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PODCAST

The Recombobulation Minute

Dan Shafer, creator of The Recombobulation Area, brings you the latest perspective on Wisconsin politics.

news news commentary

All Episodes

1:00

What Last Week’s Elections Mean for Wisconsin 2026

The Recombobulation Minute ·

2025/11/11

Last week, Democrats notched a number of big victories in elections across the country, with important wins in states like New Jersey, Virginia, Georgia and California.And while Wisconsin did not have an election on November 4 of this year, these results can tell us something about November 3 of next year, the day the 2026 midterm elections will be held. While races like the one for mayor of New York City grabbed more headlines, it’s the elections that happened in the Virginia House of

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1:00

A Reexamination of Mandela Barnes’ 2022 Senate Campaign

The Recombobulation Minute ·

2025/10/31

We are just about one year away from the 2026 midterm elections, and after some recent big announcements, the Democratic field in the race for governor is very nearly set. Just one major decision looms, and that’s the one from former lieutenant governor Mandela Barnes.Barnes seems likely to run for governor. And because of that, his 2022 run for U.S. Senate warrants a fresh re-examination. So, in a new column at The Recombobulation Area, I took a closer look back at that race and his campaign

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1:00

Wisconsin DoT Announces Start of I-94 Construction...

The Recombobulation Minute ·

2025/10/17

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation just announced the official start date for one of its biggest ever construction projects, the I-94 East-West project, which will reconstruct and widen a 3.5-mile stretch of interstate highway in the city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County.This is a massive project with an estimated cost of more than 1.7 billion dollars. And with this official start date announced also came estimates for how long this will take. According to the DOT, construction is

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1:00

Increased I.C.E. Activity in Wisconsin

The Recombobulation Minute ·

2025/10/03

In recent weeks, the level of activity from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, has increased quite a bit. There was a raid in Manitowoc at a Walmart parking lot where dairy workers were known to congregate, a series of arrests in Madison, and in Milwaukee, ICE is looking to expand its operations significantly by seeking office space downtown to go along with a new field office on the city’s northwest side.This has been concerning for many, and not without reason. A recent large-scale

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1:00

Tom Tiffany Announces Run for Governor

The Recombobulation Minute ·

2025/09/26

Tom Tiffany, Republican congressman representing Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District, has finally made it official: He’s running for governor.The election for governor in 2026 is the state’s first open race for the office since 2010, and it’s sure to invite many candidates to run. And on the Republican side, Tiffany’s is the most significant announcement yet. There’s a very good chance that he is going to be the Republican nominee for governor at this time next year. If that proves to be

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1:00

Civic Media Launches Network Newsletter – Civic Media...

The Recombobulation Minute ·

2025/09/19

We’re taking a little bit of a detour this week on The Recombobulation Minute so I can tell you about a brand new project we’ve been working on here at Civic Media, that we’re really really excited about.Here at the Civic Media network, we produce a tremendous amount of content on any given day. From our news team all over the state, to our daily lineup of political talk and commentary shows, to our many podcasts and weekend shows, to local morning shows to all kinds of digital content, there

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1:00

Republican Controlled Budget Committee Cuts Veteran...

The Recombobulation Minute ·

2025/09/05

This year’s Wisconsin state budget included a rather unfortunate cut: The Republican-controlled budget committee eliminated funding for the Veterans Housing and Recovery Program that would have kept two facilities, in Green Bay and in Chippewa Falls, open and operational.This state program aims to provide temporary housing, training, and supportive services to military veterans who are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of becoming homeless in order to help them obtain permanent

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1:00

Right-Wing Supreme Court Justice Will Not Seek...

The Recombobulation Minute ·

2025/08/29

Big political news dropped the Friday before Labor Day weekend in Wisconsin, with right-wing state Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley announcing that she will NOT be seeking re-election to another 10 year term on the court.In her statement announcing the decision, Bradley bemoaned a "shift from thoughtful, principled judicial service toward bitter partisanship, personal attacks, and political gamesmanship" in recent years. If you’ve followed Bradley time on the bench, you couldn’t help but

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1:00

Too Early Breakdown of the Governors Race

The Recombobulation Minute ·

2025/08/22

Look, it’s probably too early to have a conversation about the 2026 race for governor in Wisconsin. But our readers spoke, and they asked for our take on this, so we delivered an extensive breakdown of who is running and who might be running in both the Democratic and Republican primaries for the first open race for governor in 16 years.In that breakdown, I identified the top 4 potential contenders to be the candidate for the Democratic Party. They are: Attorney General Josh Kaul, Lt. Gov. Sara

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1:00

Massive Floods In Milwaukee And Moving Forward

The Recombobulation Minute ·

2025/08/15

In early August, massive flooding hit southeastern Wisconsin after what some are calling a “thousand-year rain event.” One Milwaukee County official even likened it to experiencing a hurricane. So many people are going to be struggling to recover from this cataclysmic event.Because of that, it is imperative that elected officials and public institutions step up and help people in this hour of need. We’ve seen a tremendous amount of support from first responders all over the region, and we should

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1:00

The Wisconsin Legislature and the Milwaukee Police...

The Recombobulation Minute ·

2025/08/08

This week Wisconsin Republican lawmakers called on Mayor Cavalier Johnson to urge Police Chief Jeffrey Norman to "temporarily reorganize MPD to allow for the maximum amount of available sworn officers to be assigned to our streets." The Mayor’s office pushed back and said "We thank the state legislators for offering their opinions on police staffing. What they neglect to acknowledge is that crime in Milwaukee is down considerably when compared to the same time as last year." Mayor Johnson cited

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1:00

First Look at the Wisconsin Governors Race

The Recombobulation Minute ·

2025/08/01

With Gov. Tony Evers choosing not to run for a third term, that means we’re going to have the first open race for governor in 16 years.We already know who some of the candidates will be. On the Democratic side, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez launched her campaign and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said he’s running. On the Republican side, Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann and southeastern Wisconsin business execurtive Bill Berrien are running. Many more are expected to join the

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1:00

Governor Evers Has Made His Decision

The Recombobulation Minute ·

2025/07/25

After weeks of speculation, Gov. Tony Evers has finally made his decision: He is not running for a third term.Evers has had an accomplished career as a dedicated public servant for five decades and has been a terrific governor for the state of Wisconsin these last six-plus, and we should be grateful for his time in office. It’s been a job well done. But all things must pass. In making this decision to step aside and not seek another term, Tony Evers is doing what he has done time and time

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1:00

The Next Step For Fair Maps

The Recombobulation Minute ·

2025/07/20

In February of 2024, Gov. Tony Evers signed new maps for the Wisconsin State Legislature into law, putting an end to one of the most extreme partisan gerrymanders anywhere in the country. While that was a momentous achievement for democracy in the state, that wasn’t the end of the story.Since then, for more than a year, fair maps advocates and pro-democracy activists have been looking to take the next step and propose a new plan for independent redistricting in Wisconsin that would be here for

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1:00

2025 Wisconsin State Budget Bill Passed

The Recombobulation Minute ·

2025/07/11

In a chaotic and somewhat discombobulating end to the process, Wisconsin lawmakers passed a state budget and Gov. Tony Evers signed it into law at about 1:30 a.m. on July 3.What made this budget different from the others signed in this era of divided government — with a Democratic governor and a Republican-controlled legislature — is that Democratic votes were needed to pass the budget in the State Senate. Part of the reason that was made possible is because of new, fairer maps. Last

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1:00

What Wisconsin Agrees On

The Recombobulation Minute ·

2025/06/28

Ever since I launched The Recombobulation Area, I have written an in depth breakdown of every new edition of the Marquette University Law School Poll. The newest poll asks about a range of topics — whether Tony Evers should run for a third term, where people stand on Donald Trump’s economic policies, and a host of issues relating to the state budget.The poll paints a picture of a polarized Wisconsin. Many people are very dug in to their partisan camps, which is perhaps to be expected in the most

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1:00

Should Governor Evers Run for a Third Term?

The Recombobulation Minute ·

2025/06/14

For the last few months, Gov. Tony Evers has said repeatedly that he would make a decision about whether or not to run for a third term after the state budget process is completed. In a recent opinion column at The Recombobulation Area, I made the argument that the decision the Evers should make should be to NOT seek a third tern as Wisconsin’s governor.This argument is not one of ideological differences or policy disagreements. Tony Evers has been a good governor and has served the state well

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1:00

Senator Johnson and the Big Beautiful Bill

The Recombobulation Minute ·

2025/05/31

In discussions over the so-called “big beautiful bill” backed by Donald Trump that’s making its way through Congress, none other than Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson has emerged as the most prominent Republican critic of the bill, saying at a recent Milwaukee Press Club event that it is “not even close to adequate.” Johnson has said he wants spending cuts to go even further, including making cuts to Medicaid.But Johnson’s position as a critic of this bill makes him especially influential in these

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1:00

Wisconsin’s Political Off-Season

The Recombobulation Minute ·

2025/05/17

I’m Dan Shafer. Let’s recombobulate.We are in a rare moment right now in Wisconsin politics. Why, you ask? Well, it’s because we are not actively in the middle of a campaign cycle. It’s been more than six weeks now since any of us have seen a campaign ad. It’s been pretty nice, hasn’t it? This moment we’re in is as close as we’re going to get to a political offseason here in Wisconsin. And we need to take advantage of this moment by taking action to improve our democracy. That means taking

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1:00

Refusing to Have the Debate

The Recombobulation Minute ·

2025/05/10

I’m Dan Shafer. Let’s recombobulate.The biggest thing that happens in Wisconsin's state government every two years is the state budget, and last week at the state capitol, Republican lawmakers took a step forward in the process, by voting out more than 600 measures from Governor Tony Evers’ proposal. This is now the fourth budget proposal that Evers has put forward, and each one has been met with a similar familiar fate. Even as this has become the custom, it doesn’t have to be this way

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33 results

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