Spring Primary – Tuesday, February 21
Primaria de Primavera – martes, 21 de febrero
See the sample ballot HERE
Spring Primary – Tuesday, February 21
Primaria de Primavera – martes, 21 de febrero
See the sample ballot HERE
Rep. Clancy is optimistic about the Right to Counsel expanded State-wide
MADISON – Yesterday, Governor Tony Evers, in a press release forecasting his upcoming budget address on Wednesday February 15, announced his intention to create a Statewide Right to Counsel, which will provide no-cost legal representation for Wisconsin residents facing eviction. His budget proposal allocates $60 million over the biennium for this effort.
Representative Clancy (D-19), in his role as District 4 Milwaukee County Supervisor, authored a Right to Counsel for Milwaukee County that was signed into law this past July. He has been a champion of the Right to Counsel and released the following statement:
“Wisconsin’s residents will be well served by becoming the fourth state in the US to adopt a statewide Right to Counsel for people facing eviction. Every eviction has profoundly negative societal and personal costs that impact entire communities, from employment and educational disruption to elevated lead levels in children.”
The pilot program in Milwaukee County has generated encouraging preliminary data including:
“These numbers mean families did not have to uproot their lives and children could stay in their classrooms. I’m grateful that Governor Evers heard and acted on the compelling data and the personal stories of the many residents – from across the country and now in Milwaukee County – that have already benefitted from this, and I’m confident that my colleagues and stakeholders across the state will advocate for this vital, efficient and highly successful program.”
The White House exposed Lee and others on Thursday, just two days after their arrogant behavior during the globally televised event.
By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia
When Republicans like Georgia’s Marjorie Taylor Green and Utah’s Mike Lee interrupted President Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address to call him a liar, they may have forgotten their own words.
Worse, Lee doubled down on his own lie, claiming that “no Republican had made such a suggestion” of cutting or changing Social Security and Medicaid.
The White House exposed Lee and others on Thursday, just two days after their arrogant behavior during the globally televised event.
“Half of Sen. Lee’s statement is an admission that he did indeed call for eliminating Social Security outright,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates told reporters.
“But in terms of his claims that he’s aware of ‘no Republican – in either House of Congress – who has suggested any modification to Social Security as a condition for raising the debt ceiling,’ we can help.”
The White House then provided several news articles in which Republican members expressed a desire to cut or modify Social Security and Medicaid.
The articles were published by Fox News, the Washington Post, Reuters, and Bloomberg News.
The White House also noted that Biden has taken steps to protect Social Security and strengthen Medicare, two foundational programs on which tens of millions of seniors rely for a living.
“Congressional Republicans, however, have a different record. For years, Republican members of Congress have repeatedly tried to cut Medicare and Social Security, move toward privatizing one or both programs, and raise the Social Security retirement age and Medicare eligibility age,” White House officials wrote in a Fact Sheet.
Earlier, House Republicans introduced legislation to repeal Biden’s inflation-reduction bill, a move that would raise prescription drug prices for seniors, raise taxes on an estimated 14.5 million people, and give Big Pharma tens of billions of dollars.
On Feb. 9, Biden visited Florida to highlight the work his administration is doing to protect and strengthen Medicare and Social Security.
According to the White House, Republican members of Congress have continued to push plans that would jeopardize the economic security of millions of people.
To back that claim, administration officials presented receipts detailing congressional Republicans’ long history of working to reduce Medicare and Social Security.
• Senator Mike Lee said, “One thing that you probably haven’t ever heard from a politician: it will be my objective to phase out Social Security. To pull it up by the roots and get rid of it.”
• In November, John Thune, the number two Senate Republican in leadership, declared that Social Security and Medicare benefits should be slashed.
• Florida Senator Rick Scott is championing a plan to put Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security on the chopping block every five years, which would put the health and economic security of 63 million Medicare beneficiaries, 69 million Medicaid beneficiaries and 65 million Social Security beneficiaries at risk.
• Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin proposed sunsetting these laws every year.
According to Politico, the Republican Study Committee, which includes most House Republicans, released a budget plan that would raise the entry age.
The GOP would also raise taxes on some people who retire early or have a certain income, and they would privatize Social Security.
In addition, in 2015, the majority of House Republicans, including Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California, Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, and a slew of others in current leadership, voted to raise the retirement age to 70.
That move would reduce Social Security benefits for tens of millions of seniors who had paid into the system for years.
Republicans in the House also proposed repealing the Inflation Reduction Act, including its provisions on health care.
Working families across the country, including in Florida, where Biden recently traveled, would see their insurance premiums rise by $7,000 per year as a result of such actions.
Approximately 14.5 million Americans would face higher health-care premiums and a tax increase.
If Medicare is unable to negotiate drug prices, everyone with Medicare will face higher drug prices, and the deficit will grow as tens of billions of dollars are returned to Big Pharma.
More than 3.3 million Medicare beneficiaries who use insulin will no longer have the peace of mind of knowing that their insulin is capped at $35, and drug companies may resume increasing drug prices faster than inflation with no accountability, as happened last year for 1,200 prescription drugs.
“In his State of the Union address, President Biden vowed to protect Social Security and Medicare while building on our progress in lowering health-care costs for millions of seniors and American families,” officials said.
The resolution to remove the Minnesota Democrat from the panel was approved 218-211 along party lines with one Republican member voting “present.”
By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia
In what many political watchers called hypocritical, vengeful, and a show of strength by the new Republican majority, the House voted to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, citing her past comments about Israel.
The resolution to remove the Minnesota Democrat from the panel was approved 218-211 along party lines with one Republican member voting “present.”
The GOP cited Omar’s tweets and comments from 2019 and 2021 in which she criticized pro-Israel politicians as being “all about the Benjamins” and her comparison of the U.S. and Israel to Hamas and the Taliban.
Both Democrats and Republicans, expressed outrage over the remarks.
The resolution stated that Omar’s remarks had brought dishonor to the House of Representatives and that she had “disqualified herself” from serving on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, which is seen by nations around the world as speaking for Congress on matters of international importance and national security.
Since 2021, when Democrats controlled the House and voted to remove far-right GOP Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar from committee assignments over their own controversial comments, Republicans have promised to take action against Omar and other Democrats.
After McCarthy became speaker last month, he reinstated both members to their previous committee assignments.
Omar admitted this week that she “may have used words” that she later learned were “trafficking in antisemitism.”
She said when others brought the transgression to her attention, she apologized. “I owned up to it,” Omar, 40, asserted.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York pledged to appoint Omar to the House Budget Committee.
As Sunday marked 50th anniversary and National Women’s March in Madison, doctors and plaintiff in AG Kaul’s lawsuit call for rights to be restored
MADISON Wis. – Commemorating the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that established a constitutional right to an abortion, Wisconsin physicians today called on the state Supreme Court to rule in favor of a lawsuit to repeal Wisconsin’s 1849 ban on nearly all abortions. Dr. Kristin Lyerly, an OB/GYN from Green Bay and member of CTP’s Reproductive Freedom Taskforce, is a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
“As a mom, a physician, and a 6th generation Wisconsinite, I am deeply committed to ensuring the health and well being of women and families in Wisconsin,” said Dr. Lyerly. “And that means that I can’t just sit by and let women and babies die when we could act now to literally save their lives. That’s why I chose to join Attorney General Kaul and a handful of other physicians as a plaintiff in the lawsuit seeking to repeal Wisconsin’s 1849 criminal abortion ban. Wisconsin women deserve access to the full range of reproductive health care so they can live full, healthy, free lives – and that begins by repealing Wisconsin’s 1849 abortion ban.”
The physicians’ call came after the National Women’s March brought out reproductive rights supporters from across Wisconsin and the country yesterday in Madison. Dr. Ann Helms, Milwaukee critical care neurologist and CTP’s Wisconsin State Lead, was in attendance at the march.
“Because blocking women from getting abortions devastates their health and infringes on their personal freedom, the time is more urgent than ever to end Wisconsin’s 1849 abortion ban,” said Dr. Helms. “With the stakes so high to millions of women in Wisconsin, today and in the future, we as physicians call on the Wisconsin Supreme Court to rule in favor of Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul’s lawsuit to repeal Wisconsin’s 1849 abortion ban. By ending Wisconsin’s outdated and cruel ban against abortion, we can give women in our state the freedom to make their own medical decisions and allow doctors to do our jobs.”
Attorney General Kaul’s lawsuit could ultimately be decided by the state Supreme Court, which currently has a 4-3 conservative majority, though the seat of one retiring conservative justice is up for election in April.
“Wisconsin’s abortion restrictions are tying the hands of doctors and medical professionals who must now define all the emergencies and conditions that could result in a pregnant woman’s death,” Dr. Jill Cousino, an OB/GYN in southern Wisconsin who spoke only on her own behalf, not on behalf of her employer. “When complications arise in pregnancy we are forced to ask if a woman is close enough to death to intervene to end the pregnancy and save her life. The only people who should be making medical decisions for our patients are the patient and their doctor, not politicians, courts or prosecutors.”
About the Committee to Protect Health Care
The Committee to Protect Health Care is a national mobilization of doctors, health care professionals, and advocates who are building a pro-patient health care majority in Congress and in states so that we can live in an America where everyone has the health care they need to thrive. To learn more: www.committeetoprotect.org
The Department of Justice’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program would keep track of white supremacist-inspired hate crimes and other related actions, and Justice Department officials would have the authority to prosecute those responsible for them.
By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownmedia
That’s enough of racism and bigotry, says Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee.
The Democratic representative from Texas has introduced House Resolution 61, which would amend Title 18 of the United States Code to broaden the definition of hate crimes, with the goal of preventing and prosecuting hate crimes motivated by white supremacy and conspiracy to commit such crimes.
The text of the bill reads as follows: “A person commits a white supremacy inspired hate crime when white supremacist ideology has motivated the planning, development, preparation, or perpetration of actions that constituted a crime or were undertaken in furtherance of activity that, if effectuated, would have constituted a crime.”
With respect to any information or evidence obtained by the Department of Justice of any unlawful action specified in Jackson-Lee’s bill, the DOJ shall have the authority to conduct operations and activities pursuant to such crimes.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) would also be authorized to conduct investigations, intervene, and take any other measures it deems necessary and appropriate to prevent, mitigate, or stop any potentially violent action.
The Department of Justice’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program would keep track of white supremacist-inspired hate crimes and other related actions, and Justice Department officials would have the authority to prosecute those responsible for them.
Jackson Lee has requested that the DOJ report its findings annually to the relevant Congressional committees.
Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Republican from Colorado, claimed the legislation “makes a mockery of the First Amendment.”
While Boebert, a right-wing leader, misrepresented the legislation after reading a misleading news article, Jackson Lee schooled her on Twitter.
“First of all, it took me about 32 seconds of reading the article you cited to understand that none of you know what you are talking about,” Jackson Lee scolded.
To be convicted of a hate crime in some jurisdictions, “H.R. 61 simply deals with adding white supremacy to a list of reasons,” the Texas Democrat explained.
She elaborated:
“So, when the article states that ‘only white people can be charged with’ this crime, that’s flagrantly false.
“Your argument assumes that only white people can hold white supremacist views and that only certain groups of people can perpetrate violence motivated by white supremacy.
“I would hope now that your argument would not shift to ‘why is white supremacy being added to this law?’ That would be egregious.
“Yes, white supremacy should be added to this law. Why? Because as Director Wray testified, it’s a major domestic terrorist threat.”
Fani Willis, the district attorney for Fulton County, has already indicated that she intends to pursue criminal charges.
By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia
The Georgia special purpose grand jury that was convened in June to investigate allegations that President Trump illegally attempted to influence the outcome of the 2022 election has been disbanded.
Their final report is due this month per a judge’s order.
Fani Willis, the district attorney for Fulton County, has already indicated that she intends to pursue criminal charges.
Indictments cannot be handed down by special grand juries in Georgia.
However, Willis can now ask a regularly empaneled grand jury to seek indictments against the ex-president, who she claims tried to pressure Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” him more votes in the presidential election in Georgia.
Democrat Joe Biden unseated Trump in the 2020 election.
Later, Willis broadened her probe to include state legislators and others suspected of participating in a fake elector scheme.
On January 24, Willis and others may appear before a judge to argue for or against releasing the special grand jury’s report.
“It is the ORDER of this court that the special purpose grand jury now stands dissolved,” wrote Judge Robert McBurney after the special purpose grand jury submitted its final report.
New York Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries provided a masterclass on leadership and served up a clear reminder of what an up-and-coming senator from Illinois named Barack Obama once did during a divided America.
By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia
It’s possible that after the bitter campaign for House Speaker ended on January 7th, Americans – especially Black Americans – felt a strong sense of déjà vu.
New York Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries provided a masterclass on leadership and served up a clear reminder of what an up-and-coming senator from Illinois named Barack Obama once did during a divided America.
“Progress asserted itself tonight, manifested in [Hakeem] Jeffries, even amidst a hostile takeover of the House by neo–fascists,” Jason Randolph of Vote.org commented.
Randolph said Jeffries delivered “what’s likely the best political speech not given by Obama in generations.”
On July 27, 2004, during the Democratic National Convention in Boston, a 42-year-old Barack Obama, who a few months earlier won a Senate primary in Illinois, spoke eloquently and inspiringly about the divide facing America.
“Now even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters, the negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of ‘anything goes,’” Obama asserted.
“Well, I say to them tonight, there is not a liberal America and a conservative America; there is the United States of America. There is not a Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America; there’s the United States of America.”
Nineteen years later, in 2023 where many say politics are as divisive and dangerous as ever, Jeffries, 52, channeled Obama by providing a masterclass on leadership.
He called for “maturity over Mar-a-Lago,” a direct shot at new House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s praise of Trump.
Throughout Jeffries’ speech, Trump supporting Republicans jeered while Democrats rose to applaud the Brooklyn born congressman.
Jeffries smoothly went through the alphabet to capture all the ails America, and what’s needed to repair the divided nation.
“House Democrats will always put American values over autocracy, benevolence over bigotry, the Constitution over the cult, democracy over demagogues,” Jeffries asserted.
“Freedom over fascism, governing over gaslighting, hopefulness over hatred quality of life issues over Q’Anon, reason over racism, substance over slander, triumph over tyranny, understanding over ugliness, and voting rights over voter suppression.”
Earlier, the Republican Party did, in fact, select a speaker, albeit grudgingly; however, given the 15 rounds it took for McCarthy to secure the necessary votes, it’s possible that his tenure as speaker won’t last.
Whether or not McCarthy remains speaker, his ascension to the top post in the chamber is unlikely to be remembered as the 118th Congress’ defining moment.
McCarthy, despite multiple defeats before winning the speakership race and his previous condemnation of former President Trump’s role in the 2021 insurrection, still praised Trump.
The person elected to lead Congress and look out for America’s best interests praised an alleged would-be over thrower of the U.S. government just two years and one day after the Trump-inspired insurrection in which several lives were lost.
Although a congressional committee recommended criminal charges and numerous members of Trump’s inner circle testified to the committee about the former president’s guilt.
McCarthy, upon being presented with the speaker’s gavel, remarked, “I do want to especially thank President Trump.”
“Do not doubt, in my opinion; in fact, no one should doubt his influence. He was with me from the beginning. So, thank you, President Trump.
However, two years earlier, McCarthy held that “the President bears responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on Congress by mob rioters. He should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding.”
McCarthy’s moments aside, many people who watched the inauguration of the 118th Congress said that Jeffries, the first African American to lead a major political party in Congress, demonstrated true leadership.
“McCarthy’s speech should have contained some of the words Jeffries spoke,” Dean Obeidallah, a lawyer and host of a self-titled SiriusXM show, opined.
“[McCarthy] should have made it clear he denounces autocracy, fascism and the grave threats facing our democracy by Trump and the MAGA wing of the Republican Party,” Obeidallah insisted.
The radio host wasn’t alone.
“Rep. Hakeem Jeffries speaks truth to power,” declared attorney Ben Crump.
“Politicians must remember that they represent U.S. All of us. Let’s encourage our lawmakers to work together and pass policy that helps all American people and that preserves our democratic form of government,” Crump said.
“This is what leadership looks like, sounds like and does,” podcaster Chris Hahn tweeted.
Strategist Steve Schmidt added, “The early morning hours of January 7 marked the rise of a new American leader: Hakeem Jeffries. The thunderclap was the magnificence of his voice rising in defense of the American creed and his taking his place in a long line of liberty’s defenders.”
Actor Rob Reiner simplified the outpouring of accolades resulting from Jeffries’ speech.
“A star is born,” Reiner declared.
Declaring herself ‘Taylor-Made’ to represent the residents ofthe ninth aldermanic district, Milwaukee Public School TeacherLarresa Taylor recently announced her candidacy for the seat once held by Chantia Lewis, who stepped down last summerafter being convicted of felony charges.
A mother of three, Taylor is a military veteran, a school teacher and a community advocate. She believes her over 20 years as ablock captain has prepared her well for the opportunity to become the next alderperson of the 9th district.
Taylor said in a statement that—if elected—residents can beassured their voices will be heard and their concerns are addressed at city hall.
An MPS teacher for the past 17 years, Taylor has been—for the last four years—a lead representative for the MilwaukeeTeachers Education Association (MTEA) the union that represents Milwaukee Public School teachers.
Taylor said she understands the need for resources and opportunities for the 40,000 district residents, such as quality housing,employment opportunities, safe and clean neighborhoods andaccess to resources to help improve their quality of life.
In addition, the elimination of blight, supporting small businesses, and overall economic development are critical to the future of the district and are issues Taylor says she will focus on.
Taylor said she will bring trustworthiness, reliability, compassion, and collaboration to the Common Council.
The Kentucky event and the fights within the GOP have shown how much Biden wants to work with both sides.
By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia
As House Republicans continued their dysfunction and remained divided over who would be the next speaker, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell joined President Joe Biden in Kentucky to promote the bipartisan infrastructure bill.
While McConnell joining Biden in the senator’s home state on Jan. 4 proved rare, it’s been nearly 100 years since the House needed more than one round of voting to select a speaker.
Republicans, who have a slim majority in the House, have failed to unite behind presumptive speaker Kevin McCarthy of California.
McCarthy needs 218 votes, but 20 of his GOP colleagues have either voted against him or have cast ballots for Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan.
Hakeem Jeffries, the leader of the Democratic Party in New York, got all 213 of his party’s votes, setting up a historic, if unlikely, scenario that would put him in the speaker’s seat.
If six disgruntled Republicans vote for Jeffries, he will become speaker in a House where his party is in the minority.
Meanwhile, McConnell and 18 other Senate GOP members voted in favor of Biden’s massive $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, which the president signed into law in 2021.
The Kentucky event and the fights within the GOP have shown how much Biden wants to work with both sides.
The Jan. 4 visit began in Covington, where Biden, McConnell, and others, visited the Brent Spence Bridge.
The president called the moment the latest example of how his economic plan delivers for American families and communities.
The White House said more than $2 billion in investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is earmarked for upgrading some of the nation’s most economically significant bridges.
“The President’s economic plan is proving that when America invests in ourselves – especially in our infrastructure, clean energy, and high-growth industries that are critical to our economic and national security – we can build a bottom-up and middle-out economy,” Administration officials said in a Fact Sheet.
“That means an economy with better jobs and better pay, including jobs that don’t require a four-year degree. And it means a more dynamic and more resilient economy, including in communities that are too often forgotten.”
The infrastructure law invests $40 billion to repair and rebuild the nation’s bridges – the single most significant dedicated investment in bridges since the construction of the Eisenhower-era Interstate Highway System.
Administration officials said it would help repair or rebuild ten of the country’s most economically significant bridges and over 15,000 additional bridges nationwide.
Most of the projects funded by the new law are covered by Davis-Bacon requirements, meaning the construction workers who build the projects will receive good pay and benefits.
While Biden also plans to visit Cincinnati, Vice President Kamala Harris travels to visit bridges that cross the Calumet River in Chicago, Secretary Pete Buttigieg will travel to the Gold Star Memorial Bridge in New London, Connecticut, and White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu will join Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-California) at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
“These major bridge investments are a symbol that we can still do big things when we do them together,” administration officials noted.