Michels: “I’m going to go to Roger and he’s going to say ‘oh yes, you can.’”

MADISON, Wis. — After months of avoiding specifics on tough policy questions, Tim Michels recently revealed to supporters that Roger Roth would be the one really in charge of policymaking as governor. 

Michels said of Roth, “He was president of the State Senate. He knows all the tricks that they do in the Capitol building […] He’s gonna tell us how to do it. And when the people in the capital say Governor Michels, you can’t do that. I’m going to go to Roger and he’s going to say ‘oh yes, you can.’” [Michels Meet and Greet, 10/11/22]

So our question is, when did Roger become a candidate for Governor?

Even before Roth and Michels joined forces, Roth seemed doubtful that Michels was qualified for the job. In an interview on conservative radio before the August 9 primary, Roth admitted that Michels doesn’t have any legislative experience, suggesting Michels would need a helping hand as governor. It looks like Roth, at least, was planning to take the reins of a Michels-Roth administration all along.

Roger Roth and Tim Michels are too radical and extreme for Wisconsin — and now Michels will follow Roth’s lead on their radical agenda. Both support banning abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest, allowing guns on school grounds, making it easier to sue neighborhood schools, and putting up unnecessary barries to make it harder to vote. Roger Roth and Tim Michels are wrong for Wisconsin.

Since Michels is trusting him to make all the decisions, does Tim Michels agree with Roger Roth’s most extreme stances?

  • Abortion: Roger Roth supports the archaic 1849 ban that makes it a crime for doctors to provide healthcare and perform abortions, with no exceptions for rape or incest. Roth also believes that the state should be fully funding pregnancy centers that aim to block women from receiving medically-accurate information. Roth has also even personally authored a bill that would prosecute those who perform abortions. 
     
  • Campaign Finance: Michels said he wouldn’t accept PAC contributions so that he wasn’t “beholden” to special interests. Roth, who would seemingly be in charge of policymaking in a Michels administration, is gladly accepting these contributions.
     
  • Elections: Roger Roth has embraced conspiracy theories about the election and said that Gov. Evers, who has protected the right to vote, is “a threat to democracy” when asked about Trump undermining our elections. Roth has said the 2020 election was not “executed faithfully” and continues to agree with Tim Michels’ outlandish theories. 
     
  • Education: Roth is the author of legislation to establish a so-called “Parental Bill of Rights” which would make it easier to sue our schools. He even voted for a bill that would’ve allowed loaded guns on school grounds. And he voted for a bill to cut hundreds of millions from public education and give the money to private schools instead.
     
  • Public SafetyYears of cuts to shared revenue led by Republican legislators like Roger Roth are forcing our cities and towns to do more with less. Communities deserve the resources they need to solve problems, but Republicans are starving Wisconsin municipalities of resources by refusing to increase funding that communities use to fund police, firefighters, and first responders.

“It’s no wonder why Tim Michels won’t offer specifics on where he stands or how he would govern – apparently those decisions will be left to Roger Roth instead,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin Spokesperson Hannah Menchhoff. “Roth and Michels are two peas in a pod when it comes to limiting abortion access, defunding public education, and more. Wisconsin’s voters will see through their radical agenda and incompetent leadership and will reject their extremism this November.”

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