Reps in the News: Manitowoc Residents Protest Marine Sanctuary Rescission

Governor Scott Walker

Gov. Walker was met by dozens of residents demonstrating their support for the former proposed Lake Michigan National Marine Sanctuary when he showed up Sunday as a guest to the Lincoln Day Dinner for the Manitowoc County Republican Party. People held signs saying “Save Our Sanctuary” in response to Walker rescinding the nomination to create the sanctuary for Lake Michigan in February. In a letter dated Feb. 27 explaining his reasoning, Walker said:  “We believe this designation would create further unnecessary bureaucratic red tape. The addition of another level of federal bureaucracy will not materially advance our shared commitment to protecting shipwrecks.”

Source:  Manitowoc Herald Times Report

Senator Tammy Baldwin

The past decade has been a slow-motion Republican conquest of Wisconsin. Gov. Scott Walker’s party now holds all but one of the statewide elected offices. The exclamation point for Republican rule in Wisconsin was Donald Trump’s victory, when he became the first Republican to carry the state since 1984. Now, Walker’s party has one last move to seize total control – take out Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin in her first re-election campaign this fall. Baldwin is the most prominent progressive left in the state, and Republican dollars are already pouring in to defeat her. Baldwin is seeing as much outside money spent against her as any other Senate Democrat, even though six or seven other Democrats are expected to face stiffer challenges and she still doesn’t have a set Republican opponent. With Walker overseeing the most radical state welfare cuts in the country and Speaker Paul Ryan shepherding through the most conservative agenda in a generation in the U.S. House, Baldwin seems like an incongruity in the Badger State. “A lot of people within the party feel: Why is Tammy Baldwin representing us when we’ve got Scott Walker, Ron Johnson and Paul Ryan?,” said a member of the Wisconsin Republican Party. “If Baldwin loses, you can say it’s officially a red state.”

Source:  vox.com

Senator Ron Johnson

In a recent appearance on CNN’s State of the Union, Sen. Johnson discussed the Trump administration’s tariffs and their impact on Wisconsin. “In Wisconsin, I just traveled the last two days talking to all kinds of folks, confidence had really been building. …We made American businesses more competitive. We gave real tax cuts to Wisconsinites and Americans. There’s really a growing level of optimism because we’re returning certainty to the American and Wisconsin economy. The talk of canceling NAFTA and now imposing these steel tariffs has just interjected uncertainty in the economy where it wasn’t necessary.  I’m really concerned that this is counterproductive.”

Source:  Johnson press release

President Donald Trump

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang appealed to Washington on Tuesday to “act rationally” and avoid disrupting trade over steel, technology and other disputes. He promised Beijing will “open even wider” to imports and investment. “No one will emerge a winner from a trade war,” said Li, the No. 2 Chinese leader. Li made no mention of a possible Chinese response if President Trump raises import barriers over trade complaints against Beijing. But other officials say President Xi Jinping’s government is ready to act. Now, Trump is reportedly considering tariffs on up to $60 billion of Chinese goods following an investigation into China’s trade practices. The tariffs could cover a wide range of imported goods: electronics; apparel and footwear; transportation equipment tied to planes, ships and rail. U.S. business groups have warned that might hurt American companies and consumers, while some fear Beijing might retaliate by cutting Chinese purchases of American jetliners, soybeans and other goods.

Source:  cbsnews.com