Progressive Thinking

GREEN BAY - If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. That seems to be the Republican motto when it comes to keeping those pesky Democratic voters from voting. A few years back, they invented the great “voter fraud” epidemic, with no real evidence that it ever existed, to justify a voter ID law in Wisconsin. Since many more poor people, espec ...

GREEN BAY – I have been listening to the “debate” coming out of our nation’s capitol all day on CNN and just can’t help but comment. Today, the Republicans in the House voted to hold the budget of the United States hostage so that they could make a statement about ObamaCare. They would fund the budget but not the implementation of the Affordable C ...

A few months ago Burke wasn't on the radar screen of possible Democratic candidates for governor in 2014, and now she seems to be the hand picked candidate pushed by the party establishment. But having family money and running with the country club set have not been known to buy you love in traditional Democratic circles. GREEN BAY - According t ...

GREEN BAY - Maybe, if you don’t look at it, it will go away? That seems to be the conservative stand on the Affordable Health Care Act, commonly known as ObamaCare. In Washington, the right wing in the House has voted 40 times to kill ObamaCare, while the pressing problems of the nation like job creation and immigration go unanswered. Governor Sc ...

GREEN BAY – The American Legal System boasts that it gives the accused the right to a trial before his or her peers. Unfortunately for justice, it sometimes does not guarantee the same right for the victim. Such was graphically the case in the trial of George Zimmerman last week in Florida for the murder of Trayvon Martin. In case you were vacati ...

MADISON – Senator Jeff Smith (D-Brunswick) issued the following statement about his opposition to 2025 Senate Joint Resolution 2 during the Senate floor session today: “It is Day Three of the 2025-2026 legislative session. Already, Republicans skirted the rules and rushed senators into a senate floor session. Republicans are more afraid of v ...

Senator Smith announces he is turning a new leaf in the new year by shifting his regular written column to a video update moving forward. EAU CLAIRE - I remember as a kid the dreaded moment when the teacher told us it was time to write a paper. It was scary for most, but some secretly reveled in the opportunity to be creative with their word ...

Senator Smith writes about the need to show respect as a way of building trust, especially when it comes to finding solutions to complex political problems at the Capitol. EAU CLAIRE - What has become of trust among us? It may seem like our society has always been distrustful or at the very least skeptical of what we’ve been told. But there w ...

Senator Smith writes to encourage optimism after a historic election and notable changes in the make up of the state legislature. As I reflect on the past year and the historic campaign season, I want to thank the voters who showed up and did their civic duty by casting their ballots. I know not everyone reading this voted, but the outcome o ...

Senator Smith encourages us to take time while celebrating this holiday season to consider the rich traditions and customs of other religious holidays as well. EAU CLAIRE - For most of us, this time of year is for celebrating. Once December hits we’re in the holiday season—Thanksgiving leading up to Christmas and then New Year’s celebrations. ...