Madison- Senator Bob Wirch (D-Somers) issued the following statement addressing the legislative Republicans’ support of a court challenge to Governor Evers’s statewide mask order:

“This is just more politics to them.  Speaker Vos, Senator Fitzgerald and their caucuses are trying to have it both ways.  If they are so against the mask order, they have the power to bring us in for a vote on it. They won’t do that.  With Wisconsin in the midst of a surge in Covid cases that has made national news, Republican leadership knows that masks are an important tool to slow the spread and don’t want to force their members to take a tough vote ahead of an election.  Instead of doing their jobs, they placate their base by supporting the court challenge.

If the Legislature were to vote on eliminating the mask order, I would be opposed.  The Covid pandemic is stronger now than it has been at any other time.  Our hospitals, and healthcare workers, are stressed to the max, and we are losing an increasing number of our friends and neighbors. Schools, businesses and recreational activities can’t operate as usual.  We can’t get together with our loved ones. The top experts in the field agree that if we would all wear a mask, we would save lives, get some control of the virus and be able to function somewhat ‘normally’.  Previous generations, when faced with great challenges like wars or economic depressions, willingly made tremendous sacrifices for the betterment of our country.  We’re simply being asked to wear a mask in public.”

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