By Steve Prestegard
editor@
theplattevillejournal.com
Federal and state elected officials who represent Southwest Wisconsin, and one candidate who wants to represent Southwest Wisconsin, had largely similar reactions to the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pa., Saturday afternoon.
“At first, I didn’t believe it,” said state Rep. Travis Tranel (R—Town of Hazel Green). “I was just getting in from chores and got a text message about the shooting from one of my high school buddies. I am incredibly disappointed. We have so many things to be thankful for in this country, so many things to be appreciative for, but somehow we let the political fringes get us to this point.”
“I was stunned to hear the news of the assassination attempt during this weekend’s Trump rally in Pennsylvania,” said Sen. Howard Marklein (R—Spring Green). “I am happy to hear that former President Trump is safe. My heart goes out to all of the attendees who were caught in the crossfire during this tragic event, especially the family of Corey Comperatore, the Pennsylvania firefighter who lost his life Saturday.”
“My prayers are with President Trump, the attendees, and their families, following the attack at the rally [Saturday] afternoon,” said U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R—Prairie du Chien). “Political violence has no place in the United States. Every American must condemn this.”
“Violence of this kind is never acceptable and I condemn it in the strongest of terms,” said U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D—Wisconsin). “My thoughts are with President Trump and his family.”
When asked if rhetoric around the presidential race and politics generally contributed to the assassination attempt, Van Orden said, “Unequivocally. For nearly 10 years, many Democrats, including President Biden, have called President Trump a ‘literal’ Nazi, dictator, and racist who will strip our freedoms and destroy democracy. The legacy press perpetuated these vitriolic statements, knowingly radicalizing an entire generation of American children and millions of citizens. I unreservedly renounce all political violence, but this madness will not stop until we all start looking at each other as children of God and Americans, in that order. I am proud to represent everyone in the Third Congressional District regardless of their political affiliation, and my voting record proves it.”
“Tammy Baldwin believes we have to stop the finger-pointing, come together to denounce this horrific attack, and confirm there is no place for violence in our politics,” said Andrew Mamo, spokesman for the Tammy Baldwin for Senate campaign.
One of the three Democratic candidates for the Third Congressional District responded to a Journal email seeking a response.
“Political violence should never be tolerated or acceptable,” said candidate Eric Wilson. “Every candidate should, no matter how much we may disagree with them, be able to campaign and hold events without the fear of being assassinated. My thoughts are with those who have been affected by this tragedy.
“This is also one more example of the tragic and deadly gun violence problem that exists in this country. I’m the only one in this race who has called for an assault weapons ban, and I am proud to have earned a Moms Demand Action Candidate Distinction because when I am in Congress, I look forward to offering bold solutions to solve this problem.”
Wilson said he believed rhetoric around the presidential race contributed to Saturday’s incident, adding he has no plans to change his campaign.
“I am proud of the campaign we are running,” he said. “We have been running a positive campaign squarely focused on the issues that we as a community face together.”
“You shouldn’t have to attend a political event and even remotely think that you might not make it out,” said Tranel. “We can agree to disagree, we can walk through parades and debate each other, but for crying out loud, don’t shoot each other over our political differences. I realize that about 50 percent of the people don’t agree with me about politics, but I try to be respectful of their opinion. We all need to start doing that. It’s the fringes on both sides that cause the majority of the problems. We can do better than that. Our prayers are with former President Trump and the victims’ families. Pray for America.”