On Friday, November 18, students, journalists, academics, political figures and friends of Bill Kraus gathered at Gordon Commons for a conference titled “Renewing Civic Life in Wisconsin: Fulfilling the Legacy of Bill Kraus.” Hosted by UW-Madison’s Center for Communication and Civic Renewal (CCCR) at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, the conference highlighted research, academic and political speakers and a keynote lecture from former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson that aimed to foster discussions about the political culture of Wisconsin.
The conference was held to honor of the legacy of Bill Kraus (1926-2018), a Republican strategist who was known for crossing political lines and his ability to compromise. In addition to serving as the co-chair for Common Cause in Wisconsin, Kraus also started a national organization of Republican women to advocate for abortion rights and launched a campaign to ban political advertising on television. Mike Wagner, a professor of journalism and mass communication and the director of the CCCR, welcomed guests to the event by remembering Kraus and the qualities about him that are still inspiring today.
“Bill Kraus would not be pleased with the current state of Wisconsin,” said Wagner. “We’re here to have an open discussion about compromise across party lines.”
Following the welcoming of conference guests and the Kraus Family, Wagner discussed the research done by the CCCR team on the results of a survey of Wisconsin residents prior to the 2022 midterm election. The data presented was acquired after the recent midterm election and received only two days before the conference.
“This really is a team sport,” said Wagner about the graduate students in attendance who had worked to prepare the data. “We couldn’t do the work that we do without our graduate students and Merit Scholars.”
The data re-affirmed the sharp partisan divides in Wisconsin and how they impact media use and relationships. The data revealed that while more than 60 percent of Wisconsin residents support legislative compromise, the state is the most polarized swing state in the nation, and has higher percentages of people cutting ties with those who may have different political beliefs than they do.
“We tend not to think that our politics will affect who we talk to at work or in our families,” said Wagner. “But closing off of political talk is higher in Wisconsin than other swing states and across the nation.”
Two different panels engaged in conversations about how to improve upon these civic connections — or disconnections — just as Kraus had done during his career. The first panel, titled “Civil Discourse in Uncivil Times” Implications for Renewal” included Elizabeth Theiss-Morse from the University of Nebraska, Danielle Brown from the University of Minnesota, Yphtach Lelkes from the University of Pennsylvania, Deen Freelon from the University of North Carolina and Dannagal Young from the University of Delaware. The second panel, made up of journalists from the Capital Times and WISN 12 News, as well as independent journalist Dan Shafer and author, Dan Kaufman, discussed political coverage in Wisconsin and how it has changed. The intent of these panels was to engage in meaningful discussion about how Wisconsin can work across political divides.
“We’re here to start a conversation,” said Dhavan Shah, the Maier-Bascom Professor in the School of Journalism and the director of the Mass Communication Research Center (MCRC). “We want to start working on solutions that we can enact together.”
The event concluded after remembrances of Bill Kraus from former Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton and former State Senate Majority Leader of Wisconsin, Tim Cullen and a keynote lecture from former Governor of Wisconsin, Tommy G. Thompson. In honor of Kraus, the entire event facilitated conversation and discussion among students, leading academics, Wisconsin journalists and political figures.
“It's impossible to sum up a person who spent his life completely devoted to democracy,” said Toni Sikes, the Founder and CEO of CODAworx and the former wife of Kraus. “He moved mountains using his amazing wit.”