ZWF: A disturbing trend in Wisconsin
Zander's Weekend Facts #84: Sunday, September 17, 2023
Inside this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts, how attacks on democracy have ramped up in the badger state, and a look at what Zander’s been reading this past week. Plus, a compilation of the top headlines you need to know about from the last seven days.
Also, go listen to the latest episode of the Zander’s Facts podcast! Episode 117 previews the NFL season that is just getting started. You won’t want to miss who Zander predicts will make it all the way to the final game of the season! Download the Zander’s Facts podcast wherever you get your podcasts!
Here are Zander’s Weekend Facts for Sunday, September 17, 2023:
Wisconsin Republicans fire top election official
You won’t find a better definition for “swing state” than the state of Wisconsin.
The state has chosen the winning candidate in each of the last four presidential elections - and six of the last eight - including being decided by less than one percentage point in both 2016 and 2020. The state features one U.S. Senator from each party and have had competitive gubernatorial elections in the last few years as well.
It’s no wonder why both parties have been focusing intently on the midwestern state over the last few years. Which is what makes the current situation in the state all the more concerning.
While Wisconsin’s governor Tony Evers is a Democrat, the Wisconsin Legislature is currently controlled by Republicans, by large margins. 22 of the State Senate’s 33 seats are held by the GOP, a supermajority, while Republicans hold 64 of the 99 seats in the State Assembly, two votes short of a supermajority.
Of course, Wisconsin Republicans have not received ~65% of the vote in the last legislative elections. The GOP received 53% of the votes in last year’s Assembly elections, where members serve two-year terms, and 56% of the popular vote in the last two Senate elections, where members serve four-year terms. Yet, Republicans over perform in their seat percentage by nearly 10%.
Why is that? Because Wisconsin’s legislative district maps are gerrymandered towards Republicans.
During the redistricting process that came after the results of the 2020 U.S. Census were released, Evers vetoed district maps that came out of the Republican-led legislature on a party-line basis. Evers then submitted maps to the state Supreme Court, which they approved by a one-vote margin. However, the U.S. Supreme Court intervened and reversed the state court’s decision, forcing Wisconsin’s high court to approve the Republican-drawn maps.
So in a state with a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+2, Republicans hold 65% of the legislature.
That’s led the state GOP to take some extremely dangerous positions.
Back in April, the state held an election to replace retiring state Supreme Court Justice Patience Roggensack. Janet Protasiewicz, the liberal candidate defeated conservative candidate Daniel Kelly by 11% in the election, giving liberals their first majority of the state’s highest court in 15 years.
But almost immediately, Republicans in the legislature were floating the idea of impeachment. Republicans claim that because of Protasiewicz’s comments during the election about Wisconsin’s legislative maps, she should recuse herself in cases involving the maps. (Important, considering Democrats have now challenged the gerrymandered maps with a new liberal majority on the court.)
But it would seem Republicans have no problem with judicial figures commenting on cases, considering the silence surrounding other justices such as U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, who said last week he won’t recuse himself in a case involving one party represented by an attorney who has interviewed Alito for the Wall Street Journal. Or U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas refusing to recuse himself from a case involving friend Harlan Crow, or from a White House January 6, 2021 records case involving texts from Thomas’ wife.
Might there be some underlying motives leading Republicans to their impeachment stance?
And then there’s the action taken last week, when the State Senate voted along party lines to remove Meagan Wolfe, the state’s top election official, from her nonpartisan role. Republicans previously called on Wolfe to resign over her handling of the 2020 presidential election in the state, where court cases have concluded there was no fraud.
State Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, immediately filed a lawsuit claiming the State Senate has no authority to remove Wolfe from her position.
What these recent moves from the Wisconsin Republican Party have in common is that they all appear to be extremely anti-democratic. Instead of advocating in the best interests of their constituents, Republicans appear to be focused on taking and retaining power in one of the country’s most divisive battlegrounds, despite what the voters themselves say.
For more information on this week’s top story, here’s an article from Vox - The Republican Party’s plan to rule the state of Wisconsin forever, explained
What Zander’s been reading
There’s certainly been some turmoil recently at one of America’s most recognizable corporations, The Walt Disney Company. Stagnant streaming subscriber numbers, fewer visitors at parks, and a declining stock price. All capped off by turmoil at the top of the company. CNBC has the inside look at how former CEO Bob Iger decided the man he hand-picked to replace him wasn’t the right guy after all.
Check out this week’s featured article at CNBC - Disney's wildest ride: Iger, Chapek and the making of an epic succession mess - (Apple News link)
Zander’s Facts Sporting Club
Here are the top headlines from the sports world in the Sporting Club:
NFL Week 2: The second weekend of the NFL season began Thursday night with the Eagles holding on at home against the Vikings, winning 34-28. Later today, week two continues with Chiefs-Jaguars, Raiders-Bills, and Ravens-Bengals headlining the 1:00 pm ET window. At 4:00 pm ET, the 49ers face the Rams and the Jets take on the Cowboys. On Sunday night, the Dolphins head to New England to play the Patriots. Monday night features two matchups, with the Saints and Panthers facing off at 7:15 pm ET, and the Steelers hosting the Browns at 8:15 pm ET.
College Football Week 3: Close calls for some top teams defined week three in college football. Yesterday, #1 Georgia came back to take down South Carolina 24-14, #3 Florida State survived a road test at Boston College 31-29, and #10 Alabama overcame offensive struggles to beat South Florida 17-3. In a couple of upsets, Florida beat #11 Tennessee 29-16 at the swamp while #15 Kansas State fell to Missouri 30-27 on a last-second 61-yard field goal. Meanwhile, #8 Washington demolished Michigan State 41-7, #7 Penn State overcame Illinois 30-17, and #20 North Carolina finished ahead of Minnesota 31-13. Late on Saturday night, #18 Colorado survived a thriller at home to Colorado State, winning 43-35 in double overtime.
Luis Rubiales: Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales resigned from his position on Monday. Rubiales forcefully kissed Spanish soccer player Jenni Hermoso on stage after Spain won last month’s Women’s World Cup. Hermoso claimed that the kiss was not consensual and subsequently filed a legal complaint. Rubiales claimed that the incident was consensual, but was previously suspended by FIFA. On Friday, a Spanish court granted a restraining order prohibiting Rubiales from getting within 650 feet of Hermoso. An investigation into Rubiales was opened by a Spanish high court last week.
Aaron Rodgers: New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered a torn Achilles on just the fifth snap in his Jets career in Monday night’s game against the Buffalo Bills. Rodgers, who was traded from the Green Bay Packers in the offseason, will not return to the field for the rest of the season. Rodgers has vowed to return, but many have questioned whether the 39-year-old will be able to recover from the injury. Despite Rodgers’ absence, the Jets ended up beating the Bills in overtime 22-16.
Shohei Ohtani: Los Angeles Angels designated hitter and pitcher Shohei Ohtani has been shut down for the rest of the season after suffering an oblique injury. Ohtani has not played since September 3 because of the injury, but was finally placed on the 10-day injured list on Saturday. The Angels 13.5 games back of a Wild Card spot in the American League with the postseason beginning in just over two weeks. Ohtani is set to be a free agent this offseason and has stated his preference to play for a championship contender.
Rapid-fire Facts
These are top news headlines from the past week in rapid-fire fashion:
UAW Strike: The United Auto Workers union went on strike at General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler-owned Stellantis after the union failed to reach a deal with the three automakers on Friday. Around 13,000 workers at three assembly plants, a GM factory in Missouri, a Ford factory in Michigan, and a Stellantis factory in Ohio, are engaging in the first ever strike against three automakers at once. UAW has said that among their demands, they are asking for increased wages and benefits, ending the tiered employment system, and reducing work weeks to 32 hours. On Saturday, GM and Ford returned to negotiations as President Joe Biden expressed support for the striking workers on Friday, claiming automakers should share their “record profits.”
Impeachment Inquiry: U.S. House Republicans announced they intended to launch an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden last week. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy claimed that investigations over the last year into Biden’s family have uncovered a “culture of corruption,” with allegations of “abuse of power, obstruction and corruption.” However, no evidence against President Biden himself has been brought to light by House Republicans. While an impeachment inquiry does not necessarily mean charges will be brought, House Republicans claim it allows Congress to conduct its oversight authority over the executive branch.
Texas Attorney General: Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton was acquitted by the Texas State Senate of all 16 articles of impeachment against him. Paxton was impeached by the Texas House of Representatives in May, accused of bribery, corruption, and misconduct. The Senate trial included former officials who worked for Paxton testifying that Paxton had used his office to benefit friends, including real estate investor Nate Paul. Over 70% of Republicans in the House voted to impeach Paxton, but just two of the 18 Republicans in the Senate voted to convict on any of the articles, failing to reach the two-thirds majority needed to convict.
Hunter Biden: Hunter Biden was indicted by special counsel David Weiss on Thursday on charges related to gun possession. Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, was charged with two counts related to false statements in purchasing the firearm and a count of illegally obtaining a firearm while addicted to drugs. Previously, a plea deal fell apart between Biden and prosecutors after the judge overseeing the case, Maryellen Noreika, expressed concern over the deal. Weiss is also expected to refile misdemeanor tax charges against Biden in California and Washington, D.C. after previously rescinding them in Delaware, where the indictment was filed.
Post-Tropical Cyclone Lee: Storm Lee, once a hurricane and now a post-tropical cyclone, made landfall in Nova Scotia, Canada on Saturday. When Lee made landfall about 135 miles west of Nova Scotia’s capital Halifax, the storm packed sustained winds of 70 miles per hour, while also causing power outages and flooding. The storm had previously reached category 5 hurricane status in the Atlantic Ocean, but weakened as it made its way north over the last few days. Lee is expected to continue weakening as it treks to the northeast into the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Wrapping up the Facts
Before this edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts wraps up, here’s another reminder to check out the latest episodes of the Zander’s Facts podcast. Download and listen to the latest episode of the podcast, along with every episode of Zander’s Facts, wherever you get your podcasts.
You can also listen to every episode of the podcast on this very website. All Zander’s Facts podcast episodes are now available on zandersfacts.com under the “Zander’s Facts” tab for your enjoyment! That includes the next episode of the Zander’s Facts Podcast, which comes out this Wednesday!
That’s a wrap on this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts. The facts in print return next Sunday, September 24, 2023.
