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WisDems Slam Tim Michels and Ron Johnson for Aligning with Ron DeSantis’ Self-Serving Radical Politics

Sep 16, 2022

WisDems Slam Tim Michels and Ron Johnson for Aligning with Ron DeSantis’ Self-Serving Radical Politics

MADISON, Wis. — Today, Rep. Kristina Shelton, Social Security recipients Kim Javns and Karen Hayward, and Women’s Rights Green Bay activist Adrianna Pokela held a press conference in Green Bay, condemning Tim Michels and Ron Johnson for aligning themselves with Ron DeSantis, a radical MAGA activist who has sold out Floridians at every opportunity.

Speakers slammed Johnson and Michels for their attacks on Wisconsinites’ reproductive freedoms and called out Johnson for threatening to put Social Security on the chopping block – a move that would put the livelihoods of tens of thousands of Wisconsin seniors at risk.

Watch the full event here and see what the speakers had to say, in part, below.

Rep. Kristina Shelton: “Tim Michels is too extreme for Wisconsin. Since the beginning of his campaign, Michels has expressed support for our archaic 1849 abortion ban from 1849. And to put that in perspective, that is one year after the California gold rush. That is how old this law is. Now, this law would ban abortion and doesn’t include exceptions for rape or incest, and Michels has gone as far as to calling this an “exact mirror” of his position. Michels has confirmed that he supports restricting the rights of LGBTQ+ folks in Wisconsin. He’s called continuing to fund education the “definition of insanity,” and I will tell you as a mother with two kids in the public schools, I find that statement to be insane in and of itself, and he has refused to commit to certifying the 2024 election in our state. He would rather not let our state’s vote for president count than stand up to Trump and his MAGA allies.”

Social Security Recipient Kim Javns: “Like so many Wisconsinites retirees, I rely on Social Security. It is my livelihood. It allows me to get my groceries, pay for my medications, my rent, and it also allowed me to retire without having to worry about paying my bills. And despite what this program does for me and the other Wisconsin retirees who have paid into it for decades, Ron Johnson has told us he wants to allow Congress to cut funding for this vital program. And we know he’s honest about this because he has voted to force cuts to Social Security. The bottom line is I can’t trust him to look out for someone like me.”

Social Security Recipient Karen Hayward: “I can’t trust Ron Johnson to do the right thing by everyday retirees like me. He called Social Security a “Ponzi-Scheme” and has worked against the program his entire career and wants to bring retirees out of retirement to re-enter the workforce. Or I call it: forced work. So he both wants to cut our hard-earned Social Security and make us go back to work?… We’ve spent our entire life working, looking forward to being able to retire peacefully and enjoy the time for ourselves, time to reinvest in our hobbies, time to spend with our families. But rather than let us enjoy our retirement, Ron Johnson wants to take all of that away and Tim Michels will work to peddle extreme policies that will harm Wisconsin seniors.”

Women’s Rights Green Bay Co-Founder Adrianna Pokela: “Now Tim Michels wants to make access to abortion even more restrictive than it already is in Wisconsin. And Ron Johnson praised the overturning of Roe v. Wade, bragging about helping appoint the justices who handed down this dangerous decision, knowing full well that most abortions were about to be illegal in our state. Tim Michels and Ron Johnson are choosing to threaten the lives of every person who should have been able to make this private decision for themselves.”

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