Wisconsin Right Now

This column was written by former Navy SEAL and Wisconsin Congressional candidate Derrick Van Orden. This is the first Memorial Day in over 20 years that our nation is not involved in large scale combat operations. As always, this is a bittersweet day for our family having lost so many friends and colleagues over the years, but today has a surreal feeling as I now feel a much stronger bond with my Vietnam veteran brothers and sisters then ever after the shameful withdrawal from Afghanistan. The chaotic retreat that led to the abandonment of thousands of our fellow American citizens brings into question our nation’s decades long involvement in this conflict. Was the death of thousands of troops including the 13 lost in the war’s final days worth the sacrifice? Will the loss of American prestige embolden those who would see the destruction of our way of life leading to more conflict? Should we as a nation continue to involve ourselves in conflicts that in the balance seem to be ...

I’ve had the privilege of growing up around the conservative movement for my entire life, but I never imagined that I would eventually lead our state party in a crucial election year. Since my election in August, I have been able to travel the state and share important conversations with our grassroots activists who represent the driving force behind our efforts. This year’s Republican Party of Wisconsin State Convention was no exception. While in Middleton, I appreciated hearing the diverse perspectives of the Party Faithful and discussing what conservatives can do to win in November, and how we can make Wisconsin a better place to live for families today and for generations to come. I’ve learned a lot from these conversations. My biggest takeaway? Republicans have more in common than we give ourselves credit for. The Republican Party was born in Ripon, Wisconsin of a group of independent thinkers who sought to end the evil of slavery in the United States. To this day, Wisconsin...

Recently the Republican Party of Wisconsin held their annual state convention in Middleton Wisconsin. First of all, that area is right outside of Madison and is hardly emblematic of what the Republican Party stands for. The area is progressive, central, and hardly representative of a conservative mindset. Conventions bring money into the community with attendees filling up hotels and restaurants. It would be nice for the Republican Party of Wisconsin to reward the more Republican leaning areas of the state with all of the outside money that flows in with a convention. Among the items on the agenda was to decide whether the Party endorse candidates for numerous offices prior to the August primary election. The biggest question centered on whether to endorse one of the major and realistically viable candidates running for Governor. Although the Party endorsement is not binding on voters, it comes with perks like fundraising lists, Party offices and volunteers throughout the state. ...

Nikkole Nelson was 2 years old when her father stabbed her mother 42 times, leaving Nikkole and her toddler brother overnight in their mom's blood. On Thursday, Nikkole joined her mother's other family members to send a strong message to the state Senate: Please call the vote to remove Tony Evers' parole commission chairman John Tate, who tried to release the convicted wife killer early. "I don't know much about my mom, but I've heard stories about her," Nelson said. "I do remember that night clearly. I was sleeping with her when my dad came in and stabbed her to death. I don't understand why the Senators won't sign this. It's not political...what John Tate did is very unfair and should not have happened and should not be happening for other families, and he should be removed. There is no reason people should not want to sign it (the petition to force the vote)." Sen. Roger Roth (R-Appleton) has drafted a 2nd petition seeking to ...

The commander in charge of the police response to Tuesday's mass shooting at a Uvalde elementary school made the "wrong decision" to not send officers into the classroom to confront the gunman who shot and killed 19 children and two fourth grade teachers, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw said Friday. The chief of the Uvalde Consolidated School District Police Department, who was in charge of the initial response at Robb Elementary School, thought the shooter, 18-year-old Uvalde resident Salvador Ramos, was barricaded inside that classroom and that no other children were at risk, McCraw said. “Obviously, based on the information we have, there were children in that classroom that were still at risk,” McCraw said. “From the benefit of hindsight where I’m sitting now, of course, it was not the right decision. It was the wrong decision. Period.” Nearly 20 officers stood in a hallway outside of the classroom for more than 45 minutes before federal ...

We are hearing from sources that there is a tactical situation at Slinger Middle School. One source said it may involve a report of a student with a gun in a corridor, however authorities have not confirmed that information. Wisconsin Right Now's Jim Piwowarczyk it at the scene, where parents are gathered and there is a massive law enforcement response. He says several ambulances are at the scene, but that parents have not been told that there are any injuries. Law enforcement authorities have not released details on what is going on as news broke of the tactical situation around 12:30 p.m. on Friday, May 27, 2022. We contacted the Slinger Police Department and asked whether that was true. "I do not have any information I can give out to you," the woman who answered the phone said. She said she wasn't out at the response scene. The Washington County Sheriff's Department declined to give any information. On the scanner, law enforcement officers talked ab...

By: Paris Procopis Ever since the extreme Left started canceling everybody on the right, there was immediate knee-jerk canceling in retaliation by many on the right. The seeds of division were sewed and many Conservatives retreated and took refuge in their echo chambers. Yes, there is safety in the echo chamber, but we need to break out and reengage with others before it's too late. I will say this loud and clear, we cannot win the cancel culture war by engaging in cancel culture ourselves. If this continues, as Conservatives, we will fail in November. We must establish a beachhead in this political battle that will determine the very future of Wisconsin and maybe even America itself. Ever since I was a kid watching Ronald Reagan on TV, I have been interested in politics. Throughout my adult years, I have volunteered and helped organize events and rallies. I have also done my own podcast, videos, and public speaking. A lot of the time was spent preaching to the choir. Why? ...

One of Wisconsin’s top critics of the 2020 election in the state is not staying silent about the resignation of one of Wisconsin’s Election Commissioners. Commissioner Dean Knudson on Wednesday resigned his seat on the state’s Election Commission out of frustration with the continued focus on the last presidential vote in Wisconsin. “Integrity demands acknowledging the truth even when the truth is painful. In this case, the painful truth is that President Trump lost the election in 2020 – lost the election in Wisconsin in 2020. And the loss was not due to election fraud,” Knudson said during Wednesday’s WEC meeting. Dean Knudson is a former Republican lawmaker and helped create the Wisconsin Elections Commission back in 2015. "I'll put my conservative record up against anyone in the state of Wisconsin, and yet now I've been branded a RINO," Knudson added, employing the acronym for Republican In Name Only. But Republican state Rep. Janel Brandtjen , R-Menomon...

"I don’t want to do knee-jerk reactions. I don’t know the facts," - State Sen. Chris Kapenga. State Senator Chris Kapenga (R-Delafield) said he doesn't "know the facts" about Tony Evers' Parole Commission chair's now reversed decision to release a convicted wife killer early, so he's not sure if it's egregious enough to fire him. "We don’t have the facts yet. I support finding out what all the facts are. Once we understand that, then I can make a decision that, yes, this is the right thing to do because he’s John Tate's) totally out of line," Kapenga said. We pointed out that the facts have been clear for weeks that killer Douglas Balsewicz stabbed his wife Johanna 42 times to death in front of their two toddler children who were left to crawl around in her blood, and Tate granted him release 24 years into an 80-year sentence before reversing himself under great pressure. We asked what Kapenga has done to get the facts, and h...

Marissa Darlingh was one of several speakers at a feminist rally in Madison on April 23 where she used commonly expressed profanity repeatedly as she discussed transgenderism. A Milwaukee elementary school counselor is refusing to resign or change her mind about gender identity, even after the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction opened an investigation that could result in revocation of her license and loss of her job. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction sent Marissa Darlingh a letter on April 29, explaining that she was under investigation for what she said at a rally in Madison just six days before. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jB70PNoJeI&t=754s   “DPI has opened an investigation to determine whether to initiate educator license revocation proceedings against you,” the letter stated. “It has been alleged that you engaged in immoral conduct.” [embeddoc url="https://www.wisconsinrightnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Darlingh-Letter-from-DP...

“The Republican Party, both nationally and in Wisconsin, has become an organization that supports White Supremacists, the violent attempted coup at the US Capitol to overthrow a democratic election, and continues to engineer new ways to undermine fair and democratic elections.” A number of Wisconsin’s progressive advocates and big labor unions want Milwaukee to abandon plans to host the Republican National Convention because they don’t like Republicans’ politics. Voces de la Frontera Action, Power to the Polls, the Milwaukee Area Labor Council, Never Again is Now, and SEIU all signed on to an open letter Tuesday asking Milwaukee’s city council to reject a contract that would be necessary for Milwaukee to host the RNC 2024. “We the undersigned community organizations want to send a clear message to city, county and state leaders: the Republican National Convention is not welcome in Milwaukee,” the groups wrote. “The Republican Party, both nationally and in Wisconsin, has become ...

This is the second flip flop on the matter by Stroebel, who previously expressed concern about firing Tate because Tate is black. In other news, state Sen. Patrick Testin has signed the petition. State Senator Duey Stroebel (R-Saukville) has reversed his decision and has now refused to sign a petition that would allow Republicans in the state Senate to fire Gov. Tony Evers' embattled Parole Commission Chairman John Tate, who granted parole to a man who stabbed his wife 42 times. A spokesman for Duey Stroebel told WRN on May 24, 2022, that Stroebel "is not going to sign the petition. His explanation is that although he has publicly said he would vote that way. Since the petition is so far short of the number needed, there is no purpose to adding his name, and he has never signed such as extraordinary procedural petition before and, since it won't make a difference, he's not doing it." Evers has refused to fire Tate, his appointee, who reversed the parole de...

What precedent have we set? If a candidate can't win an endorsement, they must simply join forces with other candidates who lack sufficient grassroots support and spoil the process for frontrunners. If you told me two years ago that I would be a Republican Party delegate at the Wisconsin GOP convention , I would not have believed it, not in a million years. I considered it an honor to join the over 1,500 dedicated conservative grassroots activists this weekend. Our goal was to endorse state candidates that we feel best represent conservatism and have what it takes to defeat the radical left-wing Democrats in the Fall and continue to fight for conservative principles as elected representatives. For hundreds of first-time delegates like myself, the endorsement was considered a recommendation from the most involved activists in the conservative movement. We are the ones who have heard the speeches, attended the parades and fairs, ran for office, knocked on thousands of doors, dis...

We will make sure voters remember your shameful inaction at election time. Bank on it. We have never been more disgusted in a group of politicians than we are right now at MOST Republicans and ALL Democrats in the Wisconsin Senate, and Gov. Tony Evers. Their behavior is absolutely shameful, and we are calling them out BY NAME. In fact, we created a new watch list to expose which state Senators of both parties are refusing to call an extraordinary session to fire Evers' Parole Commission chairman, John Tate. The public has a right to know which state Senators are refusing to act. Know this: We are taking names. We will hold ALL of them accountable for any future decisions Tate makes. Every one of them. Gov. Evers is refusing to remove his appointee, Tate, a woke liberal who wants to repeal tough-on-crime measures at a time of skyrocketing violence. Shame on him. Tate showed such egregious judgment in his (now rescinded) decision to grant early release to wife-killer Dou...

"We are crying out for help...HOW CAN YOU SIT BACK AND DO NOTHING!!!!" That is the message that murder victim Johanna Balsewicz' s sister, Karen Kannenberg, has for state Senators who could call a vote to fire Tony Evers' Parole Commission Chair John Tate - but haven't. "WE ARE HERE TO FIGHT FOR WHAT’S RIGHT," Kannenberg told Wisconsin Right Now. "Stop putting your commercials on TV about crime and passion for the people if that’s really not who you are. Put the politics out of this devastating story and show us you really care about the people and not your power and money." [caption id="attachment_81260" align="alignleft" width="200"] Johanna Balsewicz[/caption] Other family members of Johanna feel just as strongly.  "I am asking, pleading, begging that the senators call a meeting to fire John Tate ll," said Kim Cornils, another sister of Johanna. "The senators need to put THE PEOPLE first ...

The state party did not endorse any candidates except pastor Orlando Owens for state treasurer. Rebecca Kleefisch, Eric Toney, Patrick Testin, and Amy Loudenbeck dominated their respective fields during the endorsement votes at the state Republican convention this weekend. Kleefisch , Toney, and Loudenbeck received a majority of the votes from delegates. In all of the cases, no other candidate came close, although support for gubernatorial candidates Kevin Nicholson and Tim Michels likely was diverted to the controversial "no endorsement" choice. Nicholson specifically asked his supporters to choose no endorsement. Kleefisch stressed the fact she has won statewide before. Toney highlighted his prosecution experience and argued that Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul has failed on public safety. Loudenback and Testin are state legislators. Kleefisch is the former lieutenant governor. Toney is the Fond du Lac County District Attorney. The state party did not endor...

A group of 11 sheriffs from around Wisconsin slammed Republican attorney general candidate Adam Jarchow for running a "shameful campaign based on lies and misleading attacks" that they called "unparalleled in recent memory of political campaigns in the state" about his opponent in the GOP primary race for attorney general, Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney. The group also said "the lies he’s spread about DA Toney would make Jarchow ineligible to be a police officer if he held that position in the state of Wisconsin." Jarchow, who has never prosecuted a criminal case and who has a history of anti-police and anti-public safety actions as a state legislator, has slammed Toney for charging 10 Fond du Lac County residents for violating Gov. Tony Evers’ original stay-at-home order in the early days of the pandemic. Wisconsin Right Now was the first to thoroughly report on that story. Toney contends that he had the responsibility as a d...

The stock market came back from a midday drop on Friday, the day ending with the S&P 500 Index 18.6% below the record high set in early January. A bear market would have begun if the decline reached 20%. The stock market tumble is a continuation from declines earlier this week, a week that saw record-high gas prices continue to rise. Other contributing factors in the index most closely associated with workers 401(k) accounts are rising interest rates, inflation, the war in Ukraine and China's economy. “Since 1928, the S&P 500 has had 1 bear market every 4 years on average,” Charlie Bilello, founder of Compound Capital Advisors, wrote on Twitter. “With the S&P down 20% from its peak in January, this is now the 3rd bear market we've experienced in less than 4 years.” New polling shows the majority of Americans expect a recession as energy prices and inflation continue to soar. Quinnipiac University released new polling this week that showed most Americans are...

With the violence in the Deer District, it's even more important that the public learn WHO John Chisholm is refusing to prosecute. But Chisholm and Attorney General Josh Kaul are blocking the public from learning this information. Attorney General Josh Kaul, whose office is supposed to be the top enforcer of open records laws in Wisconsin, has sat on an open records complaint Wisconsin Right Now filed against Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm for more than a year. What this means: Kaul and Chisholm are blocking the public from learning the names of people Chisholm won't prosecute as crime explodes. Kaul is refusing to honor his statutory obligation as the top enforcer of open records violations in the state. The public's ability to scrutinize the actions of government is critically important to a functioning Democracy. Yet Chisholm wants to keep his decisions secret, and Kaul is helping him do so. The attorney general's website promises that it w...