WFFWi Dispatch
Our first Substack Dispatch!
Welcome to our very first Worth Fighting For Wisconsin (WFFWi) Dispatch on Substack. Hoping this goes well. If not, we’ll figure it out. Today’s Dispatch highlights our March 9 meeting, which features Anat Shenker-Osorio and Court of Appeals Judge Chris Taylor; the April 7 Spring Election; No Kings 3; a Historic Wisconsin Education Lawsuit; and a few odds and ends.
And for past Dispatches and Meeting information, head to worthfightingforwi.com.
Read on….
Worth Fighting For WI Monthly Meeting - 7 PM CT Monday, March 9
Register for this virtual meeting at https://bit.ly/WFFWiMonthly.
The amazing Anat Shenker-Osorio
from ASO Communications is our featured guest. Anat is a researcher and campaign strategist par excellence. Many of us have attended her monthly (now bi-weekly) Movement Briefings for years, learning how to frame issues and use winning narratives. WFFWi (and North Shore Maps before it) use her messaging advice, as do thousands — probably hundreds of thousands — of people around the world. The Freedom over Fascism Toolkit produced and maintained by ASO and partner Research Collaborative has a wealth of tools for activists everywhere. From interviews with the press (e.g. The Daily Blast with Greg Sargent of The New Republic) to regular video sessions with her colleague Michael Podhorzer (former WFFWi guest), and more, Anat is in high demand!
You can find this Wisconsin native on Substack AND in our zoom room Monday March 9!
Court of Appeals Judge Chris Taylor
will join us to talk a bit about herself and her campaign for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. This discussion will be STRICTLY NONPARTISAN! Regardless your politics, Wisconsin is worth fighting for, and we need to fight for Judge Taylor from now until April 7! Be sure to join us to hear what she has to say. Click the image below, or go to https://www.chrisforjustice.com, to learn more about Judge Taylor now.
After more than a decade as a democracy desert, Wisconsin is finally starting to turn around. When Judge Taylor joins the bench, we can move the state in the direction our motto declares: “FORWARD!” And lest any of us forget how wretched things have been, we all need to read Dan Shafer’s excellent piece about Assembly Speaker Robin Vos calling it quits. The piece is apty titled: “The end of the Vos Era, finally: The longest serving Assembly Speaker in state history represented the worst in our politics.”
Meanwhile, A new Marquette Law School Poll survey of Wisconsin registered voters finds that, with six weeks to go until the April 7 Supreme Court election, 66% say they haven’t decided whom they will vote for. (For a deep dive into the latest Marquette Poll, head to Dan Shafer’s “super-sized breakdown” of the poll.)
OH MY! If you are not yet fully engaged in the upcoming Supreme Court race, recall that Robin Vos’ bad policies found success because they were supported by a right-wing court that paid little heed to Wisconsin law. That era is over for now, but we need to do everything we can to keep it from coming back.
More on the WI Spring Election - April 7
We are just a few weeks away from Wisconsin’s Spring Election. There is still time to get an absentee ballot — but do it now at myvote.wi.gov. When you vote early, your vote gets “banked”: people do not know how you voted, but they know you voted. And they won’t bug you about going to vote! Learn more about the ins and outs of the April election at MyVote or at the League of Women Voter’s handy vote411.org/wisconsin.
When you vote early, you can also volunteer to be a poll observer. Learn how to become a Nonpartisan Election Observer for the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin or a Democratic Party Poll Observer. You can also sign up to be an official Poll Worker.
In America, most of us believe voters should pick our leaders. We want every voter to vote and every vote cast to be counted. Wisconsin has free and fair elections, and we cannot and will not allow anyone to change that. No one will keep us from voting. We will decide our future, choose our leaders, and ensure the will of the people prevails. We say Hands Off Our Vote. We say it when we send in our absentee ballots or go to the polls, we say it when we make sure our friends vote, and we say it when we volunteer on election day!
No Kings Three (NK3)
Americans across races, backgrounds, and parties value our freedoms. But the current ruling regime of the bullies for the billionaires is occupying our communities, forcing the military and law enforcement on our families, and turning our government into a weapon against our people so they can seize more power.
On March 28, all across America, people will join together to Free America, demanding our leaders stop this assault on our freedoms, our families, and our futures.
We did not tolerate kings in 1776, and we will not tolerate them now! Wisconsin has two flagship No Kings Three events, one in Milwaukee and one in Madison. But there are events all over the state. Find one near you.
Can you volunteer at a NK3 event? The two flagship events are a huge lift for all-volunteer enterprises. In Milwaukee, organizers need donations. They also need volunteers to engage the crowd and turn rally-goers into activist. (Here is Grassroots North Shore’s volunteer request). Madison needs donations and volunteers. Wherever you are, when you register for a NK3 event, ask the organizers if they need help. We are all in this together!
Historic Wisconsin Education Lawsuit
A historic lawsuit has just been filed by our friends at Law Forward! As described on the Fund Wisconsin Public Schools website,
“Students, parents, advocates, educators, school districts, and community members who support stronger schools in Wisconsin have come together in the Fund Wisconsin Public Schools Coalition to support a landmark lawsuit against the Wisconsin Legislature for failing to adequately fund public schools.
No matter where we live or what our politics are, we all want kids to be safe, supported, and prepared for their futures – and this lawsuit is a critical step toward fulfilling that commitment.”
When you have time, head to the website and learn more. There are three ways for community members to take action now: 1) join the effort by adding your name; 2) share your story; and 3) use the social media toolkit.
And for news coverage, check out WKOW/ABC (video) and the Wisconsin Examiner (print).
Odds and Ends
On February 1, Grassroots North Shore had a webinar focused on the role of the courts in preserving our democratic republic, featuring three renowned litigators: Jeff Mandel, founder, president and general counsel at Law Forward; Mary McCord, Executive Director of Georgetown Law's Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection (ICAP); and Paul Kiesel from Speak Up for Justice. It’s worth watching, which you can now do on GRNS’s YouTube channel.
Check out The Contrarian’s Rip-roaring Response to Trump’s Lies:
Learn why Democrats are in better shape than you might think (Jen Rubin).
No need to listen to Trump’s SOTU lies when others did. See what the folks at Navigator Research learned in their State Of The Union Special Report: Arizona Dial Group.
If you like data (and even those of us who hata data centers love data), head over to Strength In Numbers. It’s a data-driven Substack written by G. Elliott Morris, former Senior Data Journalist for The Economist and more. We close with his latest visual, which shows NET support (% support minus % oppose) for several proposed structural reforms. Enjoy!
