With Leah Vukmir's endorsement at last week's Republican State Convention, she will likely be the party's nominee for US Senate. Who is Vukmir and what does she stand for? An examination of her websites, editorials, talk-radio interviews, and speeches makes it clear that she is a far-right ideologue. It is clear that she does not represent Wisconsin values. Let's look at a few examples.
Vukmir has no shame. Vukmir's campaign hit a disgusting low when they photo-shopped a picture of Sen. Tammy Baldwin next to Khalid Sheikh Muhammed, the mastermind of 9/11. The picture was captioned "Team Terrorist". On talk radio last week, Vukmir refused to apologize, simply saying, "If I'm politically incorrect, I'm politically incorrect."
Vukmir will waste your money on the stupid Wall. On April 26, she tweeted "There can be no discussion in immigration reform until we build the wall. " At her WI GOP Convention speech she boasted, "I am ready to stand with President Donald Trump and build that wall!"
Vukmir is anti-choice. We need a Senator who will push back on the national efforts to end reproductive rights. Instead, Vukmir consistently votes to squash reproductive freedom. On May 14, she tweeted,"Abortion is murder. Period. Linking healthcare for women and abortion is shameful and you should know better." On the same day, she tweeted, "As your U.S. Senator, I will do everything in my power to stop abortion and defund this devastating industry."
Vukmir is for dirty government. Wisconsin's non-partisan Government Accountability Board was a shining example of clean and ethical state government. Vukmir led the charge to destroy our GAB, replacing it with a toothless board of political hacks.
Vukmir buys into crazy conspiracy theories. The extreme right has convinced themselves that there is a War on Christmas. Vukmir chimed-in on this paranoid fantasy, submitting a December 2017 editorial to White Wisconsin on the subject. She wrote, "No one is offended when wished a Merry Christmas, except for liberals hoping to check their victim box for the day."
Vukmir is anti-worker. She is proud of the state legislature's success in busting unions and suppressing wages. A January 1 tweet boasted, "Wisconsin's been a leader for conservative reforms: 1. Act 10 2. Right to Work 3. Prevailing Wage Repeal 4. PLA Fairness." Vukmir sponsored the legislation to end prevailing wage laws. Her GOP caucus has consistently sidelined efforts to increase the state minimum wage.
Vukmir will not resist Trump's dictatorial tendencies. As a Senator, Vukmir would be one of Trump's biggest enablers. In January, she tweeted, "Before tonight's State of the Union address, I want to remind President Trump that we still stand with him, we have his back, and we can't wait to see what 2018 has to bring. Join me!" After Trump's SOTU, Vukmir was giddy, tweeting, "That was an amazing speech, Mr. President! USA! USA! USA! "
Vukmir supports using your tax money to pay for religious indoctrination. She has been a consistent supporter of the ever-expanding Milwaukee, Racine, and statewide school voucher programs. Almost every school in the programs teaches religion, subsidized by the taxpayer.
Vukmir makes pledges to Washington lobbyists. On January 30, Vukmir signed the anti-tax pledge to DC lobbyist Grover Norquist. In return, the fiscally irresponsible lobbyist (the clown who dreams of drowning government in a bathtub) tweeted "Senator Leah Vukmir is one of the most conservative state legislators in the nation and is a hero to taxpayers."
Vukmir will not defend your Social Security and Medicare. During her speech to the state GOP Convention last week, she ominously stated that she is ready to "take-on entitlement reform." We all know what that means.
Vukmir is against a clean natural environment. Vukmir has been a consistent vote in the GOP drive to wreck Wisconsin's air and water quality. For each of the last three legislative sessions, she earned a 0% score from the Sierra Club. In a January op-ed, she wrote "I am continually amazed that you (Tammy Baldwin) support government intervention to end global warming or climate change or whatever Al Gore’s buzzword is these days..."
Vukmir is against healthcare for Wisconsinites. She has been a consistent supporter of Walker's fiscally-foolish rejection of Medicaid expansion. In an editorial, she called upon "...leadership in the U.S. Senate to repeal and replace Obamacare with a free-market solution..." In her 2018 GOP Convention speech she shouted, "We will repeal and replace Obamacare!"
With the state Republican Party formally endorsing Leah Vukmir at their convention, she will likely be the their candidate emerging from the primary. On issue after issue, Vukmir has made her extreme ideology all too clear. She does not reflect the views of Wisconsin citizens. She does not represent Wisconsin values. We must make it our mission to see that she is defeated in November.
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