It is the duty of government to keep the peace, make laws for the wellbeing of society, and to carry both out within a system of governance that is duly constituted of, for, and by the people - with the consent of whom sovereignty is lawfully exercised. This overarching and fundamental tenet of American society was well known to our founders, having been born in British common law centuries before a young revolutionary republic established itself along the east coast of North America. Thomas Jefferson, the brilliant yet flawed author of the Declaration of Independence, opined that “...government ought to be judged by how well it meets its legitimate objectives” (1). For Jefferson, good government was the bedrock principle that “...most effectively secures the rights of the people and the rewards of their labor, which promotes their happiness, and also does their will” (1). Continue reading

  I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying until I meet my maker: I firmly believe that rural places are the soul of our state and the engine of our economy. But we need a new rural economy where small- and medium-scale family farms and rural Main Streets can stabilize and innovate, not the status quo that has given Wisconsin the highest farm bankruptcy rate in the nation and a hollowing out of small towns. Wisconsin’s legacy of family farm agriculture cannot survive if farm exits continue at this rate. In fact, Wisconsin has been losing nearly two dairy farms a day for several years. Continue reading

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Cap Times Endorsement: Kriss Marion will get the Legislature working for southwestern Wisconsin Continue reading

Get ‘Er Done on Healthcare Reform   As a survivor of rheumatoid arthritis, I take great joy in the remission I have today. I am forever thankful that I had great health insurance to pay for the biologic responsible for my remission. Unfortunately however, my experience is not the same reality many Wisconsinites live through. Our healthcare system is irrational and fundamentally broken, and the sense of despair that comes from having an illness and being unable to afford it is an issue acutely felt at the kitchen tables of working families throughout Southwestern Wisconsin... Continue reading

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As an independent-minded Democrat, I am a rural progressive reformer who understands the importance of fiscal responsibility. Truth be told, practicing fiscal responsibility is completely compatible with a progressive political outlook. After all, working families make similar decisions for their household finances every day and expect the same from their government officials whether or not they have a “D” or an “R” after their name. Continue reading

Fellow Wisconsinites, I firmly believe that rural places are the soul of our state and the engine of our economy. There can be a bright future for Wisconsin’s small towns and rural Main Streets, but getting there will take grit, attention to detail, and a commitment to address the real struggles of everyday folks out here among the pastoral landscape of family farms, towering ridgelines, and beautiful river valleys. My campaign team and I have worked diligently over the past few months to put forward good ideas which not only improve the quality of life for rural Wisconsinites, but that also have the necessary appeal across the breadth of the political spectrum to become law. The fruit of their labor is my rural recovery plan. Solving the Root of the Problem: Rural Routes to Wisconsin’s Post-Pandemic Recovery is a sensible, multifaceted policy prescription plan for stabilizing Wisconsin’s struggling farms, bolstering the rural economy, and preserving our state’s rich natural heritage for generations to come. Continue reading