproportionate rates of violence. In Wisconsin, Attorney General Josh Kaul has formed a task force to examine the issue.

Thursday’s event took place at the Wisconsin state Capitol – Fernandez said that location was intentional. “This is how systems work. We’re in the western colonized world, and we have to walk in these two worlds. So this is how we’re going to push more for our voices to be heard.”

Wisconsin Women’s Council hosts an event at the Capitol for National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. pic.twitter.com/00HQfBdlrh

— WRN (@WRN) May 5, 2022

Fernandez said there’s room for allies to help address the issue. “I ask all the non-Native allies, can you please stand with us, be with us. Don’t take our space but be with us. Uplift, share what we’re doing, donate to the organizations that are doing the work, and just stand with us, not in front of us.”

 

Filed Under: Health / Medicine, News, Politics / Govt

Evers leads Dem governors coalition demanding action on Women’s Health Protection Act

May 4, 2022 By Bob Hague

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers is leading a coalition of Democratic governors demanding action to protect abortion rights.

A leaked U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion signals a willingness by the court’s conservative majority to overturn Roe versus Wade. In a joint letter to congressional leaders, the governors are calling for immediate passage of the Women’s Health Protection Act, to protect access to abortion, and for any additional or necessary steps to codify protections under Roe.

The Women’s Health Protection Act passed the House of Representatives last September but has not yet passed the Senate. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday that a vote to protect abortion rights will take place next week.

Filed Under: News, Politics / Govt

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