Keeping track of state politics is very important. Nowadays that is where all the legislation is happening. To accomplish this I will use JR Ross's from Wispolitics.com model. That includes Rising, Mixed, and Falling. Now like anything in politics it may change week to week, but this is to give people an idea of what's going on in Wisconsin politics.
Joint Finance Co-Chair and state Rep. John Nygren was on the Joy Cardin Show this week on WPR to discuss his agenda.
Using his daughter as inspiration. John Nygren Co- Chairs the opioid task force. They have a series of proposals to combat opioid addiction including immunity for people who overdose. I do commend Representative Nygren for his work in this case but the proposals do fall short on dealing with the issue.
Wisconsin State Rep. Dianne Hesselbein was " Upfront with Mike Gousha and WPR's Joy Cardin Show this week.
Wisconsin State Representative Dianne Hesselbein (D) was elected as assistant minority leader at the beginning of the session. Since then she has been trying to raise her profile with progressives. She has been on UP Front with Mike Gousha and The Joy Cardin Show on Wisconsin Public Radio. Striking populist tones of the system is rigged against the middle class. Sounding like Wisconsin version of Elizabeth Warren. She was also part of the Democratic Response to Governor Walker’s State of the State Address.
DNC Secretary Candidate and Milwaukee Democrat Jason Rae was on WPR this week to talk about is run for DNC Secretary.
Jason Rae was 17 years old when became the youngest member of the DNC. He wants to build the democratic base and engage in new voters as well as trying to figure out why were losing in rural Wisconsin. He lost a bid for State Chair to Martha Laning last summer.
Congressman Sean Duffy (R) was in Tilden, Wisconsin for a town hall.
Duffy acknowledged that millions of people still have insurance through the ACA, but insisted that congress should repeal and replace Obamacare. He also warned that a replacement may not be enacted until 2019. He said that this system would be in place by the time the Affordable Care Act has ended. Obamacare will not go away that easily. Duffy also introduced a bill that would eliminate the gray wolf from the endangered species list.
Senator Tammy Baldwin (D)
U. Senator Tammy Baldwin said she would vote to confirm Elaine Chao for Transportation Secretary. However, she will oppose Jeff Sessions for AG
In other Baldwin news, she introduced legislation that would require non-dairy products made from nuts, seeds, plants, and algae to no longer be mislabeled with dairy terms such as milk, yogurt or cheese.
Gov. Walker appoints a former lobbyist for Gogebic Taconite Mining Company as Deputy Secretary of Transportation
After Sec. Gottlieb said that he basically had enough. Former Superior Mayor Dave Ross was appointed to the position. Before Walker delivered the state of the state address he appointed Bob Seitz to be Deputy DOT Secretary
Martha Laning gets a challenger
Glendale Mayor Bryan Kennedy will challenge Martha Laning for the chair of the Wisconsin democratic Party. I recently had Martha Falling in recent stock reports because of the fact that she has zero endorsements. Kennedy has the endorsement of Former State Representative Mandella Barnes
Wisconsin Politics Stock Report
Rising: Governor Scott Walker (R)
Walker paid off his debt from his presidential campaign. Clearing the way for his re-election campaign which he used the State of the State to jump start that notion. Making the case by asking the question are you better off than you were six years ago. He is still comparing himself to Governor Doyle with regards to transportation funding and unemployment rate.
Mixed: State Supreme Court Justices
The head of Wisconsin Supreme Court is asking for a 16% pay hike for judges. Roggensack has some pretty powerful lobbying groups backing her up on this such as the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce and Wisconsin Realtors Association. However, they are seeing some pushback from Republican State Senators.
There is also the issue of when a Justice is supposed to recuse them from a case. That will be coming up as well. Conservatives have a 5-2 Majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Falling: Attorney General Brad Schimel (R)
So using $10,000 of taxpayer money on commemorative coins wasn't the best idea. I could say this would be an attack ad that would air all over Wisconsin. The defense he could use is Van Hollen did the same exact thing in 2013, but he did not run for re-election.