Republican Bill Would Put Guns in Wisconsin Schools
Wisconsin Republicans are introducing a second bill aimed at putting guns into K-12 schools in the state, the latest version aimed at private schools.
Crime & Public Safety
What Did Michael Screnock Promise the NRA?
We deserve to know today what promises state Supreme Court candidate Michael Screnock made to the NRA to get the gun lobby’s endorsement.
GOP Chair of State Assembly Committee on Education, School Principal Shares Article Romanticizing Guns in Schools in Aftermath of Florida Mass School Shooting
Rep. Jeremy Thiesfeldt took to social media to share an article from a right-wing website romanticizing the presence of guns in schools years ago.
NRA Campaign Cash and Endorsements Put Wisconsin on Lockdown
Millions of dollars in campaign spending and political endorsements by the NRA have bought the pro-gun lobby access to top state Republicans.
Another Republican Attorney General Not Named Brad Schimel Goes to Court to Hold Opioid Manufacturer Accountable
The GOP Attorney General of Alabama has filed suit seeking damages from opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharmaceuticals while Brad Schimel refuses to act.
Closing Lincoln Hills Does Not Absolve Gov. Scott Walker, Attorney General Brad Schimel of Responsibility For Failures
Scott Walker and Brad Schimel ignored and then repeatedly failed to act on the mounting crisis at Lincoln Hills.
Sponsor of Lowering Drinking Age Downplays Bar Ownership
Scot Ross, head of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now, said the lawmakers' ties to businesses that could benefit from a lower drinking age were a concern. [Associated Press]
Brad Schimel’s Department of Justice Claims ‘Nothing Unusual’ in Story on State Crime Lab Delay That May Have Kept Dangerous Driver Involved in Fatal Hit and Run on the Road
A dangerous repeat drunken driver was still on the road at least in part because of the turnaround time at the state crime lab.
Liberal Group: Delayed DOJ Blood Tests Led to Fatal Crash
Scot Ross, director of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now, said delays have become a systemic problem under Schimel's leadership. [Associated Press]
Jesse Kremer Blames Media, Hollywood for VA Shooting
One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross released the following statements regarding outrageous comments by Republican State Rep. Jesse Kremer.
Debate heated at hearing on constitutional carry
One Wisconsin Now said it had obtained records showing that Brad Schimel met privately with the lead lobbyist for the NRA on his second day in office. [Lakeland Times]
GOP Ohio Attorney General Seeks to Hold Opioid Makers Accountable for Addiction Crisis, Wisconsin Attorney Brad Schimel Does Nothing
You have to wonder what’s up with Brad Schimel when even fellow Republicans are going to court to hold opioid manufacturers accountable.
Records Show Brad Schimel Opened Office Doors to NRA Second Full Day on Job
Records obtained by One Wisconsin Now show that on his second full day in office, Brad Schimel met privately in his office with the lead lobbyist for the NRA.
Critics say Scott Walker’s plan to fight opiate abuse in Wisconsin falls short
The liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now also criticized Walker's opposition to the Medicaid expansion and the Affordable Care Act. [Capital Times]
One Wisconsin Now Statements on GOP Addiction to Big Pharma Money
Scott Walker spent the 1990s criminalizing addiction and the 2000s preventing people from getting the health care they needed to treat their addiction.
Businesses could be fined for not allowing firearms
Mike Browne said in an email to The Badger Herald that Gannon’s proposal would allow guns in places where they should not be like schools, hospitals and private businesses. [Badger Herald]
Walker climbs over corpses of mass shooting victims to grab a little attention
“I think Wisconsin is probably one of a select few states that has joined every single one of these lawsuits against the Obama administration,” said Scot Ross, executive director of the liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now. [Wisconsin Gazette]
RoJo Avoided Vote On Gun Control Bill
Maybe he had to call the Kochs to find out how to vote. Or maybe, as Scot Ross of One Wisconsin Now points out, RoJo was just afraid to cast a negative vote just before an election year. [Cognitive Dissidence]
Johnson misses gun control vote
To quote his 2010 commercial, ‘There are 100 members of the U.S. Senate,’ but only Ron Johnson hid in the Senate cloakroom to avoid a tough vote on guns. [Capital Times]
Walker Holds Presser While America Endures 2015’s 355th Mass Shooting
This press conference was Scott Walker at his political worst: exploiting fears to try and win elections, while ignoring a real public safety threat.
Scott Walker Loosens Gun Restrictions in Wisconsin Ahead of Expected Presidential Bid
It seems incredibly insensitive and just a wrong step in terms of policy, given what happened in South Carolina and given the issues we have with gun violence across the state and specifically in Milwaukee. [VICE News]
Criminal Justice & Public Safety
As chair of the State Assembly Corrections Committee in his early years Scott Walker toed the early 1990’s GOP party line on crime.
Guns
His flip flop on the issue depending on his electoral audience is yet another example of Scott Walker’s willingness to do or say anything to get elected.
NRA to Gov. Walker: ‘Thanks a Million’
MADISON, Wis. — The National Rifle Association is trying to revive the flailing campaign of Gov. Scott Walker by placing a $1 million television buy for the next month in several markets around Wisconsin. The $1 million buy covers markets in La Crosse, Green Bay and Wausau. “Gov. Walker has bent over backwards to serve […]
Will Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke Take Responsibility for the Company He Keeps? Doubtful.
Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke talks a lot about taking responsibility, but as is often the case with Tea Party darling Clarke, his talk is not backed up by action.
Does Milwaukee County Sheriff Support Nullification of Federal Gun Safety Laws?
An organization that Clarke identifies with, naming him “Sheriff of the Year” in 2013 and soliciting campaign contribution on his behalf, encourages local sheriffs to ignore federal laws, like firearm regulations.
David Clarke: Which “People’s Sheriff”?
An analysis of Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke's most recent campaign finance report shows he raised over 61 percent of his campaign funds from outside of Wisconsin.
Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke Cashes In On Right-Wing Extremism With Big Bucks from National Rifle Association
The latest campaign finance report for Sheriff David Clarke reveals he’s cashed in on his extreme positions against common sense regulations of guns with big money from the National Rifle Association.
Where Was Sheriff David Clarke the Week of Sikh Temple Shooting?
Clarke provided One Wisconsin Now with an almost entirely redacted calendar, where 18 of 22 entries were obscured and no conclusion can be made that Clarke was actually in the state during that time period.
United Sportsmen seeks exemption from penalty for faulty tax filings
Scot Ross, executive director of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now, said United Sportsmen’s sole source of funding appeared to be a conservative political group and that its main spending went to a GOP campaign consultant. “It is clear, based on their track record, that had United Sportsmen gotten state funding as envisioned by Governor Walker […] [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
One Wisconsin Now Statements on Van Hollen Announcement
There is no better example of Van Hollen’s partisan fealty than his attacks on voter rights to serve the Republican partisan political agenda.
Scott Suder steps away from job in Scott Walker’s administration
Just days before receiving the grant, the lobbyist for United Sportsmen offered free fishing excursions to Suder, the Journal Sentinel reported Monday. The day the trip began, Suder joined 17 other Republicans in urging a committee to give the grant to United Sportsmen. The liberal group One Wisconsin Now filed an ethics complaint with the […] [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
Suder Shuffles Off the State and On To Special Interests’ Payroll
Mere days before he was slated to start a $94,000 a year job in the Walker administration, it was announced today that former Assembly Majority Leader Scott Suder has taken a different job as a special interest lobbyist.
Complaint filed against Suder for lobbyist fishing trip
One Wisconsin Now is requesting the Government Accountability Board conduct an investigation of possible state ethics violations after United Sportsmen, a group set to receive a $500,000 grant which was later rescinded, offered a two-day Lake Michigan fishing trip to former Assembly Majority Leader Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford, who helped author the grant. [Badger Herald]
Suder’s fishing trip questioned
One Wisconsin Now filed a formal complaint with the state Government Accountability Board asking for an investigation of possible violations of state ethics laws based on the report, Scot Ross, its executive director, said in a news release. [Eau Claire Leader-Telegram]
Liberal group files ethics complaint against Scott Suder over fishing trip
A liberal group filed an ethics complaint Monday against former Assembly Majority Leader Scott Suder and a lobbyist for a self-described sportsmen group for going on a fishing trip together just days before the group got a now-canceled $500,000 state grant. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
United Sportsmen Official Offered Free Two-Day Fishing Excursion to Author of Sweetheart Deal
MADISON, Wis. — The author of a sweetheart deal worth potentially millions of dollars for a politically-connected organization was offered a free, two-day Lake Michigan fishing excursion by the lobbyist and Executive Director for the group, according to a story in today’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. One Wisconsin Now has filed a formal complaint with the […]
Walker Claims Ignorance On Sweetheart Deal for Group That Endorsed Him
MADISON, Wis. — As part of his 2013-15 state budget Gov. Scott Walker signed into law a provision directing a $500,000 taxpayer funded grant to United Sportsmen of Wisconsin, a group that endorsed him in his 2012 recall election. According to news reports, mega-GOP and right-wing cause funder Terry Kohler personally lobbied legislative leaders on the […]
Top GOP Legislator on Gov. Walker’s Sleazy United Sportsmen Deal: ‘The Process Has Worked’
MADISON, Wis. — Almost daily new revelations have raised serious questions about the propriety and legality of Gov. Walker and Republican legislators inclusion of a sweetheart deal in the state budget that would have given $500,000 of taxpayer money to a group that endorsed Walker in his recall election. In the face of mounting questions and […]
New Developments In United Sportsmen Scandal Greet Gov. Walker Upon Return to Wisconsin From Latest Political Junket
One Wisconsin Now called on Walker to answer questions about the sweetheart deal to send state tax dollars to a partisan political front group that endorsed him in his recall election.
Scandal Surrounding Gov. Walker’s Attempt to Reward Political Allies Deepens
Breaking news reports today reveal that the group in question may in fact be a for-profit corporation that received at least $235,000 in income in 2011, courtesy of the right-wing Citizens for a Strong America.
Gov. Walker on Line One: Wisconsin Gov. Phones Home From Political Junket in Washington State to Cancel Sleazy Deal
MADISON, Wis. — A $500,000 taxpayer funded state grant to United Sportsmen of Wisconsin has generated increasing controversy over the last several weeks as serious questions were raised about how the grant process was rigged to make sure it went to a politically connected GOP front group and the trustworthiness of the organization. One Wisconsin Now […]
Could State Grant to GOP ‘Outdoor’ Group Be Used to Help Boost Republican Political Campaigns?
Could a state grant slipped into the budget by the former Assembly Majority Leader, signed into law by Gov. Walker and rushed through the approval process by the Walker administration be used to help support partisan political activity?
Questions for Gov. Walker and Assembly Majority Leader Mount as Committee Approves Grant for Politically Connected Special Interest Group
Despite mounting questions and growing evidence that top Republican leaders went to great lengths to ensure a taxpayer funded grant went to a politically connected special interest group, the grant was approved on Thursday.
DNR committee votes to award controversial $500K grant to politically connected group
Said Scot Ross of One Wisconsin Now, who provided a copy of the drafting notes to the State Journal: “Why can’t they come up with the IRS letter?” [La Crosse Tribune]
One Wisconsin Now Statements on Sen. Ron Johnson’s Failed Filibuster Attempt on Common Sense Gun Legislation
Sen. Ron Johnson's failed effort to filibuster common sense gun safety legislation shows he is so out of touch with Wisconsin, we wonder if he can find the Badger State on a map.
‘Beyond Understanding’: One Wisconsin Now Calls On U.S. Senator Johnson to Drop Threat to Filibuster Common Sense Gun Sale Regulation
One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross wrote Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson, taking him to task for his threats to filibuster common sense gun regulations.
One Wisconsin Now Statements on NRA’s Product Placement Infomercial
MADISON, Wis. — One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross released the following statements in response to the National Rifle Association press conference in which Wayne LaPierre called for putting guns in our schools. “After using its might to put as many guns on our streets as possible, the NRA has now turned the Newtown […]
Act to Stop Gun Violence
Imagine if the Republicans in charge of state government took massive gun violence as seriously as they do the handful of instances of voting impropriety.
NRA Endorsed, Funded Attorney General Van Hollen Dismissive of Tougher Gun Laws in Wake of Latest Mass Shooting Tragedy
MADISON, Wis. — The shooter that killed 20 children and 6 adult teachers and school administrators in Newton, Connecticut last week used an assault rifle, equipped to fire 30 round magazines, that is available over the counter at chain retail outlets nationwide. In the face of national momentum to strengthen gun regulations to protect public […]