They wouldn’t fight the fire: 296 days (and counting) of GOP inaction leaves us all burned
Milwaukee, WI – “296 days. That’s how long it’s been since the Republican-controlled legislature last passed a bill that became law. For a full-time legislature like Wisconsin’s it’s pretty hard to believe. One might be forgiven for wondering if George Webb’s has offered some sort of hamburger promotion if they can hit 300.
“While the unemployment rate sits 2.4 percentage points above pre-pandemic levels, and over 68,000 more people are out of work compared to March of last year, Republicans seem fine with the status quo.
“While the pandemic has seen 546,000 cases, 24,000 hospitalizations, and just under 6,000 deaths, Republicans seem more concerned about preventing lawsuits against businesses and repealing the mask mandate than helping make our state well again.
“If COVID-19 were a wildfire, it would have covered almost 10% of the state by now, and instead of getting the buckets of water ready, my GOP colleagues keep drilling holes in them and blaming Governor Evers for the leakage. By voting to end the mask mandate yesterday, the very first piece of legislation both houses agreed on was one that would directly put our neighbors’ lives at risk. Thankfully, our Governor intervened before it took effect.
“As we saw from the leaked emails from the Assembly Majority leader this week, the default position of the party in power is to delay, deflect, and cast aspersions. We were all elected with a job to do. I, for one, am sick of trying to work with both hands tied behind my back. With new variants of the virus in our state that spread more easily and may prove more deadly, that 10% infection rate will be just the beginning if we don’t get serious and work together in a bipartisan fashion very soon.
“I applaud Governor Evers for his pledge to veto this mutant AB1, and I hope the legislature will get quickly to work on true COVID relief for our schools, the unemployed, our families, and local businesses.”
More about the Coronavirus Pandemic
- WI Daily: 747 New COVID-19 Cases - Urban Milwaukee - Feb 24th, 2021
- State Creates 4 Community Vaccine Clinics - Megan Hart - Feb 24th, 2021
- State Vaccination Rate Increasing - Graham Kilmer - Feb 24th, 2021
- Wisconsin’s Emergency Powers Laws in Urgent Need of Reform - Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty - Feb 24th, 2021
- Souls to the Polls Urges Sen. Johnson to Vote ‘Yes’ on COVID-19 Relief Bill in the U.S. Senate - Souls to the Polls Milwaukee - Feb 24th, 2021
- WI Daily: 566 New COVID-19 Cases - Urban Milwaukee - Feb 23rd, 2021
- Gov. Evers Orders Flags to Half-Staff to Honor the More Than 6,300 Wisconsinites and 500,000 Americans Lost to COVID-19 - Gov. Tony Evers - Feb 23rd, 2021
- WI Daily: 423 New COVID-19 Cases - Urban Milwaukee - Feb 22nd, 2021
- Supervisor Goodwin Calls on Legislature and Governor Evers to Enact Wisconsin Stimulus Package - Sup. Shawn Rolland - Feb 22nd, 2021
- WI Daily: 403 New COVID-19 Cases - Urban Milwaukee - Feb 21st, 2021
Read more about Coronavirus Pandemic here