Recently Muskego aldermanic candidate Philip Conrardy (District 5) made headlines in the local papers and news stations. Apparently, Conrardy had printed and displayed campaign signs in which he promoted the idea that he would donate certain dollar amounts back to the community if elected. $60,000.00 was one figure printed on signs, while another mentioned he would “donate (his) entire salary to the community,” according to GMToday.
Other posters mentioned that Conrardy would provide $37,000 in post-high school scholarships. The post-high school scholarship figure was based on what Conrardy mistakenly thought to be the salary that he would receive if elected as an alderman. The actual salary for Muskego aldermen is $7,638.54.
Given that Conrardy is a medical doctor – an anesthesiologist – he probably does not need the aldermanic salary. Conrardy has stated as much: “I don’t care what the amount is. I don’t want it. I don’t need it.” He claims he made an honest mistake in putting monetary figures on his campaign signs and just wanted people to know that he would pass on his salary to the community and then some, GMToday reported.
His Republican opponent complained that the signs were a form of bribery – an attempt to buy votes.
Wisconsin statute 12.11 on election bribery states that anyone who “offers, gives, lends, or promises to give or lend…”anything of value” (in excess of $1.00) in order to induce any elector to “vote for a particular person violates the chapter of the statute on election bribery.”
What happened to Dr. Conrardy and the potential charges he may face because of his own self-admitted major blunder could be considered small-town politics. Yet, in national politics, the concept of “buying votes” could be taken all the way to the top – to President Joe Biden.
From U.S. Legal.com: “Any reward given to a person for voting in a particular way or for not voting can be called vote buying. Vote buying is a corrupt election practice. A vote-buying bribe is that having a monetary value. The practice of vote buying is banned in the United States. Vote buying is a threat to the conduct of fair elections.” The Key word in this description is “reward.”
Now, of course, politicians promise lots of things when they are on the campaign trail – however, there’s a difference between trying to get votes by promising many things to the general populace. When one targets individuals hoping to garnish their votes, then that can be considered “vote buying.” A “reward.” Basically, this boils down to going after certain individuals to persuade them to vote for you by giving them something in exchange for their votes.
The people of the United States have witnessed two such obvious instances. The first is the recent college loan forgiveness that Biden went ahead and did – despite a ruling against such by the U.S. Supreme Court. Biden cancelled $1.2 BILLION for over 153,000 debtors with just a pen. He intentionally ignored Congress and turned to the unelected bureaucrats at the Department of Education to create a convoluted run around the U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
According to Rob Natelson, a former constitutional law professor who is a senior fellow at the Independence Institute in Denver, writing in the Epoch Times (“President Biden’s Transfer of Other People’s Debts to You”) “Under the president’s program, no debtor will have to declare bankruptcy. And far from being victims, they already have enjoyed the benefit of the very favorable loan terms at taxpayer expense.
The borrowers spent the money for what both they and the federal government thought was a good purpose. Still, you and I will have to pay their bills. (President James) Madison called debt cancellation “improper or wicked” for very good reasons. Cancellation does not abolish an obligation. It merely transfers it to innocent people.”
Any logical, thinking person would probably ask the question – why now? Why did Biden feel the need to cancel the debt of over one hundred fifty thousand people? Perhaps the reason could be he is trailing Trump in almost every poll – even the swing states. Biden’s own approval rating from Reuters on 2/28/24 is at an all-time low of 37% (and even that figure seems high, given the horrid job Biden has done in office).
In the 2016 election Biden “won,” three key swing states: Wisconsin, Georgia, and Arizona with just a margin of 44,000 votes combined over Trump. 44,000 votes. It would be interesting to see exactly who Biden “forgave” student debt with his magic wand.
Where do they live? How were they picked? Wonder if they live in the swing states?
The second obvious example of vote-buying is our open borders. Ever since Biden took the reins as president the southern border has been a sieve. Once Biden came into office, he immediately did away with all of Trump’s policies that saw illegal border crossings down to a trickle.
“Come one! Come all!” was the message Biden and Co. sent around the world. “The border is open!!!” And come they did – and they continue to do so. By all accounts, between 8 million and 10 million illegals have entered the United States. Given the fact that American citizens – young, old, rich, poor, lower, middle, upper class have turned away from the Democratic Party in droves, the Democrats need to find votes elsewhere. And if they cannot come from U.S. citizens, by all means, allow as many illegals into the country as one can.
Promise the illegals everything – shelter, food, phones, gift cards, etc. and what do you think Biden is expecting in return? Votes, of course. And to anyone who says “illegals can’t vote” – does anyone really believe that? With all the usual election rules and regulations thrown out the window (with Covid as the excuse a few years ago) who believes that anymore? To bring this back on a local level, the Republican candidate, who is being challenged by Philip Conrardy, claims he is trying to “buy the seat.”
Couldn’t the same be said for Biden? It is obvious – with the only difference being that Biden hasn’t printed his bribes on campaign signs – yet.
