The Democratic front runner for Wisconsin governor wants to abolish the police and WISN-TV’s Matt Smith turned it into the softer “eliminating funding,” Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson claimed he didn’t know what anyone was talking about, and Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman could only muster a weak “be careful what you ask for.”
It’s insane that abolishing the police is being legitimized as if it’s just another policy question. WISN’s chyron turned this lunacy into a “police funding debate.”
So we turned to the two Republican candidates for Waukesha County Sheriff in an attempt to get someone to say it like it is. Until now, police have been almost entirely absent in the debate about abolishing the police, as Democrat Fran Hong has advocated. Meanwhile, the other Democratic candidates for governor and the party itself have been silent.
Here’s what they said, in alphabetical order:
“Abolishing the police removes the most basic protections law-abiding citizens deserve,” said former Glendale police officer, county supervisor and sheriff’s candidate John Gscheidmeier. “Voters should seriously question the motives of anyone suggesting such nonsense.”
“You’d have anarchy. Why would anyone follow the rules?” said Waukesha County Sheriff’s Capt. Nick Ollinger, who is also running for sheriff. “Law enforcement holds people accountable. It’s insane to even think about. There would be utter chaos like we saw in Kenosha.”
Sheriff Eric Severson is retiring. The Republican primary between Ollinger and Gscheidmeier is in August.
