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Wisconsin GOP's Lame-Duck Power Grab Ruled Unconstitutional
A Wisconsin judge ruled on Thursday that laws passed by the Republican-controlled legislature in December to limit the powers of newly elected Democratic Governor Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul were unconstitutional.
Boom! Wisconsin GOP’s Lame-Duck Power Grab Ruled Unconstitutional
A Wisconsin judge ruled on Thursday that laws passed by the Republican-controlled legislature in December to limit the powers of newly elected Democratic Governor Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul were unconstitutional.
How Scott Walker Made Wisconsin the National Poster Child for Dark Money Corruption
Transparency in campaign spending is overwhelmingly popular with both Democrats and Republicans, because average folk know that dirty deeds go on behind closed doors. But the billionaires are battling back. The Koch brothers have a virtual cottage industry funding groups to advocate for “donor privacy,” and they are campaigning hard against any state or federal law that dares to suggest dark money groups should be required to report their funders.
Alec’s Union-Busting Toolkit: Used to Harm Workers and Bankrupt Unions
Report by: Exposed by CMD Investigating Power Alec’s New Union-Busting Toolkit Illustrates the Goal Is to Bankrupt Unions Not Protect Workers By Mary Bottari, who is a reporter for the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD). She helped launch CMD’s award-winning ALEC Exposed investigation and is a two-time recipient of the Sidney Prize for public interest journalism from the Sidney Hillman Foundation. PDF of Public Sector Union Legislative Toolkit It’s becoming an annual ritual.
American Federation of Teachers Targets Mass Incarceration, Private Prison Profiteers
› News › Education › American Federation of Teachers Targets Mass Incarceration, Private Prison Profiteers The U.S. incarcerates more people than any other country in the world — 2.2 million people, enough to fill a city about the size of Houston.
New Koch-Funded Toolkit Has Strategies to Bankrupt Unions
It’s becoming an annual ritual. The Koch-funded cluster of groups, which has long abused their 501(c)3 IRS “charitable” designation by working to destroy political enemies, has concocted another “union busting” toolkit, giving ammunition and guidance to Republican politicians on how to attack and dismantle a major funder of the Democratic Party. The toolkit appears to have been prepared by American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) staff shortly after the Supreme Court’s June 2018Janus vs.
ALEC’s New Union-Busting Toolkit Illustrates the Goal Is to Bankrupt Unions Not Protect Workers
It’s becoming an annual ritual. The Koch-funded cluster of groups, which has long abused their 501(c)3 IRS “charitable” designation by working to destroy political enemies, has concocted another “union busting” toolkit, giving ammunition and guidance to Republican politicians on how to attack and dismantle a major funder of the Democratic Party. The toolkit appears to have been prepared by American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) staff shortly after the Supreme Court’s June 2018 Janus vs.
ALEC's New Union-Busting Toolkit Illustrates the Goal Is to Bankrupt Unions Not Protect Workers
› News › ALEC’s New Union-Busting Toolkit Illustrates the Goal Is to Bankrupt Unions Not Protect Workers It’s becoming an annual ritual. The Koch-funded cluster of groups, which has long abused their 501(c)3 IRS “charitable” designation by working to destroy political enemies, has concocted another “union busting” toolkit, giving ammunition and guidance to Republican politicians on how to attack and dismantle a major funder of the Democratic Party.
Time for a clean sweep at the Capitol
When I arrived in Madison in the early 1990s from the mean streets of Philadelphia, I thought Wisconsin’s commitment to clean and open government was quaint, charming — at times a little irritating. Badger Rules, the state ethics code, meant that legislative staffers like myself couldn’t even take a cup of coffee from a lobbyist, and I remember one lowly public official was nabbed for using a state phone for a few private calls. My, have things changed.
Wisconsin Schools the Nation on Hypocrisy and Partisan Power Grabs
After an all-nighter Wednesday, Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald succeeded in passing a package of bills to diminish the power of newly elected Democratic Governor Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul, and they will truncate early voting hours while they are at it.
Wisconsin GOP Plot to Rig Key Supreme Court Election in Lame Duck Session
If you pick up an election administration manual anywhere in America, what you won’t find are instructions on how to minimize voter turnout. But that is what is what the Wisconsin GOP is contemplating as they struggle to maintain their grip on the legislative agenda and the state Supreme Court in the face of a “blue wave” that shows no signs of receding.
Wisconsin's Gerrymandered Legislature Already Up to Dirty Tricky Tricks
Wisconsin Republicans, led by Speaker Robin Vos (right) and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, are considering enacting voter suppression rules, seizing control over key state boards, and changing the date of the next Supreme Court election to thwart the will of the voters.PR Watch It was a bright blue wave in Wisconsin. More than 2.6 million people voted, more than in any previous midterm, more than in the 2012 recall election, and roughly 60 percent of the state’s voting-age population.
The Key to Tammy Baldwin’s Landslide Re-Election? Exposing Her Opponent’s Shady Ties to ALEC
Targeted with $14 million in outside spending, the Wisconsin senator fought back by tagging her opponent as a servant of special interests. Baldwin has long courted ticket-splitters without giving up on progressive politics. U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin took to the stage for her victory speech on November 6th with Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” blasting.
How Tammy Baldwin Sent the Koch Brothers and Their Minions Packing
US Senator Tammy Baldwin took to the stage for her victory speech on November 6th with Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” blasting. Baldwin, the top target of early Koch Brothers attack ads, won big in the state of Wisconsin, crushing her opponent Republican State Senator Leah Vukmir by 11 points. She also garnered 150,000 votes more than Tony Evers, the Democratic nominee for governor who beat Scott Walker by 31,000 votes.
After Bright Blue Wave, Wisconsin's Gerrymandered Legislature Already Up to Dirty Tricks
It was a bright blue wave in Wisconsin. More than 2.6 million people voted, more than in any previous midterm, more than in the 2012 recall election, and roughly 60 percent of the state’s voting-age population. Democrats swept constitutional offices, winning Governor, Lt. Governor, State Treasurer, Secretary of State, Attorney General, and a U.S. Senate seat for the first time since 1982. A former school science teacher, Tony Evers, sent Scott Walker packing.
A Public School Teacher Just Beat the Pants of Scott Walker
State School Superintendent Tony Evers defeated incumbent Governor Scott Walker 49.6 to 48.4 in a late night finish that kept supporters of both candidates on pins and needles. Evers won by 1.2 percentage points, which did not meet the standard for an automatic recount, and Walker was hoisted by his own petard, unable to pay for a recount himself because he changed in the law in 2017 to prevent such occurrences.
Richmond Voters Beat Chevron Corporate Coup d' Etat
In Richmond, CA, three seats on the City Council were up for election; the city also stood to elect a new mayor. Nothing unusual in this, perhaps, was it not for Chevron's $3.1 million dollar campaign to highjack the elections, which was first revealed by journalism student and former Center for Media and Democracy reporter, Harriet Rowan in the Berkeley publication Richmond Confidential.
ALEC Push for Constitutional Convention Faces Legal Questions
This post originally appeared at Exposed by CMD. With Republicans in control of 32 state legislatures, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has been actively pushing the idea of a second Constitutional Convention to rewrite the US Constitution. The nation’s first and only Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia in 1787 with George Washington presiding.
ALEC Is Pushing a New Slate of Viciously Anti-Worker, Pro-Corporate Laws
When the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) convened its 45th annual meeting of legislators and corporate lobbyists at the swank Hilton New Orleans Riverside hotel on August 8, it served up a veritable banquet of union-busting, gerrymandering, pro-fossil fuel, and school privatization proposals for lawmakers to take back home. Welcoming the ALEC crowd was Jason Saine, a North Carolina Representative and ALEC’s National Chairman.
ALEC Is Pushing a New Slate of Viscously Anti-Worker, Pro-Corporate Laws
When the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) convened its 45th annual meeting of legislators and corporate lobbyists at the swank Hilton New Orleans Riverside hotel on August 8, it served up a veritable banquet of union-busting, gerrymandering, pro-fossil fuel, and school privatization proposals for lawmakers to take back home. Welcoming the ALEC crowd was Jason Saine, a North Carolina Representative and ALEC’s National Chairman.
ALEC Scheme To Let Lawmakers Chose Their Voters Exposed
When the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) convenes its 45th annual meeting of legislators and corporate lobbyists at the swank Hilton New Orleans Riverside hotel on August 8, it will serve up a veritable banquet of union-busting, gerrymandering, pro-fossil fuel, and school privatization proposals for lawmakers to take back home. Welcoming the ALEC crowd will be Jason Saine, a North Carolina Representative and ALEC’s National Chairman.
US Supreme Court Decision a "Roadmap" for a Ruling on Partisan Gerrymandering Case
A unanimous US Supreme Court handed down a decision in Gil vs. Whitford, a case challenging the extreme partisan gerrymandering of Wisconsin voting districts by the GOP legislature. The Court remanded the technical issue of “standing” back to the same three-judge panel that had ruled Wisconsin legislative districts unconstitutional. The Court did not rule on the merits, leaving the door open for a ruling that may still rein in computer-aided, hyper-partisan gerrymandering. Read the ruling here.
ALEC’s Deadly Asbestos Agenda Benefits Koch Industries, Nationwide
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) named Missouri Republican state Rep. Bruce DeGroot as a “Legislator of the Week” in June. Why is ALEC so fond of DeGroot? Because he has cheerfully championed ALEC legislation to restrict the right of terminally ill, asbestos victims to sue over mesothelioma. In doing so, DeGroot is helping the many US companies, including ALEC funders Koch Industries and Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, that have asbestos-related liability.
Mary Bottari: Epic fail: Supreme Court turns back clock to strip workers of power
When unemployment drops and labor markets tighten, wages are expected to rise. This has been the pattern in the United States for decades.
ALEC Task Forces Gather in Michigan to Draft Bills for Corporate Sponsors
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) will hold its annual Spring Task Force Summit on April 27 at the Amway Grand Plaza in Grand Rapids, Michigan. There is no word yet on whether Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, a Michigander married to Amway heir Richard DeVos, will be joining the gathering at the swank four-star hotel as ALEC legislators and corporate lobbyists vote on cookie-cutter bills behind closed doors.
ALEC Task Forces Gather in Grand Rapids to Draft Bills for Its Corporate Sponsors
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) will hold its annual Spring Task Force Summit on April 27 at the Amway Grand Plaza in Grand Rapids, Michigan. There is no word yet on whether Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, a Michigander married to Amway heir Richard DeVos, will be joining the gathering at the swank four-star hotel as ALEC legislators and corporate lobbyists vote on cookie-cutter bills behind closed doors.
Wisconsin GOP Was in Retreat and Disarray Before Paul Ryan Raised the White Flag
Wisconsin’s right-wing machine, including U.S. Speaker Paul Ryan, Governor Scott Walker and a host of dark money groups which have gerrymandered the state, passed scores of right-wing policies, lowered wages, attacked public education, destroyed the state’s clean elections laws and packed the state Supreme Court with knee-jerk Republicans, is showing signs of being in a state of decline and decay that can only be described as Romanesque.
ZCommunications " Behind Janus
Another funder of this work is the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), a trade association affiliated with ALEC and SPN that filed anti-union briefs in Friedrichs and Janus. Why should private-sector NFIB care about public-sector unions at all?
Big Soda Is Freaking Out at the Rise of Local Soda Taxes
Big Soda Is Freaking Out at the Rise of Local Soda Taxes The industry's tactic: change the topic and talk about anything except the devastating public health impact of sugary beverages. Watch out public health advocates – as soda tax campaigns are bubbling up in cities across the nation to combat obesity, diabetes and other serious health conditions – the beverage industry is working to choke off this expression of local democracy.
The Billionaires Behind the Supreme Court Case Poised to Dismantle Public Sector Unions
The Billionaires Behind the Supreme Court Case Poised to Dismantle Public Sector Unions The Roman god Janus was known for having two faces. It is a fitting name for the US Supreme Court case which heard oral arguments February 26, Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Council 31, that could deal a devastating blow to public-sector unions and workers nationwide.
The Two Faces of Janus: The Billionaires Behind the Supreme Court Case Poised to Dismantle Public Sector Unions
Activists rally in front of the U.S. Supreme Court February 26, 2018, in Washington, DC. The court was scheduled to hear the case, Janus v. AFSCME, that could affect public-sector unions nationwide. (Photo by Alex Wong / Getty Images) The Roman god Janus was known for having two faces. It is a fitting name for the US Supreme Court case scheduled for oral arguments February 26, Janus v.
Arizona “Ground Zero” for Koch Attack on Public Education
The annual Koch donors summit took place at the five-star Indian Wells Resort and Spa in the California desert at the end of January. The millionaires and billionaires called to the posh resort from all parts of America by the Koch brothers pledged $100,000 or more for a $400 million effort to keep the U.S. House and Senate in Republican hands in 2018.
The Two Faces of Janus: The Billionaires Behind the Supreme Court Case Poised to Dismantle Public Sector Unions
The Roman god Janus was known for having two faces. It is a fitting name for the U.S. Supreme Court case scheduled for oral arguments February 26, Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Council 31, that could deal a devastating blow to public-sector unions and workers nationwide.
Documents Reveal Decade-Long Plot to Kill Public-Sector Unions
Another funder of this work is the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), a trade association affiliated with ALEC and SPN that filed anti-union briefs in Friedrichs and Janus. Why should private-sector NFIB care about public-sector unions at all? In his book The One Percent Solution: How Corporations Are Remaking America, One State at a Time, political economist Gordon Lafer quotes a 2015 NFIB blog post: “Because ...
Documents Reveal Decade-Long Plot to Kill Public-Sector Unions
THE TROIKA Media coverage has focused almost uniformly on the personal stories of Mark Janus and Rebecca Friedrichs, and the complex legalities of their cases. That coverage obscures the bigger picture. “It’s a mistake to focus on the individual plaintiffs,” says Alexander Hertel-Fernandez, an assistant professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University. “Instead, the focus should be on the conservative advocacy groups.
Arizona ''Ground Zero'' for Koch Attack on Public Education
The annual Koch donors summit took place at the five-star Indian Wells Resort and Spa in the California desert at the end of January. The millionaires and billionaires called to the posh resort from all parts of America by the Koch brothers pledged $100,000 or more for a $400 million effort to keep the US House and Senate in Republican hands in 2018.
Arizona “Ground Zero” for Koch Attack on Public Education
The annual Koch donors summit took place at the five-star Indian Wells Resort and Spa in the California desert at the end of January. The millionaires and billionaires called to the posh resort from all parts of America by the Koch brothers pledged $100,000 or more for a $400 million effort to keep the U.S. House and Senate in Republican hands in 2018.
Arizona “Ground Zero” for Koch Attack on Public Education
The annual Koch donors summit took place at the five-star Indian Wells Resort and Spa in the California desert at the end of January. The millionaires and billionaires called to the posh resort from all parts of America by the Koch brothers pledged $100,000 or more for a $400 million effort to keep the U.S. House and Senate in Republican hands in 2018.
Retribution and Revenge in the Wisconsin John Doe
If billionaires are now allowed to give secret campaign contributions to get lawsuits against them thrown out of court, perhaps Attorney General Brad Schimel should issue a price list? (Image: Jared Rodriguez / Truthout) The long running criminal investigation into whether or not Scott Walker and deep-pocketed dark money groups illegally coordinated the expenditure of some $30 million to win the 2012 recall elections should be old news by now.
Retribution and Revenge in the Wisconsin John Doe
The long-running criminal investigation into whether or not Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and deep-pocketed dark money groups illegally coordinated the expenditure of some $30 million to win the 2012 recall elections should be old news by now. But the Wisconsin GOP is keeping it alive by undertaking a criminal investigation of a 2016 leak of documents to The Guardian newspaper—famous for its publication of the Edward Snowden revelations and the Panama Papers.
Charlie Sykes Defends Sampling of Atrocious Video, A Fave of Neo-Nazis
Journal Communication's right-wing talker Charlie Sykes (WTMJ Radio 620), delights in stirring controversy. But last week he went too far. In a segment discussing whether food stamp recipients should be allowed to buy unhealthy food, Sykes played a clip of an incredibly offensive video that is a favorite of neo-Nazi websites.
Koch Latino Front Group Instructs Arizona Moms About School Choice
A full year in advance of a historic showdown on school vouchers in Arizona, the Kochs are already ladling on the cash. A full year in advance of a historic showdown on school vouchers in Arizona, the Kochs are already ladling on the cash. Through their Latino front group, Libre Institute, they have launched a six figure ad campaign targeting Arizona moms on one of the Kochs’ favorite topics, school vouchers. The TV ads feature a variety of Latino and Anglo “moms�
Koch Latino Front Group Instructs Arizona Moms About School Vouchers
A full year in advance of a historic showdown on school vouchers in Arizona, the Kochs are already ladling on the cash. Through their Latino front group, Libre Institute, they have launched a six-figure ad campaign targeting Arizona moms on one of the Kochs' favorite topics, school vouchers. The TV ads feature a variety of Latino and Anglo "moms" singing the praises of school choice; the mailings feature cookie cutter "happy families" still featuring the "Istock" watermark.
From Junk Bonds to Junk Schools: Cyber Schools Fleece Taxpayers for Phantom Students and Failing Grades
The data is in and K12 Inc.'s brand of full-time public "cyber school" is garbage. Not surprising for an educational model kicked off with a $10 million investment from junk-bond king Michael Milken. Milken was the Wall Street financier who virtually invented junk-bonds -- high-risk securities that were used to leverage hostile buyouts in the "go-go" 1980s.
Governor Snyder Stands Behind Prison Privatization, Even After Maggots and Murder for Hire
Ideological slogans often trump facts when it comes to the outsourcing of public services. When independent studies are commissioned, the conclusions are often disregarded. In some cases, however, there seems to be solid research supporting the cost-efficiency of privatization. Such was the case in Michigan -- at least at first glance.
Monterey Peninsula Fights For-Profit American Water for Public Control
While high profile privatizations have dominated the news in recent years, a new trend is quietly emerging -- communities taking public assets back under public control. The trend is most pronounced in the area of water resources. In communities across the country, people are deciding that water is just too precious to subject to the profit motive. No state has seen more of these "reverse" privatizations than California.
Nightmare on Main Street: ALEC Policies Harm Working Americans
Just in time for Halloween, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) has produced the most in-depth study yet conducted on the plethora of legislative initiatives pursued by the American Legislative Exchange Council and its allies to suppress wages and undermine the ability of low-wage and middle-wage workers to earn a decent living and support their families.
WI ALEC Leader in Hot Water over Allegations of Sexual Harassment
It's been a bad few weeks for Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. First, his former deputy chief of staff, Kelly Rindfleisch, released 28,000 pages of emails from her criminal corruption case revealing offensive and callous comments from Team Walker during the time he served as Milwaukee County Executive. While Walker called the emails "old news," one of his top lawyers quickly lost his job.
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