Letters to the editor 1-13-22

They’re not your parents’ Republicans

Dear Editor:

Many people begin by voting as our parents do. Unfortunately, the party we support may not remain as it once was. Such is the case with the Republican Party. You know of the party’s great feats in the past, but more recently, it has led ill-advised foreign wars, causing deficits (Bush), which are eliminated by the following Democratic president (Clinton). Tax cuts sound good, but not when they are directed only to the rich who don’t need them, while average citizens have to wait for a Democrat who tries to direct funding to public works and aid to those in need. Obamacare was broadly criticized until people realized that health care could be affordable with its help.

Our last president had no civic intentions at all. Rather, he seeks to emulate Russian dictator Putin and be in power for life. His supporters, who are OK with him as dictator, don’t know what living in a dictatorship means. My daughter-in-law, living in what was East Germany under Stasi rule, says they couldn’t travel outside the USSR, and every phone call was tapped. In East Berlin in 1970, people we met and tried to talk to on the street resisted, afraid to be seen talking to foreigners.

In Wisconsin too, Republicans waste our tax dollars on a pointless probe into Biden’s win. 

The state’s Republican electors intended to submit an opposing slate to overcome Biden’s win.

Ron Johnson, a national embarrassment, now has announced his intent to run again.

Walker’s misadventure with Foxconn company still has not helped Wisconsin, and the billions it promised show no hope of materializing.

Wisconsin, think before you vote!

Kay Ziegahn, Richland Center

Shenanigans in Wisconsin Statehouse

Dear Editor:

Robin Vos, Speaker of the State Assembly, has decided that he wants to give inept former Wisconsin Supreme Court Judge Michael Gableman more money and a new contract to continue his “investigation” into voter fraud in the 2020 election. That’s on top of the $676,000 the Assembly Republicans gave him (a taxpayer-funded budget) when they hired Gableman in June 2021.

Funny thing, the announcement of the hire came about 15 hours after former President Donald Trump released a statement blasting Vos and other Wisconsin Republican legislative leaders, claiming the group was engaging in a “coverup” of election corruption. Typical of the former president’s bullying style. Speaker Vos has asked for recommendations by February so “we can have legislation passed by the end of the session,” which ends in March 2022, which Tony Evers will likely veto, again, which means more taxpayer dollars wasted.

Michael Gableman has filed numerous lawsuits against elected officials with numerous errors and has even admitted he “doesn't know how elections are run.” I guess the Wisconsin taxpayers are funding Gablelman’s election law education to the tune of $676,000 and counting, if the Legislature decides to up the funding.

State Sen. Kathy Bernier (Republican) has repeatedly referred to the “investigation” as a “charade.” The nonpartisan audit concluded in October 2021, by the Legislative Audit Bureau, chaired by Republican state Sen. Robert Cowles, did not identify any widespread fraud, showing Wisconsin elections are “safe and secure.”

Speaker Vos himself is under fire for a million-dollar budget for 14 staffers for his office, and for very high per diem charges for trips around the state, country and overseas.

Both Vos and Gableman are facing potential reprimands from state courts over their actions during the investigation into the election won by Joe Biden. This is not the Wisconsin I know and used to admire. I would hope a decisive majority of Wisconsin voters will vote for politicians who have a more intelligent way to spend our tax money.

Maria Lichter, Cashton