The 2020 War On Christmas?
Evers announces ornaments for Capitol 'holiday' tree. Will Republicans convene to condemn this?
Wisconsin Capitol holiday Christmas tree 2019. Photo by Melanie Conklin/Wisconsin Examiner.
Liberals, grab your holiday Starbucks cups and prepare to be politically correct.
On Friday, Gov. Tony Evers announced that “hope” would be the theme for the ornaments crafted by Wisconsin schoolchildren this winter, however he didn’t say Christmas — he called them holiday ornaments, which may run afoul of Republican legislative leaders, who last year accused Evers of “trying to exclude Christians from the holiday season.”
The Republicans in the Wisconsin State Legislature have been hunkered down in their trenches — not passing any bills as they wait for the COVID-19 pandemic to disappear — but Evers’ shot across the bow may stir them for another brutal and bloody battle in Wisconsin’s culture war.
Evers’ “holiday ornaments” will be handmade by students across the state and sent to veterans’ homes, hospitals and nursing homes because the State Capitol is closed due to the pandemic.
“Now more than ever, we all need hope. That’s why this year we are not only asking students to make holiday ornaments that celebrate hope and what it means to them, their families, and their communities, but celebrating that hope across our state,” Evers said in a statement. “I know that if we stay hopeful, celebrate Wisconsinites’ resilience, and continue to practice empathy and compassion, we are going to get through this together.”
Last year, Wisconsin’s War on Christmas was a brutal fight.
Evers announced the 2019 tree would be called a “holiday tree,” and that the tree’s theme was “science.”
“There is no other holiday where a decorated tree is used,” said Majority Leader Jim Steineke (R-Kaukauna). “It is synonymous with the birth of Christ. Just call it a Christmas tree.”
Last year, Republicans won a vote to call it the Capitol Christmas Tree. This year, if trends continue, it’s unlikely any votes will be held at all.
Hope-themed holiday ornaments must be mailed by Friday, Dec. 4.
Reprinted with permission of Wisconsin Examiner.
