A Sinking ship

Stuck on a Sinking Ship

Too many Wisconsin Republicans still feel the need to kiss the ring of the former president in order to see a path to electoral victory.

All of the GOP candidates for governor have made the public pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago, except Kevin Nicholson, so they can say they went. Some have embraced the “Big Lie” that the former occupant of the White House really won the 2020 election and none of the rest have publicly renounced the claim, except Nicholson, who agrees that President Biden won the election.

Further down the food chain, our GOP Assembly Speaker, Robin Vos, continues to bend to pressure from Florida. After Vos appeared to put the Gableman fiasco behind him, the King of Mar-a-Lago threatened to find Vos a primary challenger if he did not continue Gableman’s “investigation” into the 2020 presidential election. Vos did an about-face and announced that Gableman could continue his work to enforce subpoenas for documents and depositions currently tied up in litigation while taking an unspecified pay cut. Gableman’s work has drawn bipartisan criticism as a “witch hunt” that has yet to find and document any fraud in the last presidential election after spending hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars looking.

With national polling showing ever decreasing support for the “Big Lie” and those who perpetuate it, it is surprising that those in the GOP leadership still cling to it and seek the support of its main proponent.

Seeking support from Mar-a-Lago carries other risks. The continuing fallout from the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, both through criminal convictions and congressional investigations, casts a pall over the legitimacy and patriotism of the former president and his supporters. As more information emerges about the roles of former administration officials and GOP members in the House of Representatives in fomenting the insurrection and failing to call off or condemn the violence at the Capitol, more and more Americans are coming to recognize just how close we came to losing our democracy. We just do not use martial law to stay in power after losing an election.

Alt-right support for Russia’s President Putin and his democracy-destroying invasion of Ukraine has been whipped up by the former president. His ties, financial and political, to Putin and his oligarchy put him squarely on the wrong side of history. Authoritarianism is not a path to victory in American elections. Support for war criminals does not gain traction in our electorate. Polling clearly shows that a vast majority of the American public support President Biden’s support for the Ukrainian democracy and people, both militarily and diplomatically, as Biden unites Europe against the Russian invasion.

After being thrown off of social media platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter, the former president backed another platform, Truth Social. It is run by former legislator Devin Nunes and has struggled to gain much traction. Its stock took a 44% hit after Elon Musk agreed to buy Twitter. Trump, having only posted once on the new platform, has not helped its cause.

The former president’s financial woes continue as the New York attorney general convinced a judge to hold him in contempt and fine him $10,000 per day for failing to produce documents for the state’s investigation into his business dealings there. We will see which hurts more, the payment of the fines or the disclosures that will be made if the documents are produced. It is already public knowledge that the businesses run by the family allegedly used two sets of figures, one inflated asset values to obtain loans and the other deflated those same values for tax purposes. You cannot have it both ways.

I cannot see why GOP politicians still think it important to have support or endorsements from such a loser. He has an ever-dwindling base of support which will wither away over time. His endorsement will be seen by more and more as the kiss of political death to be avoided at all costs.

Until the GOP finds a new course with a positive message and a bold leadership, the former president will still be able to command center stage. Fortunately, that stage will get smaller and smaller as we continue to restore our democracy.

Don Kriefall, Well Done

 Well Done Don Kriefall 

Michalak Must Go

Washington County Board Chair Donald Kriefall and I do not agree on a host of issues, policies, and laws, but his recent call for Supervisor Timothy Michalak to resign from the County Board was the correct and responsible thing to do. Michalak brought a concealed firearm to a County Board meeting in a secure area of the Justice Center where it dropped to the floor in violation of state law. He carried the concealed firearm while his concealed carry permit had expired. Those transgressions more than justify Kriefall’s call for Michalak’s resignation and plan to oust Michalak from the Board should he refuse. 

Kriefall posted his official statement on the County’s Facebook page and the comments posted clearly show just how divided our community has become. Many applauded Kriefall’s statement, echoing his recognition that no one is above the law and that Michalak’s actions have cast a shadow on the whole Board. On the other side some Second Amendment purists have taken the opportunity to suggest that Michalak had every right to carry his gun anywhere he wanted and even drop it because restrictions on where one can conceal, or even open, carry are all unconstitutional. The back and forth between the moderate and ultra conservatives that followed shows just how fractured they have become. 

Michalak should resign both from the County Board and as Mayor of the City of Hartford. He had a similar incident dropping his concealed gun in a City Council meeting there. Even though Michalak recently won re-election as Mayor, he did so with less than 50 percent of the vote due to the splitting of the rest of the votes among the several write-in candidates. Should Michalak refuse to resign, the Common Council should take the steps necessary to remove him from office. 

Elected officials must set a high standard as law abiding citizens if they expect the rest of us to follow the laws those officials swear to protect and defend when they take their oath of office. When an elected official violates the law or engages in dangerous behavior and refuses to acknowledge their violations, public trust is eroded and the official’s ability to govern vanishes. Apologies for these violations are just not sufficient. 

We can and will debate the meaning and reach of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, but in the end, the nine justices of the United States Supreme Court have the last word. As it stands now, the Court allows some restrictions on where, when, and how citizens can possess and use firearms. There are other restrictions on the type of firearms and ammunitions citizens can possess or own. We cannot have machine guns, fully automatic firing guns or military weapons like canons or rockets. States are allowed some leeway in enacting laws on concealed and open carrying of firearms. Wisconsin passed laws restricting where firearms will be allowed and requiring permits for concealed carry. Some may believe these restrictions violate the Second Amendment, but until the Supreme Court says they do, they must be followed. 

Unfortunately, in our polarized political environment there are too many who have come to believe that their views of what the Constitution requires allows them to do anything that comports with those views, even if specific laws and court rulings differ. The end result of this kind of thinking leads to societal chaos. We are a society based upon laws enacted by legislatures and enforced by law enforcement and courts. We cannot allow individuals to pick and choose to follow just those laws they like or to interpret the laws as they see fit. 

Let us hope that Supervisor and Mayor Michalak sees the error of his ways and does the correct thing by resigning his positions. If he does not, we need to urge the County Board and Hartford City Council to take all necessary steps to remove him from his offices and restore public confidence in our institutions of government. 

Just Obey the Good Laws

 Just Obey the Good Laws

The GOP law and order crowd does not get it. They are supposed to follow the law, not ignore the ones they do not like or might make them look foolish. 

Most recently, the former President of the United States was completely surrounded by advisors and lawyers telling him the requirements for his duties and obligations in that office. On January 6th, after the former president incited the crowd of supporters to storm the Capitol to stop the certification of the 2020 election he lost, he stopped using his official phones for over 7 hours while that insurrection took place. The official White House phone logs for January 6th turned up the seven plus hour gap. We learned from the investigation by the House Select Committee that the former president received and made many calls during that seven-hour period including to or from the House Minority Leader, GOP Rep. Kevin McCarthy. John Bolton, one of his advisors, tells us that the former president spoke often of using “burner phones,” the same kind drug dealers and other criminals use to hide their calls. This is not like the short gap in former President Nixon’s recorded phone call during the Watergate scandal. It is much more serious and shows a complete disregard for what the law requires of a sitting president. 

Closer to home, GOP Wisconsin Assembly Leader, Robin Vos, was just held in contempt of court by a Dane County judge for failing to turn over documents relating to former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gabelman’s “investigation” into the 2020 election which, by law, Vos was supposed to maintain and produce under our open records laws. In related proceedings, Vos claims that he has “lost” or “deleted” other records and emails he is required to maintain and produce on demand. Vos too is surrounded by advisors and lawyers who presumably have told him what his legal obligations are under our open records laws. This is not merely an administrative oversight. It is clearly an attempt to avoid disclosing information that will make him and Gableman’s efforts look bad, if not outright illegal. 

Locally, a county board supervisor who is also the mayor of a city in the county carrying a concealed firearm and dropping it in meetings where it is illegal to have a concealed weapon, all while his concealed carry permit had expired. His excuse is that he thought he was exempt from the requirements as a public official. What about basic “keep you weapon safe” rules learned in concealed carry permit classes or hunter safety courses?

We expect much more from our elected officials. Those charged with passing and enforcing the duly passed laws have a duty not only to make sure they know what those laws are as applied to them and their offices, but to follow them to the letter. Anything less sets a terrible example to others and emboldens disregard for those laws they do not like or do not want to follow. 

Our republic is one of laws which all are required to follow. Being elected to office does not give anyone carte blanche to pick and choose which of those laws they will follow and which they can ignore. 

I remember vividly a political candidate in Madison in the 1970s who was running for District Attorney on a platform of “just obey the good laws.” He meant it as a joke as he protested draconian laws enacted as part of the marijuana prohibition and most of us took it that way. Unfortunately, that message has continued tacitly to the present day in the GOP.

Public service in an elected office should carry a more serious approach to following the law. Once elected, officials should work to change those laws they feel are unjust or just plain wrong and not just ignore their commands. If those efforts at change are unsuccessful, then the official needs to obey, not ignore. 

Spring Elections

 Spring Elections Matter

Do your homework

 

Our Spring Elections are April 5^th. They are for supposedly non-partisan races like judicial, county, municipal and school board officials. Unfortunately, even these local positions have become politicized in our polarized political climate. 

 

Groups of moderate conservatives have stepped up to serve on local school boards in recent years, beating back the more vocal and radical elements in our communities more concerned about the culture wars than actually educating children. Battles over non-existent issues like Critical Race Theory, Social Emotional Learning and curriculum battles over gender identity make for interesting campaign slogans but ignore the real issues facing public education such as adequate funding, needs of special needs kids, respect for educators and inclusivity. 

 

Nowhere is this more evident than here in Kewaskum where gubernatorial wannabe, state Representative Timothy Ramthun and his hand-picked protégé, Bradley Peterson, are running to keep seats on the local school board.

 

Ramthun has distinguished himself by jumping into the GOP primary for governor on a platform of the impossible, decertifying the 2020 Wisconsin presidential election and switching our votes in the Electoral College to the former president. Upset with the rejection of his plan by the Assembly GOP Speaker Robin Voss and being thrown out of a meeting by Voss, Ramthun took to YouTube wishing he had punched Voss in the nose and told him to “pound sand. At the same time, he runs for a seat on our school board raising the clearly crazy notion that special education may be a plot to force students into special needs classes to gain more funding and to perhaps control students and parents. One must wonder if he is truly suited to serve on a school board, much less become Wisconsin’s next governor. 

 

Peterson has been noticeably silent on all of this, apparently content to ride Ramthun’s coattails with the alt-right conservatives in our community who buy into Ramthun’s conspiracy theories. 

 

In stark contrast, stands Rhett Engleking who is making his first run for public office. Rhett is the son of educator parents and his father, Ray Engleking, served on the Kewaskum School Board with distinction. Rhett promotes a positive view of our schools and the impact they have on our community’s children. He believes in collaboration with all those involved in educating kids who want to achieve the best outcomes. He is reaching out to people in the school district in person and by phone willing to listen to concerns about our schools. He is not afraid to engage people with opposing views. Have a look at his Facebook group for more. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1104147717042837/

 

In West Bend and other Washington County communities, moderates who have been managing public education effectively continue to be primaried by extreme conservatives seeking to impose radical views on students and give voice to parents concerned that ultra conservative values are not being taught at school. 

 

Paul Fischer and Erin Dove are running for re-election to the West Bend School Board. Both are smart and involved in their community and have learned the complexities of school finance and budgeting. They have no personal axes to grind and seek to serve those in our schools. They have served well and deserve re-election. 

 

Melanie Ehrgott is running for the West Bend School Board as a staunch conservative opposed to having public schools deal with the emotional needs and social actions of students, believing that is best left to parents. Her position paper on the district website uses the hackneyed buzzwords signaling she stands with those who would dismantle public education by reverting to a Three Rs curriculum. Her social media pages echo the usual anti-CRT and “traditional family values” themes often used in these elections. Her Facebook page tells the story. https://www.facebook.com/MelanieEhrgott4WBSB?ref=py_c&_rdr

 

John Donaldson has been less vocal than Ehrgott, but his social media postings are just as telling. He too is running as a staunch conservative echoing themes rejected when Randy Marquardt and Dave Weigand were booted from the School Board years ago. For more see, https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077428396313

 

Neither Ehrgott or Donaldson appear to offer anything positive to advance public education in West Bend and make it a better learning environment for students. They want to move public education back to a simpler time that no longer exists. 

 

We need to take a serious look at our local elections and choose people willing and able to serve all the people in our communities, not just those with the same political or religious views. Modern society is complex and diverse, and the old ways no longer work to meet the competing demands presented. 

 

In our information age, it is easy to find out what people running for office think and believe. We just need to do the homework. 

 

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. 

Out of Control

 The GOP is Out of Control

 

With Timothy Ramthun, our State Representative from Campbellsport and Kewaskum School Board Member, joining the GOP primary for Governor, the fractures in the Republican Party are now on full display. The battle for the future of the Wisconsin GOP is now joined and is nowhere as rosy as fellow columnist Owen Robinson suggests.

 

Former Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch was the first to jump into the race to unseat Gov. Tony Evers. She brings leftover baggage from her time as Scott Walker’s second in command. One need look no further than the failed policies of Act 10 which crippled Wisconsin public education and decimated the ranks of our professional educators.  The Foxconn debacle failed to produce anywhere near the number of jobs and economic growth she and Walker promised. Her calls to dismantle Milwaukee Public Schools and the Wisconsin Elections Commission don’t help her cause. She represents the Wisconsin GOP establishment which continues having difficulty finding a coherent platform to move us forward. 

 

Kevin Nicholson came to the race as the uninvited outsider looking to shake things up. He has tried to distance himself from the Cult of the Former President, but not so far as to alienate its remaining members which appear to form the activist GOP base. His calls for election reform and new GOP leadership offer little in the way of policy to get things done in Madison. 

 

Ramthun’s entry into the race calls for the Cult to fight a legally impossible battle to recall Wisconsin’s 10 electoral college votes and overturn the 2020 presidential election. He joins the MyPillow Guy and disgraced former General Mike Flynn groveling at the barred entrance to Mara Largo for crumbs of support. Ramthun offers no evidentiary support for any of his conspiratorial theories of election theft or fraud and nothing else of substance to establish credentials for leadership of his party, much less our state government. His apparent reliance on his God for guidance further demonstrates his lack of understanding of Constitutional supremacy as the law of the land, not commands from Scripture. 

 

Nowhere to be seen or heard are any of the remaining moderate Republicans from the Tommy Thompson era. They believed in conservative values and found ways to work with liberals and progressives to keep Wisconsin moving. The remaining fiscally conservative and socially liberal Republicans have gone to ground hoping to ride out the extremist elements of their party. 

 

Wisconsin Republicans are bent upon following the crumbling Republican National Committee as it loses all credibility by equating the January 6^th insurrection and invasion of the Capitol as “legitimate political discourse.” Sen. Ron Johnson contributes to the RNC disfunction with continued COVID disinformation and quack cures. His approval rating has hit rock bottom and his eventual loss in November will help cement Democratic control of the Senate.

 

As much as one might enjoy the current GOP train wreck, its lack of constructive policy and willingness to participate in our democracy has given license to those who would promote violence to achieve the goal of dismantling our democratic institutions. Even while some in Congress are working to hold accountable those involved in the planning of the January 6^th insurrection and the violence that followed the former president’s invitation to “fight like hell,” most GOP members of Congress continue to abstain from the process. This gives tacit but clear approval for future violent extremism by those like the Oath Keepers, Proud Boys, Three Percenters, and others. 

 

We can only hope that state and federal prosecutors examining the former president’s actions and those of his co-conspirators will bring successful prosecutions to show the country that the rule of law in a democracy will always prevail. Only when those who would undo our democratic experiment by violence and sedition are brought to justice will our course be restored to a just path. With that rebuke, maybe our local GOP might come to find a more constructive and productive path than they currently follow. 

 

The results of the GOP primary for governor in August will show us which faction of their party will control its near-term future and where the active base wants to go. With the current slate of candidates as the only choices, the long-term future of the GOP looks bleak.

Black History is American History

Celebrate Black History

It is part of America’s history

 

February was first marked as Black History Month in 1926 to recognize the accomplishments of African Americans. It continues to be celebrated nationwide. February was chosen because it is the birth month of Abraham Lincoln who issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing former slaves, and of Fredrick Douglas, an African American orator, social reformer, and abolitionist. It celebrates the central role played by Black Americans in our collective history. 

 

Many African Americans have made their mark in the arc of our history. Most notable is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who led the civil rights movement through non-violent direct action. 

 

Rosa Parks is remembered for refusing to move to the back of the bus in the segregated South and sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott which led to desegregation efforts across the region. 

 

Muhammad Ali, born Cassius Clay, led many in the sports world and beyond to reject remnants of slaveholding and consider separatist movements tied to a Black identity. He became a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War and raised the connection between race and other left-wing activism. 

 

Frederick Douglas was born a slave and lived during the Civil War. After escaping slavery, he went on to form the abolitionist movement which helped end the ownership of humans in America. 

 

W.E.B. Du Bois was an author, academic and activist in the time before Dr. King and Mrs. Parks and helped found the NAACP which remains a leading organization for African American rights and activism. 

 

Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in professional baseball leading the way towards the integration of all professional sports in America. Major League Baseball retired his number 42 for all teams in 1997 in recognition of his contribution to sport. 

 

Harriet Tubman was also born a slave. She became famous for helping other escaped slaves make it to the North on the Underground Railroad which led many to freedom. 

 

Sojourner Truth, another woman born into slavery who later escaped and helped recruit escaped slaves for the Union Army during the Civil War. 

 

Langston Hughes was a poet and novelist during the cultural movement called the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s. His work helped highlight the economic plight of impoverished African Americans in cities in the North. 

 

Maya Angelou is one our best known African American authors. Her autobiography, “I Know Why a Caged Bird Sings,” shows us how racism affected her as a young girl. She worked with Dr. King and others to put a permanent end to a segregated America. 

 

More recently, we saw Amanda Gordon, a young Black poet, read a memorable ode during President Biden’s inauguration that expressed her hopes for the future. 

 

Now we have a Black/Pacific Islander woman, Kamala Harris, serving as the Vice President of the United States of America making history herself rising from the many struggles of those who preceded her. 

 

There are many other notable Black Americans in our history who made significant contributions to the fabric of American life. 

 

President Gerald Ford, a Republican, elevated Black History Month, with his formal recognition of the effort in 1976. The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Gallery of Art, the National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum have created a website collecting and paying tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society. It can be accessed at: https://blackhistorymonth.gov

 

Milwaukee’s Black Holocaust Museum opened in 2012. It was closed for financial reasons and during the pandemic but will re-open on February 25^th in its new home at 4^th St. and North Avenue. It chronicles the struggles of Black Americans here and across the nation and helps us to understand racism here still rears its ugly head. More can be found at: https://www.abhmuseum.org

 

Black History Month celebrations are planned across Wisconsin, including Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, the Fox Valley, Eau Claire and on many UW Campuses. Local Libraries across the state have put up special collections of materials recognizing Black achievers, authors, and activists to help us learn from their stories. 

 

We need to take the time and effort to study these unique Americans and their contributions to our society and culture. With a deeper understanding of their struggles for equality and civil rights, the controversy over Critical Race Theory will become clearer. 

 

After all, the struggle for equality and civil rights for African Americans is a critical part of America’s story. Until people of color enjoy the same rights and privileges as everyone else, none of us will be truly free and equal.