These candidates are better choices for moving us forward
Oct. 2, 2024
Published in the Sawyer County Record, Hayward, Wis., Author: Mary Vitcenda, Exeland, Wis.

Living in the southern end of Sawyer County, I see lots of signs for Trump and other Republican candidates. I believe there are better choices for the good of people in our area, namely Kamala Harris for president, Tim Walz for vice president, Tammy Baldwin for U.S. Senate, Kyle Kilbourn for the 7th Congressional District, and Jeanne Bruce for the 74th District Wisconsin Assembly seat.

These progressive candidates support policies that will benefit all of us in Sawyer County. These candidates are committed to protecting our environment and ensuring we have clean water. They pledge to better fund our public schools, protect our voting rights, and strengthen rural health care services. These candidates also support access to reproductive services free from government intrusion. And none of them would cut Social Security or Medicare.

Wisconsinites agree with our progressive candidates in one public opinion poll after another. More than two-thirds of us favor more funding for public schools and oppose cuts to Social Security and Medicare. More than 70 percent of us also opposed overturning Roe v. Wade. It’s astonishing that our progressive candidates must fight to accomplish what should be the goal of every one of our elected representatives.

Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, Tammy Baldwin, Kyle Kilbourn, and Jeanne Bruce all offer hope for a better future for everyone and understand we must work together to achieve it. Think about this when you cast your ballot this fall. These candidates are better choices to move us all forward.

We need a serious leader like Kyle Kilbourn
Sept. 26, 2024
Published in the Ladysmith News, Ladysmith, Wis., Author: Mary Vitcenda, Exeland, Wis.

Those of us who live in northwestern Wisconsin desperately need a serious leader who understands the challenges we face in the 7th Congressional District. We need a leader who will bring fresh, energetic leadership to Congress.

Kyle Kilbourn will be that serious leader. He is the candidate we need to elect this November. 

Kyle Kilbourn will work to keep our air and water clean. The incumbent representative, Tom Tiffany, does the opposite. He consistently opposes conservation measures and environmental protections. For example, he has voted to cut spending for environmental programs to their lowest levels in decades, including a 40 percent cut for the Environmental Protection Agency. (Maybe that’s why he’s often called Toxic Tom).

Kyle Kilbourn also will protect Social Security and Medicare. Compare that withTiffany, who helped write a Republican plan to raise the retirement age for Social Security. He also helped write a Republican budget that would gut Medicare by slashing billions of dollars from the program.

Medicare currently provides a guaranteed level of payment for doctor visits and hospital coverage. Tiffany supports making Medicare a voucher plan in which those guarantees would disappear. Vouchers would lead to reduced coverage, annual and lifetime caps, higher deductibles, and skyrocketing cost increases.

If you believe our Congressional representative should work on policies to help us thrive, rather than spend most of his time stoking fear, hate, and culture wars like Tiffany—vote for Kyle Kilbourn in November. (And remember you can vote early, too.)

No time for games—Vote ‘No’ on state constitutional amendments
July 18, 2024
Published in the Ladysmith News, Ladysmith, Wis., Author: Mary Vitcenda, Exeland, Wis.

Did you know a big election is coming up this year? In November, of course! But there’s an election on August 13 that’s also important to your community and your future.

There are two questions on the August ballot which, if passed, will change the state constitution for the worse. I’m voting no on both questions, and I urge other voters throughout Wisconsin to do the same.

A yes vote on these constitutional amendment questions would give the legislature sole authority over the distribution of federal money. A yes vote would also take the governor out of the picture. And that’s dangerous. Why?

Because the majority of legislators spend more time playing partisan games than governing. They gavel in and gavel out without working for our communities. For example:

  • ·         The legislature refused the governor’s call for a special session to take action during the Covid-19 crisis. Luckily, Gov. Evers was able to get $20 billion distributed to communities in need during the crisis.

  • ·         The legislature continues to refuse Medicaid expansion money—money that could insure up to 89,000 more Wisconsin residents.

  • ·         And just this year, the legislature blocked money to get toxic chemicals out of our water and tried to block the way money could be spent to keep hospitals from closing.

Clearly, the legislature plays games instead of helping our communities when they’re in need. So make your voice heard. Let’s come together and vote no on Aug. 13.  

Vote for the man who honors vets
June 6, 2024
Published in the Sawyer County Record, Hayward, WIs. Author: Mary Vitcenda, Exeland, Wis.

We just observed Memorial Day, which honors soldiers who died in war. June 6th will be the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings along the Normandy coast during World War II.

At this time, and during this election year when our thoughts turn to what kind of leadership we want, it’s appropriate to ask a painful, but necessary question: What did these soldiers die for?

Abraham Lincoln provides an answer in the Gettysburg Address, when he says the soldiers who died in that battle gave their lives so “this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.”

Many Americans say “freedom” in response to the question about why our soldiers died in World War II. Or in the wars that followed, misguided though some of those conflicts might have been. So they understand part of Lincoln’s words.

But sadly, because of what I see in today’s divisive politics, I fear many Americans have lost sight of the rest of Lincoln’s remarks. I fear that many Americans have forgotten the idea of America, and the Constitution on which it was founded.

In remarks on Memorial Day, President Biden said the “truest memorial” to fallen soldiers are “the actions we take every day to ensure that our democracy endures—that the very idea of America endures.”

One action we can take is to vote in November for the presidential candidate who understands that our soldiers sacrificed their lives to preserve our freedom and our Constitution. We can also vote for the presidential candidate who pays tribute to the men and women of our military, not the one who disparages them.

President Biden says “May God protect our troops” at the end of every speech he gives. But according to John Kelly, Donald Trump’s former chief of staff, and other reliable sources, Trump called soldiers who died in World War II “suckers and losers.” Only one candidate truly honors the sacrifices of our military and is qualified to be our commander in chief, and that is President Biden.

Are Trump and Tiffany on your side?
Feb. 8, 2024
Published in the Ladysmith News, Ladysmith, Ladysmith, WIs. Author: Tom Vitcenda, Exeland, Wis.

Here’s a question for my fellow 7th CD citizens: Are Donald Trump and Tom Tiffany really working for you? Are they really on your side? Let’s look at some recent words and actions from these two candidates and decide.

Trump’s line

Trump said he hopes the U.S. economy crashes before the election so he can blame Biden and (he thinks) get back in the White House. Does an economic downturn, and all the suffering it would bring, help you?

Trump said he’ll be a dictator on day one of his hoped-for second term to prosecute, imprison, or even execute anyone he says is an enemy of his administration. Putting aside the issue of whether that’s a normal position for a U.S. presidential candidate to take—Does punishing political enemies help you?

Trump asked Republicans in Congress to oppose the bipartisan border security bill so Biden doesn’t get any credit for solving the problem. In other words, Trump doesn’t want to solve border issues; he just wants to blame Democrats for them. Again—does failure to implement more common sense border policies and control drug flow across the border help you?

Tiffany’s line

Not to be outdone by Trump, Tom Tiffany has voted against every bill that had input from Democrats. The bills that Tiffany has opposed include the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (which includes a $1 billion grant to replace the Blatnik Bridge between Superior and Duluth), the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, and (wait for it) the Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act. That last vote is rich, given all of Tiffany’s whining about high gas prices.

As of late January, the U.S. House is refusing to advance a bipartisan border bill that many Republicans support, with some even saying it’s the best chance they’ll have to make some repairs to our broken immigration system. Given Tiffany’s past behavior, it’s probably safe to say he wouldn’t support the border bill if and when it comes to a House vote.

That would be interesting wouldn’t it? Watching Tiffany squirm about his choices. Should he vote for the bill and lose his big talking points about Biden’s so-called “open borders” and fentanyl smuggling across the border? Or should he vote against the bill along with his fellow Freedom Caucus members? If he chose the second option, well, that would just be more proof that he’s not out to help you.

It would also be more proof that Tiffany is all talk and no action. More proof that he’s not serious about governing (or representing constituents outside the MAGA cult)—and just wants to fight culture wars.

Think for yourself

Now, you don’t have to take my word for all this. If you want to see how Tiffany operates, I suggest you attend one of his town hall meetings. There you will hear with your own ears his constant mantra of division, mistrust of institutions, and outright hatred of government and government employees. Not to mention his unwillingness to listen to anything that comes close to another point of view.

I have been to two of his events and found them to be negative, divisive, condescending, and even bullying. Bottom line: Keep an eye on Trump and Tiffany. Listen to what they say. Watch what they do—and what they don’t do. Then ask yourself: Are they looking out for me and the best interests of the country? Or are they just looking out for themselves and their own interests?