Nine Reasons to Reclaim Wisconsin For the People

Lies:

Over and over again in the past six months, the Republicans have lied. Why? Because truth is not on their side. Some of their lies are attempts to make the opposition look bad (like the lies about teachers making $100k a year); others are to push their agenda (like lies about the state being broke). Cynics might claim that all politicians lie, but Wisconsin Republican lies have served to obscure the damage they are doing to the state.

  • Walker claims he campaigned on promises of dissolving collective bargaining. Lie.
  • Repeated claims that Wisconsin is broke are lies.
  • Republicans said the union-stripping measures were necessary to save money, but when unions agreed to financial concessions, Walker still pushed for busting the unions.
  • Walker took credit for jobs created by his predecessor, Gov. Doyle.
  • Republicans erroneously claimed that Wisconsin is one of the few states in the country that do not require photographic ID. A lie.
  • $7.5 million in damage to the Capitol? Nope.
  • Republicans are fond of claiming that the avg. salary for a public teacher in the state of WIsconsin is $89k. Alberta Darling likes to claim that the avg. salary of a Milwaukee Public Schools teacher is $100k. Lies and more lies. The salary info for teachers is publicly available at the DPI website (though keep in mind that the total staff spreadsheet includes principals and superintendents).
  • Here’s a Dan Kapanke doozy: he claims protesters damaged the windshield of his car. A lie.
  • Scott Fitzgerald and others lied about voter fraud in Wisconsin.
  • Republican senators claimed they knew nothing about the slimy tactic of fielding fake Democrats to force a primary for the recall elections. But they did know.

Back to top

Power Grab:

Despite winning relatively narrow victories last November, the Republicans have acted like they have a divine mandate to force through all of their preferred policies, policies which are not good for the people of the state. The current Republicans have rightfully been called anti-populist. They have not tried to lessen the power of government; instead, they have tried to consolidate their power, resorting to slimy tactics to gain more control of government.

Back to top

The Death of Public Education:

The damage being done to public education in Wisconsin is truly frightening. Wisconsin ranks relatively high when it comes to public education in the U.S. And if we examine countries outperforming the U.S. in Education, we'll see that their approach is the exact opposite of what Wisconsin Republicans are doing. Yes, there is room for educational reform, but privatizing education, taking funds away from public schools, lifting caps on virtual schools, extending vouchers to wealthier families, cutting teacher salaries and bashing the work they do--all of these tactics are guaranteed to worsen the state of public education in Wisconsin.

Back to top

The Attack on Poor and Working Families:

The Republicans have repeatedly proposed and/or implemented policies and legislation that redistributes government funds to the wealthy at the expense of the poor and working class. The Wisconsin Idea is to create "well constructed legislation aimed at benefiting the greatest number of people." The recession was not created by working class families, but they are getting hit with the bill.

Back to top

Jobs?

The Republicans claim they're all about jobs. But one of their first moves--after turning down federal stimulus money for the light rail project--was to assault the jobs of public employees, sowing seeds of dissatisfaction among private sector employees by falsely claiming that the public sector was to blame for fiscal woes of the state. Various moves by Republicans have served only to scare away employers, and several thousand jobs will be lost in coming years.

Back to top

Environmental Damage:

The Republican assault on environmental protections hasn't gotten quite as much press, but it's a classic case study of cronyism and the slow dismantling of progressive policies. Republicans are woefully short-sighted. Do they care at all about future generations?

Back to top

Healthcare Cuts:

Republicans want to make it harder for people to get access to health care. They are looking to increase the bureaucracy and to make major cuts to Wisconsin's Medicaid programs.

Back to top

Unprofessionalism and Divisiveness:

Republicans have demonstrated a disregard for law and a severe lack of professionalism. They refuse to thoughtfully deliberate ideas; they refuse to listen to the people of Wisconsin, who in poll after poll stated that they opposed stripping workers of rights. In the past six months, they've made Wisconsin the most divided state in the country.

Back to top

Checks and Balances:

The Republicans are in control of the executive, the legislative, and the judiciary branches of Wisconsin government, and their tactic is to push through harmful reforms without having meaningful debates and without negotiation. Do we really want a one-party agenda to be put forward in a state that has proven to be varied and thoughtful in its political leanings? Do we really want a one-party system running our state?

Back to top

Reclaim Wisconsin: