Be Wary of Pretenders Masquerading as Conservative Voices

 

Voters represented by Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos are trying to recall him. Vos was elected to the legislature in 2004 and has been Assembly Speaker since 2013. His visibility as Speaker has made all Wisconsinites aware of who he is and how he operates. He has shown us that he is exactly the type of career politician we have to oust if we want to take our state and country back.

 

Vos tried to discredit the recall effort from the start. A mailer was sent to the voters in his district alleging that the recall is being orchestrated by out of state operators. It warned, “Grifters and con men are descending on Racine County.”  The leader of the recall is Matt Snorek, a resident of Burlington and this is a grassroots effort. The recallers had to collect 6,850 valid signatures by March 11. On March 11 they submitted over 10,000 signatures to the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC). If the required number of signatures survives the WEC review, a primary election will occur within 60 days from submission.

 

Recalls of elected officials are uncommon and the Vos recall has been complicated by a number of events. Last December, the liberal-majority Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled the Wisconsin legislative maps are unconstitutional. They ordered them not to be used in another election. In February, the Legislature and Governor Tony Evers agreed on new maps for use beginning in the November elections. This left a “legislative limbo” between the Supreme Court decision in December and the November implementation date for new maps. Vos currently represents the 63rd District. His term is over at year end. He resides in the 33rd District on the new maps and, if he runs for reelection, he will have a new group of constituents. Evers asked the Supreme Court to address which district will be used for the recall and they declined.

 

The WEC met on March 12 to work through the details of the recall.

 

Regardless of the outcome of the Vos recall, it presents an important opportunity to shine a light on how difficult it is to access objective, truthful information, and the threat the dishonest media poses to our freedom. There is a sharp contrast between how two media personalities, Joe Giganti and Dan O’Donnell, approached the recall.

 

Joe Giganti is a conservative talk show host broadcasting out of Green Bay on weekday mornings. He aggressively pursues the truth on behalf of his listeners and doesn’t hesitate to expose what politicians from both parties are up to. He’s open to conflicting points of view and provides his listeners with information they need to understand issues and make good decisions.

 

On March 8, he hosted Garrett Ziegler, former Associate Director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy during the Trump Administration. Ziegler shared his research on the State Legislative Leaders Foundation (SLLF). Vos is Vice Chair of SLLF. The segment provided factual information about the relationship of SLLF to the Chinese Peoples’ Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), the public face of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Work Department. The discussion highlighted China’s desire to use a “soft touch” to get a “firm grip” in our country and questions about Vos’s alleged disregard of the best interests of our state as well as personal enrichment in his service to the SLLF. Exposing his audience to guests who are willing to go on the record with what they know enables Giganti’s listeners to take the necessary next steps in doing their own research and drawing their own conclusions.

 

Dan O’Donnell professes to be a conservative and hosts a weekday show out of Milwaukee. He presents himself as an authority on most subjects and does not tolerate different points of view well. He spent last week disparaging the recall effort. He took a snide swipe at Snorek’s admission that the collection of signatures was a daunting task and he could not exert control over every person involved in the process. O’Donnell joked about signature collectors intercepting old ladies outside of Costco and tricking them into signing. He expressed “my very strong contention this would be an unlawful recall election” due to the Supreme Court’s December decision. He made no mention of the Wisconsin Constitution’s Article 13, Section 12  on recalls which states, “This section shall be self-executing and mandatory. Laws may be enacted to facilitate its operation but no law shall be enacted to hamper, restrict, or impair the right of recall.” 

 

O’Donnell presented all the reasons he believes the recall is a bad idea. The Vos recall people have no candidate to run against him and if Vos is recalled from a district that no longer exists, the 33rd District will have no incumbent. The recall would, at best, last for a few months at a time when the Republican caucus is critical to retaining majorities in both houses. Candidate recruitment, funding candidates, and electoral strategy will all be essential and if Vos is focused on his survival he can’t do that work. O’Donnell discounted the legitimate reasons the constituents want Vos out. When a caller expressed concern about Vos’s involvement in the SLLF, O’Donnell immediately dismissed it as nothing more than a harmless “sister city” type of connection.

 

On Tuesday O’Donnell introduced a number of individuals who said their names were forged on recall petitions. He speculated the Vos recallers may be involved in the serious crime of conspiracy to commit election fraud and expressed amusement at this idea since election integrity is one of their major concerns. He gave no consideration to other explanations. When I ended my run as an independent candidate for Governor in September 2022, supporters of Tony Evers spent well over $1 million on a campaign urging conservative voters to vote for me as the “true conservative”, knowing I was no longer a candidate. This was a scheme to dupe conservatives into pulling votes from Republican Tim Michels to reelect Tony Evers. Politics is a dirty business and interference in the recall from Vos and his allies is as plausible as illegal activities from the recall petitioners.

 

O’Donnell summed up his analysis of Matt Snorek by saying he’s “not the brightest person in the world” and the recall effort as an “unhinged personal vendetta.” He pronounced himself an “investigative reporter” and a “sycophant for truth.“

 

Giganti and O’Donnell are as different as night and day. Giganti follows the truth where it leads in defense of freedom and conservative principles. His allegiance is to no person or party. O’Donnell is a mouthpiece for the Republican Party, a defender of the status quo, and a deceiver who twists the truth to mislead. He will be no help in pursuing the meaningful change people want to see. A harsh assessment? Yes, but drawn from my firsthand experiences with both men.

 

As an Independent candidate for Governor in 2022, Joe Giganti invited me on his show, in studio, for a full hour. He introduced me to his audience. He was tough but fair and he included his listeners and their questions in the conversation. His objective was to expose his listeners to who I am and how I would govern. His producer, Steve Schroeder, who has a weekly show of his own, invited me in studio for a full hour, as well, with the same objective and spirit of fairness.

 

Dan O’Donnell has never spoken a word to me. His attack on me began at the onset of my campaign. He said I had no business running for Governor because I would never be more than a spoiler. He talked about me on a number of occasions but never invited me onto his show to allow his listeners to evaluate me for themselves. He lied about me by withholding the parts of my resume that most qualified me to be Governor. He limited his characterization of me to a “retired nurse,” which I am. He never mentioned my nearly 30 years as a Vice President for Patient Care and Chief Nursing Officer for a large, complex hospital, responsible for a $200 million budget and producing some of the best outcomes in the country.

 

He crossed the line when I started running radio ads on his station. He was outraged that I could afford to buy time on his program and suggested to his audience that my campaign was “inexplicably well-funded.”  I objected in a letter to Jerry Bott, Director of Programming and Operations at the radio station. O’Donnell told his audience I sent him a “very nasty letter.”  An honest man would have read it to his audience and let them judge for themselves. Here is what it said:

 

“On Tuesday, July 12, on the Dan O’Donnell Show, Mr. O’Donnell referred to my campaign as being “inexplicably well-funded”. His suggestion to his audience that my campaign is nefariously paid for crossed an ethical line. As I’m sure Mr. O’Donnell is aware, every candidate’s funding is publicly reported through the Wisconsin Ethics Commission. My campaign is completely grass roots supported, and my finance reports are available for public view. The right thing for you to do is to have Dan correct the record for his audience the next time he is on the air. Thank you.”

 

Robin Vos and many career politicians like him have to be replaced if we are to take our country back. It is going to be a long, tough battle. Our access to accurate information is crucial and reliable sources are scarce. Members of the media who have become extensions of politicians and political parties shirk their primary duty to be guardians of truth. A microphone or “pen” in the hands of the wrong person is a dangerous weapon. Be wary of pretenders masquerading as conservative voices.