I have seldom agreed with Jim Sensenbrenner on issues. However, I never questioned his devotion to America or his patriotism. Until now.
Sensenbrenner is right in the middle of the Nunes memo scandal. The memo, written by the staff of Congressman Devin Nunes, unveils classified information for a blatantly political purpose. It is a clumsy ruse to cast doubt on the motivations of law enforcement agents at the FBI. It is a ploy to end an investigation of the meddling in our elections by a hostile foreign power.
The memo seeks to bully the FBI into submission. It tries to convince us that the FBI has no right to investigate collusion of the Trump campaign with agents of Russia. In a tweet this morning, Trump chimed-in, "The top Leadership and Investigators of the FBI and the Justice Department have politicized the sacred investigative process in favor of Democrats and against Republicans ... "
Our own Congressman is not innocent in this attempt to subvert American sovereignty and rule-of-law. Like many others in the GOP, Jim Sensenbrenner has piled-on to harm the reputation of the FBI. On January 19th, he signed a letter to Nunes to release the memo. A copy of Sensenbrenner's appeal to release classified information can be found here.
Sensenbrenner's letter, cosigned by sixty-three other House Republicans (but not a single Democrat) stated "This important memo will be of interest to anyone who cares about America and our democratic system of government. We are writing to request the immediate release of this document to the public, as well as any relevant ancillary information. The audience of this document should not be limited to members of Congress -the American people deserve to know the information it contains."
In a January 19 press release, Sensenbrenner implied wrong-doing on the part of the FBI, saying "The American people deserve to know the full extent of any surveillance abuses by the intelligence community. This memo should be released publicly so that we can begin to restore trust in government.”
The Nunes memo selectively discusses the FISA warrants for FBI surveillance of Trump foreign policy adviser, Carter Page. This man was identified as a Russian asset during investigation of a Russian spy ring in New York City. Page later gave an anti-American speech in Moscow. With his deep involvement with a Presidential campaign, it was no wonder he was under FBI surveillance. The agency would be remiss if Page wasn't being watched.
The odd thing is, Sensenbrenner asked for release of the memo that impugns the integrity of federal law enforcement without actually reading the memo. He had no idea of what sensitive classified information he was calling to be divulged.
Just last Sunday, at a Germantown town hall meeting, Sensenbrenner claimed that he had not read the memo. In response to a question, he said, " Now, have I seen it? No. And the reason for that is, if I saw it, I couldn't talk about it. And when it is released, I want to be able to talk about it." So the Congressman was clamoring to have a memo released, while having no idea what it contained. (13:13)
During the same meeting, Sensenbrenner further expressed his endorsement of the GOP's war on the FBI, saying, "I think there's some problems at the top of the FBI that need to be addressed, because I don't think that the FBI should ever become a political police force." (10:10) Sensenbrenner does have some power to bully the FBI. He is a member of the Judiciary Committee, the group that oversees the agency.
In his blind devotion to the President, Jim Sensenbrenner has jumped on the crazy train. He has bought into the wildest conspiracy theories of the far right. He is putting his crumbling party over our beloved country. His reckless partisan actions in attacking law enforcement are beyond the pale. He no longer acts for the good of America. He must be replaced in November.
Jim Sensenbrenner represents the most heavily Republican region of Wisconsin. His 5th Congressional District is redder than Mark Pocan's Madison-based district is blue. Jim won his last three elections by an average of thirty-eight points. In even the most epic blue election tidal wave imaginable, we have little hope of electing a Democrat in the 5th.
Our twenty-term Congressman has been in office since 1979.The year that our Congressman took his current job, the USSR invaded Afghanistan. Jimmy Carter was President. Kramer vs. Kramer was a box office hit. Magic Johnson met Larry Bird in the NCAA basketball finals. One of the top albums was Saturday Night Fever. Our world and country have drastically changed in all that time, but Jim Sensenbrenner still occupies our Congressional seat. And according to the Journal-Sentinel, he plans to be on the ballot yet again in 2018.
Still, Sensenbrenner was forced to face a Democratic challenger in every election since 2008. For the last four elections, we have had a progressive hero step forward to give voters some semblance of an electoral choice. And the 2018 election will be no different. With 424 days until the November 2018 election, we have not just one, but three Democrats who are announced candidates for the race.
In the order of their announcement, the three candidates are Shawn Rundblade, Ramon Hyron Garcia, and Thomas Palzewicz. If all three remain in the race, they will meet next year in the August 14 Democratic primary.
Shawn Rundblade announced his run last December. According to his website, Shawn has been a bagger at a grocery store, a pharmacy technician, a camera store manager, a warehouse worker, a home appliance delivery driver, and now he helps coordinate appliance deliveries. He also served as a volunteer fire fighter for seventeen years. Shawn does not have a college degree.
The 38 year old Waukesha resident calls himself a Berniecrat. His issues include single payer healthcare, getting money out of politics, education reform, and social equality. Shawn has pledged to accept no contributions from fossil fuel companies, but I can't image that he has had to return any yet. Shawn's campaign website can be found here, his LinkedIn page here, his Twitter page here, and his Facebook page here.
Ramon Hyron Garcia announced in May. According to his website, Ramon has worked as a hardware store manager, a foreman, and a hospital telemetry tech. He attended La Cordon Bleu in Chicago and does not have a college degree. Ramon has MS and is on SS Disability. He has written a book about living with MS, No More Depression. He is also a life coach.
The 40 year-old Ramon is also inspired by Bernie Sanders. Some of his major issues are a $15/hour minimum wage, universal healthcare, and an end to Citizens United. Ramon has several interesting in-car You-Tube videos, including this one that explains his candidacy. On his website, Ramon states that he did not vote in the last Presidential election. Ramon's campaign website is here, his Face Book page here, and his Twitter page here.
Yesterday, Tom Palzewicz announced his own candidacy for the 5th Congressional seat. Since 2005, Tom has been a co-owner of a business-consultancy franchise. In the past, he was a treasurer at a mortgage company and is a six-year Navy veteran, serving as an electrician aboard a submarine. Tom has a business degree (BBA) from UW-Milwaukee.
The 54 year-old Palzewicz lives in Brookfield. Among his major issues are affordable healthcare for all Americans, fighting climate change, and education. Tom has published a book, Consistent Cash Flow. I understand it is quite the page turner. Tom's campaign website is here, his Face Book page here, his Twitter page here, and his LinkedIn page here.
We are blessed to have three 2018 candidates who are running as Democrats against Jim Sensenbrenner. None of these men are professional politicians. Each comes to the race with interesting and real-world experiences. Any one of them would be a better Congressman than our current occupant. Any one of them would do a superior job at listening to the concerns of their constituents.
This blog does not endorse primary candidates. Make-up your own mind which one of these fine candidates to select in August. We encourage you to explore the campaign sites linked above, compare issue statements, and to go see the candidates in-person as the primary race heats-up.
