Moving Forward

 Moving Forward is Better than Going Back

 

President Biden’s State of the Union Address to members of Congress and the American people showed us and the world that he is a leader with vision and steadfast resolve to stand up for freedom and democracy here and abroad. He looks forward with a positive agenda for America and freedom loving people everywhere. In stark contrast stand those in Congress and here in Wisconsin who look backward, wish for things long past that are legally impossible. 

 

The President’s address started with a strong admonition to Russian President Putin and his oligarch supporters that the invasion of Ukraine will continue to be met with a unified and strong response from the United States and our European allies. He pointed out that Putin badly miscalculated the resistance of the Ukrainian people, their leaders, and the unified responses from most of the rest of the free world. Putin clearly did not expect large numbers of Russians would take to the streets of their cities to protest the war. He did not foresee members of his military would abandon their units and lay down their arms once they realized what they were being sent to accomplish. His billionaire cronies have seen their fortunes evaporate as economic sanctions are imposed by Russia’s former trading partners around the globe. The value of his currency and his ability to use the international banking system has been seriously compromised. Even Microsoft and Elon Musk joined the fray by helping combat Russian cyberwarfare and restoring internet access though Musk’s Skylink satellites. 

 

Even with the partisan divide in Congress, members from both sides of the aisle rose to applaud these efforts and show support for Ukrainian freedom. 

 

Biden then turned to issues closer to home, promising to deal with rising prices and concerns about energy. He noted progress made on supply chain concerns and investing in products made here rather than abroad. He announced releases from strategic oil reserves here and abroad to combat rising fuel costs. He asked Congress to pass his stalled measures to provide childcare and elder care services and drug price reductions. He addressed concerns about immigration and put aside notions to defund police departments seeking support for law enforcement while requiring accountability. Biden also pushed Congress to pass voting rights legislation stalled for far too long. He noted the progress made in combatting Corona virus and announced new testing and anti-viral treatment programs coming to local pharmacies. 

 

President Biden closed to bipartisan applause noting that the State of the Union is strong because the American People are strong. All in all, Biden’s speech should put an end to the “sleepy Joe” theme oft repeated by GOP politicians, especially our own Senator Ron Johnson.

 

The only dark moments in the President’s address were outbursts by two fringe alt-right members of the House who tried to speak over his remarks only to be booed quiet by other members. 

 

Here in Wisconsin, the backward-looking GOP continues to promote the “Big Lie” that the 2020 presidential election was stolen by giving former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman a podium to peddle his mistaken belief that the Wisconsin Legislature can and should recall the 10 electoral votes Wisconsin electors cast for Biden after the 2020 election. 

Gableman delivered is long anticipated report on his partisan investigation of the alleged irregularities in the last election to an Assembly committee on Tuesday. Not only did he urge legislators to recall the Biden electors, but he also recommended that the Wisconsin Election Commission created by the GOP be disbanded in favor of partisan legislative control of future elections, elimination of ballot drop boxes, and further restrictions on absentee voting, especially in nursing homes.

 

Gableman’s “findings” have been soundly rejected in the many legal actions brought after President Biden carried Wisconsin by over 20,000 votes. Non-partisan legal experts and the legislature’s own legal counsel have concluded there is no legal mechanism to recall the state’s electoral college votes. Lawsuits brought by GOP allies challenging election results have all been rejected by the courts. The bi-partisan Wisconsin Election Commission has time and time again concluded that the last election was free and fair. Without a shred of new evidence to support his claims, it is unlikely that any of Gableman’s proposals will ever see the inside of a piece of legislation, even in our GOP controlled legislature. 

 

The only solace Gableman’s report provides is found in the remarks of our alt-right fringe politician, Assemblyman Timothy Ramthun from Campbellsport. Ramthun praised Gableman’s report and once more called upon his colleagues to pass legislation to “recall” the state’s electoral college votes. Ramthun also used the report to bolster his campaign for governor claiming to be the one candidate to support recalling the electoral votes. 

 

Eerily quiet about Gableman’s report and Ramthun’s claims are the other GOP gubernatorial candidates, Rebecca Kleefisch and Kevin Nicholson. They are in a stuck place, not wanting to alienate the GOP’s fringe base that still believes the former occupant of the White House is still president.

 

Looming large behind this craziness is the former president who continues to spout his “Big Lie” whenever he can find a live mic. He still commands control of the GOP’s national apparatus and GOP hopefuls still need to drink his Kool-Aid to gain his blessing and support. 

 

We have a clear choice between looking and moving forward or trying to go back to a Never Never Land that does not exist and never will.