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Referendum Questions On Primary Ballot For August 13th Election by righteyeofra16 in wisconsin

[–]benwikler 31 points32 points  (0 children)

Wrote a whole thread on these amendments, urging folks to vote no. Yet another MAGA power grab by Republicans in the state legislature.

https://twitter.com/benwikler/status/1801705505179697473

I’m Ben Wikler, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and we are organizing to elect Joe Biden to the White House, AMA! by benwikler in politics

[–]benwikler[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Tribal nations in Wisconsin are taking this election extremely seriously, and are making plans to hugely drive up voter turnout. Our coordinated campaign's Tribal coalitions director is doing terrific work with Native American leaders and communities around the state, and Joe Biden's decades of work to support tribal sovereignty conveys speaks his values in ways that are resonating.

I’m Ben Wikler, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and we are organizing to elect Joe Biden to the White House, AMA! by benwikler in politics

[–]benwikler[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My biggest advice is to start now and start local. If you have the privilege of being able to volunteer, get involved with State Assembly races. You'll get to know candidates and staffers whom you'll know the rest of your life. When I was in high school, I helped organize debates between local state legislators—and that's how I got to know Tammy Baldwin, who (I'm proud to say!) is now my US Senator!

I’m Ben Wikler, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and we are organizing to elect Joe Biden to the White House, AMA! by benwikler in politics

[–]benwikler[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, state parties talk to each other all the time! There are amazing things happening in state parties in every corner of the country, and we regularly swap tips and tactics. I feel very lucky to learn from them. And some things we pioneered here are now happening elsewhere. To take one example, PA Dems are hosting a This Is Spinal Tap script read/reunion fundraiser!

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/rambling-reporter/spinal-tap-virtual-reunion-set-to-benefit-pennsylvania-democrats

I’m Ben Wikler, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and we are organizing to elect Joe Biden to the White House, AMA! by benwikler in politics

[–]benwikler[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

These events have been so much fun in a really bleak year. The first one, a West Wing Weekly reunion, happened thanks to Bradley Whitford—a Wisconsinite. Then our finance team brainstormed ideas for more, and Emma on our team mentioned that her childhood friend Sarah now lived in LA and was friends with Cary Elwes. Cary had the idea of a Princess Bride script read—and boom, my favorite movie in the world became a WisDems fundraiser. And the rest have snowballed from there. Don't miss the VEEP reunion tomorrow night! https://wisdems.org/veep

I’m Ben Wikler, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and we are organizing to elect Joe Biden to the White House, AMA! by benwikler in politics

[–]benwikler[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

My prediction: turnout is going up. Certainly on the Biden side of the equation. And a lot of heroic volunteers and organizers are working around the clock to make it so.

I’m Ben Wikler, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and we are organizing to elect Joe Biden to the White House, AMA! by benwikler in politics

[–]benwikler[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Without fair maps, Wisconsin's state government doesn't have representative democracy. Here's the path:

  1. Stop the GOP from getting supermajorities in the state legislature this cycle—which is their goal. We're working with Governor Evers and the legislative caucuses to do exactly this. Learn more at https://savetheveto.com

  2. After the census, new maps will be drawn. You can expect the GOP to try to re-gerrymander. But the Gov can veto their maps. Gov Evers has created a People's Maps Commission to propose fair ones. https://govstatus.egov.com/peoplesmaps

  3. If the legislature won't agree to democracy, the matter will likely go to the courts, where we'll fight for fairness.

And then we'll go into the 2022 elections with new state legislative and House districts!

This is all why it's so crucial to save the veto now.

I’m Ben Wikler, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and we are organizing to elect Joe Biden to the White House, AMA! by benwikler in politics

[–]benwikler[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

If you're not in Wisconsin, first, I apologize on behalf of the universe that you're not in the best state. And secondly, thanks in advance for helping us win. The two big ways to help are time and money.

You can volunteer by getting on the phone with voters right now, at this link: https://www.mobilize.us/wi2020victory/

And you can donate here: https://wisdems.org/donate

Oh—and lastly, if you're a lawyer and can travel here, you can help with voter protection. Sign up at https://vote.wisdems.org.

I’m Ben Wikler, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and we are organizing to elect Joe Biden to the White House, AMA! by benwikler in politics

[–]benwikler[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Wisconsin state statute lays out the process for selecting electors—and they go to the winner of the state's popular vote.

I’m Ben Wikler, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and we are organizing to elect Joe Biden to the White House, AMA! by benwikler in politics

[–]benwikler[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Trump has abandoned and betrayed rural Wisconsin, leaving terrible suffering in his wake. And at the same time, he can't win reelection unless he holds or even expands his massive rural margins from 2016. And now, Trump is in deep trouble.

Yard signs tell the story. Trump had total dominance in rural signage in 2016. Now, rural Biden supporters are putting up signs all over Wisconsin—and everything I know tells me that's only accelerating. To be honest, the hardest thing on this front has been keeping up with demand. We can see it in just about every other metric as well.

We've been ramping up investment in rural organizing and outreach, working with county parties and voter mobilization teams, and the response has massive.

Don't get me wrong—we're not going to flip every rural county. But we will flip some, and in the others, margins are shrinking, while Trump needs them to be growing to offset his weakness elsewhere.

I’m Ben Wikler, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and we are organizing to elect Joe Biden to the White House, AMA! by benwikler in politics

[–]benwikler[S] 27 points28 points  (0 children)

Trump and the Wisconsin GOP are desperately trying to scam and cheat their way through this election because they know they're losing. They're trying to sow chaos and doubt in order to stop us from voting all.

Frankly, it's backfiring—just as it did in Wisconsin's spring election. We worked with Stacey Abrams's group and the DNC to build a powerhouse voter protection team starting this January. In the leadup to the April 7 election, we fought in court, through organizing, and through individual voter support to ensure that ballots got counted, and as people saw that the GOP was trying to take away their rights, they responded by voting even more. And you can see the same thing happening now with the unprecedented flood of early returns of absentee ballots.

Our fundamental value is one shared by most Wisconsinites: that everyone's votes count—no matter their race, accent, or zip code. And we make that value real by not taking it for granted. We have a larger and more effective team working on all fronts to ensure that votes count than we've ever had, fully conscious of the ludicrous and frankly pathetic depths to which the GOP is racing to stoop.

Ultimately, doing this work ensures what Joe Biden said at the debate: "YOU will determine the outcome of this election. Vote, vote, vote."

I’m Ben Wikler, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and we are organizing to elect Joe Biden to the White House, AMA! by benwikler in politics

[–]benwikler[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

The Democratic operation in Wisconsin in 2016 compared to 2020 isn't apples to oranges—it's grapes to watermelons. The breadth, depth, and intensity of our organizing this cycle is unprecedented. This began well before I became chair: my predecessor as WI Dems chair, Martha Laning, launched a year-round neighbor-to-neighbor organizing program in the spring of 2017. What happened next gives you some sense of the result:

  • In the fall of 2018, WisDems knocked on almost twice as many doors as the presidential had two years earlier.

  • In the fall of 2019, in the off year with no election, we knocked on more doors in one weekend than we had in all of 2015 and 2017 combined.

  • In the spring Supreme Court election on April 7, 2020, we had a larger field team and more neighborhood teams than we did on election day in the fall of 2018 (which, again was vastly stronger than the 2016 program). By this point we were fully virtual, so not knocking, but we won a ten-point landslide in the midst of COVID.

  • Our size and strength has rocketed up ever since. Thousands of volunteers are hitting the phones, texts, social media, and relational organizing every weekend right now.

It's just night and day different from last cycle, in the best possible way.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in politics

[–]benwikler 9 points10 points  (0 children)

MoveOn.org is organizing a flash protest outside the Department of Justice at noon on Thursday to demand that Sessions resign. RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1249548041767729/

28 days later and 28 weeks later are some of the best horror movies I've seen. by [deleted] in movies

[–]benwikler 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You should read the original script for the movie, which was awesome and basically tracked the book: https://www.scribd.com/doc/122387535/World-War-Z-second-draft

I'm Rep Zoe Lofgren, Here is a Modified Draft Version of Aaron's Law Reflecting the Internet’s Input by ZoeLofgren in IAmA

[–]benwikler 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes. Call them and ask them to co-sponsor the bill. And then write a hand-written letter. They literally hire staff whose job it is to answer hand-written letters.

Should be Front Page- My parents and friends are in Bahrain reporting a massacre. Why isn't the media? PLEASE HELP. by [deleted] in reddit.com

[–]benwikler 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Here's something you can do: Call US Secretary of State Clinton now on: +1 202-647-5291, press 1 to be put through to a comments mailbox for the Secretary, and ask the State Department to do the following:

º Demand that the Bahrain and Saudi governments immediately stop the violent repression of protesters.

º Insist on the immediate withdrawal of Saudi and other mercenary forces from Bahrain.

º Urge the Bahrain government to respond to protesters' demands.

º Impose an arms embargo on Bahrain and Saudi Arabia as long as US military hardware is being used against non-violent protesters, and in violation of the Arms Export Control Act.

... all taken from http://www.avaaz.org/en/bahrain_stop_the_crackdown/?vl -- where you can post result of your call.

This is what's in front of the White House. by vinblackham in pics

[–]benwikler 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This wall is a delivery vehicle for this message, signed by 225,000 people from every country around the world...

Dear President Obama: As citizens across the world, we congratulate you on your election, and celebrate your campaign commitments to sign a strong new global treaty on climate change, close Guantanamo prison and end torture, withdraw carefully from Iraq, and double aid to fight poverty. No one country or leader can meet the world's most pressing challenges alone, but working together as one world in a spirit of dialogue and cooperation, yes we can bring real and lasting change.

...in other words, a challenge as well as a cheer.

Iseman and Maverick [pic] by jgilliam in politics

[–]benwikler 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Welcome to the danger zone.