Dear Editor:
Elections have consequences and we need to remember that. We are living in turbulent, bizzare, Trumpian times and that is not going to change in the foreseeable future. Therefore, the November elections need to be a priority for every Wisconsin voter.
State Republican officials have proven time and again they cannot be trusted with additional authority and control over our lives by the actions they have taken the last several years. That is why I am advocating for divided government as the best form of government, for Wisconsin.
Currently, Republicans have strong majorities in the state senate and assembly, largely due to gerrymandering which they have exploited to their advantage in drawing up congressional and state legislative boundary lines. Recently, our state Supreme Court reversed its earlier decision that had viewed the Republican redistricting maps as extreme and instead endorsed throwing out Gov. (Tony) Evers’ bipartisan redistricting plan for new political maps. In doing so, Republicans retained their political boundaries for election purposes while continuing their arrogance and flawed thinking in the way they govern our state.
These are the same elected officials who would not recognize the value of the CDC guidelines for dealing with COVID 19, nor the importance of vaccinations in minimizing the spread of this deadly virus. They failed to show up for work during the pandemic and refused to work with the Governor on a continuing basis with repeated examples where they gaveled legislative sessions closed only minutes after being open for business. This is the party of Foxconn which they don’t want to bring up anymore and the party that approved hiring former state Supreme Court justice Michael Gableman for one million taxpayer dollars to review again the 2020 election, with intent of proving that election fraudulent, which it was not!
In the context of this dysfunction, Wisconsin had a June unemployment rate of 2.9%, which is amazing. Evers has consistently supported public education as the primary means of educating our youth. He has acknowledged gun violence as a high priority and tried to involve the legislature on solutions to that societal problem. He favors police reform, criminal justice reform, campaign finance reform and many other initiatives meant to improve our state but needs a legislature willing to talk and open to negotiation. That won’t happen unless additional Democrats are elected in the fall and Evers is reelected governor. Divided government is the best government as long as Republicans are the way they are.
Ken Berg, Watertown
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