Remember to be skeptical of political advertising

By Karen Parker

County Line Publisher Emerita

I saw it only one time, and now I am beginning to doubt that it actually happened. It was a film clip of a big, lovable dog leaning out the car window, his ears flopping in the breeze. It was the kind of dog whose joy is so infectious it even makes people happy. 

After a minute or two, a voice said, “Relief from political advertising.” 

I don’t watch a lot of local news, but I have found WKBT Channel 8 has the most thorough local coverage. I suspect, however, that the underlings might have been sent to the doghouse after that bit of humor aired. 

After all, television stations are cleaning up as Wisconsin’s Senate and governor’s race are closely watched nationwide. Democrats think Ron Johnson is vulnerable and his loss could give them a majority in the Senate. 

Millions of dollars are being spent to tell us what? That Mandela Barnes’ mother was a teacher and his dad worked third shift? How many times must I see Derrick Van Orden lace up his Navy Seal boots before I am convinced that a skilled boot-lacer is the best choice for Congress? 

We have had the Copper Age and the Stone Age. We are now in the Mean Age, and nowhere is it more manifested than in political advertising. Instead of telling us what they stand for or what their goals are, they mostly sling mud.  

Ron Johnson’s advertising, as well as Tim Michels’, tries to convince us that their opponents will unleash a wave of crime. Stoking fear won the presidency for Ronald Reagan back in 1980. One of the reasons it worked is that the average citizen is largely clueless about how government works. As a senator, Mandela Barnes would have exactly the same amount of control over bail, bonds and sentencing as Ron Johnson has now. Which is exactly zero.

Yes, left to his own devices, Tony Evers will march right over to Waupun with a big key, stick it in the door, and release a flood of violent criminals into the street. And Mandela Barnes would take away the bail system.

First off, we would have to arrest Tony Evers for violating Wisconsin’s truth-in-sentencing law, which states any person who commits a felony offense on or after Dec. 31, 1999, and is sentenced to at least one year in prison will not be eligible for parole. They are generally required to serve the entire sentence imposed by the court, with some exceptions for early release. Offenders who violate prison rules may have additional days added to the confinement portion of their sentence.

Of course, Tony could always get the law changed. Fat chance with the current Republican legislature, which met this year only from January through March. When the governor calls them into special session, they immediately gavel out. 

As for Mandela Barnes’ plans to eliminate bail, bail is the exclusive priority of each judge or magistrate. Some follow a schedule; others do not. Barnes would be quite the powerful senator if he could control every Wisconsin judge from Washington.

The trouble with all this fearmongering is that our justice system needs reform and we never have a serious conversation about it. Too many people are sitting in prison for minor offenses, many of which have no victims. What happens to prisoners sitting in jail for marijuana possession in states where the drug has now become legal? 

I shudder to think how many voters go to the polls based on nothing more than yard signs or commercials. They don’t realize that there is no such thing as truth in advertising when it comes to politics. Republican or Democrat, they lie with equal enthusiasm. 

Informed voters will do their own research. What, you say you don’t have time? Elections have consequences. Our area sent Ron Kind to Congress for 20 years. This year, he slipped a little $1.6 million in flood recovery funds into the budget for Ontario. It was interesting to watch the Ontario Village Board wringing their hands in glee, figuring out how to spend it. Considering they are mostly Trump supporters, and at least one prominently displays a Van Orden sign on his lawn, I waited for someone to leap to their feet and say, “We can’t take this money … it’s wasteful government spending!”

Sort of like Van Orden, who called the American Rescue Plan “a reckless spending bill that funds blue state bailouts.” And then the organization he works with (The Rosie Network) took $170,000 in federal money. According to its federal filing, the group, which provides entrepreneurship training to veterans, takes in about $350,000, more than half of which is spent on salaries. 

Ah, yes, the more you stir it the more it stinks. 

One can spend a lifetime separating truth from fiction in political campaigns.

A quick search can be had at PolitiFact (www.politifact.com). Run by the Poynter Institute, they rate political statement from “Pants on Fire!” to “True.” They are quite reliable, but they are in St. Petersburg. So they might have washed away in Hurricane Ian.

If you are interested where the money comes from, try the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. It’s not right up to date but interesting nevertheless. 

With the election just seven weeks away, the time has come to learn as much as possible about the candidates.

Your future may depend on it. 

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