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Wisconsin's GOP gubernatorial candidate freaks after media reports on his anti-choice donations [1]
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Date: 2022-09-03
Associated Press:
Michels, a multimillionaire, this week reacted strongly to a story published by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel detailing charitable giving by he and his wife’s foundation, some of which went to anti-abortion groups and churches that have taken anti-gay positions. Since the story’s publication, Michels has gone after not just [Democratic Gov. Tony] Evers and Democrats, but also the Journal Sentinel and, more broadly, all reporters. “I believe people should just, just be ready to get out on the streets with pitchforks and torches with how low the liberal media has become,” Michels said Thursday on a conservative talk radio show. “People need to decide ‘Am I going to put up with this? Am I going to tolerate this, taking somebody that gives money to churches or cancer research and use that as a hit piece in the media?’ I’m appalled. It’s disgusting.”
So Wisconsin voters—several of whom have wombs—don’t deserve to know that Michels and his wife gave $250,000 to anti-LGBTQ and anti-abortion groups in just one year? He really thinks that’s out of bounds? Our side doesn’t even need to invent horror stories, like marauding caravans of Central American immigrants heading up to Green Bay to steal people’s salted butter pork rinds and blood pressure medication. Actual Republican policies are Human Centipede-level horror shows in and of themselves. All the media are doing is reporting on them.
In response to Michels’ inflammatory comments, Sam Roecker, a spokesperson for Evers, tweeted, “Instead of explaining why he’s funding groups working to ban access to abortion and contraception, Tim Michels is encouraging violence. He’s too radical for Wisconsin.”
x Instead of explaining why he’s funding groups working to ban access to abortion and contraception, Tim Michels is encouraging violence. He’s too radical for Wisconsin.
https://t.co/6TWGovIUey — Sam Roecker (@SamRoecker) September 2, 2022
Now, normally a “pitchforks and torches” reference would seem fairly anodyne, but given Trumpies’ demonstrated penchant for encouraging, excusing, and participating in violence, it’s at the very least worrying.
Of course, Michels almost immediately rushed to the last refuge of the Republican scoundrel—blaming the media for fair and accurate reporting.
On his website, Michels wrote a whiny rebuttal that didn’t actually rebut much of anything:
The corrupt media is trying to make our charitable giving, and our faith, into something malicious. It’s appalling. While I’m a candidate for public office and the subject of this particular hit piece, we should all be troubled by this unbelievable and unprecedented attack on private charity and religious activity. The left may think that only Big Government can do good works, but you and I know just how important and instrumental private charities are to the fabric of our way of life. Are your private charitable contributions the media’s next target?
Hmm, are my private charitable contributions the Journal Sentinel’s next target? Only if I run for governor of Wisconsin and donate generously to anti-gay bigots and anti-choice womb-bats. Of course, the obvious question for Michels is, if he’s so proud of these donations, why is he so upset that the media are “exposing” them? Well, maybe because a substantial chunk of that money is going to people who want to punish 12-year-old rape victims for the sins of their uncles.
One donation, the Journal Sentinel reported, went to Miami’s Christ Fellowship, whose pastor has said calls for rape and incest exceptions in abortion law are based on “deceptive reasoning.” Michels and his wife also gave $50,000 to a Pewaukee, Wisconsin, church whose pastor says people who’ve had an abortion need forgiveness and that allowing transgender children to choose their own bathrooms is “awful.”
How are those donations not relevant? They show exactly what issues Michels would prioritize as governor.
Of course, Republicans across the country are now scurrying like mad away from their past positions on abortion, going so far as to remove or tone down pro-life messages on their websites. Meanwhile, the promised red wave has slowed to a Don Jr. Friday night nose trickle, if that.
We have these bastards on the run. If you care about democracy and human (as opposed to blastocystene) rights, maybe a donation to Tony Evers would make sense for you. Don’t worry, the Journal Sentinel is unlikely to do an exposé on your charitable giving, no matter what Michels says.
Check out Aldous J. Pennyfarthing’s four-volume Trump-trashing compendium, including the finale, Goodbye, Asshat: 101 Farewell Letters to Donald Trump, at this link. Or, if you prefer a test drive, you can download the epilogue to Goodbye, Asshat for the low, low price of FREE.
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[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/9/3/2120603/-Wisconsin-s-GOP-gubernatorial-candidate-freaks-after-media-reports-on-his-anti-choice-donations
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