Republican says Evers’ decision against Christmas tree in 2020 shows lack of leadership

(The Center Square) – Some people are not happy that Wisconsin will not have a Christmas tree at the State Capitol this year.

Gov. Tony Evers last week said there wouldn’t be a tree inside the statehouse rotunda this year. He said the coronavirus has made that impractical.

Sen. Duey Stroebel, R-Cedarburg, says that’s a cop-out.

“It wouldn’t have been hard for Gov. Evers to let the Christmas tree go up outside the Capitol this year. That way, Wisconsin residents could still come enjoy the tree in a public setting,” Stroebel told The Center Square.

Wisconsin’s school kids usually make ornaments for the state’s tree. Without a tree, Evers is asking students across the state to make holiday ornaments for hospitals, nursing homes, and veterans’ homes. He has declared this year’s ornament theme to be hope.

“Now more than ever, we all need hope. That’s why this year we are not only asking students to make holiday ornaments that celebrate hope and what it means to them, their families, and their communities, but celebrating that hope across our state,” Evers said.

This is not Evers’ first brush with anger over the tree at the Capitol. Last year, Evers insisted on calling the tree a “holiday tree” and dedicated it to “science.”

Republican leaders in 2019 said the governor was trying to exclude Christianity from the celebration. The Republican-controlled legislature passed a resolution to officially call the tree a Christmas Tree.

Stroebel said it doesn’t appear the governor learned a lesson from last year.

“Cancelling this tradition outright instead of finding an alternative way to mark the season shows a real lack of can-do leadership in the executive branch,” Stroebel said.