Trump has failed the Latinx community here in Wisconsin, say DEMS.

WISCONSIN -- Donald Trump’s presidency has been propped up by his attacks on people of color and exploited  the most racist elements of our society. He has continuously pushed policies that harm the Latinx community on everything from health care and the economy to his heartless immigration policy. Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Philip Shulman released the following statement calling out Trump for his abhorrent rhetoric and policies towards the Latinx community:

“Trump has relentlessly failed the Latinx community here in Wisconsin. Trump's run for office started with him calling Mexicans rapists and murderers, and since then his presidency has devolved into cruelty, with him and his cronies ripping children from their mothers’ arms and locking them in cages, attacking health care in the middle of a pandemic devastating communities of color, and building an economy that only works for the rich and well-connected. He has pursued vile policies like taking money away from service members in Wisconsin to fund his border wall, proclaiming that the suburbs in Wisconsin would disappear because of Black and Brown people, and ignoring the coronavirus until pursuing a failed response that has disproportionately infected and killed members of the Latinx community. Latinx Wisconsinites continue to face the brunt of the economic impact of Trump’s ineffective coronavirus response as Trump himself says “it is what it is”, once again passing the buck instead of stepping up to do his job. Donald Trump will continue to scapegoat and harm the Latinx community until he is no longer president, which is why it’s that much more important that we send Joe Biden to the White House in November.”

Fifth Congressional District candidate Tom Palzewicz and other Dems for state and national office face uphill battle.

Brookfield, WI –  Imagine the Green Bay Packers playing the Chicago Bears, in Soldier Field, but the Packers were only allowed to field 8 players, while the Bears had their usual 11.  It would be difficult at best for the Packers to win, if not impossible.  But in Wisconsin politics, Fifth Congressional District candidate Tom Palzewicz and other Dems for state and national office have to deal with Republican gerrymandering to win seats.

Partisan gerrymandering, orchestrated by Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, have made certain that only 10% of legislative districts and no congressional districts offer real choices to Wisconsin voters.  District maps have been redrawn, making it difficult if not impossible for Democrats to win in some districts including the fifth.

Jay Heck, the Executive Director of Common Cause in Wisconsin for the last 22 years, wrote an op-ed in the July 22 edition of the Wisconsin Examiner, laying out the long history of lies and deceit championed by the state's two most powerful Republican politicians.  It is Fitzgerald that will benefit from the heavily gerrymandered Fifth District in his race against Palzewicz this fall.

Heck wrote, “Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald have long opposed any and all attempts to bring even an iota of fairness and impartiality to the redistricting process of state legislative and congressional districts in Wisconsin.  Indeed, their fear of a fair system that would provide Wisconsin voters with legitimate competitive elections and genuine choices at election time is such that they have quashed any and all efforts to allow even a public hearing on the issue in the Wisconsin Legislature since 2009.

“The very dirty, not-so secret truth is that both Vos and Fitzgerald have long depended on their absolute control of the redistricting process to enable each to enforce their iron-clad demand for allegiance and absolute obedience to their political and policy objectives and quash any dissent or independent thinking among rank and file legislators in their respective partisan caucuses.”

For Palzewicz the focus is on the needs of the Fifth District and the nation.

“We just have to work harder,” said Palzewicz.  “At least the football field is always 100 yards long, so the field is fair.  What you see in Wisconsin is authoritarian rule, which is exactly what we're getting from Donald Trump.  Democracy?  In Wisconsin? I promise to be loyal to the U.S. Constitution and the people of Wisconsin.  Wisconsin and America have to come first, not self-interest and political power.”

Fitzgerald and Vos have asserted that all bi-partisan efforts and plans that have been brought before the Wisconsin legislature are “unconstitutional.”  But Heck writes, “according to the Wisconsin Legislative Council and virtually every constitutional expert — such as University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor David Canon to name just one — the measure is fully compliant with Wisconsin’s Constitution.”

Fitzgerald and Vos oppose efforts by Governor Tony Evers to establish a non-partisan commission to draw state legislative and congressional districts, calling that unconstitutional and illegal.

“Democracy thrives when people are given the freedom of choice,” Palzewicz explained. “When voters are denied that choice we are left with the desires of special interests and chosen few.”