http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/gb-gop-ki2-s5.pngJaeger appalled at GOP holding their annual State Convention in person, in Wisconsin’s second largest COVID-19 hot spot, and their careless disregard for the safety of Brown County residents.

GREEN BAY, WI - I said it last week, and I’ll say it again: We can’t pretend our way out of this pandemic—we’re all in the together and we need to start behaving that way.

I was appalled to see that our Wisconsin Republican Party insisted on holding their annual State Convention in person, in Wisconsin’s second largest COVID-19 hot spot, in the midst of two consecutive record-setting days of new confirmed cases. As a Marinette County Board member from the Town of Peshtigo, I was shocked at their careless disregard for the safety of Brown County residents.

I was angered to see that they didn’t require attendees to wear masks, yet handed out a flier with a disclaimer that stated, “…by attending the (Republican Party of Wisconsin) State Convention you acknowledge and assume any potential risk and liability for your own health." (News reports say that, of the 322 people in attendance, around a dozen wore masks.)

But I was most appalled to see John Nygren, our current 89th Assembly District Representative, disregard the pandemic and instead focus on the possibility of securing a Republican supermajority in November. A two-thirds majority in the Assembly and the Senate would give Republicans the ability to successfully override any veto by the Governor.

Thus far, he and the GOP have refused to work with Governor Evers to formulate a plan to control the spread of the virus—in fact, they sued to prevent the Governor from acting and celebrated when they “won”, stripping the Evers administration of the authority to manage the COVID-19 crisis; they’ve refused to meet to deal with the problems associated with holding elections during the pandemic; and they’ve refused to do anything meaningful about the Country’s third-largest PFAS contamination site right here in Marinette. And now they’re excited about having the power to do even less!

This reckless disregard for human life is completely unconscionable. The Wisconsin GOP owns this pandemic. The responsibility for every new case of the virus rests squarely in the hands of our elected Republican leadership.

Politics shouldn’t be an Us-against-Them team sport—November 3rd is fast approaching, and it’s time Wisconsin elects leaders who will work together to put the health and safety of our people first.

Karl Jaeger