Johnson warns against protectionism, trade wars

Pointing to the billions of people around the world that are all “markets for our products,” U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson this week stressed the benefits of both imports and exports while denouncing protectionism and trade wars. “We’re 320 million people

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Kleefisch: Walker’s budget reflects residents’ desires

Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch has a message for fellow Republicans looking to raise the gas tax despite Gov. Scott Walker’s veto threat: Trust us, the voters aren’t interested. Kleefisch quickly ticks off stats about the number of listening sessions Walker did ahead of putting together this budget as well as

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Gutierrez looking forward to review of state’s licensing requirements

Laura Gutierrez, the new secretary of DSPS, tells WisPolitics.com the agency’s “very excited” to work with lawmakers on a comprehensive overview of the state’s licensing requirements, which is aimed at seeing whether some of those should still be in place or get tweaked. Walker proposed in his biennial budget establishing

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Analysts: Dems face challenges for 2018, House could be in reach

Dems hoping for major electoral victories in 2018 will likely only get them if President Trump’s base begins to pull away from him, according to pollster Charles Franklin. So far, there’s little sign that’s happening, the Marquette Law School Poll director says, with Trump’s national approval rating hovering around 42

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Johnson warns against protectionism, trade wars

Pointing to the billions of people around the world that are all “markets for our products,” U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson this week stressed the benefits of both imports and exports while denouncing protectionism and trade wars. “We’re 320 million people out of a population of 7 billion,” the Oshkosh Republican

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Fitzgerald waiting on Duffy as he weighs U.S. Senate bid

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald says while he’s considering a U.S. Senate bid in 2018, his final decision may rest on U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy. “I just think that Congressman Duffy is well positioned, so he’s kind of driving the train right now,” Fitzgerald told a WisPolitics.com luncheon in Madison

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Thompson says major Medicare changes unlikely to come soon

House Speaker Paul Ryan has long been eying a chance to make dramatic changes to Medicare. But former Gov. Tommy Thompson says that’s not likely to happen anytime soon, given the list of big issues Congress and President Trump are looking to tackle. “You can only gore so many cows

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Panel: Hints of Act 10 battle in first week of Trump’s presidency

If some of the immediate counter-reaction to President Trump looked familiar, it’s because Wisconsin has “seen this movie before,” says Dem pollster Paul Maslin. Tens of thousands of protesters gathered around the Capitol last weekend to protest Trump, at levels Wisconsin hadn’t seen since the 2011 fight over Gov. Scott

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Humphries aims for conservatives’ support as he targets Evers

State superintendent candidate John Humphries says his turn-around on Act 10 could help him with conservatives as he heads into a primary next month. Humphries, a former Dodgeville School District official who lives in Mt. Horeb, signed the recall petition against Gov. Scott Walker and also gave $35 to his

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Vos: Ryan in better position than Priebus to advocate for Wisconsin

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos took a measured approach toward what two Wisconsin political figures in key national roles, House Speaker Paul Ryan and President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Reince Priebus, could do to help the state. Speaking at a WisPolitics luncheon in Madison Jan. 18, Vos acknowledged the limitations

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Barca: Assembly Dems plan listening tour to connect with voters

Assembly Dems will stage listening tours in 2017 to better connect with residents and revamp the ADCC after this fall’s disappointing election results, Minority Leader Peter Barca tells WisPolitics.com The listening tours, part of a Capitol-based effort to reach out to the state’s working class, will be held by members

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Vos: My members want a long-term solution on transportation

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos tells WisPolitics.com he’s not getting ahead of his caucus in the discussion over possible revenue uppers for transportation in the next budget, saying his members have made clear one of their top priorities is shoring up the fund. Vos, R-Rochester, has aggressively pushed for keeping revenue

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