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Tim Michels on His Radical Agenda: “If You Do That You Are Going To Be Incredibly Unpopular. I Say I Don’t Care”

Sep 02, 2022

Tim Michels on His Radical Agenda: “If You Do That You Are Going To Be Incredibly Unpopular. I Say I Don’t Care”

Michels embraces divisive and radical agenda, acknowledges he doesn’t agree with most Wisconsinites on key issues

MADISON, Wis. — At a campaign event this week, Tim Michels underscored how divisive and radical he would be as governor and also acknowledged how deeply unpopular his agenda would be with Wisconsinites. He said:

So we all know we have a Republican legislature, we have a Republican assembly, Republican State Senate, and when we get a conservative governor we can make generational change here in Wisconsin. I am willing to be the lightning rod that is needed. That’s what leaders do. There are gonna be a lot of people that are gonna say Tim, if you do that you are going to be incredibly unpopular. I say I don’t care.”

Some of the issues Michels would push through the legislature as governor, despite the majority of Wisconsinites opposing them, include:

  • Michels wants to criminalize abortion even in cases of rape or incest: Michels said the 1849 ban on abortion that doesn’t include exceptions for rape or incest is “an exact mirror” of his position. The latest Marquette poll showed that not only do 65% of Wisconsinites believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, but also 79% of Republicans agree that abortion should be legal in cases of rape or incest.

  • He has pledged to lift restrictions on firearms and said he would not support red flag laws backed by 81% of Wisconsin voters: When discussing red flag laws at a debate, which are often used as a response tool for victims of domestic violence, Michels said that abusers shouldn’t have their weapons confiscated because an “angry ex, ex spouse makes a complaint. Oh, he made a threat to me and then the police have to go confiscate his guns.”

  • Michels doesn’t think gay people should be in public: Michels does not think that same-sex marriage should brought “out of your house” [45:05] and supported a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage. During this year’s campaign, Michels reiterated his belief that “marriage should be between a man and a woman.” Support for marriage equality has steadily increased in recent years, and according to an April 2022 Marquette Law School poll, 72% of Wisconsinites support same-sex marriage. By partisan group, 82% of Independents and 58% of Republicans now support same-sex marriage.

“Tim Michels’ agenda is not only radical and extreme, it is deeply unpopular with Wisconsinites,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin Rapid Response Director Hannah Menchhoff. “Michels will carry out these policies that harm our state and take Wisconsin backwards regardless of what the people of our state want. Tim Michels is wrong for Wisconsin.”

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