Opinion

Rebranding it “a holiday tree” isn’t an act of inclusivity, it doesn’t avoid offending people, and it’s not in line with the values of the vast majority of Wisconsinites.

This time around, we’re not going to simply assume that anyone’s going to turn out for Democrats. We’re going to show up, listen, organize, and make the case for every vote.

The column below reflects the views of the author, and these opinions are neither endorsed nor supported by WisOpinion.com. Wisconsin GOP Senator Ron Johnson is...

One issue that Baldwin has singularly led on is economic security for retirees. No surprise for someone raised by her grandparents.

Lawmakers’ refusal to release records invites costly legal challenges.

Recent statements and foot dragging by governor’s staff raise questions about transparency.

Changes in state law open door to abuses, campaigning by government workers.

Acid attack against man for “invasion” of Hispanics couldn’t be more wrong about their impact.

No festival official attends scheduled meeting. Partnership with city “broken”, Ald. Murphy says.

They perform better and are supported by most black voters — but opposed by most white Democrats.

We are appreciative of employers recognizing the value of casting a wider net in their workforce recruitment efforts, and DWD will continue its work to widen and strengthen that net for all Wisconsin workers and employers.

They degrade Wisconsin scenery and are unnecessary in digital world.

Gov. Tony Evers is dimming the lights on open government just 10 months in as governor.

There is nothing dramatic about limiting the powers of the executive branch—in fact, that’s a necessary function of checks and balances.

Senators write wonky plans. Mayors get stuff done. That’s why citizens should consider voting for people who have served as mayors for president.

While it’s great that UW athletes might be able to appear in the same kinds of commercials that Alvarez does, this is likely only to benefit the star players. The next vital step is to allow the 98 percent of players who will never make it to the pros to get their fair share of those billion dollars in big time college sports revenues. Players should be paid a substantial salary and allowed to form a union.

Republicans in the state Senate have so completely rigged the system through gerrymandering and voter suppression that they believe they don’t have to act even on popular proposals or bother to tell the public why. It could be their downfall.

"A Toast to Tony Earl" recaptured his long public service, but what was so striking about the event, emceed by former ambassador to Norway Tom Loftus, was its congeniality — Democrats and Republicans, friends and even some old political adversaries gathering together to remember old times when you could disagree but not become an enemy.

Overall, though, the mayor's first budget is a good one. It's not looking back, but will position Madison for its future.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald's explanation about why the Senate didn't take up a package of bills to attack the homelessness problem in the state was enough to make a normal person sick.

Their bottom line is economic equality. It's what they stood for in Milwaukee's heyday, and it's what they stand for today.

As of this week, the annual budget deficit has hit $984 billion, about $330 billion more than the Congressional Budget Office had predicted before the Donald Trump-Congressional Republican tax cuts were voted into law.

As more Americans experience the effects of climate change, this could well be Trump's Achilles heel — and perhaps even Robin Vos will need to answer to his constituents for his pathetic indifference.

Is it just me, or did things even weirder in the state Capitol these last few days than is usually the case?

2018 Dem congressional sweep may have been ephemeral.

Twenty-four states have a mechanism that allows their respective citizens to have a direct impact on the laws that govern them. I want to make Wisconsin the 25th.

Nothing indicates the panic in the donor class more than Michael Bloomberg’s head fake and baby steps on entering the presidential sweepstakes out of fear that sensible centrist talk may not stand up against the extreme wealth tax ideas simultaneously circling the Democratic field.

The longing to be Virginia – the state, that is -- is particularly strong in Wisconsin, which on paper has a similar state political setup but little chance of duplicating that Nov. 5 election outcome.

When statistics sound rosy, every president claims economic success because of his or her actions -- just as they blame forces beyond their control if the job numbers fall.

Costs of housing and health care driving up elderly poverty. Are there solutions?

We at AFP do not believe all credentialing and training are unnecessary, but we do believe that these requirements have to make sense and be effective.

The Wisconsin legislature should apply for a Convention of States so that we, the people, can reassert control over the federal government of the United States. Fifteen states have already taken this step, and it is time for Wisconsin to join.

We have six weeks to complete eight weeks of work before freeze-up.

The topics explored by "Information Wars" author Richard Stengel were timely and much in need at a time when forces of illiberal democracy are constantly at work in the nation, and around the globe. The best way to fight back, as Stengel noted, is to be informed and armed with facts.

The legislature’s Joint Finance Committee, on which I serve, recently approved my bill to incentivize private investment in rural broadband infrastructure. The bill is moving to consideration by both houses.

The contrasts between Republican and Democratic behavior at the state and national levels are painfully obvious.

There is one interpretation of Tuesday's results that should be bipartisan: Gerrymandering is just an excuse for losers.

State government needn’t have a hand in the retirement-savings fix; private-sector options already proliferate.

It would be funny that anyone on the Lafayette County Board thought they could prevent local elected officials and journalists from doing their jobs, if it weren’t so terribly disheartening.

Prevailing wage has long been a tool for municipalities like Superior to ensure citizens get high-quality work on taxpayer funded projects and that the people building public infrastructure get paid fair, living wages consistent with the area standard.

Wisconsinites led the opposition to World War I, with U.S. Sen. Robert M. La Follette risking his career to challenge President Woodrow Wilson’s absurd arguments for sending the sons of Wisconsin farmers and factory workers into a conflict of kings and kaisers. He decried the propagandistic press that sought to "inflame the mind of our people into the frenzy of war."

It’s time for a fresh look. The UW Regents need to look outside for the next president.

Flipping Wisconsin is not only important, but achievable, meaning that anyone who participates can play a meaningful role.

Evers had ordered the Legislature to convene a special session on gun-restriction bills. Late Thursday, Republicans gaveled in and gaveled out without taking up any of the Dem measures.

Tens of thousands of parents take advantage of Wisconsin’s school choice program in order to provide a better education for their children. If Gov. Tony Evers has his way, though, that choice will be taken away from them.

In another move to remove all evidence of former Gov. Scott Walker’s tenure in office, Evers has gone back to calling the decorated tree in the Capitol rotunda the Holiday Tree.

Do you remember when Tony Evers vowed to put Wisconsin back on the path of political civility? Any pretense of that pledge died this week when the kinder, gentler liberal told state workers that Republicans are “amoral and stupid” for rejecting Evers’ choice as ag secretary.

Gov. Tony Evers and his liberal allies have repeatedly pointed to a Marquette University Law School Poll that showed 80 percent of Wisconsin voters support more gun-restriction laws. Evers and the pollsters apparently haven’t been to the 24th Senate District.

Mainstream media outlets are learning what conservative news organizations have known for some time: The Evers Administration is brazenly breaking Wisconsin’s open record laws.

In my conversations with people across all upbringings and of all political stripes, I have heard from the voices of our state that people want meaningful reforms that prevent these tragedies, while upholding the Second Amendment and the rights of responsible gun owners.

Everybody is making money — big money — in college athletics except the athletes playing the games. That needs to change.

As a libertarian, I favor the eventual elimination of publicly funded welfare. But the handful of people that drug testing would ensnare and remove from the rolls is a microscopic drop in the bucket compared to the trillions of dollars of corporate welfare doled out by both the Democrats and Republicans every year – at every level of government.

It’s time for Democrats in Congress to join their Republican colleagues and demand that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stop stifling our economies in the Midwest and finally approve President Trump’s new trade deal with our North American neighbors.

The first is how Donald Trump is increasingly seen as despicable and immoral by much of the nation. The other theme concerns Democrats and a seemingly existential conflict between the far left and the center left.

Back in April, the morning after she was elected, Rhodes-Conway told me she would try to be mayor for everyone, not just her younger progressive base. Half a year later in, with her first budget behind her, she appears to be doing just that.

A new national report shows local institutions like the Cap Times are considerably more trusted than embattled national media outlets, but that support appears somewhat fragile.

Today, the Supreme Court begins its oral arguments about the status of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. I want to restate my strong opposition to the decision to end this program and continued support for Dreamers, here and across the nation.

Thompson Center Director Ryan Owens interviews Dean Margaret Raymond, who has served as the Fred W. and Vi Miller Dean of the University of Wisconsin Law School since July 2011.

In a historic rebuke, all 19 Senate Republicans refused to confirm Brad Pfaff, who had just started his 11th month as secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

Too many people are unaware of their rights under the records and meetings laws. That enables government officials to put unnecessary roadblocks in their way.

To improve test scores, Wisconsin doesn’t need more money. It needs innovation and proven solutions.

Wisconsin is a state, according to the latest report cards, where (almost) everyone is above average. Despite proficiency rates in that hover around 40% in both math and reading, 87% of schools in the state meet or exceed expectations.

The WisOpinion Insiders, Chvala and Jensen, debate the politics behind the GOP Senate's historic rebuke of Gov. Tony Evers' ag secretary. Sponsored by the Wisconsin Counties Association and Michael Best Strategies.

With the GOP-controlled Legislature ignoring Gov. Tony Evers' special session call for gun control laws, the WisOpinion Insiders, Chvala and Jensen, consider the political...

With Wisconsin realizing a budget surplus, the WisOpinion Insiders, Chvala and Jensen, consider Gov. Tony Evers' plan to bolster the rainy day fund versus legislative calls tor a tax cut. Sponsored by the Wisconsin Counties Association and Michael Best Strategies.