Month: December 2022

Republican candidate for United States Senate Kevin Nicholson has received some very embarrassing news that will likely make it more difficult for him to win the GOP nomination to run against U.S. Sen. Tammy Badlwin in the fall. Nicholson’s own parents decided to donate $2,700 — the maximum dollar amount allowable to a federal candidate — to Baldwin’s primary campaign, CNN reported this week. Nicholson is a United States Marine Corps. veteran, who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. When he returned home from the war, he decided to side with the Republican Party. “I’m a conservative today not because I was born one, but because of the experience I earned as a Marine in combat, my experience as a husband and father, my choice to be a Christian, the schools I chose to attend an...

Wisconsin Republicans have decided that enough is enough with Paul Nehlen, who has frequently expressed anti-Semitic and racist views on Twitter and is running to replace Paul Ryan in Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District. The state party is officially removing Nehlen from their party and returning a portion of his paid dues (and donating the remainder) following his recent suspension from Twitter for violating the platform’s policies on hateful conduct. “Paul Nehlen is not a member of the Republican Party of Wisconsin,” spokesman Alec Zimmerman said. “Nehlen and his ideas have no place in the Republican Party.” Nehlen was permanently suspended from Twitter this week for sharing a racist image of Meghan Markle, the fiancee of the United Kingdom’s Prince Harry, with an image of “...

Three candidates are running to be on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court this spring — and one of them received an endorsement this week from the National Rifle Association, just one day before the deadly shooting at a Florida high school. That candidate’s name is Michael Screnock. He’s decidedly conservative; the two other candidates for the state Supreme Court, Tim Burns and Rebecca Dallet, are considered to be the more liberal/progressive choices for the seat. The candidates have to make it through two elections. Their first test comes this Tuesday, February 20, in the primary election. The top two vote-getters in that race will compete against one another in the general election, which is slated for April 3.   “It’s important that all pro-Second Amendment voters get to the ...

The primary election in Wisconsin Tuesday night pitted local candidates against each other in various municipal elections. But it was the state Supreme Court race that took center stage, for a lot of good reasons. Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Rebecca Dallet and Sauk County Circuit Court Judge Michael Screnock will advance to the two spots on the April general election ballot, beating out Madison attorney Tim Burns. Burns and Dallet were the progressive choices for the judicial position, with Burns a bit to Dallet’s left. Screnock was the conservative choice, to put it mildly. Screnock is endorsed by the National Rifle Association, who gave them his support just one day before a school shooting in Florida that left 17 individuals dead. He’s also a huge supporter of the Rep...

Republicans in the Wisconsin state legislature are responding to concerns about school shootings in the worst possible way. A proposal on Tuesday proposed by state Assembly Democrats would have strengthened background checks, ensuring they be used on every gun purchase in the state, including closing the “gun show loophole” and limiting questionable internet sales. That proposal was soundly rejected by GOP lawmakers, who had a different plan in mind: Put more guns in schools. The Assembly voted 71-24 to support a grant program that would help schools pay for armed guards. All Republicans voted for the measure, with some Democrats even supporting it. But these lawmakers disregard a simple fact: armed guards won’t stop determined shooters. There was an armed guard, for instan...

This is the second article of a week-long series looking at the legal and political landscape around abortion rights, on the 45th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Roe v. Wade. Part I was published yesterday. You can find it here. The Missouri Supreme Court is hearing arguments today in a challenge to the state’s informed consent and ultrasound requirements imposed on women seeking abortions. Under Missouri law, before a woman can obtain an abortion, she must certify that she has read a pamphlet written by the state’s health department which states that human life begins at conception and that abortion will terminate the life of a separate, unique, living human being. She must also wait 72 hours after first visiting a licensed health care provider requesting an aborti...

Hello from the fly-over state of Minnesota. Starting today, I am honored to be your correspondent from the land of 10,000 lakes. Actually, we have 11,842 lakes, but Minnesotans are a modest bunch to a fault. I must confess that I'm not originally from Minnesota, but I’ve been here almost ten years, and I'm learning more about how and why things work the way they do here every day. For instance, Minnesota has the biggest Hmong and Somali populations in the country. Our government is pretty efficient as far as governments go. If you drive a few miles outside the metro area, you’ll see pro-life billboards pop up with frequency — but Minnesotans throughout the state still have relatively unencumbered access to abortion, as access to abortion in America goes. Before Minnesot...

United States Sen. Tina Smith has been sworn in to take former Al Franken’s place in the Senate. Now, who becomes the acting lieutenant governor? Well, that would be state Sen. Michelle Fischbach, who is presently the president of the state senate. However, Fischbach, a Republican, refuses to take the oath as lieutenant governor because she doesn't want to give up her current position. Currently, Fischbach is calling herself the “acting lieutenant governor.” She claims that the people of her district elected her and she has a commitment to them, but that the rules of succession are also quite clear. She claims that she can hold both positions, lieutenant governor and state senator, and that it will be fine as long as she doesn’t take the lieutenant governor’s salary. The attorney...