Yearly Archives: 2022

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s U.S. Senator is making an issue out of what his reelection campaign is calling Mandela Barnes’ hypocrisy on school choice.

“After Lt. Gov. Barnes has reaped the benefits of private school, he has sought to prevent that choice for parents who only want what is best for their children. Barnes is a hypocrite who is only out for his own political gain,” Mike Marinella with the Johnson Campaign told The Center Square.

Barnes attended Holy Redeemer Christian Academy in elementary school and junior high before going on to graduate from Milwaukee’s John Marshall High School. Marinella noted those facts are something Barnes talks little about, and his public school teachers’ union supporters seemingly ignore.

Barnes is a strong supporter of public schools and public school teachers’ unions. In fact, he’s earned the endorsement of Wisconsin’s largest teachers’ union (WEAC) as well as the unions for Milwaukee and Madison school teachers.

“Throughout his career, Mandela has proven his commitment to educators and organized labor,” Steven Shea, COPE chair of AFT Local 212 said in his endorsement of Barnes back in June. “We know we can trust him to fight for unions in Washington because that’s what he’s done his entire career, from his days as a community organizer to the legislature and now as Lt. Governor.”

Barnes has received more than $25,000 in campaign donations from the unions over the years.

Barnes’ opposition to school choice goes back to his days in the legislature where he sponsored legislation to eliminate school choice in Wisconsin.

His proposal would have repealed Wisconsin’s statewide parental choice program, barred private schools from participating in a school choice program unless the school was already in the program in the 2015-2016 school year, and prohibited students from attending a choice program private school unless the student was already attending that school under the program in the 2015-2016 school year.

As Lt. Governor he supported Gov. Evers’ proposed budget that would have frozen enrollments for private school voucher programs and would have stopped the creation of new schools of choice.

“Mandela Barnes was able to attend the school his family thought was best for him. We celebrate that connection,” Jim Bender with School Choice Wisconsin told The Center Square. “Unfortunately, he opposes similar opportunities for those less fortunate. He only supports education delivery systems that send money indirectly to teachers unions. The national head of the teachers’ union, along with our own Superintendent of Public Instruction, sent their own children to private schools, but join Mandela in the fight to keep school choice under wraps. School choice for me, but not for thee.”

(The Center Square) – One Wisconsin lawmaker cannot believe that a predominantly Democratic city in the state is once again turning to an outside nonprofit to get out the vote in November.

Rep. Janel Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls, told The Center Square that Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson’s support for a new voter engagement program in Milwaukee sounds very familiar.

“This is absolutely Zuckerbucks 2.0,” Brandtjen said.

Brandtjen led an investigation last year into the Mark Zuckerberg funded Center for Tech and Civic Life and the millions of dollars spent in Wisconsin’s five largest (and most Democratic) cities.

“When you have a very partisan and progressive group in charge of getting out the vote, the line on election integrity is gone,” Brandtjen explained. “There is no oversight. What are they telling voters at the door? Are they offering payments? No one knows.”

Milwaukee’s mayor on Monday announced the program. He said the city “had a role to play” in encouraging people to vote.

“I'm not asking anybody to cast their ballots for one party or another or one candidate or another. What I'm asking is for people to participate in our process,” Johnson said.

His office later clarified that Johnson supports the idea of a get-out-the-vote effort, but the city will not be paying for it.

Instead, Brandtjen said, a group called GPS Impact will handle the door-to-door campaign.

“Winning in tough territory is part of our DNA. We’ve helped Democrats, progressive organizations and initiatives, and elected officials win in red states, including Kansas, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Louisiana and Ohio,” GPS Impact says on its website.

It remains unclear just who is paying GPS Impact, how much they will be paid, or what exactly they will be doing.

Brandtjen and other Republicans filed open records requests on Tuesday to try and get some of those answers.

“It's completely irresponsible, and moreover it puts the election into question before we even started,” Brandtjen said.

Wisconsin lawmakers passed legislation last spring that would have prevented outside funding for nonprofit groups like this one in Milwaukee from taking part in elections in the state. But Gov. Evers vetoed it along with several other election integrity measures.

U.S. stocks plummeted Tuesday after the federal government reported another sharp rise in food and other prices in August despite falling gas prices.

The S&P 500 dropped 4.3%, its largest single day decline since June 2020 during the height of the pandemic. The Nasdaq Composite index fell 5.2%, also its worst day since June 2020. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped nearly 4% to 31,105.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Consumer Price Index Tuesday that showed the inflation rate at 8.3% in August over a year prior. With gas prices dropping, analysts expected the inflation rate to be 8.1%.

“Increases in the shelter, food, and medical care indexes were the largest of many contributors to the broad-based monthly all items increase,” BLS said, as The Center Square reported earlier Tuesday. “These increases were mostly offset by a 10.6-percent decline in the gasoline index. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.6 percent in August, a larger increase than in July.”