Letter to the Editor: Democracy Must Work for People

Rep. Kitchens’ recent survey is written with a bias. It’s not an honest attempt to get our views. He does not ask about gerrymandering, voter suppression or gun legislation – all huge issues. 

We deserve fair maps, not party biased. Voter-suppression legislation, already proposed in Wisconsin, is an attempt to rein in our constitutional right and again bias an election to favor a party. Gun legislation is an absolute must. Recent statistics show more than 70% of Americans, including the majority of NRA members, believe in mandatory background checks. Banning high-capacity magazines and certain weapons is my must. No good guy with a gun would have killed a bad guy with a gun (the NRA position) at Sandy Hook, Columbine, Las Vegas, the Pulse nightclub, Pittsburgh synagogue and more.

As for “public benefits” and drug testing, the bias is obvious in using the term “welfare.” How many people has Kitchens spoken with who are receiving public assistance? When? Where? For how long? And drug screening for unemployment? I have twice in my long career in health care administration been ousted when there was an ownership change. My employment search was for a position that would provide a salary close to what I had been receiving, and although never a drug user, how could I have afforded drugs when I was just trying to pay for the basics? The assumption is scathing.

Infrastructure is important, so back Biden’s plan and get to work in Wisconsin. Education is part of that, and we’ve learned during the past year that all children learn differently. Let educators figure that out, and legislators should stay out. And let’s fix the history books to include real history, not the whitewashed version.

I grew up in a GOP household in the ’50s and ’60s, but since Reagan, I became an independent and then a Democrat. I support programs that give people a hand up and treat them as worthy and valuable. I want democracy to survive with a reasonable social-support system and work for all people.

Kathy Wagner

Sister Bay, Wisconsin