December 3, 2007
Madison - The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign today called for heightened attention to the condition of the state’s electoral system after a new study by The Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law offered both words of praise and warning to the state.
November 27, 2007
Madison - The Midwest Democracy Network (MDN) – a nonpartisan alliance of 20 civic and public interest groups from Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin – today released full and unedited responses to a detailed questionnaire on federal political and government reform issues from former U.S. Senator John Edwards and U.S. Senator Barack Obama, the only candidates to reply to the survey. The questionnaire, sent to all the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates on September 11, covers campaign finance, government ethics, communications policy, election laws, voting rights, and congressional redistricting.
November 9, 2007
Madison - State senators who voted for a controversial bill to change the way cable television providers are regulated in Wisconsin accepted $1.2 million in campaign contributions from special interests that support the proposal compared to less than $100,000 to senators who voted against it, a Wisconsin Democracy Campaign analysis shows.
November 1, 2007
Thank you for holding this public hearing to gather input on the characteristics the individual you will hire as Legal Counsel to head up the staff of the new Government Accountability Board should possess.
October 22, 2007
Madison - Contributors identified as “student” in campaign finance reports gave $86,243 to candidates for statewide office and the legislature from 2002 through June 2007, a Wisconsin Democracy Campaign analysis shows.
October 10, 2007
Madison - Wisconsin legislators elected last November collectively accepted 70 percent of their large individual contributions in the 2006 election cycle from special interest contributors who could not vote for them, a Wisconsin Democracy Campaign analysis shows.
Posted: September 18, 2007
Updated: September 19, 2007
Madison - Between 150 and 200 members of the People’s Legislature today took part in the “Storm for Reform” on the front steps of the Capitol, demanding an end to the state budget stalemate and prompt action on political reforms.
September 13, 2007
Madison - The grassroots citizen reform movement known as the People’s Legislature will rally next Tuesday, September 18 at noon for an end to the state budget stalemate and a special session on campaign finance reform. The event – dubbed the “Storm for Reform” – will be held on the steps to the State Street entrance to the west wing of the Capitol.
September 11, 2007
Today the Midwest Democracy Network (MDN), an alliance of reform organizations in five states, called on presidential candidates to explain their positions on a variety of campaign and government reform issues.
August 20, 2007
Madison - Democratic Governor Jim Doyle accepted $1.8 million of his $9.26 million in large individual campaign contributions his first four years in office from donors outside the state, including nearly half of it in 2006 alone from donors who had never given to anyone in Wisconsin before, a Wisconsin Democracy Campaign analysis shows.
August 15, 2007
Over the past 12 years, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has repeatedly failed to redefine broadcasters’ public interest obligations in light of the nation’s ongoing transition to digital television, a coalition of 28 groups said in a filing at the FCC today. The groups echoed the warnings of FCC Commissioner Michael Copps that this "record of inaction" may "go down . . . as the Commission’s major failing in its efforts to move the digital transition forward."
August 13, 2007
Madison - Wisconsin legislators and Democratic Governor Jim Doyle raised $2.05 million in campaign contributions during the first six months of 2007 by tapping special interests at extravagant golf outings and other fundraisers while spending and policy decisions were being made for the proposed 2007-09 state budget, a Wisconsin Democracy Campaign review shows.
July 30, 2007
Madison - Special interests that oppose a universal health care plan in the Senate Democrats’ proposed state budget contributed $18.08 million to current legislators and the governor from 1999 through 2006 – over seven times more than the $2.5 million in contributions from supporters of the plan, a Wisconsin Democracy Campaign analysis shows.
July 23, 2007
Madison - Spending by outside special interests and the candidates in the 2007 Wisconsin Supreme Court race topped $5.8 million, more than four times the previous record spent in a high court race, a Wisconsin Democracy Campaign analysis shows.
July 23, 2007
Madison - Why are Republican legislators and Democratic Governor Jim Doyle so reluctant to even discuss major changes to make health care more affordable and accessible when their constituents have cited it as one of their top priorities?
June 26, 2007
Madison - Twenty-seven wealthy contributors violated the annual $10,000 limit on campaign contributions to state political candidates and committees in 2006, including a State Capitol lobbyist, a long time state and national Republican Party bigwig and business owners and executives from a wide array of powerful special interests, a Wisconsin Democracy Campaign analysis shows.
June 25, 2007
Madison - Today’s ruling by a sharply divided U.S. Supreme Court chipped away at both the letter and spirit of the McCain-Feingold law and favored the corrupt status quo in national politics.
June 12, 2007
Madison - An alliance of Midwest civic and political reform groups is calling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to impose stronger public interest obligations on local television broadcasters as part of the new regulatory framework that will govern the pending transition from analog to digital broadcasting.
May 29, 2007
Madison - Business interests have made $12 in campaign contributions
May 17, 2007
A new national analysis of 2006 judicial elections draws many disturbing parallels to Wisconsin’s recent $6 million race for the Supreme Court, concluding that more state judicial contests are being infected by the spread of big money campaigns that are dominated by special interest groups.
May 7, 2007
Madison - More than 40 citizens picketed in front of the Supreme Court chambers today for fair and impartial courts – and judges who are accountable to the law, not beholden to special interests.
April 10, 2007
Thank you for holding this hearing today. We just endured the ugliest Supreme Court race our state has ever seen. Not to mention the most partisan and most expensive by far. A cash-soaked, special interest-contaminated smearfest that came on the heels of a $32 million race for governor and a contest for attorney general where over $8 million was spent - five times more than ever before for that office - mostly on ads filled with half-truths and outright lies about who’s softest on sex crimes. We’ve seen what the current campaign finance system gets us. You need look no further than what we just experienced these past several weeks to see the need for reform.
March 19, 2007
Madison - The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign today asked the Wisconsin Judicial Commission to investigate whether state Supreme Court candidate Annette Ziegler violated the Judicial Code of Conduct by handling cases in which she or her husband had a significant financial or business relationship with one of the parties.
March 13, 2007
Madison - Much of the big-money support behind Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates Linda Clifford and Annette Ziegler comes from diehard supporters of Republican and Democratic candidates in spite of the race’s time-honored non-partisan façade, a Wisconsin Democracy Campaign analysis shows.
March 6, 2007
Oshkosh - Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton will kick off the Thursday, March 29, public forum on Women, Money and Politics: Who’s Winning? Campus and community members will gather for a discussion with prominent public leaders and advocates for political reform to connect quality of life issues with the need for Clean Election reforms for Wisconsin . The program, which is free and open to the public, will be held from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Reeve Memorial Union Ballroom , 748 Algoma Blvd