Friday, April 19, 2024
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Friday, April 19, 2024

Milwaukee Press Club 'Excellence in Wisconsin Journalism' 2020 & 2021 Award Winners

The Capitol Riots Were Horrific. Where We Go From Here

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We are going to call it like it is. That is our mission, expose the truth, regardless of the narrative. This time it hurts. It hurts bad.

The mob at the Capitol did not stand for all conservatives or Trump supporters. We must make that clear.

News flash to all Capitol rioters, conspiracy theorists, riot and cop killer enablers: You are destroying the Trump movement by stripping it of credibility, moral standing and followers. You are spitting in the eye of many who believed in him, including children, and making their lives a lot harder and putting people’s jobs in peril. You’ve played into the hand of elite media and anti Trump people by handing them the stereotype.

No. The Capitol mob did not stand for all conservatives or Trump supporters in America. Yes, we get that many in the media and left will attempt to make it so. Don’t let them. Stand against it. Pick a side, and do it now. As firmly as you can.

The rioters and their enablers, defenders, minimizers, conspiracy theorists, and justifiers are giving the left perceived justification to usher in an era of mass censorship. They are destroying the Republican Party, which they may be okay with, but they have no plan for anything to take its place, which means they are growing the power of the liberals. They are making it much less likely that conservatives will regain power, which means the Democratic Party is likely to change this country in ways they claim to abhor.

Many conservative pundits are pushing conspiracy theories suggesting that Capitol cops conspired with Antifa to set up Trump or to argue that, well, the election was stolen so good for them or to argue that maybe it’s time for violent revolution or to say the insane QAnon movement has a point. That’s not going to age well. Not us. We won’t advance those arguments.

Conspiracy theorists: If Antifa did this, there’s no evidence of it so far. People are being named, arrested, identified and charged who are Trump supporters or QAnon adherents. Watch the live streams. We will continue to review the evidence as it comes in and adjust our views accordingly.

We are going to call it like it is. That is our mission, to expose the truth, regardless of the narrative. This time it hurts. It hurts bad.

Losing the Senate was bad. We should have won it. But Republicans and conservatives were convinced their vote didn’t count because of the president’s quixotic voter fraud claims, so they didn’t vote. We could have recovered from that.

Will the conservative movement and the Trump movement recover from this? Are those the same thing? No, but they overlap.

Here’s the way out.

The conservative movement will recover because we have the necessary policies for prosperity, economic expansion and this country’s future. More than 70 million people preferred President Trump’s policy positions. Not enough people were OK with his personality, although the people who are would probably die for him. We liked a lot of Trump’s policy positions and certainly his Supreme Court picks, but the way he’s handled the last couple months post election has been appallingly counterproductive.

Trump lost despite a majority of Americans saying they were better off now than they were four years ago. He lost despite most Americans watching the left fall off the deep end.  He lost despite all the advantages of incumbency. He lost even as Republicans gained seats in the House and they should have held the Senate. He lost even with the “Defund the Police” narrative.

Trump could have conceded with grace, just found a little more Reagan inside of himself, and run again in four years against Harris and the excesses of the new administration. The GOP could have regained seats in the midterms with the same message. The way Trump has handled the election aftermath has been disastrous, not only for conservatives but for himself.

The way out of this is simple. Stay true to who we are, what our values are, focus on policy differences, and make it clear that we absolutely do not support a braying mob that killed a cop, injured 50 more, smashed windows, desecrated the sacred realm of Congress, and made off with senators’ laptops. If you’re still on the fence at all, go watch the horrific video showing the mob beating and attacking a fallen cop.

We need to better define what our current values are. We need to do a better job of communicating and welcoming minority communities. This means we have to reject violence, conspiracy theories, rioting, and talk of violent revolution. This rejection must be unequivocal.

We have to demonstrate to the black community that conservative values will lead to success and the pursuit of happiness. We must expand on the success Trump had in expanding that base. Go to the grassroots. We have to start with school boards, with local government, with state government, with our prosecutors. We need to circle back to the basics and craft a positive message. If we stay focused on who we are, what we stand for, and what we believe, we can look to the future.

That’s true, as well, of the conservative position on rioting and law enforcement. And we lost that high ground on Wednesday.

The moment the bullet went through Ashli Babbitt’s chest, the Trump movement changed forever. The moment a dedicated law enforcement officer named Brian Sicknick – a military veteran and Trump supporter no less – was smacked with a fire extinguisher and later collapsed and died, the movement changed forever. The Trump movement and its ideologies came to an instant halt.

We lost credibility.

The people who breached the Capitol embarrassed all of us.

We always credit ourselves with being on the high ground; as BLM and Antifa rioted in the streets, burning and killing, we always held the high ground while some on the left and in the media sanitized or even supported their behavior. We lost the high ground.

We understand and are extremely frustrated by the double standard. The media and left downplayed rioting all summer, called it unrest. Rioters got away without even a ticket, and overlooked the burning of a police precinct and small businesses.  We also understand why people are angry about the weaponizing of the FBI; a media that constantly attacked Trump and never gave him a chance even though he did good for the country while president when it comes to policy, such as the economy and job creation; the fears over the increasingly socialist talk on the left; the anger over defund the police, burning of cities, media enablers of that, and the hate directed toward police; the lying to the FISA court; the destruction of Gen. Flynn; the endless attacks on Trump’s children; the mistreatment of Judge Kavanaugh, the endless Russia nonsense that didn’t get its target; the unverified dossier peddled by the Clinton campaign; the insults for supporting Trump and constant attempts to say he didn’t really win in 2016.

However, rioting is wrong. We are better than that. We must be.

The radical extremists who stormed the U.S. Capitol, do not represent the Trump voter, conservatives nor Republicans, anymore than rioting by Antifa or Black Lives Matter represent every Democrat. The average Trump voter is your community’s small business owner, local cop, or just a person who believes in law and order, lower taxes, smaller government, protecting unborn life, and less regulation, among other things.

We have not seen enough evidence to agree that the election was stolen by such large margins in so many states. We look for facts. We believe that Joe Biden won the election. Yet saying otherwise did over and over again may have cost the GOP Georgia, and the loss of the Senate will change America.

They’re going to open the borders, let felons vote, let people out and not arrest people. All of that’s going to increase their base. They might make Guam and Puerto Rico states, and that will give them more senators. They will set it up so we can never win another election. There will be vote by mail expansions. If they pack the courts, they will have the courts.

Now it’s time to regroup. To do that, we must go back to the basics. Repudiate rioting and anarchy and violence. Stand for what conservatives have always said they believed in.

As sure as spring is around the corner, the left will overplay its hand now, and when it does, we must be ready.

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(The Center Square) – One of the biggest critics of Wisconsin’s election administrator says no one should be threatening her and says threats don’t help fix election integrity issues.

State Rep. Janel Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls, on Tuesday offered her thoughts after the Wisconsin Elections Commission confirmed elections administrator Meagan Wolfe is receiving extra security protection.

"Threatening Administrator Meagan Wolfe, or any election official, is unacceptable and counterproductive. Venting frustrations on individuals like Wolfe, clerks, or poll workers is not only illegal but also harmful to rebuilding trust in our elections,” Brandtjen said. “Threats only undermine our republic and empower the courts and media. It's essential to address any concerns about election processes through legal channels. Threats have no place in our democracy.”

Brandtjen has been one of Wisconsin’s loudest critics of Wolfe. She led hearings as far back as 2021 into Wolfe’s role in the 2020 election. Brandtjen also led the push to get Wolfe removed from the Elections Commission.

“Wolfe’s term has indeed expired, and according to Wisconsin Statutes 15.61(1)(b)1, she should be removed, but Republicans are too worried about the press or too compromised to follow existing law.” Brandtjen said.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission on Monday clarified that Wolfe is receiving extra security but refused to offer any details.

“The Wisconsin Elections Commission has had productive conversations about safety and security with state leadership, including the governor’s office, which is tasked with approving security measures for state government officials,” WEC spokesperson Riley Vetterkind said in a statement. “Those conversations have resulted in additional security measures being approved for Administrator Wolfe and the WEC when the need arises.”

Brandtjen on Tuesday blamed Wisconsin Republicans, and once again blamed Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, for Wolfe’s continued time on the Elections Commission.

“It's disappointing that Sen. Dan Knodl and Rep. Scott Krug, chairs of the election committees, have not exercised their investigative and subpoena powers. This inaction has allowed the neglect of essential laws, such as providing ballots to individuals declared incompetent, lack of checks in military ballot requests, an insecure online system, and improper guidance on voting for homeless individuals without proper documentation,” she said. “The Legislature, particularly Speaker Vos' control, is responsible for the frustration caused by election irregularities due to their inaction.”

Wisconsin’s local election managers have reported an uptick in threats and angry rhetoric since the 2020 election, and some local election offices have taken extra precautions. But there haven’t been any cases in Wisconsin where someone has acted on an election threat.

Wisconsin’s Largest Business Group Sues Over Evers’ 400-year School Funding Veto

(The Center Square) – There is now a legal challenge to Gov. Tony Evers’ 400-year school funding veto.

The WMC Litigation Center on Monday asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to take up their challenge to the governor’s summer veto that increased per-pupil funding for the next four centuries.

“At issue is Gov. Evers’ use of the so-called ‘Vanna White’ or ‘pick-a-letter’ veto,” the group said in a statement. “The governor creatively eliminated specific numbers in a portion of the budget bill that was meant to increase the property tax levy limit for school districts in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 fiscal years. By striking individual digits, the levy limit would instead be increased from the years 2023 to 2425 – or four centuries into the future.”

The WMC Litigation Center is an affiliate of Wisconsin Manufactures & Commerce (WMC), the combined state chamber and manufacturers’ association.

Litigation Center Executive Director Scott Rosenow said while Wisconsin’s governor has an incredibly powerful veto pen, there are limits.

“No Wisconsin governor has the authority to strike individual letters or digits to form a new word or number, except when reducing appropriations,” Rosenow said. “This action is not only unconstitutional on its face, but it is undemocratic because this specific partial veto allows school districts to raise property taxes for the next 400 years without voter approval.”

Wisconsin lawmakers and voters approved a constitutional amendment in 1990 that put limits on the governor’s veto power.

Rosenow and the WMC Litigation Center say the governor’s veto goes beyond those limits.

The legal challenge also raises the constitutional issue that all state spending has to originate with, and be approved by, the legislature.

“In no uncertain terms, 402 years is not less than or part of the two-year duration approved by the Legislature – it is far more,” concluded Rosenow. “The governor overstepped his authority with this partial veto, at the expense of taxpayers, and we believe oversight by the Court is necessary.”

The WMC Litigation Center is asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to take the case as quickly as possible.

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Jury selection is set to begin Monday in the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president.

Former President Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts related to charges he paid hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels through a lawyer and covered it up as a legal expense before being elected president.

Trump has attempted to delay the start of the New York state trial several times, including three longshot tactics judges rejected this week.

What charges does Trump face in the New York hush money case?

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records related to money paid to Daniels and another woman, former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Bragg has alleged Trump broke New York law when he falsified with the intent to commit or conceal another crime.

Prosecutors allege Trump falsified internal records kept by his company, hiding the true nature of payments that involve Daniels ($130,000), McDougal ($150,000), and Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen ($420,000). Prosecutors allege the money was logged as legal expenses, not reimbursements. Both Cohen and Daniels are expected to testify.

Cohen is expected to be a key witness in the trial. Daniels has said she expects to testify.

Former Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., Bragg's predecessor, did not bring the case to trial.

What happens on Monday?

Prosecutors, defense attorneys and Donald Trump are expected to be present when the trial before Judge Juan Merchan gets started Monday. The first step will be picking a jury, a process that could take a week or more depending on how things progress. The trial is expected to last six to eight weeks.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys will select 12 jurors and six alternates from a pool of potentially hundreds of people. Each juror will answer 42 questions designed to determine if they can be impartial in the high-profile trial of a polarizing former president. The jurors will remain anonymous because of security concerns.

Once a jury is seated, it's on to opening statements where prosecutors and defense attorneys will get to address the jury about what they plan to show during the trial.

What is Trump's defense to the charges?

Trump has maintained he did nothing wrong and has accused Bragg of bringing a politically motivated case involving conduct in 2016 during a presidential election year as Trump faces incumbent Joe Biden in a rematch of the 2020 election.

Trump has spoken out against the judge, the district attorney and other involved in the case repeatedly. Trump's comments prompted a gag order from the judge who said Trump can't talk publicly about certain people involved in the case and their families.

"The White House Thugs should not be allowed to have these dangerous and unfair Biden Trials during my campaign for President. All of them, civil and criminal, could have been brought more than three years ago. It is an illegal attack on a Political Opponent. It is Communism at its worst, and Election Interference at its Best. No such thing has ever happened in our Country before," Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social this week. "On Monday I will be forced to sit, GAGGED, before a HIGHLY CONFLICTED & CORRUPT JUDGE, whose hatred for me has no bounds. All of these New York and D.C. 'Judges' and Prosecutors have the same MINDSET. Nobody but this Soros Prosecutor, Alvin Bragg, wanted to take this ridiculous case. All legal scholars say it is a sham. BIDEN'S DOJ IS RUNNING THE CASE. Just think of it, these animals want to put the former President of the United States (who got more votes than any sitting President!), & the PARTY'S REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE, IN JAIL, for doing absolutely nothing wrong. It is a RUSH TO THE FINISH. SO UNFAIR!"

Will Trump take the stand?

That's not clear yet. Trump said last month that he'd be willing to testify at trial if needed.

Could Trump go to jail?

It's too earlier to tell what will happen if Trump is convicted. Under New York state law, falsifying business records in the first degree is a Class E felony that carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison.

Trump's age and lack of any prior criminal convictions could work in his favor at sentencing if he's convicted. His attacks on the judge could have the opposite effect at sentencing. Before sentencing, the judge would look at sentencing guidelines, recommendations from prosecutors and any other pre-sentence reports.

In late March, Trump said that he wasn't worried about a conviction when asked if he thought a conviction could hurt his chances of returning to the White House.

"It could also make me more popular because the people know it's a scam," he said. "It's a Biden trial, there is no trial, there's a Biden trial."

Whatever happens during the trial, Trump will be protected by the U.S. Secret Service.

Even if convicted and sentenced to jail, Trump could continue his campaign to re-take the White House.

"The Constitution does not bar felons from serving as President," said Richard Hasen, professor of law and political science at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Trump could not pardon himself from any state charges, Hasen said.

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(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s next supreme court race could be even more contentious and even more expensive than the last one.

Liberal Justice Anne Walsh Bradley on Thursday surprised the state when she announced she will not run for re-election next year.

"My decision has not come lightly. It is made after careful consideration and reflection. I know I can do the job and do it well. I know I can win re-election, should I run. But it's just time to pass the torch, bring fresh perspectives to the court," Walsh Bradley said in a statement.

She is one of Wisconsin’s longest serving justices, serving her third 10-year term on the court.

“In the 177-year history of the court, only four justices have served longer than my length of service,” she wrote.

Walsh Bradley’s decision means the next election will be open.

Former Republican attorney general, and current Waukesha County judge, Brad Schimel has already jumped into the race. There aren’t any declared Democrats yet.

Schimel on Thursday said Walsh Bradley’s decision isn’t changing anything for him.

“From the beginning of my campaign, I made it clear that I’m not just running against one person, I’m running against this Court’s leftist majority,” Schimel said. “I wish Justice Ann Walsh Bradley well in retirement after decades of public service. I look forward to continuing the fight to bring integrity and respect for the Constitution back to the Supreme Court of Wisconsin.”

Wisconsin’s last race for the supreme court, in April of 2023, set records for spending. The race between Justice Janet Protasiewicz and former Justice Dan Kelly cost more than $56 million. That makes the 2023 Wisconsin race the most expensive judicial race in American history. Many court observers and politicos in Wisconsin say the 2025 race could be just as expensive, or even more expensive.

Protasiewicz’s victory flipped the Wisconsin Supreme Court to a 4-3 liberal majority for the first time in 15 years.

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