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Noria Doyle: Wisconsin cigarette tax revenue collapses under outdated policy as users switch to low-tax vapes
Wisconsin is ensnared in a fiscal trap of its own making, a consequence of relying on the taxation of human frailty to fund the apparatus of state government.

Mark Belling: Today’s Democrats will back anybody that opposes a Republican
Nazis, deadbeats and terrorist sympathizers get party blessing.

Judith Davidoff: Helping journalists find their power
Yes, it can and should include advocating for legislation.

Bruce Murphy: Is Democratic race for governor finally starting?
Recent ads for candidates add life – finally – to a very sleepy campaign.

Brian Reisinger: 5 ways to stop AI from gutting rural Wisconsin’s workforce
Let’s ensure AI innovation is accessible and pro-worker, and put more money in peoples’ pockets for the transition.

Treig Pronschinske: Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month
June is recognized as Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month, a time dedicated to raising awareness about the mental health challenges faced by men and encouraging open conversations about emotional well-being.

Simran Arora: Classrooms belong to education: Restoring parental rights in Wisconsin schools
Classrooms should focus on teaching math, science, reading, and critical thinking skills that prepare students for success, leaving the raising of children to the parents who love them most.

Dave Zweifel: Healthcare is again becoming a forgotten issue
We’ve become a country that thinks nothing of spending tens of billions fighting unnecessary wars, but we can’t find it within us to create a healthcare system that could benefit every American, rich or poor, old or young.

Dani Passon: As a union, St. Mary’s nurses can address staffing issues
While St. Mary’s nurses have been struggling, we’ve seen union nurses at Meriter and UW Health make significant gains in staffing and retention. Nurses throughout our hospital have raised concerns repeatedly with hospital administration through appropriate internal channels. However, our pleas for change have fallen on deaf ears.

John Nichols: Barnes wants to save family farms, renew rural Wisconsin
Barnes has a history of focusing on farm country.

Jessica McBride: Old McDonald had a farm, but Tom Tiffany really grew up on one
Farming is starting to define the Wisconsin governor’s race. That’s probably a good thing for Tom Tiffany because he actually grew up on one.

Ruth Conniff: Wisconsin Republicans hitch their star to Trump. Is that really a good idea?
Tiffany and Van Orden, who helped inflict Trump’s disastrous policies on rural Wisconsinites, are hoping Trump’s star power will propel them to victory.

Gregg Hoffmann: Who wants Trump’s coal power plant?
When President Trump came to Chippewa Falls last week, he announced $425 million in Defense Production Act funding to extend the lives of 13 U.S. coal plants.

Jason Church: Ron Johnson has the power to help veterans. Why won’t he?
More than 50,000 combat-wounded veterans who were medically retired before serving 20 years have their Defense Department retirement pay cut, dollar for dollar, by their VA disability check.

Richard Moore: Cookie Monster
Not even home baked goods are safe. If you want to make bread without a license, you had better not have an LLC.

Natalie Eilbert: Nihilistic violent extremism is a Wisconsin problem, too
The FBI first designated the term “nihilistic violent extremism” in a 2025 incident involving a Waukesha teenager who murdered his parents as part of a plot to assassinate President Donald Trump. Nihilistic violent extremism is the idea that nothing but violence matters — it isn’t bound by ideology in most instances.

Steven Walters: Wisconsin elections panel chair wary of pre-election judicial rulings
Don Millis, the new chair of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, says only potential orders from judges in pending cases could change the rules for the next two partisan elections — the Aug. 11 primary and the Nov. 3 general election.

Michelle Bryant: Is $30K in debt politically insurmountable?
Whether you believe Hong’s debt is relevant or irrelevant, the fact remains that millions of Americans are struggling financially.

Bill Kaplan: GOP bigwigs can’t save Van Orden
Trump and GOP bigwigs can’t save Van Orden from his lack of judgment, refusal to respond to constituents and his flawed, reactionary record. The voters of the 3rd CD will have the last word in November.

David Blaska: No country for pompous blowhards
Do Wisconsin Democrats have a middle ground?

WisOpinion: ‘The Insiders’ analyze the blue wave that flipped Wisconsin’s Legislature
The WisOpinion Insiders, Chvala and Jensen, discuss the political blue wave that swept Wisconsin Democrats into control of the state Legislature. Sponsored by the Wisconsin Counties Association and the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership.

Rewind: Your Week in Review for Nov. 6
On this week’s episode of “Rewind,” WisPolitics.com’s JR Ross and Wisconsin Public Radio Capitol Reporter Anya van Wagtendonk discuss the factors behind the blue wave in Wisconsin as Democrats win a trifecta and flip the 1st and 3rd CDs, the priorities of Gov.-elect David Crowley and the incoming Dem legislative majority, the wrangling for legislative leadership posts and more.