UNSPUN: October 11, 2017
We are unspinning the political headlines with our analysts, Scot Ross, Executive Director of One Wisconsin Now... and Bill McCoshen... Managing Partner of Capitol Consultants. [WMTV-TV]
Earned Media
Amazon in the market for HQ2, angles for subsidies
“We saw from the Foxconn debacle Scott Walker is a terrible negotiator,” said Scot Ross of the statewide progressive group One Wisconsin Now. [Wisconsin Gazette]
Scott Walker’s son joins Leah Vukmir’s U.S. Senate campaign
One Wisconsin Now has called on the state’s ethics commission to investigate Vukmir for possible violations in raising campaign money due to conflicts of interest. [Wisconsin Gazette]
Vukmir raises $250,000 in three weeks for U.S. Senate bid, critics cry foul
The liberal group One Wisconsin Now has asked the Wisconsin Ethics Commission to investigate Vukmir for possible violations in raising campaign money. [Wisconsin Gazette]
Planned Parenthood opening new health center in Milwaukee
Planned Parenthood’s announcement is great news for women & families of Wisconsin who deserve confidential, nonjudgmental reproductive health care services. [Wisconsin Gazette]
Supreme Court gerrymandering case: Wisconsin and beyond
Supreme Court gerrymandering case focusing on Wisconsin raises the issue of defending voting rights against voter suppression. Joy Reid and her panel discuss. [MSNBC]
This time around, UW Regents let student speak (briefly) on free speech
One Wisconsin Now said the regents adopted the policy — which mirrors a bill passed by the Assembly in June — because the legislation had stalled in the Senate. [Capital Times]
Wisconsin State Budget Could Have Been Passed Illegally
One Wisconsin Now has submitted evidence to law enforcement authorities, including the Dane County District Attorney. [Door County Pulse]
UW Regents To Take Up Controversial Vote
The UW Board of Regents is poised to codify as policy the provisions of potentially unconstitutional legislation to restrict free speech on UW campuses. [WKOW-TV]
UW students urge regents to protect student rights in campus free speech policy
One Wisconsin Now asserts that the regent policy is intended to codify and insert into law as administrative code the potentially unconstitutional legislation. [Capital Times]
Quotes Of The Day To Enrage & Engage You
According to One Wisconsin Now, Walker also signed an executive order which implemented a policy provision from another bill authored by Kapenga. [WSAU-FM]
Analiese Eicher: Walker, GOP not even trying to solve student loan debt crisis
Solutions for student loan debt remain unrealized, not because they are unreachable, but because the governor and the Republicans aren’t listening and aren’t trying. [Capital Times]
Louise Lyall & Laurel Noack: Rolling back Title IX protections makes UW less safe for women
By saying the rights of the perpetrator are more important than the rights of the victim, Betsy DeVos and the Department of Education are once again sweeping the issue of sexual assault under the rug. [Wisconsin State Journal]
Devil’s Advocates Radio: October 4, 2017
The Devils ask Scot Ross about provisions and vetoes in the state budget. They also talk Foxconn and the university free speech bill. [Devil's Advocates Radio]
State Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary defends Confederate monuments
Scot Ross, executive director of liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now, called Zimmerman’s views “indefensible” and said he should be removed from office. [Wisconsin State Journal]
Thousands Of Wisconsinites Denied Voting Rights In 2016
A new study surveyed registered non-voters in last year’s general election and found thousands of people were denied their basic right to vote. [Pacifica Radio]
Gov. Scott Walker’s deal-making with senators raises questions of logrolling from opponents
Scot Ross said he had a tough time believing creating the inspector general's office was not part of the discussions with the senators. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
Student loan forgiveness program is about to face its first major test
“Not only is there an uncertainty about whether or not this program is going to happen, but there’s still an uncertainty about how this works,” said Analiese Eicher. [MarketWatch]
Matt Rothschild: 10 steps Wisconsin progressives need to take
We also need student debt forgiveness. Here’s a shout-out to Scot Ross at One Wisconsin Now for bringing the issue of student debt to the fore. [Capital Times]
Voter ID Suppressed the Vote Exactly as Wisconsin Republicans Predicted
Later on the witness stand in a lawsuit brought by One Wisconsin Now challenging the voter ID law, Albaugh described the tension in closed door caucus. [Center for Media and Democracy]
New poll shows popular support for student loan payment reform
Poll conducted by One Wisconsin [Institute] showed broad bipartisan support for student loan payment reform despite failure to pass such legislation in Wisconsin [Badger Herald]
Devil’s Advocates Radio: September 19, 2017
Apparently, the Republican Governors Association, led by Scott Walker is spreading Russia-style fake news. The Devil’s talk to Scot Ross about it. [WRRD-AM]
Walker On Foxconn Bill Signing: Today Is One Of Those Days We Savor
Scott Walker, and the legislators that put the bill on his desk, are responsible for committing us to send billions to a foreign corporation. [Racine County Eye]
Partisan gridlock may ease as new generation takes political stage, panelists say
Other panelists were: Chelsea Duffy, legislative and PAC director for Wisconsin Right to Life; Scot Ross, executive director of One Wisconsin Now. [Capital Times]
US state grants $3 billion in tax incentives to Foxconn
The governor and state legislators "are responsible for committing us to send billions to a foreign corporation instead of investing it here," said Scot Ross. [AFP]
Panel discusses effectiveness of Free Speech Bill
“One of the most powerful tools of the civil rights movement was civil disobedience and disruption,” Castro said. [Badger Herald]
Foxconn Tax Incentives Clear Wisconsin Senate
One Wisconsin Now characterized A.B. 1 as the most costly state-funded tax credit package ever offered to a foreign corporation in U.S. history. [Bloomberg]
Bryan Kelly talks with Analiese about reforms to help student loan borrowers refinance their debt
Bryan Kelly talks with Analiese about reforms to help student loan borrowers refinance their debt. [WRRD-AM]
New Poll of Wisconsin Voters Picks Up On Student Loan Trends
A poll of Wisconsin voters commissioned by One Wisconsin Institute found nearly two-thirds of poll participants would favor a student loan refinancing program. [The Student Loan Report]
Poll: 64 percent of WI voters want state plan for student loan refinancing
The poll, commissioned by the liberal policy group One Wisconsin Now and conducted by Public Policy Polling, shows just 31 percent of voters are against such a plan. [WKOW-TV]
Developments at state level worrisome
“As attorney general, Brad Schimel is putting the ‘AG’ in swag,” said One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross in a news release. [Eau Claire Leader-Telegram]
Wisconsin paid $4 million for tiny airport for Republican mega-donor’s golf course
Meanwhile the rest of us will continue to have to deal with crumbling roads and bridges and delayed projects as these same Republicans take a budget mulligan. [RawStory]
$4M for tiny Wisconsin airport near golf course
It sure looks like Mr. Keiser's campaign contributions to Scott Walker and Republicans teed up millions in taxpayer-funded improvements. [Associated Press]
Wisconsin attorney general’s office has spent $83,000 on promotional material
Joanna Beilman-Dulin, One Wisconsin Now’s research director, said in a statement that Schimel should spend the department’s money on fighting crime. [Associated Press]
Follow the Money: A Handy Guide to Some of the Organizations on the School Choice Gravy Train
One Wisconsin Institute compiled a list of the organizations that have been funded by the far-right Bradley Foundation of Milwaukee. [Diane Ravitch]
Wisconsin AG’s Office Has Spent $83K on Promotional Material
Newly released records show Attorney General Brad Schimel has spent about $83,000 on state Justice Department promotional items over the last three years. [Associated Press]
Dee J. Hall: Public officials shouldn’t block social media users
Scot Ross, executive director of the liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now, said that is exactly what is happening with his organization. [Wisconsin State Journal]
Broke, Busted, And Disgusted
This pro-education documentary film examining the true costs of college aired on CNBC in September 2017. It features research from One Wisconsin. [CNBC]
UW-Madison’s new CROWE think tank funded by Koch, Bradley
One Wisconsin Now revealed that in February, 2015, Williams used his UW-Madison email account to offer “economic analysis and advising” to Walker. [Capital Times]
Paper Peddles Bogus Foxconn Report
Williams connected to Walker after aggressively selling himself to the governor, as university emails reviewed by One Wisconsin Now documented in a press release. [Urban Milwaukee]
Wisconsin seeks to tighten job requirements on $3 billion Foxconn deal
One Wisconsin Now pointed to open record showing that in 2015 Williams had sought to advise Walker on his unsuccessful presidential campaign. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
Report: Foxconn could return nearly $4 for every $1 in state subsidy
One Wisconsin Now pointed to open record showing that in 2015 Williams had sought to advise Walker on his unsuccessful presidential campaign. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
Savion Castro: Wisconsin has its own history of siding with white supremacy
White protesters beckoned a revival of the cause for which Lee and his army fought: preserving a society built upon white supremacy. [Janesville Gazette]
Battle over Confederate history hits Madison
Savion Castro, a Madison native who works at One Wisconsin Now, says a public display calling Confederate soldiers “unsung heroes” is offensive. [Isthmus]
Is Foxconn package a gift?
One Wisconsin Now says that the $3 billion being offered by the state to Foxconn would be the largest gift ever given by a state to a foreign company. [WTMJ-TV]
GOP lawmaker defends talk to anti-government group
Scot Ross, head of the liberal One Wisconsin Now, said it was unbelievable that Kleefisch, was hanging out with anti-government folks. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
Would Wisconsin’s $3 billion to Foxconn be largest-ever ‘gift’ by any state to a foreign company?
Wisconsin's $3 billion incentive offer to Foxconn is "the largest gift ever by a state to a foreign company." [PolitiFact]
Letter: Legislature should say ‘no’ to Foxconn
One Wisconsin Now executive director Scot Ross is spot on about what the Foxconn deal is missing with regard to care and safety of workers. [Capital Times]
Scot Ross: What’s missing from Foxconn deal? A lot
That same wisdom applies to Gov. Walker’s proposed $3 billion-plus subsidy to induce Taiwanese-based Foxconn to locate a factory in Wisconsin. [Capital Times]
Foxconn Deal Will Put Wisconsin in Red for At Least 25 Years
“Even the best case, rosiest scenario shows Wisconsin taxpayers losing money on this deal for decades.” [Bloomberg]