Saturday, January 15, 2022

After Republicans starve Cities into reducing number of Police, now want to solve problem they created with money they can't spend.

The Gift: Low Information Votes: What a party. 

1. Republicans don't have to do anything because they say the government should be smaller. 

2. Their voters don't "follow the news" so all they get are a few misleading headlines to read.

For over ten years, Republicans have done nothing to attract people to the state, except run ads in Illinois. Yea, that worked out well. One far-right troll pointed out the population in WI did increase. That's like taking credit for the sun rising in the east because you said it would.  

Raising wages would be a start, but that's never going to happen...except if you're in law enforcement. Weird huh, more money will attract people to become officers, but for everyone else, not so much. 

Pay Police More, with Money they Can't Spend: No really, they're doing this.

Keep in mind, all Wisconsin Republicans pictured here...

...opposed the ARPA COVID relief money that Vos-Republicans now want to spend. Worse, they're trying to shift the blame to the Democrats for downsized departments, even though Republicans decreased shared revenues to local governments, who then had to cut local police forces statewide. 

Republican Rep. Will Penterman, trying to blame the Democrats, inadvertently admitted (in the yellow highlight below) that the downsizing of police departments started under Scott Walker:

Unfortunately, crime is on the rise in Wisconsin and the total number of law enforcement officers on our streets is at the lowest level in a decade. We are introducing a bill to reverse this trend of rising crime and police officers leaving the force.”

Now Vos-Republicans want to reverse this problem, one they created, by using ONE-TIME COVID MONEY they never wanted? God, you can't make this stuff up. Here's Democratic Rep. David Bowen: 

The ‘Supporting Law Enforcement’ package released today by Republican legislators is the clearest example of what false support looks like...

1. Republicans drafted these bills in secret

2. Republicans are pitting law enforcement against the Governor and municipalities by promising officers and departments financial support using money that they have no control over. In what way is that a serious proposal? 

3. Republicans are sitting on control of nearly $2 billion in general purpose funding, but instead (of raising shared revenue) are choosing to play political games.

Democrat Rep. Gordon Hintz agreed:

"Republicans are proposing using one-time COVID funds to fund local law enforcement at roughly half the amount Governor Evers proposed since he was elected in 2018and that Republicans voted against."

Republican Authoritarian Control Coming Together: In conjunction with the Jan. 6the efforts to remake the country in their image, Republicans also want the power to use No-Knock search warrants, maybe to search local bloggers' homes...:

The governor is unlikely to support one bill that would bar local elected officials, police chiefs and sheriffs, and fire and police commissioners, from banning no-knock search warrants either by ordinance or policy.

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