A lot of things to talk about in politics today, but we narrowed down to three (in this order): 1. The Republican-written Constitutional Amendments on the Aug. 13 primary ballot, in which multiple groups, including Wisconsin Democrats, are saying vote "no." 2. The assassination attempt on Donald Trump. 3. The Republican National Convention being held in Milwaukee this week.

No Democratic Voice podcast this week, but William Garcia did join WIZM's La Crosse Talk with host Mike Hayes. The two talked about voter ID, mentioned the Biden visit to Madison very quickly and then got stuck discussing the notion of voter fraud in the 2020 election. 

Recapping last week's first presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, including whether there are meetings among Democrats to replace the president on the ticket — in which William Garcia is one of the delegates. 

Donald Trump just held a Racine, Wis., campaign event and set the unofficial LPM — Lies Per Minute — record for the ex-president. We discuss some of those biggest lies — saving the best/worst for last about Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers. Before that, however, we talk about Foxconn. Trump didn't mention Foxconn at his rally. It was literally in that county, where he, six years prior, said the deal he made with the Taiwan company would be the "eighth wonder of the world," this biggest tax incentive handout to a foreign company in U.S. history. Instead, it's failed and President Joe Biden recently championed a deal with Microsoft at the same site — a deal that has La Crosse implications, as well.

For the second consecutive election, Wisconsin Republicans are putting two confusing questions on the ballot that could change the state Constitution. These questions are over emergency funding, and who gets to distribute it. When it was GOP Gov. Scott Walker, and the Legislature was controlled by Republicans, there was no problem. But, after Walker lost to Gov. Tony Evers, Republicans, again, set in motion, a plan to seize more control from the governor. They're also doing it on very low turnout elections, with ballot questions that are written intentionally to confuse the voter. Republicans control who and what gets to go on the ballot. They've denied the governor and Democrats in the Legislature multiple times to have other questions up for a vote. Here are the questions, that the Democratic Party and other groups say to vote "No" on: Question 1: “Delegation of appropriation power. Shall section 35 (1) of article IV of the constitution be created to provide that the legislature may not delegate its sole power to determine how moneys shall be appropriated?" Question 2: “Allocation of federal moneys. Shall section 35 (2) of article IV of the constitution be created to prohibit the governor from allocating any federal moneys the governor accepts on behalf of the state without the approval of the legislature by joint resolution or as provided by legislative rule?”

It's no joke, Republicans are really going after women's access to contraception and trying to stop allowing no fault divorce. We argue a lot about "culture war," and what legislation is real and what is for show. Last week, the US Senate tried to pass a bill to guarantees women's right to contraception -- things like birth control -- and Republicans voted down the measure. Same thing happened weeks ago in Wisconsin, when Republicans wouldn't pass a similar measure. The GOP will argue state's rights, but we talk about two examples where both federally and at the state level, the GOP wouldn't vote for women's rights. Meanwhile, other states are blocking access to contraception and Republicans are making it a priority to stop women from being allowed to get divorced. 

We take a look at Republican Stacey Klein, who is running for Wisconsin state Senate in District 32. We begin with the ethical controversy of where she lives, and then get into her far-right positions on the issues. While her opponent, Democratic incumbent Brad Pfaff, was voted the most bipartisan Senator in the state, we do not see that here with Klein, like most candidates Republicans are throwing into races.

A lot of attention went to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a few weeks ago, about a worm having eaten part of his brain. And while that sounds interesting and we spend a little time on it, what we get into here are his policies — for those thinking about voting for him over Joe Biden. We get into his stance on Israel, the environment and how Republicans are funding his campaign — along with his VP pick, the ex-wife a a Google founder. 

Republicans in Wisconsin's state Legislature called themselves back into session last week to override 36 of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' vetoes. Well, half the Republicans did. First, the Legislature has been off since mid-March and was scheduled to be off the rest of the year, despite its full-time status. But, the Senate met to override these vetoes, including on PFAS, where Republicans have been withholding $125 million in funding to help communities like the Town of Campbell, despite the release of those funds being signed into law back in January. We discuss how the GOP only did a third of the bills they wanted to, plus the other half of the Legislature didn't even meet, leaving anything the Senate did moot. 

A recent audit has shown half of Universities of Wisconsin schools across the state are in financial trouble. Altogether, if these seven universities as they're currently running and funded, they would be $254.9 million in debt by fiscal year 2028. We dissect why this is happening and what can be done. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers put over $300 million in funding in the state budget. Instead, Republicans, who control the Legislature didn't increase funding at all and, in fact, withheld staff raises and $32 million for DEI.    

In an another attempt to bring in a rich out-of-state candidate to run for a major political position in Wisconsin, Republicans have managed to unearth Eric Hovde. The multi-millionaire, who couldn't win a Republican primary 12 years ago in the state, is now running against Democrat Tammy Baldwin for US Senate. The California banker has managed to say something to alienate just about every voter. From the elderly and is recent comments on those in nursing homes to farmers and young people over their work ethic, Hovde has a message for you, and we break them all down. PHOTO: A screenshot from a Hovde tweet, where he proves he's Wisconsin by sitting in a cold lake.

A recap of the spring elections in La Crosse County and statewide. First, we look at the La Crosse County board races, where Republicans supported nearly twice as many Democrats, and saw nearly the same amount of members re-elected or elected. Plus, from what we know so far, the La Crosse County Republican Party also out spent Democrats 8 to 1. Statewide, we look at, essentially, the no-votes Joe Biden and Donald Trump received, plus the repercussion of the two Republican state constitutional amendments that passed.

As the spring election season wraps up Tuesday, we look at the strange, alarming ways Bill Feehan, the 3rd Congressional District Republican Party chair and La Crosse County board candidate, is involved. We discuss the attack fliers he's sending out against his opponent Kelly Leibold, as well as fake letters to the editor in the La Crosse Tribune, also attacking her. Those letters were taken off the site, proved to be fake. Plus, a bit on Feehan's consulting firm taking money from conservative candidates in the spring elections. Before that however, a quick update on Tim Alberts for La Crosse School Board. He has come out publicly against being named on the 1776 PAC flier, which was discussed on last week's podcast. 

We look at how La Crosse Republicans differ from the La Crosse County Democratic Party in these local, spring elections for school and county board. In Part 2, we talk La Crosse County board, where Republicans are spending over $6,000 for candidates, and the timing of that funding stands out. Also, we break down some of the campaign fliers that are going around, and how dishonest and misleading they are.

We look at how La Crosse Republicans differ from the La Crosse County Democratic Party in these local, spring elections for school and county board. In Part 1, we talk school board, where two candidates are on the ballot and both are endorsed by the far-right wing group, the 1776 Project. Just a note, since this recording, candidate Tim Alberts has come out and said he was included on the 1776 mailer "without my knowledge or endorsement." Nothing on social media on Adam Manka, in which the 1776 Project highlights a made up statistic from Manka on drugs in La Crosse schools.

Randy Erickson is the second Vice Chair of the La Crosse County Board. First appointed in November of 2019, Erickson represents District 12 and is running for a fourth full term. He talks about what good things the board has done, what continues to happen and some of the misinformation that's coming from the more conservative candidates on the board.  You can follow Erickson's county board Facebook page for a lot of updates. Early voting starts Tuesday (March 19). The election is April 8

We talk about the upcoming membership drive and what it means to join the La Crosse County Democratic Party. On Monday, Democratic Party of Wisconsin chair Ben Wikler and former Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes are the headliners for the La Crosse County Democratic Party membership drive. The event happens from 6-8:30 p.m. at the Capella Arts Center (721 King St.). Many others from the state party will be at the event, where attendees can sign up to be a member and hear from party officials, as well as candidates up and down the ballot. 

Kelly Leibold is running for La Crosse County Board, to represent District 1, which is the north side of La Crosse. Leibold talks of her bout with brain cancer and how that gave her a new perspective on helping others. She also talks about what she's seen from the county and county board, so far, plus the needs of the north side, as well as La Crosse County. 

Em Anderson is running for La Crosse County Board in District 5. That's the district that contains UW-La Crosse. Anderson is a UW-L student. We discuss what brought her to UW-La Crosse, what's she's studying, why she's running for county board and what and how she's learning about the issues. 

Explaining that time Donald Trump said he'd encourage Russia to invade NATO countries, and just what his endgame is with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. At a South Carolina rally last week, Trump conjured up a vague story of telling an unidentified NATO member that he would withhold U.S. help and “encourage” Russia to do as it wishes with allies that do not contribute enough to military spending. Trump said, "'You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent? No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them (Russia) to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay. You gotta pay your bills.’” 

The special counsel that the Biden Administration's Justice Department hired to look into the president's classified documents case came out late last week. It exonerated President Joe Biden of criminal wrongdoing in having those documents. But, all the attention has gone to what the Donald Trump-appointed counsel focused on and that's Biden's inability to recall details from years ago — his memory. We get into how, again, Democrats walk the line and allow these investigations into their own people to go about, and release the report to the public. Remember "Hillary's emails" right before the 2016 election? But, when it's Republicans, these reports are hidden from the public. Remember Republican Robert Mueller looking into Trump-Russia and then Trump's Attorney General, Bill Barr, releasing his one-page summary of what the report said, withholding it from the public? So, we call out what is another hit piece on the Democratic president in an election year, when the GOP has nothing to run on when it comes to policy or helping the American people. 

A bit of a conundrum for Democrats — or those against strangely powerful executive powers — as some Republicans have proposed curbing the Wisconsin governor's powers. Of course, the timing is peculiar, with Democrat Tony Evers at the helm, and the way in which the GOP wants to get this bill passed — through a manipulatively worded constitutional amendment. We discuss why it's happening now — perhaps because Evers' used it to extend public school funding for 402 years — and how governors of the past — both Democrats and Republicans — have abused this power. 

The US House, last week, passed another continuing resolution that will keep the government partially funded and open through early March. It's a bill 3rd District Rep., Derrick Van Orden (R-Prairie du Chien) voted against. Part of his reasoning was because Congress needs to agree on a full spending plan that includes doing something about the southern border. But, Republicans also just tanked their own deal to do something on the southern border, apparently taking the order from Donald Trump — because that would look good for Democrats and Joe Biden. So, we discuss the consequences of Van Orden's vote against the continuing resolution and the straw man of saying it's, in part, to solve the southern border crisis.  

After venting a bit about how Wisconsin draws voting maps, we look at the latest iteration, where the Wisconsin Supreme Court will decide amongst seven groups that made submissions. We look at the criteria for drawing new legislative maps set up by the state Supreme Court, the groups that drew new maps and how those submissions look in the 3rd US House District.   

We will know what seems inevitable that Donald Trump is going to win the Iowa Caucus on Monday and therefore, we look at the 2028 presidential candidates. Rick and William argue if it's still going to be Trump. After that, more discussion on 2024 from Joe Biden not being on one ballot, to why Wisconsin has, so far, kept the two other Democratic candidates (Dean Phillips, Marianne Williamson) off the primary ballot. Plus, can Trump's opponents get any momentum to bump him, like Bernie Sanders did a bit in 2016. Also, sticking to 2016, does Joe Biden have voter enthusiasm or could there be a Hillary Clinton-like turnout that allows Trump to win again? We also talk about GOP controversies, including a US House Rep. already saying they won't certify the 2024 election unless Trump wins, plus Trump's argument that he can do whatever he wants as president — including hiring killers to take out political opponents. 

A celebration of the Top 10 things Democrats did in 2023 — five federally and five in Wisconsin. Before that, however, we duped Garcia into being a Grinch for a few minutes on some of the Republican 2023 highlights, before getting into that Top 10 list.

It's been over a decade since former Wisconsin GOP Gov. Scott Walker's legislation that destroyed union rights in the state through what's called Act 10. A recent lawsuit looks to restore collective bargaining rights for unions. We explain what Act 10 did to unions, such as educators, and how this lawsuit might give rights back to workers.

There are two ways you can approach things Donald Trump says and does. One of those is to find the funny gaffs and mistakes or literal missteps that he takes, while continuing to bounce between court hearings and campaigns. Another is to take the things that he says he plans to do if he were re-elected president. This podcast is about the latter, as we go through documented quotes Trump has said while campaigning that he plans to do if re-elected.

As the Wisconsin legislative session comes to a close, and the Legislators get set to take a long holiday, we compare and contrast the priorities between Democrats and Republicans. 

We dive into the farm bill, which needs to be re-upped every five years and Congress let it expire back in September. The estimated $428 billion package is as much about feeding people, as it is about farms, but the political fights are in both areas. A large portion of the farm bill has to do with food stamps and we explain why and where the lines are drawn to pass the next five-year spending package.

We take a look at the newest US House Speaker, after 22 days without any leadership, as the government ticks toward a shutdown. Republican Mike Johnson was a near-unanimous pick. It was near unanimous, because one Republican didn't vote for Johnson — and didn't vote at all. So, yes, we also talk about why Derrick Van Orden, Wisconsin's 3rd District Rep., wasn't in DC to vote. As for Johnson, we look at his viewpoints on certifying the 2020 election, his stance on, not just gay marriage, but legal sex between gay people, and his take on climate change.

Another first time in history by Republicans in the US House of Representatives, as they fail again to elect a new Speaker. And, instead of grinding that out over the weekend, they took off. Meanwhile, turmoil in Israel, there's no farm bill, there's no budget. It's not just the House, however. In the US Senate, a Republican is holding up countless military positions because women are seeking healthcare out of state, when they're banned to do so where they live. It's all shows that the GOP can't govern. In Washington and in Wisconsin. Republicans in Wisconsin are trying to impeach the newly-elected state Supreme Court Justice, despite their secret panel of conservatives advising them not to. It's a multi-faceted approach by the GOP to retain power through rigged voting maps. 

Hannah Dull and Grant Mathu join to talk about the launch of the La Crosse Young Democrats, who will host their first meeting Monday, Oct. 9, at the county party headquarters (2318 State Rd.) before heading to trivia at JavaVino, across the road. We discussed why they've decided to launch the group, what kind of issues they see as important and some of the future plans, which may or may not include a Republican-themed haunted house. You can check them out on Facebook, Instagram or the website. 

Last week, Wisconsin Republicans again ignored a special session called for by Gov. Tony Evers. At least 12 times, the GOP has ignored these calls for action. Part of that session was to take a look at the childcare crisis the state is facing. This comes a week after the GOP passed multiple bills that they claim will help childcare centers. We dissect those bills and look at what Evers has proposed.

Wisconsin Republicans are fighting to keep their power in just about every facet of state government and we try to break down some of that battle. Here are just the highlights of the GOP's efforts: Impeaching newly-elected state Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz Creating an entire new voting map system and forcing it through the Assembly in 48 hours, with no public hearings Recruiting bias former state Supreme Court justices to be a deflection on justifying impeaching Protasiewicz Firing the nonpartisan Wisconsin Election Commission administrator, due to outrage from far-right conspiracy theorists

A furious Ben Wikler joins to explain the fight — and how to fight — Wisconsin Republicans' attempt to impeach newly-elected state Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz. Wikler, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin chair, shoots down the excuses the GOP is trying to make as its reasoning for impeachment — like Protasiewicz's campaign statements or donations she received. He also talks about how the Republicans' attempt to subvert an election because they're afraid to lose power can be pushed back by the voice of the public. The site DefendJustice.com shows where each Legislator stands on impeaching and provides the public ways to contact them and voice your opinion on the matter.

Spent most of the show breaking down each of the eight questions in the Republican presidential nomination debate that happened in Milwaukee last week, from climate change (a hoax) to education (teachers are the devil) to that Rich man from Richmond song (yes, that was a question) or whether to support Donald Trump (why not?). Rick, of course, hijacked the beginning of the show, though, to ask whether there would be a Democratic presidential debate between Joe Biden and the candidates running on that side, which is at two as of now.

While President Joe Biden was touting his economic policy in Milwaukee last week, we looked at another story in the state and rehashed some proclamations by former Gov. Scott Walker and former President Donald Trump over the Taiwanese company, Foxconn, coming to Wisconsin. Then we got into Biden's economic policy wins, including the Inflation Reduction Act bringing jobs to Wisconsin — while Ron Johnson literally pushed jobs out of the state. We also talked about the upcoming GOP presidential debate in Milwaukee. But first, Foxccon, in what was called the Ninth Wonder of the World by Trump and Walker wanted to rename that part of the state Wisconn Valley, after Silicon Valley. But, while the initial deal was the biggest tax giveaway in US history to a foreign company, it disappointed once again last week.

Last week, US Attorney General Merrick Garland assigned a special counsel to look into Hunter Biden. His name is David Weiss. And, with another one (Jack Smith) already assigned to Donald Trump's dealings, we dive into just what exactly is a special counsel and what are the matters that they're looking into when it comes to Trump and Hunter Biden. 

Talking climate change from a couple of different angles, including how the inaction in Washington and beyond is merely political. We dive into why that's the case, as we see both sides beginning to come to the conclusion that something needs to be done and quickly. 

We discuss the newest of embarrassing Derrick Van Orden incident. This time, the 3rd District US House Rep. cursed out high school-aged Senate pages for lying down and taking pictures of the US Capitol Rotunda ceiling around 1 a.m. during their final week of work. Van Orden doubled down on his poor reaction, swearing at the pages, saying they were being disrespectful. https://www.wizmnews.com/2023/07/27/us-house-rep-van-orden-curses-out-high-school-aged-pages-for-taking-pictures-of-rotunda-says-they-treated-us-capitol-like-frat-house/

Hit on two topics in this one, and while we said we were going to start with culture wars, we actually go off on a new third party being created for the 2024 election called No Labels. William tries to explain its strategy to peel off Democratic voters and boost Trump for an electoral win. After that, we discuss how the double standard in the left wanting the Jason Aldean "Try That in A Small Town" song cancelled, versus the right wanting to cancel the Dolly Parton-Miley Cyrus duet, "Rainbowland."

From Ronald Reagan's trickle-down economics to Bidenomics, we look at the release of President Joe Biden's economic plan heading into the 2024 campaign. Biden hopes to change the economic direction of the US, rooted in the recognition that the best way to grow the economy is from the middle out and the bottom up. The plan is centered around three key pillars: Making smart public investments in America Empowering and educating workers to grow the middle class Promoting competition to lower costs and help entrepreneurs and small businesses thrive

Three decisions this week by the US Supreme Court sending the US back decades, if not longer, and they have William Garcia fired up. We discuss the Supreme Court stripping Affirmative Action from colleges, ending the possibility of cancelling some student loan debt, and allowing more discrimination of the LGBTQ+ community.

Two weeks ago, at around bar time in Madison, Republicans on Wisconsin's Joint Finance Committee, which writes the state budget, voted to end a childcare funding program that had been working solid for three years. We discuss what the plan was and what the affects on the state will be. We also discuss why the GOP may have ended the funding, but it's a Hail Mary to say the least.

We discuss the Wisconsin Republican plan to strip diversity, equity, inclusion from the UW System budget. Then we break down what DEI is and what it does for people, students and college campuses. You will have to excuse Garcia, who does go off on a tangent about "new math," though it is a solid example of evolving education.

We discuss how Wisconsin's school voucher system is taxpayer funded discrimination. Wisconsin Watch had a story on a Fox Valley Lutheran couple that faced expulsion because of their relationship. We also talk about how the voucher school system is a drag on public schools and some possible solutions to fix the dilemma.  WISCONSIN WATCH: "False choice: Wisconsin taxpayers support schools that can discriminate" https://wisconsinwatch.org/2023/05/wisconsin-voucher-schools-discrimination-lgbtq-disabilities/

Democrats in Wisconsin continue to fight for a paid family leave program, that was stripped by Republicans out of Gov. Tony Evers' budget. We go over what the program looks like, how Democrats on the Joint Finance Committee were silenced to even discussing it, and the hypocrisy by Wisconsin Republicans to cease talking about it now, when it was a big part of their plan less than a year ago.

It sounds legit, requiring unemployed people to look for work to get welfare. But, it only works for as long as it takes to read the sentence. We dissect the 10-second Republican soundbite that goes after poor people on welfare and how it simply doesn't work for those people and wastes more taxpayer money on administrative costs than what could be benefiting those in need.

Breaking down the GOP-controlled Wisconsin state Legislature's plan to fund local governments and why state funding has remained stagnant for decades. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers put his plan out months ago as part of the state's budget. Republicans, however, pulled the process out of the state budget to pass separately and, despite objections and a veto threat, they are ready to pass a plan that severely limits local control. Some of those limits remove county election referendums and add police quotas to things like traffic tickets.