Koch

Koch-Backed Group Buys $150k in TV Time for Wisconsin Ad Blitz

Scot Ross, executive director of the progressive group One Wisconsin Now, called AFP’s new ad blitz “the granddaddy of corporate, big oil special interest money” and a last-ditch effort to salvage the GOP majority in the state senate. “The Koch brothers’ Americans for Prosperity has now dumped over $500,000 to pollute Wisconsin airwaves about the […] [Mother Jones]

Wisconsin House GOP Has Koch Addiction

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Republican House members Paul Ryan, Sean Duffy and Reid Ribble managed to score $11,000 in campaign money from the Koch PAC last month, according to fillings at the Federal Election Commission. Koch PAC, funded by the big oil profits of the nation’s second largest privately-owned company, has a notorious anti-worker, anti-middle […]

One WI Now statements on latest Prosser allegation

The people of Wisconsin are past the point where they are willing to tolerate for one moment longer, the abusive and alarming conduct of Supreme Court Justice David Prosser. Enough is enough with the abusive temper of David Prosser. If allegations Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser recently grabbed the neck of fellow Justice Ann […]

Will Walker Attend Koch Fest This Weekend?

Twice a year, the Koch brothers plan a secretive, high profile meeting between the most conservative of political actors and sympathetic non-profit organizations, and wealthy donors willing to further their cause. This wonderful time of year is upon us again. Charles and David Koch are organizing a political “seminar” for this weekend in Vail, Colorado. […]

Walker Stunt Costs Thousands

Scott Walker’s Wisconsin is allegedly “Open For Business,” and he wants to be absolutely sure that everyone knows it. According to email conversations obtained by One Wisconsin Now between the Bureau of Highway Maintenance and Joe Fadness, Walker transition team member, Walker spent at least $1,725 of taxpayer money just to make those useless “Open […]

GOP Hopeful Herman Cain and Koch

In late 2010, the liberal advocacy group, One Wisconsin Now, caught a Tea Party organizer on tape discussing Block’s role in a vote-caging scheme apparently designed to suppress voter turnout in two Milwaukee districts that are heavily populated by college students and African Americans. [Alternet]

The Flaming Nazi Gasbag attacks.

No, not the Hindenburg. That’s just a zeppelin. Rush Limbaugh launched a false and inflammatory attack against One Wisconsin Now on Friday, because he wants a Wisconsin Supreme Court that supports Scott Walker, and not us.   Rush is in a snit because One Wisconsin Now has called for an investigation into Waukesha County Clerk […]

Walker Installs Koch Machine to Head Public Service Commission

MADISON, Wis. — Former GOP Rep. Phil Montgomery, Gov. Scott Walker’s choice to head the Public Service Commission, has received tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the industries he has been appointed to oversee. The PSC is charged with oversight of utilities, including electricity, natural gas, water, combined water and sewer utilities […]

David Prosser: The Partisans’ Partisan in Six Acts

There’s no denying former Republican Assembly Speaker and failed Republican Congressional nominee David Prosser is a long-time partisan cog in the Republican machine. But is he the most partisan state Supreme Court Justice Wisconsin has ever had? The answer would be a resounding “yes.” And when looking at his record on the Supreme Court, it’s […]

Walker email count omits 18,000 from One WI Now supporters

Add this to the numbers swirling around emails sent to Governor Walker about his controversial “budget repair” bill. Not included in the count of Walker’s email were the messages One Wisconsin Now supporters sent to the Wisconsin state legislature opposing Walker’s assault on worker’s rights. All in all, 22,064 people signed our petition aginst the […]

One Wisconsin Now Statements on Van Hollen ‘Sunshine Week’ Assault on Open Government

MADISON, Wis. — One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross released the following statements regarding Republican Attorney General JB Van Hollen’s attack on open government. Van Hollen is appealing Dane County Judge, and Tommy Thompson appointee, Mariann Sumi’s temporary restraining order against Gov. Scott Walker’s illegally-passed so-called budget repair bill, that uses the government to […]

Gov. Scott Walker Refusing To Release Details Of Contacts With Koch Industries

Over two weeks after receiving a request from One Wisconsin Now, Walker’s administration has refused to release details of its contacts with lobbyists from Koch Industries, run by billionaire arch-conservatives Charles and David Koch. The group requested “all email and written communications between Koch Industries’ lead Wisconsin lobbyist and the office of Gov. Scott Walker […] [Think Progress]

Records, please

But not all observers are chuckling. The Madison-based liberal group, One Wisconsin Now, has adopted a frowny watchdog visage: Last week it filed a records request with Walker’s office seeking “all written communications and records of scheduled meetings between Koch Industries’ top in-state lobbyist and the office of Gov. Scott Walker, his former transition office […] [Milwaukee News Buzz]

One Wisconsin Now on Monday’s Mobilization Activities Outside State Capitol

MADISON, Wis. — One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross issued the following statements regarding Gov. Scott Walker’s efforts to close the State Capitol off to the people of Wisconsin and the continued mobilization against his efforts to use the government to take away the rights of working men and women and dismantle the quality […]

Bill Killed? Walker Promised Law Prohibiting Legisition Between 10p-9a

The GOP-controlled state Assembly’s shameful and possibly illegal action in the middle of the night Thursday to ram through Gov. Scott Walker effort to use the government to take away the rights of Wisconsin workers has hit a number of hurdles — including hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites who continue to rally across the state. […]

Wisconsin to Walker: ‘Just Say No’ to Koch

The nation has found out, the dirty little secret that we in Wisconsin have known for some time. That Governor Scott Walker has a serious Koch problem. But that’s the way it with Koch. Gov. Walker thought, I can handle it. I can quit anytime I want to. Only I don’t want to. So, it’s […]

Two Nights in Madison’s Capitol: The Great Class War Sleepover

If Walker is as dim a bulb as recent events have revealed him to be, the FOIA request filed yesterday by One Wisconsin Now for all communications and meetings between Walker and Koch lobbyists may prove devastating. The Kochs’ answer? “We have no choice but to continue to fight.” [The Awl]

Wiskochsin Is Open For Bu$ine$$

The good folks at One Wisconsin Now was also kind enough to transcribe the entire conversation. [Cognitive Dissidence]

Liberal group files open records request against Walker

One Wisconsin Now, a liberal activist group, today filed an open records request for all written communications and records of scheduled meetings between Koch Industries’ top in-state lobbyist and Walker’s office, his former transition office and the Wisconsin Department of Administration. [Biz Times]

One Wisconsin Now Files Open Records Request for Walker Administration-Koch Lobbyist Communications

MADISON, Wis. — One Wisconsin Now filed an open records request today for all written communications and records of scheduled meetings between Koch Industries’ top in-state lobbyist and the office of Gov. Scott Walker, his former transition office and the Wisconsin Department of Administration. Koch Industries’ billionaire owners Charles and David Koch are the driving […]

The Complete Scott Walker-‘David Koch’ Transcript

While Gov. Scott Walker hasn’t been willing with, or even talk to, Wisconsin’s workers, he was more than willing to take a call from someone he thought was gazillionaire David Koch. Of course, Gov. Walker would take the call. Koch Industries gave Walker’s campaign $43,000 and now Koch propaganda machine, Americans for Prosperity, is spending […]

Koch brothers play self-serving role in Wisconsin battle

“They put all this money into getting him elected and now they are reaping the benefit,” One Wisconsin Now director Scot Ross said, “whether it’s reducing the rights of working families in Wisconsin as well as this payoff on the power plants.” [Peoples World]

The Selling of Wisconsin: Enter Koch Brothers’ Bag Man Jeffrey Schoepke

Much has recently been made of the revelation that Koch Industries was Walker’s second biggest supporter, ponying up $43,000 and giving $1 million to the Republican Governor’s Association, which itself spent $65,000 on supporting Walker (and $3.4 million against his opponent). All of this was actually noted way back in September, 2010, by Scot Ross […] [The Awl]

Breitbart wrong: Wisconsinites making history

Over the last week, literally hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites have flooded our state’s capital city to show support for the rights of workers. Union, non-union, public sector, private sector, students, teachers, law enforcement, firefighters, and every middle-class Wisconsinite in between has shown up in numbers that dwarf the Koch brother-financed gatherings we encountered the […]

Paul Ryan’s Koch-Fueled Weekend

MADISON, Wis. — U.S. House Republican Budget Chair Paul Ryan of Janesville traveled to a secret California fundraising junket this past weekend run by billionaires Charles and David Koch, the major financers of the so-called tea party movement, the ThinkProgress news site reported today. “Paul Ryan has supported, in lock step, the big oil, anti-accountability […]

Priebus’ Republican National Committee: A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of David Koch’s Americans for Prosperity?

But to Wisconsin progressives, Priebus is known as the state Republican Party operative who allegedly tried to suppress the votes of minorities and students in both the recent midterm congressional elections and the 2008 presidential election — in apparent coordination with David Koch’s Americans For Prosperity…. An audiotape of the meeting was obtained by the […] [Alternet]

But wait, I thought the Tea Party said there WEREN’T going to be billboards?

When One Wisconsin Now blew the lid off of the Tea Party/WISGOP/Americans for Prosperity alleged voter caging plan to disenfranchise tens or hundreds of thousands of Wisconsin voters this November, I suppose we expected some spin from those involved. But even we were surprised when everyone started flat-out lying. First, Mark Block, the leader of […]

Koch Brothers Fill Up Walker’s Campaign Tank

We already know Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker is on the big oil bandwagon. After all, this is the guy who taken at least $70,000 from oil, gas and pipeline companies, while being a loud voice opposing the Clean Energy Jobs Act and the high speed rail project that would reduce Wisconsin’s dependence on oil. […]

Tax Foundation is AFP

Last year I wrote a blog about the fact that the Tax Foundation, the think tank behind “Tax Freedom Day,” was once owned and operated by Americans for Prosperity. And because today is today is Tax Freedom Day in Wisconsin, and because Americans for Prosperity will be using Tax Foundation talking points this Thursday at […]

Pieces of the Puzzle: Tax Foundation and Americans for Prosperity

Back in September, One Wisconsin Now called into serious question the Tax Foundation’€™s claim of being an objective research organization when it was revealed that it was a ‘€œSilver Sponsor’€ of an Americans for Prosperity event. Everyone knows the research coming out of the Tax Foundation is fundamentally conservative, but this was a little much. […]

A Page in Paul’s PAC Report: Snapshot of Ryan’s Corporate Masters

The ‘€œYoung Gun’€ filed his latest campaign finance statement and it’€™s chock full-o-corporatey goodness. Ryan amassed $104,000 in PAC gifts, including 94% from out-of-state PACs. It’€™s not surprising, Ryan’€™s corporate sycophancy extends beyond the Badger State borders, so why wouldn’€™t his grab-bagging. But more than our words could do, page 105 of his 170 page […]

“Republican Rally for Failure” with John Stossel

Americans for Prosperity’s ‘€˜Republican Rally for Failure’€™ is central in the Republican strategy, bankrolled by Republican interests, to defeat the Democratic President at any cost. They don’€™t care about lying to us. They don’€™t care if our health care costs keep skyrocketing. They don’€™t care if Americans die due to lack of health insurance coverage […]

One Wisconsin Now’s Statements on Tonight’s ‘Republican Rally for Failure’ with John Stossel

MADISON, Wis. — One Wisconsin Now released the following statements about tonight’s Americans for Prosperity health care opposition event, the ‘Republican Rally for Failure,’ hosted by corporate-accountability foe, ABC’s John Stossel: “Tonight’s ‘Republican Rally for Failure’ is central in the Republican strategy, bankrolled by Republican interests, to defeat the Democratic President at any cost. They […]

Leah Vukmir Nabs ‘Award’ by Anti-Health Care, Right-Wing Corporate Front Group

MADISON, Wis. — The awarding of ultra-conservative Rep. Leah Vukmir with the American Legislative Exchange Council’s “Legislator of the Year” reflects her embrace of extremist policies which increase pollution, hurt workers and prevent access to affordable health care for all. “For the right-wing fringe, Leah Vukmir is the total package,” said Scot Ross, One Wisconsin […]

Americans for ‘Petroleum’ Real Message: ‘Don’t Tax Big Oil’s Billions in Profits’

MADISON, Wis. — Complaints by the Big Oil-funded American for Prosperity about taxes are a smokescreen to prevent Wisconsin lawmakers from enacting a windfall tax on the excessive profits gained by the oil industry by gouging consumers with record-setting gas prices. “Americans for Prosperity is one arm of a concerted effort to convince us that […]

“Reason”-able Doubt on Another Big Oil Mouthpiece

In the Thursday morning report, WisPolitics ran a piece on a study from the California-based Reason Foundation that called the benefits of the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail line as ‘€œnot credible.’€ One might ask, what is this Reason Foundation? Who’€™s behind the curtain, pulling the strings? And why exactly do WE care? We live here after […]

Big Oil Strike in Waukesha County

This weekend, Americans for Prosperity gathered together a bunch of Republicans and right wingers to talk about why more of your tax dollars should go to corporations.   Given that Americans for Prosperity is the tax exempt mouthpiece for big oil, it’€™s no surprise. Here are the facts about Americans for Prosperity and Big Oil: […]