Before we whoop and cheer for our great election victories yesterday, please take a few minutes to call Senator Baldwiin's office — 202-224-5653 or contact her online — to urge her not to vote for the Republican stop-gap budget measure without a rock solid agreement with specific language to reverse the cuts to the Obamacare subsidies. Tell her not to make pie-in-the-sky deals with Trump and the GOP.

Here's why it is imperative that we all call her today! According to an article in the The American Prospect, Baldwin is one of eight Democratic Senators who are "huddling with Republicans to reach agreement on fiscal year 2026 spending bills, as a crowbar to force open the government. There are eight Democrats in the gang, enough to break a filibuster on a funding bill." David Dayen, the author of the piece, calls the potential agreement "a pinky swear" because apparently the Democrats are only seeking "strong assurances" about funding the health insurance subsidies, not a specific plan. But neither Minority Leader Schumer nor the odious orange man occupying what's left of the White House are engaged in these negotiations! Dayen writes that "Democrats are dealing with incredibly untrustworthy people." Indeed. We need more than assurances and empty promises.

Now to the good news. You have no doubt seen

• that Abigail Spanberger won the Virginia race for governor by nearly 15 points;
• that Mikie Sherril won the New Jersey race for governor by 13 points;
• that Zohran Mamdani won the race for mayor of New York City with over 50% of the vote even though there were two other candidates on the ballot;
• that all three justices of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court were retained by votes of more than 60% each;
• that California voted "YES" with 63% of the vote on the referendum to redistrict the state.

Also, it sounds like Maryland is ready to work on congressional redistricting to counter the gerrymanders the GOP is creating.

I could go on: it was a massive clean sweep pretty much everywhere, including in Georgia where two Democrats won statewide office on Georgia's utility board, upsetting two incumbent Republicans!

Ross Douthat (opinion columnist for the New York Times) throws a little, predictable shade on Mamdani's triumph by arguing that his big win does not mean a "new dawn for the Democratic Party" because "the New York mayor’s office has historically been a 'springboard to nowhere,' rather than a precursor for national politics." But there's plenty to celebrate in his win and the wins up and down the ballot in all the states with elections yesterday. In particular, I recommend that you listen to Mamdani's acceptance speech for some especially well-crafted points, even if you don't agree with all his policies. (It runs just over 23 minutes. Or you can read the transcript.) Mamdani is the source for the subject line of today's newsletter: "TURN THE VOLUME UP" he admonishes Trump, presumably so Trump can HEAR what voters are saying. And we echo the sentiment. We will be louder, we will be bolder, and we will win!

Meanwhile, some Republicans are poo-pooing the results: ‘These are all blue states’: Some Republicans downplay election losses. It should be noted, though, that several of the states that saw big Democratic gains had voted for Trump in 2024. The wannabe dictator took to his favorite propaganda machine, Truth Social, to write, in all caps, “‘TRUMP WASN’T ON THE BALLOT, AND SHUTDOWN, WERE THE TWO REASONS THAT REPUBLICANS LOST ELECTIONS TONIGHT,’ according to Pollsters,” without naming any of the polls (Huffpost, November 5, 2025). I'm not sure he realizes that if his opponents won because of the shutdown, perhaps he and his enablers were responsible for the shutdown in the minds of yesterday's voters. Not his usual message.

In the latest Marquette poll of 846 registered voters in Wisconsin, "among all respondents, 38 percent blamed Republicans in Congress for the shutdown, while 33 percent blamed Democrats. Another 28 percent blamed both parties" (Urban Milwaukee, October 30, 2025). Get the full skinny at the Marquette Law School poll. Oddly enough, whoever wrote the analysis of the numbers, says that "voters are about evenly divided over which party is most responsible for the shutdown of the federal government." The difference in the percent of those who blame Republicans and those who blame Democrats may be within the margin of error for this poll (±3.3 percentage points), but in light of the drubbing the MAGA movement took yesterday the difference feels pretty real to me. Also, apparently the person most responsible — Donald Trump — is not included in the way the poll asked this question!

While Trump and his well-heeled buddies partied like there's no tomorrow on Halloween, millions of Americans were losing the support they need to put sufficient food on the table for their families. Loss of SNAP benefits, for example, is likely to lead to pregnancy complications. "Many studies have shown adequate nutrition is essential for a developing fetus, and a January study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found food insecurity in pregnancy is associated with medical complications. Risks include preeclampsia, preterm birth and NICU admission" (Wisconsin Examiner, October 31, 2025). But Trump has already said he doesn't want to use the contingency fund for SNAP even though two courts have ruled that he needs to restart SNAP benefits. See CNBC's article on the matter.

So to sum up, it looks like we're seeing the formation of a blue wave for the 2026 election! The last several elections for Wisconsin's Supreme Court were certainly blowouts on the magnitude of the wins we saw last night across the country. It is up to us to make it happen, not just in the supreme court race we will see in April, but in the races for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, state treasurer, secretary of state, all assembly districts, and half of the state senate races. Aside from the statewide races that will be so consequential for us, Grassroots North Shore plans to focus our electoral work on some nearby, flippable assembly, state senate and congressional seats. To start us off, it would be great if you could spare a donation to Jessica Seawright, who is running to beat incumbent Jessie Rodriguez in Assembly District 21 just south of Milwaukee. I'll be providing more information about the voting histories of the districts we will be targeting, but for now you need to remember that "early money is like yeast: it makes the dough rise!" Please be as generous as you can.

As the days grow shorter and the country grows darker, it's tempting to cocoon: just stay home with the heat and lights on, or enjoy a meal with friends and ignore as best we can the horrors of ICE, of troops on the streets of our cities, of the destruction of our democracy symbolized by the destruction of the White House. But we MUST NOT GIVE IN OR GIVE UP. So I begin the newsletter today with an uplifting speech Cleve Jones, a key organizer for the global queer community, gave at the San Fransisco No Kings rally. It will renew your spirit for the long fight ahead of us. And if you missed the Milwaukee rally, you can see the wonderful skit it included on YouTube.

The best antidote for despair, I find, is meaningful activity. So I am giving the newsletter over to some of the many things you can do to make life a little more bearable, both for you and for the many Americans who will need help in the coming days and weeks.

To find out what comes next — after the huge No Kings events — you should tune in to Indivisible's regular Thursday afternoon online calls: What's the Plan? Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin, the co-founders of Indivisible, use the hour to discuss what's happening and — more important — what's the plan! The calls take place from 2:00 - 3:00pm CT.

Then sign up for the Grassroots North Shore online presentation What's Happening to the US Economy? Does it still work? with a distinguished panel: Dr. William Holahan, emeritus professor of economics; Luz Sosa, founder of an organization providing financial literacy training; and Dr. Michael Rosen, retired economics professor. The panel will discuss how the economy works and how to counter the misinformation, manipulation, and economic threats we face. The event takes place on Sunday, November 9, from 4:30 - 6:00pm. Sign up.

The continuing government shutdown is impacting many facets of our lives but none more significant than the cessation of food assistance. FoodShare, Wisconsin's program for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), will not be able to provide food assistance after October 31 unless the federal government relents and uses the $5 billion contingency fund set up to meet emergencies. You can get a sense of just how many households in Wisconsin participate in SNAP by Congressional District as of 2019 here. I added the numbers up so you don't have to: it was about 223,798 households six years ago and may be more now. The number of people in Wisconsin who participate in FoodShare is 689,315 (source).

You can make a difference in three easy ways.

1. Donate to the Kinship Community Food Center (formerly the Riverwest Food Pantry) to help it stock meat, eggs, fresh produce, and dairy. Kinship currently purchases these items at cost to fill gaps in its well-rounded inventory that families rely on. The organization anticipates needing to spend 3x more than our current food acquisition budget to meet demand.
   
   
2. Use 5 Calls to call Governor Evers and ask him to exert as much pressure on Trump as he can "to use all available funds to keep SNAP benefits flowing."
   
   
3. You might also want to sign the Women's March petition to "tell Congress and the White House: Release contingency funds now and restore SNAP." (Once you sign you will land on a donation page but you don't have to oblige!)

Other resources for food assistance include the Hunger Task Force and Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin. Both have utilities for locating food pantries. You can also access the Hunger Relief Federation,"a statewide association of independent food banks and food pantries, formed for the express purpose of mutual benefit in matters related to funding, resource sharing and public policy organizing." For links to organizations in other areas of Wisconsin, UpNorthNews has compiled a list.

And while I'm on the subject of helping other Americans cope with scarcity, federal workers who are not getting paid also need assistance. FEEA, the Federal Employee Education & Assistance Fund, needs donations to augment its programs during this troubling time. Those of us who are hardly touched by want and privation need to give what we can to help others. Please be generous! And if you know people who going without paychecks because of the shutdown, please share the AFL-CIO web page — State Resources for Shutdown-Impacted Federal Employees and Contractors — with them. In addition to the national information, there's a link for Wisconsin employees who qualify to apply for unemployment benefits online.

In other news you might have missed, Spotify is advertising to recruit for ICE. If you don't want your streaming music application to be complicit in that ugly work, give the business the Disney+ treatment. That's what citizens did after the company cancelled Jimmy Kimmel's show. Just cancel your subscription!

And chose to use your shopping dollars more wisely: you can find out the partisan lean of your favorite companies at Goods Unite Us. Here's what the utility says about why it matters to choose companies whose politics are aligned with yours: "The average consumer indirectly contributes 3x more to political campaigns through everyday purchases than through direct donations. And some of those profits get donated to politicians and causes you might not agree with." Our decisions about what and where to buy the goods and services we want and need can make a difference!

One Year to Win Canvassing and Food Donation Drive

In a more active vein, the Democratic Party has a big Weekend of Action coming up and you should plan to participate. Prices continue to rise and Wisconsinites are struggling to pay their every day bills because of the GOP's Big Ugly Bill, their tariff tax, and their attacks on workers. Canvassers will be reaching out to hear about how these policies are hurting our neighbors and what they need from their representatives. This early canvassing effort will lay the groundwork for all the Get Out the Vote efforts we will need to make next year, beginning with the critical Wisconsin Supreme Court election in April. We can't afford to wait - YOU can make a difference!

Below I have listed sign-up links for many of the events in the Milwaukee area, a few of which are taking place only on Saturday and more of which are taking place both Saturday and Sunday. When you go to a sign-up page, you will see the shift times.

As we prepare for this ONE YEAR TO WIN, the Dems are encouraging teams and county parties to do a food drive collection at the canvass events to support our neighbors who may be impacted by the uncertainty around SNAP (FoodShare) benefits. Please bring shelf-stable food — canned and boxed items including powdered milk and holiday foods like canned green beans and cranberry sauce — to leave at the staging locations. (Check with your staging location host first!) Even if you cannot canvass, you can always drop by 6563 N Crestwood Dr, Glendale, 53209, to leave donations over the Weekend of Action. Cheryl Maranto and I will be there to launch canvasses and to accept your donations.

Saturday, November 1

Saturday & Sunday, November 1 & 2

TAKE ACTION

The WisDems Community Messenger Program is a new initiative launching on November 3, 2025, from 5:00 - 7:00pm, and running through Election Day 2026. This program is designed to mobilize trusted voices within communities across Wisconsin to help us reach voters who may not typically engage with Democratic campaigns during a traditional election cycle. The commitment is small, but will have a huge impact!  Download the WisDems Community Messenger Program One-Pager. Then sign up for the Milwaukee Community Messenger Program! Community Messengers will play a vital role in expanding our reach, deepening our relationships, and amplifying our message in every corner of the state.

What happens in Virginia on November 4 will shape the nation and the 2026 Congressional races. Help us make Get Out The Vote (GOTV) calls to Democratic voters on 10/29 and 11/3. Every new blue vote strengthens our democracy. Let’s finish strong! Take Action Now: Join Virginia GOTV Efforts on Wednesday, October 29 from 5:00 - 7:00pm CdT and/or on Monday, November 3, from 4:00 - 6:00pm CST.

NO KINGS Day was a smashing success! The consensus estimate of turnout is 7+ million people — all peaceful. Here's Rachel Maddow covering the No Kings rallies and marches in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, including the rally in Cathedral Square Park in Milwaukee! She does the states in alphabetical order so Wisconsin comes near the very end. Feel free to fast forward if you don't want to see all the protests she covers. Wisconsin coverage begins around the 19-minute mark. But don't blink: it's over in a trice!

If you went to one of the protests, Indivisible asks that you tell your story — posting photos and videos if you have them — on every social media platform you use. Tag your posts #NoKingsMoment. This use of social media will keep the story of the historical event alive and in people's social media feeds. Plus these stories, pictures, and videos will push back against Republican lies. On the No Kings website, you will see some memes you can download and also use. One of the images boasts that the No Kings event was 14x larger than both of Trump's inaugurations combined.

Opposition to the lawless Trump regime is growing. The numbers at the No Kings events tells us that. But we need to keep expanding. The Research Collaborative (our go-to experts on messaging) is holding an Activation Briefing on Tuesday, October 28, at 3:00pm CT. The webinar will focus on ways to activate others who are not yet turning out for protests or other important events. If you would like to attend, please fill out the registration form.

The next Grassroots North Shore event — What's Happening to the US Economy? Does it still work? — will take place online on Sunday, November 9, from 4:30 - 6:00pm. You do not want to miss it! Our panel of experts will explain how the economy works and how to counter the misinformation, manipulation and economic threats as the US economy faces increasing headwinds due to the administration's dangerous economic policies. Sign up.

Another event you will want to watch — The ICE Man Cometh — discussed what is happening in Wisconsin with ICE raids and its efforts to turn a small law enforcement office into bounty hunters for ICE. If you don't have time to watch the entire video, you can view the slide deck from the meeting.

By now you have undoubtedly seen pictures of the East Wing of the White House being demolished. MSNBC's MaddowBlog explains: It’s not just the facade: Team Trump has wrecked much of the White House’s East Wing. On Monday, it seemed the demolition was confined to the entrance, but pictures taken on Tuesday show that much of the East Wing had been demolished. Today, Reuters is reporting that the White House "will submit plans for President Donald Trump's $250 million White House ballroom project to a body that oversees federal building construction." The article on the MaddowBlog observes, "The report was oddly comedic, in a macabre sort of way: In 2025, a president and his team decide to bring in bulldozers to demolish much of the East Wing first, and then submit plans to the National Capital Planning Commission for a formal review." Rather like the "logic" in Alice in Wonderland as the Queen of Hearts declares "Sentence first—verdict afterwards" in the trial of the Knave of Hearts. And continuing confirmation that the Trump regime recognizes no constraints.

And did you hear about the $230 million in taxpayer money that Trump plans to approve giving to himself? The demand is somehow related to the criminal indictments he suffered and outran (with a big assist from the Supreme Court) "in compensation as damages for the investigations into Trump related to the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections and his handling of classified documents between his two presidencies" (YouTube). The press avail demonstrates how confused, and how rambling, our fearless leader is.

This is how Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo sums up where we are and why the demolition of the White House East Wing and the demand for "compensation" from the Department of Justice are linked to each other:

Now for some catching up on Wisconsin election news. Congressman Tom Tiffany announced that he would enter the Republican primary for governor (Wisconsin Examiner, September 23, 2025). When he announced, there were already two Republicans in the race: Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann and Whitefish Bay manufacturer Bill Berrien. But a few days later, Berrien dropped out of the race. Tiffany is currently the representative for Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District. Although the district is weighted pretty heavily toward Republicans — Dave's Redistricting has it at 57% Republican and 41% Democratic — Tiffany's resignation from Congress presents an opportunity, albeit a slim one, to flip the seat. Fortunately, a promising Democratic candidate, Fred Clark, has come forward. Clark is "a former Democratic state legislator and executive director of Wisconsin Green Fire" (Wisconsin Examiner, October 1, 2025).

Two other congressional districts, the 1st and the 3rd, are extremely competitive with a more or less 1% difference between the two main parties. Neither Gwen Moore's district (mostly Milwaukee) nor Mark Pocan's district (Madison and its suburbs) are at all in danger of electing a Republican, while the 5th, 6th, and 8th districts are all strongly Republican. Our best shots at flipping congressional seats this cycle are in the 1st and 3rd districts with the open seat in the 7th a long shot.

The Democratic Party will have a primary for the governor's race that is chock full of aspirants. "Official candidates include Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, state Sen. Kelda Roys, state Rep. Francesca Hong and beer vendor Ryan Strnad" (Wisconsin Examiner, September 23, 2025). Ballotpedia also lists Zachary Roper, a 22-year-old political science major at Carthage College, as a declared candidate in the Democratic primary (WMTV, October 21, 2025). There's still plenty of time for others to join the fun. Stay tuned.

TAKE ACTION

Indivisible together with the allied organizations who have produced the No Kings events has two action items on its website:

1. Know Your Rights Resource Guide includes How to Prepare for the Protest and Organizing a Community Response. It also includes a link to printable "Know Your Rights" cards in many different languages. These are very useful to hand out to people who might be targets for ICE.
2. Take Action Now: Movements that last don't end after one day of action — they evolve. The No Kings Alliance is a nationwide rapid response network built to meet this moment: coordinating across our movement to push back in real time against authoritarian attacks.

Bookmark the No Kings Alliance page and look for a new action once a week.

Join the Dems' Weekly Voter Protection Phone bank. Love talking to voters and giving them an opportunity to protect our democracy? You’re in luck! Help our team recruit poll workers for the 2026-2027 election cycle at one of our weekly phone banks! We’ll train you how to make phone calls to potential poll workers, and provide a script. Our phone banks will run twice a week on Monday nights and Thursday nights from 5-7pm CT.

Sign up to become a poll worker for the 2026-2027 election cycle! Interested in becoming a Poll Worker for the upcoming election cycle? Curious about what it entails? Join our Poll Worker Info Sessions! These 30-minute Zoom sessions will run every Tuesday night (5-5:30pmCT) and Thursday afternoon (1-1:30pmCT) throughout this summer and fall. We’ll discuss the specifics of the nomination process, as well as the requirements and basics of being a poll worker, and you can ask our team any questions that you might have! Poll Workers are essential to the voting process and protecting the rights of voters and small-d democracy. It also provides an opportunity for you to serve your community in an essential civic capacity and to get to know your neighbors better.

Federal Judges, Warning of ‘Judicial Crisis,’ Fault Supreme Court’s Emergency Orders: the lead story in the New York Times on October 11 analyzed the latest of our many crises of democracy. Although we surely had our concerns about the court's constant use of the so-called shadow docket to approve of the extra-constitutional (and even unconstitutional) Trump regime maneuvers, this article (a gift article shared with you) surveyed lower court justices for "their their concerns about risks to the courts’ legitimacy." When asked whether they agreed or disagreed that the "Supreme Court has made appropriate use of the emergency docket since President Trump returned to office," 73% disagreed. Those who disagreed included 37 nominated by Democrats and 10 nominated by Republicans. Five Republicans and one Democrat were neutral on the questions, but 12 Republicans agreed with the statement!

The cases cover a range of issues and are technically temporary because the orders specify that "Trump administration policies should be left in place while they are litigated through the lower courts." But their aggregate effect has been greatly to expand executive power, often with the effect of overturning both precedent and federal laws. Not to mention that these "ok'd for now" policies — like wholesale firing of federal employees and snatching people off the street and putting them in deportation detention — ruin people's lives, families, and even communities. Together with last year's decision conferring imunity on presidents when they are acting in their official capacities, they have unleashed the brazen and lawless behavior we see all around us now. Our only real recourse is to act in opposition — loudly, peacefully, and above all persistently.

I start with this matter because it emphasizes again just how important it is for ordinary citizens like you and me to turn out for the peaceful NO KINGS rallies that will be taking place everywhere on Saturday, October 18. As I did last week, I want to make it dead simple for you to sign up for an event near you. So here's a list of some in the Milwaukee area:

To find others elsewhere in the US, visit the NO KINGS website. It provides a map of all the events that have been registered to date.

Looking forward to elections in Wisconsin, here's what we know about the Wisconsin Supreme Court race on April 7, 2026: Judge Chris Taylor (Facebook, Instagram, and BlueSky) declared her candidacy in May 2025, and as of the end of the initial fundraising period (June 30, 2025) had raised $583,933, a record for an initial filing period.

So far, only one other candidate has come forward: Judge Maria Lazar (Facebook and YouTube). In discussing Lazar's candidacy, Hope Karnopp wrote "Lazar is a conservative candidate" (Journal Sentinel, October 1, 2025). Karnopp's article briefly reviews Lazar's previous stances on abortion, voter ID, and Act 10. As assistant attorney general, she represented the state — meaning the Walker administration and the Republican-controlled legislature — in all three cases. Of course no fundraising information is yet available for Lazar's newly formed campaign. Although she claims never to have been a politician — clearly a dig at Taylor — she served in the Walker administration from 2011 - 2015. Her page on Wikipedia states that "during her seven years on the circuit court, she ... continued to raise her profile in conservative legal circles, and was a contributor to the Federalist Society."

Both candidates have been elected to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals where they still sit, although in different districts. During much of Lazar's time as assistant attorney general, Taylor was elected to the Assembly where she served from 2012-2020. If no other candidates come forward, there will be no need for a primary for this race, though there may be other races in your area in which there will be primaries. So mark your calendars now: primary elections will be held on February 17, 2026, and elections for nonpartisan offices on April 7, 2026.

In other Wisconsin news, the Big Ugly Budget Bill (BUBB) that Trump signed into law on July 4, has in effect prevented Planned Parenthood from performing abortions in Wisconsin. When BUBB went into effect on October 1, 2025, Planned Parenthood clinics could no longer provide abortions if it needed Medicaid reimbursements for the other services, like cancer screenings. The law specifies that "abortion providers that receive more than $800,000 in reimbursements from Medicaid, the US government’s insurance program for low-income people, are blocked from participating in the program for one year. That provision is so narrowly tailored that it applies almost exclusively to Planned Parenthood, long a conservative target" (The Guardian, October 1, 2025). Abortions, however, remain available in Wisconsin. As The Guardian explains, "At least two independent abortion providers are still open in Wisconsin."

I apologize for being a day late with the newsletter. And for its brevity this week. Sometimes life just gets in the way.

As you undoubtedly know, America is in crisis: all around us ICE is sowing chaos and provoking violence. In Chicago, ICE invaded — and that is the right word for it — an apartment building in the middle of the night, terrorizing those who lived there, including many children. In Oregon, a federal judge prevented Trump from nationalizing the National Guard there. So trying to circumvent the judge's ruling, Trump and his minions ordered troops from California and Texas into Portland. Judge Immergut in Oregon — a Trump appointee, no less — quashed his order in no uncertain terms: she "concluded that Trump’s assessment [that the military was needed to combat daily violence] was 'untethered to facts' and failed to satisfy the legal basis" to deploy troops to Oregon (Politico, October 5, 2025). Meanwhile, US district judge April Perry in Illinois did not immediately issue a Temporary Restraining Order to prevent National Guard troops from deploying in and around Chicago, but will hold a hearing on the issue on Thursday.

With the pace of events so rapid, NOW IS THE TIME to make our opposition loud and clear: before we get to the main event on October 18, here are two more protests you should try to attend.

The biggest mobilization will take place on October 18 — No Kings Rallies and Marches — with people standing in solidarity and in opposition to the Trump regime's authoritarianism. Wisconsin is hosting dozens of rallies and marches. In the Events listing, you will find all of the ones in and near Milwaukee. To find protests in other areas, visit No Kings. To make it really simple for you to find the one closest to you, here's a quick list:

• Cathedral Square, 520 E Wells St, Milwaukee, 11:00am - 2:00pm
• Cedarburg, W63N641 Washington Avenue, 10:00am - 11:00am
• Greenfield, South 76th Street & West Layton Avenue, 10:00 - 11:30am
• Brookfield, Address upon RSVP, 11:00am - 12:30pm
• Waukesha, 321 Wisconsin Ave, Waukesha, 1:00 - 2:30pm
• West Bend, Washington County Government Center, 432 E Washington St, 1:00 - 2:30pm
• Shorewood, North Wilson Drive & Capitol Drive, 2:00 - 3:30pm

The largest of these rallies and marches will be in Cathedral Square Park. If you can manage it, you should head there. Beginning at 11:00am, many of the organizations collaborating in the event will staff tables with information about the organization and its activities. The rally will begin at noon. And the march will start at 1:00.

To make the event a success, Grassroots North Shore, acting as the fiscal agent, is raising funds so that we can rent a robust sound system, have LiveStream capabilities, and provide PortaPotties. Please be generous and donate. All the funds raised will go to support No Kings. We want to thank Kirk Bankstad (of the Minocqua Brewing Company) for his generous sponsorship and for the No Kings merch you can order:

• tshirts
• hoodies and fleeces
• No Kings bracelet

In addition to showing up, as important as that is, and in addition to donating to the effort, as important as that is, you should consider volunteering to take a role in a short satiric skit to be performed at the Cathedral Square rally on October 18. Here's what's needed:

Of course, there's a lot more to cover but not much room in this newsletter to discuss all the noteworthy news. But some things are just really important. So there is a new move afoot to require people to show a passport or other proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote. The US Election Assistance Commission is currently considering adopting some such requirement. In her Substack Civil Discourse, Joyce Vance explains what this requirement will mean: "This show-your-papers policy could block millions of American citizens from voting. Speaking out against it is an easy and important step we can take right now. When you’re ready, go to the EAC website:

• Go to the petition and click “comment”.
• Share why you oppose this proof of citizenship requirement.
• Choose whether to share your name and information or submit your comment anonymously."

Vance's article provides plenty of information about why this proposed requirement will disenfranchise millions of voters. You really should read the whole thing.

TAKE ACTION

On Monday, October 13, join Worth Fighting for Wisconsin and Grassroots North Shore in a webinar called The ICE Man Cometh (not Eugene O’Neill’s Iceman, it’s the one wearing a mask and maybe driving around somewhere near you…). The program will focus on ICE’s current activities in Wisconsin, and what WE can (and must) do about them (that part’s really important). We'll discuss

• the effort to prevent the village of Palmyra (population 1,719) and its three police officers from becoming Wisconsin's first ICE bounty hunters using the 287(g) program to partner with ICE;
• mass ICE grabs in Wisconsin's dairyland, with no warning, putting the community in turmoil;
• ICE arrests in Madison;
• and the ICE proposal to rent 18,500 feet of furnished and move-in ready office space in downtown Milwaukee!

The ICE Man Cometh will begin at 7:30pm CT. Plan to attend!

Also on Monday, October 13, from 5:30 - 7:30pm, in the Wauwatosa Library Firefly Room: Make signs for the No Kings Demo. Bring your creativity and anger to build signs that will make people think. We will have some poster board and art supplies at the library but please bring yours to share. We will have wood sticks to attach to signs or rope to make sandwich boards. For more info, contact [email protected]. If you choose to go to the Worth Fighting for Wisconsin webinar instead, here are some No Kings sign ideas you can make at home.

And here's something you can do a bit farther afield. Make calls into California ahead of the November election. 2025 is an important election year in communities across the country, but arguably no election will have a greater national impact than California’s Proposition 50. If it passes, Democrats will likely pick up five U.S. House seats – a vital response to MAGA-controlled states like Texas as they redraw their Congressional lines at Donald Trump’s bidding. Unlike Texas, California’s Prop 50 empowers voters to make the final call, and that’s why we’re calling voters every Tuesday.

Interested in phone banking with us? Sign up HERE.

Activate America’s phone banks are structured a little differently than other Yes on Prop 50 phone banks. The universe of voters we are reaching are Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents who often miss special elections. Many don’t even know there’s an election this year.

Wednesday, I sent the Events list together with two items for immediate action. To amplify the key actions, here are links to items that are helpful in connecting with your senators, including scripts you can use.

But while we are pushing back against the government shutdown, we need a bigger, bolder message — one that makes the existential crisis we are facing front and center. Anat Shenker-Osario warns us that "healthcare is essential, to state the obvious. But focusing in on negotiating over restoring subsidies is sending the message that this is a normal administration. That we have policy disagreements and not that we are confronting a regime hell bent on destroying us."

We need to see and to say that this regime is working at warp speed to destroy our democracy. Not that it is simply a right-wing government we don't like! The precondition, in my view, for the destruction of our system of government — one that depends on the three separate and co-equal branches of the federal government AND the independent sovereignty of the states with their own separate branches of government — was the Supreme Court's ruling last summer that the president is immune from criminal prosecution for acts that fall within his powerful purview. From that egregious opinion flows the regime's impunity. So now, we are in crisis.

Let's look squarely at some of Trump's otherwise illegal acts:

1. repeatedly failing to spend funds that the Congress has allocated for specific purposes and that the Congress has not rescinded (see Wikipedia);
2. instructing ICE agents to wear masks, to use racial profiling, and to deport people without the constitutionally guaranteed right to due process;
3. deploying the military in various cities (with Democratic mayors, I might add) to "fight crime," they claim, in contravention of the Posse Comitatus Act, the 1878 law that "generally prevents the president from using the military as a domestic police force."

Just a few nights ago, ICE executed a military-style invasion of an apartment building in Chicago, "dragging residents, including children, out of the building without clothes and loading them into U-Haul vans. [The witness] said the children were separated from their mothers" (Newsweek, October 3, 2025). The Department of Homeland Security told Newsweek that the location was "known to be frequented by Tren de Aragua members and their associates." With no warrants or other forms of proof, we remain skeptical. Proving probable cause is the American way. Striking fear in the middle of the night is not.

Lest you think we are sitting comfortably north of the fray, I'm here to tell you that Milwaukee will not be spared. Apparently, ICE is planning to move 70 to 80 people into office space downtown (Milwaukee Business Journal, October 2, 2025). And it is already active in several areas of Wisconsin. It behooves all of us to make sure we know what is happening in our state. Worth Fighting For Wisconsin and Grassroots North Shore can fill you in. Our webinar — The ICE Man Cometh (and we’re not talking about a play) — will be held on Monday, October 13 from 7:00 - 8:30 CT. Make sure you sign up to get up to speed.

The webinar will start with a quick walk through the 15 biggest myths about immigration and immigrants. Then we take a deep dive into four different late-breaking and ongoing situations in Wisconsin:

1. Village of Palmyra: first Wisconsin-based ICE bounty hunters; first municipal (rather than county) contract with ICE;
2. Manitowoc: mass arrests in dairy land;
3. Madison: street grabs
4. Milwaukee: ICE seeks 18,500 square feet of office space downtown

Palmyra wasn’t ready for ICE to come to its town — but in less than a week the Concerned Citizens of Palmyra mobilized and they are taking on ICE. Bigly. We’ll hear from them, and others deeply involved in current immigrant-related matters, including Emilio de Torre, executive director of Milwaukee Turners, and DACA recipient, and Iuscely Flores (Comité Sin Fronteras).

The program will cover the impact ICE activities are having on immigrants, citizens of color, communities, businesses, local governments, and more and roll out a toolkit we helped Palmyra build, which you can use to be as ready as you can be if/when the ICE man cometh. With the right research and resources, we can all stand up to ICE. Make sure you are ready. Sign up.

On the same evening, in preparation for the NO KINGS events on October 18, The League of Progressive Seniors is hosting a sign-making party at the Wauwatosa Library (7635 W North Ave) in the Firefly Room from 5:30 - 7:30. Some poster board and art supplies will be available at the library but please bring yours to share. There will be wood sticks to attach to signs or rope to make sandwich boards. For more information, contact Karen Royster.

Alas, there is a long list of other awful news to cover:

• Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin paused abortion services Wednesday at its Madison, Milwaukee and Sheboygan locations "due to the megabill officially titled the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' Act" that included a provision to take away federal funding from the organization if it continues providing abortion services (Washington Examiner, October 2, 2025);
• the regime's subversion of academic freedom continues with it's latest stick-and-carrot offer (New York Times, October 2, 2025, gift article);
• the wholesale corruption of the US Department of Justice (YouTube, IHIP News);
• politicizing the military (‘Deeply un-American’: Democrats slam Trump for politicizing military in speech, The Chronicle, October 3, 2025).

And that list just scratches the surface. Many of us are feeling deeply fatigued and overwhelmed by the unrelenting torrent. But as we face this increasingly existential crisis — what seemed to be a legitimately elected federal government that is now seen to be completely anti-American in its views, actions, and intentions — we simply have to stand strong and stand together. So let me end this long email with some bromides we need to dust off: there is safety in numbers; courage is contagious; we have no choice but to carry on until we prevail!

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The newsletter this week will arrive in two parts. This first mailing covers the TAKE ACTION events and the more comprehensive EVENTS list. Tomorrow I will have time to write a proper account covering the avalanche of news we've experienced over the past few days, including the Trump regime's latest threats, the government shutdown that took place beginning at midnight last night, and some important distinctions between what ICE, local and state law enforcement can do and what the military — including the National Guard — can do in our communities.

Also, if you have not already seen this article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel today, bone up on who will be running for Wisconsin Supreme Court next spring: "Who is Maria Lazar? What to know about conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate." It's always possible that one or more new candidates will pop up before December, when nomination papers will begin circulating. But right now, there are only two: Chris Taylor and Maria Lazar.

Before you turn to our extensive EVENTS list, make sure you take the two easy-peasy actions we have for you.

TAKE ACTION

Join the Indivisible call TONIGHT at 7:30pm CT: Healthcare not Authoritarianism.

"Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans have spent the past nine months selling out working families in order to give tax breaks to their billionaire friends. Now they’re taking us into a government shutdown because they refuse to negotiate with Democrats and lower healthcare costs for our families.

"Trump has refused to support a budget proposal that would prevent millions of Americans from losing their health care. He's insisted on illegally cancelling funds our communities rely on. And he abruptly called off a planned meeting with Democratic leadership, and then threatened to fire even more federal workers when the government shuts down. We deserve a budget that meets our health care needs and reins in Trump's lawlessness.

Join our mass call this Wednesday (10/1) at 8:30 PM EST/5:30 PM PST for an update on the federal funding fight, and to discuss how we can organize collectively to support and protect our communities in this federal budget showdown."

Call Senator Ron Johnson. Tell him Republicans need to negotiate with Democrats to shore up healthcare coverage for millions of Americans: 202-224-5323.

Call Senator Tammy Baldwin. Tell her you appreciate her "no" vote on the Republican Continuing Resolution bill and to stand strong opposing the draconian cuts to Medicaid and the ACA tax credits: 202-224-5653.

EVENTS

Wednesday, October 1

Thursday, October 2

Saturday, October 4

Sunday, October 5

Monday, October 6

Tuesday, October 7

Wednesday, October 8

Thursday, October 9

Saturday, October 11

Sunday, October 12

Monday, October 13

Wednesday, October 15

Thursday, October 16

Saturday, October 18

Save the Date

Sunday, October 19

Monday, October 20

Wednesday, October 22

Thursday, October 23

Saturday, October 25

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We need to celebrate our victories by acknowledging them and by orchestrating future victories! I'll explain in more detail shortly. But first and foremost, what works to combat the wannabe dictator occupying the Oval Office is our solidarity: massing our bodies and our voices, in ways that are visible and loud! Which is why it is so very important that you join a NO KINGS Rally and March on Saturday, October 18. The main event in our area will take place at Cathedral Square Park (520 E Wells St, Milwaukee). The program includes an Organization Fair from 11:00am to noon, a Rally from noon to 1:00pm, and a March from 1:00 to 2:00pm. SIGN UP NOW and make a commitment to stand with your community, to voice your opposition, and to fight the fascist takeover of our government and way of life.

To organize this rally, which is sure to have an even bigger crowd than last time, we are joining with other local groups to raise enough funds to rent a large speaker system and screens with supplementary sound so that everyone can see and hear. Please consider making a donation to defray these costs. These grassroots organizations are not funded and so have to rely on their members and supporters to help defray necessary expenses. Please be as generous as you can. You can donate here.

Anticipating the size and scale of the rally and march, the organizers are also recruiting volunteers for a range of roles. Volunteers help keep our events safe, non-violent, effective, and accessible. Volunteers who join this list may be contacted about this event and future events. Go the extra mile and Volunteer!

No Kings rallies and marches are happening all over Wisconsin. You can look at the map of events in the entire country and zoom into Wisconsin to see where events are happening nearby. So if you are not going to be in the Milwaukee area on October 18, you can find one near where you will be and sign up. Also, I have listed information for the No Kings events in our surrounding area as of today — see the listings in the EVENTS list below. And keep in mind that with three weeks to go, new events are likely to be added. So check back if you can't find a suitable one right now.

Now about those victories. On Wednesday, September 17, Disney and ABC decided to "suspend" the Jimmy Kimmel Live! program indefinitely. But by Tuesday, September 23, it was back on the air. What happened? WE DID. Disney and ABC at first capitulated to the Trump administration because the chair of the Federal Communications Commission was threatening to decline to approve a merger — one that would also double the number of ABC stations any one business could own. The deal Nexstar and the Sinclair group were pursuing would have allowed these companies to control ABC broadcasts to something like 80% of the American population.

The backlash to the suspension was swift and huge as ordinary citizens exercised their right to cancel their subscriptions to Disney+ and Hulu and took to social media to excoriate Disney and ABC in protest. It didn't take long. In total, only four episodes of Jimmy Kimmel Live! went dark. Now that it is back in business, it is definitely must see TV. If you have not yet watched Kimmel's brilliant monologue last night, you can see it on YouTube. Those whose ABC stations still refused to air the show can see it on YouTube also. So spread the word and the link!

It turns out that Americans do care about our constitutional right to free speech. It's notable that, as Oliver Willis on Daily Kos wrote, "the data from YouTube and online searches are a testament to the eroding ability of gatekeepers like Sinclair and Nexstar to control what people see. People who couldn’t watch Kimmel’s program on Tuesday night—like those served by WJLA, the Sinclair station in the Washington, D.C., market—can watch the entire monologue or clips of it online."

In his recent newsletter, David French wrote: "[Frederick] Douglass argued that free speech, 'of all rights, is the dread of tyrants. It is the right which they first of all strike down.'" French goes on to note that suppressing speech also violates the right of others to hear that speech. "When a mob storms a stage, when a president persecutes the press or when an assassin’s bullet brutally silences a debate, they are violating the rights of the speaker, and they are violating the rights of every other person present and of every other person who may want to hear the speech."

Outrage and purchasing power: these are two instruments most ready to hand for ordinary people like ourselves to wield in the face of tyrannical behavior. Those who have stood up to Trump's bullying have generally won the day. As Paul Krugman explains in his recent newsletter, "some major corporations have already seen the costs of surrendering to Trump. Notably, Target’s decision to appease Trump by ending its commitment to DEI led to a large decline in sales and a falling stock price amid a rising market, and eventually cost the CEO his job. Law firms who have capitulated to Trump have lost clients and partners to law firms that stood up to him. And need we talk about the popularity of Tesla cars and cybertrucks?"

So when companies push back, we should reward them with our praise and with our business. While plenty of universities, law firms, and corporations have been dismantling efforts to be inclusive of people from different cultures and with different abilities, Kohl's (a revered Wisconsin retailer) has not only been steadfast. It is celebrating its commitment by making inclusion the subject of its website's home page. Here's the company's statement:

Defending our freedoms, our families, and our futures requires vigilance, persistence, and most of all SHOWING UP. The No Kings rallies represent our next important opportunity to display our opposition, to voice our concerns, to band together to stand up to would-be tyranny. I hope you will make the time and the effort. Again, here's where you sign up to attend the rally in Cathedral Park Square on Saturday, October 18. There will be a dedicated area for the physically challenged. So bring your canes, your walkers, and your wheel chairs. But come! And donate if you can.

Of course, there isn't always a rally or march to attend. So here's a lovely example of a small way to participate in the resistance every day: wear a paper clip! Seriously. E. Jean Carroll started the Paper Clip Protest. Joyce Vance wrote about it in her substack "Civil Discourse" a few days ago. As Carroll and Vance explain, paperclips were "worn during World War II as a sign of resistance against the Nazis." It's a symbol of solidarity, "binding them together as paper clips did with papers." I'm planning to wear one every day!

Krugman strikes a hopeful note at the end of his newsletter: "It’s ironic, but thanks in part to a late-night comedian, it’s becoming clear that America is not yet lost." It's truly up to us.

TAKE ACTION

Write postcards to Get Out the Vote for Nov. 4 elections! Postcards to Swing States still have 345,000 postcards left for their News Boosting Postcards in Virginia, which combat right-wing disinformation by sending news headlines directly to voters in Virginia. Sign up now and they'll mail you free postcards within 5-10 days, along with voter lists and instructions with what to write. You're responsible for the Postcard Stamps, which cost $0.61. You will have until Oct 24 to complete the postcards (for all programs).

Use 5 Calls to find issues that are top of your list and make the calls to your congressional representatives. The site provides you with contact information, material about the issue, and a script you can use. It's quick and simple. And as we now know, speaking up and speaking out makes a huge difference.

Sign up for a webinar on the America's mystifying "system" of immigration policy, a joint venture of Grassroots North Shore and Worth Fighting for Wisconsin. The program will take place on Monday, October 13, at 7:00pm on Zoom. Emilio de Torres, Executive Director of the Milwaukee Turners, and Iuscely Flores (Comite Sin Fronteras) will bust open myths surrounding that system and highlights efforts you can join to protect our immigrant friends and neighbors. You can register here.

Happy Constitution Day!

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been feeling particularly overwhelmed this week. The authoritarian playbook is rolling out more and more quickly in real time.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH Our First Amendment right to free speech is under attack. – targeting universities, private businesses, and law firms. We are at a particularly fraught moment with respect to escalating political violence – and most importantly, how the latest such incident with the tragic death of Charlie Kirk has been turned on its head and directed toward “the radical left,” with explicit threats from Attorney General Pam Bondi that the government will go after “hate speech,” loosely and broadly defined. Trump has threatened reporters who ask critical questions – like the Australian reporter asking about his wide-ranging business dealings while in office, and ABC’s Jonathan Karl for having the temerity to ask about Bondi’s "hate speech" threats.

Senator Ron Johnson can be counted on to never to pass up an opportunity to hop onto the most odious aspects of the MAGA bandwagon. This is what he sent out today:

https://secure.winred.com/ron-johnson/poll-free-speech-sms

What you can do – Don’t take the poll, since it’s impossible to answer it correctly (yes, freedom of speech is under attack – by the regime). Instead, please call or email Ron Johnson RIGHT NOW.  

DC office: (202) 224-5323 Milwaukee office: (414) 276-7282

Email form:  https://www.ronjohnson.senate.gov/email-the-senator

1. Demand that he explain how “The Left is …silenc[ing] conservatives and rewrit[ing] the rules of public debate.”
2. Demand that he explain exactly who “The Left” is.
3. Ask when it became constitutional for the government to threaten individuals and organizations based on their viewpoint.

It is well established that offensive, even despicable speech is fully protected by the First Amendment. “Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. set out the settled view, saying the government had no business “preventing speech expressing ideas that offend…That idea,” Justice Alito wrote, “strikes at the heart of the First Amendment. Speech that demeans on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, disability or any other similar ground is hateful.” Quoting a classic 1929 dissent from Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., Justice Alito added that “the proudest boast of our free speech jurisprudence is that we protect the freedom to express ‘the thought that we hate.’”

When does speech cross into unprotected territory? “The First Amendment does not protect incitement, but the Supreme Court has defined that term quite narrowly, requiring a likelihood of imminent violence. Mere advocacy of violence, terrorism or the overthrow of the government is not enough; the words must be meant to and be likely to produce violence or lawlessness right away.” (What to Know About ‘Hate Speech’ and the First Amendment, NYT, 9/17/25) https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/us/politics/what-to-know-hate-speech.html?unlocked_article_code=1.m08.qbiN.p7aIgMlf0CJ-&smid=url-share

Speaking of free speech violations, as I was writing this newsletter, the news broke that ABC is “indefinitely pausing” Jimmy Kimmel Live for his monologue about Charlie Kirk’s killing. Governor Pritzker is calling for widespread public pushback against ABC for this action. Send an email condemning their decision from this link. Send ABC Primetime Entertainment and Daytime programming Feedback PLEASE FLOOD THE ZONE!

On this Constitution Day, it can be said that the district courts are continuing to do their job. Parties who have challenged the myriad legal encroachments of the regime have won stays or favorable opinions in the vast majority of cases. And it’s important to note that, although the Supreme Court has so far refused to hold the administration to account for its actions through the “shadow docket,” these cases await actual briefs, arguments and decisions. Only a small handful of cases are taken by the Supreme Court for review. Thus, most of the lower court decisions will stand. Nonetheless, it’s also important to acknowledge that democracy won’t be saved through litigation alone.

The best way to protect our rights is to exercise them! As Ezra Levin, Co-Executive Director of Indivisible wrote recently, “I know the threats are real and the opposition is shameless and unrepentant. The way we triumph is by demonstrating courage with our actions. By standing up in defense of democracy and in opposition to violence, we spread the courage for more to do so. We get out of this together -- each of us doing our part. That’s how we win. And we will win.”

So let’s get to work!

FUNDING THE GOVERNMENT

Last week I wrote about the need to pressure our Democratic representatives and the minority leaders of the House and Senate to refuse to provide the votes needed to pass the continuing resolution – at least without significant concessions. If you haven’t taken action yet (no worries – I haven’t yet either; but I will this week!) here’s another resource for contacting our reps and holding their feet to the fire.

Toolkit -- Power of the Purse: A Big Bold Beautiful Plan to Stop Funding Fascism   https://docs.google.com/document/d/15j9DMjvQA7M-hdmx6AZNWJJ38RRLVZeGas9zAazYLWI/edit?tab=t.0

Here’s a graphic of what the last continuing resolution did to taxes. Let your blood boil, and contact your legislators!

PROTECTING ELECTIONS

We can’t just sit back and wait until the elections next fall to take back our government. We have to work to protect them now. At a time when our democracy faces unprecedented challenges, it’s more crucial than ever to ensure voters are registered ahead of elections. Help register voters at Milwaukee DMVs. Go to https://www.milwaukeevoterproject.com/ to sign up for a shift (or two) and access training materials.

Thank you for doing your part to save our democracy!

CELEBRATING GRASSROOTS NORTH SHORE’S 20^TH ANNIVERSARY Here is a feel-good video with inspiring speakers from our birthday party last Sunday. https://youtu.be/ZL_pKDyjjuQ

Touch grass, touch another human being. Take a break. Do what you need to do to take care of yourself, so you can do your part!

It’s always difficult to plan ahead for the newsletter because you never know what crazy sh*t is going to happen on any given day. So, although I want to focus on the looming federal budget deadline and what we need to pressure our Democratic representatives to do, I have to start with the continuing assault on our immigrant communities and all of our constitutional rights.

PUSHBACK MATTERS. For the last week or so, we’ve been preparing to launch solidarity protests if/when Trump fulfills his promise to send federalized National Guard troops from red states into Chicago. Personally, I always thought that he was highly likely to TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) when faced with the very strong pushback from Governor Pritzker, and he appears to have done so. Unfortunately, Trump is still visiting grave harm on Chicago through massive increases in ICE enforcement (Operation Midway Blitz). While this is terrible, and we need to develop strategies to address ICE abuses, it also proves that bullies back down when you push back! Stopping the wildly unconstitutional imposition of federalized troops into our cities against the wishes of the governor and mayor at least slows down this part of authoritarian consolidation.

Another small victory - On Monday an immigration judge halted the removal proceedings against a DACA recipient (here legally) and activist, Xochitl Santiago, who was illegally arrested at El Paso Airport on August 3, although she remains in detention. On Tuesday a U.S. District judge granted a temporary restraining order stating that the government may not remove or deport her from the US, or transfer her to any facility outside of the Western District of Texas. The order runs through September 23, when she has a scheduled hearing in El Paso. (There was a candlelight vigil in Milwaukee for Xochitl on August 27.)

What you can do: Like and share this Facebook post. Voces de la Frontera is doing great work in this area, including training people to verify and document ICE sitings in Milwaukee. Go to https://vdlf.org/ for more information.

NO DOLLARS FOR DICTATORS, NO FUNDING FOR FASCISM. September 30 is the deadline to pass a continuing resolution to fund the government. This may be the only time when the Democratic minority has any leverage. Since budget bills can be filibustered, Republicans will need 60 votes to pass the funding bill – meaning that they need at least 7 Democratic votes (if no Republicans defect) for it to pass. Chuck Schumer caved last time. We can’t let that happen again. DEMAND THAT OUR DEMOCRATIC REPRESENTATIVES REFUSE TO VOTE FOR THE CONTINUING BUDGET RESOLUTION.  Ezra Klein and Rick Wilson have passionately argued that the Democrats must refuse to fund the federal government because Trump has thoroughly corrupted it, turning it into a tool of an authoritarian state. The Dems need to stop pretending that any of this is normal. Funding this government sustains the fascist regime. Our representatives must not aid and abet the hostile takeover of our government. Tell them - don’t finance a war against Americans! Don’t be complicit in abducting our neighbors, taking food away from hungry children, gutting public health, taking health care away from millions of our fellow Americans and so much more. Democrats need to start acting like an opposition party, and no opposition party should enable this regime by writing a check.

What you must do: Call Senator Tammy Baldwin, your Democratic US Representative, and Senator Chuck Schumer. There are two essential questions: what should the Dems demand in exchange for their votes, and how to insure that whatever deal is struck to restore funds won’t be ignored, like all of Trump and Vought’s other illegal rescissions. If they can't get agreement, they should not be afraid of shutting it down. The very real damage of a shutdown pales in comparison to the damage being done every day to our very system of government.

Here are some ideas for what to demand of our representatives in exchange for their vote: fully restore Medicaid funding, permanently extend the ACA tax premium credits, rescind all of the new tax breaks for the 1% - and for people who sell silencers, drastically reduce ICE funding, extend DACA protections to all who turned 18 since it was first enacted by Obama, and pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. Choose your own adventure.

The other essential requirement that you should demand is passage of The Congressional Power of the Purse Act so that Trump and Russell Vought can’t just ignore Congressional appropriations. The bill updates the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 and the Antideficiency Act to reaffirm that Congress — not the President — holds the power of the purse. It ensures that funding already approved by Congress, including investments in health care, infrastructure, and national security are delivered to the American people. This legislation follows the Trump administration’s announcement of an illegal “pocket rescission” of lawfully appropriated funds. The bill does not yet have a number.

Use 5 Calls for our Wisconsin representatives. Chuck Schumer’s number is (202) 224-6542.

THREATS TO OUR ELECTIONS. Several commentators and many folks worry that there won’t be elections in 2026. That’s not going to happen. Rather, many experts agree that we are quickly moving from a democracy to a system of competitive authoritarianism, where we still have elections, but they are no longer free and fair. We are not there yet – but the myriad threats to free and fair elections are real – including attacks on voting by mail, threats of emergency presidential powers to take control of elections, strict voter ID laws, mid-cycle gerrymandering, and the general erosion of trust in our elections. Trump has started threatening Executive Orders banning mail-in ballots and imposing national voter ID requirements. Should he try, I am confident that it will be fought in the courts. The good news is that our elections are run by states, and highly decentralized even within states. These threats are real, and we need to fight them ferociously. But we can’t give up, and we can’t undermine trust in our elections. Indeed, we need to turn the 2026 elections into an act of defiance against the regime.

GERRYMANDERING. Speaking of mid-cycle gerrymandering, I thought it was time to talk a bit about the wisdom of independent, nonpartisan redistricting commissions. The GOP is attacking fair elections through blatant and unapologetic partisan gerrymandering in red states in a desperate attempt to prevent Democrats from taking back the House of Representatives in light of Trump’s wildly unpopular policies. As you hopefully are aware, the Fair Maps Coalition has been working tirelessly to first, craft a proposal for legislation to create an independent redistricting commission (IRC) in Wisconsin (it can’t be truly independent of the legislature until we change the Wisconsin Constitution which vests the power to redistrict in the legislature), and then, to pass a constitutional amendment (which takes a minimum of two years). As a member of the League of Women Voters’ statewide ad hoc redistricting committee that has been meeting every week for many months to craft the proposal, Trump’s pressuring red states to redistrict mid-cycle infuriates me. And initially I was not a fan of Gavin Newsom’s moves to “fight fire with fire” and gerrymander California’s Congressional districts in response. California’s commission is the gold standard, and much of our work borrowed from California, as well as Michigan. I fervently believe that IRCs are essential to our democracy. Obviously, the solution is a national requirement that all states have an IRC. Unfortunately, that won’t happen any time soon. I worry that the GOP’s current anti-democratic gambit of mid-cycle gerrymandering will lead Wisconsinites to oppose our efforts to establish an IRC in Wisconsin, seeing it as “unilateral disarmament”. I have a two-part response to this dilemma.

With respect to California, I have reluctantly concluded that the Democrats have no choice but to engage in counter-gerrymandering to save our democracy. I am pleased that Governor Newsom has crafted his strategy thoughtfully and carefully. First, it will go to the voters for approval. Second, it is contingent on Texas re-gerrymandering their maps (which has not happened). Third, it is temporary. The new maps would stay in effect until the next redistricting cycle in 2030, and then the IRC will again be in charge of drawing fair maps.

With respect to an IRC for Wisconsin, as you know, Wisconsin is truly a purple state. I think our best argument to legislators for supporting the proposal (and to fair maps skeptics)  is that neither party should be sanguine that they will be in a position to gerrymander in their favor. After all, in 2009 the Democrats had a trifecta (majorities in both houses of the legislature and the governor). A proposal for an IRC was put forward in the legislature in 2009, and the Dems chose not to act because they thought they were going to keep their majority and would be the ones to gerrymander. We all know how that turned out. Walker and the Republicans swept into power in 2010 and the GOP’s national “operation red map” led to us having one of the worst gerrymanders in the country. In 10 years only 3 seats flipped from one party to another. (Our own Deb Andraca was one of the few who pulled this off.) Our legislators would be foolish to assume that either party will have a trifecta in 2030, which is needed to enact partisanly gerrymandered maps into law.

Gerrymandering is a bipartisan disease. It is human nature to want to craft maps that preserve your position and your party’s power – they just can’t resist. That’s why putting this into our constitution is essential. Gerrymandering insulates politicians from the will of the voters. Although a wide array of issues have strong majority support across parties in Wisconsin, including common sense gun regulations, Medicaid expansion, and adequate public education funding among others, these issues have been willfully ignored by our legislature. As technology becomes more powerful and sophisticated, the ability to gerrymander one party to permanent super-majority status has become a reality. It is truly a threat to democracy itself. Although we have fair legislative maps right now as a result of litigation (our Congressional maps are still gerrymandered), unless we take action before 2030 we could be back to square one. We need a permanent solution.

We are currently travelling across the state to educate the public on our proposal for an IRC and to take public input. There will be a public hearing in Madison on September 25 (to which all legislators have been invited), and in Milwaukee on September 26 (Turner Hall). You can register for either event or others in the state at https://www.fairmapswi.com/communityhearings.