Newsroom

Useless GOP Health Care Repeal Efforts Most Harmful to Young People

After the stirring job-creation effort put up by the new Republican-controlled U.S. House majority by reading the Constitution, Paul Ryan’s gang was going to have to really stretch to out-do that bit of uselessness. Turns out, they are more than up to that challenge. Today, the new Boehnerites in the GOP House Majority are wasting […]

Lawsuit over sex ed e-mail dropped

A liberal activist group has agreed to drop a lawsuit it filed alleging that Juneau County District Attorney Scott Southworth violated the state’s open records law. The agreement reached Tuesday between One Wisconsin Now and Southworth says that all of the records requested in April were turned over in October. [Associated Press]

Steineke: ‘I Don’t Particularly Care What People Think’

MADISON, Wis. — State Rep. Jim Steineke (R-Vandenbroek), who has a long history of driving infractions including drunk driving, hit and run and driving without a license multiple times, when recently asked by a reporter if it was appropriate for him to head Assembly Republicans’ efforts to repeal car insurance requirement responded, “I don’t particularly […]

GOP Job Creation Plan: Protect Big Businesses from Accountability

Job creation and reducing the state’s $3.3 billion budget deficit Payback to big business donors seems to be the top priority of part of Gov. Scott Walker. Today, the Senate is debating the corporate no-accounability bill, also known as tort reform. Basically, it creates a system in which the consumer will never be able to […]

Bill would require photo IDs at polls

Indiana’s bill served as the model for Wisconsin’s photo identification bill, said Executive Director of One Wisconsin Now Scot Ross. He added the comparison is faulty. “Close to 99 percent of the voting age population in Indiana had the required voting identification. It’s completely different in Wisconsin,” Ross said. [Badger Herald]

LETTER: Earnings gap shows rich could pay more

How fitting it was, though, that the letter was published on Jan. 7. According to One Wisconsin Now, it was on Jan. 7 that the average CEO in Wisconsin had already earned more income (in one week’s time, mind you) than the state’s median household will earn in the entire calendar year. [Wisconsin State Journal]

Republican Party chair Reince Priebus: What’s his record in Wisconsin?

In September, a nonpartisan watchdog group called One Wisconsin Now filed complaints with the federal and state attorneys general, charging that state Republicans and tea party organizations had engaged in vote suppression, targeting minorities and college students. In a statement released Friday, Scot Ross, executive director of One Wisconsin Now, warned against the practice becoming […] [Christian Science Monitor]

Milwaukee officials get into scrap with recycling firm

This isn’t the first time that the Vandenbroek Republican has had car troubles. Over the last 20 years, he has been cited for operating while intoxicated, driving without a license and participating in a hit-and-run accident – details of which have been posted on a new website called www.meetthemajority.com. The website was created by the […] [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

GOP makes Voter ID a priority, not jobs

“The Republican Voter ID bill will waste tens of millions of dollars and create zero private sector jobs,” said Scot Ross, One Wisconsin Now executive director. “The Republicans have come up with a budgetbusting, big government solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.” [Milwaukee Courier]

Wisconsin voters may soon need to show ID to vote

The liberal advocacy group, One Wisconsin Now, has promised to challenge the law in court. The group says the bill will end up costing the state money because the Department of Motor Vehicles offices will have to extend their hours to meet the demand for the ID cards between now and the spring election. [Superior Telegram]

Priebus will remain Wisconsin party chair for now

Not everyone was so gracious. Scot Ross, head of the Madison-based liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now, accused Priebus of trying to suppress voter turnout over the years in Wisconsin. “Now that Reince Priebus will have the RNC’s treasury at his disposal, those across the county interested in fair and clean elections will be on […] [La Crosse Tribune]

Meet newly-elected RNC Chair Reince Priebus

One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross said, “When voter suppression allegations have surfaced in Wisconsin for the past decade, the name Reince Priebus isn’t far behind.” [Think Progress]

One Wisconsin Now Statements on Priebus Election

MADISON, Wis. — One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross released the following statements regarding Republican Party of Wisconsin Chair Reince Priebus’ election as chair of the Republican National Committee. “When voter suppression allegations have surfaced in Wisconsin for the past decade, the name Reince Priebus isn’t far behind. In 2002, the state Elections Board […]

Tax-Shy Randy Hopper’s $250 Million Yearly Capital Gains Giveaway

MADISON, Wis. — Sen. Randy Hopper (R-Fond du Lac), who paid net state income taxes once in ten years, has proposed an end to capital gains taxes, which primarily benefit the wealthy and would cost $250 million a year, according to the non-partisan Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau. “How much less than zero does Randy Hopper […]

Liebham backs new voter ID bill

The bill’s critics say they’ll consider a legal challenge if the voter ID bill is passed. One Wisconsin Now director Scot Ross made that promise on Wednesday, saying that Wisconsin would have to expand the number of Department of Motor Vehicles stations in order to ensure there is enough access for people to get IDs. [Sheboygan Press]

Voter ID Plan Will Likely Hike Deficit Tens of Millions of Dollars, No Private Sector Jobs

Despite promises that their top priority is job creation, the new state Republican legislative majority is immediately trying to ram through a Voter Identification bill which will not create jobs and will likely cost tens of millions of dollars in order to meet constitutional requirements. “The Republican Voter ID bill will waste tens of millions […] [Winnebago Dems]

Threat of legal action hangs over voter ID bill

Republicans in the state Legislature introduced a measure on Wednesday that would require voters to show photo identification before registering or casting ballots.  As WUWM’s Marti Mikkelson reports, already there’s a threat of a legal challenge if the bill passes. [WUWM]

Week in Review

Republicans propose a voter ID bill that would require residents to show identification when registering to vote, a law Jim Doyle repeatedly vetoed. They say it will reduce fraud, but Scot Ross, director of One Wisconsin Now, says “Voter ID is the Republicans’ attempt to rig elections in their favor by disenfranchising minorities, students and […] [Isthmus]

Leibham Admits Voter ID Bill Will Cost Big Money

“That will potentially cost some additional money to the state and to state taxpayers…” [Sen. Leibham, WUWM News, 1/12/2011] MADISON, Wis. — State Sen. Joe Leibham (R-Sheboygan) admitted to reporters the Republican Voter ID bill will deepen Wisconsin’s $3.3 billion budget deficit. Leibham has refused to give Wisconsin a total cost for this plan, nor […]

Why Voter ID is bad for Wisconsin

Many of you have written in response to our email yesterday about the voter ID bill. Some of you were very enthusiastic in your support of our efforts to fight back against this assault on our voting rights. But others of you had questions about the bill, and wondered why we oppose requiring qualified voters […]

Walker’s Tax Philosophy — Debunked…again

Gov. Scott Walker is dead-set on repeating all of the mistakes of the Bush administration which caused the national economic collapse. Walker has called for over $5 billion in tax breaks, shifts and loopholes that will require drastic cuts to education, health care and yank cops and firefighters off the streets. Instead of prioritizing job […]

Wis. Assembly to consider ballot ID bill

The head of a liberal advocacy group said a legal challenge will be considered if Wisconsin law is changed to require voters to show a photo ID at the polls. [WISN-TV]

Republicans unveil plan for voter ID, constitutional amendment

With large GOP majorities in both houses, the bill on photo ID is expected to pass easily. But Scot Ross, executive director of the group One Wisconsin Now, said he would consider filing a lawsuit once the Legislature acts, over concerns that the requirement would infringe on the right to vote. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

Proposed election law already facing legal challenge

The Wisconsin state Legislature is expected to pass a law requiring voters to show photo identification at polls. And one advocacy group says they are already considering a legal challenge. [WFRV-TV]

Liberal group considers legal challenge to ID

The head of a liberal advocacy groups says a legal challenge will be considered if Wisconsin law is changed to require voters to show a photo ID at the polls. [WKBT]

Grieving Mother to Scott Walker: Why?

After waiting over seven hours, just before 8:30 Tuesday night, Dawn Kellner testified before a joint state legislative committee to offer her tearful opposition to Gov. Scott Walker’s first bill – which would provide unprecedented immunity from accountability for those who harm citizens. Dawn Kellner is the grieving mother of Jared Kellner, the 15-year-old boy […]

Private Health Savings Accounts: Don’t Create Jobs, Hike Deficit

MADISON, Wis. — The Republican plan to give a tax break to high deductible private health savings accounts would increase the deficit $48 million in the next two years, create no jobs and would not increase access to health care. The plan is to be debated today at a joint legislative health committee. “Wisconsin deserves […]

How much will WI taxpayers pay for Van Hollen’s lawsuit gimmick?

Wisconsin Attorney General JB Van Hollen is doing what conservatives do best these days — wasting taxpayer dollars performing totally empty gestures in an effort to gin up the Tea Party base. See yesterday’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Van Hollen is pushing hard for Wisconsin to join the multi-state lawsuit against the historic federal health insurance […]

Another Walker Fail: First bills deepen budget deficit, create no jobs

Throughout 2009 and 2010, OWN documented the billions of dollars in corporate handouts that Walker was promising on the campaign trail, all the while he was promising to balance the state budget and put people back to work. So public expectations, if not OWN’s, were high that the first bills he would introduce in the […]

Footnote: How will Walker’s jobs tally be tracked

Scot Ross of One Wisconsin Now said his liberal group is among those that will attempt its own tally in an effort to determine which jobs Walker should and shouldn’t get credit for creating. [Wisconsin State Journal]

State Republicans bring back photo ID legislation

“Voter ID is the Republicans’ attempt to rig elections in their favor by disenfranchising minorities, students and seniors citizens,” said Scot Ross, director of the liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now. He argued that in order for the law to be found constitutional, the state would have to spend millions of dollars to add additional […] [Associated Press]

Vital Signs: Republican states echo WI health director’s support for ditching Medicaid

The article was e-mailed to me by One Wisconsin Now, a liberal advocacy group, whose Anna Landmark responded to my observation that it will be interesting to see how Smith administers programs he’s been so critical of. “Smith won’t be administering these programs, he’s been given the job by Gov. Walker to dismantle them,” she […] [Capital Times]

How Will Walker Celebrate Wisconsin ‘CEO Pay Freedom Day’?

MADISON, Wis. — Today is the day the chief executive officers of Wisconsin’s publicly-traded companies have on average earned as much as the median household will earn in Wisconsin this year. One Wisconsin Now is wondering how Gov. Scott Walker will highlight the day as part of his effort to hand over the state’s regulatory […]

Walker’s Job One: Cutting BadgerCare

Just a day after announcing a $40 million tax cut to businesses without any requirement to create jobs, Walker, along with other Republican governors, is pressing the Obama administration to allow him to drop people from Medicaid, or BadgerCare, as it’s called here in Wisconsin. BadgerCare, as you may know, provides free or reduced-premium health […]

Dreading the Scott Walker era

“This is an unprecedented power grab to undercut the Legislature,” Scot Ross, executive director of One Wisconsin Now, told The Capital Times. He said Walker’s proposal to circumvent the authority of government agencies would turn the governor’s office into “the state’s largest waiting room for lobbyists.” [Isthmus]

Introducing Wisconsin’s new conservative overlords: Meet the Majority

Behold, our latest project — MeetTheMajority.com, where we pull back the slimy, cold-blanket of rhetoric and deception and expose the extremism and failed policies of the new members of the conservative legislative majority. Here are just a few of the highlights from the new corporate-controlled conservatives: Rep. Kathy Bernier of Chippewa Falls who said the […]

Walker’s proposals split groups

Scot Ross, executive director of progressive policy group One Wisconsin Now, said the governor is not prioritizing real problems. [Statehouse News]

Walker wastes money on health insurance reform lawsuit at the same time he’ll apply for federal health reform grants

In a counter-intuitive move, Walker told Politico yesterday that even though he campaigned “aggressively” against the federal health insurance reform legislation, and on his first day in office granted Atty General Van Hollen permission to join a lawsuit against the reforms, he will still apply for federal health reform grants and won’t block the law’s […]

Walker, officials celebrate at inaugural ball, new governor’s work begins

One Wisconsin Now held a separate music show in Madison last night to raise money for relief groups and food pantries. Director Scot Ross said about 350 people showed up. Walker’s inaugural ceremony at the Capitol did collect food for Milwaukee’s Hunger Task Force. [Pierce County Herald]

New Governor holds inaugural ball at Monona Terrace

“(Doyle) donated all the proceeds (from) his two inaugurals to the Boys and Girls Clubs — to the tune of over $500,000. And when people are really hurting, we think that’s a more appropriate thing to do, and it’s a more inclusive thing to do,” said Scot Ross, executive director of One Wisconsin Now. [WISC-TV]

Hundreds attend Wisconsin inaugural ball

Liberal groups like One Wisconsin Now slammed Walker for not giving the ball’s proceeds to charity, like Democrat Jim Doyle did in his two inaugurals. [WSAU-TV]

‘Rock the Pantry’ Raises Nearly $4,000 for Charity

MADISON, Wis. — One Wisconsin Now’s progressive rally “Rock the Pantry” will result in nearly $4,000 being donated to the Wisconsin efforts of Feeding America. Progressives held the rally in response to Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s big-money campaign and political party fundraising inaugural, as well as to send an unmistakable message that progressives will fight […]

Walker’s not-so-quiet power grabs

Scot Ross, executive director of One Wisconsin Now, echoes Miller’s thoughts. “This is an unprecedented power grab to undercut the Legislature,” says Ross. “That is a pretty big warning sign for people in the Capitol.” Ross says Walker’s proposal to circumvent the authority of government agencies would turn the governor’s office into “the state’s largest […] [Capital Times]

First the dance, then work

Walker took some criticism from liberal groups such as One Wisconsin Now for not sending the proceeds of the ball to charity, as Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle had done in his inaugural events. Doyle’s events benefited Boys & Girls Clubs around Wisconsin, providing them $233,000 in 2003 and $323,000 in 2007. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]