MILWAUKEE – In response to a press release by Rep. Janel Brandtjen (R- Menomonee Falls) the other day, Rep. Jonathan Brostoff (D-Milwaukee) released the following statement:

“In psychology, this is known as projection. A person who has an aspect to their own personality or belief system that they, at some level, do not like or approve of turns around and projects those troubling aspects onto others.

Not only is Supervisor Goodwin a Republican, he ran for an Assembly seat as a Republican the same year that Rep. Brandtjen was elected, in the district adjacent to her own. So, is Rep. Brandtjen lying, or does she actually not know about Supervisor Goodwin’s political background?

I am aware of another County Board race from this past election, in which a high school friend of mine defeated a former colleague of mine – but in that case, the two of them went out to coffee with one another after an incredibly close and hard-fought race. That’s the sort of post-election camaraderie I support, and reflects how Democrats choose to work with one another.

Of all people, Rep. Brandtjen should be the last to cast stones when it comes to decency in the wake of a political loss. When violent insurrectionists attacked the United States Capitol on January 6th of last year, Rep. Brandtjen had nothing to say to condemn the actions of those extremists. And then, instead of learning a meaningful lesson from that awful attack, she doubled down – she abused her position as Chair of the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections to perpetuate the Big Lie, regularly inviting election conspiracy theorists to undermine our democracy. Her tenuous grasp on reality in relation to elections was so evident that Speaker Vos chose to circumvent her entirely and direct elections-related legislation through another committee.

Rep. Brandtjen has abused her position to perpetuate and encourage political violence. She’s chosen to externalize her own actions and, instead of taking responsibility she simply lies and blames others (in this case myself and Senator Chris Larson) for the behavior she and other noted Republicans are guilty of. If she was actually outraged about this incident, she would do something, anything, to confront the rot that exists within her own party.

Maybe she has some guilt for her own horrific actions. Maybe that guilt is why she’s lashing out.”

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