EPISODE · Jul 17, 2025 · 48 MIN
Democracy depends on us
from Battleground Wisconsin · host Brian Wooldridge
We discuss quadriplegic Carl Schulze’s epic 92 mile ride to the Capitol in Madison in his wheelchair to protest Medicaid cuts and support increases to caregiver wages. His individual act of protest helps keep the pressure on elected officials who are failing to meet the moment. We continue our analysis of the recently completed State Budget, analyzing its shortcomings on public education, child care, corrections, and health care. This all leads naturally to the big question hanging over Wisconsin politics, will Governor Evers run for re-election? We also blast news that the GOP State Legislature majority paid $26 million to right-wing law firms for litigation legalized by the Lame Duck session of 2018, causing former Republican State Senator Dale Schultz to respond: “$26 million could have bought a lot of child care, could have bought a lot of health care, could have bought a lot of education.” We close with review of federal activity including the U.S. Senate rescinding over $1 billion already appropriated for PBS and NPR. Also, Trump is planning on bypassing the Baldwin-Johnson judicial nominating commission in seeking replacement for retiring Federal Appeals Court Justice Dianne Sykes, and of course the biggest non-story of the week, the Epstein files.
What this episode covers
We discuss quadriplegic Carl Schulze’s epic 92 mile ride to the Capitol in Madison in his wheelchair to protest Medicaid cuts and support increases to caregiver wages. His individual act of protest helps keep the pressure on elected officials who are failing to meet the moment. We continue our analysis of the recently completed State Budget, analyzing its shortcomings on public education, child care, corrections, and health care. This all leads naturally to the big question hanging over Wisconsin politics, will Governor Evers run for re-election? We also blast news that the GOP State Legislature majority paid $26 million to right-wing law firms for litigation legalized by the Lame Duck session of 2018, causing former Republican State Senator Dale Schultz to respond: “$26 million could have bought a lot of child care, could have bought a lot of health care, could have bought a lot of education.” We close with review of federal activity including the U.S. Senate rescinding over $1 billion already appropriated for PBS and NPR. Also, Trump is planning on bypassing the Baldwin-Johnson judicial nominating commission in seeking replacement for retiring Federal Appeals Court Justice Dianne Sykes, and of course the biggest non-story of the week, the Epstein files.
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Democracy depends on us
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