Monday was a historic day: your federal income taxes were due, Orange Julius's NY election interference trial began, AND candidates for partisan offices in Wisconsin began circulating their nomination papers — in many cases in newly drawn districts! I have collected a number of them so that you can download them to sign as a nominator and to circulate as a circulator. To sign a candidate's nomination papers, you must reside in the candidate's district. Because of the new legislative district maps, you may not be sure which district includes your residence for the Assembly — all Assembly districts are up for election in the fall — or the state Senate — all even-numbered state Senate districts are up for election this year. To find out whether you have been moved to a new district, use the legislature's tool. When you type your address into the search box, the result will show you who represented you under the old (2022) maps and under the new (2024) maps.

Once you have downloaded a form, be sure to follow the instructions on our website or that accompany the nomination form. You can be a nominator on the form and also its circulator. When you have collected all the signatures you can, even if it's only ONE (yours), sign the Certification of Circulator at the bottom of the form. Then mail the nomination papers to the candidate no later than May 13. The physical papers must be delivered to the Wisconsin Elections Committee by 5pm on June 3. So we want to make sure candidates receive signed forms in good time.

Alternatively, you can attend a signature gathering event, like the one for Jodi Habush Sinykin and Tammy Baldwin being held at Three Lions Pub (4515 N Oakland Ave, Shorewood) on Friday, April 19, at 7:00pm. As Andy Berger, the host of the occasion, says, "It’s about more than just putting names on a petition; it’s about coming together as a community to support progress. Special Feature: We're thrilled to announce that Jodi Habush Sinykin herself will be joining us! Don’t miss this chance to meet one of the candidates in person. Kindly let us know if you can make it by clicking on this link."

And while we're on the subject of the new state legislative maps, Grassroots North Shore will feature a discussion of their impact at an event on Sunday, May 19th, at Plymouth Church (2017 E Hampshire St, Milwaukee) from 4:30 - 6:00pm. Featured speakers will be Representative Deb Andraca and our own Debbie Patel, who, in addition to co-chairing Grassroots North Shore, leads the North Shore for Fair Maps organization. It's a month away, but you can RSVP now.

We're still in need of a Treasurer. And frankly we cannot sustain the organization without one. So if you or someone you know enjoys bookkeeping, is comfortable with Excel, and is willing to learn how to navigate various software platforms and ecommerce sites (ActBlue, NationBuilder, PayPal), please contact Cheryl Maranto via email or by calling (414) 429-1583.

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is still in need of people to become delegates to the 2024 Democratic Convention in Chicago. Here's the ask: DEADLINE APPROACHING: we need more Wisconsin Democrats to apply for a delegate position at the Democratic National Convention this August. This is your opportunity to join fellow Democrats and make history in the 2024 election! Apply by this Friday at 5 PM to be a delegate for Wisconsin at the Democratic National Convention?" If you live in Milwaukee County, you could probably team up with Linda Frank, a long-time supporter of Grassroots North Shore. She needs us to be present at BOTH caucuses to be elected. I have committed to supporting her and hope to see some of you there too.

To be elected as a delegate, you need to attend two caucuses.The first one is the Milwaukee County Caucus on April 28 at South Division High School, 1515 W Lapham Blvd in Milwaukee. Registration begins at 1:00 and the meeting begins at 2:00. The second one is the 4th Congressional District Caucus on May 19 at McGovern Senior Center, 4500 W Custer Ave, Milwaukee. Registration begins at 1:00 and the caucus begins at 2:00 pm. Your presence, even if you don't apply to be a delegate, and your vote for Linda will be appreciated!

By the way, I was a delegate to the 2016 Democratic National Convention. It's a wonderful experience. You get to meet with other delegations and hear from outstanding speakers like Senator Cory Booker (one of the most memorable speakers who met with the Wisconsin caucus for breakfast one morning). Senator Tammy Baldwin will be there too. And you'll never be in another arena with so many Democrats. It's a great way to gear up for the November 5 elections. End of my soapbox speech!

Moving on to news in the broader world, one of my favorite New York Times writers, Jamelle Bouie, lays bare the "leave it to the states" scam the Dobbs decision brought us two years ago. The op-ed "The Smothering of Abortion Rights Reveals Something Else About Republicans" comes down to this:

Fortunately, in Wisconsin we have finally succeeded in breaking out of the gerrymandering straightjacket. To keep it that way, though, we're going to have another fraught election year in 2025 now that Justice Ann Walsh Bradley has announced her retirement from the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The election next April will determine whether the court remains dominated by center-left jurists or reverts to control by conservatives who would no doubt look favorably on strict abortion bans and even a new attempt at gerrymandering our state maps. According to a piece in Daily Kos from April 12, four or five liberal judges may be vying for a place on the April 1, 2025, ballot. Meanwhile former Attorney General Brad Schimel is already running. He might be joined by one or more conservatives, but right now he has the field to himself. "Both sides, however, will need to be on guard against getting locked out of the general election. That's because Wisconsin will hold an officially nonpartisan primary on Feb. 18, when all candidates will run together on a single ballot. The top two vote-getters will then advance to an April 1 general election, which means it's possible that two liberals or two conservatives could face off in the second round of voting."

Yeah, I know. Not exactly the news we need right now as we head into what has to be the scariest election of our lifetimes. So here's a little Hopium to buoy us up: Simon Rosenberg — whose motto is "Let’s Do More, Worry Less" — writes, "The NYT poll which came out Sunday showed the race changing from Trump +5 to Trump +1 (great news). The Morning Consult/Politico poll released Monday had Biden up 45-43. Biden was down 4 in Morning Consult’s polling a few weeks ago. Yesterday, Echelon, a respected Republican pollster, released a poll showing Biden up 3, 49-46, and the Congressional Generic was also +3 Dem. Trump led in this poll by 4 points in February. This poll is a “big yikes” for Rs, and is going to create a bit of a panic in DC Republican circles" And it's not just national polls. In fundraising, Democrats are out stripping Republicans nationally and in key Senate races. In Tammy Baldwin's case, her first quarter haul was $5.4 million. Her opponent, Eric Hovde, raised only $1.1 million.

I'm not a big fan of kicking anyone when they're down, BUT...   Speaker Mike Johnson started the week with a proposal to try to pass four bills — one to fund aid for Ukraine, one for Israel, one for Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific allies, plus a fourth bill full of MAGA foreign policy desires. Now apparently he's added a fifth: to address MAGA demands to strengthen the southern border. The whole thing might come a-cropper, though, and apparently cannot work without shifting coalitions of Democrats and Republicans supporting each of the bills. Meanwhile in the mean kids' playpen, a motion to vacate the speaker's chair is dangling over Speaker Mike's head. Right now, there's a two vote margin in the House. After Friday, when our own Mike Gallagher resigns, the margin drops to one. (Apparently, according to the Washington Post, though, Gallagher has agreed to stick around long enough to pass the foreign aid pieces. So Saturday?)

Also I've just learned that the MAGAites in the Arizona legislature have provided excellent supporting evidence for Jamelle Bouie's piece. To wit, "House Republicans in Arizona on Wednesday scuttled another effort to repeal the state’s 1864 law banning abortion, defying pressure from prominent Republicans, including former President Donald J. Trump, who had urged them to toss the ban that many voters viewed as extreme and archaic." There will no doubt be more in-depth reporting on the Arizona mess, but for a reasonable explanation of the current state of affairs, you can read this (free) New York Times article.

The "Worry Less" part is up to you, but here's your "Let’s Do More" list for the week.

Before we get to a host of newsy items, an appeal for a vital volunteer position at Grassroots North Shore:

The state of electoral play with the new Wisconsin legislative maps in place deserves our early attention. And there's news.

• In a star-studded announcement yesterday, Jodi Habush Sinykin jumped into the race for Senate District 8. It's unlikely that she will have a challenger for the Democratic nomination — though of course it's still possible. Her likely opponent will be MAGA Republican Duey Stroebel, an incumbent state Senator representing Senate District 20 under the former maps but drawn into SD8 under the new maps. Grassroots North Shore will be going all out to elect her, not only because she is an outstanding candidate but also because SD8 is pivotal to our ability to win majority control of the state senate in 2026.
  
  
• Senate District 4, formerly held by Lena Taylor, has been vacant since late January when Governor Tony Evers appointed her to the Milwaukee County Circuit Court. It's unclear whether there will be a special election to fill this seat before the November 5 election. It's also unclear whether there will be a need for a primary ahead of that special election. If a special election is called, a primary would be necessary only if more than one candidate from the same political party filed nomination papers. It's a pretty safe Democratic seat and largely unchanged from the former maps. One potential candidate got in touch with me this week and I heard a rumor that a second Democrat may also be vying for this seat. SD4 includes Assembly Districts 10, 11, and 12. So Grassroots North Shore supporters in Glendale, Shorewood, and parts of Milwaukee, stay tuned.
  
  
• Dr. Kristin Lyerly, an OB/GYN in Green Bay, has launched her bid to for the Democratic nomination for the 8th Congressional District. (Visit her Facebook page.) Michael Gallagher, the incumbent, will be resigning his seat on April 19, making it impossible to hold a special election to fill the seat before the November 5 Election Day and leaving the GOP with a one-vote majority in the House of Representatives until the end of the congressional session in December or perhaps even earlier! In her announcement email, she wrote: "I have seen firsthand the effects of Wisconsin’s abortion ban – which stems from a law passed in 1849 that went into effect after Roe v. Wade was overturned. Most doctors didn’t even know that germs caused diseases back then. It was nearly 70 years before women would even be allowed to cast their first votes. As a result of this draconian ban, I can no longer treat my patients and pregnant women in Wisconsin under threat of criminal prosecution. Republicans have targeted my medical licenses and personally singled me out in their lawsuits for my work with Planned Parenthood to make me an example of what would happen to others who do the same."

And in other political news, let's support Linda Frank, chair of the newly formed Jewish Caucus of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. She's seeking to be a delegate to the Democratic National Convention and needs people to vote for her, TWICE. As President Biden would say, so here's the deal: you have to attend TWO events. The first one is the Milwaukee County Caucus on April 28 at South Division High School, 1515 W Lapham Blvd in Milwaukee. The meeting begins at noon. The second one is the 4th Congressional District Caucus on May 19 at McGovern Senior Center, 4500 W Custer Ave, Milwaukee. Registration begins at noon and the caucus begins at 1:00pm. Although voting for her seems like a pretty heavy commitment, Linda has been a stalwart supporter of Grassroots North Shore for many years. She deserves whatever support we can give her in return.

Last week's newsletter was too soon after Election Day to provide you with much information about what happened and this week is still a bit early. Because Wisconsin elections are all run by municipal clerks and because the spring elections are all local and nonpartisan, it's really difficult to get an early picture of statewide election results. The deadline for the Wisconsin Elections Commission to certify the results of the April 2 elections is May 15. At that point we should be able to assess voter turnout and other data from those elections. In the meantime, John Johnson, a research fellow with Marquette University Law School, has published an extensive analysis of voting in Milwaukee County.

Especially notable is the chart showing the presidential preference vote by municipality. The split between votes for The Former Guy and Nikki Haley in our North Shore communities shows deep dissatisfaction with Benedict Donald. In Shorewood, for example, only 13% of voters participated in the Republican presidential preference primary. Of that sliver, only 47% voted for him while 37% of the Republicans voted for Hayley. In Whitefish Bay, 29% of the votes cast were Republican. Of that bunch, Adolf Twittler garnered 56% of the vote and Nikki Haley received 32%. These numbers are pretty astonishing since Hayley suspended her campaign weeks before the Wisconsin primary. You can look at the chart to get a picture of the Republican strength in the North Shore and to see what share of that vote went to Hayley. The big takeaway, though, is that the numerous Hayley voters in our midst should be our "persuasion targets" as we gear up for the crucial fall elections.

Make sure you look at the new legislative maps in Wisconsin. You can find WisPolitics' maps and an assessment of the partisan lean of the new Assembly Districts 10, 22, 23, & 24 (as of March 11) and the new Senate Districts. You should take a look at Senate Districts 4 and 8 with their partisan lean to get a sense of what the Democratic candidate in each of those districts will have to contend with. On May 19th, Grassroots North Shore will be hosting a presentation about the new maps, featuring Representative Deb Andraca and GRNS Co-Chair Deborah Patel. You can get more information and sign up now.

Finally, some good news for WisDems. According to WisPolitics' Battleground Wisconsin (March 29), "the state Dem Party has outraised its GOP counterpart 15-to-1 over the first three months of 2024 — a huge resource advantage ahead of what’s expected to be a fierce battle for legislative seats this fall.

"It also shows the fundraising disparity between the two parties hasn’t improved since Republicans brought on Brian Schimming as a full-time, paid chair in late 2022. Last year, with both parties heavily involved in a state Supreme Court race that flipped control to liberals for the first time in 15 years, the fundraising disparity was more than 4-to-1 in Dems’ favor."

Meanwhile, in the MAGA movement, things are also looking a little dicey. A blogger on Daily Kos points to a Raw Story article that suggests the Cowardly Lyin' and his campaign are a little green around the gills: "Two Republican operatives privately told NBC News Trump and the Republican National Committee have fewer than five staff members between them in Pennsylvania and Michigan. And Trump reportedly can't afford to expand the campaign's staff to full capacity in some places, like Pennsylvania, until the summer." Yay for our side, I say.

Spring has surely sprung, weeks early this year it seems. One of my dogwood trees is already blooming! So herewith a bit of coming attractions. The next election cycle is nearly upon us. So not much rest for the weary. Hopeful candidates for the November 5 election will begin circulating nominating papers as of April 15 — that's this coming Monday (also the start of Don the Con's first criminal trial). As usual, Grassroots North Shore will make as many of them as we can available on our web server for you to download. I also hear that the WisDems are going to host some signing parties in the next few weeks. Keep an eye out for them. The nomination papers will be due in Madison by 5:00pm on June 3. Shortly thereafter we will know which races will have primaries. Regardless of how competitive the primaries are likely to be, we have to show up in force. There are likely to be two new ballot questions in the primary. If they turn out to be what Ballotpedia says they are, we need to pull out all the stops to defeat them.

Worthy Actions

"Kneel for 9," a nine-minute silent vigil at a busy rush hour intersection in the Washington Heights neighborhood, occurs M-F at 5:30 at the corner of Vliet Street and Hawley Road (Central West Side about one mile N. of Miller Park). It has been going continuously for 4 years since the murder of George Floyd. It is . Plenty of free side-street parking for anyone in the area able to spend 15 minutes. For more information, contact Shep Crumrine, MICAH leadership council.

Vote Forward is launching new letter-writing campaigns to California and New York voters in highly competitive U.S. House districts. Election outcomes in these key races are likely to determine the House majority this fall. As you finish writing a batch of letters this year, address and stamp your envelopes—but if you'd like to continue enhancing them throughout the year, don’t seal them quite yet. We’ll be in touch with details on how you can do this soon! Sign up.

Well, the Spring 2024 election is now behind us. You can find the significant results yourself, but a clear take-away is that the Democratic Party is showing its basic unity. The "uninstructed" vote, a protest vote designed to register opposition to the Biden administration's Israel policy — calling for a ceasefire and a two state solution to end the Israel-Gaza war while continuing its supply of US materiél to Israel — has some strength behind it but it's unclear whether people who recorded an uninstructed vote will stay home or vote for someone other than Biden in the general election in November. Biden won 88.6% of the votes in the Democratic presidential preference primary while uninstructed votes accounted for 8.8% with Dean Phillips at 3.1%.

Meanwhile, on the red team's side, Butternut Berlusconi managed to acquire 79.2% of the Republican vote, with Nikki Haley earning 12.8%, Ron DeSantis 3.3%, uninstructed 2.2%, Chris Christie 1.6%, and Vivek Ramaswamy trailing everyone with 0.9%. That adds up to ~20% of the primary vote going somewhere other than to Boss Tweet.

The press can make any news into bad news for someone. And the Journal Sentinel made sure to to tell us that "voters who chose 'uninstructed delegation' in Wisconsin's presidential primary Tuesday more than doubled the 20,682 votes President Joe Biden won the state by in 2020, sending a warning sign for his reelection chances in the battleground state." But the same Journal Sentinel article failed to notice that Biden won 506,969 votes, while Orange Julius garnered 472,227 votes, a difference of 79,742. That nearly 80,000 vote margin almost quadrupled Biden's 2020 winning margin. I say, it's better to be on our side in Wisconsin than on theirs. Today's Hopium Chronicles offers a bit more wind in my sails. 14 Polls Now With Biden Leads, Trump Is The Ugliest Thing Any Of Us Has Ever Seen.

For a reasonable look at what the new Assembly maps may mean, WisPolitics presents color-coded maps and an early peek at who is running for each seat. Grassroots North Shore is mostly focused on Assembly Districts 10, 22, 23, and 24. The posting is as of March 11, 2024, so things are likely to change as candidates begin collecting nomination signatures on April 15.</p

The WisPolitics maps for the state senate districts are also available. The maps and the discussion of each district are dated March 5, so again we will know more when candidates start collecting signatures. Right now, SD 8 has one declared candidate, incumbent Senator Duey Stroebel and the WisPolitics assessment of the district's partisan performance is that it leans Republican at 53%. On the Democratic side, Jodi Habush Sinykin, who Dan Knodl beat (under the old maps) in the spring 2023 special election, has been weighing a bid.

More complicated and confusing is the situation in Senate District 4, which includes Assembly District 10 representing Glendale, Shorewood and part of north Milwaukee. Here's how WisPolitics explains the dynamic in this district: "Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, resigned from the seat earlier this year to accept an appointment to the Milwaukee County Circuit Court. The guv hasn’t yet called a special election, though both Drake and Myers have indicated they would run in one." We still do not have a date for the special election or the primary that would precede it if both Dora Drake and LaKeisha Myers declare their candidacy. Both currently sit in the Assembly but they would have to resign their seats to run in the special election. And that would mean two vacant seats, which also means that GOP Assembly Representatives could then override any Governor Evers's veto. A special election for SD 4 would also trigger elections to fill Drake's and Myers's seats! Any way you slice it, Grassroots North Shore supporters in Assembly District 10 will have two additional elections in 2024.

While having more elections to worry about may not be the most welcome news, on the fundraising front Wisconsin Democrats seem to be doing just fine. Again, as WisPolitics reported on March 29, "The state Dem Party has outraised its GOP counterpart 15-to-1 over the first three months of 2024 — a huge resource advantage ahead of what’s expected to be a fierce battle for legislative seats this fall. It also shows the fundraising disparity between the two parties hasn’t improved since Republicans brought on Brian Schimming as a full-time, paid chair in late 2022. Last year, with both parties heavily involved in a state Supreme Court race that flipped control to liberals for the first time in 15 years, the fundraising disparity was more than 4-to-1 in Dems’ favor."

It's very early days for the US Senate race in Wisconsin but Urban Milwaukee has already published an analysis of Tammy Baldwin and Eric Hovde's campaigns. Using Drastically Different Strategies To Win Votes. The piece looks at the candidates' strategies and also outlines their positions on key issues.

And now for some quick hits on stories that made the news. The woman who requested absentee ballots in the names of Wisconsin service people and had them sent to Representative Janel Brandtjen has been found guilty of election fraud. Urban Milwaukee explains that the "case comes as scrutiny around election integrity is on the forefront of many voters’ minds going into the 2024 elections, as the presidential race is shaping up to be a rematch of the 2020 election." And Jared Kushner sees valuable waterfront property when he eyeballs the Gaza strip and dreams of a "solution" to the war. Just move the Palestinians into the Negev desert, clean up Gaza, and build condos or something with lovely views of the Mediterranean!

But I'll leave you to consider the Milwaukee area's future as you scan the Events Listings. America’s Climate Boomtowns Are Waiting. "In a world running short on fresh water in its lakes and rivers, more than 20 percent of that water was right here [in the upper midwest]. From a climate standpoint, there couldn’t be a safer place in the country—no hurricanes, no sea-level rise, not much risk of wildfires. That explains why models suggest many more people will soon arrive here." So let's look on the bright side of life!

Rich or poor, it's nice to have money. Right? Two days ago, a New York appellate court reduced the bond Dolt 45 would need to produce while his fraud case was under appeal from ~$450 million to $175 million. And the court awarded him ten more days to post it. As MSNBC columnist Glenn Kirschner opined: "Many of our institutions of government seem to have decided that the rules, the laws and the Constitution apply differently to Trump than they apply to the rest of us." He calls Trump "the poster boy for special treatment." So Dirty Don and his fluffers may be correct when they talk about a two-tiered justice system. Only not in the way they mean that phrase. They should better appreciate the kid glove treatment TFG has been receiving from legal decisions both civil and criminal. Kirschner's reasoning is worth a read.

But not everything is going his way. On Monday Judge Juan Merchan set a trial date for the New York criminal case — often referred to as a "hush money case" or an "election interference case." It involves paying hush money to keep a scandal out of the public eye, but that in itself is not a crime. It involves falsifying business records to cover up the hush money payments and that IS as crime, though usually a misdemeanor rather than a felony. However, the crime becomes a felony once the actions the accused took served the purpose of deluding voters in the election for the presidency. Jury selection is set to begin on April 15. At the same time Merchan issued a gag order, citing Don the Con's penchant for "making 'threatening, inflammatory, denigrating' statements against people at all levels of the justice system, including jurors." However, if Orange Julius decides to appeal the gag order, as he has unsuccessfully done in other cases, he might be able to further delay the start of this trial too.

So it appears he's not rich enough to post a $450 million bond, but he is rich enough to squeeze every last delay he can out of every one of his criminal and civil indictments. With a little help from his friends (aka donors), he seems to keep his lawyers happy enough to stop each clock as much as they can. It takes resources — money — and what Kirschner senses as "a hesitation — a reluctance, even — to take on the wealthy, the influential, the powerful, the well-connected." Still the case New York DA Alvin Bragg has built, which was the first criminal indictment The Big Lie-bowski faced, may well be the first criminal trial he faces. While not holding our collective breaths, we continue watching.

Yesterday, the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the mifepristone case. You can listen to the recording in full. And there are legions of news media takes on the hearing: here's ABC, CNN, and the (gifted article) New York Times. Whether the group and doctors who brought the suit have the requisite personal harm to be entitled to sue is featured in the oral arguments. The requested remedy also came in for scrutiny. But the most concerning line of questioning involves an 1873 law known as the Comstock Act. Justices Alito and Thomas, naturally, were very interested in resuscitating the long dormant law. Here's how their inquiries played in Jezebel:

Here in Wisconsin, some good news for labor in this state emerged from the legal system. "The Wisconsin Supreme Court let a lower court ruling stand that a group of Amazon workers in the so-called 'gig economy' in the state should be classified as employees in a case that was being watched closely for its impact on businesses statewide." The opinion was unanimous. The article in the Cap Times on March 26 lays out the complicated test for distinguishing independent contractors from employees and the complicated history of this particular case. "It is difficult to tell whether this ruling will transfer to other 'gig economy' companies, because Wisconsin law so heavily relies on the facts of a specific case," according to Samantha Prince, assistant professor of law at Penn State Dickinson Law.

And now for a last take on things to do for the April 2 election: a reminder about early in-person voting. in Ozaukee County and in the seven North Shore communities, early in-person voting ends on Friday, March 29, generally at 5:00pm. You can look up the days and hours for your specific community on our website. For residents in the City of Milwaukee, you'll find the information about early voting sites with days and times here. Early in-person voting is safe, secure, and flexible. Banking your vote before election day means that you will not have to stand in line to vote (especially at some of the more crowded polling places). It also means that no matter what comes up on April 2 — wretched weather, illness, or any other emergency — your vote will already have been cast!

To find your polling location for the April 2 Election Day, visit MyVote.WI.gov.

Those of you who missed the March 17 presentation about the two ballot questions that Grassroots North Shore hosted, watch Doug Poland's presentation. He explains the process of amending the Wisconsin Constitution, how these ballot questions were included in the April 2 election, their meaning and impact should they pass, and three more ballot questions that will be put to the voters this year. Two of them will appear on the August 13 primary ballot and the third on the November ballot. All five of the ballot questions being put to voters this year should be defeated. For more in depth information about the two on the April 2 ballot, visit our web page explaining them and why we encourage you to vote NO.

Canvassing with WisDems

North Shore Communities

• North Shore Dems Get Out the Vote in Whitefish Bay, 4845 N Newhall St., WFB: March 30 & April 1
• North Shore Dems Get Out the Vote in Shorewood, 4516 N Newhall St, Shorewood: March 30 & April 2
• Fox Point Dems Get Out the Vote, 7632 N Beach Dr, Fox Point: March 30 & 31
• Grassroots Glendale Gets Out the Vote, 6563 N Crestwood Dr, Glendale: March 30 & April 1

Ozaukee County

• Knock on Doors in Grafton/Cedarburg, 1930 Wisconsin Ave, Grafton: March 28 & 30 and April 1 & 2

Other Worthy Actions

Volunteer to Provide Rides to the Polls

Providing Supporter Housing

Did you watch President Biden take on his predecessor in his State of the Union last Thursday? Of course the most important part of the speech outlined his vision for the future and the kinds of policies that would move the country toward that future. But it sure was fun to hear him take on Cult 45 directly, though without saying his name. If you didn't see it live, you can enjoy it in a video posted on the White House website. It's well worth your time.

Last week, I focused on events happening locally. But this week there's so much going on in the various civil suits and prosecutions of Adolph Twitler that I thought it was time for a little catching up. The following list of events has been excerpted from Just Security's Master Calendar of Trump Court Dates: Criminal and Civil Cases.

• In the past week, the civil suit brought by police injured on January 6, 2021 (aka Blassingame), made some progress. Judge Amit Mehta set a deadline of March 8 for a status report that summarizes the parties' discussions of potential stipulations, disputed facts, and the scope of discovery. On Tuesday, March 12, Judge Mehta held a hearing on the status of the case.
• In the NY State civil fraud case that resulted in a HUGE penalty of $450 million (more or less), Monday, March 11, was the last day for the government to file its opposition to 45's application for a stay pending appeal of the district court's verdict. By Sunday, March 17, the Independent Monitor overseeing the Trump Organization's transactions is to file (1) a proposed order “outlining the specific authority that she needs, and the obligations of defendants, in order to effectuate a productive and enhanced monitorship going forward,” and (2) a list of “persons who she recommended be appointed the Trump Organization’s “Independent Director of Compliance.” The perp has until March 25 to pay up or secure a bond for the penalty amount.
• In the Georgia RICO case, Judge McAfee dismissed six of the charges in the original indictment, three of which were against TFG. Although he dismissed charges having to do with soliciting Georgia officials — such as Secretary of State Brad Raffensburger — to violate their oaths of office, the charges can be reinstated in effect if "prosecutors seek a new indictment." Here's the AP story.
• The Mar-a-Lago case has a number of hearings and deadlines coming up.
  • On March 14, Judge Cannon will hold a hearing on the Big Lie-bowski's motion to dismiss the case — based on claims of unconstitutional vagueness — and on the Big Lie-bowski and Mr. Nauta's motion to dismiss — based on the Presidential Records Act.
  • Replies in support of the two motions are due by 8am; replies in support of other pretrial motions are due by the end of the day.
• And the US Supreme Court set April 25 as the date for oral arguments in Benedict Donald's claim of complete immunity from prosecution for any acts he committed during his presidency.

Under the heading "stuff I'd rather not have to deal with," the No Labels crowd is forging ahead. The "movement" as yet has no candidates and as far as I can tell no settled process for nominating said (non-existant) candidates. As the Washington Examiner put it: "So now No Labels is also No Candidate."

One allure of No Labels (NL) for the ambitious person who thinks he or she can win on the NL ballot line may be access to the ballot in all or most states. As of mid-March, "No Labels has access to the ballot in 14 states and will perhaps win access to another 14 in the months ahead." But of course even if the organization pulls this feat off, the candidates will be on the ballot in only 56% of the states. (A second big threat to the 2024 presidential election has seemed to come from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. But Axios is reporting that although he has secured ballot access in only one state — Utah — he is "poised to soon qualify in six more states, including three key battlegrounds.")

In fact the NL and RFK Jr. gambits seem aimed primarily at the battleground states. But that strategy can ONLY act as a spoiler since it would not be possible to acquire the 270 electoral college votes needed to win the presidency. Doesn't that set of facts give away the whole game?

In head-scratchers closer to home, Wisconsin MAGA Republicans want to recall Speaker Robin Vos because he has been insufficiently devoted to the lie that the Commander in Cheese really did win Wisconsin and the whole presidential election in 2020. Wisconsin Public Radio reported the group's claim that they had collected 11,000 signatures. Although the article stipulates that a successful effort to put a recall on a ballot in Vos's district would require something like 7,000 valid signatures, the exact number depends on whether the signatures come from residents of Vos's district as it was defined by the 2022 maps or whether they need to come from the district now defined by the newly adopted maps.

On Tuesday, March 12, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that "Wisconsin Elections Commission staff determined the recall organizers did not obtain enough signatures from residents in the district Vos was elected in when the recall began, falling about 945 signatures short." To add to the confusion about district lines, "the state Supreme Court declined to weigh in on Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' request to clarify whether the state's new legislative districts apply to elections held before November, leaving potential questions about how election officials will address the proposed recall." Anyway, what's up with a recall election four or five months before Vos and all Assembly representatives are already facing the voters (in the new districts)?

In our own backyard, so to speak, Grassroots North Shore is hosting a program about the two ballot questions that, if approved, will amend the Wisconsin Constitution. Know What is on the April 2 Ballot will allow you to understand what the amendments say and what they actually mean. Like may progressive organizations, Grassroots North Shore has taken a firm stand. We urge everyone to vote NO on both questions. The shorthand reason is that both threaten to damage how we will be able to conduct future elections. But come to the program to hear attorney Doug Poland explain how these amendments pose a danger to our elections. State Senator Mark Spreitzer will also fill us in on the road these proposals took through the legislature and why they are now on the ballot. Also at the meeting, Anne O'Connor, who is running for a seat on the Milwaukee Board of County Supervisors, will have a chance to talk to some of the people she will be representing.

I've put two new sections into this week's newsletter and will continue that practice until after the April 2 election. One of the sections will provide you with quick links to sign up for canvasses in various communities. The second section will provide you with descriptions of other ways you can pitch in to help Democrats win. And after that rousing State of the Union speech, I hope everyone is now Ridin' with Biden and ready to plunge joyously into the work it takes to win elections. Remember that we are — always — within the margin of effort.

Canvassing with WisDems

North Shore Communities

• North Shore Dems Get Out the Vote in Whitefish Bay, 4845 N Newhall St., WFB: March 17, 24, 30, & April 1
• North Shore Dems Get Out the Vote in Shorewood, 4516 N Newhall St, Shorewood: March 16, 23, 30, & April 2
• Fox Point Dems Get Out the Vote, 7632 N Beach Dr, Fox Point: March 16, 17, 23, 24, 30, & 31
• Grassroots Glendale Gets Out the Early Vote, 6563 N Crestwood Dr: March 17 & March 24
• Grassroots Glendale Gets Out the Vote, 6563 N Crestwood Dr: March 30 & April 1
• Lakefront Dems Get Out the Early Vote, 7632 N Beach Dr, Fox Point: Sunday, March 17, and Sunday, March 24

Ozaukee County

• Knock on Doors in Mequon, March 16
• Knock on Doors in Grafton/Cedarburg, 1930 Wisconsin Ave, Grafton: March 16 & 17, at 9:00am and at 12:00pm
• Knock on Doors in Grafton/Cedarburg, 1930 Wisconsin Ave, Grafton: March 23 & 24
• Knock on Doors in Grafton/Cedarburg, 1930 Wisconsin Ave, Grafton: March 28 & 30 and April 1 & 2, various start times

Other Worthy Actions

Sign up to be a Poll Observer
Time is running out to sign up to be a poll observer on April 2nd! Poll observers are the eyes and ears of our team on Election day and are a great resource for voters who might need help. Poll observers are fully trained in Wisconsin election law and you will have full communication and support form our team on Election Day. Fill out the sign up form here to join our team for the April Election and you can reach out to [email protected] with any questions. Sign up here.

Go to the Wisconsin Grassroots Festival
The Wisconsin Grassroots Network (WGN) provides support to community-based grassroots organizations, helping them to grow. Our Grassroots Festival encourages networking among these organizations and is an ideal venue for connecting them to citizens who are looking for a way to get involved. We provide these services to promote democracy, justice, and equality throughout Wisconsin. The Fifteenth Annual meeting will be held on Saturday, May 4, at Lawrence University's Warch Campus Center, 711 E Boldt Way, Appleton, WI 54911. Visit the website and register online.

Write Postcards to Swing States
More than 2,900 people signed up or tuned in to the recent webinar about Swing States' 2024 postcard program. For those who missed it, you can still watch the webinar recording on YouTube. The webinar is NOT required or a training — we shared an overview of our program, how we know postcards work, and answered questions. Here are the key details: Sign-ups for free postcards start on May 1 at turnoutpac.org/postcards. They plan to send 25 million postcards for the Nov 5 general election to potential Democratic voters in swing states, states with key Senate races, and competitive US House and state legislative districts. You pick the state when you sign up, and they'll mail the cards to you with voter lists and instructions with message options within a couple weeks. Almost anyone can write postcards from anywhere as time allows between May and the mailing dates in October. They also have a 2024 Postcard Program flyer with all the useful information that you can download and share (may not open on all phones).

In today's newsletter, I'll have plenty to say about everything in the news from the past week, but the most urgent matters have to do with what WE need to do. Let's be upbeat for a change. With our new maps in hand, we have a chance to achieve a truly representative legislature for the first time in 13 years! So let's get to work.

1. Contact Norma Gilson to help with Campus Voter Engagement.
   MIAD, Monday - Thursday March 18 - 20: 11:00am - 1:00pm
   UWM Monday - Thursday March 25 - 28: 11:00am - 1:00pm
   
   
2. Contact Nancy Kaplan to make simple phone calls to strong Democratic women voters who received our postcard to make sure they have a plan to vote.
   
   
3. Call, Text or Email 10 friends, neighbors, and relatives to tell them to vote NO on Questions 1 and 2 on their ballots. Then ask them to contact 10 of their friends, neighbors, and relatives with the same message.

The Democratic Party is hosting two special events this week and next.

• North Shore Phone Bank Saturday, March 9th noon to 2:00 PM
  Virtual
  Join the North Shore Dems for a volunteer recruitment phonebank! We'll be meeting virtually to recruit other likeminded folks to knock on doors in the North Shore for Dem-aligned candidates running for office this April. We will train you on how to make effective phone calls before we start calling as a group. Bring yourself and your phone and call with us! Sign up.
  
  
• Fox Point Dems Blue Brunch, Sunday, March 17
  7632 N Beach Dr, Fox Point
  Join the Fox Point Dems for a Blue Brunch and get out the volunteer textbank! We'll be reaching out to our networks to get our friends and families involved in our get out the vote efforts for the Spring Election on April 2nd. Grab a coffee and a snack mobilize your network! Sign up.

In addition, the Dems have scheduled canvasses for North Shore neighborhood teams. Surely we cannot complain about the weather (after all crocuses are already blooming). So sign up for something. Click on the links to see the days and times.

• Whitefish Bay Dems Team Building Textbank, 4845 N Newhall St, WFB: Saturday, March 10
• North Shore Dems Get Out the Vote in Whitefish Bay, 4845 N Newhall St., WFB: March 16, 24, 30, & April 1
• North Shore Dems Get Out the Vote in Shorewood, 4516 N Newhall St, Shorewood: March 16, 23, 30, & April 2
• Fox Point Dems Get Out the Vote, 7632 N Beach Dr, Fox Point: March 16, 17. 23, 24, 30, & 31
• Grassroots Glendale Gets Out the Early Vote, 6563 N Crestwood Dr: March 17 & March 24
• Lakefront Dems Get Out the Early Vote, 7632 N Beach Dr, Fox Point: Sunday March 17 and Sunday March 24:

In Ozaukee County, there will also be several events between now and Election Day:

• Ozaukee County General Election Kick-Off, DPOC office at 1930 Wisconsin Ave, Grafton: Saturday, March 9, 12:00 - 2:00pm
• Knock on Doors in Grafton/Cedarburg, 1930 Wisconsin Ave, Grafton: March 16 & 17, at 9:00am and at 12:00pm
• Knock on Doors in Grafton/Cedarburg, 1930 Wisconsin Ave, Grafton: March 23 & 24, various start times
• Knock on Doors in Grafton/Cedarburg, 1930 Wisconsin Ave, Grafton: March 28 & 30 and April 1 & 2, various start times

Looking to the longer term, Grassroots North Shore — alas — needs a new Treasurer. Here's a job description. If you or someone you know might be interested in the position, contact Co-Chair Cheryl Maranto or (414) 429-1583.

And now for some news. As you will no doubt already know, Super Tuesday was yesterday. Depending on your point of view it was either a yawn or a Big F***ing Deal. The winners were of course President Joe Biden, for the Dems, and Dolt 45 for the MAGAites. Former Ambassador Nikki Haley dropped out but did not endorse you-know-who. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced he would be stepping down from leadership in the Senate and then endorsed the Barbecued Brutus despite his obvious loathing. This afternoon, Dean Phillips also ended his quixotic bid for the Democratic nomination for president and endorsed President Biden. Senators Manchin and Sinema have both called it quits. Political junkies could have slept through all these events, so packed were they with what everyone expected.

A lot of the outcomes were so thoroughly predictable, neither The Washington Post nor the New York Times featured analyses of the various outcomes in a major article above the (digital) fold. (The NYT does have a page devoted to Super Tuesday outcomes: scroll down to the section labeled "Analysis from our reporters.")

While all the breathless coverage of the foregone conclusion was going on, you may have missed some important stories. First Lady Jill Biden promoted her Women for Biden-Harris tour in Waukesha on Sunday. I was fortunate enough to be able to go. Her speech to the assembled throng was strong and uplifting: "Women put Joe Biden in the White House and women are going to do it again."

Federal prosecutors added 12 new felony counts to the indictment of Senator Bob Menendez and his wife. The scheme is pretty convoluted but involves bribery, fraud, extortion, and obstruction of justice. Perhaps you remember that when the FBI searched his house, they found a small fortune in gold bars stashed away there. Not the sort of thing a US Senator normally keeps under his bed, I imagine. See the account in Talking Points Memo for a fuller explanation. The senator has not, yet, resigned. But assuming he's convicted, New Jersey will need a new senator.

Has this bizarre winter weather freaked you out? Well wait until you see what spring is bringing us. It seems that "for the first time since Thomas Jefferson was president, two rare broods of cicadas will emerge at the same time." This event has a 221 year cycle. The last time the two broods emerged at the same time was in 1803! You can read about it in Here Come the Cicadas in Urban Milwaukee. The article warns that the noise from these insects could be really loud. The last time I experienced a major cicada invasion, I was living in Baltimore. Not only were the critters noisy, they were really crunchy underfoot and on the roads. And that's my off-beat tidbit for the week.

As the Biden-Trump rematch ramps up, everyone needs to engage now and for the rest of the year. The long first part of this email gives you a lot of choices. So, let's not wring our hands over every new poll and every new pundit alleging that Biden's age is more worrisome than The Former Guy's lies and nefarious plans. Don't agonize. ORGANIZE.

Today's newsletter begins with local actions and needs, starting with the hunt for a new Grassroots North Shore treasurer. Brenda Stelzer has done outstanding work with the organization for many years, but she needs to step away now. The new volunteer is to begin in April 2024.

Grassroots North Shore is organizing efforts to encourage students at MIAD and UWM to vote in the upcoming election. Norma Gilson, who is putting the events together, will hold a zoom meeting to orient volunteers to this activity and provide some key talking points and guidelines. A lead volunteer will meet you at the beginning of your shift and provide you with flyers to give to the students. Please email Norma with the shifts you can do and include your mobile phone number. Shifts are the following:

• UWM Campus, 11:00 - 1:00: Monday 3/25, Tuesday 3/26, Wednesday 3/27, and Thursday 3/28.
• MIAD Campus, 11:00 - 1:00: Monday 3/18, Tuesday 3/19, Wednesday 3/20, and Thursday 3/21.

Supermarket Legends is also in need of some volunteers to help register students at MIAD and UWM.

• Sue Schneidler is organizing voter registration/information events at Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design (MIAD) from 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. on Monday, March 4, and Tuesday, March 5. Email Sue Schneidler at if you are interested in volunteering and indicate the day(s) you are available.
• We need a few more volunteers at UWM on Monday, March 11, and Tuesday, March 12, from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. to register students and to remind and encourage them to vote on April 2. If you are interested in volunteering, email Sue Schneidler and indicate what day(s) and time (morning, afternoon, either) you are available.

More than 4700 postcards are going out to strong Democratic women in the North Shore and Ozaukee County. Now we need people to make calls to the recipients of those cards, starting at the end of this week and continuing through Election Day. We are urging people to vote and especially to say NO to the two ballot questions that, if approved, would amend the constitution in ways that undermine the ability of municipal clerks to conduct elections. (More on this issue below.) The League of Women voters has posted a helpful toolkit explaining in detail what these proposed amendments actually mean. Making 4700 calls is a pretty heavy lift, so volunteer by sending an email to Nancy Kaplan. You'll be happy you did!

Keith Schmitz is organizing a Building Captain program in Shorewood to reach Democrats who live in largely inaccessible apartment buildings. Check out the nifty flyer he has put together and, for more detail, check out his description of the roles volunteers can play: Building Captains — Who Does What, Who Needs What. If you are interested in participating, email Keith.

Defeating the ballot questions, and educating voters about why it's so important to do so, makes the April 2 election even more important than usual. To see more detailed arguments against these proposals, visit our web page. But the gist of the matter is this. The ballot language of both proposed amendments leaves out crucial information, allowing them to seem benign. But they are not! Question 1 neglects to tell voters that election administration is an arduous and expensive undertaking. The vagueness of the prohibition, moreover, may make it necessary for municipal clerks to pay rent for the many privately owned buildings that are used as polling places. For many years, the state legislature has under-funded this vital foundation of democracy. As a result, many Wisconsin municipalities have needed outside funding to support elections. Question 2 seeks to prohibit municipal clerks from receiving assistance from other government agencies, such as police departments, IT offices and the like. And both fail to provide critical definitions of key terms, such as "used in connection with the conduct" of an election or what a "task in the conduct" of an election means.

In yet another move to stymy election processes just two days ago, the MAGA Republican senators decided not even to hold a vote on a bill that would have allowed election clerks to start processing absentee ballots the day before Election Day. Waiting until the day of the election means that in Milwaukee, where all the absentee ballots are processed at a central facility, may have to tabulate as many as 100,000 absentee ballots. The results are published all at once, leading to delays in the final count that Cheeto Benito then exploits, yelling that the "late" votes are "fraudulent dumps." Which of course is false. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published a good piece about what happened to the bill.

We've been crowing about the newly passed election maps for at least a week now. And yet, the case pending at the Supreme Court of Wisconsin has not been closed. It's unclear, to me at least, what the Court is still deliberating about. The maps adopted by the legislature and signed into law pit a number of incumbents against each other. In our own area, the new Senate District 8 sets up a duel between Dan Knodl and Duey Strobel. Dan Shafer (posting on X) notes that "Republican state senators Duey Stroebel of Saukville and Dan Knodl of Germantown will be in the same Senate district under new maps. The seat is up this year. Knodl tells the Ozaukee County News Graphic that he now plans to retire after this term." Nevermind that SD8 is considerably more competitive than it has been since 2011! In fact, it is now "within the margin of effort," a phrase coined by that savvy political pundit and pollster, Michael Podhorzer.

Now, WISPOLITICS has just announced, Knodl may not be retiring after all. He's "considering run for Brandtjen’s Assembly seat." The new maps put Knodl geographically in that district and it might be easier pickings for him since the Ethics Commission has recommended that Brandtjen, along with The Cowardly Lyin’s campaign and others, face criminal charges for a scheme "to evade campaign finance limits."

On the national scene, we have competing narratives about what the vote totals in the primaries held so far actually mean. There's no uncertainty about who the two major party nominees will be of course, but there is a difference in how the split between the certain winner and his opposition matters. When Agent Orange bests Nikki Haley, the win is ofen seen as a brutal beating. Here's a kind of mild version from the New York Times (gifted): "Mr. Trump’s victory over Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, extends an unbroken streak in the nominating contests. Michigan is his sixth straight triumph, and it is his second, after Nevada, in a state expected to be a crucial battleground come November." The Washington Post (gifted), in constrast, goes full blast: "As Trump continues to trounce Haley, she presses on as MAGA antagonist."

A new and perhaps more nuanced narrative about the races has recently cropped up among progressive and Democratic pundits. These pundits are noticing that TFG is under-performing expectations. That is, he's not beating Haley by the enormous margins the polls have been predicting. Here's the Independent's headline: "Trump beats Haley in Michigan primary but underperforms expectations." The Bridge, a nonpartisan and nonprofit news outlet in Michigan, reports that "Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley won more than 30% of the GOP primary vote in each of those counties, showing Trump could again struggle with college-educated voters that cost him the 2020 election." MSNBC's headline, "Trump’s Michigan victory is not what the polls predicted — and he should be worried," states the problem succinctly. The story notes that the uncommitted votes — organized as a protest message calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war — "might as well be a Rorschach test." The uncommitted vote was more substantial than it had been in 2012 but only 1/3 of the uncommitted votes in 2008, when Barack Obama ran for the first time. But the story quickly segues. "There was no ambiguity on the Republican side: Former President Donald Trump underperformed his polls yet again.... Michigan marks the fourth consecutive contest in which Trump’s final margin has fallen short of pre-contest polling averages. In Iowa, polling averages projected a 34% margin over the second-place. The actual result? Under 30%. In New Hampshire, an 18-point margin became an 11-point win. In South Carolina, a 28-point margin became a 20-point win."

I'll end with the flip side: Biden, it seems, is over-performing expectations as reflected in the pre-primary polls. Countdown with Keith Olbermann provides an uplifting view, as does a short Daily Kos diary. But Simon Rosenburg's level-headed commentary in his Hopium Chronicles may be the best of the lot.

One of our fearless leaders, Debbie Patel, informs us that wringing our hands gets in the way of rolling up our sleeves! It's time, people, to start working HARD on that margin of effort. The WisDems will be organizing canvassing, friend-banking, and other work for the weekends of March 16 and 17, and March 23 and 24. The weather is spookily warm (except not today). So plan to get busy. I'll provide links to sign up for these events in the coming days. Meanwhile, peruse the Events listings below and find a way to engage.

Ding dong, the Gerrymander is dead! Or maybe in hospice care while we await the Wisconsin Supreme Court's final judgment. Then just like that representative democracy will have a real chance of emerging from years of subordination to the tyranny of the (often) minority. I'm sure you've been treated to lots of celebrations in Wisconsin and in the national media as well as on various online publications. I've collected a few for your celebratory delight:

• Ben Wikler, posting on Daily Kos: BREAKING: WI Gov Evers signs new state legislative maps. The nightmare of gerrymandering is over.;
  
  
• Wisconsin’s new legislative maps are a win for democracy on Vox;
  
  
• In Mother Jones, Ari Berman writes The Long Era of Republican Gerrymandering in Wisconsin May Finally Be Over;
  
  
• The offering of the New York Times (gifted), New Wisconsin Legislative Maps Diminish G.O.P. Advantage;
  
  
• The Washington Post (gifted): Wisconsin’s Democratic governor signs his new legislative maps into law after Republicans pass them;
  
  
• Wisconsin governor signs new maps, ending GOP gerrymanders for a graphic depiction of the new maps together with an analysis of what they mean.

But the work to ensure fair election maps forever more is not yet complete. The next step is electing a legislature that will pass a law to make sure the maps are drawn by nonpartisans with political neutrality an explicit measure. After that milestone, the stretch goal should be a constitutional amendment mandating fair maps and a nonpartisan process for achieving them. North Shore Fair Maps and the Fair Maps Coalition are on the case.

Meanwhile we have a low-key but VITAL ELECTION coming up on April 2. Your ballot may offer few if any competitive races; nevertheless the value of your vote is priceless. Not only does the April 2 election double as the presidential primary in Wisconsin, it presents two so-called "ballot questions" — really two proposed amendments to the Wisconsin Constitution. Grassroots North Shore is hosting a webinar on these proposals on Sunday, March 17, from 5:00 - 6:15pm. Doug Poland, a Madison-based lawyer with a long career fighting for democracy, and State Senator Mark Spreitzer, a Democrat from Beloit, will help us understand what the amendments really say and mean. They'll also explain why they are on the ballot in the first place. You can visit the Grassrooots North Shore web page devoted to the amendments. And of course you should sign up to attend the webinar.

The League of Women Voters is also holding a forum on the ballot questions on Tuesday, February 27, from 6:00 - 7:30pm. Their speakers are Joan Swartz, a retired civil law attorney, and Michael Haas, the Madison City Attorney with a background working for the Wisconsin Elections Commission. You can sign up for this forum here.

Now an earnest plea for help: The primary, such as it was this year, is in the rearview mirror. Now the serious work of electing great candidates begins. Please pitch in any way that you can. Grassroots North Shore has distributed 4700+ postcards to be written and mailed between now and the end of the month. So we'll start phoning card recipients to let them know how serious the proposed amendments to the Wisconsin Constitution is and urging them to vote. To make 4700 phone calls, though, we need lots and lots of volunteers. Please let me know that you will help: email me or text me at 443-465-1920.

For information on the races in your area, visit our Elections 2024 pages. On that index page, you will find links to the election by community, school board elections by community, and judicial races by community. You will also find information about your registration status, requesting absentee ballots for the April election as well as the partisan primary on August 13 and the general election on November 5. And if you are fortunate enough to be able to donate to one or more candidates, we have a page detailing contribution limits for every office — national, state, and local.

You probably know all there is to know about how to vote in Wisconsin. But it never hurts to refresh your memory or provide information that may be useful to a new voter you might know. So here it is.

The next several weeks are chock full of legal wrangling about various Adolf Twittler's trials and tribulations. We're still waiting for the US Supreme Court to issue a ruling in the challenge to Colorado disqualifying Trump from the ballot because of his role in the January 6, 2021 Insurrection. That opinion could come down any day now. In addition, in the New York DA's Election Interference case (often disparagingly termed a hush-money case), motions to prevent specific evidence or arguments from being introduced at trial — known in legalese as in limine motions, I've learned — are due on Thursday, February 22. On Friday, a case brought by officers on duty at the Capitol Building on January 6, known as Blassingame, will have a status hearing in the DC Courtroom where Judge Amit Mehta presides. Keep track of all the legal events as well as the primaries interspersed throughout at Just Security's Master Calendar of Trump Court Dates: Criminal and Civil Cases.

Finally, a note of levity: how the idiot-in-chief thinks the fines levied by Judge Engoron as well as the other "persecutions" he has to endure make him a sorta, kinda, almost the victim of an assassination. In short an American Alexey Navalny. I kid you not: the AP reports.

Sorry this newsletter was delayed. Still, I'm glad to be late this time. The news from yesterday's events, both national and here in Wisconsin, was nothing short of fantastic. Also beginning next week, I will be sending the newsletter on Wednesdays to accommodate a change in various meeting schedules. So maybe it's not so much late as it is an unannounced surprise?

Let's begin with the HUGE win for fair maps for the 2024 partisan election! The Republican-controlled legislature hurriedly passed a new set of maps for legislative districts both for Assembly seats and state Senate seats yesterday — presumably to foreclose the Supreme Court of Wisconsin (SCOWIS) decision about which set of maps the justices would choose. After the usual shenanigans, the legislature chose the ones Governor Evers had submitted. The two expert consultants — who reviewed all six sets of remedial maps the court received — judged four of the remedial maps compliant with the criteria the Court had set forth, including the stipulation that the maps could not favor one political party. The maps Governor Evers submitted was one of the four.

As the Co-Chair of the North Shore Fair Maps group put it, "MAKE NO MISTAKE, WE WON BIGLY YESTERDAY!" She goes on to say "maps drawn by a Democratic governor and accepted by a Republican legislature are a far better reflection of good government than maps imposed by a Court. Governor Evers’s maps represent government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Good government." And that's the main point.

Almost all Democrats in both the Senate and the Assembly, however, voted against the bill. Many people are wondering why they did that if the maps that passed and that Governor Evers has indicated he will sign are such a big win for those of us who had persistently and vigorously opposed the rigged maps we've had since 2012. Two possible reasons have emerged: first the strength of the Democratic vote in the Assembly suggests that the GOP legislators lack the votes to override a gubernatorial veto should Governor Evers decide to go that route; and second, many Democratic legislators objected to the rushed process that Speaker Vos used.

This matter is not quite definitively closed. Someone with the requisite means could still to try to take the case to the US Supreme Court. But Doug Poland, one of the lawyers who brought the suit to SCOWIS, all but called this possibility looney: "People really think that if the GOP controlled Legislature and Dem. Governor agree on legislation adopting new districts that a federal court challenge will undo that? On what theory?" See Dan Shafer's account and analysis on The Recombobulation Area publication: The Wisconsin State Legislature passed new maps. It's a bit discombobulating.

The Washington Post covered the story today (gifted link). And in another, more analytic piece by Phillip Bump, there's a particularly clear graphic showing the difference between the share of the total vote each party won in the last four elections and the share of the seats in the Assembly and Senate each party held. The accompanying analysis confidently states, "It was a [GOP] concession born not of enthusiasm about Evers’s proposal but, instead, out of fear about even less favorable maps that might be created by the court." Bottom Line: Let's allow ourselves to celebrate what Speaker Robin Vos said to reporters: Evers had "a huge win today" because now "the legislature will be up for grabs." Surely an admission that Republicans had in fact rigged the maps.

Yesterday was also election day for two special elections, one in New York to fill the seat made vacant when the House of Representatives expelled George Santos and the other in a Philadelphia suburb to fill a Pennsylvania House seat. Continuing the successful run they've enjoyed in special elections in 2023, Democrats won both, convincingly. Tom Suozzi was elected to take Santos's place, shrinking the small (and dare I say dysfunctional) GOP majority. This result leaves "the G.O.P. able to afford only two defections from the party line on votes when all members are present." And the early March deadlines for funding the government loom (New York Times gifted link, February 14, 2024).

In Pennsylvania, Democrat "Jim Prokopiak won the special election and reaffirmed Democrats’ one-seat majority in the state House, according to the Associated Press, which called the race for him at 8:07 p.m., just after polls closed" (The Philadelphia Inquirer, Feb. 13, 2024). The article notes that "Democrats have had to defend their majority four times since they took control of the state House in 2023. They have successfully run each on a promise to protect abortion access in Pennsylvania." These latest wins add to the narrative that Democrats have significantly overperformed in a host of 2023 elections. You can see the table, the tally, and the average in "Democrats have been winning big in special elections." The article from ABC News sports a sub-head: "That could bode well for them in the 2024 election."

Let's turn now to a brief recap of the Cheeto Benito trials.

• He's appealed the DC Appellate Court's ruling that he is not immune from criminal prosecution once he's magically been returned to being a mere citizen of the United States. The US Supreme Court has given Special Counsel Jack Smith until February 20 to reply to the Cowardly Lyin's brief. Not a super-urgent briefing schedule but not entirely dilatory either. We shall see.
• The Fulton County judge will be holding an evidentiary hearing tomorrow to determine whether DA Willis and her entire office need to be dismissed from the case. At issue is whether the romantic entanglement with another prosecutor on her staff began BEFORE she hired him, as one of the defendants in the case has alleged, or AFTER, as she and Mr. Wade have both sworn. PBS will carry the televised hearing, beginning at 8:30am CT.
• Judge Merchan, overseeing the NYC case about hush money and fraudulent business records, has denied Boss Tweet's motion to recuse himself. He'll hold a hearing tomorrow to make some decisions on motions and to consider any scheduling conflicts.
• In the Mar-a-lago documents case, Judge Aileen Cannon has held separate hearings with the defendants' lawyers and the DOJ lawyers to deal with protective orders for the classified information in the documents found in the search of the Butternut Berlusconi's retirement home. Special Counsel Jack Smith has called her recent ruling that would unmask the names and grand jury testimony of key witnesses "clear error." Smith has filed an additional brief making his case with additional evidence about the harm such unmasking will surely do.
• Judge Engoron is reportedly going to file his written decision in the NY State case in which he and his company, the Trump Organization, have already been found guilty of fraud. The amount of what's known as disgorgement he will have to pay and whether he and his sons will be barred from doing business in New York State are what followers of this case are waiting to see.

The website Just Security is producing a "Master Calendar of Trump Court Dates: Criminal and Civil Cases" for your edification. If you're a political and court junky, you might want to bookmark it. And you should not miss the superb investigative journalism taking place at Talking Points Memo: Josh Kovensky began a series of articles with new and interesting details about how the various coup plots intertwined. Called The Chesebro Docs, the series begins with an introductory piece: The Legal Coup.

If you missed the February 4 presentations by Professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat and state Senator Chris Larson, you can watch the Grassroots North Shore event on YouTube. Professor Ben-Ghiat is a world renowned expert on the rise of authoritarianism. Senator Larson provides a riveting history of what's been happening in Wisconsin over the last 14 years or so. You really should take the time to view it.

Two great organizations — the ACLU and the Democratic Party of Wisconsin — are recruiting people to assist with voter protection issues for the April 2 and November 5 elections.

I've introduced a new section detailing the canvassing the WisDems are organizing ahead of the April 2 election. That is followed by the usual Events list for the next two weeks. The weather in this area has been astonishingly mild (though there does seem to be a snow storm on the way). So engage!

SPRING VOTER OUTREACH WITH LOCAL DEMS TEAMS

Saturday, February 17

Sunday, February 18

A look ahead to plan canvassing to Get Out The Vote for the April 2 election.

Before I dive into the bombshell news of the day, there's a must-not-miss event on Monday, February 12, at 7:00pm. The North Shore Fair Maps group is hosting a webinar with some distinguished national gurus on what the data tell us about messaging for this election."Words and Data Matter" will be presented by Anat Shenker-Osorio, perhaps the best message-master in the United States; and Michael Podhorzer, who understands data better than anybody!  Sign up for the monthly NSFM meeting. 

As I am writing this newsletter (at about 2:15pm CT), the news arrived that the D.C. Court of Appeals had finally handed down a decision in the complete immunity case TFG filed. The news everywhere (except Fox, maybe) will be chewing on the ruling all day, no doubt. And I'm not a lawyer. But I have read the whole thing. And the bottom line is that TFG loses every argument in a unanimous decision. The New York Times has a clear account of it (gifted to bypass the paywall). The paper of record also provides access to the ruling itself with annotations by Charlie Savage. (The full, unannotated opinion is also available.) Both the article and the annotated opinion call attention to a key paragraph early in the decision:

The ruling takes a methodical tour through the key elements of the indictment: "(1) conspiracy to defraud the United States by overturning the election results; (2 ) conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding i.e., the Congress's certification of the electoral vote; (3) obstruction of and attempt to obstruct, the certification of the electoral vote; and (4) conspiracy against the rights of one or more persons to vote and to have their votes counted." This opening section concludes "At this stage of the prosecution, we assume that the allegations set forth inthe Indictment are true." Although it may seem strange that an appeals court would make such an assertion, the assumption is standard practice in this kind of appeal.

The rest of the document meticulously addresses each of the former president's four claims of immunity: "(1) presidential immunity; (2) constitutional provisions, including the Impeachment Judgment Clause and principles stemming from the Double JeopardyClause; (3) statutory grounds; and (4) allegations of selective and vindictive prosecution." Before the court rules on each of the claims, though, it devotes nearly 10 pages responding to an amicus brief from American Oversights that had argued the appeal based on a claim of immunity was procedurally premature. At the end of the longish legal argument, the court disagrees and takes up the four motions claiming immunity on different grounds. I leave it to the experts and punditocracy to tease out the meanings of each part of the argument.

One final note. The account in the Washington Post includes this important nugget: "The court set tight deadlines for that review, saying it would put the ruling on hold until Feb. 12 for Trump to appeal to the Supreme Court but would not wait for the full D.C. Circuit to weigh in."

Local Legal News

It's pretty exciting here in Wisconsin too. As I mentioned in last week's newsletter, the MAGA-controlled legislature got its panties in a twist about the remedial maps that were submitted to the Wisconsin Supreme Court (SCOWIS). So in an attempt to beat what they considered an adverse ruling on electoral maps from SCOWIS, they passed a bill that purported to include essentially the map Governor Evers had submitted to SCOWIS. But it was not the same map. Why? Because they "tweaked" the legislative boundary lines to protect GOP incumbents. The Governor promptly vetoed the bill.

Meanwhile the two expert consultants SCOWIS hired to evaluate the remedial maps were hard at work. In their report, submitted on February 1, they argued that two of the remedial map proposals did not meet the court's requirement that the maps be neutral with respect to political parties. The two sets of maps they disallowed were produced by the Republicans in the legislature and by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (also called the Johnson maps). That leaves four sets of maps still in the running: Clarke petitioners (Law Forward), Governor Evers, Democratic Senators, and the Wright Intervenors. In their conclusions, the consultants write, "From a social science perspective, the Legislature's plan does not deserve further consideration. Of the remaining plans, the Johnson plan appears to have a substantial number of fails on the 'bounded by' constitutional criteria. We also note that both the Legislature's plan and the Johnson plan, from a social science perspective, are partisan gerrymanders. The four other submitted plans are similar on most criteria. From a social science point of view these for [sic] plans are nearly indistinguishable." See the full report. All the parties and accepted amici have until February 8 to respond to the consultants' report. After that, SCOWIS will choose a map.

Then, on February 2, the Supreme Court of Wisconsin has accepted a lawsuit Governor Evers filed "against Republican lawmakers who blocked pay raises for university employees and funding for conservation projects" (Wisconsin Public Radio). The article goes on to say, "The court’s liberal majority agreed to immediately take up Evers’ claim that the committee blockades amounted to 'legislative vetoes' [that] violate the the separation of powers in the Wisconsin Constitution by allowing the legislative branch to alter 'the scope of the executive branch’s discretion.'"

Local Election News

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel online apparently does not consider the DC Circuit Court's opinion worthy of front page coverage, but you can find it if you hunt under the news section and then choose the sub-link "Elections." It does have coverage of the Shorewood School Board election where three candidates are running for a single seat. That means there will be a primary in Shorewood on February 20. The MJS article includes a candidate questionnaire to help sort out your choice. The Grassroots North Shore website also has some information about school board contests in the North Shore suburbs and for school board elections in Ozaukee County.

Grassroots North Shore tries to provide comprehensive election news in every cycle. For the election on April 2, we have a guide to early in-person voting, beginning March 19 and ending March 29 in most of our communities. We also have a page devoted to the two constitutional amendments, called Issue Question 1 and Issue Question 2, that will be on every voter's ballot. We are strongly urging a NO vote on both. They sound innocuous enough, but they are a not-so-subtle end run around the governor's veto. The Issue Questions were first presented as bills the legislature passed along party lines. When the governor vetoed them, the legislature turned them into proposed amendments to the Wisconsin Constitution.

The lawsuit Governor Evers recently filed against several legislative committee chairs also accused the legislature of exercising an unconstitutional nullification of his veto power. You may recall that when Governor Evers was first elected in 2018, the legislature passed and then Governor Walker signed bills restricting the governor's powers. For the MAGAites, taking power away from others and grabbing it for themselves is just the ordinary business of the day.

And if you have the financial ability to contribute to candidates, make sure you check our page of information about campaign contribution limits. You'll find the index to most of our election coverage and useful information about deadlines for registering to vote, requesting an absentee ballot, and more at Elections 2024 on our website.

Lastly, we urge you to request absentee ballots for every election this year. There are many reasons to request an absentee ballot: you can take your time and be thoughtful about your votes, you can do your homework as you choose which candidate you favor; you have an insurance policy in case you get sick — COVID is still dogging us, RSV and the flu are around too, and there's some awful cold virus that seems to last forever — or have an accident or are suddenly called out of town. Even if you request an absentee ballot, you can still vote early in person or vote on election day: just make sure you don't turn in your absentee ballot also! If you do want to vote by absentee ballot, you must either return your ballot by mail or take it in person to your municipal clerk. You CANNOT ask someone else to return your ballot for you.

The spring elections this year are pretty low key. But it's important that you vote, even if every office on your ballot is uncontested. Your vote to turn down the constitutional amendments (Issue Questions 1 and 2) is vital. So too is your vote in the presidential primary. In Democrats' primary, both President Joe Biden and Representative Dean Phillips will be on your ballot. (On the Republican side, Trump, Haley, and a bunch of folks we've already forgotten about will appear.) Because we do not register an affiliation with a political party in this state, you can vote in any party's primary. BUT ONLY IN ONE. I'll have more on the presidential primary closer to the April 2 election.

Meanwhile, Make Yourself Useful

You Can Help Save Our Democracy By Registering Voters in Milwaukee: Everyone! Join The Milwaukee Voter Project registering voters inside three Milwaukee DMV's, 2701 South Chase, Teutonia & Florist and 73rd & Mill. During the months leading up to the Supreme Court Election we produced 3168 paper registrations, thousands of online registrations and made 50,000 voter contacts. We work year around and will give you the simple training and supervision you need. Contact us at our email: [email protected] or phone (414) 218-5944. Much more about on our website.

Voter Protection Team: Join one of our upcoming VoPro 101 trainings! Interested in learning more about Wisconsin election law and how you can help people exercise their right to vote? Attend one of our upcoming Voter Protection 101 Trainings! We will resumed offering these biweekly trainings and we would love for you to join us. We cover election law basics, voter registration, and available resources, and talk about how you can get involved protecting democracy in your community. Sign up for a VoPro 101 session.

Phonebank with us! We will have two phonebank time slots a week, on Monday nights from 5-7pm CT and Thursday afternoons from 12-2pm CT. We will offer training at the beginning of each phonebank and there is no experience required; all you need is yourself and your computer! Sign up for a phonebank that works best for you here and invite anyone you know who might be interested.