State GOP fails in duty to defend democracy
Since losing the election to Joe Biden, President Donald Trump has stoked an anti-democratic bonfire aimed at crippling the president-elect and clinging to power, fueled by wild conspiracy theories and nonsense.
But in the face of this credible threat to democracy, Wisconsin Republicans have quivered, hidden, or worse, thrown gasoline on Trump’s blaze of prevarication.
Enough is enough. Members of any political party who refuse to accept the will of the voters are unfit to hold office.
One of the collaborators is Sen. Ron Johnson.
The Oshkosh Republican knows Biden won; he belatedly acknowledged it. Then he went on to undermine the election during a farcical hearing last week on “election security.”
“There was fraud in this election,” Johnson said without a shred of evidence. “I don’t have any doubt about that.” The senator droned on about “irregularities,” “fraudulent votes and ballot stuffing.” All without evidence.
Johnson was hardly alone. Other Wisconsin Republicans lit matches, too.
Sen. Ron Johnson’s charade
During a hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that Johnson chairs, the senator claimed there was “heightened suspicion” about the integrity of the election.
This much was true. There was heightened suspicion — fueled by Trump sycophants like him who were unwilling to accept the results of the election and saw political advantage in pandering to Trump’s supporters.
This is not the first time Johnson has dumped gasoline on a Trump dumpster fire. During the campaign, Johnson boasted for weeks that his in
vestigation of Hunter Biden would demonstrate Biden’s “unfitness for office.” But his report six weeks before the election showed no wrongdoing at all by the elder Biden and rehashed unproven allegations.
Johnson also has continued to promote the discredited notion that hydroxychloroquine cures the coronavirus.
What has become increasingly clear is that Johnson is an incompetent partisan who cares very little about facts or how much damage he does to the country.
In the past, Johnson has promised he would only serve two terms.
Keep your promise, senator.
Tom Tiffany’s folly
U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who represents the 7th Congressional District in northern Wisconsin, eagerly signed onto a quixotic legal effort by the State of Texas to overturn the election in Wisconsin and three other states. Let that sink in for a moment: A Wisconsin congressman signed onto an effort by another state — Texas, no less — to overturn an election in his home state that was certified, where there was no evidence of fraud.
What could be more undemocratic than that?
Will Tiffany now join other renegades in his party and try to mount a last-minute challenge to the formal count of electoral votes by Congress on Jan. 6?
Tiffany, just elected in May, has disgraced his office in record time.
He has to go.
Three sheep on the Wisconsin Supreme Court
Three conservatives on the state Supreme Court were so willing to hear the specious claims made by the Trump campaign — and possibly throw out tens of thousands of legitimate votes cast in two Democratic-leaning counties — that they excoriated another conservative who had the common sense and courage to join the court’s three liberals and stand up to Trump’s bogus legal maneuvers.
Justice Brian Hagedorn took incoming fire from conservatives on the court and Republicans generally, and received some ugly, crude comments as a result of his decisions.
But Hagedorn noted in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he’s a judicial conservative whose decisions won’t always please his own side.
It’s a shame that the other “conservatives” on the court — Chief Justice Patience Roggensack, Justice Rebecca Bradley and Justice Annette Ziegler — can’t see it that way.
Roggensack is the first of the three up for reelection — in 2023. Candidates should begin lining up.
Republican Party of Wisconsin plays with fire
As electors met in Wisconsin to cast their ballots for Joe Biden on Dec. 14, an alternate slate of Republicans cast their own ballots for the defeated candidate, President Trump.
Days later, the Republican Party of
Wisconsin was still falsely claiming there had been “numerous violations of both the letter and the spirit of Wisconsin law.”
Have they no sense of decency?
Here’s what we know for sure: Donald Trump is intent on holding power at any cost to the republic. He will fail, but his lies and machinations aimed at destroying trust in our elections could do fundamental damage to the country.
Last week, the disgraced former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, suggested that Trump declare martial law and have the military “rerun” the election. During a meeting at the White House Friday, Trump asked Flynn about the idea, according to The New York Times.
Martial law. It’s beyond shocking that a sitting president would even consider such a thing, but Trump apparently did.
We had hoped Wisconsin Republicans would take a stand against this treacherous man, but that hope was misplaced.
Just like their political ancestor, the infamous Sen. Joseph McCarthy during the 1950s, they fabricate charges and provide no evidence.
As was said then: Have they no sense of decency?
Here are the inconvenient facts that Wisconsin Republicans ignore:
Joe Biden won the election by 7 million votes nationwide and more than 20,000 in Wisconsin. He won 306 electoral votes and 10 in our state.
He did it fair and square. There is no evidence — none — of the kind of voter fraud that would have changed the result.
Even Johnson admitted this during his sham hearing. And that’s no surprise. Despite squealing about “fraud” this and “fraud” that for years, there has never been evidence to show that the vanishing small amount of fraud affects our elections.
Dozens of judges like Hagedorn have now seen the president’s bilious efforts for what they are.
In a Pennsylvania case, federal appeals judge Stephanos Bibas wrote, “Charges of unfairness are serious. But calling an election unfair does not make it so.” Bibas was nominated by Trump.
In a Wisconsin case, U.S. District Judge Brett Ludwig, wrote, “This court allowed the plaintiff the chance to make his case and he has lost on the merits.” Ludwig also is a Trump nominee.
The best of American politics has long been animated by optimism and a heavy dose of pragmatism. Think of Ronald Reagan.
These Republicans offer neither. At a time when Wisconsin and the nation desperately need a dose of hope, they offer cynicism in a desperate attempt to retain power.
We call on candidates of high character and ethics — people who love our country and our state to stand against the foolishness of Johnson, Tiffany and the others.
And to run against them when the time comes in both the primary and general elections.
Politicians so willing to burn down basic American principles for political gain have no right to the privilege of public office.