Letter to the Editor: Democrats Do Vote for Us

There’s been much attention paid to the “Vote for Democrats. They vote for us” sign campaign in Door, Brown and Kewaunee counties. It has spread beyond the tri-county area as people from across the state and country have requested how they could share this message in their hometowns. 

This message is a unifying show of support about what the Democratic Party stands for. In an opinion piece on Oct. 21, the editor of the Peninsula Pulse, Debra Fitzgerald, viewed them differently and said that she “interprets these signs as a kind of concession.” What the signs do say is that Democrats are working for the common good as demonstrated by their votes on legislation. 

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson withheld his “yes” vote on the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act unless the bill included a tax break for companies called “pass-throughs.” These breaks Johnson advocated for overwhelmingly benefited the wealthiest over small businesses. Multiple analyses show America’s millionaires and billionaires are receiving large chunks of those benefits, including Ron Johnson himself. 

In another example, every Senate Democrat voted for the historically important and fiscally necessary infrastructure bill; every Republican voted “no.” No, thanks – those are not votes for us.

At the state level, every Democrat voted against André Jacque’s bill to ban books and strip educators’ freedom to use words such as “white supremacy” and “abolitionist.” Thank you, Democrats, for your “no” votes on this harmful legislation. 

These are just a few examples of many bills that show how Democrats vote for us, the average voters.

The candidates on the Democratic ticket include a Marquette Law School graduate, a nurse with a bioagricultural science degree and 14 years’ experience in local government (useful in District 1), and a lieutenant governor with state Assembly experience. No, Ms. Fitzgerald: The blue signs are not an admission that we don’t have strong candidates. The Democratic Party steadfastly supports each of our candidates up and down the ballot!

The Democrats are voting for the average voter. The Republicans are not.

Diane Slivka

Forestville, Wisconsin