Latest news with #UniversityofWisconsin-Parkside
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
What was the transgender performance denounced during the Schimel-Crawford debate?
During Wednesday night's Supreme Court debate, conservative candidate Brad Schimel called out a transgender performer for opening a recent Wisconsin rally with a song that Schimel called an "attack on people of faith." What exactly was Schimel talking about? U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders held a Friday night rally at De Simone Arena on the University of Wisconsin-Parkside campus as part of his 'Fight Oligarchy' town hall series. There, the Vermont independent decried the influence of billionaire donors such as Elon Musk on politics. Musk, the world's wealthiest individual, has spent more than $10 million helping Schimel in his race against liberal candidate Susan Crawford. The two square off in the April 1 general election in a race that will decide the ideological direction of the Supreme Court. Opening the rally was transgender singer Laura Jane Grace of the punk band Against Me!. She performed a song called "Your God," which contained a number of vulgar lyrics. "Does your God have a big fat (expletive)? Cause it feels like he's (expletive) me,' she sang, according to the New York Post. The performance has drawn sharp criticism from Republican politicians around the country. During Wednesday's debate, Schimel, a Waukesha County judge, called the song an "absolutely grotesque attack on people of faith." "That crowd of my opponent's supporters applauded wildly as that person blasphemed against the God that so many Wisconsinites believe in," said Schimel, a Catholic. He then called on Crawford to disavow the "hate speech." Crawford, a Dane County judge, noted that she had no connection to the event. Sanders never named Crawford at the rally, making only one brief allusion to her. "I heard some of those lyrics, and I don't agree with those sentiments," Crawford said of Grace's song. "It wasn't my event. I wasn't there. I didn't organize it, and I certainly didn't hire the singer." Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 313-6684 or dbice@ Follow him on X at @DanielBice or on Facebook at This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What was the transgender music performance at Sanders' Wisconsin rally?
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bernie Sanders energizes thousands at UW-Parkside rally ahead of state Supreme Court race
SOMERS— Thousands of people packed the De Simone Arena on the University of Wisconsin-Parkside campus on Friday night to listen to Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, deride the influence of multimillionaire and billionaire donors in politics. "The American people want us to end a corrupt campaign finance system," Sanders said to the energetic crowd. "We are not a democracy when billionaires like (Elon) Musk in both political parties can buy elections." This was the first stop of two in the state as Sanders also had a rally scheduled for Altoona High School in the western part of Wisconsin on Saturday. It's his first time in the state since the 2024 presidential election when he supported Democrat Kamala Harris. Sanders' visit to Wisconsin brings an additional spotlight to the state Supreme Court race, which already is a high-profile local race. Although Sanders did not mention her by name, he did allude to liberal Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford saying she has a 'extreme idea that maybe women should be able to control their own bodies." Crawford is going against conservative candidate Brad Schimel in the April 1 election that could determine the ideological balance of Wisconsin's highest court. Abortion and women's health care has been one of the key issues in the race with Crawford being against the state's 1849 law against abortion and Schimel saying "there is no constitutional right to an abortion." Musk has commented on Wisconsin's Supreme Court race saying on X, "very important to vote Republican for the Wisconsin Supreme Court to prevent voting fraud!" Sanders called out Musk saying he's "arrogant" for spending millions of dollars trying to influence the race in Wisconsin. "I want you to think about what it means, if this guy can intervene in a Supreme Court election in one state, you tell me what mayor's, what governor's race, what Senate he cannot buy," Sanders said. "Nobody I know thinks that billionaires should be able to buy elections." The group Progress 2028, which has received millions of dollars from Musk, has posted fake digital ads in support of Crawford. For as long as there have been elections, money has had a significant impact on the outcomes. In the 2024 presidential election, Musk devoted millions of dollars to helping Donald Trump win back the presidency, and then stepped in to run the newly created Department of Government Efficiency. It's a level of influence that Sanders abhors and he criticized the Trump administration by saying it is "a government of the billionaire class, by the billionaire class, and for the billionaire class." "For years I have been talking about how America has been moving toward an oligarchy, well we're no longer moving toward that oligarchy, today we are living in that oligarchy," Sanders said. "The oligarchs, led by Mr. Musk, are on the warpath against the working families of our country." According to campaign records, Building America's Future and America PAC, supported by Musk, have donated more than $6 million to help Schimel's campaign. However when it comes to accepting money from wealthy donors, the Crawford campaign is as willing to receive the financial support as the Schimel campaign. Liberal millionaire donor George Soros donated $1 million to Crawford and Illinois Gov. J. D. Pritzker donated $500,000. Lucas Hammel, sophomore at UW-Parkside, was born and raised in Kenosha County. He said he didn't understand why Sanders would come to Parkside to have an event. 'I find it almost disrespectful,' Hammel said. 'He's not a senator here, he's not any type of political (figure) here. ... Why is he coming to a state that has nothing to do with him?' Hammel held a sign that read "Thank you President Trump" outside of the arena with about a dozen other Schimel supporters before going inside to watch the event. On campus, Hammel said it's difficult for him to have conversations with fellow students about the race. 'I'm honestly here because I hated how they slandered Trump," Hammel said. "I wish we can go back in time and civilly discuss things instead of swearing at me or getting into an argument where we constantly bicker at each other." Republican Congressman Bryan Steil, who represents Wisconsin's First District that includes Kenosha County, said in a statement Sanders was on a "fear mongering tour." "In Wisconsin we want secure borders, control of spending, and boys out of girls' sports," Steil said. "I will continue working to deliver meaningful results for Wisconsin families who are still struggling from the policies that President Biden and Sen. Sanders pushed over the last four years." This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bernie Sanders energizes thousands at UW-Parkside, Wisconsin rally
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bernie Sanders headed to Wisconsin to campaign in districts held by Republicans
MADISON – Bernie Sanders will meet voters in Kenosha and western Wisconsin next week as part of a national tour targeting battleground congressional districts won by Republicans in 2024 to boost Democratic turnout in contests ahead. The Vermont senator who won the Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary in 2016 will land in Kenosha on Friday evening for a rally at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and then head to Altoona High School on Saturday morning for a second rally. The events come a month ahead of Wisconsin's first major election since President Donald Trump swept the state and was returned to the White House for a second term. On April 1, Wisconsin voters will decide control of the state's highest court and whether to give the Democratic state superintendent another term overseeing the state's education agency. The spring election will be watched nationally as a poll of how voters are feeling about Trump's first few months in office. In a statement, Sanders' campaign said he is holding the events to push back against "the takeover of the national government by billionaires and large corporations, and the country's move toward authoritarianism" and pressure Republican U.S. Reps. Bryan Steil and Derrick Van Orden to "vote against any cuts to Medicaid, housing, nutrition, education and other basic needs." Aides to Van Orden and Steil did not immediately react to Sanders' planned visits. More: New DNC chair Ken Martin visits Wisconsin, calls Supreme Court, DPI races first big test "Today, the oligarchs and the billionaire class are getting richer and richer and have more and more power. Meanwhile, 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck and most of our people are struggling to pay for health care, childcare, and housing," Sanders said. "This country belongs to all of us, not just the few. We must fight back." Sanders is a popular figure in Wisconsin among Democrats who have often favored him more than the party's presidential nominees. In 2016, he defeated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential primary and during the 2020 presidential contest, he outpaced his Democratic rivals — including Joe Biden — by double digits in popularity, according to a February 2020 poll by the Marquette University Law School. A spokeswoman for Sanders said he would not be campaigning for liberal Dane County Circuit Judge Susan Crawford at next week's events but would be discussing the Supreme Court race against conservative Waukesha County Circuit Judge Brad Schimel, a former Republican Attorney General. Molly Beck can be reached at This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bernie Sanders headed to Wisconsin to campaign in Republican districts
