The GOP is locked in a heated and brutal primary for governor, where Rebecca Kleefisch, Tim Ramthun, and Tim Michels are each trying to prove they are the most divisive candidate in the race. What’s going on in the Republican Party is so outrageous, it’s hard to keep track of all of their blunders — so here is a roundup:
Who Said It?
Can you guess who said the following?
“I went through sex education in seventh grade. It was confusing then. We’re teaching sex ed to third graders, second graders, kindergarteners, are you kidding me? That is ridiculous. What is the agenda there? I think the agenda is just to tear down America. To tear down the nuclear family. To confuse these kids. It will stop. It is wrong.”
Scroll to the end of this newsletter for the answer.
The NRA Wars
Tim Michels position on guns is so extreme that his campaign assumed that he had the NRA endorsement and incorrectly released mailers that said as much. The reality is that all the Republicans running for governor are so out of step with Wisconsinites on gun safety that Rebecca Kleefisch, Tim Michels, and Tim Ramthun might as well already have the NRA’s support in the bag.
While Michels does have the highest rating a politician without a voting history can attain, the organization has not endorsed in this primary.
The NRA made it very clear they were unimpressed
Rebecca Kleefisch, who says has an “A” rating from the NRA, is obviously loving this.
On WSAU’s Feedback, she laid into Michels:
“If you have to lie about getting the NRA endorsement when you actually got an AQ rating, then you’re not ready for primetime. And I’m not trying to be unkind here. I’m trying to point out differences in readiness.”
“Not ready for primetime.” Ouch.
Not to be forgotten, Tim Ramthun put out a video of his top 10 strengths.
- Ramthun calls himself an “outsider on the inside.” News flash… you are already in the government. As an elected official.
- He says he is a “battle tested man of principle and integrity.” Yes, if by “integrity” you mean spreading lies about the 2020 election.
Tim Michels released his radical education proposal a little over a month ago. Hidden under the language of signing a “parental bill of rights” is the goal of inviting parents to sue schools.
[Michels For Governor, Education Blueprint, Accessed 7/20/22]
Unsurprisingly, on the Vicki McKenna Show, Michels could not answer a basic question on it:
VICKI MCKENNA: So, let’s just go over some issues, because you know, people want to know. Would you sign a parent’s Bill of Rights?
TIM MICHELS: I would, but I want to know what’s in it, okay?
VICKI MCKENNA: Oh, sure.
TIM MICHELS: In business, you know, I just can’t say, ‘yes, set something in front of me, and I’ll sign it.’ I read these – I read everything. I read the contracts. I’ll read these bills. It’s always about the details.
Bill text available here free anytime, Tim.
A Very (un)Happy Birthday
Shoutout to Molly Beck for sharing this fun fact.
Should we send them a cake?
“Who Said It” Answer Revealed
This was Tim Michels at one of the stops on his Freedom Tour. It’s a bit of a slippery slope to say that sex education is ruining the nuclear family, but this is coming from a man who wants to take away a person’s right to make their own reproductive health care decisions. Tim Michels is too extreme for Wisconsin.