Tuesday, June 24, 2025
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Tuesday, June 24, 2025

Milwaukee Press Club 'Excellence in Wisconsin Journalism' 2020 & 2021 Award Winners

Who Won the Debate & What Really Matters

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This is a WRN analysis piece.

Arguably, Vice President Kamala Harris won the debate on expectations and performance. But former President Donald Trump won the debate on policy, and that’s what really matters.

Harris got generally high marks on performance because she wasn’t a babbling fool, and Biden lowered the debate bar so low. She didn’t get tangled in word salads or stare vacantly into the distance or wander around like a lost dementia patient on stage, so she exceeded expectations. Because she didn’t collapse spectacularly, in a way she didn’t lose, even though her inappropriate smiles and smirks were extremely annoying.  She talked so fast about absolutely nothing that one’s mind wandered midway through each Harris soliloquy.  It was like she was on a Halloween candy-sugar buzz.

However, Harris didn’t move the needle on policy at all, and that’s where the rubber meets the road. Trump didn’t finish off her campaign tonight, so she will live to fight another day.

Mark our words, though – this debate isn’t going to age well for Harris. Already a poll shows it didn’t boost her support, despite more people thinking she won. That’s because the public doesn’t want razzmatazz right now. They want lower grocery bills.

Another poll shows voters are more likely to think Trump would be better at handling the economy than Harris AFTER THE DEBATE.

Harris talked – a lot. She filibustered, and the extremely biased ABC moderators threw a lot of shiny distraction balls around. However, when the dust settles, it will become increasingly clear that, despite all of the excessive verbiage, Harris never really articulated a plan on the things that matter – the economy and the border, primarily. She never answered the question about how her values could stay the same if so many of her policies changed, either.

Poll after poll shows that voters care most about the economy and the border right now. The moderators’ let’s help Harris sideshows – abortion, climate change, J6, the 2020 election, Harris’s race, on and on – aren’t what they care about most.

Harris’s problem is that people have “event memory.” They’re living it. Voters don’t need a candidate or debate to tell them that they were better off four years ago. They know they paid less for groceries, rent, and car insurance when Trump was president. Harris did nothing tonight to sever herself from Biden’s disastrous policies, either, and she did not articulate a SPECIFIC vision, as much as she babbled about a “new way forward.” It felt like empty rhetoric. She can say, “I have a plan!” and “I’m not Biden!” and “Trump is mean and a danger to democracy!” all she wants, but policy is what voters care about. It reminded us of that old commercial, “Where’s the beef?”

We spoke to a swing voter in Wisconsin, who is 19. She is now leaning toward Trump because she didn’t think Harris explained what she would DO to fix the economy, and she is concerned about foreign wars. She can’t imagine Harris squaring off against Putin. Nobody thinks Putin would eat Trump’s lunch.

Voters know the border was under better control when Trump was president too, and they know the world seemed more peaceful. Harris positioned herself as the candidate of war in this debate. That could have lasting consequences. Trump was strongest on foreign policy. No one thinks Harris would be a tougher negotiator. Is she going to laugh and smirk at Kim Jong Un?

Trump wasn’t perfect. He was too defensive at times and missed some opportunities, and, yes, the moderators were disgustingly biased. They debated Trump but didn’t call Harris out for her numerous lies – the “bloodbath” lie, the Charlottesville lie, the “his 2025 project” lie. But it almost seemed like Trump’s advisors convinced him that he had to watch his tone when debating a woman or he’d come across as a bully. So he overcorrected and toned it down a bit too much. He almost seemed tired.

However, he also came across as more authentic, substantive, and policy-focused, if rougher around the edges, whereas she sounded like she was reciting talking points her advisors had her practice repeatedly, right down to the planned zingers! Someone told her to laugh and smile a lot – with a sort of “there you go again” facial expression – but it didn’t land. It was phony and annoying. At certain junctures, her facial expressions were extremely inappropriate, such as when Trump was talking about the Democrats prosecuting their political opponent, and she laughed.

They say people vote for the person they’d want to have a beer with. No one would want to sit on a bar stool next to Harris and listen to her babble about nothing like that for another hour. She was exhausting. It was tempting to turn off the TV. One observer noted that Harris said nothing memorable, whereas Trump landed some funny lines (run spot run.) And he closed strongly: “Why hasn’t she done it yet?”

He was restrained and policy-focused, while she engaged in bombastic personal attacks. He even got in the line you know they were hoping for – “will you let me talk?” Brilliant.

Normally, voters choose the future over the past. In this very unique situation, people want to return to the way things were four years ago because they know they were better off. This election is going to be exceptionally close. However, this debate isn’t going to help her as much as her supporters think it will.

josh schoemann Washington County’s Early Vote

2026 GOP Candidate Josh Schoemann Challenges Evers’ Budget Approach

(The Center Square) – Josh Schoemann, the only Republican currently in the race for governor next year, is criticizing Gov. Tony Evers’ approach to the next state budget by comparing it to his plans in Washington County.

“In Washington County our budget cycle starts right now, and it’s not due until November. We will propose our budget goals to the County Board in the next couple of months. We will share ‘This is what we’re thinking.’ It gives them months of time to think those through, give us feedback, and [have] that kind of dialogue,” Schoemann explained in an interview on News Talk 1130 WISN.

Schoemann said that is far better than the approach Evers is taking again this year.

“That’s not how government is supposed to work,” Schoemann said. “It’s not the vision of the governor. It’s not the vision of any one person.”

Evers and the Republican legislative leaders who will write the budget have been involved in on-again, off-again budget talks this month. On Thursday, the governor’s office said those talks were off once again because of gridlock in the Senate.

“Ultimately, the Senate needs to decide whether they were elected to govern and get things done or not,” Evers spokesperson Britt Cudaback said in a post on X.

Schoemann’s criticism of Evers is nothing new. He has long been a critic of the governor and has turned that criticism up since launching his campaign for governor.

But the recent criticism was also aimed at other Republicans who may jump into the 20206 governor’s race later this year.

“Nobody else in this race on the Republican side, being rumored to this point, has the executive leadership of skills and history to be able to show ‘This is how I’ve done it before, and here’s how we’ll do it Madison,’” Schoemann said. “The results in Washington County speak for themselves.”

Northwoods Congressman Tom Tiffany is also rumored to be looking to get into the Republican race. Before he went to Congress, Tiffany was a Republican lawmaker in Madison.

Businessman and veteran Bill Berrien is also on the short list of likely GOP candidates for 2026.

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Wisconsin Budget Negotiations Reach Impasse Between Evers, Legislature

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin budget negotiations have reached an impasse with both sides pointing fingers at the other in Wednesday afternoon statements.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said Republican Legislative leaders backed out of negotiations after he agreed to “an income tax cut targeting Wisconsin’s middle-class and working families and eliminating income taxes for certain retirees.” He said Republican leaders would not agree to “meaningful increased investments in child care, K-12 schools, and the University of Wisconsin System.”

Republican Assembly leaders said the two sides were "far apart. Senate leaders say Evers’ desires “extend beyond what taxpayers can afford.”

“The Joint Committee on Finance will continue using our long-established practices of crafting a state budget that contains meaningful tax relief and responsible spending levels with the goal of finishing on time,” said a statement from Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Assembly Finance Co-Chairman Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam.

Evers said that there were meetings between the sides every day this week before the impasse.

“I told Republicans I’d support their half of the deal and their top tax priorities – even though they’re very similar to bills I previously vetoed – because I believe that’s how compromise is supposed to work, and I was ready to make that concession in order to get important things done for Wisconsin’s kids,” Evers said.

Senate Republican leadership said that good faith negotiations have occurred since April on a budget compromise.

“Both sides of these negotiations worked to find compromise and do what is best for the state of Wisconsin,” said a statement from Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, and Senate Joint Finance Co-Chairman Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green.

In early May, the Joint Committee on Finance took 612 items out of Gov. Tony Evers’ budget proposal, including Medicaid expansion in the state, department creations and tax exemptions.

Born previously estimated that Evers’ budget proposal would lead to $3 billion in tax increases over the two-year span.

Wisconsin Policy Forum estimated that the proposal would spend down more than $4 billion of the state’s expected $4.3 billion surplus if it is enacted.

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DOJ Begins California Title IX Investigation Over ‘Trans’ Boys Dominating Girls’ Sports

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division announced it is investigating California for violating Title IX by allowing males to participate in female student sports.

“Title IX exists to protect women and girls in education,” said Harmeet K. Dhillon, assistant attorney general for Civil Rights. “It is perverse to allow males to compete against girls, invade their private spaces, and take their trophies.”

In February, President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning males from participating in female student sports, and he has threatened to block California's federal funding for continuing to defy his order. With California facing deficits in the tens of billions of dollars each year, it's unclear how the state would offset any losses or pauses in federal funding.

Notably, California Gov. Gavin Newsom hosted conservative pundit Charlie Kirk on his podcast and told Kirk that he thinks it’s “deeply unfair” that boys are participating in girls’ sports.

When asked later at a press conference what this means for state policy, Newsom demurred, painting the matter as a marginal, non-issue not worth his time.

“You're talking about a very small number of people, a very small number of athletes, and my responsibility is to address the pressing issues of our time,” said Newsom.

The California Interscholastic Federation, which governs student sports in California, has since responded to Trump’s threat by announcing a new pilot program to allow girls who otherwise would have qualified for sports finals had the finalist spots in girls’ sports not been taken by transgender-identifying boys to participate in said finals.

Title IX was signed into law by President Richard Nixon in 1972 to ensure that schools could not discriminate against female students. It requires they be provided with equal opportunities to engage in athletics, extracurriculars and education.

DOJ’s letter of interest says it is investigating whether California’s Assembly Bill 1266, which requires transgender-identifying students to be allowed to participate in sports consistent with their gender identities, violates Title IX.

“As a result of CIF’s policy, California’s top-ranked girls’ triple jumper, and second-ranked girls’ long-jumper, is a boy,” wrote the DOJ. “As recently as May 17, this male athlete was allowed to take winning titles that rightfully belong to female athletes in both events.”

“This male athlete will now be allowed to compete against those female athletes again for a state title in long, triple, and high jump,” continued the DOJ. “Other high school female athletes have alleged that they were likewise robbed of podium positions and spots on their teams after they were forced to compete against males.”

Should the DOJ find California is in violation of Title IX, it says it will “take appropriate action to eliminate that discrimination, including seeking injunctive relief.”

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