Wisconsin Progressive Party

Article 1 - Mission Statement

The Wisconsin Progressive Party is a big tent party for anyone of any political identity which both supports human rights and collectivist solutions to address the failures of Capitalism to address the material issues facing Wisconsinites and our state. This includes but is not limited to, in no particular order: progressives, greens, socialists, communists, anarchists, democratic socialists, social democrats, and social liberals.

 

Our public political discourse can only improve with the addition of the Left publicly making serious arguments for anticapitalist solutions on the merits of those positions. We offer a transformative vision of Wisconsin’s future that is achievable through peaceful, electoral means that will put people over profits.

 

The Wisconsin Progressive Party operates under a horizontal power structure to eliminate hierarchy which serves only to limit the agency of rank and file members in traditional political parties. We have no need for draconian, stratifying party structures when we can rely on consensus building and direct democracy in party affairs. The Wisconsin Progressive Party is represented by the colors red, black, and green to symbolize Leftist unity. In order to have a unique color association, black shall be used. The color of protest and dissent, it signifies our outright opposition to the established capitalist order and those who enable it.

 

Article 2 - The Third Party Problem

On the primary ballot in Wisconsin, there are five parties: Republican, Democratic, Libertarian, Green, and Constitution. Republicans and Democrats run many candidates in every election, as you would expect from a real political party. The Libertarian, Green, and Constitution parties have no serious plan to build their parties from the ground up to gain political relevance on any level needed to enact their agendas beyond running spoiler candidates in big elections. The WPP will not follow this example.

 

The Wisconsin Progressive Party will not run spoiler candidates which serve only to cede power to the Republican Party. Progressive lawmakers shall cooperate with the Democratic Party at the state and local levels to advance our shared interests. By forming a popular front between Democrats and Wisconsin Progressives, that is to alternatively that is to say Liberals and Leftists, we can lead Wisconsin Forward. Our first electoral priorities are to run candidates in local and otherwise uncontested or noncompetitive races. 

 

We shall be active in our communities, seeking to bolster ties between people who can provide and receive mutual aid amongst themselves. By establishing these community ties, we spread the seeds of a grassroots movement that hungers for a more fair Wisconsin.

 

Article 3 - Human Rights

Maintaining individual freedoms of self determination, bodily autonomy, and social participation are paramount. An attack on one group of people is an attack on all. Systemic forces of oppression including but not limited to racism, sexism, classism, and ableism directly expose our most vulnerable groups for exploitation. Marginalized groups must be centered in delivering equitable outcomes to all. We live in a multicultural society which will remain to be the case throughout Wisconsin’s future.

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Participation in society must not be predicated on membership to select groups of people. Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs and have those beliefs dictate how they choose to live their life, but they are not entitled to demand that others follow those same beliefs.

Even if one is unable to perform labor or other tasks that have historically “made one useful” to society, they must be treated with the dignity that all Wisconsinites deserve.

 

Current attacks on bodily autonomy, including but not limited to the policies that would micromanage the medical care of pregnant people and children going through puberty via sweeping legislation, must be opposed by every level of government and every segment of the general public.

Article 4 - Wisconsin Centered Solutions

Since the second inauguration of Donald Trump, it has become clear that the federal government cannot be seen as reliable as it was from the New Deal through the Biden Administration. There is no limit to what might happen at the Federal level at any point in the future. Wisconsin must become self-sufficient in meeting the basic needs of Wisconsinites. We must strengthen our ties with our natural regional allies: Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, Indiana, and the nation of Canada. Local control of decisions that directly affect the health and lived experience of people in those communities must be prioritized over business interests.

 

Article 5 - Wisconsinization

Communal ownership and management is critical to provide for the basic needs of all people who call Wisconsin their home without wasting money in the form of profits that line the pockets of the wealthy few. By returning ownership of corporate-owned and extravagant personal assets which are needed to provide for the basic needs of Wisconsinites, we can fight back against ever growing wealth inequality

 

Article 6 - Basic Needs

As a state,we must provide the basic necessities that people need to live a full and rewarding life. Housing, utilities, healthy food, healthcare, education, scientific innovation, and income are the right of every person in Wisconsin. As a state we have ample resources to achieve these goals if we simply change our priorities from allowing the wealthy few to hoard money and assets to providing a high quality of living for every last person who calls Wisconsin home.

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Utilities

As Fighting Bob did 100 years ago, we demand public ownership of electric utilities. Furthermore, the other necessary utilities we use every day including heat, water, and internet connectivity must be controlled byWisconsinites at the community level instead of businesses with the ultimate goal of increasing their value on the stock market.

 

Housing

The government must have the ability to better invest in new public housing development. New developments must have a majority of low-income units with regulated profit structures. It is necessary to bolster tenant protections by mandating transparency in rental finances, legal representation to those facing eviction, and reducing barriers to access housing that currently have no standardized rules. Wisconsinization of hoarded housing held by corporate entities and individuals will reduce the profit incentive from providing existing housing.

 

Food

We have the resources to end industrial agriculture and provide healthy food to all Wisconsinites. Wisconsinization of corporate-owned farmland will provide the opportunity to develop an agricultural system free from factory farming with an emphasis on local food. The immense amount of farmland currently devoted to monocropping and Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations can be used to grow diverse food crops on small farms tended by skilled farmers. In distributing these parcels of land, priority shall go to the current agricultural workers who have the experience in doing the hard work required to feed us all. All current farm owner-operators shall keep their land as part of our goal to deindustrialize agriculture in Wisconsin.

    

Healthcare

Wisconsinization of insurance companies, the middlemen who profit off of denying healthcare that is deemed necessary by patients and their trusted practitioners while providing no positive benefit, and for-profit medical facilities will aid Wisconsin in developing a free-at-point-of-service universal healthcare system. We must seek guidance from experts in countries that have achieved socialized healthcare to develop a realistic plan to implement universal, single payer healthcare in Wisconsin. Wisconsin has a population size similar to the Kingdom of Denmark which is able to provide healthcare for all of their people without lining the pockets of insurance and private medical executives.

 

Education and Scientific Innovation

A quality public school education is the right of all people. Public schools are the bedrock of a democratic society. A well-rounded education including academic courses, experience with the arts, and practical skills is a human right. We have an excellent system of Universities of Wisconsin and technical colleges. Bolstering their ability to educate all who seek higher education and career preparation programs will improve our ability to function as a state economically and socially. Supporting scientific research is necessary for us to advance as a society as we improve our understanding of the universe and social science. Solutions to provide support to research universities without reliance on federal grants are critical due to capricious decision making from the federal executive branch.

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Income

Wisconsin’s minimum wage is still the federal minimum wage: 7 dollars and 25 cents per hour. This is far from a living wage for a single person, much less a family. To correct this injustice which worsens each year as living costs continue to rise, Wisconsin’s minimum wage must be raised to 20 dollars per hour. By shifting the burden of providing health insurance from employers to the state, we create more opportunities for entrepreneurship and small business ownership.

 

Article 7 - Wisconsin Progressive Party Candidate Platforms

The preceding Articles describe the policies which unite the Wisconsin Progressive Party. Individual candidates shall develop their own personal platform by including any number of additional Articles.