“I’ve got a factory up in Beaver Dam,” Nehlen said. “I started out as a maintenance mechanic at 18 years old. I eventually ran that business; I ran businesses all around the country. I’m an engineer, I’m an inventor. I’ve got U.S. patents, I’ve got foreign patents. I was in charge of Europe, the Middle East and Africa for a Fortune 500 (company). I’ve run businesses in Mexico, Canada, China. I know about business and about trade. I’ve made payrolls. Paul Ryan’s driven the Wienermobile, for god’s sakes. So for him to suggest he’s got the solution to small businesses, as he wrote in his op-ed for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, that’s offensive to small business owners.”
The 50th anniversary of the start of the Cultural Revolution, which plunged China into a decade of chaos, has been met with silence in state media.
On 16 May 1966 Communist leader Mao Zedong began a campaign to eliminate his rivals. At the same time he called on Chinese youth to “purge” society.
Years of bloodshed and turmoil ensued, ending with Mao’s death in 1976.
How to handle the era’s contentious legacy has remained a challenge to China’s Communist rulers to this day.
On Monday, the main state media outlets made virtually no mention of the anniversary, focusing on coverage of the South China Sea and other domestic issues. No official events were planned by the authorities to mark the 50-year milestone.
Asked whether it bothers him that it has taken so long to clear the minefield and reopen the churches, Theophilos III demurs.
“This is the country of prophecies and prophets. Time is not that important,” he says. “One thousand years, it can be one day in the eyes of God. Every time we celebrate Epiphany, every time we celebrate Easter, it is as if the event happened yesterday.”
by Owen | 1742, 15 May 1616 | Off-Duty | 0 Comments
Future of Fleet Farm in West Bend
There’s been some strong conversation about a new Fleet Farm being built in West Bend at Highway 33 and County Highway Z.
There was a meeting recently with KKR, the new owners of Mills Fleet Farm, and managers in the organization and apparently the enthusiasm for a new Fleet in West Bend got “misconstrued” with what’s really going on according to Mike Sidders, marketing director for Fleet Farm out of Appleton.
“I’ve got nothing on my end,” he said. “I’m not aware that’s even being contemplated.”
Word about a new Fleet Farm dates to 2004 when Fleet Farm announced it was going to build ‘the largest store in the state’ on a 30-acre parcel along Highway 33 and County Highway Z. The Mills brothers also acquired 40 adjacent acres and plans were on track for a 274,000-square-foot store. Over the next 11 years, nothing was built.
In January 2016, the Mills family sold its business to New York-based investment firm KKR.
In the first quarter of the year, KKR met with store managers. This is the message passed along, “We anticipate investing significantly in the business adding infrastructure, stores and local jobs,” said Nate Taylor with the retail portion of KKR.
Local employees found the news encouraging and also thought it meant a new Fleet Farm in West Bend. Sidders said the desired growth for the organization may not mean exactly what West Bend was hoping for.
“For us to move more quickly as an organization that may have been misconstrued by some employees that long-rumored activities may be coming to fruition but in no way shape or form has any of that been discussed or decided to my knowledge,” Sidders said.
Banner Art Walk is Saturday
Don’t miss the sneak peek event of the 2016 Banner ArtWalk and for the first time take a piece of the ArtWalk home with you. The event is Saturday/today at the Museum of Wisconsin Art from 3 p.m. – 6 p.m. Free admission to the event and galleries, cash bar, appetizers, music by the Kal Bergendahl project and silent auction of previous ArtWalk Banners.
New priest named for Holy Angels
A new priest at Holy Angels will be taking over in July as Rev. Pat Heppe will arrive to take over for Rev. Gerald Brittain. Rev. Pat comes from a farm south of Slinger and has been helping out on weekends at St. Frances Cabrini for several years. According to Brittain, “His day job is Vicar for Clergy where he supervises primarily the priests of the Archdiocese in the Archbishop’s name.
Prior to his current appointment Rev. Pat was in Fond du Lac for around 20 years and was very involved in working together with the parishes, building the new church on the east side of town, and forming the parishes into one. Rev. Pat remembers coming to Holy Angels as a little boy and marveling at the beauty of the church. He will remain a Vicar until June 30.
Rev. Gerald Brittain has been at Holy Angels for 21 years. His initial assignment was for 12 years but he said he “played the system and got an extra nine.” Rev. Brittain has been at the parish on Eighth Avenue since taking over for Rev. Jerome Rinzel who served from 1983 – 1995. Brittain was notified by the Archdiocese that his assignment would be ending and a new pastor would replace him. A youthful 79, Brittain said he can be appointed a temporary associate or retire.
WBHS freshman to be Memorial Day speakers
Finishing touches are being put on the program for West Bend’s upcoming Memorial Day Parade. The student speakers this year are all freshmen forensic students from West Bend East High School. The Preamble will be presented by Emily Frederick, the Gettysburg Address will be read by Justin Scherzer and the poem In Flanders Field will be read by Abby Godejohn.
The Memorial Day Parade steps off from S. Main and Oak Street at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, May 30. The parade will head north on Main Street, west on Hickory Street, south on Sixth Avenue and wrap up at Poplar Street. A Memorial Day program will be held in the old Courthouse Square beginning at 11 a.m. Liz Kryst of West Bend, mother of Captain Kevin Kryst, will be the guest speaker.
Lots for Tots is closing
Lots for Tots Children’s Consignment Shop is closing at the end of June. The store, owned by Kerin Schramm Gitzlaff and Lisa Rosbeck has been in business 16 years. “It’s hard; brick-and-mortar small businesses just don’t have it easy with shopping online and the buy/sell/trade sites,” said Schramm Gitzlaff.
Lots for Tots started in 2001 in Jackson. In 2005 it moved to 867 S. Main St. in West Bend and in 2011 it moved across the street to its current home at 822 S. Main St. “We are just tired and sad because this was a hard decision,” said Schramm Gitzlaff. “We need to look forward to our next chapters in life and it’s time to move on.”
Germantown Vet on today’s Honor Flight Submitted by Lauren Sorensen
Norbert Riemer was 20 years old when he was plucked from his life as a plumber and drafted into the U.S. Army to fight in the Korean Conflict in 1952. Now, 64 years later, Riemer will be traveling today with 16 other Washington County veterans of foreign wars on the Honor Flight.
Riemer will be making the trip to Washington D.C. with his oldest daughter, who convinced him to participate in the experience.
Riemer cited one simple reason for his reservations, “I do not look for any recognition, because heck I was one of what, millions? To me it never made any difference,” Riemer said. Riemer remembered his fallen friends, some that he met in the army and others he remembers as “neighborhood kids.” “I feel like I’m out without a scratch, that’s the way it is,” Riemer said.
Despite Riemer’s humble self-image, the veteran is still eagerly anticipating the journey. “I’ll tell you what, I am very excited, that I am,” Riemer said. He discussed his shock that he was selected for the Honor Flight. “I sort of can’t wait now,” Riemer said.
Riemer is the most eager to see the Korean memorial on the journey. “They have one in Plover, it’s a peninsula going out where you can walk out… I think they have six or seven statues made of bronze. It was a really sunny day and the wife and I were walking down there and there was a slight breeze. I could have sworn the statues were walking, they looked lifelike. I’ve just seen pictures of what they have in Washington, but it’s similar to that. If it’s half as good as what I’ve seen, I’d be more than happy,” Riemer said. Riemer is also looking forward to the statue of raising the flag on Iwo Jima.
“I do not remember much about that place,” Riemer said thinking about Korea. He does remember his initial impression upon entering Korea. “It stunk,” he said. The routine of waking up, doing his job, and going to bed day after day, however, is ingrained in his memory. “You can’t call it boring but you can’t call it exciting either,” Riemer said. He expected to be immediately placed in a combat zone. Although an infantry man, once in country Riemer was assigned to guard the headquarters that housed intelligence sections and generals. He remained about two miles away from the frontline.
Being oversees, Riemer remembers one main hardship. “I just missed my family, that’s all,” Riemer said. He spent a total of 16 months away from his family. Riemer left the army as a Private First Class.
Coming home, “it was a good feeling, a very good feeling,” he said. “I had my wife now, she was my girlfriend, I had my mother, and I had my sister, and I just wanted to come home to them,” Riemer said. He reminisced on never passing by an ice cream parlor or burger restaurant upon returning and was grateful to be rid of the army rations that prompted an undesired weight-loss.
Riemer never considered enlisting before he was drafted. “I really did not like the Army to be honest with you, you really did not have time to think for yourself… I really like my freedom,” Riemer said.
Riemer believes that serving changed him. “I think it made me a better person, I personally believe everyone should go into the service when they get out of high school,” he said. “You have to be a different kind of person to make a life out of it, but I don’t think a draft would hurt anybody, it will make a better person out of them,” Riemer said.
Sunrise Rotary raffle winners
A crowded house at the West Bend Mutual Prairie Center on Thursday evening as the West Bend Sunrise Rotary held its annual fundraiser. This year the beneficiary, The Threshold Inc. received $10,000. The night included a silent auction, bakery auction, and a constant stream of raffle winners. The grand prize of $10,000 was won by a group of six couples including Mike and Mary Jo Otten, Paul and Barb Wilke, Mike and Tracy Nowak, Dan and Kristi Lawrence, Mike and Kay Chevalier and Adam and Michelle Schensema.
Updates & tidbits
– The Washington County Historical Society will unveil a new name and logo on Tuesday, May 24 at 4 p.m. at the Old Courthouse Museum.
– West Bend School District students and staff will participate in Chalk the Walk on Saturday, May 21 from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. creating chalk drawings on the sidewalk between Hobby Lobby and Kohl’s parking lots.
– Pepper Burruss, trainer with the Green Bay Packers, is coming to The Columbian Banquet Hall on Tuesday, May 17 at 5:15 p.m. on behalf of an evening of entertainment put on by The Threshold Inc. For tickets call 338-1188.
– Ashley Reichert from the Town of Wayne has declared her candidacy for Washington County Clerk. “Taxpayers of Washington County deserve a County Clerk worthy of following in the footsteps of our current Clerk, Brenda Jaszewski,” said Reichert. “I’m guided by my faith and the conservative principles I was raised on, the same values and strong moral compass that I believe reflect our beautiful county.” Reichert and her husband of 5 years, live in West Bend with their three children.
-There will be a dedication of the “Soaring Eagle” sculpture Monday, May 16, at 5 p.m. outside the West Bend Police Department. The project was a collaboration between the WBPD, West Bend Friends of Sculpture, City of West Bend and sculptor Jeremy Wolf.
– Bike Friendly West Bend is hosting Bike to Work Day from 6 a.m. – 8 a.m. on May 20 at the train depot on the Eisenbahn State Trail. There will be free coffee and snacks, cycling-related raffle, fix-a-flat clinic and tech support to all participants.
A reunion with a marimba
There was a unique reunion Wednesday afternoon at the West Bend High Schools as Joanne Shirkey, a 1955 graduate, was reintroduced to her marimba from 61 years ago. “I was a sophomore and in percussion,” said Shirkey about her band experience. “I specifically played timpani, but I also played bells and piano.”
According to Shirkey it was 1951 or 1952 when the West Bend High School purchased a marimba for $1,000.
Recently during a concert at the high schools, Shirkey recognized more than her grandson on stage. “I said, ‘That’s my marimba!’”
Band director Leah Duckert organized the reunion. “My student’s father sent me an email asking if it would be OK if she comes to say hi and play her old friend again,” said Duckert. “My big thing is I love band family. I work really hard to say once you’re band family you’re always band family so to have band family from 60 years ago come back to us that’s phenomenal.”
Duckert wheeled the marimba into the band room and drew back the protective cover.
“You can hear the sound is good, except on the end the low C is cracked,” she said. “Some of the other bars are in rough shape and that’s just basic wear and tear.”
Shirkey arrived and quickly hugged her way through salutations. “There’s my baby,” she said walking towards the instrument she easily identified.
“There’s nothing else like this; they don’t make them like this anymore,” Shirkey said.
She tapped her fingers on the key, complimented the sturdy legs and traced her hand down the heavy wood bars.
Shirkey brought her own mallets and dove into her signature song, Stars and Stripes Forever.
“I pretty much have it memorized,” Shirkey said. “But I like having the music in front of me.”
Shirkey danced her way through the piece, the mallets knocking out a patriotic melody.
“I’m so glad you came home again,” praised Duckert after the song.
Shirkey, a former medical technologist, reminisced about her music memories.
“It was 1951 and there was a man from West Bend who played the marimba and he knew the band director,” she says. “They got together and donated some money and got it at a good cost and fortunately they let me play it.”
Shirkey remembers her high school band teacher as “a big Jewish man” who was “a real stinker.”
“One time I was playing and he stopped in the middle of our practice and told me, ‘You sound like a bag of potatoes,’” she said. “I guess I sounded lumpy, but he pushed me and that’s a good thing.”
As far as practice was concerned, Shirkey said she didn’t do much at home. “But instead of taking study hall I always went up to the band room and practiced,” she said.
Growing up on the corner of Tenth Avenue and Chestnut Street, Shirkey’s father worked at the West Bend Company and her mom owned Lorraine’s Beauty Shop on Elm Street, just west of the Post Office.
“She had a six-chair beauty shop,” said Shirkey. “She actually started in the Ziegler building but then rented from Dr. Franko and her shop was downstairs from his office.”
In 1955 another opportunity came calling. “When I was a senior in high school there was a man who came to our door to talk to me and my mother about having me tour the country with an all-girl marimba band,” said Shirkey.
“There was no way I was going to do that plus I was a homebody – but I often wonder what would have happened if I would have done that. I did go into medicine but I’ve always stayed with music.”
After high school Shirkey got a full scholarship to Mount Mary. “My mom had to pay my room and board and it was $400 a semester,” she said.
Muscle memory took over during Shirkey’s performance. “It’s like a typewriter, my hand knows where to go,” she said.
Shirkey’s grandson Parker, 15, a freshman at West Bend East High School joined his grandmother for a simple rendition of Mary had a Little Lamb.
“When she told me it was her marimba, I was kinda confused and didn’t know what she was talking about,” he said. “But this is so cool and I can see she’s so happy to do this. She’s always going to remember this.”
History photo of the West Bend High School band from 1955.
They overwhelmingly plan to vote for Trump with 81 percent, or 244, indicating plans to do so. Another 12 percent, or 36 attendees, said they would vote for a third-party or independent candidate, while 4 percent, or 11 attendees, plan to sit out the presidential race. Two attendees indicated support for Clinton, while seven who voted in the straw poll did not register a preference.
State GOP officials said roughly 1,200 delegates, alternates and guests had registered at the convention as of Saturday afternoon.
Credit WisPolitics for sharing the raw numbers. It shows just how worthless straw polls are. I hope people remember that at the national GOP convention too.
So from the raw data… of the 1,200 registered attendees, 244 decided to answer the straw poll in favor of Trump. That’s 20%. That’s pretty close to in line with the Republican primary results last month. It tells me that the Trump campaign still has a very long way to go in mending bridges if they want to get the majority of the Republican base on board.
Bear in mind that the people attending the convention are the hardcore party activists. They are mostly good people who put in an extraordinary amount of time on the ground supporting Republican candidates. It’s not just a matter of whether or not they will vote for Trump. Will they work for him?
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is planning to issue a sweeping directive telling every public school district in the country to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms that match their gender identity.
A letter to school districts will go out Friday, adding to a highly charged debate over transgender rights in the middle of the administration’s legal fight with North Carolina over the issue. The declaration — signed by Justice and Education department officials — will describe what schools should do to ensure that none of their students are discriminated against.
It does not have the force of law, but it contains an implicit threat: Schools that do not abide by the Obama administration’s interpretation of the law could face lawsuits or a loss of federal aid.
First, it is simply unAmerican for the president to issue a decree to state public schools.
Second, there must be an election coming up. After all, we have liberals drumming up a divisive social issue that wasn’t an issue for generations… until today. They won the gay culture war, so now they need something new to create division and call their opponents bigots.
Boom. It seems that Abrahamson has become even more bitter and vindictive since being removed as Chief Justice.
Justice Shirley Abrahamson wrote opinions suggesting that Bradley’s decision to participate or not in the decisions without new oral arguments was not a best practice.
She did so again in Thursday’s parental rights case, and that finally triggered a reaction from both Bradley and Chief Justice Patience Roggensack in separate concurring opinions.
“Because Justice Abrahamson has omitted important facts from her separate writings that were well known to her when she personally attacked Justice Rebecca Bradley and because her attacks immediately preceded the election of a justice to our court, it appears that Justice Abrahamson is using the prestige of her judicial office to further private interests,” Roggensack wrote.
She noted that Bradley watched video of the oral argument in tied cases, just like Crooks had when he wasn’t feeling well. And, she said, despite Abrahamson’s repeated suggestion, there is no specific rule about when a new justice can help decide cases, a fact Bradley researched extensively and explained to the court before she helped decide the tied cases.
Washington (CNN)A federal judge ruled Thursday against the administration in a challenge to a portion of the Affordable Care Act brought by the House of Representatives.
At issue is the “cost sharing” provision in the law that requires insurance companies offering health plans through the law to reduce out-of-pocket costs for policy holders who qualify. The government offsets the added costs to insurance companies by reimbursing them.
But lawyers for the House argued that Congress did not properly approve the money for those reimbursements.
U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer, who was appointed to the bench by President George W. Bush, sided with the challengers but said that she would stay her ruling pending appeal.
“Congress is the only source for such an appropriation, and no public money can be spent without one,” she wrote.
The Obama administration is expected to appeal the decision.
At issue is a fundamental separation of powers issue. If the president can spend billions of tax dollars without Congress having appropriated the money to do so, then there ceases to be a reason for a Congress at all. We’ve vested the power of the purse in the Executive.
In an unusual, strongly worded letter to the TSA, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey — which oversees the New York City area’s three major airports — has essentially threatened to fire the TSA by privatizing their passenger screening process.
This is something I watch closely because I travel a lot (about 130 flights last year). I’ve been doing TSA Pre since it became available and it’s great – worth every penny. My only complaint is that it is not always available at some of the smaller airports (I’m looking at you, Springfield/Branson). OK, one more complaint… I hate it when people are randomly selected to use the Pre line. Hey, I did the background check and paid for it! Anyway, I watch the TSA theater closely.
This is an interesting idea:
Two I-Lines are expected to debut at Atlanta’s south domestic terminal checkpoint on May 24, the TSA said. Here’s how they’ll be different:
Baggage bins automatically move to a separate conveyor belt if a TSA agent IDs them as suspicious.
Baggage bins automatically recirculate after they move through the security machine.
The I-Line includes special “divestiture” areas where passengers can take off shoes, belts, etc. at their own pace.
Some automation will help a tiny bit, but I rarely see the line being held up because of a lack of bins at the front. Filtering out the bins to be checked will help a bit more because often it is the same agent who is doing the screening who has to stop what he is doing and remove the suspect bin from the belt, or call someone over and stop the belt while he or she waits.
The “divestiture” area is a good idea. One of the things that holds up the line the most is infrequent travelers taking forever to take off the necessary things for scanning. And often they are unfamiliar with the rules (you mean I can’t take the Starbucks coffee I just bought through the line?) or forget basic science (does my studded dog collar count as a metal object?). This is why I always try to get behind business travelers who know the routine and breeze through it. Having a place set aside for people to take their time while the rest of us swing through will help some.
Another area where I see a lot of delays is just in poor staffing by the TSA. They know the flight schedules and have access to the number of passengers who will need to pass through security at given times during the day. Yet too often there is a crush of hundreds of passengers while security lanes sit idled due to lack of people to staff them. At other times, there are three passengers in line with dozens of TSA agents sitting around chatting. Staffing based on expected traffic is done in many other industries and can be done for the TSA too if their union contract will allow it.
In any case, it’s good to see airports holding the TSA somewhat accountable for their performance.
by Owen | 2307, 11 May 1616 | Politics | 0 Comments
For many national delegates, a ticket to the convention is the culmination of years of thankless grunt work for the party. It is no small thing to give up the ticket.
For many prominent Republicans, a contested GOP national convention was the last hope for a nominee other than Donald Trump, and they were maneuvering to have a front-row seat to the gamesmanship.
But with Trump now the presumptive nominee, a number of would-be delegates are quietly giving up their tickets to Ohio.
Residents of West, Texas, hoped they would finally learn what happened the night of April 17, 2013, when a deadly explosion at a fertilizer plant leveled their town. The blast devastated the small town about 70 miles south of Dallas, destroying 500 homes and killing 15 people, including 12 first responders.
Lifelong West residents Mike and Janet Sulak lost their home in the blast. They had suspicions as to what caused the fire based on bits and pieces of information over the years. Maybe an electrical fire caused the explosion, they thought, something accidental, unintentional, unforeseeable.
Nothing could prepare for them for the truth.
After conducting 400 interviews and lab work on evidence, investigators determined someone started the fire on purpose, officials from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said.
Authorities would not comment on whether they know of a suspect. But “we’re headed in the right direction,” ATF Special Agent in Charge Robert Elder said. The ATF is offering up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest of whoever set the blaze.
That blast was horrific. I wonder if whoever set the fire knew how bad it would be.
The state Dem Party has cut off Rep. Mandela Barnes’ access to its data-rich voter file for the 4th SD, rescinding the contract the two had signed in 2015.
The move comes after the Milwaukee Dem formally announced plans to challenge Sen. Lena Taylor in a primary.
Party spokesman Brandon Weathersby said the contract lapsed after Barnes filed to run for the Senate. Weathersby confirmed the party’s Executive Committee voted last week that the agreement had lapsed after “an issue was raised” over the deal.
Barnes said Tuesday state Chair Martha Laning told him Taylor complained about the contract, which was signed 11 months ago. Barnes noted his log-in for the voter file included a reference to the 4th SD, and he gave WisPolitics.com a picture to confirm his account. Barnes said it was no secret he was interested in information for the Senate district.
We’ve seen this happening for several years, but I had not idea the abuse was this bad.
More than 100 school districts have spent $138 million above their state-imposed revenue limits without voter approval since 2009, according to an analysis from the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance.
Since that year, school districts have been able to spend above their revenue caps without first going to voters if the money is being used for projects that are intended to improve energy efficiency in the district. In all, 147 school districts have used the exception.
According to the report, school districts rarely took advantage of the exception until 2012 — after Gov. Scott Walker and Republican lawmakers tightened revenue limits for districts.
During the 2013-14 school year, 53 districts spent $22 million above their revenue limits; 81 school districts spent $37 million the following year and during the current school year, 105 districts — or about one in four — spent $49 million using the exception.
Essentially, here’s the scam… let’s say that a school district mismanaged its maintenance budget and now really needs to replace the windows or boiler in a school. They know that the voters won’t approve a referendum to exceed the revenue limits because of their poor management. So, the school district simply gets a proposal that shows that the new boiler or windows will be more “energy efficient” (as all newer boilers and windows would be), and move ahead with the replacement without voter approval. Problem solved.
It appears that school districts all over Wisconsin have done this to the tune of $138 million in excess spending.
Kennedy announced his intentions Tuesday to retire on June 29. That is the day before the Government Accountability Board which he heads is dissolved and reconstituted as two separate commissions.
The 64-year-old Kennedy has worked for the state on elections for 37 years. He first served on the state Elections Board as an attorney and then executive director from 1982 to 2007. He then served as head of the GAB from 2007 until his retirement.
I’m curious as to the timing. Is there something to do with a pension payout or something that dictates the timing?
by Owen | 0806, 10 May 1616 | Politics | 1 Comment
My column for the West Bend Daily News is online. Here you go:
It has been a week since Donald Trump won the Indiana primary and, with Ted Cruz and John Kasich dropping out, became the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party for president of the United States of America. In a primary field full of weighty Republicans, the most lightweight candidate floated to the top.
With a presumptive nominee, now is the time for Republicans to coalesce around the candidate to defeat Hillary Clinton, or so the narrative goes. Certainly, Trump has tapped into a rage that many Americans are feeling toward a government that has become increasingly intrusive while failing to address the real problems within our nation. That rage is justified and Republicans need to respond to it.
But as someone who has voted for the Republican presidential candidate for his entire adult life, I refuse to cast a vote for Trump. In choosing Trump as their candidate, the Republican Party has left me behind. Since I will also not vote for Clinton, I am looking hard at third party candidates.
My reasons for not voting for Trump are fairly simple. I am a lifelong conservative who votes for candidates who will advance conservative solutions for our nation’s problems. That is not to say that I must agree with everything a candidate believes in order to support him or her. I did not agree completely with Mitt Romney, John McCain, or George W. Bush, but I agreed with them on most of the big issues.
Trump is not a conservative — he is not even close. Based on his seven decades of history on earth and not on whatever platitudes he has been mouthing for the past few months, Trump is a New York liberal Democrat. He is prochoice, anti-second Amendment, pro-big government, prosocialized healthcare and on and on. He has not offered a single policy prescription that does not include an expansion of government power.
Trump combines his liberalism with a revolting character and personality. He is a serial and unapologetic adulterer. Trump is a braggart in victory and petty in defeat. Trump’s bigoted and elitist rhetoric is a big reason why his unfavorable ratings are more than 50 percent with women, minorities, millennials and conservatives. He is a man unencumbered by social or ethical mores and is proud of it.
There are some Republicans who argue that we must support Trump to make sure Clinton is denied the opportunity to appoint liberal justices to the Supreme Court. That argument rests on two tenuous pillars. First, it assumes that Trump will win, which is highly unlikely given his polling and the electoral map. Second, it assumes he would appoint more conservative justices when there is no evidence to suggest he will do so. Trump is a liberal and assurances to the contrary from a habitual liar do not bring comfort.
More simply, I will need to be able to go to sleep Nov. 8 with a clean conscience and wake up Nov. 9 and look my children in the eyes. I would not be able to do that should I exercise my franchise to commit my great nation to the governance of Trump.
While the presidential election is lost for conservatives, Wisconsin is not, and it is important to hold it. For the past six years, Wisconsin has been the center of a renaissance for conservatism. This renaissance is at grave risk. During the primary election, 65 percent of Wisconsin Republicans voted against Trump and now he will be at the top of the ballot. The task for the Republican Party of Wisconsin is to acknowledge and respect the anger of Trump’s supporters while affirming that Trumpism is not conservatism for the rest of Wisconsinites.
To do this, the RPW and leading Republicans should commit all state resources to supporting Wisconsin Republicans and not spend a dollar on supporting Trump. In a state that already leans Democratic and has voted for the Democratic presidential candidate since 1984, Trump’s incredibly divisive campaign means that he stands virtually no chance of winning the state. The RPW should not waste state resources on a losing effort and should, instead, focus all of their time and money on making sure Republicans hold the state Senate, Assembly and incumbent Congressional seats. In particular, the open 8th Congressional seat and Sen. Ron Johnson are in serious danger of turning Democratic in this election.
The RPW has had success recently because of smart, conservative leadership and an educated, motivated base that votes in exceptional numbers. If the RPW goes the way of Trump, it will be abandoning the former and betraying the latter. An electoral rout would be the inevitable, and justifiable, result.
Conservatives are walking back into the wilderness at the national level, but there is no need for that to happen in Wisconsin. We still have a lot of work to do.
Hmmm… lefty politicians putting up high barriers to entry for new businesses in order to protect incumbent businesses who give them money. Shocking.
Today voters in Austin went to the polls to weigh in on Proposition 1, an attempt to overturn a bill requiring mandatory fingerprint-based criminal background checks for new Uber and Lyft drivers in the city.
The results are in, and with 56 percent of total voters voting against Prop 1, the proposition failed to pass. This means that the bill requiring fingerprint-based background checks will proceed, with new drivers needing to pass the check before being able to drive.
In response to the news, Uber and Lyft have announced that they will be shutting down operations in the city — at least temporarily.
Until late Tuesday afternoon, the Clinton Foundation website listed CNN anchor Jake Tapperas a “speaker” at a Clinton Global Initiative eventscheduled for June 8-10 in Denver. After USA TODAY asked CNN about the event, Tapper’s name was swiftly removed from the Clinton Foundation website.
One reason for CNN’s quick reaction is easy to understand. Last week, ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, once a political operative for former president Bill Clinton, was widely attacked after he failed to disclose $75,000 in donations to the Clinton Foundation even as he covered the Clintons.
