OP-ED: In Wisconsin, We Know What Keeps us Safe
No matter our zip code, everyone in Wisconsin deserves to feel safe - and it starts with investments in our communities that address public safety at the source.
No matter our zip code, everyone in Wisconsin deserves to feel safe - and it starts with investments in our communities that address public safety at the source.
Just hours after a public forum in which Dan Kelly dodged questions about his values and declined to give his true thoughts on Wisconsin’s 1849 criminal abortion ban, Kelly shared the stage with Matthew Trewhella - a rightwing extremist who has advocated for the execution of abortion providers.
At a March 21 public debate, Dan Kelly doubled down on his extremist views and strong ties to corruption. Specifically, Kelly refused to denounce Wisconsin’s archaic, unpopular 1849 criminal abortion ban, and evaded taking responsibility for his long history of refusing to recuse himself as a judge in cases where a conflict of interest clearly existed.
This morning, Gov. Tony Evers and Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez - alongside Democratic state legislators Kelda Roys and Lisa Subeck - reintroduced legislation that would restore abortion rights in Wisconsin by repealing the state’s 1849 criminal abortion ban.
Across race, place, and gender, every kid in Wisconsin deserves to be authentically themselves and know that they belong - no matter how they identify. However, legislative Republicans in Wisconsin are endangering the mental health and well-being of LGBTQ+ youth by allowing harmful conversion “therapy” to take place across the state.
In a transparent political ploy, legislative Republicans today circulated LRB 2151 - a disingenuous abortion bill that would keep politicians in charge of Wisconsinites’ reproductive healthcare decisions, keep a criminal abortion ban in place, and would keep in place felony charges the ban threatens against doctors and nurses who provide abortion care.
Across gender, race, and age, we all deserve fair and equal pay for the work that we do. This March, in honor of Equal Pay Day, we are reminded that for many women in America – and right here in Wisconsin – equal compensation under the law is not yet a reality.
In her own words, Lylerly says people are dying and people are suffering as a result of the criminal abortion ban - and amid an already growing physician shortage, it’s pushing future doctors away from pursuing a career in medicine.
March is Women’s History Month. It’s the month of important issue days like International Women’s Day, and Abortion Provider Day. It’s also the month that, 174 years ago, Wisconsin’s criminal abortion ban - that leaves no exceptions for rape or incest and criminalizes doctors and nurses who provide abortion care - was signed into law.
In a series of blog posts, which he unsuccessfully tried to erase from the internet, Kelly opines at length on topics ranging from abortion to Social Security, and repeatedly demonstrates he does not share the values or the views on the issues of the vast majority of Wisconsinites.
Scott Presler, an extremist, right-wing social media influencer who promoted the January 6 insurrection, traffics in QAnon conspiracy theories and has worked with the “largest anti-Muslim group in America” has a new project, promoting Dan Kelly.
While most of us want Wisconsin public schools to be a safe environment for our kids to learn, grow, and have the resources they need to succeed, Dan Kelly has aligned himself with the opposite.
A Better Wisconsin Together is calling on our state legislature to celebrate Public Schools Week by supporting Governor Tony Evers’ budget - a budget that will set our public schools up for long-term success.
With his writings and his actions, Dan Kelly has provided us with all the evidence we need to know: he and judicial ethics don’t go together.
Dan Kelly has a long documented history of extremism on abortion and other policy issues that matter to Wisconsinites - and taking special interest money for his campaigns while taking the side of special interests in court.
In 2020, Wisconsinites turned out in record numbers across zip codes and demographics to demand change. This Presidents’ Day, we are celebrating the myriad of changes that President Biden has brought across our local communities in the nearly three years since.
Gov. Evers’ new biennial budget is one that will put more money into middle class pockets, ensure fully funded schools, address mental health needs, lower healthcare costs, support our local communities, nurture a cleaner environment, create family supporting jobs, and further protect our freedom to vote.
Jennifer Dorow's extremism in opposing access to abortion and equal rights for LGBTQ couples is opposed by large majorities of Wisconsinites, but right-wing political donors are buying it.
In the State of the Union speech tonight, President Joe Biden spoke of the progress made in delivering on an economy that works for all of us under his administration and the work ahead to “finish the job” and deliver on the promise of freedom and prosperity, no matter one’s zip code, race or gender.
Just last month, news outlets broke a shocking voting rights violation in Wisconsin: Bob Spindell, a fraudulent Donald Trump elector in 2020, Republican Party of Wisconsin official, and a current member of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, bragged about MAGA efforts to stop Wisconsinites from voting based on race in the Badger State’s 2022 midterm election.
All three groups (Wisconsin Family Action PAC, Wisconsin Right to Life PAC, Pro-Life Wisconsin PAC) also endorsed Kelly’s failed 2020 campaign for Wisconsin Supreme Court - an election he lost by an overwhelming amount.
In her own words, Jennifer Dorow disclosed her extremism in opposition to abortion care this week, praising the judicial activism by the U.S Supreme Court striking down a constitutional right to abortion care during an appearance on right wing talk radio.
In his 2023 State of the State address, Governor Tony Evers proved what many of us across zip codes, backgrounds, and income levels in Wisconsin already know: the Badger State is in a great position to grow our economy, come together across differences, and set Wisconsin families up to thrive.
On January 22, 1973 our nation’s highest court ruled that our right to have an abortion was protected under the Constitution - a decision that a majority of Americans and Wisconsinites support, even five decades later. Last year, the conservative majority court went against the will of the people and overturned the federal protections of Roe v. Wade.
Jennifer Dorow and Dan Kelly have remained silent and refused to condemn or call for the resignation of Republican appointed Wisconsin Elections Commission member Bob Spindell over comments he made bragging about GOP efforts to target communities of color and suppress their votes in 2022 in Milwaukee.
Every Republican member of the Wisconsin State Assembly voted today to prohibit the people of Wisconsin from having their say on the state’s 1849 abortion ban, opposing an effort by Gov. Evers and Democrats to hold an advisory referendum on repealing the 173 year old law that currently bans abortion in the state.
If approved, the measure would put a question on the ballot for the April 2023 election asking voters: “Shall Wisconsin's 1849 abortion law be repealed and the constitutional rights guaranteed under Roe v. Wade be restored?"
Instead of working with Governor Evers on his proposal to deliver tax savings for the middle class and local families, GOP leaders today unveiled a scheme that would provide little or no benefit for working people while delivering a windfall for the wealthiest.
As reported by various news outlets, Spindell sent an email to nearly 2,000 recipients in which he bragged about a reduction in the number of Black and Hispanic voters in Wisconsin’s 2022 midterm election. He framed it as a victory that less people of color cast ballots in the 2022 election than in 2018.
At a recent forum, right-wing Wisconsin Supreme Court hopeful Dan Kelly stood by his opposition to strengthening anti-corruption rules for Wisconsin judges while fellow radical Jennifer Dorow didn’t back down from her criticism of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down a Texas law that banned consensual same gender relationships.
Every year on January 10, Americans observe National Cut Your Energy Costs Day - a day meant to raise awareness around increasing energy efficiency, saving money, and healing the environment. Thanks to the historic Inflation Reduction Act signed into law by President Biden in 2022, Wisconsinites can more easily do all three of those things.
Regardless of our race, economic status, or zip code, we all value one of our most basic rights as Americans: the freedom to vote. On January 6, 2021, we saw how fragile that freedom could be as MAGA faction militants sought to overturn our 2020 presidential election.