You’re invited to attend an “open house meeting”, hosted by the Dunn County Democrats, to share your perspective about building a strong progressive community in Dunn County that can win elections and build leadership through grassroots political action.

What: “The Road to 2020: An open house meeting”

When: Tuesday February 20, 6:30-8:00pm.

Where: Leisure Center (aka Senior Center), 1412 6th St. E, Menomonie 

RSVP: Follow this link.

At the meeting, you will be part of a conversation exploring opportunities and challenges lying ahead of the 2020 elections. We will discuss what gives us hope for the possibility of change in today’s world and what practical steps can be taken here in Dunn County.

This meeting is a part of a strategic planning process and an important step in coming together to find our collective path forward. 

Everyone is welcome.  Please share this invitation with other Dunn County residents who share progressive values. We hope to see you! Don’t forget to RSVP!

**An optional social hour will follow the meeting, to be held off-site (location TBD). bl

Attend a Barnstorm in Your Community

To build the mass collective action we know we’ll need to win Medicare for All, activists and everyday people across the country are gathering to host “barnstorms”—as part of a national Medicare for All Week of Action from February 9th – 13th. At the barnstorms, you’ll gather with volunteers near you, talk about the plan to win, and begin organizing to knock doors, make phone calls, and more in your community.

Find a barnstorm near you, using this map below—and get ready to make the people’s voice heard!

National Medicare for All Week of Action: February 9th – 13th

Supreme Court candidate once wrote that gay rights ruling could lead to legalized bestiality

Appeals court Judge Brian Hagedorn, who is running for the state Supreme Court, wrote a blog with provocative posts on abortion and homosexuality.

Like many judicial candidates, state appeals court Judge Brian Hagedorn isn’t eager to discuss his positions on some of the most controversial issues of the day.   

But that wasn’t always the case. 

Hagedorn, who is running for the state Supreme Court, wrote a blog beginning in 2005 in which he addressed readers as “fellow soldiers in the culture wars” while posting sometimes provocative comments on homosexuality and abortion.

For example, Hagedorn twice wrote that a landmark gay rights ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court striking down a Texas anti-sodomy law could lead to the legalization of bestiality, sex with animals, in America. 

“The idea that homosexual behavior is different than bestiality as a constitutional matter is unjustifiable,” he wrote in October 2005.L

Lawmakers could draw a distinction between same-sex relationships and bestiality as a matter of public policy, Hagedorn wrote. But he called the Supreme Court’s decision overturning anti-sodomy laws a travesty that “should render laws prohibiting bestiality unconstitutional.”

“There is no right in our Constitution to have sex with whoever or whatever you want in the privacy of your own home (or barn),” he wrote.

Some other conservatives argued at the time that the Supreme Court case would also lead to the legalization of bigamy and incest. This has not happened in the 14 years since the ruling.

Planned Parenthood a ‘wicked organization’

The Journal Sentinel’s review of all of Hagedorn’s blog posts from April 2005 to August 2006 turned up equally passionate posts about abortion rights. 

In one titled “Another reason why I hate Planned Parenthood,” Hagedorn called it a “wicked organization” that was more devoted “to killing babies than to helping women.” He said his litmus test for voting in an election was a candidate’s position on abortion. 

Hagedorn said he had committed himself to praying and lobbying to stop abortion. He went on to say his convictions on this issue and others were given to him by God. �

READ the complete story at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The goal of the meeting is to hear your perspective about building a
strong progressive community in Dunn County that can win elections and
build leadership through grassroots political action. Everyone is
welcome.

At the meeting, you will be part of a conversation. We will explore
opportunities and challenges lying ahead. We will discuss what gives
us hope for the possibility of change in today’s world and what
practical steps can be taken here in Dunn County.

If you plan to attend, please RSVP using this link: http://bit.ly/2FjoMrR

The Dunn County Democrats are embarking on a strategic planning
process that aims to build a strong community in preparation for the
2020 election cycle. This meeting is a part of that process and an
important step in coming together to find our collective path forward.
We hope to see you!

**An optional social hour will follow the meeting, to be held off-site
(location TBD).

Join friends and neighbors to discuss how we can work together with the Dunn County Democrats to prepare for to take back Wisconsin in 2020.

We are meeting at the Leisure Center at 1412 6th St E, Menomonie, WI 54751.

We count you as a friend of the Dunn County Democrats. Whether you are an active member, a follower on Facebook, or just someone who supports progressive political values, we want to hear from you. Will you take 5 minutes to fill out this quick survey?    Next month, we will start a strategic planning process that aims to build a strong community in preparation for the 2020 election cycle. We want you to be a part of that process. This survey is the first step: finding out who is a part of our community, what is important to you, and how you feel DDC is doing.   You can take the survey here. Most of the questions require only a few clicks, but there are some opportunities for longer responses if you want to offer them. The survey should only take 5 minutes to complete.    This survey is open to any resident of Dunn County who supports progressive political values. You do not have to be a member of the Dunn County Democrats to take the survey. Thank you for being a part of Dunn County Democrats! Our best opportunities for political action, learning, and community are yet to come. Working together, we can build a strong progressive community right here in Dunn County.   Save the date! Dunn County Democrats will host an “open house meeting” on Tuesday February 12th from 6:30-8:00pm at the Leisure Center (1412 6th St. Menomonie). The meeting will be an open conversation exploring the opportunities and challenges lying ahead of the 2020 election cycle. Everyone is welcome! Please RSVP by clicking on this link to tell us you are coming.

New York Times Dec. 10, 2018

LANSING, Mich. — When Michigan Republicans began moving legislation last week to limit the power of newly elected Democratic officials, some liberal activists shouted “shame!” through the Capitol rotunda while others trailed legislators with boom microphones, live-streaming their interactions online to make them uncomfortable.

But if many on the left see a power grab underway in this state and a similar one in Wisconsin, Michigan’s incoming Democratic governor sees something more: political possibility.

“This gamesmanship will keep voters and activists active through the 2020 election,” said Gretchen Whitmer, who takes office on Jan. 1. Referring to Republicans, she added, “They’re thinking short-term.”

The ongoing legislative maneuvers in Michigan and Wisconsin are part of a broader war for power in the Midwest, a politically prized region for both parties — but especially for Republicans, who are trying to dilute Democratic control ahead of bigger battles. The G.O.P., which lost the House in November as well as four key governorships in the Midwest, depends on its gerrymandered districts in the region for a trove of seats in both Congress and state legislatures. Without these safe seats, they would be unlikely to attempt such last-minute tactics.

But now, with incoming Democratic governors set to have veto power over the next round of redistricting following the 2020 census, a handful of states are confronting either court challenges to the existing districts or new, more equitable rules for drawing the next decade of legislative boundaries. In Michigan, voters this year approved an independent redistricting commission, but Republican lawmakers are using the current lame duck session to try to curb the new Democratic secretary of state’s implementation of it.

Read more…

CALL TO ACTION:   While we all are waiting to see what Governor Walker will do – Veto or sign these bills to curtail the incoming Governor and AG powers, let’s raise our voices and send a message to Madison.    Here are just some of the ways you can engage and speak your mind. Send your emails now! Click here to send an email to Gov. Walker:   https://walker.wi.gov/contact/contact-form   Email this link to express thoughts to Gov. Walker as well. http://bestpractices.wi.gov/Contact-Us   Call on Monday to voice your concerns.   Call 608-266-1212 to reach Governor Walker’s office. You may have to leave a message but you have lent your voice. Keep trying even if you get a busy signal. If the phone is ringing, let it ring until someone answers (it may take a while for them to answer). Don’t give up! We all need to ACT NOW to raise our voices together!

Wisconsin’s Republican-controlled legislature passed legislation early Wednesday to weaken the power of the incoming Democratic governor, a move critics and Democrats said amounted to a naked power grab that subverts the will of voters.

The legislation consolidates power in the legislature and strips it from Gov.-elect Tony Evers and Attorney General-elect Josh Kaul, both Democrats. While Republicans lost all statewide seats in last month’s midterm elections, they retained majorities in both houses of the legislature, a result that Democrats said was achieved by gerrymandering.

Amid a throng of protesters, the legislature stayed in session all night to pass the bills, which will make it harder for Evers and Kaul to enact their proposed agendas. The state Senate approved the legislative package 17 to 16, and the Assembly passed it 56 to 27.

As a result of last month’s elections, Republicans picked up a seat in the state Senate, which they will control with a 19-to-14 majority, and lost one seat in the Assembly, where they will enjoy a 63-36 advantage.

Outgoing Gov. Scott Walker (R) has telegraphed his support for the legislation, which he has 10 days to sign. Evers, the state schools superintendent who bested Walker by more than 29,000 votes in last month’s election, has sharply criticized the efforts that he said “pushed aside” Wisconsin values so lawmakers could “usurp and cling to power.”

“Wisconsin has never seen anything like this,” Evers said in a statement released Wednesday. “Power-hungry politicians rushed through sweeping changes to our laws to expand their own power and override the will of the people of Wisconsin who asked for change on November 6th

READ MORE

Wisconsin Republicans lost badly in the midterms, but that hasn’t stopped them from being sore losers. Now Republicans in the legislature are moving forward on several proposals to undercut Governor-elect Tony Evers’s authority before he’s even taken office. They’re even floating the idea of moving the 2020 presidential primary in order to rig the election in favor of the Republican Supreme Court justice! We can’t allow Republicans to play politics with our state’s future. They’re blatantly ignoring the will of the people, and the people need to say something.

Call your legislator using the below script, and ask 5 friends to do the same. If you don’t know who your legislators are, you can call the legislative hotline at 800-362-9472 and an operator will direct you.

Find your legislators here

“Hello. My name is _______ and I’m a constituent of _______. I’m calling to urge ______ to vote against any efforts to undermine Governor-elect Evers’s authority and move the date of the 2020 primary to benefit a Republican Supreme Court justice.”
If you live in one of these Senate districts, it’s especially important that you call your Senator and ask them to vote against these bills:

• Sen. Luther Olsen (SD-14, central Wisconsin and parts of Adams, Columbia, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Marquette, Outagamie, Waupaca and Waushara counties, 608-266-0751)
• Sen. Patrick Testin (SD-24, central Wisconsin and parts of Adams, Marathon, Portage, Marquette, Wood, and Waushara counties, 608-266-3123)
• Sen. Jerry Petrowski (SD-29, north-central Wisconsin; Marathon, Barron, Bayfield, Price, Rusk, and Taylor Counties, 608-266-2502)

Republicans are planning on bringing these bills to the floor as early as Tuesday, so we need to act fast. Please, spread the word so we can prevent this last-minute GOP effort to hold onto power.