I really do hate politics. I have many Christ follower friends that completely stay out of politics. I also have Christian friends that are very involved. I find managing my spiritual health when discussing politics to be of utmost importance. I believe that political involvement is a necessary task in order to be a responsible community leader. I also believe that our level of involvement is unique to each individual. Christ teaches us to go out into the world and be apostles, prophets, evangelists, teachers and shepherds.
History of This Assembly Race
So Congressional and State Assembly districts are drawn up by the Wisconsin Legislature. The population of these districts is noted from the census. In this case, it was the 2020 census.
It is estimated that between eleven and twenty Democrat seats in the House are a direct result of counting non-citizens in the census. I believe this is by design.
Another important factor in drawing lines for the legislature is that urban areas typically (always) have higher voter turnout. This higher voter turnout is due to a number of factors, primarily that it is simply easier to walk around an urban area to get voters than it is a rural area; however with that comes unethical and illegal election activities such as ballot harvesting and fraud.
So imagine Wisconsin (overall) is roughly 50/50 D/R. Now imagine that urban areas are 90% D.
When a Republican legislature draws lines, they have the ability (and often do) to use this concentration in urban areas to their advantage. Also, some of this happens naturally. So a Madison Assembly seat is often in an assembly district that may be ~80% democrat voters. Now imagine rural districts are typically 55% Republican.
This mix is why the Republicans have controlled the Wisconsin Assembly and Senate for quite a while.
I have been okay with this. To me, it is a check and balance for the obvious election shenanigans in Madison and Milwaukee.
So for many years, local progressives have had up these “gerrymandering” signs up. I always felt these signs simply showed who the most zealous progressives were.
Then came along several mishaps by conservatives in Wisconsin. Dan Kelly wasn’t elected (twice) as some RINOs claimed he was too conservative. Same goes for Tim Michels. Michels didn’t get the support he should have gotten from moderates.
Well, my humble opinion… the cost of the apathy from RINOs was that conservatives lost a pretty overwhelming majority in the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Then the Supreme Court redrew lines for the Assembly. And, if you don’t know, each Wisconsin Senate Seat is basically three assembly districts. This action by the WI Supreme Court was unethical and easily unconstitutional. They claimed racism, but it was solely about power.
So the lines were redrawn, and Whitewater resulted in a district that is 55%+ Democrat. And thus, a very likely opportunity for Brienne Brown to represent in the Assembly.
As an aside to this, next year (I believe) the Wisconsin Supreme Court has another election. This election is likely to flip the Supreme Court back. If this happens, expect the Assembly lines to go back to the original, constitutional boundaries.
Scott Johnson has been in the assembly for a while and he’s a solid Republican vote. He is a bit of a moderate and is fairly pro-life. I have met him. He’s fine.
Brienne Brown is on the Whitewater City Council and active in a number of community orgs. I am going to address my concerns with Brown here. I will add that she is relatively pleasant with me. Personally I have no issue with her.
If she wants to address my comments here, I will print whatever message or response she wants. The comments I add here are based on open records requests that have been shared.
There is a packet circulating via email regarding a number of concerns with Brown. I am simply going to bullet point them here:
- Brown’s property taxes went unpaid for several years while Whitewater city taxes have gone up considerably (mine went up 42%).
- Brown claims to be an epidemiologist; however she holds only a bachelor’s degree in Journalism
- Brown claimed during the LWV debate that she taught Ethics. She only teaches Yoga part time at the university.
There is a lot more, but these three are the big three in my humble opinion. The remainder appears to be embelishment of her resume.
My only comment from above is with regard to the claim to teach Ethics. That LWV debate was on a Saturday. The following Monday the open records was shared. When an open records is taking place on a public official, they are made aware. So I assume Brown was made aware of the open records at the university when she claimed to teach Ethics. It’s very odd.
With Brown at the helm of the Whitewater Gro Co, I really take exception to their coming request for potentially millions from taxpayers. How about getting your hands dirty, opening a little shop (like the multiple small grocery stores we have in downtown) and learning and growing.
Abortion
I am going to hit the abortion issue here in similar manner to the gerrymandering diatribe I have above.
First and foremost, I cannot imagine killing a baby. I believe it is the worst possible evil in which a society can engage.
There is a lot of bricks on the path that led us to killing innocent babies. The breakdown of the family, feminism, the chasing of idols, sexual impurity and gender dysmporphia are some of these bricks in this path.
What most people do not know are the numbers. The numbers are why abortion has turned into such a hot topic for Democrats.
By the time a young woman graduates from a university, there is just under a ~50% chance she will have had an abortion.
Didn’t know that? Well, this one will blow you away… two-thirds of these abortions are with the “morning after pill”.
Technology. Isn’t it wonderful? That whole sexual revolution thing has come full circle.
STDs are quite prominent at the university as well. Imagine that.
After Roe v Wade was overturned, I was told by a young lady that UWW professors were giving information to college girls on how to bypass the Wisconsin abortion laws that were in place.
The answer to abortion is at a personal level. I am a follower of Christ. I believe our life here is short. When I hear of Christ followers (moms) with cancer, that refuse chemo so their baby can survive. And some die for their children.
The personal level for sexuality is to be holy. Treat your body as a temple to God.
My prayer is for every man and woman to treat their sexuality as holy.
Anyways, I told Brown I was going to write about abortion. I told her that I assumed that there was no abortion for which she did not support. She did not respond.
That is simply not acceptable to me.
Equal Opportunity Committee
I write this respectfully. Brienne Brown has been the lead for the Equal Opportunity Committee for Whitewater for years. She has held the power to make changes, request funds, and such.
I have attended these committee meetings as a citizen, off and on, for years. Nothing ever gets done. The meetings are often canceled or last five minutes with no agenda or quorum.
This is a continuing opportunity lost.
My endorsement of Scott Johnson
I was not going to endorse Scott Johnson. He is in a heavy D district and quite honestly, I hope to work with Brown should she get elected. However with the revelations discussed above, respectfully I believe Brown should focus on getting her house in order. I am endorsing Scott Johnson.
I wish both candidates luck and I pray for wisdom for candidates and voters.
I have much love for Whitewater and wish everyone peace and love.
-mike
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Discerning Whitewater 