IN OUR OWN BACKYARD.

• Author: Lueders, Bill
• Position: EDITOR'S NOTE

As we enter the fifth month of massive disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, chaos appears to have taken root throughout the land. Our sociopathic President continues to badly bungle the national response, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths that should have been avoided. Meanwhile, the protests that began over the horrifying police murder of George Floyd have prompted widespread calls for fundamental change in policing and in addressing systemic racism.

It is a terrible time. It is an important time.

This issue of The Progressive brings these issues home in a way we usually do not do, by focusing on the state of Wisconsin, where this magazine has been published for 111 years. While we are and will always be a national magazine, events have conspired to elevate the importance of our own backyard.

In mid-August, the Democratic National Convention will be held, in some dramatically scaled-back fashion, in the city of Milwaukee. The choice reflects the states pivotal importance in the November 3 presidential election. In 2016, the Democratic nominee was so certain she would win Wisconsin that she even didn't bother to campaign here. Donald Trump worked hard for the states electoral votes, and won, securing his victory.

This time, Wisconsin is a battleground state that no one will ignore. There will be multiple campaign appearances and an unprecedented onslaught of messaging. The outcome of the race here could very well determine who will be President during the next four years.

But there is another reason that attention should be paid to the Badger State. It represents, as always, the schizophrenic nature of American politics, which plays out as a continual internal struggle.

Wisconsin produced the nations most progressive Senator, "Fighting Bob" La Follette, as well as its most regressive, Joe McCarthy. During the Progressive Era, it led the nation in enacting workers' compensation, a progressive state income tax...