17th Legislator Town Hall

We greatly appreciate their willingness to take time out of their busy schedules to participate in this event; the time they took to prepare for our questions; and the thought they put into answering them. Everyone we talked to afterwards expressed satisfaction with how the session went. The fact that everyone was willing to stay an additional 30 minutes underscores how engaged the audience was.

The questions we asked were chosen to reflect our highest priorities and deepest concerns. We were prepared to learn something about each topic, and we did. Here we briefly reiterate the four topics we addressed and our concerns:

Election integrity: 55% of all voters and 70% of Republican voters believe the 2020 presidential election was rigged against Donald Trump. Probably 80% or more of Wisconsin Republicans believe this. If Republican state legislators don't believe this or aren't willing to say it in public, then there is little or no hope that the 2024 election won't also be rigged.

State budget: Conservatives believe government is too big and spends too much, yet our elected officials voted for a record increase (well above the rate of inflation) in state government spending for the 2023-2025 biennial budget. Why should we work for Republican majorities in the Assembly and Senate if you vote for bigger government? Please seriously consider which spending cuts will be proposed in this legislative session and going forward.

K-12 Schools: Conservatives in Wisconsin and all around the country are worried that K-12 schools have become little more than indoctrination camps for socialism, critical race theory, and sex. Unless we fix the schools, our country and state are doomed, yet Republicans voted for a record increase in state spending on government schools in the 2023-2025 biennial budget. Since increased spending does nothing to stop the sexualization of children and the clear decline in student achievement, what laws will Republicans be proposing to actually remedy these harmful initiatives?

Abortion: Wisconsin has one of the most pro-life laws in the country on the books right now, banning abortions except to protect the life of the mother. But Republican legislators, members of the supposedly "pro-life party," seem content to let the liberal WI State Supreme Court overturn the law and plan to then offer some weak compromise with the unlimited abortion-on-demand Democrats. Will Republicans publicly and vigorously defend the 1849 abortion statute? If not, what specific exceptions to the ban will you support? 

We urgently advised our panelists to give careful thought to these issues and to act boldly!