So legislative Democrats made some
gains. But a state budget battle
looms with a probable fight over
whether to cut taxes or spend
the $4 billion surplus
in Washington.
Look for President Donald Trump to
act fast on his priorities
and then turn your attention back
to Wisconsin for another supersized
election for control of the state
Supreme Court.
The discussion of what's ahead
politically in the new year is teed
up for our panelists.
Republican Bill McCUTCHEON and
Democrat Scott Ross.
And thanks for being here.
Happy New Year.
So first to you, Bill.
Let's start with what we're going to
see out of the new Trump
administration.
So I would say this is going to be
the NASCAR start,
all gas, no brakes.
I expect more
than maybe several hundred
executive orders on day one.
I expect them to come forward
with a reconciliation package
probably in February that includes
immigration and energy.
A second one later in the year on
government reform and taxes.
They have two opportunities.
There are 18 votes, including
for speaker.
We're on to round two on that
already.
Hopefully Mike Johnson will get that
and we can get back to business.
But I think there will be a fast and
furious start for the Trump
administration. I think the four
years between his terms, they've
learned a lot. They knew what they
did wrong in the first term, and
they'll be more prepared this time.
So it's hold on to your hats moment.
Scott, do you think Democrats will
work with the Trump administration
in any measure?
Yeah.
I really hope not, because the
things that they're going to do are
going to just, you know, dismantle
the social safety net, attack the
rights of people.
You know, I mean, we're going to
have mass deportations.
We're going to have trans people,
you know, bullied into suicide with
their things. I mean, it's going to
be a bloodbath.
And also that they can raise our
treasury and give billionaires even
more money. You know, and so I think
so I hope Democrats are not up to it
and they shouldn't be, because I'll
tell you, I got an ABC roll and I'm
giving you the B, which is
bipartisanship is B.S.
Donald Trump, you know, in 2016,
he said, you know, hinted he
might prosecute his political
enemies in 2020.
He got a little bit more aggressive
in 2024. He went all in
on non, you know, on attacking
Democrats and that was it.
I'm not working with Democrats and
he did better this time.
So you don't think it's incumbent on
Democrats to acknowledge the
electoral popularity of
Donald Trump after having apparently
misunderstood their
base?
Well, you know, I'll tell you this
story. So a couple of weeks before
the election, my wife is like, you
know, I don't think she's going
to win. And I'm like, I don't want
to hear it because, like, I'll live
in that world if it exists.
I'm going to live in denial, like
there's nothing I'm going to do about
it. And after
I go to her and I was like, you
know, hat in hand, I'm like, What
happened? She's like the joy thing.
She's like, we have a comfortable
life, you know?
Do you feel joy?
And I'm like, well, when I'm around
you. But generally, no.
So why were people going to feel
joy, you know, who felt joy?
The people who were on the gravy
train, you know, and suddenly were
able to, you know, be in a position
where they could be president.
You know, and the consultants and
all that sort of thing. It wasn't
you know, they weren't it wasn't it
wasn't a reflection of reality, as
it turns out. I bought into it, but
I was wrong.
I think Democrats missed the signal.
The voter the voters were telling us
something very specific.
Trump picked up on it early on
and he capitalized on it.
And that's why he actually won 231
congressional seats and he won 57
Senate seats. So I think there
is some room for bipartisanship in
this coming Congress.
Bill, how do you think day one
priorities like mass deportations
apparently help people with the cost
of groceries?
Well, I think that's one function.
He got elected on that.
There's no question about that.
Whether it was the Trump people
think it was his number one issue.
I still think the economy was the
number one issue.
And both of those things are going
to get done in the first six months.
But it probably you're not going
to see massive in
reduced grocery prices
in the first couple of months.
But if you haven't by summer, I
think that's a pretty good start for
the Trump campaign.
I mean, I think the problem is, is
that like when you talk about
bipartisanship, that this is not the
Republican Party that deals with
bipartisanship anymore.
You know, there are Democrats who
are thinking, I still want a
Republican Party where we can come
together and put a man on the moon.
You know, the Republican Party
basically now denies that.
The man that we even landed on the
moon essentially, in that way, there
is no room for bipartisanship
with them. Democrats do that at
their peril. And again, Republicans
have been saying no to Democrats
since they were rolling old man
Cheney off the dais June, January
20th, 2009.
They have never worked with the
Democrats.
And suddenly they're, you know,
suddenly that's they pay no price
for it, basically is what I was
going to say. So why would they do
it now?
I want I want to come back here
to Wisconsin and what you call
the Super Bowl of politics,
that being the spring election for
state Supreme Court.
Why is it the Super Bowl?
This is the biggest election.
It's for control of the Wisconsin
Supreme Court.
Currently, it's A43 progressive
majority.
One of the four progressives
is not running for reelection.
And so there's an opportunity for
conservatives to take back the
majority. And if they don't get it
this time.
The next opportunity doesn't present
itself until 2028.
So progressives
will have this majority for some
time and they could undo things like
Act ten, they could undo school
choice, they could undo some of the
welfare reforms and many, many
other things. So it is the Super
Bowl for conservatives and
Republicans, and it's incumbent
upon us to get behind Brad Schimel
quickly, early.
He's a battle tested candidate.
He's run statewide twice before.
He was successful in the first bid.
He was unsuccessful in the second
bid, primarily because there was a
third party candidate in here who
prevented him from beating Josh
Kaul. So I think he's a strong
candidate. It's going to be the most
expensive race in Wisconsin
history.
How does Susan Crawford win this?
I think she's a terrific candidate.
She's ten years of prosecutor.
You know, she's then
went to private practice where she
protected workers rights, abortion
rights and voting rights.
And then she went on to be a
respected judge, which she is now.
Brad Sherman, the other hand, is a
partizan hack.
I mean, he was fired.
He was in Waukesha.
Yes. And he's a judge because he and
Scott Walker, you know, in the lame
duck, after they both got fired for
their performance, you know, voters
fired them.
He appointed him a judge.
The fact is, is that Brad Schimel,
you know, bungled prosecutions of
sex offenders.
The rape kit backlog was massive
under him.
And, you know, I'll give you I'll
give you another one.
You know, 71 of 72
counties begged they
passed resolutions begging Brad
Sherman, Scott Walker to do
something about the opioid crisis.
Brad Schimmel, after being the only
state candidate in Wisconsin history
to take a PAC check from Purdue
Pharma, the big opioid
kingpin, he refused to prosecute
one of those, absolutely refused to
prosecute. And it wasn't a lot of
money. It was only $250.
But like the question is, can you be
bought for that little or did you
actually think Purdue shouldn't be
held accountable? Josh Karl, on the
other hand, $750
million to help
the effects of that has come into
the state of Wisconsin because Brad
Schimmel is no longer the attorney
general.
I think Democrats are going to be
careful what they wish for here.
This Act ten case that
was adjudicated in Dane County
Circuit Court is now in the
appellate court could make it to the
Wisconsin Supreme Court.
A year ago, I think, Scott, now I
will agree on this.
Janet, say, what sort of changed
the rules on judicial elections
used to be that judicial candidates
couldn't take positions on cases
that might come before them.
Janet Pro, to say what you've raised
that bright line on
whether it was the maps
or abortion or a variety of
other things.
So Schimel is going to have to take
advantage of that and tell people
at ten is going to be repealed.
If you don't if you elect Susan
Crawford school choice, if you
choose a charter school or a choice
school or open, enroll your kid,
That could all go away if
Susan Crawford is elected.
So he's going to have to motivate
the same voters that elected Donald
Trump, the low propensity voters,
the mid propensity voters who
typically don't turn out in April.
So it's going to be about we're
suddenly going to you know, the
Wisconsin Supreme Court is going to
suddenly have purview over
immigration and transgender
issues. That's going to be what Brad
Kimmel's campaign he's already he's
already talking about those things.
It's going to be the sort of
divisive, you know, destructive
campaign that we saw from Trump that
we saw from Schimel.
I do not believe Schimel will be
will be elected in any way, shape or
form, mostly because, you know, the
credentials of Susan Crawford, the,
you know, the bad stuff that we have
with Brad Schimel, but also the fact
that it is going to be insane what
the Republicans do.
And Democrats are always motivated
once we've lost the big battle to
clean things up. And I think that
that's, you know, where we're at.
While ratings for a lot of
progressive shows are at their all
time low, I think Democrats
are demotivated by what happened in
November. And I think that will
continue through April.
We have a lot more to talk about
and we will in the coming months.
Bill McCUTCHEON, Scott Ross, thank
you.
Thank you. Thank you.
You know, I say a lot.