Thread by @benwikler

Hello and happy 29th! It’s time, people of Twitter, for
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… the #4 threat to democracy in Wisconsin:
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The five WI Republicans in Congress, starting with Mike Gallagher, fueling the destruction of our Republic!

https://twitter.com/benwikler/status/1475978789725298694

Republicans are gunning to take over the House next year. They don’t have to win many seats to do it. The ghastly thing is that we can see, based on what they’ve done this last year, how they’d use that power if they got it.

Trump is on a glide path to winning the Republican nomination in 2024. You might think that Congressional Republicans who vocally denounced the violence on January 6, like Mike Gallagher, would stand ready to prevent Trump from doing even worse damage. Nope!

On January 6, Gallagher called the insurrection “Banana Republic crap.” He called for a “thorough bipartisan investigation” to “find out exactly what happened that day,” and whether Trump “had a role in it.” So far, so good.

But then, when it came time to vote for the actual thorough bipartisan investigation? Rep. Mike Gallagher voted no.
thenation.com/article/politi…

Gallagher also supported Liz Cheney. But when it came down to vote to oust her from House GOP leadership for calling out Trump’s coup attempt, Gallagher voted to expel her. When his colleague chose country over party, he chose party over country.
politifact.com/factchecks/202…

And then there was the most critical and telling vote: the vote on impeachment. Mike Gallagher joined every one of his Wisconsin Republican colleagues in voting against. (A reminder: if Trump had been convicted on the articles of impeachment, he’d be ineligible to run in ‘24.)

It’s worth singling out Gallagher—and holding him accountable—in part because he’s nakedly ambitious for higher office, trying to establish a national reputation as a moderate while caping for the worst extremists in his party when it counts the most.

But it’s also critical to note the other 4 WI Republicans, while less hypocritical, take equally toxic positions. They all voted against impeachment. And against investigation. And they vote in lockstep against infrastructure & everything else.
apnews.com/article/donald…

The House GOP doesn’t pose much threat to democracy now. But if they win a majority next year, they’ll use their power to do everything they can to obstruct Biden’s agenda and lay tracks for Trump to roll right back into the White House.

And that makes Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District so critical. It’s one of just 7 districts in the USA where Trump won—but a Democrat won the seat in Congress. Democratic Rep. Ron Kind, as always, ran a dynamite campaign, and won. But he’s retiring in 2022.

There are now 4 great Dems in a primary to succeed Ron Kind. Meanwhile, the Republican who came within 2.7% of winning that seat in 2020 was Derrick Van Orden—a hard-right Stop-the-Steal-er who is running again in 2022. We’ve been running ads about him:

After Biden won, Derrick Van Orden immediately started fueling the Big Lie. This thread has the receipts:

https://twitter.com/benwikler/status/1439342037346758659

It’s not just that he went to the Stop the Steal rally. It’s that he used campaign funds to do it. And then deleted his social media posts and lied about it. This guy doesn’t just deserve to lose—he’s sloppy, undisciplined, and beatable.
thedailybeast.com/gop-candidate-…

In fact, he posts regularly about how we’ve held him accountable, hoping he can lie his way into respectability. Not happening, pal!

https://twitter.com/thanewisc/status/1464350535461519368/

Meanwhile, Trump has already endorsed @DerrickVanOrden, and he’s been embraced by folks like Mike Gallagher and Republicans nationwide. So, especially until there’s a Dem nominee after the Aug 9 primary, the party has to keep up the pressure.

https://twitter.com/jrrosswrites/status/1425851080345260036

If Van Orden wins, he’ll help usher in a House majority for the GOP—and it’s 100% clear that they’ll abuse the power that comes with it.
nymag.com/intelligencer/…

To stop Mike Gallagher, Tom Tiffany, Scott Fitzgerald, Bryan Steil, and Glenn Grothman from adding Derrick Van Orden to their ranks, winning a House majority, and turning the Speaker’s office into a permanent hangout for the Stop the Steal mob, we need your help.

Become a monthly donor to ensure that the @WisDems have what it takes to defend democracy in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District and fight the GOP in Congressional races statewide in 2022: secure.actblue.com/donate/eo21?re…

… and stay tuned tomorrow for Wisconsin threat to democracy #3!

Looking for Threat #4 of the Top 5 Threats to Democracy? Find it here:

https://twitter.com/benwikler/status/1476606110354354181