There's Something Very Strange-- And Very Dangerous-- Going On In Milwaukee's Republican Suburbs

Back To School With Betsy And Donald by Nancy Ohanian

 

Wisconsin is a thinking state and in 2016 both national parties nominated the worst possible contenders for people accustomed to using their brains. By the end of the campaign thoughtful voters on both sides of the partisan divide were ready to puke. Many sat it out and others were motivated by a lesser of two evils strategy. In the end Trump narrowly flipped Wisconsin, startling the terribly-run and completely inept Clinton campaign. Trump had fewer votes than Romney and Hillary had far fewer voters than Obama. In 2012, 3,028,951 cheeseheads voted. in the presidential race. In 2016 just 2,787,820 did. Most abstainers were Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents who just could not stomach Hillary.

Wisconsin has been a state leaning blue since the mid-80s. Even Michael Dukakis, while losing nationally to George H.W. Bush, won Wisconsin-- 51.4% to 47.8%. That was followed by 2 wins for Bill Clinton, one for Al Gore, one for John Kerry and two for Obama. The Democrats almost had to try to lose Wisconsin. And they did. On primary day, the state belonged to Bernie:

• Bernie- 567,936
• Cruz- 531,129
• Hillary- 432,767
• Trumpy-the-Clown- 386,370

Milwaukee is a very blue city but the Milwaukee suburbs tend to be more red. Let's leave Waukesha County out of this discussion and just look at Ozaukee (north of the city) and Washington (to the northwest) counties. Although Bernie beat Hillary in both counties' 2016 primaries, both were Ted Cruz country. In the general both counties went overwhelmingly for Trump. Washington County gave Trump 67.8% to Hillary's 27.4% and Ozaukee County gave Trump 57.1% to Hillary's 37.8%. In the two counties combined 82,187 people voted for Trump. These are both well-off and well-educated counties. Ozaukee County, for example, is the 25th wealthiest county in the country with the second lowest poverty rate in America. But something is very, very, very wrong with the people there. The only Democrat to win a presidential race in the two counties since 1940 was LBJ in his contest with Barry Goldwater.

Yesterday, writing for the Washington Post, Tim Elfrink reported that this wealthy white elite GOP parents are sending their COVID-infected kids to schools in Washington and Ozaukee counties. They may be educated and wealthy-- but they are classic "idiots" by the Greek origins of the word.

"As authorities in suburban Milwaukee gamed out the complex preparations to allow children back into classrooms amid the coronavirus pandemic," wrote Elfrink, "they didn’t plan for one scenario: parents deliberately sending infected kids to school. Yet that’s exactly what’s happened multiple times in Washington and Ozaukee counties, health officials said this week."

“Something that happened and continued to happen … which I never in my wildest dreams imagined it would happen, is people sent their known positive kids to school,” Washington Ozaukee Public Health Department Officer Kirsten Johnson told television station WISN.

As health officials investigate cases in more than two dozens schools in the counties, some are demanding harsh repercussions for any parent caught sending a child to class after they test positive.

“When you have parents lying to contact tracers, refusing to get kids tested, that’s just beyond the pale,” said Washington County Board member Don Kriefall, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. “That becomes very problematic for the health department to manage this whole situation. The hammer may have to be dropped.”

Wisconsin, which has recorded more than 1,200 covid-19 deaths, isn’t the only place struggling to cope with parents who purposely evade the safety systems set up to prevent school outbreaks of a virus that has killed at least 201,000 Americans. In Massachusetts last week, a student attended the first day of high school despite a positive test, sending dozens of classmates into quarantine. A similar situation in Oklahoma forced 17 students into quarantine.

In Washington and Ozaukee counties, which sit just north of Milwaukee, a patchwork of school districts have adopted a range of back-to-school plans, but many have offered students the option of going to school in person five days a week.

Health officials already know of at least three cases where students have tested positive and showed up to class anyway, Johnson told the Journal Sentinel. One student who tested positive felt so sick after coming to school that they went to the school nurse.

In several other cases, Johnson said, parents have lied to contract tracers about test results and about whom their child had contact with. Other parents have also refused to test children, even when they are obviously ill.

“The biggest challenge for us that we’re experiencing right now is people are just being dishonest,” Johnson told the Journal Sentinel. “They don’t want their children to be quarantined from school. They don’t want to have to miss work. In doing that, they’re jeopardizing the ability to have school in person and other people’s health.”

Health officials are urging schools in Washington and Ozaukee counties to use attendance software to keep track of students who test positive for the virus, and to ensure they don’t show up for class when they’re supposed to be at home in quarantine.

The counties also plan to hire more contract tracers and will consider ordering schools to close if cases rise. As of Tuesday, the two counties were investigating cases at 25 schools.

While early evidence suggests schools have not become hot spots for coronavirus transmission so far, health officials said they will have no choice but to take drastic action if sick kids keep coming to school.

“We’re not going to be able to keep our schools open,” Kriefall told WISN. “It’s going to, I mean, just a few parents that are irresponsible are going to affect the entire school district.”

How many of these parents have heard the Trump propaganda and decided to take matters into their own hands with some good ole fashioned Republican herd mentality in furtherance of misguided concepts of herd immunity? Yesterday, Wisconsin reported another 1,762 cases (5th most in the U.S.), bringing the state's total to a rapidly-rising 105,932.

The other day we first met Richland County Supervisor Shaun Murphy-Lopez, an Assembly candidate in a rural district in the southwest corner of the state. Today he noted that "In rural Southwest Wisconsin, we have a high percentage of residents who are seniors. Unfortunately we've lost several beloved friends, neighbors, and relatives to COVID. In my travels around Assembly District 49, I see a growing number of residents who are following guidance from our local health care professionals. That's welcome news, because we need a healthy and thriving rural population. If a parent were to send their COVID-positive kid to school, they would put other students, educators, and community members at risk of severe illness or death. My hope is that this type of activity will be non-existent in rural Southwest Wisconsin. I encourage quarantined people who need help with getting groceries or other supplies to contact me at 608-462-3715. We'll make sure people get the help they need until they recover from the virus."

Emily Voight is running for an Assembly seat in the northeast part of the state, south of Green Bay. She reminded me that she's "a mom of three children, two of which are still in elementary school. My middle child is attending school virtually but my youngest is going to school in person 3 days a week and doing online school 2 days at home. I never send my kids to school when they are sick, and it completely blows my mind that anyone would send their child to school with Covid-19! Scientists have said that Covid-19 is not the flu, that it is much more dangerous and deadly than the typical seasonal flu. Schools have always had the rule in place that children need to be healthy (24 hours fever free) while attending. We need to hold these parents that send their children to school with COVID-19 accountable."

Jacob Malinowski is running in a suburban Milwaukee district that is adjacent to... Waukesha County, even worse than Washington and Ozaukee counties! A school board member himself, he's the youngest Democrat running for the Assembly this cycle. He told me that "Parents and administrators were both forced to make tough choices because the Wisconsin State Assembly has refused to show up for work in over 155 days. With no guidance, no plans, and absolutely no assistance, students and teachers are struggling to figure out the new school year. Our politicians failed to step up, and our families are paying the price-- and every day I'm praying for the safety of everyone inside of our schools and throughout our communities."

Meet Emily Voight, Single Mother Of Three-- And Progressive Democratic Candidate For A Flippable Wisconsin Assembly Seat

 

Wisconsin's 3rd Assembly District is on the northeast banks of Lake Winnebago, south of Green Bay and includes parts of Outagamie and Calumet counties, including areas of Appleton, Menasha, Kimberly, Little Chute, Combined Locks, Harrison, Sherwood and Forest Junction. The district went for Trump in 2016 but swung blue in their spring's super-charged Supreme Court race. Jill Karofsky won most of the district-- all but the very rural red precincts.

Emily Voight, a member of the Calumet County Board of Supervisors, is the progressive Democrat taking on Trumpist Ron Tusler, a clueless racist. She turned out more voters than he did in their respective primaries-- 3,370 to 3,262. Tusler recently told one of the local papers, when asked about the pandemic that Wisconsin "needs better solutions. Our COVID numbers have gotten worse since the governor’s mask mandate started. Masks might help, but they are not going to solve the problem." He neglected to mention that Republicans in the state legislature and on the state Supreme Court have done all they could to undermine the governor and as a result, Wisconsin went over the 100,000 cases load last week. Sunday there were 1,665 more cases reported, 5th worst in the country. Sunday there were 17,386 cases per million Wisconsinites. If you'd like to help Emily replace, Voight in the Assembly, please click on the 2020 Blue America legislative thermometer on the right and consider contributing to her campaign. I asked her to introduce herself to DWT readers by sharing some of her personal journey that has brought her to this point.


Hardworking Advocate For The People
-by Emily Voight

I’m running for office for many reasons but the main reason has to do with healthcare, and access to quality health insurance. For me this is personal. I’m a divorced mom with three children; my two youngest are also autistic. We rely on the state funded health insurance, BadgerCare. I am extremely appreciative of this, but it is not a perfect solution, and there are many issues revolving around BadgerCare.

Autism affects roughly 1 out of every 60 children and research has proven that with early intervention and therapy it can be extremely beneficial. Wisconsin used to have a waiver system where children would have to wait for therapy. When my sons were on the waitlist, I had to pay $20/ hour out of pocket for their therapy. Clearly this was not sustainable and because of that I ended up barely having my sons participate. Eventually our state switched to having BadgerCare cover therapy services.

Being the mother of children with different abilities is challenging and can be stressful, but one thing we as parents of these incredible individuals should never have to worry about is how we are going to pay for their services. And for quite some time my son’s therapy was being covered by BadgerCare until one day in 2017 I got a call from his therapy provider. I was told they were no longer accepting BadgerCare. I remember this call so vividly and the panic that ensued. I asked why of course, and they said it was because BadgerCare wasn’t reimbursing at a rate that was acceptable for them; they were losing money as an organization by accepting clients with BadgerCare. I started to panic. I talked to friends with children on the spectrum and they suggested I go to my state Assembly Representative.

I made an appointment with the state Assembly Representative in my district, who is now my current opponent. I told him about our issues, how Sean really needed his therapy and how there was no way I could afford to pay for therapy out of pocket again. He told me he knew that reimbursement rates were an issue but there was nothing he could do. I was already politically active at this point in my life, having worked on two local assembly campaigns and Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign, but this was a turning point for me. This was the day I became a full blown activist.

I knew his answer was unacceptable, and I was not going to take it. And while I didn’t decide to run that day, I knew someday I would. I started talking to other parents even more and getting more involved. I was still in school at this time for my second bachelor's degree, and there was no way I could obtain full time employment with insurance. Luckily my ex-husband was just offered a new position and was able to get health insurance coverage on our children. But it makes me think about all the many children that do not have access to private insurance and it makes me incredibly sad and angry. We need to protect our most vulnerable in society, this is a measure of who we are as a state and a country.

While my children are covered under their fathers’ insurance, we still have BadgerCare as their secondary provider. And we are still fighting with BadgerCare to cover the co-pays for Sean’s therapy. They use excuses like he is not progressing enough, or that the therapy is not working. Sean is unable to speak and because of that I must be his voice. And this is why I run, I run for all the children like him and the families like mine. We deserve a seat at the table. There are 99 State Assembly representatives in Wisconsin, and as far as I can ascertain there is only 1 representative with a differently abled child. We need more representation than that. And we need low income parents that have personally experienced what it is like to have BadgerCare. Like I said originally I am incredibly thankful, but it is also demeaning. I have had dental students extract some of my teeth because there is very limited access to dental coverage with BadgerCare. I get around 5 options when it comes to picking out glasses for my vision coverage. We need to treat people that have Medicaid with respect, and not look down on them as second class citizens due to their economic circumstances.

When running I knew I needed to come up with a slogan for my campaign. I looked at what my name means and it literally translates to “hardworking advocate for the people” and this is what I promise to do! But I can’t do it alone, this is a grassroots campaign, and as such we need your help. I do not have $61,000 to loan myself like my opponent. Can I count on your support?

How Badly Will Trump Hurt Republican Candidates In North Carolina And Wisconsin?

Trump Snowball Effect by Nancy Ohanian

New polling from CNN shows Trump losing among likely voters in both Wisconsin and North Carolina. Trump is down 3 points in North Carolina and 10 points in Wisconsin. Although Trump won both states in 2016, Wisconsin had a statewide election since then which was disastrous for the GOP. Bernie/Biden-backed Jill Karofsky ousted Trump-backed state Supreme Court justice Daniel Kelly by an astonishingly wide margin-- 855,573 (55.21%) to 693,134 (44.73%). In North Carolina, Trump's 50.5% to 46.7% win over Hillary was marred when Democrat Roy Cooper defeated Trump ally Pat McCrory 2,281,155 (49.0%) to 2,276,383 (48.9%).

Wisconsin

CNN reported that among likely Wisconsin voters, Biden is widely viewed as more apt to unite the country (55% to 36%) and handle racial inequality in the US (55% to 38%). He is more trusted by a 13-point margin on the coronavirus outbreak (54% to 41%). He is more often seen as having a clear plan to solve the country's problems (49% to 43%) and has the edge on keeping Americans safe from harm (50% to 45%). Wisconsin likely voters split evenly on who would better handle the economy (49% Trump to 48% Biden) and who has the stamina and sharpness to be president (47% Trump to 44% Biden)." Trump's job approval is underwater in both states, by 8 points in North Carolina and 15 points in Wisconsin.

About a third of likely voters in each state "express deep worry about the coronavirus outbreak in their community." Yesterday, North Carolina reported 1,106 new COVID cases, bringing the state total to 186,887 (17,819 cases per million residents). Wisconsin reported 1,348 new cases, bringing their total to 91,304 (15,681 cases per million residents). Both states are in the midst of harsh spikes.

North Carolina

The North Carolina U.S. Senate race is a toss-up in the poll, with 47% of likely voters saying they back the Democrat Cal Cunningham and 46% for incumbent Republican Thom Tillis. Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, has a lead in his bid for reelection, 53% support him, 44% his Republican challenger Dan Forest.

A majority of Wisconsin likely voters (53%) say they plan to cast their ballots in-person on Election Day, while 27% say they want to vote by mail and 19% by using an in-person absentee ballot. North Carolina's likely voters, however, are far more likely to plan to vote early or absentee, with just 38% saying they aim to vote on Election Day. A plurality, 42%, say they will vote early in-person, and 18% say they aim to vote by mail.

In both states, however, preferences on how to cast one's ballot are politicized. Less than a third of Biden supporters plan to vote on Election Day in either state (28% in Wisconsin, 22% in North Carolina), while among Trump backers, majorities in both places say they will vote on November 3 (83% in Wisconsin, 57% in North Carolina). The overall share saying they plan to vote on Election Day in North Carolina is larger than the share who voted that way in 2016, and that's mostly because of Trump's supporters. In 2016, about a third of votes in the state were cast on Election Day. Of all the votes Trump received, 37% came from in-person voting on Election Day.

New Wisconsin polling from Morning Consult was released at the end of the day yesterday. It shows Trump lagging Biden by 9 points: 51% to 42%, Trump with downward momentum.

I asked both Blue America-endorsed Wisconsin state Assembly candidates, Jacob Malinowski in the Milwaukee suburbs (next to beet red Waukesha) and Emily Voight (south of Green Bay on the northeast shore of Lake Winnebago) if Trump's loss of support statewide is resonating in their own races. Emily reminded us that "Wisconsin is a deeply gerrymandered state, one of the most gerrymandered states in the country. Even though my district, Assembly District 3, is heavily gerrymandered in favor of a Republican, our campaign is getting a lot of positive responses. I've had moderate Republicans and Independents contacting me, telling me they will vote for me because they do not like how the Republicans have been mishandling the COVID-19 pandemic. They have praised me on calling out my opponent's indiscriminate covert racism on his personal FaceBook posts. Wisconsin is truly a swing state, and when we feel that the administration in DC has gone too far one way, we tend to vote the opposite. And while it was an uncontested primary in August, our campaign received 108 more votes than the incumbent. I think Wisconsin is ready for a change!"

Malinowski noted that Trump's "apparent underperformance in Wisconsin will directly help down-ballot candidates like me all across the Milwaukee suburbs. Sen. Baldwin and Justice Karofsky both way over-performed Hilary Clinton's margins, which means that plenty of folks are willing to vote for left-leaning candidates. If President Trump loses Wisconsin by the 6ish points he's at now, we've got a real chance to flip some of these state legislative seats."

For some valuable context, we'll wrap this up with a few words from our old friend state Senator Chris Larson, the guy I know who knows the most about Wisconsin electoral politics:

Wisconsin Republicans are stuck in a bind. Many had hoped their party would have turned the page on Donald Trump after his much-anticipated, never-arriving loss of 2016. Then, they could have pretended the xenophobic, racist, mysogninistic views he expressed were unique only to him and not reflected in years of policies that whispered just as much.

Instead, Trump won. While the country has had to pay the biggest price for his self-serving malfeasance, the Republican Party has had to pay the political cost. Paul Ryan cashed in his spine to Trump and refused to stand up to him. Ryan was rewarded for with outcry from Wisconsin and was forced to abandon his once-safe congressional seat, announcing his retirement just days after it was disclosed $4.75 million was already raised by Randy Bryce, the blue-collar, cancer-surviving, union-card-holding veteran running against him.

Former Governor Scott Walker is now remembered as the guy who dropped out of the presidential race in an attempt to rally other institutional Republicans to rally against Trump. Instead, he whiplashed back into line for Trump after the primary. As a reward, Walker was tossed from office in the ensuing backlash against the party that surrendered all authority to a morally and financially bankrupt reality star.

The Republican Party is more strained in Wisconsin than it's been in the last decade. While Trump continues to implode and be his own worst enemy on the campaign trail, he leaves no choice for Republicans but to also tie themselves to the mass of the sinking ship.

America is worse off than it was 4 years ago in terms of a crashed economy, record job losses, a heating planet, and the worst response to the pandemic on the planet. Each of these have been amplified in my home state and Republicans incumbents are being called to atone for 6 months of inaction in the fact of mounting crises. Wisconsinites demand more than echoing FoxNews and trying to "trigger the libs." We've seen family farms close at a rate of two per day and the response from Trump's Ag Secretary was to spike the ball in their face as they continued to favor corporate farms and trade policies that hurt the dairy industry.

While smarter Republicans try to pretend they haven't seen Trump's latest tweets/interviews/speeches, some of the newer candidates have found themselves unbound to hold back on their racism.

Every state Rep is up and the ballot with Trump and Democrats have momentum going into the final stretch. With the census around the corner, there is a genuine opportunity to make lasting change to finally address our biggest problems with bold, progressive policies.